Just when I thought I was out, they pull me right back in.

Anyone reading this who has ever compiled a fanzine will know that completion of an issue leaves a feeling of exhaustion and depletion and usually gets followed by a statement off that s the last one! or I m not doing this shit any more.! It is a largely thankless task for very little reward, but it also an addictive form of spiritual and financial self"destruction that I #ust can t seem to kick. $hat feeling arrived after completing %A& '( A)) *&'($+ ,-, my proudest achievement to that point, but dissipated .uickly enough and I started working on an issue / some time in early /0-/. %A& '( A)) *&'($+ ,/ got shelved indefinitely around +eptember of that year, the main reason being the enthusiasm to top what I had already done #ust wasn t there. I was entering the final year of my degree which meant the time wouldn t have been available to me even if I had that desire to raise the bar for myself again, and when I graduated in the summer of /0-1 I simply didn t have the finances. 2very zine I have ever done has cost me money, and with no #ob and no more student loan it simply didn t seem viable again for the time being. 3ut a #unkie always knows how to get a fix, and if my addiction is writing zines then by fuck was I going to get another one out there. I can t recall the exact moment when the pro#ect of %.'.A.*. Anno 4omini /0-1 which you know hold in your hands 5or have on your computer6tablet screen7 was birthed, but I do know the important factors that came to making this decision. 8rimarily, and this reflects the choice of name over simply calling this issue ,/, was the fantastic year of 9etal releases we have had. I think it would have been around +eptember or 'ctober I started bringing up the idea in conversation of /0-1 being the best year in 9etal in at least / 5and .uite possibly 17 decades. Just think of what we have seen in the last -/ months" legends the likes of +atan, :ueensr;che, Attacker, 8rotector, +atan s <ost and even the godfathers 3lack +abbath have delivered impressive albums in their twilight years= veterans like $hou Art )ord, &otting >hrist, +olstice, 9ourning 3eloveth and In.uisition have delivered some of their strongest efforts to date, and bands like Argus, 3lack 'ath, +lidhr, 8rocession and Atlantean ?odex have blossomed into the scene"leaders and world"beaters they have spent years becoming. %e have seen the boundaries of 9etal get pushed once again by Antediluvian, 'ranssi 8azuzu, 3@lzer, In +olitude and $ribulation= and +tallion, +ign 'f $he Jackal, 4ead )ord and Aisigoth have proven that the old forms still have plenty of mileage left. +ure there has been some turds along the way too, and those rightly get admonished in these pages, but looking at the sum total of B6-0, C6-0 and -06-0 5and even one --6-07 albums I have come across I would put them up against most glory years! of the B0 s and C0 s for variety, creativity, depth and sheer .uality. I really do mean that. +econd of all was my reason for making this first available in a digital format. +uch an idea was pitched to me by a website I occasionally

write for back when %'A* ,- was due to be released and I baulked at the idea, due to being angry at the time over the direction that print media was undergoing. I was firmly of the opinion that to give a digital copy away for free showed contempt for your physical product, and held webzines, file"sharing websites and and anyone who felt they were entitled to all music and information for free with e.ual amounts of hatred. 3ack then with a student loan at my disposal I was buying heaps of music and books each month and only used the internet for deciding which records to buy. (owadays without as much disposable income my music" buying has slowed down and conse.uently, maybe partly out of necessity, my opinion on digital musical distribution has changed. In particular I think 3andcamp is a wondrous invention, a platform where bands can link to free streaming of their music and give direct access to fixed price or pay what you want downloads in high fidelity formats, and sell their physical products too all in the same location. $he fact that so many bands now use this website was beneficial to me as it cut out a lot of the messiness and time consumption that comes with digital and physical promos, and the website itself is even laid out like a promo sheet. *or better or worse this is now the world we live in when it comes to music distribution, but something that allows me to connect instantly with a vast chunk of 9etal releases that are out there and support with purchases that I think are worthy can only be a good thing. At some point it occurred to me that this is how zines must be distributed now as well. %hen I turned by nose up at the idea of a free digital edition of %'A* three years ago I couldn t see the wave coming, but now I see the necessity in the situation. $here are still people out there appreciate the physical written word like there are those who still love vinyl, >4s and tapes but in an oversaturated market place you have to give prospective customers a taste before they will pay for the meal. I could have stuck to my old ways of doing things and tried to get by on the reasonable amount of brand loyalty I engendered with %'A* ,-, but I wanted to see my baby grow and expand rather than stagnate. A free .pdf format used to generate interest for a subse.uent print edition seemed the logical way to go. $he way necessity has shaped has the world of musical distribution also influenced the differences between the digital and physical edition of this zine. After all, the experience of listening to an album you have downloaded and listening to a record you have bought are vastly different and so it is too with fanzines. &eading this from your computer screen is a poor substitute for how well my words will be communicated to you in a printed format #ust like listening from a laptop is a poor substitute of listening to vinyl on a stereo. And like how you are rewarded by artists and labels these days for supporting them financially and giving their art the attention it deserves by buying their physical product I have given something extra to anyone who has bought a printed copy of %'A* A.4. /0-1. At the time of writing these extra pages are not yet written, but by the time it comes to sending to the printers I hope to have added /0 or more pages to the total, bringing it well over a hundred. +ome of those may be advertisements

to help with the printing costs, but mostly this expanded content will be worthy of the purchase. Any interviews that were not completed before the digital edition deadline will be added to the physical edition, as will be as many albums that I failed to review in time, taking the shape of specific label catalogue profiles. +o if you are reading these words from a page then I thank you for your support, monetary of course but also more importantly for showing an interesting and respecting what I do enough to want to own a physical memorandum of it. And to those who are reading these words from a electronic device I hope my enticement for you to get the full printed edition has been enough.

8age numbers is not the only improvement that has been made to %'A* in the interim years since the first issue, and if you have read it then you will probably have already noticed one of these changes. 4itching the intentionally sloppy cut n paste style of %'A* ,- in favour of a high art aesthetic was important not only for wanting to give something more visually pleasing to you my readers, but also because of the desire to make something I could take pride in. +afe to say this is something I have achieved and the words and images making up this tome are the proudest thing I have done yet in my life" even more than my university degree. Aside from visual aspect another area I committed to improving in my work was the depth and .uality of the interviews. )ooking back now there was some golden opportunities wasted with some of the interviews in issue ,-, particularly 8ortrait, to go into more spiritual and esoteric topics and with the follow up I vowed not to make that mistake again. I gave myself the ambitious task of making sure every interview this time around lived up to the standard of the one I conducted with *uDl na +eanchoille in %'A* ,-, an interview for the ages if I do say so myself. I may not have achieved that" after all I can only control the .uality of the .uestions, not the answers" but I think %'A* A.4. /0-1 will make for much fuller reading. 9y chat with 9anuel from Atlantean ?odex is the oldest here, dating back to the indefinitely shelved issue ,/ which can be told from how we refer to The White Goddess in the future tense, but I think the information contained therein is still in date enough to not only feature but take pride of place here. I wish the same could be said for my delving into esotericism with Acherontas and on the topics of )ovecraft and <oward with 2vangelist that were also a part of the aborted issue, but the fresh conversations have more than made up for that disappointment. ?nowing them both by reputation I was thrilled to have both 8aul from +olstice and Joseph from +lidhr on board for this issue. 9y ease of rapport with fellow Irishmen is one of the things that made my *uDl (a +eanchoille interview so special, but I also have to give credit to Joseph s bluntness and 8aul s dry humour for making these two of the best interviews I have ever conducted. $hanks have to also be given to ?z& from 3@lzer for finally giving me the sort of discussion of occult topics I have been yearning for in these pages but I can t go on without mentioning Josh from

Alleyway, 3utch from Argus, the lads from 3ewitcher, <akim from 4ead )ord, 9att from 9althusian and all of 8rotector for their contributions, both to this pro#ect and to 9etal in the year /0-1 in general. $his would only be half the zine it is without you.

'ne of my driving forces for writing this zine has always been the desire to provide a genuine and better alternative to mainstream or faux underground glossy 9etal mags, and this time more than ever I think that has been achieved. <idden behind their veneer of professional production these rags that are barely fit to wipe arses have reacted to falling revenue from distribution the same way the newspaper industry has" firing their most competent and well"paid staff, handing work over to freelance amateurs, slashing meaningful content in favour of lowest common denominator drivel and, worst of all, exchanging favourable reviews for advertising investments. It is a situation getting perpetually worse, and this year has seen some more blood"boiling stories arise including magazines in Eermany blackmailing labels for physical promos to fill the writers own collections and more laughably a respected! )ondon mag allow a #unior freelance to review one of the biggest underground events of the year, and failing to notice she had checked out the wrong band named 2liminator at home rather than actually watch the gig. It beggars belief and raises the all important .uestion" where is the passionF %ell seemingly it is right here, in the financially"crippling"but" by"fuck"we"will"do"it"anyway fanzine land. Admittedly there are some terribly written and lazy zines out there, but when it comes to me and my kindred spirits in 8ariah >hild, <ell 3ent *or 9etal, >immerian +hadows, <orrible 2yes, 4evilment, ?aleidoscope... there is no contest. %e won this battle the moment the mainstream 9etal press shot themselves in the foot by sacrificing .uality content for revenue at any cost. $o borrow a phrase from )uDs from <ell 3ent *or 9etal" I ve fucking shit em. 9y biggest gripe with these magazines however is the brevity and complete pointlessness of their reviews, both live and of releases. I have severely cut down the live reviews section in this issue simply because they are and always have been filler, though some of my more interesting adventures have this year have made it into these pages with some chatter about what the bands were like around the debauchery and misdeeds. %hen it comes to album6demo reviews though there is simply no excuse for skimping out on depth and insight. 9y primary motivation for writing has always been personal, probably stemming from some autistic need to catalogue and make sense of something vaster than myself in encyclopaedic form, but by putting this out there into the public there has to be an element of wanting to communicate something to you as my readers. +imply put if I had have written any less than I have here I would feel as though I have cheated you. As always though, a balance has to be struck between the depth and the breadth of my listening, that fine line between reviewing enough albums to get as close as I can to that impossible ideal of a complete picture of <eavy 9etal /0-1 years after the death of some beardy

Jewish guy, but also going into enough depth on those albums I have chosen so that my words might actually be of some use to you. $his is not a topic I alone have been pondering it seems, and with good reason too when you look at the numbers at the heart of the matter. 2ven when we exclude video releases and boxsets metal"archives.com still lists over -1 thousand 9etal releases for this year" that s 1000 more than a decade ago, triple what it was in -CC1 and more than -0 times the -CB1 amount. 2ven when filtering out all the stuff outside of %'A* s remit of <eavy6+peed63lack6$hrash64eath64oom 9etal subgenres and occasional forays into the wider spectrum that is an impossible amount of releases to contend with, a problem made worse by the fact that as a chronicler of 9etal I constantly try to expand my knowledge of the recesses of our musical history as well as the present, and the haywire effect this has on my fear of missing out on something truly spellbinding is horrific. In a recent article on invisibleoranges.com 4oug 9oore postulated on this conundrum that all 9etal scribes now face, summarising that itGs become .uite impossible to hear all the metal albums that come out in a given year, especially when theyGre competing for your attention with countless canonical albums from metalGs past... ItGs also impossible to clearly identify and articulate the direction in which the metal scene at large is currently going... $hereGs no way for one person, or even one publication, to paint a sensible, digestible picture of the whole, and yet we try to do so anyway... $here are only so many hours in a day, so those who want to keep up take on a +isyphean consumption regimen that is thoroughly unfriendly to repeated spins. $his schedule eventually burns out even the truly dedicated.! As well argued 4oug s case was the stubborn kid in me still rubbing his eyes in amazement at the musical >ave 'f %onders we currently inhabit refuses to accept this defeatist attitude of his. >reating a true complete chronicle of 9etal in a whole year, even #ust the varieties of it that I personally love, is of course impossible but it is something I had to try anyway" I literally did not have a choice in the matter. <as my mad obsession to cover every base I possibly can affected the depth of my insightF I will leave that to you to read on and decide. As for the idea of trying to paint a sensible, digestible picture of the whole!, I think this is one area where 4oug worries more than even I do. 10 years ago was there one singular cultural context you could neatly place <ellhammer, :uiet &iot, 4io, 9etallica, 4emon, 4ischarge, 9ercyful *ate, &unning %ild, 8agan Altar and :ueensr;che intoF %hy then in an even more diverse age would you try and do the same with 3lack 'ath, %itchgrave, 9ael 9Hrdha, 3ilskirnir, Asomvel, &otting >hrist, In +olitude, Antediluvian, +olstice, ?rypts, Irsaidh, +lidhr, 'ranssi 8azuzu and 3@lzer 5#ust to name a few7F %e live in what may well be the most exciting time to be a 9etalhead. %e have not only unparalleled access to everything that has come before us but we can freely access and easily obtain and support everything that is contemporary. Jes it can be disorientating and time consuming, but I think the answer isn t as 4oug 9oore suggests to and reduce how much

we listen to in some vain hope that our actions will stem the overwhelming tide. $hat is not only impossible, but to me it is incomprehensible. %hy would you refuse this beautiful gift circumstance has given us rather than gorge yourself stupid on itF Jes, sifting through the crap to find the gold can by time"consuming and draining. Jes, I have had to make a lot of social life sacrifices to consume and process so much music this year and yes my findings will inevitably be incomplete. And yes I would #ack it all in #ust to travel back in time and have all the experiences the older 9etal generations had, even #ust to see &onnie James 4io live on stage #ust once. 3ut this is the hand we have been dealt and I see no reason to re#ect it when we can revel in it. +o all the missed gigs and drinking occasions, missed $A, films and books, missed hours of sleep" were these misses time misspentF %as it all worth itF In the words of the great philosopher 4anny 4yer, of course it fucking wasK

%hat then does the future holdF %ell as long as all the .uality bands out there keep giving me such fantastic music then I imagine %'A* will continue in some shape or form. And with releases on the horizon for /0-L from 4ead >ongregation, Iced 2arth, 8ortrait, Mom, 3attleaxe, +parta, Erand 9agus, +lough *eg, 4ark *orest, (octurnal, 4eep 9achine and more it is entirely possible that next year might even top this one. 9y plans are not set in stone yet but keep your eyes peeled on whatever platform you found %'A* A.4. /0-1 as the likelihood is I will continue with the digital format in a .uarterly rather than yearly fashion, and deliver a printed compendium at year s if the interest is there. )ong may <eavy 9etal continue so that long may %'A* continueK 3uarainech +pecial thanks to the following people= Into $he Aoid &ecords in 4ublin, 4ragon &ecords in 3elfast and anyone who stocked issues of %'A* ,-. 9y family for being hugely supportive, my housemates and 5ex7 girlfriends for putting up with me, and to )ouise for being a perfect friend. $o the Armour brothers for always being awake for 3athory ' >lock, to (athan for always amusing me with your $ony 9artin fetish and to +aggers $he +almon, >arl $he >arp and Jack $he John 4ory of $he +hankill *ishmongers for being the best 1 retards to be at a festival with. $o Andy >unningham whose criticism proved invaluable, and to )uDs from <ell 3ent *or 9etal and 4anny from 8ariah >hild for not leaving me alone in this fight. $hanks to my fellow 4ruids 'f $he 8urple *luid" >hemical Ally, $oenail and 4arren $rainwreck" for being a welcome bad influence and being such good travelling companions, to anyone and everyone who has supported to %ar 'n All *ronts and to anyone who continues to make 9etal music and promote gigs and festivals in Ireland and abroad. )astly a pre"emptive thank you to anyone who feels moved to by me a pint for my efforts here" this is for you.

By now I must have listened at least 20 times to the title track from your second album The White Goddess (both the name of an instrumental on the last record and the title track of the new one) which you have released online ahead of the album, and although it is very clearly the work of Atlantean Kode it does have a certain !uality that se"arates it from the material on The Golden Bough# $o you feel it is im"ortant to have albums distinct from each other rather than re%hashing your own work, even with a musical style as individual and nuanced as yours& N9anuel $rummer" guitarsO %ell, to me the most important thing about a new album is that the music on it doesnPt suck. :uality is the crucial point for us. It doesnPt really matter to us if it sounds the same or completely different, as long as we can identify with the songs. <aving said that, I think itPs pretty natural for every band to progress from album to album. 9aybe not consciously, but youPll always have slight changes. An album should always reflect the artist and his current thoughts, values and tastes. 8eople change and so

does the music people play. ItPs the most natural thing, I guess. 'hat do you think will se"arate the two albums, how do you think they will com"are (musically and lyrically&) Eenerally speaking, I think The White Goddess is the conse.uential successor to The Golden Bough. It appropriates all the elements The Golden Bough was made of, but it also adds something new. *or instance there are a lot of classic -CQ0s <eavy &ock vibes R not -CQ0s! like in 'ccult6&etro &ock, but -CQ0s! like in &ainbow, Sriah <eep and 4eep 8urple. 8eople surely will be surprised by a few parts on the album. 'n the other hand wePve been delving even more into the sound of Twilight of the Gods" era 3athory. $herePs some seriously epic shit going on in tracks like 2nthroned in >louds and *ire!. All in all I think itPs safe to say that The White Goddess will sound more focused, maybe gloomier and definitely heavier than The Golden Bough. It has a strange air of earnestness to it. %hile you had some sparks of hope on The Golden Bough now and then, the new album is much more solemn, musically and also lyrics"wise.

Is the fact you are s"ending so long on making the album (the 'inter 20(2)20(* release date is still correct&) a re+ection of the norm in ,etal where bands release an album (often indistinguishable from the last one) every (- months to continue feeding the tour cycle for the benefit of their label& Jou already named the main reason. %ePre not doing it for anyone but ourselves. $herePs no label to bother us with its demands, therePs no schedule we need to fulfil. %ePre completely independent. And this gives us the freedom to keep working on the songs until we feel that theyPre -00T perfect. 2ven if it takes until /0-U. ."eaking of touring, Atlantean Kode by contrast definitely seem to me to be one of these bands who are less into touring and more into "laying s"ecial one off dates and festivals# /ot only that but the variety of festivals where you have fitted into the bills such as $ublin $oom $ay, the more 0eavy ,etal inclined Kee" It 1rue and the 2"ic ,etal one%dayer in 3orkshire last year (Battles In 1he /orth) make it difficult to know where to

"lace you musically i#e# $oom ,etal, 1raditional ,etal or 2"ic ,etal# 'here do you feel you fit on the s"ectrum& %ePre a <eavy 9etal band first and foremost. %ePre fuelled by classic <ard &ock and <eavy 9etal, but also by 2pic 9etal and 4oom 9etal. %ePre definitely not a 4oom 9etal band though. 2pic <eavy 9etal is what we use to describe our sound to people who donPt know us. If you draw influence from all three who s"ecifically do you see as influences&

the more o"timistic vibe of 59es"eral 0ymn8 to the trium"hant tone of 51he Atlantean Kode 8 or was this something intentionally created on the first album& (o, there was no intention behind it. +ee, the music wePre creating is reflecting us as persons. And nobody is living only in emotional extremes. (o one is #ust hateful or #ust cheerful all the time. 8eople are more complex than that. +o why should our music be limited to only one emotion. +ome songs were written while being nostalgic, some were written while being enthusiastic, another one was written while being enraged about something. $hat s why CCT of so called 2xtreme 9etal! simply bores me to death. I understand itPs about rage, hate and pissing people off, but therePs gotta be more to life. I see when a frustrated -U"year old teenager is totally into this 3lack6%ar62xtreme 9etal and fuck society! thing, but it doesnPt work for me, being the old cunt that I am. 9ost of that stuff doesn t do anything for me. All this <ail +atan! and 4eath to mankind! crap. Jeez ... can it get more clichVF

material, like 3lood 'f 9y 2nemies!, 3attle <ymn! etc. $hey had melancholic stuff like 9ountains! or 9arch for &evenge!, but on the other hand some straight"forward good time &ock anthems. $hey were pretty much perfect from -CBto -CBL. Almost e!ually as interesting as the music of 1he :olden Bough is the creation of your own mythology within the lyrics which you say is a living link to an imagined "rehistoric uto"ia# 0ow much would you e!uate this yearning for an Atlantis with ;#2# 0oward4s assertion that 5barbarism is the natural state of man8& 'f course therePs also a level of anti"civilization to it. Jou can interpret it in an anti"modern way, as a longing for a less complex, confusing and frustrating world, a world not wholly in the grip of cold ratio. 3ut the horrors of %orld %ar II, the ratio of the industrialized mass murder should show us, that barbarism and modern civilization are linked pretty closely. $ake nuclear power as an example. ItPs probably the peak of civilization s evolution, but in the wrong hands it is the epitome of utter barbarism. %ePre always living on the edge. 4espite our super" civilized ways, the barbarian of old is always in us, waiting to break free. ItPs about finding the right balance between fire and fire. $hatPs what living in the present age is all about, finding your way between the +cylla of cold modern ratio and the >harybdis of encumbering spiritual pipe"dreams. I think &.2. <oward was a romanticist

%ePre standing on the shoulders of countless titans. %here to startF $he main influences on our sound and probably the reason why we formed the band are &oss $he 3oss"era 9anowar and Aiking"era 3athory. I guess you can clearly tell this by listening to our stuff. 9oreover +olstice 5S?7 are a huge influence, as are the more epic bands of the (%'3<9 and some of the arcane S+ 9etal bands like early *ates %arning and %arlord. 2verything put together and topped off with hints of -CQ0s 3ritish *olk &ock and all sorts of traditional *olk music from all over 2urope. $o you think there is any other ,etal bands in the "ast Aside from the or currently who have a multifariousness of your similar range of emotion as influences the variety of Atlantean Kode & (1o me, shades of emotion in $arkest 2ra are maybe the Atlantean Kode 4s music is only bands currently on the another thing that sets you same level as yourselves) a"art from most ,etal which often sticks to +ust one 9aybe early 9anowar had it emotional e treme# Is it all. Jou had really hateful, natural for you to fly between gloomy stuff like <atred! or the melancholy of a song like 3ridge of 4eath! and also 5A 6ro"het In 1he 7orest8 to glorious, epic, righteous

as well. <is >onan was an idealized figure, a noble savage, the type which never existed. And I think he knew it as clearly as we do, although maybe he wouldnPt want to believe it. 0oward is mentioned in the thanks list of the album, as is <#;#;# 1olkien who is also given lyric credits on some track# 0ow much have 1olkien, 0oward (and others) im"acted your lyrics& $olkien is clearly the single most important influence on our lyrics. $he way hePs writing about an ancient world slowly coming to an end, with an unbelievable atmosphere of melancholy, is breath"taking. $he nostalgia, which permeates his whole work is what inspires us to write songs such as A 8rophet In $he *orest! or 8ilgrim!. 2specially $olkien s poems " also the ones not included in his 9iddle"2arth books " are incredible. >heck out $he +ea 3ell!, for instance.

"urely imagined and 7ra=er4s theory as largely discredited do you acce"t the latter as being closer the truth& I know that a lot of people in the <eavy 9etal scenes, especially in the 8agan and 3lack 9etal scenes, want to believe in the myth of a once" proud pagan 2urope, which has fallen prey to the evil and violent agents of >hristianity. (othing could be farther from the truth if you take a serious look at the historical sources. %hat a lot of people tend to forget is how >hristianity preserved the knowledge of the anti.ue &oman and Ereek writers and scientists during the dark ages and thus laid the foundation not only for the &enaissance, but also for the Age of 2nlightenment. 8eople often seem to overlook how >hristianity built both the physical, political and spiritual infrastructure for modern 2urope and how >hristian scholars built up 2urope anew, after the &oman civilization was laid to waste by the Eermanic tribes. 8eople obviously fail to see how >hristianity as a common faith united the 2uropean rulers against the forces of Islam. If there s one thing to unite us as 2uropeans itPs >hristianity, not the superstitious rites of a bunch of seafaring farmers living in a f#ord, praying to 'din and living on a diet of fish and salted meat until they die of an infected tooth by the age of 1Q. )ike it or not, but you canPt deny >hristianity s historical importance for our common %estern civilization.

mission of the album is to aid the listener to transcend the dreariness of the modern age# 'hether real or imagined do you feel modern man is disconnected from his s"iritual ancestry& (ot only his spiritual ancestry, but also his ancestry in a more general sense. >an you tell me the names of your great grandparents if I asked you, for exampleF Elobalization and modern technology are disconnecting us from our own cultural identities and from our own traditions. I feel there is a severe lack of interest for onePs own home region, cultural traditions and history when I look at the younger generation. It all #ust one big blur. $he disorientation is great already, but it will become even greater. It is an age of confusion and false prophets are preying on the many who are in need of guidance. $o you e!uate the sim"licity and homogeny of the idealised /eolithic uto"ia with s"iritual "urity in o""osition to the confusion and diversity of modern life& <m, I like the diversity of modern life. ItPs a good thing being able to choose. ItPs good to have the freedom to decide for oneself. 3ut with the freedom of choice comes the risk of taking the wrong decisions and losing ones way in the countless possibilities of today. 2specially now, when the safety net of cultural traditions is growing thinner and thinner. %e tend to be absorbed by unimportant issues, which are distracting us from whatPs really important and which are

As well as sharing the name of 1he :olden Bough the album also shares the over%arching theme of all 2uro"ean religions originating from the magic and fertility rites of the /eolithic uto"ia mentioned above as .ir <ames :eorg 7ra=er4s famed scholarly work# .uch an outlook is very different from the usual view of >hristianity within 2uro"ean ,etal that sees it as a foreign religion that ado"ted elements of 2uro"ean "aganism in order to become the dominant faith in the continent# As you see your In the lyric sheet for the "rimitive uto"ia as "ossibly album you also say the

disconnecting us from ourselves. If thatPs what you mean with a loss of spiritual purity, IPm with you. $oes the lack of "olitical or scholarly motivation with the album mean you think the return to or creation of this Atlantis as being im"ossible& Jes. It will never happen. ItPs not the way of mankind to slow down and look back while therePs still money to be made or a *acebook status left to be updated. :iven the grand themes of your lyrics and music do you feel Atlantean Kode are better suited to larger stages than small ones& $o you have ambitions for taking your music to bigger and bigger audiences or are you ha""y with the scale of the 5Iron Battalions8 so far& (o, .uite the opposite. %e played in front of B,000 people once at the &ock <ard festival and we didnPt like the performance at all. 'ur songs

are all about atmosphere, and you donPt have that on an open air stage or a huge arena. %e need the intimacy of a small venue, the face"to"face"situation with a crowd going insane, no distance between the band and the audience. $hatPs what itPs all about. ?astly will the same themes continue into the ne t album or is there more ideas you want to e "lore with the band& IPve been thinking a lot about the state 2urope is in at the moment. $his and ideas of cultural heritage, traditions, faith, mythology etc. definitely will stay a main topic on The White Goddess. 9aybe the whole Atlantis metaphor is overdone by now. $hings have become bleaker. :uite a few songs are dealing with the downfall of our civilization, with death, and what comes after. %hich are the forces that give us strength in the face of certain deathF %hat or who inspires usF Is it maybe even death itself and the knowledge

about our own mortality that inspires us to aim for greatnessF Anything you@d like to add& $hanks for the interview. +ee you soon in a club somewhere in 2urope. Atlantean Kode $iscogra"hy -The Hidden Folk/Two Stones +plit Q with Aestal >laret 5/00Q7 on 9etal >oven "The Pnakotic Demos 9)8 5/00Q7 on (ew Iron Age 5re" released /00C as a double -0 on Iron ?odex and in /0-0 as a 9>4 on >ruz 4el +ur with bonus tracks7 "A Pro het !n The Forest 28 5/00B7 on Iron ?odex 5limited to -0 copiesK7 "The Annihilation "f #oenigshofen live )8 5/00C7 limited to BC copies at ?I$ WII "The Golden Bough 4)86>4 5/0-07 on Iron ?odex6>ruz 4el +ur "The Annihilation "f $%rn&erg live tape 5/0-07 on A *or#a 5limited to 100 copies7 "The White Goddess >464)8 5/0-17 on AXn &ecords6>ruz 4el +ur 9usic6/0 3uck +pin

0ails to BAl=erB I don@t think I can recall a band whose name ever so brilliantly matched their arrival u"on the ,etal consciousness as the bolt%like e "losion of BAl=er in the "ast 2 years# 'hat is even more striking to me is how you are also one of the few bands in recent memory I can think of to create such an immediate bu== without having any members being reasonably well%known for "ast e "loits# ,y research tells me that K=; "layed in a band in /ew Cealand about a decade ago (where he now also sings for 'itchrist), but aside from also being in the recently formed $eathcult I can@t find any more info on your musical endeavours and none whatsoever on 0=;# Is there an intentional building of a sense of mysti!ue here or is this merely incidental& 0ow long had this e "losive assault on the stagnant $eath ,etal "ond been brewing and how much care was taken to ensure that BAl=er would be as standout as "ossible&

acts# :iven the stri""ed down look of the demo cover that doesn@t give anything away about the music contained within, and the omitting of a more regular $eath ,etal%style logo and song titles did you e "ect that awareness of your music would be slower coming, or were you confident enough in the material that it would ignite instantly& %e are definitely not interested in trends or appeasing the expectations of others, and we most certainly do not change our views when creating music. 9usic or any form of creativity flowing potent and unhindered from an inner source is a profound and sacred process of expression, usually birthed of some spiritual catalyst, wherein there is little or no place for conformity. In this sense we simply give voice to the inner self.

pleased to return to 4ublin this year, it has become somewhat of a tradition for us and performing for all our comrades there is always a pleasureK %Dn 7ebruary (st ne t year you are also set to travel for your first ever assault in Belgium on a bill along with 1he ;uins Df Beverast, .aturnalia 1em"le and others, and also in this year you "layed :ermany at the $eathkult D"en Air festival# 0ave you made any other forays abroad yet& 0ow often do you "lay in your home country of .wit=erland and what is the scene like there, both the live circuit and for releases& 1he only .wiss band that I think I have encountered in the course of 'DA7 in the "ast few years was a young $eath ,etal act called 7uneralo"olis# Jes we are very much looking forward to the show in 3russels. $his year has been good to us, we were presented the opportunities to perform at a number of amazing festivals abroad, namely <ells 8leasure, (octis in >algary, >anada and $il 4ovre *aller in (orway. %e choose not to perform too regularly in +witzerland as the scene and attendances at gigs are always very concentrated according to which genre of artist is playing and where. Additionally there are few live bands here with whom we could or would want to play with regularly. 'verplaying home turf is never optimal in my opinion. $hat said, we have yet to perform in the french and italian speaking regions but hands are already in motion to organize this for next year. Jes, they 5*uneralopolis7 are one of a handful of bands6friends we consort with musically. %Although 0=; mightn@t have a "oint of com"arison as to the best of my knowledge he has no "revious bands, how does it com"are being a 2%"iece live act& 'ere additional live members ever considered& 0ow do you manage to translate that thick musical muscularity and monumental heaviness into a live "erformance a live "erformance with +ust a guitarist and drummer, and how does the lack of "resence of a bassist or an additional

%'hen you "layed in my home city of Belfast in ,ay of this year on tour with :os"el Df 1he 0orns what struck me was not +ust the !uickness with which you reached these shores but the ability of "romoters in Ireland to bring over a AveK $hank you for the generous praiseK Initially we had no intention of having our band on the radar not even a year at that "oint# It seems to fly in the face of band become recognized in any everything that is acce"ted as truth immediate sense, nor did we take extra about the difficulties of touring and precaution to ensure any kind of YbuzzY, "laying abroad in this day and age, but for want of a better word, would arise should this !uickness not be mistaken from our releases. %e are extremely grateful that the music we en#oy making is for ease& <ust how challenging has it been to get BAl=er "laying abroad so of interest to others. !uickly& Also, are you e cited for your Any mysti.ue presented, through lack of return to Ireland on $ecember *0th of personal details is not exactly voluntary this year& (incidentally the day before but also not necessarily negative. 9ost the digital version of 'DA7 Anno people seem to be aware of my other $omini 20(* will go live) exploits and I am certain <z& would admit to any further offence upon As said, we are eternally thankful to the .uestioning. people showing interest in, and assisting 3@lzer as a somewhat YunconventionalY %'ere you sur"rised by the !uickness entity within the larger scene. I think the with which your Roman Acupuncture methods of expression I mentioned above demo was lauded and well%received& Although it is now seemingly the bands have been beneficial in allowing us to circumvent certain obstacles on the way. who think outside the bo who are 'ur live performances are generally crafting the best ,etal it also is often intense and people respond to this, the case that bands taking an aty"ical especially given there are but two of us. a""roach musically and 3@lzer is a challenge in every sense of the aesthetically will get left out in the wilderness unlike more comforting and wordK 3ut it is one we both live to undertake in it s entirety. %e are very status !uo reassuring genre%s"ecific

guitarist hel" or ham"er you when it comes to recording& $he formation is as it is due to the connection and understanding we share as two close friends and like minded musicians. Initial consideration to adopt a bassist were soon abandoned upon learning we functioned best as a duo. Eiven that we also rehearse and write as two, all the material is more or less fit for a live setting upon inception. >onsiderable time and effort was invested in calibrating my present e.uipment set" up but most of it was common sense. If anything recording sessions are all the less stressful without additional membersK %e en#oy the oversight and honesty present when writing and recording as a duo so that is not about to change. %I am also interested to know how being a duo affects the vision and focus of the band# 'ould the same singular imagination, aesthetic and musical creativity of BAl=er be "ossible with additional members& 'hat sort of brotherhood is really needed to make such an aty"ical a""roach to $eath ,etal work, and are your shared tattoos a literal symbol of that& Indeed, what is the meaning of the bolt symbol and is there any significance to why it a""ears inverted as the 5l8 character in your logo& I think I touched on most of that within the previous .uestion, but we share a strong bond within friendship and our general interest of art and philosophy which makes the creative process a very natural one. $he Ybolt symbolY is one of many energies. It represents primarily the enlightening and empowering blow of the lightning bolt, as well as the destructive and ensnaring .ualities of the wolfram or wolf s hook. It is indeed the raw components of chaos. 4uality, the phallus and vulva in eternal dance. %As I said before what was remarkable about BAl=er@s !uick acce"tance in the underground that usually re!uires sleeves to be worn on hearts aesthetically s"eaking was how unusual for Black)$eath ,etal your imagery, song titles and lyrics are# 1here are certain commonalities to be found, and the lyrics definitely become closer to $eath ,etal orthodo y on the Aura 26, but still artistically s"eaking everything about BAl=er is very uni!ue and mysterious# .imilarities may be drawn to other cosmic%focussing acts like $issection or 7anisk, but I am unsure as to what the symbology on the demo and 26 artwork "ertains to# $oes the "artial black sun on the ta"e sleeve "ertain to a re"resentation of the divine

I wonder, or of inner divine awakening& 1he figure on the sleeve to Aura carries a sun in one hand whilst I assume the sun cross in the other to be the astrological symbol for the earth& Also, is there a link to be drawn between the bolt symbol and belomancy, the ancient art of divination by arrows& 6lease enlighten me if you can# 'nce again, I think I #umped ahead of myself when answering the previous .uestion. All of the symbology I6we use within lyrics and imagery pertain to the aforementioned. >haos is the A"'. $he divine is certainly a theme, as is everything I cannot see. $he sunwheel on the tape sleeve is balance collapsed into chaos, the seed or vulva, birthplace of the unknown. $he lightning bolt is harmonic enlightenment, the phallus, the thrust of knowledge. I do not care to divulge any further. $his all very logical to me and should be discovered by the willing. %2!ually unconventional for the genre are some of the musical "oints of com"arison in the BAl=er sound, es"ecially on the 26# 1he far%ranging vocals for e am"le incor"orate a wolfish sort of howl I e!uate with $e"ressive .uicidal Black ,etal and also some unusual clean vocals which to me have a 6ost%0ardcore flavour, whilst there is an almost u"lifting tone on 52ntranced By 1he 'olfshook8 which in my review I have likened to American solar%themed Black ,etal duo 7anisk# 1he usual avant%garde names like 9oivod, $eaths"ell Dmega, /eurosis and your countrymen >oroner have been thrown about by "eo"le online to describe your style of riffing but I think that for all your earthy >eltic 7rost ty"e of heaviness there are no real com"arisons for how you string chords together# <ust how broad is the musical "alette from which you create your sound& $oes the uni!ueness flow naturally or is there a determination to be individualistic& 'ho in ,etal or indeed over musical styles would you call your closest "eers, "ast or "resent& I utterly despise the constant need to compare or categorize, especially when ridiculous sub"genres are mentioned. 9usic is all about the feelings it evokes and the actions it inspires. %e do not limit ourselves in what we listen to, anything stimulating is taken in. Again, we do not aspire to be similar or uni.ue, we #ust do what feels right. Any soul, giving his all to the great Snknown, the Abyss, is my peer.

%Another grou" of bands you have been likened to are ,itochondrian and Antediluvian, and while I do detect a similar chaotic vibe in BAl=er there is also a sense of control and mastery that com"licates this com"arison# Dddly, my assessment seems to conflict as well with your own statements about the meaning of the name BAl=er% 5a "owerful force or blow or strike that has no regard for the conse!uences or the re"ercussions# And in that sense it4s not directed either, it4s +ust a chaotic strike of energy#8 0ow do you view BAl=er@s musical and "hiloso"hical affinity to the notion of chaos& <aha. 8lease see :uestions U, Q Z B. %1he final com"arisons that have been made in the bu== surrounding you online that I want to discuss is the "lacing of BAl=er with $ead >ongregation, /ecros >hristos and >ruciamentum# 1his is one relationshi" I do think is "erfectly fitting as it works on two levels% first of all the Incantation%style of dissonant riffing which is about the only conventionally $eath ,etal element to your music, but also the atmos"here you create which I liken to being dangled by your ankles over a vast chasm or abyss# 0ow do you feel about com"arison to these most venerated bands, not only as far as musical similarities go but also the !uickness with which you have been "laced into this hallowed hall& $o you think such an association may lead to you resting on your laurels or are you determined now to "rove that this com"arison is a worthy one& <ust what "lans do BAl=er have for future releases to further climb to the to" of the $eath ,etal throne& I have been writing music for the last -L years so I hope I have achieved at least something. 3eing compared to these bands is venerable but it is not of much relevance to me. %e all walk our separate paths and so we should. I will never rest on my laurels as I choose to keep none. $he release of our second 28 Soma through Invictus 8roductions is pending for early next year. $here is a vinyl package of our demo 'oman Acu uncture planned for /0-L also. In the meantime we continue to work on new material. %Anything you@d like to add& %e look forward to what the new year bringsK $hank you for your time and thoughtful .uestionsK 1hank youB

0i 6aul, %3ou +oined .olstice in 20(( after the brief tenure of 6rocession@s 7eli"e Kut=bach, who had not long before re"laced 1ra""a=at).carab man 6aul Britton# 0ow did +oining the band come about& $id you have any history with ;ich 'alker or any of the members "rior to this& 'as there any tre"idation in being the third vocalist in such !uick succession& 3eing the third vocalist in such .uick succession never even entered my mind, well not as as far as putting me off. 8lus there s been a few through the doors over the years so I d imagine people are less likely to put +olstice under the microscope when a change in personnel happens. *elipe was announced as a short term stand in, an agreement between friends. I considered myself a replacement for 8aul 3ritton. %hich is good cos replacing *elipe isn t something I d be confident with. (ot at all. I had no relationship with any of the members really when I initially put my name in the hat for consideration. %hen +olstice had played 4ublin in -CCC with 8rimordial I had gone to the dressing room to introduce myself and say hello to &ich because I had been big into their -CC1 promo (either $ime (or $ide! and followed them since but that was about it. <ow I got in touch regarding singing for them was through reading online that they had let 8aul 3ritton go. Initially I was pissed off because it was a +unday, six days before they were due to play a small indoor festival called 9etal 9erchants in 'slo and I was very much looking forward to seeing them. I was really fucked after a heavy weekend and it took me ages to actually put something together 5a reasonably written email, samples, pictures etc7 I thought might catch the interest. +ince they wanted photos too, so I also had to find some pictures that had been taken with myself and Alan from 8rimordial on one of his trips to 'slo 5he s been here a lot of times7, knowing the long history between 8rimordial and +olstice I thought that would make them, &ich especially, take that little bit more

notice. $his was in January /0--. Anyway &ich got back that same day which surprised me and we decided I would come over to try out in 9arch. %hich I did. $he audition went '? but not great, it had been a long time since I had been singing at that kind of volume for a few hours 5maybe -0 years7 and my voice fatigued pretty .uickly but they d liked what they heard enough so that when they decided to have a second round of auditions I was asked to come over again in June. $his time I found a place I could rehearse in 'slo and by the time June came around I was far more prepared and they told me I was in if I wanted after the session. %'hen you were announced for the "osition there was a big "ositive res"onse from .olstice@s si=eable Irish fanbase who remembered you from your time fronting a string of $eath)$oom bands throughout the E0@s u" until 200* or so# As someone who came along after 7ifth $ominion, Arcane .un and 2den Dbscured and is therefore unfamiliar with your "revious work was there any difficulty in ada"ting from singing $eath)$oom to 2"ic $oom ,etal& Also more generally did you find any difficulty into getting back into singing after such a long absence& 'hy did you s"end so long away from music in any case, and was it an easy decision to come back when the offer was made to +oin .olstice& %ell 2den 'bscured, with any involvement from me at least, was #ust a band in name really. *ifth 4ominion I was #ust really a super enthusiastic and eager tag along to a band that didn t actually need me at all. +o Arcane +un was really the first band situation where I was more than eye candy 5boom, boom7. (ow most who read this will have never heard the name Arcane +un, most likely. $rue enough, the band did kinda sink without trace, as did the demos and the album but when it was active nothing came close in importance in my life. $his mad enthusiasm and eagerness is common for most people s first band 5proper, as I considered Arcane +un to be7 and through those 1

or L years when it was all going forwards at least it was almost all I thought about. I loved constantly planning, organising and this and that. $he other lads weren t as over the top enthusiastic as I was so I was essentially the mother hen doing whatever needed to be done. I had enthusiasm and energy for all of us. *ergal was guitars and also wrote nearly all the music. Initially our shared worship of *ields of the (ephilim had been enough to convince me to ask him aboard. $urned out I loved the music he wrote as well. 9y mind never changed on that topic. Eradually he drifted more and more and his initial disinterest grew to be apathy towards me, probably because I was 9r. 2nthusiastic. +o the last year or more I felt like a doormat cos I knew he was edging towards .uitting and I was afraid my speaking my mind as I should in fear it would have would triggered what was inevitable anyway. +o I no longer had the interest or drive to go through all of those starting a new band motions again after it all eventually fizzled away. Eoing from singing 4oom64eath to singing 2pic 4oom makes no difference really I don t think. <owever the ten years away from a microphone, a rehearsal studio and somewhere you can sing loudly, bellow even definitely had an impact. Add to this that it s also ten years worth of ageing to body, mind and soul and you ll notice changes. I probably also burned the candle at both ends more than I should have during that time which didn t help. It doesn t take that long to get back on the horse but there s probably always going to be work to be done if you want to keep improving. %hen I got the offer to #oin, there was no hesitation. %'hat ,etal vocalists would you consider to be your biggest influences& As far as how I singF I couldn t name anyone. I m not one of those guys with a load of natural talent that can treat singing like a craft. I m more of a close my eyes and hope for the best person. As far as vocalists I have looked up to and admired what they did and how they

did it. %hether through lyrics or their aesthetic agenda.....without doubt >arl 9c>oy from $he (ephilim. A role model and a pioneer I think. Also 4avid Aincent was, for me, the only man that could come close to 9c>oy between Altars "f (adness to Domination. (ick <olmes made a big impression on me with what he did on the Gothic album too.

have been another -[ years before anything was recorded if they d remained. James is the polar opposite. $wo or three rehearsals with him were more productive than the previous two guys combined had been in two years. <e impressed me so much. %0ow significant for you was it to "lay your first gig with the band on your home soil in $ublin, and were you nervous about the scale of the (000% strong crowd in attendance& 1he mammoth 6rimordial gig on that night was definitely a milestone for Irish ,etal# 0ow does the scene now com"are to your e "erience of "laying $ublin (F years ago&

about B0 people who weren t really interested. It wasn t inspiring. $hen in +eptember /0--. $hey sell over B00 tickets. <ave actual gear, e.uipment, crew, merchandise, people 5.uite a lot7 travel from abroad #ust to see 8rimordialF Insane. It was night and day compared to how it had been before.

.ince then .olstice have "layed a handful of shows in the north of 2ngland as well as being main 9ore recentlyF I think Addi from su""ort to ,anilla ;oad in ?ondon +olstafir is fucking brilliant. 3ut it s and the 0ell@s 6leasure, 0eavy $ays gotta be ?eith from 4estroyer UUU these In $oom 1own, $utch $oom $ays last years. As well as writing some of and 0ammer Df $oom festivals the best music I know possibly, some of throughout 2uro"e, a one%off date in his lyrics are #ust breathtaking. Also I .wit=erland and a return to $ublin think his drive and motivation is so for the final $ublin $oom $ay# $o genuine and without any agenda it s It was cool to do that show. 'n many any memories of these gigs stand out& commendable. levels, me being a 4ubliner especially. 7or anyone who witnessed the second It being with 8rimordial was a massive, $ublin show I think it will be fondly %.ince you +oined .olstice 2 years ago massive thing too. %hen they recorded remembered as the heaviest bass%less there have been several other lineu" A Journey s 2nd! in -CCB, they used ,etal "erformance in historyB Also, changes, notably the de"arture of Academy +tudios. &ich and >haz 5then having now "layed "robably the Asomvel members who made u" the +olstice bassist7 lived close by and did biggest and smallest shows .olstice rhythm section, adding to the list of, everything for the band that they could R have ever done how does "laying in often disgruntled, e %members which gave them shelter, fed them, got them sweatbo es like 1he 6int in $ublin has led to a re"utation for .olstice drunk, lent them e.uipment so I know and 1he 3orkshire 0ouse in being a band with a revolving door the lads in 8rimordial have always felt a ?ancaster com"are to the o"en fields lineu"# If it@s not too im"ertinent to gratitude and kinship because of that. and beer halls of the :erman festival ask have these de"artures been due to $hen, myself and Alan have been good circuit& 'hich is .olstice@s music best "ersonality clash, commitment levels friends, with a bump or two along the suited to& or over factors& 0ow certain are you way, for /0 years now. 9yself, him and of the current lineu" including ?am" >iaran 5guitars7 shared a house together I love it all but for slightly different Df 1hoth guitarist Andy 'hitaker, for a couple of years at one point and, of reasons. $he festivals cos it s fun to be ?a=arus Blackstar bassist Ian Bu ton course, I ve been friends with all those on an outdoor stage, lots of different and >raven guys a long time too. people around, maybe things can get a Idol)$ece"tor)>immerian .hadows bit wild and interesting. I have not really drummer)=ine scribe <ames Ashbey of I was very, very nervous but having taken a regular holiday since I was -B or surviving in the long run& more people there was a lot better. A something...#ust about all of my small pub type gig would have felt as if travelling was to go to gigs or festivals <ow certain am I of the line up I was one on one with each person in the anyway so with +olstice I am doing the surviving in the long runF <a...what do audience...very close and personal. same thing except I get to play and it you want me to sayF 'ne week at a $hey re easily the best kind of gigs but costs me a bit less. It s ideal for me. I time, this is +olstice after all. 8ersonally the 8rimordial show was a baptism of would say, though, my favourite gig was I loved having )enny 5Asomvel7 on fire and having so many people in a probably 4ublin 4oom 4ay. +mall board, I was very fond of him but bigger venue made me feel a little bit venue, sweaty, good attendance, people sometimes things #ust don t work out. anonymous and that was ideal for a right up against the stage. It was great. Izak is the man though, I especially debut gig. 2ven when I go to see a band live the admire the fact that having been And as far as comparisons to how it was show loses a lot if the venue is too big involved in the scene for as long as he -[ years before in 4ublinF *uck, no or if the crowd is sparse. It would be the has that he s still interested in music. +o comparison. 9aybe what I imagine it same to be in the band and actually many guys in our age group who ve would be like going from (orth ?orea playing a show like that...only worse. been playing in bands regardless of to +outh ?oreaK success! or lack of through the years %0ow does living in various "arts of have no interest in discovering new In (ovember -CCC myself and Alan Ireland and 2ngland affect the band@s music but Izak s not one of those. booked a pub in 4ublin called +lattery s ability to effectively write and to put on a 8rimordial6Arcane +un show. rehearse together, and how are those &ichard and 4el, the two ex drummers. %e had //B people show up. It was songwriting duties s"read across the %ell both had ability but neither had basically a room upstairs in the pub, a members& $o you take advantage of any drive, motivation or discipline when stage that rose /0 or 10 centimtres, a any modern technologies for writing it came to +olstice s music. >ertainly pocket sized 8A but we thought //B and rehearsing "ur"oses& Also, was neither had even the slightest interest in people was amazing. And it was for the their any culture shock when 4oom 9etal or underground <eavy time. (ovember /00/ I saw 8rimordial confronted with the technology of 9etal. (o offence to them but it could play a bigger venue, again in 4ublin, to modern music "roduction given that

it was the first time .olstice had been in a studio in (F years, and (0 years since you had recorded anything yourself& In the studio was there any tre"idation in having to follow ,orris Ingram@s "erformance on the now mythical New Dark Age album& Actually, the band is split between 2ngland and 'slo. I ve been in 'slo for a number of years. As far as songwriting goes, &ich and Andy are able to meet and go over stuff together and myself and James will get the songs or parts they record on a four track or whatever but only to familiarise ourselves. $here s no file sharing between us apart from that. %ell, I recorded vocal ideas for Death)s *rown !s +ictor, #ust by singing along with the instrumental version in my kitchen using my phone to record itK 3ut it was #ust to get some feedback about the ideas I had. $he studio technology was no problem, the engineer takes care of everything anyway. <owever, I was not exactly idle in the years between Arcane +un and +olstice. I had recorded some stuff in the meantime actually. A demo under the name $he 8ale *all with >athal, my buddy who was in 2den 'bscured and is now in 8arhelia. I also recorded vocals a song for Aoid 'f +ilence from Italy a few years ago when they were looking for a singer. I was really happy with it actually but I don t think they liked it too much. I never heard back from them, haK I also had a more 8op oriented pro#ect with a friend here that we did .uite a bit of recording on. +o I wasn t inactive completely but it was #ust studio stuff, so I had none of the glamour of being in a band, rehearsals etc. As far as following 9ozz s vocal from (ew 4ark Age F $hat didn t even enter my mind honestly. (ot cos he doesn t bear thinking of, .uite the opposite, but I think whenever people have associated anything with +olstice it s always been &ich %alker so I believe that made it easier for myself or Andy or whoever to slip in without too much fuss. (o matter your opinion on &ich, and the boy has managed to split opinion, you could hardly .uestion his devotion or the fact that +olstice has always been associated with his cult of personality...this made my slipping in as the new frontman mysteriously absent from the most +olstice discussion I d say. 0ow ha""y are you with the outcome

and the res"onse so far to the Death's Crown Is Victor 26& 0ow would you "ersonally rate your creation in a year that has seen some of the strongest releases ever, both in ,etal in general and from your contem"oraries like Atlantean Kode , 6rocession, Black Dath and ,ael ,Grdha& I m very pleased overall. I love the production, Andy s brother &ichard did it and I never expected such a gritty edge to it. I couldn t fault the others in any way at all. As for myselfF I can do better and hope to next time. I don t believe in assessing what s already done too much but I picked up a few things that I ll be wary of next time. I wouldn t ever try and compare it or rank it against other strong releases this year, that d be pointless considering I m part of it and would be far from impartial. As far as I am concerned there have been some great albums this year. 9ourning 3eloveth s Formless is probably the one I have been most consistently blown away by...it is fucking immense. After that, I love the new albums from &otting >hrist, 8rocession and In +olitude. In the run%u" to the initial digital unveiling)download release of the 26 it was very heavily "romoted across social media, and I think at one "oint was the most "o"ular hit for the tag 5$oom ,etal8 on Bandcam"# 0ow im"ortant has it been for .olstice to embrace social media and new "latforms of online distribution& $o you think an effective online "romotion and the ability to 5try before you buy8 is essential to shifting a a "hysical music "roduct in this day and age& Also, would you agree that commitment to bes"oke and high fidelity "hysical "roducts on vinyl and ta"e (and to a lesser e tent >$) are now more im"ortant than ever to avoid diminishing the value of music& +ocial media is obviously very important and it is, as things are now, the tool 5or tools7 that seems to increasingly dwarf the old school methods. 'f course you ll try to harness it as much as you can and reap benefits because the name of the game is still getting people to actually listen to your music. Eetting them to actually buy it after that is another thing. +o, yeah, you gotta at least get your stuff out there so that people can actually hear it in the easiest possible way, which is the

advantage of social media R everything is laid out in front of you and generally a few clicks will have you checking out something. $here is of course the downside that when it s all so easy and convenient it can also be more throwaway. %hen you had to trade tapes, rely on friends getting the albums you couldn t or actually get off your ass and go get the music instead of the music being brought right to you I think this obviously somehow influenced your own valuation of music generally. I m not talking about particular albums, or this band or that band but rather music in general. >ertainly social media is a sign of the times when convenience is key but I do wonder if this is #ust another prong in the fork, the same one that became the new hot topic when downloading first became an issue for the big wigs behind the music industry. I don t think our streaming the songs online before an official release as try before you buy! because that term is arguably redundant now with the whole leak Z download process that often happens. $hat point can be argued but anyway I was very much for that because it had been so long since +olstice had released anything we all thought it was essential to have it out there....in part or in full as soon as we could because we had delayed enough as it was.....like -[ years. Eive or take millennium. I can see your point too about the packaging etc. becoming more of an issue with the overall devaluation of music and I don t disagree really. It would be hard to anyway. 'n the other hand I think it should primarily be because you have pride in how you deliver your finished product and not as an attempt to put more gloss and shine on so someone is more likely to buy rather than download for example. I understand it s a slightly idealistic view but I would like to think it is that pride that would still be the motivation to go that extra bit. As always the com"le lyrics which are one of .olstice@s calling cards are "resent on this 26% how res"onsible for the lyrics on this release were you& 'as there an intentional linking of the songs 5I Am 1he 0unter8 and 5$eath@s >rown Is 9ictory8 via the line 5Dnly death is the crown, that all men shall wear8 in the former& 0ow fair is it to say that the lyrics on this

latest 26 have less of an arcane)mythical and more of an anti% christian)heathen focus than "revious .olstice releases& %ell good on you for spotting that because it had never occurred to me, haK I suppose that separates which one of us is the smarter one. &ich wrote the lyrics to I Am $he <unter! and the 4eath s >rown Is Aictory! title is his too but I would imagine it s coincidence since he never mentioned it.

$o be honest I couldn t say I was confident that the next mini")8 will arrive in any kind of prompt time either but I fucking hope it does. &ich himself is strongly against playing off past $here were a few mutterings about my glories, and I am aware of that sounding #oining an 2nglish band because of the hypocritical considering that long .uiet As I said I Am $he <unter! was history between Ireland and 2ngland as period... although his mindset has written entirely by &ich, so those lyrics well. I would most certainly consider always been actively opposed to that at were all done when I #oined. %ith myself very proud of Ireland, more so of least, as are the rest of us. <owever, he 4eath s >rown....!, he had the first the Irish people and very much so of has the advantage of at least having seven lines and the chorus done and 4ublin and the spirit that has always been a part of every piece of music asked me to have a bash at finishing. I been a part of the 4ublin folk. As such I +olstice have made, the rest of us don t. did and he liked what I did so you could completely respect the rest of the band )ooking past the fact that Death)s say approximately half of the lyrics for feeling a similar pride for their own *rown--- and it s follow up 5hopefully7 that were my contribution. people and history. It would be stupid to will both be short players, they will both think anything else. Aside from all of act in part to solidify +olstice as a band >onsidering 4eath s >own...! is the that, <eavy 9etal has always been a who are actively into creating music. more recent of the two full length tracks sanctuary away from all of that for the $hat may sound silly, it should sound I think you re very right to point out the most part. silly but unfortunately it s tragically shift from the arcane or mythical tones. looking like becoming the exception $he anti">hristian theme you mentioned As far as an unconscious Irish rather than the rule. +o fucking tragic. would be a bit narrow though, that s part influenceF <ard to say. $he Irish in their &eunion, reunion, reunion. >lassic of it but it s about a broader defiance. arts have always tended to have some album tour etc etc. It s breaks my heart $here are some words finished for kind of undercurrent of melancholy because it s got nothing to do with newer songs too. 3ehold, A 9an 'f maybe. I think feelings of loss and music as a creative thing but merely to +traw! and %hite <orse <ill!. $hey re lament are often not too far from our pump up either faltering financial more like laments I think and it s a music and words, if that was something situations or fragile egos. It s revolting. theme I like a lot. that could be felt even a little bit in the future it would be no bad thing I reckon $ell me this R 3lack +abbath s new $o you find any awkwardness in but I couldn t really say to be honest, it d albumF If that was released by someone fronting what is such an institution of probably be better for someone other like 8rocession would people love itF I 2nglishness and source of "ride for than me to assess that in the future. doubt it seriously. 8eople want to like it 2nglish ,etal fans (second "erha"s because they either subscribe to the only to 7orefather), either as an ?ast but not least we look to the nostalgia exploitation bullshit that Irishman or as an outsider in general& future# 0aving touted the arrival of a makes this slow asphyxiation of music Dn .olstice@s facebook "age 7air"ort full length album !nglander the as a creative force possible or they re >onvention@s .andy $enny is listed as band@s official site now seems to be easily led. *or the most part, I think this an influence# 0ow direct do you think re"orting that the ne t release will be is the case. 'f course, there are those this influences is on ;ich, or do you another 26)mini%?6 entitled To "ol A who probably like it genuinely and I think such 2nglish 7olk influences are Thane# Is the full length still "lanned have trouble faulting that... because more unconscious like that, similar to to ha""en eventually& Is there any people having such low standards is how 1ommy ,akem and ?iam reason other than time limitations why men like me have managed to have >lancy might be to any Irish that means 2 successive shorter any kind of active sex life. musician& 'hat, if any, unconscious releases have been chosen over the Irish influences do you think you full%length o"tion& Dn this ne t I already mentioned that I have written might bring to the table with your release what can we e "ect in terms of lyrics for two new songs and those are vocals& develo"ing on from the style and the very much more in the style of Death)s lyrical themes)direction shown on *rown---- and much more the kind of I think *airport >onvention is far from Death's Crown Is Victor & thing I would like to see us develop an unconscious influence for &ich, I further. believe he seems them as having played A full length eventually would be the a real part in shaping his playing and ideal thing, however....having #ust come Anything you@d like to add& writing. I don t think for one second that out of a long, long silent period and Jes, buy the new 9ourning 3eloveth 2nglish folk music has seeped into the knowing the previous output rate album. It s fucking stunning. If you don t consciousness of their rock music as between $ew Dark Age and Death)s like it, the band will refund you... 5haha7 Irish folk has into Ireland s rock culture *rown--- .which in case anyone missed but in &ich s case it has. it was a steady -[ year rate of zero7 I >heersB would rather not reappear #ust to then

Jeah, I admit I had to pause and think when I first got in touch with the band about trying out. %ould I feel like an idiot singing 2nglaner!F 'f course there is a bit of that or rather there would be if we end up doing that song which is a possibility R 'h here s an Irish guy singing a song called 2nglander!. It s be the same if I sang something like +torm, being that it s very (orwegian.

disappear for another extended period. $he idea to put out two mini")8s is simply to have something in .uicker succession than committing to getting a full length together because obviously a full length is going to take longer.

After a couple of years now you might think that the revival of 'ld +chool 4eath 9etal might slow down some" the likes of 9orbus >hron have proven themselves worthy of the genre s canon whilst $ribulation have been the first to show the willingness to go beyond it. 4espite that though /0-1 has seen no shortage of bands in the genre cropping up with releases in that perfect format for self"introduction" the humble Q 28.

