Machina Coeli/Finitior Visus Nostri/Masked Dead Records/2016 CD Re-Issue Review

  Machina  Coeli  are  a  solo  project  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  dark  and  atmospheric  form  of  ambient  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  1999  album  "Finitior  Visus  Mostri"  which  was  released  by  Masked  Dead  Records.

  A very  dark  and  atmospheric  drone  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  ambient  soundscapes  a  few  seconds  later  while  you  can  also  hear  field  recordings  in  the  background  and  the  music  also  gets  more  diverse  and  organic  after  a  few  seconds  and  the  music  can  be  very  experimental  and  avant  garde  at  times.

  Elements  of  neo  classical  music  can  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  and  the  synths  also  use  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  and  the  drum  programming  also  gives  the  music  more  of  an  epic  and  medieval  atmosphere  that  is  very  close  to  a  fantasy  movie  soundtrack  and  you  can  also  hear  some  militant  elements  being  utilized  at  times  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  war  like  atmosphere.

 All  of  the  songs  sound  different  from  each  other  and  all  of  the  songs  are  instrumental  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  percussion's  and  traces  of  folk  music  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  spoken  word  parts  are  added  onto  the  outro  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  that  add  in  a  touch  of  jazz.

  Machina  Coeli  played  a  style  of  dark  ambient  on  this  recording  that  was  very  diverse  mixing  in  elements  of  dungeon  synth,  militant,  neo  folk  and  classical  to  create  a  very  original  sounding  that  is  all  instrumental  while  the  production  sounds  very  dark  yet  powerful  at the  same  time.

  In  my  opinion  Machina  Coeli  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark  ambient  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dawn"  and  "Towards  Orion  (Gentle  Giant)".  8  out  of  10.

https://machinacoeli.bandcamp.com/

H.P Lovecraft/Hallowe'en In A Suburb And Others/Cadabra Records/2016 7 Inch Review

  This  is  a  review  of  seven  short  stories  written  by  the  master  of  horror  H.P  Lovecraft  which  are  read  by  Andrew  Leeman  with  the  seven  inch  being  called  "Hallowe'en  in  The  Suburbs  And Others"  which  was  released  by  Cadabra  Records.

  Spoken  word  parts  about  Halloween  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  ambient  music  in  the  backgrounds  while  the  story  starts  evolving  more  about  horror  and  the  undead  before  slowly  evolving  into  an  esoteric topic  manner,  and  other  short  spoken  poems  are  also  spoken  as  well  with  one  story  explaining  how  cats  are  nocturnal.

  As  the  ep  progresses  the  Arkham  references  are  talked  about  a  lot more  before  going  into  a  ancient  garden  story  and  the  other stories  deal  with  Festivals  which  also  has  Druid  and  pagan  references  with  a touch  of  dark  occultism  and  some  of  the  poems  go  into  darkness  and  despair    and  all  of  the  poems  are  very  short.

  Andrew  Leeman  takes  7  really  short  H.P  Lovecraft  stories  that  are  done  in  more  of  goth  horror  direction  and  stays  away  from  the  Chthulu  Mythos  and  goes  into  the  other  side  of  Lovecraft  that  is  barely  ever  explored  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  reading  of  H.P  Lovecraft's  writings  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  author,  you  should  check  out  this  7  inch.  8  out  of  10.

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H.P Lovecraft/The Hound & the Music Of Erick Zann/Cadabra Records/2016 Viyl Review

  H.P  Loevecaft  was  a  well  known  author  from  New  England  in  the  early  20th  century  that  created  the  Chthulu  Mythos  and  the  Necronomicon  which  also  went  on  to  influence  plenty  of  horror,  science  fiction  and horror  authors  as  well  as  being an  influence  on  a lot  of  modern  occultists  while  also  being  a  huge  inspiration  and  some  of  the  lyrics  you  read  on  metal  albums  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2  stories  "The  Hound"  and  "The  Music  Of  Erich  Zann"  the  first  of  which  is  where  he  first  introduced  the  Necronomicon  and  the  vinyl  was  relased  in  February  2016  by  Cadabra  Records  and  was  read  by  Andrew Leman  along  with  a dark  ambient  soundtrack.

  Dark  ambient  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  reading  a  Lovecraft  story  and  also  capturing  the  atmosphere  of  his  writings  along with  pain  and  sorrow  that  was  very  common  in  his  writings  and  you  can  hear  a  lot  of  occult  and  esoteric  references  while  also  being very  philosophical  at  the  same  time.

  The story  also delves  into grave  robbing  and  satanic  and  demonology  references  while  the spoken  word  approach  gives  the  story  a  gothic  horror  atmosphere  and  after  a few  minutes  the  found  an  ancient  grimoire  which  turns  out  to  be  the  Necronomicon  which  was  written  by  the  Mad  Arab  an  Arabic  demonologist  who  lived  in  the  dark  ages  and  the  story starts  evolving  into  more  of what  you  would  expect  from  a  person  misusing  an  ancient  occult  book  which  involves  rituals,  invocations,  and  death.

