"If I could survive to live one more time
I wouldn't be changing a thing at all
Done more in my life than some do in ten
I'd go back and do it all over again..."
An amalgamation of sludge, industrial and punk noises at their finest, brought forth by three brothers who have been delivering first-class music for over 20 years.
Blasting our eras with a raw and dirty fusion of Industrial and Sludge Metal since 1998, Brussels, Belgium and Paris, France-based brothers Loïc Beyet (guitar, voice, programming), Lionel Beyet (bass, programming, voice) and Nicolas Beyet (guitar, voice), collectively known as Industrial Sludge Noise beast [P.U.T], are unleashing upon humanity their sixth full-length opus entitled We Are [Br]others, highly recommended for fans of the noisy music by acts like Sonic Youth, Killing Joke, Godflesh and Neurosis, among several others. Self-recorded between Paris and Brussels, mixed by Loïc at garlic.lab between November 2017 and May 2018, mastered by Alexandre Vitrac, an ex-[P.U.T] member, at Studio CBE in June 2018, and featuring a classy and obscure artwork by French artist Alexis Horellou, We Are [Br]others is the first [P.U.T] album to feature the three Beyet Brothers in the lineup, offering the listener the band’s trademark amalgamation of machine sounds, guitars, noise, sludge, industrial and punk at their finest, overflowing madness, heaviness and anger over the span of 50 minutes.
Their first onrush of distorted sounds, titled In Control, is a metallic fusion of the Industrial Metal played by bands like Rammstein and Nine Inch Nails with the sluggish and “polluted” riffs from classic Sludge Metal where the Beyet Brothers vociferate from the depths of the underworld, and with Lionel also delivering some powerful jabs from his bass. Following such eerie start we have Nothing, even more disruptive and grim than the opening track, a perfect option to be part of the soundtrack to a psychological thriller. Moreover, its guitars sound as raw and venomous as they can be, bringing all the heaviness and madness found in the music by the iconic Ministry, for example. Then putting the pedal to the metal [P.U.T] offer a high-octane mix of modern-day Rock N’ Roll with classic Industrial Metal titled In Conflict, where Loïc and Nicolas are in absolute sync with their riffs while all background voices and sound effects add a touch of lunacy to the music; and the roaring bass lines by Lionel ignite the dark and devilish Down, showcasing pugnacious gnarls and steady, fierce beats that live up to the legacy of Sludge and Stoner Metal the likes of Down (and I dare to say this is not a coincidence at all), all embraced and spiced up by additional orchestral elements. Closing the first half of the album, Opressed is perhaps the most electronic and weird of all tracks, presenting elements from contemporary Electronic Pop and Rock à la Daft Punk and Kraftwerk such as robotic voices and a dancing rhythm, all without forgetting the fury of rock music flowing from its guitars.
I Am Here is a cinematic and very experimental track by [P.U.T], with its wicked noises and futuristic atmosphere invading our senses before the disruptive Angry comes crushing, and that’s exactly how they sound, firing crude, unfiltered riffs from their flammable guitars and grunting rabidly nonstop. Furthermore, this is another interesting hybrid of the vicious music by acts like Ministry and Rob Zombie with the band’s own demented twist. And sounding like unstoppable machines from an assembly line, the trio delivers another vicious song entitled Possesed, where once again the guitars by Loïc and Nicolas exhale rage while the low-tuned bass lines by Lionel bring even more insanity to their music; it just goes on for a little too long, though, but nothing that hurts the overall quality of the album. In Not Your Dog the brothers are back to a more rockin’ sonority, bringing forward their trademark raspy vocals and visceral riffs and leaning towards old school Sludge Metal with a doom-ish vibe, offering the listener some piercing guitar solos as a “bonus”, whereas their coup de grâce comes in the form of a neck-breaking, eccentric creation titled Pain, with the sound of guitars being boosted by Lionel’s menacing bass in a good balance between mechanized, ethereal sounds and sheer aggression, flowing wickedly until its Stygian ending.
In a nutshell, [P.U.T] (or the Beyet Brothers, if you prefer) worked as hard an united as the family they are in We Are [Br]others, generating a must-have album for admirers of this more eccentric and experimental side of alternative music commonly referred to as Industrial Sludge Noise. Hence, if all their noises and distortions are your cup of tea, don’t forget to give them a shout on Facebook, and buy your copy of the album from their own BandCamp page or from the Cursed Monk Records’ BandCamp page. Much more than just regular brothers, Loïc, Lionel and Nicolas are extremely talented musicians, channeling all their energy and creativity into a very entertaining rock and electronic party, and therefore keeping underground alternative music relevant, vibrant and fresh.
Best moments of the album:Nothing, In Conflict and Angry.
Worst moments of the album:Possesed.
Released in 2019 Cursed Monk Records
Track listing 1. In Control 6:10
2. Nothing 3:15
3. In Conflict 3:15
4. Down 4:27
5. Opressed 5:41
6. I Am Here 2:53
7. Angry 6:04
8. Possesed 7:20
9. Not Your Dog 4:32
10. Pain 6:58
Band members
Loïc Beyet – guitar, voice, programming
Lionel Beyet – bass, programming, voice
Nicolas Beyet – guitar, voice
The perfect soundtrack for those crystalline winter, woodland walks, courtesy of a Bavarian heathen horde armed with their Folk-drenched Black Metal.
There’s nowhere like Germany in winter time. The forests, the castles, the markets and the “gluhwein” (a type of mulled wine from German-speaking countries made from red wine with cinnamon and other herbs and spices), all offer solace for the wandering winter soul, as well as the music as you’ll be able to enjoy in Mondscheinsonaten, the brand new opus by Munich, Bavaria-based Black/Folk Metal horde Waldgeflüster. Both the name of the band (German for “forest whisperings”) and the album name (which translates as “moonlight sonatas”) already give you a very good idea of how powerful their new Folk-drenched Black Metal eyries are, melting the coldest of hearts, but it’s after hitting playing and immersing yourself in their music that you’ll finally understand what Bavarian heathen music is all about.
Formed in 2005 as a one-man project by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Winterherz (whose full name is Jan van Berlekom), Waldgeflüster evolved into a full-bodied band in 2014 when guitarists Dominik Frank and Markus Frey, bassist Arvagr and drummer Thomas Birkmaier joined Winterherz in his quest for metal music for good, after having played with him either as studio or live musicians in previous albums and concerts. Building strongly on the band’s heathen foundations, melding clean and harsh vocals seamlessly and integrating folk instrumentation sparsely enough to augment (but never over-embellish the exceptional blackened metal grounding), Mondscheinsonaten is perfectly pitched to fuel those crystalline winter, woodland walks with its immensely infectious melodies and haunting refrains, with the entire band sounding extremely crisp, mature and cohesive throughout the album’s over 60 minutes of stylish and enfolding music.