6entacle from $he (etherlands may have only spent B years rather than -0 without any new recordings 5whilst frontman %annes Eubbels was in Asphyx7, but for 2ternal .olstice whom they share this split out on 4ark 4escent &ecords with, :ravecrusher from <ungary seem the wait has been -U years. &ather intent on proving with their than new material though the band (utilation 'itual Q 5original out on have reformed only to re"record tape on +tygian +hadows in 'ctober unreleased tracks from their early /0-/, this vinyl edition now on days. $heir / tracks on this double Q 3lood <arvest7 that while there gatefold split are basically what seems to be no shortage of bands $he +tockholm sound has been done you d expect for this style of chesty" still crawling out of the worm"rotten to death almost as much as the vocalled, $hanatos"es.ue old school woodwork this whole revival might *lorida style of the genre, but 4eath6$hrash, but also what you d be beginning to run on a creative 9erminous get a pass for expect for songs not good enough to empty. >onsidering the excellent unoriginality by virtue of the fact make the cut -U years ago. $he releases from the likes of 3ombs 'f they began playing this style over a standard is higher today than it was <ades, 3loody +ign, ?arnarium and decade ago, and have the most 9etal in -CCQ, and these songs and that flat $ribulation that 3lood <arvest has reason of all time for going on a -0" guitar tone #ust won t cut it for handled in the past this really is year hiatus as one of their band 2ternal +olstice. %hile the age of the rather poor by comparison. $he deep members had hearing difficulties. -0 2ternal +olstice material suggests vocals on here have a touch of years apart during the most creative they were already a spent force 4emigod about them but ultimately period for +wedish 4eath 9etal in a creatively at the time of their demise its an Incantation vibe they strive very long time should engender a in CQ, 8entacle s descent into for, and fail to achieve. $he problem hunger to prove oneselves again you mediocrity has been much more is that the riffs are right, but they are might think, and in fairness to the recent. Eubbels must ve used up all buried to far beneath the drums to band the title track a side to their his good ideas to write Death--- The give off the right atmosphere. All in The *urse "f The Antichrist Q 5also Brutal Wa, for Asphyx because what all this is pretty flat and atmosphere" out on 3lood <arvest7 is a fairly is on offer here is as generic as this less" the solo section at the end of catchy slab of &epugnant"influenced style of >eltic *rost"influenced 4eranged 9assacre! in particular +we"4eath. $he problem lies in the groovy 4eath 9etal gets. I would thanks to the poor mixing. $hey may production really as the guitar tone still suggest this split for vinyl be in the same position as today s sounds a little thin, there is little to packaging #unkies though thanks to current cream of the crop were [ no filth and the cavernous reverb" 9anuel $ineman s fantastic muted years ago, but I wouldn t hold my classic +unlight +tudio sound this is artwork" there is also a silver haze breath for Eravecrusher being close not. $he choice of cover songs for vinyl version only available direct to dropping a genre classic even -0 the 3 side don t help either as we all from 4ark 4escent, and an orange years from now. NL6-0O know how <ang $he 8ope! and haze vinyl through 9e +aco Sn '#o &evel In *lesh! go and we don t and Iron 8egasus &ecords. N16-0O ;ituali=ation from *rance are a need to even hear them to imagine -U years of no new material for

similarly unexciting prospect. In spite of the cool name and artwork that gives the impression of something a bit darker, a bit more occult, or at least a bit more considered in some fashion, what they offer on their Be,ond The Shrine "f Shattered Bones Q 5also on 3lood <arvest7 is the same old rehashing of the early C0 s *loridian style as we all have heard done a hundred times before and a hundred times better. &eal fanatics of 4eicide, Aital &emains and 9alevolent >reation might want to check it out on the off"chance, but otherwise this two"track 28 has precious little to recommend it. N/6-0O

how the Aerminous treatment of them will sound. If you are keen to pick something up by this band I would suggest going for their comeback )8 from earlier in the year instead. N16-0O

2ternal +olstice pales in comparison to the /-6// years out of the game for >hilean hordes $eath 3ell and Atomic Aggressor who this year shared a Q slab on <ells <eadbangers, and at last we have a return to actually rave about. Atomic Aggressor play an ancient"sounding style of thrashing 4eath 9etal in the vein of their countrymen 8entagram, early 9orbid Angel and 8oison and their razor sharp effort on here, 3lind +ervants! shows absolutely no rust on their decimating playing after all these years. $hey may not have changed their mode of attack one iota but their buddies in 4eath Jell have come back more mature with better songwriting, better production 5but by no means clean7 and as a much tighter playing unit. 3ack *rom $he 4epths! is still a nasty cut of bestial 3lack64eath 9etal comparable to 3eherit and early +epultura, but this is the sound of that style grown up. / excellent bands with e.ually valid approaches creating an essential purchase for fans of the 9etal +udamerica style" you can t ask for more than that 5oh go on then" new full length albums pleaseF7 NQ6-0O

28 is worth picking up solely for 4isrespect $heir 3ones! which is still one of catchiest songs to come out of 4eath 9etal in the past [ years. $heir albums are great, but this little record is still the best introduction to 3ombs 'f <ades and the most concise document of their sound yet. NQ6-0O

+wedish 4eath 9etal is alive and well at home but stylistically the flame is being kept burning elsewhere as well, such as with 9exico s 6utrefact whose latest release, the "f Those Who Were Deceased Q is out on 8ulverized &ecords. Eiven that the members have spent time in more brutal acts like 4isgorge and >.A.&.(.2. you could be forgiven for surprise at the direction they have taken here, and even more so for how well they nail down this +tockholm circa -CBC style. Aside from the nice drum fills towards the end the self"titled A side is a bit bog standard, but II! on the other side of this record is in a whole other league. 3eginning with a doomy as all hell vibe not unlike >laws6<ooded 9enace, an almost depressive interlude exploding into a killer hypnotic repetitive drumbeat 'n top of the returns from bands last and finishing off with a haunting seen in the early noughties, the late outro reminiscent of )eft <and C0 s and the late B0 s even the latest 8ath!" why this track wasn t leading generation of 4eath 9etal bands as the A side I do not know. $he have been around long enough to production is still a little thin, but I start en#oying a bit of nostalgia. cannot fault the song in the slightest. 3lood <arvest have been the first to I #ust hope 8utrefact re"record this do this with the *arni/ores 28 by when it comes to doing a full length Bombs Df 0ades that they album. NQ6-0O originally put out in /00B with a snazzy new white background to the Across the border in *inland there cover replacing the old black. has been lots of 4eath 9etal activity (ecronomicus ?anth! is the first of in recent years with the likes of [ tracks and has a bit of a 3lackened ?rypts, Aorum and +tench 'f 4ecay atmosphere .uite similar to frontman and now :hastly can be added to Jonas +talhammar s more well" that list to. $he strongest thing about known band Eod 9acabre, but their 4emonhood 8roductions otherwise this takes its form of Ser entine 0nion/The Di/ine Fire Q! attack straight from the 3olt is its rusty chain"like clanking drum $hrower playbook. All chesty and sound that gives a uni.ue edge and throaty vocals, stenchy riffs and fits in well into the doomed out early cutting cymbal splashes correct and >eltic *rost groove that they utilise. present while on +laughter $he *ans of the *innish sound will have 4ead! that 3olt $hrower sound is lots to be happy about as well with stripped back to show the noisome obvious hints of Abhorrence, 8unk roots beneath. $he other / 4emigod and *unebre all present tracks are duds to be honest, but this and correct here, as well as the fact

the simple logo on black cover is an obvious homage to Amorphis -CCself"titled demo. $his is a nice touch of course, but it makes it difficult to guess what visual and thematic avenues Ehastly plan to go down, but if they can match an interesting aesthetic to songs of this .uality then we may soon be counting them among the best of *inland s esoteric 4eath 9etal acts. NQ6-0O Although the most well known acts from this region ply in hybrid styles of 3lack64eath6$hrash I have heard rumblings of pure 'ld +chool 4eath 9etal coming from +outheast Asia in recent times as well. 0umiliation are one such band from 9alaysia whose 1 albums and / 28s to date have only been available on labels based in their home country, but now they are ready to storm the northern hemisphere for the first time, on a split from 2ldritch )unar 9iasma. $heir fondness for 3olt $hrower can be sensed even before a note is played thanks to the warzone samples in the intro to the song 2nemy s 8erimeter! while the drum patters, gruff vocals and punkish riffs confirm the love. Jes it may be total 3olt $hrower63enediction worship, but they do it better than most imitators. 'n the flip side, from that eternal fertile ground for 4eath 9etal called the Snited +tates, we have $ecre"ita"h, who, .uickly approaching become elder statesmen of the scene, I imagine are a name many readers will be familiar with already. Although it is refreshing to know that $he >arnal +lumber! is no departure from their trademark Autopsy6>offins"es.ue monolithically slow style it is far from their best track and a little weak on the guitar tone front. If you re keen to check out <umiliation check out their latest long"player on 4eepsend &ecords, while if you still haven t heard 4ecrepitaph then you re better off going back to /0-0 s Be,ond The *ursed Tom&s" both are much better introductions to these bands. NL6-0O >hile is another hotbed for 4eath 9etal right now, and not #ust because of the returning hordes such

as 4eath Jell and Atomic Aggressor, the pick of the bunch undoubtedly being 0orrifying whose 1u horic 12istence Q is out on 3lood <arvest. +ome riffs lean towards an Immolation influence, but for the most part the best reference point throughout is early 4eath, or more specifically the 9antas demos with ?am )ee on vocals. $he madness in the vocals could also be likened to their >hilean 9etal heritage but in any case what is so impressive about this 28 is that <orrifying succeed at being so raw and primitive, insane and off"key, yet also so musically tight and masterful and can create such a horrible and unsettling atmosphere. $he faster passages still need a little bit of work but the doomy sections on 2uphoric 2xistence! are excellent. 8etrifying <allucinations! kicks things up another gear with a disrhythmic vibe that will please fans of Antediluvian and the like and a completely wild and impulsive solo that is almost at Aomitor levels of insanity. 9ake no mistake, this is one of the best 4eath 9etal releases of the year. NB6-0O +peaking of Antediluvian they have a Q out as well entiteld Se tentrional Theo han,, made up of / songs left over from the 3ogos album sessions, only available with issue ,- of <aruspex zine release by (uclear %ar (owK $o call this material leftovers would be a disservice to these / songs though as they accompany the album so perfectly. 3eing from the same recording sessions there s an obvious similarity in sound as well as style, but for a band so raw, primitive and chaotic Antediluvian have no problem with dynamics and in#ecting each song with its own personality. 9outh 'f $he >ongregation...! mixes sections of Erind"like speeding intensity with utterly harrowing doomed out sections that creates a feel not unlike some sort of terrifying 3lack64eath68owerviolence hybrid while ...In $he +ides 'f $he (orth! is separated from anything on the album by its wolfish atmosphere and spasmodic, convulsive riffs. $his Q is as tough going as the rest of their

discography, but if you liked 3ogos this is an obvious next purchase. NQ6-0O

bad, but not good enough to stand out or stand up on its own. $he chanting intro to +eventh 3reath! reminds me in a way of (\strond, Ireland s Com keep things bestial in while the brief bass solo 5and even this section and round out the 4eath the fact of how audible the bass is7 9etal portion of it with their are unusual for 3lack 9etal, but (ulti/ersal Holocaust Q out on Iron otherwise this becomes pretty 3onehead 8roductions. %hilst there generic pretty .uickly. $he off"beat may have been an element of drums and horror feel to the riff in novelty from the fact Mom are the the bridge section that sounds like first Irish band to be recognised for the musical e.uivalent of the slow playing this style 5)ethiferous drip of damp is impressive, as is the actually did something similar a few feeling of being suspended over a years before to much less fanfare7 chasm in the bridge of 3 side track that helped their /0-- demo sell out $he 3lack 4ance!, but unless you of 1 pressings from Invictus really invest the time for repeated 8roductions, this time they have no listens they are not overly such luxury. It is a good thing for memorable. $hese features make the Mom then that the actual material song stand out whilst listening to it, stands up even stronger than before. but they don t help to create a 'n the a side the previous core cohesive identity for the and to make influences of 3lasphemy64iocletian" the memory last any longer than style %ar 9etal still abound, but the that. NU6-0O level of madness and the mastery of choatic sounds even at seemingly 4oom is also a genre not normally impossible speeds have rarely been associated with the Q! format thanks done better by anyone. $he vocals to the typical song"length, and while that sound like cawing raven on this they are not strictly a 4oom 9etal track as well are #ust pure brilliance. band, and this their first release is $error 'f $he >osmos! switches actually a double Q! 28, 2lectric gear with the influences but rather >iti=en nevertheless merit inclusion than diluting Mom this merely keeps here. $his >hicago"based coven self" them fresh, with doses of everything describe their self"titled debut as from early Aoivod, Autopsy, %est >oast 8sych meets 4ark *olk &epulsion, >arcass and B0 s and opening track +hallow %ater! 9ayhem being present as well as a lives up to this description and more. horror6sci"fi vibe from the samples. *rom the +an *rancisco 8sych bands %ith this small showing of of the U0 s it captures that mix of progressing on from the first demo doom"laden and uplifting spirits, being done Mom are even more of an keeping things #ust on the low exciting prospect than before" an enough side of distortion to push that impressive dVbut album cannot be *olk element and pop sensibility. far off now. NB6-0O 9ellow >andle would be the obvious point of comparison for 3lack 9etal is not nearly as obscure U0 s or Q0 s female"sung associated with the Q! format as *olk &ock, but similarities could 4eath 9etal is, but 3lood <arvest also be drawn to ?ari &uesl\tten of &ecords have branched out in that (orwegian bands +torm and 1rd And direction too with the Ascensum $he 9ortal, as well as AndrVa (ebel Ser ens 28 from >hile s ,alignant of <agalaz &unedance. Snusually Asceticism. According to the label the very faint synths on this track Ascensum Ser ens gets inside the also remind me of 3urzum s prison most sublime sub#ects of spiritual albums in tone and atmosphere, but elevation, through the mysteries of they are .uite deep in the mix as to sexual magick!, and while there may make the connection hard to fully be something faintly vaginal about form. If I have one bone to pick with the cover art this talk is, as it this 28 it is the production as it not happens to be C[T of the time, only stiffles this vibe, but also the complete waffle. 9usically it is not pop sensibility. 'f the remaining

tracks 3eggar s (eed! is the one that most shows the potential to become as prominent in this style as Jess And $he Ancient 'nes while the #angly $he 3angles"via"Jefferson Airplane vibe of closer <awk (ightingale! shows that its crossover appeal stretches as far out of 9etal as in to it. An excellent debut record to appeal to 9etalheads with open minds. NB6-0O *rom a band that will appeal to 4oom fans of a certain persuasion now to a band that are -00T undoubtedly 4oom 9etal" 3erlin6'kahoma globe"spanners Atomic >ries. &esolutely and unmistakeably 4oom it may be, but their Q! entitled Sus ended Between The (outh "f God And The Fist "f (an 5on +vart &ecords right at the beginning of this year7 demonstrates a .uite uni.ue sound. $he fuzz and droning vocals bring to mind prime &evered 3izarre, but this is still pretty atypical. +aint Aitus plodding rhythms are also present, but the feel is very dark and cinematic, .uite like %erner <erzog s films 5The 1nigma "f #as ar Hauser is even referred to on the 3andcamp page.7 $he distancing of the vocals also have a touch of the most avant"garde of B0 s Eoth &ock in there too. It s interesting, but I think still too rough, experimental, poorly recorded and unrefined for mass dissemination. $his is the primordial soup of what could become a powerful new strain of the 4oom genome. NQ6-0O Another of the rare 4oom Q! releases of the year is likewise from 3erlin, and like 2lectric >itizen may have appeal to fans of Jess And $he Ancient 'nes, but that is where the similarity between 1he Dath and 2lectric >itizen ends. $he band s pedigree is good given that guitarist )innVa 'lsson plays in In +olitude" related heavies +onic &itual and was formerly a part of +lingblade, while vocalist Johanna +ardonis has sang for C0 s Eerman 3lack 9etal band 4ies Ater, and much more recently guested on a +ecrets 'f $he 9oon track. 4espite this their dVbut Q! out on <igh &oller &ecords 52lectric

Assault in the states7 is one of the worst examples of this female" fronted 4oom style I have yet heard. It sounds rushed and sloppy and therefore contrived. Sltimately Johanna has to take a lot of the fall for this failure as her voice so well suited to the +ymphonic 3lack 9etal style is ill"fitting here, but ultimately a better vocalist alone wouldn t be sufficient to rescue either of these songs. $he 3 side 3lack &ainbow! in particular suffers from riff"salad syndrome and the bumpy key changes don t .uite thread these disparate riffs together successfully. All these things can be fixed off course though, so I will be keeping $he 'ath on my radar to see what they come up with next. N16-0O

a slight 3lack6$hrash vibe evoked via early ?reator, especially in the vocals. It is the sheer energy and rawness that makes +adistic &itual tick though and wipe the floor with many lily"livered $hrash bands from their country who have cropped up in the past few years. Imagine %arbringer getting their asses kicked by Antichrist for a rough idea of how this sounds. NU6-0O

+peaking of whom, it has been / years of complete silence from +wedish $hrash maniacs Antichrist and we finally have a follow"up to /0-- s killer For&idden World long" player. I m not going to say it was worth the wait, but nevertheless the Burned Be,ond 'ecognition Q! on 2lectric Assault &ecords does not &arest of all is Q! split releases of disappoint. 9ore than ever before bands of / different genres, but that Antichrist sound manic and insane is what Snborn 8roductions have thanks in large to how the done, I suspect due to the fact that production is both so raw and so town in (orway that both ;e"tilian loud" going to the limits of volume and Inculter hail from is so small without compromising the .uality. that they undoubtedly share 'bvious and old comparisons to members. If my inkling is true +layer, 8ossessed etc. can still be though I would urge them to put made, but this sounds so unhinged Inculter and their standard issue that I think the band have been going 5though catchy7 3lack6$hrash 9etal even further underground for a la early (ifelheim on hold and inspiration this time, a likelihood concentrate more fully on &eptilian. given that on the 3 side here they It is rare that a band will develop cover ?ill %ith (apalm! by B0 s such a uni.ue aura right from their >roatian 3lack6+peed 9etal first release but that s what &eptilian underground heroes 2vil 3lood. manage with those heavily reverb" %hen a new album comes I hope laden drums that are pulled as they don t make it any more polished nervewrackingly tight in the fast than this 28 is" in this new style sections of <uitzilopochtli! and they ve carved out the next full those vocals that are halfway in length could be their breakthrough between the 4epressive6+uicidal 39 moment. NQ6-0O and +outh American 3lack 4eath schools of insanity. >ombined with Also on the fast and furious front the untapped potential of Aztec comes the long"awaiting 5at least at mythology as a lyrical theme of %'A* <: anyway7 follow up to 4eath 9etal and &eptilian have real /0-- s mighty #nights !n White potential to stand out from the crowd Phos horous album by 0ot :raves. on future release. NU6-0O Instantly I am disappointed however, not so much by the fact the band Atlanta, EA s .adistic ;itual ply a have devolved a step into a sleazier, similarly hackneyed approach to rawer and cheaper sound as that was $hrash on their Hellish (ercenar, to be expected on a stop"gap release Q! from 3oris &ecords than Inculter, like this, but more the fact that but they #ust about pass muster *uck S" S +uck! has none of the thanks to their songs being choc"full charm of the EE Allin or Anal >unt of killer riffs. $heir influence is that it aims for. *ollow Jr 4reams! mostly American, most notably is a little more like the album, at +layer and 2xodus, but there is also least the less melodic and most

straight"up numbers like +carred! or ?ill *or +atan!, without the .uality of either unfortunately. 'ut 'v $ime! is the most throwaway track on here thanks to its very thin sound" this momentary taking the foot off the proverbial gas would ve been a perfect time to in#ect some of that melodic flair found on the debut to fill the void, but it never comes. $he title track *ashion Aictim! is the best track on here thanks to its 8oison Idea meets early Agnostic *ront vibe, and the bonus cover of 3ad &eligion s Jesterday! is not bad either, but a worthy successor to one of the most highly"rated albums in from the aborted %'A* ,/ issue this is not. NL6-0O

meth hookers, beating the shit out of frat guys and +atan! we get another 1 tracks about frustration, beating the shit out of more frat guys and immature dicks. 'stensibly this is a big party with all the >rossover $hrash greats invited with the obvious guests of honour being fellow $exans 4.&.I. whose style is stamped all over the title track A side 5mixed with some of the misanthropy of $he Eerms.7 Eang Ereen and >rumbsuckers leave their mark here too, but there is something intangible about this that makes it more than #ust the sum total of its parts. It may not be big, and clever would be the wrong sort of word for what is being expressed, but this band shouldn t be mistaken >leveland, '<"based 4eath"8unks for being stupid in my book. $ake /ekrofilth had a different kind of for example the very heavy hype to live up to than <ot Eraves" repetition in the lyrics, which are not not because of my previous done in a lazy or unimaginative way, knowledge of them but rather from but seemingly #ust to hammer home internet talk over their sex, drugs, that point at little more and let you suicide and +atan"fuelled music know what is being sung is believed" video on youtube. 9usically they It is a vital factor rarely heard it play a heavily punked"up brand of today s 8unk and <ardcore music. 4eath 9etal indebted to fellow 'n 9an >hild! especially the anger >leveland heads (unslaughter is visceral and palatable in every 5whom they share a guitarist with7 as note played and shouted. NQ6-0O well as bands like (orwegian _^ _ `abc`de`fge`de^f`dbhi`hbae`j madmen )obotomized. $he utter ]^ ugliness, nihilism and degradation of have heard in a while, but for release EE Allin is a big influence too but names it is $eath Df Kings what strikes me most about the first #nifehammer Q! 5on 3oris &ecords7 / tracks from their 4oomentia" that takes the biscuit. 9usically most released Q! entitled Street Bitch is of the influence on these guys comes the utter sense of control that they from B0 s +peed 9etal, but have in comparison to the sloppier everything from the intense acts who usually play this style. It drumming to the cartoonishly huge makes the nastiness factor all the vocals ramps everything up to a new more visceral, but what drags this level, capped off with a modern yet release down is how the covers of ballbusting production. Imagine a Argh *uck ?ill! from >anadian punkier version of 1 Inches 'f 8unk master"offenders 4ayglo 3lood mixed with >auldron and Abortions and +treet %alker! by you ve got what this band are about. >leveland <eavy 9etal legends Added to the fact that this Q! slab 3lack 4eath, though both faithful comes on toxic green glow in the and good in their own way, don t dark vinyl and has artwork garish have this same trademark vibe cover art to put $hrash 9etal goons replicated on them. NU6-0O )ich ?ing to shame and the appeal that this may have to fans of 'ne Q slab of 9etalpunk that didn t 9unicipal %aste and %hite %izzard disappoint this year however was is massive. Snashamed commercial Work Sucks by the brilliantly"named potential, unabashedly daft, but AHI HI . *ollowing on from their S eed undeniably <eavy 9etal all the #rusher tape 5also reviewed in this same. NQ6-0O issue7 and its [ songs about speed,

$his rundown of the year s shortest releases comes to an end with a look at that other subgenre so closely associated with singles, <eavy 9etal" particularly the (%'3<9. 0itten who hail from +pain may have more of a Eerman +peed 9etal sound than the (%'3<9 but still have to get a mention in as one of the best new bands who may have kept beneath most people s radars this year with their 1/il Power Q! on Anger 'f 9etal &ecords. $hey never get .uite as full"speed ahead or as heavy as the likes of Atlain or early even <elloween, but fans of &unning %ild, +tormwitch or especially Eravestone will love this, and while they don t sing in their native tongue anyone who likes 3arHn &o#o will probably like the heavy accent present here. $he A side and (ight 'f $he <unter! are both top notch catchy and melodic tracks but it is 9idnight &iders! that takes the prize with its 4i anno" era 9aiden gallop that makes me think it should have been the song at the head of this release. 4efinitely keep an eye out for this band. NB6-0O )ast but by absolutely no means least are +weden s /ight and what is perhaps the best attempt at creating a Q! that could legitimately bluff as being a long"lost (%'3<9 rarity. $his band have the perfect name, owl mascot and cover for this single, entitled Gun owder Treason" so much so that it is hard to fathom how none of these were already taken by a (%'3<9 band back in -CB0K 9usically this is a mid"paced rocker in the vein of +axon, with some excellent high histrionic vocals 5almost defying masculinity7 and the theme and lyrics show an obsession for all things 2nglish too" fans of 4iamond <ead, $okyo 3lade and $ygers 'f 8an $ang will lap this up also. +trangely for something so authentic though it has been released on a label not exclusively dedicated to 9etal 5Eaphals7, making it likely this will have slipped through the cracks even more than the <itten single above. 4on t let this happen" this band deserved to be heardK NB6-0O

0ails to ArgusB %?et@s start with a little history# 0ow and when did the band form& 'ere your key influences and intended style the same then as they are now& 7rom what I understand 2rik was also the original vocalist% was Butch headhunted for the band based on his "revious work with 6enance& N3utch 3allich" vocalsO $he band was formed prior to me #oining in /00U. 2rik was the original vocalist and the style was much more stoner rock6groove oriented really. I met the band at their final gig with 2rik who was leaving the band due to a move down south. I had been out of 8enance for some time and had #ust about given up on playing music again. I was floored by the talent in the band R first thing I said to ?evin after their set was Jour bassist is a badass!. 3ut the whole band was talented. And they had some harmony guitar parts that were excellent along with writing big riffsk+o ?evin and I got to talking and saw a possibility to see if things could work out. And lo and behold here we are Q years later. As far as key influences weGre all over the map R our common ground lies in $hin )izzy, Iron 9aiden, among othersk If we laid out our influences individually folks would likely be surprised we are not only in the same band but also that our sound is so solidly what it is.

%:iven the e"ic bent of the band I always assumed that the name Argus would be related in some way to the 'ishbone Ash album of the same name, but I have since heard that the name comes from a vision 2rik had while in a hos"ital bed# Is there any truth to this&

Actually we worked on material for a couple of years, playing live shows, developing our sound, discarding the old material as we wrote and honed what we wanted the band to sound like. +o that process took from 0U to 0C when we recorded the album. 'ur goal from the start was to write great songs and to not force anything. $o <e was recovering from a wound this day we follow that. %e know he sustained in the county #ail what we like as a band for us to while doing time for a mopery sound like. 2veryone contributes charge that was eventually either with riffs or in arrangements overturned, freeing him to follow and we are fearless in being critical his musical dreams. I guess the of the songs as the develop. %e are morphine reacted with something all adult enough that we can do this else they were giving him and he without fear of any ma#or blow" had a number of visionskwhich ups. 2veryone is at least willing to from what he says he will publish try an idea and accept it if it is for in a book one of these days. <e the betterment of the song6album wonGt let us read the manuscript yet we are working on. but promises it will make the 9ar.uis 4e +ade look like >.+. I think we were surprised at how )ewis. .uickly we were accepted into 4oom circles and then branching %3our first album was released out from there but it was a building remarkably !uick, at least by process that we are still going $oom ,etal standards# 'as through. %e are hardly a household there a concerted effort to get name. %e gigged in %estern 8A something out there !uickly in and %est Airginia early on and then your early days, and if so how branched into a couple of out of much was this tem"ered by a state festivals such as 4oom 'r 3e desire to get things right first 4oomed in 3altimore /00Q leading time and make something of real to 2urope in /0-- at <ammer of !uality that Argus is& 0ow 4oom. ItGs all been a building immediate was the res"onse to process but yeah IGd say we were the album locally, nationally and lucky early on to get a .uick boost internationally& $id it allow you from the 4oom scene. to start gigging out of your home state of 6ennsylvania %Argus was a bold statement that immediately or did that come laid the foundation of your style, later& mi ing 1hin ?i==y)Iron ,aiden dual guitar harmonies with the

e"icness of >andlemass).olitude Aeternus and ,anilla ;oad).lough 7eg tem"ered by the heavy sim"licity and 0ard ;ock sway of the likes of Iron ,an, 6ale $ivine, Drodruin and of course Butch@s "revious band 6enance# 0ow im"ortant were these influences, and do you think they came out in your sound consciously or unconsciously& 1hin ?i==y are often seen as an inesca"able influence on all Irish guitarists so I@m interested to know if there@s an American influence that is e!ually indelible in this way# 9ostly unconscious though for sure it was our intent from the get go to incorporate harmony guitar parts because we love that style. +o yes we did bring $hin )izzy and 9aiden into the forefront in that way but we donGt set out to write in a certain style. 'ther than that these things #ust come out due to the way the riffs are created and then what we each suggest during the process. +o there are lots of things going on and each guy is pulling from his background but in a way that supports our sound. *or contemporary influences on us you can look at +lough *eg, Aalkyrie, %hile <eaven %ept and 'rodruin as modern bands we love and have respect for and are inspired by. %e never stopped being fans so our influences of course change as we discover new bands that we admire. %Dn the sub+ect of dual guitar harmonies do you think it is an element of ,etal that has been lost somewhat in recent years& 1here is not many "airs these days that can be com"ared to the likes of .cott :orham and Brian ;obertson from 1hin ?i==y, Andy 6owell and 1ed 1urner from 'ishbone Ash, :lenn 1i"ton and KK $owning of <udas 6riest or $ave ,urray and Adrian .mith of Iron ,aiden# 2 ce"t for maybe ,ike .cal=i and Angelo 1rigani of .lough 7eg I really think Argus@ 2rik and

<ason are the best duo for a twin% put something out that sails over guitar attack these days# peopleGs heads. ItGs also reflected in who we are R down to earth, hard IGm not sure if it has been lost but it working guys with families and certainly hasnGt been done by many responsibilities. As far as the in a way that is inspiring. +lough impact on us of the area being *eg gets it. Aalkyrie gets it. >orsair deindustrialized R I think it keeps gets it. 3ible of the 4evilk.A lot us grounded but it doesnGt affect of bands have harmonies all over the mood of the musickleastways the place but they overdo it or #ust not that I can tell. It doesnGt have a make parts that really arenGt that bearing on the lyrics either. $he interesting. %e always have guys in the band have definite harmonies in mind but never force opinions on politics and definitely them. It has to be the right part in have an understanding of this the right spot in a song in order to region. I donGt wade into those have maximum impact. If you do it waters R my mother taught me to constantly they donGt stand out and never discuss politics or religion. lose their effectiveness. I do think hard times are perfect %Dn your 7acebook "age you times for metal though. It creates describe yourselves as having a an atmosphere where it is easy to working class sound and I have tap into feelings of hopelessness seen "romo "hotos of the band and struggle because you see it all with steel mills in the around you. ItGs no surprise to me background# 0ow im"ortant has that 9etal is booming at a time your backdro" of 'estern when people are looking to express 6ennsylvania been in moulding themselves and also to escape from your sound and outlook& 1o me their lives for a little while. the de%industrialisation of the American rustbelt and heartland %As well as laying the foundation is a story that is woefully under% of your sound your dKbut album re"resented in the American also began your association with media and culture, but is "erfect artist Brad ,oore# 'ere you for being told in 0eavy ,etal# familiar with Brad@s work in the 0as being affected by these issues comic book world or with other influenced Argus@ gloomy and bands "rior to this& 1o me Brad mournful style& Also more "erfectly ca"tures that mi ture of generally, do you think there larger than life and down to might be a link between the earth in your music in the same recent resurgence in !uality of way <im 7it="atrick did with ,etal releases in the same way 1hin ?i==y# 0ow true would you that 1hatcherism im"acted on say that com"arison is to Brad@s the /ew 'ave Df British 0eavy collaborations with you, or more ,etal, or ;eaganomics on J. recently also with CLLl& Also, 0eavy ,etal in the -0@s& I@ve noticed that the same clawed and be+eweled starfish%looking %ell, weGre really a no frills kind figure a""ears on all * of your of band. %hat you see is what you album covers% is there a s"ecial get. I didnGt grow up in %estern significance to this& 8ennsylvania but I did grow up not too far from 3ethlehem and IGve known 3rad for years through Allentown, 8A where steel and the doom scene. %e met at festivals concrete were big industries at one years ago and heGs been a friend time. I think by working class since and IGve long admired his sound it is intended to convey that work. %hen we did the first album this is gritty, no real frills <eavy he was the first artist I thought of fucking 9etalk. %eGre not trying and weGve been honoured to work to out"think or out"cute anyone or with him ever since. <eGs always

managed to floor us with his concepts and finished pieces. I recently said he is like our 4erek &iggs at this point or *itzpatrick. %e all say If it ainGt broke donGt fix it!. $hat character is #ust one he developed for the first album and we found ways to work it into the last two as well. (o real significance other than we like the beastie. (ext album it may be time to give him a rest and move in a different direction with 3rad. %eGll see. %.omething I@ve always found interesting about the lyrics of Argus is the historical focus and the narrative skill with which they are often retold that as a literature student I find im"ressive# $o you research to"ics for lyrics through factual books or through literature% for e am"le, was 51he $amnation Df <ohn 7austus8 "enned after reading history books or rather ,arlowe or :oethe@s "lays on the famed alchemist& Dr both& k.*austus! was written based on 9arloweGs play. In fact you would find if you delved into the lyrics and compare to the play that .uite a bit was brought in directly from the play. I find the story to be fascinating and tragic. I have been meaning to read Eoethe. 3asically anything literature related is spun from me reading the story several times over and then interpreting it R trying to both convey the story in some form as well as the mood. +ongs like (one +hall ?now $he <our! or 3y 2ndurance %e >on.uer! were researched to an extent using a combination of factual sources on the internet and in books. I wish I had more time really be thorough in these things but often the base information is all I need to get moving on lyrics and convey what I want to convey. It would be nice to read several books and see some films, for example, on the 2ndurance expedition.

obviously 5>hristian8 song in your back catalogue in a 1rouble)6ale $ivine sort of way, but over half the songs on Be ond The $art rs have been giving me a "rayer%like vibe as well# 0as this been intentional& 'hat, if any, religious background of the members has im"acted this "art of your sound& 1he connection between 8ieces of Jour +mile! was $oom and >hristianity seems adapted from the story 3erenice! stronger than ever in recent by 2dgar Allen 8oe which I highly years, for e am"le as with recommend to anyone. &ead it" it is 'DA7%favourites 2vangelist tremendous. %hen IGm writing who you recently "layed with in based on a story or historical event 6oland# 'hy do you think it is my dual goal to advance the >hristianity and $oom make narrative but also capture an such e cellent bedfellows& emotional element. I truly thank you for your kind words about (one of us are practicing members 8iecesk! R it seems to resonate of any religion. ?evin is an atheist. with people. A tear#erker of a song I call myself agnostic. I canGt speak really. for 2rik, Jay or Andy. Any connections between our music and %A criticism I@ve often heard from religion of any sort is either fans who "refer the $i@anno era coincidental or purposeful only in of ,aiden is that Bruce that I am telling a story. (one $ickinson@s historical and +hall ?now the <our! was about a literary%based lyrics somehow sect called the 9illerites who eliminate the more working class, believed the end was coming, gave rock n roll and (allegedly) 6unk up their livelihoods, possessions influenced earlier "hase of the and literally waited on a hill for the band# 0ow would you res"ond if lord to take them based on a date someone was to allege that the fixed by their leader %illiam same would be true, and that 9iller. 'f course he was wrong songs like 51he 0ands Df 1ime and the song is more of a tale based Are Bleeding8 would negate your on how easily people are led and working class credentials& how something as powerful as religion can affect someone to the $he <ands of $ime Are 3leeding! point that they blindly believe what is straight from my personal they are told by their leaders. experience, heart and soul and emotionsk All people, no matter I want to make it clear I have no their social status6class can relate to issues with >hristians or people of emotions so IGd say any criticism faith in the general sense. +ome of that my lyrics donGt fit with who my best friends in life or people I we are as people or the image of respect greatly as human beings are the band kthat it is invalid. deeply religious or spiritual. As far as 4oom and religion being easy %As a last !uestion on your lyrics bedfellows R any reading of the I@ve recently started making a 3ible answers very .uickly why. mental connection between the $he bible is full of heavy, dark, way re"etition is used in your depressing stories. It is perfect chorus refrains and >hristian fodder for lyrics in the imagery it hymns and catechisms# 5/one portrays. .hall Know 1he 0our8 from the dKbut album is may be the most %$id you notice a big u"surge in %Another thing that im"resses my inner literary critic is the "oetic !uality of the lyrics, es"ecially 56ieces Df 3our .mile8 #rom Boldl "tride The Doomed which was one of the most haunting and beautiful ,etal songs ever# $o any "articular "oets influence songs such as these&

international attention in the band after the release of Boldl "tride The Doomed& 1hat was certainly the "oint I noticed a bu== building in Ireland# 1wo im"ortant advocates for Argus in this country have been $anny Angus who "ut out your "leeping Dogs (08 vinyl on his 6ariah >hild im"rint and ,ark ?eigh who has brought you twice to Ireland and accom"anied you on your recent 2uro%tour# 'ould you now look u"on Ireland as a sort of home away from home& Also, were you introduced to 6hilomena ?ynott on either of your tri"s& I have heard she is very fond of meeting musicians influenced by her son and 1hin ?i==y#

"articularly in the ,idwest, such as $ays Df 1he $oomed in Kenosha, 'I and ;agnarokkr in >hicago, I?, both of which you have "layed# Are these sorts of shows chosen more out of "reference or necessity& 7or small bands is it really difficult to tour these days outside of the cluster of big cities in the northeast& 0ow do these sorts of events com"are to similar setu"s in 2uro"e like $utch $oom $ays or 0ammer Df $oom& $o you think your music is better suited to bigger stages like the 6osthalle in 'Lr=burg, or small venues like those you "lay in Ireland and 6ennsylvania&

%0ave you noticed another rise in how you are regarded in the international $oom scene since the release of the "henomenal Be ond The $art rs album& Are you getting more offers now to "lay other countries& I know a lot of 2nglish heads who made the tri" over for your Ireland dates are itching for you to "lay a gig there# I havenGt noticed a significant bump yet. )ately it seems more reviews are rolling in that are in the Bs, Cs range and maybe there is a hair more chatter about it. $ime will tell if this translates into more offers. <opefully R weGd love to come back over and I think weGre a good addition to any bill. %Anything else you@d like to add& $hanks for the interviewK ItGs an honour for us. Anyone out there reading R thanks for taking the time to check us out. Jou can check out our site at www.argusmetal.com %eGre also on *acebook. <opefully weGll be back in 2urope in /0-L as well as some S+ dates as well including the &agnarokkr *estival in April /0-L in >hicago, I). 1hank youB Argus $iscogra"hy "Demo S ring 4556 digital download 5/00Q7 on 3land hand &ecords "Argus >464)8 5/00C7 on +hadow ?ingdom &ecords "Boldl, Stride The Doomed >464)8 5/0--7 on >ruz 4el +ur 9usic "Slee ing Dogs -0! 9)8 5/0--7 on 8ariah >hild "3i/e At Hammer "f Doom + 4A4 5/0--7 on >ruz 4el +ur 9usic 5lim. [00 copies7 "Blood7 Fire7 Beer >4 5/0-/7 self" release 5lim. -00 copies7 "Be,ond The (art,rs >46)8 5/0-17 on >ruz 4el +ur 9usic

%e like those kinds of shows because generally you play to $here was definitely an uptick but I larger crowds than you would a wouldnGt say it was big. 'ur regular tour stop. A band like us it visibility was certainly increased is near impossible to do real but as of yet we havenGt achieved meaningful touring. %e would lose the kind of name recognition weGd too much money and have too like. 'ur inability to mount a true, many real life responsibilities. %e sustained tour really hinders us in havenGt yet tried to play much this area. outside of the (ortheast and 9idwest though we did finally get %e love Ireland. $he folks there to (orth >arolina and Eeorgia this embraced us and made us feel year and had a great time. welcome and like we were really appreciated as a band. %e have I think most S+ festivals mean made some good friends over there. well. +ome do better than others at I hope we can play there any time growing the fests and running we go to 2urope, it is a must as far them. +ome not as much. $he fan as I am concerned. %e met base in the S+ is so spread out and 8hilomena in /0-/K +he was a 9etal #ust isnGt as big here as it is wonderful ladyK +he was at in 2urope so the crowd sizes #ust 3ruxelles on Erafton +treet and our donGt compare. $hat doesnGt mean friend 9Xirtin 5*art7 introduced us that 4ays of $he 4oomed in to her by saying $hese guys are in %isconsin isnGt an exceptional fest a band who covered 3lack because it is. 3ut that fest will draw &ose!!. +he traded info with under /00 whereas <ammer of ?evin and the next day we were off 4oom does like -,000. 3oth to 8hilGs grave site and her home. It expertly organized and run. ItGs all is one of my fondest memories in about location and fanbase. my lifetime. +uch a nice woman and to hear stories about 8hil and I think our music translates well no see the memorabilia was really matter the venue size. It is neither really special. 9ade that whole trip overly simplistic or overly larger that much better. than life and pompous. I think we are tight as a live act and no matter %;ecently I have noticed more the stage size or crowd size would and more "osters a""earing for like to think we have our shit (%2 day festivals in the states, together to put on a good show.

0ails to 6rotectorB %7irst of all to ,artin, what was your reason for leaving 6rotector in (E-E& $id you ever have a "roblem with the band continuing on without you, es"ecially after (EE( when there was no original)classic lineu" members left& ,artin 5vocals7l I got really big problems with anxiety6panic attacks and depression in the beginning of -CBC. 9y psychic state of mind was so down, that I knew I couldn t continue with the band. All I could focus on was to stay sane and to survive each day one at a time. In the summer of -CBC I felt a little better again, wrote the lyrics to 0rm the (ad and recorded the vocals in the studio. 3ut my motivation and enthusiasm had gone. +o when the others replaced me with 'lly %iebel, I didn t react that much about it. I followed the band from a distance, bought their records and went to /"1 of their gigs. It didn t feel strange for me to see another lineup on stage. It was #ust a new incarnation of the band. %'hen and why did you move to .tockholm& 0ow did you kee" yourself busy during the E0@s and what "rom"ted your return to music with bands like ;uins Df 1ime, 6hidion and 1alion starting in 2002& 0ow did you meet ,athias, ,ichael and >arl around this "eriod, and were you longing to "lay your old 6rotector material again this whole time& ,artinl 9y mother is from +weden. In -CC[ I decided to move to her homecountry, #ust to see what it would be like to live there...and I have been living here ever since. In the C0s I didn t do much music myself 5with the exception of two cover bands and a pro#ect" band called &.A.S.7. I also didn t listen to that much new 9etal either. I listened to my old records, went to some gigs occasionally, and that was that. In the C0s I didn t miss playing any 8rotector"songs live, that came up again a couple of years ago. In the beginning of the new millennium it started to itch in my vocal chords again. I found a note in a record store from a band called &uins of $ime, that was looking for a vocalist, so I #oined them. $hrough this I started to get to know more and more 9etalheads and people from other bands in +tockholm. In the years that followed I #oined two more bands, $alion and 'brero. &uins of $ime split up and the two guitarists and me formed a new band called 8hidion. 9athias, >arl"Eustav and 9ichael live in Sddevalla, which is about [00 kilometres from +tockholm. If it

weren t for a guy named Jonas +vensson, I would probably never have met my fellow band collegues in the new 8rotector lineup. %.ince you all got together as ,artin ,issy And 1he 6rotectors in 200M you have all slowly !uit most of your other bands# 'as this a conscious decision to focus on 6rotector& Also, how active is ,artin still with his .toner)$oom "ro+ect Dbrebro and ,athias with A is 6owers and .uicidal 'inds& And ,artin, considering how well known you are as a 1hrash singer do you find it difficult ada"ting your style for Dbrero& 0as this style always been another "assion of yours& 0ow much of a crossover in fanbase do your 2 bands have in your hometown of .tockholm& ,athias 5bass7l %ell I still play in +uicidal %inds and Axis 8owers, so nothing has changed, haha. ,artinl $he decision to .uit 8hidion and $alion was a conscious decision, but not only to focus 8rotector. In the end of /0-- I became father of twins. $here s a lot to do there as wellK I still sing in 'brero though. It was not that difficult to sing with a different style. I have always liked to sing 5in different styles7, so I #ust needed a couple of months to get into the +toner64oom!"feeling. 8rotector is an underground band in +weden. 9ost $hrashers know the band, but the common +wedish 9etalhead! has probably never heard of 8rotector. And 'breros fanbase in +weden is even smaller. +ub" underground, so to say. >arl%:ustav 5drums7l I have #ust .uit Erief of 2merald because of my work situation and I need more time to take care of my body 5I have some problems with my shoulder for instance7. 8rotector has now become my first priority. 9usic and ordinary work is sometimes very hard to combine. If we had the chance I think we all would love to focus #ust on music. If we could live on making music, I think we all would have 1"L other pro#ects. 9usic is fun and to try different styles like 4oom, 4eath 9etal, <eavy 9etal would be really fun. I think we all share these thoughts. %:iven that ,arco 6a"e@s incarnation of the band through the E0@s never had any original)classic era lineu" members were you not tem"ted in 200M to ditch the longer name and sim"ly refer to yourselves as 6rotector& 'as there any reasons for shortening the name in 20(( other than the decision to record new

material& ,artinl %hen 9arco kept 8rotector alive, he was not an original band member, that s correct, but he was a part of a development the band had went though. %hen I picked up the ball!, the band had been inactive for a couple of years, so in the beginning I thought that it would not feel right to call the band 8rotector, because I was the only original band member in the band. $hat s why we picked another name and started playing live as a cover band. After playing live together in the same lineup for [ years, we thought that the time had come that we could change the name to 8rotector and to write new songs for the band. %In addition to ,artin ,issy And 1he 6rotectors "laying material written after ,artin@s de"arture in (E-E you rerecorded a song originally on (EE(@s A "hedding %# "kin on your s"lit with Jngod and a song from the 2000 demo on the new album# $id you kee" u" with 6rotector releases after you left the band& >an we take it from the fact you have continued to "lay material written for 6rotector in his era that you are on good)friendly terms with ,arco 6a"e and his lineu"s in s"ite of never having "layed together& ,artinl %ell, I bought 3e/iathans Desire and A Shedding of Skin back in the days, but The Heritage and the demo from /000 first came a couple of years later. %e chose to play songs from all 8rotector"lineups because we think that our fans want to hear songs from all periods, and also because we see 8rotector like one big family! and songs from all lineups should appear in the set. %e rerecorded $he 2nd! 5from the /000"demo 'esurrected7 for 'eanimated Homunculus because we wanted to create a connection to the last know lineup that had existed before us. I am on good terms with all the old 8rotector members, and still have contact with them all. 2very former 8rotector member received a copy of 'eanimated Homunculus on >4 and )8 for instance, so they would know what we are publishing under the name of 8rotector these days. %$es"ite singing on the 2 albums generally "erceived to be 6rotector@s classics your original s"ell in the band was only 2%* years at which time you were in your late teens)early 20@s# 3ears later how do you view that time in retros"ect% was there a feeling amongst the guys in 6rotector at the time that you were creating something s"ecial and long%lasting& 0ow does it feel for something you were a "art of so briefly early on in your life to be "raised and

regarded so highly by fans of dirty, ugly 1hrash everywhere& ,artinl It s amazing to hear that there still are a lot of $hrashers out there who like our albums. It feels great. 3ack then we had no idea that we were creating something that would last for decades. %e #ust wrote songs the way that we liked best and had a lot of fun on the way. %'hat was the general feeling of being in a :erman 1hrash band at that time& :iven that the big * had "retty much gone on to "laying more American%style 1hrash and singing about "olitical to"ics at this stage was there a conscious choice from 6rotector to kee" things raw, nasty and evil& $id you feel a kinshi" in those days with other 2nd generation 1eutonic bands like 6oison, ,inotaur, 9iolent 7orce, /ecronomicon and Ba"homet, and did you ever gig together& ,artinl I think it was no conscious decision. %e #ust tried to be the most brutal and aggressive $hrash 9etal band in Eermany. And for a while I think we were. %e had not so much contact with other Eerman bands, at least not as long as I was in the band. $he main reason for this was probably the distance. $he &uhr area is about L00 kilometers away for instance. $he only ones we had a little contact with were +odom, )iving 4eath and 9ille from ?reator. %e played live with +odom and $ankard. %hen I had left the band, the others also played with ?reator. %e didn t play that much with bands from the /nd Eerman $hrash wave. $he only ones I can remember that we played with were 8aradox. %ith the new 8rotector! we ve also played together with <oly 9oses, 4estruction and 4esaster. %I first heard about ,artin ,issy and 1he 6rotectors when I saw the logo on the back of a $esaster 20th anniversary gig shirt that I won at a charity gig raffle in Belfast# $id it ever feel strange to you o"ening for younger bands who you had influenced and "aved the way for, like $esaster& Are you "roud to have been an influence on the ne t 2 generations of fast and evil :erman music& Aside from $esaster, and 2ra=or who you shared a s"lit with last year, what do you think of the following bands% 'itchburner, 0ellish >rossfire, /octurnal, Dld, >ruel 7orce, Bli==ard, 'itching 0our, $ivision ."eed, Ket=er, Nuintessen=, $elerium 1remens, >ons"irator, /octurnal 'itch, $iabolical Im"erium, $eathfist, 6rosatanos, .hrine###& ,artinl It never feels strange to open for any band, regardless if they are younger or older than us. %e #ust love to play live. And I m not sure how much 8rotector influenced the next generations in hard Eerman music. If someone, who plays in one of these bands, tell me that 8rotector has had a big influence on their music, I feel proud of course. I m not listening much to newer bands, but I know %itchburner, <ellish >rossfire, 3lizzard,

(octurnal and %itching <our. $hey re cool bands. ,athiasl %ell I have not heard all the bands you named but I like <ellish >rossfire, 3ilzzard, (octurnal and %itching <our. Actually i think we have played with all of them. Its cool that there still is some bands that play old school 9etal. >arl%:ustavl I really like <ellish >rossfire, 4elirium $remens, %itchburner and (octurnal that keep the old flame still alive. ItGs really nice to hear some new bands that want to play old school music in general. %By far the hardest%drinking band I have ever had the "leasure of interviewing was $esaster, and they delighted in telling me that no one drinks like :erman 1hrashers# $o 6rotector have any tales of drunken debauchery worth sharing& 'hat is your favourite "oison& ,athiasl <aha, well I guess some of us are in the same league as the 4esaster guys. I don t know if thrashers in Eermany are the most drunk ones. I think *inland is a .uite extreme drunk country for example, haha. 3ut yeah, beer is very common in Eermany and we like to drink it a lot. %ell I have some memories about alcohol"related stories. $oo many to be honest. +ome really extreme ones as well. >arl%:ustavl <ehe, okay well we drink beer and whiskey and have always really fun when we play at live shows and go to afterparties. $here is some hellraising sometimes, but that we want to keep for ourselves. ,artinl I remember that we drank .uite a lot the night before our gig at 4esasters /0th anniversary"party. I had the mother of all hangovers the next day, but fortunately I got better by the evening, so I was able play the gig. %0ow did the O of you come together for ,artin ,issy And 1he 6rotectors in 200M& 'as their auditions held or did ,artin headhunt you& 'as there a "lan back then already to record new material somewhere down the line and did knowing that you would need guys you could write an album with influence your decision& 0ow does the different levels of e "erience you all have hel" or ham"er the creative "rocess for writing Reanimated &omunculus& ,athiasl %ell we have a friend named Jonas +vensson who met 9artin on a party up in +tockholm, and he told 9artin he could fix a band that could play the old 8rotector songs. +o when Jonas went home he asked me, >alle and 9ike if we were interested, and of course we were. I guess we were really influenced by the music of 8rotector when we wrote some new songs since we had played the tracks for maybe L"[ years before writing new material. +o we thought it would be fun to have some new tracks in the classic

8rotector style. $he process in creating 'eanimated Homunculus was actually .uite long. It took some time to put all the tracks together. And I must say I m really happy with the result. %Dne of the most striking things about the album is the huge .unlight .tudios "roduction# 0ow im"ortant was it to you to get this menacing sound& 'ere you fans of 1omas .kosberg@s legendary work with all the .wedish $eath ,etal greats of the E0@s and did this influence your decision to record there& 9athiasl Jeah of course we like $omas works. <e has done some fantastic recordings in many genres. And also 9ike had recorded an album with his &ock n &oll band &awhide there. +o he told us $omas was great to work with. And I must say I agree. <e is a master of sounds and a really cool and nice man. %:iven the lyrical allusions in the title track to 5:olem8 and in 5.ons Df Kain8 of course to 5Kain And Abel8 what kind of statement were you trying to make about the band@s return& By trying to create a clear continuation on from the late -0@s 6rotector material do you think the new album stands u" to being com"ared to those first few records in terms of !uality& 'hat are the future "lans for 6rotector in terms of new recordings, festival a""earances and touring& ,athiasl %ell +ons of ?ain is a song about our fans that 9artin has written a tribute to them, a cool way to make a tribute to them. I think this new album is like the old records music"wise. $hat was a must. It had to sound like 8rotector, that was important to us. %ell, there will be some festival gigs next year. I don t know how many exactly, but it will be damn cool to meet a lot of 9etal fans out there. >arl%:ustavl ItGs very hard to compare the new album with the old albums, but I hope that you can recognize 8rotector when you put on the record. At the moment we are having some rest. 3ut in January we will start writing new material and prepare ourselves for the upcoming gigs in /0-L. $here will be no tour, but a couple of gigs and festival appearances. %Anything else you@d like to add& ,athiasl $hanx for the interviewK ?eep headbanging and +tay 9etalK >arl%:ustavl $hank you so much for this interviewK <ailsK ,artinl $hank you for the interview, and everybody is welcome to check out our 8rotector *acebook"page httpsl66www.facebook.com68rotector.UUUnotQ QQ

%1he obvious "lace to start this discussion then is with Deluge, .lidhr@s long awaited debut album# Immediately catching the attention is that almost monochromatic cover art, similar in style to your work on the 0aud ,undus)'ormlust s"lit from a few years ago though with the colouring reversed# As much as I love the current kind of art in vogue in Black ,etal circles (the last album in your "ersonal discogra"hy, ,yrkr@s Black Illumination being a "rime e am"le), what I like most about this is that it forgoes the fashionable detailed grey and brown drawings seen on nearly every album these days and instead lays things out in sim"le black and white# I gather two things from this% firstly the resolutely old school attitude of .lidhr is evoked through a mental link to the monochrome sleeves of old $arkthrone, ,utiilation and so forth, and secondly that it allows the symbolism to s"eak much more strongly# 'ere either of these factors "resent in your mind when doing the art for this album& It really is #ust personal preference. I ve never been a big fan of colour layouts for the simple reason that it is very easy for it to be shitty. I ve been in bands in the past who have attempted to apply the super slick 8hotoshop style and it #ust looked plastic and horrible. 9y personal favourite style of artwork has always been minimalist print work. 2ven if the imagery itself is detailed, the stripped down use of black and white ink is #ust beautiful. 'ddly enough the cover art for 9yrkr s 3lack Illumination was painted in grey, the guy who did the layout changed the tones. %hen 9yrkr started we intentionally applied the old 3lack 9etal aesthetic of monochrome photos and such. It #ust deviated a little by the time the album was ready. %0ow do the symbols of the 2 ser"ents and * daggers fit into the album@s cataclysmic conce"t& .er"ents are "resent in several world destruction myths, but to my knowledge never two of them together# >ould they be inter"reted as being a severed ouroboros, a shattering of eternity& I also find it interesting that in s"ite of the name .lidhr being taken from old /orse and your stubbornly old school ethic you forgo any overt references to Black ,etal@s usual to"ics of <udeo%>hristianity or 2uro"ean 6aganism, even when using a symbol found in both# Is there any im"act from either of these in the album@s conce"t or the un"ublished lyrics&

Jeah, the serpents feature heavily in various destruction myths in many civilizations. $hat was my main intention behind using them. $he blades were added by me to convey a militant, perhaps human aspect in such destruction. 9ankind s end is certainly coming and it is very likely by his own hand. Jou don t even need to pay much attention to current affairs to see what a fucked up, unnatural place the world is. $here is very little influence from Judeo" >hristianity on my lyrics in the usual way because I think it is really tired at this stage. It comes across as childish. It s a far more complicated situation. $he same goes for the 8agan approach. It s #ust theatre for most bands, they don t have any real insight. %Although the lyrics are not "ublished along with the album one common thread I "ick u" from a few of the song titles is the malevolence of nature, such as 5;e+oin 1he $irt8 and 52arth@s ,outh D"en8 evoking images of a forced burial from the earth itself and 5;ays ?ike Blades8 creating the notion of a murderous sun# Dne has to wonder then if this a"ocaly"tic theme of the album "onders on the idea of the earth itself rebelling against a humanity that has "oisoned it, similar to sentiments evoked by the 50oly 1error8 branch of 0ardcore 6unk bands& $o ecological concerns "lay a "art in the thematic landsca"e of .lidhr or is it a more human hatred that ins"ires this desire for destructiveness& $he apocalyptic theme is definitely the factor that connects all of the lyrics. $here are many different ways to view this, though. <umans live a very unnatural existence, try to look at it ob#ectively. %e don t live like any other creature on this planet. It could be a physical or mental apocalypse. Just look at the etymology of the word itself, it s an awakening. %hen I say Y&e#oin the 4irtY I am saying this will inevitably happen to us all and if your physical existence is the only one you are aware of, it truely will be the end for you. Y&ays like 3ladesY is about the perception of light. %e are told that the light is something good and illuminating but it really depends on where the light is coming from. And if this light casts a shadow, what does that implyF %Another thing I couldn@t fail to notice was how the idea of nature annihilating humanity was e "lored before by .lidhr, such as on 51hrough 1he ;oots8 from the

fantastic s"lit with ;ebirth Df /efast# Is this something that has always been a "art of .lidhr and in that way is this album a crystalli=ation of what has gone before, something you have been building u" to the whole time the "ro+ect has been going& I suppose it has always been there from the earliest references to nature and plague, it s all connected. Y$hrough the &ootsY is about bleeding into the soil and the physical body rotting away. %e will make the earth richer by ending out physical existence. %51hrough 1he ;oots8 was my first introduction to .lidhr and I still remember the shock that +uddering e "losion of a song gave me# It also carried with a certain kind of (for want of a better word) groove that is "resent on this album too, "articularly on the tracks 5$eath Df 1he .econd .un8 and 5Jnseen8# As well as the familiarities from your "revious work though your songwriting has definitely advanced on this release and has a com"le , labyrinthine, ("erha"s fittingly) ser"entine sort of !uality# $id you a""roach for writing this material differ in anyway to how you did in the "ast& 'ere you intentionally trying to broaden your musical sco"e& 0ow do you think it com"ares to your "revious work& >om"ared to ,yrkr@s Black Illumination the atmos"here and "roduction is less choking, less nauseating which to me seems odd because of the a"ocaly"tic theme of this album# I remember wanting the production on 12 $ihilio to be noisier and more atmospheric than the demo and QY as well as less riff orientated. %hile it is .uite raw and simplistic in many ways it was a bit more experimental for me. $here was .uite a long gap between that release and Deluge so I guess it was #ust the natural progression that took place over the four or so years I was working on material. It was scattered over that time, not a constant thing. %henever I was inspired to write, I would write. %hen you try and force the process nothing good will come of it. A huge part of what might be seen as progression is actually down to the production. %ann #ust did his thing, of course I had input but he knows what he is doing on the technical end so it was in good hands. I have seen it happen all too often that bands try to get a very specific sound when they go to a studio and it kind of hinders the spirit of the moment. It s great to let things #ust flow sometimes.

%.imilar to the +olt of hearing 51hrough 1he ;oots8 for the first time I also remember being !uite sur"rised when in your interview with metalireland#com you were "hotogra"hed in full colour chilling on a sofa without any cor"se"aint or other ty"ical "ara"hernalia (well, e ce"t for the skull) and s"eaking candidly rather than in the fau mystical double talk and riddles that most Black ,etal solo artists usually s"out# At the time it was hard to fathom why you would give u" the mysti!ue like that, but in hindsight it did nothing to dam"en the e "erience of the music# :iven that this is the only convention of Black ,etal that you dis"ense of does this e!uate feeling as though the music can do the talking on its own and it doesn@t re!uire a human "ersonality or "uerile shtick to go along with it& $hat shoot was done after work one day in the studio where I worked at the time. $he last thing I wanted to do was put on corpsepaint. It was also a decent interview which deserved to be answered without any pretence. I ve rarely gotten caught up in the Ytoo coolY 3lack 9etal bullshit that ruins so many otherwise decent interviews. It s fucking embarrassing. I am guilty of being a bit blunt and perhaps coming across as uninterested in interviews sometimes but some of the shit .uestions a lot of these guys have sent are difficult to suffer. If someone loses interest in my art because I don t act like a (orwegian teenager from -CCL, well boo fucking hoo. %'hile on the sub+ect of maturity it has now been at least (O years since you have been "laying and recording music and are only delivering your second (and strongest) album now# >om"ared to the -0@s and E0@s glory "eriods of ,etal from which you draw the bulk (if not all) of your influence where ,etal was being defined and evolved mostly by teenage musicians nowadays it seems the real creativity is coming from more mature and seasoned "eo"le, usually into their *0@s before they begin delivering their master"ieces# $o you think this is because of the avenues through which the music can still be original have shrunk and been used u" so much, or for any other reason& :iven as well that .lidhr are one of the only bands still creating interesting music out of nothing but the tired old bare bones of the Black ,etal genre (look for e am"le at the musical and artistic e "erimentation your labelmates like Blut Aus /ord have introduced) how do you a""roach the challenge of making original and uni!ue sounding music out of the same elements that have been in the genre for the "ast 20 years& $hose teenagers in the B0 s and C0 s were making some serious fucking music. 2ven going back to the U0 s and Q0 s, so many classic bands were little more than kids. <onestly, I think the world of music has changed so drastically that it s hard to say what is going on. A band s success is dictated by social media and it seems there is very little longevity in most of it. I listen to a lot of

different types of music these days and only a small percentage is metal. %hen I make music I try to following whatever happens naturally. $here is no point in trying to do something different for the sake of it, usually the end result is dated and plastic. I still feel compelled to make music so that is what has led me here today. %'as the de"arture of 9ordr the reason for the demise of ,yrkr& .eeing as you seem to have always had an issue with reconciling musical visions with other "eo"le, even "eo"le of great talent like the guys in .ol A is, it is therefore kind of unsur"rising that it is your solo "ro+ect (til before this album anyway) that has lasted the longest# ?ooking at the "ast work of your new drummer B+arni he too seems to have had this same "roblem as he has never gotten beyond recording one release with any of the half%do=en or so bands he has drummed for in Iceland# 'as this a reason why he was chosen to "erform drums for you on this album& Is he now a "ermanent member of .lidhr, or +ust a session member& Also, is your 0aud ,undus collaboration with 'ann from ;ebirth Df /efast still active and are we likely to see more material from that at some "oint& It didn t feel like 9yrkr anymore after he left so I decided to let the pro#ect die. $he music for the album was already recorded when he .uit so it would have been a shame to leave it unreleased, %ann was nice enough to step in and contribute vocals. 'nce again, I knew he d do a great #ob on it. It can be hard playing in a full band, too chaotic for me. +ometimes you are #ust not in the mood to stand in a freezing cold rehearsal room for hours. It s nice to #ust create when you are inspired. I guess this is why +lidhr has outlasted my other bands. 3#arni was actually suggested to me as a session drummer because I don t really play drums anymore. <e was clearly a better drummer than myself so I was delighted to have him play on the album. <e is more than welcome to play on future releases. <aud 9undus is still technically active although we haven t done anything in ages. %e are both pretty busy with other pro#ects as well as our #obs so when we get the time we will put something new out. )ooking back on it I definitely think it was something interesting. %e ll see what happens. %0ow have the string of bands you have s"ent time in and then de"arted from or laid to rest (>acodemon, .ol A is, ,yrkr) contributed to where .lidhr is now in terms of being a "art of your "ersonal and musical +ourney& 2verything will leave some kind of mark on where you are now. +lidhr started up right after I left +ol Axis so in many ways it feels like +lidhr is a continuation of what I would have written for that band had I remained a member. +ince +lidhr and 9yrkr were both active side by side they feel .uite strongly connected.

%In addition to being your longest surviving "ro+ect .lidhr is one of only a few Irish Black ,etal acts to get beyond the demo stage and actually record an an album# 2 cluding 6rimordial, early >ruachan, :easa, >eltachor, Altar Df 6lagues and 'ound J"on 'ound whose status as Black ,etal would be contentious anyway only Altus Astrum, 2ternal 0elcara e, Dlde, 7uPl /a .eanchoille, BeithPoch and your own ,yrkr have achieved this# Is there any Irish bands who disa""eared after +ust a few demos (>aro ,aledicta, 7uneral 'inter, :arm, :orvomd, ,oonfog, /imh .til, 1em"le Df D""osites, 1hrallenolc, /ecro"hile, 'eary Df 2m"ires, ?ethiferous###) that you think could have gone on to do something worthwhile at the album stage& ?ikewise do you think any of the current cro" of bands like .odb, $irge In 2 tremis or >easeless Blight (or the more Blackened $eath acts Com and ,althusian) could create something lasting down the line& I really don t pay a huge amount of attention to what is going on. 'ver the years there have been a few promising demos but the bands have almost always died out shortly after. 'bviously &ebirth of (efast stand out to my mind since I still work closely with %ann. 9althusian will go on to do something very special I m sure. 3esides that I m way too disconnected to have an informed opinion. %As far as I know your lack of en+oyment in "laying live was the reason for your de"arture from .ol A is and you have refused all re!uests to "lay live with any of your "ro+ects since# 'ould you consider it though if the money and setting were right, for e am"le, not for a few "ints worth in a "ub attic in $ublin but at at more fitting "lace such as festivals like 6rague $eath ,ass or /idrosian Black ,ass& 'hat sort of visual accom"animent, stage "ro"s or other atmos"heric assistance do you think would be fitting for a .lidhr "erformance& $hat was only part of the reason I left +ol Axis. 8laying live is a lot of hard work for little reward. <owever, it looks like +lidhr will do something live in /0-L. It s something that myself and the guys from >hao have talked about for a while now. It s early days but I have some ideas. <opefully we can avoid some of the amateurish bullshit from previous endeavors and do something interesting. %Anything final you@d like to add& $hanks for taking the time. 9uch appreciated. 1hank youB .lidhr $iscogra"hy Demo 8 5/00Q7 9>4 on 4ebemur 9orti 8roductions 5lim. 1007 Slidhr 5/00Q7 Q! on (iessedrion &ecords 12 $ihilio 5/00B7 >46)8 split with &ebirth 'f (efast on 2nd All )ife 8roductions Deluge 5/0-17 >4 on 4ebemur 9orti 8roductions

Snlike /0-1 which will go down in 9etal history as the best year for the album format in /, possibly even 1 decades, the previous year was somewhat lacklustre in terms of full lengths. Aside from a few standouts dVbuts from the likes of 8allbearer, 8utrefaction, <orrendous and Jess And $he Ancient 'nes /0-/ was mostly bouyed along by solid yet unspectacular efforts from the old guard like Accept, +aint Aitus, Asphyx and Erave. %here the year was really made was in the demo tape arena. $he turning point for revived interest in the format for some came back in /0-- with Amulet s awesome *ut The *ra demo, and for others with 2lectric %izard s 3egali9e Drugs And (urder 28 freebie with $errorizer magazine, but when the toll of great releases from Aisigoth, Johnny $ouch, >onvent Euilt, 3olzer, 'bscure 3urial, +odb, 4eathcult, 9anifesting, 2liminator and most of all Eraven &ite was counted it is clear that a full"blown resurrection has occurred. >an the magic be repeated in /0-1F &ather than give into my inclination for clichV and save the best for last! in this rundown article I am actually going to put the year s best foot forward first in praise of the excellent .tallion from Eermany, and their (ounting The World 28. +arlacc &ecords were responsible for some of the best tapes of /0-/ and this year it is no different, here uncovering a band akin to the sound of 3lackie )awless fronting an B0 s Eerman +peed 9etal supergroup6party. $hey might namedrop some contemporaries like +kull *ist and +triker in opener >anadian +teele! but it is stuff like &unning %ild, early <elloween and more obscure acts like &isk, Atlain, %arrant and Angel 4ust to whom musical homage is paid. &ock Eoddess might be an odd choice of cover to complete this six"track cut with 5the song being <eavy 9etal

&ock n &oll!7 but for a band that will reawaken your belief in how fun <eavy 9etal can be 5assuming you ever lost it in the first place7 it is a perfect pick, and the original is given a fair trouncing in the process. I mean, how can you not get excited about a band whose artwork features an undead horse causing a solar eclipse by humping the globeF ?illing $ime! works with a more mid"paced Judas 8riest"cum"Accept sound that calls to mind the likes of Eravestone, $yrant and early %arlock while the +peed 9etal factor is ramped up into darker Iron Angel68aradox territories on +hadow &un!, and both are blended together with a touch of 9@tley >rme"meets"+corpions stadium rock panache on Eive It $o 9e.! It is definitely ?illing $ime! that takes the throne on this release though with its to die for lyrics 5>ome on boys, let s have some funK6-"/"1"L party timeK!7 that alone could convince <ollywood to bring back the 3ill And $ed or %ayne s %orld franchises #ust to get this band in the soundtrack. %hat is most amazing though is how this band manage to simultaneously pay tribute to the obscure B0 s underground and its biggest >ock &ock stars, and the effect is frighteningly cool. $his band outdo +kull *ist and Aolture for pure cheese, pi.ues <igh +pirits for sense of fun and already could go toe to toe with 2nforcer for songwriting and lyrical .uality. In short, this deserves nothing short of being hailed as a modern classic. NC6-0O

losing any power and has a strong +avage Erace vibe all over it then it is really impressive. 2ven on lesser! tracks on this tape like closer &eturn 'f 9y (ightmare! 2vil ?iller prove themselves at least the e.uals if not better than their other young speed freak contemporaries like +teelwing, <oly Erail and 2vil +urvives. %hat really draws my attention here though is the melancholic vibe on the lengthy intro track 'n Euard! that goes well beyond the typical for this type of Agent +teel62xciter gear, and although this isn t fully integrated into the songs 5Adventures 9ind! makes a decent attempt at it7 the very fact that the potential to do so in the future makes 2vil ?iller another band to watch out for. NB6-0O

3ack to +arlacc &ecords and their tape reissue of ?ightning and their Promo 458: >4"& which brings up the rear #ust behind 2vil ?iller for top marks outings in this style. 2verything from the the simple artwork and the fact there are only 1 tracks 5the sign of a real demo tapeK7 gives off a (%'3<9 air, as does the music. *ear 5(o 9ore7! despite the Erim &eaper"baiting title revolves more around an early Iron 9aiden6+amson core whilst the main influences on <eavy 9etal 8ower! tend more towards underground icons like +parta, Airtue and $ytan. +upersonic 9adness! proves though that isn t an exercise in kvlt box"ticking though and all that matters here is strong vocals, great riffs, great drumming and making ?eeping things in +peed 9etal great songs. A bolt out of the black territories we have 2vil Killer from from 8eru here, but this makes it an +pain whose debut self"titled cassette all the more exciting band to on +words And >hains &ecords discover. NQ6-0O storms into the runner up spot here. )ike with +tallion this is an awesome It s not all bright flashes from +arlacc achievement for a band s first effort this season though as their tape witnessed by the anthemic title track. version of the Secondhand Demons 2ponymous songs like this always >4"& by (ew 2ngland 4oom" have a certain charm for me, but rockers Dgre turns out to be a bit of when one boasts a great virtuosic a dud, at least by +arlacc s solo, complex bridge section, takes it impossibly high standard. $he killer almost to the U minute mark without comic book"style artwork of the

original is ditched in favour of a +abbath spoof so favoured by their musical brethren like >hurch 'f 9isery and 'rchid 5We Sold "ur Soul "ur Soul For 'ock n 'oll getting the treatment this time7, and the final track of &etro 9usic +ucks! covered from American 8unks 3ig 9eat <ammer is cut from this lengthy compilation, taking away / of the biggest sources of this band s humourous edge. $here is no taking away from the .uality of the original songs on here which show an intense love for the mighty +ir )ord 3altimore, especially $he &iver! which has a notable similarity to +arlacc band 3rains, only with a more pronounced psychedelic feel n la acts like +ocrates 4rank $he >orium.

