Living is an act of courage, and this Melodic Death Metal act from Sweden has the perfect soundtrack for that.
Founded by Greek multi-instrumentalist Pauli Souka in 2012 in Vantaa, a city in Finland that is part of the inner core of the Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen, but currently located in Hudiksvall, a Swedish city also known as Glada Hudik due to its hospitality and social life, the heavy-as-hell metal unity known as Coldbound returns with a brand new opus titled The Gale, their first Melodic Death Metal album to date. If you got used to the Black Metal-inspired approach of their previous releases such as their 2015 album Rites Under Moonlight, get ready to be stunned by the new Coldbound, sounding more polished, doomed, darker and, therefore, being highly recommended for fans of Insomnium, Draconian, Swallow The Sun and Wolfheart, among other excellent Scandinavian Melodic Death Metal acts.
Featuring the aforementioned Pauli Souka on vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards and programming, accompanied by Swedish artist Paulina Medepona (also known as Satana Lucia, and who was also responsible for the incredible and obscure album art) and Finnish keyboardist Andras Miklosvari, the concept behind The Gale focuses on memories of nostalgia and personal struggles, having the purpose of raising the awareness of those who suffer from depression, those who have suicidal thoughts or those who feel lonely. The motto of the album, repeated continuously on the song “Shades of Myself” and displayed on the digipak version of it, is “living is an act of courage”, with the album’s lyrics being mostly inspired by personal struggles and somehow promoting optimism through dark times. Such important message only gets stronger and stronger as the music progresses, showcasing all the talent and hard work of Pauli and his crew and placing them as one of the most interesting names of the current underground scene.
In the intro 61° 43′ N 17° 07 E, which by the way are the coordinates for a point in Hudiksvall, the soothing sound of rain and an ethereal vibe suddenly explode into a feast of extreme music, setting the stage for The Invocation, highly inspired by the dark and pensive music by Insomnium and with Pauli firing his anguished growls while at the same time keeping the music mournful with his Doom Metal-like beats. Needless to say, the song’s lyrics exhale poetry (“Dark is the night, and the veils are drawn of shadows / Dark is the day, while the sun is no longer awake / The sun is calling for your dawn / These words colour countless shades I shall revoke beyond these shores / And drink your fading crimson tear”), and heaviness keeps pounding our heads in the also obscure but very melodic Endurance Through Infinity, where the guitar lines bring a touch of epicness from Folk and Viking Metal, with Pauli making sure we crack our necks in half headbanging to the song’s crushing rhythm.
Enhancing the impact and delicacy of their music thanks to the keyboards by Andras and the stunning vocals by Paulina, Coldbound deliver a touching creation titled The Eminent Light, where the melancholy flowing from the guitars create an interesting paradox with its doomed beats; followed by the title-track The Gale, which kicks off in full force with its Black Metal blast beats and an enfolding atmosphere. Furthermore, this is probably Pauli’s most demonic mode from the entire album, blasting infernal growls and scorching riffs during the whole song, as well as thunderous and dense bass lines. Then we have the fantastic My Solace, with its lyrics taken from the poem book of Kostas Karyotakis titled “Nostalgia” (“My solace will be seen – by scars upon my heart / My solace will be told – by letter of remorse / The bitter greet – a cold farewell / The olden sorrows – that ignite again”). Andras once again brings tons of flavor to the musicality with his keys, while Pauli gives a lesson in dark, melancholic and gripping Melodic Death Metal, flowing majestically until its astounding finale.
Winters Unfold is another neck-breaking creation by Coldbound, with its rhythm and vibe once again presenting hints of Folk Metal and with the strident guitars by Pauli going along flawlessly with his growls; whereas in Shades Of Myself a promising start solidifies into a classic Scandinavian Melodic Death Metal tune, as polished and vibrant as we can expect from a band like Coldbound, and once again with Pauli adding a good amount of intricacy to the overall sound through his beats. Lastly, how about an 11-minute aria of melodic and obscure extreme music entitled Towards The Weeping Skies to conclude the album? In this journey through the dark, the vocals by Pauli get to a point where they can be considered “anguished whispers”, not to mention the outstanding phantasmagorical keys in the background. Hence, you’ll be hypnotized by Pauli’s guitar lines before the music fades into a gentle and touching outro, accompanied by the sound of a heavy and gorgeous tempest.
The Gale is available for a full listen on YouTube and on Spotify, but if I were you I would definitely show my honest support to such distinct act by purchasing the album from their own BandCamp page or Big Cartel (in digipak format or as a digipak + shirt bundle), from iTunes, or from Amazon. Also, don’t forget to pay Coldbound a visit at their Facebook page and YouTube channel, and let their comforting darkness embrace you. If living is an act of courage as Coldbound say, then The Gale might be the perfect soundtrack for that tough but always rewarding adventure.
Best moments of the album: Endurance Through Infinity, The Gale and My Solace.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2018 Moonlight Productions
Track listing 1. 61° 43′ N 17° 07 E 2:40
2. The Invocation 5:22
3. Endurance Through Infinity 7:15
4. The Eminent Light 5:36
5. The Gale 7:35
6. My Solace 7:18
7. Winters Unfold 5:35
8. Shades Of Myself 5:36
9. Towards The Weeping Skies 10:58
Band members Pauli Souka – vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, programming
Guest musicians Paulina Medepona – vocals on “The Eminent Light”
Andras Miklosvari – keyboards on “The Eminent Light”, “The Gale”, “My Solace” and “Winters Unfold”, orchestrations
Like a firestorm crossing the desert valley, here comes the unstoppable Algerian dark angel of Death Metal armed with a brand new and crushing concept opus.
The unstoppable Algerian dark angel of Death Metal known as Lelahell is finally back with a brand new opus titled Alif, the follow-up to their 2014 pulverizing album Al Insane… The (Re)Birth Of Abderrahmane, containing 10 tracks of unrelenting Death Metal riffs with an Algerian folklore accent, combined with fast blast beats and technical rhythms. Spearheaded by Redouane Aouameur on vocals, guitars and bass, an iconic figure of the Algerian metal scene (as you can see on Highway To Lelahell – An Algerian Metal Documentary), and supported by the ruthless German drummer Hannes Grossmann (Necrophagist, Obscura, Alkaloid, Blotted Science, Hate Eternal), Lelahell are ready to take the world of heavy music by storm once again, with the music found in Alif cementing even more their already solid path of destruction.
Each Lelahell release is conceptually linked to the character of Abderrahmane, yet focusing on another evolutionary step – another chapter in his own book. Featuring a classy cover artwork by Björn Gooßes from Killustrations (who has already worked with bands like Wolfheart, Motorjesus, Amon Amarth, Death Angel and Sodom, among several others), Alif focuses on Abderrahmane’s first steps in his new life, just like a child learning to speak and walk, learning about the world around him full of foes and fears, and that’s why Abderrahmane needs to save himself from those dangers. Musically speaking, Alif is like a firestorm crossing the desert valley, leaving you disoriented due to its endless heaviness, furious speed and undisputed rage, which together with the album’s intricate concept turns it into a must-have for any diehard fan of old school Death Metal.