 The  second  story starts  out with  an  avant  garde  music  sound  and  spoken  word  parts  dealing  with  maps  and  talks  about  his  metaphysical  studies  before  going  into  the  music  of  Erich  Zann  and  he  also  starts  taking  about  this  mysterious  place  and  after  awhile  he  starts  describing  the  people  that  live  there  and  their mysterious  ways  before  finding  a  room  of  his  own.

   After  awhile  also  learning  the  origins  of  the  previous  mentioned  musician  which  music  haunts  him,  then  the  story  goes  into  his  meeting  with  the  musician  and  how  his  music  is  more  different  than  anything  he  has  ever  heard  and  the  story  gets  more  suspenseful  after  a  few  minutes while  also  going  into  more  of  an  occult  direction.

  Andrew  Leman  takes  2  classic  stories  of  Lovecraft  and  reads  them  along  with  some  avant  garde  ambient  music  in  the  background  at times  which  also  gives  the  stories  more  of  a  haunting  atmosphere  and  the  productions  sounds  dark.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  spoken  word  of  H.P  Lovecraft's  writings  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  his  writings,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  8/5  out  of  10.

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Clark Ashton Smith/Inferno/Cadabra Records/2016 7 Inch Review

  Clark  Ashton  Smith  was  an  author  that  lived  around the  early  20th  century  that  wrote  mostly  science  fiction,  fantasy  and  horror  and  was  also  a  friend  of  H.P  Lovecraft  and  also  added  his  own  touch  to  Lovecraft's Cthulhu  Mythos  by  writing  his  own  stories  and  expanding  of  Lovecraft's  world  and  this is  a  review  of  a  reading  from  S.T  Joshi  of  his  poems  called  "Inferno"  which will  be  released  in  June  by  Cadabra  Records  and  has  a  musical  soundtrack  from  New  York's  Theologian  a  dark ambient/industrial  act  that  has  also  had  their  music  reviewed  before  by  this  zine.

  A  dark  ambient  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  a  reading  of  a  poem  that  has  a  very  dark  gothic  horror  atmosphere  to  it  and  after  a  few  seconds  Lucifer  and  occult  themes  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  before  adding  in  the  Lovecraftian  style  horror  but  read  with  an  atmosphere  more  close to  E.A  Poe  and  the  background music  also  makes  the  poetry  sound  more  haunting  and  sinister  and  after  awhile  mythological  figures  are  added  into  the  poems  and  on  the  second  side  the  poem  goes  into  more  of  a  vampire  story  while  still  retaining  and  Lovecraft  feeling.

  S.T  Joshi  and  Theologian  takes  the  poems  and  writings  of  Clark  Ashton  Smith  and  makes  it  sounds  very  haunting  and  dark  while  also  retaining  the  poetic  feeling  of  his  authors  and  the production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  recording  from  Theologian  and  S.T  Joshi  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  dark  ambient  or  Cthulu  Mythos,  you  should  enjoy  this  ep.  8/5  out  of  10.  

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Craymen Interview

1.For those that have ever heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?

ZMD: OUR LONG TIME FANS WILL BE FAMILIAR WITH THE RITUAL ASPECTS OF OUR MUSIC. CRAYMEN IS STRICTLY ABOUT PROVING OUR DOMINANCE IN ALL GENRES. CRAYMEN IS PROOF NOBODY HAS BEEN MORE DEDICATED TO THE GAME

2.So far you have released a couple of albums, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings and also how do they differ from each other?

ZMD: THE 3 CRAYMEN ALBUMS THUS FAR ARE RESULTS OF A NEW FORM OF SAMPLE BASED MUSICAL COLLABORATION AND HAS REQUIRED THE USE OF OVER 5 COMPUTERS TO COMPLETE AND SEVERAL OTHER GEARS. THE FIRST TWO ALBUMS ARE OUR INDIVIDUAL VERSIONS OF THE ORIGINAL "CRAYMEN". THE FIRST ALBUM WE WERE HONORED TO FEATURE A REMIX BY TECHNO ACID LEGEND "MAGIC SILVERBOX"  A FEATURE FOR WHICH WE ARE TRULY THANKFUL. THE THIRD ALBUM REPRESENTS A MAJOR DIPLOMATIC EVENT IN THE SPECTRUM OF RITUAL MUSIC.

SB: Ritual seems to be a very appropriate term for the kind of music we're making. We listen to a lot of traditional world music, & 90s Jrpg soundtracks so usually the influences of other genres - like techno & hip-hop, are kinda just thrown into a ritual/ceremonial atmosphere with virtual instruments. Film & Game soundtracks are a big influence especially in terms of song structures.

3.What are some of the themes and images the band brings out with the music?

ZMD: OUR INTENTION IS TO INSPIRE UNITY THROUGH FEAR, CONFUSION & HATRED WITHIN EVERY GENRE WE OCCUPY.

SB: links to Ancient Mythologies, DNA Engineering & Eugenics, demon possession, Psychic pains & brain imaging technology, and of course - the spirit of competition. Rediscovering primal urges in developing technology.

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

ZMD: WE HAVE ALREADY ATTAINED VICTORY - THESE ALBUMS ARE PROOF. CRAYMEN IS UNBEATABLE. WE ARE THE ONLY WORTHY SUCCESSORS TO THE THRONE OF CRAYMEN... OUR DEDICATION HAS BEEN QUESTIONED AND THIS IS OUR RESPONSE

5.When looking at the album covers and some of the song titles I can see some hints of the occult, do the band members have any interest in Occultism?

