Unmercenaries Interview

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

Gungrind: Hi. The idea to create Unmercenaries visited us in late 2013 - early 2014. Prior to that, me and Slava (E.S.) have already managed to work together on the Forbidden Shape project, as well as to record an album and a couple of EPs with Decay Of Reality. By the way, we have given quite a bit of cool gigs with Decay Of Reality, so we had an experience of joint creative work. Well, the fact that I play the guitar in Who Dies In Siberian Slush, is also a sign of close cooperation.

In a word, at a WDISS rehearsal Slava invited me to stir up something individual and solid, as an independent project. I got wildly enthusiastic about the idea. Besides, I already had a bunch of groundwork and riffs, just suitable for this venture, so it remained only to lick it all into shape. I took music composition and recording, while Slava developed an overall vision of the project and themes for the lyrics. By the way, inviting Jürgen and Daniel was his idea. I got a real kick out of writing and recording the album material. I hope my colleagues did too.

E.S.: Unmercenaries are the result of joint creation by people of different cultures, nationalities and beliefs.
The recording brought together musicians from Russia, Germany and England. The lyricists were three friends of mine from America, England and India. The album art was done by a Russian artist.

In short, a true national cohesion. We are the real peace envoys! Decepticon politicians must acknowledge it at once, give us all huge awards, and release a special TIMES issue with our mugs on the cover!

2. In December you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Gungrind: Personally, I would describe our music as follows: a slow, heavy death metal, not lacking in a fair share of melodies and a funereal, doom melancholy.

E.S.: This is a huge red-hot iron, which would slam you down, so that you'd see black smoke coming outta your butt! If the prospect does not please you, you'd better not listen to this album.

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

Gungrind: Our lyrics mainly concern meditation about man as such, about his greatness and at the same time his insignificance, his strength and his own weakness.

E.S.: The greatness of space, the insignificance of man, the coming of death that makes both the poor and the rich alike equal in the last moments of one's life.

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

Gungrind: The project name 'Unmercenaries' means persons that above all are open, unselfish, sometime even naive and trusting. As a matter of fact, it's ourselves.

5. The band has members that live in both Germany and Russia, do you fell this makes your music a little bit
different with all of the long distance?

E.S.: Distances influence the music rather indirectly. The main things are the ideas, and there's plenty of them in this album. In my opinion, the album deserves some extra interest for this reason.

6. Has the band done any live shows or has this been strictly a studio project so far?

Gungrind: We have not given a single concert with Unmercenaries so far, but we definitely plan to do so.

E.S.:  If we find a fat investor, it'll be possible to make a show with holographic images of the band members. Thus, there'll be no need to gather everyone from different countries. Those willing to finance such a performance can contact me directly.

7. The album was released through both MFL Records and Frozen Light, and while I have reviewed plenty of stuff off MFL, can you tell us a little lit more about about the Frozen Light label?

E.S.: Frozen Light is a more diverse and original label than MFL. And such a coalition is no wonder, when we are talking about the release of Unmercenaries.

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

Gungrind: I think that funeral doom fans liked our music. At the very least, quite a lot of people write to me from all over the world, "Hey, man! Your album is good! Give us some more!" It's very nice!

E.S.: Join the UNMERCENARIES community on https://www.facebook.com/pages/Unmercenaries/1576397015927238 and be aware of all the events! There are responses, and they're almost 100% positive. It is very satisfying.

9. What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

Gungrind: Our side projects are doing ok. Decay Of Reality released a full-length album in late 2014. I recommend it to all death metal fans. Forbidden Shape has the material for a new album almost ready. It was originally planned for recording in 2014, but then it was decided to concentrate on Unmercenaries, and Forbidden Shape was shifted to 2015. For those interested: the music of the new Forbidden Shape
album will be simultaneously grooving, rapid, but more avant-garde in comparison with the first one.

We're gonna record a full-length album with WDISS. In May, we play at Moscow Doom Festival- VIII, in a swell company with Worship, Ophis and Below The Sun. And in January, we played in St. Petersburg with our friends from Comatose Vigil and respected Shape Of Despair.