5&elentless!7 and the box"ticking exercise is complete. $his demo is reasonably well"composed and well performed, but in a year so choc"full of superior releases there #ust really isn t room for this to rent space in your head and stay there. )istening to this there is a nagging feeling that unless %itching Altar go on to do something spectacular in the future this is a release most of us will .uickly forget about. N[6-0O

influence going on here, clearly a product of years spent in acts like %reck 'f $he <esperus, 9ourning 3eloveth, 'n 8ain 'f 4eath and Altar 'f 8lagues. Abaddon Incarnate also figure into the members past work but despite being for the most part 4eath 9etal this demo doesn t blast with Erind" like intensity. Instead the focus is on memorable riffs, not catchy but insidious, and the opening one for $he 9other s 3lade! has to be considered a contender the most stomach"churning of the year. *inal track <allucinogen! is aptly titled for how it takes its >ruciamentum6Ignivomous"es.ue style through a warped and reality" bending grinder, but even in those chaotic moments where this demo s greatest strength lies it its unrelenting total control, total mastery. 9althusian sound like a far more experienced band here thanks to the precision with which everything is focussed" the riffs, the lyrical themes 5over"population makes a welcome change from often hackneyed occult ideas7 and the excellent and uni.ue art provided by Irish artist 3one 4ivinations. 9althusian might provide the soundtrack of the dissolution of reality, but this is certainly more terra firma for Invictus. NB6-0O +arlacc have also landed on firmer territory with >ult Df 1he 0eadless %itch whose self"titled demo cassette is as interesting a take on the +wedish 2pic 4oom style as I have heard in recent years. %hat they play is catchier than Anguish, groovier than >ardinal s *olly, and though they are as dark as the latter songs like 9aster Jour *ate! show they are not as reliant on songwriting cliches of the genre. I haven t gotten such a buzz off a +wedish 4oom demo since I first heard 2reb Altor s The Awakening, whose early material they show similarities to on closer $he *allen 'nes.! 9y only issue with how >ult 'f $he <eadless %itch are with the very average vocal and lyrical .uality, especially on 9aster Jour *ate.! *rom what I understand though vocals on this preliminary release were done by the

Invictus 8roductions, who share shop premises with +arlacc at 4ublin s mighty Into $he Aoid, also have a bit of a blip in their impeccable catalogue with their reissue of Demo (;!!! by Dccult Burial. $hese >anadian s put on a fairly en#oyable box"ticking exercise in 3lack6$hrash with the totally +odom"atic 3lack $he mish"mash of cover tracks Adoration! and more 4estruction" 5some studio and some live7 that influenced eponymous track, and like make up the second half of this with 'gre s similarities to +arlacc s release are where the problems lie. A very first release I can see why decent #ob is made of +aint Aitus 4arragh from Invictus is enamoured 9ystic )ady!, whilst the live with this crew as they bear more than +ymptom 'f $he a passing sonic resemblance to his Sniverse!6!3ehind $he %all 'f own Eospel 'f $he <orns. Aside +leep! medley is interesting, and any from the obvious confusion factor in attempt to bring wider attention to releasing a tape by a band called little known Q0 s Aussie band 3uffalo 'ccult 3urial less than a year after through covering their track $he putting out one by 'bscure 3urial, I 8rophet! has to be applauded. $he still think this release is a little ill" issue is though that frontman 2d fitting in the Invictus canon, at least >unningham s voce is not .uite alongside such highly creative acts as distinctive enough to make these $ribulation, (egative 8lane, &eveal, songs his own. $he great live version 8ortal and 3lood &evolt. $his is not of &ush s %orking 9an! is the best to say that 'ccult 3urial will never number on here aside from the amount to that level, but on this first original cuts, but the shine of this is cut from them only 9ysteries 'f taken right off by the very weak and $he %orm! reeks of the potential to weedy studio version of %hat craft something bona"fide and world" Jou re 4oing.! $his release will beating. 2verything else here has appeal to hardcore fans of 'gre, but been done before, right down to the does not serve best as a general ten"a"penny 3athory cover. N[6-0O introduction. N[6-0O 3y contrast, Demo ((;!!! by 'itching Altar from 3razil are 4ublin"based ,althusian is much another band #ust below +arlacc s more in keeping with the Invictus usual standard with their +ol- 88roductions canon. 'stensibly the Goat tape. $he usual influences from style is 3lackened 4eath 9etal with 8entagram and +aint Aitus abound, a really sinister and grating edge, but with touches of &everend 3izarre also from the very first notes of and >athedral, and a little of $he %raith68lague +pore! heapings of 'bsessed6)eather (un America s 4oom as well. And by that I don t southern smokiness on $ower 'f simply mean slow tempos and heavy $he 3lack %izard.! Add in some riffs" there is a much more innate obligatory samples from The De/il understanding of the genre and 'ides "ut and a 8entagram cover seamless blending in of this

studio engineer, so all is not lost. In future if paired up with a stronger frontman >ult 'f $he <eadless %itch could produce something .uite uni.ue. NU6-0O $he vocals are also the bone I have to pick with fellow +wedish doom" mongers Aniara, pet pro#ect of 8ortrait6<ands 'f 'rlacc guitarist 4avid $he 8uritan! 'loffson, who take vocal duties on their self" released *arress "f Darkness tape. Appropriately enough for his moniker 'loffson takes most of his vocal cues from Albert %itchfinder as part of a wider &everend 3izarre feel all across this demo, but there is also a sense that he should maybe stick to guitar"playing. 2ither that or he needs to bring in a bit more variety and learn to in#ect more power into his choruses. Aside from that this is fairly good for a first effort, but I don t understand the need to change the band name from the much better 'ak and swap in the much more doomy artwork that last year s >4 release of this demo came under. *or something so generic as this 5a term I use without any negative connotations intended7 it really needs a more genre"standard aesthetic. N[6-0O 'ver the border into (orway and in $rondheim the self"released self" titled demo tape from .adhak is a much less generic affair with its well"deserved %arning6L0 %att +un comparisons. It isn t at that sophisticated stage yet where every note is as heartwrenching as the last, but it still manages to be utterly dour and devoid of light through a subtle melodic sheen, and heavy as fuck all the same. $he vocals have a similar delivery to 8at %alker s, though nothing approaching his very distinctive tone. $he very raw recording values hamper the dramaticism somewhat, but it is made up for by the faint dark psychedelia element, as well as a 4+39 like wash to the droning guitars which is complemented nicely by the occasional hollow, glassy blips of keyboards on $he 8erfection 'f %isdom! and there s a real vintage early C0 s feel as well with 'n $he Arrival 'f 9an! that

faintly calls to mind the likes of early 'fficium $riste6)acrimas 8rofundere. :uality, classy 4oom. NQ6-0O $hose touches of C0 s Eothic stuff can be felt in *inland"based .olothus@ 'itual "f The Horned Skull tape from /0--, rereleased earlier this year by (ihilistic <olocaust, with early $iamat and )ake 'f $ears in particular being evoked. $here is a whole load of other stuff going on too, such as some >athedral"meets"Acid %itch psychedelia and >andlemass like epic overtures on A >all $o %ar! and traditional 9etal riffing on $hrone 'f 3ones! which are enough to fit them into the rich history of 4eath 9etal anti" orthodoxy from the land of a thousand lakes, and make +olothus stand apart from their fellow Autopsy6Asphyx"influenced brethren like &unemagick and <ooded 9enace. It s is bold stuff, but unfortunately it is still in need of a lot more work, particularly in the vocal department where the all" important function of providing continuity between these genre" bending songs isn t achieved. Snfortunately I haven t yet heard +olothus debut full length out this year on 9emento 9ori so I cannot comment on how they have come along in the past few years. N[6-0O Another promising sound"melding in need of some refinement comes to us from >hicago in the shape of 'i=ard >astle and their $ridroid &ecords"released Snow And Gold demo. $he rock this is built on is somewhere in between the real formative 4oom giants of the early B0 s and the more recent +avannah, EA +toner sound with extra elements that range from Q0 s >lassic &ock to bursts of $hrash that sound like a punch up between 9ot@rhead, early 9etallica and Amebix s (onolith, though a certain 4oom factor is kept even at the fast tempos thanks to vocals that are delivered with e.ual parts 2ric %agner and &ob 9iller. 3one &eader! opens with a riff that sounds like a 4oom version of ?ashmir! by )ed Meppelin though unfortunately the twin"guitar

harmonising that comes after is a little bit awkward and #arring, made up threefold though by the killer closer >obra 4eath! which treads a very similar path to >orsair. 54estroying7 $he <ive 9ind! diversifies further by bringing in a slight 8ost"&ock vibe on the solo, but even without this it is still the standout track here. %izard >astle s sound is far from fully crystallized , but it will be exciting to see where they go from here. NQ6-0O Also on +t. 8aul, 9innesota"based $ridroid &ecords comes / tapes, 12 eriencias en el +icio Su remo by 8eruvian 3lack64eath mob Dffensor and Ser/ant "f 1/il by Aussie 3lack" $hrash merchants Altars Df .in, both of whom bring a C0 s 2uro"39 style of production to their respective styles. Altars 'f +in first of all bring this influence in various forms like a big (orsecore cavernous sound and waspish fuzz to the guitars on the first / tracks, and an Immortal69aniac 3utcher vibe on )one %olf.! +trangely though for a band so proud of their locale 5they have previously released a trio of demos based around nearby )ake (arracan and one called $ew&oroughian Darkness in tribute to their home7 there is very little in the way of Australia s 3lack6$hrash heritage despite hailing from little over an hour outside of 9elbourne. In fact, aside from the hint of early Eospel 'f $he <orns on <ail Eoat )ord! and the 3lack n &oll of $he 3loody +tench 'f %ar! there is not much in the way of 3lack6$hrash at all, but aside from that potential disappointment this is fairly decent stuff. NU6-0O 'ffensor s musical style on their tape is not untypical for their region, though perhaps a little closer to 8olish acts $hroneum and +tillborn than Anal Aomit and the like, but with its thin C0 s 2uropean style production a really lifeless, morbid atmosphere takes hold on opening track Iniciados en el Aicio +upremo!, and after that things go back to more conventional lo"fi +udamerican territories. 2l oltimo 2lemento! brings back the alternate production style in a Alad

$epes6+trid64rowning $he )ight sort of vein, but the effect of this uni.ue aura is s.uandered by the fact the production is so changeable on this release. %hether or not they know it 'ffensor have happened upon a really unparalleled vibe with this demo, but next time round they need a lot more focus to tease it out to the full. NL6-0O

%isconsin"based 3lack 9etal +peed 8unk outfit 6anther are an interesting prospect on paper too, Also flying the flag for the goat! given that the paper in .uestion is the %hen it comes to conventional brand we have :oatblood from insert to their self"released 'ide The 2uropean 3lack 9etal though Eermany, who despite having an !ce tape printed with song titles like ,ontsKgur from &ussia pull out the e.ually unimaginative name to +peed 3itch 9otor *uck!, most interesting demo of the year Eoatlucifer, manage to make %hiskey 9ama! and &ide *ight with the )egion 3lotan"released something interesting with their *uck! and adorned with the white on 0nder The Banner "f Witchcraft !n/ocation of Doom and Sadistic black drawing of vehicle skidding off cassette. As the interesting and Bod, 'ites tapes on 4unkelheit a snow"lined 5or possibly cocaine" uni.ue intro track fades into 4ark 8roductions. All the general issue lined7 road. *or the most part this is a +pells 'ver $he $wilight <ills! a influences for Eoat 9etal are correct slop of 9ot@rhead6Aenom69etallica Alad $epes6$orgeist"style droning and present 5namely Aon, 3eherit influence, with a little bit of +uicidal repetitive swirling darkness is and 3lasphemy7 but there is also a $endencies groove added in on formed with a dark strain of strong 4oom vibe running through 9idnight 'verdrive! for good melodicism and epicness n la tracks like Attack *rom 3elow! that measure. $he solos are good and 9oonblood and +atanic %armaster calls to mind 3arathrum at its most messy, the production has a real for good measure. It is nothing primitive and Eoatlord at its darkest. garage vibe and on the title track in groundbreaking, but it s .uality is Eoatblood Invocation! has some particular there is a sweet guitar tone, undeniable and when those melodic slow tempos too but is closer to early but there is next to nothing here to and epic elements are ramped up to 3urzum in vibe than anything else, help endear repeat listens. 8art of the the absolute maximum on the title and there is also some Incantation" problem lies with frontwoman track and it sounds like this band are style riffing on 9oon 'f +iberian $igress, whose cavernous trapped in a time capsule. It is a 3lasphemy.! (othing exactly 3lack 9etal vocals could do with a shame that minus the intro and outro breaking the mould then, but bit more variety and &ock n &oll 5the latter of which has a faint 8ost" combined with the crushing yet vibe to make these tunes a bit &ock vibe that thankfully is not perfectly clear and dynamic catchier. %ithout that, all 8anther developed any further7 there is only production it is enough to make / have really achieved here is using up 1 songs here, but even as a short very en#oyable /0"odd minute tapes. perfectly good song titles that other release this is still very near the top &eal fanatics of this style would do bands could ve done more #ustice to. of the year s 3lack 9etal releases. well to check this new band out. NL6-0O $otal 3lack 9etal historical re" NQ6-0O enactmentK NB6-0O .atan@s 9omit from +pain take a Also on 4unkelheit we have Dead slightly different path by taking a $he law of averages means that for "ut From The Gra/es by ,orast, title already used by a much better every band as great as 9ontsVgur whose mix of 4oom"laden 3eherit band, namely 0nhol, 'ock n 'oll, there must be one as awful as the and <ellhammer"like primitivism and true to form their self"released ridiculously named Arizona"hailing crossed with 8entagram >hile"meets" tape is not a patch on the 9aax one man band :oatlucifer and his +odom bestial $hrash on paper album of the same name from a few /1 minute album! The $ekrorder sounds slightly more interesting than years ago. $his one man band 5self"released of course.7 $his is Eoatblood, but for the most part it attempts to emulate +odom and absolute lowest common turns out to be total muck. Aenom, but aside from a well" denominator anti"songwriting shitty Appropriately enough for the title, executed melodic lead on the bridge 3lack 9etal whose only saving grace >ountess 3loodlust! has a bit of a on 2ternal *lame! it has more in is that only a maximum of /[ people 3athory vibe to accompany its early common with the hundreds of will ever be dumb enough to part groovy riff before taking on an forgotten >4"&"releasing bedroom with money for it. $hink of Eloomy almost 'ccult &ock vibe and bands of the early noughties. In Erim for idiocy, Aodnur for throwing in a slightly spacey particular on &ock n &oll :ueen! production and Marach 3aal $haragh atmosphere, making it the most not only do the drums sound for complete pointlessness and you ll en#oyable track on here. $he other L, programmed, but even the guitars get the idea. I m not sure which track all averaging around the Q"B minute seem digitised, which is has more annoying vocals, A mark, are completely unremarkable, disappointing as it yet again shows +eance Into 4emise! with its plodding affairs which makes this 1Q some decent songwriting. )uckily

spooky! moaning or the way it sounds like 3lpk 3lmd was actually inside the tape recorder for +uppressed Impurities!, but most annoying of all has to be the horrible production. Sntil I heard this I had actually forgotten how bad 3lack 9etal could get. Avoid at all costs. N-6-0O

minute effort on the whole a tasking listen. 4on t be fooled by the logo and artwork style into picking this up in the mistaken belief it will be some +wedish"style 4eath. <eed this advice and simply ignore this. N16-0O

enough this tape is limited to only -[ copies, but with several other bands playing roughly this style in +pain right now, +atan s Aomit should concentrate on finding more members. N16-0O 'asteland also from +pain have many similarities to +atan s Aomit, including being a one man band and right down to releasing in small .uantities 511 copies of their self" titled tape this time.7 +ome friends #oin in here for gang vocals in the chorus of *eel $he +teel!, but otherwise this solo pro#ect is as lacking in the same substance that could be afforded by being a full band as +atan s Aomit" though at least this time only the drums are sampled and not the instruments too. %asteland s influences are also slightly different, with <irax and early 'nslaught being audible on $otal %ar!, and 8unk in general being a bigger sonic factor. 'f the two cover songs serious obscurity points are earned by their homage to an old +panish 8unk band by the name of &.I.8. with the song 3rigada >riminal!, but there is something uneasy about covering a band who have not achieved legendary status such as $oxic <olocaust, besides which <ell 'n 2arth! is actually given a pretty sub" standard rendition here. NL6-0O *rom +pain s capital of 9adrid comes /"piece combo ?urking 2vil who are having their Arri/al "f The T,rant tape from /0-/ reissued on Ancestral &ecords, complete with new <ellhammer cover bonus track. *or the most part like on +pell 'f $he (ecromancer! this revolves around the usual trio of +odom, 3athory and Aenom, but on the last / tracks the <ellhammer influence becomes more pronounced and there is some C0 s 3lack 9etal influences too. Apostasy! is an instrumental intro track calling to mind early +atyricon whilst $ortured! and Army 'f $he (ight! are more menacing thanks to traces of bands like &oot, 9aster s <ammer and $ormentor. 4espite there not being much 8unk influence on here to earn the 9etalpunk genre tag what this demo does have is a pretty strong

&ock n &oll vibe in the solos and some comparisons to be made with the top crop of $eutonic $hrash like <ellish >rossfire and >ruel *orce, but unfortunately there is also a few tracks that are far too short and go absolutely nowhere. $hose few songwriting discrepancies aside though this is a very good first foray into the hound"eat"hound realm of 3lack6$hrash. NU6-0O Automuro definitely come tops here for new +panish bands with their Demo 458: on &aw %ar $apes, peddling a very interesting brand of 3lackened >rust 8unk. Advocates of 3lack 9etal purity might be put off by the possible politics of this band, given that the cassette starts with a .uote from the anime film 8rincess 9ononoke that suggests an 2co" warrior lyrical theme in $his Is $he 2nd!, and finishes with a cover of the Anti">imex classic Aictims 'f A 3ombraid!, but if there is a political element here it is certainly not in your face like it tends to be with bands like Iskra, or that &ed Anarchist 3lack 9etal! crap. $he music is definitely given much more attention here than declaring any allegiance, with 4arkthrone #oining Anti">imex as one of the main influences and more melodic and epic strands of those / genres coming with $ragedy6<is <ero Is Eone vibes on Erievance! and hints of Ancient, early"Eehenna and $he >ovenant bleeding all across $he 'ne!, without ever compromising the 8unk intensity of the drumming. %olves +kulls! drags the tempo right down to create a Eallhammer" vibe while 2nemy Inside! goes the opposite route into 3lack6$hrash n &oll territories. Automuro are not yet the worthy successor to the much" missed 4ishammer that +panish 3lack64eath6>rust deserves, but they are the band it needs right now. NQ6-0O Across the Atlantic in America we find 8unk"influenced 9etal in as rude a health as ever, with $exas youngsters QHI HI also topping my list of favourite new band names for /0-1. $he band self"describe their S eed #rusher tape on >erveza &ecords as [ songs about speed,

meth hookers, beating the shit out of frat guys and +atan!, and they could not be more spot on in defining themselves. <umour is obviously a big part of what these guys do, as witnessed by 'ealities "f War/3et)s Start A War--- spoof cover, but despite their obvious huge consumption of )one +tar beer the music is taken with deadly seriousness too. $he opening title track works a treat as a shout"a"long anthem with its combination of Adrenalin '4, Accmsed and of course fellow"$exans 4.&.I. while 4own And 'ut! shows that they are not merely influenced by those bands but very nearly on par with their classic material. 3eer 8redator! is an all"American party anthem while things take a darker turn with 9eth 9outh! that carries the same ugly vibe as (ekrofilth, though without their 4eath 9etal edge. Spsidedown >ross! rounds the tape off in a more 9etal fashion, calling to mind bands like %ehrmacht and >ryptic +laughter, and provides some simple but excellent lyrics in the shape of $here is no religion6'r morals left6$here is no Eod63elieve in yourselfK! $o borrow the bands own phrase, $<I+ +<I$ &S)2+. NB6-0O 9ichigan"dwelling /"piece Aksumite are a totally different prospect with their 'eturn compilation out on their own >ollo.uial +ound &ecordings imprint, but this demo collection of African tribal6prehistory"themed 3lackened chaotic <ardcore e.ually _^ _ `iq`th`fge ^fbhi^`qrf`b^`arsg`b^`]^ current American landcape. In particular Aksumite are a breed apart from other 3lack 9etal68unk tap" releasing acts like &aspberry 3ulbs, *urdidurke and 3one Awl with the Ambient leanings being shunned in favour of pure raw and grating short songs with a hateful and mournful atmosphere. 2ternity s +low &ape! is perfectly titled for such nauseatingly abrasive song full of dissonant head"wrecking riffs while 2xistence 'f +in! and 8arallel $o <ell! take things to +iege64eep %ound64rop 4ead levels of intensity. It s not all mindless grinding though as 3lessed 3e

>ush, 8hut and 9izraim! makes an intriguing mixture of >ro"9ags style >rossover with $he 9inutemen s 8unk Avant Earde"isms while $ouch the <em of 2vil s *lowing Earment! has a fairly uni.ue take on 3lack6$hrash68unk n &oll and closing track %itch 4octor! sounds like a really demented $he +tooges. It s an enormous mixed bag, but it is still killer stuff. NQ6-0O

If that all sounds a little clean cut and fresh"faced for your tastes and you are on the hunt for pure sonic ugliness then Aggressive ,utilator from +weden and their two self" released tapes from this year entitled The, Want To *ut "ff (, Head and Death Toll +! could do the trick. 4espite it s sickly and croaking yet perfectly comprehensible 3lack 9etal"style primitive vocals a lot of this musically is as close to 8rovidence, &hode Island necro" <ardcore68unk as it is 9etal, in thrashers .angus ?egionaris are particular the late B0 s (J<> much more focussed in terms of drumbeats on +truggle $o +urvive! influences than Aksumite, best and the riffing on +torms 'f 2vil! described as Impaled (azarene that could have easily belonged on raging over the top of Age "f <uarrel as it could have on E.I.+.9.6Eauze6+.'.3. B0 s Trium h "f Death. %hen it does go <ardcore beats, yet their 1 track self" full on the 9etal pedal like on released +engeful Brutalit, is 4estroyers 'f $he %orld! it is full nevertheless sloppy and confused" on worship of 3athory, early sounding at times. %hen it works it 9ayhem and <ellhammer 5the last of works, like the total mayhem which are paid tribute to with a cover descended to in the last minute of of 9assacra!7 in the vein of bands Easpipe!, but unless you have a like 9ordhell, but this never loses taste for completely unrefined that purposely undeveloped vibe messiness you might find this hard" shown through the childish anti"art going. N[6-0O of the tape covers, or the attempt to disguise any and all musical talent on 3y contrast 7uming ,outh from the strangely 9isfits"es.ue 9assachusetts are a much more +terilization 'f $he Snwanted.! In tame and focussed beast on their a way it is similar to what (uit (oire self"released demo tape, limited to and %oods 'f Infinity aim for, but #ust L0 copies. $his young power trio with a much more genuine sense of definitely deserve to be heard by child"like simplicity and abandon more people than that though and like that exhibited by Ireland s given how on the pulse their resident savant 3lack64eath act, blending of stenchy 4eath 9etal Aenusian 4eath >ell. flecked up"beat >rustcore in the vein of $rap $hem, 3lack 3reath and $he problem is though, Aggressive &otting +ound s groovier moments 9utilator never .uite escape the is, the potential for wider nagging sense that they are trying too dissemination is definitely there. $he hard to be crude, artless and seamless transition from opening cut primitive here and that if they were Immolate! into 2xecutioner s really being honest this would not be +ong! shows a songwriting level not so drastically under"produced. In often seen by bands made up of those fact, I get the feeling they could in the late teen6young adult phase of increase the production values by life, which added to the off"kilter .uite a lot and still not compromise riffing of Adverse &itual! and the their raw and maniacal vibe. At the Acid %itch6<ooded 9enace doom" very least it would certainly make mongering of Infernal Aoid! makes repeat listens of this band a much for a very promising first outing. more excitable prospect. NU6-0O Ereat to see that in a time when most of the truly interesting heavy music +outh America is one region where is being made by more seasoned tapes have never lost their appeal musicians that the youth can still 5along with +outheast Asia who have hang with them in terms of pushing been unfortunately .uiet on that front substance over style. NQ6-0O this year7, so much so that $he &eturn... &ecords pressing of the

+omitodio tape by >hilean speedsters 0atecharged is actually the 1rd edition 5limited to [0 copies7, after the band released [0 copies themselves and UU on (uclear (ightmare &ecords in /0-/. $here is definite +outh American heritage here heard through the &atos 4e 8oruo vibe on )obos de la 4estruccDon! and on the vocals which throughout are halfway between +outh American crossover style and rough 2uropean +peed 9etal like Acid 5a mix that is not always successful7, but overall this is actually a bit of an international love fest of all things fast. Amebix6<ellbastard"style 9ot@rpunk is the name of the game on $odos Arderan! while 8oison Idea infect 9agia y *uero!, 4evocDon! rams the S?B/ sound of >onflict and >haos S? with the (ortheast (%'3<96+peed 9etal of Avenger and %arfare in a head"on collision and the whole thing is rounded off with the seriously dark +abbat"meets"(.9.2. feel of )apidacDon.! $hat sounds fantastic, and really it should be, but there is a niggling inconsistency with the vocals 5both in themselves and how they are mixed7 that makes the impact of the whole tape a little lukewarm. NU6-0O +outh America s strongest firing into the arena this season comes from another >hilean band, Ancient >ry"ts, and their Iron 3onehead backed tape De/oured B, Ser ents. A side pro#ect of the drummer from thrashers Invincible *orce and guitarist from 4eath 9etal mouthfuls Snaussprechlichen ?ulten, there is definite points of comparison with both their main bands. *rom the former it is unsurprisingly mostly to do with the tempos and the 9orbid Angel"referencing drum fills whilst from the latter it is an unabashed fondness for Incantation"style riffing, topped off with some 9artin Aan 4runen6>hris &eifert"loving vocals to complete the unholy triumvirate of 'ld 'ne influences. $his band are a willing sacrifice at the altar of the true masters of 4eath, but it is not without its own power despite being so heavily enthralled. $iny yet all" important elements like the early

9ourning 3eloveth"es.ue melodic flair to the intro, the great riff in the bridge of 3etween $he 9ortuary &emains!, the title track s infectiously malicious groove and the pinch harmonic"heavy closer of 8rocession $o (yarlthotep! all combine to put this well above most of their contemporaries. 'ld school 4eath 9etal worship par excellence. NB6-0O Another Iron 3onehead offering is Antichrist Dominum by the interestingly named 1ra+eto $e >abra. Eiven the 8ortuguese name and the Eoat 9etal style it should be a safe assumption that these first" timers are 3razilian, but in fact the +outh American connection proves instead to be fetishistic as this lot actually hail from >anada and feature members of the Eoat 9etal" by"numbers crew (ecroholocaust.

3lack6$hrash 9etal is no less susceptible to inane and useless bands than bestial 3lack64eath, but the scope for doing something special within the style is much more open and in /0-1 Infant $eath from $rondheim are one of the bands achieving that. $heir *ursed To Acualli are another band roughly Damnation tape 5out on 8rostata slotting into the nastier end of &ecords7 opens with the sound of Ancient, morbid and sloppy 4eath 3lack64eath on their Pact "f pure chaos that soon settles into a 9etal is Iron 3onehead s bread and Possession demo thanks to their deep strong 3athory influence that in rare butter and that s exactly what guttural vocals and heavy reliance on style captures everything great about (ecroholocaust serve up here, and Incantation"style riffs, but fittingly that band from the self"titled album not too bad a #ob of it either. (othing for being released on >repusculo right up to Blood Fire Death in one here is set out to reinvent the wheel, (egro there is obvious comparisons fell swoop, and this mixture of but this should be able to rent some with several 3lack $wilight >ircle reining in and reigning over chaos space in your memory at least acts too" namely $he <aunting and of innate understanding of this temporarily by sheer blunt force of 8rocess, $ukaaria and &hinocervs. style only continues as this cassette will and the repetitive, hymn"like <ats must be taken off to Acualli for winds on. $here is similarities to .uality to its Anal Aomit"es.ue some interesting percussive noises countrymen (ekromantheon on final pummeling. throughout, but aside from vocal #am *ornication 'f $he 4eath! variety on +ix 2yes 'pen! this is while fans of their mental +wedish $he chanting samples that link entirely generic, dull and un" neighbours Antichrist will dig this together the title track and the enthralling stuff. Eiven the too, but despite being a newly closing >haos +erpent! are a nice similarities in artwork to formed band there is a definite feel touch, but in this day and age even Antediluvian it comes as a bit of a of experience, which is far from ritualistic and occult elements can be surprise that this is not more surprising given that the members passV in 3lack 4eath 9etal. %hether challenging a listen, but when the first played together in a $ra#eto 4e >abra are looking to band s answer to creativity is to get 3lack6$hrash outfit called <ellstorm stand out with these touches or to even more boring on the tortuously -L years ago. It is the madness factor follow the latest trend I do not know, slow 9ortem! it is a safe bet that though, like the off"kilter riffing and but in this unassuming generic demo Acualli aren t the musical ambitious spastic intensity of Aiolent 4eath! there might be stirrings of a more types. NL6-0O and criminal insanity! of the +layer" individual take on the genre ific 4estruction And 4eath! is this somewhere down the line. NU6-0O RSTU from 2ngland 5pronounced demo s biggest strength, making +heol! for non"<ebrew speakers7 Infant 4eath are easily one of the Also on Iron 3onehead is another may show ambitiousness with that best (orwegian bands of recent supergroup of sorts, and once again name, but unfortunately the same years. NB6-0O though not +udamerican themselves cannot be said for their /"track .acrocurse are enormously indebted Promo ((;!!!. $here is elements of 8ortland, 'regon s newest musically to the continent and its fellow"2nglish primitivists Erave 3lack6$hrash sons 5also $oxic style. Eiven that this 1"piece is made 9iasma and >ruciamentum, as well <olocaust s hometown7 Bewitcher up of the drummer of $urkish as some leanings towards a more are a band making waves as well blasphemers Eodslaying <ellblast warped sound shown more strongly with their Infernal ?ommando" and former 9orbosidad6'beisance this year by Ireland s 9althusian. In released Satanic Panic tape, and

stand"in Molrak this love for the likes of Anal Aomit, Eoat +emen and 8erversor on their Sul hur Blessing tape is hardly surprising. $he world is already full of bands peddling this style and while +acrocurse are not the most futile and derivative of the bunch, they are far from the best too. >ommand 4emonic 8rayers! is a particular low"point with some noticeably inconsistent vocal lines showing a certain sloppy nature, but what saves this release is that all L songs incorporate a catchy and appealing Autopsy like groove, in particular >.'.(.A.S.).+.2.! where this style takes centre stage. +o while +acrocurse still waver on the edge of hordes of useless and forgettable bands peddling this style they for now get a pass for showing willingness to mix it up a bit. N[6-0O

the slower moments of the instrumental track +piritual 4essication! there is a definite bang of 2ncoffination to this, and a more sinisterly melodic aspect to 4eluge 'f $ehom!, but overall this tape can t hide from being fairly generic. It is definitely promising, but too obvious, too simple"sounding in terms of riff"construction and overall complexity and too thin"sounding production"wise to fully stand out in the current 4eath 9etal climate. NU6-0O

given how well down they nail their Aenom69ot@rhead69idnight style with added lashing of early >eltic *rost on this first attempt it obvious why this is. In one respect they actually surpass 9idnight in how utterly unhinged and chaotic their most &ock n &oll sections, but this over"enthusiasm also has the unfortunate effect of making the choruses much less catchy than they could be. *or a first effort thought this is very promising stuff and with plenty of time to improve to 9idnight s standard of total intensity without sacrificing tightness in the future. 'ther things worth mentioning here are the rapid fire vocal delivery at the end of +in Is In <er 3lood! and how In $he (ight 5$he >ult %ill &ise7! explodes from its Into $he >rypt 'f &ays! like crawl into an Iron 9aiden"like gallop through the bridge. 3ewitcher are not .uite the total package yet, but an exciting prospect nevertheless. NQ6-0O

?riegg are the nightmarish hangover that follows the morning after. As with <atecharged this is not yet perfect, but 3ust !n (idnight s high rating is well"deserved by how it achieves that increasingly rarest of accolades in 9etal" and individualistic atmosphereK NB6-0O

>alifonia, +anta Ana specifically, is also home to 6lagLe who have a similarly characterful but wholly different take on 3lack6$hrash to ?riegg on their self"released 0nhol, "fferings cassette. *rom the intro to +ea 'f (oir! it is obvious that this will be different thanks to a real early 4eath ++"like atmosphere, but that is traded in for a different breed of lunacy as soon as the music and vocals really kick in. $he overall production feel is of long"forgotten sloppy B0 s garage $hrash bands and the sickeningly poor guitar sound, off"kilter vocals and primitive songwriting to match that are all here too. 9usically it ranges from the *urther down the 2ast >oast in the most obvious of 3lack6$hrash >ity 'f Angels we have Kriegg, a influences like 3athory to the less one man band whose )ust In obvious like 3lood *east, though 9idnight tape on (uclear (ightmare strong points of comparison to the &ecords can also be fitted into this madness of early +layer, the rabid crop of American 3lack6$hrash68unk rawness of 9antas64eath rehearsal acts, but such a tag diminishes what tapes and even $ransylvanian it is that makes ?riegg stand out. <unger"era 4arkthrone on Infernal +odomized ?ing! where ?riegg 4eath! combine to create the overall peddle a more conventional feel of caustic, mayhemic insanity. 9etalpunk vibe 5halfway between $his is poorly played, terribly 9aax and $yrant7 is by far the recorded and at times completely weakest track on here compared to directionless in terms of songwriting, cuts like 4emoniac &ites! with its but for some completely rabid vocals and total 3lack 9etal unexplainable reason it is totally primitivism that has more in en#oyable. It might be for nostalgia common with Aon or &ide *or or even for hipster reasons, but if you &evenge, or the utterly filthy cover are on the hunt for something totally of 3athory s 2.uimanthorn! that off the wall to remind you of all closes this demo. 3urning Alive! those nasty demo tapes from -CBQ wins out for most uni.ue song on you have worn out, then 8lagme are here thanks to the intro with a proper maybe the band for you. NU6-0O bang of Q0 s vintage off it somewhere in between prime 3lack 'ver the border into 9exico we have +abbath and Italian horror 8rog, but .urvival who are re"releasing a the self"titled opening track is not far slimmed down version of their /0-behind with its really understated and 286compilation *hainsaw Demon seething atmosphere, not unlike what via $ridroid &ecords, keeping only Aomitor do. It is an interesting way the 1 studio tracks plus intro, one to play this Aenom63athory"loving rehearsal song and the 9etalucifer style, and separates ?riegg from cover from the original tracklisting contemporaries like 3ewitcher" if of -1. 'ne thing that is immediately those bands are the sound of a noticeable from this band is the 3lack6$hrash69etalpunk party then virtuosity of the guitar"playing,

which is all the more impressive for the fact this band are a power trio, and is especially prevalent in the intro and the opener *eel $he >old 'f 9y +teel.! Aside from the tone of the vocals which is more like that middle of the road B0 s S+ $hrash flatness this number also has a strong early 4estruction vibe, right down to the heavily rhythmic riffing and the high shrieks traipsing off the vocal lines, but unfortunately the latter does not continue throughout. ?eeping that vibe could have helped the stale 3ay Area style of 3eer Awaits! and the disappointingly flat and safe 2xumer"inspired +peed 9etal *reaks!, but instead it creates a .uality dip that it takes all of the 8ossessed"es.ue intensity and 1 Inches 'f 3lood"like '$$ vocal factor of >hainsaw 4emon! to recover from. 4espite this save though the fact this song comes from a different recording session and that after L songs +urvival have failed to highlight any overarching style for themselves does not help this release from feeling more like a random #umble of songs rather than a concise 28. Already dangerously lukewarm the closing cover of <eavy 9etal <unter! leaves this release on a cold note. It goes without saying that no one could ever match the original, but the other problem here is that there is something undeniably awkward about someone who sings naturally in a pretty heavily 9exican"accented way to mimic Eezol s trademark 9etaw 2ngrish! style. +ince this 28 was first released the band have released one demo and 1 splits, and even without having heard those I would still recommend them over this tape as an entry point to the band. NL6-0O 3ack in the S+A 7rost ;ot prove that the Eezol love is not restricted to south of the border 5and neither is pinching 9aax s song titles restricted to +atan s Aomit7 with their self" released 'ot And 'oll tape. +abbat s early material is a good shout for a comparison point to this young 3oston band, especially on Infernal *irestorm!, but the ma#or letdown is with the failure to create any sort of catchiness, an even bigger problem

on the title track where the need to produce something anthemic was at its highest. $he excessive sloppiness of the playing and lazily out of time vocals are another reason why this is amateurish even by 3lack6$hrash standards, and the massively noticeable change in recording sessions from middle track 2xtermination 'f $he 3lessed! onwards leaves that sour taste in the mouth too. 4eath $o *alse 9etal! aims again for being an elitist s anthem, but the fact the lyrics sound like an indolent random #umble of stolen Aenom clichVs makes it anything but, and more of a mocking pastiche than anything else. $he sleazy mid"paced riff to 2vil Inserter! wins *rost &ot some points back, but any energy created by it is unfortunately sucked out by the grating and one"dimensional vocals. $otal disappointment all round here, but at least it is not offensively bad. N16-0O

photograph of the hairy vagina itself that is the issue, as this could be seen as a forceful and unabashed expression of Airgin ?iller s ,anacle from up in $oronto, >anada collective femininity, but the way the have an even more elementary and photo is bathed in red makes me more easily discernible problem and think that it would be better suited as that simply is that the recording of a cover to an awful 3rutal 4eath their self"released rehearsal tape is 9etal band. $his anomaly aside downright awful. (ow the fact they though this is a wonderfully have elected to use the word characterful if very flawed demo. If rehearsal! rather than demo! you are in desperate need of a should be a sign of things to come, female"fronted +outh American but all the same unless the rehearsal +peed 9etal band in your collection was intended for band use only it I would sooner recommend you should still be some sort of useful 4emona, but if you are on the look demonstration to potential fans of out for unusual and uni.ue <eavy what the band is about. 8utting out a 9etal tapes this could be worth tape where the music is practically picking up. N[6-0O inaudible does your band absolutely no favours and could even damage ?eeping things to female"fronted you in the long run. *rom what I can bands next we have the Srtod make out of the first of / tracks, &ecords release Demon by +panish )ive *ast, 4ie *ast! the purple"logo d 4oom mob ,isty composition seems to at least be :rey, and if the (asters "f 'ealit," fairly decent on what is at speedy referencing logo wasn t a dead take on $okyo 3lade and $ygers 'f enough giveaway already then the +peed 9etal is not an easy genre to 8an $ang"style (%'3<9, but very first note of Erey 9ist! master for some it seems and on the frankly it had better be more than announces this band s intentions as a opposite seaboard to *rost &ot this is decent because after this pointless purely +abbathian68entagramian proven by +eattle"based Blood Df first strike 9anacle have an even affair. $here s a genuine vintage Kings with their Star/ation full bigger uphill struggle to impress next warm fuzz to the tone on these big length tape on $ridroid &ecords. time round. N-6-0O monster riffs, but in the grand Although they tick a lot of the scheme of things that hardly matters necessary boxes inspiration"wise Ironically for a band hailing from the as the only thing people will be such as &aven, $ank and 2xciter, poorer half of the Americas in the talking about in relation to this band with some of the heavier tracks like southern hemisphere 9irgin Killer from now til their end of their tenure *latline! even exhibiting hints of from >olumbia manage a better is those crazy vocals of frontwoman %arfare62nglish 4ogs or even a less recording and all round better demo 9alicia. If I described them as blackened >eltic *rost or Aoivod, with their self"released #iller tape. 3obby )iebling were he a C/ year this never really reaches true album $his is still raw and lo"fi to the bone old crone that might be some help, .uality despite being an album length and the playing is far from perfectly but really the only way to understand release. A few tracks aim high by tight, but it definitely has a charm how out there the pipes on these trying to bring in a 9ercyful *ate value if you stick with it for repeated woman are is to hear them" and factor in the guitar leads and vocal listens. )ike 9anacle seem to be this therein lies the problem. Is overdoing lines, and although the riffs on is firmly in (%'3<9 territory it on the vocal front inevitably a bad %ithout *ear! nearly achieve this musically, with the rough but thing as it could end up focussing these attempts never get close to the undeniably feminine vocals having a only on that one element to the level of $he ?ing and <ank +herman strange resemblance to those of the exclusion of the rest of your music, in .uality while the 9aiden"lite %elsh (%'3<9 obscurity J even to cynics stating that this is a riffing of +hakes! and 9etal 4iawled in spite of the obvious trick being employed cover for >hurch thrashing on +ymbols 'f differences between the +panish and musical deficienciesF 9an! completely fail to ignite into %elsh languages. 9ore generally anything anthemic. $he vocals are this skirts around a mix Erim &eaper, Aside from the bridge section of the biggest point of contention here, 4iamond <ead and Avenger though $he +hadow 'f A 4oubt! where ranging from the average but with fair comparisons to 3arHn &o#o opting for a stereotypical <ammer passable to the downright awful on and forgotten +outh American acts <orror film sample would have the tracks like <eart *or $he )and! like Arkangel and AB being good perfectly timed, 9isty Erey barely where they take on a +teelwing"like shouts also, yet the cover art of this waver at all here from their / key retro"+peed 9etal vibe, but tape sits rather uneasily with these influences, and do seem to wallow ultimately it is the fault of no single influences. It is not so much the somewhat in 4oom s most clichVd

element of 3lood 'f ?ings" they simply need to go back to the drawing board after this one. N16-0O

waters which is a criticism they will find hard to deflect. $o lambast the band as though they are hiding this fact behind the zany witch"like vocals misses a key point though, and that is that this band should not be taken too seriously. $his is not intended to be anything but some fun, headbanging retro"4oom and to hold it to any higher standard is silly. >hill out, +abb off and en#oy yourself with this release. NQ6-0O

Euardian Angel! for good measure, but unfortunately there is more troughs than peaks on here. $he cheesy as hell piano and shred interlude of >andeloro! throws the album flow off by arriving too early, and is a bit of a stinker in any case, while the opening track At $he Eates! creates an uphill struggle for the rest of the album thanks to some #ilted guitar performance. $here is also the issue that frontman >hris 'sterman fancies himself as a much 1renchrot from 8hiladelphia prove better vocalist than he really is, and with their Dragged Down To Hell that the production is too muted to tape on (ihilistic <olocaust that in really draw out the dynamic potential the early stage of a band s career of the &ush influence, but without a when they are putting out their first doubt the biggest mistake here is demo, you don t need a definitive, dedicating -[ minutes, over a .uarter creative sound or even a of the album s running time, to the trademark6gimmick like 9isty Erey. track 2gypt 5$he 2nd Is (ear7! $o get by all your really need is one without having any overarching good song that will entice people to motif to thread the multifarious epic check you out again next time, when sections together and make the track hopefully you do nail everything truly memorable. After that closing exactly right. $he band s take on the track +hadow 'f 4eath! boasts a 'ld +tockholm sound on this 1"track pretty cool 4ark :uarterer"like riff, demo is thoroughly decent but but the fact this comes right in the unspectacular, and shackled by sound very last minute is the definition of problems. %ith a thicker, beefier too little too late. N[6-0O guitar tone and fuller and more rounded guttural vocals they could 4espite having a much more muted do much better, but even in their production than Iron ?ingdom, one current state the middle track of this of .torm 'arning s biggest trio, entitled $rapped Snder triumphs on their self"titled demo $reads!, let a few sparks fly loose cassette 5out on +words And >hains with its monumental downward &ecords7 is doing what the young tempo change into Autopsy6<ooded >anadians failed to and perfectly 9enace6Anatomia territories. $his tease out those Q0 s 2pic <ard &ock time $renchrot impress enough to influences. In spite of the artwork watch with interest as to what they and logo style that might make you grow into in the, but next time round think of fellow Eermans it had better be fireworks, not #ust +tormwarrior and that 8ower 9etal sparks. N[6-0O style what this demo turns out to be is a masterclass in proto"2pic 9etal. %ith demos one is the magic number It may take a few listens to fully sink when it comes to song .uality, but in, but opening cut )eaving $he with albums a greater deal of >ircle! is an exceptional blend of the consistency is needed and that first / 9anilla &oad albums, From unfortunately is where >anadian The F=ords by )egend and of course 2pic 9etallers Iron Kingdom fall Ashbury. $hat same laid"back down on their second full length, production doesn t fit as well on the Gates "f 1ternit, 5tape version on follow"up song, $hunder In $he $ridroid &ecords.7 $he album (ight! with its mix of 4io"era certainly has its moments with its +abbath, early 9aiden, S*', mix of late B0 s 9aiden progressive &ainbow and Sriah <eep as the only streak, &ush69anilla &oad"like place thunder really rumbles or any compositional savvy, doses of 3lind lightning strikes is in this song s solo, Euardian and Jwingie 9almsteen in but despite this there is no denying the most epic and melodic parts and the level of songcraft. $he fact both a bit of Judas 8riest riffage on this song and the final self"titled

number both have live version on this tape edition of the demo too should allay any fears of this material coming off as weedy on stage, but despite this I think the production on this will still be divisive. %isely then, the final song that rounds off the studio portion of this demo in the most up"tempo and fist"banging off fashions and an increased (%'3<9 feel that takes in everything from 8agan Altar and >loven <oof, to Easkin and Airtue in the duelling and melodic leads and even $raitor s Eate and 4amascus for the more obscure and epic vibe. %hether the production will please everyone or not is irrelevant" this is #ust short of being an 2pic 9etal masterclass. NB6-0O +peaking of those though it is only fair to end this article with 2ternal >ham"ion and their 3ast #ing "f Pictdom tape 5also on +words And >hains7 as they share a vocalist in the shape of James $arpey with /0-/ s undisputed best demo tape band, the now"defunct Eraven &ite. $he glory"driven end of 2pic 9etal is emphasised here more than in Eraven &ite s melancholic feel, meaning appropriately enough the main influences here are 9anilla &oad, +lough *eg and 9ichael 9oorcock for the lyrics, and though the opening title track feels a little shaky to begin with by the final minute the power is well and truly turned out to create one of the strongest statements in 2pic 9etal this year. $he second of the two songs here, %ar At $he 2dge 'f $he 2nd!, is by far the stronger of the / though, and takes this to the level of minor monument in the sub" genre. 'n the one hand the lack of a third track may constitute disappointment, but on the other it makes this release all the more impressive as in #ust two fell swoops 2ternal >hampion have surpassed more established acts like 3orrowed $ime for .uality. $o me it doesn t .uite make up for the demise of Eraven &ite who had all the potential in the world, but 2ternal >hampion s achievement with this demo in /0-1 ensures that the album format will be in safe hands as far as 2pic 9etal goes in the immediate future. NB6-0O

%Although in the brief time your demo ta"e has been out you have garnered !uite a bit of interest, in Ireland and further afield, I sus"ect that some readers might be discovering you via this interview# 7or the benefit of the uninitiated give us the background to the band% when did you form& 'hich member or members were the original im"etus behind the band& 0ow were the other members selected& 0ow easily and how soon did you have a concrete idea of a direction for the band& 5937 $he rough idea of the band was there for a number of years but never .uite acted on. After a number of practices with #ust one guitar and drums we were happy with the direction the rehearsals were taking and decided to push to fill out the line up. A> was always the intended guitarist to fill the slot and 8E, despite being a guitarist by trade, was the only person considered or asked to play bass. $he songs or ideas we had worked on took a different shape once a full line up was in shape with maybe the exception of %raith6668lague +pore! and the band took more of it s own direction while obviously still within the confines of the genre. %3our arrival on the ,etal consciousness in Ireland was e "losive to say the least, beginning with your live dKbut o"ening the bill for :os"el Df 1he 0orns in ,ay# I remember the atmos"here before that show being one of antici"ation for $read .overeign@s first home soil show, and yourselves and the rising Com being more of added bonuses to the bill, but for days afterward and for most of the rest of the year ,althusian was all "eo"le could seemed to talk about# Are you sur"rised in anyway by the ra"idness and fervour with which "eo"le have taken notice of your rumblings& :iven that you are far from being social media whores and have chosen your live "erformances very selectively (leaving half the year before returning to the stage to su""ort Jrfaust and rounding the year off with the mighty BAl=er) it would seem all to easy for you to be ignored, but it seems your reticence has engendered the o""osite# $o you see these as a testament to your music which is forefronted to the e clusion of all else& It would seem so es"ecially com"ared to the "ath of shameless self%"romotion that bands es"ecially in Ireland are fond of it seems a much healthier basis for hy"e to be created u"on# Jes and no. $here is a very limited number of bands in Ireland playing in the vein we play and in recent years it is a

style that has been welcomed back, for the most part, with open arms. I think that through this people were happy to have a band that could hold their own in this YsceneY and were happy to support. If a band is a constant at gigs locally the sense of occasion is lost and it is hard to excite people about one. %e have been lucky with being asked to play good gigs with bands that we share characteristics with be it musically or idealistically. If something is being forced down my throat either intentionally or #ust coincidentally and starts to annoy my fickle nature my natural reaction is to avoid it. %In addition to your live "erformances there has been a ravenous res"onse to the ,,VIII ta"e, as far as I am aware selling out from you and Invictus 6roductions almost immediately# Again, has this sur"rised you in anyway& 7or what it lacks in the "ersonal touch that ta"e trading had, do you think that the internet@s ability in creating a bu== so instantaneously like has ha""ened with ,althusian is a welcome develo"ment& In a way the feeling surrounding the ta"e reminds me of 2 "revious Irish demos, from bands "laying a roughly similar style# 7irstly ?ethiferous who caused a bit of a stir before disa""earing almost as !uickly, and Com of course whose lethal demo went through * "ressings# Are you determined to not to end u" like ?ethiferous (as well as countless other "romising Irish acts) whose candle burnt out too !uickly, or will ,althusian be more than a flash in the "an and last the long haul& $o you e "ect to follow Com@s e am"le !uickly with 2uro"ean club and festival "erformances in 20(O& %e ve been pretty much taken aback by the positive response that the released has garnered. %e obviously had the utmost confidence in the songs but, as with the initial buzz after the gig it s good that people seemed to understand what we were going for and were more than happy to support us. >ould not have imagined the magnitude or speed in which it took off though. I don t know of a huge amount of bands that have the intention to be a flash in the pan. I think with )ethiferous, there were problems getting a line up together that really hampered that going much further. $his is always going to be a problem playing a more niche like style in a country with a small 9etal scene and a smaller amount of musicians. %e would be happy to follow Mom s example in regards to gigs abroad. $here is only so much we can do in Ireland with it s small audience and I think we ve essentially

reached our goals regarding that already. %1o me the demo@s 2 greatest strengths lie in the vicious memorability (n#b# not 5catchiness8) of the riffs, and the masterful feel to how everything is e ecuted# 'hile obvious com"arisons can be drawn to some very chaotic $eath ,etal acts of the "ast few years which I know you are fans of the very a""arent care and attention with which these * tracks are focussed and how the sections mor"h together definitely are stand%out features# I would describe ,althusian then as e!ual "arts "ernicious and "ernickety if you will# 'ere either of these goals you had in mind when you entered the studio& 'as there an intention to create something that could be considered alongside the dissonant likes of Antediluvian and ,itochondrian, but also something that would have its own "ersonality and stand out& (o. %e had the songs written and laid out exactly as we intended them to be recorded since late last year so when we entered the studio everything was well rehearsed and ready to be laid down. As far as the songwriting goes though, very much so. %e spent a lot of time chopping, changing, layering sections in rehearsals and were definitely pernickety in that regard but I think that is an essential part of writing music. %e didn t intend to sound like those bands beyond playing in that style, there was no real overtly direct influence despite all being fans. %e take from a number of different influences and put them together in whatever mangled way suits us and if we like it, we keep it or work on it. %In addition to Antediluvian etc# being somewhat la=y "oints of com"arison, or at least com"arisons that don@t tell the whole story, I@ve noticed the same being done in online !uarters with "eo"le la=ily trying to e "loit the membershi" link with Altar Df 6lagues# Although you@ve made no serious attem"t at hiding the band members@ identities you haven@t done much to "ublicise them to further ,althusian either, which leads me to assume you want the band to stand on its own merits and not on a loose connection to your "revious works& If any links are to be made surely it would make more sense to draw a "oint between the tri"le vocal attack you em"loy and that of Abaddon Incarnate, or between the doomier "assages and ,ourning Beloveth)Dn 6ain Df $eath)'reck Df 1he 0es"erus&

Altar of 8lagues were a big band with a big following that finished abruptly so I think many people are looking for something to fill that gap which is understandable. It does however seem strange to make comparison between us and them musically because, while we are all fans of the band, there is nothing in our music that ties us to them. *or the first gig we mentioned our associated bands to rouse some interest but that was the only time we have mentioned it and we now rely solely on our own merits. It s ridiculous to even suggest that we would want to distant ourselves from our own bands. %hile again I don t think that any aspects of our music sound too similar I can definitely relate our sound to AI, '8o4 and %o$<. 9ourning 3eloveth are a whole different beast though. %'hat I think is also a testament to the !uality of the release as a whole "roduct is the relative ine "erience of the 2 young collaborators% firstly ,att from Bone $ivinations designs who had "reviously only designed art for his own band 1ome, and also Dla 2rsf+ord behind the desk who had only recorded $read .overeign and $ead ?ord at his new $ublin studio "rior to this (and also ,orbus >hron@s Creep Creeping Creep 26 back in .weden a few years before#) 1he result is an undeniably fresh looking and sounding demo, but one that also kee"s all the necessary hallmarks of the genre without descending into "ointless re"etition or "astiche# 1he band logo I think ty"ifies this !uality as well with it@s sense of das unheimliche (uncanniness#) It is simultaneously recognisable and built on familiar letterforms, but distorted to the "oint of near%com"lete illegibility# It harkens to the best of >hristo"he .="a+dal@s fine work but also "erfectly com"liments the unnerving feeling of the music# 9att at 3one 4ivinations did an excellent #ob with the art work. I think it encapsulates the atmosphere and feeling that we are trying to portray with our music. It has an almost hallucinogenic feel to it, but there is also something dark and other"worldly going on too. $he same can be said with the logo. 9anuel $innemans at >omaworx designed it. %e went through a few drafts of the logo, ironing out bits and pieces as we went along. $he font is nasty, sharp and evil. $he girl levitating through the circles #ust helps add to the other"worldly atmosphere. %e met 'la a couple of times and chatted about our goals with the recording and he was on the same wavelength so we went with him. 3oth choices proved to be very good ones. %In fact the only elements I find com"letely ty"ical of the genre (almost

sur"rising that you have chosen them given they are often smoke%screen used as by unoriginal Blas"hemy% worshi""ers) is the stage garb of hoods and bone +ewellery and the graveyard "romo "hotos# 0ow conscious are you of this line you straddle between the wholly ty"ical and the refreshingly different for the Black)$eath genre& Is there a definite awareness "aid to neither seeming too drastically far from the style@s key aesthetic tro"es but also to not descending into a mere bo % ticking e ercise&

similar sub+ect of natural catastro"he as an act of a vengeful earth on Deluge, but also 7uPl na .eanchoille who broaches the sub+ect of famine in an Irish conte t as an entirely man%created "henomena# 'hen it came to constructing this theme for ,althusian then was there at any time a "oint where you thought about how your treatment of famine as a lyrical to"ic com"ared to these or any other act&

(o. %e had no intention of bringing in the Irish famine as a particular theme but the As far as the bones, corpse"paint, hoods idea if taken more universally certainly and smoke for our stage showk $hat is up applies. )yrically the band is #ust getting for you to decide if a box"ticking exercise warmed up and while the 9althusian or not. 'bviously it has been done before, thread will no doubt continue in a general but what hasnGt in this day and ageF %e way, we will not be using that as a felt that it was a no"brainer to carry on the gimmick as we carry on. %e have plenty fine tradition of bones, hoods, paint and of ideas to toy with and feel there is no graveyards. It may be an obvious choice reason to limit ourselves to one specific but if done well it is still absolutely vital. thing merely because we have taken that +imply put, if we think it adds to our as our band name. <owever, we are happy show, weGll do it. $hings might change as to be spoken of in the same breath as time goes on and we grow and evolve. %e +lidhr and *uil na +eanchoille as both also use a pro#ector for our live shows, bands have developed strong uni.ue showing images of death, disease, insanity, identities and continue to release music of plague etck to keep things interesting. a very high standard. %Jndoubtedly the biggest factor in differentiating ,althusian from ty"ical bands for this style is the un"recedented lyrical focus on the works of 1homas ;obert ,althus# Dn the one hand he seems an odd source for a ,etal band as he was a clergyman "rone to moral "rescri"tivism, though on the other other ,althus@ ideas@ influence on eugenics and his +ustification of ca"italist ine!uality arguably re"resent a real world 5evil8 much more frightening than any .atanic medievalism that many ,etal bands still thematically cling to# In s"ite of ,althusian@s lack of truck with any ,etal .atanic clichKs though the sense I get is that you focus more on the disease and famine as"ects of the ,althusian >atastro"he "rediction itself, highlighting the element of human hubris and nature@s revenge# Is this a closer assessment of the lyrical im"ulse behind ,althusian& $he 9althusian $heory ties in with some ideas we would have been exploring anyway, it #ust gives it a bit more of a shape. I don t see there being any huge leap thematically from what we have been writing in our various bands, it is a natural progression. 9althusian is a strong, eye" catching name but we don t intend to solely focus on 9althus s ideas. %I think it@s interesting also how the im"lications of a title like 51he ,other@s Blade8 correlates to other Irish acts, namely .lidhr who tread a %'hen you recorded with Dla earlier in the year you a""arently recorded one song that wasn@t used on the demo, a""arently to be used on a s"lit early in 20(O# >an you reveal who the band you will be releasing with is& 'ill this track continue with the ,althusian >atastro"he theme and do you have "lans to develo" this further on all future releases& Indeed we are planning on using the fourth song for a split in /0-L. $he other band are on board with it, so weGre #ust waiting for the right time to release it. As of now, we cannot reveal the name of the other band. All will be revealed in due course. As mentioned before, the demo doesn t exclusively deal with the 9althusian >atastrophe and the song for the split has little or no connection with that idea. It deal with the idea of metamorphosis, the bleeding of hard reality into a more abstract, indefinable sense of unreality and the slipping from life to death. $o leave this world behind, in one way or another. As we melt through the fabric of reality, the mind slips through the pours. $ime become viscous. *orms become vapour. %hen we describe our music as hallucinogenic this is exactly what we mean. It s that sense of chaos interfering with order to place you out of your comfort zone and pro#ect you into an uncomfortable and unfamiliar place.

0ails to BewitcherB %7irst of all give us a little history of how your 2%man band came to be& $id you come together as friends, through a shared love of the same bands or were you know to each other through "laying in "revious local acts&

'ehrmacht, ."a==tic Blur, :uided >radle and 0ellshock, not to mention fellow 9enom worshi""ers 1o ic 0olocaust#

rebound. $heir frontman also has a pro#ect called %ithering of )ight, for fans of 4ark Ambient music. %e definitely share a common bond with all of them. %0ave you begun "laying live in 6ortland yet& $o you "lan to con!uer there first before venturing further afield& :iven that Dregon is !uite remote in terms of clusters of large cities in America how feasible is it for you to "lay live in other "laces and states& 7rom what I@ve heard touring the J. in general is becoming a disa""earing "rivelege for small bands# 3ewitcher hasnGt played live yet. After the second demo is done we will be on the hunt for a permanent live drummer to complete the lineup. Jeah, I imagine weGll play 8ortland .uite a bit before taking the show on the road. $ouring the +tates is neither easy nor cheap, but it is very doable. 'ur previous band did a full /0 date coast" to"coast run in /0-/ as well as several other 4IJ tours all over the country in years past. 3ut yeah, if you live anywhere in the western S.+., touring is going to be difficult, as the cities are mostly spread very far apart. %1he melange of filthy Bathory, 9enom, ,otArhead and >eltic 7rost influence that your sound is based on is a very oversubscribed style in this day and age# 'hat do Bewitcher do to stand out from the crowd& 3ou have said online that another key influence of yours is the /ew 'ave Df British 0eavy ,etal% do any of those bands influence you es"ecially& I donGt think in the grand scheme of things, that standing out will prove to be a problem for us. %hile the four bands you mentioned have certainly provided the foundation for what we

'hat is it they "ut in the water in that town to "roduce so many (mostly awesome) bands& 0ow cohesive or how fractured is the <ailsK Jes and yes. $he two of us met scene in 6ortland& :iven how you draw a line in the sand between old as teenagers through a mutual friend several years ago and became friends school and modernity in the mission statements on your online "resence through a shared love of 9etal. %e do you try only to associate with started playing in bands together and have been now for the past -0 years or those bands in your area that follow the same ,etal creed as you& Is so. +ince then, weGve .uite literally there any other gems of ,etal been through hell and back together bands with an old school outlook and have become blood brothers in from 6ortland you think we ought the process. $he road to forming to know about& 3ewitcher started last year when it became evident that what we were %hat do they put in the waterF I donGt doing musically was not in tune with know, maybe itGs the lack of fluoride, where our hearts are. It became obvious and necessary to start playing hehe. $he 9etal scene here has music that stemmed exclusively from always been more of a collective of the late PQ0Gs6early PB0Gs vibe that has cli.ues, rather than a cohesive scene!, per se. <owever, I will say always been our primary inspiration. that right now itGs definitely the healthiest and most vital that itGs been %7rom the "ers"ective of an outsider in the decade that weGve lived here. I looking in 6ortland seems to be one think ideally, we of course want to of the most active and diverse cities associate with bands that have a similar mentality as ours, but thatGs in the J. for ,etal# It houses not always possible. It doesnGt really everything from .toner).ludge matter though. %e view 3ewitcher as bands ;ed 7ang and ?ord $yingW hi"ster Black ,etal ty"es Agalloch, an entity unto itself and not really a part of any particular cli.ue or 7all Df ;auros and >hasmaW collective. $he line in the sand!, so underground ritual style Black to speak, is more of a statement for ,etal such as ?@ace"hale, 7anisk, 1he 0owling 9oid and Ku an .uum ourselves. %e donGt care about what anybody else is doing. and some of the flat out nastiest Black)$eath ,etal the states has to offer right now like ;itual /ecromancy, 'eregoat, Xvangelist and .hroud Df 1he 0eretic# Back in the -0@s it was also home to one of 'DA7@s favourite guilty "leasures, >hristian 6ower ,etal band :lacier and has "roduced some legendary names in the world of >rossover)>rust 6unk like Aside from the menagerie of bands you already listed here in 8ortland, there is also %eres.uatch, who play some very killer $hrash. $hereGs 4ark >rucible, a one"man 5for now7 3lack 9etal outfit that is absolutely crushing. And 8ortland is also home to the semi"legendary 4oom band, &oanoke, who split"up some years back, but are apparently on the

do, we draw from a pretty deep well of inspiration. (%'3<9 bandsF 'bviously 4iamond <ead and Iron 9aiden top the list, but weGre also fans of 8agan Altar, Angel %itch, >loven <oof, and Airtue to name a few. $here are also plenty of bands with a similar vibe outside of that movement such as 9ercyful *ate, >andlemass, Judas 8riest, and %.A.+.8., not to mention other *irst %ave of 3lack 9etal bands like $ormentor and +arcofago. %In s"ite of all your ma+or influences being 2uro"ean there is something undeniably American in feel to the "atanic 'anic demo# Dn the one hand it might be the strong sonic similarities to ,idnight, but also the effect of that 1#0# ,atteson "ainting, The !(amination %# A Witch, as the cover artwork is striking# It reminds me of something I wrote in 'DA7 Y( about an album from a young ,assachusetts band in that America@s dark history (for e am"le, the .alem witch trials) is shockingly under%e "lored as a lyrical theme# :iven that ,atteson has many more "aintings on the sub+ect do you think that you might do a further conce"tual e "loration into the to"ic of early American witchcraft on future releases& Is the witchcraft theme also "artly allegorical for the >hristian right@s war on ,etal from which you took the name "atanic 'anic& JouGve touched on something very interesting here, in that most 9etal bands that focus on witchcraft6occult themes tend to focus exclusively on 2urope. It makes sense, considering the vast and rich history of the region, nut like you said, America has a very dark past that is pretty under"explored by metal bands, especially the ones that come from here. 'ne of the things weGve planned to do from the beginning was to focus lyrically on (orth American pagan and occult traditions, shamanism, witchcraft and the like. >ontrary to popular belief, there !S history in Americak and it doesnGt #ust begin in -LC/K &egarding the allegory of the cover art and the title, yes, there was meant to be a double meaning there. $he 3ewitcher manifesto makes it pretty

clear that we are not a band that is interested in being politically correct and we seek to make 9etal and &ock n &oll one in the same again, in terms of the wild, rebellious spirit that it was born with. $he 2vangelical right is very opposed to art that promotes this type of rebelliousness, because it takes control out of their hands. $he cover was meant to make a statement that these so"called +atanic panics! and witch hunts have happened fre.uently throughout history and will continue to do so as long as radical >hristianity is given power like it has here in the S.+.

comes in I think is that you focus on writing good songs above any bo % ticking e ercises in rawness# 0ow closely do you think this matches your a""roach& Are you intentionally trying to stand out from some of the more unimaginative retro bands out there, like some of the incredibly slo""y bands on the Infernal Kommando ;ecords label who have "ut out your ta"e&

I donGt really understand this concept of playing sloppy on purpose to be more !8unk! or to add some kind of street cred to your music. $hat As well as having a rich ,etal reminds me of what the grunge bands history 6ortland is also famous for did in the early C0Gs and we fucking having more breweries than any hate that shit. $he reason it worked for other city in the world, and more the early 8unk bands and for, say, stri" clubs even than ?as 9egas, Aenom or <ellhammer, was because which to me sounds like a "erfect they actuall, didnGt know how to play environment for a slea=y boo=ed u" their instrumentsK 3ut they had Black)."eed ,etal band# Although passion and focuskthat I+ &ock n your demo avoids a lot of the beer n &oll. %e #ust do what feels right and boobs cliches very in vogue with play from an honest place" thatGs the Black)."eed)1hrash)6unk at the only way to do it. %e do concentrate moment# $o you think your on writing the best songs possible and hometown has been a factor in your part of that is capturing as much traditional 0eavy ,etal);ock n spontaneity as possible. 9ost of these ;oll outlook& songs from our first two demos were written in a few hours each. It was <eh, yeah IGd say so. 8ortland does important not to overthink any of it sleaze pretty well" better than most, and #ust go with the first gut instinct. IGd dare to say. It doesnGt hurt that we %e want the production to be on the have the best beer in the country here, raw side, in the classic sense, but eitherK $he song +in Is In <er weGre not a necro 39 band, so weGre 3lood! is all about the licentious and also not going for the shittiest sound salacious 8unk6Eoth69etal chicks possible either. Just keeping it stripped weGve encountered over the years, and down and simple, thatGs what itGs of course, having a few cocktailsk about. ItGs the essence of the true spirit %e donGt intentionally avoid the sex, of &ock n &oll. )ike I said before, we drugs, &ock n &oll motif by any want 3ewitcher to be a solitary entity, means "itGs pretty important to this so weGre #ust not paying much style of music" but there are plenty of attention to what our peers are doing. other sub#ects to write about, and we tend to gravitate more toward the esoteric side of things. %Anything else you@d like to add& %In addition to being very image focused another thing about the "articular style you "lay is there has been an em"hasis in recent years on having a 6unk undercurrent and an intentional, often fau , slo""iness# By contrast Bewitcher to me seem to be unafraid of having a relatively good !uality of recording, are generally "retty tight (es"ecially for a 2%"iece band) and most of all, where the com"arison to $idnight $hank you for the excellent .uestions. Aery refreshing to do an interview with someone who has clearly done some homeworkK $hanks to the rabid hordes who have supported us thus far by buying the demo and spreading the word. 'ur second demo, titled Wild Blas hem, is released on UUUmas day, so go get itK 1hank youB

Amon%;a% In 1he >om"any Df :ods N8ure Snderground &ecordsO A real disinterred obscurity is this one. !n The *om an, "f Gods, this >leveland, 'hio band s sole output was originally released on >4 only in -CC/, re"released on >4 in /0-0 with 1 bonus tracks from related pro#ect 8rodigy, and now for the first time on vinyl with L completely unreleased bonus tracks. +o wildly different are these bonus tracks from the album proper that I d like to give them proper consideration at the end because as far as the original 1- minute release is concerned, there is very little good to speak of. 8ure Snderground have done a great #ob of dressing this up with the excellent new cover artwork that does #ustice to the 2gyptian mythological theme of the lyrics, and as the spacey intro track fades into the proto" +ymphonic 9etal of Eraveyard 'f $he 4ragon! it momentarily seems like there might have been something of .uality unearthed here. It sounds #arring and unpolished, which is unfortunately unsuitable for the style but probably a result of the fact this was a self" released album in a time when $raditional 9etal was at it s nadir and Amon"&a were attempting something that wouldn t become commonplace for several years. *or the 9etal parts there is a big dose of *ates %arning as well an proggy inventiveness to the vocal lines, but the illusion that this might have been a gem of long lost groundbreaking 8ower 9etal is .uickly dispersed. *orever! is a frankly awful ballad sub"par even for the standard of the B0 s <air 9etal gods with whose hit it nearly shares its title and further cracks form when the seemingly complete lack of mixing and mastering starts to show. )ow budget production could have been overlooked if the rest of this album tread the same sort of path as the opening track, and as said before was probably unavoidable given the circumstances of the band in their brief history. *or attemtping to rehash musical ideas [ years past their sell"by though the lifeless production here is wholly inade.uate. $he guitars are buried in the mix, the drums sound barely real at times and the mid"tone vocals are flat, powerless and should in no way be the most prominent feature on this display. 'n this track in particular it is so bad that it is actually better to listen to at a .uiet volume. 9iddleground! sounds like the montage music of some long"forgotten B0 s high school movie made on a *isher 8rice keyboard whilst the pointless, nonsensically titled and overly long interlude of +easons 'f 9ay! and wetter than even before low"point %hen $he Elitter *ades Away! are similarly terrible efforts, .uestionable even as to whether they can be called 9etal or not. 8ure Snderground call this $raditional S+ 9etal for open minds!" but if anything having a closed mind to all the irreparable problems about this album is the only way to be able to en#oy it. $he final / tracks of the album As $he 9irror >racks! and >loak And 4agger! give some hope that

this might have been rescued by a decent remastering #ob, but really is there any cure for a performance so flacid, a singer so lifeless and a band that from what I can tell seemed to be #ust one man 5guitarist and lead songwriter 3yron (emeth7 having delusions of grandeur played out by a group of hired gunsF %hen it comes to the unreleased songs Earden 'f 2den! is so different from what has come before that it could even be a completely different band. $he playing is still #uddering and shoddy in places, but the mixing is far more balanced, the vocals hit some powerful high notes and most importantly of all, it is authentically 9etal. 'n $he +hore! continues the attempted rescue mission with it s %arlord"like gallop before there is more idiosyncratic <air 9etal balladry in the form of +he s 9y )ady!, this time a la %hitesnake. )ast of all )ong 'verdue! is an interesting experiment in what :ueensryche may have sounded like if they had have kept their heaviness post"1m ire but the title pretty much sums up the sentiment at the end of this listening experience. After [1 minutes it s hard not to be glad that this is over. $he awkward length is another issue as it means that tracks - through Q are crammed onto side - of the record whilst the last track of the original 1- minute release sits incongruously alongside the unreleased stuff on the other. &eleasing this as a 4)8 would incur the same problem as the much"needed expensive remaster #ob 5and that new artwork doesn t look cheap either7, but all the same would it not have made more sense to have the album as originally intended and the far superior 5+he s 9y )ady! aside7 bonus tracks on a separate slab of waxF %hilst we re going down that route, was their really any need to re"release an album so poor at all, especially when there is no sought after first vinyl pressing going for vvv on ebay, anyone who has a >4 copy will probably pay you #ust to take it off their hands and 3yron (emeth has the mp1s on his website for freeF $he only thing I can hear on here worthy of being re" released are 1 of the L bonus tracks, and those could ve been done as a separate 28. If you can find these songs online to check out first you may want to pick this up to have those, or maybe even #ust for the sake of S+ 8ower 9etal completism. 'therwise this whole thing is an unmitigated failure. N/6-0O Aska% /ine 1ongues N8ure +teel &ecordsO Aska are somewhat of an anomaly in the respect that they did what few others dared do in the mid"-CC0 s and play traditional <eavy 9etal. <aving released two fairly decent )8s with Aska already since /000 this -CCQ album has been uneathed by 8ure +teel &ecords. Eiven that in -CCQ only a handful of S+ 9etal veterans remained 5>hastain, Jag 8anzer, <alloween as well as %arlord off"shoot )ordian Euard7 does this album sit alongside as another relic of a time when only a few bastions of 9etal purity remainedF 'pening

track $he +talker! would definitely suggest so with that rapid"fire opening riff sits somewhere between Judas 8riest and %arlord, and Eeorge >all s natural range, powerful deep vocals and well"placed high screams make me see why he once sang live for 'men. It s by no means the stuff of classics, but it is solid enough especially given its time, but as soon as the song fades into the follow"up )eprosy! the wheels well and truly fly off the cart. 'n paper the bringing in of a pinch of mid" paced <ard rock stomp to flavour the album s sound like a fair enough proposition, and really on this track the ?rokus vibe that is supplied is not all that bad. $he lyrics however are woeful and immediately turn this album from a potential true 9etal rarity to a mid C0 s ill"advised cock rock turkey. Instead of providing an additional sonic instead this vibe is allowed to dominate. :uestion! makes the mistake of trying to mix the two opposing styles from the opening / tracks whilst )ittle +ister! with it s awful +unset +trip borderline paedophilia and >aptain >runch! with it s E%A& vibe shorn of any real balls are the album s / lowest points. %here actual <eavy 9etal does crop up again it is unfortunately not in the way hinted at with the opening track, but instead occupying a strain of commercial late B0 s 9etal that is e.ual parts <elloween and :ueensryche with a touch of 4io here and there. %hen it is not being ruined by sub"Euns n &oses balladry like on 3lood 'f $he %olf! it actually works pretty well, but the big soppy love number ?illashandra! that inexplicably seems to be dedicated to a woman named after a village in rural Ireland made famous by an I&A song and the album topper $he 4ream! comes too late to make any real difference. $his album may not be the (u 9etal monstrosity that I thought it would have been when I first saw the red moodlit photo of the dreadlocked devil woman on the cover, but nevertheless 8ure +teel should have left this in the mid"C0 s where it belongs. N16-0O Bloody >lima % Back 1o 1he 'all N?athargo &ecordsO 4oes anyone ever actually think those re" release album series covers where the original artwork is framed in a vault or some sort of stone actually look goodF $his 3loody >limax reissue is the first in one such series from ?athargo &ecords entitled <eavy 9etal >lassics! and while the original muted plain black sleeve with its slanted sci"fi band logo and bizarrely chosen >hinese takeaway menu album font was not exactly much of a looker to begin with, it certainly has not been improved by this treatment. 9ore to the point I have to take issue with the decision to reissue this on >4 at all, especially when the half hour of bonus tracks on the same disc break up the flow of the album and make this feel like more like a compilation. Eiven the fact as well that this -CB[ rarity is one of the most difficult to find and expensive to buy Eerman 9etal records of all time 5in the same league as triple

figure relics like 3lack *ate and >reature7 surely a double )8 with the bonus tracks would have made much more senseF 'ne thing that I have absolutely zero arguments with though is the music. 'ne of the rarerst records in Eerman 9etal history it may be, but the people this will appeal to most by far are (%'3<9 fanatics. 'pening cut 2dge 'f $he 4aring! lays down the foundation of +axon6$ygers 'f 8an $ang influence that prevails throughout, as well as introducing the uni.uely melodic and almost fragile vocals of 9atthias 9mller that call to mind the likes of 8aul Easkin. 'ther (%'3<9 classic bands are evoked too, such as <olocaust on the title track, early 4ef )eppard on $urning In >ircles! and a host of great bands like 4emon, +parta and Airtue on )iving In $he (ight.! In short, for real fans of the (ew %ave 'f 3ritish <eavy 9etal this is utterly essential. It s influences may be worn firmly on the sleeve but 3loody >limax were not without their own discernible style, and the songwriting is at times wonderfully uni.ue and inventive. $he closest they come to dud tracks are on the anti"climatic closer to the album portion of the >4, (o 8aragon!, and the earlier instrumental 3loody >limax!, but when it comes to songs like $urn $o Ice!, )iving In $he (ight! and $urning In >ircles! they rank as some of the best songs I have ever heard in this style. $hey really are that goodK $he first of the / bonus tracks are taken from a -CBQ split that was to be the band s swansong which shows that they seemed to be taking a faster route towards the end, verging into Avenger"es.ue +peed 9etal territories but retaining their sweet ultra"melodic vocals and guitar lines. *irst among the unreleased songs *ight *or 9y )ife! has a thinner yet rougher production to accompany its more rocky vibe, similar to the Jameson &aid"like album track >inderella!, and really stands out thanks to the raw unproduced vocals which sound .uite unlike any of the other songs. $his anomaly aside though the remaining bonus tracks are all stone cold killer cuts in their own right, and $aken 3y *orce! in particular demonstrates #ust how much more this band had to offer than what they did in their short lifetime as a band. 9ake no mistake, this may be the best unearthed B0 s 9etal rarity of recent times. NC6-0O Branikald% Z[\]^_ \`ab`cd`eaf g`ahgij N3laze3irth <allO 'riginally self"released on tape in /000 during 3ranikald s most musically fruitful, yet also most obscure, period this album 5known in 2nglish as 'a/aged B, The Battle "f Things7 finally sees the light of day on >4. Aiewed alongside earlier efforts 5essentially everything from dVbut +arg F=erne a Tornet up until >?@ABCDE?FGAHI J?@ABKBECLCMNDKC/A 3ife Betra,al To A 3ife Denial7 there is much less emphasis on lengthy compositions and droning (orse"style buzzing darkness, and this album definitely figures into the -CCC til /00creative burst for 3ranikald where it once again for the first time since the demos became a solo pro#ect of ?aldrad.