Embraced by the sound of the howling wind, the melancholic, acoustic Einleitung (“introduction”) warms up our hearts for the dense and thrilling Der Steppenwolf (“the steppenwolf”), with Winterherz growling deeply while Domink and Markus extract sheer darkness from their guitars. In other words, this is a journey through the realms of Atmospheric Black Metal and Blackened Folk Metal where the music keeps growing in intensity as time goes by, while Thomas, armed with his classic blast beats, makes sure not a single space is left empty. Then get ready for over twelve minutes of a flawless fusion of folk and extreme music entitled Gripfelstürme (“summit storm”), where the band’s guitar duo once again hypnotizes us with their scorching riffs and with Winterherz being on fire with both his demonic gnarls and his obscure clean vocals, also showcasing ethereal passages and backing vocals that add a touch of finesse to the overall result. And Waldgeflüster continue to invade our minds and captivate our senses with the atmospheric Rotgoldene Novemberwälder (“red golden November forests”), uniting the most visceral elements from classic Black Metal with the melancholy of Atmospheric Black Metal, with strident guitar lines, intricate beats and pitch black darkness flowing nonstop from this bitterly cold aria.
In Und der Wind… (“and the wind…”), a serene intro explodes into sheer aggression and rage in the form of old school Black Metal with Thomas sounding bestial on drums while Arvagr delivers thunder through his bass lines. Moreover, your soul will certainly get lost throughout the song’s ten detailed and dense minutes; whereas in Von Winterwäldern und Mondscheinsonaten (“from winter forests and moonshine nights”) we’re treated to more flammable sounds flowing from all instruments, in special from Dominik’s and Markus’ guitars, with Winterherz roaring with all his strength while the music brings hints of Progressive Black Metal to make things even more entertaining. Then closing the regular version of the album we have the delicate Staub in der Lunge (“dust in the lungs”), beginning in the most serene way possible with its clean vocals and acoustic guitars dictating the rhythm before the entire band comes ripping one last time with their refined Black Metal sonority. In addition, Dominik and Markus once again steal the spotlight with their piercing guitar lines for our total delight. And if you acquire the black/grey double vinyl version of the album, you’ll also get the acoustic version for Der Steppenwolf as a bonus track, a beautiful and very delicate alternate rendering of one of the best songs of the album.
In case you’re already prepared to get lost in the heathen lands of Bavaria together with Waldgeflüster, you can enjoy Mondscheinsonaten in full on YouTube and on Spotify, and purchase your copy of the album from the band’s own BandCamp page or from the Nordvis Produktion’s official webstore (as well as from several other locations by clicking HERE). In a nutshell, as aforementioned the “moonlight sonatas” by this talented horde of musicians hailing from the stunning Bavaria are the perfect soundtrack for a cold and pensive winter walk, proving once again Folkened Black Metal is more than just a subgenre of extreme music, but an intrinsic part of the lifestyle and culture of the coldest parts of earth.
Best moments of the album:Der Steppenwolf and Gripfelstürme.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2019 Nordvis Produktion
Track listing 1. Einleitung 3:08
2. Der Steppenwolf 7:51
3. Gripfelstürme 12:21
4. Rotgoldene Novemberwälder 6:28
5. Und der Wind… 10:52
6. Von Winterwäldern und Mondscheinsonaten 9:51
7. Staub in der Lunge 5:48
A magnificent lecture in Neue Deutsche Härte from the bottom of the flaming hearts of the pioneers of the genre.
Since the band’s inception in 1994 in the stunning German city of Berlin, Neue Deutsche Härte six-man institution Rammstein has been shaking the foundations of the earth with their unparalleled fusion of classic Industrial Metal and contemporary Heavy Metal, all spiced up of course by their controversial lyrics (most of the time in their mother tongue German), their industrial-inspired attire and their incendiary live performances. And it was just like that from their debut album Herzeleid, released in 1995, until their 2009 release Liebe Ist Für Alle Da, before the band went on an unprecedented hiatus that left their fans wondering if the band would ever get back in action to crush our senses with their wicked creations.
Fortunately for all of us, fans of the crazy and electrifying music blasted by lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, keyboardist Christian “Flake” Lorenz and drummer Christoph Schneider (a lineup that has remained unchanged throughout the band’s existence, by the way), Rammstein have just returned now in 2019 better than ever with their untitled seventh studio album, also known by many as Rammstein, their first studio album in a decade, bringing to our avid ears everything we’ve learned to love in their music through the years and more. Featuring a minimalist and captivating artwork by Rocket & Wink, the band’s brand new masterpiece offers an amalgamation of their past, present and future, with elements from all of their albums such as Sehnsucht and Mutter, without sounding repetitive or outdated; quite the contrary, the entire album simply rocks.
The album couldn’t have started in a more brilliant way than with their newborn anthem Deutschland (or “Germany” in their mother tongue), bringing forward the perfect fusion of electronic and metal music right from the very first second. Its backing vocals will definitely mesmerize you, while Mr. Lindemann leads his industrial horde in this passionate ode to their homeland. Moreover, Christian is also sensational with his keys and synths, and I’m not even going to talk about the song’s official video, which is in my opinion one of the best videos ever made in the history of music. Radio is another classic and powerful depiction of what Neue Deutsche Härte is all about, with Richard and Paul slashing their strings beautifully and putting us to dance together with the band, also featuring a chorus perfect for singing along with them even if your German is extremely rudimentary. Then it’s time for The Academic Choir and the Symphony Orchestra of the National Television and Radio Company of Belarus, Minsk to add a touch of epicness to the bold and violent Industrial Metal tune Zeig Dich (“show yourself”), where Richard, Paul and Oliver are on fire with their stringed weapons, while Christoph pounds his drums just the way we like it and Mr. Lindemann is once again flawless with his demented vocals.
Ausländer (“foreigner”) is by far the most disco-dancing song of the album, boosted by the band’s trademark riffs and beats and its acid and fun official video (which is another work-of-art). As a matter of fact, Rammstein are so good in what they do they’re capable of making metalheads enjoy dance music, and pay good attention to the song’s lyrics as they’re sung in several languages like French, Italian and English. It’s time to get heavier and more immoral than ever (something those German guys know how to do to perfection) with Sex, with Oliver and Christoph dictating the song’s violent rhythm. In the end, you’ll either crack your neck banging your head or have some wild sex while listening to it, both being highly recommended activities, of course. And the Belarusian orchestra returns for another round of majestic sounds in Puppe (“doll”), the most obscure and vile of all songs, with the vocals by Mr. Lindemann exhaling anger, fear and anguish while Christoph shows no mercy for his drums.
The romantic and enfolding Was Ich Liebe (“what I love”) is another great song showcasing rumbling bass lines, rhythmic beats and the always whimsical keys by Christian, and by far the one with the most melodic guitar lines of the entire album; whereas in the touching Diamant (“diamond”) the music remains utterly ominous while Mr. Lindemann darkly recites its lyrics, feeling as melancholic, beautiful and dense as it can be, or in other words, it’s absolutely awesome. Then Christian takes the lead in the modern Industrial Metal song Weit Weg (“far away”), where a delicate but at the same time potent background provides all Mr. Lindemann needs to thrive on vocals, with the riffs and solos by Richard and Paul bringing even more electricity to the overall result, followed by Tattoo, which kind of sounds taken from one of their previous albums. Put differently, it’s pure Neue Deutsche Härte tailored for the band’s diehard fans, with Christoph hammering our heads violently with his unstoppable, mechanized beats, while the song’s guitar riffs will cut your skin deep. Hence, I would simply love to listen to those Teutonic metallers playing this neck-breaking tune live. And lastly, Oliver makes the earth tremble with his bass punches in Hallomann (“Helloman” / “Announcer”), closing the album on a high note with the music flowing smoothly until its climatic and serene ending.
