If you’re a fan of extreme music, you should definitely take a listen to the excellent new album from this East Slavic Melodic Black Metal band.
I’ve never had to use Google and Google Translator so much in my life to try to understand what a band wants to say in their music as I had now with Ukrainian Melodic Black Metal band Dub Buk and their new album, the violent Цвях. Even with the help of Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s creations, it was still pretty tough to get the whole message (if you’re Ukrainian, please correct any stupid mistake that I might have made with the translations below), but the high quality of their music outshines that language barrier and makes listening the entire album a very pleasant and, of course, boisterous experience.
Цвях, which according to Google is pronounced “Tsvyakh” and means “Nail” in English (and it makes sense, as per the bloody nail in the album art), is in my opinion the most professional and polished release from this Kharkiv-based band formed in 1997. And before you ask, that doesn’t weaken the brutality in any of the songs presented in the album: quite the contrary, the high end production allowed the band to better display their technique and enhanced the sonority of all instruments.
The first track of the album is called Всуе (Vsue, or “Vain” in English), and it’s a fuckin’ awesome massacre. The astonishing level of violence in this song pumped me up to listen to the rest of the album and check if all songs could keep up with the same excellent instrumental, especially drums and riffs, and the totally demonic vocals. Fortunately for my total delectation the following track, Галиматья Блаженных (Halymat’ya Blazhennykh, or “Blessed Nonsense”) is Black Metal at its finest, with a very nice groove and an excellent guitar solo, testifying the band’s capacity.
Then we have Бунт 917 (Bunt 917, or “Riot 917”), another track that corroborates these guys are nonstop machines, with great vocals (although I don’t understand a word he’s saying) and a drummer that is a total beast; Дохлый Живьём (Dokhlyy Zhyv’ëm, or “Dead Alive”), the longest track of the album, which starts with an awesome scream and has riffs with some hints of more modern Slayer; and the also violent but not so good Ислам (Yslam, or “Islam”). I’m almost sure they’re not saying good things about Islam in this song, but again, I really don’t care and prefer focusing on the music here.
Свиное Ухо (Svynoe Ukho, or “Pork Ear”) is another highlight of the album, with a narrated intro in Ukranian, Slayer-ish riffs and guitar solo, a goddamn heavy passage at around 2 minutes, and disturbing pig sounds at the end. In other words, a complete Black Metal extravaganza, followed by А-Человек (A-Chelovek, or “A-Man”), an average song with a slower rhythm that falls flat after a while.
Closing the album we have the sonic massacre Копоть (Kopot’, or “Soot”), with more awesome riffs, some beautiful female vocals, a drummer completely on fire, and I have to say I really enjoyed all the breaks and variations in this song especially after the third minute; and the only song entirely in English in the album,Execute Them All, a very professional cover version for one of the songs from Swedish Death Metal icons Unleashed, with highlight to the deeper guttural used in this track.
As I mentioned above, I tried to understand parts of the lyrics just to see what type of message Dub Buk tries to send to their fans. I know they usually sing about anti-judeochristianity, paganism and other controversial themes, and although I do not agree nor disagree with their beliefs, that didn’t stop me from enjoying some very good quality extreme music. Furthermore, I recommend taking a look at this album, which can be purchased at the EastHate website. If you love Black Metal, you won’t regret buying it by any means.
Best moments of the album:Всуе, Дохлый Живьём, Свиное Ухо and Копоть.
Band members I.Z.V.E.R.G. (И. З. В. Е. Р. Г.) – bass, vocals
Vsesvit (Всесвит) – drums
Istukan (Истукан) – guitars
Cwietuszczaja Knjazna (Цветущая Княжна) – keyboards
Gothic, Black and especially Doom Metal as grandiose as they can be.
One of the most expected albums of 2014 from one of today’s darkest and heaviest bands has finally arrived: Melana Chasmata, or Μελανά Χασματα (in the Greek alphabet), which can be translated as “black, deep depressions”, from Swiss Gothic/Doom Metal band Triptykon, has everything it takes to be one of the most acclaimed albums of the year, and undoubtedly the best in terms of extreme music.
This Zurich-based Doom Metal “dream team” founded by Heavy Metal icon Tom G. Warrior (Hellhammer, Celtic Frost) is as cohesive and effective as possible, and of course, totally wicked. There isn’t a single song on this album that can be considered filler or commercial: quite the contrary, Triptykon offer us a masterpiece of darkness, with lots of melancholy, pain and hopelessness, perfect for people who hate all those disposable pop songs made for that annoying and fake sense of “collective joy”.
Tom & Co. open the album with a pure Black Metal track called Tree Of Suffocating Souls, with a fuckin’ heavy instrumental, especially bass and drums, which sound simply amazing together. Moreover, the lyrics are also very intelligent and controversial, making the whole song even better. And what can I say about the Gothic/Doom Metal work-of-art Boleskine House? Its low resonant bass and the female vocals give me the shivers, and make me want to literally feel this song at a Triptykon concert. It’s a flawless brilliant composition, the best song of the album, and the lyrics are those things we feel grateful for being able to enjoy (“Your eyes that once / Have gazed the waves / Have long been closed / Become enslaved / Within these walls”).
Altar Of Deceit continues with the greatness in Melana Chasmata with its dark intro, Tony Iommi-ish demonic riffs, desperate vocals, and a very nice solo at the end, while Breathing, another extremely dark track with a depressive and at the same time beautiful intro, suddenly accelerates to an awesome mix of Death and Black Metal and ends in a very good “old school Slayer” way. What else do we need in a song, right?
The following two tracks are the epitome of evil: Aurorae is a dreary song, tailored for people who enjoy “suffering” alone while savoring the most obscure tunes a band can produce, and its guitar solo gives it an extra touch of fineness; and Demon Pact sounds like if its riffs, vocals, drums, bass and everything else were actually recorded in hell. Based on the name of the song I wasn’t expecting anything less evil, making it one of my favorite tracks by far.
