Behold the debut effort by an unrelenting American duo attempting to push Death Metal back to its extreme limits.
Formed in the fall of 2021 in the United States by vocalist Eston Browne (Abolishing the Ignominious) and multi-instrumentalist Wilson Sherels (Urotherapy, Epidermolysis), the dynamic Brutal Death Metal duo known as Vulnificus is attempting to push Death Metal back to its extreme limits with their debut demo/EP, entitled Innomination, highly recommended for fans of bands the likes of Cenotaph, Defeated Sanity, Brodequin and Orchidectomy. Recorded, mixed and mastered at Demolition Studios by Wilson with additional recording and mixing of vocals by Eston at BWNTWN STN, and displaying a sick cover art by Pileworm Guttural Art and logo by Force Fed Graphics, Innomination will smash us like an insect with its 12 minutes of sheer brutality, leaving us all absolutely disoriented and eager for their first full-length opus in the near future.
Wilson begins his demented sonic attack in Scraped and Scattered, providing Eston with all he needs to torment our souls with his gruesome vociferations. In other words, it’s the epitome of underground brutality, and I’m sure Wilson’s blast beats will inspire you to slam into the pit like a maniac in the name of Death Metal. The duo shows no mercy for our necks in Induced Rampage, as Wilson continues to hammer his guitar, bass and drums nonstop while Eston roars and growls like a creature from the abyss, resulting in an insane Death Metal extravaganza spiced up by the song’s closing eerie noises crafted by Eston. And their last Deathslam feast comes in the form of the title-track Innomination, another bestial creation by those infernal metallers showcasing their trademark growls and demolishing beats, not to mention how caustic the riffs by Wilson feel, ending the band’s welcome card on a high and putrid note.
After the 12 minutes of savagery blasted by Vulnificus are over, you’ll certainly go back to the start and listen to their undisputed Brutal Death Metal again and again, proving how sick, vile and honest their music is. Hence, let’s show our support to this up-and-coming American bludgeoning duo by following them on Facebook and on Instagram for all things Vulnificus, and by grabbing a copy of their demo from their own BandCamp page or by streaming it as many times as you want on Spotify. As already mentioned, Eston and Wilson are already working on their debut full-length album for sometime in 2022, and until then we can keep practicing our slamming skills to the sound of Innomination because when their full-bodied beast comes to life, it will be hell on earth in the name of Brutal Death Metal.
As the days are getting shorter and colder in the Northern Hemisphere, let’s warm things up here at The Headbanging Moose this November with the incendiary vocals and performance of our metal lady of the month, the multi-talented Haydee Irizarry, or Haydée Irizarry if you prefer. Vocalist for Melodic Groove/Death Metal act Carnivora, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and composer for Alternative Rock/Metal project Zahra Lux, and vocalist and composer for her own solo project, not to mention her six years as the vocalist for Melodic Death Metal outfit Aversed, Haydee owns a very potent and dynamic voice, delivering a wide range of styles that go from smooth, clean vocals to deep and visceral growls, positioning her as one of the most interesting names of the current American underground scene. Having said that, are you ready to know a little more about Haydee, her bands and projects, her influences, and her passion for all types of music?
Born on February 28, 1995 in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, but currently residing in Salem, Massachusetts, and of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, Haydee graduated in 2013 from Lincoln Park High School in Chicago and then moved on to study jazz, classical and contemporary music writing and production at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts that same year, where she also became the lead singer for her classmates’ band Aversed. However, before we start talking about her professional career in music, let’s take a step back and go all the way to her childhood years, more specifically to when she was only four years old. At that age, Haydee received a keyboard that ignited her interest in studying and writing songs on the piano, while her grade school was a Lutheran school that introduced hymnals and sight reading to her and prompted her to join choirs at the age of eight, when she realized she had a natural talent and love for singing that was undeniable and she knew she wanted to be a vocalist. Not only a vocalist, but a metal vocalist, as while she remembers her family listened to everything from Redding’s soul to their Latin culture’s salsa when she was a kid in Chicago, she also became enchanted by Rock N’ Roll and Heavy Metal. When asked what attracted her to the harder stuff, she said metal offered release and salvation as she struggled with her parents’ divorce, an abusive brother and her mental health. “When I was getting started, I really connected to the aggression because of all the things I was feeling at the time,” she explained. “I was feeling a lot of dark, intense things that I didn’t really quite know how to express outside of music.” Then at the age of 16 she joined the Chicago School of Rock so she could perform and develop as a performing frontwoman, having also studied guitar, piano and bass through private teachers, and through that plus her choral experience she achieved many honors and had the ability to play Lollapalooza and many other local festivals in Chicago. She learned pop, rock, jazz, blues, metal and so on, all of which directed her to the Berklee College of Music, as already mentioned.
Since 2017, Haydee has been the voice of American Melodic Groove/Death Metal act Carnivora, with whom she has already recorded three singles, those being Bogdweller, in 2019, Witch City, in 2020, and more recently Hypnogenic, featuring guests Jon Donais (Anthrax, Shadows Fall) and Matt Bachand (Shadows Fall, Act Of Defiance). The band’s guitarist Cody Michaud believes Haydee is helping Carnivora evolve in a more sophisticated, more accessible, less testosterone-fueled direction, helping them transition their sound from Metalcore and Melodic Death Metal to a more groove-oriented Heavy Metal with Death Metal influences. “If you’re a fan of folk music, there’s folk metal, and there’s symphonic metal,” commented Haydee in one of her interviews. “It doesn’t have to be the Cookie Monster screams. It isn’t always aggressive. It can be very beautiful.” She also explained how she ended up becoming the band’s new vocalist a few years ago. “I had met the Carnivora members at an early Aversed gig and we had become friends and performed with each others bands’ many times. They were interested in transitioning their style and believed my vocal skills and personality was compatible and here we are!”
Speaking about Boston, Massachusetts-based Progressive/Melodic Death Metal act Aversed, Haydee was the band’s vocalist from 2015 until September 1, 2021, having recorded with the band their 2016 EP Renewal and the full-length opus Impermanent earlier in 2021, not to mention the live album Abandoned in Charlestown, released in August 2021. You can enjoy Haydee kicking some ass with Aversed in the official videos for the songs Laboratory, Impermanent, and Close My Eyes, or simply click HERE to enjoy the album in its entirety. When asked how she was invited to join Aversed, she said the band had been active since 2009, before she lived in Boston, and as she was attending Berklee College of Music she had met many local metal musicians and bands and had been referred to be their new vocalist and joined them in 2015. In addition, Haydee mentioned that she had studied gutturals before joining them and it proved to be a great transition to practice performing the new technique that she had been developing.