And Hannes provides his welcome card by pounding his drums manically in the opening tune Paramnesia, being quickly joined by Redouane and his pulverizing riffs and bass punches. However, it’s when he starts barking the song’s lyrics that things get serious in this sonic havoc that lives up to the legacy of brutal and technical Death Metal, showcasing intricate drums and wicked guitar solos. Then a headbanging riffage ignites another belligerent and absolutely devastating tune by Lelahell, named Ignis Fatuus, with the sound of the guitar being insanely heavy, strident and therefore awesome. Furthermore, try following the lyrics along with Redouane (“A delusion, great confusion, foolish fire, Ignis Fatuus / Hallucination, false impression, false hope, Will o’ the wisp / A Fantasy, at first sight, strange light, Ignis Fatuus / It is just an erroneous perception of the reality”); whereas Thou Shalt Not Kill is a cinematic, epic bridge to the imposing hymn Ribat Essalem, where the duo showcases all their skills by blasting slashing riffs and solos, stone-crushing beats and classic demented Death Metal vocals, resulting in a circle pit-catalyst that will please all fans of the genre.
Adam the First gets closer to what they did in their previous album, which means a darker sonority and deeper guttural vocals, also presenting a smashing vibe led by Hannes and feeling at times like that type of Progressive Death Metal commonly found in the United States (but infused with elements from Redouane’s homeland), followed by The Fifth, another brutish display of classic Death Metal by Lelahell where the infernal and demonic growls by Redouane take the song’s malignancy to a whole new level, while Hannes doesn’t stop smashing his drums for a single second. And in Insiraf / Martyr, groovy beats initiate a vile and bold feast of cavernous sounds spearheaded by the uproarious riffs and bass lines by Redouane, with Hannes bringing his usual heavy artillery to support the band’s mastermind in his quest for Death Metal.
An ominous start suddenly morphs to a battering ram of Technical Death Metal made in Algeria in Litham (The Reach of Kal Asuf), with the Algerian nuances bringing a welcome extra flavor to the musicality while Redouane declaims the song’s lyrics in a devilish way (“A dominant symbol of their entity / The veiling of the men is an ancient custom / The origin remains obscure and conjectural / One fold is brought across the face to form the veil / The cloth is wrapped around the head / Touaregs and nomads, wearing those clothes to cover their faces against the desert storms.”). Then setting fire to the music with his lancinating riffs, Redouane kicks off a short and extremely vile Death Metal extravaganza titled Parasits, blasting sheer aggression and hatred in the name of extreme music. Lastly, Redouane’s coup-de-grâce comes in the form of an obscure and crisp Death Metal tune named Impunity of the Mutants, with Hannes sounding like a thunderstorm in the background. Very technical, detailed and full of layers, this is a must-listen for newcomers to the cataclysmic world of Lelahell, presenting sick bass lines and bestial beats that together flow powerfully into an epic finale.
If you have what it takes to enter the realm of crushing Death Metal ruled by Redouane and his Lelahell, you can check what the band is up to on Facebook and listen to more of their music on YouTube, and purchase your copy of Alif (available for a full listen on Spotify) from their own BandCamp page or Big Cartel, as well as from iTunes, Amazon or Discogs. In addition, although I’m not sure who’s responsible for the drums on their live concerts after the departure of Slaveblaster in 2016 (but something tells me he’s still playing with the band somehow), the multi-talented Redouane together with bassist Ramzi Curse (who replaced Nihil in 2015) are indeed a live act, proudly carrying the flag of Algerian and African metal wherever they go, and if I were you I would definitely keep an eye on their agenda for concerts not only in Algeria, but anywhere else where good Death Metal is appreciated. Well, I guess I don’t need to say what you should do if you don’t support Lelahell, right?
Best moments of the album: Paramnesia, Ribat Essalem and Impunity of the Mutants.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2018 Metal Age Productions
Track listing 1. Paramnesia 4:33
2. Ignis Fatuus 3:04
3. Thou Shalt Not Kill 0:30
4. Ribat Essalem 4:27
5. Adam the First 4:26
6. The Fifth 4:01
7. Insiraf / Martyr 5:37
8. Litham (The Reach of Kal Asuf) 5:54
9. Parasits 2:44
10. Impunity of the Mutants 5:16
Band members Redouane Aouameur – vocals, guitars, bass
Hannes Grosmann – drums
A violent and frantic album by three Finnish metallers who know exactly how to blend classic Scandinavian Death Metal with the more modern sound of Deathgrind.
From the swamping lands of Finland, old school Death Metal/Grindcore unity Galvanizer emerges with their debut full-length album Sanguine Vigil, after having paid all their dues like we were used back in the 90’s with several demo tapes and a 7″ EP titled Horrid Tales of Death…, released in 2015. Fans of bands like Machetazo, Abhorrence and Haemorrhage will have a good time listening to the ten pulverizing tracks featured in Sanguine Vigil, being recommended for admirers of both classic Finnish Death Metal and the more modern Deathgrind sound found in the scene nowadays.
Formed in 2015 as a one-man project, this Laitila-Tammela-based act quickly turned into a power trio, comprised of Vili Mäkinen on vocals and bass, Aleksi Vähämäki on guitars and backing vocals, and Nico Niemikko on drums, becoming one of the most promising underground bands in Finland due to their old school approach and their youthful energy. Featuring a gory cover art painted by Turkka G. Rantanen, a Finnish institution famous for his works with Demilich, Demigod, Adramelech, Depravity and many more, Sanguine Vigil is a violent and frantic statement by Galvanizer, sending a sound message to everyone that stands in their way that they’re not among us to fool around. “Expect the same primitive Finnish grinding death madness but this time much more faster and brutal,” said Aleksi about their new opus, probably devilishly grinning about it.
An initial narration which seems to be taken from one of the Friday the 13th movies ignite the moshing feast titled Mood For The Blade, an amazing welcome card by the band exploding into a grinding devastation by Galvanizer led by the infuriated growls by Vili, while Aleksi sounds heavier-than-hell on the guitar. Then simply slam into the circle pit to the frantic Grindcore spearheaded by Nico and his unstoppable beats in Enjoyment Of Annihilation, with its lyrics reminding me of the always inspiring words by metal masters Carcass (“Pulmonary artery hemorrhage / hacksaw through the raped face / cock dismembered brutally / rectum penetrated ghastly way / pleasure to kill / cadavers raping is the name of thrill / game of life / deep thoughts of dirty, sick mind”); followed by Deathbeat Deity, the perfect fusion of old school Death Metal with contemporary Grindcore translated into a rhythmic, pulverizing wall of sounds, with highlights to the amazing job done by Nico on drums and the slashing riffs by Aleksi.
The title-track Sanguine Vigil, the longest of all songs, begins in a somber and ominous manner, morphing into a dense and crushing sonority where Vili growls deeper and deeper (also extracting aggressive tones from his bass) while Nico keeps kicking some serious ass with his beats and fills, whereas Grind Till… You’re Dead! brings forward an absolute brutal demolition in less than two minutes, with all three members pounding their instruments, generating a tornado of violence and gore recommended only for the brave. And the trio keeps blasting their high-octane music with no mercy for our souls in Domestic Mastication, another straightforward, classic Grindcore composition with Vili and Aleksi grinding their strings from start to finish; and in Gorefestation they add an extra dosage of groove to their music thanks to the thunderous bass by Vili, resulting in a fantastic display of extreme music where Nico gets even more demented on drums than before, enhancing the song’s punch considerably. Put differently, the grinding extravaganza proposed by Galvanizer can’t get any better than this.