In a nutshell, anything I say about the brand new opus by the one and only Rammstein won’t be enough to describe its density, depth and energy. We’re facing the best rock and metal album of the year, my friends, there’s no doubt about that, and you can enjoy each and every song from such distinct release directly from the band’s official YouTube channel or on Spotify, and of course buy your copy of this multi-layered feast of top-of-the-line Neue Deutsche Härte from your favorite retailer by clicking HERE. As a matter of fact, I guess the best words that can be used to depict the music found in Rammstein are the ones already sung by Mr. Lindemann & Co. in the opening track of the album. “Deutschland / Mein Herz in Flammen / Will dich lieben und verdammen / Deutschland / Dein Atem kalt / So jung / Und doch so alt / Deutschland!”
Best moments of the album:Deutschland, Radio, Zeig Dich, Puppe and Tattoo.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2019 Universal Music
Track listing 1. Deutschland 5:23
2. Radio 4:37
3. Zeig Dich 4:15
4. Ausländer 3:51
5. Sex 3:56
6. Puppe 4:33
7. Was Ich Liebe 4:29
8. Diamant 2:34
9. Weit Weg 4:20
10. Tattoo 4:11
11. Hallomann 4:11
Band members Till Lindemann – lead vocals
Richard Z. Kruspe – lead guitar, backing vocals
Paul Landers – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Oliver Riedel – bass guitar
Christian “Flake” Lorenz – keyboards, samples, synthesizers
Christoph Schneider – drums, percussion
Guest musicians The Academic Choir and the Symphony Orchestra of the National Television and Radio Company of Belarus, Minsk – strings, choir on “Zeig Dich” and “Puppe”
Meral Al-Mer – backing vocals on “Deutschland” and “Tattoo”
Carla Bruhn – backing vocals on “Hallomann”
After a short and sweet break, The Headbanging Moose returns in full force with our metal chick of the month of July, elevating the temperature in the always hot summer in the Northern Hemisphere. If you’re a diehard fan of old school Heavy and Power Metal the likes of Warlock, Judas Priest, Accept, Manowar and Grave Digger, I’m quite sure you already know our metal lady, but in case you’re still not familiar with her refined technique and deep passion for heavy music here’s a good chance for you to go after the music from her ass-kicking bands Burning Witches and Atlas & Axis. Hailing from the metallic lands of the charming and beautiful Switzerland, here comes the talented Swiss guitarist Romana Kalkuhl, ready to take the world of heavy music by storm armed with her inseparable stringed axe for our total delight.
Born in 1990 in Switzerland, Romana, whose full name is Romana Eskić-Kalkuhl (as she’s married to Swiss guitarist Damir Eskić, from the bands Destruction and Gomorra), comes from a family of musicians who have always supported her decision to become a professional guitar player. For instance, her father Meinolf Kalkuhl is an opera singer in Zurich, Switzerland, while her mother is a piano teacher. All that support resulted in the formation of her first professional band in 2009 while she was still in university. That band is Aargau-based Heavy Metal act Atlas & Axis, with whom Romana has already recorded two full-length albums, those being March of the Night, in 2011, and Confrontation, in 2014, not to mention all concerts the band has already played live. You can enjoy the Iced Earth-inspired sound of Atlas & Axis and Romana’s incendiary shredding on YouTube by listening to songs like Power and Might, Elements, To Violence and These Words, among many others, as well as the song Winter played live at the Dynamo in Zurich in 2014. Unfortunately, due to her current commitment to Burning Witches, our blonde warrior doesn’t have the necessary time to focus on Atlas & Axis at the moment, which means the band is on hold until further notice.
It was in the spring of 2015 in the city of Brugg, a municipality in the Swiss canton of Aargau, when Romana founded Heavy/Power Metal unity Burning Witches, following her personal dream of performing on stage with an all-female metal band. Earlier that year she started looking for talented women for her new project, with her longtime friend, bassist Jeanine Grob, becoming the band’s first official member. Then during a party at a festival she met vocalist Seraina Telli, from bands like Dead Venus, Rizon and Surrilium, starting a very healthy and productive partnership between them, with Seraina’s ideas and experience from her studies at the Music Academy and her bands being exactly what Romana wanted for Burning Witches. Having the one and only Schmier, vocalist and bassist for German Thrash Metal institution Destruction, as their producer and consultant (and a personal friend of Romana, by the way), and with drummer Lala Frischknecht and guitarist Alea Wyss completing the lineup after an intensive search and several auditions, Romana and her Burning Witches were finally ready to crush with their classic metal music.
Since the band’s inception, Romana and the girls have already released two full-length albums (their self-titled debut album in 2017, and Hexenhammer in 2018), one four-track live album named Burning Alive, recorded on September 30, 2017 at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland, and now in 2019 they re-released Burning Witches / Burning Alive as a combo under Nuclear Blast. If you want to feel the power of their metal sword, simply go to Spotify or to YouTube and enjoy some flammable Heavy Metal anthems such as Wings Of Steel, Black Widow, and Executed, or many other live footage from Romana and the girls slaying everything and everyone that crosses their path like their flammable performance at Sweden Rock Festival in 2019; their concert in 2018 in Mannheim, a city in southwest Germany; and their powerful pocket show at Salzhaus Brugg in 2018.
Sadly for all fans of the band, lead singer Seraina Telli left the band earlier this year for personal reasons, being replaced by Dutch vocalist Laura Guldemond, from bands like Shadowrise and Synergy Protocol, and of course Romana had a few words to say about that change to her band. “This is, of course, a very sad moment for all of us. We have been very close for the last years and have reached a lot together. With great sadness we have to accept that Seriana wants to move on and we wish her the best of luck for that! Your time with the Witches will never be forgotten! For us as a band, it is important now to look into the new challenges and the new record — the show must go on!”, complementing her thoughts by saying that “we are super thrilled that we have found Laura so quick over our Dutch connection Sonia. We know it is impossible to replace a great voice in exact the same way; that is why Laura is the perfect choice for us. She will bring in her own strength and personality into the Witches! We will not change the identity of the band; we will continue playing the music we love! Laura is an experienced and crisp vocalist with a big range and a crazy enough personality to be one of us! Please give her a warm welcome — she has already won many metalhearts at our first show with her at the Sweden Rock Festival! We will continue to spread the magic of the witches — thanks for all the support over the years!”
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Regarding the fact that the band has become more international with the addition of Laura to their lineup, the second Dutchwoman in the band, Romana said that the collaboration between them is quite dynamic, with the Dutch girls flying to Switzerland over the weekend for rehearsals and concerts, while the rest of the time everyone practices their music from home. She also mentioned in one of her interviews that her main goal when she started Burning Witches was to have fun with the band, not because of success itself, complementing by saying that if one day that pleasure of playing with Burning Witches is over, then the band will also be over. In addition, when asked about how she keeps the band as independent and feminine as possible even with the influences of Damir and Schmier, she said that their help is based on their experience, something the girls from Burning Witches don’t have enough yet, and that Damir’s support was crucial to make everything happen, always keeping in mind the band was going to be (and will always be) an all-female metal band.
