We added a new review section, coincidentally another Mayhem reference following 'The Past is Alive', with the title 'Buried by Time and Dust'. Over the years, a lot of promos have been gathering dust simply because a fresh wave of promos arrived the following month and they were consigned to oblivion. We will review them here to make a clear distinction with our other reviews. We will also use it to complete a discography in terms of reviews.
Feel free to contact us if you would like to submit your music or would like tojoin the staff.
Burial [ITA] – “This record is a very important one because it defines our new sound”
Burial from Italy is one of those bands who play their Death/Doom Metal in an ultra-heavy way with deep moist growls and compelling riffs. As mentioned in one of the reviews, Burial earned full attention so we fired a couple of questions their way… (Franki_boj & Ricardo)
The project was started by Leonardo in 2012, survived for some months and then disbanded until 2016 when Leonardo contacted Enrico to revive the band and publish the first demo “Burial” that contains the songs written in 2012. Afterwards the same year, Patrick, Ray and Andrea joined the band but after some years of rehearsal we’ve decided to bring back the band to his roots as a studio project with only Leonardo end Enrico. In 2019 we released the EP “The Forgotten” with Dismal Fate Records and soon after with Goat Throne Records. Later in the same year we released a new demo called “Presence from the Beyond” that leads the band to a more atmospheric and doomy sound.
At first the band was supposed to be more influenced by the classic Swedish death metal sound like Entombed, Dismember, Carnage, and so on, but some years before the release of “The Forgotten” we decided to add some elements from the death/doom scene trying inspiration by bands like Winter, Spectral Voice, Krypts, ecc.. We added those element more and more over time combining those with the Swedish and Finnish sound.
The demo “Burial” was recorded in 2016 at Leonardo’s home recording studio (Void Studio), it was one of his first work so the sound is nice but it doesn’t make justice at all to the studio and the demo itself. As said, the songs were quite old, they were written in 2012 and we’ve changed a lot during the years so we prefer the new stuff now but at the time we were pretty satisfied.
“The Forgotten” was also produced at Void Studio in late 2018 and it sound really better compared with the first demo. It was the first release with a label and the overall reaction to it was really good, the crowd enjoyed it and open us to a more consistent fan base that still support us.
Lets talk about the “Presence from the Beyond” demo, which was released by Dismal Fate Records. This record is a very important one because it defines our new sound, the writing process started after the release of “The Forgotten” and we’ve added more atmospheric and doom parts to the mix. It was also produced at Void Studio and seems that the people really dig the new sound. For us is our best release so far and we’re really proud of it. The artwork was done by Manuscript of Death, the funny thing is that we’ve asked for a black art with a white background but it was delivered inverted so we decide to make it purple.
The main difference between “Presence from the Beyond” and “The Forgotten” are the atmospheric and doomy parts that we’ve introduced with “Presence from the Beyond”, “The Forgotten” has some of it but is more focused on pure Swedish death metal. Another important difference is in “Presence from the Beyond”, which has a real drumwork, played by Hannes from Dismal Fate Records and Sepolcro. “The Forgotten” has drum programmed parts that fits well in the mix but nothing is like having a real drummer.
Lyrics are written by Enrico and usually they follow one only guideline: to convey a story. He takes inspiration by the Horror Literature and Cinema, but he doesn’t despise the Videogame narrative sometimes. Also he likes to wrote he’s own story or dreams. Lyrics are an essential part to experience Burial’s work and that’s because music can express only one part of the overall emotional and atmospheric impact. Listening to Burial should be like reading a book.
How did you get in contact with Dismal Fate Records?
Leonardo knows Hannes from a while, we’re good friends so when we had The Forgotten in our hands, we decided to contact him to release it through his new born label. We’ve enjoyed this collaboration and we’ve also released Presence from the Beyond with him, at the moment we didn’t plan any new release with Dismal Fate but we’ll be happy to work toghether with Hannes in the future.
Covid-19 had a tremendous impact on Italy, did the lockdown influence your lyrics and songwriting on future releases? Did it give you, with all due respect, an extra source of inspiration? Covid-19 had a really huge impact in Italy, we’ve been in lockdown for 2 months and a half but we’ve spend that time to write new songs, in fact we’ve finished to write our debut album that probably will see the light next year. The songs are different from the old ones, it will be similar to “Presence from the Beyond” but with a lot more atmospheric and doomy parts added to the mix, we’re looking forward to record and released it.
What are your expectations for Burial in the future?
At the moment we’re going to release a new compilation with Despise the Sun Records that will contain all of our releases plus an unreleased song from “The Forgotten” era, this will close a chapter, after that we can focus on the debut album and trying to find someone to complete the line up and starts doing live shows.
Some of you are involved with acts like Carrion Shreds, NecroCommand and Coexistence to name a few. Any news on them to tell our readers? Leonardo is part of many projects like Coexistence, Vexovoid, a brand new black metal band that will be announced soon and a jazz/fusion band called Transition Quintet. Coexistence are going to release the first album “Collateral Dimension” trough Transcending Obscurity Records, unfortunately the Covid situation has slow down the releasing process so at the moment there is nothing confirmed for the release date. Vexovoid are currently writing the second album that will be quite different and more prog oriented.
Enrico is currently doing some live activities with Carrion Shreds, they released an EP called “Benighted” in late 2019, as well for NecroCommand which now is a one man band. He changed the sound, going towards the HM-2 buzzsaw with the new demo “Death Chaos King”.
Are there any bands or albums of your recent playlist you would like to mention? A rediscovery, an overlooked gem or an unsigned demo band that deserves attention? Any other bands of your region of Italy that are worth mentioning and to check out for our readers? One band that deserve more attention is Cavurn, a death/doom act based in the US, also Gutvoid, Frozen Soul, Galvanizer, Cist, Caustic Vomit, and Black Curse are really good bands too.
We like to mention some Italian bands like Ekpyrosis, Miscreance, Fulci, Serpent Ritual, Macabro Genocidio, Tenebro, Morbus Grave, Sepolcro and Larvae.
Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? Thanks for your time! We would like to express the deepest gratitude to the people who are making this project possible: Enrico’s girlfriend Sabrina, his best friend Joy, the Coexistence and Vexovoid guys, Santi Demiri, Marek Vladescu and Marek Sadowski, Metalwinds and it’s chief Alissa, David Faggiani, Aaron Comos of the mighty Goath Throne Recs, Hannes Delbello, Andrea Cipolla from Despise The Sun, Tito Vespasiani from Everlasting Spew, Riki from Grumo, Samuele Scalise, Patrick Corti and Giulia Pettini, our two best supporters Dalila and Samanta, our buddy Paolo Incinerator, Adam Schnellenbach, Jørgen Sven Kirby of Nattskog, Nicolò Brambilla and the friends from Gutvoid. And in general those who support us around the world and have bought tapes and merch (and had the patience to wait for them due to the Corona outbreak). And last but not least, Patrick, Ray and Andrea for the times shared together and you guys from VM-Underground!
Vivisect – “The Florida Death Metal bands of the 80’s and early 90’s are for sure the biggest influence on our writing”
You see a fine illustration as a cassette cover and the quest begins. Well, nowadays it isn’t quite a quest with sources like Facebook, Instagram, Metal-Archives and Bandcamp…just to name a few, but it is proven that great minds think alike once again as staff-member Tori Belle did her research on Vivisect as well. Even wrote a very positive review about their latest EP…reasons enough to ask the band from New Jersey (USA) about their history, influences and more. (Tori Belle & Ricardo)
Let’s start with the history of Vivisect…
Mike and Dan were roommates and began playing together in April of 2018. We then asked Gorman and Randy to join that summer. We had known of them from their past band Anticosm. From the start of the project, we had the intention of having a classic death metal sound. The Florida death metal bands of the 80’s and early 90’s are for sure the biggest influence on our writing.
“The Fuming Death” rehearsal demo was recorded live at our practice space. A very small amount of tapes were hand dubbed by our friend John of Sacrificial Blood. We only sold those tapes at the Immolation / Blood Incantation show. Reactions seemed positive but there were only about 12 of those tapes made.
You’re self-titled EP got released recently, at first independently on CD and later on cassette by Desert Wasteland Productions. Please tell our readers all about the EP. The riffs are mostly written by Mike and Dan, then we all put the finishing touches on the songs at practice. The EP was recorded by Vince Carducci at The Octopus Garden Recording Studio in Morganville, NJ. Drums, guitars, and bass were tracked live, vocals and leads were added after. The mixing and the mastering were also done by Vince. So far our release has gotten some attention, the response has been very positive! We sent our material to Desert Wastelands, and then we heard back from them saying they would like to work with us. We are excited to be a part of Desert Wastelands Productions!
We wouldn’t say having it on cassette is necessarily important, however, we highly appreciate that our EP is on multiple formats. There were plans to have it on vinyl as well, but those plans have been halted due to the ongoing pandemic.
Gorman and Dan do the lyric writing. “Order of The Solar Temple” is about a real life cult and “Rat Torture” is based on a mediaeval torture method. We tend to just write about things that interest us, there is no overlapping theme.
We bought the usage to the art work from Gruesomgraphx. We were looking for cover options and came across that sketch on their Instagram, we all liked it a lot and thought it was a good fit.
And what will the future bring for Vivisect?
We got some songs written already for our full length. We feel as though they are a bit more aggressive and harder hitting without straying from our sound on the EP. We have a split coming out, possibly doing some touring when we are able.
