%%

#$
)
.3)
$%

.% &2



)

!: -
2
"%
!'
%
#
$%


-

9
,
*5





ZRUOGZL
G HPHWDO
PXVLFPDJD]LQH
selling this magazine or cd is not allowed, any attempt to do so should be reported to us

L
KV
%
DKQ
-0%
2/2
-!34
%2-)
.$
342)
+%
"!#+
7)4
()
43
/7.
02/*%
#4

]\NORQ
3!-/4(
2%452.
!7!9
&2/-
4(%
%-0%2/2

3(!$/7

DUF
%.)
NDQXP
'-!4)
#
3(!-!!4
!%
5.6%)
,3
()
3
$!2+
7/2,$

"/,4
4(2/7% 2f
/.3,!5'(4f!+% 2#/#+%f
(/2.!
!'!4(/#, %
3f3!4!.)
#7!2-!34% 2f
#!204)#/.
#2!&4f
)
.& %2.!,
7!2f%
6),7!2 f6%-/4(
!$/2)/2f
4!5.53(% )
- f
!33% -", %.4f
49-!(
",!#+#25#)&)8) f
/.'2!6% .f
2)6% .$%,,
f%
,)4%
 ANCIENT CEREMONI E S MONIES.COM
W W W . A N C I E N T C E R E LARGE
APARTADO 60334 CATALOGUE AVAILABLE ONLINE
E THROUGH OUR
BUY YOUR CDS, LPS, DVDS, MERCHANDIS
2701-904 AMADOR A
PORTUGAL
[ anc i e n t . c e r @ n e t c a bo . p t ]

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PROMOS FOR REVIEW: It's with great sadness that I'm writing the editorial the end we were simply tired
We now require 2 PROMO COPIES OF EACH of this new issue... no we are not (to the unhappi- of issue after issue beating at
ness of some) putting to rest this (more than 10 everybody' doors in order to
RELEASE! All promos that do not meet this will
year old) project! It's just that it took so much time know if they wanted to put the
not be reviewed! Make sure you sent all relevant
to have it out and we faced so many problems and magazine at sale in their record
info concerning the release/band (i.e. press
delays that some of us are either simply tired, sad, shops, online catalogues or whatever…
sheet or biography). We only accept Cd-r copies
hungry or whatever. "zines sell bad", "it's too much work for little com-
of albums when sent with their original booklets, Nevertheless we returned and after some thoughtful pensation (financial of course)", "our bands are not
otherwise only original material is accepted. consideration we decided that the best way to han- featured so why bother" or a simple total "(silence in
dle some of those problems was simply by turning return)" were the common answers! Now there is
the magazine into a free publication (to the delight no excuse, we are FREE so deal with it!
ICS: 121211 of our readers) available in both formats: printed I feel that I must apologize especially to the labels,
Depósito Legal: 198203/03 and online. At this point you may be curious about bands and to the contributors who made this issue
Editor: Vanda Tomasini what lead this decision, perhaps some of you were possible for the delay in having it out and some old
Director: Nuno Santos frustrated because the shop owner hasn't accepted content! Even rather old, for instance in the review
Contributors On This Issue: Alex Antoniou, your money (we hope so) screaming out loud that section, we felt forced (by the respect we have for
Anders Peter Jorgensen, Carlos Filipe, Chris "ITS NOT PAID ANYMORE" (laughs)… During the the work made by labels and musicians) to include
Horton, Eric Massicote, Ernesto Martins, latest years it has been more and more difficult to all the material that had been sent for that purpose.
Guilhermino Martins, John Zikos, Kostas find a good distribution channel, at least at the level In the end the recent material was left aside to be
Antonatos, Kristopher Upjohn, Max Rodriguez, we aimed for (do not belief in the "support the metal included in the next issue but it was the wisest and
Miguel Sousa, Nuno Carvalho, Simão Fonseca, scene" commentaries that many proclaim) and the only decision to have.
Simon Thibaudeau, Sónia Fonseca, Susana interest of fans for paid (mag)zines has declined I'm not going to bother you with more winning, so
Fernandes, Taras Van Dijk, Thanos Kallianiotis, substantially (you now have daily information with a after several months of silence we are back!
Vanya Marinova simple mouse click). We are living in an in-front-of-
Original Logo: Pog’s a-computer era, that's a fact and the printed media Until the next issue, horns up!
DIgital Logo Transformation: Nuno Santos are facing serious sales problems. I guess that in Nuno Santos
Spelling / Grammar: Vanda Tomasini
Layout: Nuno Santos
Advertising Managers: Nuno Santos, Vanda
Tomasini
Mail Address: Apartado 60334, 2701-904
REGULARS:
IHSAHN 38
Amadora, Portugal
Website: www.ancientceremonies.com
E-Mail: ancient.cer@netcabo.pt
12 DVD (digital video domain)
Nothing from this magazine can be reproduced
18 Reviews Pt. I 20 Briefs (reviews)
without the prior consent of the editor. The edi- 35 Compilation CD 47 Reviews Pt. II
tor isn’t responsible for the advertisements in
this publication, neither the contributors 18 The First Steps (demo reviews)
words. We support freedom of speech!
69 Live Report

FEATURES: ZYKLON 42
06 Carpticon 07 Graven
08 Satanic Warmaster
10 Taunusheim 11 Rivendell
14 Assemblent
16 Akercocke 32 Agathocles
34 Evilwar 36 Bolt Thrower
40 Horna 44 Adorior ARCKANUM 04
46 Vemoth 68 Onslaught
70 Infernal War 71 Elite
ESTÚDIO DE TATUAGENS & BODYPIERCING
72 Black Crucifixion
w w w. o d e i t h . c o m 73 Craft 74 Tymah
Rua da Venezuela nº41-A
1500-618 Benfica, Lisboa
Having problems getting the printed version of our magazine in your nearest shop? SUBSCRIBE IT NOW!!
Portugal
Name:_________________________________________ Address: ______________________________ NEXT 4 ISSUES :
Tel/Fax: 21 715 64 42 PORTUGAL: E 10 - EUROPE: E 15 - WORLD: E 20
____________________________________________________________________________________
(perto da estação de comboios de Benfica) BACK ISSUES:
______________________________ Post Code + City: _______________________________________ issue 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 (each):
PORTUGAL: E 2.50 - EUROPE: E 4.50 - WORLD: E 5.50
Country: ____________________________ Email: ___________________________________________ PACKAGE with 9 issues:
Horário de Segunda a Sexta PORTUGAL: E 18 - EUROPE: E 30 - WORLD: E 40
das 10h - 13h / 15h - 19h PORTUGUSE READERS: Cash, Checks, Postal Orders and bank transfers (contact us for more info) - FOREIGN READERS: We accept Cash (no coins), International Money
Orders (I.M.O.), Postal Orders and Bank Transfers (contact us for more info). Send this form (you can xerox it) together with your payment or comprovative of it!
WE CAN ONLY ACCEPT PAYMENTS TO: VANDA CRISTINA TOMASINI (checks, postal orders, I.M.O.... NEVER to ancient ceremonies!!!)

Arckanum is probably not the most known band inside the Black Metal
circuit. Sure that, devoted fans are more than aware of the works made
by Shamaatae on the past, like the fabulous “Kampen” album released
back in 1998 under the now defunct American label Necropolis Records.
During the latest years he has maintained the black flame lit with the
release of a few Eps, Splits, Tapes and more recently released the 11th
year anniversary album and now the “Trulen” 1994 demo on Cd with some
bonus material. This was the exact time to wander through the ancient
Swedish world created by the enigmatic figure behind Arckanum...
journalist: Nuno Santos
04 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
First of all let me state that it’s a pleasure
talking with you. “Kampen” is one of those
albums that had a major impact on me when
it got out. So it was great to see Carnal
Records releasing new Arckanum CDs on the
past months and above all know that
Arckanum is still alive. So welcome back!
“Thanks, it’s always good to hear.”
I remember that the original idea was to
release your first 4 albums linked to each
other but in the end the last one (“Favnaz
Samgang”) never got out. Can you tell why
and do you feel that that chapter is still
open? That you have an unfinished task?
“Faunaz Samgang was the fourth album and
the title means Pan’s Battle. This “chapter”
was all about the final strike of the wrathful
god. I had this idea linked to the Scandinavian
god Loki in mind when I wrote this; Loki
planned from day one to effect and hasten the
very fall of the world - Ragnarok. I have always
seen Pan and Loki in analogy, more that Pan is
Loki’s deeds. As I once wrote: “I would like to
call Pan: The shadow of Loki. Loki’s cunning.
The blade of Surt’s wrathful and burning black
sword. The salmon which Loki transforms
himself into. The scissor Loki cuts Siv’s hair
with. The not sworn mistletoe which the blind
Höder killed Balder with. Töck. Gullveig’s ice-
cold heart in the ashes. The lightening bolt
which struck Laufey. The synthesis, allegory
called blood-brotherhood, between Loki and
Odin. Pan is the evil genius in Loki’s existence.
Pan is linked with Loki as Loki’s intelligence is
the essence of Pan. Pan is Loki’s schizo-
phrenic consciousness.” So the title Faunaz
Samgang aims at the very essence of the bat-
tle and cosmic fall. Here are the original titles
of the album (they are no more): Lefieri Vist,
Lænkte For Døþrin, Favnaz Samgang - Fvlghin,
Favnaz Samgang - Slaghin, Ængla Døþar,
Fælþi Liþi For Hana, Pan - Æst Ok Styrki Vili,
Pan - A Kaos Svm I Þæra Raþ Varv, Trvlmista
Men Niþi Bærghanir Foryvrvm.
But after the release of Kampen, Paul of
Necropolis Records fucked it all up and start-
ed to rip me off, lie and ignore me; I had to
break the record-contract and left his shitty
label. This was pretty devastating for me, I lost
the will to do black metal, because I saw how
the scene just started to fade and all labels
became more and more money-hungry dogs.
That’s why I didn’t just change label and
released my fourth album, there were no good
labels in my eyes. Until I and Björn of Carnal
Records started to talk about it. That resulted
in founding again my will to release the rest
and new Arckanum’s material. But at this point
Faunaz Samgang had been out of date; it had
been lying around for 7-8 years. So I decided
to release it and to make some changes. Now
it is called Antikosmos, and 70% of the music
is the old originally written material, rest is
new written. All lyrics are re-written, because I
have developed a lot, so must Arckanum.”
Necropolis Records back then were seen by
many as a problematic label which did not
kept what they promised… So it seems you
had also problems...
“I agree with the “many”... I have met him; he’s
a fucking idiot and I wish him the very worst.”
That unreleased album was supposed to be
out under Carnal Records in 2004-2005 but
there is no news of it ‘till now...
“Well, I have been busy with other things and
I want it to be finished when the album wants
to be finished.”
In comparison to all Arckanum releases what
can be said about the unreleased “Favnaz
Samgang” now called Antikosmos?
“The re-titled album’s name says pretty much
- Antikosmos. It pretty much reflects my
Satanic philosophies - my personal theories
and philosophies of the old Norse anti-cosmic
Satanism with the roots in Chaos-Gnosticism.
As always I write about my ritualistic experi-
ences and development of my spirit.
Musically it is much as the old Arckanum with
a mix of Kaos Svarta Mar (the split with
Svartsyn). I like to see it as the Baphomet
song: It is musically as the old Arckanum, but
performed as the new Arckanum. I guess
that’s the prime change in Arckanum. I adore
the Antikosmos album; I personally think that
it is far the best I have ever written. Well, a
classic speech I guess, but that’s how I fell
about it.”
I would like you to comment your debut
album “Fran Marder”! Putting it aside with
your third opus “Kampen” is almost like
hearing two different bands! You went from
one point where you had a clean typical black
metal sonority to a total primitive harsh and
raw sonority which in my opinion is much
more fitting the Arckanum “concept”!
“(laughs) That’s what happens when you get
cash to visit a very good studio with an excel-
lent and convincing studio-guy. Peter just
recorded my stuff and had pretty much the
sound done when I had put on all music and
vocals... and I was like: “Fuck! Let’s keep this
fat sound!” I had my brothers with me and
they were as amazed as I, so without consider
what kind of band I was playing in, I kept the
sound. Afterwards I can say that I should have
had a much dirtier, rawer and meaner sound,
but what the fuck, I made my choice. I am still
happy with the album and listen to it even
today. I also listen to my second demo Trulen
from now and then; I really think I created an
amazing demo. That rawness is beyond any-
thing I have ever done since. I just love it.”
All Arckanum fans are aware of your interest
and glorification of the God Pan. For the sim-
ple common mortal Pan is seen as a festive
God due to its taste for sex, wine and music
and related to the sign of the zodiac
Capricorn. How do see this simple descrip-
tion? Give us your own vision of Pan!
“The ancient Hellenic... Here’s a short passage
from the introduction of my coming book on
Pan; Panparadox:
“Pan, the untamed beast in demon-shape
which strolls restless around our woods and
mountains, or should I say coils or levitates
through our filthy cosmic galaxies, as a burn-
ing dragon, laughing relentlessly at the cre-
ation of cosmos. Pan is the god of wrath,
which lurks in the shadows and does every-
thing to trip up all cosmic slaves which pass
by in the world of pest. And with wrath I intend
to convey the creative ignition in our mind that
releases Will and Strength to achieve our
goals, and to fight for what we believe in, and
that which we want to accomplish. What I
mean by ‘the creation of cosmos’ and ‘the
world of pest’ is the earth; Tellus... the creation
of the false god; the Demiurge, where we, the
humans, were created as energy-generators
for the Demiurge. We, according to
Christianity, Islamism, Judaism &c, worship
and uphold the powers of the Demiurge, and
by that means generate strength directly into
the Demiurge’s creation - the cosmos. And
thereby, having unconsciously accepted this
life in slavery, we automatically become slaves
in cosmos; the false sphere in the mighty and
black oceans of Chaos.”
Most of your cover artworks are simple pho-
tos showing your wanders in forests... I
believe that there are particular places
which possess an intrinsic energy turning
into almost living organisms that can be
used, one of those places are Forests! Do
you use Forests as also a mean to achieve
certain states of mind and thus the ability to
wander through hidden worlds...?
“Yes, sort of. The woods for me symbolize the
wildness, the rawness and limited freedom
within our nature in cosmos. The forests
remind me of what Chaos once was and what
it going to be. I guess the oceans would fit bet-
ter as this symbol, but I have seldom been
under the sea, so it is natural that I have cho-
sen a more manifesting area. The forests at
night are something else, it is a vast experi-
ence and I sometimes feel frightened of the
immense darkness and silence; which awakes
the real awareness of my black magical work-
ings. I feel free, I feel as I become one with the
darkness, which results in a mental state that
is very hard to reach. And the quiet rumble and
sparkling from the glow of the fire-place,
brings the elements of the black fire. This is
my way to find my spirit and learn from it. This
is my way to reach the darkest gods.”
During the late eighties you were part in several bands
which are now widely known like Grotesque or Sorhin for
instance. After that you directed your strength and formed
Arckanum and turned it into a one man band/project. What
lead this dissociation from the musician world? Was this a
conscious and necessary process?
“For the record, I joined Sorhin after several years with
Arckanum. Well, I don’t need anyone to help me to make black
metal, so I chose to do it myself. There’s no big reason for
this, I just thought that it was easier to be by myself.”
After the superb “Kampen” album released in ‘98 you
released a few Eps, tapes and in 2004 you return to the CD
format with the split with Svartsyn “Kaos Svarta Mar”. Many
fans have questioned themselves about sharing the same CD
with that particular band. Can you elucidate us on that?
“Well, I had a MLP done called Kaos Svarta Mar and I remem-
bered that I had an old advance tape with a Svartsyn-recording
which never got released. And I have listened to this tape a lot
before and had praised it because I thought it to be one of the
grimmest black metal recordings ever recorded. So I contacted
Ornias of Svartsyn and asked if they were interested in releas-
ing this, and they did, eventually. I know that many whined
about a split release, but I don’t give a fuck. I release whatever
I feel like, and for those who don’t like it; fine, don’t buy it.”
One of the aspects that you always remained faithful is your
strictly use of Swedish language. Is this a simple national-
istic aspect or is what Arckanum demands? I must say that
for the ones who don’t understand a word in Swedish it
surely gives a darker edge to Arckanum!
“Well, in the beginning it was a cool thing to do, original and
mysterious. Back then I wanted it to be like a riddle thing.
Those who could read it, was worthy of the context. But I guess
no one had any interest in understand the old language, just
me (laughs). I have always been into old languages, something
draws me to it. I’ve studied Latin and now I’m learning the
grounds of Runic-Swedish. I guess the languages back then
were purer and more rational. I like that; simple and sensible.”
Like you said, what you use in your lyrics and texts are not
the typical Swedish but an older one. How have you expand-
ed your knowledge about it?
“I use the old Swedish; it is very different from the present
one. That’s why it is so hard for even the Swedes to under-
stand my lyrics. I have studied the language, simple: Lectita et
scribe, antiquum novumque - cognito creat sapientiam, sapi-
entia creat libertatem.”
The spiritual name that you use Shamaatae was any bases
on the word shaman?
“No, absolutely not. I have not formed the name, I have
received it.”
I believe that you don’t call yourself a Satanist, still you use
on your logo the inverted cross and the pentagram which
are typical Anti-Christian/Satanic symbols nowadays com-
monly used! Have you built your philosophy besides Nature
and on Pan also on Satanic ideologies?
“Yes. In the beginning I saw myself as a Satanist looking for
Chaos without knowing what Chaos was, it was only some
kind of urge. You know, when you know that something is
important but missing, and you can put your finger on it. Then
I found the philosophies and analogies between Chaos and
freedom, and as I have always felt that the forests and the
darkness have given me strong feelings of freedom, I con-
nected this idea with Chaos; Chaos within the essence of
nature - Omne nihilque ex Chao in parvo. And finally I got
enlightened by the philosophies concerning the anti-cosmic
Chaos-Gnosticism. In the end, I have always been a Satanist;
the rebellious adversary. Hail Victory! Hail Glory! Hail Satan!”
Recently Carnal Records released the ‘94 demo tape on CD
with 2 extra tracks. How important is that demo to Arckanum
in order to be re-released now?
“It is the very foundation of Arckanum. I am very proud of it.”
On contrary to what people may expect the extra tracks fea-
tured are songs from that same demo. How they differ from
the original versions?
“It is the original versions of the songs, before re-written. I
appreciate very much when bands enclose hard to find songs,
versions etc, so I decided to release them too.”
Lately many bands are using their old and dusty material as
a way to make extra releases. How do you see this?
“(laughs) I guess many think that Arckanum releases old dirty
shit just to make an extra buck, but hey, this is black metal at
its filthiest, there is no money to make here. All I release and
record comes from my heart; I do this because I love it. Why
just make old cool recordings lie and gather dust, when you
can put it out and some true fans can enjoy it?
One thing is for sure, people like to whine about everything,
and of course some of them enjoy whining about this too...”
I have read several times that one of your big influences is
Sodom besides others. Do you vision for instance the old
bastards like Angelripper headbanging at the sound of an
Arckanum album?
“No, he is not like a hero to me. I would think it was cool, but
nothing more.”
You have inked a contract with the occult finish book label
Ixaxaar. What can you tell us about the book you are about
to published named “Panparadox”?
“This is one of my very proudest workings that I have done so
far. My book on Pan!
PanParadox: Pan Towards Chaos. Embodies philosophy and
mysticism around the misrepresented contemptuous god, and
Black Magical Chaos-philosophy.
This is a collection of all my work, studies, practice, under-
standings etc around the god Pan. Here I reveal my view upon
this god, his dark essence and anti-cosmic will, and his analo-
gies with e g Lucifer, Baphomet, Loki and Chaos. The book
includes many illustrations of my visions of Pan and the tradi-
tional Pan, and Panic elements, sigils and rituals; new and old.
Rare ancient hymns to Pan from the deepest tracts of ancient
Greece, found and translated for me by people from Greece,
and much more. This is the result of more than 11 years of
study and worship. Pre-order at: www.ixaxaar.com”
During your Arckanum legacy you have been influenced by
old folklore tales. Many see them as real episodes. I mean
history is full of attacks made by dark creatures like were-
wolves, vampires, trolls and plenty more. So how important
is folklore to Arckanum and do you interpret them?
“Folklore is very interesting I think; a folksy continuations of
mythology. I am doubtlessly inspired by them, but I only seek
for the darker aspects in them to understand the wholeness
better. It’s not like I study folklore, I just have a casual inter-
est. For example, Swedish folklore has taught me about a
mystic demon called Grimalkin strolling around in the woods
in the Swedish hinterlands. I have learned that Grimalkin is a
Swedish form of Pan. Therefore I have written a 2-track vinyl
seven-inch called Grimalkinz Skaldi which will be released on
Carnal Records this year.”
To end, your image is related to folklore myths, looking
much like a Troll (similar to the image of Mortiis). In one of
those journeys through the deep forests have the Troll ever
approach anyone?
“(laughs) Formlessly yes, I have touched their very presence.”
May Kaos guide us...
“It will. Thank you for your support! Hail Victory 2’8! Hail
Satan 2’8! Hail Chaos 218!”
- www.arckanum.se -