Romana’s list of idols and influences can easily be felt in the music by Burning Witches, with her favorite styles ranging from Heavy, Thrash, Death and Black Metal to Hard Rock and even Progressive Rock. According to Romana herself, the bands that have influenced her the most (and the entire band, of course) are Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Manowar, Saxon, Accept, Dio and several other renowned acts from the NWOBHM. Also, in regards to her equipment, Romana has always played Charvel and Jackson USA guitars, since the beginning, saying those are the best ones in her opinion, and although she’s endorsed also by Fender (apart from Charvel and Jackson, of course) she doesn’t use it when playing live just because she has so many instruments of the other two manufacturers. And before I forget, did you know she also plays classical guitar? Our dauntless metalhead is not only a shredder, but as you can see she’s also a woman who adds a touch of finesse to her guitar lines.
When questioned about the differences and disparities between men and women not only in Heavy Metal, but in music in general, Romana said that it might look easier to be an all-female group at first, attracting a lot of attention form the media and the fans (especially when all band members are beautiful like the ladies from Burning Witches), but it only gets harder and harder as time goes by due to the systemic sexism found everywhere, complementing by saying that many people will see them as just “pretty faces” and think that it’s a man who’s doing all the job in the background. Romana also said that one of the very positive effects of her all-female band is serving as the inspiration for other women to attend their concerts and start their lives in metal, which in my opinion is indeed an amazing change to a music genre mostly dominated by men, whereas the more sexist metal fans ended up reacting very negatively to their music. Who on earth wouldn’t enjoy watching five talented women kicking some serious ass on stage, playing old school metal music? You have to be really stupid, and not just sexist, to think the Burning Witches are not a great metal band.
Anyway, as aforementioned, Romana is married to Damir Eskić, guitarist for Destruction and Gomorra (which was previously called Gonoreas), and it was actually during a Gonoreas’ concert that the couple met, with Damir having a huge influence on Romana’s playing style as he was the one who taught her a lot about the instrument (albeit she already knew how to play it from her school years). On a side note, Romana said she was impressed by Miriam Zehnder, who played the rhythm guitar at Gonoreas at that time, also saying her stage presence fascinated her a lot, showing how connected Burning Witches and Gomorra are not only because of Romana and Damir. In addition to that, Romana said her relationship with Damir is quite healthy, dynamic and fun, with Damir being for example the music collector while she’s more interested in clothes, and so on. Damir considers himself the coach, the moral preacher and the main supporter of the Burning Witches, keeping the girls happy and motivating them even in difficult situations, all confirmed by Romana who also said Damir also makes sure he gives them a motivating speech before every concert, getting them ready to rock on stage.
Both Romana and Damir seem to be extremely busy professionals, and when asked about how they manage all their duties and their relationship, including their music lessons as both are teachers at different music schools (Romana works at three different schools while Damir works at two schools and at the conservatory in Winterthur), she said although they don’t actually have time for anything else, they still manage to have a normal life as a couple, as all those things have already become a part of their everyday life. Furthermore, the couple might not have real rings, but the dates tattooed on their fingers already say it all, showing a lot of mutual respect and admiration between them, with Romana saying that although they’ve already been together for over a decade seeing each other pretty much daily, they still miss each other when they’re on tour in different parts of the world, mentioning for example how difficult it was during the two week Damir was away with Destruction this year. She wasn’t really complaining about that because she understands how hard it is to be part of a band that tours a lot and how lucky both are for being in successful bands, but let’s face it, it’s indeed tough to be away from your loved one no matter what, even if it’s in the name of our good old Heavy Metal.
Erupting from the warped heart of chaos, here comes a roaring Argentinian Death Metal horde armed with their brand new and extremely brutal album.
Erupting from the warped heart of chaos, here comes a roaring, screaming and slithering mass of nightmares named Prion, a Death Metal horde formed in the distant year of 1994 in the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the always vibrant Argentina, tearing down the doors which guard your sanity, and letting loose every childhood fear kept locked away in darkness and drown your dreams in terror. Four years after the release of the excellent album Uncertain Process, from 2015, Prion are back even more enraged and vile than before, unleashing upon our damned souls their brand new, rip-roaring full-length album Aberrant Calamity, a lesson in sheer brutality highly recommended for diehard fans of Immolation, Krisiun, Hate Eternal and Morbid Angel.
Comprised of Gregorio Kochian on vocals and guitar, Walter Barrionuevo on bass and Flavio Coscarella on drums, Prion take no prisoners in their quest for old school Death Metal, adding absolutely zero artificial elements to their crushing sonority. Featuring a phantasmagorical and creepy cover art by Italian artist Marco Hasmann (Comatose Music), Aberrant Calamity is a precise and thunderous album of classic Death Metal where all three band members are in absolute fire and in total sync from start to finish, putting a huge smile on the faces of not only the fans of the band, but also to newcomers to the world of Prion who love when a band transforms their instruments into weapons of total annihilation.
It’s quite impressive how crisp, vibrant and raw the trio sounds from the very first second in the opening track Fictitious Form of Stability, with Flavio beginning his onrush of blast and furious beats à la Krisiun while Gregorio is a beast both with his demented riffs and his infernal growls; and as demolishing and intricate as the opening track, Irreversible Ways brings some Brutal Death Metal for the masses, with poetry and violence walking hand in hand in its lyrics (“So much real the time proceeds / without ask. Everything born and die, / we are not exempt from that. / Accelerating the natural course of the things. / Life disorders! / The malformed system now is out of control, / till our non existence.”). Following such smashing start, the rumbling bass punches by Walter will hammer your head mercilessly in I Remembered to Breathe, a sonic devastation that lives up to the legacy of old school Death Metal (and don’t forget to check their playthrough version HERE).
Apparently Flavio never gets tired of smashing his drums like a maniac, which is the case in Unable to Discern, an imposing Death Metal tune that feels at times like a “Death Metal Opera” (if that exists, of course), where Gregorio keeps vociferating rabidly and deeply in a true lesson in extreme music by this evil triumvirate from Argentina. Then get ready to slam into the circle pit to an avalanche of violent and technical sounds in Over the Asphalt of a New Era, with Gregorio and Walter extracting thunderous lines from their stringed weapons and, therefore, generating some unstoppable action for our avid ears and bodies. As you might have already noticed, there’s no time to breathe in Aberrant Calamity, with the dark, headbanging massacre entitled I’m Jonah, Sacrifice Me, led by Gregorio’s sharp riffs (and who also screeches like a demonic entity, by the way) sounding inspired by the greatest of the genre like Morbid Angel, Death and especially Prion’s neighbors Krisiun; whereas Pathological Self Destruction starts as obscure as possible, suddenly exploding into vile and infernal Death Metal where Flavio is once again precise and berserk on drums, generating a Stygian atmosphere perfect for Gregorio’s deep roars.
Are you tired already? Because there’s still more pulverizing Death Metal sounds made in Argentina for our total delight starting with Observed Relativity, showcasing a demented performance by Flavio on drums supported by Walter’s metallic bass, recommended for crushing your damned skull into the circle pit. The Hesse Paradox is another solid and demented display of extreme music brought forth by the trio, spearheaded by the scorching riffs by Gregorio while Walter and Flavio show no mercy for their instruments, sounding visceral and disturbing just the way we like it. And closing the album on a demolishing note to the detailed and potent beats by Flavio we have Slow Down, a song about our society’s cult of rush (“We live in the age of speed. / We strain to be more efficient, / to cram more into each minute, / each hour, each day of the existence.”) that will leave countless bodies on the floor after all is said and done.