IT IS UNDISPUTABLE THESE ALBUMS WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO EXIST IF THE PRESENCE OF E.S.P. (EXTRA SENSORY PERCEPTION) WAS NOT IMMENSELY STRONG WITH THE BAND MEMBERS. WE ARE UNABLE TO DEVIATE FROM THE TRUTH


6.So far this has been a studio project, are there any plans into expanding into a live band?

ZMD: WE ARE PREPARED & READY TO PERFORM A LIVE ACTION AT ANY TIME. IN TIME CRAYMEN WILL BE KNOWN ACROSS ALL CONTINENTS. THESE ALBUMS HAVE BEEN THE RESULT OF METICULOUS STUDIO WORK THUS FAR HOWEVER WHEN SUMMONED WE ARE PREPARED.

7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the project that youare a aprt of that is raising education in Cambodia?

SB: While I was playing shows in South East Asia, I took a bus to Siem Reap, Cambodia & stayed at a guest house run by the CEO & Founder of Savong Organization Cambodia, named Svay Savong. I had contacted him earlier in hopes of working with the organization, so that I could bring together teaching artists in an area deprived of many resources for children and we've been working together for about a year now. I'm attempting to use all of my resources to help raise money for the upkeep & development of free schools provided to disadvantaged youth in the rural areas outside the city center of Siem Reap (where the famous Angkor Wat Temples are located). While in Cambodia, I got to visit the many schools and orphanages operated by the Organizations' wonderful staff. The kids were eager to learn subjects such as computer skills & languages such as English & Korean, in classes occurring before and after the government-mandated school classes are in session. Being in Cambodia for the first time was a major event in my life & I am thankful for the kindness Savong showed me. I'd appreciate any assistance anyone has to offer, and there is plenty more information about the organization at www.savong.org

8.On the side one of the band members also runs a record label, can you tell us a little bit more about it?

SB: I founded Blacc Ski Weekend Industries in 2013 in New York just  for producing works on various platforms. animated films, video games, audiobooks, comic books - and physical releases of select releases on cassette, vinyl, dvd, etc... I'm always eager to collaborate with anyone, or use my company to lend someone a helping hand - especially for artists with disjointed fanbases who are hard to categorize.

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

ZMD: WE HAVE LARGELY BEEN WELCOMED BY FANS OF EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC. CRAYMEN IS STILL VERY NEW AND BOTH MEMBERS ARE EXTREMELY PROLIFIC AS INDIVIDUAL MUSICIANS SO OUR WORK IS NOT ALWAYS FOUND QUICKLY. BUT ACROSS THE WORLD OUR POLARIZING STYLE HAS CREATED BOTH A DEVOUT FANBASE AND A STRONG REACTION AGAINST OUR WORK. WE HAVE BEEN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED AS LEADERS IN THE STUDY OF DEEPNESS.

SB: I'm down with chopping it up with the tight communities that develop around experimental music worldwide. People have been excited to get something so specific-sounding onto their stage, & I encourage these venues to keep putting on the most random shows they can come up with. I get asked tons of questions about my influences, even on nights where we're super out of place on the bill. Those shows can be the best. You can tell these experimental venues are a home for people to really pursue their passion, and now more than ever these communities are connecting over the internet, and its easier for people to travel the world & find great places for experimental music.

10.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?

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

SB: We've been investigating into a concerning matter regarding sucker motherfuckers biting our style in some out-of-bounds territories, not being upfront about their influences, saying we're out of commission, and spreading trash about the tradition of our technique in order to keep their low spirits high, yet failing to match the intensity of our discipline. If this is indeed the case, we're going to have to make our upcoming releases faster, harder, darker, & specifically antagonistic and engage on a whole beef-campaign. What has always mattered to me is continuing to strive toward making albums that are up to date with the optimal debilitating, focused & immersive listening experience. We have enough influences to tactfully phase out the sounds of imitators in any genre, on any level and we release albums in waves.

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

OUR ENEMIES ARE LOST TRYING TO CATCH UP WITH US. WE ONLY INTEND TO LEAVE THEM FARTHER IN THE DIRT. IMITATORS DO NOT UNDERSTAND OUR STYLE, HOWEVER ALL I CAN SAY IS OUR TRUE FANS KNOW TO EXPECT A CONSTANTLY EVOLVING LEVEL OF TRUE EXCELLENCE IN OUR WORK. WE ARE IN CONTROL OF MOMENTUM. WE GUARENTEE ABSOLUTE DOMINANCE.

12.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?

ZMD: FOR INSPIRATION I HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO: DANCEMANIA BASS, DJ SPANISH FLY, & J-POP MIDI ARRANGEMENTS.
SB: P-model, Geinoh Yamashirgoumi, Koenjihyakkei, Tangerine Dream, E40, Sun Ra, Drexciya, Keii Haino, DJ Fela, Burzum, 4080 Mobbin Thru Da Bay (compilation) & Grindcore bands from Thailand like MASOCHIST

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

ZMD: CYBER CRIME; ASTRAL PROJECTION; OPERATIONS SECURITY; SUB-BASS; ALTERNATING CURRENT; HUSTLE MANNING
SB: Virtual Reality, Martial Arts, Temples, Cryptozoology, chess,

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

ZMD: GREETZ TO HMW FOR THE INTERVIEW; ONLY THOSE WHO OPPOSE US NEED FEAR US. OUR MASTERY OF OUR CRAFT IS UNDISPUTABLE. THANK YOU HMW FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY
SB: Thanks for playing! I'm enjoying a lot of the stuff I found on this blog so we appreciate being featured on here. It may seem totally unrelated, but the death of Prince was a huge motivation for me, personally, in recording this album.