In The Sleep Of Death, a very atmospheric and eerie low-paced song, has some more desperate vocals, followed by the longest track of the album, Black Snow, a lesson in Doom Metal with over 12 minutes of obscurity and awesomeness. Tom proves here he’s the beast incarnate, and it’s impossible not to scream together with him “Black snow! Black snow!”. And to close this stunning album in a majestic way, we have Waiting, with its delicate rhythm and mesmerizing female vocals. It’s a very gothic and beautiful song, and I’m sure lots of fans will consider it one of the highlights of the whole album.
The album art, once again created by Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger, who has already worked with music icons such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Carcass, Celtic Frost and Danzig, perfectly represents all the density in the music in Melana Chasmata. Besides that, one thing I need to say is that, although all musicians are amazing and Tom G. Warrior is a genius, the badass bass lines are my favorite part of all songs. Vanja Slajh is a Doom Metal Goddess, no doubt about that.
Tom always says that only Death is real. However, he forgot to say the same about his band Triptykon, and now about Melana Chasmata, an album we’re more than glad it’s a reality. Eparistera Daimones was already a great album, but this time Triptykon took Doom Metal to such a level of grandiosity it’s hard to find words to describe it. When music is able to reach our souls like what’s found in Melana Chasmata, we know there’s something special about it. And if Triptykon go to your town for a live performance, don’t miss it by any chance: it’s going to be a unique and thrilling experience that very few bands can provide you nowadays.
Best moments of the album:Boleskine House, Breathing, Aurorae, Demon Pact and Black Snow. As a matter of fact, I should say that the whole album is amazing.
Worst moments of the album: It’s difficult to find a weak song in Melana Chasmata, but if I really had to choose one I would say In The Sleep Of Death.
Released in 2014 Prowling Death Records/Century Media Records
Track listing 1. Tree Of Suffocating Souls 7:55
2. Boleskine House 7:12
3. Altar Of Deceit 7:32
4. Breathing 5:50
5. Aurorae 6:17
6. Demon Pact 6:07
7. In The Sleep Of Death 8:10
8. Black Snow 12:24
9. Waiting 5:55
Band members Tom G. Warrior – guitar, vocals
V. Santura – guitar, vocals
Vanja Slajh – bass, vocals
Norman Lonhard – drums, percussion
The music from Down Under has never been so obscure and devilish.
It’s time to visit our friends from Down Under in search for some well-executed heavy music. However, this time our focus is not the traditional Hard Rock from AC/DC or Airbourne, but the extreme music from Australian Black/Death Metal band Cauldron Black Ram and their new album, the 100% evil Stalagmire.
The band has been on the road for quite a while, more specifically since 1996, having already released a couple of demos and full-length albums, but of course due to their raw, unpolished and gruesome musicality, it was pretty hard for them to reach a bigger and more diversified audience in the past. At least the Internet has evolved a lot in the past few years and nowadays even headbangers from the other side of the world (like here in Canada) are able to enjoy the music from bands like this obscure Australian crew.
The opening track is a very good sample of what Cauldron Black Ram are capable of doing: Fork Through Pitch is a diabolic mix of Death and Doom Metal, with traditional instrumental and harsh vocals that will please all fans of extreme music, especially because of the band’s previously mentioned rough production. The following track, Maw, goes on with the obscurity with its melancholic intro, good old-style riffs and vocals even more devilish than the previous song, while Discarded Death is a more Black Metal tune, where the good pace of drums and the deeper growling make it pure evil.
A Litany of Sailors Sins is a really slow-paced and dark tune, sometimes so macabre and heavy that I think people who are not really into Death and Black Metal will feel bad after listening to it. Well, that’s one of the main objectives of this type of music, right? Anyway, the nice guitar solo mixed with fast drumming by the end of the song gives it an extra dose of energy, which ends up preparing us for Bats, the fastest track of the album, full of awesome screaming and twisted riffs heavier than hell, and in my humble opinion one of the best songs of Stalagmire.
Cavern Fever is pretty decent instrumental track similar to Cannibal Corpse’s “Relentless Beating”, showcasing the talent of the musicians, while From Whence the Old Skull Came should be chosen as the perfect soundtrack to apocalypse: it might have a very simple and repetitive riff, but it’s at the same time extremely effective in sending the message desired by the band.
Finally, we have another extremely rudimentary track, The Devil’s Trotters, which not only sounds like the Devil himself is singing in it, but it also has some excellent rude bass lines that make it stand out from all other tracks of the album; and the obscure Speliogenesis, a song that could easily summarize pain, agony, sadness and despair in music if someone asked you to do that. Moreover, its pure Doom Metal vocals and extremely dense riffs help closing the album in the most demonic way possible.
The album art is as primitive as their music, and besides that, one interesting characteristic I could notice in their music was the addition of many elements from Stoner Metal the likes of Down and Crowbar, and even some hints of the Doom Metal played by Danzig and Black Sabbath, which in the end is undoubtedly healthful for the band and its future in heavy music.
In short, if you enjoy “evil” music, Stalagmire is a very good option to invest your hard-earned money, which can be done at the 20 Buck Spin official webshop (both the CD and the LP versions of the album are available there) or you can stream it and download it at the 20 Buck Spin Bandcamp page.
Best moments of the album:Fork Through Pitch, Bats and The Devil’s Trotters.
Worst moments of the album:Maw and Discarded Death.
Released in 2014 20 Buck Spin
Track listing 1. Fork Through Pitch 3:19
2. Maw 3:20
3. Discarded Death 4:07
4. A Litany of Sailors Sins 4:16
5. Bats 3:37
6. Cavern Fever 2:35
7. From Whence the Old Skull Came 3:13
8. The Devil’s Trotters 4:13
9. Speliogenesis 4:23
Band members Esh – drums, vocals
Alim – guitar, vocals
Ben Newsome – vocals, bass
Excellent drummer (and a great guy too!) Geir Arne “The Cannon” Dale talks to The Headbanging Moose about the history of his Hard Rock band Humbucker, their excellent new album King of the World, the music scene in Norway, his “dream tour”, his favorite Canadian bands, among some other cool stuff. And, of course, he answers the mysterious question “Who is Dirty Nelly?”