Are there any bands or albums of your recent playlist you would like to mention? Any other bands of your region of USA that are worth mentioning and to check out for our readers? These are some bands played frequently in our playlists: Nocturnal Departure, Flaming Lips, Type O negative, Bolt Thrower, Hell Witch, Dissection. Some great bands from our area are Blood Spore, Replicant, Reeking, Blasphemous, Burial Stone, Anticosm and Sacrificial Blood.
Aside from music, what do you like to do in your downtime? Has this quarantine/ lockdown given an opportunity to learn or do something new/different that’s outside your usual routine? Some of us have more downtime than others during this quarantine. Mike has been doing some record organizing and PC gaming. Dan and Gorman are “essential workers”, so they are on their normal schedule.
Thanks for your time! We really want to make 2020 our year. Hopefully the pandemic doesn’t hold us back too much since we have a lot of things planned. We would like to thank all the people who came out to shows and supported us in any other way.. Thank you for taking the time to ask us these questions and for putting a review up of our EP on VM-Underground.
Mefitis – “…“This shit is fucking filthy”. Such a “compliment” would be an insult to us.”
Mefitis is one of the bright new hopes in the underground. They will hit you with a sound that unequivocally conjures the best of death metal, without succumbing to shameless plagiarism. If you have an affinity for bands like Demigod, The Chasm, Dissection, et al – then do yourself the profound courtesy of checking out their excellent debut album, “Emberdawn,” released in 2019. The following interview was conducted with Pendath and Vatha. (Jim Hexetomb)
Hails! To inaugurate this interview, please give us some details about the inception of the band. P: Mefitis began in 2007. Vatha and I both were part of youth music program where you could use reserve rehearsal spaces and attend weekly community “jam sessions”. Once a week, there was something called “Metal Shop”, where metalheads would meet up. It was mostly deathcore kids (to give you an idea of the times back then). Vatha and I met, and got to talking about black and death metal. We both new the alternate guitar parts to The Somberlain, and played it in unison. That was when I asked if he wanted to come join a thrash band I had been in for a few weeks. When he came to practice, he started adding parallel minor 3rd harmonies to the riffs, and growls, making the music far more extreme. I was pleased, but the other bandmates were not and ended up quitting. That was when Mefitis began. Our goal was to write music that incorporated our favorite elements from classic black and death metal into a detailed, and unified sound. Although we only put out a couple demos back then, our modus operandi remains steadfast.
Music-wise, who are your biggest influences? It is difficult to say. There are comparisons that have been made to our debut that run across the whole extreme metal gamut. The timeless metal classics formed our tastes and musical intuition. Additionally, we look at the promising elements of more obscure, 2nd tier releases throughout the years, and contemplate techniques from those that can be better harnessed. There are obvious fundamentals that can be recognized on Emberdawn. However, there are a few bands that we were particularly enthralled by during the composition process of this album, such as early Septic Flesh, early At the Gates, and Dawn. Outside of metal, Vatha and I both listen to a range of classical, traditional folk, electronic, post-punk, and anything that is stimulating. While we mostly try to maintain a traditional extreme metal aesthetic, and don’t intentionally bring in outside influences, they have all surely made an impact on our sensibilities.
How long were you working on your debut album, “Emberdawn,” and how do you feel about the final result? P: The meat of it spawned from a year and a half of overwhelming inspiration and disillusionment, but we spent a good three and a half years on Emberdawn. It is hard to quantify exactly. Some ideas came from our teenaged years, and were re-purposed/revamped. Does that count? …Because then it would be a decade’s worth of work. We also spent a hell of a lot of time on the production end; re-recording songs, adding fx, layering extra guitars, and other general mixing experimentation. Although all of the tracks were designed to function together, each one was recorded in separate sessions, which lent to them their own respective sonic idiosyncrasies, strengths, and weaknesses. This posed quite the challenge for mixing them into a unified package, and considerably delayed the release. No one has commented on inconsistencies between the tracks though, so I suppose our efforts were not unfruitful. Emberdawn is really where we figured out how to effectively produce music ourselves. It needed to be perfect, and we eventually got as close to that standard without delaying it for another half decade. There are very few elements I would change in retrospect, and absolutely no artistic choices we regret. It became much larger than we had ever intended it.
What can you tell us about the promotion regarding “Emberdawn”? Did the feedback meet your expectations? V: There really was not a whole lot of promotion. We put out a single release that included two b-sides from Emberdawn, in order to garner some attention before releasing a full-length. Other than that, we maintained a meager social media presence, and sent our music out for review via e-mail (cold calls, more or less).
P: Vatha and I did not have specific expectations for feedback. We simply hoped that a few would truly “get” Emberdawn, and appreciate the painstaking compositional techniques and arrangement details we imbedded into each song to enhance the album’s overall meaning. We knew that some people would write it off, and others would show temporary, superficial interest. All of these perspectives have come to fruition; we were just unsure of what the ratio would be. I am grateful for how many people have resonated with our music, in spite of not having big label backing. Some of the “hot takes” were unanticipated, like people calling us “Demilich worship”. Jesus. Goes to show how much visuals inform people’s auditory perception. We could have played goddamn Radiohead cover songs and people would still say that from seeing our album cover. Looking at the metal community, it is difficult to ascribe any rhyme or reason to the hype-machine. Wholly mediocre releases are praised to no end, and there seems to be a lack of active listening and compositional understanding when I look at this community’s dialogue (even the reviews!). There is a race to formulate “year end lists”, all predicated on cheap, boneheaded platitudes like, “This shit is fucking filthy”. Such a “compliment” would be an insult to us. Prolonged time seems to be the best metric for meaningful feedback.
Tell us a bit about the artwork for “Emberdawn” and why you chose to work with Turkka G. Rantanen – Is there a theme behind it? When Emberdawn was still in its formative stages, intended to be an EP, we had originally planned to use a piece by Vernon Hill from The New Inferno (1911). You can see the drawing behind the tray on our CD release. Vatha and I first saw this in an art book we found at a flea market, and it spoke to us. As Emberdawn grew in scope, we grew concerned over copywrite, and desired something original to represent it visually. Considering the grotesque mass of bodies on Vernon Hill’s piece, there was an obvious artist that excelled at that aesthetic: Turkka Rantanen. We are very happy with his paintings for us. It has unfortunately resulted in people making gratuitous comparisons to the Finnish bands that preceded us, even though our musical influences from them are negligible. But that is separate from the paintings themselves, and how they relate to the theme of Emberdawn.
Nowadays, he mainly does digital artwork, but we asked him to do a physical painting for us, and he reluctantly agreed. After many digital drafts, and long-winded e-mails on my behalf about what we were seeking, he worked his magic with the paint brush. I could go on and on about the creative process, but it might bore the reader. I’ll leave it at this: The use of digital modeling allowed him to incorporate a finer level of detail than was present on his old-school paintings. This is especially evident on the double painting. I’ll let Vatha explain the theme, as he’ll be able to better connect it the lyrics.
Where does the inspiration for your lyrics stem from and what are they about? V: I tend to avoid allegory, the lyrics are more parables describing possible worlds similar to our own. They draw from a well of discontent that filled our thoughts and discussions during the album’s inception. If there is a general theme to the album, it is the portrait of a people whose actions abet their own undoing. It is arrogance and defiance in the face of unending decay, it is self-immolating to feel warmth.
Stylistically, I like fairly simple words and devices, internal rhymes and alliterations. My lyrics tend not to be overlong, I do not force additional stanzas simply to have more words on the page. I find it highly irritating when a band has too many lyrics, often causing every moment of the song to be littered with barking (what I call “bored vocalist syndrome”). When writing lyrics for Emberdawn I was very much drawn to words derived from Old English (or “Anglish”) as a source for archaic and uncommon expressions. The album title itself is one of these Germanic sounding compound words, and other oddities such as “widdrim” were also found while delving into Anglish vocabulary. The aesthetic of it is personally appealing, and I also feel it sets us apart from most metal bands out there. Each song title was deliberated over as methodically as each riff, evenings were spent poring over strange words until they somehow fit into a phrase both elegant and incisive.
What are your top 10 albums? V: I think we can roughly agree on a top 10 metal records, at least of the death and black variety. A few others I’d like to highlight of my own personal liking are Scott Walker “3,” Mercyful Fate “Don’t Break the Oath,” XTC “Drums and Wires,” Stara Rzeka “Cień chmury nad ukrytym polem,” Robbie Băsho “Songs of the Stallion,” Django Reinhardt “Djangologie,” Muzsikas “Prisoners’ Songs,” Aria “Игра С Огнём,” Yes “Close to the Edge,” American Music Club “California.”
P: Vatha mentioned a lot of gold outside of metal. I can’t possibly make a canonical top 10 list in any meaningful way. We revere the great classics of black and death metal, many of which are so obvious it would be pointless to even mention––There is not some unknown band from Latvia or something that is going to make it’s way into our most esteemed records. I’ll just throw in a few standouts off the top of my head: At the Gates “The Red in the Sky is Ours”, Sacramentum “Far Away from the Sun”, Emperor “In the Nightside Eclipse”, Kvist “For kunsten maa vi evig vike”, Septic Flesh “Mystic Places of Dawn”, Pestilence “Consuming Impulse”, Morbid Angel “Altars of Madness”, Immolation “Here in After”. I am probably missing dozens of candidates that I’ll regret later.