If I were you, and especially if you’re an admirer of the pulverizing sounds of old school Death Metal, I would definitely take a good listen at Aberrant Calamity in full on YouTube or on Spotify, follow the band on Facebook, subscribe to their YouTube channel, and buy a copy of this fantastic album of Argentinian Death Metal from the band’s own BandCamp page or from Comatose Music’s BandCamp or webstore, as well as from Apple Music, Amazon or Discogs. There’s a very good reason why Prion have been proudly carrying the flag of classic Death Metal high for decades already, and that’s simply because those talented and obstinate Argentinian musicians breathe and live Death Metal, with Aberrant Calamity representing their boiling blood flowing through their metal hearts.
Best moments of the album:Irreversible Ways, Unable to Discern and Pathological Self Destruction.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2019 Comatose Music
Track listing 1. Fictitious Form of Stability 4:33
2. Irreversible Ways 4:33
3. I Remembered to Breathe 5:12
4. Unable to Discern 4:36
5. Over the Asphalt of a New Era 4:09
6. I’m Jonah, Sacrifice Me 4:47
7. Pathological Self Destruction 4:28
8. Observed Relativity 5:10
9. The Hesse Paradox 4:33
10. Slow Down 4:40
Band members Gregorio Kochian – vocals, guitars
Walter Barrionuevo – bass
Flavio Coscarella – drums
Let’s all dive into the incendiary deep waters of Technical and Progressive Death Metal ruled by one of the most talented and innovative names of the South American metal scene.
Ladies and gentlemen, get ready to be absolutely stunned by the music crafted by four extremely talented guys hailing from Santiago, the beautiful capital of Chile, who seem to have mastered the art of blending sheer aggression and tons of progressiveness infused with atmospheric and melancholic passages. I’m talking about a Technical/Progressive Death Metal four-piece unity that goes by the name of Target, who released earlier this year their sophomore full-length opus, the amazing Deep Water Flames, one of the best metal albums of 2019 so far without a shadow of a doubt, and I’m sure you’ll agree with that after listening to such imposing and dense album of extreme music.
Formed in the year of 2002, the band now comprised of lead singer Andrés Piña, guitarist Luis Soto, bassist Rodrigo Castro and drummer Rodrigo Arias put on a lot of hard work, passion for heavy music and talent into the making of Deep Water Flames. Recorded and mixed in Santiago by Erick Martínez at Orange Studio, mastered in Sweden by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Recording Studios, and featuring dark and flammable artwork, design and graphics by Dehn Sora, from Paris, France, Deep Water Flames sounds and feels like a tribute to all things Progressive and Death Metal, captivating all your senses from its first notes until its climatic grand finale, therefore positioning Target as one of the best and most innovative names of the underground scene in South America.
The intro Immerse is absolutely eerie and atmospheric from the very first second, reaching deep inside your soul and warming up your mind for the bold and crushing Inverted Gloaming, featuring Juan Escobar (Aphonic Threnody, AstorVoltaires, Tetractys, Mar de Grises) on vocals. Sounding utterly wicked and experimental, this excellent tune is led by Rodrigo’s insane beats and fills, while Andrés screams in a deranged and visceral way, resulting in a lecture in contemporary Progressive Death Metal. Then once again offering madness in the form of music, the band brings forth No Solace Arises, where Luis is on fire with his razor-edged strings, or in other words, this is a neck-breaking tune where the band’s “Rodrigos” shake the foundations of the earth with their beats and bass punches, making it feel like we’re listening to three or four songs all at once.
As obscure and atmospheric as its predecessors, Oceangrave is a flawless fusion of intricacy and rage, sounding as if Lamb of god went full progressive, showcasing ominous passages blended with Luis’ evil guitar lines and Rodrigo Castro’s damned, thunderous bass roars; followed by Surge Drift Motion, which begins in full force with both Luis and Rodrigo Castro shredding their strings mercilessly. Put differently, it’s a heavier-than-hell version of classic Progressive Metal spiced up by Andrés’ roars, with the piercing guitar solos by the band’s stringed duo being the icing on the cake. Submerged is a futuristic and melancholic instrumental bridge that will mesmerize you and prepare you for the pulverizing Drowned in an Everlasting Mantra, starting in a purely experimental mode before Rodrigo Arias begins exterminating his drums beautifully. Furthermore, sheer violence emanates from every riff and beat, with the deep, bestial growls by Andrés seeming inspired by Deathcore while the instrumental pieces remind me of the gripping music by bands like Gojira and Opeth.
Target Deep Water Flames Digipak
The following song, entitled Blackwaters, couldn’t have started in a more demented way, with its eccentric notes morphing into another brutal feast of progressive sounds where Rodrigo Castro’s bass lines are more imposing than ever. Hence, it’s highly recommended for either slamming into the pit or simply witnessing the band playing it to perfection on stage; and get ready for over nine minutes of the most devastating and intricate form of Progressive Death Metal you can think of in Random Waves, featuring Jeronimo Ruiz (Entrefuego), who brings insanity to the music with his vocals, remaining completely wicked, vile and cinematic until the very end. And lastly, the band offers us the serene outro Emerge, where its piano notes and background elements will embrace you and make you feel comfortable in darkness.
You should definitely take a very good and detailed listen at this magnificent album of Technical and Progressive Death Metal made in Chile on YouTube and on Spotify, and after being hypnotized by Target’s heavy and complex sounds you can purchase Deep Water Flames directly from the band’s BandCamp page, from the Australis Records’ BandCamp page, from Apple Music, from Amazon or from CD Baby. Furthermore, if I were you I would go for the digipak version of the album as it’s simply fantastic. I got it from Australis Records, and let me tell you those guys did a beautiful job producing the physical CD format of such distinct album. Also, don’t forget to follow Target on Facebook and to subscribe to their YouTube channel, and let your body and mind dive into the incendiary deep waters of progressive and heavy music ruled by those extremely talented Chilean musicians.
Best moments of the album:Inverted Gloaming, Oceangrave and Drowned in an Everlasting Mantra.
Get ready to be smashed by 26 minutes of first-class Death Metal brought forth by a talented five-piece act hailing from “Hellgium”.
Forged in the fires of Marche-en-Famenne, a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Luxembourg, in the year of 2009, when they released their debut EP entitled An Era’s Condemned, the unstoppable Death Metal squad comprised of Jean-Philippe Sonnet on vocals, Cédric Grandhenry and Renaut Van Oeyen on the guitars, Pierre Pish Minet on bass and Ahephaim on drums, collectively known as Exuviated, are ready to smash our heads once again with the ruthless music from their brand new EP Déliquescence. Featuring a beyond obscure artwork by the band’s own vocalist Jean-Philippe Sonnet (Threadbare Artwork), Déliquescence not only cements the name of the band in the underground extreme music scene, showing why they’ve already shared the stage with several renowned acts like Six Feet Under, Dark Tranquility, Suffocation and Cattle Decapitation (not to mention their concert at the always insane Wacken Open Air Festival), but it also paves a promising path for the band in the future, all in the name of our good old Death Metal.
