Scorpio Doctrine/Via Liminalis/Saturnal Records/2014 EP Review

  Scorpio  Doctrine  are  a  duo  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  neo-folk,  darkwave  and  martial  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Via  Liminalis"  which  was  released  by  Saturnal  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  epic  neo-classical  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  synths  and  acoustic  guitars  and  a  few  seconds  later  clean  singing  neo-folk  style  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  synths  make  the  music  sound  more  epic  as  well  as  giving  it  the  feeling  of  a  fantasy  movie  soundtrack  along  with  a  medieval  atmosphere.

  On  some  of  the  other  tracks  more  traces  of  gothic  and  darkwave  are  added  into  the  music  and  they  also  give  the  medieval  style  songs  more  of  a  modern  day  feeling  and  the  ep  sticks  mostly  to  an  epic  synth,  acoustic  guitar  and  clean  singing  style  of  direction  as  well  as  being  very  slow   and  dramatic  in  sound  and  you  can  also  hear  violins  being  utilized  at  times..

  Scorpio  creates  4  very  dark  sounding  neo-folk  tracks  that  also  brings  in  elements  of  darkwave,  neo-classical  and  martial  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  Gnosticism  and  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Scorpio  Doctrine  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  neo-folk,  darkwave  and  martial  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dudael"  and  "The  Wounded  Healer".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB2npxQDkMc

Letallis/Resonate/2014 Full Length Review

  Letallis  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  plays  that  plays  a  mixture  of  progressive,  melodic  death  metal  and  metalcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Resonate".

A  very  dark  and  melodic  guitar  lead  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavy  riffing  and  a  few  seconds  later  metalcore  style  growls  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  music  at  times  also  gets  brutal  when  blast  beats  are  utilized  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  incorporating  more  melody  and  progressive  metal  elements.

  Most  of  the  music  sticks  to  mostly  a  slow  to  mid  paced  musical  direction  while  they  also  have  their  fast  moments  at  times  and  also  utilizes  a  decent  amount  of  death  and  metalcore  style  breakdowns  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  and  acoustic  guitars  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  progressive  feeling  when  they  are  utilized.

  When  high  pitched  screams  are  utilized  briefly  they  bring  a  black  metal  feeling  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  on  some  tracks  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  modern  day  melodic  death/thrash  metal  sound  along  with  a  brief  use  of  nature  sounds  and  towards  the  end  of  the  album  the  band  also  brings  in  a  couple  of  long  and  epic  in  length  tracks  along  with  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  vocals.

  Letallis  takes  the  progressive  metal  genre  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  heaviness  of  melodic  death  metal  as  well as  bringing  in  elements  of  metalcore  to  create  an  album  that  is  still  very  extreme  yet  original  at  the  same  time,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Letallis  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  progressive  metal,  melodic  death  metal  and  metalcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Within  Reach"  "Dissonant  Mind"  'How  Vast"  and  "Resonate".  8  out  of  10.  

http://www.facebook.com/Letallis
http://letallis.bandcamp.com
http://twitter.com/letallis 

Dimesland/Psychogenic Atrophy/2014 CD Review

  Dimesland  are  a  band  from  Oakland,  California  that  plays  a  very  avant  garde  and  experimental  form  of  death  metal  that  also  brings  in  elements  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  thrash  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Psychogenic  Atrophy"  which  will  be  released  in  December.

  A  very  dark  and  ambient  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  technical  death  metal  direction   and  bringing  in  angry  shouting  vocals  and  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  in  the  bands  musical  sound  along  with  all  of  their  instruments  having  a  very  dominant  presence  throughout  the  recording  and  the  band  also  mixes  in  brutality  with  post  metal  elements  as  well  as  adding  blast  beats  in  the  sections  they  are  needed.

  A  great  amount  of  progressive  element s can  be  heard  throughout  the  recording,  when  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  add  in  even  more  technical  sounding  elements  while  also  having  a  melodic  tone  to  them  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  experimental  and  avant  garde  structures  and  on  some  of  the  alter  tracks  screams  and  growls  are  added  into  the  music.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  music  starts  to  get  more  experimental  and  a  couple  of  long  and  epic  in  length  tracks  are  added onto  the  recording  as  well  as  the  band  adding  in  influences  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  thrash  into some  of  the  songs  and  the  band  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and   you  can  hear  the  music  going  into  more  of  an  experimental  thrash  direction  towards  the  end.