What’s your opinion on the current state of the underground? Are there any bands you find worthy of support? V: The utter glut of underground music out there is to me largely inconsequential. I think there is a lot of cheap praise tossed at dozens of new records each month, which are quickly forgotten at the turn of the calendar page. To be sure, there are bands out there doing great things, but either they are a very small subset of metal musicians or I am lazy in my musical expeditions. I rather like the bands coming out of the Netherlands at the moment, like Sammath and Kjeld. The Greek scene too has held up over the years, producing works which if not revolutionary are true to their own impetus and aesthetic. Macabre Omen produced one of my favorite albums from the last decade, I look forward to whatever they do next.
P: Overall, I am unimpressed with the current state of metal. This is not to say there aren’t a few artists that are creating worthwhile music, but the prevalence of uninspired rehash bands is disheartening. 10+ years ago, when plastic deathcore, Myspace DSBM, retro/pizza-thrash seemed inescapable, I would have relished in the OSDM revival. Now that it’s here…meh. Vatha mentioned some worthy acts, but Polemicist cannot be excluded. I also have high hopes for a band residing near us called Enshrouded. Bands like Thantifaxath and Yellow Eyes have stood out to me, if rather tangential to us, but I have not made my mind up on them yet. The community has become ever more focused on vapid year-end lists, soon moving on to the next batch to consume like a single-use-water-bottle with nice packaging. Journalists use the same old buzzwords to describe music with the same old techniques. There is not an obvious path for metal to embark upon, like there was a couple decades ago. The low hanging fruit has all been harvested, so it takes a lot more to make a meaningful statement nowadays. I would like to hear more bands that manage to move me, while showing true ambition in their compositions and arrangements. Innovation in mere aesthetics, or sounding like bands I like, is not enough.
How would you describe your music to those who haven’t it heard it before? V: Heavily dynamic song structures, a sense of progression or what I might call “adventure” from beginning to end. In this timespan, chaos may give way to structure, or dissonance may erupt from graceful harmony. It is ultimately very dark music, but not nihilistic. Each song grows as a forest fire, spreading and consuming with its cackling din, giving way after some time to charred woods and fertile earth.
P: Vatha summed it up well enough. I’ll just add this: in spite of our album cover, we are not Finndeath/Demilich worship. My following description of dark metal will give any newcomer a better idea of our stylistic essence.
Can you please specify on why you chose to label your music as “Dark Metal”? Are you, by any chance, fans of Bethlehem? Yes, though I am the bigger fan of that particular album while Pendath prefers “Dictius Te Necare.” I have always admired Bethlehem for endeavoring to coin a new style of metal with their debut. Acknowledging their use of “dark metal” to describe a hybrid of black, doom, and death metal, we decided to adopt the tag as well. Though our brand has far more death in it, of course.
P: It’s funny to see how removed so-called “dark metal” bands are from Bethlehem’s declaration on their debut, playing a tacky sort of symphonic goth metal that we call “corset-core”. This iteration of the subgenre never really took off, so we decided to reclaim it, and carry the torch of Bethlehem (even though we sound quite different). “Blackened death metal”, or worse, “deathened black metal”, are clunky titles that point toward bands that only lean toward one of the two, while utilizing a cheapened aesthetic from the other. One might consider “dark metal” a mere hybrid, but we seek to form it into a unified identity. There is no good reason to keep the different techniques used by black, death, and doom metal in separate boxes. Dark metal should take the most compelling elements of each, and purge the tropes.
What kind of films/books are you into? Cite some of your favorites. V: I am currently delving heavily into The Silmarillion, reading and re-reading each chapter to fully appreciate the world-building (particularly the invented language). Also, current events have inspired me to re-read McCarthy’s The Road. I enjoy the movie adaptation of The Road, and other dark fare like Stalker, The Ascent, Pathfinder (1987), The Thing, The Wicker Man (1973).
P: Just finished reading Voltaire’s Candide, and rather enjoyed his sarcastic and satirical take on semi-historical accounts of the New World. Now I am re-reading Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth is a modern fantasy classic. John Steinbeck’s work, especially East of Eden, stirs deep Romantic longing in me for a more pastoral America. Obviously Tolkien’s work is sacred, although I can’t lay claim to trekking The Silmarillion like Vatha! However, I did force myself to read Homer’s Odyssey in a non-highschool setting, which was rewarding. All in all, I ought to read more great literature, but I don’t write the lyrics for Mefitis, so who cares?
To wrap things up, tell us about your future plans for Mefitis, and how people can get hold of your merchandise. Thanks for answering my questions. V: We are working steadfastly on a new EP of material for release this year. The songs are quickly approaching completion, at which time we will record and mix the release at our studio. This is not the same place where Emberdawn was recorded, which due to rather interesting circumstances is no longer available for our use. That tale may be told another time. For now, expect the most truly Dark Metal work from Mefitis yet. It incorporates concepts and influences perhaps too wild to have been written into the debut.
P: That’s right. Not to mention our second album, which is already recorded and took over 10 years to complete, with many failed attempts and full revamps on the compositions. Emberdawn was originally intended to be a short release to get us unstuck from such a large project, and free us to write new music. Of course, that ended up turning into its own monster. Since the fundamental ideas of the second album were written as teenagers, it contains a somewhat different ethos than Emberdawn. Therefore, we decided to release an EP that extends on our debut’s direction, in order to fortify our “dark metal” statement before we throw a curve-ball at everyone.
We put over $500 into upgrading our Emberdawn vinyl release into a gatefold, along with art for the second album, etc. We want to make merchandise, but it is not at the top of our priorities right now. As a new band, our money is limited, and will go into serving our music. Perhaps one day, we’ll get around to shirts and patches, and whatever else that we can print our logo on now. For now, if any labels are willing to make the investment, you’re welcome to do it! Hell, if you want to make a bootleg, go right ahead.
Thanks again for the review of Emberdawn, and for putting these questions together. Cheers!
Mukkus Records: “We would like to be able to back the bands financially while keeping ourselves afloat and expanding slowly to other bands or projects”
Today we take a look at Mukkus records, a young Death Metal Label in Clermont Ferrand, right in the middle of France. This interview was conducted during one of their shows (Blightmass, Heksen and Nephren-Ka, Jan. 25th 2020), thanks to Arnaud and Ange for being so generous with their time and words, and keep an eye out for their future projects (they do have a Grindcore night planned for Valentine’s day which is quite fitting!) (Nezu)
Hi, please introduce yourself! Hi, I am Arnaud, head of Mukkus Records, an organisation, or maybe more of a label. That’s our project, to be an Extreme Metal record label.
A bit like Les Acteurs De L’Ombre, is that what you’re going for? We’re not aiming that high at the moment, even though they would probably say that it’s not easy for them either. Our idea is really to help the bands from Clermont-Ferrand, whether it is for a recording or a music video, financially as well as giving them some extra exposure. The thing is to put them on the map and give them enough traction to be signed on something bigger, if one of our bands tell us they are leaving to sign on LADLO for example, we’d be thrilled! It’s a bit of a struggle right now, even just to find venues for the shows, except for the Raymond Bar which is quite open, most of the places are either too expensive or not open to organisations outside from Clermont, so we’ve been thinking about relocating there proper!
How many bands are involved at the moment? There are 4 bands right now, and their members are all contributing to make sure the events go smoothly! First there is Teeth to the Flesh, they are kind of hard to define stylistically, a lot of influences from the 90’s and 00’s with an old school feel. Then Grimhowl Grave, more of a Dark/Death Metal band. With Hardverne we have more of an OSDM feel. And last but not least is Abcest who are a bit on the Brutal Death Metal side of things, they define themselves as DM but they are a bit harder than the rest!
OK, and so the different members of the bands are doing different things for the label? I see you are taking care of the sound downstairs Exactly, I am a sound engineer so it’s pretty normal for me to do that but we’re not looking for skills that specific. For example Luca, the bass player from Abcest, who likes social media does that quite a bit, Joann who sings in Teeth to the Flesh does animation and video so that’s also a very interesting field. But to organise this type of event one doesn’t need very qualified people, except for a sound engineer of course, and someone who can handle the bar, but what’s needed is the organisation, one person is doing merch, one person is taking care of the door, everyone can help! But yeah, with 17 people in total it is a bit too many for events like that.
Yeah, but that’s cool if you can rotate so that everyone can enjoy the show Absolutely, we’re also here to have fun!
Yeah, and I would assume that just starting like that, you probably aren’t making money… Well… Our first event actually went really well on that regard. All four bands decided to play and not take any money, and there were quite a lot of people there! That definitely was a bit difficult to play and rotate at different spots but it worked. That definitely was a great start and allowed us to carry on a month later with tonight’s show, plus we’re helping out a friend for a Grindcore night soon. We’re really trying to create a good dynamic and to push things forward! We have in mind to work with Metal in Veins, another organisation doing just shows, because our goal is to focus more on the label side of things. The great thing there is that they know we have a good network of bands already so we can act a bit more like curators for them. And since their mission is to help out emerging acts there’s a great synergy!