Get ready for a heavy and demonic feast of Death Metal made in Belgium (or “Hellgium” as the band likes to call it) in the opening track Rupture, with Cédric and Renaut initiating the devastation with their flammable guitars while Jean-Philippe growls in a true Unleashed-inspired style before a somber break brings fear to our hearts, exploding once again into visceral extreme music until we’re treated to the instrumental piece Trouble, showcasing atmospheric guitar lines intertwined with heavier riffs and tribal beats. And this grim ambience sets the tone for the berserk Errance, where Jean-Philippe gnarls and shrieks demonically while Ahephaim sounds like a stone crusher on drums. In other words, this is ass-kicking Death Metal with a modern twist, offering over seven minutes of intricate and devilish sounds, ethereal passages and sheer violence and rage.
The next track, entitled Absence, is a more cinematic instrumental tune where the band seems like in a musical trance, and with Cédric and Renaut, together with Pierre, generating a vile atmosphere with their stringed weapons perfect for the absolute destruction that follows in Abîme, a classic Death Metal extravaganza infused with several modern extreme styles such as Deathcore and Grindcore, feeling and sounding dense throughout its entirety, with highlights to the amazing job done by the skillful Ahephaim with his brutality and refined technique on drums. Furthermore, it’s impressive how Exuviated are capable of composing Death Metal songs with over six minutes each and never sound boring or repetitive, proving how talented those Belgian metallers are.
In a nutshell, Déliquescence, which is available in full on Spotify and on YouTube, will certainly please all fans of both classic and contemporary Death Metal, leaving us all eager for more of Exuviated’s music in a not-so-distant future. Hence, let’s show our utmost support to the band by following them on Facebook, by subscribing to their YouTube channel, and mainly by purchasing a copy of their brand new incendiary EP from BandCamp, from Apple Music or from Amazon. And may Exuviated keep turning Belgium into “Hellgium” for many years to come, filling our ears with the visceral and violent sounds of our beloved Death Metal.
From the the boundless darkness of hell, here comes an infernal Black Metal duo armed to the teeth with their sulfurous and violent new EP.
Formed in 2007 in the city of Karaj, Iran, but currently located in Innsbruck, capital of Austria’s western state of Tyrol, Ambient/Atmospheric Black Metal entity Angra Demana is unleashing upon humanity a brand new EP entitled Triptych Of Decay, marking a new beginning for the band such is the difference between this EP and the band’s debut full-length Dissolve Into Nothingness, released in 2012. For instance, the meaning of Angara Damana (which by the way was the band’s past name) is based according to Zoroaster’s book, stating there are four levels of hell, with the first three levels, Malicious, Scurrility and Malfesant, being the upper levels and beneath them is the boundless darkness, which is Angara Damana or “Angra Demana”.
Lead singer Atöm Krieg and guitarist and bassist Radman, together with guest drummers Jocke Wallgren (Amon Amarth) and Fredrik Widigs (Marduk), turned Triptych of Decay into a handful of surprises with their creativity, rage and dexterity, successfully avoiding to enter the mined fields of eccentricity or elitist avantgarde. Featuring a Stygian artwork by Vojtěch Doubek (Moonroot), Triptych Of Decay will lacerate your damned soul without a single drop of mercy, elevating the name of Angra Demana to new heights in the underground Extreme Metal scene, and leaving you eager for more of their intricate and vile Black Metal.
Brutal and raw from the very first second, Rupture is a true headbanging massacre featuring the demolishing Jocke on drums, or in other words, it’s a classic Black Metal composition where Radman fires sulfurous riffs from his guitar, not to mention how Stygian the lyrics vociferated by Atöm are (“Darkness emerged – enlightenment of my sight / It granted me a world , far beyond this life / To the seclusion atmosphere of flawless awareness / In resistance, transgression against this mortal breed / In a world of forgotten deserted mankind / I start a battle between glory and corruption”). And Jocke once again lends his refined technique to the ominous Erode, where the riffs by Radman will cut your skin deep while Atöm continues to bark rabidly, sounding wicked and diabolical from start to finish. Furthermore, its background keys give it an extra touch of obscurity, with the bass lines by Radman dictating the song’s lugubrious rhythm. Then it’s time for Fredrik to kick some ass on drums in Extinction, and the final result is a berserk onrush of Black Metal sounds. Radman sounds infernal on the guitar, as well as Atöm with his deranged roars and grim vocalizations, effectively giving life to the song’s apocalyptic words (“And the sickness will be erased / When the last scream drift away in the eternal cosmos / Peace through extinction of flesh and blood / And finally all is drenched in thy wisdom”). In my humble opninion, Angra Demana couldn’t have ended the album in a more hellish manner.
In a nutshell, the music by Angra Demana is evil, frantic, chaotic, ritualistic and sulfurous, exactly how we expect a good Black Metal band to sound, and Triptych Of Decay is the perfect depiction of their obscurity. With that said, let’s show our support to such distinct underground duo by following them on Facebook, and especially by purchasing their brand new EP directly from their BandCamp page, keeping the flame of devilish and atmospheric Black Metal burning bright for centuries to come, it doesn’t matter if it’s in Iran, in Austria or in any other part of our decaying world.
A vibrant and demolishing fusion of classic Black and Death Metal with contemporary Melodic Death Metal by a Russian band that’s been on an exciting rise since their inception.
It’s time to return to Siberia, Russia, more specifically to the city of Tomsk, for another round of violence, speed and rage in the form of the Melodic Death and Black Metal blasted by a very talented group of musicians collectively known as The Prophet. After releasing the full-length albums Sunrise (2011), Across the Sphere (2013) and Dying (2015), which by the way I had the pleasure of reviewing here at The Headbanging Moose when it was released, as well as the EP’s Chronos (2013) and Another Damned World (2016), the band comprised of Theodor on bass and vocals, Doctor on the guitar and backing vocals, and Raziel on drums (also featuring now Deathbringer on the guitar) returns now in 2019 with another amazing opus, entitled Essence. Recorded, mixed and mastered at Project Studio Infernal Records, in Tomsk, and featuring a grim artwork by Mark Erskine, from Erskine Designs, Essence will undoubtedly please all fans of both old school Death Metal and contemporary Melodic Death Metal, proving once again why the band is on a constant and exciting rise since their inception in 2010.
Ethereal sounds permeate the air in the beautiful and melancholic intro Essence before the trio begins hammering our minds and hearts in From the Endless Vortex, a brutal Melodic Death Metal tune infused with classic Death Metal elements, with Raziel crushing his drums while Theodor growls and roars like a beast, kicking off the album on a sulfurous note. Then the talented Doctor shreds his chords manically, igniting the also frantic and pulverizing Defeated by the Demons, even more aggressive than its predecessor and showcasing deep and demented growls mixed with unstoppable blast beats and low-tuned bass jabs; and there’s no sign of the band slowing down, as Emerald Eyes is another great song for banging your head vigorously, presenting a solid instrumental with highlights to the perfect sync between Doctor and Raziel.
A lot more introspective and dark, Blackword sounds closer to traditional Swedish Melodic Death Metal, spearheaded by Doctor’s razor-edged riffs while Theodor exhales anger from his harsh gnarls, ending with a smooth piano that builds a classy connection with the instrumental bridge Dreamside Areas, a touch of delicacy added amidst all the havoc blasted by the trio, soothing our souls and preparing our minds for World of Pain, an obscure and absolutely visceral display of Death Metal by The Prophet. Featuring absolutely no shenanigans nor any artificial elements, we’re treated to pure old school Death Metal flowing from all instruments into our avid ears, with the bass lines by Theodor sounding truly violent and metallic, whereas Flying is another straightforward composition that keeps Essence at a very good level of quality and stamina (albeit not as exciting as the rest of the album), with its background orchestral elements bringing an extra dosage of eccentricity to the music.
