Aires Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
1- Aires is a solo project that I started some months ago. The whole idea was to create an album out of some sounds that I recorded and discarded over the years. So I started digging my hard drives for sounds, worked them up a little bit, transformed those ideas into tracks and  "Aires" was born.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is present on the recording?
2- I would describe the sound on this record as a mix between the digital and the organic, or, if we're in the mood for fancier words, this sounds like abstract echoes of digital entities mixed up with concrete, organic sounds, like the samples of people talking, which I used a lot on this one. Here,the digital is always dominating the organic, but even something as common as sample of an old man talking (like the one on the opening track) can be a diffuse, spectral experience. I like that duality.There is also a lot of repetitions and static-like noise, and tons of effects that give it this weird symphonic vibe.  As far as genres go, I like to think of it as some sort of noisy mechanical drone, not without its emotions. The new stuff I'm working one if far more melodic and emotional ; if you're into creating new tags and genres ( as I do) ,you may witness the birth of something that I like to call the emo-drone.

3.What are some of the images you bring out with your music?
3- The sounds conjure images of bleak,quiet desperation, let's just leave it at that. But what I feel doesn't matter,I hope that the sounds are strong enough on its own to create something on the mind of the listeners.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Aires'?
4- There is no real meaning nor inspiration behind the name Aires, I just like the name. I was attracted by the idea that "Aires" gives no clues as to what the music might sound like. If a band is called Ruptured Artery you imagine a death metal band, if the band is called NecroWinter or something kvlt like that you would imagine an early 90's norwegian black metal band,and so on. Aires gives no clues about the sound, it's just a name, with nothing attached to it, as far as I'm concerned. 

5.Currently there is only 1 member involved with the project, do you feel this adds to the creativity of the music?
5- Yeah, I'm alone in this one. I'm not sure about creativity, but I do know that being alone enables me to do things my way, and that is what I need for this particular project. It's more about control, about being in charge. 

6.the new album came out on Enough Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
6- I always had Enough Records in mind when I first started the project. I knew that they were not accepting submissions from new artists, but I decided to try my luck and sent them the album anyway. Fortunately, Filipe liked the record and ended up releasing it, which was great, as the label is very influential and respected. Enough Records has been active since 2001, with almost 350 releases on many different genres, so they really know what they're doing.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of ambient, drone and shoegaze?
7- The feedback so far has been very good. The record has 8 or 9 reviews online and it's been surprising how positive and encouraging they were. Let's hope it continues that way!

8.Are you also involved with any other musical projects?
8- Yeah, I'm involved in a couple more projects . I play synths in some of them and I sing (scream) in another. You may notice that I ain't sharing the names of those bands – that's because Aires is a separate thing, at least for now. l probably be releasing stuff from 3 different projects this year, apart from Aires... 

9.Where do you see this project heading into musically during the future?
9- Like I said, I've been working on some new tracks, and while they don't sound radically different from what I've been doing, they sure have more melody going on, more emotion. On the next few weeks I'll release a split with two very talented musicians, but you'll know about in due time. As I said before, emo-drone, man.

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
10- Tough question. I'm not sure if what I listen ends up influencing me, at least not a lot. I've been listening pretty much the same stuff for the last couple of years : lots of Fell Voices, Ash Borer, Weakling... Fell in love all over again with Dissection recently, and discovered a new black metal band, called Sun Worship, which stuck in my head for the last 5 or 6 months. On the experimental side of things I tend to keep to the familiar : Ben Frost, Oneohtrix Point Never, Tim Hecker...

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
11- Besides music I'm interested in arts in general, cinema in particular. I'm also finishing my master's so my interests revolve around that : music, cinema, books and journalism.

12.before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12 - First of all, thanks for taking the time to listen to the record and doing this interview. For those reading, check out http://aires.bandcamp.com/ for 30 minutes of bleak stuff, you might like it. Even if you don't, its free,so...Anyway, take care!

Helvetti/Dark Occvlt Ritual/Hidden Voices/The true Blackevil/2014 Split EP Review

  Helvetti  and  Dark  Occvlt  Ritual  are  2  projects  from  Brazil  that  team  up  on  this  recording  and  create  some  dark  occult  ritualistic  ambient  music  with  the  ep  being  called  "Hidden  Voices"  and  released  by  The  True  Blackevil.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  wood  burning  and  ritualistic  spoken  word  parts  and  on  the  following  track   melodic  chanting  is  added  into  the  recording  along  with  the  vocals  adding  in  more  black  metal  influences  along  with  some  drones  and  the  last  2  tracks  are  a  2  part  concept  as  well  as  the music  getting  even  more  harsh  and  evil  on  the  last  track  as  well  as  being  almost  20  minutes  long  and  towards  the  end  synths  are  added  into  the  song.