*his phone then rings and Ange joins us for the second part of the interview*
Hey! Ange: Hey! I am Ange, we started Mukkus with Arnaud and the other bands, so I am not sure what you already said? Arnaud: I presented the bands and the label…
Ange: I heard that you spoke about the shows with Metal in Veins as well, just to be clear we still intend to put up our 6 shows a year in order to get some funds to help the bands. We also want to push the Death Metal side of things, but I really like the organisation of shows so I’d be pretty gutted to drop it altogether. Arnaud: No we wouldn’t do that but it’s to fund the label activities Ange: Yeah exactly!
Arnaud: The thing is, as an NPO in France you need a show licence if you want to organise more than 6 events a year. That’s still a show every 2 months, it’s cool but it’s better if we could do one a month, especially since we’ve seen that there is a demand for those, be it in Clermont or around. There’s a hunger for Extreme Metal! With Hardverne we went to play yesterday in Aurillac for another organisation, that was their launch night, and it was a pretty big success for them as well, the public was really into it from the get go!
I have to say I am very impressed, in Avignon where I come from there doesn’t seem to be that much of a scene… Arnaud: Well that’s a bit of an issue with metal in France, it’s still considered too grim and isn’t really welcome everywhere. But here in the Raymond Bar it’s a bit more open, there’s everything, Metal, Punk, Hardcore, Noise so of course it’s a bit easier.
Ange: Yeah but we also have similar issues when you see that the Raymond is one of the last places standing when it comes to extreme music, there used to be a few more bars but it’s slowly dwindling. Our will was really to push DM, there’s a lot of Hardcore, some Crust Punk, but not much Death Metal and people were very excited when we launched so it’s a great feeling!
So what’s next for you guys? More events? Maybe a release? Arnaud: A few more shows are coming, we’ve been contacted for a few dates, but we have to discuss with everyone after the weekend to see how we can organise things moving forward. We also want to know what are the different bands’ projects for this year. I know that with Hardverne for example we’d like to record an album, so how do we finance it is the question.
Ange: I think we are going to finance it ourselves for the most part but we’d like to use the label side of Mukkus for that as well. I know that usually labels back the bands financially and then take a cut on sales until they are paid back, but that’s a bit hard considering the current situation regarding sales, so we’re exploring different leads and some alternatives to that system. Ideally we’d like to get closer to bigger labels for distribution or get a dedicated distributor and even though that’s a bit out of our reach right now that’s the goal. We would like to be able to back the bands financially while keeping ourselves afloat and expanding slowly to other bands or projects. So right now we are focusing on our area but we would like to change that in the long run.
Arnaud: Yes, we would like to broaden our horizons, both the bands’ and the label’s, the show we played last night was because we had one of the bands on the bill to play a show last year and they wanted to do the same for us, that’s a great dynamic. We loved it, and they want us to send another band for the next time, we were thinking about Abcest, it’s really this type of exchange we want, very amicable.
Ange: That’s why we need to grow, to be solid enough to at least pay gas for the bands even if we can’t pay the bands just yet! Exporting themselves without losing money.
Noctem – “…we abandon the labels of Death Metal or Blackened Death Metal…”
I had the pleasure to interview Beleth of Noctem. The spanish black/death mongers just released their fifth album called “The Black Consecration” which not only is their strongest output in my opinion but also shows a slide shift into their sound that might affect future offerings as well. So it was necessary to ask’em what happened during the career and especially during the last 3 years since “Haeresis”. (DPF)
Please give us a brief introduction to the bands carrier so far (Start, highlights, disappointments, changes..) Noctem is a Black Metal band with a wide career of more than 18 years. With 2 demos, 1 live LP and 5 albums released through labels such as Prosthetic Records, Art Gates Records, NHR and Metal Blade Records. After all these years Noctem is one of the most active acts from Spain. The band played on several relevant festivals and more than 25 tours through Europe, Asia, Russia and North America, sharing the road with well known acts such as Marduk, Batushka, Enthroned, Impiety, Napalm Death, Samael, Gorgoroth, Nargaroth, Keep of Kalessin, Taake, Immolation, Vomitory, Malevolent Creation, Incantation, Hate, Ragnarok, Melechesh and many many more…
Noctem counted with the collaboration of Christos Antoniou and Seth Siro Anton from Septic?esh in previous releases. The artwork of “Haeresis” was designed by Seth and the orchestral version of the track “Divinity” was arranged by Christos Antoniou.
The band just released it’s 5ª studio album “The Black Consecration” in Samhain 2019. (November 1st) This Trve Black Metal album found the whole support of the Media and the Kult underground fans.
Congratulations to the new album. “The Black Consecration” feels very fresh and a bit different to the previous records in terms of atmosphere and ideas. It seems to be more reduced and to the point as well. How do you see it? This is a new step for the band where, we abandon the labels of death metal or Blackened death metal, we focus our style more on black and even more on the roots of the genre. It has not been a logical musical evolution for the band, but it has certainly been necessary, risky and decisive.
How looks Noctem`s songwriting process usually? Any changes or differences compared to “Haeresis” for example?
Definetly After 5 albums we evolved more as musicians, we have grown and we wanted to experiment and bring something new and different to what we were doing. Now the band it feels like a solid project that is showing his potential. Musically we wanted to change the composition lines and take another step into the underground.
Can you tell us a bit more about the lyrical content and concept of the newest effort? We decided to work more deeply in the roots of the genere, making the album that we wanted to do, this time it’s not a conceptual album but more good full of occultism, philosophy, deep disappointment, rage and misanthropy. I feel very comfortable with this new direction of the band, here is where we can develop all our potential in the stage and innovate in the studio.
What are you seeking for when you write new songs/a new record as artists? I guess to solve all this problems or mistakes that you can solve of previous albums. for example everyone told us that Haeresis was really good, but that they missed that the band had innovated or risked, that they saw a progression in our style but without innovation… and we thought that we had left many things along the way, many ideas that we could to have shaped and that we do not carry out. After two years of Haeresis we met and talked about which road we wanted to take, and this was ours. A path to a raw, darker and more ambiental sound, but without falling into fashion like other new bands that are joining the genre.
I think the artwork fits the music very well. Who created the art and how went the collaboration? Did you had clear ideas in mind or just a brief sketch o fit and let the artist full freedom? The album artwork was made by Credo quia Absurdum. https://quiabsurdum.com. Tiago it’s a great profesional, he really know how to work on time and what the band needs so it was really easy for us he just got the lyrics and some info and did the rest. I recomend him 300% if you want a perfect artwork and a competent designer this is the man.
Can you tell us something about you collaboration with Art Gates Records? Seems to fit good as well. It’s fine probably one of the best labels of this country. Ivan know how this works.
What do we have to expect from Noctem in 2020? Well this year its going to be a year full of activity. We are announcing new dates continuously and we will play in places where we never played yet… (it will be announced very soon) we start our European tour presenting The Black Consecration next week and we will be playing in Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, France, and more so stay tuned brothers and sisters.
Last words? I would like to thank you for your time to make this gerat interview and your support brother and apologize for taking a little more time to answer it, we have been very busy recently and the beginning of the year has been total chaos. And for you Metal Maniacs!!! See you very soon on the road headbanging and drinking beers!!! stay fucking brutal!
Apokalyptic Raids – “About Thomas Fischer, yes, he knows us and he hates us…”
Chris Forbes from MetalCore Fanzine (est. 1986) stepped up as a contributor and suggested to (re-)publish his interviews. And here you go….(Ricardo)
Apokalyptic Raids is a crushing old school death metal band in the vein of Hellhammer and old Celtic Frost and here is an interview I did with guitar player/vocalist Necromaniac. (Chris Forbes)
Where were you born and where did you grow up? In Rio, Brazil. Been here all my life and it sucks hahaha
Were you into music at a young age and how hard was it to find music down in Brazil? My older brother was into Purple, Sabbath, Alice Cooper, The Who, Nazareth, so I started from his albums. When I was old enough to buy myself some stuff, Kiss played in Maracanã stadium in 1983 and then their albums were rereleased. Also Maiden, Accept, etc. The major labels’ stuff was regularly released in Brazil. By late 1985 I started on heavier stuff on independent labels, and that was hard. Only at expensive import shops or travelling people. But radio shows got one copy and spreaded the stuff. And then tape traders… It was the natural way to go.
You mentioned stores. I have never been to Brazil. How many stores down there sold underground stuff from labels like Metal Blade, Combat, Relapse, Roadracer, etc? In Rio, back then, like half a dozen. Rio today has about 7 million people. São Paulo which today has about 26 million people used to have almost 50 stores… There is a mall called Galeria do Rock where they stood. Today some 10 or 20 still resist. Brazil and South America are too concentrated in the capital cities. Countryside cities have some hundred thousand people, and almost nothing. One has to go to the main cities to find stuff.