Craymen/Mirages From Within Competition/2016 Full Length Review

  Craymen  are  a  duo  with  members  from  New  York  and  Massachusetts  that  plays  a  mixture  of  experimental,  dark  ambient,  techno,  industrial  and  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016 album  "Mirages  From  Within Competition".

  Industrial  and  ambient  sounds  starts  off  the  album  giving  the  music  an  experimental  feeling  and  a  few  seconds  later  heavy  and  melodic  guitars  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  elements  of  world  music  and  traces  of  harsh  noise  and  power  electronics  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording.

  Avant  garde  elements  are  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  a  lot  of  the  songs  are  instrumental  while  also  being  very progressive  and  psychedelic  at  the  same  time  and  as  the  album progresses  programmed  beats  start  becoming  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  there is  also  a  brief  use  of  hip  hop  style  record  scratching  and  the  is  a  great  amount  of  diversity  presented  throughout  all  of  the  tracks  and  on  later  songs  clean  guitars  can  be  heard  briefly  and  the  tribal  beats  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling.

  Craymen  plays  a  musical  style  that  can  not  fit  in  a  category  and  elements  of  metal,  industrial,  techno,  progressive  and  many  other  genres  are  mixed  in  to  create  something  very  original  and  the  production  sounds  very  powerful.

  In  my  opinion  Craymen  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  experimental,  dark  ambient,  techno,  industrial  and  metal   and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  duo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hodlin  Court"  "Azoth  Edem"  "Linga  Shiara"  and  "Meatoric  Initiation".  8  out  of  10. 

 http://spaghettiblacc.bandcamp.com/album/mirages-from-within-competition 

Nadja/Sv/Essence Music/2016 CD Review

  Nadja  are  a  band  from  originally  from  Canada  but  now  resides  in  Germany  and  plays  a  mixture  of  ambient,  drone  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016 album  "Sv"  which  was  released  by  Essence  Music.

  Dark  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  elements  of  ambient  and  drones  are  also  added  into  the  music  at  times  and  after  a  few  minutes  the  music  starts  getting more  diverse  along  with  some  elements  of  noise  and  percussion  beats and  as  the  song  progresses  guitar  sounds  start  getting  added  into  the  music  bringing  in  a  touch  of  doom  metal  while  drums  also  start  having  a  more  powerful  presence  and  the  song  is  also  over  40  minutes  and  instrumental  while  also  always  sticking  to  a  slow  musical  direction  and  towards  the  end  the  guitars  start  using  more  riffs.

  Nadja  creates  and  instrumental  track  that  is  over  40  minutes  and  is  all  imrov  and  mixes  in  elements  of  dark  ambient,  noise  drone  and  doom  metal  to  create  something  very  original  and  the  production  sounds  very  professional.

  In  my  opinion  Nadja  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  dark  ambient,  drone  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/LuvNadja
http://nadja.bandcamp.com  

Quercus/Heart With Bread/Solitude Productions/Moscow Funeral League/2016 CD Review

  Quercus  are  a  band  from  are  a  band  from  the  Czech  Republic  that  plays  funeral  doom  metal  with  avant  garde  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Heart  With  Bread"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Solitude  Productions  and  Moscow  Funeral  League.

  Dark  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  and  grim  vocals  which  also gives  the  music  an  atmosphere  of  a  horror  film and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  the  music  gets  more  heavy  and  goes  for  a  funeral  doom  style  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  and  death  metal  growls.

  The  heavy  and  avant  garde  elements  get  mixed  together  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  most  of  the  songs  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  depressive  melodies  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  black  metal  screams  can  also  be  heard  briefly and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  slow  musical  direction  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Quercus  plays  a  style  of  funeral  doom  metal  that  is  very  slow,  dark  and  heavy  while  also  being  very  avant  garde  at  the  same  time,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  human nature  and  society  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Quercus  are  a  very  great  sounding  avant  garde  funeral  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Illegible  Tree  Name"  and  "My  heart's  in the  Highlands". 8  out  of  10.

Quercus Official Bandcamp

 

Like Rats Interview

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


Sure thing. The album was actually recorded about a year ago, so we've had plenty of time to go about our lives. Since finishing recording, one of the big things was starting to work with Greg and Southern Lord to get this thing released - which has been fantastic. Kind of a shot in the dark to start working with Greg when our previous plans to get the record out fell through.

In reality, though, most of us in have real lives that involve some sort of small business - either owning one (I own a gym - www.southloopsc.com - and Dan owns a restaurant - www.thesweetandsavoryspot.com/), working as a recording engineer (Andy - www.bricktoprecording.com), working for a small business (Drew - www.chicagomusicexchange.com/), or working for a large business and doing some freelancing on the side (John - www.destroydesigns.com/)

So, the band is a nice thing to do on a weekday night and a place to get the ol' riffs out, you know?


