Fluwid/From Surface To Suffocation/Mortal Music/2010 CD Review

  Fluwid are a band from Ohio that plays melodic death metal with a hardcore edge that has a small amount of a black metal edge and this is a review of their debut album "From Surface To Suffocation" which was released by Mortal Music inc during the year of 2010.

Drums range from slow to mid paced drumming with some blast beats and fast playing being utilized at times, while the bass playing follows the riffs that are coming out of the guitars.

Rhythm guitars are mostly melodic death metal riffs that have some influences from thrash metal, power metal and hardcore as well, while the lead guitars when they are used are very melodic without a lot of guitar solos being used except for a few occasions on some of the songs  and when they are utilized they bring in a lot of classic metal influences.

Vocals are mostly deep death metal growls with a good mixture of hardcore growling along with a lot of clean vocals and the occasional high pitched black metal scream being used at times, while the lyrics touch on a lot of emotional topics, as for the production it sounds very professional and you can hear all of the musical instruments that are present on this album.

In my opinion Fluwid are a good band for this style and while sometimes the music gets a little bit too commercial for my taste, I still feel this is a good band and a solid modern metal release, if you are a fan of melodic death metal or the more screamo style of metal you should probably like this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Foever" "The Phoenix" and "Face Down In A Shallow Grave". RECOMMENDED

https://www.facebook.com/Fluwid-298167502967/

Tiamat/Clouds/Century Media Records/1992 CD Review

  Tiamat are a band from Sweden that started out ss a black/thrash band then evolved into doom metal and later on gothic rock and this is a review of their 1992 album "Clouds" which was released by Century Media Records.

Drums are mostly slow beats on this album with some occasional fast playing and the occasional blast beat, while the keyboards have a very dark and atmospheric sound, as for the bass playing it follows the riffs coming out of the guitars.

Rhythm guitars are a mixture between slow doom riffs with some mid paced to fat riffing that has a little bit of a black metal influence mixed with Swedish death metal, while the lead guitars are melodic guitar solos, as for the acoustic guitars they bring a small amount of light with some exotic scales played on a classical guitar to the dark music that is present on this album.

Vocals are mostly Swedish style death metal vocals that are very easy to understand with some spoken word passages, while the lyrics cover depressing, esoteric, and satanic themes, as for the production on this album which was recorded and mixed at the Woodhouse Studio in Germany sounds very professional and you can hear all of the instruments that are present on this album.

In my opinion this was one of Tiamat's best albums, and if you are a fan of Tiamat you probably already have this album. Recommended Tracks Include ""In A Dream" "The Sleeping Beauty" and "The Scapegoat". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Bathory/Twilight Of The Gods/Black Mark Productions/1991 CD Review

  Bathory are a band from Sweden that started out as a black/thrash metal band that created black metal today as we know and they are also one of the creators of what is known today as viking metal and this is a review of their classic 1991 album "Twilight Of The Gods" which was released by Black Mark Productions.

Drums are mostly slow beats with no fast playing or blast beats, while the bass playing is all rhythm bass that follows the riffs that are coming out of the guitars, as for the orchestra when it is used on this album it has a soundtrack feel with a classical influence.

Rhythm guitars are mostly slow riffs with no fast playing while the lead guitars are distorted guitar solos that contain a lot of melody, as for the acoustic guitars they utilize a lot of open chords that give the music a pagan feel and there are also classical guitars that are used at times.

Vocals are all clean singing and have no black metal vocals like the earlier albums, while the lyrics touch on Norse Mythology, the fantasy writings of Robert E. Howard and the philosophy of Freidrich Nietzsche, as for the production on this recording it sounds very professional for the time it came and you can hear all of the musical instruments present on this masterpiece.

In my opinion this is a classic album from Bathory and if you are a fan of Bathory you probably already have this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Through Blood And Iron" "Under The Runes" and "To Enter The Mountain". RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Bathory/184

Try Redemption Interview

1. Can you give us a brief history of the band?
Yes. Try Redemption formed from two high school bands: Undecided and Kismet. We all went to the same high school so things came together quick and easy when the 5 of us decided to jam. Before we knew it, teeth were lost, hair was falling out, kids had been had, and now we're fat and old!But seriously we've played together since 2000 and retained the same line up throughout. We've played shows from Seattle, to Texas, to Milwaukee, to Pennsylvania and been lucky enough to share the stage with many of our childhood influences: Testament, DRI, Nuclear Blast, Exodus,Deicide, Cephalic Carnage, Jag Panzer, etc..