In Premature Rot, another groovy and flammable chant where the band continues to pave their path of destruction, have fun singing along those beautiful lyrics with Vili (“A premature rot is your fear / as minor treat comes real / accidental slit of the blade / can kill by horrible way / deep wound and painful omen / uncleaned and it’s open / let in the streptococcus / and other hocus pocus”), before the demented Unfinished Autopsy comes crushing your skull mercilessly, with an anguished intro and total havoc being the main ingredients in such hellish feast of Death Metal and Grindcore, with the entire band blasting sheer aggression and rage through their riffs, punches and beats. And as the icing on the cake we have their cover version for Finnish old school Death Metal/Grindcore band Necrobiosis’ A Painful End For Curiosity, originally released in a split album with a Hungarian band named Intense Agonizing in 1994. Well, their version is just as demonic, berserk and gory, and you can compare both by checking the original version HERE.
You can have your brain smashed by Galvanizer by taking a full listen at Sanguine Vigil on YouTube, and get to know more details about the band and their music on Facebook and YouTube. Hence, there’s no excuse for not supporting Galvanizer and not purchasing their visceral music, as Sanguine Vigil is on sale from several different locations, such as the band’s own BandCamp page, the Everlasting Spew Records’ BandCamp page or webstore, in different formats from the Me Saco Un Ojo Records’ webstore, as well as from Record Shop X, iTunes, Amazon and Discogs. Got it? Or should I say “gore” it?
Best moments of the album: Mood For The Blade, Deathbeat Deity and Gorefestation.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2018 Everlasting Spew Records
Track listing 1. Mood For The Blade 3:45
2. Enjoyment Of Annihilation 2:30
3. Deathbeat Deity 3:09
4. Sanguine Vigil 5:14
5. Grind Till… You’re Dead! 1:23
6. Domestic Mastication 3:03
7. Gorefestation 2:26
8. Premature Rot 2:28
9. Unfinished Autopsy 3:37
10. A Painful End For Curiosity (Necrobiosis cover) 3:04
Band members Vili Mäkinen – vocals, bass
Aleksi Vähämäki – guitars, backing vocals
Nico Niemikko – drums
Be part of the legacy with the new collection of first-class figurines inspired by Iron Maiden’s award-winning RPG mobile game.
If you’re an avid Iron Maiden follower, always eager to see what’s next in the career of our beloved Heavy Metal behemoths, I’m pretty sure you have already seen online or even downloaded and played their mobile game Legacy of the Beast, released in 2017, where you are able to battle as Eddie across several different worlds inspired by the band’s unique imagery and music. What you might not know is that Iron Maiden, in a partnership with a multi-faceted production company called Incendium, are also offering their fans a collection of high-quality action figures called Legacy of the Beast Figurines, based on several characters from their award-winning RPG game. There are two types of figurines available, the ones you can see what you’re buying and the ones that come in a blind box, something tons of other manufacturers do for different collections based on movies, cartoons and TV shows where they lower the cost of the blind box, but you always end up spending more money than you have available by buying several boxes (because you never know what you’re going to get).
The ones you can see what you’re buying are a no-brainer, highly recommended for embellishing your “altar of Heavy Metal” together with all your other metal-inspired memorabilia, those being the SHAMAN EDDIE (inspired by their 2015 masterpiece The Book of Souls), the VAMPIRE HUNTER EDDIE (inspired by their 1980 instrumental classic Transylvania), and the TROOPER EDDIE, all costing around CAD$ 32.43 (or US$24.95). These highly detailed 1:24 scale PVC figures measure about 4-inches tall and come on a special theme base, packaged in a diorama-style window box. As I said, whenever you see one of those, simply buy them because they kick some serious ass. However, while searching for those Eddies you might actually find a blind box containing one of the 12 different individual characters featured in the Legacy of the Beast Wave 1 Limited Edition Figurines, and that’s when the “problem” beings because as already mentioned you have no idea what character you’re buying. Those 12 figurines and the chance of getting a particular one are:
Heights of figurines vary, and are typically 9cm high including the stand, but of course the selection is absolutely random (based on the chances listed above) and you cannot ask the manufacturer for a specific item, nor can they accept returns on opened items. This means once you buy a blind box, it’s yours forever (unless you sell it on eBay or Kijiji), and that you may receive duplicates when ordering more than one item. For instance, I bought only one box and got the Clairvoyant, by far the most boring of all characters by the way, but it is what it is, and if I had bought two boxes I might have gotten two Clairvoyants. You can buy only ONE BLIND BOX for around CAD$ 19.43 (or US$ 14.95), or you can try your luck buying a special BLIND BOX MASTER CASE containing 12 individual blind boxes for around CAD$ 233.92 (or US$ 179.95). But again, keep in mind if you buy the carton with 12 blind boxes, you might end up getting 12 Clairvoyants instead of the Samurai and the Cyborg you wanted so much.
Uninspired, lame, generic, way too orchestral and utterly boring. What happened to our good old Dimmu Borgir?
I honestly don’t know how to start this review for Eonian, the brand new and extremely boring album by Norwegian Symphonic Black Metal icons Dimmu Borgir, the tenth in their career following their 2010 album Abrahadabra, which was also quite bad. Well, first and foremost, I don’t think the low quality of the album is due to the several lineup changes the band suffered through the years, with vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Shagrath and guitarist and bassist Silenoz being the only original members left, and with guitarist and bassist Galder being already a longstanding member. In my humble opinion, their biggest mistake in Eonian was trying to be way more symphonic than they should, resulting in a bland and confused version of the music by Nightwish or Epica with extremely uninspired harsh vocals and generic lyrics.
Featuring an interesting artwork by Polish artist Zbigniew M. Bielak (Deicide, Ghost, immolation, Paradise Lost), much better than some of their previous installments by the way, Eonian has everything we don’t want to listen to in a Dimmu Borgir album, from totally out-of-place orchestrations to a lame background choir. I don’t know how keyboardist Gerlioz and drummer Daray survived another round of pedestrian metal music with Dimmu Borgir after Abrahadabra, and I hope for the sake of their careers they do not accept to participate in another explosion of sheer mediocrity with Shagrath and his horde in the near future. Should the band call it quits after Eonian, or will they keep recording tedious album after tedious album while at the same time they cash in some decent money from their live concerts and merch? In the end, it seems that’s what several renowned bands only care about, right?
An orchestral and imposing start evolves to a heavier version of the Symphonic Metal played by Nightwish with Black Metal vocals in the opening track The Unveiling (and that will happen with pretty much every song of the album), not even close to their classic sonority, getting utterly tiresome after a while despite its not-so-bad lyrics (“Become through earned / And granted liberation / Rise above the secrecy / And silent deception / Clarity is determined / At the depths of murky waters / The potion of black earthed blood / Is the sludge draining the conscious”). Then yet again we have another tasteless tune that seems taken from the worst of all Epica albums, the first (and boring) single titled Interdimensional Summit, which might have worked for other Symphonic Metal bands, but definitely not for Dimmu Borgir. Moreover, as already mentioned the album’s background choir doesn’t bring any potency to the music, not to mention how low the guitars by both Galder and Silenoz sound compared to the orchestrations. In the good Ætheric, the drums by Daray finally appear amidst the excessive orchestral sounds, as well as the riffs by the guitar duo, in what’s probably the best song of the album (with even Shagrath sounding more devilish on vocals). Put differently, this might be far from being a masterpiece by Dimmu Borgir, but at least it’s Symphonic Black Metal.