The Headbanging Moose: Let’s start with some details about the history of Humbucker: although the band was created back in 1998, it was only in 2012 with your debut album R.O.C.K.S that Humbucker really became alive. In addition to that, your official website states that “In 2000 the band had five original songs and made a demo that did not do any good for the band. In 2002, due to difficulties combining their day jobs with the rocking, the band called it a day and took a “vacation” that lasted until 2010!” What exactly happened with you guys? And why was that 2000 demo so harmful for the band?
Geir Arne Dale: Well, the demo wasn’t directly harmful for the band, but it was what it was. We didn’t have a singer back then for starters. Three of us shared the vocal duties and let’s face it: We’re better musicians than singers so the demo was made more for ourselves than to make something happen for us. But you know, we believed even back then in our stuff so we shipped it around a bit. Most of the record companies didn’t even answer us. And the few that did were very short in their description of the project’s future: “No!” 🙂
Back then we were only in it for fun, and in 2002 we thought a vacation would do us good as some of us changed day jobs and all of a sudden had to leave for weeks at a time so it became difficult to get the rehearsal routines going as they should. We also was, let’s say, a bit tired of each other I think after heavy partying for four years. We didn’t take it too serious back then. The focus was all wrong. We were all like Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. Taking all the fun right there and then, not caring about the future, so a break was needed. After eight years, in 2010 we started again to see if it still worked. It certainly did and after getting new singer Jan Boen in, we decided in 2012 we had everything we needed to make a record. The before mentioned five songs from 2000 were re-recorded and ended up all on the first album R.O.C.K.S, so something good came out of the old days eventually! The response from that album was mind-blowing and that gave us a reason to do another one as we have just done. Who would have thought that back in ‘02! 🙂
THM: The beautiful country of Norway is renowned for its many Black Metal bands, such as Mayhem, Burzum, Gorgoroth, Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Satyricon and many others that pretty much helped define that music genre. How was it to grow up as a Hard Rocker in an essentially Black Metal country, and how difficult it is for any Hard Rock band to succeed there?
GAD: WOW! You’ve done your homework Sir! You know the black metal guys did their music and we did ours. It wasn’t hard at all cause in the eighties the melodic hard rock scene was just as big in Norway, if not bigger, and the two genres didn’t do too much together. The black metal bands from Norway have really set their marks on the world. They’ve done a great job for themselves for sure. And all these bands have created more interest for Norwegian rock in general too, so it’s all a good thing and I think everyone that does any kind of Norwegian rock owe these guys a big thank you. They’ve been excellent promoters for all of us.
THM: As mentioned in our album review, King of the World is a truly kickass Hard Rock album. How was the whole creative process for the album? What worked well, and what ideas did you guys have to give up because you felt they were not good enough?
GAD: The writing process was very relaxed as we wrote the songs in between gigs during last part of 2012 and during 2013. We were finished with the last song just a few weeks before we went into studio to start the album. Like I said before, we thought we would only make one album so we didn’t rush anything. We wrote the new songs just as much to widen our live set. When it was clear that we wanted to do a second album, we were almost there with the songs. We recorded drums and bass in our nearest town called Notodden with acclaimed engineer Njal Frode Lie. Then we moved the operation to Trondheim. That’s why we did the drums and bass in Notodden so we didn’t have to drag the drums to Trondheim which is pretty far from where we live. We met up with one of Norway’s most decorated producers, Mr. Hallgeir Rustan. From a small country like Norway, he has produced albums that have sold worldwide some 25 million copies all together and he’s also produced over 40 Top-10 hits in the UK so he knows what he’s doing. I went to school with him in 86/87 and we’ve kept in touch from time to time since then. We all had a great time in the studio except Lars Stian, the bass player, who did his part in Notodden and had to stay home to perform his day job during the time we were in Trondheim. The atmosphere was great with lots of jokes being thrown around. Hallgeir has an incredible know-how when it comes to arranging songs and he did an amazing job for us. He’s the one who founded Stargate you know so he’s a guy who knows his business. When his two partners decided to move to the USA, he stayed home and is doing his thing from there. We can’t thank him enough for the job he did for us and co-producing with him is one of the nicest experiences I’ve had in years! I really hope we get to do it again ‘cause I think we then would be able to develop our music and sound further.
We’ll see… no one knows what the future brings, but I don’t see us do another album without Hallgeir… With Hallgeir to produce and engineer, Beau Hill to mix and master, Mr. Cordelières on the artwork and Hugh Gilmour to design the package and put everything together, we really feel we have found ourselves a “Dream Team” here! I can’t remember a thing that really didn’t work well actually. We had a great time working with this album and it was all a joy.
THM: This question might sound silly, but one of the best songs of the album, Dirty Nelly, seems to be inspired by some special girl. Who’s she? What’s the story behind that song?
GAD: Hahaha! Well, it’s a cool question cause it could very well be for real but I’m very happy to say it’s not!:-) I wrote that song so I can tell you it’s all pure fiction. I’ve never, thank GOD, experienced a girl like that. At least not that I can remember…and I think I would have! BUT: There’s probably thousands of “Dirty Nellys” out there and guys who wonder what their baby’s up when she comes home with the morning light with her boots in her hands so who knows…maybe someone will recognize the situation…:-) Thank you for liking the song. I appreciate that. It’s one of my favorites on the album too!
THM: How about your tour plans to promote the new album? Are you playing only in Norway, or are there already any dates being scheduled for other European countries and even other parts of the world, like North America?
GAD: We are going to tour Norway as much as we can this year. You know, it’s easiest for us as we’re here. But in September we plan to embark on a month and a half tour in Europe. We would most certainly love to tour North America if we could! We have a lot of favorites from that part of the world: Coney Hatch, Triumph, Loverboy, Rush…you guys have produced some serious rock bands during the years so we’ll do it if we can. Only trouble is that it’s so damn expensive you know, so we will have to see how the new album does for a starter and take it from there. But who knows? We would love to shake hands with you at a show one day Sir!:-)
THM: What would be Humbucker’s “dream tour”, I mean, which bands would you just love to go on tour together, and why?