Back to a full demolishing mode, Time is highly recommended for slamming like an animal into the circle pit while Theodor’s bass and Raziel’s drums smash your senses mercilessly, flowing into an inspiring acoustic finale before another instrumental bridge titled Grand Deliriozo Part I (Imago) brings more peace to our hearts to the sound of stylish piano notes, enfolding us all until The Prophet begins firing their most ambitious and boldest creation to date, the somber and heavy-as-hell In the Dying Sunset. This is undoubtedly an excellent option for breaking your neck headbanging, with all band members delivering sheer aggression from their respective weapons, in special Theodor with his deep guttural roars, putting a dark and at the same time gentle ending to the album.
As I know my simple words are not enough to actually describe the strength and heaviness of the music by The Prophet, I suggest you take a good listen at their new album Essence in full on on YouTube and on Spotify, and in case you’re a diehard fan of this more aggressive version of Swedish Melodic Death Metal you should definitely pay The Prophet a visit on Facebook and on VKontakte, and subscribe to their YouTube channel. Hence, you can purchase Essence from the Soundage Productions’ webstore, from Apple Music, from Google Play, from Amazon or from Discogs. Russian Melodic Death Metal has never been so good, and we have to thank the guys from The Prophet not only for leading that trend, but also for showing a healthy and interesting evolution in their sonority just the way we always like it in heavy music.
Best moments of the album:From the Endless Vortex, Defeated by the Demons and World of Pain.
Worst moments of the album:Flying.
Released in 2019 Soundage Productions
Track listing 1. Essence (Intro) 1:22
2. From the Endless Vortex 3:45
3. Defeated by the Demons 2:49
4. Emerald Eyes 3:44
5. Blackword 4:17
6. Dreamside Areas 1:56
7. World of Pain 2:50
8. Flying 3:23
9. Time 3:32
10. Grand Deliriozo Part I (Imago) 2:06
11. In the Dying Sunset 7:44
Band members Theodor – bass, vocals
Doctor – guitar, backing vocals
Raziel – drums
Emmène-moi dans ton monde… De lumière et d’ombre… Emmène-moi dans ton monde… Car ma nuit est longue…
Born in May 1986 in Orléans, a suburb of Canada’s national capital Ottawa, in the province of Ontario, our metal chick of the month of June is much more than just your average metalhead. Not only she’s the lead singer for Montreal-based Heavy/Doom Metal band Cauchemar, but she’s also a bass player, the author of a fantastic book entitled “Hellbent for Cooking: The Heavy Metal Cookbook”, writer for UK’s Iron Fist magazine and for Morbid Tales fanzine, one of the promoters of the now defunct Wings of Metal festival in Montreal, and the co-founder of Temple of Mystery Records, not to mention she’s also a graphic designer who has already worked with the iconic Skyclad and countless underground bands. This might look overkill for any regular person, but not for the unstoppable Canadian superwoman Annick Giroux. Having said that, do you have what it takes to join Annick in her quest for metal music, good food and arts in general?
Annick’s life in metal and graphic design actually started when she was still a very young girl, at the age of 10, when her father brought home a floppy disk containing Paint Shop Pro 4.0, which she used with another software called Visual Page to make a primitive website about her favorite cartoon character. Almost at the same time, when she was 11 or 12 years old, she became pen-pals with a Vietnamese girl living in Belgium, who sent her some cassettes with the albums by Japanese Power Metal institution X-Japan. Annick immediately fell in love for their music, and that turned into an obsession to her to the point she even created an X-Japan fan site before eventually becoming a full metalhead. After that first contact with X-Japan, she started to properly explore the world of heavy music and to develop a deep passion for what she likes to call “Ancient Metal” (which includes Doom, Black, Speed, Thrash and NWOBHM), with bands such as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Pagan Altar, Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Anvil, Exciter, Mercyful Fate, Destruction, Sacrifice and Celtic Frost, among many, many others, changing the way she used to see music. She then started playing bass, joined a few different bands, designed their logos, demo layouts and flyers, ran the Morbid Tales fanzine for six issues, and even DJ’d weekly at a traditional Montreal metal/punk pub named Katacombes.
Owner of a potent voice, Annick founded the French-Canadian metal institution Cauchemar back in 2007 together with guitarist François Patry originally as a recording project, as performing live didn’t really appeal to them. Still, Cauchemar released in 2010 the five-track EP La Vierge Noire (which means “the black virgin” in English) and played live three Canadian shows before putting the band on hold in 2011 and embarking on an eighteen-month trip around the world. However, that plan lasted only until a friend of the band from Chile invited them to play in the country with local musicians, igniting their desire to keep the band alive and kicking and, consequently, taking them to the most distinct places like Peru, Japan, India and Thailand. All material they wrote during that insane trip ended up on their debut full-length album, entitled Tenebrario, released in 2013, and Annick even said in one of her interviews that trip was the richest and most inspiring experience of her life, as she had the unique pleasure of getting to know many different cultures, metal scenes, local cuisines, religions and social classes.
After Tenebrario, Cauchemar also released another full-length album, titled Chapelle Ardente (or “burning chapel” in English), in 2016, and as you might have already noticed Annick sings all songs from Cauchemar entirely in French, giving their music an extra touch of mysticism, delicacy and occultism. By the way, the name of the band, wihich means “nightmare” in English, stems from a series of violent nightmares Annick used to suffer, some described exactly like sleep paralysis. “I actually did some research into this in the past as some of my nightmares were rather troubling. In fact, the first meaning of the name Cauchemar, or cauquemaire, loosely translates to ‘ghost pressing down’, which surely derives from those very sleep paralyses. But I’m unsure if that’s what I experienced, I’ve been having dreams about dying ever since I was a child,” mentioned Annick in one of her interviews. If you want to feel that nightmare-sih vibe flowing from the music by Cauchemar and especially from Annick’s vocals, you should definitely take a listen at songs like Étoile D’Argent, Trois Mondes, Comme Un Poignard, Tête de Mort, and Le Fantôme, as well as several live performances by the band such as at the Nuclear War Now! Festival V in 2016, playing the song Sepolta Viva at the Magog, in Sherbrooke, in 2014 and the song L’Appel at Cafe Deckuf in Ottawa in 2013, and playing cover versions for Black Sabbath’s The Wizard at Montreal is Doomed in 2010 and Fleetwood Mac’s Green Manalishi in Montreal in 2016.
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Apart from her career with Cauchemar, you can also enjoy her bass punches and vocal lines in several other bands and projects from different parts of the world. For instance, in 2008 she played bass for Japanese Black/Thrash Metal act Barbatos during their live concerts, which ended up having Annick as their bass player in the 2008 Barbatos/Bastardator split live album Live in Montreal; you can also see her playing keyboards (yes, she can also play keyboards) on the introduction from the brand new album Destiny Calls, by Finnish Heavy/Speed Metal band Chevalier; and playing synths and/or doing female vocals on the songs Nordkarpatenland, Keď Svetlonosi Započnú V Močariskách Nazeleno Svícit, Nedlho Po Púlnoci Opacha Sa Doplazila Z Dzíry, and V Rujnovej Samote Pocichu Dumá Lovecký Zámek Zvlčilého Grófa, all from the album Nordkarpatenland, released in 2017 by Slovakian Black Metal horde Malokarpatan.