  Dimesland  plays  a  style  of  avant  garde  and  experimental  metal  that  brings  in  a  variety  of   many  different  genres  from  death,  black,  sludge  and  thrash  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  psychological  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dimesland  are  a  very  great  sounding  experimental/avant  garde  metal  band  and  if  you  are  looking  for  something  very  original,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Are  They  Cannibals"  "Malfunctioning  Gears"  and  "Odd  Feats  Are  Bid  And  Won".  8  out  of  10.    

http://www.facebook.com/DIMESLAND
http://www.dimesland.com

   

Aphonic Threnody/When Death Comes/Doomantia/2014 CD Review

  Aphonic  Threnody  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  funeral  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "When  Death  Comes"  which  was  released  by  Doomantia.

  Spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  an  atmospheric  and  melodic  doom  metal  direction  which  also uses  keyboards  in  the  background  and  then  death  metal  growls  and  guitar  leads  that  utilize  a  great  amount  of  melody  are  added  into  the  music  and  after  awhile  clean  singing  vocals  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  When  high  pitched  screams  are  utilized  they  bring  in  a  black  metal  influence  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  band  also  brings  clean  playing  and  acoustic  guitars  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  bring  in  elements  of  dark  ambient  at  times  and  on  a  few  tracks  violins  are  brought  in  while  the  band  never  forgets  its  heavier  roots  and  on  the  last  track  psychedelic  elements  are  added  into  the  song.

  Aphonic  Threnody  plays  a  style  of  funeral  doom  metal  that  is  very  slow,  heavy  and  dark  while  also  bringing  in  influences  from  early  90's  doom/death  metal  as  well  as  adding  in  prog  and  ambient  elements  to  create  an  album  with  its  own  style,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Aphonic  Threnody  are  a  very  great  sounding  funeral  doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Death  Obsession"  and  "One  Way  to  The  Ground".  8  out  of  10.

Aphonic Threnody Bandcamp - https://aphonicthrenody.bandcamp.com/album/when-death-comes

Aphonic Threnody Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aphonic-Threnody/527080693991442

My Shameful/Hollow/Moscow FuneralLeague Records/2014 CD Review

  My  Shameful  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  very  heavy  mixture  of  funeral  doom  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Hollow"  which  will  released  by  Moscow  Funeral  League  Records  on  November  30th.

    A  very  dark,  slow,  heavy  and  atmospheric  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  melodies  and  death  metal  growls  are  added  into  the  music  and  all  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  they  also  bring  in  a  good  amount  of  depressive  sounding  guitar  leads  and  at  times  you  can  hear  some  clean  playing  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  On  a  couple  of  the  tracks the  music  does  speed  up  and  brings  in  traces  of  black  metal  along  with  some  blast  beats  as  well  as  adding  a  bit  of  that  vocal  style  in  with  the  growls  while  the  main  focus  remains  more  on  a  slower  doom  metal  sound  which  also  at  time s adds  in  a  bit  of  the  early  90's  doom/death  metal  sound  and  they  also  have  a  good  balance,  between  heaviness,  melody  and  atmosphere  as  well  as  sticking  mostly  to  a  slower  musical  style.

  My  Shameful  plays  a  very  dark  form  of  funeral  doom  metal  that  also  has  a  huge  death  metla  influence  and  they  also  bring  in  a  dose  of  black  metal  at  times  to  create  an  album  that  stands  out  on  its  own  in  this  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  My  Shameful  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  funeral  doom  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hollow"  ""The  Six"  and  "Now  And  Forever".  8  out  of  10.

https://mfl-records.bandcamp.com/album/hollow 

Thanks For Your Pain Interview

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

The band was founded in 2011. Few years were spent for searching style of music in which we would like to play. Finally as result of our searching, has become our album "Anywhere Is Everywhere" which was released at begining of 2014. Previously we have issued EP "The Road To Eternity" and single "Change Your Fate", but they can’t be compared to our full-length album.