E.S.: Soon we start working on our third album Who Dies InSiberian Slush. The team is now in its best form, and we have no throw-outs among us. The material is a killer, so everything should turn out just fine.

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

E.S.: All in the same direction: slow, fat and glum. The new material, no doubt, will back up the claim!

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?

Gungrind: Personally, I was influenced by such bands as Colosseum, Shape Of Despair, Tyranny, Candlemass, Isole, Esoteric. In general, I listen to a lot of different music. I can spend days listening to powerful death metal in the vein of Immolation, or to something not metallic at all, such as Die Antwoord. There are cool artists everywhere!

E.S.: And I'm a big fan of Soviet era Baltic pop. I can spend hours listening to Anne Veski, Jaak Joala, and
especially Tõnis Mägi!

12. What are some of your non musical interests?

Gungrind: Besides music, I read a lot. I like fiction, both our own, Russian, and world literature. I also like smart movies. Speaking about recently viewed ones, I did like "Whiplash" very much.

E.S.: My secret hobby is making paper collages. I cut foolish faces from various magazines with scissors and
stick them in different inappropriate situations. I plan to open a page soon on instagram.com with this crap. Follow the news!

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

Gungrind: Thanks for the interview. I wish everyone peace and good luck in everything. Listen to the music and stay humane.

E.S.: Yea, stay humane!  Listen to funeral rock and wait for our new releases!!

Facebook

VKontakte

Picture Ann/Sagntid/Vornoff/Nothing Comes Next/Floodgate Moods Productions/2015 EP Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Picture  Ann,  Sagntid  and  Vornoff  3  musical projects  that  play  black  metal  influenced  dark  ambient  which  was  released  by  Floodgate  Moods  productions  in  the  year  off  2015  and  called  "Nothing  Comes  next"  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Picture  Ann  and  their  song  "The  Clouded  Windows  of  Hell".

  Their  song  starts  out  with  melodic  guitar  leads  that  are  heavily  influenced  by  black  metal  along  with  some  ambient  synths  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  song  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  psychedelia  and  field  recordings  as  well  as  being  all  instrumental  and  they  continue  to  expand  on  the  sound  they  have  established  with  previous  releases?

  Next  up  is  Sagntid  with  their  song  "Atrocity  Tourist".

  Clean  guitars  start  out  their  song  and  they  seem  to  be  equally  influenced  by  both  progressive  and  ambient  music  as  well  as  being  all  instrumental  and  the  guitars  also  utilize  a  great  amount  of  finger  picking  while  the  synths  gives  the  track  more  of  an  experimental  feeling.

  Closing  the  compilation  is  Vornoff  with  their  song  "Disown".

  Their  song  starts  out  with  atmospheric  synths  and  nature  sounds  along  with  some  a  distorted  style  of  ambient  and  just  like  the  other  2  tracks  the  music  is  all  instrumental  and  puts  you  in  more  of  a  relaxed  mood.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a very  great  sounding  split  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  metal  influenced  dark  ambient,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  8  out  of  10.

Nothing Comes Next, by PICTURE ANN/SAGNTID/VORNOFF

Brave The Waters/Chapter 1 -Dawn Of Days/2015 EP Review

  Brave  The  Waters  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  consists  of  musicians  that  are  better  known  in  the  extreme  metal  would  and  play  a  dark  form  of  ambient  on  this  recording  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  ep  "Chapter  1  -Dawn  of  Days"  which  will  be  released  in  May.

  Psychedelic  and  acoustic  sounds  start  off  the  ep  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  post  rock  in  the  music  and  while  the  songs  also  use  synths  they  are  able  to  capture  the  ambient  sound  with  the  guitars  very  well  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  all  of  the  songs  being  instrumental.