Apart from her time with Carnivora and Aversed, our beloved vocalist has also lent her beautiful voice to an array of distinct bands through the years, with the first ever metal band she was officially in, called Ephemeral Sunrise, being a huge learning experience as she was able to get a taste of where she needed to grow and what the local scene was like. Another amazing project she’s currently involved with is called Zahra Lux, which translates to “beautiful light” or “flower light”, combining classical, rock and blues music to form one heavy and delicate musical experience featuring gorgeous piano lines, soulful vocals and orchestral arrangements. “Before I went down the surprising road of melodic death metal and guttural vocals I had thought that I would strictly be a blues and heavy metal vocalist that would sound more like Evanescence, and other female fronted rock and metal bands,” said Haydee, having already released under her Zahra Lux project the EP’s The Deam (2018) and Rosewater (2020), and more recently the single Say No More, in August this year.
You can also enjoy Heydee’s powerful vocals in other bands and projects, such as Symphonic/Progressive Power Metal band Widows Rite, with whom she recorded the album Volume 1 back in 2018, and Queen Boudicca Metal Opera. Haydee has also been a guest in distinct albums by excellent underground bands, those being vocals on the song Shutter, from the 2020 EP Eulogy by American Gothic/Death/Doom Metal band Autumn’s Ashes; vocals on Per Erebus, from the 2018 album Per Erebus ad Astra by American Blackened Thrash Metal band Graviton; vocals as “The Soldier” on Terror of the Cybernetic Space Monster, from the 2018 album Terror of the Cybernetic Space Monster by American Power Metal band Helion Prime; and vocals on A Gathering of Storms, from the 2018 album Genetically Engineered to Enslave, by American Death Metal band Solium Fatalis.
As aforementioned, Haydee grew up listening to all kinds of music such as blues, classic rock, classical, and Latin music, but when the music in question is our beloved Heavy Metal her main influences range from Joe Duplantier of Gojira and Alissa White-Gluz of Arch Enemy to all classic metal vocalists such as Dio, Ozzy and Rob Halford. Her first ever record which introduced her to heavy music was Fallen, by Evanescence, when she was eight years old, taking her down the rabbit hole that would eventually lead her to find Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and all of the icons of early metal, also delving into the early punk scene. Nowadays you can find pretty much anything on her playlist including Chelsea Wolfe, Bjork, Black Sabbath and At The Gates, as well as “guilty pleasures” such as Katy Perry, Sia and Lady Gaga, as long as it’s well-written pop music, of course. When asked which three songs would be perfect for someone listening to her for the first time, Haydee mentioned her cover versions for Sia’s Everyday is Christmas and Arch Enemy’s As The Pages Burn, plus Aversed’s Renewal, because they are diverse and represent her as she is now, still growing but slowly establishing a strong voice within the music industry. By the way, if you want to see how wide Haydee’s range can be and how eclectic her taste for music is, you can take a shot at her cover versions for Iron Maiden’s Hallowed Be Thy Name, Alanis Morissette’s Uninvited, Leonard Cohen’s Chelsea Hotel, and Prince’s Purple Rain, among several others on her personal YouTube channel.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Absolutely engaged in the music no matter which band she’s in, Haydee not only has an incendiary voice, but her onstage performance is just as flammable and electrifying, earning her a few unique nicknames including Haydee the Hyena, Metal J.Lo and Metal Selena. “I love the Metal Selena and Metal J.Lo because I like to embrace my culture,” she said, “like wearing my hoops.” Furthermore, she mentioned in one of her interviews the importance of understanding R&B and classical music to become a better metal vocalist. “Both styles have extreme soul and depth that is definitely important in metal music in both style and vocal delivery. Having experienced performing many different songs with different stories and intentions I have a large understanding of what level of emotions, strength, and movements to deliver to any song to make it as effective as it can be. I couldn’t do that if those many styles had not molded my range to be the way it is now as well. Every life and musical experience finds itself in each new performance that you share and it’s really wonderful.”
Regarding touring, Haydee said that she dreams of touring the world with Carnivora and of being able to make a living from her art without having to work a day job. having already played in many small to large stages in a wide variety of local bars and clubs, she would also love to play some major festivals the likes of Maryland Death Fest, NAMM and SWSW, and return to Chicago Open Air, a festival that holds a spot in her heart. “At Chicago Open Air 2017 Aversed and I had performed on the last day alongside acts such as Slayer, Behemoth, and Ozzy Osbourne to name a few. Nearing the end of Ozzy’s set our tour bus crew was giving the band a last call to get on the bus or else it was leaving without us! My phone has been dead and I didn’t know. By the grace of the metal gods I ran into my band mates while I was getting a pretzel and ran back with them. Everyone was there besides our guitarist Sungwoo Jeong. After an awful 10 minutes of frantic calling, searching, and figuring out a way for him to fly back to Boston on his own, we searched the bus one last time and found he’d been asleep the whole time. I had immense luck and Sungwoo cracked us all up and it made one hell of a story.” In addition, her first metal experience as a vocalist was the Iron Maiden vs. Judas Priest show at the Chicago School of Rock in 2011, a huge moment for her because it had really transitioned her from a bedroom performer to a real one, pushing her to keep doing it.
As Carnivora is now a female-fronted metal band, Haydee was asked her opinion about the role of women in the current metal scene. She said that the face of metal is shifting a lot towards women, but the metal community still has a lot to learn and that can be frustrating, mainly because bands with female lead singers often get lumped together even if they’re creating radically different sub-styles, although she’s fine with the label “female-fronted metal”. In addition, she said that as a growing force, women get a lot of attention that may not be given as frequently to an all-male group because there is something different brought to the table that is intriguing. Women have the same depth and aggression as men, and to have an artistic platform to display that (as well as their delicate nature) is a new and amazing thing. The only disadvantage that she sees is the play on sexism and creating sex appeal that purposefully overshadows or interferes with the platform for ones natural talent. “Women work hard to do what they do and they do not need to hide behind sex appeal to be respected for their time, talent, and work. Knowing that and showing that is important,” commented Haydee.
Last but not least, Haydee also provided her comments about things that she learned recording new music during the COVID-19 pandemic, starting by saying how important it was for her to put a strong focus on songwriting, something that we all know cannot be done properly when the musician is on the road most of the time, saying the simplicity of “one-on-one” writing with guitarist Cody Michaud allowed them to present something more refined to the rest of the team. Secondly, she mentioned how hard the entire band worked on the recording process of their demos, saying she pushed herself to knock out vocal takes and stacked harmonies. Then Haydee moved on to talking about their jam sessions, how important it was for them to get back to practicing together as soon as it was safe to meet up, and how tighter their playing got after that, followed by how important it was to release new music during the pandemic even without being able to tour during that time. And last but not least, she mentioned a fun game Carnivora had during the video shoot for Hypnogenic, the first time they had to load in and get together since everything shut down, where each band member had to wear their newest Vans shoes acquired during quarantine and compare them. Let’s say this is indeed a very healthy competition for a group of metalheads eager to get back on the road, and those shoes are beyond awesome for any trip or for a demanding activity like kicking ass on stage, and we cannot wait to see Haydee and Carnivora eating our flesh alive during their upcoming concerts.