Far from the highly prolific scene of 15 years ago, Norway still remains as one the countries from
where pops (unfortunately not as frequent) good Black Metal bands. Carpticon is one of the
hottest sensations in an underground scale, with already some killer reviews of their 2005 demo
“Occularis Infernum” on the mainstream media. Now with a brand new album called “Master
Morality” out on the Spanish label BlackSeed Productions, was time to have a nice chat with the
founding members, Ishtarh and Brigge, both guitar players.
Carpticon was formed back in 2001 but was constantly affect-
ed by line-up changes. Do you think that now that a debut
album was recorded will maintain the members interested
for the future to come and thus a steady line-up?
Ishtarh: “It’s always hard to find members that fit in, members
that do their job. Since we are a band with a bit “extreme” ide-
ology it’s hard to find members that agree on that. But I think
now we finally have a permanent line up that works and we are
very satisfied how things are right now, you can never predict
how long members will stay in the band anyway. Sometimes
there are personal issues and sometimes there can be other
bands that stand in the way to give maximum, and when it
comes to Carpticon we won’t accept that. We expect that every-
body is fully dedicated when we do things with Carpticon.”
Brigge: “I think the line-up for this band is stable now. We are
satisfied with the line-up. We got a good skilled gang gather up
now and we are all making the music together and are satisfied
with the progress we have made after this line-up.”
I know that at first the bass lines for the new album were sup-
posed to be made by Erik Tiwaz, recognized on the metal
scene by the name Tyr (Borknagar, Emperor). But in the end
a fulltime bass player called Decepticon entered the band...
“Yes, at the time when Erik Tiwaz was supposed to do the bass
on “Master Morality” we didn’t have a bassist, so I asked him
to do it. But in a while we got the opportunity to get a perma-
nent member to do the bass, so we decided that it was more
important, and since Erik wanted to do the bass I asked if he
wanted to do a guest appearance. Regarding Decepticon I think
it turned out great, he is a very good bassist and got many
great ideas, he can offer Carpticon a lot.”
Yet he is a fulltime member of Vidsyn. Is there any other
band member playing in other bands? And is it been easy to
coordinate everybody around Carpticon?
“He is a fulltime member of Vidsyn yes, and he is also doing
some side projects like he’s newest Quadrivium. Morgoth is
also a permanent member in Nebular Mystic, which has start-
ed to get around quite lot lately. When it comes to coordinating
this mess there have never been a big problem, they are pro-
fessional and manages to concentrate on the band they are
playing in at the time.”
One of the things that probably lead the highly positive result
of the demo “Occularis Infernum” and thus a debut album
after just one demo was the professional production it had. I
mean we live in an era where people expect good produc-
tions even in Black Metal albums...
“This is a thing we have worked with from the start, at least I
06 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
journalist: Nuno Santos
mean that also Black Metal deserves a good production.
Carpticon is a band that needs good production and I think that
we have enough strong material to have a great production. On
“Occularis Infernum” we got very good critics and much of it is
the sound quality and the professional production, on “Master
Morality” I think both material and production is better. I don’t
think we can credit all our good words and critics only because
the sound quality, but I think there is something in our record-
ings that appeal to the people that like Black Metal, and I hope
“Master Morality” will get the necessary promotion, distribution
and attention that I think it deserve. I’m not afraid of that since
we got the large distributor here in Norway (Indie Distribution)
to distribute our debut also, we cover yet another market.”
Do you know how the Spanish BlackSeed Productions ended
up hearing your demo?
“Mr. Alhaz told me the story, it was last summer when I was on
vacation I received a mail from BlackSeed Production. He told
me that they had heard our demo and wanted to work with us
for the debut album, later he told me that he had heard our
name through a friend of him in Germany. It’s a pretty special
story actually, anyway they gave us a decent offer and we
signed to them.”
In my opinion new bands sometimes end up releasing crap-
py sounded demo tapes just to have something out instead of
taking extra time on developing the songs and getting a good
production! Is this what sets you apart from the rest?
“Well, that question can give two answers really, because I
think it’s important to get something out, there a many exam-
ples on bands just playing in the basement or at their rehears-
al dungeon. It is okay, but they won’t end up somewhere with
that. On the other hand I think it’s important to put a real effort
in what you release, I would never release anything I’m not sat-
isfied with but of course it’s important to have something out
to. That’s when people start hearing your name and you can
start playing gigs and such. If that is a thing that sets us apart
from a whole bunch of bands then I think that there are a lot of
musicians that are missing a goal in their life.”
The band was formed by you and Brigge five years ago. What
did you expected for the band back then and what lead its
creation?
“We both came from two different type of basement metal
bands, but we never played any Black Metal, and then one day
we decided to get together and play something since we both
were looking for something more extreme, we started to call
ourselves Black Metal right away and we both knew that this was
the way we wanted to go. How far it could reach we didn’t even
dare to think of, to me everything is a long way and there are few
shortcuts to success in the Black Metal scene. We started to set
small goals which we wanted to achieve and worked hard on it.
When it comes to our inspiration I have to say that I have
always been drawn to the evil and the dark, I always find some-
thing interesting and untouched there. Satan is a big inspira-
tion in all my lyrical and musical work in Carpticon, also the
hate for Christianity and how people can live with that lie has
made me think. These are things that made me (and even now
make me) want to do Black Metal.”
Still like most bands you had a hard time choosing the name.
What means Carpticon for you and why your final decision on
that name?
“To me Carpticon means Satan, Carpticon is a name that don’t
have any meaning in any language or dialect and I thought that
would be a great name to describe the evil that live in everyone
but first of all us who plays in Carpticon. In a few years maybe
people will connect the name Carpticon with Satan, rawness,
chaos, destruction and hate.”
Some of Friedrich Nietzsche’s works are based on the
Master-Slave Morality theme. So my obvious question will
be is Nietzsche a source of inspiration in Carpticon?
“Friedrich Nietzsche is a great inspiration to me at least, he
describes things that people really should think of, sadly most
people does not think at all. It’s frightening to see how the
church almost does as they want with people, and it’s even
more frightening to see the weak people that obey their rules
and live like that.”
Four of the songs on Master Morality debut album appeared
on the “Occularis Infernum” demo tape. Were these songs
simply re-recorded or during the time between both releas-
es you developed them?
“They are mostly the same, we have improved a bit on Rovdyr
Av Døden which I think was a success but on the other tracks
there aren’t much differences. Of course they all have a better
sound quality than on “Occularis Infernum” demo.”
You have used again Panser Studios (already used by bands
like Arcturus, Khold, Fleurety) to record the drums however
this time the rest of the instruments and the vocals were
recorded in a different studio. Didn’t Panser Studios fulfil
your needs this time?
“Panser is a great studio and we wanted to do the drums there
because we know that it will turn out good, last time we did it
all in a weekend and I think it had an okay result thinking it was
such a short time and also that it was a demo. Yet we felt that
Panser was the safe way to record our debut and we knew how
it would sound, so we wanted to do it in different places to do
something new, also a important thing was that we wanted to
use much time on this one, and in Panser that time we wanted
would be more expensive than the studio we chose, this time
we used a weekend for the drums and approximately nine days
for the rest so it was a combination with price and also that we
didn’t want to go safe. I don’t regret that because I think we got
a really good result.”
Sound wise this time besides Bjørn Bergersen as sound
engineer you had a few other guys helping out. I know that
Bjørn Bergersen is active in a few bands but what about the
other guys?
“They were at least active in a band called Beyond, a type of
technical Death Metal as far as I know.”
The cover artwork this time is more simplistic compared to
your demo. Judging both designs I consider the abstract
demo-tape cover design as a better cover... What’s your hon-
est opinion on the graphic aspect of “Master Morality”?
Ishtarh: “The cover art for “Occularis Infernum” was
indeed a great cover, but I personally I think the
cover art for “Master Morality” is good to. When we
were supposed to have a new cover design I told the
designer that I wanted people to see that it was a
Black Metal album, I wanted it to have some specif-
ic elements that you just connect with Black Metal
right away, and I also wanted it with a Satanic touch.
The pentagram is one of the most known satanic
symbols together with the inverted cross. I think that
the cover for “Master Morality” is great.”
Brigge: “The covers have meanings to the music we
are making. We think that the music is more impor-
tant than the covers. People have to decide that they
think about the cover. We hope the cover can tell you
what music it is when you pick it up in the record
store and look at it. The demo cover was really nice.
But the cover was used on our demo so we had to
get a new one. I think the “Master Morality” cover is
more Carpticon style. When I see the cover it tells
me pure cold necro.”
Yet on the visual side, the band takes extra care by
using corpse paint, spikes on the promo photos
and also on the live environment. How important
is the visual side for the band and for Black Metal
music?
Ishtarh: “To Carpticon it’s very important, we will
never let go of the corpse paint and the spikes. To
me Black Metal has some elements that tells every-
one that this is Black Metal, and spikes, blood, Satan
and corpse paint are a few of the key words that are
necessary to me.
I don’t like that bands drop the corpse paint or the
spikes, sadly there are more and more bands that do
this. To me it has always been this way and it will
always be.”
Brigge: “For the band this part is clearly very impor-
tant. You will never see Carpticon without corpse
paint or spikes. That is something we will never
change.”
Would you say that Carpticon have something new
to offer for the Black Metal scene? Or is just well
played and well produced Black Metal?
“Carpticon is nothing completely new or something
outstanding thing that’s never been heard before, we
want to try to take Black Metal back to what it once
was by drop the keyboards, wearing corpse paint
and spikes. In our music you will find a variation of
inspiration which is put together well and which I
think works fine.”
How do you see today’ Norwegian scene as a
source of inspiration for the whole Black Metal
movement? Black Metal has evolved from a raw
and dirty sound to extremely well produced works.
Do you think that Norway still commands others
follow?
“Well, to be honest I don’t think that today’s scene is
a very large source of inspiration, there are to me a
few bands that stick to the early Black Metal both
musically and visionary and that is a great thing. But
of course this is up to everyone to judge. Both mine
and Brigge’s biggest inspiration is actually one of
those bands: Gorgoroth, they always delivers what I
expect from them and I think that it’s important. I
think that the thing is to have a dirty sound but still
with a good production, madness are a good thing in
Black Metal as long as you are able to find out of it
and that you can hear what’s going on there. When
it comes to Norway’s position in Black Metal I don’t
think there are any countries that can compare
themselves to the Norwegian. Our history for Black
Metal is well known and we are top of the line in this
genre with some of the best bands in the world,
there are of course some bands that are good which
are not Norwegian such as Dark Funeral and old
Dissection.”
To end, Carpticon stands for “True Satanic Art”
like is stated on your website. What is true and
satanic in these days for you?
“True Satanic is what it says; sadly a lot of bands
that use Satan in their lyrics or in marketing do not
actually stand for it. Satan is the big force in all my
musical work in Carpticon and to me it’s an impor-
tant thing in both my musical and lyrical work, it
gives me freedom to mean and do what the hell I
want, and It gives me a strong feeling.
We want to be a band where you get what you see,
with no lies. Again it’s sad to see that it is only a few
bands that do what they say and stand for it, to me
Satanism isn’t only an image for the fans to be
frightened. This is the real thing, therefore the text:
“True Satanic art”.”
- www.carpticon.net -
After the success of “Perished And Forgotten” and when least expected
Vargsang left the band for a solitary career quest. He had composed the album
almost alone so no one was expecting to see a follow up to that first attack. Yet
4 years after, the new album “The Shadows Eternal Call” is a testimony that
Vronth was able to even surpass it and create 8 solid songs that in our opinion
are more diverse, solid and better produced. Nevertheless it keeps the same
raw, primitive and old school spirit that was so appraised by the fans.
The reason why it took three years to have the new album out
was solely due to Vargsang’ departure from the band? As far as
I know Vargsang had a very important share on the creation of
the songs!
“That’s right. Vargsang did 90% of the work on our debut album.
So, it was very difficult and took a long time to find a really good
match for him. But I find more than a good match as you can hear
on our new release “The Shadows Eternal Call”.”
Have you heard Vargsang’ solo albums? Can you give us your
opinion on them?
“No, I’ve never heard some stuff from his releases. So I couldn’t
say anything about. He’s a great song writer, so I couldn’t be bad.”
Can you please introduce the two new Graven members,
Zingultus and Mardar?
“First I found Mardar in late 2004 as a match for Vargsang. But
he’s more then just a match. He’s also a very loyal person and it’s
just the beginning on "The Shadows Eternal Call". He has more
then just a "big" potential inside. He was waiting a long time to get
the chance to break out. Watch out for the future releases and you
will hear what I’m talking about now!
Zingultus is a well known singer as you can hear on his main band
Graupel. He did a friendship deal to Graven and is now a friend for
me. In deep trouble times before the studio date, he helped us
without any long thinking. He did an unbelievable work as you can
hear on our new CD.”
Adding two new members in such sensitive spots as guitar and
vocals weren’t you afraid that Graven would loose some of its
identity created in the debut album?
“Never. On our first rehearsals the spirit between Mardar and me
was there. And from my point of view the new recording is more
"Graven" then everything else before.”
Still I know it wasn’t an easy task to find people for the band,
even Zingultus wasn’t supposed to be on it...
“As I said before, he did a friendship deal for Graven. He’s one of
the loyalist persons I’ve ever met in my life.”
There is a stigma around German black metal bands of having
poor quality. Been a German band how do you handle with it?
“I give a shit about it. We’re trying to create some extreme music
and nothing more. I don’t care about some damn image as a
German Black Metal Band.”
I’ve been talking with some fans and also seen several reviews
of your new album "The Shadows Eternal Call" and all draw
comparisons with old Darkthrone, Immortal. Are you afraid that
people would end up just seen Graven as the band that sounds
similar to Darkthrone or Immortal?
“Of course, our influences came from the early Scandinavian
scene. So please tell me, which band after 96/97 is not influenced
from that scene. We’re all clones of them, that’s the truth. Some
create a better work, but more than the half did and do it even
worse. It’s the first release in that present line-up. I think we’re on
the right way to get more Graven style inside our recordings.”
In my opinion "The Shadows Eternal Call" is a better structured
and solid album compared to "Perished And Forgotten". Do you
believe that you have made a big step in the creation of an own
identity with the new album or this is not really very important?
“Yes, I think we made that big step. But it could be better next
time. We had only three months for creating "The Shadows
Eternal Call" and a lot of trouble ‘till the studio date. So, we did our
best.”
One of the things that for me is hard to accept is seen musi-
cians (especially from black metal bands cause they want to
have a certain "imagine") neglecting the bands that created
Metal and lead it to what it is today. So I would like to know
how far the Graven influences or simply your taste in Metal go.
Is there any space in your vinyl/Cd collection for bands like
Judas Priest, Sodom, Kreator, Hellhammer, Morbid Angel,
Possessed, Sepultura, Pestilence, Mercyful Fate, Celtic Frost
journalist: Nuno Santos
and so on! I mean the old bastards!!
“Are you kidding me? I listen to metal from A to Z. Including
Death, Trash, Heavy, whatever - Metal!”
Your experience in Sound-Art studios for the "Perished And
Forgotten" CD, lead that you used it again for the new album and
also with the same producer A. Lysjakow. Judging by the ending
result on both albums I’d say you have found a winning team!
“A. Lysjakow did a great work on the first CD, so there was no
long thinking about any other studio. He knows what we want and
that’s important.”
Graven is a raw old school black metal band; my next question
is: what are your thoughts about those bands who try to intro-
duce new elements into this style? Do you hear any of these
bands on a daily basis or do you remain faithful to the black
metal roots?
“I’m not really a big fan of those bands, but sometimes I listen to it.”
The lyrics on "Perished And Forgotten" were mostly written by
Vargsang and showed his dark visions and dreams, now that he
is out of the band who took is place and have they changed
drastically?
“No. Graven is still talking about dark visions and dreams.”
As you know there is a legion of devoted fans that want to see
Graven playing live, so is there any intention for that to hap-
pen? Have you already had any invitations after the release of
the new album?
“I get enough invitations for Graven. But it’s not important for us
to play live. Maybe some single shows in the future. We will see.
But definitely not this year.”
One of the things that I really like on "The Shadows Eternal
Call" is the intensity that the songs flow, I mean even the mid
tempo parts look so heavy and powerful. I found out that one of
the reasons for that is because all instruments look extremely
realistic on the final mix giving a great dark vibe to the album!!
“Thanks. In my point of view "The Shadows Eternal Call" has the
best sound from all past works, who I had a share in. It was
important for me this time, to create a natural drum sound with-
out any trigger stuff. We tried to create an "old school production",
which still represent Graven in the purest way. You know, it’s real-
ly a small path to create a sound between good/to clear and
raw/grim. But I think we find the right sound for Graven again.”
On the other hand the graphical aspect of the Graven releases
so far isn’t a mirror of what’s inside. Neither "Perished And
Forgotten" nor "The Shadows Eternal Call" prime for killer cover
artworks, at least in my opinion. Have you follow actively the
creation of both cover artworks?
“I only can say something about the cover-illustration on the new
CD. Well, I gave a rehearsal tape including the title track to a friend
of mine. She listened to it and that picture was the result. You are
maybe right when you are thinking it’s not a mirror for the whole
album. But in my point of view, for the title track, of course. And
after all we had again too less time for creating a second artwork.
But I’m still satisfied with the result.”
After the success of "Perished And Forgotten" did you had any
proposals to sign with a bigger label?
“Not really. It’s also not necessary for Graven.”
Do you think that at this moment, after the release of "The
Shadows Eternal Call" Undercover Records still fills complete-
ly the needs of the band? I mean this second opus in my opin-
ion can compete with any black metal album released lately!
You really think so? You know, I’m satisfied at the moment.
Undercover pays all shit and what else should we have? For that
kind of music it’s enough.”
Well Vronth I’ve run out of questions I thank you for your time!
“Thanks for your support. Thanks to anyone out there, who sup-
port our work......cheerrrzzz!!!!”
- www.graven-horde.d e -
ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 07