In Council of Wolves and Snakes a cinematic, horror-like intro morphs into a macabre sonority, bringing a touch of Doom Metal to their dark symphony and with guests Mikkel Gaup and Martin Lopez adding a demented twist to it with their shaman vocals and voodoo beats. There’s nothing truly outstanding in this case, but it’s still a decent song, which is definitely not the case in The Empyrean Phoenix. I’m not sure what to say about this song, as it has an interesting and vibrant vibe while at the same time its instrumental pieces are again way too orchestral, lacking more aggressiveness in the end. After such unstable song we have Lightbringer, where the band shows a spark of their glorious years in a promising start that grows in intensity spearheaded by the beats by Daray, morphing into a hybrid between the band’s classic Symphonic Black Metal and the lighter Symphonic Metal that “poisons” the entire album, but fortunately in this case Shagrath and his horde sound a lot better and more cohesive.
In the horrendous I Am Sovereign, while the music itself tries to be symphonic, it feels more like a soundtrack to a very unexciting circus act, with all that’s already bad getting even worse due to its generic lyrics (“Perseverance doesn’t mean anything / Unless it’s for eternity / The real powers that will ever be / Is freedom and liberty”). Where are the guitars? What happened to Shagrath’s voice? These are just a couple of questions raised in what’s probably the worst song of all. And Archaic Correspondance doesn’t get much better than that, not knowing if it wants to be a heavy or orchestral (or even pop) song. At least Shagrath’s voice sounds slightly heavier and more demonic than in the previous tune, but the choir once again makes the whole song too soft and tiresome. In short, this is a total waste of almost five minutes of your life. Alpha Aeon Omega presents a relatively better balance between the band’s Black Metal and the infinite orchestrations in the background, with Daray’s drums sounding crisp and piercing; however, once again the guitars are almost nonexistent (which is a bummer for any fan of heavy music). And the instrumental piece Rite of Passage would have been great if the rest of the album wasn’t such a disappointment. Anyway, it’s as decent as it can be, ending the album in a somewhat whimsical way.
In my opinion, one of the biggest issues in Eonian, if not the biggest one of all for a huge part of fans of metal music, is that pretty much all songs drag for way too long. There are countless bands that can make a 15-minute song sound like if it had only a minute or two so compelling their music is, but in the case of Dimmu Borgir they managed to do the exact opposite in Eonian, with almost every song in the album being an endless torture even if they have less than five minutes in duration. Furthermore, after surviving listening to Eonian for a couple of times (trying to find something good in it), I was going to give it a 2.0, but after listening to the first single from the upcoming album by Eric Peterson’s furious and epic Symphonic Black Metal project Dragonlord, the sensational title-track Dominion, I was “forced” to lower Eonian’s rate to 1.5. I have no idea if you agree with me or not, perhaps I’m being too demanding, but if you truly think Eonian is a good Symphonic Black Metal album I highly recommend you go take a listen at Dragonlord. Then I’m sure you’ll agree with me that Eonian unfortunately sucks big time. Needless to say, I’ll never listen to it again of my own free will.
Best moments of the album: Ætheric and Lightbringer.
Worst moments of the album:The Unveiling, Interdimensional Summit, I Am Sovereign and Archaic Correspondance.
Released in 2018 Nuclear Blast
Track listing 1. The Unveiling 5:47
2. Interdimensional Summit 4:39
3. Ætheric 5:27
4. Council of Wolves and Snakes 5:19
5. The Empyrean Phoenix 4:44
6. Lightbringer 6:06
7. I Am Sovereign 6:48
8. Archaic Correspondance 4:55
9. Alpha Aeon Omega 5:18
10. Rite of Passage (Instrumental) 5:16
Guest musicians Mikkel Gaup – shaman vocals on “Council of Wolves and Snakes”
Martin Lopez – voodoo percussion on “Council of Wolves and Snakes”
Schola Cantorum – choir vocals
Francesco Ferrini – orchestra
Gaute Storås – choir and orchestral arrangements
A cold, mechanical and inhumane hybrid of Industrial and Black Metal, as martial as it is hypnotic, bred by a veteran Swiss entity celebrating twenty years of chaos in the underground scene.
The path of Swiss Industrial Metal entity Borgne has never been straight. Founded by veteran multi-instrumentalist Bornyhake in 1998 in Lausanne, a city on Lake Geneva, in the French-speaking region of Vaud, Switzerland, when Borgne (which is French for “one-eyed”) debuted with a demo, the project went off the radar for almost a decade, coming back at full throttle in 2007 with two full-length albums released almost simultaneously. Another ten years and four full-length albums after, this idiosyncratic Swiss band, which recently became a two-piece army with longtime live keyboardist Lady Kaos becoming a permanent member, returns with their eight and most enigmatic opus to date, titled [∞], a cold, mechanical and inhumane hybrid of Industrial and Black Metal, as martial as it is hypnotic, beautifully freezing your every feeling.
Darker, more industrial and much more personal, [∞] will offer your metallic ears blistering Black Metal done in a synthetic way with a dense, suffocating sound and some dark ambient passages, going towards everything Borgne did in the past. “8 / ∞” is not only a number but a symbol, symbol of infinity, infinity you close inside brackets. 8 is not only a number but a word, word of hatred to break all the brackets. After twenty years of chaos, [∞] is the 8th Borgne full-length album. Featuring 8 tracks of non-traditional Black Metal, written in French and English. Chaos, darkness, feelings, loneliness, anger, insanity, suffering and death… 8 words to describe it. The most electric and complicated, fragile and deep, industrial and cold, strange and tormented album Borgne ever did,” said Bornyhake about his newborn spawn.
And the duo builds an enfolding and creepy atmosphere with their keys, beats and background effects in the opening track La Porte Du Chaos (or “the door of chaos” in English), with the music exploding into a modern and imposing hybrid of Industrial and Black Metal, an insane and mesmerizing amalgamation of sounds where Bornyhake desperately screams and gnarls from the bottom of his Stygian heart. Then there’s not a single empty space in the whimsical and modernized Peu Importe Si Elle M’Aura Aveuglé (which means something like “it doesn’t matter if she has blinded me”), with both Bornyhake and Lady Kaos kicking ass with their blast beats and ominous keys, respectively, with an epic and darkened aura permeating the air. Moreover, Bornyhake’s roars in French will certainly pierce your mind throughout this multi-layered Industrial Black Metal extravaganza. In the stunning Un Temps Périt (or “a time perishes”), a gentle intro led by Lady Kaos’ hypnotizing keys evolves into a mournful musicality, presenting hints of Blackened Doom and Doom Metal and, therefore, feeling ethereal and somber at the same time from start to finish. And in Comme Si Ça S’Arrêtera… / Stone (or “as if it will stop… / stone”), get ready for over 10 minutes of absolute madness, electricity and darkness, with Bornyhake generating a path of devastation with his modernized blast beats, while the second half of the song is an intricate musical journey of pulverizing drums, obscure keyboards and endless dementia.
Bornyhake and Lady Kaos don’t stop captivating our senses with their unique sonority in I Tear Apart My Blackened Wings pt.1, another slow and melancholic creation by the duo where they deliver obscurity and hope all at once, or in other words, simply close your eyes and get lost in this thrilling hymn of modern industrial music. I Tear Apart My Blackened Wings pt.2 / Sun, the second part of this grandiose aria by Borgne, will blow your senses with its demonic drumming and scorching riffage in a very detailed and complete blend of the violence of Black Metal with the innovative approach of Industrial Metal, changing its shape and form quite a few times before its stylish acoustic ending, followed by Mis À Mort, Mis À Nu (which means “put to death, exposed”), a blast of sonic experimentations and piercing tones and noises, with Lady Kaos once again bringing tons of epicness to the overall musicality with her distinguished keys while Bornyhake keeps haunting our souls with his gnarls and slashing riffs. If anyone asks you what Borgne is all about, you can use this song to show what the duo is capable of, flawlessly depicting all the band’s creativity, stamina and rage. Lastly, be prepared to be embraced by a whirlwind of soothing sounds in Chuter, an “extended” outro to a beautiful album of contemporary extreme music where both Bornyhake and Lady Kaos showcase their refined techniques by creating a captivating ambience and, as a consequence, dominating our minds.