  With  this  ep  Helvetti  and  Dark  Occvlt  Ritual  bring  in  a  very  dark  and  evil  sound  that  is  very  blasphemous  and  ritualistic  and  you  can   hear  some  demons  being  invoked  in  the  3  songs  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Helvetti  and  Dark  Occvlt  Ritual  are  2  very  great  sounding  evil  and  ritualistic  dark  ambient  acts  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Until  the  Reaper  Comes  PT. 1".  8  out  of  10.  

Hellsnoise/The Black Noises Of Doom/The True black Evil/2014 Full Length Review

  Hellsnoise  are  a  project  from  Brazil  that  plays  a  very  dark  and  ritualistic  form  of  occult  noise  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "The  black  Noises  of  Doom"  which  was  released  by  The  True  Blackevil.

  The album  starts out  with  a  dark  and  evil  atmospheric  sound  which  gets  louder  as  time  goes  on  by  as  well  as  adding  in  natural  sounding  noises  before  bringing  in  evil  voices  which  also  have  a  melodic  tone  to  them  at  times  that  bring  and  evil  feeling  to  the  recording  along  with  some  drones  which  also  leads  to  the  vocals  adding  in  black  metal  influences.

  As  the  album  progresses  more  harsh  noise  sounds  are  brought  into  the  recording  along  with  more  black  metal  vocals  and  screams  and  at  times  you  can  also  hear  some  clean  singing  in  certain  parts  of  the  recording  which  bring  in  a  more  ritualistic  feeling  to  the  songs  and  there  is  also  a  track  that  goes  over  the  12  minute  limit..

  With  this  album  Hellsnoise  creates  a  very  dark  and  evil  sounding  ritualistic  occult  album  with  black  metal  vocals,  drones,  dark ambient  and  harsh  noise  all  mixed  in  along  with  a  very  dark,  raw  and  primitive  production.

  In  my  opinion  Hellsnoise  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark  and  ritualistic  occult  noise  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ascension  Of  Fall"  "The  Exorcism"  "Suicidal  Rebirth"  and  "Deathmarch".  8  out  of  10.    

Horrida Vultuum/Macto mors Mortis/Thetrueblackevil/2014 EP Review

  Horrida  Vultuum  are  a  duo  from  Brazil  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  ritualistic  and  occult  form  of  experimental  music  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Maxto  mors  Mortis"  which  was  released  by  Thetrueblackevil.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  tribal  and  ritualistic  sounding  drones  along  with  elements  of  noise  and  on  the  second  track  the  noise  sounds  get  a  little  bit  more  harsher  and  you  can  also  hear  traces  of  dark  ambient  in  the  music  along  with  black  metal  screams  in  the  background  and  on  the  last  track  the  music  gets  more  dark  and  evil  sounding  along  with  some  harsh  soundscapes  and  the  song  is  over  12  minutes  long  and  also  retains  the  black  metal  elements.

  With  this  ep  Horrida  Vultuum  continues  their  dark  and  ritualistic  approach  to  experimental  music  while  also  having  a  good  amount  of  harsh  noise  and  black  metal  influences   along  with  a  dark  and  evil  sounding  production.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Horrida  Vultuum  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  dark  ritualistic  experimental  noise,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  8  out  of  10.      

Aires/Self Titled/Enough Recordings/2014 Full Length Review

  Aires  are  a  1  man  band  from  Portugal  that  plays  a  mixture  of   ambient, drone  and  shoegaze  and  this  is  a  review of  his  self  titled  2014  album  which  was  released  by  Enough  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  dark  ambient  drones  and  field  recordings  and  after  a  few  minutes  they  get  more  diverse  in  sound  and  you  can  hear  humans  and  talking  in  the  background  as  well  as  a  good  mixture  of  keyboards  and  lap  top  sounds.

  On  the  following  track  elements  of  experimental  and  noise  are  added  into  the  music  while  the  main  focus  is  on  dark  ambient  drones  and  the music  also  has  a  more  distorted  feeling  in  certain  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  a  small  use  of  static  sounds  and  on  the  last  track  there  are  some  parts  that  almost  have  a  post  black  metal  feeling  to them.

  Aires  create  a  very  interesting  sound  with  the  laptop  and  keyboards  and  the  music  is  very  dark  sounding  ambient  drone  with  elements  of  drone  along  with  a  dark  sounding  production  and  the  music  being  all  instrumental.

  In  my  opinion  Aires  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  ambient,  drone  and  shoegaze  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Organico  I  -  Vozes  Sem  Corpo"  and  "Contraplacado".  8  OUT  OF  10.  

https://aires.bandcamp.com/     

Dark Awake Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days? 

 First of all i would like to thank you about this interesting interview.

I m  trying out some new ideas but the important is that they  carries the sign of quality all the way through.Fantasy have no limits and i 'm always searching for new ways to gain inspiration,

through sources far away from musical fields (even though they seemingly have a connection).

So my plans, are the  production for the next Dark Awake album.

2.So far you have released 3 albums, how would you describe the musical sound that is present on all 3 recordings and also how do they differ from each other?