When talking about Black Metal nowa-
days is impossible not to mention
about the already recognized force,
Satanic Warmaster.
Satanic Tyrant Werwolf for some Lauri
Penttila for others is the mastermind
behind this Finnish band. With a large
curriculum in what concerns as active
or ex member of bands like, Gestapo
666, Horna, Incriminated, Pest,
Warloghe just to name a few it was
more than time to establish himself in
the black metal circuit with his own
band... and it was exactly what he did
with their third work “Carelian Satanist
Madness” which with no doubts repre-
sents the best album and songs to date
by Satanic Warmaster. This is your
chance to read S.T.Werwolf’ words and
visions...
journalist: Eric Massicotte
08 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
"Carelian Satanist Madness" was released some time ago on No
Colours records. With some perspective, what were the reac-
tions to this new album? I think its one of your best production,
both sound-wise and visually.
“The feedback has been very good, which was fully expected since
I am very satisfied with the result myself as well. Some even have
nominated the album as a candidate for being one of the best Black
Metal albums released in the year 2005.”
On the same note, will all the upcoming Satanic Warmaster
albums will be released on your own label? What are the advan-
tages and inconveniences for a band like yours to release its own
material? If I can ask, why have you ended your collaboration
with No Colours Records (Germany)?
“Yes, the current plan is to release a big part of the upcoming
Satanic Warmaster tortures through Werewolf records. This way I
have total control over my creations. Our deal with No Colours was
only for 2 albums and a mini-album, and I wanted to move on after-
wards. There will be future collaboration with No Colours in one
way or another, though.”
You're the main driving force behind Satanic Warmaster and you
relied on sessions members to complete some of the recordings
and to come with you on stage. Who are the current sessions
playing with you? Is there any desire to have a full and perma-
nent line-up?
“On "Carelian Satanist Madness" and on live performances I am
accompanied by VHolm on drums and T.H. on guitar. I have no
need for a permanent line-up or to recruit "full time" members for a
band that equals to me only.”
You're just back from a small tour you did in Belgium, Holland
and Germany, if I am right. Who were the other bands playing
with you on those dates? Can you reflect back on those concerts
and maybe share some key moments with us?
“There's nothing much to say on the recent European shows. In
Germany (Annaberg on 18th of November 2005) we played with
Total Hate and Eternity from Germany and the atmosphere was
excellent. The Dutch gig on the day after got cancelled because of
the gig organizers giving up to the demands of the ANTIFA (anti-
fascist action), and in fear of losing the sponsorship of the state for
their shows decided not to support our cause, but to give in to the
demands of pathetic hippies ready to accuse anyone who glorifies
death, violence and intolerance! The last show was in Belgium
(20th of November 2005) with Lugubre (hol), Shining (swe) and
others, and that show was all right as well, nothing glamorous,
nothing to praise, just a solid Black Metal manifest.”
Werewolf Records just released "Black Metal Commando/Gas
Chamber" It is mentioned on your website that the material fea-
tured was "made available after years of consideration and eval-
uation, after which the material was seen in a reasonable per-
spective enough to be released". What kept you waiting this long
to release it finally?
“I did not feel it necessary to release all this unreleased material
until now. All the details and causes for this release have been
explained thoroughly at the Werewolf records website:
The material was kept unreleased for now for several reasons
(mainly the drum sound of B.M.Kommando and the radical concept
of "Gas Chamber", which will be hard for the common "Satanic"
Black Metal person to perceive in his world of equality and social
pressure), but are now made available after years of consideration
and evaluation, after which the material was seen in a reasonable
perspective enough to be released. This should also put an end to
all the questions and discussion about the material, as well as mp3-
leeching children that have spread and tried to "control" these
recordings like they were their own currency and tool of negotiation
in their trading circuit. Thanks for such circumstances belong also
to those people who decided to dishonourably spread this material
even though it was asked from them not to do so."
You often display right-wing and satanic symbols, all mixed to
create an overtly hateful imagery of yourself and your band.
Where is standing Satanic Warmaster in this whole ideological
movement going on these days? Would you dare to explain your
ideologies?
“For me there is no right or left when it comes especially to symbols.
Neither any of those symbols project for me such an intuitive emotion
as hate. All of the symbols I use to represent my art represent the
forces that truly excel all blindness of hate and immaturity or rebel-
lion, being power, eternity, absolution and Satan. Satanic Warmaster
stands where a true Satanist stands. Before Satan as an instrument
of his will, with his fist held high against the modern world.”
Most bands involved in any form of ideological movement con-
sider lyrics to be an equal part of the whole package they offer to
their audience. How important are the lyrics in Satanic
Warmaster and what is the global message (if any 'message')
portrayed by them?
“Lyrics are part of the aesthetic, thus extremely important, yet hard-
ly any metal band can show their true message with just their lyrics.
For Satanic Warmaster lyrics are just as important as anything else.
My message is what the listener wants to hear.”
On a similar vein, can your listeners enjoy your music without
getting into the ideas expressed? Can you listen to a band
uniquely for its musical qualities?
“Obviously, since my band is listened by subhumans such as jews,
niggers and homosexuals and obviously appreciated by them as
well. I am not so concerned with the things that lie behind to dis-
card a band for such reasons if I find something in their music I can
appreciate.”
You're known to be a true supporter of the whole traditional Black
metal image, using corpse paint and all the spikes in your photo
sessions. Do you think that such an image is still mandatory for
any black metal band or is it used more and an effect ornament-
ing the whole Satanic Warmaster concept? Many bands dropped
the use of this image, for various reasons. Why is it still so
important to you?
“Things like that create a very special atmosphere for me. On the
same note I must emphasize that compared to the visual effect on
my albums, the Satanic Warmaster live shows are very crude, with
no show, corpsepaint or whatever such things presented most of
the time. This is also shown to emphasize that no matter how
important the visual aesthetics might be, it still causes a huge illu-
sion on people, and makes them look as stupid as they really are by
realization that Black Metal still is something very real, not some
show based on appearance but something much more total. As I
have said a million times before: Do you really want to say that you
care more on what it looks like than what it really is?”
You're also responsible for most of the artwork surrounding
Satanic Warmaster. Your artwork also goes hand in hand with the
really contrasting, oldschool black and white imagery. Still, your
visuals also have a modern, chaotic feel to them. Can you please
talk about your creative process, the instruments/tools you use
and your desire to develop a Black Metal imagery in 2005?
“There's nothing to explain on my artwork. I do it different each
time using various methods depending on my mood. For me there
is no old school or modern when it comes to artwork. Only some-
thing that I want to see as a part of my creation and that I don't.”
Relying a lot on images, symbols and visual elements, have you
ever considered going into the video/DVD medium? What would
a Satanic Warmaster video look like?
“Yes I have thought of such. What a Satanic Warmaster video
would look like, it’s hard to tell. Most likely something like the old
Venom videos.”
You seem to have a lot of respect for the vinyl format, consider-
ing that all your albums got released in this format and that
you're still keeping the 7" split release tradition alive. How rele-
vant such a format can be in this (often cheaper) age of quick and
digital technologies?
“For me the effort-demanding and audibly and visually superior for-
mat is always important. Vinyl has become something for those
who truly seek something special, and CD has become a consumer
product. Both have their demand and both must be done (most of
the time).”
We've heard a lot about Finland's Black metal scene these days,
especially from the more underground acts. What can you tell
about the music 'scene' over there (if this is the right term to
use.)? Is there a lot of discussion and links among the bands or
is everyone really going on its own without any regards for any
other musician or band?
“It's a matter of attention more than the actual scene over here.
When it comes to discussion, links and so on, it's not so different
from other countries. Maybe only the general level of devotion and
intelligence among some of the key individuals here is higher than
elsewhere.”
What lies ahead for Satanic Warmaster in 2006?
“Triumph of the will.”
 Will you start off by introducing yourself and give us a lit-
tle insight in the history of Taunusheim?
“Taunusheim was brought to life by Erik and his brother
Patrick in the year 1995. In 2000, the band was completed by
Ilona who joined them as a permanent member on the key-
boards. This is the current line up, and I think it will stay for
quite a long time...”
The band is delivering a good blend of atmospheric black
metal infused with folk elements, how did Taunusheim end
up with that style?
“Well, if you’re singing songs about the ancient times, it
seems to be necessary to use elements like the ones we used,
because only they give the right atmosphere. Of course you
can use samples of flutes and horns from the internet, but
they will never show the same acoustic you create by using
the original instruments. “
How has the band developed since the band was formed
back in 1995, through your 3 demos and up to your debut
full length Nebelkämpfe”?
“The main change surely has been in the music. In the begin-
ning, Taunusheim did sound like a raw Black Metal band and
people compared the sound to old Darkthrone and Satyricon
releases. This changed over the years, not only because the
production of Taunusheim got more brilliance, but also
because the style of the band´s music developed, using
acoustic instruments as well as folklore-like melodies. The
only thing that stayed over these years are the topics of the
lyrics... so Taunusheim is still telling stories of war and pride,
of battle and of the ancient way people were following once...”
Who is the main songwriter in the band and where is the
inspiration found for the musical ventures?
“We are all involved in the songwriting process, but one could
say that Erik brings up most of the ideas and he writes most
of the lyrics. Of course a song must be accepted by all the
band members, but since we all have the same attitude and
Erik´s stuff is really great, it´s okay for everyone to work with
his material.”
Which 3 bands and which 3 songs (not necessarily by the
mentioned bands) have meant a lot to you and for the
sound and direction of Taunusheim?
“To name the bands, and believe me, this choice is really
hard... Kampfar, Bathory, Storm, Immortal... As for the songs,
Bathory- One rode to Asa Bay (Ilona), Kampfar- Hymne (Erik),
Immortal- Sun no longer rises (Patrick)”
How did the band end up with the name Taunusheim and
what does it mean and symbolize to you?
“The Taunus is a mountain range in the area all the band
members are from, and the word “Heim” means “home”. You
could compare the constellation of these two words with the
Scandinavian words “Helheim” (home of Hel, goddess of
death) or “Svartalvheim” (Home of the Svartalves). So “Heim
always stands for a place and in this case it´s Taunusheim -
the place where the Taunus is, our home.”
You released your debut full length “Nebelkämpfe” last
year, how do you in the band feel about the album?
“We are proud of the album. Of course there are things we
could have done better in our eyes, but it´s an authentical
album which was created with much devotion. Erik did a great
job with the design of the booklet, it was important to us that
people could get an impression of the beautiful nature which
the Taunus has to offer. All the pics in the booklet have been
taken there and the mystical mood of this place can really be
felt by looking at them.”
How has the album been received by the press and your fans?
“The reactions were great, far better than we had expected.
We feared that fans of the old, raw Taunusheim sound might
be disappointed by the new material, but the critics were very
good and we got many mails from Taunusheim fans who real-
ly loved the album. This was a great thing, because we did
what we thought was best and since so many people liked it,
it gives us a reason to carry on.”
What do you expect from the album and what would you
like to accomplish with your music?
“We released the new album because we want to remind peo-
ple of the old ways and because it was important to us. It´s
selling very well, so we cannot complain about that. But I
think that we don´t really expect anything special from it. If
people listen to it carefully, saying “I want to know more
about the ancient times because this music and its message
is really touching me” then this is a wonderful thing to hap-
It looks like a bunch of newcomers are releasing very cool albums lately, I guess it's just a
matter of looking in the right spots instead of just hearing what others want... We can't
say that Taunusheim is a newcomer in the true sense of the word, they simply released
now their debut album nevertheless the formation of the band comes back to year 1995.
With 3 demos on the baggage they were more than prepared for what they show us on
"Nebelkampfe"... a multi-layered album with clear pagan ancient influences that is able to
enchant the listener at the first listening. Beware!!
journalist: Anders
10 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
pen. But we don´t expect every listener to collect historical
books because he bought our album. (laughs)”
In the recent years there have been quite a rise in the pop-
ularity of Viking/medieval-themed metal, a scene you are a
part of… have you felt a bigger request for the band and the
music lately?
“A lot of Viking Metal bands have risen, that´s true. This has the
advantage that Viking Metal fans today can choose between a
lot of different bands. The disadvantage is that bands like us
have to work much harder to “be heard” in the mass, because
it becomes more and more difficult to stand out. But I think it
will develop like any other style in the Metal scene: The best
bands will survive and the rest will be forgotten.”
Why do you think people are looking back at their arcane
roots and what does it specifically give you to look back
and get into the spirit of what once was?
“All members of Taunusheim have the opinion that christian-
ity took away a lot of aspects in human nature that never
should have been forgotten such as pride and honour.
Bowing to god people have no idea of the strength which they
keep in themselves. People are too busy worshipping a god
they have never seen while the powers of gods of nature - and
nobody can deny that there IS power in water, fire, wind and
earth (to name it floods, forest fires, tornados and earth-
quakes...) - are denied. People get sick of the christian way of
seeing things, and they are searching for the old harmony of
man and nature. That´s why they start looking for new -or
old- religions which don´t tell them to pray to a faceless mas-
ter who never gives response to them. All in all you could see
this as the reason why we hold high the banner of our ances-
tors, because they knew the worth of nature and pride.”
What are your lyrics dealing with and where is the inspira-
tion for them found?
“The lyrics are about different things. Most of them are about
battles and nature, but we also have lyrics about a drunken,
funny night by the fireside... but the main topic are the days
of old before the christians came.”
How do you make sure that the lyrics are “formed” so that
the metal fans/community can relate to them?
“When we´re writing lyrics for Taunusheim, we don´t care
about other people´s opinions. We say what we feel we have
to say and since most of the lyrics are in German, we can use
exactly the words that fit best for our intentions. But I think
this is quite normal, I´ve never heard about a band that wrote
its lyrics in a certain style that people might like them better,
would be pretty stupid in my eyes...”
Do you have a message within the lyrics and how important
are they for the universe of Taunusheim?
“The message of Taunusheim is extremely important to the
band. As I already mentioned, we want to make people more
sensual for topics such as the violent christianisation of
Europe as well as the view on natures and its beauty. Our goal
is to open their minds for the things that have been forgotten
over the centuries. Especially in Germany, where everyone
who believes in the old ways is declared a fascist it is neces-
sary to show people that paganism and fascism are two com-
pletely different things that have nothing to do with each
other. But aspecs like these are only a small part of the
Taunusheim “cosmos.”.”
You spent 10 years to secure a record-deal and to get your
first full length album released, why did it take that long?
“Well, several demo tapes have been released since 1995 and
one must remember that it is also a question of money to
release a full-length album with a high quality booklet. And
since all of us have their regular jobs, it surely was a question
of time, too. Good things take their time, but I´m sure that
Taunusheim fans will not have to wait another five years for
the next album (laughs).”
Are you as we speak working on new material or have you
already some done and do you have an idea of when we will
see the next Taunusheim release and what format it will be?
“New material has already been written by Erik, soon we will
start working on it. I can´t exactly say when the results will be
presented, but it surely will be in the near future.”
Thanks a lot for answering my questions, if you have any-
thing to add, feel free to add it now!
“First of all we´d like to thank all the Taunusheim fans world-
wide for their patience and support, you rule! And to you a big
thanks for this interview. Metal on!”
- www.taunusheim.de -
Massive exposition is something that not all
bands are able off or aim for. Unknown
Rivendell took us totally by surprise with
their latest (hopefully not last) album enti-
tled “Farewell - The Last dawn”. Mixing sev-
eral elements, the lonely Falagar deliver us
a journey through a Folk enchanted world...
journalist: Nuno Santos
Rivendell is clearly a name based on the
J.R.R. Tolkien' saga "Lord Of The Rings". After
the whole fuzz around this trilogy, are you com-
fortable with the chosen name for the band?
“I have chosen this name many years ago and I
still think that this name fits exactly the music I
make. For me the movies didn’t have any impact
on Rivendell.”
Farewell - the last dawn is the name of your
third opus released by Perverted Taste. Taking
the title in consideration are you planning to
put to rest Rivendell?
“I cannot say it for sure, but I think that there
will be another Rivendell album in the future,
although there is nothing specific planned at the
moment. The album title referrers more to the
content and the atmosphere of the songs.”
I know you had inked a deal with Skaldic Art
productions for three releases, however this
third opus was put out by Perverted Taste.
What happened meanwhile?
“The only reason for leaving Skaldic Art was that
Vraytas Vakyas from Skaldic Art had not had
enough time and energy to release the album in
an appropriate way. So we decided together that
it would be the best for Rivendell to change the
label. Soon after that he put Skaldic Art on ice.”
What lead your decision to ink a deal with
Perverted Taste? Any particular reason?
“Nothing special about that. I knew that they
have a big online store and a good distribution
network. And most important they seam to real-
ly enjoy the music I make. So we discussed a few
minor things and soon the contract was signed.”
Been a one man band what are for you the
main difficulties while writing and composing
Rivendell songs?
“Of course on the one side it is easier to write
songs with a couple of other musicians, because
far more ideas arise and every member is an
"expert" for the instrument he is playing. But on
the other hand, when I am composing songs
alone, I don't have to make any compromises.
So both ways have their advantages, but also
disadvantages. I think writing good songs are
always difficult, no matter how many people are
involved.”
Having in mind the whole Viking folk pagan spir-
it on Rivendell' songs. Can you point the main
reasons for your interest in these heritages?
“As you know, the lyrics of Rivendell deal with
the books of Tolkien, mainly the Silmarillion. I
am mainly interested in the musical concepts
behind the styles you mentioned and not that
much in the themes they are using.”
What are for you the most important aspects
lost during human evolution, were our ances-
tors’ indeed noble men or just savage seeking
self satisfaction and richness? What's your
vision of history?
“I don't think that there has been lost many
important aspects during time. At any time in
our history there are people who are just trying
to survive, people who are seeking for might and
money and people who are searching for some-
thing "different" - only the amount of people
belonging to each of these groups is changing.
Often our history is seen in an idealized way.”
Farewell - The Last dawn has almost an exot-
ic touch, like for instance on The Old Walking
Song. There are times through the album
where there is this Asian/Arab feeling yet with-
out neglecting the pagan sonorities on the
music. Was this a conscious thing? Can you
comment on this?
“This wasn't really planned, but I have a flavour
for these oriental melodies and instruments. So
I started to include such influences in my music.
They somehow symbolize the distance from
home and the magic of lands far away, so it fits
perfectly for The Old Walking Song.”
Once again you have used nature to portrait
your work. Do you prefer real images in detri-
ment of drawings, like its usual on metal cov-
ers?
“I think real images have far more intensity and
expressiveness than drawings. For Rivendell it
is a good connection between the fantasy lyrics
and the real world and nature.”
Did you have any extra participation on the
recording of the album? I mean, for instance
on the A Drinking Song there is this brother-
hood feeling on it from the beginning to the
end. It looks like a bunch of friends waving
their beer mugs on the air and singing along!
“No, I had to do everything on my own on this
album. I even recorded, mixed and mastered it
in my own little studio. It is really hard work and
a lot of problems arise, but in the end you can
be very proud of the final album.”
There are some that still consider Rivendell a
black metal band. What’s your opinion on that?
“I am not a fan of classifying bands anyway, but
it is strange that there are still people who think
that Rivendell is a black metal band. Of course
there are some elements like the black metal
vocals, but I think all in all the music is more
some sort of folk metal.”
You recently released a debut album for your
other project, Ahnenstahl. I've just heart the
sample available on the website. But judging
by it, its way more aggressive and black metal
oriented than Rivendell...
“Yes, the album "Zwischen Tod und Leben" has
been released recently through the Swiss label
Black Tower Productions. The album is more
aggressive and orchestral than Rivendell, but it
also includes a lot of melancholy. Everyone who
is interested can download a complete song
from the Ahnenstahl homepage at www.ahnen-
stahl.com.”
Besides writing, composing and playing the
songs you have extended your actions on
"Farewell" to produce, mix and master the
songs. Where all this talent comes from? I
guess this is the dream to all musicians, been
able to follow completely all steps on the cre-
ation of an album!
“On the one hand it is absolutely perfect to be
able to do all steps from the first idea to the final
release under complete freedom, but on the other
hand it is extremely difficult to work completely
alone for something like 2 years on an album. It
is easy to loose the overview and that you cannot
hear anymore what’s good and what’s bad. So I
had to make some longer breaks without doing
music at all, to be able to continue the work.”
Falagar, what will be your next steps as a
musician?
“At the moment I am quiet busy doing some
work for Ahnenstahl (besides my "normal"
life...). Next I will have to decide if I am com-
posing a new Rivendell album or a new
Ahnenstahl album. This will be a hard decision,
because I love both of these bands.”
Time to end! Anything to add?
“Thank you for the interview and the support of
Rivendell! And all the best for your magazine!”
ACID DRINKERS : 15 SCREWED YEARS CARPATHIAN FOREST : WE’RE GOING
[METAL MIND PRODUCTIONS] TO HOLLYWOOD FOR THIS LIVE
I guess most of you have missed this cool Polish PERVERSIONS
groovier Thrash metal band... I most confess that [METAL MIND PRODUCTIONS]