GAD: That’s a great question and a very tricky one to answer actually…there’s so many…but if I have to mention one band, I think maybe a tour with Whitesnake would be great for us. Mainly because of the audience. I think the audience would have picked up on us a bit too as both bands represents the same time period in music style. I think a lot of their fans would have like our stuff too, so some gigs with them would have done us real good…
THM: When Humbucker started in 1998, Hard Rock was still really big on the radio and TV, fans loved buying the albums of their favorite bands, and there were no such thing as illegal downloads, so it was basically a paradise for any new Hard Rock bands and an easier path to success. On the other hand, nowadays any new or independent band has to work their asses off to get some recognition, and even so no monetary return is guaranteed. How do you see this evolution of music and media, and how does it impact what Humbucker are doing or plan to do in the future?
Album Review – Humbucker / King of the World (2014)
GAD: It’s really hard to say what will happen. All I know is that if people keep wanting music without paying for it, I think the music scene will be very boring in a few years. When all the old heroes and arena bands are gone, few can take over cause they will never get there ‘cause of devastating income. It costs a lot to keep a band alive and if you don’t get a radio hit or something on TV, it’s very hard to make it to arena-level just by touring. I think that if we want new arena bands to continue we just have to pay for their music, simple as that.
But the world moves on you know so we have to adapt in a way. I’m just not sure that we will ever have the time we had in the eighties and early nineties again. We probably never will, but one can only carry on as long as possible and hope something “happens”… My only advice to people would be: Buy the music! Everyone can afford it so why not? Music business today with all the piracy and streaming is like asking a carpenter to build you a new dog house for your Shetland Sheepdog…after putting a lot of work into it, after he’s made an awesome place for your dog, you don’t want to pay him for his work? I just don’t get that…..
Our mixer/masterer Beau Hill in the US said that if we had released this music in the eighties, we would have been instant worldwide dominators. Today that’s not possible. That says a lot…
THM: The album art from King of the World is awesome and couldn’t be more Hard Rock than that. Why and how did you choose Ludovic Cordelières of Rusalka Design for designing the front cover, and how much did the band influence on his process of generating it?
GAD: Thank you very much for those nice words! I appreciate you bringing that up because Mr. Cordelières most certainly deserves it! If you want to see how he made it, and other amazing artworks of his, please visit his website at www.rusalkadesign.com. For an album called “King Of The World”, I don’t think anyone could have made a better cover! It’s just the perfect thing…That “guy” on the cover IS the king of the world! 🙂
The cover was an already existing artwork of Cordelières called “Monarch”. I was searching the internet for pictures to use for the cover (The album was originally going to be called “One Size Fits All”) when his site turned up. I looked at this picture and as we also had a song called “King Of The World” on the album, I just thought that would be perfect and totally awesome for the title and we talked about it at rehearsal and decided to go for it. I then sent Ludovic a mail asking if he would let us use it. Luckily he answered back with a clear yes, and I then asked if we could add some stuff and suggested a couple of things added to make it more “Humbucker-ish” to put it that way and he didn’t mind at all. He’s a fantastic guy and I loved working with him. Everything came back with exactly the right addings and it turned out great. We added the “R.O.C.K.S.” cover under the left foot there and added some more instruments, had our “H” placed on the hat and “Priscilla” on the nametag on the honey box. “Priscilla” is a song title from our debut album, so people who have that album knows “who’s there”… That’s pretty much it. The rest is the original artwork. I asked Hugh Gilmour what he thought of it and he said: “It’s classic, a bit provocative and very rock and roll! I Love it!” For us that means: Perfect! 🙂
THM: How much do you know about Canadian Heavy Metal and Hard Rock? Are any Canadian bands part of your day-to-day playlist? If so, which are your favorite ones and why?
GAD: Personally, that’s a very easy question to answer. There’s a lot of great Canadian bands! Always was too! I have to say I’m a huge Coney Hatch fan! “This ain’t love” is one of my favourite songs to date! I love the drum sound on that record! I was stunned when I heard it and I still enjoy listen to them today. Triumph is another favorite. I think that the “All The King’s Horses/Carry On The Flame” track from their “Surveillance” album is one of the finest pieces of music ever made in the genre. The groove and tempo when “Carry On…” takes over is just awesome! And the vocal lines on that song are amazing with one of the coolest “bridges” out there. (As a matter of fact, I had to listen to it again as we speak!) I think Thom Trumbo did a phenomenal job producing that album at the time. Again with a great drum sound exactly as I like it! I had my youth time in the eighties you know so there you go… 🙂
THM: Thanks a lot for the interview. Do you have any final words to all Heavy Metal and Hard Rock fans worldwide, especially to the ones in Canada that have recently discovered the music from Humbucker?
GAD: Thank YOU Sir! You know, we need all the help we can get in this business and fine people like yourself who devote your time to pick up bands that you don’t see on the cover of Rolling Stones Magazine every day, is fantastic! It’s really really helpful and very appreciated indeed! To the fans in Canada who like our music: We are honored that you do! And if you like “King Of The World”, please check out our debut album ‘R.O.C.K.S’ too! Due to change of distribution partners in Norway, the new album is unfortunately delayed worldwide but will be available at Amazon and wherever you buy your fine music during first half of April. We don’t take anything for guaranteed and every new fan is a thrill! If you want to join our Facebook page we would surely appreciate it! Just follow the link here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Humbucker/194616527226293.
This new Symphonic Black Metal band from Russia has what it takes to conquer the world of heavy music.
Although the Winter Olympics 2014 are over, let’s stay in Russia and enjoy the obscure Imminence, the debut album from Symphonic Black Metal band Bjarm. Formed in 2009 and based in the city of Severodvinsk, in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, the name of the band was not chosen in vain: Bjarmaland (also spelled Bjarmland or Bjarmia) was a territory mentioned in Norse sagas up to the Viking Age, and it usually referred to the southern shores of the White Sea and the basin of the Northern Dvina River, which today comprise a part of the Arkhangelsk Oblast of Russia. In other words, the band has a very creative and strong name, but what about their music?