As you can see, Annick has already been involved in very distinct projects and bands in her career so far, and if you include in that mix her work as a graphic designer, then the list of bands and styles grows considerably. Having obtained a degree in Graphic Design before moving to Montreal with her then boyfriend (and now husband) François Patry, she mentioned in an interview that she actually earns a living as a freelance graphic designer, and as the co-owner of the aforementioned Temple of Mystery Records since 2016 she said she designs absolutely everything for the label’s releases. Furthermore, Annick said she has trouble listening to an album if the artwork is ugly, tasteless or uninspired, as in her opinion metal and graphic design have always been in symbiosis for her. Apart from the album design for Cauchemar’s Tenebrario and the artwork for their Chapelle Ardente album, you can also find Annick’s lines, colors and designs in the albums by tons of excellent underground bands like Anatomia, Venin, Night Demon, Metal Grave, Diabolic Force, Chevalier and Disforterror, just to name a few. For example, how not to enjoy the artwork she provided for the 2013 album Necheshirion, by Canadian Black Metal act Gevurah? When you listen to the music, it matches perfectly with the cryptic art by Annick, proving her point that the cover art is and will always be a crucial part of a metal album.
Despite being a talented musician and graphic designer, let’s say the metal community got to know Annick a lot better mainly due to her book entitled “Hellbent for Cooking: The Heavy Metal Cookbook”, which she signed as Annick “The Morbid Chef” Giroux, featuring a varied menu of over a hundred recipes from thirty countries, including Yorkshire Pudding from England, Beer Pizza Crust from Germany, Spaghetti Barracuda from Italy, Fårikål from Norway, Country Lamb Exohiko from Greece, Churrasco from Brazil, and Mushroom Steak à la Jack Daniel’s from the United States, among numerous other appetizer, breakfast, lunch, dinner, vegetarian, seafood, dessert and drink recipes, all with contributions by worldwide famous musicians from metal bands like Accept, Gwar, Tankard, Anthrax, Electric Wizard, Rotting Christ, Sepultura, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, Doro, U.D.O., Obituary, Mayhem, Gorgoroth, Uriah Heep, Kreator, Nuclear Assault, and a lot of underground acts. In the beginning, Hellbent for Cooking was just a section of the 6th edition of her Morbid Tales fanzine released in 2009, containing only around 20 recipes. However, the idea (originally conceived in 2007) for a metal cookbook by Annick became a reality when her editor Ian Christe picked up the 2009 fanzine and asked her if she was interested in having all recipes published as a book. Then for the pro-looking color cookbook itself that was released by Bazillion Points her deadline was only six months, and she took it seriously by dedicating herself entirely to research, writing, cooking, photographing and laying out the recipe pages. Our dauntless singer, bassist and chef said she contacted about 400 bands in total, and that she could never imagine that bands like Sepultura or Mayhem would actually respond to her. She even ended up discovering new bands during her research period, as for example a Death/Thrash Metal band from Pakistan named Dusk. Moreover, as an avid reader, Annick recommends apart from her own book a few other interesting Bazillion Points publications like Swedish Death Metal, by Daniel Ekeroth, Murder in the Front Row, by Harald Oimoen and Brian Lew, and and Only Death Is Real, by Tom Gabriel Fischer with Martin Eric Ain.
It was after her trip to different parts of the world, especially when she was in Europe and was able to enjoy many underground metal fests, that she returned to Montreal with the idea of organizing a festival of her own, naming it Wings of Metal. She said that as there was no such thing as an underground metal festival mixing styles in Canada, her idea was to do it in the European spirit with a lot of bands from overseas, focusing on the quality of sound and experience, and although the festival only lasted for four editions she’s still proud of her accomplishment. Known as somewhat of an archaeologist of obscure Canadian metal, Annick said that in her opinion Canadian metal often has a touch of something eccentric, mentioning renowned bands like Rush and Voivod as being uniquely bizarre, while other like Slaughter and Exciter are extremely violent, also mentioning that Montreal hosted the first ever international metal festival in North America, named World War III Festival, in 1985, featuring Voivod, Destruction, Celtic Frost, Possessed and Nasty Savage. In addition, when asked about the apparent division between Anglo-Canadians and French-Canadians in Montreal, Annick said she was not even aware of which local Anglophone bands were around, since they have their own shows and separate venues. However, she said that there’s no animosity between those two fronts, it’s just that people tend to stay in their own neighborhoods and feel more comfortable listening to music in their first languages. Well, it doesn’t actually matter if you’re an Anglo-Canadian, a French-Canadian or a complete foreigner to Montreal, whenever visiting the city try to stay updated about all metal concerts going on because, you know, you might be able to witness nightmares in the form of old school Doom Metal spearheaded by our multi-talented Annick Giroux.
“Canadian metal often has a touch of something eccentric. Being so far removed from the traditional music centres like New York City, Chicago, and LA made Canadian bands want to work even harder in developing something exceptional that could bring attention to them.” – Annick Giroux
Blasting our eras with a raw and dirty fusion of Industrial and Sludge Metal since 1998, Brussels, Belgium and Paris, France-based brothers Loïc Beyet (guitar, voice, programming), Lionel Beyet (bass, programming, voice) and Nicolas Beyet (guitar, voice), collectively known as Industrial Sludge Noise beast [P.U.T], are unleashing upon humanity their sixth full-length opus entitled We Are [Br]others, highly recommended for fans of the noisy music by acts like Sonic Youth, Killing Joke, Godflesh and Neurosis, among several others. Self-recorded between Paris and Brussels, mixed by Loïc at garlic.lab between November 2017 and May 2018, mastered by Alexandre Vitrac, an ex-[P.U.T] member, at Studio CBE in June 2018, and featuring a classy and obscure artwork by French artist Alexis Horellou, We Are [Br]others is the first [P.U.T] album to feature the three Beyet Brothers in the lineup, offering the listener the band’s trademark amalgamation of machine sounds, guitars, noise, sludge, industrial and punk at their finest, overflowing madness, heaviness and anger over the span of 50 minutes.
I Am Here is a cinematic and very experimental track by [P.U.T], with its wicked noises and futuristic atmosphere invading our senses before the disruptive Angry comes crushing, and that’s exactly how they sound, firing crude, unfiltered riffs from their flammable guitars and grunting rabidly nonstop. Furthermore, this is another interesting hybrid of the vicious music by acts like Ministry and Rob Zombie with the band’s own demented twist. And sounding like unstoppable machines from an assembly line, the trio delivers another vicious song entitled Possesed, where once again the guitars by Loïc and Nicolas exhale rage while the low-tuned bass lines by Lionel bring even more insanity to their music; it just goes on for a little too long, though, but nothing that hurts the overall quality of the album. In Not Your Dog the brothers are back to a more rockin’ sonority, bringing forward their trademark raspy vocals and visceral riffs and leaning towards old school Sludge Metal with a doom-ish vibe, offering the listener some piercing guitar solos as a “bonus”, whereas their coup de grâce comes in the form of a neck-breaking, eccentric creation titled Pain, with the sound of guitars being boosted by Lionel’s menacing bass in a good balance between mechanized, ethereal sounds and sheer aggression, flowing wickedly until its Stygian ending.
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 