Metal Music NEWS and interviews

Subscribers Of Death album released through Immortal Frost Productions in 2010. All music written and recorded by Nights Amore which is Chris; all instruments and programming. The opening track is "We Of The Suffering Kind", the song is deep and talks in depth about depression an its symptoms, keyboard riffs and slight rhythm. The verse repeats and ends at about ten and half minutes. Next song is "The Depressive Years (Tribute to Endless Sorrow)", high chorus effect and several samples from different sources like movies and documentaries. Odesdod, interesting name, not sure what it means. A well stitched song and has discorded transitions in a few spots. Pure instrumental journey with several cresendos. "Cutting Close To The Edge", at moments this song reminds me of the Silent Hill song from part three, "A Stray Child" there is an interesting sample of a girl speaking about dealing with depression by cutting herself - the composition works perf...

Mental Suffocation EP released under Immortal Frost Productions in 2011 limited to 300 copies. Songs written by Eratomania (name changed Ars Veneficium) B/M from Belgium, members include Surtur - Vocals & Lyrics (2010 - present), Drums & Guitars (2010 - 2012), Sorath - Drums (2012, 2013 - present), Ronarg: Guitars. Sir Chasm: Bass. Recorded during autumn of 2010. This EP starts of with the title song Mental Suffocation, clean guitars played in a depressive somber resonance and a slight drum march layered under to keep it all in time, this goes for about a minute then the vocals and distorted affect on the guitars begin. Staying true to its B/M nature in raw production format. Although my feeling is that the drums could have been brought up in volume by a few notches. The tracks ends in clean guitars once more but adds a change in acoustic riffing at the last measure. Lasting Days is track number two and comes in with distorted guitar work in droning style. Vocals are screams ...

Immortal Frost Production present Horizon EP -Don't Let The Time Pass You By, released June 26 2011. Limited to 300 copies.  The EP opens with Flight of a Snowflake, mood setting of calm and deep voyage. Above The Ashes, The Blue Sky Gazes, very intriguing title, keyboards paint an enigmatic landscape. The Darkness Days are Finally Gone, many layers of intense and emotion filled passages, I will have to say this track stays with me the most, well arranged and delivered. The Time Passes You By, title track. Here we experience a collaboration of both clean guitar and keyboards. The song takes my senses to many farscapes and long thoughts of serenity. The final song is "Light To Thy Path", on this particular track there are some scratch samples that I am not to keen on, but nonetheless are done in a tasteful manner. Overall an intriguing listening experience, the EP is completely instrumental so don't expect to hear any vocals. Good production quality and several memor...

Born In Darkness album released 2011 under Immortal Frost Productions. Wolfheart all music and programming. Sid all vocals and lyrics. Session "Astaroth" bass.  Black Ritual is the first track. Sounds like a horror film of intense dramatic events. Salvation is song two, black metal in full attack. Drums are a bit mechanical in some spots but do have a good mix. Vocals are high and raspy in true B/M style. The Death Here Reigns, common title, opening is a sample - screams of agony in a pit of hell is the vision it paints. Melodic keys are inter-mixed and well executed. Elizabeth Beauty of Death,  drums sound somewhat different and the guitars became more dominant. Ghost of Dead Wood, this song features Sid on vocals. Haunting and creepy intro, thinking this might have been recorded at a different time, mix is rough. "Fuck You God", well this is a straight forward lyrically, heart beat sample an into flies sworming sound. Almost has an industrial feeling to it. Unho...

Broken Hope, The Flesh Mechanic music video Century Media Records October 2013 release.

Astral Winter is Josh Young - Vocals, Instruments and Composition. Genre is described as Epic Melodic Black Metal. Perdition album released March 2013 under Immortal Frost Productions. The opening track is "The Rain Falls Upon This Distant Land", acoustics set the tone and give a good impression of the production quality, clear and balanced sound. Next is "An Endless Vast Horizon", an excellent keyboard piece with very interesting and enchanting overlays. "Disappearing Into The Nights Embrace", rain background and two acoustic overlays featuring sliding style riffing. "To Destroy The Veil of Time", this track creates a deep soundscape, combining both keys and clean guitar work. I would have to say it is my favorite track so far in my listening experience on this album. Next we get "I Gaze Upon The Sky With Lifeless Eyes",  a deep meaningful title with complex acoustic rhythms to project the dark atmosphere taking place. "Shrouded...