I lost the trail of them around their second album
and after their participation in one of the most
cult metal compilations, Speed Kills. Thankfully
Metal Mind Productions 15 years after releases
this DVD, that compiles most of their classic
material and gives the opportunity to the younger
(and not) metal fans to direct their attention to
this quartet. Unfortunately this style of music
isn’t the most popular these days and this can
clearly be proved by watching the two live con-
certs with only 3 years of difference. The first one
was filmed back in ‘98 and emphasizes the mod-
ern and groovier side of the band (from the “The
State Of Mind Report” and “High Proof Cosmic Milk” albums) while the one filmed back
in ‘95 in the same city drives the crowd completely insane, literally! This is the first
concert I see filmed in Krakow that really grabs the fans by the balls and puts them
headbanging on stage... ‘till the moment where there are more than 20 fans on stage
headbanging and singing “Smoke On The Water” from Deep Purple, beautiful! Either
those 3 years of difference between the two gigs makes a huge distinction on the crowd
or the fact that the band plays most of the material from their first six albums (but more
emphasize on “Are You A Rebel”, “StripTease” and “Infernal Connection”) on the sec-
ond concert gives a more euphoric reaction from the fans... To tell the truth I guess it’s
a mixture of both factors plus also the fact that they play a few cover songs from well
known bands like Metallica (Seek & Destroy), Motorhead (Ace Of Spaces) or Deep
Purple (Smoke On The Water)!
One of the good things on this DVD is that in both concerts they do not play not only one
similar song, so you get 24 different tracks (with a running time of 90 minutes) and around
150 minutes of total DVD playing time. Metal Mind Productions have already used us by
releasing professional DVDs, filmed with several professional cameras and a really good
sound quality, so this is no exception! Besides this you get a bunch of information on the
band with a biography, discography, two interviews (with Litza and Titus), photos, desktop
images and 6 video clips (among them a Rolling Stones and a C.C.R. cover!?)
This is a good product to have on your collection and you can still pick it up after drinking
a few beers to headbang with your long time friends... Thrash or die! [8] NUNO SANTOS
AUTOPSY : DARK CRUSADES - 2DVD
[PEACEVILLE RECORDS]
Autopsy is a band that doesn’t need any introduc-
tion, everybody knows (or should) that was one of
the most influential bands on the death metal/grind-
core genre! I really didn’t knew what to expect from
this DVD since Autopsy was put on rest for 10 years
now but it looks like there were some home videos
laying around and screaming to be put on DVD...
First of all I must say that this is a double DVD (!!!)
made for fans of the band and it will probably not
convert any non Autopsy fan into one... I mean like
I said earlier this is a collection of home videos
recorded between 1988 - 1994 and like the word
indicates you get everything connected with that
fact: tape stretches, pixilation, distortion, audio
drop outs and so on! On the other hand this is the
last change to witness the audio madness of several Autopsy gigs or rehearsal.
On disc1 you get around 25 minutes of a rehearsal prior to the release of the debut album
“Severed Survival” in ‘90 and a live gig on Hong Kong Cafe (LA) in ‘93 with a playing time
of 40 minutes. This gig features songs from the first three Autopsy albums (Severed
Survival, Mental Funeral and Acts Of The Unspeakable) for a packed crowd.
Disc2 kicks off with a 13 minute set recorded in The Stone one day after the Hong Kong
Cafe gig and the “legendary” last gig ever, filmed in Ruthless Inn back in ‘94. Soundwise
this second disc is slightly better than the show featured on the first one and as you can
imagine way better than the rehearsal! As extras this second disc has performances of
Chris Reifert on the guitar on a ‘90 Pestilence (Terrorizer cover song “Corporation Pull-In”)
and ‘94 Doomed (“Witches”) gigs and a cool tour footage (behind the scenes).
As a documentary product that this is supposed to be I guess it lacks a bunch of things
that could be present, like reviews, articles, comments from the band, biography, photos...
possibility to forward to a specific song! Peaceville grabbed the videos, made the neces-
sary menus and just throw them to the discs, at least this is the sensation we got in the
end. I guess this is JUST for fans! I give a 9.5 for the hard to find material and as a fan but
I drop my note considering the quality of the whole video and audio package!
[5] NUNO SANTOS
CARNAL FORGE : DESTROY LIVE
[METAL MIND PRODUCTIONS]
Is in occasions like these ones that we clearly see
the state of a particular style of music... judging by
the reaction of the polish metal fans Thrash Metal
died several years ago! Gladly, Carnal Forge think
the contrary and deliver a massive Thrash metal
attack leaving no place whatsoever to breed. I must
say that sometimes too much massive and with few
hard to remember moments sounding all songs too
much alike if you ask me. From this comment I
guess you already conclude that I’m not the biggest
Carnal Forge fan but at least I believe they deserve
some intense headbanging on contrary to what the
crowd does in this “Destroy Live” DVD... totally
apathetic! Perhaps they were just waiting to see the
Black Metal gods Gorgoroth, Carpathian Forest or
even Hate, who knows!! On “Destroy Live” you get 22 songs professionally filmed in
Krakow (Poland) on the beginning of 2004 and covers in 65 minutes the legacy of the first
four albums (“Who's Gonna Burn”, “Firedemon”, “Please... Die!” and “The More You
Suffer...”) of this Swedish brutal quintet.
Additionally you get two low quality bonus booklet concerts, one in Tokyo on their Extreme
Bleeding Japan tour and the other in New York on their Metal Gods tour both in 2003 and
with a total playing time of 60 minutes.
If more than 2 hours of live music isn’t enough for you I guess you can simply relax on
your couch and check the cool interview available on the DVD with the bassist Lars Lindén
and guitar player Jari Kuusisto or the complete biography and member profiles or even
check some cool live photos among a few other things.
To end this I can surely highlight this product as a cool addition to any Death/Thrash metal
freak and above all it deserves all the Euros you give for it. [7.5] NUNO SANTOS
It all starts with a creepy music on the menu
which truly represents what we are about to
witness on the following hour... black metal,
horror, darkness, rawness and nudity! This is
probably one of the most awaited concerts by
the Black Metal community after the Emperor
DVD “Emperial Live Ceremonial” or am I exag-
gerating? This is simply because the cult Black
Metal acts don’t seem to like the cameras and
there are just a few decent videos around!
One of the aspects that surprised me on this
DVD is that I had the idea that only extremely
thin persons could perform this black art but
the bassist Vrangsinn with its extra weight rectified this theory of mine, haha! I was
joking (sorry guys!) but his sumo wrestler appearance gives a high impact on stage
together with all the imagery of the band and the Carpathian Forest dancers. Wait,
please don’t start running to the nearest shop to buy this DVD just because I said it
has dancers... well they are not the typical hot dancers you see on the Cradle Of Filth
videos!! I mean imagine your fat grandma semi naked and you get the whole picture,
quite hilarious!
For me there is only one downpoint on this DVD, this style of music requires a more
darker atmosphere but I guess all the light available on the show was required for a
proper filming (watch this show at night with your lights turned off and enjoy the light
set of the gig, quite impressive). This show was filmed on the same day as the Carnal
Forge and Hate gigs, so the crowd is the same! They aren’t as shiftless as on the
Carnal gig but there isn’t much action on the pit either... some may say that black
metal isn’t a headbanging style of music but I don’t agree, at least when we have a so
thrashier band!
This is probably one of the most complete DVDs released by Metal Mind, I mean you
get so many goodies inside... there is bonus audio material (18 songs!!!), a gig
recorded in Wacken in 2003 featuring 8 songs, a video clip for the song “Carpathian
Forest”, a studio report of the “Defending The Throne Of Evil” album, rare live
bootlegs, interview with Nattefrost, an extensive photo gallery and so on.
Now you can run to the nearest shop or go online and buy this piece of satanic art!
[9] NUNO SANTOS
CIRCLE OF PAIN : CLASSIC LIVE TUNES
[SOVEREIGN - EVENTS]
I guess this will be a hard one... I mean hard
rock crossed my life more than 20 years ago
with bands like Whitesnake, Van Halen or Def
Leppard. However I quickly moved to more
aggressive styles and grow up listening most-
ly to Thrash Metal bands like Slayer, Kreator,
Sodom just to name a few.
Circle Of Pain most likely is a total unknown
name to the Ancient Ceremonies’ readers
since it’s composed mostly by Death, Thrash
or Black metal fans. Stating this I guess most
of you have already skipped this review but for
the ones who aren’t afraid of checking anoth-
er tunes here goes: this DVD was recorded
during the promotion of the “Paradox Of
Distitution” 2001 album with the participation of the Sudhessen Symphonic Orchestra
and this is the reason for not having a higher grade. In general the orchestra is way
back on the mix and it’s quickly forgotten, I believe everyone is expecting a more
active roll. If the aim of this DVD was giving a more symphonic, classical edge to
Circle Of Pain’s music then they failed to achieve and transmit that to the public.
Talking about the audience... beware there were only sitting spots available, so there
is no crowd interaction whatsoever!
Another major error on this DVD is that the extras (like backstage scenes, making of)
are spoken in German and they don’t have any subtitles, sad but true!!
One of the good aspects of this German band for me is that they sometimes have a
really aggressive edge adventuring into the realms of Heavy Metal. I guess that fans
of bands like Edguy or Dream Theater may found something here for you! Next!
[6] NUNO SANTOS
CORRUPTION : HELLECTRIFY YOURSELF
[METAL MIND PRODUCTIONS]
It’s cool to have access to all sort of bands,
ones more mainstream and well known to
the general public and others still highly pro-
fessional and with space to become bigger
and better. While the name Corruption does-
n’t ring any bell outside the Polish scene I
suppose they could become something more
serious to the worldwide music scene. Their
stoner hard rock with hints of doom metal (a
mixture of Black Sabbath with COC) tran-
spires energy and dedication to a 15 year
(lost!?) cause. I guess there are bands that
are destined to not become bigger and I have
the feeling that Corruption is one of those. I
mean these guys are true, solid, profession-
al, however the fact that they aren’t bringing something new to an already prolific
metal scene are dragging them down... but they probably don’t care either! Still
they had already their own share of success, like opening for the dinosaurs Deep
Purple or playing at Woodstock festival in front of 400.000 persons.
The title “Hellectrify Yourself” says it all... you get 70 minutes of hellectrifying
music made by fans for fans. It’s curious that the band managed to conquer the
audience and in the end the interaction is far higher than on the first songs, so
its cool to see that at least in their home country they are recognized! The show
is mostly composed by songs from their 2003 album “Orgasmusica” but they
also play a few songs from the 2002 opus called “Puyssyworld”. On stage the
band deliver everything they got... a pounding bass by Aniot versus two shred-
ding guitars by Thrashu and Fala. Drummer Melon maintains the machine in the
right path and the vocalist Rufus with its shaved presence boils out rock’n’roll
from all its pores!
Let’s hope “Hellectrify Yourself” gives the right exposition and we will be hearing
these guys very soon! [7] NUNO SANTOS
NECROPHAGIA : NIGHTMARE SCENARIOS
[RED STREAM RECORDS]
And the grammy goes to... that guy on the back... Killjoy
in “Nightmare Scenarios”!!
This was probably a dream come true to Killjoy, this
video had participations of noone else than Zé do Caixão
(Coffin Joe) and the spanish horror actor, director, pro-
ducer and writer Paul Naschy. Both have reached cult
status among the worldwide horror movie fans, with
their participation in films like “Rojo Sangre”, “Horror
Rises from the Tomb”, “Vengeance of the Zombies”,
“The Hunchback of the Morgue” (just to state a few) by
Paul Naschy and “This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse”,
“At Midnight, I'll Take Your Soul” or “Delirios de um
Amoral” by Coffin Joe. Both have a long history and
experience on horror, so who else to give light to
“Nightmare Scenarios”... probably just the porn goddess
Jenna Jameson! Unfortunately the nudity parts are not
with her, she just express her admiration for
Necrophagia!
This DVD is composed by 9 small movies where most of
the songs featured on the 2003 release “The Divine Art
Of Torture” gain live on the screen.
From the very first moments of the opener “The Divine
Art Of Torture / Zé do Caixão” that we can clearly see that
this is not for persons with sensible stomach... there are
hanged upside down corpses full of blood for the delight
of both Zé do Caixão and Killjoy not to mention explicit
nudity. Zé do Caixão seems to have a fixation with
breasts and Killjoy with bloody asses however this is just
the starting point for the gore filled movies next to come.
“Sick Room” confines a guy into a home made butchery
and guess what kind of meat is in? Its time for lunch
children!!
“Flowers Of Flesh And Blood” has two different versions
and tells a story of a sick guy that ends up suffocating
his girl in the bed with a pillow and chopping her in
pieces in the bathtub. I guess once in awhile we all think
about doing the same, hehe. The difference is that in one
of the versions you get live perfomances in the middle by
the band, turning the movie softer.
“Rue Morgue Disciple” is about a kid who refuges in a
house from zombies but ends up corraled.... Once again
there is guts all over, worms on rotting flesh (they look
like the same worms I give to my reptiles), Killjoy’s zom-
bie pets... a putrid flesh parade!
“Upon Frayed Lips Of Silence” was also filmed in two
versions and sees Paul Naschy participating in it. This
one is a typical MTV video clip, no blood and guts just
the band playing with its instruments!! Uncut version is
a different league... a couple enters in a spooky house,
he is right away killed with a knife by a zombie, eventu-
ally she escapes from the house after several attempts to
her life. While wanders on the forest she stumbles on a
rock and discovers a grave...
“Blaspheme The Blood” tells a tale of a guy (perfomed by
Killjoy) who finds a whore. She escapes with his money
but in the end she is even more twisted than him... the
marvelous things that a blowtorch can do!
Also includes the special features: how to make a mon-
ster: the uncreation of musick, interviews with Killjoy,
Paul Naschy, Jose Morale, Jorge Zarco, Dario Ferrer, and
J. Luis Martine, behind the scenes, galleries and sick-
cess trailer.
This is the DVD that all gore bands would dream to make
but never accomplished... its like Fulci using
Necrophagia for a soundtrack! Hard work inside!!
[9.5] NUNO SANTOS

12 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
GREEN CARNATION : ALIVE AND SALEM : LIVE DEMISE V/A : HOLY PARTY - 2DVD
WELL... IN KRAKOW [MASTER DISK POST PRODUCTION] [HOLY RECORDS]
[METAL MIND PRODUCTIONS] It isn’t everyday that we get the chance Holy Party took place on 16th January of
This is a typical low profile band that to review something from a band com- 2005 in France with the participation of
only cares about what they do best ing from Israel, still less in a digital five bands: Trepalium, Division Alpha,
which is playing music. Green video format. But for the ones who fol- Garwall, Supuration and Misanthrope, all
Carnation have grow a lot and very low the metal music scene know that of them signed to Holy Records.
quickly to become a serious nail on Salem is not a newcomer, in fact they The opener act is Trepalium with a set
any progressive metal fan’ heart, but are older than most acts nowadays. lasting almost 30 minutes of brutal
what could we expect from master- The band was formed in 1985, Death metal with enough dynamics and
minds like Tchort (Emperor, released so far four albums and a few a great drum work capable to wake up
Carpathian Forest, Satyricon) or more products, like this DVD shot in the death. The crowd seems to know the
Anders Kobro (Carpathian Forest and front of 900 raging fans. This is com- band but to tell the truth the unidimen-
the superb In The Woods)?! Nothing posed by songs that were written since sional bark style of Kéké’ vocals ruins
else than a serious piece of well com- 1985 (F***ing Manic) ‘till the fourth my capacity of hear them to the very
posed and played music! album "Collective Demise" (Act of end. After the destruction of Trepalium I
The concert starts with Stein jamming Terror, Act Of War, Broken Yet United, guess that the second act Division Alpha
on his bass and while he plays the other band members enter on stage... this Al Taster, Collective Demise, Decadence In Solitude). The band started in a is a bit out of context, but on the other hand we have a pack of heterogeneous
is the perfect start for the 60 minutes of pure rush that we will witness... like more Doom/Death vein (with some Gothic tunes) but during the years added bands! A mixture of electronics with darkwave and metal is what this French
an addict after his heroin dose! The whole set is based on seven songs of more speed and even Black Metal guitar elements. One of the things that I duet (with a session keyboard/sampler member) is doing! The extremely bright
their highly acclaimed “A Blessing In Disguise” album plus the 1st part of the believe I need to refer is that the band is against all sort of activities that set of lights most of the time interfere with the filming, ending up with white
“Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness”. The band shows live that they can entirely would result in suffering and death of innocent people, said this lets go to spots on the screen. Musically as I said they are in my opinion out of the con-
reproduce what they accomplish on studio: great sound (possibility of Dolby what matters! text however I believe that with a higher dose of aggression they could result as
Digital 5.1), incredible set of lights and filmed by eight cameras giving you It’s evident that they are on their own territory, I mean everybody seems to a live act together with other metal bands. Garwall was the next band and intro-
the possibility of seen the band in all possible angles. The only thing that I know the band and the crowd goes totally crazy from the first row to the last duced their latest opus “Black Beast” by playing five out of six songs from that
can point out is that sometimes the band looks a bit too static, I mean in ones! Its curious to see that in Israel where we get the feeling by the (bought) record. They play intense black metal with some occasional melodic moments...
times where we have some really crushing moments I was expecting a more media that it’s an aggressive, extremely restrictive country there is no kind of for the first time we can see some mosh and intense headbanging. It’s clear that
enthusiastic reaction from the band... but probably the public haven’t helped protection (like bars) separating the stage from the audience... haaa, only after the cold bath of Division Alpha they were the only ones who could shake
either! We all know by now how enthusiastic the Polish crowd can be, yet this securities with pistols (haha). You get one hour, 15 songs of furious the audience’ asses! Unfortunately latest news from the band refer that both
time they can be excused since Green Carnation is one of those bands that death/black metal filmed with several professional cameras and a great sound Olivia and Balrog left the band and the band will suffer a change of vocal style.
needs full attention ‘cause there is so many things going on, on their songs! (available audio options DTS and 5.1 Dolby Digital). Vocalist Ze’ev Tananboim Was time for Supuration... this is a band that can’t be pointed as playing a par-
This DVD wouldn’t be completed without the usual goodies that we find in all marks his presence with a growling/shooting type of vocals and the message ticular style, the mix of several metal elements is what makes them special. Not
DVDs... This time the highlight goes for the interview where it’s given the his evident: anti-terrorism, stop the war, etc. Nir Najav blasts beats all over to mention the different vocal approach by the Loez brothers, in one moment it’s
possibility to all band members to answer the questions. Besides that you get the concert, Michael Goldstein has some great pounding lines and both Lior a growling type of vocals and in the next a clear one.
7 audio tracks, including acoustic versions of songs like “Into Deep”, Mizrahi and Nir Gutraiman raise the level of fury with good guitar riffs. It’s time to insert Disc2 for Misanthrope and the bonus features. As for extras
“Crushed To Dust”, “The Boy In The Attic” and “Myron & Cole”, covers from Besides the live gig, there is some extra material like for instance 7 video clips you can simply forget them, you have a backstage/sound check dull filming and
A-HA, Chris Isaac and some pre production material from “The Quiet from their very first to their fourth album, a short making of “Collective 5 bonus audio songs. So it only last the awaited baroque band to play their set
Offspring”. Demise” and “Live Demise”. I wish it had also some innovative elements like of 15 unique songs. Their French singing was something that never appealed
This is an essential product for all fans and an excellent introduction for new interviews, biography, some talking about their country or whatever. The 12 me that much neither some of their most complex song structures. I guess that
fans. [8.5] NUNO SANTOS page booklet instead of being used in an informative way only has photos for fans of the band they can found here 90 minutes of entertainment but if ‘till
from the band... now you never turned into a fan this is certainly not convert you.
HATE : THE LITANIES OF SATAN A band that evolved during the years with fans around the globe and this is a If you had the opportunity to be there I can recommend this DVD ‘cause it’s a
[METAL MIND PRODUCTIONS] nice addition to their discography. [7] NUNO SANTOS testimony of 4 metal hours or also if you are Misanthrope fan which is not my
I guess I’m suspect for making this case! [5] NUNO SANTOS
review, since I’ve already interviewed SKINLESS : SKINFLICK
Adam on the previous issue and I’m a [RELAPSE RECORDS] V/A : Metalmania 2005 - DVD+CD
big fan of Hate’s music. This is the type This documentary thing seems to be [METAL MIND PRODUCTIONS]