Now what were some of the first bands that really blew your mind? Of all of my brother’s records, one stood out: Black Sabbath Vol.4. Then there was Kiss and Maiden, 2 of the few international shows to come to Brazil. And then there was Venom, and Venom changed everything forever…Every band was to repeat Venom’s formula but adding some new exciting feature: Bathory, Sodom, Hellhammer, Onslaught, Deathstrike, Kreator, Destruction, Slayer, Possessed…Of course Heavy Metal was renewed by Manowar, Mercyful Fate, etc…
Now when did the idea of learning or playing an instrument start? Why the guitar? Did you even consider bass or drums? Of all things, Sabbath’s guitar tone clearly stood out. The deep, motor truck-like sludge sound was clearly different from Maiden or Priest. I couldn’t understand why doesn’t everybody turned to that evil sound. Sabbath made all other bands sound like the Beatles… And then Hellhammer understood that so well. I liked the drums, but drums are too loud and spacey for home, so I bought a bass because I thought it would be easier. So I went on to pursue an evil distorted sound in the bass. Later on, in 1997, without a decent guitar player who understood all that, I ventured into the world of 6 strings. But I never studied much the guitar, chords, scales and stuff. I wanted to play heavy riffs. And that’s what I’m dedicated to. I learned some “Iommi tricks” throughout the decades. The unison bend, the thrills, the closed tone knob, the contrasts. One needs to improve technique to achieve some effects. I took quite some years to expand a little my vocabulary. I mean, I never wanted to play the guitar in general. I wanted to play Sabbath and Hellhammer and Scandinavian crust and proto Death Metal. In my first band, I did only vocals though.
So how would you rate yourself as a singer and do you think you have gotten better over the years? I think I’m average… No, I didn’t get better hahahaha. Apporaching 50, it is more and more difficult to give my throat the appropriate rest and hydration hehehehe.
So at what point did you want to form or consider joining a bad? Were there many underground metal bands around when you were say 18 or 19? I wanted to play and sing as early as 13 or 14 years old. There was an older generation of Heavy Metal guys’ bands, few of which recorded anything, because they targeted major labels’, but my younger generation started to form more extreme bands, then called “Power Metal”. There was no Death, no Thrash, no Black. Everything noisier than Heavy was Power.
If you were younger and into that, you would be called “radical” by those older guys raised on Deep Purple. It was a generation clash. Those younger bands had a more DIY approach and did not care about majors, also because underground labels started to appear. The most known case is Sepultura/Cogumelo records. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. After the escalation of events Kiss – Rock in Rio 1985 – Venom mania, there was a huge scene with thousands of kids in an underground show. So by 1986-1987 when I was 14-15 y.o. there was a lot of bands. That’s why you see dates as 1985-1988 in some Apokalyptic Raids’ songs… I’m a latest late bloomer hahaha.
My first band was called Slaughter and then Devastation (we change names as soon as we found out another and with the same name hahaha). Slaughter featured the Santoro brothers that would later form Explicit Hate.
So did these 2 older bands you spoke of record anything worth mentioning or they didn’t last long? Didn’t last long. Keep in mind we were teenagers without any resources: no money, no good instruments, no studios, not a lot of venues… Especially in Rio. Belo Horizonte (7 hours North) had bands which insisted a bit more and then Cogumelo label. São Paulo (6 hours West) has always been richer and a lot more people. Rio has always had good bands but fewer resources. Dorsal Atlantica were older and made an influential career but were limited by Portuguse language. Other good bands appeared later but almost no records.
So how did the start or beginning of Apocalyptic Raids start? Why did you start off as Apocalyptic Raids and then replace the “c” with an “l”? I was playing in a band in the 90s, it went nowhere. It was like 90s Death Metal, Autopsy, Massacre etc. Well, we tried. It sucked hahahaha. At some point I talked to the drummer about playing these old songs I had, and there it was, like magic. It was 1997. The drummer played in Black Metal bands in the 90s as well. From 1997-1999 we have established the songs on the demo and first 2 albums. When the first drummer left the band, things got bitter and he wanted to end everything we did, including the name. So I went on and changed the name, without changing it really…
So did you get to play many live shows during this time? We spent 1997 and 1998 working on the songs. Then in March 1999 we did the demo and later that year we did 2 shows, one in July and the other in November, I think. Then we spent 2000 recording Only Death is Real and did only one show in December. It was only after 2001 when Skullkrusher joined the band that we were available to do more shows, and that’s what we did.
So how did songs for your debut release come about, which was called “Only Death is Real”? Where did you record it and who put it out? How was the response to it? Once we started to compose in 1997, as long as we found the “old formula”, it went on frantically… We wrote the songs for Only Death is Real and 60% of the following album before 1999 ended.
In 2000, we hit the studios. We have laid out the basic tracks at a “fashionable metal” studio where everyone seemed to record back then. But as soon as we started to mix it, we couldn’t understand why the sound got more and more muddy. When that guy has finished mixing and was oh-so proud of the shit he did with our sound, we looked at each other and we said, “Ok, we are not releasing this piece of shit, alright…”
Then we took the tapes to the Thunderhall studios, where our good friend MacCraft did his Demonthor album a couple of years before. The guy was completely obsessed in getting a good sound and, after many many weeks of tweaking we arrived at a mix we thought, back then, we could stand for. And that was what was released by the end of the year 2000.
Such a painful process could not result in anything good. I still think Only Death is Real sounds kinda bad. We tried our best at saving the mix, and later on I have even remastered it, but, as much I love those songs there, it is our performance in the album that just sucks. Less than on the demo, but it still sucks. If it was today, I would abandon it or release it as another demo before we do a better debut.
So, in my opinion, we went from “ludicrous” on the demo to “lame” on first album, to “listenable” on the second one but that’s how it went. We didn’t have any resources to begin with. We had to do a lot of bad shit before we finally could be proud of what we play. Other band members do not necessarily think like me. They believe Only Death is Real (and the demo) helped set some cornerstones at the scene at that time. Maybe I have too high a standard, but I don’t want to negotiate on the quality of music, I would like to do albums that last, or not at all…
Anyway, Demise records released it on CD, and a year later Dies Irae on LP. The response was good. Back then CDs sold more. So we were soon getting more CDs and LPs from the labels to sell at our shows. We got to do more shows and we have reached more people, as we started to do trades with bands and labels from all over. We started doing merch, t-shirts and so on.
So in that sense, with the album out and with the new drummer Skullkrusher, in 2001 we gained the momentum we needed to play live more often, finish a couple of songs, and then get into the studio and record the second album ASAP, which we did in 2001/2002.
Got ya. Now briefly tell me about this split release which also came out in 2001. Who was the other band on that and who released that? Iron Bonehead released that. Split ep with Gravewurm from US. I got some of their demos and got in touch. I rereleased it on my label Hell Music in 2011.
So now we head to 2003 and another full length came out called “The Return of Satanic Rites”. I assume it is safe to say your more happy with this than your debut. Where did you record this at and how did the coming of it come together and who put this out and what was the feedback like for it back in 2003? Of course the second album pleases me more. It has an uncontrolled edge, it is chaotic at times, but our performance starts to take shape. Songs were almost finished so all we had to do was to go and record them. Unfortunately, the studios where we started Only Death is Real had proved to be more suited for trendy stuff, so we were to start from scratch. It was when Diabolic Force were about to record their demo at Astral studios and they invited me to give some help. It was my first production ever. And it is still a solid piece of Metal, I think. That recording became their debut EP, and it worked as a studio test for me. After we finished their mix, I had no doubt about recording The Return of the Satanic Rites at Astral Music Record. Tracking and mixing were not as smooth as it become later, we had still few resources and little experience, but the flow was way smoother than on the first album, so we started to understand better what we were doing…
Our relation with Demise was already non-existing, so Dark Sun released it on CD and LP. Dark Sun and Dies Irae are both of the same owner.
Response was good. Maybe some people liked Only Death is Real best back then, but I think we gained momentum on The Return. It is a more well finished album… I think it has a decent sound and performance. And then more shows through Southeastern and Central regions of Brazil.
The album was released on tape in Poland by Thomasz of Time Before Time/ Throneum. I think trades abroad and interviews got more intense then… Some good fanzines started to notice us. Remember, there was no MySpace, no Facebook, it was basically an e-mail scene and a few sites. Still lots of snail mail at that time. In that album, I started to take the label role too. Despite having a label on it, I alone did the cover photos and design, and sent to CD pressing plant. Dark Sun did the LP pressing and helped with the distribution.
Speaking of snail mail and fanzines, do you cherish those times much like I do? Every time has its pros and cons… The time it took and the difficulty back then did a lot of filtering. Only the most obstinate ones remained. But it was also a limitation. A lot of good bands had their albums postponed for years because they had to rely on letters. Today the problem is the reverse. Everything is so easy that you have tons of shitty bands and a spoiled generation that had everything too easy. I don’t blame them. I just keep filtering what I think should stand the test of time…The good old day’s mood is inside my head really. Is it pain in the ass to try and find people with the same views? Yes it is, like always.
What are you thoughts on full-length release # 3 that came out in 2005 called “The Third-Storm-World War III? Who put that out? At that point, label #1 failed and label #2 was too slow. So I decided to do it myself and use the labels as distribution only. Third Storm was out on Dark Sun/Dies Irae but I did almost everything. That one is the first album that satisfies me. I wish the previous 2 ones had that performance and mix. It debuts Vinícius Hellpreacher on the bass, in the band since then. It has the direct approach but also some risks: start with a slower song, one in Portuguese, one epic one, one 1-riff “ad lib” song.
Now it took 5 years till a new release came out. Why was that? After Third Storm was out, we still didn’t do any tours. Just some one-off shows in Southeastern Brazil. Also, even during its recording we started to be affected by varied illnesses from varied family members. So that slowed us down and caused some member replacements throughout the years, to make a long story short. We kept composing during all those slow periods. In 2007 we had to invite Marcio Cativeiro for the drums, first as a live member then as a fixed member, as Skullkrusher’s mom was very ill.