You can take a detailed listen at the flammable [∞] on YouTube, and purchase the album directly from Borgne’s BandCamp or Big Cartel (in CD or tape format), as well as from the Avantgarde Music’s BandCamp or Big Cartel. Also, don’t forget to check their Facebook page for some nice-to-know details about the band including their tour dates, something that does happen a lot as Bornyhake and Lady Kaos have the help of bassist Tumulash and guitarist Onbra Oscoura during their live performances. To sum up, [∞] is not just the brand new album by Borgne, but a solid statement that modern and mechanized extreme music is stronger than ever (especially in places like Switzerland, where the scene has always been extremely fertile), and that Borgne is one of those bands any type of metalhead should try at least once in their lifetime to change their perception of dark and underground music.
Best moments of the album: La Porte Du Chaos, Un Temps Périt and Mis À Mort, Mis À Nu.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2018 Avantgarde Music
Track listing 1. La Porte Du Chaos 7:17
2. Peu Importe Si Elle M’Aura Aveuglé 7:12
3. Un Temps Périt 6:03
4. Comme Si Ça S’Arrêtera… / Stone 10:20
5. I Tear Apart My Blackened Wings pt.1 9:02
6. I Tear Apart My Blackened Wings pt.2 / Sun 8:04
7. Mis À Mort, Mis À Nu 6:59
8. Chuter 7:05
Band members Bornyhake – vocals, guitars, drums
Lady Kaos – keyboards
These Kazakh corpse gods of Thrash Metal take no prisoners in their quest for extreme music, infecting us all and spilling our blood into the circle pit to the sound of their new pulverizing album.
Formed in 2010 in the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest metropolis set in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains, Kazakhstan Thrash Metal maniacs Zarraza have just released their long-awaited debut album Necroshiva, following up to the band’s 2013 EP Cutting Meat. Fast & Loud. And one of the hardest working metal bands in Central Asia, having already played in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, takes no prisoners in their quest for extreme music, with each of the eight groovy and pulverizing songs in Necroshiva crushing your minds mercilessly like a runaway train of evil.
Comprised of Nick Khalabuzar on vocals and guitar, Alex Filatoff on bass and Ruslan Konon on drums, Zarraza’s only concern in Necroshiva is how their lyrics would be translated into Kazakh or Russian. “Anti-religious songs full of sarcasm and quotes from Giordano Bruno and Pierre-Simon de Laplace are not welcomed in a country where there is a significant Muslim population,” said the band, but that seems to be only a minor issue for them in the end. Displaying a beyond devilish and somber cover artwork by Russian artist V. Smerdulak (Katalepsy, Melancholy, Semargl, Arkona), Necroshiva is everything we love in Thrash and Groove Metal, being highly recommended for all mandatory thrashing activities such as slamming into the pit, headbanging like a beast and raising your horns to the band’s infuriated music.
Abyss Above Me kicks off the album with an explosion of brutal and austere Thrash Metal, a fantastic welcome card by this Kazakh squad led by the demented drumming by Ruslan and the raspy, choleric vocals by Nick, bringing elements from Groove, Death and Black Metal, and their furious onrush of extreme music goes on in the also belligerent Shadows, with Nick sounding bestial with both his growls and riffs, while Alex adds tons of groove to the musicality with his rumbling bass. Then we have the title-track Necroshiva, an insanely demolishing display of Thrash Metal with a strong progressive vein, where Ruslan is even more impressive with his intricate beats and fills and its modern-day lyrics go along extremely well with the music (“War’s for gods… Slaughter of lambs / It’s hecatomb we made for thousand years / Immortal rites of human sacrifice / Transformed into modern way of life”); followed by another complex and infuriated tune titled More Than Hate, an almost-Death Metal creation by the quartet led by Nick’s spot-on riffs and solos, with the level of adrenaline being exactly what you need to crush your skull into the circle pit.
Dark waves permeate the air in the melancholic and apocalyptic bridge Echo Of The Future, setting the stage for the modernized thrashing feast named Dead Star, displaying hints of Scandinavian Melodic Death Metal the likes of Arch Enemy and the early days of In Flames. Furthermore, Nick managed to sound even more boisterous on vocals, as well as the metallic bass lines by Alex which will punch you in the head mercilessly. After such beautiful exhibit of extreme music, get ready for a Progressive Thrash Metal voyage in Voice Of The Forgotten, with the music flowing in some sort of demonic Dream Theater-ish mode, but of course with Nick bringing rage to the sound with his roars, all spiced up by some electrifying guitar solos. And ending the album on a high and violent note we have 150 Words, with its lyrics reeking of malignancy (“Serpent – you crawled inside my world / To steal – affections of my soul / To brew your bile words of hate / And sting me in back to weaken / Your only way to live is betrayal / Soaking dirt to digest”). Musically speaking, it’s a frantic, violent Thrash and Death Metal attack by Zarraza, leaving us eager for more of their devastating music.
I’m not sure if you have already realized you’re in front of a metal band from the distant land of Kazakhstan playing top-notch Thrash and Groove Metal that only the finest bands from the United States, the land of thrash, are capable of reproducing, which means you should definitely show your total support to Zarraza by buying Necroshiva (available for a full listen on Spotify) from their own BandCamp page, CD Baby, iTunes or Amazon, and by following them on Facebook, VKontakte and YouTube. The corpse gods from Kazakhstan are among us to stay, and you better be prepared to spill your blood into the pit in the name of Thrash Metal.
Best moments of the album: Abyss Above Me, Necroshiva and Dead Star.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2018 Independent
Track listing 1. Abyss Above Me 5:00
2. Shadows 3:48
3. Necroshiva 3:13
4. More Than Hate 3:28
5. Echo Of The Future (instrumental) 1:29
6. Dead Star 5:38
7. Voice Of The Forgotten 4:39
8. 150 Words 3:27
Band members Nick Khalabuzar – vocals, guitar
Alex Filatoff – bass
Ruslan Konon – drums
Guest musician Evgen Hablack – bass on “Necroshiva”
Delivering first-class music as a modern reinterpretation of sound canons declared in the mid-90’s, this Russian quartet is ready to stimulate your senses with their thrilling Industrial Metal.
If you’re a fan of the mechanized and eccentric music by renowned acts such as Megaherz, Oomph!, Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails and Ministry, I highly recommend you turn your attention to the Russian capital Moscow, where since 2015 an Industrial Metal squad known as Gottwut has been delivering first-class music as a modern reinterpretation of industrial sound canons declared in the mid-90’s. After the release of the maxi-single Oil, in 2016, Gottwut are ready to stimulate your senses with their debut full-length album, the thrilling and melodic Konglomerat. By the way, the name of the band is made up of two German words, “gott” (god) and “wut” (rage), symbolizing the creative and destructive forces embodied in human nature, an essential part of the music found throughout the entire album.
Taking as a basis energy and rage, the band comprised of Pavel Chaban on vocals, Fedor Artemenkov on guitars and samples, Vyacheslav Dmitriev on bass and Dmitry Kahatkin on drums aims at developing the genre in their own manner, paying strong attention to the visual component by designing special costumes, additional props and theatrical performances, all with the main objective of creating a unique atmosphere for the audience. Featuring a wicked, avantgarde cover art by Russian artist Denis Shoomov, Konglomerat is a feast of Neue Deutsche Härte with a more melodic Russian twist, and I’m sure each song in the album will put you to bang your head and dance like there’s no tomorrow.