$hat phase was bookended by / releases on +tellar %inter records, firstly the all"time genre classic OLGPGK@CE/Blikk A/ #ald and the swansong of QE?RMS TCL?/Trium h Des Willens, but the core of it was a trilogy of ambient"leaning self"releases in /000 that to this day even with the aid of the internet are hard to find in either hard copy or digital formats. UG@PRKGV Q?AW TBDECK/'ising 0 The Thing "f Winds was reissued on >4 in /0-- by +tellar %inter, and now this leaving only the first part of the series, XDERA YGDVARDZ[ TPC[ACKBAHV XDGLH/The Strings "f !ns iration Sing yet to be unearthed. $hat of course means that this is not the last piece of the 3ranikald puzzle, but for fans of the 3laze3irth <all sound, especially it s musical and spiritual heights, this is #ust as essential. Aside from the total straight"ahead 3lack 9etal blitzing of the title track here 5distinguished by its uni.ue and distant crashing drum sound7 which is actually pretty refined this is the rawest effort of the 1 3ranikald albums from /000. After a brief haunting piano intro track 3y $he +urf 'f $he %aves 'f Inspiration! takes flight with a rawness that is very similar to the #/eldul/ album, but also an undeniably epic strain in the rough melodies and vocal style that is e.ual parts 9oonblood, 3athory and even early *alkenbach. Along with the raw, blustery and .uite hypnotic track that follows, $o $he +pirit 'f Aalour! you can really see where this band had ma#or stylistic influence on raw melodic acts of the future like 8agan <ellfire and the whole (etal $o\r <ue&eco\s scene in >anada. Aside from an admirably seamless blending of the second of two U"minute long ambient interludes to bridge between the title track and the closer 'f %ill And *ury! there is not much to shout about in the second half of this album, and it also suffers slightly from the fact -1 years on it is beginning to sound a little dated. I would definitely not recommend this over #/eldul/ or Blikk A/ #ald as an entry point to this band or style, but for anyone looking for a more in"depth initiation, for a complete collection or even #ust an important piece of 3lack 9etal evolution this is definitely an album to pick up. NQ6-0O 0alloween% /o Dne :ets Dut N8ure +teel &ecordsO A gap of Q years between a first and second album is a rare thing, and rarer still that a band seven years older can keep the flame of youth and creativity burning for that long without choking out. <alloween achieved that feat with this sophmore )8 all the way back in -CC- though, and here it is at last with a vinyl re"release, the first -00 on green vinyl. $he unusual gap between recordings is alluded to in the song Q Jears! which is a powerful statement of distaste at the collapse of 9etal in the early C0 s and of a stubborn willingness to give up regardless of that. In that interim the 4etroit <orror 9etal masters evidently kept up with shifting trends as in tracks like the opening title track, >rawl $o $he Altar! and even the more mid"paced number from deep in this [- minute opus $he $hing $hat >reeps.! $ouches and 9egadeth and 'verkill are detectable, but ultimately the template of

traditional S+ 9etal, particularly of the slow variety, is not abandoned. If I 4ie Jou 4ie! is the first track of this type coming in right behind the contrasting (o 'ne Eets 'ut Alive!, and boasts some pretty killer lyrics positing on mortality, but it really isn t til the run of great songs beginning with the almost inspirational ?ings! that this takes off. *rom there the epic B minute +anity In 4anger! begins with its genuinely unnerving spoken intro 5one of the best in 9etal history, hands down7 and captures upon a vibe like ?ing 4iamond at his solo material s best, and with huge touches of >andlemass for the doomy elements. $he triumvirate of classics is rounded off with almost e.ually as long slow" burn ballad 9iss 2erie s >hild.! 3oth musically and lyrically this track is so simple, yet so infectious and genius at the same time. %ithout a doubt the central /0 minutes of this album are the best that <alloween, and among the best than any S+ <eavy68ower 9etal band, ever committed to tape. $he only thing that stops this surpassing the -CBL classic of Don)t (etal With 1/il is that this .uality is not maintained throughout. $here is nothing at all bad about the )izzy 3orden"ish mid"paced rocker <alloween! and the homage to their hometown and heroes with a cover of 4etroit &ock >ity! 5though personally I felt the ?iss cover would ve worked better as a live recording7, but they take the edge off the album s concision and power #ust enough to stop this becoming <alloween s finest ever output. It is still among the best traditional <eavy 9etal albums of the -CC0 s though, and an essential purchase for anyone with an interest in the band. NB6-0O 0alloween% 0orror 7ire N8ure +teel &ecordsO $he decision by 8ure +teel to reissue this particular <alloween album from /00U alongside $o "ne Gets "ut 5with -CCQ s Aictims 'f $he (ight getting the treatment last year7, thereby skipping out the interceding Tricks7 Treats And Tales From The *r, t from /001, would seem to suggest a discerning level of .uality control from the label. Alarm bells start to ring straight away though when the daunting UB minute length and -C track album looms. Eiven that keeping consistent throughout the album length was the only letdown factor with $o "ne Gets "ut, surely an even longer album might prove to not be <alloween s forteF $he album starts with I Am!, an overlong and frankly daft spoken word intro 5even by <alloween s standards who occasionally can make these sounds genuinely spooky7 that is a similar bad omen for the overall .uality of this album" as are the / intros to the proper opening track %ake Sp +creaming! that follow. It is fully 1 and a half minutes in total before the first riff is heard, and while this song has other features to recommend it like the slick and powerful modern production and 3rian $homas clever use of internal rhyme in the lyrics, overall it is a bit average and not worth the wait. $he growing feeling seems to be that this album has a lot of excess fat in need of trimming compared to their leaner and more straight"to"the"point previous efforts.

$he rest of the first side of this 4)8 is actually pretty decent thanks to the melodic rocker <alloween (ight! that incorporates a vibe somewhere in between early 4emon and early 4ef )eppard, the powerful number $he >rush! and album high"point 2xist.! $he latter of these 1 tracks in particular show not only the band being able to adapt to modern production values without losing the core of their classic sound, but also how much 3rian $homas has kept his characterful voice and status as one of the best lyricists in 9etal. $he >rush! and 2xist! in particular could not have been written without a sense of venerable world"weariness so in one respect at least <alloween have gotten better with age. Snfortunately that is the only respect in which this is true, and this is the last thing on this album to be positive about. +ome of the tracks on the other 1 sides to this 4)8 are merely filler rather than outright bad" in particular >andles!, (obody s <ome! and $he 3attles.! %riting an album of this length late into a band s career is a pretty risky venture unless they have a strong concept to work from as it goes against the natural decline of a band s well of creativity as age sets in. *ire +till 3urns! ironically proves this point by showing <alloween s creativity flame flickering dangerously close to burning out. $he attempt from the band to counter this by modernising is what turns this from an album of dullness to one of embarrassment. $he less that is said about the pointless interludes and outro and the surprisingly ill" fitting cover of Alice >ooper s Eo $o <ell! the better, but where this really falls down is the inclusion of modern groovy! riffs. It starts with the utterly flat and lifeless $he +eer! and gets steadily worse by trying to incorporate sound mid"C0 s +epultura bounce and <atebreed aggression on &age! but where it becomes really difficult to take is on <ead Against $he %all! with it s use of the word fuck in the lyrics, >oming $o )ife! with its tough guy shtick and closing track *ighting %ords! which has both. It is even more disappointing because at the beginning of *ighting %ords! it sounds almost like it is going to be a big ballad number, something that would have worked so much better. Just as it re.uires the weight of years to be palatable behind the voice to make it sound authentic, anger needs youth to make it sound real, and that is something that 3rian $homas simply doesn t have. I haven t heard <alloween s latest album from /0-/, but after this to get back on track they really need to reassess their limitations. $he fact that it exceeds even this Q0 minute steamer for length and carries the +epultura namesake title of Terrortor, would suggest that they haven t though. <ow the mighty have fallen. N16-0O <ackal% >ry Df 1he <ackal N8ure Snderground &ecordsO In an unusual fashion for a reissue of a late B0 s obscurity like this one this edition is actually the first time Jackal s sole -CBC album has been available on vinyl as the original release in $he (etherlands was only as a self"

released >4. *or extra attractiveness to collectors and completists the original U"track 10 minute long album has been s.ueezed on to the first side of the wax while tracks from their -CBQ and -CC- demos make up the flipside, and also rather unusually for rarely heard"of records from that era it also sounds fairly fresh for its time. &ather than taking part in the recycling of decade old ideas that helped to foster <eavy 9etal s decline this album fits into the timeframe of where the melodic and progressive sides of the genre were headed at the tail end of the B0 s. 4espite the often somewhat simplistic riffs on the album points of comparison can be made to :ueensr;che and Somewhere !n Time/Se/enth Son "f A Se/enth Son-era 9aiden throughout, and always for better or for worse Jackal utilise a pretty uni.ue sound. 'n the first / of the final 1 tracks, the ones from their -CC- demo, the similarities to :ueensr;che become even more pronounced while the final song 2nchantress! has a bounce and groove to it whilst retaining metal traditionalism that bridges the gap with the popular acts of the time like *aith (o 9ore and )iving >olor. If Jackal had have been picked up by a label at this time they could possibly have achieved a modicum of success where it not for one massive spanner in the works" the vocals. $here has certainly been worse attempts made on the mic in this genre but frankly they make looking positively on this band as a whole an insurmountable task. 'n album opener 8ain In $he Ass! they are more of a curiosity, though they also show the total flatness and lack of drama that makes 8haraoh! such an awkward listen. $hey improve slightly on $he )aw! whilst the higher notes managed on (ightmare! give a bit of a post"#ee ers <elloween vibe. It s unfortunate though that the best song on this album is the self"titled instrumental, and with nothing else to say I think that sad fact says it all. N16-0O ,ystifier% 1he 'orld Is .o :ood 1hat 'ho ,ade It $oesn@t ?ive 0ere N(uclear %ar (owKO Although this obscure -CCU cut from 9ystifier s back catalogue deserved this re" release on the basis of it being the first ever vinyl edition alone, it is also an important piece of 3lack 9etal history in dire need of unearthing and wider dissemination. 1 years in the making after G]etia this was an ambitious album that drew away from 9ystifier s primitive roots by mirroring and even furthering a lot of what was going on in 2uropean 3lack 9etal at the time, and was lightyears ahead of any of their +outh American peers. *or the most part the playing is still raw and riddled with imperfections, but compared with the stifling and primitive school of blasphemy where they had their genesis this is incredibly layered and atmospheric stuff with more in common with the <ellenic and >entral 2uropean, and occasionally 2nglish, styles of 3lack 9etal. 'pening track Eive $he <uman 4evil <is 4ue! still has all the hallmarks of their first / albums" killer wicked solo, menace"dripping riffs, bestial vocals and those keyboards that

littered the previous albums now swamp this one. $he first example of them here combined with the whispered vocals give a sort of >radle 'f *ilth6<ecate 2nthroned feel, but elsewhere this has the rich, dense layers and ambitious structuring of the likes of 9asters <ammer, 9ortuary 4rape and (ecromantia. $he lyrics too are a big signifier of the ambitiousness that no other 3razilian band was showing at the time, but for fans of real B0 s 9etal ov dess there is thankfully room for some 9etalenglish speak as well" my personal favourite being <eyK <ave a look as your spirit is so weight! on the third track $he 4eath 'f An Immortal 5According $o $he Astral )ight7.! 2ven compared alongside such timeless classics that this shares a sound with such as All The Witches Dance and *rossing The Fier, Path this album has aged remarkably well. In fact the only elements to take issue with are those that would have sounded as goofy in -CCU as they do now" namely the clean vocals. $hey range from wonderfully amateur attempts at 8avarotti"style tenor canti 5good7, to the heavily accented more spoken style 5not so good.7 In fact, those that begin the album are so daft it might even put first time listeners off venturing any further, and even many listens it will be hard not to giggle at that opening drunken splutter of Attack fire against fire, when your enemies attack you.! $he last time I heard vocals this absurd it was on the truly awful 9onty 8ython"referencing album by *rench $hrash band &Vsistance that got slated in %'A* ,-. $hese dopey half"baked vocals are a bad that unfortunately has to be taken with the good on this album, but thankfully nearly everything else is of sterling .uality. $he keyboard parts tend towards extreme simplicity, very basic melodies made of only two or three notes, but their evocativeness cannot be understated" especially on Idolatry.! $he bass guitar deserves a special mention too for the strange melody it provides on A >hant $o $he Eoddess...! and also $he 4eath 'f An Immortal! which has to rate as one of the strongest bass performances ever on an album in this genre. $he album finale 9oonick 5%hy 4oes It (ever &ain 'n $he 9oon7! is by far the best track on here though with its emotionally deep 4eath64oom atmospherics mixed once again with that sickly, Eothic >radle 'f *ilth vibe, some great guitar lead work too courtesy of <eadhunter 4.>. man 8aulo )isboa and is a total riff"fest too to bootK $he last minute and a half though are where it is really at= simply spectacular songwriting that moved +outh America out of the 3lack64eath 9etal dark ages and paved the way for other ambitious acts from the region like In.uisition. Ignoring the ill"fitting / bonus songs that (%(K have tacked on to this, losing a point in the process for ruining the album flow, The World !s So Good--- is one of the pieces of 3lack 9etal wax you will pick up this year. NB6-0O .kinflint% Iklwa N8ure +teel &ecordsO If you haven t heard of +kinflint before then you can hardly be blamed seeing as they are 3otswana s first <eavy 9etal band, making them geographically speaking one of the most

obscure acts around. $hey are now also now the first band 5to my knowledge7 to hail from sub"+aharan Africa to have proper distribution in the northern hemisphere, both for their 1rd album released earlier in /0-1 and this reissue of their second album from back in /0-0. >onsidering how, whether a fan of traditional <eavy 9etal or not, most people will have a natural curiosity in how this band sounds I have to say releasing these / albums is a smart business choice for 8ure +teel. 'ne might expect the label to promote this find of theirs rather shamelessly, like a con.uistador returning with savage! people in chains, or that the promo sheet for this release might read like one of Alexander $he Ereat s letters to Aristotle, but in fact what they have written is very sober, preferring to talk about the music rather than dwell on the curiosity of the band s location. In their haste to infer that this is a band whose music would stand up regardless of where they came from 8ure +teel even make bold comparisons to the mighty 9anilla &oad and >irith Sngol" boasts that unfortunately prove to be hollow. 8ure +teel don t seem to be interested of playing a game of trivialising or fetishising +kinflint s difference, but there will still be listeners looking to do so, some out of innocent curiosity some maybe out of a more sinister intention of wanting to find grounds to reinforce their stereotypes of Africa and its people. Snfortunately this album s / and a half minute intro track seems to do that for them. It sounds e.ual parts like Iron 9aiden s :uest *or *ire! and those (ew Age6%orld 9usic! albums made by anthropologists where they exploit choirs of pygmy natives and never pay them royalties" narrated by the baboon from $he )ion ?ing. 3efore anyone attempts to aim of a charge of racism at me for that description let me say that it comes from the fact I feel it has a potential to be demeaning and embarrassing, the same way as an Irishman I find a lot of >eltic! 9etal embarrassing and even offensive. $here s incorporating your own culture into 9etal and that s all well and good, but you also need to know when it fits and when it doesn t, and unfortunately this kitsch spoken word piece #ust doesn t add anything positive. *or anyone listening with racialized motivations the fun! for them mostly stops there. +ure there is some ooh"oohK! chants on opening track proper Iron 8ierced ?ing! and the lyrics do dwell on 3otswana warrior culture and history 5for example 9bube $he Ereat!7 but at no point does this break into +epultura style tribal 9etal. $he music is far from great though, and those comparisons to 9anilla &oad and >irith Sngol never really materialise. A case might be made for the slower tracks like 3urning $he +oul %ith 4iesel! and $he *allen! but it s hard to make a true analysis between these tracks and an album like Frost And Fire when it sounds so thin. $hat lack of dynamism in the production is the main issue, rather than anything to do with the musicianship and in any case sounding thus was probably inevitable given the location. 9ost bands from impoverished southern hemisphere countries get away with poor production values as part of their charm,

as is the case with +outh American or +outheast Asian 3lack64eath6$hrash bands, but as a traditional 9etal band +kinflint aren t really afforded that luxury. &ather than distributing their 1 albums to date maybe 8ure +teel would be better helping the band get to somewhere in 2urope for future recordingsF $here is musical aptitude here, particularly in the solo sections where this album is at its most en#oyable, but overall I would say that +kinflint are far too indebted to Iron 9aiden. $here is taking influence from someone and then there is hero"worship in need of toning down, like on 8rofit 9aking *uneral! which sounds like various guitar, bass and drum bits from various 9aiden songs simply stitched together in new combinations. It is far from the worst 9aiden rip"off band I ve come across, but without a second guitarist to harmonise those guitar leads they are not going to be one of the best at it either. >uriosity, for whatever purpose, is going to be the main reason to check this album out, but as for a reason for repeat listens there really is none. N/6-0O .kinflint% $i"oko N8ure +teel &ecordsO I toyed with the idea of putting this review in the main section, as Di oko only had its African >4"& release in /0-/ I figured the material was still fresh enough to warrant inclusion, especially as this is the first time it s really been available in the rest of the world. Instead I put it here along with 8ure +teel s recent reissue of the 3otswana band s /nd longplayer, and compared to previous efforts by +kinflint, this is a big step"up in .uality. Aside from the fact the spoken word intro is a hell of a lot less kitsch this time the most obvious sign of this is the improvement in the guitar tone. +ections such as the mid"paced 9aiden gallop on 3lood 'x &itual! and the melodic leads at the end of 9ask 'f $he 4ead! are good enough that they successfully disguise the fact that this band have only one guitarist which previously, apart from the low production values and poor guitar tone, was the biggest factor in how flat and empty the music sounded. %ith this advancement though has come a catch which is that the early Iron 9aiden bass sound so well mimicked on !klwa has disappeared and been replaced by a pretty horrible elastic band plucking noise, and despite the fact previously I thought Eiuseppe +brana s heavily"accented 3ruce 4ickinson impersonation was a bad example of excessive hero worship here I really do wish he was able to hit some high notes more appropriate to this style than his own natural growl. Piece "f (ind and Powersla/e are still the foundations that this is built on, but it is the songs where this plays less of a role where +kinflint s biggest advancements become clear. I still don t get that >irith Sngol vibe that the label insists is there even on the slower 3lood 'x &itual! but it nevertheless shows some semblance of power as do the slightly $hrash" tinged $he 9ists 'f 9adness! and the chorus"driven Iron 9amba.! I still think that if they are left to their own devices in 3otswana their newfound northern hemisphere listeners will still see only their novelty value.

+kinflint s future should hopefully lie in being flown north to 2urope where they can be partnered with an experienced producer to untap their potential, as left on their own at this rate of progress it will still take several albums more til they show anything of true .uality. N[6-0O 1he ,e=merist% 1he Innocent, 1he 7orsaken, 1he :uilty N+hadow ?ingdom &ecordsO Eiven that it is a rarity that has only appeared on ebay less than / dozen times and fetches between v-[0"[00 the physical rarity and monetary value of this -/! 28 from -CB[ doesn t need to be elaborated much more than that. <owever this records s appeal I believe is as much to do with its back story and character as its extreme rarity, so while this >4 reissue won t affect those high prices it seems almost a shame to allow such a mysterious 9etal artefact to be pressed onto that ignoble format. $his looks and sounds like a deleted episode of 4octor %ho in which the 4octor arrived to earth in -CB1, disguised himself as a >alifornia guitar"wizard with a skullet called $homas 9ezmercado! 5a man who nothing is known about except for this release7, replete with the 4octor s usual outrageous fashion sense, somehow managed to recruit 3ill %ard 5yes, that 3ill %ard7 on drums and then record this L song 28, which has been bumped with 1 songs from a later unreleased demo for the benefit of those who already have the vinyl. $he intro track titled $he *orsaken! is a piece of pure <awkwind worship with its poetic fantasy narration, particularly akin to their Warrior At The 1dge "f Time )8, and this old 8sych68rog influence is spread through the soloing on all these tracks and begs comparison s to 8aul >hain Aiolet $heatre at every turn. $he 4oom side of the e.uation that begins on 4ead 'nes >ry (o 9ore! is very similar to early >irith Sngol rhythms, both in the drumming and the basslines, and the percussive claps give this an irresistibly catchy vibe in spite of how nuts it is. %hat separates this from other bands in this style and of that era though is the crazy vocals, a child"like nasal early 9ercyful *ate"style falsetto. $hose comparisons to the 4anish 9etal kings don t stop at the vocals on Arabian (ights! which sounds like a really demented, trippy outtake from around the time of (uns <ave (o *un!, and Aictim 'f 2nvironmental >hange! provides a similarly leftfield on a standardised 9etal sound by adding a slightly (u %ave robotic vocal approach to it s %itchfinder Eeneral"meets"Jameson &aid vibe. As the bass gets funkier in the second half of this track it seemingly pre"empts what *aith (o 9ore would be doing a few years later, and this bizarre clairvoyance rears its head on the bonus tracks again when the $hin )izzy6Iron 9aiden gallop of (o *amily, (o *riends! gives way to riffing that is a dead ringer for (irvana" half a decade before Erunge was incepted. $he more I think about it, maybe my 4octor %ho theory isn t so unlikely after all... 2ither way, this is one of the true uni.ue relics of 9etal history. It has its pointers, but on the whole it is .uite unlike anything that has gone before or come since. NQ6-0O

0ails to $ead ?ordB Although a good few of our readers may be familiar with you by now, either from your e cellent Good) e Repentance album on 0igh ;oller ;ecords or from live a""earances like at ,uskelrock festival, I still always find it@s good to get a bit of history of the band to start with# 0ow did you form& 'ho had the original vision of what $ead ?ord would be& As members were gathering how were each chosen& 'as their a goal or a vision in mind straight from the beginning& 0ow long were you together as a band before going in to record your /o 6rayers >an 0el" 3ou /ow k8& 5<akim ?rim" guitar and vox7 <eyK %ell I guess it all started with me getting tired of my old band. I decided to .uit that band and move to +tockholm. I didnGt really have a plan, but I knew Adam from meeting him at gigs and festivals. I asked him to try some songs out with me. At first he wasnGt too keen on it, but after a few weeks of nagging, he eventually gave it a try and it sounded great right away. After that we looked around for musicians who s playing we liked. %e both knew 'lle and $obbe, also from meeting them at parties and at gigs. %e asked them and they were up for it.

I guess I have always been the driving force in the band. I write most of the songs, take care of the business part, etc. I also did the band logo, merch layouts and website. I think I must have been pretty clear on what I wanted when starting 4ead )ord. A good clean twin guitar rock band. $he only thing I didnGt really plan was to do the vocals. It #ust ended up that way. 7rom the sound on both on the k8 and the ?6 I get a feeling that you have a very loose and organic way of working in the studio# 0ow rela ed do you a""roach songwriting and recording& Are things like using vintage gear or working s"ecifically Dla as "roducer on both releases (going as far as to head to .un .tudios in $ublin for the album) im"ortant in creating your authentically k0@s%referencing sound&

tends to #ust sound dull and boring. %hen it comes to writing, ItGs pretty relaxed as well. 2veryone usually gets into it. 2ven if I write most of the songs, 'lle and Adam usually come up with ideas too. +ome songs are written through #amming, and some by co" writing with each other. 1hanks in "articular to 0akim and Dlle@s twin guitar style the band has so far been most heavily com"ared to 1hin ?i==y, sometimes coming close to being written off as a tribute act# 'hile the ?i==y com"arison is not one I would shy away from I feel it runs a lot dee"er in your music than sim"ly the harmonising guitar style# 0akim@s vocal style for e am"le definitely evokes 6hil ?ynott at least in delivery and timbre, the lyrical themes and "atterns on 50ank8 make it a "erfect listening accom"animent to to ?i==y classic 5<ohnny8 and 5/o ,ore 2 cuses8 shows a brilliant understanding of all facets of 1hin ?i==y@s brilliance, not +ust their straight u" rocking, by calling to mind their ballads# 1o me the song is like a combination of 5.arah8 and 5:ot 1o :ive It J"#8 $oes 1hin ?i==y cast a long shadow over your songwriting style then, without being so overbearing as to dominate what you do& Also, while you were recording did you find time to do any 1hin ?i==y tourist activities, like his statue outside Bru elles "ub or meeting 6hilomena ?ynott& I have heard she is always keen to meet young bands influenced by her son# $hin )izzy has had an influence on my songwriting, but I think it has gotten

I guess you could say that itGs a pretty relaxed atmosphere in the studio. %e like to get in there and really #ust play the songs, have a couple of beers and have a good time. Just like we do on stage. 9aybe add a harmony or extra solo here and there, but thatGs pretty much it. %e feel that a band should sound on record the way they sound on stage. And thatGs what we set out to capture. Ssing gear that is old isnGt too I think we hit the studio after maybe important, but the thing is that the three weeks as a band. And by that vintage style amps sound way better. time we had only rehearsed together as %ay more organic and dynamic. $hatGs a whole band three times or so. %hile why we use them. %e like drums that recording the Q!, we didnGt really know sound like drums, bass that sound like what would become of the recordings. bass, and vocals that doesnGt sound like 2ventually I talked to +ven from synthesizers. %e never really talked Antichrist and asked him whether he about it, though. %e #ust happened to could pass the recordings on to the have the same taste in tone. In my <igh &oller &ecords guys. <e did, and opinion nearly all of the modern rock a few weeks later we had a Q! in our bands nowadays use way too much hands. distortion and compression, and that

way too much focus. $o me, we donGt sound more like )izzy than any standard heavy metal band sounds like Accept or Iron 9aiden. 3ut my listening to )izzy may have coloured my song writing a bit more than IGd like to understand. IGm not really into all that fan stuff. I like to listen to songs and see concerts. +ometimes read a book about a band but thatGs pretty much it. +o I didnGt really care to do the )izzy fan stuff when we were in 4ublin. 3ut somehow everyone in 4ublin seems to have a story about how they know some guy from )izzy. $he cab driver who picked us up from the airport said that he was 3rian 4owneyws cousin. %e heard stories like that our whole visit. 8robably none of them were true.

?ate in the .ummer you announced that 1obbe had de"arted to focus on 2nforcer, being re"laced by ,artin /ordin on bass# I am not familiar with ,artin@s background, so how did this changeover come about& 'ill this "ositively or negatively affect that great chemistry the band had in the studio on the first 2 recordings& Are Dlle or Adam likely to have to follow suit at some "oint due to commitments with ,orbus >hron or .ordid 7lesh& $obbe told us straight up after a weekend tour, that he really didnGt feel -00T about 4ead )ord $here were no hard feelings and we are still friends. I understand him. I mean, he was on tour when we had our release party and heGs missed a lot of great gigs because of 2nforcer. After all 2nforcer is his main band, and we knew that from the start.

<ammaburg and &ock <ard festivals in Eermany. 9ore is being booked, and we are working our asses of. I think a commercial breakthrough could be possible. ItGs all about working hard. %henever I talk to musicians whoGs had their break they always seem to say that. I take their word for it, and try to do my best. %e have the advantage of having both metalheads, rockers and dads in our fanbase. $hatGs great.

."eaking of the dual scenes you straddle of 0ard ;ock (thanks to your sound) and ,etal (thanks to your associated members), how are you "erceived by each of these& .o far from what I have seen the res"onse has been very "ositive from the ,etal community, though with a <owever, I did meet +cott Eorham at a few detractors# Dften it seems that local pub here in +tockholm a few bands "laying a >lassic ;ock style weeks ago. I gave him a copy of our get criticised from ,etal !uarters album. I hope he likes it. Adam and 'lle however seems to have for being overly derivative, though become 4ead )ord as much as me, and the same often doesn@t get a""lied to In addition to 1hin ?i==y I hear a lot that really is a heart warming feeling. "ur"osefully retro ,etal acts# 0as else going on in your sound, like It would be hard to have a 4ead )ord their been much mudslinging of this other >lassic ;ock bands such as without them, and I know they feel the kind aimed at $ead ?ord& J7D and maybe a little bit of same way too. 9artin, IGve known ;ainbow, u"beat fellow .wedes like since I was three years old. %e went to 1o me it would make no sense as the 1he 0ellaco"ters and Im"erial .tate the same school and he #ust happened band is no less indebted to 1hin 2lectric, but most of all ;oky to move to +tockholm the same week ?i==y than Adam@s other band 2rickson who 0akim tonally is a $obbe decided to .uit. <e is a great ,orbus >hron are to Auto"sy, or dead ringer for and that I also hear musician and singer, and I really donGt former member 1obias@ other band in that 5clean8 vintage sound you know why we never played together 2nforcer are to Iron ,aiden)1okyo have on your recordings# 5:host before. I believe the chemistry has Blade# Also, lately thanks to the 1own8 in "articular sounds like it improved since he #oined us. %e have efforts of yourselves and could have fitting easily on ;oky@s done some of our best shows with him 9anderbuyst, as well as a resurgence classic The !*il %ne +'lus %ne, ?6 and we recently recorded a split Q! in the likes of Ashbury and some from the vocal lines to the s"ooky with 3lack $rip. It sounds killerK knock%on effect from the Dccult vibe right to the way it kicks u" a ;ock cra=e the "erce"tion of 0ard notch for the final chorus# 0ave ;ock in ,etal circles seems to these or any other bands been big 0ow have the level of gigs you "lay becoming a lot more favourable influences on you in the way that changed since the album release& again# 0ave you noticed this& 1hin ?i==y clearly has& 1he only bills I have seen your name on was ,uskelrock and 0ells %e donGt really think too much about As a +wede <ellacopters is of course a 6leasure festivals over the .ummer# those things. %e play and have fun. great influence. 3oth me, 'lle and $o you find yourself "laying both $he response we have gotten so far has especially Adam are huge <ellacopters ,etal and s"ecifically 0ard ;ock been overwhelmingly good. <e have fans. I donGt know about 9artin 5or events and is im"ortant for your to played 9etal festivals, like the $obbe7 but IGve never heard them target both scenes& 0ow se"arate Eetaway &ock *estival, and we played complain when we spin a <ellacopters are the two in .weden& $o you think for a full house that night. +o I donGt record in the van. %e know the guys as a commercial breakthrough in your think thereGs any conflict there. If there well, and thatGs really inspirational too. own country similar to 1he is, IGm too busy to mind it. %e sometimes sit like little children 0ellaco"ters or Im"erial .tate listening when they tell us touring 2lectric might be "ossible at some Anything you@d like to add& stories. Ereat guys, all of themK stage& >heck out our video to <ammer $o the As for other influences, youGre spot on. %eGve been playing a few festivals and <eart. It got done somewhat late, but 3ut we listen to everything from some clubs in +weden. $his spring we itGs finally here. >heck it out herel Aenom and 4arkthrone to Abba and will be playing some more festivals in www.deadlord.com 'tis &edding. +weden, a +pain tour and <ell 'ver

0ails to AlleywayB %.tart off by giving us the history of the band# 0ow did you +oin together to make this new *%"iece& $id you know each other from "revious musical outfits beforehand& .ome 'DA7 readers may remember /ick@s band ;a=or 7ist whose $etal $inds ?6 came out on 0igh ;oller a few years ago, but otherwise I think you may be com"lete unknowns to most# (ick and I have been friends for many years now, as well as the other guys in &azor *ist. %eGre all from the same city 5'skosh, %isconsin7 so naturally our earlier bands played a lot of shows together over the years. I attended a lot of &azor *ist shows and rehearsals. I guess you could say I was some sort of roadie at one point. In my old bands I primarily played bass guitar, but a few years back I took an interest in the drums and started playing on my own. $hen one day (ick called me up and asked to play with him on a new pro#ect he wanted to get started, which eventually became Alleyway. $o find a bass player that would fit well with Alleyway we recorded a demo 5with (ick recording the bass tracks7, #ust to make sure that our future bassist would be into what we were doing. Andy was on the top of our list for bass players. <is old band, Spon 2xtinction has played some shows with &azor *ist, and is a big supporter of local <eavy 9etal, and has promoted shows in the past. %e asked him to come down and check us out, and he immediately hopped on board with Alleyway. %0ow !uickly did you get musical ideas together for your debut ?6 No -ast Call& 'as it confidence in the material that meant you went to this stage rather than go through releasing demos first& :iven the style I think you might have a "retty loose a""roach to songwriting so was this a factor in the !uickness of getting your shit together too&

I believe itGs safe to say that (ick is a good songwriter. <e has most of the songs written before we even started playing together. As stated in the previous .uestion, we did record a demo5although never released7. It was the same eight songs that are on the )8. $he next step was to go into the studio, record, and release it as soon as we could. 9any bands in the local scene 5including bands weGve previously played in7 take far too long to have anything released, so we wanted to have something out right away. %e wanted a real raw sound so to answer your .uestion, yes we were confident in our material to release a record right away. %1he most obvious influence seems to be ,otArhead, but is there anyone else who has had a "articularly big im"act on your sound& 0ow closely aligned do you feel to other heavily ,otArhead%influenced band who abound these days, such as ,idnight, 6an=erbastard, 0ammer 7ight and Iron 7ist in the Jnited .tates, or internationally guys like Ba"homet@s Blood, Atomic ;oar, Ine"sy, Asomvel and 'hi"striker& 2ven though the seeds for the style were laid as far back as :ehennah in .weden in the mid%E0@s and their 50eadbangers Against $isco8 cam"aign the "ast decade has "robably seen the biggest mi ing of 0eavy and $eath)Black ,etal styles with 6unk to create what is generally called ,etal"unk, but lately there seems to be a trend within the trend to ditch the Black ,etal and 6unk bits and focus +ust on the ,otArhead and /'DB0,)"roto% ."eed ,etal elements# In "articular this has been ha""ening in America with the likes of ."eedwolf and even the last ,idnight album, so do you feel comfortable to but "ut in the same category as those guys&

than &*. 9uch of our sounds draws influence from old 8unk and 9etal bands we listened to in our younger days. +ome of our song structure is heavily influenced by $he 9isfits and +amhain. +ome of those old 9isfits songs are so raw and simplistic, which was something we wanted to do with Alleyway. %eGre all 9ot@rhead fans but we never said 'k letGs start a band that sounds like 9ot@rhead!, but we never said we wanted to sound like anyone. %e wanted our music to be our own. *or myself and being a new drummer I was listening to a lot of crossover bands I havenGt listened to in years" +acrilege, 2nglish 4ogs, and 3lack Sniforms a lot of 9etal and 8unk out of the S?. I think some of my drum parts came out differently than I expected, but overall we were satisfied with our sound. I think itGs great to be put into the same category as some of those bands you mentioned. IGm glad to see this 9etalpunk! genre make some sort of comeback. %hile we were putting the album together some of us started to discover some of these bands. %eGve actually been compared to 9idnight a few times, which is appreciated. $he 9idwest doesnGt have many bands that do anything like what we are doing, so itGs fuckin cool to see a band like 9idnight, coming straight out of >leveland, gain in popularity and play <eavy 9etal festivals all over the world. )astly, Alleyway has no problem being put into the same category with bands that veer more into the (%'3<9 style, but I canGt say that we will ever ditch the 8unk influence. %eGre still a young band so thereGs know way of knowing what we will evolve into yet. %e #ust wanna partyK

%Dne of the things I like most about your album is the downright (ickGs concept for Alleyway was do sim"licity of it all, and that literally something >'98)2$2)J different all the tracks +ust dri" with se , drugs than &azor *ist. <e wanted it to be and ;ock n ;oll# /one of it seems stripped down and raw, with a &ock n forced or tongue in cheek, or like it is &oll party aesthetic. 9uch less technical trying to cash in on a trend# Is

Alleyway a reflection of how you guys live outside the band& Are any of these songs influenced by real life tales of debauchery worth being retold here& Jeah, it s definitely a reflection of how we live outside of the band. +ome things are obviously exaggerated, but the songs on the album are all based off our experiences in our lives.

ItGs always great to see a label take interest in your music. +o, we would be more than willing to let a label release the album on a different format.

%Another reason why I like the fact you have self%released your vinyl album is because it "uts me in mind of all the 5"rivate "ress8 ?6s that came out of the midwest during the glory era of -0@s American ,etal %It@s also worth mentioning that No from bands like ?ester ,addo , -ast Call is only available on vinyl# 0alloween, >oven, $ungeon, Ivory 'hy did you choose only to release on 1iger, 7ortress and of course, the first this format& I have to admire the $I3 cou"le of ,anilla ;oad records# 1o ethic of going the whole hog yourself me this was America@s e!uivalent to rather than releasing on a chea"er the /ew 'ave Df British 0eavy and easier format and use that to try ,etal, and the relative remoteness of and attract a label into footing the bill the ,idwest from the glit= and for the vinyl version# Are you glamour of the cluster of big cities in considering releasing on >$ or ta"e the /ortheast seems to have fostered also if you get an offer from the right a lot of creativity and individuality in label though& that "eriod# 1hat being said, is your location an issue when it comes to %ell, one of the main reasons we "laying live& 0ow often do chances to decided to release the album ourselves "lay outside of your home state arise& was from (ickGs experience with the Is it ever really "ossible to recou" &azor *ist )8s being released from a your costs for driving a state or two Eerman label. 4onGt get me wrong, itGs over for single gigs, and is touring a great to have a label whatsoever release financial "ossibility for small bands at your music, and from Eermany at that, all these days& but those guys didnGt received very many )8s from the label as they were 'ur location has never been an issue, expensive to ship. 8eople from the S+ and havenGt had any big problems often complained that they couldnGt find getting gigs. 4ue to working on our )8 the )8 within the S+ at the time. we have only played outside of our home state twice this year, and both +o we #ust decided to go ahead and shows went well and were worth the release the vinyl ourselves. %e did want long drive... +ure, itGs possible for small to release it on >4 as well but we really bands to tour these days without losing could only afford to do one so we any money doing it. ItGs all about decided to go all out and release it on connections and who you know. *rom vinyl. all the bands that weGve played with

over the years, we have .uite a few contacts. IGd also like to add playing with touring bands on a local show is a great way to get a show outside of the area. 9ost smaller bands are willing to trade shows" if you help them get a gig on their tour, most of the time theyGll do the same for you when youGre on the read. ItGs all about networking. (early all of the shows weGve played thus far have been in the 4IJ 8unk69etal circuit, and itGs worked well for us as well as other bands. 2verybody helps each other out and no one is trying to get rich off of anyone else. %'hat are you "lans for the future now& Are you already working on a follow%u" album& &ight now weGre rehearsing songs for our second )8. %e actually had over half of the new songs ready by the time $o 3ast *all was released. <opefully weGll be going into the studio early /0-L to record. After that we plan on going on a S+ tour. %Anything else you@d like to add& $hanks for your interest in AlleywayK %e still have copies available on our website alleyway.bandcamp.com. %eGre also looking for distribution outside of the S+., so if any labels or distros are interested in carrying our )8 please contact us via our bandcamp. ><22&+K 1hank youB >heers and beersB N$o 3ast *all is available now from alleyway.bandcamp.com as an )8 or digital downloadO

Abysmal :rief% 7eretri N$error *rom <ell6<orror &ecordsO Eiven that the progenitors of the genre took their name from a 3oris ?arloff film you could say that horror is the indelible theme in all of 9etal, or at the very least in 4oom. 8lenty of bands flirt with the topic and the imagery, usually sticking within a few select classic like The De/il 'ides "ut, but few bands take horror right to the core of their being as much as Abysmal Erief do. %hereas most bands looking to in#ect some of the horror and suspense of Italian U0 s6Q0 s cinema would use something a bit more obvious from 4ario Argento s filmography Abysmal Erief instead opt for a more obscure Eialli for the cover art of this album entitled 3a Dama 'ossa 0ccide Sette +olte 5or, $he )ady In &ed ?ills +even $imes" a great song title if I ever heard oneK7 (othing when it comes to the atmospherics on this album is handled lightly" the depth of it is incredible. 'ne of the reasons for this is the range of the sources both musical and literary that Abysmal Erief draw upon, so while they may ostensibly be a part of the great Italian 8urple 4oom! tradition, in particular 8aul >hain and 3lack <ole, the amount of that they are indebted to classic 3ritish Eoth &ock is greater than ever before. 'pening track )ords 'f $he *uneral! has the vintage drum sound, sinister guitar tone and spooky organ keys of their Italian forebearers but also the warbly theatricality in the vocals of >arl 9c>oy from *ields 'f $he (ephilim. *rom there <idden In $he Eraveyard! introduces a much heavier and rumbling bass tone while the vocals verge now more towards 3auhaus 8eter 9urphy, and the synths imitate bowed string instruments. $he cheapness of it actually suits Abysmal Erief s style more than a real orchestra would, and the decaying Eothic feel shines through in any case. $he fact that synthesisers are used for these parts mirrors the different kind of vibes the band evoke" everything from -Bth century fiction like 2dgar Allen 8oe, 3ram +toker and Ann &adcliff, to the cheapest pulp paperback horror imaginable. Abysmal Erief manage to be e.ual parts sultry and classy, cheap and kitsch. $he bass tone has to be commended again on $he Eaze 'f $he 'wl!, a sound that you can feel in the belly almost as much as those organ keys can be felt in the bones. $he vocals also tend towards deep growling much more on this track also which provides a vibe not unlike early >radle 'f *ilth. After that the album is on track for a masterful climax, but unfortunately <er +cythe! doesn t .uite deliver, and this album stops #ust short of topping /00C s (isfortune. NB6-0O lvangelist% Dmen 2 .imulacra N4ebemur 9ortiO

In the midst of 9etal being at the most artistically and philosophically"challenging it has ever been it is easy to forget sometimes that at the end of the day the musicians behind those genre niches are #ust as human and #ust as prone to competitiveness as any others. In the B0 s there was the race for $hrash bands to be the fastest= in the C0 s 3lack 9etal bands vied to outdo each other for evilness and lo"fi production and then of course in the late C0 s 4eath 9etal bands began tuning lower, introducing stupid pitch"shifted animal vocals and trying to be more technical6br00tal than thou.! It would be nice to think warped, abyssal 4eath 9etal would be exempt from childish combatativeness like this, but I fear that in trying to distinguish themselves from the small crowd of bands playing this style xvangelist have gone too far. +ome people have called the new Antediluvian album almost unlistenable, but at least on 3ogos everything seems driven by a unified theme. $his album is a mess, and a long and obnoxious mess at that. 'ne of my main issues with this is that it feels like an album of two halves. $he -/ and a half minute opener Aeils! starts off in a much more atmospheric fashion than most contemporaries like 9itochondrion or even 8ortal, to the point that this nearly has as much in common with the most confrontational (oise68ower 2lectronics artists like %hitehouse or +uttcliffe Jmgend, and a real grimey early C0 s %ax $raxK label roster tone to the drums. $here are some of those typically disrhythmic riffs in there too, but it feels as though they are #ust another fragment in this sonic #umble" not given the pride of place they normally are on 9etal records. I have no problem with that personally, and I wouldn t be averse to a whole album in this style, but it s unfortunate that this fairly groundbreaking approach isn t mirrored with similar unusualness thematically or aesthetically. If anything, xvangelist are playing it a bit too safe here in that respect. $he album gets increasingly more 9etal as the hour plus duration ticks along, first with blastbeats coming in on 9irror 'f 2den!, and then some tremelo"picked riffs on <ell +ynthesis.! $he problem is though that the atmospheric noise elements sit like a blanket of static on this, muffling the riffs and strangling any memorability out of them. It is obnoxious to listen to, unnecessary and has no theme behind it" it seems driven only by the desire to take everything about their style and push to the nth degree, losing what made it en#oyable in the first place. $he album gets better in the second half, with the drum fills in the middle of 8rayer *or Ascetic 9isery! and the orthodox 4eath 9etal groove and memorable riffs of &elin.uished 4estiny! and +eclusion! providing some standout moments. It #ust feels too much like a completely different album from how this started out. 'n the atmospheric half of the record they try too hard to beat their

contemporaries, and on the generic straight"up 9etal side they don t try hard enough. NL6-0O Alleyway% /o ?ast >all Nself"releasedO $he more complex and confusing that the modern world and modern music get the more I become attracted to bands by who revel in their #oyous childlike simplicity such as Alleyway. In a time when it is easy to get worn down by the myriad new forms that &ock music is being evolved into and in spite of our creativity we are all rapidly becoming worth less and less as individuals it sometimes serves well to remember where all this came from. Alleyway have a sound that goes right back to the 5real7 birth of &ock n &oll, with )ink %ray slashing his amplifier in some piss"soaked seedy 3oston pub and starting off that .uest for pure awesome volume. $his is the sound of total &ock n &oll, via a detour of 2ast >oast <ardcore 8unk and going right for the #ugular in terms of speed, without out and out worshipping at the altar of 9ot@rhead. $he keyword here is simplicity and it doesn t get simpler than tracks like 'n $he &ocks.! +ome tracks here does have something slightly different to vary it, whether it s the slightly hazy tone to the riff of 3lazing! and the complete 4anzig"era 9isfits lovin of &ock n &oll +ex 9achine!, but for the most part admittedly these songs are #ust variations on the same theme. $he very short running time of /1 minutes should keep most from getting bored, and if you can check your pre#udices at the play button then this really is an undeniably fun listen. $here is hints of dynamism here, like how frontman (ick slowly raises the tempo of his voice on each repeat of the chorus to (eed 9ore +peed! or the pre"chorus to %asted In $he >ity!, and both of these could have been teased out better with a broader production sound. *or a self"release this sounds absolutely wicked though, and in almost every respect I feel this album outshines the frankly pretty disappointing +peedwolf album and sits very comfortably alongside fellow S+ spiritual brethren like 9aax and <ammer *ight. It might take no brains to en#oy this album, but en#oying it should be a no brainer so grab a U pack and see how many you can down before this is over. NQ6-0O A"e ,achine% ,angled By 1he ,achine N&ipple 9usicO A band who has made strides to show elements of both old and new in their sound can be taken in one of two ways" on the one hand it can be seen as a sign of weakness, fear or even a commercial decision in order to try and appeal to more than one crowd, while on the other it can show a braveness, a willingness to not latch on to a particular trend. %ere it not for their clearly modern values it would be easy to lump Ape 9achine in with the current wave of Q0 s

worshipping retro"rockers, but owing to a few factors they defy that easy brushing off and categorisation. *or one thing their /-st century existence is unavoidable right from the opening riff of Eun Jou 4own! with it s awkward time signature, a reflection of chaotic modernity that permeates their otherwise traditional &ock output of this album. $he band s name then reads like a mission statement" there is indeed a somewhat mechanical feel here, but it is a machine clearly fed on the neanderthal"like primordial soup of &ock n &oll. Jet despite the sometimes very modern approach to riff" writing and the slick production values there is one key way in which that has been kept very organic, one that goes against the grain of how many of their peers and even surpasses how many of their forebearers recorded albums" this whole record has been done as one continuous live take. $his may be admirable from the perspective that the band had to essentially learn this whole record as a single 1C minute ten"chapter piece and showing an old school mentality going back to the days when bands wouldn t enter a studio til they had rehearsed an album to perfection. Snfortunately though it has a huge dampening effect on the individual dynamism of songs. &ecording in one take is a novel idea in this day and age, but taking a breather or even adding pauses in post"production would not have gone amiss. In this form it makes it damn near impossible to differentiate between songs, and even after repeated listens it makes it hard to link memorable chorus parts to specific song titles. If you can accept this anomaly and view this album as one labyrinthine piece of songwriting then you might have an easier time with it, but that is hard to reconcile with the particular breed of Q0 s rock that Ape 9achine are aping. $here s an element of U0 s Acid &ock to the vocals of &uling %ith Intent! 5that unfortunately comes across more as an annoyance as anything else7 but aside from that the more progressive, experimental and cerebral strains of &ock s family tree are left in favour of the catchier and more commercial ones. 4eep 8urple are channelled on 2very 3ody 3leeds! whilst Erind 'f 4eafeat! takes it right up to the modern era with a particularly &ed *ang"es.ue vibe. Erunge is a bit factor on the sound here too, unfortunately sounding a little dated as it often does on Angry 9an! but nevertheless this is a solid formula for middle of the road yet catchy <ard &ock with a commercial potential. It s #ust a pity that it is recorded in such a way to make it impossible to have mass appeal. $ake heed Ape 9achine, and keep the primates away from the producer s chair next time. NU6-0O Antediluvian% mnopq N(uclear %ar (owKO %hen Antediluvian completed their transformation from #ust another Incantation clone into one of 3lack64eath 9etal s most incorrigibly individual beasts with their Through The *er/i2 "f Hawaah dVbut album it was a moment of complete serendipitous nature. An album so uncompromising and birthed in such an abyssous black hole of musical evolution should not have been stacked

with such memorable, in some cases downright catchy, riffs and songs, but impossibly it was. &ather than try to repeat the experiment Antediluvian have chosen to strangle out all lingering rays of light in their burnt out musical star and in every respect from the artwork to the music itself this is a much more inaccessible and suffocating listen, and opening track <omunculus 4aimon"2on! is as confrontational as this music gets. $hat is not to say that by excluding part of what made Through The *er/i2--- so special they have made themselves any less intriguing, or that an album of this chaotic calibre re.uired any less songwriting acumen. If anything, given the way some of the songs blend together 5or perhaps bleed together is a better analogy7 this is an even greater achievement in the songwriting department, especially as with repeated listens nuances do drip through the cracks. 3eyond 4iurnal %inds! for example carries a bit of groove in spite of the rhythmic obnoxiousness, $owers 'f +ilence! swells with a deeply buried trickle of melody and the twisted guitar leads of >onsummate +pellbound +ynapses! are definitely there, #ust in a much more obscure and occult fashion than on the previous album. 3ogos then is a much more challenging experience 5after the dVbut / years ago who thought that would have been possibleK7, but also much more of a grower. After first hearing this you may feel agitated, disorientated, maybe even raped" but as this album continues to open up it will envelope you #ust as Through The *er/i2--- did. As the album reaches its fullest mass of inescapable density on $he Ash And $he +tars! this new, even more uncompromising mode is revealed to be part of the album s integral theme, the inversion and self" destruction of the creative process to produce these songs of pure sonic black anti"matter. $oo much counterpointing of this with opportunities to breath, or 5even more importantly given the anti"intellect theme7 to think would run counter to this motif, but a little bit of repose allowed by the brief ambient intro to album centrepiece $ransept 'f )imbs! that is .uickly snuffed out and fractured again helps connect the musical and ideological mantras even more concisely. $he guitar soloing, if such a distraught noise can even be called that, on this song is the pinnacle of Antediluvian s sonic mission, an utterly demented tainting and distorting of the 4eath 9etal orthodoxy. It is as though 4eath 9etal was a literal force that has long since died and been driven insane in purgatory or some far"flung obsidian astral plane. $he memories of a more sonically pleasing time on earth remain, but can only be reassembled in a frightening, #umbled *rankensteinian form that is at once recognisable and horrifyingly otherly. 2specially to those unaccustomed to this breed of 4eath 9etal this is damn near unlistenable, but there is no denying that musically and artistically Antediluvian are one of the most intriguing bands in 9etal right now. NB6-0O Arckanum% 7enris Kindir N+eason 'f 9istO 2ven as far as +candinavian one man 3lack 9etal bands in the C0 s went, Arckanum have always been an idiosyncratic pro#ect. *or one

thing +hamaatae s peculiar brand of >haos" Enosticism ideology stands out from the typical +atanic or 8agan hot air, and the consistent .uality of his albums is another source of difference. +ure nothing since /00C s ^^^^^^^^^^^ has come close to topping it, but both S/iga 3_ and Hel/\tsm,rkr were both decent albums in their own right and Fenris #indir keeps the .uality high, no mean feat considering that L albums in [ years makes for the most productive period in Arckanum s stop" start history. 8erhaps the .uality could have been higher if more time was taken, as this is certainly not without fault, but few other bands of this ilk have ever been able to produce B albums without at least one dud in the catalogue. As always Arckanum s greatest strength lies in the ability to craft chaotic and raw 3lack 9etal with a melodic underbelly, and that is achieved straight away on this album with $ungls $s#ygari!, before the core portion of the record is given over to a more primitive 8unk"flecked 3lack n &oll sound. 4Hlgrinn! announces this motif with an ughK! grunt and explosion into >eltic *rost64arkthrone"es.ue up"tempo grooving, while the bass"led <atarnir! and the 3athory"influenced Angrboza! keep it flowing throughout. $his is no one"track retroactivity however as time is found for some of the dark *olk instrumentation of Arckanum s past playbook to feature on the wolfish interlude <amrami! 5as well as the outro track +Hlb{ls +igr!7 and the occult nature of the band leads the vocals on the latter half of the album, in particular Angrboza! featuring esoteric chanting from both +hamaatae and )ena ?larstr@m, who provides a female accompaniment in Arckanum for the first time since -CCB s #am en. %hile the album definitely feels rushed in parts, like how the outro track cuts out .uite abruptly, and is far from the most concise Arckanum album neither is it unfocused. $ake for example the way the intro track of *enris ?indir Erya! blends seamlessly into $ungls $s#ygari!, or how *enris Eangr! builds its lead melody out of the fiddle interlude that came before. $he last few tracks on the album have a common thread to in the madness of the vocals, starting with the bestial snarls on the second interlude track Aarg{ld! that play call and response with +hamaatae s typical raven" like caw on oskepna! and finishing off with the incantations of the aptly"titled +pell.! It s a pity that this isn t weaved through the whole album, as is the very uni.ue subtle and reserved production style on the opening track, but for what Fenris #indir lacks in completeness it makes up for in diversity. $his is not an album I would recommend those unfamiliar with Arckanum to begin with, but if you have en#oyed any of his albums previous to this it is well worth picking up. NQ6-0O Argus% Beyond 1he ,artyrs N>ruz 4el +ur 9usicO I ve long suspected that one of the main causes of fewer classic albums being made from the early C0 s onwards was the advent of the >4 and bands feeling the need to add to a longer running time with pointless filler. )onger albums do certainly have their place, and with that in mind it might seem strange for Argus, an American band whose reputation til now has

been based on their savvy for the more epic tropes of 9etal, to make an album a full -/ minutes shorter than either of their / previous long"players. $his shouldn t be seen as laziness however, or an abandonment of their roots, but rather a concerted return to the long"ago tried and tested ways of writing albums. Be,ond The (art,rs seemingly was written with the vinyl format in mind as it offers up / perfectly balanced sides of /- minutes and an album flow that brings to mind the compositional perfection of records like Hea/en And Hell, $um&er "f The Beast and (elissa. >ombined with uni.ue and characterful artwork from 3rad 9oore 5returning to his more vibrant style seen on Argus dVbut and the Mmml albums7 and wall to wall brilliantly"written tracks this makes an instant modern classic" one of the few true titan 9etal albums to be released so far this century. 3y 2ndurance %e >on.uer! opens with a rousing intro and some of 3utch 3alick s strongest vocals to date that get straight to the thrust, but still building enough anticipation through two verses before that glorious chorus bursts through" pure 9anowar"es.ue steadfastness from the lyrics and an absolute masterclass in how to pen an exciting album6live set opener without burning out too .uickly. Invigorating, controlled, restrained and masterful" it sets the tone for what is a damn near faultless record, a standard continued by (o 8eace 3eyond $he )ine! which neatly sums up everything this band is about. +tarting off with a doomed"out Black 'ose"era )izzy" style riff the verse gallops along on the back of that excellent vocal line, a defiant streak is hammered home by that chorus lyric, leading to a rockin solo and repeat. (o excess, the pure simplistic essence of 9etal" this is the stuff of classics. $he <ands 'f $ime Are 3leeding! is a monumental vocal performance and carries one of the band s catchiest and most emotional hooks to date, but one that in no way overshadows the rest of this excellent album, whilst $rinity! slows everything down with those big, crunchy riffs and allows 3utch s vocals to lead rather than follow for a change. >omparisons to recent Erand 9agus are well" reasoned but this honestly slays all the competition" if $wilight 'f $he Eods had have been able to spend as long together #amming as a unit as Argus had this may well have been what their dVbut could have come out sounding like. ?icking off the second half of this album *our >andles 3urning! is everything you could ask for from a side / track -, keeping this L/ minute sonic #ourney on track with it s killer solo before everything is taken down in tempo again by $he >oward s 8ath.! A likeness to >andlemass has never been stronger here in spite of 3utch s gravel tones being .uite different from )png.uist, and a healthy dose of Iron 9aiden s #illers is delivered in the more up"tempo moments here as well. 4ud tracks simply aren t in Argus playbook, their sense of .uality and pristine songwriting here doesn t slip up even for one moment. 2verything is wrapped up by the fantastic double"whammy of the thunderous and dramatic >ast 'ut All &aging +pirits! and the closing instrumental title track, both of which

cement the harmonising guitar duo of 2rik Johnson and Jason 9ucio as .uite possibly the best of their generation at what they do. $he perfect conclusion to a pretty much perfect album. N-0O rrsaidh% ;oots N4arker $han 3lack &ecordsO $uagh, A?A Andy 9arshall, really doesn t seem to be able to make up his mind. After calling time on the very promising Askival in /00C after one album 5the very well received 1ternit," also on 4arker $han 3lack7 apparently due to a lack of musical interest he immediately formed Elasgow 8ost"9etal ponces *alloch and then left them in /0-/ after one album, the much more opinion"dividing 5i.e. a bit shite7 Where Distant S irits 'emain. $his album can be seen then as an amalgamation of previous efforts, taking with him from *alloch #ust the bare minimum of Agalloch and Alcest influence to flavour 5rather than water down7 Askival s very Skrainian"sounding 8agan 3lack 9etal" but already that indecisiveness has reared its head again. 9arshall s decision to rename the pro#ect +aor after less than a year was apparently due to people having difficulty pronouncing Irsaidh 5+cots Eaelic for Ancient! and pronounced Arsey! in case you were wondering7, but hopefully now he is settled and satisfied as 'oots is probably his best musical output to date. (ot that there was much competition from *alloch, but if you en#oyed Askival and can get over the slight increase in 8ost"&ock influence here then you will love this. 2nglish neighbour s %odensthrone, %interfylleth and the lesser known Ildra 5the latter being by far the most interesting band in 8agan 3lack 9etal of /0--7 are good points of comparison, if slightly lazy ones as the main vibes created on the long winding U minute intro to the opening title track are from slightly further afield. *ellow celts 8rimordial are evoked not so much in any shared heritage sense as the interplay of rolling drum fills and sweeping picked guitars, and the slow waves of strain that continue on incessantly without ever losing their tension. $onally though this has more in common with 4rudkh than anyone, while the slowly"bowed strings give a hint of (okturnal 9ortum and the woodwind section, as well as the general songwriting, have a lot in common with ?roda. It s like a big party with all 8agan 3lack 9etal s ma#or players invited 5even the zany racist uncle Eraveland7 but with those unmistakeable bagpipes this is undeniably +cottish, undeniably uni.ue. +aorsa! is a short instrumental again utilising the bagpipes that finally gives them 5and +cottish 9etal in general7 an honourable place in the genre beyond their bizarre place in ?orn s (u 9etal, Erave 4igger s Bra/eheart" fetishism and the atrocity that is Alestorm. It is done with the utmost subtlety and tastefulness, as is the 8ost"&ock elements that feature most strongly on >arved In +tone.! It doesn t mince about with this influence as it gets stuck in pretty .uickly with those ooh"ahhK! soft vocals that are more akin to $he Arcade *ire than 3athory, but they are done so well compared to *alloch that there really is no need for any 9etallers to spit the dummy out this time. $he biggest influence here by far is still

?roda, and any 8ost"9etal pretentiousness is kept firmly in check by the simple structure that circles around / main riffs punctuated by some tasteful piano keys. *inal track A <ighland )ament! too has its own vibe, breathing softly in elements of 4eath64oom and Eothic 9etal, epic film score 5in particular <oward +hore7 and even a hint of 4+39 in the slightly fuzzier and more melancholic guitar tone. $he warbly female vocals are a bit more +cottish %idows insurers $A ad than they are authentic wailing women, and 9arshall could achieve more by varying the tone of his own vocals a bit when he goes for this sombre vibe, but all in all this is a fitting finale to a wonderfully wide and diverse album. :uite easily the best thing in this subgenre since Ildra dropped the incredible 1`elland / years ago. NB6-0O Arti=an% Ancestral 2nergy N8ure +teel &ecordsO 8ure +teel &ecords really do have the niche cornered for this kind of wispy melodic 9etal these days, and they know their market so well that their press packs even have 2nglish as a second language behind Eerman. %hether or not this style has much of a fanbase outside of the traditional stomping grounds of Eermany, *inland and Japan I do not know, but the filing of this under the 9elodic 8rogressive 9etal! heading only tells part of the story. 4on t be put off by the photoshop"burnished logo, the dry ice in the promo shots or the high school music teacher look all L members are rocking" Artizan are not .uite as wimpy as you might immediately think. I Am $he +torm! kicks things off by forefronting the melodic! side of the e.uation straight away, and if you missed this band s *urse "f The Arti9an debut / years ago then the first thing you ll notice is #ust how much frontman $om 3raden can be compared to 9ichael ?iske in his prime. $here are other musical nods to <elloween too, though maybe more from the Andy 4eris"era than the B0 s output, but what really makes this opening #am interesting is the progressive drumming flourishes from $y $ammeus that are a staple of this band s style. >ompositionally"speaking $he &aven :ueen! owes a lot to Iron 9aiden s Se/enth Son "f A Se/enth Son while $he Euardian! has one of those very repetitive choruses that in an alternate universe could easily be sung in time by fans to 3ruce 4ickinson. $he latter track also shows that " eration (indcrime and 1m ire may have been on heavy rotation too for Artizan, but things really revert back to 9aiden with $he 4eath 'f 9e.! $his time some sections 5particularly right at the start of the song7 put me in mind of what studio demos for the modern"day Irons albums must sound like, before breaking into a more +onata Arctica vibe 5or maybe more closely 9ehida, for those better ac.uainted with *innish 8ower68rog.7 $hat last reference point might crinkle the noses of those who I told not to pre"#udge this as being wishy"washy 8ower 9etal, but surprisingly it is actually the 9aiden points of comparison where the weakness lies. )ike I said, it s like a studio demo of contemporary