Dirigiri is a three piece DM/thrash/speed metal band from San Antonio, Texas. Members include Omar Guerra/Drummer, Gene Olivarri/Guitarist, Derek Dishner/Vocal's/Bassist. This is their self titled debut EP released in early 2013. The opening track is "Death By The hands Of An Angel", straight to the brutality, catchy riff and grinding drums to assault the senses from the moment you hit the play button. Bone Collector, this song I can imaging a huge circle pit in a live situation, it also features a memorable solo that is very pleasing to my ears and worth spinning several times. "Boiled In Blood", getting the thrash metal vibe on this particular composition. Vocals do a good interchange between lows and highs. Solid double kick work by drummer Omar Guerra through this entire album, a solid performer. "Riot", chaotic and destructive, now I hear the speed metal influence on this track, complete with a solo that will remain in my head for a long time to...

Solium Fatalis self titled and debut album released on October 2013. The band comes from New Hampshire. Members on this recording Jeff DeMarco-Vocals, Jim Gregory-All Guitars, Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork, Jeff Loomis, Scarve.) - Drums, Loic Colin (Scarve) - Bass. Opening track is Prepare For Extermination, brutal and intense, enough to make the walls rattle and crumble. "Black Market", starts with a solid precise attack to the cranium. The production on this album is top notch, the drums come through with clear dynamic range. Guitars are heavy and extreme but retain a certain warmth when applied to the solo riffing. "Serpent Crown", I like the vocals, its a good range between guttural and low growl with a tinge of highs spread in the right spots. "Dead Sands Of Time", some of the bands that come to mind as I listen are, Immolation, Sinister, early Hypocrisy, Death and Suffocation. "Your Truth is A Lie", grinding and pummeling, if your not in the m...

Sacral Rage is a Heavy Metal, Speed Metal band from Athens, Greece. Current line up is Vaggelis F. - Drums, Marios P. - Guitar, Spuros S. - Bass, Dimitris K. - Vocals. Deadly Bits of Iron Fragments is their EP released in February 23 2013 under Eat Metal Records.  The opening songs is "Foreshadower", eerie and malevolent start. Return Of The Dead, aggressive powerful onslaught of pure metal adrenaline. Master of a Darker Light, capturing the essence of the early years metal genre, Merciful Fate, early Judas Priest come instantly to my mind. Force to Betray, speed metal riffing and high screams abound, feeling every bit of the nostalgia with every song. "Gladiator (Nasty Savage cover)" hitting those high octaves with intensity and really doing a superb job, the band adds their own vibe for sure. This is a good choice for a cover since it fits with their style. "Burning Yearning" last song on this ride, open chords and melodic feeling before kicking in wit...

Circsena is a self released EP on September 12 2013. Genre described as post dark metal. Members are Daniel Kirchhoff - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Jens Wallis - Drums and Percussion. Origin, Norden. The first track is Wandering Above The Trees and Moors, a flute introduces and sets the mood. Catchy riff that is easy to the ears and will stick in your mind. "The Sleeper", clean strumming on the guitar. Good tones and quality of production. Eerie yet captivating composition. This one is an instrumental and creates many paths to explore. Next up is "I Am Here", this arrangement contains early metal vibes with a somewhat BM style of vocals. Towards the last measures of this song there is female vocals that come in, surprisingly intriguing and add another dimension to the music. I would have to say this song is my favorite. It is one of those songs I found myself listening to several times. "The Age Of The Dryads Pt.1" is the final song, This song brin...