“The face of metal is shifting a lot towards women and women from all different countries that look so different. It’s awesome to be a part of that change.” – Haydee Irizarry
Behold the new opus by this ruthless Austrian-South German Death Metal outfit, by far their most intricate, obscure and dynamic album to date.
Holding a giant mirror right in front of the rotten, perverted part of humanity, the ruthless Austrian-South German Death Metal Commando Infected Chaos returns to action with the follow up to their 2015 debut effort The Wake Of Ares and their 2017 sophomore opus Killing Creator, the pulverizing Dead Aesthetics, combining the brute force of contemporary, complexly poured death lead with a touch of the North American new school. Mixed by the band’s own guitarist Matthias Mayr at DC-Records, mastered by Dan Swanö at Unisound and displaying a Stygian cover artwork by Wildan Slam Artwork, Dead Aesthetics is highly recommended for admirers of bands the likes of God Dethroned, Hypocrisy and Kataklysm, showcasing all the fury, talent and passion for extreme music by Christian Fischer on vocals, Matthias Mayr and Martin Hartmann on the guitars, Ronny Lechleitner on bass and Matze Wilhelm on drums.
Ominous sound permeate the air before Infected Chaos smashes us all mercilessly in When Yonder Calls My Name, a dark and melodic tune led by the classic drums by Matze, also presenting hints of Hardcore to make things more frantic; and Chirstian roars like a gruesome creature form the abyss in Hollow Chars, accompanied by the rumbling bass by Ronny and the sick riffs and solos by Matthias and Martin, resulting in an infernal creation that lives up to the legacy of old school Death Metal. A brutal, slammin’ and utterly awesome Death Metal raid comes in the form of Eager Breed the Gods of Pestilence, with Christian once again vociferating the song’s dark words manically, and there’s no time to breathe as the quintet pulverizes our souls with the demented Gehenna, a lesson in savagery and harmony where their guitars sound piercing and caustic, supported by the metallic jabs blasted from Ronny’s bass. Then Matze and Ronny make the earth tremble in Iron Nights, an infernal Death Metal extravaganza bringing to our ears another round of Christian’s inhumane gnarls.
Are you tired already? Because Infected Chaos will keep hammering our damned bodies with their brutality in And Thus I Fell, where the band’s guitar duo does an excellent job with their sharp and strident riffage, followed by Death Metal Shock Prayer, a straightforward, in-your-face metal feast spearheaded by the thunderous beats by Matze, sounding as hellish as heavy as it can be. Pitch-Black Fever is simply demonic form start to finish, or in other words, a bestial depiction of classic Death Metal by the band with Matze once again stealing the spotlight with his vicious and fierce drumming; whereas bringing elements from classic Norwegian Black Metal added to their core sonority, in special to their riffs and blast beats, the band fires the fulminating Away, keeping the album at a high level of violence and obscurity. Following such demented tune, a beyond sinister intro quickly explodes into a lesson in violence by Infected Chaos titled Lethargia, with Matthias and Martin slashing our ears with their razor-edged riffs, and closing the album it’s time for five minutes of darkness and heaviness entitled Of Death and Birth, not as electrifying as the rest of the album but still presenting Christian’s otherworldly growls.
The infected world of Death Metal crafted by Infected Chaos in Dead Aesthetics can be better appreciated in its entirety on YouTube and on Spotify, but as usual if you consider yourself a true supporter of the underground you should grab your copy of the album from their own BandCamp page, from Apple Music or from Amazon, and don’t forget to also follow them on Facebook and to subscribe to their YouTube channel for more of their sick creations. Dead Aesthetics is by far the band’s most intricate, obscure and dynamic album to date, showing not only the evolution in their musicianship and fury, but also that Austria, and of course the southern parts of Germany, are indeed an amazing source of musical brutality.
Best moments of the album: Hollow Chars, Eager Breed the Gods of Pestilence and Pitch-Black Fever.
Worst moments of the album:Of Death and Birth.
Released in 2021 Independent
Track listing 1. When Yonder Calls My Name 5:43
2. Hollow Chars 3:22
3. Eager Breed the Gods of Pestilence 4:04
4. Gehenna 4:28
5. Iron Nights 4:40
6. And Thus I Fell 4:52
7. Death Metal Shock Prayer 3:56
8. Pitch-Black Fever 3:36
9. Away 5:22
10. Lethargia 4:58
11. Of Death and Birth 5:20
Band members Christian Fischer – vocals
Matthias Mayr – guitars
Martin Hartmann – guitars
Ronny Lechleitner – bass, backing vocals
Matze Wilhelm – drums
Ukraine’s own doom infantry is back into the battlefield with another masterpiece, telling the gruesome tales of World War I, its soldiers’ fate, their death, fear and feats to be never forgotten.
Lviv, Ukraine-based Blackened Death/Doom Metal offensive 1914 continues to reflect the gruesome tales of World War I, its soldiers’ fate, their death, fear and feats to be never forgotten, unleashing upon humanity their superb new opus entitled Where Fear and Weapons Meet, comprised of eleven tracks of pure historic harshness following up to the band’s sophomore album The Blind Leading the Blind and their debut effort Eschatology of War. Unlike their previous works, Where Fear and Weapons Meet is not about death, but about life, as most of the heroes and protagonists in the songs survived war, became heroes and finally returned home, with even the album cover emphasizing this by depicting an injured, shell-shocked and bleeding sole survivor of a shield attack holding his hand out to death, praying in agony, but death does not take him away. Furthermore, the album begins in Serbia and continues on the first track from the prospective of Gavrilo Princip, who assassinated Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo and caused the outbreak of World War I, all masterfully embraced by the massive fusion of sludge, death and doom sounds crafted by vocalist Ditmar Kumarberg, guitarists Liam Fessen and Vitalis Winkelhock, bassist Armin von Heinessen and drummer Rusty Potoplacht.
As expected the band kicks things off with their trademark intro War In, this time showcasing the original of the most famous Serbian song of the Great War period, “Tamo Daleko”, setting the stage for 1914 to crush our senses with FN .380 ACP#19074, with Rusty sounding infernal and ruthless on drums while Liam and Vitalis deliver endless electricity and heaviness through their wicked riffage. What a bestial start to the album, I might say, followed by Vimy Ridge (In Memory of Filip Konowal), offering us all another round of their WWI-inspired doomed lyrics growled by Ditmar (“Things didn’t go down as expected / Hill 145, ill-fated Vimy Ridge. / We are entrenched in mud as wild hogs, my 47th Battalion / A small wooded knoll we called “the Pimple” 2 miles in front of us. / We need to capture the machine gun nests, each was heavily defended”) in a demonic display of Ukrainian Sludge, Death and Doom Metal. Pillars of Fire (The Battle of Messines) describes the terrible events of the Battle of the Messines Ridge during June 7-14, 1917 in Belgium, one of the most insane episodes of the Great War, while musically speaking you better get ready for another multi-layered wall of sounds spearheaded by Rusty’s venomous blast beats and all the symphonic, cinematic background sounds; and continuing their path of doom and devastation we face Don’t Tread on Me (Harlem Hellfighters), where the sound of the guitars by Liam and Vitalis is phenomenal, not to mention the thunderous bass by Armin, whereas featuring Ukrainian country and folk musician, singer and songwriter Sasha Boole, Coward is very unique and distinct form the rest of the album, with the final result being really entertaining.