  Most  of  the  songs  have  an  improv  feeling  to  them  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  slow  musical  direction  and  also  add  in  a  very  melancholic  sounding  atmosphere  along  with  a  variety  of  many  different  styles  being  mixed  together  which  also  gives  the  whole  ep  a  great  amount  of  diversity  throughout  the  6  tracks  and  the  last  song  is  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Brave  The  Waters  creates  an  instrumental  style  of  ambient  that  is  done  with  more  clean  guitars  and  powerful  bass  lines  and  the  production  also  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Brave  The  Waters  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark  ambient  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Interesting  Times"  and  "Setting  Up  Camp".  8  out  of  10.

http://bravethewaters.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/bravethewaters





    

Helfir Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and musical project?
The name HELFIR is the summary of artistic life of Luca Mazzotta. The project stems from the need to undertake a delicate trip in the ego that acts as a real catharsis for the artist.

2.In April you have a new album  coming out, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
The sound of "Still Bleeding" is rock, metal but with influences of dark music, celtic and electronic music. The melody in the whole album has a fundamental role and every sound was chosen very carefully.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your solo material?
The lyrics express anger, resentment and draw pictures of old memories, in short, a bit 'of my life. Also in the lyrics, there is a lot of symbolism which is the continuum of the entire album.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Helfir'?
HELFIR the name comes from a series of concepts that are derived from the culture of northern Europe. Generally does not reveal why the full meaning, but I leave the listener to understand the use of the imagination, through music, what lies behind this name.

5.With this project you record mostly everything by yourself, how would you compare this to working with a full band?
Working with a full band is very difficult, you have to find people who enter into the mood of the compositions. For this reason, I prefer to always look very professional people that can easily reproduce what I have recorded in the studio.
Fortunately I have several years of experience with the bands so do not think it will be difficult to play live the album.

6.Have you done any live shows with your solo project?
Yes, I have already made several live, for example with Antimatter band, playing in acoustic set, some songs. Of course I had to rearrange the guitar sounds by electricity, the drums; all sounded very intimate.

7.On a worldwide level how have your fans reacted to your solo material that have heard it so far?
I can say that for now the answers were always very positive, genre liked and all this made me very happy. Many people have enjoyed the search of the sounds and the melody of the songs.

8.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that you are a part off?
I play with NID, a band in which propose neofolk music; they are great friends so they are realizing that to me is a time of hard work. In all this, however, have not missed all the commitments of this band. I always try to work better with everyone.

9.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
I hope I can play around a lot, bring my music to as many people as possible. I'm a musician now for about twenty years and this work always makes me so emotional. A musician has always given me a lot of satisfaction and I hope therefore to continue to write music and play live anywhere in the world.

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?
This is really a good question, very difficult to summarize. I listen to all the music, without exclusion. My favorite genres, the ones that I feel very close to me are the rock, metal and celtic music (played on acoustic guitar). Currently I'm listening to a lot of metal bands (Opeth, Katatonia, Dark Tranquillity, and many records of Doc Watson (a talented musician of bluegrass music).

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
I am a PhD student in Ecology and Climate Change. Besides the music I really love nature, I like to study it and to contribute to help in scientific research. I like then study science, but I really love traveling also. Each trip is for me a huge growth as a human being.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
I wish to thank those who have believed in me, in my music, my friends who have given me so much more strength to go on. I hope that my first album can be a good start for this trip with HELFIR. I would also like to thank the label My Kingdom Music with whom now work, who believed in me and that always shows an incredible professionalism.

https://www.facebook.com/helfirofficial/

Valborg/Romantic/Temple Of Torturous/2015 CD Review

  Valborg  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  musical  style  they  describe  as  bleak  funeral  power  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Romantic"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Temple  Of  Torturous.

  Atmospheric  sounds  and  whispers  start  off  the  album  and  the  music  also  has  an  ambient  feeling  and  a  few  seconds  later  clean  playing  is  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  psychedelic  elements  being  utilized  at  times  and  once  the  bass  guitar  kicks  in  the  music  starts  evoking  more  of  a  doom  metal  feeling.