The Music and Image exploring the fields of SYMPHONIC NEOCLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL APOCALYPTIC FOLK MARTIAL DARK AMBIENT RITUAL OLD NOISE !

Thematicaly and musicaly it 's about  topics  like  runes,paganism,esoteric occult  and other subjects

with neoclassical instruments, ambient soundscapes,human bones instruments,  etc..

The first Album "Meseonas"(Twilight Records) was more on Neoclassical ,Dark Ambient ,Martial .

The second album "Epi Thanaton" was more raw ritual ,minimal and shamanistic.

The third album "Soil,Blood...And The Reaping Of Light" (Great Turf Deluxe/In The Morningside Records) have elements from two previous albums and some more Noise,neofolk influences.

All the albums have many differences but a listener can understand that is all Dark Awake Albums.

3.According to the fb page page, the project has been in existence since 2002 and so far there has only been 3 releases, can you tell us a little bit more about the gapes between releases?

There 's no pressure to release albums ,so Dark Awake  albums comes out when i m feeling that i created something which i consider remarkable is great.

4.The song themes cover a great amount of occult topics ranging from Luciferian,  Ahrimanic,  Goetia to some Paganism and Runes,can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the different forms of the occult arts?

All that forms,if practised sincerely,deal with esence of man,his instincts,his needs and desires.

These forms is the art of changing the immediate enviroment to ones benefit,to search for universial wisdom and so to understand the secrets of nature.

There are different ways to work with occult arts ,like ritual magic,high magic and earthly magic.

Ahrimanic ,goetia and Luciferin Witchcraft is more of ritual nature,making use of natural substances,tools,personal emotions and energies and it also 

involves astral travelling.

Paganism and Runes is about natural wisdom.

Dark Awake is one path for me to express ,my philosophy,views and magical experiences.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name' Dark Awake"?

It means that the will to power are the will to self overcoming and self realization ,if we know our inner dark side.

6.Currently there is only 1 member in the band, do you feel this gives you a lot more room to be creative with your music?

I am the only member but for some recordings i use some additional members.

Elina K. done the female vocals in some songs on "Meseonas" album and Sekte adds the female vocals ,the narrations and some ideas on "Epi Thanaton" and "Soil,Blood...And The Reaping Of Light".

Yes,to create and control alone my art gives me more free space.

7.Over the years you have had your albums released on Twilligt, Rage In Eden, Great Turf Deluxe, and In The Morningside Records, can you tell us a little bit more about these labels?

All these record labels is very professional and is some of the best in the dark music genre.They have worldwide distribution.

Twilight Rec is from Argentinna ,  Rage In Eden Rec is from Poland and Great Turf Deluxe Rec is the sidelabel of Spain In The Morningside Records,

 which specialised in Dark Ambient / Dark music.

8.Has this project been able to do any live shows or is it strictly a studio project?

Dark Awake has never performed Live.Whenever i might feel to perform my art live maybe i will do it.

9.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of dark ambient and other ritualistic and occult forms of music?

The feedback is really great from many fans of dark music from all the places of the world.Many people are in interest to buy and listen Dark Awake.

I m creating music for my own needs but is awesome to have great feedback from out there.

10.Are you currently involved with any other musical projects besides this one?

No i have not any other musical project.I like to concentrate all my time for Dark Awake.

11.Where do you see the music heading into on future releases?

A lot of mixes,but we dont know what will rise from the chaos.This is interesting because out of chaos

usually emerge interesting things.It still remains to be seen.

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

There are so many kinds of music and bands that i respect.I see no point to write about them here.

What is important,is indeed to open minded.That is at least what i have experienced.Throughout the recent year,

i have got the opportunity to explore so many different kinds of musical expressions,because of my open mindness.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

Ahrimanic Persian Sorcery, Anachronism, Art, Baroque, Goetia, Dandysm, Elitism, Enochian,

Erotism, Fantasy, History, Literature, Occultism, Orientalism, Mars, Nietzsche, Luciferian ,

Renaissance, Romanticism, Runes, Saturn, Secret Societies, Sethanic Witchcraft, Sigils,

Symbolism, Sumerian Civilization,

Zoroastrian, Zos Kia, Victorian, W.O.T.A.N., 1700s, 1800s, 1900s, 1920s,..

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

Enjoy the mysticism..

People are of course welcome to contact me for any further inquiries, remarks or feedback.

FB Link:

www.facebook.com/pages/DARK-AWAKE/189786207738223

Expulsion/Certain Corpses Never Decay/Vic Records/2014 CD Compilation Review

  Expulsion  where  a  band  from  Sweden  that  played  a  very  dark  form  of  doom/death  metal  with  elements  of   black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  demo  compilation  of  tracks  which  where  recorded  in  the  mid  80's  and  early  90's  and  will  be  re-issued  in  May  by  Vic  Records  under  the  name  "Certain  Corpses  Never  Decay".