Iron 9aiden" the musicianship and the ideas are there, but it s #ust lacking that real verve and dynamism to make it sound fully"rounded. $his is a bit of problem when, despite the fact Artizan are at their most interesting when their restrained progressive touches come into play, this sometimes feels too much like it is relying on 3randen s voice to carry it. <e is a great vocalist, but the band need to find a way to connect the dots and sound more like a sum total of all their individually great parts if they wanted to be seen in the same light as their influences. $hey come closer to this on Jou >an t $ake $he 9etal! but even this up"tempo early -CB0 s Judas 8reist"es.ue rocker can t turn the tide. $he closing title track underscores this limitations to his technically excellent voice even more. Appropriately enough for featuring 9att 3arlow it begins in a slow"burning Iced 2arth fashion with some old school 'men"like vocal effects to kick it into gear and even a bit of what sounds like classic 9anilla &oad put through a C0 s 8rog68ower filter. &eally though, how could this song s crowning glory ever be anything but the ma#estic baritone of the former"Iced 2arth frontmanF <e dominates with his unsurpassed range and puts on a better display than on any of the later Iced 2arth albums he sang on, and shows that while $om 3randen can t carry this whole album, 9att 3arlow with his small contribution certainly can. If you re a 3arlow fanatic 5or even a 9ichael ?iske one given 3randen s sonic likeness to him7 I would recommend picking this album up, as I would if you like Iron 9aiden s recent efforts. *or Artizan themselves though it feels here like they are still somewhat like apprentices, with still some honing of their craft to do. N[6-0O Aska% 7ire 2ater N8ure +teel &ecordsO <aving elsewhere in this issue ascertained that 8ure +teel s recent rerelease of Aska s -CCQ effort should be avoided by fans of traditional S+ <eavy68ower 9etal how then does their new )8 stack upF In terms of sticking rigidly to that scope it fails as this crosses a pretty broad spectrum of <eavy 9etal styles. <owever for the most part all the different shades they draw on are good and they manage to make a myriad album with a strong and diverse batch of songs. 2veryone 4ies! proves this point as the album s opener with a direct and biting vibe somewhere in between Judas 8riest s Painkiller and recent Accept whilst 4ead Again! is a masterclass in incorporating the most commercial of B0 s chart"topping 9etal into a modern sound without losing any balls and Aalhalla! delivers both that mythological lyrical bent to #ustify the cover art and that long"desired S+89 kick. It is followed up by the much speedier +on 'f A Eod! that switches to a more 2uropean take on 8ower 9etal, yet remarkably actually keeping a strong semblance of power! actually there. $his style"hopping may seem unfocused and scatterbrain, but the powerful bombastic production and Eeorge >all s excellent and varied voice are the golden threads that hold it together, even through the mandatory sappy love balled Angela.! $he big guns of the B0 s are drawn again for <arlot 'f 2den! where

rapid"fire S+89 riffs meet touches of 4okken and even 4ef )eppard in their P,romania/H,steria era utterly seamlessly. 4espite the leanings into B0 s mass appeal territories the song also is compositionally complex, a theme carried on by &ed >ell! which becomes the album s absolute centrepiece. $he synths may get a bit too close to 4ragonforce for comfort in the solo sections, but otherwise it s epic structure, clever drum fills and Jag 8anzer meets Somewhere !n Time vibe is utterly irresistible. Fire 1ater only fails to achieve a top scoring here thanks to the final 1 songs. $he first of the / cover versions in the shape of Judas 8riest s $he &ipper! is a great display of Eeorge >all s voice and range without merely mimicking &ob <alford while the other, 2merald s 2ye 'f $he +erpent! is by no means a dud but nevertheless provides a lukewarm finish to a otherwise storming album. %hat really hurts this album though is the song sandwiched in between, Jear 'f Jubilee!, which overturns the previous achievement of adopting the 2uropean 8ower 9etal style without becoming overly twee by mixing +onata Arctica with >liff &ichard s >hristmas singles. It really is as horrifying as it sounds and how it didn t end up on the cutting room floor when the album would still be LB minutes long without it is beyond me. NQ6-0O Asomvel% Knuckle $uster N3ad 'men &ecordsO It s always a tragic thing for a band to lose a member in something like a road accident, and as certain as they will all say that they will continue on with new blood as strong as before rarely is this the case. (ot so with Asomvel. +ince founding member Jay Jay %inter passed in /0-0 these 2nglish (ortheast grizzled veterans have been continuing to count him in spirit as a member of the band, and on this, their first material to be released without him 5aside from the post"humous Stare At Death And S it 28 in /0--7 it does sound like he never left them. In part this is of course due to what a sonic dead ringer new frontman >onan is for Jay Jay, but also because that same unrelenting spirit that gave that /0-- 28 its name is stamped all across this too. &ight from the start as >onan howls 4ead +et 'n )ivin ! death is put firmly in his place and for the 1U minutes all the virtues of self"reliance, self" respect and standing strong through adversity that Jay Jay once sang about are spat out in mantra"like form. As long as Asomvel live then Jay Jay will live on with them too. $he first thing that you ll probably notice is #ust how loose and casual the songs are. $his may be torture for some, but for those already familiar with Asomvel they ll understand #ust how core this simplicity is to their sound. (ot only do these songs sound like they were hammered out rather than spoilt by being obsessed over in the rehearsal room, but they also sound like they were recorded in single live takes. If you were to force every 9etal band today to work under those circumstances most would crumble" Asomvel however have not only used them to make one of the top <eavy 9etal albums of the year, but one that would ve stood up e.ually as well in -CQC as now. Jes it may be simplistic, it is also formulaic such as how nearly every song has a

defiant soundbyte lyric before the solo, but there is not a single dud track on here. >ash %hore! belongs as much to a different era for its musical roots as it does its political incorrectness, but also it sounds like it comes from a time when songwriting was something that more bands cared about. $he pre"solo shouts of 9oney talksK! and Eo for brokeK! might be &ock n &oll clichV, but everything on here from the lyrics to the musical influences are executed with far too much honesty to have possibly been done tongue in cheek. +heep In %olf s >lothing! is the perfect song to start your next bar"room brawl too while your girlfriend dances to her heart s content, and shows some influence from +outhern &ock bands like )ynyrd +kynyrd and 3lackfoot as well as Q0 s 3ritish Elam like +lade, while other nods to the past come in the form of the 3oogie &ock a la *oghat vibe of mid"paced breather track %aster! and the rapid"fire 8unk vocals on +tranglehold! that remind me of the likes of E3< and $he 4efects. 'therwise though the typical 9ot@rhead influence prevails" but Asomvel launch themselves over contemporaries like +peedwolf #ust by the sheer .uality of their songs. $he album s high points come with the short and to the point title track where the defiant in the face of death theme is never stronger 5%e are the ones who refuse to die6$o hell with all the restK!7, and also +hoot Ja 4own! which has been a personal live favourite of mine for a long time already and is certainly done #ustice here. 4on t be afraid to let Asomvel take you down to hell! with this album. After all, follow this album"format guide to being an absolute 9etal badass and think of all the awesome people you ll get to spend eternity down there with. 3ite the bulletK NB6-0O Atlantean Kode % 1he 'hite :oddess N>ruz 4el +ur6/0 3uck +pinO As a genre that draws its strength from its emotional authenticity and instinctual passion it is understandable that absolute perfection is a state seldom achieved in <eavy 9etal, but this long awaited follow up to /0-0 s The Golden Bough is definitely in that rarefied stratum. *rom the moment that the pomp of the intro track $rumpets 'f 4oggerland! 5e.ual parts 9anowar and >lassical overture7 ignites and the voice of >hristopher )ee taken from The Wicker (an rumbles this album takes the listener on a #ourney of absolute <eavy 9etal ne lus ultra. 3eyond a shadow of a doubt this is %A& '( A)) *&'($+ album of /0-1. +ol Invictus! announces this album s opening proper in resplendent nature like a dawning of its namesake and 9arkus 3ecker s vocals have never sounded better. <e may not be the most classically proficient vocalist in 9etal but his tone is unmistakeable and the delivery on every note and every lyric is spot on. 8lenty of bands have channelled the arcane lyrical complexity of +olstice, the monumental hugeness of early 9anowar and the earthy epicness of mid" period 3athory before, but rarely if ever as well as this, and never all at once. $his is scholarly researched and flawlessly executed dreamy and triumphant 2pic <eavy 9etal and even if the album ended here after -1 and a half minutes it would still probably top the list of great

releases for /0-1, not to mention the best solo and the best chorus. $his is more than #ust one great song though, it is a truly phenomenal album and 3ilwis! achieves what most instrumental interludes don t by making perfect sense in the context of the two songs it bridges, and melts one melody seamlessly into the other. *rom there the album leads into the thundering <eresiarch! which draws on both the most epic 53lood 'f 9y 2nemies!7 and the most 4oom"laden 59ountains!7 of 9anowar s back catalogue for its inspiration, and also a bit of &ainbow or Sriah <eap in the guitar solo and the .uieter sections. $his *olk"tinged Q0 s <ard &ock influence becomes one of the defining features of this album, particularly in the melodies of the closing near"-/ minute number %hite Eoddess Snveiled.! As a conclusion to the album s concept this song works to great effect, though as a <eavy 9etal fan as well as a scholar it is slightly disappointing that it does not finish on a more fist"pumping tone. $he preceding 2nthroned In >louds And *ire! is similarly dense on the conceptual side, channelling the apocalyptic tone of 3athory s 'ne &oad $o Asa 3ay! but inverting the tale to a prophetic decline of >hristian 2urope rather than is 8agan ancestor. In spite of the 3athory influence though it along with %hite Eoddess Snveiled! will probably be too long and unwieldy to be translated for live performances. In spite of the strong focus on the album theme though The White Goddess is not short on anthemic tunes. If any song on here could give +ol Invictus! a run for its money it would be $welve +tars And An Azure Eown!, an epic centrepiece to one of 9etal s few true concept albums. %hen it comes to mixing spontaneity and cerebralness, earthiness and epicness this record has everything nailed perfectly. An instant <eavy 9etal classic. N--6-0O Attacker% :iants Df >anaan N9etal 'n 9etal &ecordsO If Attacker s second )8 from -CBB with a different vocalist was The Second *oming and their /001"/00B reunion that produced / albums with original singer 3ob 9itchell at the helm was their third then would technically be their fourth incarnation. (ow with 3obby )eather )ungs! )ucas from the fairly bog standard 'verlorde at the mic and given the throwaway nature of /00L s Soul Taker and /00U s The 0nknown my expectations for this latest full length were not exactly high, which makes it all the more exciting then that Giants "f *anaan is one of the <eavy 9etal highlights of the year. $he opening title track is truly something to behold. Its opening riff has that same sort of <ollywood $echnicolor era middle"eastern flavour that the new %arlord album is largely based on, and a side"by"side comparison of the two comebacks #ust goes to show how stellar this Attacker effort really is. )ike the new %arlord it has been self"produced, but the sonics of this are so powerful you could never tell without already knowing. *or a 8ower 9etal album this is crushingly heavy in places, but with perfect mixing and instrumental separation, the crowning glory of which is 3obby )ucas voice. <is power to hold notes

like on the +teel Aengeance! marks him out as one of the best in the business, and the contrast between his biting enunciation and 9ichael ?iske"es.ue melodic flair shown best on 3orn Into 3attle! shows individual character. +ands 'f $ime! pays tribute to the lasting power of <eavy 9etal and Attacker s place in it, but despite mentioning Battle At Helm)s Dee specifically this album has much more in common with The Second *oming. $hat early 9aiden vibe from the band s early days is revived in a big way with the bass solo intro to $rapped In 3lack! also boasting a powerful and world"weary chorus that could never be faked by a younger band. *ollowing that things get properly 2pic 5with a capital 27 for $he <ammer!, a tribute to >harles 9artel 5the grandfather of >harlemagne7 and his stemming of the 9oors at the 3attle 'f $ours, and the album concludes with the vaguely *olk &ock" ish melodic number $he Elen 'f $he Ehost.! $he middle portion of the album is made up of tracks like the Jesus"themed %ashed In 3lood! as well as >urse $he )ight! and 3lack %inds >alling! which are speedier and more aggressively sung tracks and all very decent in their own right, but at [/ minutes this album could maybe do with being cut down by a track or two. Aside from that though this is utterly brilliant stuff" essential for any self" respecting fan of S+ 8ower 9etal. NB6-0O Auto"sy% 1he 0eadless ;itual N8eaceville &ecordsO $here is no easy way to sugarcoat the fact that Autopsy s releases since their /0-0 comeback with The Tom& Within 28 have been getting steadily worse. )oad this >4 up on your laptop and you ll see a promising detail appear in the fact that this new effort is nearly /0 minutes leaner than /0-- s 9acabre 2ternal, but that cover art definitely doesn t scream a classic return to form. 'nce again they have teamed up with legendary 9ot@rhead artist Joe 8etagno who, in spite of having a fresh creative burst in recent years with his +atan s <ost collaborations, delivers an absolute turkey here, an overly"digital dated"looking piece that looks like a simple amalgamation of his turn of the millennium work with the likes of Abhorrence and 4iabolic. If The Headless 'itual had ve been released in those easier and simpler times around /0006/00- it might have passed muster" but musically, aesthetically and artistically speaking the bar for 4eath 9etal is impossibly higher now" Autopsy simply don t seem to have their finger on the pulse any more. 2verything about the start of opening track +laughter At $he 3east <ouse! is #ust spluttered out aimlessly without any hint of that precision that even their sloppiest early material showed. Aside from the dodgy vocal effects that erase any positive point to be mentioned here the second half of this track where things are slowed down to Autopsy s trademark crawl, and even past that to an early 3lack +abbath vibe are much closer to where this needs to be, but the band have everything backwards. $hey really needed to start off with a twisted and sickening dirge and then explode into faster passages, not the other way round. 3y the time this confused track is finished the damage is done, and too late to reboot the whole album it simply never recovers.

9atters aren t helped by the fact 9angled *ar 3elow! seems so disparate from the opening track in terms of guitar tone and drum sound, and +he Is A *uneral! fails to provide any continuity by going down an odd sort of lo"fi C0 s blackened vibe. %orst of all though is the lack of coherent presence in the vocals of >hris &eifert, constituting a fall from grace to rival even that of the band as a whole for sadness. >offin >rawlers! attempts to earn some points back with a 3"movie sort of feel but everything is scuppered by those random notes struck in the section before the solo of %hen <ammer 9eets 3one.! It honestly sounds like an incomplete demo, replete with terribly mixed final fast section and a riff blatantly ripped off from Accept s *ast As A +hark!" for a veteran band with some absolute genre classics under their belts it is absolutely devastating to see they have fallen so far. $he -lLU minute interlude of $horns And Ashes! may unfortunately be the strongest track on here, but it also highlights one of the ma#or issues which is the production" a spine" tingling guitar lead like this track has deserves a much better tone and mastering #ob, especially given the hallowed act and reputable label we are dealing with here. It beggars belief at times how this could get from the band s collective minds into the studio, past the engineer, onto the hard drive, past the 8eaceville desk and onto disc without someone copping on that it #ust simply isn t up to the level that a legend like Autopsy deserves. $here are shades of their old selves present, especially in the slower moments, but overall this sounds rushed, poorly produced and rife with flat out poor ideas and musicianship that even the likes of Jungle &ot, splatter bands such as Ehoul and 9achetazo and even 8hil Anselmo"era (ecrophagia would have had sense not to release. 3y far the worst thing Autopsy have done since Shitfun, perhaps ever, and worryingly they are on such a downward spiral that it seems that trend may continue. N16-0O A ion% 'ild ;acer N<igh &oller &ecordsO &emember that <eavy 9etal ?illers! compilation that 2arache put out about 1 or L years agoF $he one that kickstarted this whole <eavy 9etal revival and that showed a good dozen bands all with their own style on the go, #ust like the glory days of (%'3<9F All I can say is what the hell happened" when did +kull *ist, >auldron, +teelwing, %hite %izzard, +triker, 2vil +urvives and ?atana all get together and decide to sound exactly the sameF And more to the point, did they all sign some agreement where 2nforcer were the only one of their peers who were allowed to write good songsF I exaggerate to make a point of course, but I still think that the lack of individuality in today s revival bands is a valid concern. (ot #ust for the bands listed above" how many of the great tape demos of the /0-/ all drew on Angel %itch as the influence du =ourF Axxion feature Alsion $hunderland on drums and +ir +hred on guitars, both formerly from +kull *ist, and this picks up exactly where the left off with their previous band. 4irty 4evon ?err of little known fellow $oronto heroes

9idnight 9alice has been poached for vocals on this, and he provides more strong evidence to suggesting a link between tight trousers and glass"shattering histrionic vocals. $he rest falls into place exactly as you would imagine" a healthy dose of Accept and Anvil cut with a bit of Acid and hopped up on a cocktail of speed, lite beer and nitrous oxide. Add in the mandatory touches of $okyo 3lade and 4iamond <ead and this ticks all the boxes for modern screeching +peed 9etal. If you are enamoured with any of the other identikit bands in this wave, then you will love this. In fact, if this is your bag you have probably bought this already. *or the more demanding or discerning <eavy 9etal fan this is a harder sell. (ot that it has nothing to endear itself" after all it does have a little bit of variety to it. +ir +hred really earns his name on the &aven"es.ue 'n $he 2dge!, +corpions via Axxion s contemporaries <igh +pirits are channeled on (ightstalker! while the melodic mid"tempo stomper <ard &ockin! has #ust the slightest scent of the underrated +wedes Eotham >ity to it. +till <ungry! takes the prize for the album s best song with it s ballsy yet moody 4okken ballad vibe, but the rest of the album is unfortunately second"rate throwaway stuff that others have done much better. $here s promising things that can be worked on here, but if Axxion really want to impress next time round they ll need a serious in#ection of individual personality. NU6-0O Bilskirnir% 'otan ;edivivus N4arker $han 3lack &ecordsO Sp til now 3ilskirnir have been a Eerman 3lack 9etal act peddling the sub"Absurd style of $huringian 8agan 9adness! alongside other acts from that region such as %olfmond, %olfsschrei and probably a load of other bands with wolf! in the name, despite sole participant %idar being <essian rather than $huringian himself. As far as 3lack 9etal goes the previous releases have all been reliable and resolute in their worship of old 3urzum and Eraveland" far from originally, and seemingly proudly so, but perfectly functional and serviceable at it and avoiding the pitfalls of complete derivation so often seen from the hordes of 4arkthrone6(argaroth clones that also plague Eermania. 3ecause of this Wotan 'edi/i/us is a complete surprise, a revelation even. 'pening with the excellent melody of +iegsonne! this bears all the hallmarks of the previous material" mid"paced, headbang"able riffs and searing icy leads but everything seems like such an improvement that this skirts close to even being considered refined!, however refined one may be in this style. $he production is thinner and less heavy than on previous effort Wotans/olk, but with the effect that everything sounds clearer than ever before. It is still purposefully raw of course, but as far as one"man band recordings go this is as good as they come. $he production is solid, the cover art utterly brilliant, the playing airtight and the songwriting almost unparalleled for this sub"sub"genre. 3ilkskirnir have upped their game to the point they are now rivalling even their main influences of Absurd, 3urzum and early Eraveland. Already this was on its way to being the best

album 3ilkskirnir have yet released, but then the surprises really start coming thick and fast. $he eerily catchy (ever 4ying )ight! strikes first with the mid"period &otting >hrist Eothic tone to its melody that also puts me in mind of like 4ark $he +uns or even Insomnium for sweetness, while the denser and sweeter Aorvaeter! brings in 4+39 influences as diverse as +trid, Austere and $hy )ight and while the repetitive downstroke opening riff to +oehne 9uspells! even has a hint of classic Accept or Judas 8riest to it. $heir key trio of C0 s raw melodic 3lack 9etal influences are never overshadowed, and even more direct tributes are paid like on the interlude 9uspellheim! which is a clear rip"off of A >rying 'rc! by 3urzum, but the more conventional 3ilskirnir songs on here are every bit as good as their more unusual ones and prove that this album is a gift that #ust keeps on giving. LL minutes and not one dud track" that is an enormous rarity for this so well"trodden musical path these days. 4er %olkenwanderer! is an acoustic interlude that brings 3ilkskirnir closer than ever before to 8agan 3lack 9etal, in particular the likes of (okturnal 9ortum and 4ub 3uk, a vibe repeated on the outro track 4er &aben <eimkehr!, but As $his %orld 2nds! is the brightest spark on this album with its bittersweet 4rudkh"es.ue melodies played with an almost 8op 8unk simplicity and even a +hoegaze feel. It s a brave move, but it never feels forced and fits perfectly well into the typical style 3ilkskirnir have employed up til now. If you have listened to this band in the past then you may be in for a real surprise with this record" this is 3ilkskirnir, but not as you know it. $his is almost incomparably better to everything they have done before. NB6-0O Black 0awk% A ,ighty ,etal A e N8ure Snderground &ecordsO <ow does a band go for a B years without releasing their first recordF $his is a .uestion not relevant to the 3lack <awk of today but the 3lack <awk of the -CB0 s, a Eerman band formed at the height of 9etal explosion in -CB-, but took until -CBC to release their First Attack 28, and then split up not long after. $hey returned in /00[ and this is their Lth full length to date which leads me to wonder" can a seasoned band produce a classic"worthy album this late in their career, even if as in the case of 3lack <awk it is only their LthF $here is a lot here to suggest that 3lack <awk have the raw materials to craft a classic album. $ake Sdo 3ethke s vocals for a start, a man who is a dead ringer for the late great J.4. ?imball of 'men fame, with a delivery that at times harkens to Alex (yborg 9adsen of early %itch >ross. $ake how they ve managed to nail a recording sound that could pass as being more authentically B0 s than any of their younger counterparts in /0-1 will manage this year. $ake the fact that these guys were around during the whole of the greatest period of <eavy 9etal creativity, and spent all that time watching and learning rather than burning out their own musical lamp oil. %hen it comes to trying to recreate something glorious, 3lack <awk have a serious leg"up on the competition, and when the chorus of opening track *ear! hits it gives an immediate sense of elevation above the pretenders.

'ver the past 1 albums 3lack <awk have mainly been likened to Judas 8riest and +axon, both of whom do play a big part of the sonic make"up here. 4eep in the second half of the album ?iller! is a straight"up mix of those / masters while 8riest especially are heard in other ways, such as the #uddering thud to the opening riff of the title track, or the very <alford"es.ue bombast in the vocals provided on the double bass"heavy +peed 9etal closer 3east In 3lack.! *ellow Eerman speedsters Atlain are an especially good reference point on the faster tracks such as $he *ighter! while that track also boasts a slow"strummed semi" acoustic intro with soaring vocals that calls to mind 9anilla &oad in their most epic moments. (ightrider! even reminds me a great deal of the *rench heroes to rare record collectors everywhere, 4emon 2yes, rounding off this album s credentials for deep"digging connoisseurs of the genre. It s got the bare bones and the intrinsic knowledge to make it work and the rough" edged, intentionally imperfect production to carry out, but still this album falls short of the mark and it s all to do with the .uality of the songs. $he first sign of this when listening is the title track where unfortunately the awkward phrasing and thick accent in the chorus makes it hard to ever consider this a sing"along classic, and with the best opportunity for that missed another one simply never comes along. $he short interlude Aenom 'f $he +nake! gets the 9anilla &oad"influence mysticism right, but album mid"point *ashion Aictim! instead trades it in for semi"pastoral whimsy that comes across first like %ishbone Ash before devolving into what could be any old +oft &ock ballad of the Q0 s or B0 s with the distortion #acked up a little. 2lsewhere the songwriting #ust plain and simple never makes it out of third gear, resulting in a lukewarm conclusion to an album that had so much potential to begin with. 9ore s the pity. N[6-0O Black Dath% Dv Nli"hoth And $arkness NI <ateO $here s something so satisfying about seeing a band you have followed for years finally blossom with their full potential, and while I may have only hopped on the 3lack 'ath train with their /0-0 Portraits "f The Dead Q! rather than their self"titled demo the year before, that is certainly a feeling I get when listening to this album. The Third Aeon was a solid piece of work, but this sophmore effort is an absolute 4oom genre masterpiece, #ust a fraction behind the might of this year s +olstice return and the perfection of the new 8rocession" and what s more is how they ve achieved this with the most no frills of approaches. Italian 4oom bands might be more known for their very intense and richly layered approach to songs 5see this year s Abysmal Erief for one of the most downright sexy examples of this ever heard7 but 3lack 'ath wrap the bare bones of 4oom with only the sparsest amount of finest velvet, and this album is all the better for it. ...*or <is >oming! is the first example of this tasteful and restrained approach. +ure there are touches of violin in the intro, a piano outro and a little bit of eerie noise effects #ust before solo

but none of these are overbearing or dominating, and it is crushing >andlemass" es.ue riffs and A.th s evocative vocals that shine through the most" especially with that rousing chorus of And my soul be safe in you6+tay with me, and the time will never go63e your name engraved in stone6)ive in me, as your temple I am bornK! +inful %aters! repeats the formula with some added killer drum fills and a main riff this time worthy of >andlemass themselves, and a chorus every bit as irresistible to sing along to. $he fantastically Giallo"es.ue titled +cent 'f A 3urning %itch! keeps the >andlemass buzz most vibrant with extra helpings of +olstice68rocession epicness in the bridge 5lead guitars on this one courtesy of A. 8anigada of 3ulldozer7, and by the time we are more than halfway through the album with %itch (ight >urse! the .uality shows no sign of diminishing. $he same trick of withholding the chorus for as long as possible works an absolute treat here again, as does the 8entagram"tinged mid"tempo riff, and the killer riff .uota is already at a point that it surpasses even the new 3lack +abbath. 8raise doesn t come much higher than that. 4rakon, It s +hadow Spon Ss! goes a lot more out on the haunting synths in the intro, and some cool vocal effects in the bridge section too, but once again this is most memorable because of its riffs and insanely catchy chorus, and the gloriously over the top solo. Anything beyond this point in the album will #ust be the cherry on the icing, but the genuinely sinister and monolithically slow 5almost like the (orwegian band *uneral in places7 title track is as good as anything that has gone before on this album. &eally it is the lack of a catchy vocal hook in the weepy closer ...9y 4eath! that prevents this from being counted up among 8rocession, 9ael 9Hrdha and 9ourning 3eloveth for this year s top 4oom releases, but this is as close as anyone else has gotten to that level of perfection in /0-1. NC6-0O Black .abbath% (* NAertigoO )ate into 4ecember of /0-1 and with the release date for this fanzine looming large it became apparent that not every release I wanted to include would make the cut thanks to time constraints, and some difficult choices had to be made. +hould I prioritise bands that I have interviewedF +tick to writing about the year s best releases, or include more of the chaff so I don t come across too fawningF *ocus on friends bandsF Irish bandsF >lassic bandsF 3ands who are largely unknown 5who sharing knowledge of has always been my greatest #oy in zine writing7F 'ne album re.uired no decision"making though and that was 8:. 2ven if it meant ignoring some more underground releases how could I not devote some space and time to writing about the first studio 3lack +abbath album in -1 years, and the first with 'zzy in a whopping 1[F 2specially when, in the grand scheme of things, it is a damn decent 3lack +abbath album. 2verything on the early part of this record has a strong whiff of classic +abbath about it, whether it s the total (.I.3.!"referencing main

riff to )oner! or the .uiet and introspective Meitgeist! which could have easily belonged on +ol- a. It might have taken a lot of studio trickery to get 'zzy sounding this powerful again, but as he croons out Astral engines in reverse6I m falling through the universe again! it is obvious that time has not dented Eeezer 3utler s lyrical prowess" or $ony Iommi s riffing for that matter. >all it being cautious, or holding the band to too high a standard by expecting them to match what they achieved L0 years ago, but on the album s lead single track Eod Is 4eadF! I wouldn t expect anyone to fall head over heels in love with this record. 3ut given time and repeat listens and Iommi s real power as the &iffmaster Eeneral shines through in how insidiously this songwriting will penetrate your soul. It would ve been preposterous to expect a trio of men in their mid"U0 s to write a barnstormer like Paranoid at this stage in their lives, but creating a classic grower of an album is clearly not beyond their power. 3eginning 'f $he 2nd! and its #ourney through the various guises of early +abbath 5from the very 3lack +abbath!"like 4oom crawl and pondering lyrical intro through the groovier 9asters 'f &eality"influenced mid sections and into the more anthemic $e/er Sa, Dieb"es.ue finish7 might show #ust how heavily referencing to their glory days this album is, but it also shows how time has not dulled their ma#estic creativity. +ide two of this record does falter slightly thanks to opening with Age 'f &eason! which despite being a solid track doesn t .uite get the blood pumping again, and its heartwrought climax would have made it better suited to closing the album out I think. )ive *orever! is the closest thing to a dud here but momentum is regained thanks to the harmonica"laden heavy 3lues &ock of 4amaged +oul! and 8: goes out on a total high note with 4ear *ather.! 2verything here from the sinister 4oom"laden main riff which perfectly matches the lyrical theme of clerical child abuse and the absolute viscera with which 'zzy spits out the line Jou have taken my life, now it s your turn to 4I2K!, tempered by the insanely catchy groove of the bridge section, caps this comeback off in glorious fashion. 3ecause of side one being the stronger of the two here you might expect that the longer the album goes on the more the .uality dips, but the fact is I would actually recommend the extended digi"pack version of this album over the single )8 version. 4amaged +oul! might be a bit lacklustre in comparison to the other bonus tracks, but excellent choruses of the warning against excess of 9ethademic! and the reflection on the band s previous media ostracization with 8ariah! are absolutely worthy additions. All in all the >4 version of 8: clocks in, like the band members ages, at nearly Q0 minutes and the fact this gets more pleasurable to listen to every single time is #ust as staggering. $ony Iommi, Eeezer 3utler, 'zzy 'sbourne" take a bow. I am in awe. NB6-0O BAl=er% Aura 26 NIron 3onehead 8roductionsO Just when the 4eath 9etal landscape seemed to

be stagnating along arrives a band so uni.ue, like a bolt you might say 5a rough translation of this +wiss duo s name7, from the stars" a concept perfectly encapsulated on this -/! 28 s cover. 3@lzer s foundations seem rooted in the thick, muscular riffing of >eltic *rost, Asphyx and Incantation narrowed into a singular and bloody"minded ritualistic focus, but there is an inventive approach to songwriting and riff" construction at work here that defies any definition from lone sentences. 'pening cut >.9.2.! is an utterly demented piece of work. 2ven if it stayed rooted in the .uite standard Incantation64ead >ongregation style of riffing that it at times displays it would stand far apart from its contemporaries thanks to those harrowing vocal gymnastics that dart between deep guttural growls, 4+39 like howls and 8ost"<ardcore type weirdness, but the innovation does not stop there. $here frankly is no convenient comparison to liken how these guys string notes together into their hypnotic repetitive style, though many people have tried since this 28 s release" Aoivod get a mention as do other Avant Earde acts like 4eathspell 'mega, (eurosis and even fellow countrymen >oroner, but none of these are ade.uate. 2ven the likes of more recent acts 9itochondrian and Antediluvian would be inappropriate matches as, although 3@lzer may be described as chaotic it is a very slender, driven beam of chaos. In terms of progressive tendencies in 9etal right now this band certainly have their counterparts but in the true spirit of musical ingenuity there is more to isolate them from these brethren than there is to group them together. 2ntranced 3y %olfshook! introduces an esoteric sort of uplifting vibe that fits perfectly with the astral theme of the sleeve artwork, and invites a comparison to American solar 3lack 9etal two"piece *anisk, but simultaneous it manages to be 4eath 9etal to the bone, brandishing one of the best groovy riffs of this standout year. It is an ungodly deep and full sound to be produced by a /"man band, but it also perhaps this fact which helps with the sense of absolute singular determination. $he Ereat Snifier! is aptly titled, as for all the uni.ueness and obscure genre"bending practiced by 3@lzer they undeniably belong to the hordes of 4eath, albeit in the regal brotherhood of most sacred acts like (ecros >hristos, >ruciamentum and 4ead >ongregation who have harnessed that sickening feeling of being suspended over a yawning chasm of pure abyssal nothingness. $he trademark style exhibited on the two previous tracks are honed and sharpened on this closing -0 minute outpouring and shows #ust how .uickly 3@lzer have evolved from their 'oman Acu uncture demo tape to be counted amongst that highest echelon of the genre. In fact, the material on this 28 is so good that it is only the short duration that prevents it from bolting straight to the top chosen few albums of this year. $hat being said, the best is clearly yet to come for this band. NC6-0O Borrowed 1ime% Borrowed 1ime N<igh &oller &ecordsO After a couple of years of tape and small run vinyl releases paying homage to a wide variety

of arcane 9etal bands 3orrowed $ime at last deliver their dVbut album. And frankly, they ve never sounded better. $he riffing on opening cut %allow In $he 9ireK! is spot on but the soloing is something else entirely. 9usicianship like this from a band so young these days is a rarity, but it is those legendary dVbut6sophmore albums of late Q0 s and early B0 s 9etal trailblazers with fire in the belly that 3orrowed $ime are aiming to recreate" and in part they are successful. #illers by Iron 9aiden, the Angel %itch self" titled and the first two 9anilla &oad albums seem to be the prevailing influences here, as well as touches of the more epic end of (%'3<9 such as Airtue and $raitor s Eate, not to mention $wisted $ower 4ire. $he $haumaturgist! and 'f (ymph And (ihil!are the standout tracks here for not only having the strong soloing shown on the opening track, but some absolutely stunning riffs too while the closing A $itan s >hain! takes the prize for the best chorus of the whole record. $he vocals in general here are a strongpoint too, especially the variety they show on $he $haumaturgist! with some nice unexpected moments of harshness thrown in. If this record was measured simply on the sum of its constituent parts then 3orrowed $ime would be flying, but the the unfortunate fact is this album doesn t fully live up to their potential. %hile the aim to recapture that feeling from the early albums of some of the real 9etal gods meets with some success there are some signs of substandard songwriting and album construction too. $he two interlude tracks add absolutely nothing here, especially 4ark <earted...! which could have been used as an intro to a full"on #illers"style ripper but instead is s.uandered. )ibertine! and 4awn *or $he Elory &ider! both could have been worldbeaters but the keyboards of the former are buried so far in the mix that they might be missed by a careless listener, and the attempts at a more progressive style of riffing on the latter don t work out all that well. (othing on this album is flat out bad, but the end result is that 3orrowed $ime sounds like a band of very capable amateurs still paying homage to their idols, not yet approaching their level. NQ6-0O >aladan Brood% 2choes Df Battle N(orthern +ilence 8roductionsO >anadian fantasy fiction novelist +teven 2rikson once wrote, in a review to the >ambridge >ompanion $o *antasy )iterature that his influences in terms of fiction are post" $olkien!, this in a response to a claim in the book by its editor 8rof. 2dward James that most subse.uent writers of fantasy are either imitating him 5$olkien7 or else desperately trying to escape his influence.! %hat this has to do with American 9etal fantasists >aladan 3rood is that 2rikson is the author of the (ala9an Book "f The Fallen series on which this album s lyrics are closely based, and because James assertion and 2rikson s rebuttal raise an interesting .uestion for this style of 9etal" if we replace J.&.&. $olkein in this e.uation with +ummoning is it fair to say that their shadow is cast so long over the sub"genre that all subse.uent bands can do is imitate or re#ectF >ertainly +ummoning are the band that this new brood have been compared to most heavily over the near year this has been

released, and even the simple fact that our American sub#ects here are a /"piece much like +ummoning may make such an analysis to psychologically pleasing to ignore. 3ut simply slapping a for fans of +ummoning! sticker on this album would be lazy and diminishing" >aladan 3rood seem to be drawing from more than #ust that one genre"defining source. *or starters, right from the opening track >ity 'f Azure *ire! the harsher elements in the guitars and vocals here are much darker than +ummoning typically are, particularly calling to mind Eraveland and (okturnal 9ortum, though also fre.uently coarser and more sickly sounding in the vocal tone than even either of those two are. (okturnal 9ortum also provide some influence for the piano6keyboard section on this track too, and their brethren in $emnozor are audible in some of the riffing in the title track, where 9oonsorrow and *alkenbach make themselves known also. %ild Autumn %ind! takes it out of the 2pic6*olk63lack sphere altogether with a vibe very like Eothic and 9elodic 4eath64oom acts like 'ctober $ide, Ehost 3rigade and Insomnium, not to mention a clean vocal delivery and tone similar to that of 'rphaned )and s ?obi *ahri, and the very catchy first half of A Aoice 3orn 'f +tone And 4ust! has some of the imperiousness of cheesy old +ymphonic 3lack 9etal like 3al"+agoth and >arach Angren 5and an even cheesier B0 s +tadium &ock solo to bootK7 that further helps this album defy being lazily pigoenholed. 'f course +ummoning are still a key influence" there are two cover versions of them as bonus tracks on the )8 version of this album after all= but there are important differences to separate them from their Austrian tutors too. *irst and foremost, comparing this to +ummoning in terms of songwriting complexity is like comparing 'rthanc to a hobbit hole 5putting it in terms fantasy nerds will understand.7 >ompared to the laziness of the more veteran of the / bands when it comes to repetition, riff construction and general songwriting these young upstarts are out of sight. $he songs are longer 5the title track is the shortest in spite of being a hefty C minutes /secondsK7, the vocal lines are more inventive 5calling to mind *orefather at times7, the composition much more complex and the album itself weighs in at over twice the duration of +ummoning s most recent cut, and at least 1 times as many good musical ideas. &ather than being overshadowed by the subgenre s progenitors here it is the dashing errants putting the venerated heroes in the shade. Another of +ummoning s own games that >aladan 3rood beat them at is in the clean vocal department" not only in terms of diversity 5the aforementioned 'rphaned )and chanting similarities7 but also in verve, energy and the ability to be rousing. >losing track 3ook 'f $he *allen! leads the charge here and becomes the album s undisputed anthem carrying not only one, but two excellent choral parts, the first of which is cleverly repeated as a refrain during its mighty -[ minute march. $he trick is never repeated earlier in the album though and several of these lengthy tracks suffer from having no unifying motif to string independently strong sections together.

)ikewise, for an album drawn so heavily on a literary source there doesn t seem to be an overarching narrative between these U songs, a disappointment as this would have made an awesome concept album. %hen >aladan 3rood strike deepest they strike true, like the last L minutes of 2choes 'f 3attle! where a *alkenbach69oonsorrow like soaring clean vocal passage followed up by epic 3athory soloing and some killer harsh vocal lines like something caught between later Immortal and $hyrfing that play off the returning clean vocals. If these guys could ve made a Qminute album completely of this .uality then there is no doubt this would be an instant classic. As it is though with having little snippets of true gems cast about here and there this may take several listens for you to really fall in love with. *or all its victories over +ummoning in terms of songcraft perhaps this album s closest similarity to them might be through that video game"like drum sound and overused beats from song to song, but the biggest reason I can t give this album top marks is to do with authenticity. Eoing back to the earlier analogy between $olkein and +tevenson, an important factor to consider is real world influences on their universes. As $olkein was a scholar of 'ld 2nglish epic poetry such as 3eowulf! and Anglo"+axon6Eerman6(orse academia generally it is no wonder that tropes of those can be seen reflected in )ord 'f $he &ings, and though I have not read the 9alazan saga I think I can safely assume that knowledge of real world empires and civilization gleaned from his background in anthropology and archaeology has influenced 2rikson s literary works too. 3y extension these same ideas might have filtered through to lyrical aspect +ummoning s $olkein 9etal or >aladan 3rood s 2rikson 9etal. 3ut unlike *olk68agan 9etal acts whose non"9etal music elements are based in concrete history and tradition, the non"9etal musical elements of are from pure fantasy, entirely invented sources. All throughout this album there are folk! sections seemingly based on some false notion of medievalism. *or the most part >aladan 3rood completely ape +ummoning for these passages 5although on the opening track they go for a more retro kind of medieval faux in that it sounds like something from old school <ollywood blockbusters starring 2rrol *lynn7, which given than it is +ummoning fans they are trying to appeal to they can hardly be blamed for. 3ut compared to 2uropean 9etal bands who replicate their history, mythology, culture and traditional music in their songs where exactly do these cinematic sweeps of sampled lyre strings and horns that paint images of snowy" topped mountains fit into the real life background or experience of these / fantasy nuts from barren +alt )ake >ity, StahF If like me you are a stickler for authenticity you may find this a tough roadblock to get over with this album. If however all you are looking for is a bit of pure escapism this could well be your thing. NQ6-0O >offins% 1he 7leshland N&elapse &ecordsO If you have ever heard one of >offins albums or any of their multitude of split releases you

know exactly what you are going to get with a new record that follows. $he test as time goes on, now B years since their storming first cut (ortuar, !n Darkness, is how well can they keep the .uality high without changing their battle plan even slightly. After all, it is certain at this stage that progressing beyond the core influences of Autopsy, Asphyx, %inter and a sprinkling of the nastier end of 8unk is never going to happen, and on the first few tracks here that forecast look promising. <ere >omes 8erdition! heaves into action with a cymbal tone that sounds like the rankling of heavy chains and in U and a half minutes sums up everything >offins are about in gloriously heavy and dank fashion. <ellbringer! follows and shows that, from time to time at least, these Japanese doom" mongers are not adverse to in#ecting some dynamics, achieved here with a dark <ardcore68owerviolence kind of main riff and a nice swelling undercurrent towards the end. $he wheels come off the cart though with the %inter"tempo U minute drudgery of the next track, the aptly titled >olossal <ole! and this eponymous gaping lacking of this album is never .uite filled again. $he typical Autopsy6Asphyx beats of (o +aviour! are met by some trademark Incantation riffing, albeit a poor representation of the style compared to everything else out there at the moment, and despite its excellent title all that $he Aacant 8ale Aessel! can muster to differentiate is that one little repetitive pinch harmonic. &otten 4isciples! could be remembered for its very 8oison Idea" like intro were it not for the fact a very similar vibe is used immediately after on 4ishuman!, and the only thing memorable about $he Snhallowed $ide! after repeat listens is its sloppy and incomplete sounding main riff. $ormentopia! claws some points back with its simple Erave"like growl"a"long vocal refrain, but it comes too late to rescue this album. 'ne of this year s more dull 4eath 9etal efforts. NL6-0O >onvulse% 2vil 6revails N+vart &ecordsO As one of the less than prolific acts of the early C0 s 4eath 9etal boom, and one of the more intriguing, >onvulse s status has always been pseudo"mythical. +ure unlike some of their peers they released / albums in those days 5compared to none for the likes of 8hlegethon, 4epravity and Abhorrence7 and they were never .uite as uni.ue as 4emilich but nevertheless World Without God 5and to a lesser extent 'eflections7 is a towering piece of work, a holy grail of the slightly unconventional *innish 4eath 9etal cult. It is because of that news of an impending new full length by >onvulse in /0-1 came with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. +ure it was fantastic to see the return of a band who had so much more to give back in the day, but nearly / decades on could the gods have lost their magicF As %e ?ill 'ur ?ind! kicks in to start of the album the anxiousness grows slightly. I m not .uite sure what I expected from this production"wise, after all +vart &ecords releases don t have a standardised production value, but I definitely didn t think this would be

on the lower end of the C0 s sound scale. &ami s thick growls sound as great as ever, but the toms have that annoying butter tub tone to them and by today s standards the guitar tone would scarcely frighten a kitten. (o one would have wanted to see >onvulse completely modernised but this atmosphere"less, flat production does them no favours either. $here is nothing too enticing from the songwriting department on this track either, nothing to really typify this as a certified *innish 4eath 9etal release. $he acoustic instrumental breaks on Snholy %ar! and Eod Is 4elusion! definitely come from that playbook, but the problem is how generic the riffs and drum patterns in between are, and how the lack of distortion leaves big gaps in the sound and aura. $he less said about the breakdown that makes %orld 4ownfall! sound like a 4eathcore demo from /00U the better. 4ays Are 4ark! takes the approach of these song and betters them, but it is well" layered and sampled title track and the closing 'ceans 'f 4ust! which vie for the top spot here, with the latter winning out thanks to some fantastic drumming. All told this is not an embarrassing return to form, #ust a disappointing one, and up against hungrier, younger and more creative acts this was always going to pale. *innish 4eath 9etal has a new breed of heroes now in the shape of ?rypts, as well as the killer dVbuts this year from )antern and Aorum 5who I didn t get to review unfortunately7, and with my hopes being high for the )ie In &uins first full"length this coming *ebruary. All the credit it the world to >onvulse for coming back and giving this a go, but really it would have been best for their legacy #ust to leave it as it was. N[6-0O >ultes $es :houles% 0enbane, or .onic >om"edium Df 1he Black Arts NSnder $he +ign 'f Earazel6<ells <eabangersO :uite often in 9etal the albums that really cause stirrings of attention are the ones that cross boundaries between the multifarious sub" styles and tread along those lines, and Hen&ane is one of them. 'n their dVbut, Hc2an, this shadowy 8olish L"piece threw their lot into the pool of purposefully primitive 3lack 9etal and caused a fairly respectable ripple, but this time round with those elements of pure sonic degeneracy and bestiality, including the raw and dense production, taking a back seat to a more atmospheric approach. In terms of crafting music of pure 3lack <orror this album nails it more than most. It employs a lot of the same tricks as other horror"themed acts, like for example the countless bands who sample movies like The De/il 'ides "ut, but the care and attention to the atmosphere here shows a step above and beyond most of those lazy peers. $ake for example the effects placed on the vocals in the middle of $he 8assion 'f A +orceress! that give it that authentic &ichard 8rice sort of feel, or the intro sample from that song which I suspect might be from an 2astern 2uropean production of +hakespeare s (acBeth. 9ore than that though, the way these [ lengthy songs are structured shows a rare understanding of the actual literary devices of the <orror genre that most bands content to play about with the imagery couldn t even dream of, and on the centrepiece track Aintage 3lack 9agic! the

flow between building terror and unleashing horror is downright masterful. %here they straddle that aforementioned line is how this fairly avant"garde streak is matched and tempered by some genuinely nasty and primitive 3lack 9etal noise"mongering. %here the beefy, bestial 49 elements remain the riffs are thick and stenchy while in the faster moments the proto"3lack6$hrash of $ormentor is heavily evoked. 'ther 2astern 2uropean bands like &oot and 9aster s <ammer are called to mind too for their primitive riffing style and at times there s some of that cloistering exoticness of 9editerranean bands like 9ortuary 4rape and (ecromantia too but the best overall comparisons that can be made are to 9ayhem and (egative 8lane" in part sonically, but also in how finely that line between utter mongrelist musical deviance and intelligent songwriting is walked. Aery few other 3lack 9etal bands have ever traversed that division as uncannily as >ultes 4es Ehoules do here. $he matching of theme to the music is a standout .uality too, and cleverly tied in with a visual representation of the eponymous herb henbane growing out of the band s logo on the artwork. A substance loved by medieval herbalists and witches both for its malign health properties and its mind"altering psychotropic .ualities too is a perfect flower to represent this album, e.ual parts venemous and labyrinthine. Although all the five tracks on here have their strengths it is $he 8assion 'f A +orceress! and it s slowed"down blasting and bloody"minded down"stroked pummeling riffs that merge in chaotic fashion that comes across most maleficently, and the dark psychedelia flirtations of Aintage 3lack 9agic! 5similar to some parts of the latest $ribulation7 that come off the strongest. As good as this is at its best though there is still a feeling of something missing. It doesn t manifest itself through most of the album, but on the rather lacklustre closing track $he 4evil Intimate! it begins to dawn where this incompleteness lies, and the closing organ solo completely reveals it. As nice a touch as that organ is and does provide a spooky texture it ultimately is a cheap thrill, a musical cop out, and shows an lack of surety from the band of what exactly to do with this anticipation of terror and unveiling of horror they ve so successfully crafted over the previous near hour. $he mental engagement of the synapses that respond to dread and fright on this albums is damn near perfect, but it lacks that sense of revulsion, that full body and soul unsettling that the few real masters of <orror fiction and film can con#ure. It is certainly within the possibility of 9etal bands to evoke this, and has been done so fantastically by several bands in the 4eath 9etal realm like 8ortal or more recently 9althusian. If on future efforts >ultes 4es Ehoules were able to harness this power on top of those they have shown here they would be without comparison. NB6-0O $arkthrone% 1he Jnderground ;esistance N8eaceville &ecordsO +ay what you will about 4arkthrone s transformation over the past several years it certainly has not been a static stylistic shift, more a continuously evolving transmutation.

$he first seeds were laid a full decade ago with the attitude"laden *ucked Sp And &eady $o 4ie! track from Hate Them, whilst the 8unk influence was first really tested with the cover of +iouxsie and the 3anshees )ove In A Aoid! on the Too "ld7 Too *old 28 1 years later. $he next / albums, F-"-A-D- and Dark Thrones And Black Flags, typified the 3lackened 9etalpunk style that most people seem to associate the 4arkthrone name with these days, but after shifting focus more towards lo"fi B0 s <eavy 9etal on *ircle The Wagons that 8unk edge has now been moved on from, seemingly as much of an afterthought on this album as even their 3lack 9etal roots are. %ith that in mind it seems fitting that this is the first 4arkthrone album in U years without cover art from 4ennis 4read, instead #oining the rarified circle of 9etal bands, along with $hin )izzy and 9anilla &oad, to have collaborated with legendary >eltic artist Jim *itzpatrick. As a fan of *itzpatrick probably even more than I am of 4arkthrone it is somewhat disappointing to his see his usual style of vibrantly coloured battle scenes replaced by such rusty and muted tones 5though the drawing itself is unmistakeably his" a mid"C0 s piece7, but this almost sepia tint to the sleeve design suits the dust"hazed and vomit"fuelled filter with which 4arkthrone reimagine B0 s 9etal here. $he lead riff of 4ead 2arly! evokes early B0 s Judas 8riest which announces this latest stage in 4arkthrone s evolution perfectly, though a 4"beat .uality to the drums is still present but Aalkyrie! is the track that really shows the duo s new direction. $he log"cabin production values and highness of the cymbals in the mix keeps thing suitably crust"ified and consistent with previous releases but that 3athory6>andlemass"referencing 2pic 4oom intro is like nothing 4arkthrone have ever done before, and nothing could be a bigger ditching of convention for this band than introducing clean vocals. (aturally they are sloppy, untrained, out of time and out of tune, but not entirely out of place and certainly better than you might expect for *enriz trying his hand at them. $here s a definite early (%'3<9 vibe to this track thanks to the vocals and although it is certainly something that should be worked on and improved for the next release no one can say that 4arkthrone rest on their laurels and don t try new things. 2ven more ambitious though are the final / lengthy tracks of this U song album. *irstly >ome %arfare, $he 2ntire 4oom! is the longest 4arkthrone song since %reak! from /00- s Plagueweilder, and closing number )eave (o >ross Snturned! is the longest track they have ever penned, smashing ?athaarian )ife >ode! by a full 1 minutes. $he first of these two is far and away the strongest track on here as it rocks back and forth between 4ream 4eath and >irith Sngol vibes and even a bit of classic Trans,l/anian Hunger"style riffing, but the final track doesn t .uite repeat the brilliance. In spite of at times successfully evoking early 9ercyful *ate and being the most directly melodic track in terms of vocals and guitar leads they have perhaps ever done it is still essentially -1 minutes of done to death bog"standard 9ot@r"beats and early 3athory riffs.

2ven with such long songs taking up over half the playing time 4arkthrone s notoriously lax approach to rehearsal and songwriting still manages to find a way to produce filler here, and aside from a bit of an Accept buzz on )esser 9en! both it and $he 'nes Jou )eave 3ehind! add absolutely nothing of lasting value here. A bold attempt by 4arkthrone then to move on yet again to new musical pastures, but ultimately an experiment yielding sub"standard results. N[6-0O $ead ?ord% :oodbye ;e"entance N<igh &oller &ecordsO &etro! is a dirty word in a lot of circles these days, but those peddling U0 s or Q0 s style &ock seem to come under fire way more than other genre choices. It #ust seems bizarre that someone could praise the likes of 2nforcer or 9orbus >hron and then turn around to lambast a band like 4ead )ord, especially when this rag"tag band of +wedish rockers share members with both those other outfits. A case could be made for 4ead )ord being much more akin to a simple tribute act than either of those two, falling into the realm of pure nostalgia and worship like Airborne do for A>64> fans, because of how heavily indebted they are to their main / influences. It is how deeply that influence runs however, and how well they understand the nuances of $hin )izzy and &oky 2rickson before moulding that into their own style that make 4ead )ord such a treat to listen to. )acking in originality they may be, but in every other avenue 4ead )ord excel. If you haven t heard them already then get ready for probably the best <ard &ock band you will hear in /0-1. 2veryone who wants to ape $hin )izzy knows how to mimic those harmonised dual guitars, but with opening track <ank! 4ead )ord leave every other $hin )izzy"influenced act out there firmly in the dirt. As a lifelong $hin )izzy fan I can honestly say I ve never heard anyone with a vocal delivery and lyrical phrasing as close to 8hil )ynott as 4ead )ord frontman <akim ?rim, and this paean to the eponymous troubled young man <ank is almost every bit as powerful as the $hin )izzy classic Johnny.! In terms of vocal tone and timbre though <akim is much closer to &oky 2rickson, whose influence is stamped all over second track <ammer $o $he <eart!, a fantastic up"beat rocker in spite of its lyrics of depression and heartbreak. $his up"tempo up"beatness gives a bit of flair similar to 2ntombed"associated +wedish rockers $he <ellacopters as well, while 'nkalo! has a touch of 4anzig and his 4eath &ock style. *or the most part though this album dances back and forth between 8hilo and &oky" making no apologies for its likenesses and needing absolutely none either. Eoodbye &epentance! aside from being a perfect blend of both these influences underscores the dedication on this record to its raw recording style and aiming for soulful imperfection by how it begins a snippet of &$2 &adio picked up by the 4I box in the 4ublin studio where this album was recorded. 2lsewhere signs that this attitude of recording in single live takes can be heard in noticeable playing imperfections, but also it the verve and vitality of the record that simply can t be faked.

+ide two of this album keeps the foot down with the more A>64>"influenced number 5crossed with a little 3lue >heer68entagram7 3ecause 'f +pite!, whilst 2nvying $he 4ead! is the highlight of &oky 2rickson comparisons because of how every little intonation from <akim gives insight into the mind of the man singing. >losing track Ehost $own! matches &oky s vocal phrasing so well that it could easily be a long lost track from the sessions of The 1/il "ne .Plus "ned, but (o 9ore 2xcuses! is by far the second half of the album s crowning glory. A perfect tribute to $hin )izzy s ballads this sits somewhere in between the twee +arah! and the heart" wrenching Eot $o Eive It Sp!, whilst there is a U0 s Earage &ock intensity a la $he -1th *loor 2levators when it kicks up a gear at the end of the song that will please &oky fans even more. If there is a better <ard &ock album in /0-1, I haven t heard it. NC6-0O $ee" ,achine% 'his"ers In 1he Black 26 N<igh &oller &ecordsO *rom what I ve read there was a time in the early B0 s when 4eep 9achine were the kings of the (%'3<9 live circuit in the 2ast 2nd of )ondon, surpassing even Angel %itch in popularity. 'f course though Angel %itch created a more lasting testament thanks to their stellar self"titled )8 whilst 4eep 9achine s own legacy left behind through a series of demo tapes was largely forgotten about, so much so that they did not even have their own entry in the first edition of the (%'3<9 2ncyclopaedia. In the past few years though they have risen out of their dust to reclaim their crown as one of the premier live <eavy 9etal acts in the 3ritain 5I ve flown across from Ireland to see them twice myself7 and in /0-<igh &oller reissued the choicest cut from their back catalogue, the -CB- demo, as the self" titled 28. (ow at last it is time for new material to take centre stage. %hispers In $he 3lack! is technically speaking the only new! track of the three on here, but to be honest you can t get much more old school (%'3<9 than this" s.uealing dual"guitar attack, driving rhythm section, powerful vocals, spooky occult lyrics and a scream"a"long chorus. It is by no means reinventing the wheel, but this track alone makes this an essential purchase for true (%'3<9 aficionados. Iron >ross! is the first of / tracks re#uvenated from the annals of the band s history and opens in a hail of +ten machine"gun fire and Eerman marching music as the song is given a powerful and punchy modern production that gives serious weight to this crunchy, borderline doomy track. ?iller! is a more mid"paced affair but no less infectiously head"banging and rounds out the trip down memory lane on the second side of this -/! nicely. $his is a solid release, and everything it was expected and needs to be. 9y only issue is with the fact it is only a -/! 28, and one with / re" recordings at that. $his is only able, and possibly only meant to, whet rather than satiate the appetite for more 4eep 9achine recordings. %ith their peers like <ell and +atan releasing excellent new albums this year the clamouring is getting even louder. I don t know

if the bands have any current designs on a full" length release, but I am hotly anticipating it nonetheless. )isten to this 28 and chances are you will be too. NQ6-0O 2$I1s 0igh ;oller will release Rise %# The $achine ?6 in A"ril 2Fth 20(OB $eicide% In 1he ,inds Df 2vil N>entury 9ediaO 4eicide are a band who certain people have been wanting to fail for the past few years. 'n the one hand you have the keyboard warriors for whom Elenn 3enton is a favourite easy target for all the bullshit he spouts 5remember when he was supposed to kill himself -1 years agoF7 and then the perpetual grudge"holders who can tell you the times and places of every gig the band have cancelled on them 5one friend of mine is up to Q cancellations nowK7 $hose lucky enough to have seen 4eicide in the past decade comment on how lacking in passion their live shows now are, and let us not forget the exiled <offman brothers who not doubt have been watching the band s second career slump with )Til Death Do 0s Part and To Hell With God and are rubbing their hands with glee waiting for an implosion. %ith all these vultures circling though 3enton and Asheim have pulled something altogether not that bad out of the hat and stuck their middle fingers up in true *lorida 4eath 9etal redneck style, probably mildly annoying everyone in the process who was wanted to see a complete musical self"immolation. $he distorted 9ichael >aine in $he 4ark ?night .uote that begins the opening title track here is admittedly a bit dumb and doesn t exactly instil confidence, but the track itself is fairly decent" riffy, up"tempo and memorable. It s not .uite an opening salvo on par with $he +tench 'f &edemption!, but it s a shite side better than $he 3eginning 'f $he 2nd! from Til Death Do 0s Part and $o <ell %ith Eod!. $hou 3egone! and Eodkill! keep things fairly decent, the latter having a more than decent vocal line in the chorus, but L tracks in 3eyond +alvation! drops the first dud. It isn t much shorter than the rest of the songs here, but its generic riffs going absolutely nowhere and this is a theme continued on several tracks like *allen $o +ilence.! 'thers like ?ill $he )ight 'f >hrist! and 2nd $he %rath 'f Eod! get by on a decent riff or vocal line, but the main problem with this album is how formulaic its songs are. 9isery 'f 'ne! is the only track to really break out of this rut with its sweet running tempo change lead that proves to be the most memorable point of this album. (othing else really comes close to match it, anything else of .uality like Jack 'wen s soloing on 2ven $he Eods >an 3leed! is so because of its reassuring sameyness. 3enton s vocals for example are also stronger than the average for this album on this track, with him sounding slightly more intelligible, but thankfully not more intelligent. $his is 4eicide after all" single"minded bloody blasphemy is exactly what we want to hear. NQ6-0O $isarm :oliath% Born 1o ;ule N8ure +teel &ecordsO 4espite forming in the late C0 s at a time when the S? <eavy 9etal scene was deader than

dead 5even the stubborn hangers on like +lander, 9arshall )aw and the $ony 9artin fronted 3lack +abbath all but faded away7 I had never heard of 4isarm Eoliath until this promo came along. Eranted their first album came at a time where they were alone in their chosen field and then promptly afterwards had a -0 year"long silence, but Asomvel had a similar reign a few years later as .uite literally the only <eavy 9etal band in the S? at the time. Immediately alarm bells start ringing as to why in a country with such a small and focused traditional 9etal scene as 2ngland has are 4isarm Eoliath seemingly so unknownF Is it a simple .uestion of .ualityF In addition to the high scream that kicks off opener 2mbrace $he Abyss! which the label are keen to liken to Erim &eaper in the sales sheet there is an obvious aiming towards sounding like Iron 9aiden, coming off in something like a mixup of early >loven <oof, %olf and 4ark *orest. $his .uickly becomes the story of the whole album. $he songs are well"structured, the ideas big and ambitious, but mostly the musicality #ust isn t there to pull them off. 'ne of the biggest problems is in the riff department as after several listens the only one I can recall is from this opening track, and that is mostly because of how close it is to Amon Amarth s $wilight 'f $he $hunder Eod.! It s not #ust the fact the riffs are such stock stuff that makes them so unmemorable" the fact they are buried beneath the vocals for most of the album doesn t help, and the vocals aren t the strongest factor either. 'n the album s fastest song where the singer reaches for the high notes more the .uality is ramped up significantly, making the S+89"styling 8ropaganda! the strongest number on here. $hat is .uickly followed by the title track however which highlights another significant problem" in spite of the lyrics being strong elsewhere, the choruses tend towards being very repetitive, to the point that rather than being anthemic they feel almost boring. >onsidering that the title track which it might be safe to assume was the first track written is so bog standard, the rest of the album probably never really had a chance. %ho &ules $he (ight! comes off even worse thanks to there being something of Eary Elitter to it. 9an 'f +ins! and >ry 'f $he 3anshee! are the two most ambitious tracks on here, aiming for vibes like 9aiden s <allowed 3e $hy (ame! and early 9anowar respectively, but neither really working as planned. (othing on this album 5bar the final track &aining +teel!7 is particular bad, but it s #ust nowhere near as good as it wants to be. $he attempt to liken the album art to the legendary 9ichael %helan 5of the >irith Sngol covers fame7 works as an analogy for the music as well" this is mutton dressed as lamb. 8ure +teel can come up with as many platitudes as they want, but this simply isn t in the same league as it is pretending to be. NL6-0O $oom% >orru"t 7ucking .ystem N3lack >loud &ecordsO +ince the passing of lead singer %ayne +outhworth in /00[ the longest remaining elder statesmen of S? >rust 8unk have kept a pretty low key existence. +ure they have continued

playing live with new man 4ennis on the mic, but rumblings of a new album were kept .uiet until *orru t Fucking S,stem was unexpectedly sprung at >hristmas 5should that be >rustmasF7, the first album from the band since /00- s World "f Shit. A lot has happened in the world in that time and a lot of it is represented in the sleeve artwork here" everything from >hristianity and Judaism, drug and cigarette manufacturers, political parties, $A multi"networks, oil businesses and other corporations" all in a sordid mass being literally shat on the congested cityscape by the demonic and enormous banker figure dominating the skyline. In short, 4oom are back and they are pissed off about 2A2&J$<I(E. 'pening salvoes +tripped, %hipped And >rucified! and 8rey *or 'ur +ouls! pull no punches and take issue with clerical child abuse and other other religious misdeeds, with the latter being one of the most vitriolic spoken word >rust tracks in recent memory. <uman 9eat! rages for animal rights with Erind"like intensity in under a minute before >harlie >imex #oins the band for some additional vocals on the crushing Jes, $hey +till $est 'n 4ogsK! which turns out to also be one of the lyrical high points of the album with 'ur demise won t be #ackboots63ut lung disease and corporate suits.! +uffer In +ilence! and >on 4em (ation! are the height of the righteous anger on this album with some important things to say about the current state 5i.e. lack of7 democracy in 3ritain, but all political impact of this album is fairly" well dampened by the daftness of the lyrics to *inal <our 5*or $he Eolden +hower7.! $here are some genuinely very good tracks on here, like the sweet refrain to the straight"up >rossover number 2at +hit And 3uy!, and the flat out brilliant 3etter 'ff 4ead! but most of the -L tunes on here are only average or slightly above, like the pleading for gun control sanity in 'wn %orst 2nemy.! It says a lot about this album that the best tracks on here are those that are mostly spoken word or lean heavily on the samples. Joutube conspiracy theorist Jordan 9axwell is used to provide the intro for Apostasy! while the album closer >ults 'f <uman +acrifice! has no vocals, only the words of renowned Atheist debater +am <arris. $he title track is easily the most interesting thing on here, featuring a complex, intense and rapidly"delivered poem by a woman by the name of *ag Ash )il, but it also serves to show 'ush Hour "f The Gods this ain t. +till this is an essential purchase for any self"respecting >rust 8unk though. NQ6-0O 2ndstille% Ka"itulation 20(* N+eason 'f 9istO 2ndstille have always been in an unfortunate position where their songs have been more interesting for their themes rather than their music. $hey are a band who with each album you know exactly what you are going to get musically, and shamefully that leads to a situation where I find more en#oyment researching the topics of the songs than I do listening to the solid but unspectacular tunes themselves. In the live arena 2ndstille s heads down, horns up approach to 3lack 9etal works a treat, but on album, trying to en#oy them for musical abilities alone is a mug s game. $his

time round, they have pulled even more interesting historical events out of the bag to investigate and themes to ponder on, but still failed in the other all"important .uarters. $he closing / tracks on this album are the best for this purpose, first of all with ?4* [--!, referencing the sinking of 9A %ilhelm Eustloff, the biggest loss of life in a single maritime historical incident. 'f the nearly -0, 000 souls perished in the incident over half were civilian children, so the desolate and mournful aura of the song is well"earned, and appropriate as well given the title of the album. Interestingly though is that the ship is referred to by its original classification as a pleasure liner in the (azis +trength $hrough Joy! programme, showing an element of dark humour to 2ndstille. $his can be seen earlier on the album too with the bilingual pun of +ick <eil! and the ironic book"ending of the defeated"toned &eich an Jugend! with a rousing Eerman military speech intro and unnervingly happy Hitler=ugend campfire song outro, but it is the closer of 2ndstille 5Abschied7! that draws the most attention. Its lyrics seem to be taken entirely from a letter written by a Eerman %% I soldier that is e.ual parts horrifying in its portrayal of the trenches and touching in its loving valediction to the letter s intended recipient. $he inclusion of that final portion of the letter is a bold move by 2ndstille in a 3lack 9etal album, but it is appropriate given the song title being translatable as farewell! and fits the overall sense of accepted defeat and death which is the closest thing this album possesses to an overarching motif. $rue to form for 2ndstille though none of these tracks would be as interesting if taken only on their musical merits. 2ndstille 5Abschied7! is one long repetition of riffs that don t .uite match up to the mournful topic of the lyrics, ?4* [--! has some pseudo"4 beat drum patterns that are ill"fitting and +ick <eil! 5like the marginally longer +talin (ote!7 is a throwaway non"track at only - minute [0 seconds. 'nly &eich an Jugend! really stands up to scrutiny thanks to a frosty wall of noise main riff that is among the best the band have ever penned. 2lsewhere it is much the same story, with only 9onotonus /0-1!, the rerecorded and lyrically expanded version of the song of the same name from /00L s Dominan9 album, being able to stand alongside some live setlist stormers like %orld Aflame! that have dotted the last few albums. $o give 2ndstille some credit they have tried to extend their musical palette somewhat, by being a tad more melodic and atmospheric, and giving a 3lack n &oll6$hrash68unk vibe to $he &efined (ation! and (ostalgia!. $he biggest attempt at change is in the use of a spoken word style of vocals on several tracks, but they only really are a success on the closer" in opening track Aborted! they sit too far back in the mix and on (ostalgia! the same problem has the effect of making the vocals a #umbled mess. &esponsibility for that can be partly attributed to the producer, but after -1 years as a band the blame for shoddy songwriting and album flow can t rest anywhere but with 2ndstille. 2ven without the above problems there could be no overarching style to an album that is interrupted halfway through by a pointless +odom cover 5though

kudos though on getting the guitarist from !n The Sign "f 1/il, Erave Aiolator, in to guest on this version of 3lasphemer!.7 It is almost embarrassing for a veteran band to be seemingly unable to compose L0 minutes of good songs, ordered in a sensible and logical album flow, or to at least harness their main strength in lyrical and thematic intrigue into putting together a unified and concise concept album. Sntil 2ndstille can con.uer at least one of these their ship is going to keep on sinking faster than even the ?4* [--. NL6-0O 2nforcer% $eath By 7ire N(uclear 3lastO I seem to be in a minority of 2nforcer fans for whom it took a while for them to click with me, but having finally cottoned on to their brilliance I am now definitely of the school of thought that !nto The $ight and Diamonds are two of the best pieces of <eavy6+peed 9etal of the past few years. %here I also differ from a lot of 2nforcer fans though is in whether or not Death B, Fire matches up to that standard, as over the course of the year since its January release a number of fans seem to be hailing the new cut as a startling disappointment. $his line of thought I can t get my head around at all, because measured either against the marginally superior earlier albums or entirely on its merits this still absolutely rules and is streaks above a lot of their contemporaries. After the short intro of 3ells 'f <ades!, which thankfully doesn t encroach on too much on 8ortrait s niche of 9ercyful *ate"baiting, 4eath &ides $his (ight! explodes in a total <eavy 9etal crescendo that nicely features a slightly more late Q0 s guitar tone that really puts me in mind of early <eavy )oad. $his is the big time feelgood style that has become 2nforcer s trademark, which continues on with &un *or Jour )ife! that maybe misses a trick at not in#ecting a little more darkness in its +atan"style proto"$hrash but when sticking to their guns produces a simple and infectious chorus the scale of 9esmerized 3y *ire! I really can t fault 2nforcer s mode of attack. 3oth it and the side one closer $ake 9e 'ut 'f $his (ightmare! have a very similar style of chorus refrain to the now almost classic 9idnight Aice! but are far from carbon copies, especially when the latter has an awesome guitar"playing that would not have been out of place on +corpions 3o/edri/e which elevates it to being this album s standout song. 'n the flip side of this record we first get >rystal +uite!, which finally #ustifies the too often"touted lazy comparison to Iron 9aiden with its #illers"es.ue bass solo and twin leads before +acrificed! calls +corpions to mind again, this time in#ecting some late B0 s epic balladeering to a bona fide Agent +teel"style +peed 9etal ripper. +ilent <our6$he >on#uration! sets the album up for a storming finale with its killer open riff and dark"edged and immensely long solo section, but unfortunately +atan! doesn t .uite deliver. Although there is a few hints of darkness and evil and this album compared to the first two this song isn t a serious attempt at forefronting this theme, though maybe a more full on handling of 'ld (ick would have made for a less disappointing closer. Instead I get a feeling that this number is done slightly tongue

in cheek, especially seeing as the pronunciation of his name in the simple chorus refrain is almost exactly the same as used by Eaahl from Eorgoroth in that famous interview, but this one letdown aside there is very little flaws to picks with this album. It lacks that instant classic factor that the first two had, but a disappointmentF (ot on your lifeK NB6-0O 2reb Altor% 7ire ,eets Ice N>yclone 2mpireO &eaders who remember that 2reb Altor were interviewed in the first issue of %A& '( A)) *&'($+ will understand how close this band is to my heart, and a few of you may then also understand my dismay when the template of traditional +wedish 2pic 4oom 9etal crossed with the early Aiking 9etal of 3athory and +cald was altered for album number three, Gastrike, to make room for an increasing amount of 3lack 9etal influence. (ow while I do respect the right of bands to play more or less exactly what they want and that as a fan my opinion counts for nought unless a band wishes to seek it, as someone who could have .uite happily listened to 2reb Altor remake the same / albums for eternity I do think I was entitled to some .uiet throwing of the toys from the pram. A year on though and with album number L it was time to give 2reb Altor the benefit of the doubt, dry my tears and get professional again. 9any things about the opening title track are encouraging, not least the epic duration of nearly -0 minutes, but also the early break into those sweeping ohh"ohhK! vocals and a riff that sounds like it could have been left over from the sessions of the dVbut album, B, Honour. In fact, due to the overall favouring of slow tempos on this album in comparison to Gastrike this could even be seen as a step"back towards favouring the 4oom elements of the 2reb Altor sound once again, especially as 9y &avens! and 'ur )egacy! both have passages that could have been on The 1nd. If you share the pre#udices I described at the beginning though it is best not to get your hopes up though as the 3lack 9etal influence is still there. $he issue I take now is not with the fact that this element exists on this album, but more that it is at times incorporated so awkwardly. I don t think it would be holding 2reb Altor to an impossible standard to expect that they might be able to have improved on Gastrike, but from the #arring harsh vocals and clunky tempo shift into the 9oonsorrow6%indir vibe on the opening track onwards it seems that the opposite may be happening. $here is also less continuity than ever before when it comes to which 3lack 9etal bands seem to be influencing 2reb Altor here= from early 2nslaved at the start of this album, to %atain on 9y &avens! to Eorgoroth s more abrasive moments on 8ost &agnar@ck!... At a point in their career when 2reb Altor ought to be refining their style it sounds more like they are still trying to find their feet" and worse still is the the effect of dampening the impact of the 4oom passages that this has. 3lack 9etal is not the only other genre influence here though as right from the piano" led intro to the opening title song the way is paved for an increased influence from later