2.Your new album was released in March, 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?


Like Rats is essentially a Celtic Frost worship band. In terms of influences and goals, we want to sound like bands like Incantation, Immolation and Morbid Angel without actually *sounding* like them.

In the past, we've trended more towards the punker side of Celtic Frost, but, on this record, we pushed the songs in a longer, more death metal direction based up on the riffs and melodies that we were writing.


3.This is the first album to be released in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?


Well, four years ago I opened up a gym in Chicago which has pretty much destroyed my life in many ways - both positive and negative.

After our last LP came out on A389, we played some festivals like A389's annual bash and Maryland Deathfest while doing a few weekends here and there with friends.

We continued to write riffs and songs until we had enough for an LP, booked the studio time, and knocked it out.

There's also been some stuff in Syria.


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


The lyrics on this particular record deal with personal, political and fantastical subject matter (dealing with death, depression, ancient beings, propaganda, planetary/human rights etc.). However even the Lovecraftian type lyrics still have a political agenda to some extent. I don’t mind hearing lyrics in songs about the misuse of the earth and all, but when it can have a spin where the earth will just start eating us; I feel this is a better way to express those hippy feelings.


5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Like Rats'?


First track off of Godflesh's "Streetcleaner" album.

"You breed, like rats."

You'd have to ask Justin Broadrick about the meaning there - we just wanted to copy Godflesh since we think they're cool.


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


Well we definitely do a lot of synchronized stage moves so I would describe it as "choreographed" and "bombastic."

I had a great time at Berserker Fest in Detroit since we played in an awkwardly shaped room and people flipped out. We also "technically" played with Incantation, so that is nice as far as I'm concerned.


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


Right now, we're playing with our friends in Disrotted in Milwaukee and Chicago 4/30 and 5/1 respectively.


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


We have one pretty good review of our last LP on Metal Archives, and a guy on the Southern Lord Instagram said that we sound like an "opening band in a bar."


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?


Weekend Nachos is breaking up, so that's a big relief to everyone who wishes powerviolence could just get back to its roots and get away from this corny, beatdown nonsense.

However, some people on the internet seem to think that Weekend Nachos is breaking up to form Like Rats - which is funny and wrong, but has resulted in some extra attention to our new LP, so I'll take it.


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


Probably into a variety of dead-end musical sub-genres appreciated only by nerds with social problems.


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


Our biggest influences from a riff-writing and song-structuring perspective are Celtic Frost, Slayer, Sepultura, Incantation and Immolation. I've also been known to lift riff ideas from composers like Prokofiev and Strauss.

I'm certainly not as much of a music freak as I used to be in terms of obsessively listening to tons of stuff, but the most recent things I've listened to off the top of my head have been:

Obituary - Cause of Death
Dead Can Dance - Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
Immolation - Dawn of Possession
Koopsta Knicca - Skrewged (RIP)
Dead Rider - The Raw Dents (ex US Maple members)


12.What are some of your non musical interests?

I am a massive jock and own a gym called South Loop Strength & Conditioning. I coach several people to compete in the sport of CrossFit as well. So, based upon this, I spend a lot of time researching and working on the following areas:

Exercise program design - In theory and in practice. The FitzGerald brothers at OPEX and OPT Calgary are my mentors here.
Physical therapy and Movement correction - I learn the most when putting myself in situations where everyone else is massively more qualified than I am. I've had great experiences recently at courses like GRIP Approach and Shirley Sahrmann's Movement System Impairment Syndromes. I also am taught a lot by folks in Chicago who work on me and answer my questions like Evan Osar, Robert Lardner, Liz Yerly, Roy Settergren and Shawn Allen.
Nutrition - Understanding best practices here for athletes and general population folks is a massive rabbit hole. Love the work of Precision Nutrition and Dynamic Nutrition (now Driven Performance).
Psychology of behavior change - Coaching isn't about Xs and Os - it's about understanding how to create buy-in and change outlooks over time. The book on Motivational Interviewing is huge here, as are Ramit Sethi's blog posts and courses as well as all the pop psychology books like "Switch" and "The Power of Habit."
Marketing - I didn't get into business to become a marketer, but that's what happens when you have to figure out how to get people in the door. Jay Abraham, Ramit Sethi, Seth Godin, and Robert Cialdini have helped me massively here.
Meditation and mindfulness - I struggle here to remain consistent with this as a habit, but I love Sam Harris and Tara Brach's work here.
Physiology of stress - I messed myself up pretty good trying to train like a serious athlete while running a business in survival mode, so I've been very interested in how human beings tolerate and adapt to stress. Robert Sapolsky's work is great here: "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers" as well as some of his Stanford courses and lectures on YouTube.

Oh yeah and I also love memes. Can't get enough.


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


Have a kick-ass summer and c ya at the pool.

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Gridfailure/Ensuring The Bloodline Ends Here/The Compound Recs/2016 Full Length Review

  Gridfailure  are  a  solo  project  from  New  York  that  plays  a  mixture  of  experimental,  industrial,  ambient  and  dark  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2016  album  "Ensuring the  Bloodline  Ends  here"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  The  Compound  Recs.