…And a Cross Now Marks His Place brings forward an amazing and brutal vocal duet between Ditmar and guest Nick Holmes (Paradise Lost), resulting in a lecture in old school Doom Metal that will inspire you to crack your neck headbanging, followed by Corps d’autos-canons-mitrailleuses (A.C.M), where a wicked intro quickly morphs into a Blackened Doom feast showcasing the band’s trademark warlike words (“Hold the line, Minerva will cover us / The Hotchkiss machine gun poured lead in all directions / Send our messages to all boches – We will avenge for the Belgium! / 16 of us were killed in action, / 16 of us in this Galizian sludge / They called home”). In Mit Gott für König und Vaterland we’re treated to five minutes of obscurity, brutality and fear in the form of ass-kicking Doom and Death Metal led by the demented growls by Ditmar; whereas the sound of bagpipes will penetrate deep inside your mind before 1914 come crushing like a war tank in their version for Eric Bogle’s The Green Fields of France (No Man’s Land), which original version can be appreciated HERE, an impressive rendition where Liam and Vitalis are on absolute fire with their unstoppable riffs, not to mention the song’s demonic, hellish ending, flowing into War Out, putting a climatic and stylish conclusion to their sonic battle.
It’s time to head into the battlefield together with the unstoppable troopers of 1914, and in order to do so you can enjoy the album in full on YouTube and on Spotify, follow the band on Facebook and on Instagram for tour dates and other nice-to-know information about them, subscribe to their YouTube channel for more of their austere music, and above all that, purchase your favorite version of the stunning Where Fear and Weapons Meet by clicking HERE. This masterpiece is indeed another heavily intense and deep-reaching output that will grant 1914 even higher appreciation than the five-piece is already credited with, and I must say that after such powerful and bold album the band has gone beyond the underground barrier and can now be considered one of the torchbearers of warlike doom worldwide. In other words, the Great War lives on, mainly thanks to the brilliant job done by the best Ukrainian metal band of all time.
Best moments of the album: Vimy Ridge (In Memory of Filip Konowal), Pillars of Fire (The Battle of Messines), …And a Cross Now Marks His Place and The Green Fields of France (No Man’s Land, Eric Bogle cover).
Worst moments of the album: Absolutely none.
Released in 2021 Napalm Records
Track listing 1. War In 1:11
2. FN .380 ACP#19074 5:54
3. Vimy Ridge (In Memory of Filip Konowal) 5:11
4. Pillars of Fire (The Battle of Messines) 7:04
5. Don’t Tread on Me (Harlem Hellfighters) 7:54
6. Coward (ft. Sasha Boole) 2:55
7. …And a Cross Now Marks His Place (ft. Nick Holmes) 7:29
8. Corps d’autos-canons-mitrailleuses (A.C.M) 7:54
9. Mit Gott für König und Vaterland 5:18
10. The Green Fields of France (No Man’s Land, Eric Bogle cover) 10:57
11. War Out 1:40
Brace yourselves for the new album by this ruthless Czech Death Metal horde, offering that warm, comforting, bludgeoning heaviness that will put you to sleep, perhaps permanently.
Forged in 2001 in the burning fires of Karlovy Vary, a town in the west Bohemia region of the Czech Republic (or Czechia, if you prefer), a Brutal Death Metal beast that goes by the name of Cutterred Flesh is ready to spread violence, gore and insanity all over the world thanks to their newborn spawn, entitled Sharing Is Caring, the follow-up to their 2018 album Code: Violence. Recorded at Kohlekeller Studio under the supervision of Kristian Kohle Kohlmannslehner, and displaying a demonic artwork by Pär Olofsson (Aborted, Immolation), the album is loaded with all the Death Metal riffs you need, all the diversity to not only set the songs apart but to also keep things interesting, and that warm, comforting, bludgeoning heaviness that will put you to sleep, perhaps permanently, showcasing all the talent and aggressiveness of Jiri Krs on vocals, Vitali Novak and David Krombholz on the guitars, Zdenek Hnizdil on bass and Frantisek Drazdansky on drums, being therefore highly recommended for fans of Suffocation, Devourment, Aborted, Cattle Decapitation and Benighted, among several others.
Frantisek begins his sonic attack behind his drums in Vibrio Vulnificus, an obscure and primeval Death Metal aria by Cutterred Flesh where Jiri takes the lead with his inhumane growling, going straight to your jugular while showcasing a lot of intricacy at the same time; and Black Aurora brings forward another round of sheer violence and darkness by the quintet, with both Vitali and David breathing fire through their guitars, not to mention the stone crushing sound blasted by Frantisek for our total delight. Then in Where Only Old Flesh Stinks a more melancholic vibe is carefully added to their core devastation, setting the stage for Jiri to bark like a creature of the underworld while Zdenek delivers some vicious and complex lines from his bass, followed by Good Boy – Romantic Relationship with Necrotic Tissue, featuring guest vocals by American singer and guitarist Von Young of Lividity, a vicious Death Metal onrush that sounds as infernal and demolishing as it can be.
Cutterred Flesh Sharing Is Caring CD Box Set
The Mystery of the Black Hen offers our putrid ears three minutes of pure, unfiltered Death Metal where the band’s guitar duo not only cuts our skin deep with their sharp riffage, but they also fire beautiful solos, whereas in Amused by the Tenacity of a Dying Whore the band adds elements from Deathslam and even Deathcore to their massive sonority, resulting in one of the most disturbing and heaviest of all songs, and with Frantisek sounding like he’s possessed on drums. Fans of Suffocation and Aborted will have a blast with Knife Is Not the Enemy, a brutal and infernal European death feast where Jiri showcases his deepest guttural roars from start to finish, and there’s no time to breathe thanks to the imposing My Favourite Bodybag, another stunning depiction of the band’s brutality and talent with Zdenek and Frantisek generating a thunderous wall of Death Metal with their demonic kitchen. And how about a body slammin’ extravaganza as a bonus track? That’s what you’ll get in Progressive Body Adjustment, with Jiri’s screams being supported by the inhumane beats by Frantisek until the very last second.