Honestly, it’s very difficult to find anything from Russian Heavy Metal bands on the web and even harder at any music store (at least here in Canada), so I didn’t know what to expect from Bjarm. I personally don’t remember listening to or reading about any bands from Russia except for Symphonic Power Metal band Арктида (Arktida) and Epic Pagan Metal band Аркона (Arkona), and even in those two cases the information is usually very scarce. However, I went to a Helloween concert during my vacation last year in Saint Petersburg and was able to see how passionate Russian fans are for heavy music, so in my mind I started to imagine their music as something at least full of passion and feeling.
And for my total happiness, I was not wrong: the final result in Imminence outdid all my expectations in terms of creativity, intensity and professionalism. Bjarm might be essentially a Black Metal band, but by adding many elements from Symphonic Metal and Death Metal in their music they were able to create a more complex musicality than just some raw generic Black Metal. Not only that, the fact that Imminence was mixed at a good studio such as Stone Oil Studio and mastered by Tony Lindgren (who has already worked with great bands like Paradise Lost and Kreator) at Fascination Street Studios, provided the album a very good and professional sound quality too.
The imposing intro Approaching Of The Close opens the album in a way that would make the guys from Cradle of Filth very proud, as it reminds me of their famous intros from the albums Dusk and Her Embrace and Cruelty and the Beast, followed by the dark and heavy Knowledge Of Doom, a pure Black Metal song with amazing female vocals and atmospheric keyboards, and without any doubt one of the best tracks in Imminence. The obscurity goes on with Ominous Dreams, with highlights to the deep growling by Andrey and the extremely heavy riffs mixed with some more strong keyboard notes.
The next track, The Nine Worlds, is one of the fastest of all (if not the fastest) especially due to the Death Metal elements found in it; it’s not less symphonic, though, as the keyboards are always there to give it that Black Metal touch. Fire Lord’s Torment sounds like if it was extracted from a horror movie soundtrack, with a beautiful piano in the beginning that works as an intro to a very heavy and dense sequence, while the title-track, Imminence, is an instrumental song very well-executed by all band members, especially the keyboards by the gorgeous Anastasiya. By the way, what’s the secret with the girls in Russia? I’ve never seen a single Russian girl that is not pretty!
Getting back to the music in Imminence, the next track, Oracle, is very melancholic and evil, and has lots of elements from Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir in it, especially the diabolic vocals by Andrey that seem to be really inspired by Shagrath, while Secret Of The Immortals gets back to a more symphonic sonority with total focus on the sound of the keyboards together with the rhythmic drums.
The last part of Imminence is composed by the song The Highest Hall, another evil track that sounds a lot like some old Dimmu Borgir songs with a pretty decent job done by drummer Vitaliy, and Tree On The Bones, a truly grim track that, although not as creative as the rest of the album, ends it in a way that will let all listeners with a very good impression of the work done by the band, eager for more of Bjarm’s Symphonic Black Metal and to see them recreating all that dark atmosphere in a live concert.
The album art, designed by artist Al.Ex, from the Mayhem Project, is also very professional, and of course, dense and obscure as expected, increasing the overall quality of Imminence even more. I’m pretty sure all band members are extremely proud of their “child”, and let’s hope new good bands like Bjarm keep coming from Russia or any other countries to provide us metalheads more unique and interesting music like what’s found in Imminence.
Best moments of the album:Knowledge Of Doom, Ominous Dreams and Oracle.
Worst moments of the album:Fire Lord’s Torment and Tree On The Bones.
Released in 2014 Fono Ltd.
Track listing 1. Approaching Of The Close 3:32
2. Knowledge Of Doom 6:33
3. Ominous Dreams 6:23
4. The Nine Worlds 5:55
5. Fire Lord’s Torment 6:04
6. Imminence 3:46
7. Oracle 3:47
8. Secret Of The Immortals 4:33
9. The Highest Hall 4:13
10. Tree On The Bones 5:30
Band members Andrey – Vocal
Egor – Guitar
Anastasiya – Keyboards
Aleksey – Guitar
Mikhail – Bass
Vitaliy – Drums
Vile, obscure and impressive: these are just a few words that can be used to describe the new album by Poland’s most influential Heavy Metal band of all time.
If anyone asked me “what’s the darkest and most obscure Heavy Metal band in activity today?”, I would probably point to the infamous Polish Blackened Death Metal band Behemoth. And with the release of their new album, The Satanist, they totally corroborate my opinion: from their Black Metal back in 1991 when they started in Gdańsk, Poland, until their current Blackened Death Metal, it’s easy to see their evolution to a more devilish music approach, which makes me think we should call it an “evil-lution”.
The Satanist is Behemoth’s tenth studio album, and the first after the band’s mastermind Adam “Nergal” Darski was diagnosed with leukemia in August 2010. It’s amazing to see how well he has been recovering from this fearful disease and how he was able to canalize all the pain and suffering into Behemoth’s music, proving to ignorant people he’s not being “punished by God” or any other stupidity like that just because he plays extreme music, but that he’s only a normal human being, a talented musician that had to fight for his life. Besides, if you were one of those people that got “happy” to see him being “punished” with leukemia just because of the type of art he creates, well, you’re A LOT worse than the creature you think Nergal is.
Anyway, let’s get back to the music, which is what really matters here. If you have a weak stomach or suffer from any heart disease, do not even begin listening to this album: The Satanist starts with the extremely heavy song Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel, with its brutal lyrics (“I saw the virgin’s cunt spawning forth the snake / I witnessed tribes ov Judah reduced to ruin / I watched disciples twelve dissolved by flame / Looked down on son ov god snuffed in vain”) and creepy pace. In case you love horror movies like I do, you must take a look at their music video for this song: it reminds me of some great movies such as The Omen, Hellraiser and especially The Ring. You can check the censored version at the end of this review, or the uncensored one HERE, but let me just inform you that the only difference I noticed between both are the girl’s blurred nipples in the censored version, nothing else.