  The  compilation  starts  out  with  dark  and  evil  sounding  synths  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  music  goes  into  a  more  heavier  doom/death  metal  direction  while  also  speeding  up  at  times  along  with  blast  beats  and  blackened  metal  vocals  and  the  band  brings  in  a  mixture  of  slow  and  fast  parts.

  When  the  album  goes  into  the  next  track  you  can  hear  elements  of  thrash  metal  which  where  very  common  in  those  days  and  at  times  they  also b ring  in  melody  as  well  as  small  amounts  of  acoustic  passages  while  the  main  focus  is  on  the  heavier  parts  of  their  musical  sound  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful  on  the  demo  tracks.

  As  time  goes  on  by  you  can  hear  some  riffing  that  would  eventually  start  up  the  second  wave  of  black  metal  as  well  as  the  vocals  utilizing  more  growls  and  later  on  a  small  amount  of  clean  sections  and  horror  movie  samples  find  their  way  into  the  songs  and  the  doom  metal  elements  get  even  more  powerful  on  the  later  demos  that  are  presented  on  the  recording.

  Expulsion  had  a  very  underrated  sound  for  its  time  and  are  among  the  first  few  bands  to  mix  doom  and  death  metal  together  while  also  being  influenced  by  thrash  and  first  wave  black  metal  and  the  production  has  a  very  raw  demo  sound  along  with  lyrics  that  cover  occultism,  darkness,  and  gore.

  In  my  opinion  Expulsion  where  a  very  great  and  underrated  sounding  doom/death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  compilation>  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Whisper  From  The  Abyss"  "Darkside"  "Soul  Upheaval"  and  "Certain  Corpses  never  Decay".  8  out  of  10.

Facebook

:novemthree:/From These Ashes/Midnight Productions/2010 7 Inch Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  :novemthree:  which continues  his  psychedelic  approach  to  neo  folk  music  with  the  ep  being  called  "From  These  Ashes"  and  released  by  Midnight  Productions.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  wood  burning  sounds  along  with  background  drones  before  adding  in  acoustic  guitars  along  with  melodic  vocals  and  tribal  sounding  percussion's  and  after  awhile  more  neo  folk  and  psychedelic  elements  are  added  into  the  music  and  on  the  follwing  track  sounds  of  water  become  a  part  of  the  music.

  Song  lyrics  cover  nature  and  metaphysical  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  old  school  sound  to it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  :novemthree:  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  psychedelic  neo-folk  music,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Ashes".  8  out  of  10.

https://novemthree.bandcamp.com/

:novemthree:/The Joy Of Nature/Meandering In Streams Of Reflection/Auguries Of Innocence/2009 Split Album Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  U.S.A's  :novemthree:  and  Portugal's  The  Joy  Of  nature  both  bands  that  have  been  featured before  in  this  zine  with  the  album  being  self  released  in  2009  and  called  "Meandering In Streams Of Reflection/Auguries Of Innocence"  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  :novemthree:  which  continues  their  psychedelic  form  of  neo-folk  music.

  There  side  of  the  split  starts  off  with  acoustic  guitars  which  uses  of  mixture  of  finger  picking  and  full  chords  and  percussion  which  gives  the  music  a  tribal  and  shamanistic  feeling  and  after  awhile  folk  instruments  are  added  into  the  recording  along  with  some  melodic  pagan  chanting  and  on  the  following  tack  vocals  become  a  part  of  the  album.

  When  we  get  more  into  their  side  of  the  split  the  music  starts  getting  a  bit  more  diverse  and  darker  while  also  bring  in  elements  of  60's  folk  and  psychedelic  rock  and  they  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  instrumentals.

  Song  lyrics  cover  nature  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  old  school  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  The  Joy Of  Nature  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  psychedelic  neo-folk  music,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  First  Flowers"  and  "Meadow  Song.  

  Next  up  is  The  Joy  Of  Nature  a  band  that  plays  a  very  experimental  form  of  neo-folk  music.

  Their  side  of  the  splits  starts  off  with  acoustic  and  electric  guitars,  folk instruments  and  spoken  vocals  and  after  awhile  regular  singing  becomes  a  part  of  the  recording  along  with  a  small  amount  of  guitar  slides.

  When  their  side  of  the  split  goes  into  other  songs  you  can  hear  traces  of  60's  and  psychedelic  rock  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  music  getting  more  diverse  with  each  track  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  heavy  parts  that  have  an  almost  black  metal  feeling  to  them  and  after  awhile  synths  are  brought  in  briefly  and  they  also b ring  a  very  dark  sounding  atmosphere  to the  recording  as  well  as  bringing  in  small  parts  of  harsh  noise.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark,  metaphysical  and  nature  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  their  side  of  the  split.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  the  Joy  Of  nature  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  experimental  neo-folk  music,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Nobody's  Fault  but  Mine"  and  "The  Show  Is  Over".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  neo-folk,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  8  out  of  10.

https://novemthree.bandcamp.com/

Dark Awake/Soil, Blood...And The Reaping Of Light/Great Turf Deluxe Records/In The Morningside Records/2013 CD Review

  This  is  the  final  review  of  a  recording  from  Dark  Awake  with  the  music  being a  mixture  of  neo-folk,  ritual,  dark  ambient  and  noise  with  the  album  being  called  "Soil,  Blood...And  the  Reaping  Of  Light"  which  was  released  in  2013  as  a  joint  effort  between  Great  turf  Deluxe  Records  and  In  The  Morningside  Records.