of Black/death metal that I’m really having some success. After Mastodon There isn’t much to say about this DVD,
into, brutal blasting all over the way, I’m again in charge of reviewing anoth- besides a few songs from each band you
sometimes similar to what Vader and er band documentary. My first notes will not find much more in here. Only a few
Behemoth are doing, it’s like a faster regarding Skinflick is that it’s probably photos, some info on side stage bands,
version of Morbid Angel! not so complete than the Mastodon some festival’ history, logos and weblinks.
Better than hearing “Awakening The DVD or in other words not so well The bands featured in here were the
Liars” (the last CD I have from them) organized. In here you get everything ones that played on the main stage. It
just seeing them also! One of the on the same movie, performances, kicks in with the performance of
things that really impressed me was filmings from before and after the Darzamat and only one song is seen and
the ability of Hellrizer behind the shows, chats about albums, insights to tell the truth they didn’t impressed at
drums... his drumming is so fast and on studio, parties... well probably all all. The chosen song is simply ridiculous
powerful that I could only watch the entire show in an angle that could only that happens in a band’ life. I usually with a lyric where they repeat more than
see him, but this is probably because I’m a drum lunatic! In the front row his am not so found of videos where the 50 times the word storm, storm, storm...
Adam with his B.C. Rich guitar and attacking the audience with his intense evil band members talk between songs but next. Dies Irae enters and after a long
growling, Cyprian and Kaos on both bass and rhythm guitars and headbang- since these guys are also good entertainers this DVD turns into a great watch- intro they brutalize the audience with
ing like there was no tomorrow! On stage Hate gives an intense lesson on how ing. There is this part where they found a dildo and end up getting fans suck- some intense death metal. Doc was still among us and he shows why we were
blackened Death metal should be played and in return they get a cooperative ing it to get free signed posters. There is even this girl with small boobs try- considered by some the fastest drummer around. It surely brings me back some
crowd. Impressively one of the less intense moments is when they play the ing to make a boobsjob! One of the funniest moments is where they are in memories of the Vader gig he played here in Lisbon, Portugal. Rest In Peace.
Slayer song “Postmortem” however as a cult song it is everybody seems to Japan and Joe’s trying to learn a few Japanese words and he ends up getting Time for an unknown band... ANJ. Who the fuck are these guys? Terrible. Next.
know it and the crowd goes nuts! Compared to other Metal Mind Productions a bunch of Japaneses shooting out loud cocksucker not knowing what that Time for Amon Amarth to raise the Viking flag! Now we are talking about good
DVDs I guess this one is one of the shortest and also poorest, the gig only has means, hilarious! music, it’s clear that the polish audience also thinks the same and at this point
a bit more than 50 minutes. And in matters of extras on contrary to other Skinless is a brutal death metal force that knocks down anyone that steps in we have the more enthusiastic feedback from the crowd. They seem to know the
DVDs you won’t get bootleg videos or any bonus audio material, just the usual their front, one prove of that is their brutal shows. You don’t need much, just Viking legacy and the two songs featured “Fate Of Norns” and “Death In Fire”
interview, biography, discography... well nothing too amazing if you ask me, press the play button and in a matter of seconds you realize this is an evi- are highlights on the bands’ career. There are bands that due to its violent nature
the type of things that you only see once! The only difference is that you get dence just in the first song “Foreshadowing Our Demise”! Constant mosh, you know you will see great gig... Dark Funeral belong to this section of bands.
a several bible quotations for your amusement, like: “There she lusted after stage diving, crowd surfing, slam dancing, mosh pit, wrestling hits, you name Their songs live are so violent that it’s impossible not to headbang like a lunatic.
her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission it... they have it all. I can surely recommend this DVD and all their albums but Unfortunately you only get the chance to see 4 songs, but it’s better than noth-
was like that of horses.”. especially the 2001 “Foreshadowing Our Demise” and 203 “From Sacrifice To ing I guess! The Haunted presents three intense Thrash Metal songs, like they
I guess this is the type of brutal product that real headbangers should have in Survival”. Skinless or die! [8] NUNO SANTOS have already used us to. Yet I found “Nothing Right” as a better choice rather
their (original based) collections and will certainly convert many more into than the other two songs “99” and “Abysmal”. Pain... to tell the truth I never
ones! [9] NUNO SANTOS VADER : NIGHT OF THE really understood why Peter have created this project.. but it seems that Poland
APOCALYPSE knows him well. People just go crazy jumping around with “Shut Your Mouth”.
MASTODON : THE WORKHORSE [METAL MIND PRODUCTIONS] On this pack is also Arcturus, for some are considered one of the most innova-
CHRONICLES I usually don’t have much to say about tive bands around. They play two songs, one from their “The Sham Mirrors”
[RELAPSE RECORDS] Metal Mind Productions DVDs, but this album and the other from “La Masquerade Infernale”. Turbo follows... a band that
I was really thrilled after checking the time I believe that in the anguish to I guess doesn’t have much exposition beyond the polish borders, yet they are
45 minute documentary made by the turn Night Of The Apocalypse into a competent with their classical Heavy Metal. At this point its time to go warp
band which explains the Mastodon great product at the level of what Vader speed with the veterans Napalm Death. It’s incredible how these guys maintain
legacy from the very first days. They has used us to with their albums things the same rhythm during all these years; we have an electrifying Barney, a brutal-
are really funny guys especially Brann were pushed a bit too far. I have two izing Shane, a riff maker Mitch and a fast Danny on the skins. To end, nothing
Dailor and Brent Hinds, which have a complains that result in the grade I give could be more wrong... Apocalyptica! What the fuck are these guys doing here?
refreshing sense of humour and that below, one is the camera work. We get After the discharge of the British grinders we get these guys? Puke! Besides
aspect turns the first 45 minutes that I 8 professional cameras, so far so three or four bands I guess this is a decent DVD but nothing more than that.
watched of “The Workhorse good, great quality like always but the The audio CD is also a positive point here and you get songs from bands like
Chronicles” quite amusing and inter- final result on the TV screen is just a Thunderbolt, Hermh, Hell-Born, Supreme Lord, Mess Age besides others.
esting. Besides this you get a music jumping camera not giving much [6] NUNO SANTOS
video section, that in addition to the opportunity to check details (switching
three videos “March Of The Ants”, cameras every 2, 3 seconds its not a good idea of production to me), zoom V/A : RECOLLECTION 2
“Iron Tusk (uncensored)” and “Blood ins and outs, shaking camera effects to give the feeling that they are simply [RELAPSE RECORDS]

And Thunder” you also get a creating the videos part where the band explains
the whole filming experience.
As for the main part, the live performances... well at first I was quite disapp-
pointed to see that they didn’t had the video and audio quality that we are
used to in this digital format. But after all, this is a documentary about the
band and they needed to stick with that formula, so we get live appearances
from their entire career starting from the time they were a 5 piece line-up
until the present days, its more like an overview of the band I guess. The
quality differs according to where they were playing, I mean, in one song you
get a home video camera and in the next several professional ones. “The
Workhorse Chronicles” has 120 minutes where they cover material from their
early days to a more recent period, like “Slick Leg” EP, “Lifesblood” EP,
“Remission” 2002 album and “Leviathan” 2004 album.
I guess this DVD is what all bands that reach a certain level could do in order
to show to their fans their development, the little secrets and enjoyable things
that the band went by... As a documentary article that this is I consider it
ESSENTIAL to all Mastodon fans! [8.5] NUNO SANTOS
destroying the (fucking) place. I could live with this but what I cannot accept From all the DVDs I had to review this is
it's the sound quality in 2.0 stereo systems which are probably the most used probably the one that has the worst or
audio set up by the fans. The sound was too much reverbered and Doc’s most unoriginal concept. I mean grab-
drumming interferes with all the instruments. Sometimes he creates such a bing 16 video clips and inserting them in
massive wall of blast beats that we can hardly notice the bass and guitars. For a DVD isn’t the smartest thing to do. Not
instance the solos looks like they were pulled out from the back of the mix and that this isn’t an enjoyable watching but
gain an extra loudly dimension. Peter is growling like he used us, sharp and since there isn’t anything more into it, it
tight as hell! The main show also looks too short in my opinion, a bit lesser looks a really poor DVD.
than 60 minutes! For the ones who don’t have the time or
As for the extras we get 2 performances, one on the Metalmania 2003 festival the possibility to watch video clips on a
where they play 6 songs plus intro and the other in a stadium supporting TV channel this might result otherwise I
Slipknot and Metallica in 2004 with new band members Daray (drums) and guess that most of the stuff in here you
Novy (bass). Besides we have inside 3 different interviews where all band have already seen before! You get clips
members participate and give their vision on different topics, like studio work, from cool bands like Mastodon, Nile,
touring, first foreign gigs, unpleasant situations and so on! I wouldn’t say this Neurosis, Dying Fetus, Amorphis,
is a bad DVD, especially for the ones who don’t have their previous video Skinless, Suffocation just to name a few! If you have a few Euros to spend this
“Vision & Voice” (or own a 5.1 audio system), but for those who have, this might be a good fill in, since its sold quite cheap, at least on Relapse’ website.
one will not turn into their favourite! [6] NUNO SANTOS [4] NUNO SANTOS

ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 13

One of the main goals when forming a band is to get a record deal and put out a debut album in the lesser amount of time... so it’s kind of
their own musical and technical skills and only then thought about giving the next step. Assemblent
to find a band that took some extra time to mature
is a Portuguese band with almost no exposition ‘till now when they signed a record deal with the also Portuguese label Nemesis
“Equilibrium”, their debut album, 8 years after its formation and with a special help on one song from Fernando Ribeiro of Moonspell.
Assemblent started back in 1998 as a cover band and under
the banner Dawn. What lead you to take the next step and
turn the band into something more serious?
“The main reason to start making something ours was that we
felt that we needed to express our ideas with something truly
ours. After four years playing covers we reached a point that
we were mature enough to make our own songs and people
that went to our gigs were always asking when we were doing
our music... so we also made their will. (laughs)”
Do you think that those first years were necessary to gain
experience and at the same time shape your own sound?
“Definitely. Not only musically but also to get used to playing
live and establish that connection between us as a band and
the band with the audience.”
One of the things that I would like to ask you is; looking to
the final product do you believe that Miguel Fonseca was
the right choice to produce and record "Equilibrium"? He
has a metal background since he already played in
Thormentor several years ago yet his current bands wander
in different realms...
“Miguel is the best producer that any band should have to pro-
duce a first album. He is a very creative person and has a glob-
al vision of music, and its various forms. Although nowadays
not connected to metal directly he keeps his origins with him.
Bands like Bathory and Carcass are some of his reference
points so he brought his remembrance from that days to our
sound and mix them with his creativity and what he likes to do
now so he was the perfect person to materialize our sound...
raw metal riffs with dark modern environments.”
On the other hand you crossed the ocean to master the disc.
Colin Davis, member of the US Death Metal band Vile, was
the person chosen to give the final touches! How did you
end up in the US mastering the disc?
“Colin was a proposal from our label Nemesis. We talked with
him, and he seemed a very competent person, with a great will
to work with us. He has been in metal world for a long time, is
a master axeman so he was the right person for the job.”
Do you believe that Assemblent is a clear mixture of the
musical influences that each band members has? I gave a
quick look at your website and saw bands like Tool, Marilyn
Manson, Carcass, Dimmu Borgir, Anathema, At The Gates,
Doors, Black Sabbath just to mention a few...
“You took a look on our profiles... This is what which one of
us really likes and motivates us to do something of our own.
14 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
and released
But it doesn't mean that you will hear a bit of everything...
"Equililibrium" has more my influences on the surface because
all the songs and lyrics were written by me.”
Since you were the main writer on the band, how the
process of composition took place when creating
"Equilibrium"?
“"Equilibrium" born totally from guitar riffs. At home I com-
posed a song, and then rehearsed with our drummer to define
tempos. Afterwards the rest of the guys completed with their
personal touch and instrument. Meanwhile I have already writ-
ten the lyric and discuss with Sergio the best approach to
singing it. With a lot of rehearsals, when everyone was ready
to play their part each song of "Equilibrium" took form.”
Would you say that you have found the Assemblent sound
with "Equilibrium"? I mean we all know that bands progress
during the years, musicians get skilled, new influences
come... however now that several months passed since you
recorded "Equilibrium" would you add or take out anything?
“I think "Equilibrium" has the basic formula for our sound. The
next album will definitely be a maturation of this one and some-
thing else. When you listen to a song too many times you can
have a glimpse on alternative parts but we are very sure that
we wanted to be like this and very happy with the final result.
Now we let different approaches to our live shows so that the
audience can have a unique experience live and not hear only
the tracks as they were listening to the cd at home.”
By the way the song Silent Cries has the participation of
Fernando Ribeiro from Moonspell on the vocals. How did
Fernando end up singing on that song?
“We really like very much of Moonspell. When we were play-
ing covers as "Dawn" the first time we really feel something
special playing together was when we played for the first time
"Midnight Ride". They are a Portuguese band that strived hard
to be unique and establish something special not only here but
also in the foreign. So to pay our respects and honour their
work we invited Fernando to participate on our album. Luckily
he liked what we were doing and gladly accepted our invita-
tion. This was a dream come true...”
One of the things that are curious in that track is that it could
easily be a Moonspell song. Did he also had any participa-
tion on the composition of that song or it was chosen that
one due to that? I mean it is the closest one to the
Moonspell legacy!
“No, Fernando just sang the track. He listened to the whole
“strange”
journalist: Nuno Santos
album and it was him who chose "Silent Cries". I remember
him saying that "Silent Cries" had something special... maybe
it was the relation to a Moonspell song, I don't know. This
track has a different approach than Moonspell itself but the
structure of the music, the atmosphere, reinforced with
Fernando's voice, made the Moonspell legacy come fourth.”
We all know that the Portuguese metal scenario isn't one of
the most prolific; however you ended up getting signed with
one of the few Portuguese metal labels, Nemesis Musica.
How did it happen?
“We spent 2005 sending promos to foreign labels, but beside
the good feedback that we add we didn't get any real propos-
al. So we tried here in Portugal and Simão from Nemesis
showed great interest on working with us and we thought that
it was a good starting point so we decided for Nemesis.”
The introductory words of Grammaton Cleric were taken
from the movie Equilibrium. Was this song and the whole
album totally inspired in it?
“This song and the intro "Equilibrium" are directly related to
the movie, but not the whole album. "Equilibrium" stands for a
search for a balanced emotional state.”
Talking about influences in the lyrical and musical side of
the band, is there any predefined themes that fits more the
concept of the band?
“"Equilibrium" talks certain aspects about human nature that
I'm attracted to, impossible love, irrational hate and loneli-
ness. There are no predefined themes for Assemblent but the
ones we choose are definitely related.”
The song title Heartwork is in any your tribute to Carcass? I
know that one of your influences is that particular band!
“Heartwork" is my tribute to Carcass legacy. When I wrote it I
was very into the "Heartwork" and "Swansong" albums but at the
time I didn't knew that they had a song called "Heartwork". So I
decided that this song was to be named "Heartwork" has their
album because the guitar riffs always reminded me of them.”
You have filmed a video clip for this very same song that
appears on the CD. What can you tell us about it and why
did you choose this particular song?
“Well, the video simulates a live performance. It was a Do It
Yourself production, because Sergio, he directed it, has a
degree on image treatment. So we took a chance on making
the video, and I think in the end it turned alright. We chose
"Heartwork" because we all like that song very much was the
one that had more feedback from people in general, besides
"Silent Cries".”
You are taking an extra care with the visual side of the band.
To support my statement there is also the killer dark cover
artwork that adorns "Equilibrium". What can you unveil
about it?
“The cover was designed by our producer Miguel, he is a
designer also. He was involved with the album and he really
able to pass our music into paper. Rui Pilão, our designer took
care of the rest of the layout, lettering and logos and did and
excellent job. Visual speaking it's a great (he)artwork.”
Recently you played at the side of killer Thrash Metal band
Exodus. What can you tell us about that experience?
“It was a strange experience. The line-up of the festival was so
apart, with the intensive thrash of Exodus and the goth of
To/Die/For and Beseech that the audience was real different. On
one hand we had the goths on the other hand we had the old
school-thrashers, somewhere between there was us... tough
crowd! We left the stage without knowing if the audience enjoyed
the show but the five of us had a good time. We played a differ-
ent set, the more aggressive one till now. I had the feeling that
most of them were for the first time in touch with our music.”
Will you start playing live more regularly in order to pro-
mote your debut album?
“It’s on our plans to do so. We want to show our album to as
many people as we can. We believe that we achieved some-
thing special with “Equilibrium” and we also want to help the
metal genre to grow better and stronger here in Portugal.”
Well its time to end. Any last comments?
“Thank you very much for this highlighted spot on Ancient
Ceremonies. “Equilibrium” is out now and I really hope that it
can replenish the souls of the ones who listen to it as it replen-
ishes ours by sharing it...”
- www.assemblent.co m -
THE TOUR BUS DRIVER FROM HELL
So how do you feel? Still very tired from the tour?
“Yeah, more or less. I think it's gonna take more than a cou-
ple of days to get back to full strength, back to the real world
and normal life.”
I didn't knew that Mortician were big enough in Europe to
the point of being headliners.
“Yeah they are. I think they have very dedicated followers.”
So, can you enlighten us about the events that took place in
Poland? Specifically with Will Rahmer (bass, vocals) from
Mortician.
(Jason pauses and changes his tone a bit) “Well it's very dif-
ficult... It's very very difficult... (he seems to hesitate). All I can
say is that we had the worst bus driver in the world, and no
one could sleep on the bus because he was driving so badly.
So, because Will wasn't getting any sleep he started to feel
sick, and decided to take some medicine to get better. I think
he probably had a bad reaction to this medicine. Anyone who
knows Will, knows he's a health and fitness fanatic. Usually he
doesn't take any medication, he doesn't use drugs, and he
doesn't really drink or smoke either. He's a health freak. So we
think he had a bad reaction to some medicine he was taking
and some of the body building things he takes, combined with
no sleep and very little food. As a consequence he just flipped
out. It was a very scary and a very unpleasant thing for every-
one who was there. He suddenly disappeared in a fit of para-
noia which I'm convinced was entirely brought up by the med-
ication he was taking. The last time I saw Will he was running
off into the night and being chased by Sam (Inzerra,
Mortician's drummer) in a middle of a completely paranoid
episode, and then he got into a taxi. But at this point I know
he wasn't himself anymore and he didn't really know what he
was doing. (apparently, Will Rahmer injured the taxi driver). I
think you will find the reports in the polish media extremely
inflated and I'll be very surprised if they bear much resem-
blance to the real facts. I can only hope that the polish author-
ities manage to resolve this thing soon because he's a very
good men and he certainly shouldn't be in jail for something
that ultimately was a consequence of sickness.”
After these unfortunate events it seems that the tour went on
with members of Akercocke and Blood Red Throne assisting
Mortician in the bass guitar and vocals, right?
“Yeah, that's correct. I mean, we expected the tour to be can-
celled once we learned that Will got himself into trouble, but for
various reasons it was decided to continue with the tour, and
so we just helped the way we could. We took turns to playing
bass and doing vocals. Roger (Beaujard, guitar) taught us the
songs very quickly and we just did the best we could.”
You did the vocals?
“Not all, but about half the set. Vald from Blood Red Throne
did the other half. I did also a few tracks on bass and Matt
(Wilcock) our guitar player, and Pete (Theobalds) our bassist,
helped as well. So you know, we shared the learning of the
songs because it was impossible for one person to learn
overnight all the bass and vocals for 22 songs.”
"WORDS..." IN WORDS
Ok, let's get down to other stuff now, namely your new
record. So how is the collective feeling inside the band about
this new album, after more than a month from its release?
“Pretty good. It's obviously very pleasing that the record has
been so well received in all courses, so we feel pretty good
about it. It was nice to go out and play some shows, though
we didn't play as much material from the new record as per-
haps we would have liked, but we are working on that. These
were still early dates. We got a show coming up with Opeth in
about a week in London which we look forward to it. We'll try
to play a few more songs from the new album there. On the
whole the feeling within the band is pretty good right now.”
Your live set on this tour was, say, about 50% of the new
album?
“No, it was less. It was about 30% of the new album, something
like 3 or 4 songs. We played something from each of the four
records. It was a supporting set, we played for about 40 min..”
"Words..." has already entered at least two album charts in
the UK, right? Was this the first time you hit the charts?
“No, we did it with "Choronzon" as well when it was released.
It charted somewhat briefly as well (laughs). I don't really pay
much attention to those things.”
In my opinion, this new record embodies the greatest pro-
gression ever in your career. Do you agree?
“I don't know, we really don't think about it that much. It's very
much an intuitive thing for us. We didn't sit down and said -
let's try to take some sort of big step. We just said - let's try to
keep things interesting; let's just move forward. We would hate
to make the same record twice, as that would be totally unin-
teresting for us as songwriters and as players. So it's always
just been about trying to keep things interesting amongst our-
selves, and in that sense I suppose it will always go somewhere
different from the last release. But it wasn't really a controlled
decision to trying to push the envelope that much.”
Anyway, you would agree this is the first record that fea-
tures so many non-extreme and even light elements, so
uncommon until now, that, I'm sure, caught most of your
fans by surprise.
“Sure, but that's a good thing for us! We listen to lots and lots
of different music, so I guess it was just a matter of time before
it started to reflect most strongly in the music we make.”
Yeah, up until a few days ago I didn't knew you were fans of
Rush. I guess the song "Shelter from the sand" is the one
that reflects the most that influence.
“Sure! I'm a massive Rush fan. I think I got into Rush when I
went to secondary school and I was about 11 years old. It was
about 1981. Now I've got pretty much the entire Rush collec-
tion. And I'm one of these weird people that, contrary to most
Rush fans that like only their 70's or 80's stuff, I like it all, I
like the 90's stuff as well. So, again, it was only a matter of
time before that sort of stuff started to manifest a little bit
more in our music.”
Considering these substantial new strange influences that
make "Words..." a bit more accessible, I guess you would
not be surprised if someone accused you now of selling out.
“Yeah, but I don't really care, you know. The bottom line is this
- if you listen to it, it still is a fucking weird record. So selling
out... What is that? Does that mean you might sell like 300
more copies? Really... I'm not under any illusion that sudden-
ly we gonna start selling bucket loads of records and making