If you’re a fan of the brutality of classic Death Metal with a melodic and intricate twist, I’m sure you’ll have a blast with Sharing is Caring, available for purchase from the band’s own BandCamp page, from the Transcending Obscurity Records’ webstore as an ass-kicking wooden LP box set with engraving containing a gatefold LP with metallic effect and UV lamination, an autographed card, an A3 size poster, a shaped logo patch, a bottle opener badge and a metallic sticker (and you can get it HERE or HERE), from Apple Music or from Amazon. Also, don’t forget to give the guys from Cutterred Flesh a shout on Facebook and on Instagram, sharing your love for Brutal Death Metal with the band and other metalheads from all over the world because, as the name of the album already says, sharing is caring.
Best moments of the album: Black Aurora, Where Only Old Flesh Stinks and Amused by the Tenacity of a Dying Whore.
Worst moments of the album:The Mystery of the Black Hen.
Released in 2021 Transcending Obscurity Records
Track listing 1. Vibrio Vulnificus 4:04
2. Black Aurora 4:26
3. Where Only Old Flesh Stinks 4:32
4. Good Boy – Romantic Relationship with Necrotic Tissue 3:16
5. The Mystery of the Black Hen 3:25
6. Amused by the Tenacity of a Dying Whore 3:10
7. Knife Is Not the Enemy 4:15
8. My Favourite Bodybag 4:12
Bonus track 9. Progressive Body Adjustment 3:37
Band members Jiri Krs – vocals
Vitali Novak – guitar
David Krombholz – guitar
Zdenek Hnizdil – bass
Frantisek Drazdansky – drums
Guest musician Von Young – vocals on “Good Boy – Romantic Relationship with Necrotic Tissue”
This new underground band formed of seasoned musicians will crush our heads with their debut album, offering us all 14 tracks of in-your-face, fast-paced technical metal music.
With former members of bands the likes of Hatesphere and Chaoswave, a new Death and Thrash Metal band hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark that goes by the name of Endarken has just released their debut full-length opus, entitled The Plague of Truth, offering us fans 14 tracks of in-your-face, fast-paced technical metal music. Mixed and mastered by Tue Madsen (Meshuggah, The Haunted, Rob Halford), and displaying a stunning artwork by Jeff Christensen, an amazing surrealist painter from Seattle, the album is the perfect depiction of the talent and passion for heavy music by vocalist Tim Nederveen, guitarists Anders Høeg and Henrik Rangstrup, bassist Troels Lehmann and drummer Dennis Buhl, being highly recommended for fans of a more modern version of Thrash Metal with a very welcome European twist.
The band wastes no time and begins crushing our heads with their visceral music in Prophets of Apathy, with Anders and Henrik sounding infuriated armed with their axes in a classic Thrash Metal tune with Death Metal nuances. Tim continues to roar like a rabid beast in Da Stargo Tora (or “the black of my eyes”), another lesson in savagery and melody by the quintet showcasing piercing guitar riffs and solos for our total delight, and it’s time to slam into the circle pit to the sound of Insomnia, with Dennis dictating the song’s neck-breaking pace with his beats supported by the rumbling bass by Troels. Then drinking from the same thrashy fountain of bands like Exodus and Overkill while at the same time adding elements of Melodic Death Metal to their core sonority we have Reawake the Wolves, spearheaded by the venomous riffage by Anders and Henrik; and after the atmospheric interlude The Hunt Begins, the band comes crushing with the heavy-as-hell Reign of Disgrace, with Tim’s growls being effectively complemented by clean background vocals while the rest of the band delivers sheer animosity and rage through their sonic weapons. And get ready to bang your head nonstop to the violent Insurmountable, where Dennis blasts his drums with tons of fury and intricacy in another modern-day Thrash Metal tune made in Europe.
More melodic and somber than its predecessors, Seraphim brings forward another awesome riff work by the band’s talented guitar duo, providing Tim with all he needs to kick ass with his deep roaring, whereas more of their fulminating thrashing sounds come in the form of Velvet Redemption, where Tim sounds like a creature from the netherworld while Dennis showcases all his talent and technique behind his drums. In the title-track The Plague of Truth the band decided to invest into a more obscure sound, and although it’s still as heavy and melodic as the other songs it doesn’t really take off; followed by the cinematic bridge Endarkened, setting the tone for the pulverizing The Struggle, led by Dennis’ infernal drums and Troels’ metallic bass. Needless to say, it will inspire you to slam into the circle pit like a maniac without a shadow of a doubt, while their second to last hurricane of Thrash Metal, entitled The Pledge, brings to our ears more of Tim’s bestial gnarls supported by the slashing riffage and sick solos by Anders and Henrik. Last but not least, it’s time for the brutal Dead Swan Ballet, leaning towards pure Scandinavian Melodic Death Metal thanks to the crisp sound of their guitars, therefore putting a demented ending to the album.
This beast of an album can be fully appreciated on Spotify, but of course if you consider yourself a true metal collector you can grab a physical copy of the album from the band’s own webstore, or click HERE for all places where you can buy or stream the album. In addition, don’t forget to give Endarken a shout on Facebook and on Instagram, and to subscribe to their YouTube channel for more of their wicked creations. Endarken put their (blackened) hearts and souls into the making of The Plague of Truth, and all that passion for heavy music becomes crystal clear as soon as you hit play, proving why those underground veterans know exactly what they’re doing when armed with their killer instruments, and of ocurse leaving us eager for more of their music in the near future.
Best moments of the album: Da Stargo Tora, Insomnia, Seraphim and The Struggle.
Worst moments of the album:The Plague of Truth.
Released in 2021 Independent
Track listing 1. Prophets of Apathy 3:38
2. Da Stargo Tora 4:09
3. Insomnia 3:27
4. Reawake the Wolves 3:38
5. The Hunt Begins 0:47
6. Reign of Disgrace 3:20
7. Insurmountable 3:58
8. Seraphim 4:02
9. Velvet Redemption 3:48
10. The Plague of Truth 2:13
11. Endarkened 0:30
12. The Struggle 3:29
13. The Pledge 3:41
14. Dead Swan Ballet 4:30
Band members Tim Nederveen – vocals
Anders Høeg – guitars
Henrik Rangstrup – guitars
Troels Lehmann – bass
Dennis Buhl – drums
It’s time to join Trivium in the court of the dragon to the sound of their magnificent new opus.
“In the court of the dragon Death of gods and world In the court of the dragon You will know your worth”
After getting back on track with their two previous albums, those being the excellent The Sin and the Sentence, released in 2017, and What The Dead Men Say, released in the beginning of 2020, Orlando, Florida-based Heavy Metal unity Trivium continues to deliver their trademark fusion of violence, speed and intricacy with their newborn spawn, beautifully titled In the Court of the Dragon, the tenth studio album in their beyond solid career. Produced by Josh Wilbur and mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, In the Court of the Dragon sounds and feels even better than its predecessors, proving the isolation during the pandemic was extremely productive for vocalist and guitarist Matt Heafy, guitarist Corey Beaulieu, bassist Paolo Gregoletto, and drummer Alex Bent, who as I always like to say elevated Trivium’s sound to a whole new level after joining the band in 2017, and in their new album he sounds even more awesome than usual.