  The  album starts  out  with  drones  and  war  sounds  before  adding  in  a  dark  atmosphere  and  militant  drum  programming  and  after  awhile  classical  music  elements  are  brought  into  the  music  in  a  more  dark  and  avant  garde  manner  along  with  some  female  vocals  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  When  we  get  more  into  the  album  acoustic  guitars  are  brought  in  at  times  and  it  brings  a  neo  folk  sound  to  the  recording  as  well  as  some  spoken  word  parts  and  folk  instruments  becoming  a  part  of  the  recording  and  later  on  dark  ambient  soundscapes  make  their  way  into  the  music  along  with  elements  of  old  school  noise.  and  as  time  goes  on  by  synths  become  a  part  of  the  album  and  they  enhance  the  atmospheric  parts.

  As  the  album  progresses  male  and  female  Gregorian  chants  are  added  onto  one  of  the  songs  and  on  the  track  that  follows  the  synths  get  more  tragic  and  spoken  word  World  War  II  samples  are  added  onto  the  album  and  as  time  goes  on  by  the  music  gets  more  militant  and  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  accordion's.

  With  this  recording  Dark  Awake  bring  in  a  different  sound  than  the  previous  recordings  with  the  music  being  more  neo  classical  and  symphonic  this  time  around  while  alos  keeping  around  the  occult  and  ritualistic  atmosphere's.

  Song  themes  cover  esoteric  deathcult's  in  pre  war  Germany  like  Fraternitas  Saturni,  Vril  and  other  old  mysteries  dealing  with  North  Witchcraft  and  the  Babylonian  dreamcycle  of  awakening,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  ritualistic  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Dark  Awake  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  neo  folk/classical,  ritual,  dark  ambient  and  noise,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Luminous  Vril"  "Seidr  And  Runes"  "Le  Conte  D  Graal"  and  "Meine  Nacht  Ist  Licht".  8/5  out  of  10.            

www.facebook.com/pages/DARK-AWAKE/189786207738223?ref=ts&id=189786207738223

www.darkawake.bandcamp.com

www.myspace.com/meseonas

Dark Awake/Epi Thanaton/Rage In Eden Records/2013 CD Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  Dark  Awake  with  the  music  style  being  a  mixture  of  apocalyptic,  ritual,  neo-classical  and  dark  ambient  with  the  album  being  called  "Epi  Thanatan"  and  released  by  Rage  In  Eden  Records  in  the  year  of  2013.

  The  album  starts  out  with  a  dark  an  atmospheric  sound  and  a  few  seconds  later  spoken  word  ritualistic  parts  are  added  into  the  music  and  after  awhile  drum  programming  becomes  a  part  of  the  recording  and  the  album  gets  more  experimental,  avant  garde  and  ritualistic  as  time  goes  on  by.

  When  we  get  more  into  the  album  the  music  starts  getting  more  classical  influeneced,  ambient  and  symphonic  in  certain  parts  of  the  recording  and  after  awhile  melodic  chanting  becomes  a  part  of  the  recording  along  with  some  classical  guitars,  folk  instruments  and  human  bones  being  brought  in  later  on  during  the  recording.

  With  this  album  Dark  Awake  get  more  darker  and  apocalyptic  with  this  album  while  still  having  some  of  the  classical  and  neo  folk  elements  of  the  first  album  while  also  bringing  in  a  more  avant  garde  and  ritualistic  sound  this  time  around.

  Song  themes  cover  Typhonian  Witchcraft,  Necronomicon,  Sumerian  Mythology,  Runes,  Qabalah  and  Mithriaism,  while  th e production  has  a  very  dark  adn  ritualistic  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Dark  Awake  and  if  you  are  into  dark  ritualistic  ambient  music,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Epi Thanaton"  "Sigillum  Of  Cutha"  "Ichor"  and  "Spheres  of  Qlippoth".  8  out  of  10.  .

https://darkawake.bandcamp.com/

Dark Awake/Meseonas/Twilight Records/2008 CD Review

  Dark  Awake  are  a  1  man  band  from  Greece  that  plays  an  occult  mixture  of   neo-classical,  martial,  ritual,  dark  ambient  and  neo-folk  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2008  album  "Meseonas"  which  was  released  by  Twilight  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  dark  sounding  synths  and  a  few  seconds  later  drum  programming  and  symphonic  elements  are  added  into  the  recording  which  also  leads  up  to  a  more  medieval  and  dark  ambient  sound.