In a mere seven years Akercocke has done more for extreme music than many veteran bands in their whole careers. Starting with a
self-release that already hinted at greater things to come, the London-based outfit evolved with giant steps in the following records,
developing in the process their very own concept of intelligent extremity. The highly praised "Choronzon" released in 2003 was their
first real crowning achievement bringing the sharp-suited gentleman to the underground spotlights. Two years later, fuelled by the sim-
ply motivation to keep things interesting mainly to themselves, Akercocke progressed further on and expanded their demonic brutality
with the most daring progressive elements, creating "Words that go Unspoken, Deeds that go Undone", their most ambitious album to
date that can very well place the band at the same groundbreaking level as death metal wonders Opeth and Nile.
In the next day after they returned from a rather turbulent 18-date European tour in mid November with Blood Red Throne and headliners
Mortician, front/axe-man Jason Mendonça called us from is home for an update on the latest events around Akercocke, namely the
tour, the recent line-up changes and off course the new album. Because it's not everyday you get the chance to speak with someone
involved seriously in Satanism, this was also an opportunity to shed some light on the issues of the dark one.
journalist: Ernesto Martins

16 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
TV appearances. We're still just the little old Akercocke from
London who make weird records to amuse ourselves. And if
people wanna call me a sell-out I don't really care. Fuck'em!
Whatever... They obviously got their heads too stuck up their
asses... Or too much time on their hands to even be consid-
ered idiots like us!”
Well if you wanna know my personal opinion, I think that
Akercocke together with other notables such as Nile and
Opeth are a blessing in this stagnated music scene of today.
Basically you belong to that small group of bands that took
extreme metal to a new level and are keeping things inter-
esting. So what do you think of all this? Do you follow the
metal scene in particular these other bands that, like
Akercocke, are pushing the boundaries of extreme music?
“Well first, thank you men. I don't really follow the metal scene
very much, but I think it's healthy what they are doing. I mean,
it's great and I respect what they do. The Nile guys and the
Opeth guys, they're all really good musicians, and I respect
that very much even if I don't buy their records. I like the
extremity of Nile. I think they've taken it to a whole new
dimension while maintaining a high level of intensity. Nile have
succeeded beyond all others' attempts, specially with their last
record, which is so relentlessly brutal. Opeth I don't really
know, but from what I've heard I find it very interesting. I pre-
fer their acoustic stuff more than their heavier stuff. But again,
I respect the fact they're obviously not afraid to draw upon
their influences, and that's great, that's wholly encouraging.
So in essence I support both of what those bands do even if
I'm not particularly familiar with their catalogues.”
You will get to know more about Opeth in the next London
show, right?
“Yeah, I'm very interested to hear the material from their last
album because everyone is saying it's so good, you know. I'm
just very intrigued to listen to that.”
Is this a one off gig or the beginning of another tour?
“Yeah it's a one off gig unfortunately. It would be really good to
go out on the road with Opeth, they have a very good reputa-
tion and I'm sure they are all cool guys. But right now I think
we just pushed our bosses’ favours far too much to be able to
go again on tour (laughing). So we will get back to work now.”
So, tell me more about the creation of "Words...". Is there
a main creative core in Akercocke, or basically everyone
has a say during the writing process?
“Yeah pretty much, it tends to work as a group, everyone has
an input in the songwriting. But this time, just for reasons of
deadlines, I actually wrote quite a lot of the material myself
just because we were running out of time. When we write col-
lectively it tends to be a bit of a slower process, but that's
always the preferred way of doing songs. But everybody has
certainly an input even into the songs I essentially wrote the
music for. I mean, when it came to the recording Matt and
Dave (Gray, drums) had their say in the production, so every-
one's input went in other ways, if you see what I mean.”
Did Matthew contributed also a bit in songwriting?
“Mathew came in when we had the album almost complete,
but he wrote pretty much the song "Penance". He just turned
up to band practice one day and said - I've written a song. And
we went - Have you? Ok let's hear it. And he played about 80%
of "Penance". So we went - Uau! that's great. Ok, we'll run with
that then. So that was fantastic we were really pleased about
that. But Matt's talent is reflected also in his lead guitar work,
which, I think you'll agree, is phenomenal.”
Yes, it sure is! And what can you tell us about Paul Scanlan?
Why isn’t he in the band anymore?
“Well, I'll be the first to say that it was a very difficult decision
to break the original line-up after eight or nine years of
Akercocke, but at the end of the day we couldn't communicate
with Paul anymore, and I don't know from his side why that
was. More or less as a consequence, the band suddenly came
to a halt. We've written, I think, three and a half songs for
"Words..." and then nothing more happened. Whenever we tried
to write new stuff we just weren't getting anywhere, and it was
very difficult to communicate with him. It was like he didn't
want to participate anymore. He got us to a point where we said
- well, either we finish the band now and just call it a day, or we
cut the cancer out. So Pete, David and I discussed it for a long
long time, and we decided we weren't ready to quit just yet, so
unfortunately Paul had to leave. It was a hard decision to make.”
So basically Paul lost interest in the music.
“No, I don't think so! But honestly I couldn't tell you what his
agenda is. Paul is a guitar-obsessive and a phenomenal gui-
tarist. I think he has an amazing talent, and he's such an
abstract off-the-wall player with a great style, but he just was-
n't working with us anymore.”
And what about Daniel Reeves (keyboards), is he a perma-
nent member in the band?
“No, not at all. Never has been. He helped us out but he's part
of a London band called Ted Maul.”
So how do you manage with all the keyboard parts of the
new record in a live set?
“Yeah right, that's when Daniel comes in. Sometimes when we
play the more involved stuff, if he's available he comes and
plays live with us, if not the keyboard backing tracks are pre-
viously played and recorded by Dave in a laptop, which is a bit
boring. Actually it's much more fun to do it live 'cause then we
can play as fast as we like, and if it is on the laptop the speed
is pre-programmed.”
A LESSON IN TRUE SATANISM
Ok, let's talk now a bit about the lyrics. I know that what you
write usually concerns Satanism in one way or another, but
what do you write about exactly? Is it your viewpoints on
various issues as practicing Satanists?
“David writes most of the lyrics. He wrote the previous three
albums in its entirety. I contributed with lyrics for two songs
on this record. From a subjective viewpoint the lyrics are
essentially satanic, but they weren't written with any particu-
lar satanic intent. They come from a person with a satanic
viewpoint, but I don't think they are directly satanic songs. As
for David's lyrics, he falls into all sorts of areas, again writing
from a satanic perspective. He wrote the lyrics for "Shelter
from the sand" which is entirely about John the Baptiste.
Some of the other songs he wrote have been influenced by the
legends of the knights’ templars. So, he covers lots of differ-
ent territory, but, essentially, his lyrics have always been life-
affirming and about celebrating life through sex, through
excesses and enjoyment. So it's funny when people often say
- your music is depressing or it's unhappy or whatever... I
resent that, I think our music is quite uplifting really, because
the lyrical themes of living one's life to the full, having a lot of
sex and drinking, and enjoying life 110%, are about celebra-
tion. And that is what life's all about.”
So what the hell do you mean when you say you are "blast-
ing for Satan"? It seems you are in some kind of mission on
his behalf.
(Jason laughs loudly).”It's off course all tongue in cheek...
Yeah, I suppose so, I will love to go along with that (Jason
uses a sarcastic tone here). It would make so much better
reading for your magazine if I convince you I was wholly moti-
vated by visions of the dark lord, his satanic majesty with his
horns and all... In a sense we are...”
From the little culture I have on this subject, I guess being
a Satanist has to do with a philosophy of life, a set of codes
to live by. Is this what it is really?
“Broadly speaking, yes. All it means to me is that I am putting
myself in the centre of my own universe, and ensuring my hap-
piness is paramount. Also, it's not taking any shit from anybody
and putting myself first. It’s a very pragmatic and a very sensi-
ble set of satanic ethics, which is often greatly misunderstood.”
Yeah, people tend to mistake the view of Satanism as a phi-
losophy with Satanism as a cult or religion with everything
bad that comes with it like dogmas and deities.
“Yeah, but that's maybe for lunatics, I don't know. That's
organized religion like the Church of Satan and that's certain-
ly not for me. I've got nothing to do with those people what-
soever, or any other similar groups. They are just as bad as...”
... as any other religion.
“Yeah! Certainly.”
One last question on this subject - probably a stupid one: To
be a practicing Satanist it means you are necessarily an
anti-christian?
“No! Non-sense. It's not a stupid question at all. I'm far from
anti-christian. Actually I've got nothing against christians. And
I've got nothing against muslims, followers of judaism or
whatever. I leave the anti-christian ideas to guys like Deicide.
I'm too fond of religious art and the architecture of churches
AKERCOCKE : WORDS THAT GO UNSPOKEN, DEEDS THAT
GO UNDONE
[EARACHE RECORDS]
After the entry of Matt Wilcock (ex. The Berzerker) to fill the
gap left by guitarist Paul Scanlan most of you were probably
expecting a much brutal album... think not cause “Words That
Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone” marks a new era for
the british quartet, Akercocke. Besides the familiar aspects of
all previous albums these guys managed to insert in the same
dose experimentalism, more dynamism and even a constant
progressive edge. The result is the most diverse and well com-
posed album so far by Akercocke. I bet that these guys will not
stay like this, they will for sure expand this formula! I just
hope that they do not ignore the sheer brutality aspect that
also helped to form the success that this project is!
Working again with Neil Kernon (Nevermore, Macabre, Death
SS, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide) proved to be an excellent deci-
sion ‘cause he managed to grab perfectly Akercocke’s essence
into disc. When first playing “Words That Go Unspoken,
Deeds That Go Undone” have in mind that you will probably
need several listenings to get used to some insane passages,
some clean vocals by frontman Jason Mendonca or the extra
dose of keyboards. Akercocke marks their presence on the
metal scene by their reckless, dynamic and versatile posture!
[9] NUNO SANTOS
to be an anti-christian.”
Have you ever had problems in any country because of your
satanic ideologies?
“Fortunately not yet. There have been a couple of isolated inci-
dents with the local nutcases objecting to us being around,
but we managed to avoid anything that disrupted any gig or
anything like that. We went to the deep South America last
year and played there, and when we went to some of their
states we thought - where are we going?... - But fortunately
there was not trouble at all.”
This may be a bit of a cliché, but I cannot help to ask about
the way you dress. Does it have any connection with your
ideology?
“In a sense it has. I mean, you have to be quite disciplined to
live by any set of ethics, and so you can say that the way we
dress is a refection of that. But at the same time I just prefer
to look a certain way, and this is probably an equally valid
answer, and that's all there is to it. If you see the band live next
time in Portugal, we don't actually wear the full suits anymore
just because it's not practical. We are saving them for special
occasions. But we still dress very smartly...”
But not jeans...
“No, definitely not. No jeans at all.”
Isn't it possible that this unusual look you have for an
extreme metal band, may have caused a bit of a hype
around the band in the beginning and eventually gave the
band an additional push to the front of the underground?
“Yeah maybe, but I don't really give a fuck you know. And ulti-
mately what's wrong in being original? Satanism is about
originality, is about celebrating the unique, is about standing
aside from the pack. This is why we don't respect organiza-
tions like the Church of Satan that promote some sort of
cheap-like mentality, in that you all must subscribe to a certain
code and pay 200 dollars. It's exactly like being a christian,
you must go to church every sunday. And who says that just
because I'm on a death metal band I've got to wear a Slayer
shirt and tight black jeans? That's just non-sense! I'm too old
for that sort of thinking.”
THE PORTUGUESE CONNECTION
Ok Jason think this is it. Would you like to leave any final
words to our readers?
“Stay original and stay brutal.”
Before you go let me just clear one final thing: your family
name, Mendonça, is...
“... portuguese!”
Ok, great! I was already kind of suspicious about that.
“My full name is Jason dos Santos Mendonça. I'm of the
saints my friend!” (we both laugh)
So, you have portuguese ancestors.
“Yeah, my father is from Cascais and my mother is english.
I'm half portuguese.”
Cool!
“And for the portuguese readers I just wanna send a big
respect to Ricardo and Tiago Veiga of Steel Warriors
Rebellion, the Barroselas Metalfest. It's amazing, it's my
favourite festival in Europe!”
How many times have you played there?
“We've played it twice and it was fantastic. I love Viana do
Castelo, it's a beautiful place, and the Steel Warriors Rebellion
is the best in Europe. In my opinion it is organized by good
people and it's like a big family party for grindcore and death
metal freaks, and that's my kind of party.”
ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 17
8 FOOT SATIVA : SEASON FOR ASSAULT
[BLACK MARK RECORDS]
This band should apparently be New Zealand’s best answer
to an international player on the metal scene, and this
album that Black Mark has released onto the European
fields, should be the band’s best effort so far. We are in the
style of metalcore, with a thrashy and somewhat more
heavy and brutal approach than so many other bands with-
in the genre.
The base is laid upon thrashy and groovy blueprints,
spiced with many melodies and good lead here and there.
The bass is audible and is pumping out of the highway,
often with a funky touch to it. The guitar riffs are heavy,
and not that interesting, there is of course the occasional
good riff, but mostly the play seems uninspired. The com-
positions on the other hand are pretty good, the different
elements are worked well into each other, and there is a
nice flow on the album. The pace is punishing without
being fast, though it paces the songs forward and gives a
nice momentum to the material, which once on a while
seems like an out of control steam train. The vocals are
varied between a scream that doesn’t hit my taste and a
deeper spoken nu-metal vocal, not that interesting either,
but the variation of the two vocals do work well.
If it wasn’t for the massive production the album has got-
ten, I think I would have lost interest in this album very
fast. Though due to the crushing sound that pushes the
music out of the speakers and gives the music quite an
impact, it is listenable for a while. Looking aside the sound
and on the music, I don’t find it that lasting to be honest, I
grew bored of it pretty quick, due to the fact that’s so easy
to predict the songs progression. I guess this album will hit
it at the nu-metal audience and make them jump a bit. I
need my metal a bit more sophisticated, darker or evil, this
just doesn’t cut it as a good and long lasting album for me.
[5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
AARDI : BATHOS
[FIREDOOM MUSIC]
The Avantgarde movement is quite diverse, weird and it
supports lots of musical structures and styles. Who was-
n’t surprised with Arcturus, Ram-Zet or Fantômas? I
believe everyone was having a hard time to find a word to
define those bands’ sound. Nevertheless, bands like those
are still hard to label them in one word/one genre (Death,
Black...Noise...hum, nahhh). Some bands simply don’t
wanna follow any trend, or wanna be very rich and suc-
cessful. Instead, they bet on experimentalism and spend -
sometimes - years improving “that riff”, “that voice”, every
single little detail. They want it to sound perfect.
So, Aardi is this Finnish one-man-band formed by Master
Warjomaa, who explores different textures and styles on
this first album. Aardi plays a very weird sound: some-
times it plays Doom, sometimes Medieval Folk, other
times is experimenting Viking vocals and pure Ambient
cleaned sound. It’s impossible to define Aardi’s sound, but
some parts remind me of Bathory’s Viking era
(“Kivijumala”), for instance. The whole CD is very, very
calm, so it’s not recommended for Deathsters or any other
extreme music fans. “Bathos” is a unique experience, any
of my words is not enough to describe everything. I can’t
say if this is Avantgarde or Ambient, due to its total exper-
imentalism and slow tempos. I think that it is recommend-
ed for people who like to lay on bed in a very dark room
and taste the beautiful melody. Sigur Rós might also be
considered as a reference, or at least S. Rós fans will enjoy
this CD very much. [8] SIMÃO FONSECA
ABOMINATOR : THE ETERNAL CONFLAGRATION
[DISPLEASED RECORDS]
I’ve been following Abominator since their debut
“Damnations’s Prophecy” released back in ‘99 under the
now defunct label, Necropolis Records. During the years
the band has developed their primitive sonority however
this is the type of bands that can release a bunch of albums
and probably any of them will be a highlight on the metal
scene. Their extremely raw, straight forward and insane
music can delight some headbangers, especially fans of
bands like Sadistik Exekution, Angelcorpse or Bestial
Warlust but will surely pass aside the rest.
Production wise “The Eternal Conflagration” has a few
minor flaws, the bass is constantly behind the wall of
“noise” and sometimes only the guitar and the bass drum
are audible. I guess this doesn’t help Abominator at all, I
mean when having such intense and fast bands where its
essential to keep track of every aspect of the music in
order to maintain a high level of interest we get a slight flat
production. On the other hand this is their best album, the
years pass by and their songs turn more and more coher-
ent and enthusiastic with a few stand out points. One of the
things that has turned refined during the years is Chris
Volcano’ vocals which changed from a quite primitive
growling approach to a more solid rawer kind of voice, yet
he his far better behind the skins of his drum.
I guess “The Eternal Conflagration” would shine way more
with a better production where all details of this insane
band could be clearly heard. This is strictly for fans of fast
and intense black death metal music. [6] NUNO SANTOS
ABORTED : THE ARCHAIC ABATTOIR
[LISTENABLE RECORDS]
First of all, when I heard the Haematobic EP I was immedi-
ately curious to hear what it would be the fifth coming
release. The perfect sound quality of the album is the first
thing to notice. Every instrument is played in its best way,
Gilles Delecroix, the drummer, has everything to make this
album one of the most brutal and heavy in drums part. The
bass composition is constantly following the drums, which
makes a big difference between many death metal releases
nowadays. The guitars, although more into melodic scene,
they still also have the brutal death metal parts. Sven voice
is more versatile in “The Archaic Abattoir” than in the other
full-length Aborted releases, which makes it the biggest
value of this album and probably will add some fans to
Aborted. We can notice that they all grow up as musicians,
a big evolution since ‘95. Many songs remind me
“Heartwork” release from Carcass, in some instrumental
parts. The Lyrics are still the same, rotten and gore, as usual.
“The Archaic Abattoir” counts with guest appearances from
the vocalists of Illdisposed, Mnemic and Hatesphere. A good
18 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
release from a great band. I hope to see Aborted playing this
album in a gig soon. [8] NUNO CARVALHO
ABSCESS : DAMNED AND MUMMIFIED
[RED STREAM RECORDS]
If you do not know who Abscess is or if you never listened
to Autopsy before, then you definitely have a problem.
Oldschool death metal with punk and doom influences, raw
dirty and real. This is what death metal is and should be. This
is the band you should worship if you ever happened to like
Entombed or Dismember, or actually 90% of the Swedish
death metal scene of the 90s. This is sadly an underrated
band and the lack of publicity or ‘hype’ around this album
could make it an underrated gem as well. If you need me to
tell you about the subtleties of the studio production, the
songwriting sensibilities, the virtuoso qualities of the musi-
cians or the poetic nature of the lyrics then you better fuck
off and go buy whatever the crap you consider to be heavy
and cool. Abscess is not for you! [8] ERIC MASSICOTE
ABSENTIA LUNAE : MARCHING UPON FORGOT-
TEN ASHES
[SELF-RELEASED]
Getting straight to the point, Absentia Lunae have one
good characteristic that lifts them up above the base
ground of underground metal, even from acts whose
music is officially released by labels. In general, they
achieved an exceptional atmosphere that transforms their,
otherwise, “nothing-new” black metal into an item that will
partly satisfy your thirst for innovation in extreme music.
Their trick is the melodious parts that appear in a few
songs which cast the album with a lyrical and melancholic
feel raising the interest of the listener (and the reviewer as
well) who decides to pay close attention to the album till its
last seconds. It’s not only a ‘catchy’ melody on guitars and
keyboards. That wouldn’t say much. The specialty of the
sound lies in the complete alternation of the musical sce-
nario from aggressive, pitch-black metal to, as if a lethal
black veil covers the song suddenly for a few seconds, dis-
mal and bleak, ethereal ambiences that cannot but leave
you astonished. Gracefully for the band, who expresses
those mentioned alternations, in an attempt to produce
pagan feelings, with brilliant melodic singing, riffing and
majestic background keys over multi-layered composi-
tions, the transformation takes place in an eloquent
method that doesn’t cause any eye-brow to raise.
Unfortunately, if, hypothetically, someone takes those dis-
tinguishable moments away from the album, it would be
just like taking all bullets from AL’s gun-belt, leaving them
void of ammo. How are they, then, going to kill listener’s
boredom? Well, I am politely trying to say that the back-
bone of this self-released debut inhabits in the “typical-
black-metal” neighbourhood that so many bands have
already visited, times and times already. But we shall not
base our conclusions on hypothesis, only real facts count
and reality has granted those musicians with a skill, they
should take more advantage of. Honestly, from the other
moments of “Marching...” only some mid-tempo aggres-
sive parts have gained my sympathy, while some other
songs left me indifferent. Nevertheless, I sensed a group
that has something to say, something new to offer for our
aural pleasure and so I salute them! [6.5] JOHN ZIKOS
ABYSSIC HATE : A DECADE OF HATE
[NO COLOURS RECORDS]
This is something that I wouldn’t think of from a band with
only a debut album released! This is even stranger
because this do not gather all the ten years of Abyssic
Hate’ existence into a CD, but rather their first ‘94 demo
“Cleansing of and Ancient Race”, their ‘97 Mcd “Eternal
Damnation” and the song ‘Betrayed’ featured on the “No
Colours Volume 2 Compilation” Cd. What about the stuff in
between? The title “A Decade of Hate” would definitely
make sense if all stuff was featured ‘till their excellent
debut “Suicidal Emotions”! But Shane Rout has always
had a particular “fuck it” attitude...
This shows the development of this one man controversial
band, and I guess this might be a valuable item for all black
metal suicidal fanatics! [5] NUNO SANTOS
AD HOMINEM : CLIMAX OF HATRED
[AVANTGARDE MUSIC]
The French Black Metal scene is a strong one and has been
delivering quality-bands, there’s no doubt about that!
Bands like Antaeus, Nehemah, Deathcode of the Abyss,
Blut Aus Nord, and Deathspell Omega (I could go on for a
while!) show us that there’s more to France than good
wine and smelly cheese. It’s also a place where Satan man-
ifests quite actively through his servants.
Ad Hominem also belongs to the aforementioned list, I
could tell only by knowing them in theory (or should I say
‘him’, since it’s practically a one-man’s band?). Anyway, I
had heard some music of Ad Hominem before, but never
with enough attention I guess. On “Climax of Hatred” I get
confronted with a band that knows what its doing and, as
far as I’m concerned, is here to stay and crush!
This is Ad Hominem’s 3rd full-length album and, besides
one demo, they’ve released 5 splits. That’s quite a good
discography for a band created in ‘98 I must say! But then,
at the same time, it explains the maturity of the songs on
the new album, 10 in total, from which one is a very well
achieved cover of Mysticum’s “Crypt of Fear”!
The sound on this CD is really good and it fits the cold bru-
tality of the music perfectly. It’s awesome how Ad
Hominem manages to do this, I mean, it’s quite difficult to
end up with a good production, but without losing the
harsh Black Metal integrity! Ad Hominem succeeded flaw-
lessly! Check this album out! [8] TARAS VAN DIJK
AD VITAM AETERNAM : ABSTRACT SENSES
[KARMAGEDDON MEDIA]
For all of you who like old Theatre of Tragedy, Tristania,
trail of Tears and After forever, I can say you have a new
reason to smile. Going at the well know old, but always
modern ‘beauty and the beast’ aesthetic musicality, Ad
Vitam Aeternam don’t stand out a millimetre from that
swollen line, conjugating Fabien Longeot death like grunts
with Céline de Kerliviou angelical voice in a soprano man-
ner like she is, giving us the most enchanting band ele-
ment, followed by keyboard-partition that gives a magnifi-
cent Gothic Dark Metal atmospheric sound. Not constitut-
ing a newly, or a metal ‘Theatre of Tragedy’ reminiscence,
they are able to create a smooth, sweet melodic atmos-
phere, developing a very nice listening set-songs with an
own distinctive musical personality. ‘Abstract Senses’ is a
tranquil and comfortable piece of music, maybe to velvety
some times. Concerning the negatives aspects, because
they exist in this young French band, I can say, the guitars
sound a little flat, instead, they could be more uneven,
more belligerent for together with Céline performance bal-
ance more the melody between the ‘beast’ and the ‘beauty’
loading on emotion and melancholy. Another downside is
the drummer part. That’s the most awful section. Not in
terms of performance or drum-writing, but in terms of
production sound quality. That’s A.V.A. soul ripper, leaving
the ensemble depravedness. More, veil Céline perform-
ance not allowing her to ‘breath’ properly, and therefore,
‘Abstract Senses’ is not bless with character, have not
more down heart deep feeling, more darkness, more emo-
tions. That’s pity because all the rest is there. Nevertheless,
this is a very good and straightforward proposal, suffering
from the first albums sound-production common problem,
a production that not venture the some time present artis-
tic quality, musical and lyrical, being always resolve in
future albums with other production-means put at the
bands disposal, making us aftermath nostalgia on this
firsts albums. [7] CARLOS FILIPE
ADOLF SATAN : ADOLF SATAN
[BESTIAL ONSLAUGHT PRODUCTIONS]
Judging by the name I expected some Anal Cunt style of
music. The singer of this band is none other than Larry
Lifeless of Upsidedown Cross, and three other guys, all of
whom were at some point in AC. Larry is responsible for
these tortured vocals, but the music is pure sludgecore!
Razor riffs, and not a very good production. When I listen to
albums like this one, all I want to do is try and understand
what they say. Things are gloomy and the vocals are painful.
Always deranged and tormented vocals are PERFECT for
sludgecore. But that’s not my preference. There’s no other
way to put it for a music that’s so repetitive. Recommended
only for sludgecore fans. [4.5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
AFTER THE LAST SKY / INERT : THE ESSENCE OF