?atatonia and Amorphis material, and even mid"period 8aradise )ost that permeates this whole record. At times it is well"executed, and overall helps steer this band s sound back to 4oomier waters, but nevetheless continues to dilute the dominance of 3athory and +cald which was the rock the band were built upon. $his new string to 2reb Altor s bow may be easier for fans of 9ats and &agnar s other band, Isole, to get into" but for people who have been with these guys since the first album or even before I forsee this being perceived as simply yet more moving away from their roots. As competently done as some of these soaring pseudo"Eothic passages are and as much as both key members have improved in technical terms as vocalists much of this new experimentation still leaves me cold, and simply that is because I think they may have bitten off more than they can chew. %ith barely a year between this album and the last it doesn t feel like this influence has been thought out carefully enough or enough time has been taken to work it in fully. >ertainly it has increased the musical complexity and demanded more accomplished performances, but it has also revealed a naivety that seems out of place with the veteran performers that this band are. At least when musical naivety shone through on previous albums it was on material influenced by some e.ually na|ve artists. %hen it comes to mimicking stuff like ?atatonia and Amorphis, the stakes to make the standards as a high as possible is so much more massive than it is when paying tribute to 3athory. After / albums / years in a row I can forsee 2reb Altor now taking a step back to really think the next album through. I still applaud the bravery and creativity they have shown here, and certainly this branched out sound has legs if they really work at it. If they want to play it safe though next time, 2reb Altor should think about going back to what it was that got them to this point. NQ6-0O 7alkenbach% Asa N8rophecy 8roductionsO In spite of being able to lay claim to being a well distinguished and uni.ue act in the world of 9etal the career tra#ectory of *alkenbach s Aratyas Aakyas is a pretty well trodden one. <aving begun recording music in -CBC as a solo *olk act, *alkenbach appeared as the dawn of the second wave of 3lack 9etal began to creep over the horizon and delivered their pioneering dVbut in -CCU when the experimental end of the genre really broke, being one of the first to colour the genre with *olk elements. ---(agni Blandinn "k (egintiri--- followed / years later with 3lack 9etal side of the coin now taking a back seat to the *olk whimsy and the epic 3athory"style compositions, before that process was further and refined on "k $efna T,s/ar T, [ years later. $hen at a crossroads *alkenbach took the interesting decision with /00[ s HeraldingThe Fire&lade to release a back to the roots album! based around reworked versions of tracks written before the dVbut, a choice that bought time for Aakyas to either find a way to expand beyond the style he pioneered or to better those early efforts. 2ven with the benefit of a U year gap he failed to do either on /0-- s

Tiurida, but being in much the same position that the very stylistically similar +ummoning are this year he largely got a by from his fans by virtue of how long they had been waiting for new material. (ow in /0-1 though he has run out of get out of #ail free!cards. It is put up or shut up time for *alkenbach s maestro to either prove himself worthy of the musical genius acclaim he attracts, or to prove himself as a one trick pony. 3efore we can even talk about the music though that fantastic cover artwork needs to be mentioned as not only is it easily the best that has ever graced a *alkenbach sleeve, but also comparing the >4 booklet and )8 versions side by side they seem to be paintings of the same mountain lake from opposite sides. It s a genius little touch" typically *alkenbach, but going that little bit extra to create something special. 'n to the music though and it too is typically *alkenbach, often painfully so. It is a worrying start that the previous album called most to mind by opener Aaer +t#ernar Aaerdan! is Heralding- The Fire&lade due to how disinterested Aakyas seems to be with his clean vocals, ruining what could have been a decent mournful vibe on 9i#n )aezt %ourd! in the process. $here is little better to be said about most of the more up"tempo tracks either as what both %ulfarwei#d! and I (attens +tilta! have in common is a structural simplicity that borders on the mind"numbing" repeat main riff and drum pattern for 1/ bars, vary slightly for B bars, repeat several times, [" -0 second .uiet interlude, repeat until end. $he only think to shake up this songwriting autopilot is 3luot *u}r 3luot! where an attempt is at least made to bring together the whimsical *olk &ock and icy 9elodic 3lack 9etal styles that are bounced between here, but once again the same songwriting snoozefest prevails. It is not like this is new for *alkenbach as in spite of their epic stature and leanings it has always been a pro#ect typified by short albums and mostly short songs. $he fact is though that now -[ years on from when *alkenbach s style was once novel and so many of the bands were born from that influence have surpassed the teacher in every songwriting and album construction facet possible that this level of simplicity and naivety from a veteran band is almost intolerable. It is a sad fact that when more than ever Aakyas needed to pull out something special and monumental after the disappointment that was Tiurida the response seems to be to make something with even shorter and more basic songs and performed with even less passion and fire. It is not all terrible though and around the middle of this album it even threatens to make a glorious comeback. 3rozen 2mbrace! is the first blast of icy 3lack 9etal on this album and to be frank, *alkenbach have perhaps never done it better than this. Aside from the drum sound which lacks that savage, cavernous feel the riffs on this track could easily have come from albums like +atyricon s Dark (edie/al Times or Eehenna s First S ell. It is followed up with a *e#d6+tille Aolk"style masterclass in dainty pastoral *olk &ock with a strong 8op sensibility, but if the centre of the album leads the charge for the best moments, the worst is truly saved for last with the turgid double" whammy of the boring 9elo"4eth filler

+tikke %ound! and the sleep"inducing acoustic finish Sfirstanan *olk.! 'ver the years *alkenbach s meteoric decline has been partly due to worsening albums, and partly due to what made them stand out in the first place become more and more passV. %ith both of those processes now so advanced this album feels like it may be the final nail in the coffin for the *alkenbach myth and legacy. N[6-0O 7anisk% Insularum N4arker $han 3lackO -0 years may seem like a heck of a long time between albums, but when you have an undertaking like *anisk s follow up to /001 s album $oontide the gravity of the interim is understandable. (ot so much in this case because of the need to match or top the previous effort in .uality, though $oontide was an excellent though largely unheralded piece of transcendent orchestral S+39 black art, but rather because !nsularum became not only a rebirth for this phoenix but also its swansong. $he fact that this album was released on January -st is wholly fitting giving the lyrical themes here of shedding of the old and heralding of the new and superior, but neither should it be surprising that the band ended their existence on August -Qth this year given that the lyrics also concern 5as does the musical movements7 an ascendency into some higher astral plane or realm of being. $o what the members of *anisk will have gone on to now is uncertain 5though 2ldrig s solo pro#ect of the same name appears to still be active7, but as a departing gift they could hardly have made an album more befitting. 4eparture &ose Eolden! begins with a .uote from the %erner <erzog film *o&ra +erde that translates to I long to go forth from here to another world!, and immediately this album rises to that other place. $he tone to the keys resembles their solar spiritual brethren ?ataxu, as well Eoat <orns"era (okturnal 9ortum and ?hors 9ysticism album, and ostensibly their might be comparisons drawn to more conventional +ymphonic 3lack 9etal acts like 4immu 3orgir" but the key difference is in the atmosphere being created. $here is no attempt at sounding evil here, or mournful or any typical 3lack 9etal emotion" this is a sound that stands alone with its rarefied heroic, triumphant, even celebrant vibe. It might even by likened to a 8ower 9etal sound, but words like happy or cheery or too base to describe what this is expressing. Eiven that the rose golden! is an alchemical term for absolute earthly achievement we can see here a perfect matching of idea and form as the huge orchestral movement of the music here rises up and up inexorably over this near -[ minute composition, completing the interstellar #ourney as the lyrics >ircleth Srsae 9inoris62nigmatic in rondureK! %ords like ma#estic get bandied about in 9etal too often, but here it is more a more than deserving description. In spite of the uni.uely positive atmosphere for the genre and the beyond the norm (eoclassical structuring 9etal is far from abandoned here. $he music is at times is also dense, raging and cold, the .uieter moments haunting, and the feel of mastery from latter" day 2mperor is evoked, even bettered. $he sacrificing of mundane darkness for cosmic

light might seem like too much of a re#ection of the core of 3lack 9etal for some, especially as the album bleeds seamlessly into 2nantiodromia! and the vibe grows eerily similar to some of 4evin $ownsend s recent material. Anyone thinking of levelling a cry of sellout! towards *anisk though had better think twice though" not only would the (+39 connections of the members make any kind of commercial breakout impossible, but also to imagine that this duo have any interest in anything beyond the music created here and the personal #ourney it envisages is almost laughable. $he break into spacey territories in the centre of this album is a chamber of cold, blinding light and cleansing waves from which the music comes out the other side transformed" and it is nice to see a 3lack 9etal band at last put their music where their mouth is. <ow many acts out their have lyrics of self" transformation, soul alchemy, shedding of the self to achieve a higher cosmic state" and how many of those have the originality or the musical imagination to to shrug of 3lack 9etal s restrictive cloak of traditions to fully reflect it musicallyF (ot many, but *anisk is certainly one of them. <aving said farewell to the formerly glittering earthly rose golden at the beginning of this album this 1"part concept record draws to a close with Arrival )otus 3lack!, the most triumphant sounding of the 1 parts yet. As always with bands with (+39 connections 5Aitholf has written lyrics for $hor s <ammer and Infernum and the previous album featured a sunburst swastika on the cover art7 the reference here to the neo"nazi ideological trope of the 3lack +un is sure to raise some eyebrows, though the important distinction to make here is that these ideas are being applied to the rebirth of the individual, not of the Aryan race, and also the possible significance of the figuring of a lotus flower in the theme. Although a blossoming flower has long been associated with a rising sun a lotus never to my knowledge has been specifically so, leading me to think that here it is being used in its pre" Indo"2uropean context of divinity, like the deities in the 3hagavad Eita who are described as seated in lotus flowers. It would not be the first time that bands on the outskirts of (+39 have gone to those sources 54rudkh s name being taken from +anskrit and the related 3lood 'f ?ingu s pre"2uropean lyrical bent being examples7 and with this exulted, #ubilant crescendo of solar black art *anisk undoubtedly #oin their ranks as being craftsmen of some of the most uni.ue 3lack 9etal music yet made. 'ne of a kind. NC6-0O :allow :od% 1he 9eneration Df .er"ents Nself"releaseO %hen )ondon"based 4oom pack Eallow Eod first struck 1 years ago with their False (,stical Prose 28 they split opinion wherever they were discussed. *or me they sat perfectly in the middle of the 4oom spectrum by drawing on the epic and utterly bleak sides of the genre e.ually and leaning ever so slightly towards the Eothic with some *uneral"style keyboards, but to others they seemed middle of the road. Eiven that the 28 was rather restrained in that respect I can see why people may have arrived at that conclusion, but one thing that is sure about The +eneration "f Ser ents is that this is by no means middle of

the road. $he keyboards which hovered uncertainly in the 28 are gone, and everything about the epic and mournful strains in Eallow Eod s sound has been amplified threefold. 'n the 28 the vocals of 4aniel $ibbals bore .uite a close resemblance to Isole s 4aniel 3ryntse and while he still has that dour .uality his intonation is much less drab than before. $hey start off .uite low in the mix on opening dirge $he >ircle! but once they rise to the occasion their improvement between releases turns out to be the defining factor here. Isole are called to mind for the epic .uality along with *all 'f $he Idols and 9irror 'f 4eception once again but the solemn side of the scale really takes centre stage this time and Eallow Eod place themselves firmly in a particularly 2nglish school of misery along with %arning 5more so The Strength To Dream than Watching From A Distance7, $he &iver and to a lesser extent 9ourn. $his track crushes but also the vocal lines are inherently memorable and alongside %inter )ight! off the 9agic >ircle dVbut and 3lack 'ath s ...*or <is >oming! this has to be considered one of the best opening tracks of any 4oom album this year. %aters 'f 4eath, $hy <ands %ill (ot >leanse! keeps the .uality high with another stellar Isole"like melody, before the depressive but unspectacular At 2ternity s Eate! arrives. It is far from lacklustre but at over -0 minutes it may be the toughest track to get through here for some folk, and the following track is not an easy listen for fairweather 4oom fans either. $he sparse drumming on that track features some really sinister echoing cymbals though which sets it apart, and Easlight! carries some real emotional depth that leads us into the most memorable song from this album" a crushing rendition of the middle 2nglish ballad +carborough *air! that far exceeds 9y 4ying 3ride s attempt at it a few years ago. *ollowing that we have A 9iser s )and! which despite being a pretty decent song for this style it would probably be the prime candidate for being cut from this album to knock the length down. $hat being said, if you have a stomach for albums over an hour in length you shouldn t struggle with The +eneration "f Ser ents as even for a sombre and monolithically slow 4oom release it is rarely if ever boring, and $he >ranes 'f Ibycus! keeps the .uality high to the end and in#ects some a really killer sense of desperation in the vocals to finish. )ike with False (,stical Prose there is a sense here of Eallow Eod still having lots to accomplish, lots of paths started on with this album that could be followed"up on. $o talk only of the future would do a disservice to this effort though and what it ultimately is" which is one of the very top 4oom 9etal albums of /0-1. NB6-0O :lorior Belli% :ators ;umble, >haos Jnfurls NAgonia &ecordsO :uite why after delivering a minor masterpiece of *rench 'rthodox 3lack 9etal in /00Q, (anifest The 'aging Beast, Elorior 3elli decided to change tact in /00C and create a hybrid sound by flavouring 3lack 9etal traditionalism with (')A +ludge and other southern! sprinklings is still a bit of a mystery.

L years on though $he +outh! rises again in Elorior 3elli s sound for a third time, now more of a solo pro#ect of J.6Infestvvs with hired hands after his former bandmates departed for more traditional acts like $emple 'f 3aal and 'sculum Infame. $his is also Elorior 3elli s [th label in [ albums having gone from 2erie Art, to +outhern )ord, to >andlelight, to 9etal 3lade and now back to the underground with Agonia. $o me this label"hopping immediately posies the .uestion of are they #ust flogging a dead horse, or instead flogging a horse that never really existedF >ompared to /00C s (eet 0s At The Southern Sign at least Elorior 3elli can boast that this hybrid style is achieved more cohesively than before. $hat improvement began to be made on the follow up The Great Southern Darkness in /0--, but here aside from a few awkward and #arring moments on opener 3lackpowder &oars! and the disrhythmic 3uilt *or 4iscomfort! everything is blended more smoothly" kind of like a musical e.uivalent to one of those expensive reserve! Jack 4aniels with the honey or apple mixed through them. It would almost be inoffensive if the idea of the hybrid style wasn t so awkward and nonsensical to begin with. $his isn t #ust 3lack 9etal elitism talking here either, as I dare say serious practitioners and fans of the other side of Elorior 3elli s musical chemistry e.uation would feel exactly the same way. $he likenesses to 4own and )eather (un America are obvious, but the execution feels so contrived, understandably so given that these guys are from 8aris *rance, not 8aris $ennessee. It s the exact same feeling of confusion that would be created by good ol southern boys suddenly donning corpse paint and trying to play cold (orwegian 3lack 9etal. As for the idea of mixing the two, should the fact that even the Arch"3ro himself 8hil Anselmo never attempted this in all his own flirtations with mediocre 3lack 9etal not be tellingF $he proof of this is in the pudding on this album" Elorior 3elli never manage to lose that forced feeling and sound loose and genuine when plying the smoky, bluesy half of this album, and aside from the first minute or so of I Asked *or %ine, <e Eave 9e 3lood! it has the knock"on effect of sucking any energy out of the moments of 3lack 9etal orthodoxy as well. Individually neither of these elements are Elorior 3elli s strong point, but as was said before at least thanks to the production and songwriting they blend together more smoothly than when this experiment first started. $he other change from the third album to the fourth was toning down of the southern"themed song titles, but here they are back with a vengeance and even more bizarre and laughable as before. <ow are you supposed to take seriously a song called Ain t (o 8it 4eep 2nough! by someone who would never use the word ain t! in their 2nglish dialect, or )e 3lackout 3lues!, 3ackwoods 3ayou! or that title track by someone who has probably never seen a bayou or an alligator in their life beforeF Jes, (ew 'rleans has *rench heritage, but unless you are >reole yourself this sort of stuff has about as much authenticity as a Euatemalan band singing about vikings. 9etal hipsters will probably love this and claim that 3lack 9etal only has any kind of relevance when engaging

in this sort of stuff, but now that they are no longer on a label with as much reach into those circles as before their chances of pulling in those sorts is much reduced. 1 albums in and their creative experiment has failed to be taken seriously, leading Elorior 3elli to ramp up the southern factor even more, making themselves an even bigger laughing stock in the process. Jou might say that none of this matters as long as the music is good, but with the fact they do not excel at their +ludge pretensions and those nullify what little power their 3lack 9etal moments still hold, and the overall awkwardness of mixing the two 5best demonstrated by the awful breakdown section to *rom 'ne &ebel $o Another!7 I struggle to find anything to .ualify as good! on here. 2ven ignoring the above factors this album still is plagued by shoddy songwriting as over half the tracks meander out without going anywhere. $he structural boredom problem seems to come from the fact these songs lack solos, most of which seemed to have been saved up for the 3lack )abel +ociety"style intro to closing song Eators &umble, >haos Snfurls.! Infestvvs had a masterstroke with 9anifest The 'aging Beast all those U years ago, but since then it seems he is a creatively spent force, and no amount of attempts to sound like he was born in a swamp are going to disguise that fact. N16-0O :rave ,iasma% Ddori .e"ulcrorum N+epulchral AoiceO In the grand scheme of things 1 years is not an awfully long time to wait for a new release, but when you re following up something that engendered the universal praise that Erave 9iasma s expanded, remastered and re"released version of the Eoat 9olest@r 'ealm "f 1/oked Doom 28 did then it seems a hell of a lot longer. 8raise doesn t come much higher than best 4eath 9etal band alive!, especially when that comes from (uclear %inter label boss64ead >ongregation frontman Anastasis Aaltsanis, but Erave 9iasma seem to have taken their time and delivered a calm, cool and collected response to prove their advocates right. And they so very nearly hit it right on the mark here. 2verything 'ealm "f 1/oked Doom was this is and more. $he production in particular has grown even more monstrous and dense, but still incredibly nuanced and especially suited to listening with headphones. $here is some killer drumming sections on Ascension 2ye! that I think get buried in the mire, but otherwise the production is spot on" dark, dank and difficult to navigate but #ust the right side of being completely impenetrable. It is perfectly suited to the style of riffs as well, like the tremelo" picked incantations of the aforementioned song or the bestial Autopsy"style groove of both 'vation $o A $housand )ost &everies! and ~.! $he classic 9orbid Angel"es.ue songcraft flair is still present and correct in Erave 9iasma too, reaching its zenith on the album centrepiece 'doratus +epulcrorum.! $he atmosphere is fantastic here with a deep, abyssal low hum and a celestial twinkle, the vocals taking on a new dimension and one of the most towering riffs I have ever heard leading into a surprisingly mournful and epic

second half of this song. It is the best thing that Erave 9iasma have written to date by far. %here this needs to be #udged though is on how much it has progressed from the previous release, what new musical plateau Erave 9iasma have climbed to. $he aforementioned mournfulness is the first sign of change right from the very start of album opener 4eath s 9editative $rance! and little bits of this and an epic swathe take control at various brief moments throughout the album. It is not a huge leap onwards from what the band were doing before, and in fact it is a pretty logical advancement for them, but it gives this album a much needed edge. %here 'ealm "f 1/oked Doom con#ured images of crypts and tombs "dori Se ulcrorum evokes images of vast underground cities, necropolises and crumbling temples. +even >oils! rightly stands out here for its spine"tingling opening riff and some welcome variety in the vocals with some high screams being introduced, but it is the interesting instrumentation of the setar and oud that makes it truly uni.ue. 9iddle eastern vibes are all the rage in 9etal at the moment but I can t recall hearing them used as authentically as this anywhere. It s #ust a shame that individual touches like this don t litter every track on the album" not necessarily the same elements as this, but at least something to make songs like 'ssuary! that bit more memorable. I feel as though Erave 9iasma could have pushed themselves to be more creative on this album, especially as with such a limited discography til now the ideas are probably there aplenty. $his comes close to the top of the pile for 4eath 9etal albums this year but Erave 9iasma s crowning glory this is not. NB6-0O 0ecate 2nthroned% 9irulent ;a"ture N>rank 9usic EroupO 9ention the name <ecate 2nthroned to most 9etalheads these days and the reaction will most likely be are they still goingF! or are they back togetherF!, but the fact of the matter is they never went away. 4espite the vocalist from their last album, /00L s 'edimus, remaining with the band til last year they have had complete silence on the recorded front since then, instead keeping a low profile with sparse gigging mostly as headliners of all" dayers up and down 3ritain and select events on the periphery of 9etal such as the %ave Eotik $reffen festival in Eermany. $hus I am unsure whether or not to call this a comeback album, also because of being on a newly formed Italian label specialising mostly in Eoth music this album is unlikely to push the band back into the level of awareness they had in their C0 s6early 00 s period on 3lackend records. 'ne thing that can definitely be said in their favour is that this album does pick up rather neatly where #ings "f *haos and 'edimus left off, however given how lukewarmly received those albums were by some fans who were dubious about the move away from purely 3lack 9etal waters that may be a factor too in this album s limited reception. As a band that are now essentially a nostalgia act it might be a sad fact that by not drawing on the correct! era of their past there is likely to be very little interest in this album from their old fans.

$here are times when this album threatens to break into that style the band displayed from 0 on Promethean Shores up til Dark 'eeuiems--- And 0nsilent (assacre, such as on the otherwise Aictorian Eothic"flavoured 8lagued 3y 3lack 4eath! and the blast"happy $o %ield $he <and 'f 8erdition! but these segments are rather few and far between. >radle 'f *ilth comparisons will rear their heads as always thanks to touches like some very (idian"sounding synths on opener $hrones 'f +hadow! and the presence of +arah Jezebel 4eva on the title track but really the last / albums from the bands original era are the most readily comparable source. $hrones 'f +hadow! seems to go for more of a ?reator"like modern $hrash edge rather than the typical 4eath 9etal chug, though that makes its mark felt on other tracks like 'f %itchery And $he 3lood 9oon! and Eothenbur6Amon Amarth"style melodic licks crop up .uite fre.uently here too. $he drumming is fairly strong throughout here, though often struggling through poor tone and horribly mixed cymbals like on Snchained! but by far the strongest element are the vocals of new frontman 2lliot 3eaver. %ith his mixture of throaty growls and incomprehensible shrieks he evokes both former <ecate 2nthroned men Jon ?ennedy and 4ean +eddon 5as well as 4ani *ilth7 in their primes, but thanks to his youth and vocal stamina puts on a much superior performance than either could manage these days. Interestingly this allows the vocals to take the lead on several tracks, such as Abysmal 9arch!, which works very well in con#unction with the stronger focus on mid"paced melodicism such as on 2uphoria.! $hanks to its sparser riffing )ife! even calls to mind mid"period 8aradise )ost, which while likely being a source of further disconnecting <ecate 2nthroned from their traditional fanbase and moving further away from their classic sound so heavily featured around dramatic tempo changes, is still definitely a welcome musical move forward for them. >losing track 8aths 'f +ilence! is easily the album centrepiece, mixing this mid"paced and more melodic strand with the classic +ymphonic 3lack 9etal style and even some of the pseudo"acoustic mysti.ue and 4eath 9etal muscularity of early 'peth for good measure, but unfortunately this isn t translated across the whole album. As this is their longest release by a full B minutes and their first in C years a little rustiness might be forgiveable, and without the backing of a bigger label even the shoddy mixing like on 8lagued 3y 3lack 4eath! can get a pass too, but the biggest change from the band s past is the poor album construction that sees blunders like the useless acoustic interlude Immateria! follow 'f %itchery And $he 3lood 9oon! which already featured that element too heavily. $he diversity of the album might be applauded I suppose, but for a band who were once one of the most intelligent in 3lack 9etal this poor album construction and lack of central focus is a ma#or disappointment. N[6-0O 0ell% >urse And >ha"ter N(uclear 3lastO It might be a clichVd way to start a review, but

the sophmore album from these resurrected (%'3<9 heroes picks up exactly where Human 'emains left off, with a link being created straight away via the spoken word intro of Eehennae Incendiis! that features the dVbut album s title. All the key ingredients remain as well, with the only ma#or differences from the first album being the presence of new tracks 5with around half the album being old demo songs7 and a slight increased presence of Q0 s6B0 s horror kitsch synths. $he 4isposer +upreme! is the main source for the latter, and thankfully so given as it is the weakest song on here, but apart from that slight wavering two tracks in everything on this album is damn near perfect. $he Age 'f (efarious! must be considered for at least a runner up place in any list of the best album openers of the year and its ripper of a chorus is only made better by how it humourously takes its chorus melody from the U0 s 3roadway musical Hair. *rom there every track threatens to be an early peak for the album, were it not for the fact that the level of .uality is kept impossibly high throughout. 4arkhangel! takes the award for the longest song not only on this album, but the third longest in <ell s career to date and is a truly complex dark epic that keeps a strong catchiness in spite of its lyrical 3yzantine tongue"twisting, but even a much lyrically simpler track like )and 'f $he )iving 4ead! or a straight"up (%'3<9"rocker like 4eliver Ss *rom 2vil! can dampen the sheer en#oyment factor. $he most interesting of the re"recorded songs here is the instrumental 4eaths.uad! 5themes of which were used on the overture for the first album7 that is used to split the album cleanly in half after 2nd 'v 4ays! and to provide a little breather before a fresh round of storming riffs, melodies and choruses. 'n the second half of the album +omething %icked $his %ay >omes! rightly takes pride of place and has been a live favourite in /0-1 even before the album s release, but the fantastic new track *aith %ill *all! is almost its e.ual and A Aespertine )egacy! increased melodicity makes for a killer close to this album. As damn near perfect an hour of <eavy 9etal as you can get. NC6-0O 0ellish 'ar% Kee" It 0ellish N8ure +teel &ecordsO 2ven to some of those who love the 8ower 9etal heroes of the -CB0 s their supposed modern descendants in the shape of the likes of 2dguy and <ammerfall are hugely maligned, and often rightly so given how bastardised what they do is. 8ower 9etal these days, it seems, doesn t even need to be particularly powerful to be considered so. 2ven among the best of these second and third wave bands there are no classic albums to measure up to the old guard" even the best among them like Eamma &ay s 3and "f The Free pales against relatively minor bands from the B0 s like Eravestone or +canner, nevermind against ?ai <ansen s own previous work in <elloween. All is not lost though as thanks to the success of the likes of +kull *ist, >auldron et al who are indebted to that B0 s 8ower 9etal sound in recent years, the time may be right for a new successor to that style to rise. <ellish %ar may #ust have heralded that arrival with this album" not #ust a

8ower 9etal album that lives up to its boast of power, but that can be counted among the gods for .uality. In the past I knew this band only by reputation for their supposed similarities to 9anowar, which had not exactly encouraged me to check them out as I have about as much use for 9anowar"clones as I do >ommunist 3lack 9etal. Spon hearing this album though I was struck by how little that comparison made sense, or rather how rarely it did. +ure vocalist 3il 9artins 5this his first outing with <ellish %ar7 has a bit of 2ric Adams falsetto reach in his voice among other things and the choruses to *ire And ?illing! and 8hantom +hip! do have nods to the ?ings 'f 9etal, but this is not as heavily indebted as I was led to believe. I have still not heard <ellish %ar s / previous efforts, /00- s Defender "f (etal 5a 9anowar title if there ever was one7 and /00B Heroes "f Tomorrow so perhaps with a new vocalist has a come a change in style away from 9anowar derivative territories. If there is one band that I think this can be consistently compared to then it is actually &unning %ild. (either in the vocals or the music does this resemble in anyway the sort of %eakness 9etal! that has usurped the genre name in the past / decades. 3il 9artins may not be a classical perfectionist when it comes to his vocals and at several points on this album over" exuberance overtakes precision, but nevertheless his impassioned style has range, a tone that puts me in mind variously of <ansi ?urch and 9att 3arlow and a trailing .uality to his timbre on certain songs that makes me think of +teve Erimmett. 9eanwhile touches like the drum solo intro to &eflects 'n $he 3lade!, the total Erave 4igger riffage of $he >hallenge! and the <elloween influence on the soloing shown best on 9aster 'f %reckage! keep this firmly in the B0 s, with a solid and poweful production far beyond anything else I ve heard come out of 3razil before. +o far, so good but so generic you might be thinkingF +urprisingly the answer is no" at several points on this album I am taken back by the diversity and maturity of the songwriting. $he opening title track begins with a minor key tremelo"heavy riffing style that in a different guise could be classed as 3lack 9etal, and this becomes a trademark that crops up on other songs including *ire And ?illing! while there is a tasteful dose of 3lind Euardian s semi" acoustic folksy whimsy on 4arkness &ide! and even a touch of the epic"era 3athory in the crashing waves that begin album centrepiece 8hantom +hip.! <ellish %ar take the biggest risk on the minor"key emotional number +cars 5Snderneath Jour +kin7! and whilst I still feel this track would have worked better as a ballad it pulls through nonetheless thanks to some awesome layered vocals in the chorus that have a nice :ueensr;che touch to them. )ike the vocals it is far from perfect" my biggest criticism is of the instrumental track 3attle At +ea!, mostly because on repeated listens you can really start to hear where it could ve been turned into another great song with the addition of lyrics. %here this album s real power lies however is in the album flow. Aside from the ill"advised instrumental the intensity that bands both younger and older would kill for is not let up for a second, yet it

never becomes tedious even through songs that mostly U minutes plus and feel like half of that. 3y the end of 8hantom +hip! you will have been listening for LL minutes, yet the album doesn t feel like it s coming to a close until the subtle work towards a climax on 4arkness &ide.! $his modern 8ower 9etal masterpiece is capped off at the UQ minute mark with the near -0 minute finale $he :uest!, which sounds a bit shaky at times and threatens to scupper the whole venture, but is pulled back fantastically at the end and kept strong by the huge cinematic feel to its main riff. Sndoubtedly this deserves to be hailed as a 8ower 9etal classic. NB6-0O 0igh ."irits% 20(* N<igh &oller &ecordsO Another $ight by this >hicago .uintet easily rates as one of the most infectious dVbut albums of recent years, packed full of wall"to" wall anthems of stadium"worthy B0 s magnificence. It was as though >hris 3lack took that shamelessly catchy vibe that all the retro"+peed 9etal bands of the past few years were aiming for and stripping it down to its most radio"friendly commercial source honed it to absolute perfection. %ords like derivative! mean nothing when faced with fist"pumping high energy &ock straight from the heart like this, and whatever <igh +pirits would follow that modern classic of first album would be #udged to the highest possible standard. Amazingly, this compilation of demos measures up amazingly well, and the success might #ust be down to how different it is in some respects. *or one thing without the budget of the album and the extraordinary studio talent of +anford 8arker these tracks sound much more like the reality, which is >hris 3lack doing all this 4IJ. $he result is a much more restrained production that really puts me in mind of early 4okken, a vibe also captured on the darkness" tinged 9idnight +un! which, minus its a capella final chorus refrain, could have belonged .uite easily on Breaking The *hains. 'nly %hen $he )ights Eo 4own! on this 9)8 is really in keeping with the style of the album, being completely cut from the same cloth as the likes of 4o Jou &ememberF! A completely different kind of vibe is evoked on the sombre If I m Eone!, more like the best of B0 s 9etal soul"searching soppiness without descending into power ballad territory while 'ne )ast >hance! and 3e 9y +helter! are similar pieces of dark 8op 9etal earnestness. $his release is completed with an early demo version of the album track *ull 8ower! which keeps the balance #ust right between this new melancholic vibe and the righteous #oy of earlier material and makes for an essential purchase for anyone who loved Another $ight. <ow that balance will change on the next full length record remains to be seen, but >hris 3lack has succeeded in proving here that <igh +pirits are anything but a one trick pony. NB6-0O In .olitude% .ister N9etal 3ladeO %hen on tour in the S? and Ireland with Amon Amarth and Erand 9agus in 9arch of /0-/, In +olitude took to the stage amid the

haunting sounds of *ire 'f Eod s )ove! a bizarre leftfield piece of >hristian *olk from -CQU by +ister Irene ' >onnor. $he reason I bring this up is simple" no one at all who witnessed this or knew otherwise about In +olitude s penchant for obscure and esoteric music should be in any way surprised at the new direction they ve taken on Sister. %hen it comes to making it or being broken by the difficult third album! In +olitude have passed with flying colours" all those colours are black mind, but flying colours nonetheless. $here s no pussyfooting about these new influences" opening song <e >omes! is straight in there with the mystical, pseudo" >eltic acoustic intro that is e.ual parts prime $he >ure and obscure U0 s 4ark *olk &ock like 9ellow >andle. $hose repetitive keys bring the 8ost"8unk influence as well and while 8elle hasn t changed the tone of his voice the atmosphere now takes on an Andrew 2ldritch" like aura. As In +olitude then #ourney on through songs like 4eath ?nows %here! and 8allid <ands! the blend of their traditional 9ercyful *ate influence, the U0 s obscurities through the same sort of 9etal filter as 'peth and preening theatricality of B0 s Eoth is utterly seamless. +everal aspects of this mix are stunning" first and foremost the authenticity with which those new influences are transmuted. $ake the opening riff from 8allid <ands! for example" it could easily have come from an early $he 9ission )8. $he other is how comfortable the band seem in this new territory they are carving out for themselves" in fact they frankly seem more confident in their abilities than ever. 2very note seems to be played with passion and attacked with abandon, and 8elle outdoes himself on the vocal performance. $ake the faintly 4anzig"ish A 3uried +un! as an example" the warble that he adds on this <ammer <orror"like crusher is incredibly rich and evocative. 'ne might expect him to cry out woeK! dramatically with that ghostly stress were it not for the fact In +olitude are rightly taking this so seriously. If Ehost spent less time on the shtick and silly gimmick and more time throwing themselves headlong into the music like this they would have far fewer critics. >redibility to these new musical avenues are definitely provided by the guest presence of Jarboe on vocals on <orses In $he Eround!, though a few will probably try to besmirch this achievement of an album by over"stressing the comparisons to Ehost, or worse yet, accuse In +olitude of cynical motivation behind this stylistic shift and trying to cash in on the &etro6'ccult &ock explosion and the Eoth scene. $he insinuation is a bizarre one given how far beyond the simplicity of Ehost this is and how closed off the Eoth world can be. %ith the exception of the title track that is ripe for a Eoth dancefloor remix I think this will be more likely to open the minds of 9etalheads than it is to create a crossover appeal for themselves with fans of other genres. And given the high likelihood for losing fans who wanted to hear yet another 9ercyful *ate6Iron 9aiden"influenced record I would say that commercial factors were not on the band s minds at all. $his is far too honest sounding to be cynically motivated. $he space given to discussing the Eoth and

U0 s &ock elements in this album might make it seem like this is now purely what In +olitude are about= and while it is fair to say the days of them being nothing but a <eavy 9etal band are over it would be absurd to suggest they have abandoned the genre altogether. (owhere is this more the case than in closing track Inmost (egrido! where the interplay of cold yet searing guitar leads and solos with crushing riffs calls to mind the 4oom 9etal greats of their home country" but even throughout the album the newfound influences are never allowed to dominate. $he drumming and pacing is almost consistently pure <eavy 9etal" the other elements are along for the ride but this is not a complete rebirth for the band s sound. In fact, from how well this all coalesces I d dare say this is what in +olitude wanted to do and should have been doing all along. In years to come we ll still be able to look back fondly on !n Solitude and The World- The Flesh- The De/il with fondness for what they are" but with +ister they have created something that may one day be looked back as a creative waystone in the entire genre. NC6-0O In!uisition% Dbscure 9erses 7or 1he ,ultiverse N+eason 'f 9istO 2ven by 3lack 9etal standards In.uisition seem like odd candidates for the moderate success that they have lately achieved, what with their obscure beginnings in >olumbia, unwieldy album titles and stripped"down recordings and live performances as a two" piece. +omehow they have done it though, making a pretty sizeable leap up in record label since <ell s <eadbangers put out "minous Doctrines "f The Per etual (,stical (acrocosm in /0-- and what is more is how only superficial changes have been made to the In.uisition mode of attack to get to this level. 'n this latest cut there seems to be a big step up in >lassic &ock influence that on the face of it makes the band reasonably accessible for the first time, but the same mix of early 9ayhem and Immortal with Arckanum"like gnostic shaman weirdness, groaning ritual vocals and universe"bending >eltic *rost riffing still holds court here. 3y all accounts they should still be a niche band, and all the more power to 4agon and Incubus. %hile this is probably the best produced In.uisition album to date it is still a world away from the usual sonics of the trendy +eason 'f 9ist roster. %ith a relative inexperienced unknown behind the desk in Arthur &izk 5producer for S+ >rossover thrashers 8ower $rip7 they have still made an album that sounds exactly suited to their style, without any sign of overthinking any of it. (othing here is excessive or self"indulgent, even when utilising some early 2mperor"style epic arrangements and plumbing the same >lassic &ock mines as +atyricon. A song like +piritual 8lasma 2vocation! sounds to me like what +atyricon s +olcano and $ow7 Dia&olical should have sounded like if those elements had ve been fitted more successfully into the sound the (orsemen had laid down the decade before. $his is melodic in a harrowing sort of way, modern 5or at least not stuck in the C0 s7 and fairly accessible, but still the same old cosmic, malicious and utterly hateful In.uisition at heart.

In.uisition get routinely praised for their ability to create consistently great albums with more or less the same formula, and though the newer touches like the &ock n &oll soloing on 4arkness *lows $owards Snseen <orizons! and the title track, or the 3o/edri/e"era +corpions touches on Joined 3y 4ark 9atter, &epelled 3y 4ark 2nergy! are strong and highly memorable the orthodox 3lack 9etal parts are fantastic too. It is part of the mysti.ue of In.uisition that they can owe so much of their careerto that Pure Holocaust vibe present on 9aster 'f $he >osmological 3lack >auldron! and continue to make it interesting. After U albums and -[ plus years that is highly impressive. 2ven when sticking within the confines of 3lack 9etal on this album In.uisition can make some pretty uni.ue magick too, especially on the trio of tracks which rounds the album off. Arrival of 2ons After! manages to be spellbindingly melodic even during one of the album s most intense hyperblast sections while the standout track Inversion 'f 2thereal %hite +tars! captures the experimental edge that a lot of melodic early C0 s 39 like Ancient, 4iabolical 9as.uerade and >hrist Agony had but pulls it off more successfully than any of them ever did. $he whole #ourney gets rounded off with some tasteful cosmic atmospheric synths at the tail end of Infinite Interstellar Eenocide! which in its own unrelenting no nonsense way finally brings In.uisition close to the progressive 3lack 9etal types of 4eathspell 'mega who they normally share only aesthetic links with. 'n album number seven for this duo I would love to hear some more of this stuff worked into their primitive and retrograde style, but its limited presence here is no mark on the cheek of this beast of an album. 'ne of the best 3lack 9etal releases of the year by far. NC6-0O Iron <aws% :uilty Df Ignorance N8ure +teel &ecordsO $here is definitely an art form to choosing an album title that is a mission statement and Italian speedsters Iron Jaws seem to have it nailed down. /0-0 s debut )8 3ouder !s $ot 1nough was a badass title in its own right, but I think Guilt, "f !gnorance is perfectly suited for a band to whom time seems to have stopped somewhere around -CBU. $he flipside of this coin however is that if you are going to stick your neck out with a title like this you better make sure you have the music to back up the boast, and frankly opening track (o +peed )imit! keeps things pretty firmly in the middle of the gearbox. 8laying +peed 9etal and hailing from Italy is always going to be a hill"start whenever you ve got a heavy pedigree to live up to. $his is certainly no 3ulld@zer when it comes to speed and insanity, nor even no 3aphomet s 3lood. It s better than that %itchunter album from a few years ago though, I ll give it that, and what Iron Jaws lack in that overdrive level of intensity they make up for in other areas. $hat retro (%'3<9 bass sound is one of the best I ve heard in a long time and it rightly is the driving force behind the rhythm section rather than the sometimes timid drums, and the vocals are an excellent almost 3lack 9etal"ish high" pitch screech.

$he bands identity is largely shaped around its uni.ue style of gang vocals that play a game of call and response with those lethal shrieks on nearly every track. $he best way I can describe them is that rather than providing a 8unk edge they actually have more of a choral effect, not unlike fellow Italians 4eath ++ in their speedier moments, whilst the 4oom vibes on %itch <unters! show that influence too. 4espite being the slowest track on here 5even when it flies into a Iron 9aiden6>loven <oof" like race to the finish line7 it is perhaps the best, behind only 'verinsanity.! 'n this track rolling drums interplay brilliantly with pinch harmonics before a looser, airier more 8unk vibe overtakes. $he almost anthemic chorus to <.3.9.3.! 5<eavy 3loody 9etal 3ombK!7 is another highlight, but too much of the rest of this album is worked around similar riffs and identical drumbeats. $hese 1 better tracks interspersed over the 1[ minute length is #ust about enough to keep in interesting, but when Iron Jaws prove what they can do when they diversify a little bit you wonder why they don t mix it up a little bit more on the other songs. As great of a song as it is at bringing a sing"a"long chorus that Iron Jaws themselves are somewhat lacking in, I also have to take issue with the cover of <allows 2ve s 9etal 9erchants! which is faithful to a fault. $he / bonus tracks on here 5bringing the whole album up to L1 minutes in total7 reinforce this fact. AW! works a more 9ot@rhead vibe and the trademark high shrieks are traded in for a more insane approach that sounds a bit like Sdo 4irkshnieder on laughing gas, whilst the bridge section on 8redator! is pure excellence. $o sum up, Iron Jaws have shown what they do, but #ust haven t shown it enough. I reckon they will hit their stride on the next release, and while this album is a worthy purchase for true +peed *reaks I think it will likely be sentenced to spending more time on your shelf than on your stereo. NU6-0O <oel :rind% 1he 3ellowgoat .essions NAcid &at &ecords6<ells <eadbangersO f!n m, o inion7 music &eing released direct from the artist to the fan with no middle men is the future---with ,our su ort of this ro=ect as well as similar ones from other artists ! think we can make a serious change in the wa, the music g&i9g is run-h $aking out the middle man as the $oxic <olocaust ringleader Joel Erind puts it is a movement slowly gathering momentum recently, and although most of this has taken place through unrealistic crowdsourcing pro#ects for bands with massively inflated senses of importance, Joel Erind has done this the simplest possible way by releasing his iellowgoat Sessions first as a pay"what"you"want download and then using that money to finance the physical releases. 8ersonally I m a bit sceptical about the idea of returning to a medieval idea of artist patronage, partly because I don t think fairweather music fans thinking they can dictate a band s musical direction because they have replaced a record label is a good thing, but also because in our present state we are still too engaged by the idea of record labels conferring respectability. >ertainly with this release I feel that it might be viewed by some as #ust leftover ideas from $oxic <olocaust. *ans of Joel Erind s main institution, especially long"term fans who ve followed the band since the days of 1/il $e/er

Dies, will eat this up and probably all have already. <ow worthwhile is it for everyone else thoughF %ell for starters if you re not a fan of $oxic <olocaust s music then you re probably not going to like this. As if the 3athory reference in the title wasn t enough of a sign, this still pays homage to the same icons as in Joel s main band. $he ridiculously titled <ell s 9aster 'f <ell! kicks things off with some 9ot@rhead rhythms that crop up again on 3lack 'rder!, but otherwise the tempos here are more like straight up $hrash pacing or occasionally some 4"beats. +odom comes across on these songs almost as much as 3athory do, starting off with Aengeance +pell! and reaching its peak on the !n The Sign "f 1/il overload of <ail $o >ruelty!, as well influencing some of the melody on the slower stomp of *oul +pirit %ithin! that also has a big bang of >ruel *orce off it. +trangely enough it is actually the / slower tracks off this record that are the strongest, both the aforementioned and the <ellhammer"vibing $he 2ternal 'ne! which features some pretty cool demonic vocal effects. About half of these tracks do have a bit of individual flavour though some are pretty generic, including the >ross 4amnation! digital single from this album, though the otherwise dull Erave 2ncounters! is elevated by some dark noise effects that compliment the evil vibe pretty well. In spite of some of the song nuances though I can t escape a feeling that this has been rushed, or cobbled together in spare time. (ot that there s anything necessarily wrong with that approach, after all it more often that not has worked for 4arkthrone, but doing it directly for his fans or not I really wouldn t think as much effort has gone into this as into Joel s real creative baby. 3efore I d recommend this to anyone I would first direct you to the latest $oxic <olocaust, but if you have got that already and dig that as much as I did, it would be well worth giving this a whirl" especially given than Joel has been returning to this more ferocious style on *hemistr, "f *onsciousness anyway. NU6-0O Kroda% 9arulven 26 N8urity $hrough *ireO At the end of /00C the Skrainian /"piece ?roda appeared to be on top of the world. >oming off the back of 1 albums as close to perfection as ever seen in the 8agan 9etal subgenre 5*r, To (e7 'i/er---, $oward The Firmaments +erge "f 3ife and Fim&ul/inter7 the band had also completed a string of well" received live performances with members of countrymen &uina filling in live members duties resulting in the 3i/e !n 3em&erg album, the F%nf jahre #ulturkam f compilation of re" recorded songs, covers and rarities and even the audio"visual pro#ect Ghosts "f Birds. 4espite skirting around the edges of the white power6(+ scenes thanks to their choice of cover songs and comments in liner notes ?roda still seem poised for a break above the underground s frozen soil. $hat chance was scuppered by the departure of Aiterzgir, now known by his real name Julian 9ytsyk, to focus on his thoroughly un"9etal Industrial6*olk68op pro#ect Aiter, and though 2isenslav recovered enough to deliver the excellent Schwar9 fad album the following

year it still feels as though ?roda is missing something with only one of its progenitors left. 'n first glance at this 28 is definitely missing the beautiful cover art that has graced almost all their releases up until now. *rankly the band have been in a downturn in that department ever since /00Q s *imbulvinter with it s breathtaking scenic winter photography, but here the basic drawing of a werewolf on a nightsky background with a very wolfish album font 5very similar in style to countrymen )ucifigum7 seems like a step too far towards simplicity and primitivism for a band who have always been an elite unto themselves. $he opening title track, an experiment into the +wedish Aikingarock style from the Schwar9 fad sessions that is apparently 5I can find no details on the song7 is a rendition of a traditional (orse tune, reflects this stylistic shift musically as well. Although the 'iK 8unk elements of the style typified by Sltima $hule are eschewed in favour of vocals and folk touches very much in keeping with ?roda s past the very rudimentary &ock structure feels an odd fit for a band we are so used to hearing huge +ummoning"es.ue swathing compositions from. %erwolf! is much more up the typical avenue of this band being a cover of &ussian 3lack6*olk 9etal pioneers $emnozor 5from their Hori9ons--- album7, a band who were always .uite similar in style. At only [ minutes long though and far from $emnozor s most complex track it still seems like a step in the wrong direction for a band who long ago proved themselves a level above $emnozor, but for true fanatics of this style it will definitely be interesting to listen to. )ikewise the closing live cover of Absurd s 4er +chlarlachrote $od! will appeal to (+39 fans, but for anyone who has been drawn to ?roda only for their music there is not much excitement in hearing them dumb down to this base 3lack 9etal plane. 9ore to the point, this is now the 1rd release from ?roda to have featured this song either as a live or studio version" .uite why ?roda content themselves with paying tribute to inferior acts is perplexing. (emesis! is the most musically interesting of these L cuts, despite my dubiousness of the band s claims as to it being a traditional Eerman song, but nevertheless it is such a simple yet winding and rousing acoustic instrumental *olk haunting that it easily .ualifies as one of the most beautiful pieces of music ?roda have ever recorded. *or now this will suffice, but if 2isenslav wants to really strike onwards and upwards after the loss of Aiterzgir then he needs to get back to making classic full length albums. NU6-0O Kry"ts% Jnending $egradation N4ark 4escent &ecordsO >ompared to my #ovial spirits and forgiving nature on the retro 4eath 9etal wave back when I penned %A& '( A)) *&'($+ ,- it is fair to say that a lot of it is starting to get tiring, boring in its repetitive dullness, and for that reason the title of ?rypts debut album doesn t exactly fill me with confidence. %ith so many unimaginative bands parading around today then what is 4eath 9etal experiencing if not unending degradationF! $hankfully though this is one of the better albums of the

current wave of 4eath 9etal revivalism, one of the best. In fact, I think this may be the best *innish 4eath 9etal album since 4emigodGs Slum&er "f Sullen 1,es, and I include this yearsG excellent Aorum Poisoned +oid and )antern Below dVbuts 5unfortunately not reviewed here7 in that consideration too. It is hard to nail down exactly why, but even from the haunting intro track 8erpetual 3eyond! and looking at the conventional but not overly familiar artwork I got an immediate sense of this being something a little bit special. 3lessed 2ntwinement! lays out the battle"plan will follow= doomy pacing with a titanic and gargantuan feel to the riffs, a rich and enveloping wall of sound in the guitar tone and a tasteful nod the the *innish bands of the classic 4eath 9etal era like >onvulse and 8hlegethon. 'n paper itGs as orthodox as any of the other 4eath 9etal albums of the year but thereGs something uni.ue about the atmosphere, the fact that its difference is something so ephemeral and hard to nail down making it all the more unnerving" uncanny in the truest sense of that word. 'n this track the hypnotic and hauntingly murky feel is driven not #ust by the swirling mass of guitar but also the drums. $hat alone is something few bands I have ever heard have accomplished, but itGs certainly one of the things to make ?rypts stand out. In one sense the album peaks too early with the catchy highpoint of Into $he >rypt! but an album like this shouldnGt be #udged on that one criterion alone, especially when its strength lies in its insidiousness, not its directness. $ake the doomiest sections of the album. 'n the track Inhale...!, for example" the tempo is slowed down here to an absolute crawl, but it is anything but neanderthal and dumbed down. 2ven in the most monolithically slow and crushing passages the guitars breathe in waves with little soporific nuances and subtleties changing every time. <ypnoticism seems to be a very popular spell to cast in 4eath 9etal circles these days, but unlike their countrymen Aorum who flirt with 4eathspell 'mega"lite atmospherics, ?rypts accomplish this with the minimal of effort. %hat makes ?rypts such an interesting band then is not #ust what theyGve created here on their first outing, but what they may accomplish yet when they get even more creative. $his album is by no means perfect= the songs could do with more breathing space in between so that they are more clearly delineated and the vocals at times are a little repetitive and one"track, but compared to most of the other 4eath 9etal revival albums I ve encountered in /0-1, it is an album that readily invites repeat listens. $his belongs up there with the recent efforts by the likes of $ribulation, 9orbus >hron, <orrendous and 2ncoffination because I can tell that in five years time itGs an album IGll still be periodically returning to. NB6-0O t1his review is ada"ted from a "iece I originally wrote for metalireland#comu ?egend% 1he $ark 6lace N<igh &oller &ecordsO 4espite hailing from Jersey 5an island in the middle of the 2nglish channel" halfway between 2ngland and *rance7 the (%'3<9

outfit )egend never really conformed to that idea that bands grown in isolation will produce music uni.ue to that of their peers 5Aoivod come to mind.7 In part this could be down to the fact that in the most creative period of (%'3<9 5-CQB"-CB17 there wasn t really a standardised norm for 9etal that they could be compared to, but looking back to the dismal proto"4oom of their self"titled debut and the more conventional <ard &ock"flavoured Death !n The $urser, and Frontline 28 they never really found sure footing musically speaking. $here was potential of course, like that dour doomy vibe that pre"empted >andlemass and their rare -CB1 demo made #ust before their split that showed a lot of ideas Iron 9aiden would also come up with a few years later, but )egend have only really been celebrated for this through the rose tint of retrospect. /001 s comeback +till +creaming was far too rushed an affair to show that potential blossoming at last, so perhaps with -0 year s to prepare this album 5their Lth in 1/ years7 they can finally strike goldF $he self"titled opener is a bit hard to take in at first. 'n the one hand it seems rooted in tradition and familiarity" like that crunchy riff that could ve been lifted right off Death !n The $urser,, the 'zzy"like laughs towards the end or even the intro riff that despite )egend s early genesis of lots of 8rog 9etal tropes still sounds a bit too similar to +omewhere In $ime! for its own good. 3etween that main rocky riff though there are these .uiet vocal"led moments with #ust a whisper of up"strummed chords from the guitars that give a really uni.ue vibe. It s a great show of creativity from musicians so long in the tooth and it definitely shows that 9ike )ezala has not lost the power in his voice. $his combines well with a hint of that pre">andlemass vibe of the bands first album to make this a strong opener, even if I feel the chorus could do with being a little stronger. *rom there it goes into &ed! which is a much simpler affair 5more 9aiden comparisons in the semi"acoustic intro aside7, but one that works well. $he chorus refrain of (othing more to say on such a special day! is appropriate for how the band works on being able to create magic from base raw materials, but unfortunately as the album continues the alchemy is not repeated. 9ostly for the rest of the album it feels stuck in second gear, like on <alls 'f $he 4ead! which could ve become a full on 4oom rager if it ever broke out of its torpor. $he extended and re"recorded version of $aste 'f )ife! from the dVbut album gets that epic and despairing side of the band perfectly, but its a shame that the same is not managed with any more of the newly recorded songs. )ikewise the proggy touches on the rerecorded :uestions And Answers! from the -CB1 demo aren t transferred over to any of the other songs, most of which tread a too familiar stale <ard &ock path. 'nly $oo )ate $o 3e A <ero! gets the formula right for that e.ual parts Jameson &aid swagger and Angel %itch epicness, but unfortunately it is too late and not enough to elevate this album to the level it needed. N[6-0O ,agic >ircle% ,agic >ircle Nself"releasedO %e ve all encountered those albums before

where we wish the whole thing could be as good as the first song, but 9agic >ircle s dVbut manages the rare achievement of having this issue yet still works its way into the top albums of the year. 'pening tune %inter )ight! dominates here and stands up as one of the most impressive tracks as the year. In spite of the wintry title the sound is one of total vintage warmth that goes right back to the roots of 4oom 9etal with a mix of (aster "f 'ealit, pacing and the anthemic .uality of $e/er Sa, Dieb, but the absolute standout .uality is the vocals of 3rendan &adigan. <e has the rough" edged tonality of 8agan Altar s $erry Jones that gives this an earthly .uality, but also the impassioned delivery and performativeness of $rouble s 2ric %agner" and the lyrics and melodies he has to work with this song drip with emotive power. 9elancholic might be the wrong word to use, especially because of how uplifting this song can be on repeat listens, but certainly this is an outpouring on par with bands like 8allbearer and even approaching the heartwrenching %arning classic Watching From A Distance. $he epic first track finishes on a faster note with 4io"era 3lack +abbath and fellow (ew 2nglanders 59agic >ircle hail from 3oston7 (ightbitch being called to mind, and starts off &apture! with a similar vibe, albeit extra helpings of early Judas 8riest and a little bit of 9ot@rhead. *rom there the lo"fi low distortion vintage sound morphs into a vibe not unlike early +oundgarden or a rougher 8earl Jam on $he Ereatest 2scape6%hite +hores!, before settling on some real +aint Aitus"es.ue vibrations on +cream 2vil.! &adigan s impassioned, hurt howling remains and remains the most impressive thing about this, but the really overpowering feel of the opening track never .uite returns. $here is a flash of supreme .uality late on >on.uering (octurnity! that comes closest to matching it, but with 9agic >ircle clearly so capable of exploiting such monumentally heartbreaking vocal hooks like that on the first track it is befuddling, and almost disappointing, than they then base the rest of the album around riffs. Admittedly they are very very good riffs, but %inter )ight! has an almost drug"like effect" after hearing it all you will be able to think about is getting more of these hugely cathartic sounds. I have listened to this dozens of times now and it is almost always followed with a feeling of wanting to stick on Watching For A Distance, +ast "ceans 3achr,mose or Sorrow And 12tinction. If the whole album was in this style then we d surely be looking at another landmark in the mournful 4oom 9etal trail, and dare I say it maybe even the album of /0-1. %inter s )ight! is not a laurel that this album rests on though" it would still be in contention for being one of the top releases of the year even without it s opening salvo of unbridled feeling. 'ne of the things that impresses me most is the breadth of influences that go into making this album, especially how the final track $he 9agic >ircle6>loven In $wo! evokes a lot of the <eavy 8rog68roto"4oom bands of the Q0 s that I love like 3angK, Iron >law and most of all Jerusalem. It is a well of inspiration barely gone to enough by 4oom bands, and something that I would love to hear 9agic >ircle draw from more often" were it

not for the fact I want to see them explore the door they opened on this album s first song even moreK %hichever happens I think it is safe to say that anything this band and their central figure 3rendan &adigan, who also released a stellar demo under the name +tone 4agger this year 5which I will be considering a /0-L release once I get my copy in JanuaryK7, do in the future will be worth taking notice of. NB6-0O ,vnegarm% ?egions Df 1he /orth N(apalm &ecordsO +weden s 9\negarm are one of those bands who never get the credit they deserve. *orming right at the centre of the C0 s 8agan 9etal explosion they developed a style of their own very .uickly based around their use of archaic +wedish lyrics, short explosive songs and fiddle melodies and since -CCB have been putting out albums with consistent high .uality with rarely more than a / 5once only 17 year gap. Amazingly they kept a stable lineup throughout all the time as well, and while I don t know the band intimately enough to know whether the departure of long"time bassist 8ierre %ilhemsson in /0-0 and instrumentalist Janne )il#e.vist in /0-/ constituted a band crisis it did herald the longest inter"album gap in 9\negarm s history of L years. 2ither way, with 3egions "f The $orth it definitely feels like they have lost something. )ooking at this album is enough to know there is something rotten in 4enmark 5or +weden as the case may be here.7 $he album artwork is standard, in fact possibly the best collaboration that 9\negarm have had to date with legendary Absu painter >hris Aerwimp, but the fact that this is the first of their albums not to have its title in +wedish is the first sign of trouble. )ooking at the back of the >4 you will see that 5excluding instrumentals7 songs written in the trademark archaic +wedish are now outnumbered by those in 2nglish by Q to /, with the bonus track on the limited edition version also in 2nglish. If you want to be cynical you might say the source for this change is also to be find on the rear album sleeve, and true enough the band s first album on (apalm &ecords has come with some changes that bring them more in line with that label s more accessible *olk 9etal acts like <eidevolk and +vartsot than ever before. $he band s 8agan 3lack 9etal roots have not been entirely abandoned, as witnessed by the ferocity of the opening of the title track, as well as a smattering of the same on *orged In *ire! and some almost 3lack6$hrash rhythms to break up the blasting monotony on the bonus track %ake $he Eods!, but combined with a lack of trademark short songs 9\negarm have really lost out on that fierce nature their early material had. $hat lengthening of songs may have begun with the classic +redens Tid but it is telling that neither this album nor the previous 5/00C s $att/csen7 have any songs even approaching the concise, sharp blasts of aggression that the band s legacy was built on in their early days. $he closing track of &aadh! is the shortest on here by far, and though it is not the rager that this album sorely needs, it is definitely a highlight by being a wondrous +wedish sung male6female harmony with a simple acoustic guitar accompaniment. 2lsewhere on the album though these steps

outside the band s traditional comfort zone do not work so well. >lean vocals have never been this band s strongest point, and though there is some cool vocal lines 5+ons 'f %ar! in particular7 they are not pulled off with enough tunefulness and melody. $he rough edge does give an interesting Sltima $hule"style Aikingarock edge one must admit, but in terms of fitting the overall more accessible melodic approach that 9\negarm are employing here they #ust aren t the best fit. $hat accessibility factor is also brought in by elements borrowed from more well known +wedish acts in the second half of this album, half the time working and half the time not. *or example, the growled breakdown in +ons 'f %ar! is a bit too close to Amon Amarth s Euardians 'f Asgaard! for comfort, though the emotionally straining vocal section on 2choes *rom $he 8ast! immediately after is one of the album highlights. 3oth those tracks also feature some very catchy riffs that could even have come off albums by +wedish +leaze6<ard &ock acts like Imperial +tate 2lectric or the 3ackyard 3abies that, while a cool touch, ultimately are a weird fit for a band of this style. 'n an album that is essentially a diluting of a style that has worked so well time and time again the last thing 9\negarm really need is more changing up of their sound. Sltimately though it is the almost"total abandonment of their old +wedish lyrics that are the biggest letdown here, not only because it sacrifices what was one of the most uni.ue touches to the band but also because frankly the 2nglish"sang songs simply aren t catchy enough to make the change worthwhile. 8roof of this is the other +wedish song on the album, $or <#plpe! that is almost as singable to a native 2nglish speaker as any of the other tracks areK $his album has its moments, but ultimately it is the weakest thing 9\negarm have done to date. NU6-0O ,ael ,Grdha% $amned 'hen $ead N>andlelight &ecordsO Eiven that they are easily one of the most uni.ue 9etal bands in the world it is frankly almost an in#ustice that 9ael 9Hrdha should not be huge. )azy comparisons can always be made, particularly to 8rimordial, but even on this Lth album, which includes .uite a bit of diversification, that individual style is utterly unmistakeable. 'ne of the things most immediately noticeable is how &oibVard 3ogail has improved his clean vocals" perhaps making them less idiosyncratic, but along with being better mixed than ever before they frankly now can go toe to toe with the likes of 2nslaved, *orefather and $yr for accomplished clean vocals in the 8agan 9etal subgenre. >ombined with some guitar parts on 4awning 'f $he Erey! and All ire %ill :uake! that could have easily come from Amon Amarth albums this has serious commercial breakthrough potential" and if there is any #ustice in the world it will be, for the sheer amount of effort that has gone into this album both in terms of songwriting and lyrical concept. )audabiliter! opens the album up in a remarkably reserved style 5at least compared to say Atlas 'f +orrow! from Gaeltacht (ael (krdha7, but in a way that enforces patience

and attention, as does the very deft and matter" of"fact history"laden lyrics. 'verall the album concerns the papal bull referred to by the opener s title that gave the 2nglish king dominion over Ireland, and the vocals are a perfect blend of sorrow and bitterness reflecting that. ?ing 'f $he 2nglish! takes that mantle up with some truly stinging lyrics, but on that track and also the following 4awning 'f $he Erey! special mention must also go to +hane >ahill s driven powerhouse drumming. 4espite being seemingly a very basic style it is nevertheless relentless and uni.uely delivered, and adds as much to the angry and hateful tone of this album as the vocals do. 8rimordial s +imon )aoghaire may get all the glory when it comes to Irish drummers thanks to his innovative style, but to my mind >ahill is e.ually as important in helping his band sound like no other. $hat heaviness is continued on into the second half of the album, with / tracks that were played as part of the band s set at &edemption *est early in the year making thunderous live numbers. 3loody Alice 5'f Abergavenny7! marks a return from the factual overload found in the lyrics to first / tracks to a more traditional style of 9ael 9Hrdha narrative centred around striking images 5in this case the cascading blood over the cliffs of %ales and Alice smearing her breasts in +axon crimson7, but All ire %ill :uake! steals the show as the album centrepiece and anthem, with not #ust one but two outstanding vocal refrains. If >luain $arbh! ever gets replaced as 9ael 9Hrdha s standard setlist opener, it will be with this. As much as any of the tracks on this album this is where that fantastic hybrid of sorrowful lamenting and righteously angry diatribe really comes to life. >onsidering how much associated with the former vibe this band have been in the past this may seem like a partial sacrifice of their most defining feature, but in fact it has the effect of making this album their most concise effort yet. $he +acking 'f $he Aedraf#ord! might seem like a step off the pedal for this album as its chorus lacks that same aggressive punch as the rest of the album, but it is a necessary breathing track to drive the album s overarching narrative towards the big finale, and some tin whistle which is remarkably used little on this album. $he closing title track is the real storytelling masterpiece here" building slowly as &oibVard pushes his vocal ability to even greater heights as he takes on the role of 4iarmuid singing his own eulogy, exploding into a 4ante"es.ue sense of confusion and madness when his headstone is ripped in two and his body is disinterred by 9anannXn" the moment depicted on the album s cover. (ot only is it this album s crowning glory and 9ael 9Hrdha s finest ever narrative, but also one of the greatest meetings of theme and form ever achieved by a 9etal band, a monumental achievement for literary greatness in the genre. 9y only gripe with this song, and with this album as a whole, is how at only a little over B minutes long this could have gone on for so much longerK %ithout a shadow of a doubt this album is a masterpiece. N-06-0O ,otArhead% Aftershock NS4& 9usicO It may come as a surprise to most who aren t familiar with their full catalogue, but