.2. How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you before?
We usually like other people to describe our sound because when we writesongs, we don't typically try to sound like anybody. Our individual tastes in music is pretty wide and we like to think that comes through in our songs.

3. Are there any plans for a tour?
You buying? We get out as much as we can, but sometimes can't afford much past the weekend warrior thing...

4. Have you received any label interest?
Yes, but many of the labels have been small and weren't able to offer more than what we were doing on our own. We've also been pretty scrutinous of contracts we've received and it seems like that has scared a couple labels off...

5. How would you describe your musical progress over the years, I have noticed that your newer stuff is a lot heavier than the cd's you gave meat a couple of shows a few years back?
I think that songwriting-wise, it's much easier to write stuff on the fly as a band now. Before, one or two of us would bring a few riffs or a whole songs to practice, but now we come up with most everything together. Plus we practice with a metronome which makes it much easier to get tight on songs with the quickness.

6. What are some of the best shows the band has played?
The Louder, Harder, Faster festival in Allentown, PA in 2005 was probably the most fun we've had. All the bands were put up in a four star hotel and fed and taken care of real well. The original line up of Testament played that show too so we're grateful to have been a part of it.But sometime the best shows are the local ones where everyone is just in the mood to tear shit up. We've always thought it would be cool to hear the crowd scream lyrics and stuff back at us so when we play at home,and everyone screams, "DIRTY, FILTHY, FUCKING, WHORE!" with Hammer, it's the best shit ever!

7. What releases have you put out so far?
2003 - Confessions of a Tortured Soul2005 - Prey For Us Sinners2008 - Resurrection of Reason

8. What role does Anti-Christianity play in the music?
Not so much in the music - meaning it doesn't really influence the riffs and stuff - we kind of have a "live and let live" mentality. But Hammer writes about it when he's in the mood... Lately, his lyrics have been more on the death/gore side...

9. What are some of the band's main influences music wise or non music wise?
Like I said earlier, our musical interests are pretty widespread. From Pantera to 80's hair metal and obscure 80's pop stuff, to 70's rock and funk, to Edward's beats (techno/Industrial). And we all enjoy contemporary metal: Cannibal, Amon Amarth, The Faceless...Non-music wise: Nintendo... sweet Christ Nintendo! Good beer (everyoneloves a Hefe!) LOTRO, South Park, Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job...it's an awesome show... they do a great job... SpongeBob, CartoonNetwork, Harry Potter, Delorians, D&D, Bob and Tom, the good ol' collegetry, too much to list here..

10. What are you listening to nowadays and what good bands would you recommend?
Daigle has been listening to the hell out of the last Faceless CD. James- Sonata Artica. John - Informatik.We would recommend Scalafrea, Kastigation, and Khrinj.

11. What are some good books or films that you would recommend?
Harry Potter series (books and movies), Lord of the Rings (the movies),Cannibal, Orgazmo, Baseketball, South Park the movie, Team America,Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory(movie), Back to the Future series, The Matrix, The original Exorcist(book and movie).

12. How would you compare the metal scene in Colorado Springs to Denver?
The bands seem to get along better in Colorado Springs... maybe there's just fewer bands here though... There's many more places to play in Denver and the population is more... but we've always enjoyed Colorado Springs. We've been asked if we've ever considered moving to Denver and we haven't. We've lived in Colorado Springs our whole lives so this is home.

13. Any final words?
Choerl! Pro. Thanks for the interview... and go to YourAssCast.com

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Stahlwerk 9/RetroMechanix/Stienklang/2009 CD Review

  Stahlwerk 9 are a band from Germany that plays an old school style of Industrial/Power Electronics and this is a review of their 2009 album "RetroMekanik" which was released by Steinklang.

Noise effects are very harsh and brutal with a good touch of avant garde, while as the samples sound very tragic, as for the vocals they are mostly spoken word with an evil sound to it.

Lyrics are mostly written about World War II, while the production has a very dark and raw feel to it, as for the synths when they are used they have a very primal dark ambient edge to it.