OUR ART IS HATRED / THE 3:00AM CONSPIRACIES
[CIRCUS OF THE MACABRE RECORDS]
This album jumps right into the fray. I didn’t really get a
chance to get in the mood of what I was about to hear
before my ears were being slammed with a washed out hi-
hat. After the Last Sky failed to impress me with this
release. Their musical approach is welcomed, blending
black/death metal elements with standard metalcore - but
I feel that they failed to fully explore its potential before
releasing the tracks on this album.
This EP definitely turns around right at track number four
for me though. Inert executes a punishing audio assault.
Track 5, Oblivious To the Threat is a unbridled circle mosh
song to the core. This band bleeds violence through your
photo: Alex Kuehr
AMON AMARTH : FATE OF NORNS
[METAL BLADE RECORDS]
In true Viking tradition, Amon Amarth return with one
of their most brutal, and best, efforts, yet. The epic
opener “An Ancient Sign of Coming Storm” sets the
scene for all that follow, preparing these mighty war-
riors for battle, with their death march (with some of
Fredrik Anderson’s excellent drumming and Olavi
Mikkonen and Johan Soderberg’s rhythm guitar
work); the relentless, onslaught, of the well-narrated,
title track, that builds, to a brutal thrashing, at it’s
finale, is their call to Oden, God on high, to seek
vengeance, and avenge them; the saga continues, on
“The Pursuit of Vikings”, that contains their heaviest
riffs, yet, as they set sail on stormy seas, with both
heads, and weapons, held high, that none shall defy;
the pace quickens, and congealing blood thickens, as
“The Beheading of a King” takes place, through an act
of treason, and features Fredrik’s best drumming on
the album; closing the contract, that “Once Sealed in
Blood” cannot be broken, bonds these brothers in
arms, forever more, to not break the oath. Blending
Unleashed’s brutal vocal style and sound, with
Manowar’s concepts of war, Amon Amarth are this
decades defenders of true, warrior, Metal, all others
can die by their swords! [9] CHRIS HORTON
speakers. One thing I could deal without is all the audio
clip sampling before songs, but at least the clips they
chose were tasteful. I have a feeling that a great future
awaits this group after hearing these four songs. I eagerly
await more. Definitely worth picking up for the 4 Inert
songs, After the Last Sky isn’t shabby, but not really my
thing. [5.5] MAX RODRIGUEZ
AGE OF SILENCE : ACCELERATION
[THE END RECORDS]
What would you expect from a band consisting of 3/4 of the
current line-up of Winds (Andy Winter, Hellhammer and
Lars Eric Si), Borknagar’s Lars Nedland, and two other rel-
atively unknown members? While black metal is the obvi-
ous common denominator between most of these person-
alities, this isn’t definitely the right answer. The new
Norwegian project which goes by the name of 4ge of
S1l3nce plays an avantgard-ish prog metal which may draw
comparisons to the above mentioned Winds as well as
Arcturus. When put against the first of these bands, AoS
comes across as more dynamic and not as classically-ori-
ented as “The Imaginary Direction of Time”. It features also
some string arrangements here and there, but it’s more
progressive in the true sense of the word. In addition, it
hints slightly at the same musical weirdness and psyche-
delia of Arcturus’ “La Masquerade Infernale”, but is not as
heavy as “The Sham Mirrors”. More than any of Winds and
Arcturus, A.O.S. displays a fair amount of 70’s prog influ-
ences particularly from the likes of Yes and Jethro Tull.
“Acceleration”, the band’s debut album, is very much cen-
tred both on Winter’s impressive keyboard/piano passages
as well as on the excellent all-clean vocal performance of
Nedland. In some tracks his singing is backed up by Eric Si
and enhanced with harmonizing effects, resulting in some
truly mesmerizing moments. The music leaves plenty of
room for Hellhammer to show off is ever-expanding drum-
ming skills, which is always something worth checking out.
Lyrically “Acceleration” is a surreal journey through busi-
ness buildings of concrete and glass, offices, paperwork,
and the stressful rush of everyday life activity, exposing in
a rather interesting way funny patterns of human behaviour.
Tracks 2 to 7 (all penned by Winter) comprise the record’s
finest moments, while the remaining songs seem a bit less
accomplished. Acceleration” may not be necessarily a
groundbreaking album, but it surely is relevant in today’s
metal scene. Recommended for the open-minded only.
[8.5] ERNESTO MARTINS
AHRIMAN : KODKIN OSVENY - MISTPAIN PATH
[TERRANIS PRODUCTIONS]
Melodic Black Metal from Hungary is on offer here. And I
was pleasantly surprised with this band as their lyrics about
shamanism and naturalistic ideology are quite original and
impressive. They start off with a mixture of medieval
sounds and Black metal that works perfectly! Well, it seems
Ahriman have been on the scene for twelve years now. They
mainly released demo tapes since ‘94 and in ‘01 they
released their first full-lenght “Naturegate”. So this is only
the 2nd release of this seven-member band and it was
recorded Studio 440 in Erd, December ‘04. Most tracks
seem to be in Hungarian but they still manage to be catchy
and cool. Lambert Ledeczy’s vocals are very seductive and
Zoltan’s and Istvan’s guitar playing impresses anyone!
There are lots of rhythm variations so you won’t get the
same blast beats over and over again and the keyboards
give the music a ferocity of its own. [7,5] SÓNIA FONSECA
ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY : RIVER CITY REVIVAL
[RELAPSE RECORDS]
A.T.’s whiskey drenched, Southern tasting doom rock is
infused with an originality I can’t quite put my finger on.
There’s no doubt that the standard Black Sabbath influence
is present in the guitar stylings, but it’s not just another
traditional doom metal band (though there’s nothing at all
wrong with those). There’s a white heat at the center of the
circular riffage jamming hard and heavy from the amps of
A.T. (Ampabama Thunderpussy) out of which exudes the
stoner sludge thickness that I can’t quite identify.
Something tenebrous yet relentlessly heavy that burns like
heated metal but smashes like darkness embodied.
Categorically, this is stoner metal, pure and simple. But it’s
not so simple. It’s as if the members of the band have
found a way to inject that nebulous something-or-other
that constitutes the human soul. These are men on fire -
the passion of the music states as much, and blatantly -
and they have somehow managed to cram the fight in their
spirit into the thick center of their hardy, sludged out
riffage. There’s truly a sense of individuality and identity
afoot in the music of Alabama Thunderpussy; but narrow-
ing it down to something definable is problematic at best.
What’s the secret? I could say, what’s their secret identity?
But speaking of identity, what’s important is how A.T.’s dis-
tinctive sound preserves its identity. Maybe that’s why this
band has been around a while to keep doomsters shaking
their fists in the air. With such bulging, muscular grooves
rippling like steroid injected biceps at the world’s best gym
and swinging like a drunken, Irish barfight, the listener is
left with no choice but to submit. [8.5] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
ALARUM : EVENTUALITY
[EARACHE RECORDS]
This Australian band has been on the lips of followers of
Cynic and the like-explorers of highly progressive death
metal infused with jazz. This album, the band’s second full
length has received a lot of praise down under, and was
named the best Australian metal release of 2004. It is now
available in Europe after a small detour to the US via
Willowtip Records.
As written the band takes off in technical jazzy death metal,
even though the death metal elements aren’t that many. It
is more built upon groovy technical pieces, nicely weaved
into each other. There are many breaks, though it is sel-
dom that the ruins the flow, they are worked greatly into
the songs and it flows nicely. The songs seem to have been
worked really through, the arrangements works, and the
band has some great ideas, that unfold pretty good. There
are a lot of good guitar work on the album, great riffs, good
melodic leads and great solos. The ever present bass is
delivering nice and funky lines all the way through the
album, and is a treat for bass fetishists. The bass has a lot
of place in the good and clean cut production. All the
instruments have, they all have all the place they need to
unfold themselves on, and that’s quite a plus, when there
at times is going a lot on, on the same time. Though at
other times when the music quiets down, it seems like
there is a big distance between the instruments, and that
makes the output rather thin, though that doesn’t happen
that often. The drumming on the album is good as well,
very varied, at times hard hitting and straight forward, at
other times more like percussion. The vocals are varied as
well, it differs between a growl that reminds me of a raw
and not as good as the early days of Chuck Schuldiner and
a clean, pretty good vocal, that contains a lot of passion.
This is quite an album to digest, if you’re into technical
metal with a touch of death, thrash and jazz, this is for you.
Great musicians and good song writers, make it all work
into a higher wholesome, and the result is quite listenable,
even though it takes some listens to get it to hang on.
Though I wonder about the hidden track that appears after
many many minutes of silence, I have understood the
meaning of such, and for me that ruins the entire atmos-
phere of the album. [8] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
ALGHAZANTH : THE POLARITY AXIOM
[WOODCUT RECORDS]
This release is the 4th of the Finnish outfit Alghazanth and
it’s also the 4th under the Woodcut banner. This 6-piece
band strikes again performing their majestic and melodic
Black Metal in the same vein of their previous album
“Osíris...”. The 3rd album granted them the recognition
they deserved and they finally proved to be worth noticing.
So the follow up to “Osiris” would be a kind of test to them
and I think I can firmly say that they passed the test with
“The Polarity Axiom” because though nothing much
changed, this is their best album so far. “The Polarity
Axiom” features eight heavy tracks with strong, impressive
lyrics and the chemistry is definitely here. My personal
favourite tracks include “Soulquake”, “The Herald For
Reason” and “With Black Aureoles”. This is not an out-
standing release but it’s quite a good listen so you better
check it out. “I can sense the intensity of their hunger to
consume what is still left of me”... [7] SÓNIA FONSECA
ALL SHALL PERISH : HATE.MALICE.REVENGE
[NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS]
In a time where Bay Area is completely split up, would you
expect what? Thrash metal bands?... I would think twice if
I were you. The Bay Area scene has changed quite a lot,
indeed, and nowadays you find two kinds of music: the
hardcore and the metal. So, where does All Shall Perish fit
in the middle of this division? In the middle. That’s where
they fit in. Five different minds have gathered together to
form one of the most interesting metalcore bands of the
moment in the US. They have the fucking balls to mix the
NYHC scene with the most devastating American death
metal bands, such as Suffocation or Dying Fetus, and
unlike 80% of the metalcore bands, you won’t find any
trace of Swedish influence here. “Fresh air”, some of you
may think.
Fresh air, indeed. I confess I was getting a little bit bored
with the whole Killswitch Engage clones, and it sure felt
good to play this entire record on my stereo. For once I
wasn’t listening to a KSE clone, I was actually listening to
a combination of moshcore alike break downs and that
cool & groovy down-tuned US brutal death riffage. For
fuck’s sake, this is THE SHIT! The brutal Craig Betit’s voice
alongside with two good guitar players (Beniko Orum and
Caysen Russo) and two rhythm machines: one on the
bass, one on the machine gun drumming style. They have
shared stages with a lot of god-like bands (Hate Eternal,
Suffocation, Dying Fetus, Six Feet Under...) and the “Hate
Machine” won’t stop until they conquer Europe, that’s
what I think. “Hate.Malice.Revenge” is a hybridization of
the heavy fucking music we love, and as a band, All Shall
Perish continues to destroy the stage while bringing
together the various scenes of heavy music to head bang,
spin kick, circle pit, two step, you name it...you will find
them at an All Shall Perish show. Give these guys some
time and they’ll find their true sound in a next album, but
check this shit out first! [8] SIMÃO FONSECA
ALLFATHER : WEAPON OF ASCENSION
[INVICTUS PRODUCTIONS]
From the outside Canada looks like a nice and quiet country,
though when judging on much of the music from up there,
one should think that the country is in an eternal battle with
about everything possible. The one after the other aggres-
sive and brutal battle metal album are descending from up
there, whether it is with its base in black or death metal.
Allfather has their base in black metal, thought there are a
heavy dose of chaotic threads of thrash here and there.
The compositions are as such very alike, brutal and relent-
less pieces of anger and frustration. The blend of a rasped
and screamed vocal is ear piercing and haunting, it makes
its mark very fast. The guitar riffs are spewed forth in a
pretty chaotic manner, the riffs are weaving in an out of
each other and creates a good amount of havoc and are
worthy of many listen, even though it might not be the
most original riffs being used. The drumming is good as
well, pretty varied and ranging from slow blastbeats to
lightening speed blasting, just check out a track like ‘Fight
Into Exile’ and enjoy how the drummer speeds up the
blasting in the end of the song, good work. The production
is as expected, raw with a lot of nerve and character. The
sound is getting through and the chaotic mix adds atmos-
phere and nerve to the hate fuelled war metal attack.
After the demise of killer bands as Bestial Warlust, Angel
Corpse and the likes and Deströyer 666 going more thrash
lately, Allfather is applying to the throne of this chaotic
genre, crossbreeding all the good and lethal elements from
black, thrash and death into one chaotic battle field, this
shall be heard. [8] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
AMMIT : MASS SUICIDE / STEEL INFERNO
[FROM BEYOND PRODUCTIONS]
What a great Chilean horde this one. True to their cause
and low profiled for over a decade now, this reminds me of
something!? This split release consists o both their early
full lengths and contains some 70 min. of dirty fuzzy old
school black / thrash in the vein of Sodom, Hellhammer,
Venom and the like! “Steel Inferno” has always been my
favourite from the day that tape version fell into my hands
as it sounds very close to the aforementioned kults. In fact,
music wise it has some songs those bands would only
wish to be able to create nowadays. Just listen to tracks
such as “Vengeance Command” and “Black Candles”!
Pure fucking class!! Only disadvantage for this side of the
disc is the overall low volume levels as it has obviously not
been re-mastered hence sounding quite weak. On the
other hand “Mass Suicide” (which was recorded back in
2000 - a couple of years after “Steel Inferno”) despite
being influenced by the masters of 80s black / thrash also
sounds (at least to my ears) a bit close to very early Sigh
yet without the avantgarde elements. Actually the whole
material sounds very early Sigh due to Count Czar Yang`s
decaying voice (could this be Mirai by any chance?!?!).
And if that was not enough at the end of the disc, one will
be able to listen to 3 tracks from a 2004 studio session.
Ammit is probably one of the best Chilean hordes in
today’s scene, sticking to what they can do best... per-
forming 80s black / thrash metal holocaust in the South
American way! [8] ALEX ANTONIOU
AMORPHIS : ELEGY
[RELAPSE RECORDS]
This band was a big revelation when they released “The
Karelian Isthmus”, so “Elegy” was a huge surprise as it
was one of the most experimental Death Metal albums
back in the mid nineties. “Elegy” was an experiment that
sighted forwardness and it all reflects in the music. By
composing and recording songs like “Against Widows”,
“The Orphan” and “My Kantele”, the band had proven
themselves musically. Highly open minded and colourful,
with some very nice oriental sound flirtations. It doesn’t
sound like a Death Metal record, but still it can be original.
Some of the more “Metal” tracks are the melodic “Against
Widows” and the Folkish “On Rich And Poor”. Tomi´s
growls don’t always sound perfect but are clean.
Polished keyboards and other weird stuff like tambourines
and sitars are present as well. They mostly focus on
Finnish literature and poems. Finally I’d say “Elegy” is a
cool example for someone who explores their music for
the first time. [8] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
ANAL VOMIT : DEMONIAC FLAGELLATIONS
[DISPLEASED RECORDS]
Along with acts like (earliest) Sepultura, Sarcofago,
Pentagram, Mortem or Ammit, Anal Vomit appears to be
quite an eloquent proof that sonic extremity, in its sheerest
form, dwells in South America and nowhere else!
“Demoniac Flagellations” is the first ever full-length from
these Peruvians and the 11 tracks on it are definitely going
to wipe even the toughest headbanger out! In other words,
what you should prepare your poor eardrums for is outra-
geous Death / Black Metal structured by vertiginously
rapid drum attacks, insanely howling leads, thick riffs and
vocals puking poisonous hatred with the inexorable dedi-
cation of a hired assassin! An album not to be missed for
sure, and those of you who enjoy listening to cover ver-
sions would most probably love to hear Anal Vomit’s inter-
pretations of Sepultura’s “Antichrist” (CD version) or
“Troops of Doom” (LP version). [7.5] VANYA MARINOVA
ANHKREHG : AGAINST YOU ALL...
[GALY RECORDS]
Anhkrehg is a blasting bash of black metal touched by
death and touching you with a sledgehammer of unrelent-
ing and unforgiving brutality. Like an out of control freight
train with horrible, jagged spikes along the side that comes
crashing off the rails and down the street and into your
house and through your mutilated body - well, you get the
picture. The percussion slams into your helpless self with
the force of machine gun rivets while the guitar riffs act as
acid-dipped whips to remove the filthy flesh from your bed-
immed bones. Hammering and unforgiving, concussive
and hard-hitting, “Against You All” comes off as exactly
that, a war manifesto against the world. The war has begun;
the band marches. All should beware. And take note, the
cannon fire will come not from guns but from music from
Hades’ outer reaches with enough force to drive you into
dust. This music is an attack on the senses and drives obvi-
ously from the hearts of those who hate the world but love
their goddam metal. [7.5] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
ANNIHILATOR : SCHIZO DELUXE
[AFM RECORDS]
Underrated guitar virtuoso Jeff Waters returns with a new
release, crafted by well-honed hands in the art of Metal,
with an added sense of humour, delivered with precision.
The opener “Maximum Satan” is interesting, in that it
blends radio edits, with demon growls, catchy riffs, and
lyrical rhymes, in a recipe for success. The “Warbird” takes 19th century European battlefields through to future cyber-
Metal to the max, pushing the limits of both speed, and space realms. Very surrealistic indeed. The band is flexible
sound, albeit repetitiously, it had me banging midway enough to move through various styles that extend from
through, then it took a Korn turn, and Nu-vocalist Dave Iron Maiden to Iced Earth, Nightwish and Slayer. Tight and
Padden shows how long he can hold a note. The moody, with musical experimentations that intrigue the listener,
atmospheric, “Too Far Gone” once again tests the limits, Antiquus is a band that you need to scratch the surface and
this time lyrically, at a steady pace, with lots of power, it reveal their deeper meanings and messages. I know it’s not
reminds me a bit of Metallica. Oddly enough, Jeff is still easy nowadays but I guarantee you that if you dig a little
using ideas that first surfaced 20 years ago, on various deeper you’ll probably find that they have a lot to offer. They
demos, like “Word Salad”, including the album’s title itself, seem creative as they have shown interest in writing musi-
and select riffs. [5] CHRIS HORTON cal themes for films and video games if they find the chance.
It’s really been a while, possibly since the Cloven Hoof “A
ANTHRAX : THE GREATER OF TWO EVILS Sultan’s Ransom”, which I have listened so closely to an
[NUCLEAR BLAST] album. I suggest you do the same. [5.5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
Anthrax has always been a band about the fans. This album
was released for their 20th anniversary and it was made by ARISE : THE BEAUTIFUL NEW WORLD
fans for the fans through their website voting process. This [SPIKEFARM RECORDS]
is Anthrax focused on crushing everything in their path. I remember watching these guys in a Vader tour some
“The Greater of Two Evils” is a thrash dynamite and a tes- years ago and thinking that they were quite a promising
tament to how great they are. None of these songs sound band. After that, a couple of listens to their “Kings of the
outdated, but fresh and exciting. The tracks are mainly Cloned Generation” record proved me my first impressions
from their earlier records, when Joey Belladonna and Neil were right. The new record “The Beautiful New World” fol-
Turbin were in the band. The current line-up of Scott Ian, lows the path of its predecessor, building upon its founda-
Charlie Benante, Frank Bello, John Bush and Rob Caggiano tions, and outgrowing it by far. Soundwise, this is great, but
rip into these songs. The outcome is a total of 70 minutes it is the ability for making songs that sets Arise apart from
madness! If you are an old time fanatic thrasher then take the competition. This is obvious from the starting line “How
the chance. [9] KOSTAS ANTONATOS long can you pretend”, a tack that features a great chorus
and a guitar solo from the Andreas Kisser school. These
ANTIQUUS : RAMAYANA guys have an ear for a good riff or melody and take full
[SELF PRODUCED] advantage on it by structuring their songs around it. There’s
Yet another ambitious effort from a Canadian band. Have some healthy dosage of At The Gates throughout the
you ever before met some historical and cultural record, but they treat it with personality, adding to the mix
researchers playing metal? Moving from India’s bazaars, to tons of staccato riffing, like on the groovy “King of yester-
ANAAL NATHRAKH : DOMINE NON ES DIGNUS
[SEASON OF MIST]
“Anaal Nathrakh is the soundtrack to the Armageddon” - this is how the press release of this album starts and I totally
agree! Since day one, this duo (who’s also individual and collectively related with other pearls of nowadays extreme
music such as Frost or Mistress) has played the most claustrophobic, sick, twisted and necro black metal ever. And let’s
face it: when two guys with Radiohead shirts have managed to re-create and achieve that Mayhem’s purulent and unique
feeling of De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, which thousands of other bands have unsuccessful tried for a decade, they totally
deserve our respect. Anaal’s first album (The Codex Necro) was received in shock: it was a really nihilistic approach with
a lot of grim, distorted ambiences and it gave them the title of “the angriest band on earth”. I can only speak for myself,
who can hardly give a fuck about bands with programmed drums, but in this particular case there was something
appealing in this album: its disturbing sense! After the re-release of some demos, we now have in hands their second
album and my first impression was that it wasn’t as violent and sick compared to The Codex Necro but, after listening to
it a few times, the music starts to “grow” and equals (or even surpasses) the quality of their first album. Irrumator is
playing great riffs where we can perceive some death metal hints and the drum-machine work is more intense and full of
great details. This new album shows a new range of influences/references: I must point out some reminiscences of
Emperor, due to some high-pitch voices (yeah, that “Rob Halford effect”) but the majority of the vocals’ work is really
more sick and depraved than ever, screaming anti-human and apocalyptic themes. Imagine that V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (who is
now the vocalist in Benediction) is suffering some kind of Leng Tch’e penalty inside an abandoned factory and is
screaming his guts out in pain! All very mechanic (yeah, the lack of human drummer helps the feeling), chaotic and with
a perfect production. One of 2004 best metal releases! [9] GUILHERMINO MARTINS
day, slave of today” or the aggressive “Profit from the
weak”. In fact, despite the catchy choruses (and here that
is a good thing, I think), Arise manage to balance every-
thing between melody and aggression, like on the
Slayeresque “Misery”. These guys certainly have some-
thing good going on for them, so I’ll keep my eye on them...
we never know when they might come up with something
to actually might rival with “Slaughter of the soul”! A final
note to “Tribute to the flesh”, a song that could have come
out from the recording sessions to Carcass’ “Heartwork”: I
haven’t read anything on this, but that voice really, really
sounds like Jeff Walker... [7.5] MIGUEL SOUSA
ARKHON INFAUSTUS : PERDITION INSANABILIS
[OSMOSE PRODUCTIONS]
Two years after the excellent “The Filth Catalyst”, Arkhon
Infaustus returns with a Death Black Metal attack. The
band are definitely testing the limits of Black Metal and the
vocals are guttural. There is a great variation of riffs that
together with the vocals of D. Deviant and 666 Torturer
ARCANA : LE SERPENT ROUGE result in a massive attack of brutality. Both vocalists work
[DISPLEASED RECORDS] very well and manage to mix guttural vocals with shrieks
in a superb way! The lyrics are awesome and the black and
Never has a band sounded so close to the glorious
white cover is cool and I bet it would turn out to be a great
Dead Can Dance than Arcana! Will they be able to tattoo... (something I’ll have in consideration for sure!
reach that climax once again with this latest effort of Heheh). Arkhon Infaustus are for sure one of the best
theirs? Will “Le Serpent Rouge” be their new extreme acts in the scene today. Over 41 minutes of a mix
“Serpent’s Egg” or not? One can only find out by sim- of grinding death metal and extreme black metal with 9
tracks all named after Greek letters namely Alpha, Beta,
ply purchasing and inserting this new disc of theirs Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta and Omega. Best
into the cd player. Funny enough, this new album tracks in here are definitely, in my opinion of course,
sees Arcana changing from their dark medieval sound “Theta - Whirlwind Journey” and “Delta - Six Seals
and drifting towards the Arabian mysticism with the Salvation”. The closing track “Omega - Absurd Omega
Revelation” is a sinister instrumental. Great album indeed!
use of percussion and other exotic instruments such
Get hold of it! [8.5] SÓNIA FONSECA
as the duduk. But they still captivate that Dead Can
Dance feeling that can be found in the Eastern / ARSIS : A CELEBRATION OF GUILT
[EARACHE RECORDS]
Egyptian inspired “Spiritchaser”, and a very dark one
In musical terms Arsis is meaning silence, though in terms
that is. The percussion can be heard all throughout
of this American band, it means the direct opposite,
the album, repetitive like a gathering of nomads that because there isn’t much silence about the band’s first full
travel through a desert without stopping and with no length effort “A Celebration Of Guilt”. Melodic death metal
sense of direction; and this is where the difference is spiced up with black metal elements and a lot of furious
to “Spiritchaser”. Not only it is darker and more mys- musical bursts. The compositions are mature and consists
of a good amount of different elements are varied very
tical but it is also “dry”, repetitive and more hypnotic well. There is a red thread trough out the album, you are
with less female vocals. In fact female vocals can only not in doubt of you’re listening to Arsis, after having given
be heard on seldom occasions and are always the album a couple of spins, and there some good hooks
drowned in Arcana`s trademark background strings. here and there, which makes the songs stick to the mem-
ory. Arsis has somewhat managed to create their own
This is the PERFECT soundtrack of one being stuck in
sound and style, and I’m sure they’ll stick to this trademark
the desert during the evening time and not being able through out their career. The swirling disharmonic melod-
to figure which direction the Hanging Gardens of ic leads on top of pounding double bass drums, a loud and
Babylon is! The soundtrack to a long and painfully mean bass and the raspy growled scream from James
Malone. The music is quite technical with out getting too
dry death! Invest in one of Arcana`s most inspiring
much, due to the good hooks and good and heavy base.
albums in a while! [9] ALEX ANTONIOU Production-wise the album is well executed, just as the
music there on. A heavy and raw sound, clear in the right
ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 19