Composed and arranged by Emperor’s own Ihsahn, X is an epic, dark and cinematic intro that warms up our senses for the fulminating In the Court of the Dragon, where Matt begins screaming the song’s powerful lyrics (“In the court of the dragon / Death of gods and world / In the court of the dragon / You will know your worth”) accompanied by the headbanging riffs and beats by Corey and Alex, whereas an imposing start morphs into sheer adrenaline in Like a Sword Over Damocles, with Matt and Corey kicking ass on the guitars while Paolo makes the earth tremble with his bass jabs. Needless to say, Alex adds tons of intricacy and feeling to this already fantastic composition, turning it into my favorite of the entire album. Then we have Feast of Fire, the second single of the album and a solid, traditional Trivium song, albeit not as powerful as the rest of the album. Then it’s time for another frantic, high-octane creation by the quartet named A Crisis of Revelation, providing an excellent balance between their heaviest side and their more melodious, clean sounds, and if played live it will surely ignite some fun mosh pits during their live concerts.
In The Shadow of the Abattoir we’re treated to a gentle beginning to the deep, clean vocals by Matt, evolving into another complex Melodic Death and Heavy Metal feast spearheaded by Alex and his unstoppable drums and spiced up by their sick guitar solos; and more of their groovy sounds are offered to us all in the neck-breaking No Way Back Just Through, with Matt once again thriving with both his clean singing and enraged roars. A massive wall of sounds will hammer your head mercilessly in Fall Into Your Hands, even heavier and more detailed than its predecessors, where Matt screams nonstop from the bottom of his heart while his bandmates add elements from Progressive, Death and even Symphonic Metal to their core sonority. It looks like the guys form Trivium wanted to offer endless heaviness in their new album, and they more than succeeded in that as From Dawn to Decadence is another bestial Metalcore tune where Matt, Corey and Paolo are in absolute sync from start to finish with their infernal riffage and bass. Lastly, closing the album we face one final round of their trademark wicked lyrics in The Phalanx (“Within the thrill, amidst the kill / One against all, soon blood will spill / We cannot wait to make your pain / We are the burn inside your brain”) amidst a hurricane of heavy sounds that lasts for stunning seven minutes.
Trivium are a band that at the same respects their past while always looking towards the future, and In the Court of the Dragon (available for a full listen on YouTube and on Spotify) is the perfect depiction of that, pointing to an even brighter future ahead of those four talented metallers who are becoming one of the most important bands of the current scene worldwide. Hence, don’t forget to follow them on Facebook, on Instagram and on YouTube for news, tour dates, and more of their sick music and videos, and if you want to add the majestic In the Court of the Dragon to your personal collection, you can purchase it from their official webstore, or click HERE for several other places where you can buy the physical or digital copy of the album. As the lyrics to the title-track say, “in the court of the dragon you will know your worth”, and if you’re there to the sound of Trivium’s new album, you can rest assured the “dragon” will provide you with exactly what you deserve.
Best moments of the album: In the Court of the Dragon, Like a Sword Over Damocles, A Crisis of Revelation and Fall Into Your Hands.
Worst moments of the album:Feast of Fire.
Released in 2021 Roadrunner Records
Track listing 1. X 1:26
2. In the Court of the Dragon 5:09
3. Like a Sword Over Damocles 5:30
4. Feast of Fire 4:18
5. A Crisis of Revelation 5:35
6. The Shadow of the Abattoir 7:11
7. No Way Back Just Through 3:53
8. Fall Into Your Hands 7:45
9. From Dawn to Decadence 4:08
10. The Phalanx 7:15
Band members Matt Heafy – lead vocals, guitar
Corey Beaulieu – guitar, backing vocals
Paolo Gregoletto – bass guitar, backing vocals
Alex Bent – drums, percussion
Guest musician Ihsahn – orchestration and synths on “X”
Get ready to be smashed by the brand new opus by this old school band formed at the zenith of the Death Metal industry in Bulgaria in times of political and social turbulence.
Brought into being in the fires of Pleven, Bulgaria at the zenith of the Death Metal industry in 1998 in times of political and social turbulence, Brutal Death Metal/Grindcore outfit Enthrallment is back in action with their sixth full-length opus, entitled Against The Will To Live – Sky Burial. Produced by the band’s own drummer Ivo Ivanov and Enthrallment at MRDR Sound Studio in Sofia, Bulgaria and displaying a Stygian cover art by Denumbra Artworks, Against The Will To Live – Sky Burial showcases a precise mix of American and European Death Metal carefully crafted by vocalist Plamen Bakardzhiev, guitarists Vasil Furnigov and Nikola Ognyanov, basisst Rumen Pavlov and drummer Ivo Ivanov, being therefore highly recommended for admirers of the fury and talent of bands such as Suffocation, Entombed and Immolation.
The eerie guitars by Vasil and Nikola kick off the Stygian opening tune Hollow Roots, evolving into a putrid Death Metal feast spearheaded by the crushing drums by Ivo. In other words, what a pulverizing sound spiced up by the gruesome roars by Plamen, and the band continues to hammer their sonic weapons and to smash our cranial skulls in Painting A Bloody Symphony, a straightforward, classic Death Metal extravaganza tailored for fans of bands the likes of Suffocation and Morbid Angel. There’s no time to take a breath as Rumen slams his metallic bass manically in Surgical Masquarade, accompanied by the visceral growls by Plamen and the always brutal riffage by the band’s guitar duo, resulting in another excellent option for heading into the circle pit for some action.
More insanity in the form of Death Metal is offered to our avid ears in Divine Mandolins, with Rumen and Ivo generating a menacing ambience with their infernal kitchen; and get ready for another round of savagery and heaviness in Sacrificial Euthanasia, where Plamen showcases more of his deep guttural roars nonstop, being therefore recommended for some nice and sweet headbanging. Then a massive wall of deadly sounds will hit you hard in the head in Hegemony Of The Weak, where the band brings forward all their fury together with a high dosage of intricacy, whereas like a beast lurking in pitch black darkness, Enthrallment will devour your flesh in Giving Alms To Birds, with Plamen’s hellish roaring being nicely complemented by the song’s background vocalizations. It’s an evil Death Metal composition with hints of classic Doom Metal to properly conclude the album, I might say.