2)Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

We have put all the best which we could during the process of recording our full-length album "Anywhere Is Everywhere". Heavy and melodic riffs, melodic vocal, which no one can repeat, strong bass which has similar sounding with Korn and Madvayne, inexpressible , strong , difficult and beautiful parties of solo guitar's. Moreover, acoustic guitars, fortepiano and cello, are presented in the bonus-track "My Motherland", where we have shown, that we can use not only electro instruments, but also classical as well.

3)On the album you had mostly melodic vocals, are you planning on using aggressive vocals in the future or do you prefer to keep the vocals melodic?

By now we are working on the new album, we leave the possibility presence of extreme vocal, but anyway we'll still keep melodic vocal in a priority.

4)What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Texts in the album mainly based on relations between man and woman. Love and all the consequences of it, as well as pleasures and disappointments. The new full-length album will be different from first.

5)What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Thanks For Your Pain'?

For everyone this phrase has personal meaning , every may find unique understanding for itself. Pain, which was inflicted by someone, can change all your life, in our case for sure, only for better.

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

Each our performance on the stage is the best. We don’t split them by the quality. From every our concert we obtain a huge volume of satisfaction and this gratification is increasing every time.

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

We are planning to visit a huge amount of festivals in coming 2015. We have applied for a lot of concerts throughout Ukraine and we’re waiting for response from organizers. At the moment we have agreed for few concerts in Kiev.

8)On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of melodic, extreme metal and metalcore?

Every day appear new feedbacks. As the saying goes: Every Jack has his Jill. Mostly of feedbacks are positive, listeners enjoy the music what we make.

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

We’ve almost accumulated all material for 2nd full-length album. Unfortunately I can't divulge any information concerning our new album according to our contract with label. But nevertheless few word I will say, our new album will become more heavy and interesting then "Anywhere Is Everywhere", we are not left without attention lovers of ballads, probably 2 ballads will be included to the album. Guitar riffs will become more interesting and difficult. We’ll do all the best in order to gladden our listeners.

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?

Each member of the band has his own taste of music. The album which was released at the end of 2013 had succumbed of direct impact following bands: Korn, Metallica, In Flames, The Agonist, Mudvayne, Godsmack и Disturbed.

11)What are some of your non musical interests?

Mainly we’re trying to devote all our free time for the music. Repetitions and creating new songs. So, if say honestly, our main hobby is music.

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

Eye Of Solitude/Dear Insanity/Kaotoxin Records/2014 CD Review

  Eye  Of  Solitude  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  symphonic  form  of  funeral  doom  metal   with  some  ambient  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Dear  Insanity"  which  will b e  released  in  December  by  Kaotoxin  Records  and  consists  of  a  50  minute  track.

  A  very  dark  ambient  sounding  synth  starts  off  the  album  and  also  gives  the  track  a  great  amount  of  atmosphere  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  you  can  hear  some  tortured  vocals  in  the background  which  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  depressive  black  to  the  bands  musical  sound  along  with  some  distorted  drones  and  almost  10  minutes  into  the  track  the  music  starts  going  into  a  very  heavy  funeral  doom  metal  direction.

  When  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  deep  guttural  death  metal  growls  and  the  guitars  also  bring  in  dark  sounding  melodies  and  mix  them  with  the  heavy  riffing  and  they  also  keep  around  the  atmospheric,  ambient  and  symphonic  elements  and  the  synths  also  start  bringing  in  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  added into  the  music  they  bring  in  even  more  of  a  melodic  edge to  the  dark  and  heavy  music.

  Halfway  through  the  track  melodic  clean  singing  is  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  song  and  they  also  bring  in  more  gothic  influences  and  after  awhile  you  can  hear  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  being  utilized  at  times  and  they  also  mix  in  the  melancholic  goth  sound  with  the  funeral  doom  metal  riffs  and  growls  at  times  to  give  the  song  more  variety  and  texture  and  as  the  song  moves  towards  the  end  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  are  added  in  at  times.

  Eye  Of  Solitude  remains  true  to  the  funeral  doom  metal  sound  of  previous  recordings  and  creates  a  50  minute  track  that  is  very  dark,  heavy,  tragic,  and  melancholic  sounding,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  depression  and  despair  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Eye  Of  Solitude  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/eyeofsolitudeband

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