  Experimental  sounds  along  with  some  unorthodox   musical  instruments  start  off  the  album  and  the  music  also  brings  in  elements  of  ambient  while  some  ethnic  instruments  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  field  recordings  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  At  times  the  music  can  be  very  avant  garde  and  some  tracks  also  bring  in  angry  shouting  vocals    while  some  tracks  also  bring  in  tribal  elements  and  as  the  album progresses  traces  of  underground  industrial  can  be  heard  along  with  later  songs  bringing  in  a  small  amount  of  harsh  power  electronics  and  noises  and  every  song  also  sounds  different  from  each  other  and  soem  of t he  vocals  bring  in  the  more  angry  side  of  hardcore.

  Gridfailure  plays  a musical  style  that  takes  industrial,  noise,  ambient  and  experimental  and mixes  them  with  a  touch  of  hardcore  to  create  a  style  that  is  very  original  and  the  production  also  has  a  very  dark  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Gridfailure  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture of  experimental,  ambient,  industrial  and  dark  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Shredding  The  Husk"  "Apparitions  Revenge"  and  "Welcoming  Pyroclastic  Eradication".  8  out  of  10. 

http://www.facebook.com/gridfailure

http://www.gridfailure.bandcamp.com

https://www.twitter.com/GRIDFAILURE

Chelidon Frame Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
Hello everybody! Chelidon Frame is a solo project born by the end of 2014 as a point of convergence of different prior experiences, mainly experimentations with concrete music, drone and noise (such as the project "here.now.where" for the fifth Marrakech Biennale). In 2014 I've published the first album, "Framework", a collection of previously released songs and 2016 is the year of "Imago", my second studio album.

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?
"Imago" is a dark album, darker than the first one. It describes a story of progressive loneliness and desperation in a big modern city and this gradual approach to isolation is marked by a wider use of drones, harsh noises and dissonances. Having an implied storyline, the album is sound wise more coherent than "Framework", which was a collection of different pieces composed in different times.

3.What are some of the concepts and images you bring out with your musical style?
I'm completely fascinated by pure sounds, how they can connect together and how they can be arranged to recreate certain situations. I'm always curious how sound and sound design is used in cinema as a counterpoint to the visual language, and I'm interested in expand this way of organize "noises" to reach a particular purpose. In addition to that I try to be aware to all the school of thoughts that revolve around the use of recorded stuff (field recording, acoustic ecology, concréte music...) and I'm incline to include them as an extension of my personal musical-alphabet.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Chelidon Frame'?
No way! I'll never reveal the deep meaning behind that name. But i can assure you that is a fully meaningful name. And I'm always curious to hear the various interpretations given to it!

5.With this musical project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer the solo route?
I like to think Chelidon Frame as my personal space of expression, a small room where I can escape to pursue my personal interests in music: I've started it all as a solo project and in this way I'm able to maximize the freedom I can give to my production. So, generally speaking, I prefer the solo route, but I'm interested also in collaborations: those are "good" limits that can improve a specific way of making things or thinking about music. Recently I've participated to this huge collaborative project named "Waywords and Meansigns" that aimed to set all Finnegans Wake to music and to narration: here I had to limit myself to be a counterpart to the narration. And that experience was really great!

6.Have you done any live shows or is this strictly a studio project?
At present, no live shows are planned. Since in studio I want not to limit myself, I end up layering diverse sets of instruments and noises that I'm not able to recreate in a live set. Who knows for the future? Maybe I'll find a way to organize a live set, maybe re-arranging the songs in a more playable way!

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
I'm not actually looking for a label, but if someone is interested in promoting my work I'll sure think about it. I have to understand if I can be as independent as I am now.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of experimental, ambient and drone?
Building all the project from scratch (and being a folk, jazz and rock guitarist as a main musical activity) I've thought that would have been rough to be acknowledge in that world, but I've found a interested community in that field, very open to new projects and new ideas. Likewise, all those who followed my more traditional projects showed an unexpected interest in that new route I was exploring.

9.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
Who knows?! I hope that someday I'll be able to be a full time musician, still passionate about music and about making it, or at least to be able to merge a "standard life" as you can call it, and a life as a musician.

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?
Pierre Schaffers was the first figure who made me interested in concrete music and experimentation with sounds. After him I've followed the giants of sound manipulation, spanning my interest from ambient music (Brian Eno) to drone (Sunn O))), Bass Communion), from field recordings to free jazz (Ornette, Coltrane...). John Carpenter is also a guru to me, both in a musical and in a visual way. Nowadays I'm a lot into contaminated jazz, electronics and glitch music. I'm also exploring the world of minimalism (Nik Bartch and Philip Glass are running mostly on my player) which always fascinated me.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
I love reading and writing (horror stories, sci-fi) and being graduated in math I love to be up-to date with scientific and mathematical discoveries. I'm also keen on films and tv series.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
First of all, thank you for the space given to talk about Chelidon Frame.
Have a listen to "Imago" and let me know what you've experienced. Send an email, leave a message on my page: I'll be really interested in knowing your thoughts about it.
And do not be afraid of so-called "experimental music": free your mind and enjoy your voyage! It's worth it!

https://www.facebook.com/ChelidonFrame/

Fabio Cuomo/La Deriva Del Tutto/Taxi Driver Records/2015 Full Length Review

  Fabio  Cuomo  is  a  solo  project  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  experimental,  ambient  and  drone  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2015  album  "La  Deriva  Del  Tutto"  which  was  released  by  taxi  Driver  Records.