In 2008, Victor from Farscape (Whipstriker hadn’t started yet) had a full Farscape Brazilian Tour scheduled, but half the band couldn’t travel, because of the reasons mentioned above. (We shared same drummer.) So I proposed that we invite Hugo Golon (later on Cemitério and 10+bands) for the drums, then Farscape would play as a trio, with Victor on vocals. And I would also travel with them, and we would do an Apokalyptic Raids set too, with Victor on the bass, and Hugo on the drums. That would be 4 people, 2 bands instead of one. We had only two weeks to rehearse, Hugo left his job in São Paulo and moved to my place in Rio, where we rehearsed twice a day and off we went. The 2008 tour did happen and it was a blast. We learned many things about touring, about ourselves and each other. Hugo has played often as a live member of Apokalyptic Raids since then. We did some more tours with him in this decade.
I returned home after the 2008 tour, and resumed the Hellpreacher + Cativeiro lineup. We had a lot to work on the following album. Hugo and Victor played with Toxic Holocaust in their Brazilian tour in 2007 I think. Victor started Whipstriker circa 2009, with Farscape members. Eventually in recent years, Hugo joined Whipstriker for good.
Now, in 2019, we have finally started to record some new songs featuring Hugo on the drums… He totally earned it. But Skullkrusher is still totally in the band. Who’ll play next gig or tour depends on their schedule.
(c)Ziehmke.com (708) 809-2045
Now how did you come upon choosing your name do you know if Tom G. Warrior knows of you guys? The idea for the name and concept matured during 1997-1998. It was obvious in a way and unexplored in another way. The proto Death Metal bands from, say, Florida 1984-1985 were all heavily influenced by Hellhammer but they went more technical with time. Also, I didn’t know of Warhammer until late 1999 I think. So, after the idea for the name was stablished, it became clear what I wanted to do with it
About Thomas Fischer, yes, he knows us and he hates us…I got bitter throughout the 90s with him talking bad about Hellhammer and an “elevator music” version of Messiah by the shitty Apollyon Sun. Then he released his first book where he goes on about Hellhammer and writes that they tried to re record some Hellhammer in the Into The Pandemonium sessions but it wasn’t good. Then I said in some interview about reformed Celtic Frost that we were to teach them how to play right and Tom didn’t like it…
Fact is:
1) I don’t like anything after Tragic Serenades. I am a fan, I have an opinion. Not above nor below anyone’s.
2) I supported Hellhammer throughout decades, when they were saying it was shit, long before it became trendy and cult.
3) I am ok with myself about it. I got over that. I don’t cult personalities. Tom (and his new Triumph of Death) are people, I don’t know them in person, I have nothing against these people, I wish them the best, if I like the music I’ll listen to it, if I don’t, then I won’t, and I’ll play the music I like and that suffices.
Now what followed were 6 split releases. Were these mostly 7″‘s or were they split CD’s or some other type of release? Were these put out by smaller labels and was it mostly new material or older material re-released? The first one was a re-edition of an 7″EP from 2001, back then on Iron Bonehead. Now reedited in 2001 in Hell Music. It features demo tracks and Gravewurm on the other side. The other 5 x 7″EP feature outtake material from subsequent album sessions. All of them were out on Hell Music, occasionally joint releases with the other band’s label. In chronological order of recording:
With Farscape, we have 2 outtakes from The Return Sessions
With Whipstriker, 1 alternate version and 1 track from Third Storm
With Warhammer, we have one outtake from Third Storm sesssion and one from Vol.4 sessions.
With Atomic Roar, 2 outtakes from Vol. 4 sessions
With Agathocles, one track from Vol.4 sessions and one Discharge track recorded after that.
That is all stuff we had accumulated over the years and it was put out to fill that gap when we did not release a full album. Finally, in 2019, Goat Vomits from Bolivia have collected all our tracks from EPs together in one CD, Even Death is not Real Pt.1. The CD features all the EPs art and 2 other tracks, a Motorhead cover not available elsewhere, and a Headhunter DC cover from the tribute CD. These 2 tracks may appear later on vinyl too, so both sides get all the stuff.
All that is available from us and on our bandcamp. We are yet accumulating more tracks for new EPs and a compilation CD with all them… We believe in short albums and EPs in between.
So at what point in the band’s career do you think you found the “Apocalyptic Raids” sound? Composition wise, since the demo… Performance wise, I’m proud of what we did from second album on. I believe after that the change was in small increments (or decrements hahaha)
Do you think it is much harder for a band like you being from where you are to promote yourselves or get noticed more than say if you were from the US or Germany or England? Of course it is. We toured Europe and I can say, Europe is sooo easy. Good roads, good machines, good equipment, good pays, contracts honored, good people. Brazil and South America is a lot harder. People are poor. That means every show is a door deal, no matter what was agreed. No shows on weekdays. Touring is not profitable. Selling records was profitable, now it is gone together with people’s jobs. We are on the top 1% of the population, we got our homes. Let alone a good guitar, a good amp, a van, a label…
The net result is that we can afford maybe 10% of our time to the band. I’d like to move to Europe at some point, but right now I have family stuff to take care.
Tell me about this live album that came out in 2018. Who put it out and where was it recorded? How has the response to it and did you feel the time was right for a live album? In our touring schedule, we finally hit Chile in 2015 with our friends from Communion. We did 3 shows there. The third one in Temuco was recorded and it ended up sounding very good in 8 tracks. We wanted to do a live album for a long time but we missed a good recording. I didn’t want to release any garbage sound. So after some time in finishing cover art and audio I did release it myself on LP on Hell Music. There will be a part 2 with a complimentary set and the CD version with the 2 parts in one.
Now also in 2018 came your latest release called, “The Pentagram”. Tell me about this release. How did the coming of the songs come together? Who put it out and what are your thoughts on it these days even if it is pretty new. How did it sell and are you happy with the promotion you got for it? About The Pentagram, having had that “hiatus” since 2010, we released the EPs 2012-2015, we did European tours 2014- 2016, Chile 2015, Brazil 2017, and all the way we kept composing. So when we started to gather together the material, we found out had 25+ songs and counting… So the actual works went really fast.
By the end of 2017 / start of 2018 we had a good 10 songs + 4 outtakes rehearsed and recorded. The album was released in 2018/2019 in Brazil by Hell Music (CD) and in the US by Hells Headbangers (all formats) and it shows images from our travels and a more direct approach. We felt that this album should be a “straight line statement”, simpler songs and so on. We are very pleased with the results we have obtained in the studio. Sales are slow for everyone worldwide, but having said that, I can’t complain. Hell’s Headbangers does a terrific press job. Our album was featured in a lot of good places. (As well as the previous re-releases they did before). We did a big release show in Rio, “Satan’s Revenge 2018”. And we have still saved stuff that we are now recording for what will be our 6th album, maybe out in 2020/2021.
So what are your thoughts on the current underground music scene these days? I’ve been hearing some stuff from the latest decades and a few bands call my attention, like Midnight, Hellish Crossfire, and of course Brazilian bands like Whipstriker and Flagelador… Of course there are a lot more like Warhammer, Sabbat… Too many to mention. The majority of bands today follow some “old school” trend and are like everybody else. But a few ones are really worth the search. Get together with your friends and read good zines and you will find them…
Now some people might say all you are is a Hellhammer/Celtic Frost ripoff. Care to comment on that. We are! hahahaha Well, maybe not all we are. But surely I want to play what Hellhammer played. Period. Is that an “influence”? Rip off? Call it whatever you want. I will play what I like hahahahaha.
That’s the way it should be. Now please plug any websites or social media sites you have. On www.apokalypticraids.com You can find links to all social media, bandcamp etc etc.
Horns up for this long interview. Any last words to wrap this up?
Thanks a lot! Great interview! Since the days of Metal Core zine, still have it here!!! Go to shows, buy merch, support the music you love!!!
Vort – “But as long as music hasn’t been released on a tangible format, it has not been released at all”
Sometimes it depends on my mood…when a band or project decides not to share any info with the outside world, if it results in me being Inspector Gadget on their asses and try to gain as much info as I can. With Vort from Belgium I crossed another fairly anonymous bunch of individuals who play a good slab of murky and foggy Death Metal in the vein of Spectral Voice and Krypts. Why not give them a chance to lift the veil…(Ricardo)
Vort started as a project solely manned by KP, and later evolved into a band consisting of KP, TS and Damien. The band played some shows with this line-up but dissolved eventually. Things were then silent for a while and now Vort has manifested itself anew in it’s current form. We’ve been jamming together for a while and we didn’t necessarily plan on landing on any kind of genre. Everything just fell into place. We all listen to Death Metal extensively, but we each have our favorites which we draw inspiration from. There is nothing comparable to this genre.
You’ve recently released your debut 7″ “Demo 2019”… Actually it’s titled Demo I. We recorded it in our previous rehearsal space at the Animal Farm and KP recorded and produced the whole affair. We recorded everything together and then doubled the guitar and put vocals to the songs. The artwork was done by Kapitein, a friend of ours who’s a tattoo artist. As far as I know we’ve had only positive feedback. But offcourse we don’t go looking around every corner for reviews etc.
Could you tell our readers a bit more about your lyrics?
SA wrote all the lyrics for this release. Up until now there has not been a core concept but this might change in the future. Only glorious Manifold Death. I would not call it fiction even though the lyrics do not revolve around real events. The lyrics are very real in the sense that they stem from feeling. Needless to say the lyrics are an incredibly important part of the songs.