The next track, Furor Divinus, is more Black Metal, especially the drums by Inferno, while Messe Noire gets back to their later Death Metal with some amazing guitar solos at the end. The second single extracted from the album, Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer, is another tenebrous fast track perfect for live performances, with great riffs and an excellent job done by Nergal on vocals. Amen is as heavy as hell, an evil sonic massacre that fans will love, while the title-track The Satanist doesn’t reach the same level as the previous tracks, despite having an interesting atmosphere.
The album continues with Ben Sahar, an average track with good drums and riffs, and In the Absence Ov Light, another heavy track where Inferno pounds his drums mercilessly. The last track of the album, O Father O Satan O Sun!, is the perfect soundtrack for a horror movie, with its strong lyrics, frightful atmosphere, and the “speech” in the final two minutes of this song are more than amazing.
I guess I don’t need to say anything about the controversial lyrics, or about the superb album art by Russian artist Denis Forkas Kostromitin. Those are “extras” to a great work done by Nergal and his band, which becomes even more impressive due to the thin line we all know that exists between being awesome or totally ridiculous in the world of Black Metal. Let’s hope Behemoth continues on the awesome side, and that their evil empire of music keeps blowing our minds for many years to come.
Best moments of the album:Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel, O Father O Satan O Sun!, Amen and Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer.
Worst moments of the album:The Satanist and Ben Sahar.
Released in 2014 Nuclear Blast Records
Track listing 1. Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel 4:25
2. Furor Divinus 3:06
3. Messe Noire 4:04
4. Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer 5:35
5. Amen 3:49
6. The Satanist 5:33
7. Ben Sahar 5:34
8. In the Absence Ov Light 4:58
9. O Father O Satan O Sun! 7:13
Australian/Japanese edition bonus tracks 10. Ludzie Wschodu (Siekiera cover) 4:11
11. Chant for Ezkaton 2000 E.V. (Japanese version only) 5:10
12. Qadosh (Japanese version only) 5:00
Band members Adam “Nergal” Darski – lead vocals, guitars
Tomasz “Orion” Wróblewski – bass guitar
Zbigniew Robert “Inferno” Promiński – drums and percussion
Patryk Dominik “Seth” Sztyber – guitars
Additional musicians Krzysztof “Siegmar” Oloś (Vesania) – samples
Michał Łapaj (Riverside) – Hammond organ
Our Heavy Metal goddess this month is the perfect representation of all the beauty and finesse of her home country: Agnieszka “Nera” Górecka, or simply Nera, is a gorgeous Polish singer and songwriter from the city of Katowice (Silesia), known for her potent vocals in the Polish Symphonic Black Metal band Darzamat, and more recently for her own solo project called NeraNature.
Nera started her career in 1997 with the Gothic Metal band MidnightDate, from the city of Gliwice, about 30 minutes from Katowice. Then after a few years she finally joined Darzamat, in 2003, with whom she has recorded so far three studio albums: Semidevilish (2004), Transkarpatia (2005), and their latest one Solfernus’ Path (2009), as well as a live DVD called Live Profanity (Visiting the Graves of Heretics). In one of her interviews, she explained the meaning of the band’s name, saying it comes from the Latvian mythology and it denotes garden goddess ( dārzs = garden and māte = mother, in Latvian). In her own words, “I really like it as it seems to me very “organic”, close to the nature and paganism”, showing her passion for everything related to Mother Nature.
Due to Nera’s powerful voice, astonishing looks and sexy onstage moves (and of course, the overall quality of their music), Darzamat reached then some status, gaining respect from Heavy Metal fans all over the world, being invited to play in festivals with exceptional bands such as Arch Enemy, Carcass and Stratovarius, and even in a special Heavy Metal festival in India, which is something rare to see in heavy music today. Besides that, the band also featured in the 2009 edition of the amazing Metal Female Voices Fest. Nera’s mesmerizing performance with Darzamat can be seen in the videos In Red Iris, from the album Semidevilish, and The Burning Times, from the album Transkarpatia.
In 2009, Nera founded her own solo project called NeraNature, completely different from Darzamat. The music is more like some Gothic Rock, with Nera using her voice in a smooth and charming way, and according to Nera herself, “this project is more intimate, private and sometimes bizarre and freakish.” The name of the band is a combination of her own nickname and the word “Nature”, as a reflection of her deep connection with the environment. This connection can be easily seen in the lyrics, which are all about Nature itself, life, and a more feminist outlook of the world. She released a full-length album in 2011 called Foresting Wounds, which includes a pretty cool cover version of Garbage’s The World Is Not Enough, and has recently released a new single entitled Drifting (available on iTunes and Amazon.co.uk), which probably means there will be a new NeraNature album pretty soon.
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Apart from her career with Darzamat and NeraNature, she appeared as a guest singer in the albums Arcane (2010), by the Portuguese Gothic Metal band Dark Wings Syndrome, and Ordo Bellictum Satanas (2010), by the Ukrainian ex-Black Metal band Semargl.
Regarding her musical influences, Nera said the most important bands and artists in her life, which helped define her singing style, were The Gathering, Tiamat, Samael, Ulver, Bathory, Arcturus and Opeth. Furthermore, it seems she has a very eclectic taste for music, as she usually listens not only to Heavy Metal, but also to several kinds of rock, ambient, smooth jazz and some classical music. In her free time, Nera enjoys listening to music from the bands Peccatum, Emperor, Ulver, Opeth, Pink Floyd, Leszek Mozdzer, Satyricon and some soundtracks such as Twin Peaks, Requiem for a Dream, and Dracula. She also mentioned she has a special admiration for the music of the Norwegian Black Metal band Emperor, and that she would love to perform live one day with them.
And finally, when talking about her voice and technique, Nera said that your emotions, experiences and own interpretations are much more important than any singing classes you might take in your life (by the way, she has never taken any), and that the most exciting thing for her is that your voice is unique, it’s like your fingerprint, and it helps define each person in the world, not only singers. We have to agree with her, but let’s be honest and also admit that the voice of this gothic polska księżniczka, as well as her beauty and charm, are way above the average.