  When  we  go  more  into  the  album  spoken  word  parts  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with more  folk  and  classical  influences  and  after  awhile  classical  guitars  become  a  part  of   the  recording  and  on  one  of  the  tracks  female  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  ritualistic  sounds  throughout  the  recording  and  towards  the  end  there  is  a  Current  93  cover.

  Dark  Awake  created  a  very  interesting  sound  with  this  album  with  the  music  being  in  a  medieval  avant  garde direction  while  also  having  neo-folk  and  classical  elements  which  also  helps  to  make  the  album  sound  more  original.

  Song  themes  and  lyrics  cover  Gnosticism,  Sumerian,  Macabre  Fantasies  and  Left  hand  path  concepts,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and r aw  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Dark  Awake  are  a  very  great  sounding  occult  mixture  of  neo-classical,  martial,  ritual,  dark  ambient  and  neo-folk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Alpha  And  Omega"  "Mourn  The  Loss  Of  Ishtar"  "Nigrim  Serpentis"  and  "All  the  Pretty  Little Horses".  8  out  of  10.

https://darkawake.bandcamp.com/ 

   

Horrida Vultuum/Cinis Ortus/2014 Demo Review

  Horrida  Vultuum  are  a  duo  from  Brazil  that  plays  a  very  experimental  and  ritualistic  form  of  music  with  elements  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2014  demo  "Cinis  Ortus".

  The  ep  starts  out  with  a  silent  sound  before  adding  in  more  avant  garde  and  experimental  soundscapes  along  with  some  background  vocals  that  have  a  black  metal  feeling  to  them  which  also bring  a  ritualistic  sound  to  the  recording  and  at  times  they  have  a  melodic tone to  them  and  on  the  following  track  the  music  gets  more  dark  and  grim  sounding.

  With  this  ep  Horrida  Vultuum  bring  in  2  very  short  songs  and  make  them  sound  very  dark,  evil  and  ritualistic  and  the  recording  as  only  done  with  vocals  and  sound  effects  with  no  traditional  instruments  being  utilized.

  Song  themes  cover  occult  and  ritualistic  concepts,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  raw  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Horrida  Vultuum  are  a  very  great  sounding  ritualistic,  experimental  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  8  out  of  10.

  

Sisilisko/Waldeinsamkeit/2014 EP Review

  Sisilisko  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  a  musical style  that  combines  folk  music  with  doom  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  ep  "Waldeinsamkeit".

  The  ep  starts  out  with  melodic  chanting  and  a  few  seconds  later  rough  style  clean  singing  is  brought  into  the  recording  and  a  few  seconds  later  electric  guitars  become  a  part  of  the  music  which  also  leads  up  to  some  drums  and  all  of  the musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  As  the  ep  continues  acoustic  guitars  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  becoming  a  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  you  can  also  hear  a  good  amount  of  melody  in  the  recording  and  after  awhile  they  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  female  vocals.

  With  this  recording  Sisilisko  continue  their  mixture  of  doom  and  folk  music  while  also  bringing  in  a  heavier  sound  this  time  around  and  the  music  also  has  traces  of  alternative  rock  along  with  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark,  nature  and  poetic  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful  and  heavy  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Sisilisko  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  doom  folk,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Green  Man"  and  "You'll  Soon  Be  Dead".  8  out  of  10.

http://www.facebook.com/sisiliskonights
http://open.spotify.com/album/7dGyAPsQQJOo7MTP8Em1ZW
http://www.soundcloud.com/sisiliskonights

http://sisilisko.bandcamp.com

:novemthree:/Arrowwood/2007 Split CD Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album between  the  united  States  :novemthree:  and  Arrowwood  both  band s that  have  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  the  recording  being  self  released  in  2007  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with :novemthree:  which  continues  their  psychedelic  and  ritualistic  approach  to  neo-folk.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  off  with  acoustic  guitars  which  use  both  finger  picking  and  full  chords  and  after  awhile  synths  and  flutes  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  some  percussion's  and  psychedelic  sounds.

  The  band  also  bring  this  sound  to  other  songs  while  also  bringing  in  melodic  chanting  and  vocals  both  male  and  female  in  certain  sections  of  their  side  of  the  split  and  they  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  nature  sounds  briefly.

  With  their  side  of  the  split  :novemthree:  continued  their  ritualistic  neo  folk  sound  while  also  adding  in  psychedelic  and  traditional  folk  element s to  create  some  music  that  is  very  dark,  pagan  and  medieval  sounding.

  Song  themes  cover  nature,  while   the production  has  a  very  dark  and  medieval  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  :novemthree:  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  psychedelic  neo-folk,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Stories  Of  Blood"  and  "Vespers".