The demo was first released the digital way, do you consider it as an important medium concerning releasing music?
Most definitely. Digital platforms are quite useful, especially as a means for promotion. But as long as music hasn’t been released on a tangible format, it has not been released at all. A cassette release will probably not happen.
How did you get in contact with your label Babylon Doom Cult Records?
We contacted them, they liked our material and decided to release our demo. It’s quite an honor to have our demo released by them on 7”.
Do you guys already have some new material ready?
We are planning to record 2 or 3 more songs in the beginning of next year. I wouldn’t say they differ too much from the songs on the demo.
And your expectations for the future of Vort?
None.
Any Belgian bands you would like to mention for our readers to check out?
Lectamynol is a band that definitely deserves more attention.
Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? Thanks for your time!
Thanks for the interview.
Malignant – “Its unfortunate but it’s hard to hide your influences when we’re in the same genre of music, similarities are bout to happen”
Although my discovery of Malignant and their debut EP “Purity Through Putrefaction” was a bit late, I do have to say I enjoyed their version of end 1980s / early 1990s Death Metal quite a lot. It could be possible you will hear bits and parts that are quite familiar, but these guys know how to honor the influences without being just mere copycats. But enough of my rambling… (Ricardo)
The band was formed by Fernando Psijas and Kevin Castro who then recruited a mutual friend Antonio Arias as bassist. We all met in high school and we were all in different bands at the time. Years later we got in contact with each other again and decided to form a band. We wrote the E.P and had a friend do the session drums for the recording. Unfortunately Kevin ended up moving away shortly after the e.p was recorded so we recruited Marco Tocsain as our vocalist who then introduced us to our permanent drummer Ethan Ayala.
What inspired us were 80s horror movies and bands like Suffocation, Gorguts, Sinister, Carcass, Cancer, Mortician. We love love old school Death Metal so we wanted to recreate that sound in our own style.
You’ve released your debut EP “Purity Through Putrefaction” in 2018. Can you tell us more about it?
Basically we (Antonio, Fernando, Kevin) wrote the e.p at Antonio’s garage. We searched for a drummer but didn’t work out, we then got in contact with Arturo Acosta who runs Dark Cauldron Recordings, he did the session drumming on the recording, produced, mixed and mastered the e.p . He did a great job and were glad we got to work with him. We’re fans of Mortician so when we saw artist Bridget Lynch do a t-shirt design for them we reached out to her and commissioned her to do the e.p artwork.
Kevin and I (Antonio) worked on the lyrics together. We were smoking alot of weed and were watching the Twilight Zone episode “Eye of the Beholder”. We came up with the concept of a world where humans are domesticated and consumed by mutants. Set in flesh strayed from that and was semi influenced by a kafka short story in the penal colony where prisoners crimes are branded on their flesh. We put efforts into writing lyrics that have a story behind them.
We released the e.p digitally first through Bandcamp. A few labels reached out to us to make physical copies on tape. We’re really excited to release our music in other formats because tapes are becoming more and more popular like a collective item, especially throughout the world, along with vinyl as well .
As said in my review I heard some familiar parts in your songs, not in a bad way because the songs are very well written and played, but I just couldn’t mishear the drum pattern of Carcass’ “Corporal Jigsore Quandary” on “Forced Asphyxiation” to just name an example. Is this on purpose or did it just came out that way. Does it bother you as a musician to being compared constantly or is it just the way it is? Yes, it’s been brought up to us before, it wasn’t intentionally, during the recording we realized the similarities. Its unfortunate but it’s hard to hide your influences when we’re in the same genre of music, similarities are bout to happen.
If my information is correct you are working on a full-length and it will be released by Memento Mori? Unfortunately we parted ways with Memento Mori, our future releases will be through Sewer Rot Records based in California. Its run by our friends in Encoffinized and we plan to release our music in all available formats. If the labels we worked with in the past want to release our music we would be more than willing.
And what about future plans?
We’re always in the process of writing more music and plan to release it in 2020 . We also want to focus on more live performances and eventually touring in the future.
Any underrated and overlooked bands you would like to mention?
Yes, there is a couple bands in our list, one is Regurgitated Guts and Stench of Decay, we haven’t heard them get mentioned much and would love to hear some new releases from them.
Thanks for answering my questions!
Shout out to our pets and cats, thank you Chris and Max from Sewer Rot Records, all the labels that have helped us with releases in the past, and VM-Underground for this interview. Keep supporting Death Metal!
Sijjin – “Evil crushing Death Metal as it was meant to be”
Chris Forbes from MetalCore Fanzine (est. 1986) stepped up as a contributor and suggested to (re-)publish his interviews. And here you go….(Ricardo)
Sijjin is just a crushing Death/Thrash band from Germany and as soon as I head them I knew a interview was in order. Here is a interview with bass player/singer Malte Gericke. (Chris Forbes)
Where were you born and where did you grow up? Greetings Chris! I was born in February 1976 and grew up in West Berlin, Germany. I witnessed the wall, the strange atmosphere this city had in the 80ties and never moved to another place.
What sort of kid were you growing up? Were you into music at a young age? Indeed, I began to listen to Heavy Metal at a very young age. I grew up in a tower block area in southern Berlin, which was the perfect ground for Heavy Metal. My mostly older friends copied me all the classic albums on tape and I was listening to music with my walkman constantly. We always met on the streets, Metalheads, Punks and black Hardcore kids united, listening to Slayer, Metallica and the likes. I remember that I already listened to Speed Metal while I was in the 5th class, being 11 years of age.
So what got you into music and what were the first genres of music that you heard and got into? My father had a huge record collection, two of my first albums, which I really loved, were the first Santana and the first Dire Straits Lp. I started to get into hard rock with Bon Jovi, Warlock and Twisted Sister, followed by Maiden and Motörhead. Then came Venom and my addiction of Thrash and Death Metal. The rest is history.
How did you end up discovering the underground? What were some of the 1st bands that you heard? Was this style of music that you took an immediate liking to, or did it take a bit to get you hooked? I remember that I was shocked when I first heard Motörhead. This voice, the unrelenting power, man, it send shivers down my spine. I was dragged to the dark side when a mate of mine copied me Show No Mercy on tape. When I heard the chorus of Evil Has No Boundaries, my soul was gone. Then I got into the extreme Thrash and Death Metal movement, especially the late 80ties, early 90ties were magical with tons of great shows. The 1991 concert of Morbid Angel and Sadus in Berlin still ranks amongst my most precious memories of that time.
Now you have been in about 9 other bands besides Sijjin. Are any of them still active and are you in any of those bands these days? I believe you are still in Necros Christos, which have been in since 2001. What does that band sound like? I`m still in NC, we will play our very last show next year after 19 years of death and necromancy. After that, I will fully concentrate on Sijjin only. Besides those two bands, I play in no other outfits theses days, nor I will do so.
How did the coming of Sijjin come together? Was it easy for the 3 of you to find each other? I believe in destiny and that everything has its time granted. Ivan, Sijjin`s drummer, is also the NC drummer and Ekaitz, Sijjin`s guitar wizard, is Ivan`s oldest friend. Both played in several bands together. When I first saw Ekaitz playing guitar, my jaws dropped and I knew we simply had to form a band of our own liking. Since we all adore and grew up with Morbid Angel, Incubus, Nocturnus, Sadus, Necrovore, Possessed, Slayer and the likes, the path we should travel on was already chosen.
Now you play bass and sing in Sijjin. I know you played guitar in at least one of the other bands you were in. Why not play guitar in Sijjin? First, because Ekaitz is so good that I cannot imagine being his sidekick. On the other hand, I love playing bass and it is my favourite instrument, always was. I already played electric bass and contrabass back in school. Makes also more sense playing bass while being the one to shout.
How did you come up with the name Sijjin? Does it mean anything? The name is of Arabic origin and denotes the deepest region of hell. It has different meanings though, but all has to do with hell and damnation. Likewise, the music of Sijjin is hell and death eternal.
So the 3 of you form the band. How did the coming of the excellent EP you just released come together? Where did you record it and how long were you in the studio for? Ekaitz has his own studio named BlackStorm, located and isolated in the Basque mountains. Ivan and me flew there for a week past summer and we recorded the demo live, just overdubbing the second rhythm guitar, solos and vocals. What you can hear on Angel Of The Eastern Gate are all live takes, non-cutted, no triggers, no bullshit. We rehearsed our asses off, lived together and went for Death fuckin`Metal 24/7.
What are some of the song subjects you write about? Most songs deal with Sumerian themes as of spells, stories and deities to be re-invoked.
The demo, you released it yourselves. Any plans to reach out to any labels to see if they would be interested in signing you guys? I am pretty sure we will go for a full length on Sepulchral Voice Records.
How has been the response to the demo so far? Quite overwhelming so to say, a lot of maniacs out there seem to appreciate our 80ties worship and it still grows man. We couldn`t be happier with the turn out and do our best to come up with insane new stuff hopefully soon.
Have you played live at all and if so how did that go? Not yet, although every one of us has played live a hundred times with his old bands. We will start playing live with Sijjin next year and aim for constant live shows and touring.
How would you describe the band’s music? Evil crushing Death Metal as it was meant to be.
If someone would want to purchase your demo, where could they go to get it? Plug any websites or social media sites you have. It`s available through Sepuchlral Voice Records, just check their website. Or write me at mordra999@hotmail.com and I will do my best to answer in time.