All the violence and hatred blasted by Enthrallment in Against The Will To Live – Sky Burial can be fully appreciated on YouTube, but of course in order to show your support and admiration for underground Bulgarian metal you should purchase a copy of the album from the band’s own BandCamp page, as well as from the Rebirth the Metal Productions’ BandCamp page or Big Cartel. Also, don’t forget to follow the guys from Enthrallment on Facebook to stay up to date with all things surrounding such talented band. In a nutshell, Against The Will To Live – Sky Burial is the ultimate proof why those Bulgarian metallers are still alive after decades on the road, elevating the name of Death Metal in their homeland to a whole new level of destruction, aggression and obscurity.
Best moments of the album: Painting A Bloody Symphony, Sacrificial Euthanasia and Giving Alms To Birds.
Worst moments of the album:Divine Mandolins.
Released in 2021 Rebirth the Metal Productions
Track listing 1. Hollow Roots 4:37
2. Painting A Bloody Symphony 3:20
3. Surgical Masquarade 3:52
4. Divine Mandolins 3:47
5. Sacrificial Euthanasia 3:37
6. Hegemony Of The Weak 3:35
7. Giving Alms To Birds 3:47
Band members Plamen Bakardzhiev – vocals
Vasil Furnigov – guitar
Nikola Ognyanov – guitar
Rumen Pavlov – bass
Ivo Ivanov – drums
Let the inquisition begin to the sound of the dynamic and pulverizing debut opus by this demented Death Metal act from France.
Hailing from the always beautiful and charming Paris, France, a demented Death Metal horde that goes by the curious name of Muertissima (which would translate from Spanish as something like “very dead”) is ready to attack armed with their debut opus, entitled Inquisition, highly recommended for fans of the music by bands the likes of At the Gates, Carcass and Morbid Angel. Passionate about all genres of Extreme Metal, guitarist Stephane Prados composed the majority of the songs without imposing any constraints of styles or structures, which ended up giving the album a dynamic Death Metal vibe combined with Black and Thrash Metal nuances to generate an original old school sound. Recorded at Lower Tones Place Studio, Inquisition is the perfect welcome card by the aforementioned Stephane and his henchmen Simon Perrin on vocals and bass, Matthias “Macchabée” Bonhoure on the guitar, and Cédric Dupuy on drums, leaving you completely disoriented after its almost 50 minutes of savagery are over.
Cédric begins hammering his drums like a demented beast in the opening tune Lockdown, accompanied by the sick riffage and guttural roars of his bandmates, whereas Simon continues to growl manically in Rise and Fight, another pulverizing display of the band’s classic Death Metal that will inspire you to slam your cranial skull into the circle pit. The rumbling bass by Simon is gradually joined by the razor-edged riffs by Matthias and Stephane in Cerveza, a true headbanger spearheaded by the massive beats by Cédric that should work perfectly when played live, followed by the title-track Inquisition, another Death Metal onrush provided by the quartet with Simon’s screams getting more and more demented as the music progresses, also presenting some welcome elements from Groove and Progressive Death Metal. And it’s time for more insanity in the form of extreme music with Godslayer, where the band’s guitar duo sounds utterly infernal with their axes supported by the rumbling bass by Simon and the always vicious beats by Cédric.
There’s no time to breathe as Muertissima keep crushing us all in Glory to Loki, another solid tune where their Cannibal Corpse-inspired guitars walk hand in hand with the demonic gnarls by Simon, and never slowing down nor selling out, Cédric’s hellish drums provide the rest of the band all they need to be even more ferocious with their respective instruments in Wild Hunt. Composing a Death Metal song that’s seven minutes long is a risky move, but Muertissima did a very decent job in Shooting Gallery, providing some interesting breaks and variations amidst their usual aggressiveness, with both Matthias and Stephane dictating the rhythm with their unstoppable guitars. They surpass the seven-minute barrier one more time in Prometeus, where Simon roars with tons of anger and hatred in his heart supported by the rest of the band, and the music remains heavy, dense, obscure and caustic until the very last second. Finally, sinister, acoustic guitars and the sound of the ocean are the main ingredients in Libertad, the most unique song of the album where the band seems to be inspired by classic Spanish music, resulting in a nice surprise despite not being Death Metal at all.
In a nutshell, the unstoppable Muertissima offer in Inquisition exactly what any fan of underground Death Metal is looking for, sounding sharp, straight to the point and electrified from the very first second of the album until its eccentric ending, positioning them as one of the most interesting new names of the French scene. Hence, don’t forget to give the guys from Muertissima a shout on Facebook and on Instagram, and above that, to purchase your copy of Inquisition from countless locations including Rock Metal Market, Wow HD, Barnes & Noble, Fnac, Cultura, Waterloo Records, and The Record Exchange. And then simply hit play and let the fires of the band’s inquisition of old school Death Metal burn your soul for all eternity.
Best moments of the album: Cerveza, Godslayer and Prometeus.
How to open your heart in the chaos of life? Learn to give and to share, to hustle and strive…
If you consider yourself a diehard fan of both old school and modern-day Death Metal, I’m certain you’ll have a very good time with our metal chick of the month of September. Not only she’s the owner of a potent and visceral voice, but her charisma, together with her onstage (and onscreen) performance, turn her into a must-listen and see for any admirer of first-class extreme music. I’m talking about the unstoppable Russian growler Ira Sidenko, also known as Irina Sidenko (or even Ирина Сиденко in Russian), the frontwoman for Tomsk, Russia-based Death Metal brigade Dehydrated, and a metalhead who is always expressing her passion for Heavy Metal through her music and art.
Born in the city of Tomsk, in Tomsk Oblast, a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) that lies in the southeastern West Siberian Plain, Ira studied at Tomsk State University, or TSU, known in her mother tongue as Томский Государственный Университет, or ТГУ, but it’s not clear exactly what course or courses she took at TSU. It was in 2008 when she founded Dehydrated (being named Dehydrated Entrails from 2008 until 2009, when they changed their name to the current one) together with guitarist Evgen Tsibulin, bassist Evgeny Zimin and drummer Alexey Ablayev, with only Ira and Evgen being still in the band from its original formation. Playing a fusion of classic Death Metal with other styles such as Deathcore, Grindcore, Groove Metal and even Progressive Metal, among others, the band didn’t know exactly what they wanted to play at first, but they knew it was going to be hard and aggressive, experimenting with several genres and subgenres of heavy music as aforementioned. By the way, when asked about the origin of the band’s name, Ira explained that’s how you feel after a concert, feeling dehydrated both physically and mentally after all the exchange of energy between the band and the crowd.
Having already played in several international festivals including Metal Head’s Mission (Ukraine), Metal Crowd (Belarus), Petrogrind (St. Petersburg), Metal Maidens (Kaluga), and Cieszanów Rock Festiwal (Poland), as well as tours around Russia and Eastern Europe, the band has unleashed upon humanity an array of high-quality albums and EP’s, those being the 2009 demo Suffering from Mummification, the full-lengths Duality of Existence (2011), Zone Beneath the Skin (2012) and Awake in Era (2012), the EP’s Mind Extract (2011), Piranha or Whale? (2019) and Piranha or Whale (Part II) (2020), and a 2011 split with the bands PureFilth, Grace Disgraced and Redrvm. Furthermore, in one of her interviews, Ira mentioned that her favorite Dehydrated album to date is Awake in Era, as she considers it more professional and more atmospheric than the other releases, with each of its songs representing a different story, but I’m sure that opinion will change with each of their releases just like what happens with any musician. And when asked about what Dehidrated means to her, she said that as music is her life, the band represents life to her, always showing a lot of love for her own work.