  Next  up  is  Arrowwood  a  band  that  plays  a  psychedelic  form  of  pagan  neo-folk.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  up  with  psychedelic  sounds  and  acoustic  guitars  that  use  both  finger  picking  and  full  chords  along  with  folk  instruments  and  after  awhile  melodic  female  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  and  they  give  their  side  of  the  recording  an  esoteric  feeling.

  As  their  side  of  the  split  continues  the  music  starts  bringing  in  more  60's  psych  rock  and  traditional  folk  music  elements  which  make  their  music  have  more  of  a  medieval  feeling  to  it  and  all  of  the  songs  are  very  short  in  length.

  Wit h their  side  of  the  split  Arrowwood  bring  in  a  very  esoteric  and  pagan  approach  to  neo  and  medieval  folk  music  while  also  having  some  medieval  and  psychedelic  rock  elements  beign  added  in  at  times.

  Song  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  nature  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  esoteric  and  medieval  sounding  feeling  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Arrowwood  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  pagan,  neo  folk  music,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Funeral  Lullaby"  and  "Bells  In  An  Old  Forest".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  neo  folk  music,  you  should  add  this  album  to  your  collection.  8  out  of  10.

 https://novemthree.bandcamp.com/album/untitled-split-with-arrowwood

Skorneg/Foehn/Malignant Records/2014 CD Review

  Skorneg  are  a  band  from  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  drone,  dark  ambient,  industrial  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2014  album  "Foehn"  which  was  released  by  Malignant  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  dark  ambient  drones  which  dominate  the  first  track  and  when  the  album  goes  into  the  second  song  you  can  hear  more  traces  of  atmospheric  dark  ambient  elements  being  mixed  into  the  music  while  also  having  somewhat  of  a  doom  metal  feeling  but  with  no  guitars  or  vocals  and  when  we  get  more  into  the  album  traces  of  noise  and  industrial  are  added  into  the  recording.

    With  this  album  Skorneg  create  a  very  dark  and  atmospheric  soundscape  that  mixes  dark  ambient,  drone,  doom  and  industrial  and  the  music  also  evokes  a  very  raw  feeling  as  well  with  the  sound s that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  Song  lyrics  are  all  absent  from  this  recording  with  the  music  being  all  instrumental,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark  and  raw  sound  along  with  all  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Skorneg  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  drone  and  dark  ambient  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Foehn"  and  "Sherpass".  8  out  of  10.

https://soundcloud.com/malignantrecords/skorneg-by-skorneg

Nux Vomica/Self Titled/Relapse Records/2014 CD Review

  Nux  Vomica  are  a  band  from  Portland,  Oregon  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  and  crust  with  elements  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2014  album  which  will  be  released  by  Relapse  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars,  distortion  and  a  dark  atmosphere  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  after  a  few  minutes  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction  while  also  keeping  around  the  clean  parts  which  also  leads  up  to  some  aggressive  sounding  crust/grind  screams  and  after  awhile  the  music  gets  a  bit  faster  along  with  blast  beats  and  black  metal  influences.

  As  time  goes  on  by  crust  and  death  metal  vocals  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  some  solos  and  leads  and  you  can  hear  a  good  amount  of  melodic  death  metal  elements  in  the  music  and  in  certain  parts  of  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  traces  of  harsh  noise  and  on  the  second  track  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  are  brought  into  the  recording  and  on  the  last  track  you  can  hear  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  samples  being  utilized.

  Nux  Vomica  create  a  very  original  sound  with  this  recording  with  their  music  being  based  more  in  the  sludge  and  crust  direction  while  also  being  influenced  by  melodic  death  and  black  metal  as  well  as  having  small  traces  of  harsh  noise  and  they  create  a  very  dark  and  original  sounding  recording.

  Song  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  dark  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  all  3  of  the  songs  being  very  long  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Nux  Vomica  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  sludge/grind  band  with  traces  of  death  and  black  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Reeling".  8/5  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/nuxvomicaband
http://nuxvomicaband.bandcamp.com

   

Tonttu Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
-AGD4 just out and now I'm gathering troops for Remix/Remake-album due in the beginning of summer - I do write more propaganda there and then but we will just have to wait and see if / when there's another T-album out there to be heard. We work purely as a project with music so...
Lots of work trying to spread out the word about kabouters and their deeds by promoting new album, naturally...

2.Recently you have released a new album, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical sound of the new recording and also how does it differ from your past efforts?
-Earlier works are from 15-years time span (3 eps found on Nekrognomekon), so the development is there to be heard... Kabouters kidnapped our engineer after Gnomedrome (second ep) and we do not negotiate with gnomes and there we went (he made a mistake not to take this infestation seriously and did not protect himself properly)... Sayonara, out with the old & in with the new...
Enter Großinquisitor Rudolf Von Deer: Naturally sounds are better in this "New Era" consisting of Der Zwergenhammer (3rd ep) and AGD4, well the old material was made in 97-98 or something like that, new in 2013-2014... Rudolf is a wizard in raising some hell against those abominations you call gnomies... As lyrics are more war oriented so is the music. With AGD4 we also made some folklore style stuff (Tonttujen Kestit) for which we got some help with composing from our long time supporter High Commander Hephzibah (relentless anti-gnomeist)... That was our nod to our past and probably will use HCHs help in the future too.
But as we call our music: Anti-Gnomemartialindustrialneofolkmetal, that will include it all.