  A  good  portion  of  the  tracks a re  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  utilize  melodic  chants  at  times  and  when  clean  vocals  are  utilized  the  music  has  more  of  a  goth  rock  feeling  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  being  utilized  at  times  and  they  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  progressive  elements  into  their  songs  and  the  whole  album  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  and  th e last  track  also  bring s in  a  brief  use  of  depressive  black  metal  vocals  and  spoken  word  parts.

 Valborg  plays  a  musical  style  that  combines  the  progressive  and  funeral  genres  of  doom  metal  together  along  with  elements  of  ambient,  goth,  death  and  black  metal  to  create  their  own  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  solitude  and  hatred,

  In  my  opinion  Valborg  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark  mixture  of  progressive  and  funeral  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Vampyr"  and  "The  Haunted  Womb".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.valborg.de
http://www.facebook.com/valborgband?fref=ts

Fecund Betrayal/Depths That Buried The Sea/Metallic Media/2012 CD Review

  Fecund  Betrayal  are  a  band  from  Illinois  that  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  funeral  doom metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Depths  That  Buried  The  Sea"  which  was  released  by  Metallic  Media.

  Atmospheric  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  that  also gives the  music an ambient  feeling and  after  the  intro  the  music  gets  more  symphonic  before  adding  in  heavier  guitars  along  with some  guttural  death  metal  growls  while  also  remaining  atmospheric  and  adding  in  a  primitive  style  of  doom  metal. 

  A  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  also  hear  clean  playing  and  melodic singing  and  spoken  word  parts  being  utilized  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount of  melody  and  as  the  album  progresses  classical  guitars  can  be  heard  in  certain sections  of  the  recording  and  one  of  the  tracks  brings  in  high  pitched  screams  that  gives  the  music  a  black  metal  feeling.  

  In  my  opinion  Fecund  Betrayal  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  funeral  doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Poison  Of  Life"   "Riders  of  Death"  and  "Eternal  Hiatus".  8  out  of  10.

Facebook

Myspace

PureVolume

Abysmal Grief/Rune Order/Hymn Of The Afterlife/Snuff The Nun/Italian Doom Metal Records/2015 Spli Album Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Italy's  Abysmal  Grief  and  Rune  Order  which  was  released  by  Italian  Doom  Metal  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Abysmal  Grief  a  band  that  is  more  known  for  playing  a  horror  and  occult  themed  form  of  doom  metal  but  goes  into  a  dark  ambient  direction  on  their  track  "Hymn  Of  the  Afterlife".

  A  very  dark  and  ritualistic  sounding  organ  starts  out  their  side  of  the  split  along  with  some  elements  of  dark  ambient  and  you  can  also  hear  spoken  word  parts  being  utilized  in  the  background  at  times  which  also  gives  the  music  and  occult  feeling  and  after  awhile  female  vocals  become  a  huge  part  of  the  track  along  with  some  electric  guitars  which  also  brings  in  elements  of  doom  metal  and  the  song  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  towards  the  end  a  small  amount  of  flutes  can  be  heard,  the  production  on  the  track  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  song  from  Abysmal  Grief  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  doom  metal  and  dark  ambient,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.

  Next  up  is  Rune  Order  a  solo  project  from  Italy  that  plays  dark  ambient  and  his  track  "Snuff  The  Nun".

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  dark  and  atmospheric  ambient  sound  and  the  synths  also  use  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  and  after  a  few  minutes  electric  yet  melodic  guitars  and  female  vocals  are  added  into  the  track  and  after  awhile  a  small  amount  of  aggressive  male  vocals  are  added  into  some  parts  of  the  song  which  is  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  noise  and  neo  classical  as  the  song  progresses,  the  production  sound s very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  blasphemous and occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Runes  Order  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark  ambient  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  his  side  of  the  split.