9ot@rhead are a band who have never really made a bad album. $he first seven of their )8s 5excluding $o Parole which is essentially an inferior alternate version to their self"titled dVbut7 are all stone cold classics featuring the best of their material, and although their has been a few troughs since then like Snake Bite 3o/e/We Are (ot]rhead at the tail end of the C0 s there has been absolute killer cuts after their glory period too such as 8l8m and even as recent as /00B s (ot]ri9er. As a follow up to The W]rld !s iours this is at least an e.ual achievement, a solid effort to show that 9ot@rhead are timeless and will always still have it. And with the band skirting the edge of destruction more than ever before a reassuring cut like this is exactly what fans need. A track by track breakdown of a 9ot@rhead record is always going to be a bit of a pointless exercise as everyone will know their /- times tried and tested formula, and I m happy to report that it is still as effective as always. ?eep Jour 8owder 4ry! wanders off true course slightly with a lead riff that sounds more like something from an A>64> song but )emmy s unmistakable chord"driven bass style keeps it in 9ot@rhead s yard. )ikewise when things get bluesy on the +teve 9iller 3and" style <ammond organ"accompanied >rying +hame! and the stripped down John )ee <ooker6)ightnin <opkins"es.ue *olk 3lues feel of )ost %oman 3lues! and 4ust and Elass! it always has )emmy s trademark stamped firmly across it. %hen it comes to the more straight"up rockers there is not many tracks here I would like to hear replace some classics in a live set, but :ueen 'f $he 4amned! is definitely one of them. 9ost of the songs on here clock in at under 1 minutes and that is more than enough time for a chord"driven bassline to open it up, a cracker main riff, bluesy licks, throaty vocals, short but sweet solo and lyrics about a dangerous woman. %hat more could you want from a 9ot@rhead songF (othing else on here .uite matches this tune, but a few stand out thanks to )emmy s still timeless lyrical ability, in particular closing track 8aralyzed! which boasts probably the band s best opening lyric since ?illed 3y 4eath! when )emmy croons= &unning through the #ungle6looking for a light6running like a bastard baby6in the #ungle night! Joung whippersnappers like +peedwolf could take a tip from 4o Jou 3elieveF! when it comes to righting great &ock n &oll lyrics but there is a worldweariness in some of the lyrics here that can only come from the seeing the things an ageing rocker has and can never be faked by youth. >oup 4e Erace! is one such cut but when the man himself dances with the devil! at $he 2nd 'f $ime! it is the perfect song for describing where he is in life right now. 9ot@rhead have definitely had their reputation slightly tarnished in recent years by some borderline Eene +immons"like poor choices for merchandising 5 9ot@rhead wine anyoneF7, being unable to control the pricing and content of endless compilations and boxsets fired off their label s production line and more recently )emmy s ill health affecting live performances. As I said before, 9ot@rheadbangers are in need of a little reassurance and I think this album fits that bill well. $hey have always been a band

who have behaved like every day could be their last as a band, and while this is an emotionally tough time to be a fan of theirs as that possibility edges ever closer it is almost comforting to now that if 9ot@rhead were no more as of tomorrow then this would be a fitting epitaph to an unparalleled career. NQ6-0O ,ourning Beloveth% 7ormless NErau &ecordsO I ve always fully believed that after the big 1 of (orthern 2ngland the greatest band in the 4eath64oom subgenre to be 9ourning 3eloveth. (ow though, I think in some respects we should start considering the ?ildare .uintet of drab minstrels to have surpassed their 2nglish forebearers, at least in terms of consistency. %hereas 8aradise )ost and Anathema have gone through numerous musical mutations and 9y 4ying 3ride have had peaks and troughs when it comes to album .uality 9ourning 3eloveth have never failed to deliver the most plaintive and doleful of 9etal dirges, with only a small so#ourn into more expansive and progressive territories on A (urderous *ircus altering their bloody"minded devotion to that maxim. (ow -1 years after the release of the monumental dVbut Dust and on album number five 9ourning 3eloveth give us their true opus, an album that summarily channels all their magnificent work to date. $heories 'f 'ld 3ones! which begins this album is a real test of patience, even for seasoned 4eath64oom fans" -[ minutes of dense musical obsidian punctuated only by one passage of clean vocals and very little in the way of melody. It is tough going for the fairweather metalhead and redolent of their more obscure material from A (urderous *ircus, but if you can avoid being swallowed whole by this opening dark pit then the payoff when the album bleeds into its more direct and melodic songs is huge. 2thics 'n $he 8recipice! is the longest track on here by a good / and a half minutes, though is more accessible than $heories 'f 'ld 3ones! by being broken up with a lengthy interlude of morose, slow"strummed guitar, and the last L minutes is spectacularly good and makes for an early highpoint for the album. 'ld &ope! by contrast is the shortest song in 9ourning 3eloveth s back catalogue 5except for +inistra!, the closing instrumental from Dust7 but none of their trademark desolateness is lost by its brevity. In fact its short, dull and heavy thud is as dark and intense as the rest of this album and shows some great vocal variety out of 4arren 9oore, mixing some flat and monotone spoken word despondent rasps in with his usual abyssal growls. $his place is for people who like the way down! he moans on this song, inadvertently creating an anthem for the whole subgenre. 4ead >hannel! keeps the .uality rolling with some sterling call and response between 4arren s deep bass"filled growling and *rank 3rennan s clean caterwauling which is more tonally varied than ever before, and also delivers perhaps the best guitar solo in 9ourning 3eloveth s history too. (othing <as A >entre! steals the show to round out the main portion of the album though, with new guitarist and backing vocalist 8auric Eallagher

proving he was a worthy addition to the band by providing harmony for *rank s clean vocals which take the lead on this number. $he final five minutes sees the whole band firing on all cylinders though, including $immy Johnson on drums who provides some fantastic fills and creates the absolute crowning glory for this record. (o one comes close to 9ourning 3eloveth when it comes to this style" no one. %hat really elevates this album to being 9ourning 3eloveth s real magnum opus though is the bonus >4 consisting of the -[ minute track entitled $ransmissions!" a haunting piece of spoken word with a simple guitar accompaniment. 4ystopian ideas are not seen often in this sub"genre more known for personal tales of woe, but this imagining of a world where fact, truth and thought no longer exist fits the atmosphere perfectly. +craped clean and re"inscribed as often as is necessary... %ar is peace, *reedom is slavery, Ignorance is strength!" those words manage to leave me with a deeper sense of depression than riffs, bestial howls and (ick >ave"es.ue croons ever could. N-06-0O /omad .on% 1he $arkening N9etal 'n 9etal &ecordsO Jou really have to hand it to (omad +on and their countrymen *orsaken for single"handedly managing to make their tiny island home of 9alta and its population of less than half a million one of the key destinations in 2urope for 4oom 9etal. $his has been in large thanks to the 9alta 4oom *estival but also how absolutely solid their combined releases have been. >ompared to their first two albums this is pretty slap bang on par as far as .uality goes, and if you are partial to $rouble6>andlemass" styled traditional 4oom 9etal with heavily accented but emotionally overwrought vocals and a rough lo"fi approach to production and keyboards then look no further. As with previous releases the thing most .uickly noticeable about opening track )ight 3earer! is the church organs which have a very 9editerranean >atholic vibe to them, as well as how Jordan >uta#ar s vocals tend towards the histrionic side of things. <e is far from the best traditional 4oom vocalist out there, but strongly accented twang and delivery is definitely dramatic and striking. $onally he is on the rougher end of the mid"range with some admirable falsettos, like how I imagine a heavy smoking 4io tribute singer would sound. Age 'f >ontempt! takes everything about the first song as ramped up the melodrama even more before $he 4evil s 3an.uet! channels the dafter side of 9essiah 9arcolin for the crooning of the $he death of emotion6$he death of feelingK! $hings are e.ually as camp and almost cartoonish on 4escent $o <ell! which has a cheap and unconvincing organ freakout that reminds me of 4r. $eeth And $he 2lectric 9ayhem from $he 9uppets more than anything else, but there are still moments of pure .uality here. &idiculous as this album is in parts there s no denying the power of the classy riffs on 'nly $he +cars! or the flat out killer chorus to the title track which has more than a little of Hea/, Demons by 4eath ++ to it. >aligula! does away with the organs briefly and manages to create a palpable darkness #ust

from the crush of its riffs that perfectly suits the more aggressive tone of the vocals, before the vibe switches to one of sadness $he 'rphaned >rown.! Its a shame that the $rouble" referencing cruch guitars can t .uite match the sorrow invoked through the keyboards and the vocals, but this is a decent finale to this album all the same. A solid album by an absolute stalwart pilgrim of 4oom. NQ6-0O Dbliteration% Black $eath 0ori=on NIndie &ecordings6&elapse &ecordsO >all it a backlash against the free pass given to many overhyped second"rate second"generation (orwegian 3lack 9etal bands of the C0 s or whatever it may be, but since then there seems to have been an undercurrent of opinion to the effect that (orwegian 9etal bands have had their creative bubble and can t do much other than rehash those glory days continually ad nauseam. %orse still is the opinion that because of their 3lack 9etal heritage (orwegians can t do! 4eath 9etal, ignoring the uni.ue efforts of 9olested and early 4arkthrone. *or the most part, the naysayers do have a point, and certainly any truly groundbreaking (orwegian acts of the past decade have tended towards abandoning 9etal altogether, but that even more so then makes 'bliteration perhaps the most important (orwegian act in a long time. I doubt very much that disproving pre#udices was high on the list of priorities for the band as they penned this beast of an album, but nevertheless this has the re.uisite power to slap those people upside the head anyway and to start taking stock of dark rumblings from 'slo again. It is L years since 'bliteration s last album, $ekro salms, was released and although there is more in common with these two efforts than there is to differentiate them 5so don t be expecting a $ribulation or In +olitude"sized stylistic shiftK7, those L years have still clearly been spent honing and refining the 'bliteration craft. $his album is absolutely insane in terms of its complexity, each of its Q songs a finely tuned weapon of torturous sonic punishment. If you heard either of their previous records and wrote them off as yet another Autopsy6Asphyx" clone then prepare to have your eyes and your cranium forcibly and painfully wrenched open. Indeed there are influences on the riffing from both and a rumbling, classic production that will appeal to fans of those bands too, but that is where the similarities end. $here may be not much in the way of overt technicality on this album, but the focus on sonic layering and compositional complexity is very impressive, calling to mind the likes of 4emilich and 8hlegethon, as well as >arbonized and even Aoivod. %here 'bliteration s strength lies and what their uni.ue style seems to be built on is the sense of uncanniness in their music" everything here is at once familiar and also unsettlingly different. $ake the mystical early"$iamat like guitar tone on Ascendance 5+ol Invictus7! and opener $he 4istant +un 5$hey Are $he ?ey7!, the 9orbid Angel"es.ue soloing on +epulchral &ites! or even #ust the Se/ered Sur/i/al"like riffing from throughout" everything is warped like clay into some new 'bliteration"shaped form. $he paths of influence are fairly clear and visible here, but .uite how it all ended up sounding this strange

and demented is something else. $here is even hints of some of the stranger mid to late C0 s 9etal experimentalism going on too, like the almost choral6chanted vocals on Eoat +kull >rown! that puts me in mind of late C0 s 9ystifier. If you are expecting #ust another Autopsy" meets"Asphyx rehash then you might find this a challenging listen, and even for those who know what 'bliteration are about might not find this an easy ride either. $he vocals in particular are not designed with ease of listen in mind in their early At $he Eates"style tortured breathlessness, but once this clicks and you get suckered in to its nightmarish vibe it is a thoroughly rewarding experience. 2ven those who think they know how ugly 4eath 9etal can get may still feel their skin crawl at that nasty opening riff to >hurning 9agma! and there is dozens more nuances like it on this record. $his is like an art gallery, or a house of horrors, full of distorted 4eath 9etal treasures and curios" every listen unveils some new nastiness lurking. *or that reason I think this is an album many of us will still be talking about in years to come. NC6-0O Dctober 7alls% 1he 6lague Df A >oming Age N4ebemur 9orti 8roductionsO 4espite having garnered more of a name for themselves recently, 'ctober *alls have been off my radar for .uite some time" since their duo of 28s entitled The Streams "f The 1nd and Sarasus in /00Q. +ince then they ve released a handful of well received albums of which The Plague "f A *oming Age is their third, and from what I have gathered they have been mixing the twin styles of 9elodic 3lack64ark 9etal and Acoustic 5(eo7*olk from those 28s through all 1. <aving not heard them I cannot say for sure, but if ever during 'ctober *alls evolution through the past U years this blending may have seemed unnatural or forced then that mountain has well and truly been climbed over now" this is seamless and wonderfully organic"sounding stuff. $here is definite ebbs and flows on this album as it sweeps between a vibe like 5a less intense7 8rimordial on opening instrumental At $he 2dge 'f An 2mpty <orizon! to a host of *olk63lack 9etal comparisons both past and present like early Slver and 4ornenreich on 3loodlines!, Eallowbraid plus their own countrymen %yrd on $he Aerge 'f 'blivion! and in the dreamier passages of +nakes 'f $he 'ld %orld! like their most often touted spiritual brethren" Agalloch. At times it feels like those comparisons to >ascadian bands are mostly sonic rather than musical, as there is a lot here rooted staunchly in the 2uropean 8agan 9etal tradition, but that slick, modern American! production turns out to be the uniting force that binds this album together. $here are times where it branches out from that aura of Autumnal beauty, like the clean vocals on the title track which share a delivery style with Jonas &enske of ?atatonia, but are nevertheless wonderfully uni.ue in tone and fragility whilst the martial drumming on 3eneath $he +ouls! shows the (eofolk leanings and the acoustic ballad of 3oiling <eart 'f $he (orth! has an intriguing Eothic overtone. *or the most part though this album rarely goes outside of its modus operandi and

that I feel is its key weakness" it is all grey throughout and therefore I find it too safe, too samey, not as musically adventurous as many of its peers. $he biggest problem I find is with the lack of contrasts" for [0 minutes we are swept along on a sea of snow and fallen leaves but with no altering between darkness and light. $his is stuck perpetually in one atmosphere that 'ctober *alls are either unwilling or unable to break out of. 8erhaps that is a sign of this album s mournful spirit at work and doing its #ob well, but I find this a difficult album to get excited about, and therefore also a difficult album to write about. I can understand why fans of the band would find this beautiful, but for some like me it may be too ethereal to connect and leave them feeling cold and dulled. 'ctober *alls are a band that no comparisons can really do #ustice to, they are a band that seemingly will only inspire either love or disregard and I cannot tell you which it will be with you. Jou will #ust have to find out for yourself. NU6-0O Dranssi 6a=u=u% 9alonielu N+vart &ecords6/0 3uck +pinO 8re#udging bands before we ve heard a note of their music is a bad habit, but its something we all do, and in such a music"saturated world it is slightly necessary. After all, there is so much music getting released now, even if you only focus on one or two genre niches, so filtering some stuff out before it ever reaches your speakers based on band name, artwork, listed influences, label of release, touring buddies, shared members or whatever it may be is an essential practice. I like to think that I have a pretty good bullshit detector and more often than not my choices are the right ones. 'ranssi 8azuzu are one that I am glad to report I was dead dead wrong about. 9aybe it was the name which has always reminded me of the fruit orange 5which is what oranssi! means in +uomi oddly enoughK7, or maybe I was in a phase of only liking music with 8unk simplicity so was put off by anything with the 8sychedelic! tag. It was my loss, up until recently at least, and after hearing 'ranssi 8azuzu for the first time with this album I m relishing the prospect of checking out their previous / albums soon as well. $he reasons why 'ranssi 8azuzu have clicked with me so much are twofold. *or one, their 8sychedelic elements are a lot more tasteful than I assumed they d be. &eikp maisemassa! for example extols some pretty dark ?rautrock vibes similar to another of +vart s releases this year, the also brilliant +eremonia, while some of the riffing on 'len aukaissut uuden silmpn! is very similar in style to the latest $ribulation album. I also like the sense of child"like wonderment that comes across in some of the 8sych parts on this album too, particularly on $yh#p temppeli!, which contrasts nicely with the more drug"fuelled approach of bands who attempt this hybrid style. It s refreshing to hear music classing itself as 8sychedelic which you don t need to be on drugs to en#oy, and in general this album is wonderfully unpretentious, and surprisingly accessible and very song"oriented. >olour me surprised, I fully expected something much less en#oyable. $he other factor I love about this is how real and raw the 3lack 9etal parts are. It s an issue

I have with a lot of 8ost"3lack 9etal bands and that spectrum is their focussing only on the beautiful! elements of 3lack 9etal and ignoring almost all of its sound and history. (ot with 'ranssi 8azuzu though. C0 s Avant"Earde stuff like Aed 3uens 2nde would probably be expected to be the main point of comparison, but the sound of the 3lack 9etal parts here are much more old school. 'ne the rather doomy Sraanisula! for example I hear some &oot6$ormentor"style primitive darkness churning, and opening track Aino verso! captures that B0 s6C0 s demo feel of the gear threatening to fall apart at any moment. %hat s more is how well this mixes with the 8sychedelic and spacey elements, both musically but also ideologically. At no point does the use of 8sychedelia conflict with the 3lack 9etal credo, as undoubtedly all this musical experimentation comes from a place of honesty. $here s no cherrypicking of 9etal sounds and ignoring its ethos to suit like a lot of post!"9etal bands do, no vulgar displays of look how progressive we areK!, no self" indulgence, no attempting to score scene points by flirting with 9etal... $his is #ust a seamless synthesis of two styles that makes musical sense and is done for the right reasons. I will say this is the last time I read an album by its cover, but I know that it won t be. NB6-0O 6ortal% 9e ovoid N8rofound )oreO >ompared to when we last heard some emissions from 8ortal s gaping wormhole orifice in the fabric of 9etal music back in /00C chaotic and experimental 4eath 9etal is now much bigger business" and that means competition for 8ortal. *or most of their decade plus deep"mining of abyssal bounds of 4eath 9etal s atmosphere and )ovecraftian horror themes 8ortal have has next to no contemporaries, but with the recent rise of the likes of Antediluvian and 9itochondrian what they do is now increasingly commonplace, even in danger of becoming ordinary. 8ortal s best bet for keeping their place at the forefront of 4eath 9etal experimental obcenity is to do what they ve always done, and this is evolve and mutate with each release. Snfortunately though +e2o/oid feels more like a consolidation of past exploits, bordering at times on being a resting on laurels. +traight off the bat with ?ilter! this album is noticeably less chaotic and more direct than where they were a decade ago on See ia. $heir unmistakeable atmosphere is still intact" that feeling of stumbling blindly along a corridor lined with swarming tentacles and slime" covered vines" but this is not .uite as inpenetratably dense as "utre). $here is noticeable similarities in the atmosphere, but musically it has more in common than /00C s Swarth. 8lasm! demostrates the [06[0 mixture between these two albums that is on display here mixing challenging disrhythms with an abyssal low humming feedback and screeching tremelo"picked guitars to spine"tingling effect. It is fairly good, but simply drawing on ideas well"tread on their last two albums feels like a bit of a cop"out. If this is your first meeting with this band, or you can disassociate your previous experiences of 8ortal, then this a pretty decent album" but

for those who have become to desensitized to this sort of chaotic churning parts of this album will sound lazy and phoned in. 'rbmophia! stands out for its really caustic vibe, and some melodic tremelo"picking that lulls the listener into a false sense of security that gets .uickly shattered. Awryeon! though, some droning elements aside, verges close to bog standard Eorguts"style $ech 4eath. It s not bad, but it s not what 8ortal do best either, and 'blotten! with its uninspired and inconse.uential song ideas that go nowhere is emblematic of the album as a whole. 'verall it is far from bad, but it is easily the weakest of 8ortal s albums. NQ6-0O 6rocession% 1o ;ea" 0eavens A"art N<igh &oller &ecordsO After how many albums can we start talking about bands as having a flawless discographyF 1 seems like a reasonable number, and though 8rocession technically have not hit that number yet, I ve always considered The *ult "f Disease to be a full length rather than an 28 5it s actually a few seconds longer than Destro,ers "f The Faith anywayK7, meaning now with ma#or release numero tres it might be time to start thinking about putting these >hilean 2pic 4oom merchants into that category. 3oth those / aforementioned releases are now titans of the genre, almost absolutely ticking all the boxes of the >andlemass and +olitude Aeternus blueprint, but with To 'ea Hea/ens A art they may have #ust ascended to a platform of absolute perfection. 9uch like with last year s Death And judgement 28 where their +cald cover almost matched the original for power they now can be considered e.uals rather than students of the +wedish masters, and not only that, showing some strong individual touches too. 2ven on the closing track of this record 5*ar *rom )ight!7 where they are nearest to the typical +wedish 4oom sound the sheer .uality shines through any detractions about being derivative, and at the opposite end of the LL minute duration 4amnatio 9emorae! brings a touch of +olstice"like gallop to proceedings that diversifies and widens their sound more than ever before. 4espite being the shortest of their 1 main releases by a small margin this is by far their most epic, and their most confident sounding, evidenced by their willingness to try new things. >on#urer! may add little to its template except a slight 2gyptian! tone to the guitar leads 5though it is far from kitsch and perfectly fits the necromantical lyrical bent7 and instead is built around the trademark emotional strain to *elipe ?utzbach s phenomenal voice, but 4eath And Judgement! and $he 4eath 9instrel! are much braver efforts entirely. *or the former the spoken word beginning sees *elipe take a page out of his good friend Alan Averill s book 5think $he +oul 9ust +leep! for a reference point7, but musically it is the essence of 4oom 9etal, going right back to 3lack +abbath s title track for its vibe and lyrics. +peaking of the 8rimordial frontman he lends his pipes to the latter for a recital of the &ainer 9aria &ilker poem 4eath!, earning poetry nerd points from me simply for not choosing one of his less well known poems. Alan has made excellent contributions to songs by 9arduk and 4esaster before, but never has

he been as involved as deeply in an album s concept as this. *or those unfamiliar with his work &ilker s poetry mainly focuses on a re#ection of >hristianity and a finding of true salvation through artistic expression, and that ideal is clearly replicated through the album title and theme spread through all these U songs. $he effect is so that in spite of being the dourest and most solemn of 4oom bands 8rocession are also incredibly uplifting and life"affirming, a perfect emotional palette only ever con.uered by the very few real 9etal masters. *or the highest individual peak of this we have to look to the triumphant sounding title track where everything coalesces like alchemy= the riffs, the composition, the solos, the emotion in the vocals and the amazingly"crafted lyrics" 9etal frankly does not get much better than this. In spite of the height that 8rocession go to on that song what is more impressive is the way in which that theme adopted from &ilker is spread evenly across the whole album. As *ar *rom )ight! fades out, listen carefully to those lyrics= And far from light, the sombre6 +till standing proud, unchained...! >an we ever express the freedom and life"affirming nature of this music of ours more perfectly than thisF 9aybe the time is not only right to start talking about a perfect discography of 8rocession, but also this album as a thoroughbred <eavy 9etal milestone. N-06-0O 6rotector% ;eanimated 0omunculus N<igh &oller &ecordsO As far as comeback albums go, 8rotector have taken a fairly strange route to get here. (ot so much because of the multitude of lineup changes, those are par for the course, but because of how little political strife between members those changes caused. *or a little background, the original lineup was broken when in -CBC 9artin 9issy was replaced on vocals 'lly %iebel, and then forever broken when drummer 9ichael <asse passed away in -CC-, and the original guitarist and bassist .uitting soon thereafter. $his resulted in -CC1 s respectable effort The Heritage figuring around %iebel and replacement drummer 9arco 8ape 5neither of them original members7, before %iebel too .uit and 8ape spent the next decade trying to rebuild the band, managing only one demo in /000. %here the strangeness comes in is that when 9artin 9issy put together a new live lineup of young +wedish musicianships a few years ago he saw no problem in playing material from the albums after his departure, even re"recording &etribution In 4arkness! on a split with Sngod earlier this year and one track of this album coming from the /000 'esurrected demo. 9etal soap opera s over rights to band names be damned it seems" 9issy s incarnation of 8rotector is all about the music, from all their eras. 4espite this diplomatic approach there is also a keenness for this to be seen as a continuation of 8rotector in their most widely regarded period" from -CBQ to -CBC. $he opening track hints at this with +ons 'f ?ain!, a song about the steadfastness of old school 9etal fans that could e.ually be referring to 9issy s new bandmates, long"time devotees to the band whose -CBQ 28 featured a song called ?ain And Abel.! If there is a suggestion in that song

title then the title track of this album spells it out clear as day" not only did the word homunculus! appear in the the title track to the the -CBB album Golem but the references to the rabbi at work by burning candlelight in these lyrics are intended to make a direct link between the two. 9ake no mistake, 8rotector are back and 9issy wants you to know which era 5his era7 they are continuing on from. %hile this album has its moments it stops short of being a completely worthy successor to that great era of this great band. 3irth 'f A (ation! is a stone cold killer track that could hang with any of the B0 s output while 4eranged (ymphomania! has a >eltic *rost tinge and a call"and"response chorus made with a live setting in mind that make it a close second for best track on here, and the production leaves nothing to be desired either. 3eing recorded in +unlight studios by $omas +kogsberg gives this a filth"ridden and morbid feel calling to mind the classic era of +wedish 4eath 9etal and drips these songs in menace, so much so that whether they be $hrash"heads or not fans of records like !nto The Gra/e, Sumerian *r, and "nl, Shreds 'emain should check this out simply for the purely sonic similarities. Ereat production aside the .uality is not maintained throughout. Although he was never regarded as the most potent wordsmith 9issy outdoes himself on the terrible lyrics front for the Deli/erance"themed track <oliday In <ell! which boasts a chorus of +.ueal like a pig6$hey ll break you, like a twig6$he inbreds do a #olly #ig.! $he latter half of the album has to settle for being merely average rather than downright daft, and I think part of the problem there lies in how, despite 9issy being the elder statesman here, none of his hired hands are particularly young any more either. <eck, 9athias Johansson has been making music in +uicidal %inds since /00/, so it can hardly come as a total surprise that these men don t have the creative spark to pull an absolute classic out of the bag any more. As if to prove my point about the link between age and vibrant musicianship it takes $he 2nd!, the song originally from 9arco 8ape s much shorter in the tooth incarnation of the band s /000 demo, to pull this album out a 1"song rut. 9issy and co. scrape back some points in the last minute and /U seconds thanks to the full"on rager >alle 3rutal! 5though there is something a bit geriatric about a song to do with getting lost in Aenice7, meaning this album is far from a disappointment. (o one should be expecting the world from 8rotector at this stage, but for an unspectacular yet solid $eutonic $hrash album in /0-1 this should be your first port of call. NQ6-0O Nueensrwche% Nueensrwche N>entury 9edia &ecordsO I think I speak for a lot of :ueensr;che fans when I say we wish that the last /[ years simply did not happen. Against a backdrop of steadily worsening albums, erratic, egotistical and cuntish behaviour from frontman Eeoff $ate and the near disappearance of 9etal from their sound the legacy of one of 9etal s most uni.ue underground sounds that had translated to the mainstream with such integrity had been completely shat over. $he departure of main songwriter >hris 4eEarmo seemed to spell the

spiritual end for the band but ditching $ate in /0-/ lead to the present situation of two bands claiming the :ueensr;che name, a legal dispute which $ate would have already lost if it was being #udged on album .uality, even before this answer to his awful Freeuenc, 0nknown was released. (ow with the former frontman of the resurrected >rimson Elory, $odd )a$orre, at the helm of the band they can go about undoing some of the damage done to their reputation in the last 1 decades and this album goes a hell of a way towards achieving that. As well as )a$orre the band have made a wise choice in hiring new guitarist 8arker )undgren, formerly of Eeoff $ate s solo pro#ect, who now freed from under the thumb of the arch lord shiny bellend himself, has in#ected the band with a new sense of songwriting vigour by contributing the fantastic album opener %here 4reams Eo $o 4ie.! <is presence seems to have reinvigorated the remaining original members of Jackson, &ockenfield and %ilton as their songwriting here is the freshest its been in decades, particularly on the $ool6A 8erfect >ircle"like riffs on +pore! and Aindication! which show they are clearly more in tune with what is genuinely progressive these days than $ate s forays into Eroove 9etal and 8op &ock dross. 3y 1 tracks in with In $his )ight! the self"proclaimed $he Aoice! is being annihilated at his own game by )a$orre" not only sounding more like classic $ate than $ate himself, but bringing in some rawness and edginess that Eeoff has been unable or unwilling to in#ect for years. &edemption! is aptly titled for the shining, rite of cleansing feeling that this whole album has. $his picks up perfectly from where the band went with " erationn (indcrime, and limited modern influences aside this is really what 1m ire and Promised 3and should have sounded like if the onset of $ate s madness hadn t started to affect the band already by those days. Aside from the slightly more up" tempo 4on t )ook 3ack! there s not an awful lot on here that draws on :ueensr;che s pre" (indcrime material, which fans of all their B0 s output is a bit of a shame, but that cinematic, emotional and dystopian feel of their -CBB conceptual classic is nailed almost perfectly. 8amela 9oore, the voice of +ister 9ary on " erationn (indcrime, returns to make tasteful contributions to A %orld %ithout!, and *allout! has a heartwrenching opening guitar lead that is one of the album highlights. $he closing track of 'pen &oad! is really the only lacklustre song on here, but this late dip in .uality aside this album is a short but succinct 1["minute display that there s still life in :ueensr;che yet. Eeoff whoFFF 2xactlyK NB6-0O ;evelation% Inner 0arbour N+hadow ?ingdom68ariah >hildO &evelation may have taken their name from a $rouble song, but their whole /0"something year career since that point has been following a tra#ectory away from 4oom and into softer, less cacophonous and more progressive territories. $heir latest step in this evolution, !nner Har&our, seems to be somewhat a homage to their native 3altimore, the map of which that adorns its cover being one of the most recognisable street plans in the world thanks to the success of the best $A show of all

time, The Wire. Anyone who has seen +eason / knows what a place of tragedy that 3altimore s harbour can be= try to imagine the closing montage of that final episode 58ort In A +torm!7 with a +aint Aitus tune instead of +teve 2arle s I *eel Alright! and it s obvious what good bedfellows 4oom and 3altimore could be. $he problem is though there is absolutely nothing stormy about &evelation, nothing tragic, nothing violent. %hen the lazy sunny afternoon feel of the opening title track kicks in it s hard to imagine the place they are writing about being the place I know from the show. $his is so tame, so inoffensive that instead I picture them sitting on the same dock of whatever bay 'tis &eading sang his famous song about. +toned off their tits too, probably. (ow I ve never been a snob for heaviness. $here s plenty of bands who manage to be awful while pummelling you re ears into bleeding, and plenty of bands who manage to craft amazing songs while being soft as silk. 2verything I d been told about &evelation and their stellar reputation 5in lieu of the fact I ve never gotten around to listening to them myself7 suggests that they have fallen into this second category before, so it wasn t at all surprising to hear that they ve strayed even further from their 4oom roots. 3ut I at least expected some intensity in the emotional content, if not in the musical. $his completely fails at being a challenging listen in every respect. $he second track on the album, $erribilita!, borrows a few shades of late U0 s Acid &ock while Jones *alls! hits upon a pretty mystical vibe in the last minute and a half while the closer An Allegory 'f %ant! is painted with more shades of woe than the rest of the album put together, but those are literally the only 1 moments of .uality of the whole album. $he rest sounds like a lounge music version of Q0 s <eavy &ock created to be played in an old folks home for people with tinnitus. I wish I was exaggerating, but I m really not. If you re the sort of person who complains about Ehost or (%'3<9 bands like 3ashful Alley not being heavy enough!, then you are going to absolutely love this... It s not #ust the softness that gives me cause to complain about this though= like I said it s not normally an issue for me. 3ut when something carries the tags of 8rog and 4oom I at least hope one of them will do what it says. If it is completely devoid of heaviness then it had at least better be challenging in some way, have something musically a little unusual. Aside from the few moments I described above though this adds only some faint and light synths to its musical palette. $hink of an A'&64oom hybrid" excluding from the last minute and a half Jones *alls! even sounds like AsiaK $he final nail in the coffin though is that all this wimpy lightness and airiness never actually e.uates to musical accessibility= it runs through U tracks in 1U minutes and manages to produce not one memorable riff or chorus or lyric by the end of it. $hat s 1U minutes of my life that I want back. N/6-0O ;otting >hrist% xyzy z{| }y~{|y yz{ N+eason 'f 9istO &otting >hrist are in a rare legion of 9etal bands to have never put out a bad album. %ith the exception of their duo of late C0 s Eothic

9etal albums 5in which the first of the two A Dead Poem #ust about trumps Slee "f The Angels7 their career can be broken down into trilogies where the third album in each se.uence is the strongest of the 1, and this latest effort 5translating as 4o As $hou %ilt!7 continues that trend by taking everything that was great about Theogonia and Aealo and hones them to perfection to make on of the strongest albums of &otting >hrist s career. It is also the most ambitious, at least lyrically" speaking. Sse of obscure and ancient languages has been part of &otting >hrist s forte as far back as -CC- s Passage To Arcturo 28, but aside from the interlude track on that release 5Eloria de 4omini Inferni!7 they have never til now composed a song entirely in )atin. Erandis +piritus 4iavolos! breaks this mould in that perfectly grandoise &otting >hrist style, borrowing more from stylistically from the epic side of 8agan 9etal than ever before in the process, but )atin is not the only language used here. $he title track which excellently utilises woodwind through is heavy tremelo"picked verse sections focuses around repeated chants in ancient Ereek, as does the sombre and ritualistic closing number ! 5which translates to UUU!7, while 8 unchaw kachun " $uta kachun! mixes both Inca and a rousing chorus in +panish to great effect, con#uring up images of marauding con.uistadores in the process. Ahura 9azd" Ara 9ainiuu! might court controversy with its Islamic chants and use of lyrics in 5I think7 simplified Arabic, but as a manifestation of Ereek culture and music s soundclash between east and west it is a culmination of something &otting >hrist have been building towards for several years. Sndoubtedly though Iwa Aoodoo! is the biggest lyrical, thematic and musical risk"taker on here. *ew other bands could mix >reole voodoo chants with 9etal without it sounding daft and kitsch, and though this is the furthest thing on this album from the classic &otting >hrist sound it is undoubtedly a feather in their cap all the same. >ine iubete i las! 5translating as who loves and leaves!7 is another brave experimentation, not only as it is an adaptation of a traditional &omanian song, but because the arrangement has been left to / session musicians. +uzana Z 2leni Aougioukli s vocals and piano playing are powerful to say the least, but given how close in style and delivery they are to the mighty Avant Earde composer 4iamanda Ealas who has collaborated with the band in the past it is hard not to feel a sting of disappointment that they have not chosen to, or could not, renew that association. $his album does not only appeal to linguists and anthropological types though, and while anyone expecting a return to the <ellenic 3lack 9etal style of old will not be pleased this is stylistically trademark &otting >hrist to the bone. $he drumming on this album is nothing short of thunderous and the unmistakeable tremelo"picking guitar style laced with killer melodic licks and pinch harmonics produces more great riffs than ever, meaning there is not a dud moment or track on this whole record. Eilgame! briefly shows a little more old school flair with +akis trading in his newer orc" like bark for his previous blackened rasp, but to

really get something close to the early &otting >hrist sound you will need to get the special edition of this album for the bonus track %elcome $o <el.! (ot only is this a clever pun but a slick, clean and powerful update on the sound perfected on their early albums that makes me wonder if an album of re"recorded classic material with their current huge studio sound is a possibility. *or now though &otting >hrist s eyes are looking firmly forward, and a track like ! which showcases some amazingly catchy riffs as well as seamless alternation between +akis barked vocals, whispered sections accompanied by chimes and the Eo#ira"like soaring clean vocal parts is stunning, and shows that this band s creative well has not run dry yet. NC6-0O .arke% Aruagint NIndie &ecordingsO It has taken me many years since hearing their name to get round to the physical act of listening to +arke for a number of reasons. +cepticism over label hyperbole was a big one, whilst the sneaking suspicion that nobody would give them the time of day if it wasn t for the celebrity involvement was an even bigger bugbear. If you didn t know, +arke is the side" pro#ect of the man of the same name 5better known as the one from ?hold who doesn t look like >ount Erishnack7 and features (octurno >ulto of 4arkthrone fame on vocals. $he aggrandising comparisons from +arke s label to nearly every B0 s 9etal legend imaginable 5>eltic *rost, >andlemass, +layer, ?reator...7 combined with this other fact is what gave me my biggest reason to be cynical though" if (octurno >ulto spends a handful of days a year in a remote cabin with his buddy *enriz s.ueezing out what little #uice their creative tank has left to create 4arkthrone s increasingly dull contemporary hodge"podge sound, what hope does +arke hold for being a more impressive B0 s"derivative 9etal mash"upF As it turns out, this album seems to represent a bit of a corner turn for +arke away from the more $hrash"oriented sound of the first / albums. Eiven what it has been replaced with, I have to .uestion the motivations behind the change. If the hope was to create a fresher sound for themselves then they fail on this album s first hurdle as the slower, colder and more methodical mode of attack they adopt here has been done to death already #ust as much as straight"up 3lack6$hrash 9etal has. A particular non"achievement is in the attempt to incorporate some late C0 s style Avant"Earde touches from the likes of 4<E and Aed 3uens 2nde" the more traditional fayre of Indie &ecordings. $he old albums of those bands sound so badly dated now you have to wonder why anyone would try and use them to in#ect some life into their own sound in /0-1K (ot only that, but the fact that +arke are now not straight"up enough to appeal to the regular 3lack6$hrash heads and not weird enough for the >arl"9ichael 2ide worshippers 5I m not sure if these even exist" who even listens to Avant"Earde 39 any moreF7 means that they are somewhat sonically marooned. $hat is a description that .uite ade.uately describes what is going on with this album. 2pic! is one of the words that the label have tried to hype this with, but meandering would be more appropriate. $he songs feel pretty

directionless at times 5+alvation! is the prime example of this7 and the overall result is to make them feel longer than they actually are. 2ven on a track like %alls 'f &u! where they go full throttle for that (onotheist"vibe the riffs and atmospheric touches sound more empty than monolithic. $he only track on here that doesn t outstay its welcome is Sgly! which tips the scales at #ust over / minutes and brings things momentarily back into Eehennah"style 3lack6$hrash traditionalism. In the larger picture of where the bar for .uality rests in this niche style though it still is not up to scratch. Eroovy is another word Indie have bandied about for how +arke now sound and while this is audible on a few songs 5+trange 8ungent 'dyssey! sounds like if $he %hite +tripes suddenly turned 3lack 9etal7, it fails to add any lasting punch to this album. $hat in a nutshell is the greatest failing" the lack of individual dynamics in songs makes for a fairly dull record devoid of any natural peaks and troughs, any defining memorable moments. Jou may start to recall sections after repeated listens, but only through sheer muscle memory and willpower to do so. At least when 4arkthrone do average they make it fun. N/6-0O .atan% ?ife .entence N)istenable &ecordsO >omeback albums from underground B0 s <eavy 9etal acts have been a boom business in recent years. +ome like this year s 4eep 9achine 28 have shown a band finally achieving their potential, some like recent albums by <ell and Angel %itch see bands upgrading their sound for the modern times to great success. Snfortunately we also get cases like this year s %arlord comeback where bands fail to translate their old sound for /0-1, and some like the abomination of a %itch >ross return where one or two original members allow a load of stand"ins to shit all lover their legacy. $he first +atan album in /U years is like none of these cases. Instead this is as though the past 10 years since then classic *ourt !n The Act simply never happened, like the (ewcastle .uintet locked up the doors of their recording studio and have only now come back to clear away the cobwebs and dust. *or most bands being able to match what they did 1 decades before would be impossible, but by some miracle +atan have managed it. $he proto"$hrash rhythms of +ean $aylor behind the kit and Eraeme 2nglish on the bass are #ust as thunderous as they were in -CB1, the riffs and harmonies of +teve &amsey and &uss $ippins #ust as razor sharp and, aside from a bit of syllables getting rolled together in the chorus of 8ersonal 4emons!, 3rian &oss vocals have lost none of their power. All this coalesces to create some truly ripping songs, some of which that really stand up to the .uality of the dVbut. It s a shame that this being so close to the dVbut eliminates the later Sus ended Sentence as well as the 3lind *ury and 8ariah albums from the discussion, but this picks up so perfectly that it would be ridiculous not to base this review around that comparison. (ot only has nothing changed in +atan s mode of attack, but this record has such an organic sound that it really seems as though it has been made the old way too. $here s feedback, imperfections and the odd playing mistake

galore, not to mention an incredible real drum sound and 3rian &oss falsettos unaided by studio trickery. It flows like albums used to as well" -0 songs, LL minutes and two clearly delineated halves. If you have any >"C0 s left, get ready to crack them out for thisK $ime $o 4ie!, $wenty $wenty *ive! and >enotaph! unleash an opening salvo that would make this album worthwhile even if everything that followed was filler. +iege 9entality! is not as strong as the others on here, but Incantations! raises the bar even more with it s faintly 9ercyful *ate"like 2gyptian vibe and some thunderous drumming to close out side one. $estimony! boasts the best riff of the whole album but could do with a stronger chorus, something that the more melodic $ears 'f 3lood! has in spades thanks to its very $hin )izzy Thunder And 3ightning" style simple refrain. $he title track which follows is a final straight"up fast ripper before 8ersonal 4emons! brings in a bit of a groovy 3oogie &ock vibe to its main riff and the charmingly na|ve Another Sniverse! concludes the album on an epic high. %all to wall cracking songs that makes this an undeniable modern classic. NC6-0O .atan@s 0ost% 9irgin .ails N9oribund &ecordsO :uite a lot about +atan s <ost is surprising. *or starters the very fact that original vocalist <arry >onklin re#oined the band in /00C was a bit of a shocker given the very different direction that chief songwriter 8atrick 2vil had taken the band in for the previous decade. 3y the time of >onklin s comeback album, /0-- s B, The Hands "f The De/il 5the same year that Jag 8anzer released The Scourge "f The 3ight7 it was his first recorded vocal performance in Q years and while a bit of loss of his famous vocal power might have been expect few probably could ever have anticipated the opposite" that he would sound at his best ever. / years on in /0-1 and +irgin Sails is a total crystallization of what the band has been working towards for the past few years. 8atrick 2vil proved with the [ 3lack64eath albums the band released prior to >onklin s re#oining that the times had not left him behind, and here the blend between the / styles is seamless, perhaps the most successful merging of 3lack64eath 9etal with traditional <eavy68ower 9etal ever attempted. It defies logic that men in their [0 s should be making the crowning glory albums of their careers now, but that is exactly what is happening. %hat is more is for the first time +atan s <ost really threaten to have a commercial breakthrough with this album. )ike I said, a lot about the band is surprising. +atan s <ost have once again teamed with the legendary Joe 8etagno for the cover art with the 9ot@rhead"man reviving the style he used in the late C0 s for bands like Avulsed, Angelcorpse and 4ies Ater. *rom the outside this may look like a straight up 3lack64eath 9etal album, and given that this was recorded in a studio more commonly fre.uented by the likes of >ephalic >arnage and >attle 4ecapitation you might expect that the +atan s <ost sound of -CCC"/00C has made a comeback. Instead it is ingratiated perfectly with the classic sound of -CBU"-CBC to create a uni.ue and powerful modern 9etal vibe.

>omparisons to Andy +neap s recent studio work with <ell can be made, but the broader genre influences, such as the blast"heavy Island 'f $he Eiant Ants! and the Eod 4ethroned6Aital &emains vibe on &eanimated Anomalies!, make easy pigeon"holing as a lesser <ell an insulting fit. )ong term fans of the band not so enamoured with these new" fangled influences have their day too, such as the breather track 4ichotomy!, but the more modern leanings might be enough to give the band a newer and younger fanbase. It s a hard balance to get right, but +atan s <ost have made a great achievement with this album. $here is no doubt that there is a market for it, as witnessed by the huge commercial success of the returning (%'3<9 underdogs <ell. 'verall this album has a more melodic vibe than any of their previous efforts, particularly on the soloing on the self"titled closing number and the 9aiden bass intro and Amon Amarth" es.ue leads of Infinite Impossibilities!, though it is never allowed to overshadow the band s trademark intensity. +atan s <ost have not sold out, far from it in fact, but I can still see this new effort taking them to new places commercially speaking. 8erhaps the fact that only &eanimated Anomalies! is below the U minute mark might hamper their chances of a broader appeal amongst the often short attention spans of mainstream 9etal fans, but a few shorter and punchier tracks on the next outing and some more theatricality in the live performances could really catapult +atan s <ost into that new arena. +peaking of live, I am curious to see how well these new songs can be replicated there. In terms of key changes, rapid"fire delivery and intriguing vocal lines this is probably the most challenging album >onklin has ever done, and if the call and response between his high vocals and the harsher backing ones on certain tracks here are as I expect, performed entirely by him and not with the help of another band member they might be too much of a challenge even for one of 9etal s most underrated frontmen. $hat being said, +atan s <ost have pulled so many surprises out of the bag in recent years, this fine album included, that it would not at all be beyond .uestion that >onklin could pull it off on stage as well as he does in the studio. 2ither way, this is undoubtedly their best album since the legendary (etal From Hell dVbut and one of the strongest <eavy 9etal albums of the year. NC6-0O .creamer% 6hoeni N<igh &oller &ecordsO It s a shame that +creamer s rather good /0-dVbut album Adrenaline Distractions went largely ignored by most 9etalheads. 9aybe it was the release date being rather late in that year meaning it got lost in the mad scramble to hear the year s most hyped albums in time to compile that all important annual personal top -0, or simply lost in general amongst the many albums from similar bands released around that time. 3eing from +weden may have unfortunately been an issue as well, as with all the well"deserved hype around 2nforcer people may have been looking upon +creamer as simply their little brother. +creamer s goal then with this record should not be to try and match 2nforcer punch for

punch, but to break out of their countrymen s shadow and show some individual flair that will make them last when this revival movement loses its momentum. 'n the one hand Phoeni2 is a very similar album to its predecessors and to +creamer s peers, sometimes to great effect and sometimes not so much. +lavegrinder! is an obvious low"point owing to the fact its verse riff is almost identical to +creamer! off the dVbut while the repetitive &ed 9oon &ising! is the definition of a filler track that shorn of the album would be much better at a respectable L- minutes. %hen it works it works though and opening track 4emon &ider! ticks all the boxes for this style with its drawn out chorus refrain backed up with gang vocals from the rest of the band. It s as good as anything off their first album, and almost as good as some of the tracks off the latest 2nforcer cut. As was hinted at before though, it is the songs where +creamer try their hand at something different that nearly break, but ultimately make this album. 'ne of these attempts at diversifying is the wading into B0 s stadium &ock territory with their ode to touring (o +leep $il <amilton.! It s not a stylistic issue that is the problem here as thankfully this is no awful 8oison or 3on Jovi style ballad, but nevertheless there is an off"putting pretension of grandeur here. 8art of the appeal of +creamer s peers is a sense that beneath their romanticising of 1 decades ago and their hero" worship there is a down to earth acceptance that the B0 s are a time past, and the re#uvenation of that time s sound and values is done with tongue slightly in cheek. +creamer come across here like they really do still harbour those boyhood dreams for the arena and stadium size tours that simply don t exist for bands of their age anymore, and there s something a little bit sad about that. $he band have more success with the rockier numbers (o &egrets! and *ar Away *rom <ome!, the former treading a similar path to Aanderbuyst despite needing a stronger chorus 5made up for by a killer bridge section7, and the latter more akin to <igh +pirits with the simple point expressed by simple lyrics driven home brilliantly and a healthy dose of 'h"oh"ohK! cries. *ar Away *rom <ome! in particular could still do with a little energy boost to bring it up to the top gear intensity level they pull out on their faster material, but nevertheless for a band trying to branch out soundwise they ve done a good #ob on both these tracks. 9r. (oman! probably takes the biggest musical risk with how >hristoffer +vensson really goes out there on the vocal performance. $he first third of the song is a down"tempo drunk tank confessional sort of vibe where he adopts a sort of rhythm and bluesy tone and makes excellent work of sounding #aded and world"weary for such a young man. It s bold, but it works well, especially when the song kicks up a gear and starts rockin out and displaying some awesome lyrics. %hen he sings I was #ust a young boy, I had #ust turned seventeen6I got kicked out by old man because I dared to dream! it cements this as one of the best 9etal songs of troubled youth since &unning *ree!" an appropriate comparison given how close to 9aiden it gets with the bridge and solo section.

$his song is only pipped to the post for standout track of the album by the sneaky and deceptive title track. $hat guitar lead between the first and second verses is one of the album s sweetest morsels, and the age old trick of delaying a chorus til / verses have been run through works a treat for building up anticipation. At first it seems like the chorus isn t long or dynamic enough to be a payoff to this, but again this is more delay tactics. $he song doesn t finally burst into flames like the eponymous phoenix til the last 10 seconds and when it does hit it works an absolute treat. $he too slow and too long closer )ady 'f $he &ivers! lulls the listener into a similar sense of false disappointment and threatens to to extinguish Phoeni2 and send it off in a tailspin, but the band really put their heart and soul into the last / minutes and the flame is relit #ust enough for it to soar off out of sight. $his album is far from perfect, but +creamer have shown enough good musical ideas here to show that they re on to something and worth paying attention to in the future. NQ6-0O .eremonia% Ihminen N+vart &ecordsO 2xpectation can be a funny thing. Eiven the similarities between +eremonia and Jess And $he Ancient 'nes in home country, gender of their vocalists, their record label and the fact they are both primarily described as 8sychadelic &ock64oom 9etal it is hardly surprising that I expected +eremonia to ply a similar sound on this album, their second, my introduction to them. In fact, if you are familiar with JA$A' you are probably thinking the same right now given all those pieces of information. $hrow your preconceptions out the window though for this band" this a whole different breed of &etro"&ock. $he album opens up with thudding bass drive and sonic whirlwind of (oitamestari! and it becomes immediately clear that +eremonia s sound is a hybrid one. $onally it leans towards the darker end of 8sych, like <awkwind on a permanent bad trip in *rankfurt, whilst the Earage68unk edge is as subtle as a cigarette flicked in the face. 4espite the lyrics being entirely in *innish (oora *ederley s closest vocal comparison is to 2xene >ervenka of )os Angeles 8unk originators W, and the track has a raw s.ueal to the guitars that hammer this link home. %hat is most staggering though is how raw and sloppy the song is" not so much an adherence and worship of old production values as a flat"out murdering of all modern ones. I ve heard >rust 8unk bands who sound cleaner and more pristine than this, so the fact that +eremonia even exist in /0-1 on a fairly ma#or 9etal label is enough on its own to make them uni.ue. $he 8unk elements of +eremonia s sound come and go, such as on )uonto ?ostaa! where the vocals play a game of call and response with the guitars and rhythm section that harkens to everyone from $he +tooges to $elevision, and on +uuri Aalkeus! where the sexualised breathlessness of the (oora s voice and the catchy chorus 5in spite of the language barrier7 go beyond the W comparison into later (ew %ave territories like &omeo Aoid. %hat binds all the songs together though is the undercurrent of dark of ?rautrock"style experimental flourishes, in particular Amon

4mml II. 2ssentially this is a very chaotic hybrid sound with a myriad of influences. $ake Itsemurhaa#a! where the morbid, gravitating sexuality extends from the vocals into the music giving a brief >alifornia dark 8sych sound, the 4ream 8op feel to $phtien $akaa! or the thick rumbling fuzz of the bassline in 8aina#aisten 9aa! that is the stage for the Jethro $ull"es.ue flute sections to dance on. It may sound like a mess, but a cohesive vision isn t what this band is about. 2ven when taking the route more travelled +eremonia seem to find doing things the conventional way anathema. $he title track for example from the first few notes feels as though it might break into more accessible waters" but by the time that first riff is completed it is so twisted that only mental patients would find it danceable. $hat is followed up by Itsemurhaa#a II! where the momentary respite of some standard Sncle Acid And $he 4eadbeats"like straight"ahead rocking is scuppered by the insidious disruption of the last verse and chorus and the whole album is crowned off with <allava <evonen.! <ere the same sense of false security sets in with the instrumental similarities to Jess And $he Ancient 'nes slower numbers and the occult vibe not present 5though its hard to tell with everything in *innish7 on the rest of the album is finally delivered to the clamouring modern audience who find solace in it. 4on t expect any Ehost" like halloween shtick here though" the huge choral swell to the chorus on this song is genuinely unsettling, going even beyond the likes of >oven for channeling of some otherworldly feeling. !hminen is a hard album to approach. It is barely contained, chaotic and impulsive and many will probably bemoan its seeming lack of any overall sense of purpose. $o that end though it is a perfect record for our times and destined to destroy more souls and reap more minds than any other album this year. Just make sure to throw all your expectations out first, least of all the expectation of an easy listen. NB6-0O .e"ulchral ;uins Below 1he 1em"le NInvictus 8roductions6Iron 3oneheadO 4on t worry that s not a misprint, it s <ebrew, or the 2nglish e.uivalent +heol if you prefer" an 2nglish / piece who have previously worked together on two 'rthodox 3lack 9etal pro#ects and have now turned their attention to the chaotic 3lack64eath style. As the instrumental opener of +piritual 4esiccation! gives way 4eluge 'f $ehom! 5both tracks featured on their promo Q! in our separate review section7 all the boxes are ticked for this style, with elements of their cavernous and menacing countrymen Erave 9iasma and >ruciamentum as well as the raw nastiness of the likes of 4iocletian, %itchrist and %rathprayer. It s good, but there s something missing and that seemingly is, the uni.ue name aside, an identity of their own beyond these key comparison points. Aside from the 2ncoffination"like crawl at the

beginning of the instrumental intro track there is precious little here that breaks out from the norm in this sub"sub"genre already so well laid out by other bands. It s a shame because after looking again at the artwork after my first listen of this I only then noticed the huge rock of obsidian growing out a festering tree stump on the sleeve half"hidden by the muted colour palette, and once seen that marginal part of the painting dominates the whole thing. I listened again to this 28 hoping for a similar revelation to show itself in the music, but none came. $he experimental noisy6religious chanting interlude of ?atachthomb! does its best, but on a release this short and with nothing overly impressive displayed on either side of this track it serves only as a temporary gap it what becomes an increasingly tedious listen with every repeat. $he closest to a uni.ue calling card this album has is how the production is #ust that bit more reserved than >ruciamentum and co. to allow a little more classic 4eath 9etal influence to shine through. $he guitar s.eual that bursts open 4eluge 'f $ehom! for example is pure A&ominations "f Desolation stuff, while plenty of other nasty bands of the late B0 s6very early C0 s era like (ecrovore, (ihilist and +adistic Intent make themselves known on 8erpetual 4escent Into +he ol! and the melodic passage towards the end of the title track $he >hasm are evoked. $he final track carries this old school vibe too, but given that it is a cover of 4arkthrone s >romlech! that add nothing to the original save a bit of vocal madness it is essentially a poor screen for what is an 28 void of any innovative ideas. It is far from bad, and if you can t get enough of this style then definiely pick yourself up the 9)8 from Iron 3onehead or the >4 from Invictus, but if like me you think this style needs a more individual bent the give a pass this time and hope they pull something special out on the sophmore release. N[6-0O .ign Df 1he <ackal% ,ark Df 1he Beast N<igh &oller &ecordsO 4espite being loaded with personality and individual flavour +ign 'f $he Jackal from Italy have pretty much been background players in the world of <eavy 9etal revivalism up til now. 9aybe that is down to the restraint and decorum shown in relation to the femininity of frontwoman )aura >oller 5in sharp contrast to the overtly sexed"up likes of <untress7, or their previous association with the pretty lacklustre 5and now defunct7 <eavy Artillery &ecords, or simply the fact that it has taken them [ years to deliver this debut album. %hatever the reason may be +ign 'f $he Jackal are here now and sound like they are making up for lost time. After a lengthy spooky kitsch intro <eavy 9etal 8ossession! explodes out of the gate with +peed 9etal fury. 'bvious comparisons would be drawn to %arlock regardless of how )aura s voice actually sounds, and while she has clearly been taking notes on 4oro s phrasing her tone is more in line with Acid s ?ate de )ombaerd, those 3elgians being a key musical influence too. $he strong 9editerranean accenting gives a vibe similar to much"missed 8ortuguese heroes 9idnight 8riest as well, making this band one hell of a characterful ripper. If you have <eavy 9etal

music in your blood then you ll probably be on your feet fist"pumping by the second chorus of track /, 8aura (ella >itta 4ei 9orti Aiventi.! )ong term fans of the band will recognise over half the tracks on here as both their previous releases, The Haunted House Ta es demo and The Be,ond 28 are rerecorded in full 5minus <ead 'ver <eels! from the 287. $his reliance on older material may seem lazy, but despite how bombastically those older songs like the Avenger6%.A.+.8. 8unch"up of <ellhounds! have been translated, new cuts like the %arlock"tastic :ueens 'f <ell! give them a run for their money. <eavy 9etal 4emons! feels less powerful than the other re"recorded tracks, but the brilliance of (ight 'f $he Sndead! makes up for it in spades. In fact, it feels like this album s high points make up for all its short"comings. 'ne criticism from some .uarters I can forsee is that the use of no less than [ horror"themed intros to songs from a band so in tune with their pop sensibilities might ruffle the feathers of anyone who takes the occult aspect of 9etal seriously. +ure the double"whammy of *ight *or &ock! and cheesy instrumental 8aganini <orror! take the album briefly into more mid" B0 s commercial territories 5think )ita *ord and the like7, and aside from the piano intro to $he 3eyond! there isn t any attempt to ingratiate the horror theme any further than the lyrics and intro samples, but the overall .uality and infectiousness of this album mean that this barely registers as a problem at all. $he only thing it can t eliminate is the superfluousness of the *astway cover that ends the record on a fairly average note, but +ign 'f $he Jackal can be let away with that for such a killer first album. %ho knows, we may see a more complete and complex record from this band somewhere down the line, but for now they are doing everything they need to. NB6-0O .keletonwitch% .er"ents Jnleashed N8rosthetic &ecordsO *or fans of underground 3lack6$hrash 9etal these guys have always been a bit of an easy whipping boy. Snlike their counterparts $oxic <olocaust who actually released many splits and tapes before #oining the 9etal overground! and Eoatwhore who have an undeniably interesting (')A +ludge hybrid thing going on it seems like nothing +keletonwitch could do would endear them to the elitist circles. $he perception seems to be that +keletonwitch belong more to the party6pizza6beer6bong"$hrash crowd despite their occult"leaning lyrics, and even that they have more in common with the post"At $he Eates Eothenburg types and their S+ 9etalcore offspring= if not so much in sound then definitely in terms of fanbase. %orking with the in"house cover artist of the whole +avannah, Eeorgia stoner scene, John 4yer 3aizley has been a great way of getting up the nose of the spiked leather gauntlet brigades too. (ow, I m normally wary of these sort of elitist attitudes as .uite often they can write off some genuinely good bands, but from what sparse tracks of +keletonwitch I ve heard over the years I ve been inclined to agree. 'nly now that I ve had the chance to sit down and listen to an album of theirs in full do I see #ust how right people have been about +keletonwitch= even

shorn of ill"fitting elements like the (uclear Assault6Eama bomb"like riffs on the opening title track or the sub"?illswitch 2ngage breakdown and wooden solo on 3urned *rom $he 3one! this would still be absolutely terrible. $he two things that come to the fore of the listener s mind on this album are unfortunately two of its worst characteristics. *irstly there are the grating and monotonous raspy vocals, which are less of an issue given how par for the course they are in this style. %hen it comes to the horrendous drum sound though there really is no excuse, especially not given the kind of decent recording budget a band +keletonwitch are probably afforded. $onally it is poor, rhythmically it is all over the place in spite of being triggered, at the times they are mixed so badly that they become inseparable from the guitars, and even with ?urt 3allou 5of <ardcore band >onverge7 production it sounds like it is clipping in places too. $he knock"on effect then is to suck all energy out of fast sections and the atmosphere out of the melodic ones. $hanks to this, Ser ents 0nleashed is dead in the water before it even gets started. 'n occasion those melodic 3lack 9etal leanings, variably calling to mind Immortal, 4ark *ortress and (aglfar, do shine through the drums such as on Snwept!, but any brief semblances of .uality on here are so brief and so thoroughly strangled that they do not even warrant talking about. A few good sections here and there aside this resembles more of a random collection of riffs strung together by the nauseating drum sound and one" dimensional vocals, and it demonstrates a laziness seen across the whole album. At 1minutes in length, though blessedly short that may be given the content, this is short even by +keletonwitch s corner"cutting standards 5none of their L previous efforts have tipped the scales at even a standard L0 minutesK7 2ven at this short length there is still room for filler, case in point 3orn 'f $he )ight $hat 4oes (ot +hine!, that most other producers would have left on the cutting room floor, and any brief flashes of the promise of something more epic like the %atain"es.ue march to $his 2vil 2mbrace! or the late B0 s 9etallica vibe to the intro of closing number 9ore >ruel $han %eak! are stiffled by the fact that most of these songs barely edge past the 1 minute mark. Stterly disposable and poor stuff from start to finish. N/6-0O .lidhr% $eluge N4ebemur 9ortiO $hey say good things come to those who wait, though the problem I ve always had with that phrase is the notion of fate rewarding inactivity. *ortune smiles not on the lazy, but on those who bide their time and toil tirelessly in the shadows. L years since his last release, and [ since the last under the +lidhr name has been a long time for mainman Joe 4eegan to have been waiting, or rather to have kept us waiting, but as 4eluge reveals itself to be his at long last magnum opus that time has most definitely been well spent. 9uch like it was on 12 $ihilio the production here is impressive. Snlike J4 s now deceased other main band 9yrkr it is not suffocating, but is e.ually as intimidating in feeling albeit more

with a sense of being towered over or dwarfed. In the pitch black atmosphere stakes this towers over nearly all the competition this year and is easily one of the fullest sounds ever heard from what is essentially 5session drummer aside7 a one man band. >ompared to previous releases this is also more diverse, perhaps even a little experimental when it comes to touches like the dark pseudo" Industrial hum of the intro to opener %ielding 4aggers! that crop up again on 2arth s 9outh 'pen! and at the end of &e#oin $he 4irt!, or the more modern and technically precise approach to riffing that appears earlier in that song and again on 4eath 'f $he +econd +un.! 2lsewhere the approach is kept resolutely old school, mostly evoking the more abrasive end of +wedish 3lack 9etal such as *uneral 9ist, 'rcivus and &ev -UlB, although a bit of melodic atmospherics from the 4issection6+acramentum school is found as well on +ymbols 'bscuring! and $heir 3lood! swaps it for more of an Srgehal vibe. Aside from the atmosphere, the relentlessness of which reminds me of another +wedish band by the name of *lagellent, the most defining feature for +lidhr is the groove that slips alternatively between a 4arkthrone"like mid" paced crawl and a faint resemblance to modern 9etal bands like Eo#ira. $his unconventional musical choice never compromises the inherent malevolence of the music though, so while there are a few moments on here outside of the usual 3lack 9etal codex this album is still one of the genre s highest achievements this year. Deluge really gains momentum and power in its second half with the brilliant flood of tracks &e#oin $he 4irt!, $heir 3lood! and 4eath 'f $he +econd +un! that is .uite easily J4 s best work to date, $heir 3lood! in particular which is nothing short of a masterpiece of labyrinthine, serpentine and malignant 3lack 9etal. It is a shame that from there the album goes into a / song slump with the Snseen! that lets that tightly wound omnipresent atmosphere deflate too much, and the rather lacklustre As $he 4ead.! >losing track &ays )ike 3lades! pulls it back to finish the album off on a bone"chilling note, but given that the album would have been a respectable 1C minutes long without those two tracks it is a shame not to see it complete itself in the strongest possible totality. (evertheless Deluge is a fine work, a total amalgamation of all J4 s work to date and situated very near the zenith of modern 3lack 9etal creativity. NB6-0O .olstice% $eath@s >rown Is 9ictory ,?6 N%hite <orse6Into $he Aoid &ecordsO Anticipation can be a funny thing in music. +ometimes, as was the case for me and the sophmore 2vangelist album this year 5which didn t get reviewed here thanks to time constraints7, expectations are not lived up to. +ometimes, as happened with the return of 3lack +abbath or the dVbut of 9agic >ircle, a year s best releases can come from unexpected sources. +ometimes anticipation can be very well placed indeed, and that is the case with +olstice who prove to us with this /U minute 28 that our -[ year wait has not been in vain. $aking the shape of two C"odd minute epic tracks bookended by two 1"odd minute

instrumentals long"time fans of +olstice might be a bit disappointed by the brevity of this release, but aside from the latter of the two instrumentals, Ae.uinoctium II!, this flows together exactly like an album would. $he riffs from that final L minute piece could have been put to better use on another longer track, but otherwise everything here is perfectly positioned and perfectly executed. $he intro track *ortress 2ngland! could not be a better introduction to these / songs, or +olstice in general with how its swaying, pastoral acoustic guitar passages meeting huge crushing riffs and heroic melodies. <ats must go off as well to the sterling production which gives everything not only huge scale and volume, but also crisp and clarity, but perhaps the biggest key to success is the presence of 8aul ?earns on the mic. 'ther reviews of this 28 have picked up on some tuning issues with his performance on I Am $he <unter! but I honestly think he and the band are a match made in heaven. As much as they have had some other talented vocalists in the past few years I don t think these songs would have worked as well with *elipe ?utzbach, or anyone but 8aul for that matter. <is voice has an absolutely commanding and magisterial tone that suits the trademark +olstice sound at every tempo or whatever vibe is being con#ured. I Am $he <unter! stands out here as the real ripper of the / tracks and it has rightly been a firm favourite in +olstice s live set for some time, but the title track though different is at least its e.ual. $he influence here of *airport >onvention"es.ue *olk is not only stronger than ever before in +olstice s music, but perhaps than any 9etal record in general to this date, and the way 4eath s >rown Is Aictory! builds in slow waves for maximum payoff when the final melodic lead kicks in at the B and a half minute mark is songwriting par excellence. As always with +olstice the lyrics are another strongpoint with I Am $he <unter! being built around the same sort of arcane lexicon that $ew Dark Age was, while 4eath s >rown Is Aictory! inverts the nostalgiac *olk tone of its melodies to create an indictment of the feudal system that speaks as a euphemism for the band s mantra of relentlessness. It mat have taken them -[ years, but at last the masters of 2pic 4oom 9etal are back. %e ll never surrender, we ll never yield64eath s crown is victoryK! NC6-0O ."ace 9acation% 0eart Attack N8ure +teel &ecordsO +ometimes simply knowing the members involved can excite you about a band before you ve even heard a note, though sometimes its not the members per se, but rather than interesting collection of bands they cut their teeth in. $he latter is definitely the case with +pace Aacation who are made up of 2li )ucas of middle"of"the"road 3ay Area thrashers <atchet, ?iyoshi 9organ who played on Aicious &umours /0-- album 'a9or&ack #illers, and fronted by +cott +happiro who now also fronts >alifornia party"metallers 9idnight >haser. %hile that may not exactly scream supergroup it is certainly a recipe for a uni.ue sound, to which +pace Aacation add one

huge ingredient" the (ew %ave 'f 3ritish <eavy 9etal. $he opening title track makes the none"too" subtle nods to 2ngland circa -CQC"-CBstraight off the bat with the melodicism of 4ef )eppard and the big riffs and song"writing nuances of +axon and Angel %itch taking care of the standard issue stuff, but it is the fragile timbre to the tonally powerful vocals that harken to &ob $idd of 3ashful Alley that impresses me the most. %hether wholly intentional or not this fills the void in the recent gamut of retro <eavy 9etal acts for a hard rockin authentically (%'3<9"sounding act, and the fact that +pace Aacation are so imperfect and rough around the edges only makes them all the more exciting. $here are moments where this begins to sound more like the members other6former bands" for example there is a S+ 9etal vibe on the .uite ballad"like 4evil s 'wn! that is not dissimilar to Aicious &umours, while there is an early 9etallica vibe to the $hrash"outs on 3oston 9assacre! and )oaded Eun!, the latter of which has a big whack of +unset +trip Elam in there too. *or the most part though that (%'3<9 vibe, often melancholy in nature, prevails. It is not #ust in the tone of +happiro s vocals 5he will make an interesting replacement on the next 9idnight >haser release to say the least7, but the heavy use of minor key chords affects this too. %hen it comes to 'n $he &oad! though all #ams are kicked out as the tempo goes up and the blues are thoroughly rocked away with this early +axon6$rust"like number. $his album is rarely as immediate as that however" a voice like +happiro s can be hard to appreciate, especially when his vocal lines are often so creative 5think The Plague6British Standard A ro/ed"era 4emon for how unconventional he can be7, and how obvious it is at times that this was a self"financed and recorded effort. *or the most part that fact is well"hidden, but when it comes to the slightly too clear separation between guitars and drums on the opener and the slighly flat )ogan s &uin! it is obvious that this could ve benefited from a remaster before 8ure +teel picked it up for wider distribution. $his is no slick and clean silver bullet of an album like we have gotten from 2nforcer, Aolture and many others this year and put up against those peers this is likely to be avoided, even sneered at by certain retro"9etal fans. *or fans of the softer and more obscure elements of (%'3<9 though the imperfections will make this all the more of an album to fall in love with. I have to stop short of calling this one of the best <eavy 9etal albums of the year, but with certainty it is definitely one of the most uni.ue. NQ6-0O .ummoning% Dld ,ornings $awn N(apalm &ecordsO A gap as lengthy as Q years was always going to mean that there would be fans of +ummoning who would declare this album to be the best of the year even before hearing a note of it" and those people will certainly find comfort in how unreservedly in the band s comfort zone this is. A Q year gap it may be, but musically there is no gap here= this picks up exactly where "ath Bound left off, and that gives +ummoning s critics all the more fuel

than ever before. <arsh vocals aside it is pretty fair to say that +ummoning are not or have ever really been a 3lack 9etal band. $he cracker tremelo"laden riff early in $he %hite $ower! that has a certain Absurd"vibe to it is an exception, but otherwise this is missing the key component of 9etal for most of the duration. $here are electric guitars of course, but for the most part they are background noise, almost like an element of the production rather than music. $hey are there to give a mid"tone buzz for atmosphere" nothing else. 9ore than ever then +ummoning seem to have more in common with the 2lectro"Ambient, and especially %orld 9usic, genres" witnessed especially by the drumming on >aradhras! and 'f 8ale %hite 9orns And 4arkened 2ves! where pygmy" exploiting soundscapers 4eep *orest are evoked. $he intro to $he %andering *ire! has to be the lowest point for the drumming where it becomes so kitsch that it has more in common than >liff &ichard s %orldbeat forays than anything 9etal, but overall the sound is pretty terrible. At first it might be said that it has charm, and I suppose some kudos most go to +ummoning for being probably the only 9etal band who can use a drum machine in this day and age and not get scorn heaped upon them by their fans" but at the same time it is pretty ridiculous that such a successful and respected act have a drum sound worse than the 8> game Age "f 1m ires !!. 'n a personal level the main reason why I have turned my nose up at bands like +ummoning in the past is because of how my interest in 8agan6*olk 9etal is partly influenced by a love for traditional6*olk music and a socio" anthropological interest in mythology. 3ands who lyrical exist entirely in the realms of fantasy, and who draw musical influence a from purely imagined notion of medievalism and ancient musicality have never had nearly as much appeal to me. $hat is still true on this album, but as always +ummoning s talent for crafting epic melodies and arrangements has to be respected. Snfortunately though in this, their main strength, +ummoning come up short compared to previous albums. $he bouzouki" dominated instrumental break that leads into the album s best melody occurs on *lammifer!, / tracks in, and creates an early peak that is not .uite lived up to by the rest of the record" and when you are taking about an album over an hour long even without the bonus tracks, peaking early is fairly disastrous. $he latter half of the album does have a few points worthy of mention= the glossal keyboard sections interspersed with woodwind solos on $he %andering *ire!, the :uorthon"es.ue vocals on closer 2arthshine! and the surprisingly oriental feel to the bowed strings on 'f 8ale %hite 9orns And 4arkened 2ves!, but nothing to give that classic album" making factor. If anything this album is too restrained when it comes to the melodies and arrangements, and restraint is not something +ummoning do well. $his is definitely a +ummoning record" #ust in the larger picture of their discography it is not a very good one. NU6-0O