The Radical Covenant will be the title to this upcoming release. It will feature many guest musicians including Christian Muenzner (Obscura, Spawn Of Possession, Ex-Necrophagist), Ron Jarzombek, Fountainhead, Danny Tunker (Aborted), Per Nilsson (Scar Symmetry) , Jeff Loomis and others. Here is the official statement from Hannes; "The music on the album sounds a lot like my band Obscura, but that's just how I compose. The reason not to release it as an Obscura album is simple: Obscura is a band, which means that four people work together and create music as a collective. If I write 45 minutes of music on my own, it has to be a solo record. It's probably gonna take another year until a new Obscura album will see the light of day, so here's your chance to make time pass more quickly." More info on this project can be found at  projects/the-radial-covenant-solo-album

Of Wolves is a three piece band from Chicago, IL. Formed in 2007. Their current line up is Steve, Jon & Ivan. Genre described as Punk, Metal, Hardcore/Crossover, Stoner/Doom. Evolve is their debut album. Released 2013. The opening track is "Dead Wait", raw and aggressive. The punk element is immediately apparent. Song two is "Moot Point", one of the things I like is the tone of the bass, very dominant and punchy. The composition is simple but its a great jam, easy to headbang to and reminds me of early Agnostic Front. "No Loss for Words", I will have to say the track has a metal vibe and I hear a heavier distortion on the guitar tones. "The Man", an unexpected clean strumming discorded guitar style. Southern rock feel is my impression, this leads us into "Red Skins", heavy sludgy and crunchy riffing. I can say this song would probably get the mosh pit circle moving in a live situation. "Buffalo Nickles", a heavy bass dri...

Infitar is an old school style DM band from Bongor Indonesia. Formed in 2010. Their current line up is; Ryan- vocals, Latif- guitar, Leonard- guitar, Chat- Bassist, Ceng- Drummer.  The band is currently working on their upcoming debut album. One of the tracks provided for this post is the song "Merely Grow Then Die", its a rough mix but I get a good sense of what they will accomplish. One of the things I like is the vocal style. Reminds me of early Max Cavalera or Lars Goran (Entombed). The guitars has a rough distortion tone giving it a raw DM sound which is not bad, but could be brought up in volume once they complete the final mix. They provided another song which is a Vader cover "Helleluyah (God Is Dead), good solid drums and excellent vocals, impressive to hear these young guys brandishing this level of brutality. Overall a good exhibition of DM styles, grind and a tinge of thrash metal as well. This band is very ambitious and I look forward to seeing what the fu...

Introducing Rayne De-Vine feature model for November 2013 (c)Andy Green 1- What inspired you to do modeling? Was there a point early in your life that sparked your interest? I wanted to be a model from a very young age and my parents always took me to castings sadly it never happened and as I got older and my look changed from main stream to the goth/alt look I have now, I had given up on the idea of being a model and then I came across kitty brooker on Facebook and thought "hey maybe I can give it a go" and here I am, giving it a go :) (c)AndyGreenPhotography 2- You have dark elements to your style, was there an event or moment that made you decide on your style? I think I get it from my mum, when she was younger she was very gothic but I mainly like to be myself and wear things that make me feel good. (c)AndyGreenPhotography 3- Name some of your favorite music or bands? I really like listening to Marilyn Manson and pink Floyd I also like plac...

This is a five song EP released in 2011 under Immortal Frost Productions. The band is described as Depressive/ambient black metal. Current members are Saddy: vocals, Alrinack: Bass/back vocals, Ogmios: Guitars, Bartuk: Drums. Country of origin; France. Affliction is the opening and title track. Slightly distorted guitar and mood setting riffing begins my journey. Once all the instruments start I get a clearer picture of expression. Solid bass sound, my guess is that it has a distortion pedal running but not cranked up, just enough to give it a thick pronounce tone. Neurasthenique, is track two. vocals style is in true BM raw form. Screams of agony. Very raw guitar, lots of open chord styles. The drums do some grinding from time to time. There is also lots of spoken word lyrics. Unfortunately I can not elaborate on them since they are all in French. Next up, we have L'Enclave, rather enjoy the way this song starts. Empty hollow feeling is projected by its content. Clean strumming,...