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

ABYSMAL GRIEF

Website : http://www.abysmalgrief.com/

RUNES ORDER

facebook : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Runes-Order/179835152038552?fref=ts


  

Black Mare/Lycia/Magic Bullet Records/2015 Split 7 Inch Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  7  inch  between  California's  Black  Mare  and  Arizona's  Lycia  which  will  be  released  on  April  18,  2015  by  Magic  Bullet  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  wit  Black  Mare  a  solo  project  that  plays  dark  ambient.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  her  side  of  the  split  along  with  some  clean  singing  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  song  also b rings  in  melodic  guitar  leads  at  times  and  the  music  also  mixes  dark  wave  and  ambient  together,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Black  Mare  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark  ambient  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  her  side  of  the  split.

  Next  up  is  Lycia  a  band  that  plays  ethereal  darkwave.

  Clean  guitar  playing,  atmospheric  sounds  and  female  vocals  start  off  the  song  along  with  some  male  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  song  also  brings  in  a  lot  of  dark  wave  elements  along  with  a  touch  of  ambient,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  ending  of  summer.

  In  my  opinion  Lycia  are  a   very  great  sounding  ethereal  darkwave  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  song.

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

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Mare/166439840132254 

http://www.facebook.com/OFFICIAL.LYCIA?fref=ts    

War Iron 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?
Our last recording was the Prophecy e.p. We thought it would be cool to gather up a bunch of unreleased stuff and put it out it before we settled in for writing and recording the latest full length release. We also played shows the length and breadth of Ireland and some shows in Scotland and London.

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 the new recording builds on what we have done before. We have brought some additional dynamics to the sound. The addition of a guitar means we can explore a different balance between the two instruments having already set our stall out in terms of oppressive dirge on previous releases. Sonically It’s not any less more abrasive and heavy but we are able to bring a different dimension to the overall sound with the addition of the 6 strings.


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music? Lyrically, we aren’t really out to preach to anyone, it’s for them to interpret the music and the lyrical content. Up to this point lyrical themes have been based on a combination of poetry, factual events, science and fantasy. However loosely speaking on this recording the title track ‘Precession of The Equinoxes’ is about being adrift in the vast vacuum of time and space feeling the suffocating weight and sense of total crushing isolation and foreboding and inevitability of the cyclic nature of the cosmos on both a planetary and personal level. Its part sci-fi fantasy and part science fact. ‘Summon Demon Scream The Abyss’ explores inner turmoil and the tipping point between sanity and insanity. ‘Bludgeon Lord’ Brutality does not have to always be a physical act. Being swept aside under the tidal weight of dictates’ rules, regulations and those that ‘know best’  ‘From Napalm Altar’ Caustic messages and words of hate are not the exclusive domain of religion and their preachers as the title might imply.  There are those that make demands of society and individuals as to how they should think and act. Their messages are no less caustic than those of the religious fanatics. All are equal but some are more equal than others.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'War Iron'? War Iron - scrap metal gathered up during times of war to feed the machinery of war, I was nearly sure that this term actually existed to describe the gathering of scrap iron during the Second World War. Turns out it didn’t but the name stuck anyhow.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance? I think for us a decent on stage sound and PA sound is of course essential, but what is more important is that we enjoy the experience of playing and if the audience are enthusiastic about the show that’s a real bonus. Our stage performance doesn’t feature anything out of the norm other than we like to run all of the songs together start to finish in the set without any breaks. Occasionally we have used projections on stage and this is something we would like to explore again in the future. Best shows in terms of turn out would be Dublin doom days and Desertfest in London. Both these shows were packed and we were mainly playing to people who hadn’t seen us play live before.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album? We will be doing a number of shows around Ireland this side of the summer to support the release, we hope to play some shows in UK at end of summer 2015.

7.The new album was self released, are the band members open to working with another label again in the future, or do you prefer the DIY approach a lot more? The DIY approach is certainly one were you can get thing things done quickly. In this day and age it’s fairly simple to organise the whole thing record, get pressings done, artwork etc. We would be very keen to work with a label or labels to put the current release out in other formats vinyl or tape; or work with labels on future releases. Were we have worked with labels in the past the outcome has been very positive.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge and doom metal? Worldwide we have had positive comment from all corners of the globe, from USA and Canada to South America to Australia and Japan and of course around Europe and UK. We aren’t trying to be unique or different or cutting edge or anything, this is just what we do and if people like it then that’s a bonus. Feedback on the new release has been very positive so far.