1em"le Df Baal% 9erses Df 7ire NAgonia &ecordsO <aving formed in -CCB and releasing their first demo in -CCC $emple 'f 3aal could almost be viewed being a bridge between the 3os 3egiones $oires sound of the C0 s *rench 3lack 9etal scene and the likes of Aosoth, 9errimack and Elorior 3elli really began to put the country on the map a few years later with the 'rthodox! sound. +onically there are still traces of those early 3athory"covering days of $emple 'f 3aal as well as their contemporaries who came along in the years after like Aosoth, but increasingly over the years a harsher and more abrasive sound has taken hold n la unrelenting countrymen Antaeus and Arkhon Infaustus, including a large dose of 4eath 9etal along with the latter. In spite of covering all these sonic bases $emple 'f 3aal have never really broken out of the shadow of their influences and counterparts, and this album is a perfect demonstration of exactly where they have been going right and where they have been going wrong. 9ore than ever it feels like the band are throwing themselves headlong into this, but ultimately their lukewarm status in many people s minds probably won t change. 2verything that you might want on a modern 3lack64eath 9etal album occurs here on at least one track, whether it is the heads down blasting of 3loodangel!, the 3lack6$hrash throwback tempos and wailing on Eolden %ings 'f Azazel! or the modern 4eath 9etal groove and big #uddering riffs of Eates 'f 9ansion! and closing track %alls 'f *ire! respectively. *or the most part it is all pretty straight"forward and by the book, witnessed by the smattering of 9orbid Angel"worshipping solos throughout the album, but a few moments of variance are allowed to break through as well. In particular I like the colossally sinister tone in the second half of )ord 'f $he &aging +eas! and the malicious melody, interesting riff patterns and clean vocals found on album centrepiece Arcana +ilentium.! It s a far cry from the likes of other *rench acts 3lut Aus (ord and 4eathspell 'mega s progressive tendencies, but nevertheless $emple 'f 3aal prove that they are anything but one trick pony s" and therein lies half the problem. At #ust over an hour long this album is choc" full of brilliant musical ideas 5in fact only +erpens )uminis! comes close to being a filler7, but in spite of this there is no unifying force to connect all these songs together. $he result is a chaotic album which if you were pressed to think about you would likely be unable to recall much of. If a friend asked you to describe what $emple 'f 3aal exactly sounded like based on this album you would be at a total loss. It is utterly brilliant in places to be sure, but for a band whose timeline goes all the way back to when 3lack 9etal was a much simpler affair $emple 'f 3aal seem to have forgotten the truth that sometimes less is more. Sntil they re"learn that art they will continue to be overlooked. NQ6-0O 1erminus% <ewels Df :wahlur 9ol *s Into 2 ile N+tormspell &ecordsO 1erminus);avensire s"lit k8 NSnderground 8ower &ecordsO

/0-1 has been a banner year for nearly all sub" genres of 9etal, but perhaps none more so than 2pic <eavy 9etal, with new bands cropping up in corners of the world old and new. $he S? and Ireland have never been world"beaters when it comes to this style but each has produced a few bands of high .uality, most notably +olstice and 4ark *orest from the S?, and 'ld +eason and 4arkest 2ra from Ireland. <ailing from my own native 3elfast, (orthern Ireland then we have $erminus, straddling this national divide but also storming into view with a promising demo that sits prime among the 2pic 9etal output of both nations. $he 8sychohistorians! opens up this demo tape, also released this year on >4 by +tormspell &ecords as part of their jewels "f Gwahlur series, and the vibe that is created right from the start is very different to the heroic aura most bands in this style aim for. $he overall tone is one of solemnity and dourness and is brought to the fore most strongly by the conceptual lyrics of falling interstellar empires and by James 3eattie s uni.ue voice. <e has gravitas and narratorial depth, but is never showy nor flashy, instead taking his lead from the more reserved and subtly epic pipes of %arlord s 4amien ?ing II or >hris Eorderlier from 9ar.uis 4e +ade. %arlord s classic ---And The *annons "f Destruction Ha/e Begun is perhaps the best point of comparison for this demo, although it is also worth mentioning the heavy influence of +peed 9etal titans like 2xciter and +avage Erace as well as the galloping style of Iron 9aiden and +lough *eg on the drumming. $he latter two aforementioned bands are also discernible influences on the guitar"playing, but twin"guitar harmonies do not seem to be an integral part to the $erminus sound. Instead the trademark here seems to be moderation and reservation" and while at times that gives a sense of $erminus holding themselves back it also shows maturity and strength of vision in what they want to be, a trait also reflected in the unified concept of these L songs. In a way it reminds me of hearing the first Aisigoth demo for the first time" the potential is all there, and inevitably it will shine through soon on future releases. NQ6-0O %e have not had to wait long for further $erminus material to arrive as late in the year has appeared a Q split with &avensire from the 2pic 9etal stronghold of 8ortugal, out on Snderground 8ower &ecords. $he same core influences remain on >entaurean!" the $erminus half of this split, though a bit of +olstice can now be heard in the vocal phrasing and some ?ing 4iamond theatricality shines through structurally. $he biggest change though is in the dynamics and the overall .uality as this barnstormer of a track capitalises on the potential the demo showed, and the chorus is one of the best of the year for the genre. &avensire contribute 4rawing $he +word! to the flip"side, also featured on their We (arch Forward )8, which I unfortunately am yet to hear in full but have high expectations based on this track alone. In a nutshell it is heroic 2pic 9etal -0- a la 9anilla &oad, Ironsword and 3attleroar but with a uni.ue edge thanks to the very gruff vocals style and features some standout songwriting in the bridge section. It s

an interesting counterpoint to the grave sobriety of $erminus, and perhaps a little more generic as well, but in any case these are two of the brightest torches to have been lit for 2pic 9etal in the year /0-1. ?eep a watchful eye on both closelyK NB6-0O 1he ;uins Df Beverast% Blood 9aults% 1he Bla=ing :os"el Df 0einrich Kramer NAXn &ecordsO 2ach of the L albums Alexander von 9eilenwald has released over the past decade under the banner of $he &uins 'f 3everast has seen some stylistic shift. %ith 0nlock The Shrine he continued on from his 3lack 9etal past in (agelfar, growing more chaotic and textural with 'ain 0 on The !m ure and more 4oom"influenced with /00C s Foulest Semen "f A Sheltered 1lite. If you have heard any of the chatter around this latest cut then you will probably be aware that the 4oom side of von 9eilenwald s musical alchemy has overtaken his 3lack 9etal heritage, but this album defies any lazy genre categorisations. In fact, with tracks like 'rnaments 'n 9alice! the sonic makeup of ?ramer s gospel seems to draw as much on the dissonant style of 4eath 9etal pioneered by Incantation as anything from the 4oom realm. Inevitably by the fact this album sees the biggest change in the band s sound so far it feels less focused than its predecessors. +ide by side comparisons between such vastly different albums would be illogical, but in some respects this album might be seen by long term fans as inferior because of its lessened focus, and von 9eilenwald seems to still be finding his feet when it comes to certain elements like his demonic voiceovers. 3ut you know whatF $his is still of a high enough .uality to be counted amongst the top extreme 9etal albums of the year. %hen it comes to the keyboard passages and the dark psychedelic effects this is all recognisably $he &uins 'f 3everast but there is also the aforementioned vast and towering dissonant 4eath 9etal riffs, and a huge dose of early 9y 4ying 3ride that manifests not only musically but also in how this music has a transformative .uality that mentally transports the listener to a darker medieval time. ?ey to this is how fully von 9eilenwald embodies the character of ?ramer, the writer of the -LBU treatise on witchcraft (alleus (aleficarum. In#ecting a unifying theme over artwork and lyrics is one thing, and matching this with Eregorian chants and overall hauntingly >atholic feel to the music is another, but the mark of this being a true concept album is the characterisation. $he speaking in tongues on 4aemon! is an early showing of this but it reaches its peak with the demented ramblings on the cinematic $rial.! In spite of the denseness of the theme and the Avant"Earde nature of some of the music, for example the almost danceable rhythms that mix intoxicatingly with the 2ncoffination"like crawling riffs of +pires, $he %ailing >ity!, what is most surprising about this album is how pleasing a listen it is. At nearly an hour and /0 minutes in length the power of this album to hold the listeners attention for nearly the entire duration is incredible. 3lack 9etal, *uneral 4oom, Avant"Earde... whatever you label this album as it will not fit. 9usically, artistically, lyrical this is a s uni.ue as it gets in the 9etal underground. In a league of its own. NC6-0O

1hou Art ?ord% 1he ;egal 6ulse Df ?ucifer N(uclear %ar (owKO %hen it comes to nostalgia it is generally true that it is something you can only do once every couple of years, and each time the returns will diminish more and more. >ertainly when it comes to the early6mid"C0 s style of 3lack 9etal that was predominate in +candinavia that is a path so well"worn by this stage that attempts to revive that style have gotten fewer and further between and less successful as time has gone on. %ith the <ellenic variety of the genre though its early period was so short"lived and produced so numerically few albums that returns to those halcyon days are always still welcome. 4iscounting their / more symphonic and experimental albums between /00/ and /00[ this is $hou Art )ord s first album since -CC[ s A oll,on, and a comeback album in the absolute truest sense of the word. $he god 8an might be fading away on 9anuel $innemann s fantastic cover art here, but musically at least he has returned to his rightful throne with this album. Although there is a few clear attempts to link this album with $hou Art )ord s mid"C0 s heyday in terms of the mix, like the way the vocals sit so high at the beginning of Infernarium!, it is impossible to get away from the huge difference in production since those efforts nearly /0 years ago. 2ven a simple drum roll on the catchy"as"hell 4as 9esser! has a dynamic range that could only have been dreamed of / decades ago, but never does this detract from the old school vibe. <ellenic 3lack 9etal was always more musically ambitious anyway, and if the same technology had have existed in -CCL this is exactly how 1osforos would have sounded. In fact, given that the band employed a drum machine in those early days it might be fair to say that they sound more organic than ever, even with the disposal of a full modern studio production. All the elements of $hou Art )ord circa -CCL" -CC[ are recaptured and given the modern treatment here, everything from the 4eath 9etal"like chug of opening cut (ine +teps $o <ell! that contrasts well with the more tremelo picking"heavy Artificial 9alevolence! to the $hrash"influenced beats of ! that would not have been out of place on A oll,on, and the mix of deep growls and biting raspy vocals throughout. $hose exotic dry synths and keyboard passages are kept old school and melodramatic as well, even to the point of almost being kitsch. $his vibe is helped along by the presence of some pretty cheesy spoken word passages, firstly the demonic 'nslaught Power From Hell intro"referencing ) 2vangelium de 4iable! and then the more fantastical *ire And 3lood! which even lifts its bridge melody from the theme of the Game "f Thrones $A show. $his intentional naivete never comes across as forced though, and is kept from being self" indulgent or tongue in cheek by the fact the songwriting here is phenomenally good. In fact, songs like Justica 8rofana! help secure this as $hou Art )ord s strongest album to date, one whose success comes from its perfect recreation of their early material" both the youthful genius and the youthful folly. 9aybe

this isn t really nostalgia at all then" this is time travel. )ucifer is alive and his pulse still beats in <elK NB6-0O 1hyrfing% $e delAsa N(oiseArt &ecordingsO It seems like long ago most of the key players in C0 s 8agan 3lack 9etal made the conscious decision to either move on or vow never to change. 8art of it might have had to do with the rising proliferation of plastic sword"waving *olk 9etal hordes, or maybe to do with that, in retrospect, a lot of what was released in that mid"to"late C0 s glory period was almost as daft as $urisas, *introll et al, and now looks pretty dated 59ithotyn band photos anyoneF7 +o then we saw 2nslaved and Slver go full on 8rog 5with 3orknagar and Aintersorg not far behind7, the %indir boys began singing about %orld %ar II as Areid, 8rimordial began to defy categorisation and those bands completely stuck in their ways soldiered on with a mixed bag of results. *or the acts with the most cult followings like +ummoning and *alkenbach they continued to be heaped with praise despite diminishing album .uality, while the real losers were the likes of ?ampfar, 2inher#er and 9\negarm who never managed much of a fanbase outside of their homelands anyway, even in 8agan 9etal fanatic circles. $hyrfing definitely seem to belong in that last category, consistently ignored by the wider 9etal audience in spite of leaving behind most of the sword and sackloth #erkin elements of the subgenre and taking on a cleaner image 5plain black attire7 and darker and more real world"based lyrical focus starting with /00/ s +arsinnes/isor. 'r perhaps because of those changes. 'ddly, given their strong musical affinity to 9oonsorrow they never managed to appeal to that more image and festival boozing" conscious *olk 9etal crowd, though in the end that may have been for the best. I doubt that even with a strong album like De odel]sa that $hyrfing s fortunes will change much in terms of commercial success, but the .uality of this record cannot be detracted from. If I had to describe this album s sound in one word it would be thundering" and that in large is thanks to the wonderful production #ob by Jens 3orgen, the man behind the wall of sound production on Amon Amarth, 'peth and 8aradise )ost albums. (ot since the transitional +arsinnes/isor where the desk was manned by In *lames63ehemoth man 4aniel 3ergstrand have $hyrfing had a sound this huge and menacing, an acceptance of modernity without barely altering their textbook +candinavian Aiking 3lack 9etal sound. $he crunch on the guitars is incredible, the bass 5even more incredibly7 is audible and there is a real headbanging groove in the riffs that is hammered out without compromising the folk" influenced rousing .uality. $here is only one track on here that alters significantly from the usual modus operandi, namely ?amp.! It starts off inauspiciously enough with one of $hyrfing s trademark acoustic intros, but that skipped beat on the upstroke is the first sign of something unusual about to happen whilst the bluesy delivery of the clean vocals will make you sit up and take notice before the cat is well and truly let out of the bag with that huge poppy <ard &ock riff

that follows. It sticks out like a sore thumb on this album and shouldn t really work, but somehow it does" to great effect. 2lsewhere everything feels a lot more familiar. 9id"period 2nslaved gets channelled on *ordom! whilst Aind@ga! is a future festival highlight for the band with it huge chorus, Aeners *@rfall! brings in a bit of an early 4immu 3orgir vibe with that pseudo" symphonic dramaticism and the closing title track is absolutely searing its speedy melodic blasting. $his is an album start to finish full of big riffs, tight drumming, harsh shrieks and soaring clean vocals and often beautiful melodies" but it is not #ust that enormous production that gives this the extra power, it is the sheer .uality of the songwriting and performances that show that this long"running band are anything but complacent. &elik! for example is a standout track thanks to its killer solo and that monumental downward tempo change, but it is #ust one of B songs on this that combine to make this possibly the best album of $hyrfing s career. $he problem is, will anyone take noticeF NB6-0O 1o ic 0olocaust% >hemistry Df >onsciousness N&elapse &ecordsO $oxic <olocaust, and their mastermind Joel Erind, are entities to who mud does not easily stick. $ry as some might to lump them in with the likes of 9unicipal %aste and 2vile who exploded around the same time as $oxic <olocaust s dVbut on &elapse &ecords, to ignore their earlier slogging in the underground for nearly a decade release split and tape after split and tape, or to say that they have since sold out.! $he fact that none of these arguments hold water and that they have managed to carve out a broad appeal, from $errorizer"reading beerbong warriors to (%(K afficianodos paying daft amounts for their early tapes, is all the more surprising then considering that Joel Erind has always refused to pander to either. *rom his first demo in -CCC til now he is still the same man and $oxic <olocaust is still his outlet for hero" worshipping +odom, 4ischarge, 3ulldozer, 3athory and 'nslaught. 4espite never changing his mode of attack for anyone else s benefit though, there does feel like there has been a slight direction shift with *hemistr, "f *onsciousness. $hings are kept well within those boundaries he has defined over the years, but nevertheless I get the sense that Joel has been trying to go for a more stripped"down vibe this time. $he 8unk side of e.uation feels beefed up slightly, the songs are more concise and focussed 5as does the album as a whole7, and he sounds more angry and pissed off than before. $oxic <olocaust have never strayed from their basics, yet somehow this still feels like a return to them. %hat has inspired this newfound direct approach then, if there has been no straying from the pathF 'ne possibility might be an increasing social awareness. After all Joel breaches the political realm with his lyrics for 5what I think is7 the first time on International >onspiracy!, and given the current state of world affairs and S+ domestic ones, how could a $hrash musician fail to sound more pissed off than ever beforeF 2lsewhere the lyrics fall

more in traditional $oxic <olocaust areas, but with the shortness and repetitive lyrics of the songs, the 2xtreme (oise $error"like vibe to the vocals 5particularly on 'ut 'f $he *ire!7 and the more narrow focus of influences 5rarely venturing outside of a new unholy L of +odom, 'nslaught, 4ischarge and 2.(.$.7 carry this same righteously angry vibe across all -tracks. I would deign from saying that he has gotten more mature, but since turning 10 something seems to have clicked in Joel Erind s brain. $he result is an album that is perhaps $oxic <olocaust s most vicious album to date, and overall their best since Hell "n 1arth. I can forsee the same shitslingers who declared Joel a sellout after signing to &elapse now changing tact to call this slight retreat to older values a shallow attempt to win back old fans, while some newer disciples gained around the time of An "/erdose "f Death--- may indeed find this harder going. In the end though neither count one iota" in camp $oxic <olocaust only one man s opinion still matters. NB6-0O 1ribulation% 7ormulas Df $eath NInvictus 8roductionsO &ecently I had a discussion online about which has more historical precedent" a band defining their style on the first album, consolidating it on the second and then facing a difficult third album where they must adapt to stay relevant, or whether the second album was the typically difficult one. I still maintain that the former is true, and that most bands really hit mature and hit their stride on their third )8, but occasionally we get bands who bypass one of these stages and drop their real gamechanger on album number two. 9orbid Angel s huge leap into the abyss between Altars "f (adness and Blessed Are The Sick is the most recognisable historical example and it is a comparison that has been made in discussion of the new $ribulation album all over the dark recesses of the web where those things are discussed. $here are many things that have changed in $ribulation since then, and a 9orbid Angel"like evolution is a perfect way of describing the scale of it. 'ne way I have been describing this shift to people is that Formulas "f Death is to 4ario Argento movies what The Horror was to James %hale creature features, but there is much more to the atmosphere of this album than that. 'verall the album sound in the atmospheric parts is cleaner" less distorted and more overdriven, and has a lot of influence filtering in from >lassic, 8rogressive and 8sychedelic strands of &ock. $here s no pussyfooting whatsoever with this and the first thing that pokes through the mire on opening instrumental Aagina 4entata! is how much it resembles $he 4oors classic $his Is $he 2nd.! It ends in a more 'peth6>amel sort of vibe but $he 4oors, and to a lesser extent Jefferson s Airplane, figure .uite heavily into this album s sonic makeup, like on the second instrumental YY which mixes it with some vaguely John >arpenter"ish synths and some absolutely beautiful piano"playing. 8ink *loyd are the other key 8rog influence especially on the epic, twisting and melodic &\nda! and also the brilliantly"composed closer Apparitions! where it is fed through a (achtmystium filter. +ome of the influences on

this album s aura though are a bit closer to home, especially the warm exotic feeling of %anderer In $he 'uter 4arkness! which has a huge smack of the $iamat classics Sumerian *r, and The Astral Slee off it. $his last comparison serves as a handy reminder that such progressive touches are by no means antithetical to being a 4eath 9etal band, or that it renders $ribulation incapable of doing what they almost perfected on The Horror. In fact, +pectres! not only has some of the blitzing &epugnant style 4eath6$hrash of their dVbut but some of the most chaotic riffing they ve ever had, and +pell! is a bona fide piece of ear"shattering darkness too. Just because these lads wear skinnier #eans and some very fetching Italian leather footwear in their promo shoots these days doesn t mean they can t string together a bludgeoning riff or two any moreK %hether it s a case of $ribulation seeing the oncoming horizon of oversaturation in the 4eath 9etal sea that dawned on +weden / decades ago, or whether the resolutely old school style was always too restrictive for their ambitions I do not know, but either way the days of them being a straight"up 4eath 9etal band seem to have been left behind. In fact, there are some bits on this album which have much more of a 3lack 9etal feel. $he famous and prolific (ecromorbus +tudios was the choice for The Horror too, but this time round that typical (ecromorbus sound shines through much more, and the riffs and chaos"filled s.euals of horrid noise on the aptly titled $hrough $he Aelvet 3lack! show this progression too, along with some early Atheist" like technical riffing too. It might sound like a mess on paper, and in fact it could well do on your first listen too, but where this really con.uers over The Horror is how much more compositionally solid it is. %hat might at first seem like chaos is actually very much focused and willed, and the nuances often make sense in the context of the song or songs after repeated listens. *or example, it took me at least -0 spins of this album til I noticed that the brief twinkle of keys on +uspiria de 8rofundis! links it sonically with the preceding instrumental interlude track, and once I did it opened up this record #ust a little bit more. (othing is by accident on this record, and everything is con#ured by the most intelligent of designs. NC6-0O 1ungsten A e% .wedish Iron NIron +hield &ecordsO Is there anything more confusing and disappointing than when a band with obvious talent and musical ideas try so desperately hard to sound like they ve not tried at allF $his is a problem I ve had in recent years with bands like (orwegian thrashers 4eathhammer and +wedish true"crew <elvetets 8ort in spite of the fawning over them from some of my friends and in the underground in general. It really does baffle me the effort some people can put into intentionally sounding shite when the same energy could be channelled into creating something genuinely great. %ith $ungsten Axe the potential definitely seems at first like it could be there, even #ust from hearing that band name. It s characterful, uni.ue and thoroughly +wedish, translating as

heavy stone.! All the potential in the world it seems, but it mostly gets s.uandered. In places the dedication to sounding retro is commendable, in particular that drum sound that sounds like it has come straight from the )ondon 2ast 2nd circa -CB0 shown best on +tar 'f 9ount 8aekdu.! *urthermore it would be illogical to lambast the band for being so indebted to some bands of old, especially as evoking the past is what so much today s <eavy 9etal is all about. In fact, one thing that $ungsten Axe have in their favour is that they carve out a sound from so many sources that they do come out sounding .uite uni.ue in comparison to purely unimaginative worship acts like +abbath rip"off merchants 'rchid. At times this album does loiter in the same realm of pure parody though, and it is the insistence on trying to sound so intentionally imperfect that irks me. $he band seem to want to create a vibe like some early (%'3<9 treasure band, celebrated as much for their flaws and .uirkiness and for simply having been there at that time. $he problem is that for those bands poor recordings were a thing of necessity, and without the benefit of mass dissemination of music giving a full background of what their peers were up to it was e.ually as inevitable that bands would make some musical faux pas. All bands were pioneers to some extent in that highly fruitful period, and there is always #oy to be found in the esoteric nuances of those whose music didn t form the blueprint for the genre the way Judas 8riest, 9otorhead, Iron 9aiden etc. did= but in this day and age with the full birds"eye"view context of the genre afforded by the internet and the passage of 10 years there is really no excuse for a modern band not to try and sound the best that they possibly can. 2ven when as much effort is put into sounding deliberately bad it still reeks of being a cop"out option to me. As I mentioned before, the list of bands from which $ungsten Axe draw their influence is pretty staggering. 2verything from Judas 8riest, $hin )izzy, 3lack +abbath, 9anowar and 4i anno"era Iron 9aiden to 8agan Altar, >irith Sngol, 4emon, <olocaust, Jameson &aid and >rucifixion is represented, and occasionally the melange comes off sounding pretty darn good. 4evil s >hildren! is by far the best track on here than starts off a run of 1 .uality songs with a strong Sad Wings "f Destin,6Sin After Sin base with touches of early 9anowar and of course <eavy )oad on +wedish Iron! and <olocaust on 2lna ?. 2riksson!" were it #ust these 1 tracks released as an 28 this band would honestly be getting a much more favourable review. <eavy 9etal! is 1 minutes of a band clearly not trying, as literally no effort to be create something canonical to be worthy of that title is made, and the tone to the vocals and the utterly rubbish broken home lyrics make it one of the album s absolute low points. $he Q and a half minute blunderous turd of $he +teel Is +acred! which destroys the previous 1"track hot streak steals the show though and is where this band make their biggest effort to intentionally balls up. 2ven the early 3lack +abbath vibes of 4ivided! sound earnest despite their obvious lacking of .uality, but here the complete lack of song structure, the

unexplainable #arring breaks into Q0 s ?iss"like sweetness 5and I mean that with absolutely no disrespect to ?iss7 and the truly rubbish lyrics are anything but the sound of a band playing with their heart and soul. 2specially when they have shown that they can get it right and have demonstrated the breadth of their knowledge of 9etal it is unfathomable that they would piss it away on something that is this calculatedly illogical and nonsensical. It really does beggar belief. NL6-0O 1wilight Df 1he :ods% 7ire Dn 1he ,ountain N+eason 'f 9istO *ew <eavy 9etal albums released in /0-1 have had as much hype as this one, and with the combined veteran experience of (ick 3arker 5>radle 'f *ilth, 4immu 3orgir, 3ru#eria, )ock Sp7, 8atrik )indgren 5$hryfing7, *rode Elesnes 52inher#er7, &une 2riskon 59ayhem7 and Alan Averill 58rimordial7 that hype is well"reasoned. I never caught any of the shows the band did in /0-0 as a 3athory tribute act, but I don t think I was alone in expecting a continuation of that for their debut album of self"penned material. 2arly on from those who heard the record in advance I was told to expect a wholly different beast however, one that paid tribute to the highest of the 9etal gods. 4estiny *orged In 3lood! secures this assessment by laying the foundation of the first 1 9anowar records and Judas 8riest from Sad Wings "f Destin, through to Screaming For +engeance that make up the bulk of this band s influence. Alan may cry $his is our heathen 9etal call to armsK! in the chorus, but a (orse6>eltic 8agan 3lack 9etal hybrid this is not. Instead this is a template of the basest form of <eavy 9etal" textbook, standard stuff. +traight away though with >hildren 'f >ain! there are cracks starting to appear. 'ff"key vocals are par for the course for Alan Averill to anyone who is familiar with his work with 8rimordial, but at times on this track they sound plain weak and poor. $he other element of course he brings along from his (emtheanga persona is the deep lyrics, which sometimes strike the mark but oft"times on this record seem ill"fitting as well. 'ne thing that can t be denied is the attempt made to branch out vocally, firstly by singing in a higher register as standard on all tracks and on this number especially hitting the high notes. It s certainly impressive for a man usually noted for his gravel"toned performances, and though I understand that flooding the album with moments like that would have made it hard to replicate live these high screams are something I d love to hear on future recordings. (one too subtle nods to Sdo 4irkschneider and &ob <alford are attempted and succeeded by Alan on *ire 'n $he 9ountain! and 8reacher 9an! respectively whilst instrumentally some 4io"era 3lack +abbath and a few 3athory ooooh"ahhhhK! choruses begin to creep in. $he influence from Hea/en And Hell/(o& 'ules goes balls out on +word 'f 4amocles! before the last / tracks creep steadily away from the commercial hits of B0 s <eavy 9etal realm with touches 9ercyful *ate and >andlemass contributing a fair dose to the makeup of $he 2nd <istory! whilst At 4awn

%e &ide! is as close to recent 8rimordial as it is to the preceding tracks on this album. 2ven then, in what should be this outfit s comfort zone, it feels a little like painting by numbers" proficient, ticks all the right boxes yet somehow still #ust a little uninspired. I expected this album to give a little more with each listen, but rather than finding nuances to lose myself in I noticed each return less en#oyable than the last. I m not suggesting at all that this is a bad album, in fact, the very opposite is true. It is #ust that with their peers like Argus and Atlantean ?odex outdoing themselves with their carefully crafted and endlessly pored over records this year this effort cobbled together during the downtime from the members main! bands #ust can t hold a candle. %ithout meaning to denigrate what they have made here, can we really hold $wilight 'f $he Eods to the same standard as longer"standing bands who can spend 1 or more years making a record as best as it can beF In the face of competition like that this can t help but sound a little bit predictable. Fire "n The (ountain is something to build on, but the standard for this style of music is so high right now that it will take a lot more to create something truly monumental. NQ6-0O 9isigoth% 7inal ."ell ,?6 N+arlacc &ecords6>ruz 4el +urO %hen I reviewed the /0-0 +engeance demo from this +alt )ake >ity band back in %'A* ,- I found it was full of promising ideas and S+ 8ower 9etal ambitiousness 5that even 1 short years ago was still deeply uncool in a lot of underground circles7 unfortunately being swamped by thin production and needlessly groove"laden guitar tones. It was a bold effort, after all it takes balls to do a capella vocal sections with such an unworthy sound .uality, and for that I ve felt ever since like Aisigoth deserved a better sounding record to really showcase what they have to offer. %ith Final S ell they have absolutely blown away my expectations. $he opening riff to >reature 'f 4esire! has cleverly been layered with some studio effects to give it a sound like an old wireless radio, which makes for an all the more huge intake of breath at how good this sounds when it kicks in properly. Already this is nearly twice as good as the previous demo, and that s before I even take into account how much Aisigoth s songwriting has improved in that time. 2arly 'men 5by whom 3attle >ry! was covered on +engeance7 is still the key influence, but Jag 8anzer s speed and $wisted $ower 4ire s melodic touch are now stamped large over this too, and Jake &ogers has similarly improved his range in terms of tone and intonation to make him one of the best vocalists of any young <eavy 9etal act around right now. 9ore than anything, the fun factor on this 28 has increased exponentially, almost on par with the likes of 9idnight >haser and <igh +pirits. Snlike the demo which was almost entirely (orth American in sound, including some shameless 9anowar6$hor style chest"beating that reappears on +even Eold +hips! this second release broadens the scope a little bit to bring in more of a 2uropean vibe" specifically 3lind Euardian for the musical elements and <ammerfall for the cheese. It s a hard sell

mixing the two given how opposed to the the Eerman and +candinavian melodic bands S+89 fans can be, but it is done fairly seamlessly so that the pomp and airiness of one doesn t detract from the hammerblow of the other. $he use of some Judas 8riest riffing on +even Eold +hips! is a nice touch to seal the deal that sends a clear message from the 9etal Eods" don t waste time pigeonholing this, #ust shut up and headbangK And with something that rocks like <igh +pirits, epics like $wisted $ower 4ire and twinkles like 3lind Euardian how could you notF NB6-0O 9olture% Dn 1he 2dge N<igh &oller &ecordsO A lot of things have changed in camp Aolture since their /0-- Shocking !ts Pre, 28, not least the dissolution of their label, <eavy Artillery &ecords, prompting this move to Eermany s <igh &oller for their dVbut album. $here has been some lineup changes to, with the much lauded 3rent <ubbard out and the untried and untested Jack 3auer in on vocals and 4ave 3oyd from S+ 8ower 9etal crew $wisted $ower 4ire adding a second guitar for the first time in the band s 5recorded7 history. *or some that connection will give a new lease to check the band out if they had either believed the negative hype before, or reacted against their positive press, but undoubtedly the shitflingers will still have their day, overplaying the connections to party bands 9unicipal %aste and >annabis >orpse. If at the end of this album Aolture still have their critics though then that is their loss frankly, not the band s. $his is as solid as it gets. 2ven fans of the band s previous 28 might be rallying against this new effort as I can forsee a lot of people not being convinced with 3auer as a worthy replacement for 3rent <ubbard, and holding up the frankly .uite weak 4esert 8ursuit! as an example, they may have a point. (early everywhere else on this album though the new guy proves to be at least the e.ual of his predecessor, and the vocal lines which become one of Aolture s most diverse and strongest elements are a big step up from those on Shocking !ts Pre,. <otwired! would be the best showing of this were it not for the marching pace of closing epic number 4eep 4weller! that combined with the uni.ue whoa"oh"oh! vocals and sweet melodic guitar tone give off something of a S+ 8ower 9etal vibe, somewhere in between Attacker and %arlord. Anyone wanting to write this off as yet another $okyo 3lade"derivative 2nforcer clone is not going to have an easy time of it. >ompared to their +wedish brethren Aolture are much less concise and focussed in their musical approach and sometimes shaky in their execution of riskier musical ideas, and that perhaps is the deciding factor in the 2nforcer ultimately remaining the better of the / bands. 'ne idea that doesn t .uite pay off is the slower tempos at the start of <eat +eeker!, though it does redeem itself as a mid"tempo rocker not unlike a more sleazed"up <igh +pirits. *ollow" up track &ock Jou <ard! doesn t .uite manage the same though and becomes the sort of filler that was so much easier to avoid on the band s previous and much shorter release. 2lsewhere the only criticism I can make are minor" for example as much as I love how the

biggest refrain to 3rethren 'f $he >oast! comes in the verse rather than the chorus I do think it could benefit from a few more repetitions #ust for maximum effect. $he fact is though it can t bring down a track so strong in every other respect, from the nice and varied vocal performance to the obviously 9aiden" influenced guitar leads that are so appropriate for a nautical themed song. $he opening title track is also worth mentioning for how it out" +wedes the +wedes at their own game for adding a slight 'verdrive6Eotham >ity streak to its otherwise 2nforcer"style speedy attack, but my single favourite moment on the album comes with righteous pre"chorus riff to (ightrance! that seemingly utilises every single fret on the neckboard. At the end of the album the unfortunate thing transpires that Aolture may have spread themselves too thick on this album, and in their haste to prove themselves different to their contemporaries by hook or by crook they have failed to add a unifying factor or theme to this collection of songs. If nothing else though "n The 1dge will prove their haters wrong" forget them as bit players in the modern <eavy 9etal scene" there is absolutely no foolin around from Aolture. NQ6-0O 'arlord% 1he 0oly 2m"ire N+ons 'f A 4ream 9usicO /C years is a long time between albums, but for S+ 8ower 9etal legends %arlord that has been the time of waiting, excluding /00/ s 'ising "ut "f The Ashes which aside from / songs was more of a compilation of %arlord6)ordian Euard re"recordings. >ompared to other comebacks of recent times, like +olstice s first recordings in -[ years or the first +atan album in /U this return has been largely unheralded and gone unnoticed by many. $his can be mostly attributed to the fact that this is essentially a self"release meaning this album has had a much narrower distribution than might have been offered by a proper label" and unfortunately that is not the only advantage that this album could have done with. +imply put, it is #ust as well that some fans of %arlord s old material will not hear this album as it is far from a fitting follow"up to the mighty ---And The *annons "f Destruction Ha/e Begun. 'pening number Q0,000 +orrows! definitely has that trademark %arlord mix of dreaminess and sorrow, with some serious Ben-Hur/#ing "f #ings old school <ollywood epic influence on the melodies that fits in nicely with the Jerusalem theme of the artwork and the lyrics, but where this really falls down is in the production. ---And The *annons--- was hardly a wall of sound but this #ust sounds way too thin and completely lacking in atmosphere for the most part. It takes until the opening riff of track L, $he >ity %alls 'f $roy! for anything with some serious balls to appear, perhaps due to how this song dates back -CB/. $he trick is not repeated however with the -CB[ song $hy ?ingdom >ome! which inexplicably descends into late period Eeoff $ate6:ueensryche nonsense towards the end, and the less said about the the A'& power ballad of Elory! the better. $he rest of the album is largely an improvement, with &ichard Anderson s vocal

performance getting stronger on *ather! 5which still however suffers from some mixing problems7 and the closing -- and a half minute title track where the vocal harmonies that failed elsewhere on the album finally work out. Eiven that Anderson has already .uit the band to be replaced by 4oomed 3east s Eiles )avery for touring purposes it is probably for the best then than the one track )avery does contribute on here, ?ill Mone! is the strongest. Snfortunately even this is sullied by %illiam J $samis pro"war on terror! lyrics, probably the worst case of boneheaded imperialist American patriotism in 9etal since 9anowar s Aiolence And 3loodshed.! Aside from the shambles of a new %itch >ross album this has to be the most disappointing <eavy 9etal comeback album of the year. NL6-0O 'arrion% 'arrion N8ure +teel &ecordsO 'n paper at least, %arrion might be seen as something of a S+ <eavy68ower 9etal supergroup. 'n closer inspection though we see that drummer &ob 3rug has only been with <alloween for their most recent / albums whilst $im $homas position in Abattoir, and formerly <irax and Agent +teel, is as little more than a stand"in. 'ne might expect then that it is the experience and expertise of original and still"serving Aska bassist ?eith ?night and 'bsession frontman6former )oudness and Jwingie J. 9almsteen vocalist 9ichael Aescera that will be leading the charge here. >ertainly this is similarities to all the above bands, but given that the band name is taken from lead guitarist &on &avi %arrion s surname I get the feeling that this is #ust a one man ego"trip show with an all"star cast to give it credibility" and there is certainly evidence to suggest that in the music. $o be blunt, the songwriting for the most part leaves a lot to be desired. 'pening track Awakening $he <ydra! starts off strong but blows its load by going into its, frankly pretty weak, chorus refrain too early and lyrically and structurally"speaking is far too simplistic. $he playing from all the hired hands is pretty tight, but 9ichael Aescera sounds almost bored on this track and follow up >arnage!, and the vocals overall have a disconnected feel. It sounds like it could be any number of averagely"written, poorly produced private press S+89 albums from the B0 s re"recorded in a modern studio, or more likely these songs have been rigidly reproduced from the songbook pages of the very inexperienced &on &avi %arrion without the input of his veteran compatriots. *rom there the album thankfully takes a massive upswing in .uality. +tarting with Adversity! 9ichael Aescera finally seems to have gotten into it and delivers a sterling, powerful melodic vocal performance. $he chorus to Aictim 'f &eligion! has a sweet <alloween"like feel of dread to it while there are some cool layered vocal effects on +erpent s *ire! and +avage! is a decent stab at the melodic 2uro"9etal style of $arot, early +tratovarius and fellow Americans ?amelot. $hey even manage to make an interesting instrumental with Invocation! which may be a sign that %arrion has allowed some creative control to be handled by his bandmates who know better than he, but unfortunately the trick

is not repeated with the awkward and #arring flamenco"es.ue closing instrumental 2arth *ire %ater +pirit.! $he ball is further dropped as the album concludes on a completely unnecessary reprise 5and I don t mean an altered version or take, I literally mean the same bit as before replayed7 of the weak chorus to Awakening $he <ydra! and leaves on a note that, despite showing moments of promise by better utilising his experienced friends, %arrion s first foray into 9etal has still been a bit of an amateur hour. It is far from terrible and the room to improve is there, but I think that &on &avi will really have to bring ?eith ?night and 9ichael Aescera into the songwriting process next time round more fully. NL6-0O 'atain% 1he 'ild 0unt N>entury 9ediaO %atain definitely haven t been underground in a long time, but now that they are making their ma#or label dVbut on >entury 9edia it is fairer than ever to say that they are a band who have always done their own thing. %hether it is their blatant commercial desire, getting up the nose of animal rights activists 5figuratively7 and fans 5literally7 with the stench of dog s blood at their gigs or getting removed from the +wedish Erammy Awards for drunken behaviour it is clear that %atain are a band who don t give a fuck what you think. (evertheless as the soft, multi"instrumental layered intro of (ight Aision! fades into 4e 8rofundis! there seems to be a concerted effort from the band to make a statement early on that they haven t grown weak or agreed to mellow out as their popularity continues to skyrocket. &arely if ever have they sounded this chaotic= 2rik 4anielsson s vocals sit high astride in the mix to show his flex as a creative vocalist and lyricist and hats must be taken off $or +t#erne s production that teases out every .uality like the 4issection"referencing cavernous drums and that tortured guitar s.ueal that sounds like a human voice. 'n first listen of this track it might be hard to fathom why %atain have come under fire for their stylistic choices on this album, but as time wears on the picture becomes clearer. $he >hild 9ust 4ie! is a noticeable departure from the usual 4issection"meets"9ayhem" meets"(ecrophobic style of melodicism that %atain normally utilise when it ventures into a sort of 3lackened 8ower 9etal vibe, but without a doubt the ballad 5yes I said ballad7 number $hey &ode 'n! takes the prize for the track from this album that has rustled the most kvlt feathers. $he signs were there on 3awless Darkness with >arl 9c>oy of *ields 'f $he (ephilm fame adding his pipes to %aters 'f Ain! though here 4anielsson s own Eothic clean vocals bear more resemblance to (ick >ave, and when the drumming kicks in it takes on a different kind of theatricality, that of B0 s stadium cheese along the lines of <elloween s A $ale $hat %asn t &ight.! %hen it comes to ripping up the rulebook and thumbing their nose at the corpse"painted bedroom"dwellers %atain have chosen the campest and most confrontational method imaginable, like a musical e.uivalent of storming an 2vangelical convention in lingerie

and a feather boa. %hile I may get the same sort of kick that the band probably do from hearing the frostbitten hordes cry sellout! I do have my own issues with this bold track, and that is that I simply don t think 4anielsson s clean vocals are strong enough to pull it off. $he fact that they seem so weak is perhaps the only failing of $or +t#erne s production on this entire album, and at other times too it seems like %atain s musical bravery is hampered by inade.uate performance. $he favouring of a cleaner yet thicker guitar tone is another fingers"firmly"up re#ection of 3lack 9etal traditionalism that is shot all across this record, and on the more chaotic and even progressively disrhythmic moments like All $hat 9ay 3leed! and the solo of +leepless 2vil! it works to great, thunderously heavy effect. %ith 3lack *lames 9arch! though its reliance on crunchier and more simplistic heavy riffs laced with deliberately strummed clean toned guitars lets go of too much of the tension built up by that point, and also feels somewhat compositionally clunky, but is #ust about rescued thanks to its killer chorus. +leepless 2vil! is a bigger offender when it comes to causing a stuttering album flow as despite its interesting mechanical6pseudo" Industrial feel and evoking of early 4eath 9etal influenced 9arduk it is not the right fit for a track to follow the big album centrepiece ballad. If I had have been in charge behind the desk I would have considered moving closing number <olocaust 4awn! 5the most conventional track by far7 in that place and whisper"laden melodic title track to see the album out. $he %ild <unt! not only comes at the wrong point of this album but also needs to be singled out for that flamenco section at the end= though it must be said it is only the laziness with which it is tacked on rather than incorporated into the rest of the song that I find worthy of criticism. In fact for all the knickers that have been put in a twist by this album the only truly reprehensible musical choice I think %atain have made is 'utlaw! which aims for a 9elechesh6later &otting >hrist sort of 2astern 9ystic aura, but instead fumbles with a +oulfly"es.ue tribal (u 9etal vibe. 'verall the .uality on this album varies wildly but this is the only point that as a reviewer makes me consider abandoning professionalism and conceding that all the mudslinging former fans crying sellout! or false! may have a point. %ar 'n All *ronts isn t in the practice of denigrating a band s musical avenues however, only the .uality with which they walk down them. %ith The Wild Hunt I have to admit to admiring %atain s ambitiousness, their disregard for convention and of course their spiting of armchair critics and their strict 3lack 9etal ideals, but when it boils down to it the fact is their gamble has resulted in the weakest and most inconsistent album of their career to date. 2specially in a year which has seen fellow +wedish bands $ribulation and In +olitude s progressive tendencies strike gold this really is shown up to be an inferior album. $hey may not be a guest at the table for /0-1 s end of year 9etal album christmas feast, but this album can certainly fit the bill as the turkey. N[6-0O

'itchburner% Bloodthirsty 2yes N<igh &oller &ecordsO Jou have to give %itchburner their dues for sticking to it for this long. (ow in their /-st year of existence they deliver their Qth album of strictly $eutonic"styled 3lack6$hrash, the first one not to be released on Sndercover62vil +pell &ecords for whom they have been something of a house band. 4espite this longevity that alone gives them veteran status over their younger contemporaries like (octurnal, 3lizzard and >ruel *orce though they are still in most people s eyes not in that second tier of Eermanic $hrash bands beneath the big 1 that includes such acts as 8rotector and 4esaster. $he reason for this is simple" if you own any of %itchburner s U previous albums save yourself some money and #ust listen to that again, because this new effort is probably pretty much identical to it. *rankly the fact they have been doing this so long is no excuse for being so stoic in their repetitiveness and dullness" if anything that makes any excuse even more untenable. (ot only are most of the tracks on here utilising the same tempo, drum patterns and chord progressions, but they have all been done to death on those previous albums too. Aside from 9aster And +lave! where they adopt a more 2xodus64ark Angel sort of vibe with the s.uealing riffs, any semblance of diversity on this album is whispered rather than screamed. $his track could ve become the sing"a"long centrepiece to the record, but instead that simple chorus refrain of I am the master" you are the slave! #ust isn t given enough breathing space. It s the same story on (ever +urrender! where there is a (ifelheim"es.ue melodic streak trying to break out and 8ossession! which has some vocal lines more akin to $ankard than any of the Eerman big 1. +ometimes this hardline devotion to the big 1 sound pays off, like on the Pleasure To #ill"worshipping 8ath 'f $he +inner!, but on every other track it is a formula as immemorial as it is derivative. *or an album that only clocks in at 1[ minutes, %itchburner s shortest since -CCB s Blas hemic Assault, it is almost ridiculous that their could be filler tracks like +pirits 'f $he 4ead! on here. Again the argument that %itchburner have being doing this for so long that it doesn t matter is likely to surface, or even the claim that this is how 3lack6$hrash is supposed to sound and that formula shouldn t be tinkered with. $here is ways they could shake up their sound though without ever going outside their key influences" for example, considering their biggest debt being owed to 4estruction why is their no +hmier"like high screeches in the vocalsF And if bands both older than they, such as 4esaster, and younger such as <ellish >rossfire, can make killer and diverse records out of all the same raw elements then why can t %itchburnerF $he answer might simply be a lack of creativity and imagination. /- years on and %itchburner haven t even come close to delivering a 3lack6$hrash genre"masterpiece, and that looks unlikely to ever change. N[6-0O

'itchgrave% 'itchgrave N<igh &oller &ecordsO +wedish L"piece %ithchgrave s /0-- debut 28 was a firm statement of intent laying out their style of charmingly sloppy 3lackened <eavy 9etal and looking back to the review of it in %A& '( A)) *&'($+ ,- I remember a sense that the future was going to be very exciting as far as this band was concerned. At last the band have returned with their dVbut full length album, but I fear my anticipation has created a level impossible for this album to live up to. $he winning formula from the 28 has been retained, even refined and added to, and %itchgrave have done everything I expected them too" all except shatter my expectations it seems. 'n &aising <ell! +ven (ilsson kicks it off with a drumbeat torn straight from the 8hilthy 8hil $aylor playbook while frontman Joakim (orberg puts on his best >ronos snarl for the vocals and the music hurtles along like a primitive ramshackle cart, yet conversely boasting some excellent lead work from the guitar pairing of +lingblade s $obbe Ander and Antichrist s Eabriel *orslund. $his is %itchgrave in a nutshell" A riotous punch"up of 9ot@rhead, $ank and Aenom in a fashion so primitive that it goes right to the edge of the realm of 3lack6$hrash, #ust about kept in check by the Iron 9aiden6>loven <oof dual guitar work that keeps this rooted in the early B0 s. $he atmospheric similarities to countrymen 8ortrait are reinforced on $he Apparition! by the addition of some ?ing 4iamond"styled vocals but aside from that %itchgrave have not altered their plan of attack. $he problem then is not a case of style, as this will still certainly appeal to fans of contemporaries like 9idnight, +peedwolf and >ruel *orce, but it is those points of comparison that highlight the biggest trouble here. +imply put, the standard for this style is so high these days that without the memorable song factor any release will get lost in the mass of vying bands. %ith the 28 there was a definite sense that %itchgrave had elbowed themselves straight to the top of the pile, but here it feels like the songwriting .uality has actually taken a step back. 3oth by their own standard and by their peers this album feels like a bit of a disappointment. It gets better with multiple listens, but really only +educed 3y $he 4ark! gives that initial rush and instantaneous infectiousness that the 28 tracks like $he 4evil s (ight! and 3eg *or 9ercy! had. $here are other memorable choruses, but the fact that on 9otorcycle ?iller! the band go down the $hor6<elvetets 8ort route of intentional daftness says a lot. %itchgrave seem to have unfortunately gone from being a band of immediacy and simple" minded spontaneity to being more style than substance. 'n the 28 everything felt so natural and free"flowing, whereas here touches like the clipping vocals on $he )ast +upper! feel almost carefully orchestrated. I still think that %itchgrave have the potential to deliver that genre"classic album that they seemed destined to write / years ago, but this is certainly not it. N[6-0O

7riday (st ,arch (Ms00 9y final lecture of the week is over, taxi waiting in the university car park. $he mission ahead" a day and a half of heavy duty (%'3<9, boozing and causing near diplomatic incidents awaits. 2n route to airport. (MsOF Airport security cleared, $he Irish 4uck %arrior is waiting for me on the other side with a pint of +mithwicks red ale. $he rest of this weekend s drinks will be of more brown and purple hues. (-s*F 8lane touches down in $he $oon. A .uick #aunt through (ewcastle International shows no open off licences, but at least the 9etro is easy to get on without paying. )ack of drink will be made up for in due course. (Es00 (orthumbria +tudent s Snion is found with surprising ease a [ minute dander from the 9etro station. $he &iplash is waiting for us in the venue already. <is flight into 2dinburgh was delayed because of a drunken hen party, so he had to forgo the 3uckfast run in order to catch his train. <e assures us the fabled 3ucky &adar has located some nearby to the venue. *or now, we have Black ;ose to en#oy. Although a local band is the best choice to open the inaugural 3rofest 3lack &ose s very $ygers 'f 8an $ang"es.ue material is pretty inoffensive compared to 3attleaxe who were originally meant to open the bill, and though it doesn t engender much movement from the still amassing crowd it still comes across brilliantly on this venue s huge stage and 8A. $his place is definitely a much better location for (%'3<9 sounds than the pub toilets these bands have been relegated to in recent years and 3lack &ose are rocking their hearts out and making the most of it. (Es*0 $he last -0 minutes of 3lack &ose have to be skipped in order to make time in running to check into the hostel and back in time for other bands, which also provides a good excuse to avoid blowing my limited budget for the weekend straight away on the very inviting merch tables. 'n my walk out of the venue I notice that alongside the obvious waves of denim, leather and spandex the punters are clad in there s also some goofy looking college #ackets and foam fingers emblazoned with the 3rofest logo, as well as yellow 3ashful Alley shirts which turn out to be the weekend s biggest seller. 20s0F 4espite my brisk #og through scenic (ewcastle and it s Eeorgian architecture and I arrive back to the +tudent s Snion a few minutes into 'ytch 0a=el s set. $he first of this weekend s / younger bands play a very Jethro $ull6Eentle Eiant *olk &ock"influenced style of 9etal that would have fitted in fantastically in -CQC and works a treat here too, although not exactly lighting any more fires in terms of crowd interaction than 3lack &ose did. It is interesting though and a sign of the diversity that the (%'3<9 banner and this whole weekend involves. 20sO0 $he (orthumbria +S is now close to full with hordes clad in denim, leather and spandex

with plenty of familiar faces and a few new ones being introduced too. $he 4uck %arrior and &iplash introduce me to another Irish pilgrim known as $he (ekroculchie and we .uickly set off in search of the glorious li.uor known as 3uckfast with the aid of &iplash s famed 3ucky &adar.! After getting lost in between blocks of nurses flats, sliding down a muddy bank and under an overpass we find an off"licence with a small shelf of dusty bottles of the purple fluid. %e all but buy them out of their meagre supply. 2(s*0 3uckfast drinking duties outside the venue have overtaken the desire to go in and watch ."artan 'arrior, a decision that will be regretted tomorrow. Around this time we are also missing a conversation inside about 3litzkrieg who have decided to run their own gig in opposition to tonight s headline set from Avenger in a pub in +underland /0 minutes up the road. All these bands might be in their [0 s now but it seems childish habits die hard. 22s20 <ad we been told that tonight was not a full original lineup of Avenger but rather a group of stand"ins based around the original bassist and a young 3razilian fella on vocals we would probably have #oined the taxi exodus up to the 3litzkrieg gig. 3y now we are well" emboldened enough by 3uckfast that the lineup means little to us, and the songs are the same regardless. $he prime cuts off Blood S orts are the highlights here, in particular 2nforcer! and %arfare! and are the perfect finish to what has musically speaking been a pretty lukewarm night. $omorrow has all the bands I really want to see anyway, tonight was all about catching up with friends, and the night is still young... 2*s(F 4uring the Avenger set I finally ran into some 2nglish mates, including E 5$he +heepshagging >ockney7, $he Einge, <eadbanger <olly, Med and from *rance 9onsieur 3aali. +everal faces are absent tonight, most notably $he 8ortugeezer who has opted for the Absu gig in )ondon this weekend instead, but it is still good to be in such company and following some local guides we are led to $rillians" one of the best &ock bars I have ever been to. 2*sOF 8ints of local brown ale are cheaper here than in the +tudent s Snion by a few .uid so the drink is flowing much more freely. $he re.uest friendly 4J is another bonus, and he is only too happy to play lots of $hin )izzy. E is the first to get disgracefully drunk, resulting in photographic evidence of him fellating a novelty foam finger protruding from my trousers. $he tone for the rest of the weekend has been set. 00s(* Around this point I am looking at the sandwich board for upcoming events at $rillians at it looks like E3< are playing here in a few weeks time for #ust a fiver, compare to /0 .uid last time they played 3elfast. $hey get all the gigs over here. 3astards. 00s*O $rillians employs a no drinks outside policy in their smoking area, which I wasn t aware of til I went up the stairs for a smoke. $he bouncer let me leave my pint on the windowsill, but somehow this leads to a young

local lad accusing me of stealing his pint of *osters" a situation not helped by the fact we are both half cut and our accents are too strong for each other to understand. <e is definitely the worse for wear though seeing as I am holding a pint of brown ale up to his face which is swearing blind is light lager. $he issue gets sorted when I point out to him downstairs where he left his pint of *osters and he rewards me with a hug. $hey re a reasonable sort these Eeordies, even if the accent is a bit hard to understand. 0(s2- In a gap between bouts of headbanging me and 9onsieur 3aali end up sitting on the stage in a very in"depth discussion about religion and politics and the differences between >atholic and Islamic upbringings. As if to tell us that this conversation is getting too highbrow the 4J decides to start playing A>64> which gets us back on out feet. Snfortunately I also think it is a good idea to start running in circles on the ground on my side like Angus Joung at this point, forgetting that there is a row of empty pint glasses along the edge of the stage which I end up kicking across the floor of the bar. I think this a good point to call it a night, after another pint for the road of course. At least I m not in as bad as one of the %ytch <azel lads passed out on the cobbles who had an ambulance called for him. 0(sF- ?nowing that (ewcastle has a bit of reputation for night"time violence I choose my place for food very carefully. 9ost of the kebab houses are packed full of people, some even with bouncers to deal with the crowds. I opt for a van in the s.uare a hundred yards from my hostel, which turns out to be a bad choice as the vendor manage to convince me in my drunken state that ordering something smothered in his secret chilli sauce is a good idea. $his decision is going to come back to haunt me tomorrow... +till, at least I didn t spill a whole can of coke upside down in my trouser pocket like I did the year before in Jork. .aturday 2nd ,arch (2s22 %aking up in the <ostel with a mad case of the fear. $here was talk of meeting this morning for breakfast burritos but everyone seems to be suffering too much. (2sOk +howered and dressed and finally with a bit of greasy meat and pastry in the belly courtesy of Ereggs $he 3akers. 3reakfast takes place on a bench at Erey s 9onument while trying not to vomit in front of a crowd of local skater kids. (*s(F I showed up to the venue a little early today hoping there d be some others with the same idea, but this results in me nearly falling asleep again in front of the sound desk. $his day is going to re.uire a lot more caffeinated tonic wine to get through. (*s*0 Amulet prove to be the perfect band to start off the second day of festivities. 4ark and atmospheric enough to suit a hall of hungover people, but with songs like $he <angman! and +ign 'f $he <igh 8riest! to engender some movement and singing along from those sufficiently recovered enough to take part.

Amulet may not be the most mobile band on stage, but damn if they don t outshine most of the old guard this weekend. (Os*F 'n paper Badge with their early %hitesnake"style 3lues &ock"based (%'3<9 and modern day %hitesnake"es.ue dad rock look should be the least appealing act to the younger portion of this weekend s crowd, but surprisingly it is the youngsters leading the headbanging charge and chants of 3adgeK 3adgeK 3adgeK! $he highlight here of course is the a side of 3adge s -CB- single +ilver %oman! but even the more recent songs which a lot of people are unac.uainted with this is a fun as hell performance that puts us all back in the mood for drinking" which is good because otherwise a group of 1 Eermans wandering about and declaring it is a Eerman traditionK! about everything would make absolutely no sense whatsoever. (Fs(F *eeling a lot better than a few hours ago can only mean one thing" another run to the 3uckfast shop. 'ur #ourney turns out to be a lot shorter though as to avoid going down the muddy slope again we decide to try the convenience store beside the nurses flats that was closed last night" and lo and behold they have the holy wine in stockK %ith the nectar of the gods now only - minute s walk from the venue door this day as about to get very very messyK (FsO0 Aia a .uick tactical vomit outside it s time for one of my favourite bands of the (%'3<9 era" $ee" ,achine. Always an absolute treat live and new songs like %hispers In $he 3lack! now sit perfectly alongside classics like 4emon 8reacher.! 8owerful, melodic, thundering and theatrical" as good as (%'3<9 getsK (Ms2F <aving discovered that the student bar and cafe downstairs sells pints from as little as -.[0 it has naturally become the new social hub between bands. $his time is spent munching on cheap pizza and swapping stories with 9onsieur 3aali and some other old timers and comparing the differences between Irish 9etal girls and 2nglish 9etal girls with the rest of my pilgrims. 2nglish girls naturally win. (MsOF >ompared to some of the other bands on the bill .alem have a pretty lengthy discography, all of which was compiled together by <igh &oller &ecords a few years ago, and while there is definitely a few decent tunes in their set such as *ool s Eold! the performance seems woefully lacking in professionalism following the tour de force which is 4eep 9achine" and +imon +axby s 4avid >overdale blouse and microphone swinging moves really don t help matters. 4uring almost all the sets this weekend the locals have had their local tradition of S?K S?K S?K! but it reaches its absolute loudest during +alem, leading to choruses of ireK ireK! and 3allsK 3allsK 3alls $o 2nglandK! from me and $he Irish 4uck %arrior. All in good humour of course. (-s00 9y worst fear has struck. $he horrendous chilli from last night s burger has combined with the caffeinated wine in my stomach and is currently playing havoc on the venues toilets" while the most important band of the weekend are on. *uck, fuck, fuckK

(-s(M *eeling -0 pounds lighter I return to the main hall to find 3ashful Alley positively rocking the #oint. All the bands songs get an airing but the best is truly saved for last with the double"whammy of the emotive singalong &unning 3lind! and the irresistible 3oogie &ock beat of +he 'nly %ants 9e *or 9y 3ody.! $his trip was worth it #ust for these two songs" absolutely spellbindingK (-sF0 +omehow I have lost the rest of the Irish crowd but have thankfully made friends with a local crustie outside. I really should be getting ready to go back inside to watch 1ysondog but finding a kindred spirit in 2ngland who sups from the purple chalice is too good an opportunity to pass up. &ound the corner though it looks like my friends have cleaned the off license out of big bottles of 3uckfast so / half bottles each for me and 8rior will have to do the trick. As we arrive back one of the Eermans is wandering around outside the venue with his trousers round his ankles displaying a pair of Snion Jack long #ohns" definitely the most audacious fashion choice of the weekend. It turns out they had a tough time getting here. %hen stopped by a traffic cop in 3elgium they were asked what music was playing from the car and answered proudly that it was 3litzkrieg. $hen when asked why they were going to 2ngland they replied that they were going to see <olocaust. +ome people really need to choose their words better... (Es*0 $he following things have been added to the list of Eerman traditions!" the (ew %ave 'f 3ritish <eavy 9etal, cricket, 3uckfast, being from *rance, <olly s ass. 20s20 3ack inside now and .carab are delivering a sterling set. A few years ago 8aul 3ritton was fronting +olstice so needless to say his voice is excellent and they give great treatment to minor classics like 8oltergeist! and &olling )ike $hunder.! $he appearance on stage for one song of $ygers 'f 8an $ang original &ob %eir is a nice treat as well. 'ne of the standout performances of the weekend. 2(s00 $he audacious fashion statement stakes have been topped once again by two guys proudly strutting their stuff in spandex short shorts. %ell played lads, you are braver men than I. As I walk to the bar I also spot easily the oldest punter of the weekend, a woman who appears to be in her Q0 s or B0 s. 2ven more fair play. 2(s20 (ow it s up to the last 5and first and only7 kings of +cottish 9etal to round off the musical portion of this weekend s fun. 0olocaust absolutely deserve this slot being the only of the older bands on the bill who have never split up 5not for more than a year or two at any rate7, and having almost as many classic songs to play as the rest of the lineup combined. A few airings from their later and more progressive material is lost on a large portion of this crowd but the set is .uite rightly mostly taken from their classic Hea/, (etal (ania and The $ightcomers releases" It 4on t 9atter $o 9e!, 4eath 'r Elory! and +moking Aalves! making for early setlist highlights. It would have been ace in a perfect world to see this band as the original L"piece, but reduced to a power trio with John 9ortimer handling both

guitar and vocal duties is every bit as good. <is voice might be a bit haggard 5after all he was never the natural singer of the group in the early days7 but his rough tone and strung"out appearance is perfect for what is rough and strung"out music. $he finish is predictable but still awesome and the double whammy of title tracks <eavy 9etal 9ania! and an extended version of $he (ightcomers! comes close to matching 3ashful Alley as highlight of the whole weekend. ((s00 $onight after party is happening in a different basement bar, which I am later told is actually the basement of the >ity <all. >ompared to $rillians this is a lot more more stifling and cramped affair, and the wait at the bar for a pint would have been unbearable were it not for having /--/! to rock out to. 'nce again, good tunes make up for everything. ((s(F $he &iplash has made the venture inside but seems to be struggling with the heat. $his is a man notorious for $he +weats!, especially after copious amounts of $he *ast and the fact I almost never see him not in a leather #acket doesn t help matters. $his is the worst I ve ever seen him though and the sweat is practically dripping off his face and into his pint faster than he can drink it. %isely he elects to head back to the hotel and keep people in the next room up with his chainsaw snoring and leaves the rest of the weekend s shenanigans to the younger crowd. 00s2F Snfortunately this 4J doesn t seem as re.uest friendly and repeated calls for $hin )izzy fall on deaf ears. Alice >ooper s 8oison! does get a great response from us though and our horrendous attempts to sing along gets a lot of annoyed stares from middle"aged regulars who have had their normally civilized and polite >lassic &ock club invaded by a group of post"pubescent denim and leather clad youths so drunk that we can barely stand. *uck em. 0(sOM E is licking another foam finger tucked in a waistband like a cock. I think the boy may have a problem. (#F( Just before kicking out time and a late entry for worst fashion choice makes its move" a fella with a t shirt back print of <2AAJ 92$A) ?I))24 9J *A>2.! &idiculous shirt, but perfect summary for the weekend s antics. After leaving I definitely make a wiser choice for food than last night, ending up in a takeaway #oint with the lads from Amulet. *eeling ready for home I order a 3elfast classic that they seem to share a fondness for here in 3elfast" the bolognaise chip. I almost cry at the beauty of what is essentially a lasagne made from potato and all that starchy, meaty, saucy, cheesy goodness certainly helps with the hangover the next day. I make the idiot mistake of going to the wrong %etherspoons though so end up eating my recovery breakfast alone and having to make my way back to the airport alone too. $he flight back easily ranks as one of the most stressful I ve ever made 5the annoyance of that $his is another on time &yanair flightK! klaxon does not help7 so the only thing to do when I collapse in the door is to load up on food and sugary drinks, lock the door, stick on some porn and not leave the room until $he *ear has cleared. $il next year 3rofestK After all, it is now a Eerman 5and Irish7 tradition...