In my opinion Stahlwerk 9 are a very good Industrial/Power Electronics band that should appeal to all fans of this genre. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Warsaw Calling/Als Ich Starb" "Katharsis" Overture To A War" and "Vengeance". RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Musician-Band/Stahlwerk-9-206378726069216/

Stalaggh/Nihililistik Terror/Autopsy Kitchen Records/2006 CD Review

  Stalaggh are a band from the Netherlands that pays a very violent form of harsh power electronic noise with a black metal edge and this is a review of their 2006 album "Nihilistik Terror" which was released by Autopsy Kitchen Records.

The music on this album is all harsh noise effects that are very heavy with a lot of distortion and reverb, while the vocals are all high pitched tortured screams that remind me of Abruptum without any guitars or drums.

In my opinion i think Stalaggh are a  very good band and while the music is not very diverse it still gets the point across, if you are a fan of evil sounding harsh noise you should check this band out. RECOMMENDED BUY.

https://www.discogs.com/artist/221698-Stalaggh

Hatred Embraced Interview

1. Can you tell us little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?
Akash - Old school death metal. Trying to bring that old school twisted sound of death as best as possible.
Joe – Just a some guy’s with a honest love for the beginning days of death metal.

2. How would you describe your musical sound and how it differs from previous releases?
Akash - Personally, I think our sound has become more refined, both in structure and tightness and overall the riffs are just better.
Joe - We're a pretty death-y doom-y band. Old school death metal-esque of course. From our old releases, oh man, have we changed haha. Compared to, our now hidden 2009 demo, let's just say we can play our instruments a bit better.

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Akash - mostly death and religion. the usual, nothing special
Joe – Akash has that department handled

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band's name?
Joe - Just something cool sounding, no epic meaning behind it.
Akash - Sounds badass i guess, to me at least

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how would you describe your stage performance?
Akash - The backstage in edison. We were tight, sounded good and just brought a lot of energy.
Joe – Yup that was our most recent show with Gorematory and Mortum. We had been away for sometime after the first release of Suffering of the Holy and the demo had built up a small amount of rotation and when we came to play some new stuff it was just great. Shows before that were really lame. Theres no real old school death metal following in Jersey. I mean, sure you have the guys that listen to Obituary and Morbid Angel and whatnot, but theres a lot of black metal and thrash, more than a old school death following. A lot of casual old school death metallers in jersey, which left us with a few bleak and boring shows.

6. Do you have any plans in the future to do a tour or festival?
Joe- I dont know about that, I think we need more shows under our belt before we do a tour, nevermind a festival.
Akash - hopefully, if all goes well

7. On a worldwide level how has your music been received by death and underground metal fans?
Akash - Pretty well, I’m always happy when people like our music especially people around the world. It’s been described as old school by many and I’m glad to take part in that kind of sound.
Joe - Lots of people downloaded it, lots of positive feedback, lots of people from the 90's giving it some thumbs up. Not too shabby

8. Are there any side projects besides this band or is this a full time line up?
Joe - Well Dave Hewson and Ryan Donato have a band thrash band together called Condition Critical, and they currently released a demo and are doing some shows. Ryan is also in a band called Strychnia. But as for me, nothing.
Akash - no side projects for me

9. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?
Akash -I dont see any big genre changes happening any time soon, but who knows?
Joe - We're gonna stay true to our death metal roots. Not gonna go tech-y or anything. If it gets stale, then it gets stale, but we're gonna stick to our guns until then.

10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Akash - morbid angel, death, obituary, pestilence and a lot of swedish/finnish death metal
Joe – Cancer, Disincarnate, Morta Skuld, Convulse

11. Does Occultism play a role in the music?
Joe - I mean....no haha, but if it makes a good song. We really dont take cult stuff seriously. It's pretty dumb in the year 2011 if your walking around making an effort to say "well, thank SATAN" just to stick it to the man.
Akash - no, I like to keep music about the music.

12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
Akash - that's the only productive thing really
Joe - We’re just some bro's. We drink, party, and do some typical 20 year old stuff.

13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
Thanks for the interview, thanks to FDA REKOTZ for signing us, thanks to our fans and friends for the support and good times. Listen to old school death metal!

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Hatred_Embraced/3540262218