  Clean  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  experimental  and  avant  garde  sounds  and  after  a  few  seconds  pianos  also  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  along  with  some  distorted  drones  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  both  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Elements  of  ambient  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  giving  the  songs  more  of  an  atmospheric  style  and  after  awhile  bass  guitars  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording    and  as  the  album progresses  clean  singing  vocals  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  when electric  guitars  are  utilized  they  bring  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  the  music  also  starts  bringing  in  more  of  a  sci  fi  style  atmosphere  and  programmed  beats  are  also  added  onto  the  second  track  and  towards  the  end  of  the  recording  a brief   use  of  melodic  post  metal  guitar  leads  can  be  heard.

  Fabio  Cuomo  takes  ambient,  experimental  and  drone  and  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  metal  from  his  other  products  to  create  a  recording  that  is  mostly  instrumental  while  also  being  very  original  at  the  same  time  and  the  production  has  a  very  dark  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Fabio  Cuomo  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  experimental,  ambient  and  drone  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Bene  Gessent".  8  out  of  10.   

https://www.facebook.com/fabiocuomomusic/?fref=ts

Bologna Violenta/Discordia/Overdrive Records/2016 CD Review

  Bologna  Violenta  is  a  solo  project  from  italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  experimental,  avant  garde,  noise  and  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2016  album  "Discordia"  which  was  released  by  Overdrive  Records.

 Classical  style  piano's  start  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  violins,  drums  and  heavy  guitars  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  along  with  the  music  getting  more  melodic  and  symphonic  and  when t he  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  other  songs  mix  in  elements of noise.

  Throughout  the  recording t here  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  aggressive  screams  while t he  faster  sections  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  grindcore  and  after  awhile  elements  of  free  form  jazz  and  hardcore  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  a  lot  of  the  tracks a re  very  short  in  length  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads a re  utilized  they  are  done  in  more  a  technical  style  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  music  starts  getting  more  progressive  along  with  some  melodic  riffs  and  some  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  along  with  a  few seconds  of  melodic singing.

  Bologna  Violenta  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  grindcore  and  technical  death  and  mixes  it  with  noise,  avant  garde,  experimental  and  symphonic  music  to  create  something  that  is  very  original  and  the  production  sounds  very  progfessional.

  In  my  opinion  Bologna  Violentia  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of   experimental,  avant  garde,  noise  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sigle  de  telifilm"  "Leviatano"  "Discordia"  and  "Colonialsmo".  8  out  of  10.

www.bolognaviolenta.com
www.facebook.com/bolognaviolenta
bolognaviolenta.bandcamp.com
www.youtube.com/bolognaviolenta
www.twitter.com/bolognaviolenta
www.soundcloud.com/bolognaviolenta

 

Howls Of Ebb/Cursus Impasse: The Pendlonic Vows/Caligari Records/Nuclear War Now!/I, Voidhanger Records/2016 Full Length Review

  Howls  Of  Ebb  are  a  band  from  San  Francisco,  California  that has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  experimental,  avant  garde  and  death  metal  with  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Cursus  Impasse:  The  Pendlonic  Vows"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Caligari  Records,  Nuclear  War  Now!,  and  I,  Voidhanger  Records.

  A  very  fast  black  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  grim  screams  and  blast  beats  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  distorted  yet  melodic  guitar  leads  make  their  presence  on  the  recording  and  the  vocals  also  use  death  metal  growls.

  Whispers  can  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  also  gets  more  progressive  and  experimental  as  the  album  progresses  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  later  songs  also  bring  in  a small  amount  of  clean  playing.

  Howls  Of  Ebb  creates  another  recording  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  the  progressive  side  of  death  metal  while  also  adding  in  avant  garde  and  experimental  elements  along  with  the  darkness  of  black  metal  to create  a  very  original  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  voyeurism,  dark  void  and  the  beyond.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great sounding  recording  from  Howls  Of  Ebb  and  if  you  are looking  for  something  very  original,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Cabals  Of  Molder"  "Maat  Mons  Fume"  and  "The  Aprocryphalic  Walk".  8  out  of  10. 

LISTEN HERE

Chelidon Frame/Imago/2016 Full Length Review

  Chelidon  Frame  are  a  solo  project  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of experimental,  ambient,  drone  and  noise  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released 2016  album  "Imago".

  Ambient  style  synths  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  samples  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  leads  to  the  recording  going  into  more  of  an  experimental  direction  and  after  awhile  drones  and  soundscapes  are  added  into  certain  sections  of t he  recording  along  with  some  avant  garde  and  concrete  elements.