Modernized sounds blended with the heavy beats and riffs from Heavy Metal are the main ingredients in the opening track My Duty, sounding even symphonic at times. Moreover, Fedor does a pretty good job with his guitar lines and samples, while Pavel delivers a poetic mix of Rammstein and Marilyn Manson through his vocals. Then we have Sin, a 90’s-inspired Industrial Metal and Rock tune where Dmitry pounds his drums in a precise manner, generating a mechanized ambience where background keyboards once again add a touch of delicacy and modernity to the music; followed by the title-track Konglomerat, sounding and feeling as industrialized as it can be and highly inspired by the golden years of Neue Deutsche Härte, something latent in the vocals by Pavel and the slashing guitars by Fedor.
Fuck Machine brings forward one of the funniest lyrics of the entire album, and Pavel makes sure he sings them in the weirdest possible way together with the song’s crushing instrumental parts, making the final result quite entertaining. Snowman reminds me of some classic songs by Rammstein, being the perfect soundtrack for a Gothic and eccentric rock party with Fedor and Vyacheslav generating an enfolding atmosphere with their strings (and you’ll definitely feel the urge to dance in the dark to this song), whereas Cycle showcases a well-balanced mix of the modernity of Industrial Metal with symphonic elements and the catchy beats of pop music, with all band members being in total sync and with highlights to the smashing performance by Dmitry on drums. And heavy riffs and whimsical keys walk hand-in-hand in the upbeat Bi-Sides, an assembly line of Industrial Metal led by the pounding drums by Dmitry, keeping the level of electricity in the album truly high.
The band’s first single Oil brings more of their crazy sounds and the wicked vocalizations by Pavel, being tailored for fans of Neue Deutsche Härte searching for alternative bands from the independent scene, and with Fedor adding tons of adrenaline to the music with both his riffs and keys. In Angerlove we’re treated to another overdose of Industrial Metal made in Russia where Dmitry is an unstoppable crushing machine behind his drums while Pavel keeps roaring manically in our faces, therefore turning it into a mandatory song for any good Industrial Metal playlist, and closing the album we face more cutting guitars and rumbling bass lines infused with mechanized background elements in Heretic, where the band will keep hammering your head with their industrialized music until you’re completely wasted on the ground.
In a nutshell, the metallic party called Konglomerat (available for a full listen on Spotify) is a beyond awesome start for the Russian quartet, leaving a fantastic first impression for all fans of modern Industrial Metal. Hence, in order to show your support for Gottwut, go check all news and other shenanigans at their official Facebook page, VKontakte page and YouTube channel, and buy the album directly from their BandCamp page as well as from iTunes or Amazon. And now will you please excuse me, because I have a Industrial Metal party to enjoy, courtesy of four Russian metallers with genuine, mechanized German hearts.
Best moments of the album: Konglomerat, Cycle and Angerlove.
An infernal duo hailing from Poland consolidates their pact with darkness with a brand new EP of devilish “Nekroritual Black Doom Metal”.
Forged in the year of 2016 in the scorching fires of Gdańsk, Poland, hometown of the almighty Blackened Death Metal institution Behemoth, Black Metal duo Hell’s Coronation has risen from the underworld to unleash upon humanity what they like to call “Nekroritual Black Doom Metal” with their brand new EP titled Unholy Blades of the Devil. Featuring a diabolical cover art by Polish artist Lord K. (aka Piotr Jeziorski), who also worked with the band on their 2017 EP Antichristian Devotion, Unholy Blades of the Devil brings forward around 15 minutes of sheer darkness, hatred and blasphemy, courtesy of the talented Zepar on vocals, guitars and keyboards, and the unrelenting Coffincrusher on bass and drums. In other words, the pact with darkness has been consummated, and Hell’s Coronation are more than willing to provide a soundtrack to that.
A dark, eerie and lustful intro titled Empty Shells Of The Sacrament presents wicked noises and moans, hypnotizing us all before all hell breaks loose in Temple Of Wickedness, with Zepar gnarling in the most malignant form possible while Coffincrusher fires some rhythmic and utterly Stygian beats. In a nutshell, the whole song exhales the most primeval form of Black Metal, boosted by a high dosage of Doom Metal and obscurity coming from its scorching riffs and background vociferations, remaining sluggish and austere until its hellish ending. And Sulfur keeps reeking in the air in the also disturbing Descent Into The Depths Of Unspeakable Evil, where Zepar continues to pave his path of darkness with his almost-vomiting, sick growls and devilish guitar lines, supported by the dense “hell’s kitchen” by Coffincrusher and by his own phantasmagorical keyboards.
The following chant, entitled Satanic Scepter, is an old school and extremely vile display of underground Black Metal led by the infernal roars by Zepar, with its lyrics being so dark and intense they deserve to be fully appreciated even if you can’t understand what’s being growled (“The most distant circles of hell / They infect a soul with possessed dance / Devilish spells run from the edge of the dimensions / I kneel before the fire / Bidding with ghosts / Madness flows through the umbilical cord / From the wolf`s womb was born the antichrist / Rebirth emperor and enlightenment guide / In the light of the black flame / Time to say what`s unspoken / I gave you a treasure chest and cup of semen / By extinguishing all the sun / I give you the scepter of the night / Cold and wild spectacle of master of the land”). And lastly Luciferian Wind Blows From The North displays a beyond creepy intro guided by the howling wind and the sinister keys by Zepar, opening the gates to the netherworld and bringing elements from Blackened Doom to increase its bitter taste, in special its slow and steady beats and macabre riffs. After listening to such devilish display of underground metal, the EP couldn’t have ended in a more diabolical way, I might say.
If you have what it takes to enter the dark and sinister world ruled by Hell’s Coronation, you should definitely visit their Facebook page for news and other nice-to-know details about the band, and grab your copy of Unholy Blades of the Devil (available for a full listen HERE) directly from the Godz ov War Productions’ BandCamp or webstore, as well as from Discogs in CD or in cassette format. Unholy Blades of the Devil might be just the second installment by this up-and-coming Polish act, but it already showcases a band that’s truly focused on writing high-end music and, of course, on worshiping darkness, and I’m sure not only fans of extreme music from all over the world will enjoy their music, but if their EP reaches the hands of a guy like Adam “Nergal” Darski, he’ll be more than proud of his fellow Gdańsk-based infernal duo without a shadow of a doubt.
Best moments of the album: Descent Into The Depths Of Unspeakable Evil and Satanic Scepter.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2018 Godz ov War Productions
Track listing
1. Empty Shells Of The Sacrament 1:54
2. Temple Of Wickedness 6:41
3. Descent Into The Depths Of Unspeakable Evil 6:02
4. Satanic Scepter 5:37
5. Luciferian Wind Blows From The North 8:04
Band members Zepar – vocals, guitars, keyboards
Coffincrusher – bass, drums
Let’s turn up the heat on this last month of summer here on The Headbanging Moose with some old school, gory and extremely violent Death Metal, and in order to do that in style we have “recruited” the unstoppable Mallika Sundaramurthy, frontwoman for American Technical/Brutal Death Metal band Abnormality, as our metal chick of the month. Born in Gardner, a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States, but currently residing in Prague, the beautiful capital of the Czech Republic (or Czechia), Mallika is not only the owner of a potent voice, but she’s also absolutely passionate for all things Death Metal, being a huge supporter of underground metal as a fan, as a musician and as a businesswoman as well. Having said that, get ready to slam into a vicious circle pit together with Mallika, because things are about to get as savage and heavy as hell.