Horns up Malte for doing this interview. Any last words to wrap this up? Thanks a lot Chris for the interview and support, highly appreciated. Hell is Sijjin. Sijjin is in Hell. DIE!!!
Grave Infestation – “…it took 6 months for us to confirm that this was definitely worth putting out before we actually released it”
Rotten, putrid, decay smelling Death Metal. Something to get excited about…Grave Infestation from Canada released 2 Death Metal demos in the vein of Old School Death Metal in the vein of Autopsy, the old Swedish Death Metal scene and Repulsion. Reasons enough to knock at the door of those friendly Canadians and talk about the band, inspiration and so forth…
GC (vocals/guitar/samples), TS (bass), and AS (drums) have played in a bunch of bands together for years and while on a tour with a different band we all played in, we all decided to start a band that blatantly worshipped death metal, specifically the disgusting and primitive stuff we were all big fans of, and also to ensure there was a nod to the Finnish and Swedish masters. We actually had the songs written, and possibly even recorded, before we finalized the band name. We had a few options for band names but we were taking a long time to choose one. We were all going to a party and decided that we would choose one by the end of the party, and we almost had to settle with one that was alright but still not 100% what we wanted when GC suddenly turned to us as we were leaving the party and said, ok I’ve got it – and he had come up with Grave Infestation. When we decided to release “Infesticide”, we discussed adding a 2nd guitar player, and our good friend BC agreed to join. He was a close friend but also one of the best guitar players in the city, and he loves death metal. It was an easy decision to add him. BC played on the “Infestation of Rotting Death” demo.
We all love this style of death metal, GC grew up with it and heard OBITUARY’s Slowly We Rot when it first came out on the radio when he was younger, so he clearly grew up with bands like CANNIBAL CORPSE, ENTOMBED, DEICIDE, OBITUARY, DEATH, AUTOPSY etc.., AS started listening to bands in this genre in later high school years and mostly wanted to bring the spirit of what bands like ABHORRENCE/NIHILIST contributed while wanting to incorporate more of the technical/production aspects of bands like DEAD CONGREGATION, and TS is a few years younger than us but definitely has a passion for the genre, and he manages to stay up to date with newer bands too.
The parts of the genre that really appeal to us is the disgusting, raw, primitive aspects while not posturing to be something more than it is. It is a sincere genre with the current very active international community being made up of some of the most dedicated and authentic people we know. It might not be easy to hear because of the genre differences, but bands like BLASPHEMY, MYSTIFIER, SARCAFAGO, USURPER, UNLEASHED, etc.. are also big influences on the band, specifically the soul and spirit of those bands.. obviously there are so many others we haven’t listed here.
Thanks for the introduction of Grave Infestation, let’s talk about your first demo “Infesticide”…still satisfied with it?
Interesting question because after we recorded it in June, it took us about 6 months to finally release it.. we recorded the demo just to get it recorded on a weekend, and there was no pressure to record something and release it, so it was done in a very sincere way with no expectations.. after recording, it took 6 months for us to confirm that this was definitely worth putting out before we actually released it – when we did pull it up in early December and listened to it again – we realized we had recorded something awesome. We recorded it on small island at our friend Jordan’s studio which is a ship builder’s workshop turned into a recording studio. The island is fairly remote so we slept in a cabin during the recording and had the chance to really dig deep into the recording and fully put our energy into it. The artwork was done by GC, it was an accidental coincidence that all of our art, logo, layout is done by band members… so GC did the art and logo, TS does the layouts, and AS has recently completed the cover for the 12” release which will include both demos. In addition to the band doing its own art, GC also created all of the samples for both demos.
And shifting towards your latest demo: ““Infestation of Rotting Death”.
As the band continued to write, we decided to release another demo because we had material and a tour coming up, but also to solidify that we were no longer a 3 piece, but rather a 4 piece with the addition of BC. We wanted to quickly establish his role as a permanent and core member of the band, so “Infestation of Rotting Death” saw BC start to contribute to the tracks by his writing of his solos. We recorded this one in our rehearsal studio with our friend Braden DeCorby who has recorded many of our other bands (ENCOFFINATE, CEREMONIAL BLOODBATH, TEMPLE OF ABANDONMENT, STARVATION etc..). It was largely done with us all in the same room and then solo and vocal overdubs, so very minimal setup but it suited the music well. GC did the art for this release as well, and we only released this demo as a limited 150 copies tour edition, it sold quickly but we also knew that Invictus was going to release a 12” with both demos soon.
Both demos were released on cassettes…
Invictus is releasing the two demos on a 12” record, but cassettes are important because they are accessible and a deep part of the tape trading history of the genre. We are all big fans of cassettes and we all collect cassettes, so the format makes sense to us. Invictus will also be releasing a CD version.
Ah, you mentioned Invictus Productions, the well respected label from Ireland. How did you get in contact?
We contacted Invictus and they were interested to work with us. They will release the 2 demos on vinyl and CD, but we are also working on a new full-length record that they will be releasing.
The lyrics, can you tell us more about the inspiration?
The lyrics are all written by GC and we are all big fans of his lyric writing style.. there seems to be a recurring theme telling the story about a demented axe murderer, and death of course. The lyrics have themes and concepts, but I think most importantly, the lyrics are meant to be interpreted by the reader too. The 12” vinyl includes all of the lyrics. The lyrics and vocals are definitely an important part of the band, and GC usually brings vocal ideas in early during the song writing process.
What will the future bring for Grave Infestation and your other musical activities? We expect to do some touring in 2020 and to write and record a full-length record, ideally to tour with. We are currently booked for a couple fests and gigs.
We have written new songs, and most of all they differ mostly by how our writing process and style as a band has become a much clearer process, and the solos now with BC and GC both doing back and forth solos are getting even crazier which is awesome. Most of all, I think what people can expect in future material is just stronger song writing and more pre-meditated soloing, as well as even stronger vocals and lyrics. Infesticide was originally recorded without the intention to even worry about releasing it, so there was not as much preparation for the recording session as we are putting into preparing for the full length. That said, expect a couple songs from the demo on the full length studio album.
We all play in several other bands, GC plays guitar and co-writes in CEREMONIAL BLOODBATH, ENCOFFINATE, and AS plays in STARVATION (bass), TEMPLE OF ABANDONMENT (drums), CEREMONIAL BLOODBATH (drums) and ENCOFFINATE (guitar), TS also plays and writes for STARVATION, and BC also plays in band called RITUAL DICTATES. All of these bands are active so there records/tours/gigs coming up for all of them.
How about your local scene? Any good?
Underground/extreme metal in our region is fucking great, some obvious but noteable bands include BLASPHEMY, REVENGE who are both from Western Canada and are clearly a critical part of what is happening in this area, and we are closely aligned with bands such as HOOPSNAKE, MITOCHONDRION, NECROHOLOCAUST, ALTERED DEAD, NIGHTFUCKER, AUROCH, RADIOACTIVE VOMIT, REVERSED, HUMAN AGONY, REGRESS, DEATHWINDS, and probably many more that we are missing. It’s almost impossible for us to create a proper and full list of what is happening here, it’s pretty impressive. As for overlooked bands, I mean – most of the bands from our city are most probably overlooked… other than Blasphemy and Revenge of course.
Thanks for your time!
Thanks for keeping up with interviewing bands and running a zine.
Lets talk about the “Presence from the Beyond” demo, which was released by Dismal Fate Records.
You’re self-titled EP got released recently, at first independently on CD and later on cassette by Desert Wasteland Productions. Please tell our readers all about the EP.
Mefitis is one of the bright new hopes in the underground. They will hit you with a sound that unequivocally conjures the best of death metal, without succumbing to shameless plagiarism. If you have an affinity for bands like Demigod, The Chasm, Dissection, et al – then do yourself the profound courtesy of checking out their excellent debut album, “Emberdawn,” released in 2019. The following interview was conducted with Pendath and Vatha. (Jim Hexetomb)
How long were you working on your debut album, “Emberdawn,” and how do you feel about the final result?
Where does the inspiration for your lyrics stem from and what are they about?
What kind of films/books are you into? Cite some of your favorites.
The band just released it’s 5ª studio album “The Black Consecration” in Samhain 2019. (November 1st) This Trve Black Metal album found the whole support of the Media and the Kult underground fans.
What are you thoughts on full-length release # 3 that came out in 2005 called “The Third-Storm-World War III? Who put that out?
Now also in 2018 came your latest release called, “The Pentagram”. Tell me about this release. How did the coming of the songs come together? Who put it out and what are your thoughts on it these days even if it is pretty new. How did it sell and are you happy with the promotion you got for it?
Could you tell our readers a bit more about your lyrics?
Although my discovery of Malignant and their debut EP “Purity Through Putrefaction” was a bit late, I do have to say I enjoyed their version of end 1980s / early 1990s Death Metal quite a lot. It could be possible you will hear bits and parts that are quite familiar, but these guys know how to honor the influences without being just mere copycats. But enough of my rambling… (Ricardo)
Chris Forbes from MetalCore Fanzine (est. 1986) stepped up as a contributor and suggested to (re-)publish his interviews. And here you go….(Ricardo)
Thanks for the introduction of Grave Infestation, let’s talk about your first demo “Infesticide”…still satisfied with it?
Ah, you mentioned Invictus Productions, the well respected label from Ireland. How did you get in contact?