  A  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  a  great  portion  of  the  songs  are  all  instrumental  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  getting  more  tribal  and  ritualistic  along  with  some  tracks  also  using  programmed  beats  and  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  also  added  onto some  of  the  tracks  and  as  the  album progresses  traces  of  noise  start  to  make their  presence  known

  Cheliden  Frame  creates an  album  that  mixes  experimental,  drone  and  ambient  together  with  a  touch  of  noise  to  create  a  recording  that  is  very  diverse  for  this  genre,  and  the  production  has  a  very  dark  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Cheliden  Frame  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  experimental,  ambient,  noise  and  drone  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE "Sunless  Dry  Geranium"  "Crevices"  "On  This  Horrible  Machine"  and  "Evening  On  Karl  Johan".  8  out  of  10.

www.facebook.com/chelidonframe

www.chelidonframe.bandcamp.com

www.chelidonframe.wordpress.com

Degtras Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project? We are quite literally ritual magicians that use sound, in this case, as our tool to practice our craft.

2.You have an album coming out in May, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording? Atmospheric organized chaos

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music? The majority of the vocals on the upcoming album are free form expressions of the Spirit influenced by an emotion or energy at the time of the recording.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Degtras'? Olpirt: Well to be honest the name Degtras kinda happened on accident. It must have been a late night a number of years ago and I was tired so I just created a folder for some files with a random name. Later that year when I went looking for those files, I saw a number of correlations of the odd title to my spiritual system, and decided to adopt it for my art. Degtras has now evolved into an umbrella title for all art projects that I am involved with….. Mahorela: I thought it was a great name for a music project, and I had been working on some ambient tracks created by mostly field recordings. Although it would be several years before that name was associated with the band. The band didn't even exist at the time. I was just messing around with ambient recordings by myself when that name came into being. Olpirt had just started working on ambient music with me when he named that folder for his art. After he had worked with me on several ambient compositions by that point, and it was his name for all of his art projects, it fell into place. I still think it's a great, unique name for a band.

5.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future or do you chose to remain a duo? Olpirt: We are content keeping the core of the band a duo but will not discourage any collaborators that want to contribute to our project….. Mahorela: We have had a number of collaborators already, but many of them are friends and family, not necessarily musicians. My brother does bass on Ancient Forest for example. A very close friend of mine does vocals on that same track. My wife also contributed vocals to that track. Many of them were recordings that were never intended for music production.

6.Has the band done any live shows or is this strictly a studio project? This is strictly a studio project.

7.The album is coming out on Wood And Stone Production, can you tell us a little bit more about the label? Wood and Stone productions is an Indie tape label that started this year. They are interested in releasing experimental music. We found them through a mutual friend and sent them Hominidae Resonance. They liked it and wanted it to be their first release.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of dark ambient? We have had minimal feedback so far, but it has been very positive.

9.Where do you see the project heading into musically during the future? We hope to venture down deeper, more ancient roots. The addition of analog synthesizers on the new album we're currently working on has really added depth to our sound.

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? Since we're recording our second album currently, scheduled to be out on Wood and Stone later this year, we try to have little outside influence for our work. We've found that our best songs and ideas come from a pure place not tainted by any other influence other than ourselves. When we aren't writing we enjoy a variety of music. Mahorela: This year has been filled with black metal, doom metal, and noise mostly for me. Peppered with some progressive and jazz. Olpirt: For me this year has taken me further into melodic/symphonic black metal, and some doom metal laced with scandinavian folk metal for good measure.

11.How would you describe your views on Occultism? Ritual is Life and Life is Ritual. They are entwined like the roots of the Aspen.

12.What are some of your non musical interests? Art of any kind. Nature. Astronomy. Physics. Medicine. Mathematics. Cooking. Biology. Herbalism. Shamanism. Language. History.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? We thank you for your review and taking the time to write a well thought out interview. To everyone who has taken the time to listen, we appreciate you. All life is connected, we're just trying to translate that into sound. We are the musicians, but you hold the true power of it all. Take what you have heard and do something with it. Even if it is as simple as a conversation, never forget that humans create, that is our true gift.

https://www.facebook.com/Degtras-986845161398397/

The Howling Void/The Triumph Of Ruin/Avatgarde Music/2016 CD Review

  The  Howling  Void  are  a  solo  project  from  Texas  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  goes  for  more  of  an  epic  approach  to  post  funeral  doom  metal  on t his  recording  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2016  album  "The  Triumph  Of  Ruin"  which  was  released  by  Avantgarde  Music.

  A  mixture  of  both  acoustic  and  heavy  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  atmospheric  synths  which  they  also  mix  in  with  melodic  leads  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  riffing  is  done  in  more  of  a  doom  metal  direction  and  the  vocals  are  done  in  more  of  a  melodic approach  to  signing  and  you  can  also hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on the  recording.

  Throughout  the  album  the  music  alternates  between  both  clean  and  heavy  parts  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  post  metal  throughout  the  recording  and  the  acoustic  guitars  also  gives  the  tracks  more  of  a  progressive  edge  while  some  songs  also  incorporate  violins  and  one  of  the  tracks  is  all  instrumental  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  The  Howling  Void  creates  a  recording  that  is  very  rooted  in  doom  metal  while  avoiding t he  growls  and  screams  of  previous  recordings  to  create  more  of  a  post  style  of  funeral  doom, the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  melancholic  and  paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Howling  Void  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  post  funeral  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Looming  Darkness"  and  "Silence  After  The  Storm". 8  out  of  10. 

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