Dehydrated are a DIY band, doing everything themselves and relying a lot on the internet for sales and promotional activities just like countless underground bands worldwide. Ira mentioned that services like BandCamp, Spotify, Patreon and YouTube have been helping the band a lot with their promotion, but that at the same time they still have a hard time trying to organize tours all by themselves. Hence, if you want to give the music by Dehydrated a try, you can stream all of their creations on BandCamp, on Spotify and on YouTube, where you can have an absolute blast with songs the likes of Hell Doesn’t Exist, Parallels, Sickness, Outlaws, Thirst of Dose, Werewolf, Alive Underground, Piranha or Whale, and their excellent covers for Motörhead’s Ace of Spades and Lake of Tears’ U.N.S.A.N.E.
Apart from her career with Dehydrated, you can also find Ira kicking some ass with a female-fronted metal band from Saint Petersburg, Russia named Fallcie for a while, and she can also be seen as a guest vocalist in the song А Время Шло, from the 2020 EP А Время Шло (or “time went on”) by Kaluga, Russia-based Melodic Death Metal band Last Trial. In addition, Ira is also an amazing online vocal coach as you can see on her own YouTube channel, not only providing some great tips to growlers worldwide, but also uploading to her channel cover versions for countless songs the likes of Slaughter to Prevail’s Hell, Rammstein’s Sonne, Linkin Park’s From the Inside, Decapitated’s Homo Sum, Death’s Without Judgement, Vader’s Hexenkessel, and Whitchapel’s I Dementia.
All those top-notch cover versions are not in vain, as all of those bands are also part of Ira’s idols and influences list. As a matter of fact, when asked about how she would define the sound by Dehydrated, she mentioned it’s a fusion of different styles from bands such as Death, Gojira, Animal as Leaders, and so on. Regarding her personal preferences, our beloved growler mentioned the first bands she fell in love with were Rammstein and Slipknot, later moving on to Black and Death Metal and getting absolutely addicted to that. Furthermore, the first time she heard a Death Metal band was when she got to know the music by Aborted, also getting hooked to the music by Whitechapel, Deicide and Vital Remains. However, Ira said she doesn’t have any limits when listening to music, being also a fan of Jazz, Blues, Grindcore and many other distinct styles, but of course always praising metal behemoths the likes of Motörhead, Manowar and Metallica.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Ira also provided her view on how to become a metal vocalist in one of her interviews, saying that there’s no secret to that but several years of practice and studies (and tons of mistakes) and a never-ending desire to grow, always searching for the right sound and for professional development. Although she mentioned she hadn’t had an older brother to show her metal music, Ira mentioned she had a friend with whom she used to listen to Rammstein together, which inspired her to form a band and, later, as her taste for music became heavier and heavier, she naturally decided to learn how to do guttural by herself. Having the flexibility to sing in English, Russian and German, Ira believes her vocal performance and her confidence have improved a lot since the band’s 2009 debut demo Suffering from Mummification, again pointing out to the importance of constant learning to become a better vocalist.
When asked about the metal scene in Russia (and in Eastern Europe in general), she thinks the bands in Russia need to show more of their own culture and ideas when creating music instead of trying to mimic famous European or American bands, but of course she acknowledges there are tons of fantastic bands in her homeland such as Katalepsy and Arkona. Moreover, in regards to her hometown Tomsk, she said that there was a time when Siberia, where Tomsk is located, once had a very strong metal scene, but that has changed over time and today the scene is not as powerful and the attendance to metal concerts has dropped significantly. She complemented by saying that not only in Tomsk, but in the entire Russia (and maybe we can also add the rest of the world to the mix), you can only get in contact with metal music through the internet, as the radio and TV do not offer any space to bands like Dehydrated, and there aren’t any major festivals either to promote the bands. She still thinks that there are great bands coming from her hometown, though, such as Apokefale and Dark Revenge, which needless to say need our total support to avoid getting extinct.
Last but not least, our Russian growler believes that becoming a Death Metal vocalist isn’t easy at all, it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, but of course it can be a little bit tougher to girls depending on the situation due to the sexism that still happens in the metal community all over the world. She said that once in a while she’s the target of that sexism, but she doesn’t really care about it and keeps working hard to make Dehydrated a better band and to make herself a better vocalist. When asked about how she responds to those attacks, she said she simply doesn’t answer back to the haters, ignoring them on social media and focusing on what really matters, which is the opinion and support of her fans, her friends and her family. And to be fair, she’s more than right in doing so, avoiding bringing that negativity to her work as a musician, therefore keeping her haters screaming in anger (but not as greatly as her) for not engaging in a virtual battle with her. That’s how you recognize a true musician, and let’s hope Ira keeps growling in our faces for many years to come with her ass-kicking band.
“We are very pleased to be able to create and do what we like, we do not know for how long but the only certainty is that there is only one here and now. We look to the future positively.” – Ira Sidenko
Formed in the fall of 2021 in the United States by vocalist Eston Browne (Abolishing the Ignominious) and multi-instrumentalist Wilson Sherels (Urotherapy, Epidermolysis), the dynamic Brutal Death Metal duo known as Vulnificus is attempting to push Death Metal back to its extreme limits with their debut demo/EP, entitled Innomination, highly recommended for fans of bands the likes of Cenotaph, Defeated Sanity, Brodequin and Orchidectomy. Recorded, mixed and mastered at Demolition Studios by Wilson with additional recording and mixing of vocals by Eston at BWNTWN STN, and displaying a sick cover art by Pileworm Guttural Art and logo by Force Fed Graphics, Innomination will smash us like an insect with its 12 minutes of sheer brutality, leaving us all absolutely disoriented and eager for their first full-length opus in the near future.
After the 12 minutes of savagery blasted by Vulnificus are over, you’ll certainly go back to the start and listen to their undisputed Brutal Death Metal again and again, proving how sick, vile and honest their music is. Hence, let’s show our support to this up-and-coming American bludgeoning duo by following them on Facebook and on Instagram for all things Vulnificus, and by grabbing a copy of their demo from their own BandCamp page or by streaming it as many times as you want on Spotify. As already mentioned, Eston and Wilson are already working on their debut full-length album for sometime in 2022, and until then we can keep practicing our slamming skills to the sound of Innomination because when their full-bodied beast comes to life, it will be hell on earth in the name of Brutal Death Metal.
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 