3.Your lyrics cover occult and anti gnome themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interests in these topics?
-Basically these are the things you run into while fighting against gnomes so they're one and the same, so it's necessary to keep an open mind and plug in to these topics as perilous as they might be. Gnomes often use (red) magic so you'll  have to be ready for some proper defence. Naturally most legends and folklore are really about gnomes - for some reason there seems to be a habit of switching gnomes into other creatures as the time goes by: a plot by gnomes to polish their shields, perhaps? Sympathizers helping them? Naturally & unfortunately so.
To make it a bit easier for everyone you can find lyrics also in english in all our releases.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name TONTTU?
-Gnomes, naturally: Finnish word tonttu means gnome in english. We like to keep our enemies near by using that name. You meaning changes with spelling (TONTTU / Tonttu for the project, tonttu for gnomes).

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
-Musically: No shows even though asked, otherwise the best shows are The Hunts with most gnome casualties... Napalm, hard to beat that...

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
-No touring, T (musical operations) is a project which only concentrates on raising awareness about gnomes and evil that they do, hunting and such takes our time let alone the fact that we know that gigs would give those critters too much leisure time and good chance to reveal our identity. As I mentioned earlier: it is and always will be a project.


7.The new album came out on Panicmachine, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
-Excellent label from US with awesome talent in it, happy to work with them.... Many of my favourite acts are there to be found (Veil of Thorns, Choronzon... and surely anti-gnome attitude through all that they do. We do seem to share the same sense of humour (when there is time for that... Damn pesky gnomes...). Naturally it's easier to push our propaganda with some back-up. The easiest way is to go to their site and check out the bands (http://digital.panicmachine.com/), naturally we moved Nekrognomekon to their site even though it was released by ourselves - we were not sure of which companies those sympathizers lurk in and are ready and more than eager  to destroy our Great Work.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of neo folk, industrial and metal?
-Finnish (mostly metal) magazines have already given their opinions of Nekrognomekon and it seems the whole scene is occupied by gnome sympathizers, fortunately it seems there's still some free will around the world... Seems like our humour is a bit too much for metal fans (what humour? They must think it's all fun and games but I can assure you, that these are grave things we are trying to inform you of), even though if have to be more specific BM-fans seem to be more open minded with T and its theme... Best feedback has to come from industrial / goth people around the world (dark-ambient seems to be the world most welcoming to some goode-olde-gnome-eradication). We have met many excellent musicians around the world who now are supporting & helping TONTTU. You know who you are; cheers!


9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
-Where ever the lyrics lead us, we will not forget our roots and mixing those ingredients... There's lots to be done to achieve such musical effort that it repels gnomes for sure!

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
-Well, mentioned in Nekrognomekon following acts: Isengard / Storm / Darkthrone (Saunatonttu...), Laibach (!!!!), NON, Blood Axis and Swedish band Puissance (Taisteluni) not to forget awesome experimental / avantgarde act Keuhkot from Finland.... So there you go: BM / NF / Experimental mostly... Nowadays big interests musically come mostly from same areas, maybe some more from Dark-Amb-neighbourhood, heh.... Coincidence?
To mention few inspirational acts (VoT and C already mentioned) Dead Skull (Unterwelt is awesome album), Harmony Garden (Finnish NF / Dark Rock), Ethernal (UK) and Xenomancer by MU sound laboratories...Skinny Puppy...Ministry... Emperor... List is endless as I listen very much music and find new anti-gnome-artists on a regular basis... Could write an essay of this, but: good music, usually from the darker side and naturally must be NGIT (No Gnomes In There)

11.What are some of your interests outside of music?
-Gnomes, gnomes, gnomes... If any leisure time gotta keep family safe and read some good books, let alone watch a good film every now and then... That should keep me busy.
I love to write, but that is connected to music, so... Oh, did I mention resisting gnomes?

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
-Support smaller acts if you are given the chance and if they're any good, many awesome anti-gnome oriented acts around there to be found! Bandcamp gives a good start if you feel like it.
Contacts:
Tonttufindergeneral@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tonttu/176461559038833?fref=ts
google.com/+TonttufindergeneralHanzBaal
http://digital.panicmachine.com/album/anti-gnomen-divisionen-4-mastering-the-fine-art-of-gnome-eradication

PS: Hopefully you could include AGD4-cover in this, awesome work from P Emerson Williams

Gnomen Est Omen!

Br: Tonttufindergeneral