Half Indian and half English-American, with her father coming from Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu on the Bay of Bengal in eastern India, and her mother being from New Hampshire, a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, Mallika is married to Russian musician Serge Gordeev, from Death Metal bands like Epicardiectomy and Fleshbomb. As you can see, pure Death Metal runs through the veins of the couple, which led to the creation of their own label Ultimate Massacre Productions. But before we talk about their label, let’s focus on the early days of Mallika, who has been playing in Death Metal bands since 2002, a couple of years after she graduated from Gardner High School, located in Gardner, Massachusetts. While Mallika was giving her first steps in extreme music, she was at the same time studying illustration at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, in Boston, Massachusetts, which she graduated in 2004. And that knowledge she gained through her studies was not in vain, becoming a fundamental part of her up-and-coming career.
Regarding her career as a musician, Mallika got into Heavy Metal during her high school years. In the beginning, Mallika was more into classic rock and metal the likes of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Alice in Chains, with her taste for heavier and more brutal music growing after she started listening to the pulverizing Death Metal by Deicide and Cannibal Corpse. By the way, becoming a fan of Death Metal was the main reason why she decided to do extreme vocals, which is pretty much the same path followed by anyone who chooses to play an instrument based on their favorite bands and styles. And just as a side note, our ruthless growler joined her first metal band while studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain, but there aren’t any details available online about that part of her career.
What you will for sure find online are all details about her history with her own Death Metal band, Massachusetts-based squad Abnormality, formed in late 2005 by Mallika together with guitarist Jeremy Henry, drummer Jay Blaisdell and guitarist Michael O’Meara (who left the band in 2009), with bassist Josh Staples joining the band in 2009 and guitarist Sam Kirsch in 2015 to complete their current lineup. The band strives to make high quality extreme music without worrying about conforming to certain boundaries or styles, having released to date a four-track demo in 2007 (including the song Visions, which found its way onto the popular video game Rock Band 2 as a bonus track), a three-track EP titled The Collective Calm in Mortal Oblivion in 2010, and the full-length albums Contaminating the Hive Mind in 2012, and Mechanisms of Omniscience in 2016. If you want to have a very good taste of all the brutality and electricity flowing from the music by Abnormality, you can check for instance their official videos on YouTube for the songs Mechanisms of Omniscience, Monarch Omega, and Fabrication of the Enemy, or even take a more detailed listen at their full discography at their own BandCamp page (which obviously means you should also buy their albums from there). Furthermore, Mallika mentioned in one of her interviews that Abnormality did a cover version for the classic Desperate Cry by Sepultura at the formation of the band when she joined a band named Teratism on stage, impressing their then members Jay and Michael (culminating with the creation of Abnormality, as you can see), also playing other cover songs live over the years such as Eric Clapton’s Cocaine and Death’s The Philosopher, but never including any of those in their recorded material. Finally, one last interesting note about Abnormality is that their first concert ever happened in 2006 at a house party organized by their drummer Jay, including the bands Dehumanized, Sexcrement and Soul Remnants. That was probably one hell of a demolishing Death Metal party, I must say.
Apart from Abnormality, Mallika, who takes care of her potent voice by doing usual things like getting proper rest, keeping her throat hydrated and avoiding alcohol, is also the frontwoman for American Death Metal all-female band Castrator, an international project formed in 2013 and based in New York City with members from distinct parts of the earth such as Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Colombia and the United States. As you can see by the name of the band, Castrator is a confrontational band, with all of the song titles found in their 2014 demo and 2015 EP, both titled No Victim, being some sort of feminist revenge fantasy, such as Honor Killing and The Emasculator. Mallika explained that the band was born when her friend Carolina Perez, drummer for American Death/Thrash Metal act Hypoxia, expressed the desire to form an all-female band, aiming at writing aggressive music, playing some devastating concerts, and have fun together above all things. She also mentioned it was important to bring up through the horror and intensity of their lyrics the issues and struggles women from all over of the world face every single day, in particular parts of the world where women’s rights are far behind. When writing the lyrics, Mallika researched and read countless stories and documentaries of individual cases of honor killings, as well as violence, rape, and murder against women, translating all that hatred and negative thoughts into Death Metal lyrics. In order to be smashed by Castrator, go check their BandCamp page, where you’ll be able to listen to (and to buy) the austere and utterly brutal tunes Honor Killing, No Victim and The Emasculator.
Our relentless growler was also part of American Technical/Brutal Death Metal band Parasitic Extirpation from 2011 until 2015, with whom she recorded the EP Putrid Crown, in 2014. You can enjoy Mallika kicking some serious ass in this also very interesting band with the title-track Putrid Crown, and all other tracks directly from their BandCamp page. And even with all her duties with Abnormality, Castrator and Parasitic Extirpation, she still found time to be part of several other bands and projects as a guest musician, like singing live for British Technical Brutal Death Metal unity Unfathomable Ruination, in 2017; and being a guest studio singer in the songs Circumcised with a Chainsaw, from the 2013 album Skewered in the Sewer by Indian Brutal Death Metal act Gutslit; the title-track The Redemption of Past Supremacy, from the 2012 album The Redemption of Past Supremacy by American Brutal Death Metal act Habitual Defilement; Endless Outrage, from the 2016 album Ouroboric Stagnation by International Brutal Death Metal act Neurogenic; Dies Irae…, from the 2013 album Lords of Rephaim by America Brutal Death Metal act Pathology; Tower Deflower, from the 2012 album Festering Human Remains by America Death Metal act Scaphism; the superb cover version for Pat Benatar’s Heartbreaker, from the 2014 EP XXX Bargain Bin Vol.2 by American Death Metal act Sexcrement; and Incinerator, from the 2013 album Black and Blood by American Death Metal act Soul Remnants. As you can see, all those songs are beyond brutal and demolishing, exactly the way good Death Metal is supposed to be.
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With respect to Mallika’s main influences in music, she’s a diehard and longtime fan of several renowned acts of the Extreme Metal scene such as Suffocation, Gorgasm, Decapitated, Immolation, Cryptopsy, Cannibal Corpse, Monstrosity, Carcass and Morbid Angel, among several others, with American Death Metal masters Hate Eternal, standing out among their influences if you take a detailed listen at their music. Questioned about which album she would take to her own grave, Mallika answered Pierced from Within, released in 1995 by American Technical Death Metal band Suffocation, and while listening to that album it makes total sense as to why she handpicked it instead of tons of other classics. Needless to say, Suffocation would obviously be part of her dream metal fest lineup, also including bands such as Immolation, Deeds of Flesh, Cryptopsy (with Lord Worm), Origin, Malignancy, Monstrosity, Vader, Gorgust, Wormed, Defeated Sanity, Napalm Death, Incantation, Vile, Decapitated, Hate Eternal, Nile, Krisiun, Devourment, and so on. And lastly, when asked to list the five albums any metalhead must have in his or her collection to have a deeper understanding of what Brutal and Technical Death Metal is all about, Mallika selected Close to a World Below by Immolation, Effigy of the Forgotten by Suffocation, Altars of Madness by Morbid Angel, She Lay Gutted by Disgorge, and Masticate to Dominate by Gorgasm. Also, when questioned about what inspires her and the rest of Abnormality when writing their lyrics, she said that the whole band enjoys writing about current events at home and abroad, conspiracies, and their contempt for the New World Order, as well as other things in their lives, in their imagination, science fiction and fact, corruption, and time travel, always focusing on the darker side of humanity and never afraid to take a political stand. Of course, Mallika considers real life horror far worse than anything imagined in fiction, albeit she also thinks those monsters in fiction reflect that same dark side of our own humanity and the evils that we are capable of.