There’s nothing better than starting this year with a special post about the charming musician and activist Doris Yeh. Born in Taipei (or Taipei City), Taiwan on September 19, 1976 (at least, this is the date I found after a lot of effort!) and nicknamed “Thunder Tears” in her band Chthonic, this Taiwanese beauty is a good example of how music and imagery walk hand in hand on the path to success nowadays. Her exotic Asian traces, together with the powerful heavy music played by Chthonic, are leading her and the band to stardom not only in the East, but in the whole world of music.
Doris herself doesn’t like to define Chthonic’s music style as Extreme, Death or Black Metal. In fact, she prefers calling what their band does as “Orient Metal”, especially because the Western definition of heavy music is not the same as the one in Asian countries. We have to agree with her and the rest of the band that what Chthonic do is totally different from the traditional North American and European Thrash/Death Metal, because despite being heavy music they add many different elements (like the interesting instrument Erhu) and have a unique way to express themselves visually.
In one of her interviews, Doris said she used to play the piano when she was a child, and kept playing it for about 10 years before starting playing bass. She then joined Chthonic in 1999, replacing bassist Xiao-Yu, recording her first album with the band, 9th Empyrean. After that, she recorded the albums Relentless Recurrence (2002), Seediq Bale (2005) and Mirror of Retribution (2009), but her best albums with Chthonic are without any doubt Takasago Army (2011) and their most recent album, Bú-Tik (2013), where it’s easy to notice her improvement as a musican and her growing importance to the band’s current success.
Giants like Iron Maiden, Nine Inch Nails and Slayer, and more obscure bands such as Emperor and At The Gates, are among her biggest influences in music, and when asked about a great female bass player she enjoys, Doris mentioned the American alternative rock musician Kim Gordon, showing she’s not only connected to heavy music in her life.
Doris Yeh’s onstage performance is always amazing, not only due to her talent as a musician but also because of her beauty and energy. I had the privilege to see Chthonic live in Toronto during Arch Enemy’s North American Khaos Tour 2011, which also had DevilDriver and Skeletonwitch as opening acts, and I was impressed by her nonstop headbanging and total commitment to the band’s music and to the fans.
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After a couple of years with Chthonic, Doris became the band’s official spokesperson and business manager, taking over the responsibilities from the band’s founder and lead singer Freddy Lim. She is also seen as a sex symbol (surprise, surprise!) and often works as a top model too, appearing on the cover of different magazines in Taiwan and in the rest of the world, like Body Magazine, Revolver Magazine and FHM Magazine. Not only that, Doris also joins her Metal friends Angela Gossow and Alissa White-Gluz in the world of activism by supporting the Awakening Foundation, a Taiwanese organization founded in 1982 which main goal is promoting women’s rights and self-awareness.
In October 2012, Chthonic released a very special 96-page book of sexy photos of Doris taken at the Green Island in Taiwan, entitled Set Fire to the Island, which also includes a single that according to the band is a “symphony with piano, strings, and wind music, so that you may enjoy it not only with your eyes, but also with your ears.” Well, I still prefer Chthonic’s regular music, but I must admit that those astonishing pictures of Doris together with some good symphonic music are a delight for any fan of Chthonic’s unique bassist.
The ‘Witch returns with 31 minutes of pure destruction.
The first time I saw or listened to Skeletonwitch was back in 2011 when they were one of the opening acts for Arch Enemy here in Toronto (the other opening acts were DevilDriver and Chthonic, just so you can imagine how awesome that night was), and since then I’ve become really interested in their brutal music. Now this band from Ohio is back with another extremely heavy album, Serpents Unleashed, which is already being considered by many the best Thrash/Death Metal album of 2013 (you can listen to the entire album here) . And after listening to it, I kind of agree with that.
The opening track (and also the title-track) Serpents Unleashed is Hell on Earth! What a ferocious and intense massacre! Moreover, I like the fact they usually add many Black Metal elements to their music without sounding like a Black Metal band, which is already clear from the very beginning of the song. BeneathDead Leaves keeps up with the devastation with its insane drums, pretty good riffs and crazy solos, while I Am of Death (Hell Has Arrived) is heavy, fast and has all the elements the fans of the band love in it. I saw the video for it a while ago and I have to say that it wouldn’t have been so great with a different song; it’s the best song of the album in my opinion.
The next tracks are From a Cloudless Sky, which has a nice intro and captivating riffs, and I can imagine how crazy the circle pits are going to be when it’s played live; Burned from Bone, another fast tempo song with some more Black Metal elements (especially the riffs); and Unending, Everliving, a song that starts slowly if compared to the previous tracks, but then resumes the accelerated speed of the album.
The second half of the album begins with Blade on the Flesh, Blood on My Hands, an intense song full of non-stop drums and riffs and a good chorus. It’s definitely another recommended track for some good mosh pits if played live. Then comes This Evil Embrace, which reminds me a little of some old Slayer songs, with a chorus that is pure Black Metal and the best guitar solo of the whole album. The worst song of Serpents Unleashed is Unwept: despite not actually being a bad song, it sounds too generic for me and lacks some creativity. The following track has the coolest name of all, Born of the Light That Does Not Shine, and delivers some more musical brutality for the delight of all Skeletonwitch fans. The album ends with its longest song More Cruel Than Weak (the only one with over 4 minutes), which provides us some high quality riffs and drums, and of course, a lot of violence.
The lyrics are gruesome as usual, but I guess you’re not expecting them to start singing about butterflies and unicorns, right? And finally, the album has an astonishing front cover: it looks like they hired a very talented Gothic artist from the 15th century to paint it! I love when the album art is not some generic computer-based image and adds a lot to the whole concept of the album, like what happens with Serpents Unleashed.
In summary, the ‘Witch proves again why they’re considered one of the best bands of the Thrash/Death Metal scene, with Chance Garnette doing an exceptional job with his unique guttural vocals. That guy sings like the most evil and hideous witch in the history of mankind, something that became a trademark in Skeletonwitch’s music. One might say the songs are too short, but remember that’s how Slayer has always released their albums, and all songs in Serpents Unleashed are as heavy as they can be. It’s just a matter of quality over quantity.