Total Death fanzine 1, published February 2013. Half page B/W print, 32 pages. From Istanbul, Turkey Editor Cenk A.  Feature interviews with bands: Bestial Mockery, Gorelust, Melek-Tha, Infernal Execrator, Vomitile, Deathraiser, Exile, Weaponizer, Pyre, Gra, The Way Of Purity, , Waning, Cosmic Funeral, Flying Disciple. Making its debut in the underground world. This zine covers a lot of material. Sathanas makes the cover, and its a great choice. very interesting interview , the band talks about their upcoming releases and all the previous efforts since the late 80's. The interview with Melek - Tha is worth checking out, this guy has been a long time supporter of the underground and has a huge collection of vinyls/tapes.  Although it is a half size page print, the zine packs a ton of material including two pages of album/demo reviews. The font is a traditional typewriter style which I like because it give it a raw and pure feeling. The format is easy and pleasing to the eyes....

And All Returns To Ash, self released LP on September 17th 2013 by Prometheus Rising which is a one man project- Carwyn Marshall- Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Drum Programming, Lyrics, Recording, Mixing, Mastering, Photography and Design. The style is described as varying styles of Black Metal/Own brand of DSBM. The first track is Empty, sample clip as an intro, a solid start with good drum sound, the vocals are pure BM style high and assaulting, good creative riffing and memorable passages. "Lost and Hopeless", clean strumming guitar and a drinking man sounds off by taking some shots. Catchy guitar piece which builds into an eerie somber sound before getting heavier. The bass lines come in nice and clear on this one. "42" is track three, the drums sound slightly different in this song, maybe recorded at a different time but not as loud or pronounce at the first two tracks, the song arrangement is great, we get a good dismal feeling and captivating compositio...

Soylent Zine #1 is a B/W Half page (A5) publication released in the Spring 2013. Glossy hard cover and semi gloss pages inside. Written in English. This issue is a tribute to the band Fondlecorpse and produced/distributed by Dead Beat Shop: Label, Zine, specializing in extreme music, Import t-shirts, Mags, Hats, Bags, Cds, Vinyl, Cassettes, patches and stickers. Based out of Penang Malysia. Issue copy provided to me by Dave W. at Aea Zine . The zine has a pro look compared to others. The cover art is by Ironworx Gravefix. High detailed grabs the eyes right away. There is a huge amount of content with introduction by The Jenglot. The editors are Zuul Scum and Jill Girardi. Feature interviews with Kam Lee, Machetazo, Possessed, Hooded Menace, Rotgut, Ruinebell, Stiff and Cold Zine, Tales from the Sick Zine, Fondlecorpse, Sorrow, Bizarre Charlie Alien, Nadir, Cauchemar, Anima Morte, and 62nd Chamber Productions. Having a full team dedicated to the zine give it several dimensions and poi...

A Full page B/W publication written in Spanish from South America. Publication date 2012/2011. Copy issue number 33 of 150 provided by Dave W. of Aea zine .  Feature interviews with, Werewolf, Grave Desecrator, Mandragora Zine, Abhore, Cryfemal, Muert, Orkus Traktatus, Nekromanteion, Isamu Sato, Insepulto, and Attera Totus Sankatus. This is a thick zine full of great imagery, each page with barb wire borders and skulls galore. The editorial was slightly difficult to read due to the font but I got a good sense of the efforts involved. They cover B/M, D/M and some thrash metal acts from around the world including fliers and promos from other zines from the Brazil, Bolivia area. There is a red stamp logo that appears a few times, not sure what is for, my best guess is for authentication. There are no reviews of demos/albums there are however three pages of albums and demo pictures. I enjoyed the dark and occult imagery found through out and is fitting for all its content. All the in...

Full page B/W written in Spanish. From Santa Cruz , Bolivia. Published between 2012 and 2013. Issue copy provided to me by Dave W. Aea zine . Feature interviews with bands; Majesty, Luxuria De Lillith, Tortura, Sing of Evil, Verdugo, Imperium Des Tenebras, Opus Inferii, Wisdom, Inhumation, Sobibor. Historical views feature;  Historia Del Paganismo Segunda Parte, Historia Del metal, Cultura Metalera. This issue is clean and organized. The first several pages are dedicated to the history of paganism and metal. Followed by five pages of zine reviews. Amazing to see the vast number of underground publications, I counted thirty plus. The format is well written and although B/W, the text and page borders give it a more professional look than the standard form. There is also a dvd review section, demo reviews and book reviews. Is a large collection of all things metal and underground. Most enjoyable read was the interview with Luxuria De Lillith, B/M pagan band from Brazil which have be...