Mallika’s business side together with her utter passion for extreme music are an essential piece of Ultimate Massacre Productions, an extreme music label managed by Mallika herself and her husband Serge Gordeev, originally founded in 2012 by Serge as a licensed merch supplier for metal bands. After her arrival and after taking on Mexico’s Human Decomposition as their first signed band, the project propelled to a new and promising direction, which could be seen in her own words at that time. “We thought it would be great to build the label together, combining our collective experience and passion for music to grow Ultimate Massacre,” she said, also mentioning that “our main goal is to spread great music that we ourselves love, and to help the bands on our roster to reach new levels.” Mallika and Serge work endlessly for the joys that art brings with it, putting a lot of effort and passion into making the label a genuine home for underground extreme bands. Based in Prague, the label has increased their portfolio considerably through the years, including today bands such as Apophys, Incontinence, Chordotomy, Fungus, Imperium and Natrium. Hence, if you consider yourself a true death metaller, you can keep an eye at their official Facebook page for new kick-ass bands and releases from the underground Death Metal scene.
As aforementioned, Mallika is a huge admirer and connoisseur of underground metal music, saying she’s fine with a huge part of metal music staying underground mainly because it’s extreme and offensive, and therefore not recommended for mainstream listeners. However, she also said it’s extremely difficult to survive in the underground scene, as the majority of underground musicians have to have income coming from other sources such as day jobs despite their passion and dedication to heavy music. Well, having to face issues like that doesn’t seem to be a problem for musicians like Mallika, because the underground scene at least in the United States seems to be very strong to her eyes, with lots of great bands keeping the flames of extreme music burning bright in her homeland. For instance, she recommends bands like Malignancy, Disgorge, Dehumanized, Bloodsoaked, Guttural Secrete, Goemagot, Sapremia, Habitual Defilement and Expurgate for starters, and from her hometown she thinks you should take a good listen at Revocation, Sexcrement, Dysentery, Hivesmasher, Scalpel, Scaphism, Soul Remnants, and many, many more. She also mentioned she believes that classifications in metal such as Deathcore, Power Metal, Blackened Death Metal and so on are necessary to help listeners find new bands according to their likes and dislikes, as long as people are not carried away with creating new subgenres. Furthermore, Mallika has a very peculiar view on how many people nowadays end up knowing new bands through illegal downloads, as she understands that albeit illegal downloads are inevitable due to several reasons such as lack of money for buying all the music downloaded, those fans need to realize the bands depend on that money to stay alive, but as long as they support the bands in other ways like attending their concerts, buying a shirt or listening to their music for free on Spotify or YouTube, some sort of balance can be reached.
When asked about how she feels being a woman in a male-dominated scene like Death Metal, Mallika said she has always felt good, always having a good time with her bands since the beginning of her career. She mentioned there are more and more talented and hardworking women making a name for themselves in the Death Metal scene, being really proud of them and supporting them whenever and however she can. She said it’s not easy to be a woman in metal as there’s a lot of sexism in the world and even more discouragement for a woman to be part of the extreme music scene; however, she hopes one day that will end, and it will become something we won’t even think about discussing as men and women will just be equal in numbers and in talent. If you think about names like Angela Gossow, Tarja Turunen, Simone Simons, Doris Yeh, Cristina Scabbia and Alissa White-Gluz, not to mention all the other ladies who put their hearts and souls into making first-class metal music from all parts of the world, I also believe we’re not that far from reaching Mallika’s dream.
Last but not least, Mallika is as aforementioned a professional graphic and concept artist in the video game industry, having already worked for Harmonix Music Systems (the company that created the Rock Band franchise) for four years, and later becoming a freelance artist and working for a company called Techona as a graphic artist since earlier this year. Regarding her time with Harmonix, Mallika provided a few interesting details about how Abnormality got involved in the game Rock Band 2 with the song Visions. While she was working on the game together with a team of artists, the company allowed employees to submit music for consideration to be entered into the game; at first she didn’t want to do it, but the rest of Abnormality asked her to try, and in the end the company picked their music to be one of the songs of the game together with a lot less violent (or I should say not violent at all) bands like Bon Jovi, Avenged Sevenfold and Blondie. Needless to say, Mallika is not only passionate about Death Metal, but also crazy for old school Death Metal album arts, dark fantasy and surrealism, being inspired by artists such as Zdzisław Beksiński, Wayne Barlowe, and Dan Seagrave. As a matter of fact, you can easily see all that passion for abstract art and surrealism in the Abnormality album arts, all designed and created by our obstinate growler herself, as well as the cover art for the 2012 split album Phylum Morph-Apokalupsis by American Brutal Death Metal/Grindcore bands Animals Killing People and Andromorphus Rexalia, the layout and cover art for the 2016 album Eon by American Technical Death Metal band Formless, and the cover art for the 2013 EP One Inch Monster by Swedish Thrash Metal act Sonic Assault. As talented, honest and diligent as she is, being capable of screaming and gnarling like a beast with her band and of translating all the violence and gore of Death Metal into stunning album arts, it’s more than obvious why Mallika has turned into a reference in extreme music, and may she have a long and prosperous reign as our queen of guttural vocals.
“I see there are many more talented women stepping up the plate in the death metal scene. I am really proud of my fellow ladies who are kicking ass, and I call many of them friends. I DO personally go out of my way to support women in metal, especially those who work hard, carry themselves professionally, and play really well. I know it’s not easy. There is so much sexism in the world, and we women are so often discouraged from taking part of the extreme metal scene.” – Mallika Sundaramurthy
Founded by Greek multi-instrumentalist Pauli Souka in 2012 in Vantaa, a city in Finland that is part of the inner core of the Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen, but currently located in Hudiksvall, a Swedish city also known as Glada Hudik due to its hospitality and social life, the heavy-as-hell metal unity known as Coldbound returns with a brand new opus titled The Gale, their first Melodic Death Metal album to date. If you got used to the Black Metal-inspired approach of their previous releases such as their 2015 album Rites Under Moonlight, get ready to be stunned by the new Coldbound, sounding more polished, doomed, darker and, therefore, being highly recommended for fans of Insomnium, Draconian, Swallow The Sun and Wolfheart, among other excellent Scandinavian Melodic Death Metal acts.
Enhancing the impact and delicacy of their music thanks to the keyboards by Andras and the stunning vocals by Paulina, Coldbound deliver a touching creation titled The Eminent Light, where the melancholy flowing from the guitars create an interesting paradox with its doomed beats; followed by the title-track The Gale, which kicks off in full force with its Black Metal blast beats and an enfolding atmosphere. Furthermore, this is probably Pauli’s most demonic mode from the entire album, blasting infernal growls and scorching riffs during the whole song, as well as thunderous and dense bass lines. Then we have the fantastic My Solace, with its lyrics taken from the poem book of Kostas Karyotakis titled “Nostalgia” (“My solace will be seen – by scars upon my heart / My solace will be told – by letter of remorse / The bitter greet – a cold farewell / The olden sorrows – that ignite again”). Andras once again brings tons of flavor to the musicality with his keys, while Pauli gives a lesson in dark, melancholic and gripping Melodic Death Metal, flowing majestically until its astounding finale.
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 