One final interesting fact about Serpents Unleash is that the band is even selling a pretty cool cassette tape version of it, just when we thought those types of media were long gone. Well, a lot of people thought heavy music was dead and gone years ago, but as you can see with bands like Skeletonwitch pulverizing everything, they were fuckin’ wrong.
Best moments of the album:Serpents Unleashed, I Am of Death (Hell Has Arrived) and This Evil Embrace.
Worst moments of the album:Unending, Everliving and Unwept.
Released in 2013 Prosthetic Records
Track listing
1. Serpents Unleashed 2:11
2. Beneath Dead Leaves 3:07
3. I Am of Death (Hell Has Arrived) 2:47
4. From a Cloudless Sky 2:48
5. Burned from Bone 2:39
6. Unending, Everliving 3:03
7. Blade on the Flesh, Blood on My Hands 2:26
8. This Evil Embrace 3:39
9. Unwept 2:25
10. Born of the Light That Does Not Shine 2:18
11. More Cruel Than Weak 4:18
Band members Chance Garnette – lead vocals
Nate “N8 Feet Under” Garnette – guitars
Scott “Scunty D.” Hedrick – guitars
Evan “Loosh” Linger – bass
Dustin Boltjes – drums
Are you looking for a creepy horror movie for Halloween? How about Slayer’s extremely “soft” first home video instead?
Continuing with the countdown to Slayer live in Toronto next month, I would like to give my opinion about one of the first VHS of my life. Back in the 90’s, MTV was growing and becoming more and more important, making almost all bands care a lot more about their videos rather than their own music. Fortunately, when we talk about Slayer the words “MTV” or “commercial” are rarely used, unless we add the prefix “non” in front of them, and that’s exactly what you’ll find in their debut home video called Live Intrusion: a high quality concert, full of heavy riffs and classic songs and that has almost zero commercial appeal to regular people, but for the band’s diehard fans it’s close to perfection.
Filmed at the Mesa Amphitheater in Mesa, Arizona on March 12, 1995 during Slayer’s “Divine Intourvention” around the US, and launched later that same year (there’s also a DVD version released in 2010), Live Intrusion is pure devastation, starting with the insane duo of Raining Blood and Killing Fields until the apocalyptic ending with Chemical Warfare. In fact, before the concert actually starts the video presents us that infamous footage of a guy having his arm scarified with the word SLAYER, then adding alcohol to it and setting it on fire, which in my opinion is the best “intro” of all time to a Thrash Metal concert. If this doesn’t pump you up for the rest of the video, maybe you should press stop and start watching the new One Direction movie instead, because for me this means you’re a total pussy!
Regarding the setlist, there are many long-forgotten songs from this concert that I would love to see slayer playing again live such as Killing Fields, Sex. Murder. Art. And 213. By the Way, I think they should reintroduce some songs from Divine Intervention, Diabolus in Musica and God Hates Us All in their current setlist, especially now that the band has Paul Bostaph back on drums, and I’m pretty sure Gary Holt would be able to play any of them easily. The fans would love to have even more power added to the mosh pits with some of the fastest songs from those albums.
One of the top moments of the entire show is when guitar/singer Robb Flynn (Machine Head) and drummer Chris Kontos (ex-Machine Head) join Slayer on stage to perform an incredibly heavy version of the song Witching Hour, from Black Metal pioneers Venom. The reaction from the crowd is absolutely insane! Speaking of which, the fans are crazy from start to finish, and instead of morons wasting their time filming the concert what we see are true metalheads screaming, bleeding and banging their heads non-stop in the middle of monstrous circle pits. Good times!
To sum up, Live Intrusion is an excellent opportunity to see Tom, Kerry, Jeff (R.I.P.) and Paul in top form executing perfectly many all-time classics from Slayer’s unparalleled career (what they do in War Ensemble and Angel of Death, for example, is beyond brutal) as well as some great unusual songs, complemented by an amazing crowd and some hilarious footage between some of the songs. So forget about pussies like Freddy Krueger, Jason or Michael Myers, and spend this Halloween enjoying some beers with your friends while watching one of the most bestial videos in the History of Heavy Metal.
Best moments of the video:Raining Blood/Killing Fields, At Dawn They Sleep, Dittohead and Witching Hour.
Worst moments of the video: Absolutely none.
Released in 1995 American Recordings
Track listing 1. Raining Blood 4:23
2. Killing Fields 3:56
3. War Ensemble 4:51
4. At Dawn They Sleep 5:03
5. Divine Intervention 5:33
6. Dittohead 2:50
7. Captor of Sin 3:21
8. 213 4:51
9. South of Heaven 4:58
10. Sex. Murder. Art. 1:50
11. Mandatory Suicide 4:03
12. Angel of Death 4:50
13. Hell Awaits 4:53
14. Witching Hour (Venom cover) 2:54
15. Chemical Warfare 5:17
Band members Tom Araya – bass, vocals
Jeff Hanneman – guitar
Kerry King – guitar
Paul Bostaph – drums
I’ve never had to use Google and Google Translator so much in my life to try to understand what a band wants to say in their music as I had now with Ukrainian Melodic Black Metal band Dub Buk and their new album, the violent Цвях. Even with the help of Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s creations, it was still pretty tough to get the whole message (if you’re Ukrainian, please correct any stupid mistake that I might have made with the translations below), but the high quality of their music outshines that language barrier and makes listening the entire album a very pleasant and, of course, boisterous experience.
Closing the album we have the sonic massacre Копоть (Kopot’, or “Soot”), with more awesome riffs, some beautiful female vocals, a drummer completely on fire, and I have to say I really enjoyed all the breaks and variations in this song especially after the third minute; and the only song entirely in English in the album,Execute Them All, a very professional cover version for one of the songs from Swedish Death Metal icons Unleashed, with highlight to the deeper guttural used in this track.
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 