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part off? We do share members with quite a few other bands, certainly need to keep the diary updated to know who’s where at any time! Dave also plays bass in Terminus, their demo and debut 7” sold out in no time at all and they have been playing festival dates in Europe, their first full length album is recorded and due for release later in 2015 musically its well-executed  traditional metal. Ross plays bass in Oncology, technical death metal, nothing recorded just yet. Myself (Baggy), Ross and Dave also play and record as Fuckhammer, we have just recorded three tracks for a split cassette with Russian band ‘Thy Grave’ due out later in the year, musically its sludge metal meets death metal. Marty our drummer also does drum/vocal/keyboard activity in Slomatics, their release ‘Estron’ has just been re-released on orange vinyl and I think they plan to record again early 2016. Musically its sci-fi, stoner-rock, tone-worship.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future? Muscially we will continue to explore the current configuration of the band with both guitar and bass. New recordings will hopefully flow quicker and we do intend to have a split release out later in the year that should build on what we have done already with the latest recording.

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? Really we do listen to all sorts, however unlike a lot of bands would claim I would say that its nearly all exclusively metal that we listen to. That’s not trying to be cool or anything, I just don’t think that anyone in the band is interested in anything else. I’m not sure that any bands have had a direct influence on our music, but we would all be big fans of War Horse, Iron Monkey, Black Sabbath, Graves as Sea, Buried at Sea and of course Godflesh. Outside of that We listen to anything from Iron Maiden, ZZ Top, Kiss to The Cult; death metal, black metal, doom, sludge, traditional metal, grind-core the whole lot!


12.What are some of your non musical interests? Non musical interests, given theres only 24 hours in a day there’s just about enough time to fit in work, eating and sleeping!!!  Seriously, we have a range of non musical interests nothing too crazy, friends, family life, hanging out and going to other shows would be high on the agenda. Marty always seems to be able to fit in around 25 different sporting activities also!!

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? Thanks for taking the time to prepare the questions. As a band we are always blown away when people comment enthusiastically on our music and we do really appreciate when people buy merchandise on line or at shows this helps us fund our shows, tours, recordings. Thanks for the support. Hopefully see you at a show some time soon. Cheers.

Bandcamp

Facebook

Myspace

ReverbNation

Website

Tenebrous Dance Army/Strings/ Teritus Oculus Perceptio/2015 CD Review

  Tenebrous  Dance  Army  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  mixture  of  dark  ambient,   experimental,  and  noise  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Strings"  which  was  released  by  Teritus  Oculus  Perceptio.

  A  very  dark  and  avant  garde  ambient  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  soundscapes  and  on  some  of  the  tracks  the  synths  are  very  dominant  and  also  make  the  music  a  lot  more  atmospheric  and  there  are  also  a  good  amount  of  songs  that  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  most  of  the  album  is  instrumental.

  At  times  the  music  does  bring  in  drones  and  traces  of  field  recordings  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  classical  and  symphonic  music  being  added  into  some  of  the  tracks  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  an  epic  feeling  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  music  starts  to  get  more  experimental  and  also  brings  in  a  dose  of  noise  music which  also  gets  very  harsh  at  times  and  one  of  the  tracks  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts

  Tenebrous  Dance  Army  creates  an  instrumental  music  style  that  is  very  avant  garde  and  mixes  in  elements of  dark  ambient,  experimental,  noise  and  neo  classical  to  create  their own  musical  sound  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw.

  In  my  opinion  Tenebrous  Dance  Army  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  experimental,  dark  ambient  and  noise  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Drawing  Down  The  Arteries  Of  Babylon"  "Death  Echoes"  and  "Strings".  8  out  of  10.

  http://thelamentcongregation.bandcamp.com/album/tenebrous-dance-army-s-t-r-i-n-g-s