places, as the guitar sound. It has a good punch, the music
is pushed out of the speakers, without sounding forced.
The instruments are well-weighed in the overall mix and
have good positions.
“A Celebration Of Guilt” seems to be the beginning of an
interesting acquaintance, Arsis has delivered a powerful
and hard hitting album, made clever and catchy without
loosing brutality or progression. If they keep up the good
work and keeps on developing their niche, they’ll write
metal history in time. [8.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
ASSASSIN : THE CLUB
[AGD RECORDS]
German Thrash legends, and veterans, Assassin, probably
one of the earliest of Europe’s bands to tackle this particular
style (and were not to become quite as well-known as
Destruction, Kreator, and Sodom) return with the follow-up
to “Interstellar Experience”, that was 17 years in the making!
Upon first hearing “The Club” title, I was eagerly anticipat-
ing a live CD, but was let down to discover that it was not.
Highlights include Michael Hoffmann and Scholli Scholz’
killer, rhythm, hooks, on “No Fear”, that’s an angry anthem
for Assassin, with atmosphere and mood, showcasing every
members talent, superbly; the moshing, mayhem, of the
Thrashing “Bushwhackers” had me slamming around the
house, having a grand, ole, time, filled with youthful memo-
ries; the epic “Psycho Terror” builds to a fevered pitch, then
explodes in Robert Gonnella’s raging scream, from a rather
basic foundation; the concept behind the eclectic “The Price
Of Power” would make for an interesting video, and takes
me back to “The Upcoming Terror” debut; the busy “Jin Tien
Shen Huo” is very Maidenesque, complete with it’s
Dickinson style vocals, and even a bass solo, from new
recruit Ufo Walter, to boot! [4] CHRIS HORTON
ASSEMBLENT : EQUILIBRIUM
[NEMESIS MUSICA]
The history is similar to many others... a bunch of friends
get together to jam ‘till one day they decide its time to play
their own material, Assemblent is born!
The opener ‘Equilibrium’ don’t really show what to expect
inside... a spacy keyboard (á la Jean-Michel Jarre) sets the
mood for the melodic Thrash Death assault to come. A few
minutes later “Heartwork” blows out from the speakers
and the first thing we notice is the production done by
Miguel Fonseca (guitarist and vocalist of the now defunct
ARCKANUM : THE 11 YEAR ANNIVERSARY ALBUM
[CARNAL RECORDS]
The legendary Swedish one man black metal band
Arckanum lead by Shamaatae celebrated the 11th year
anniversary of the band last year, with the release of this
album, displaying track from the band’s career, from the
earliest recordings, to the latest, together with the track
‘þæn vredhgadi svarti loghin’ from the hard to find split 7”
with Contamino and the 2 tracks from the “Boka Vm Kaos”
7” EP. A treat for fans of the band and a good place to
start for people who wants to check out the band.
Raw and straight forward chaos-gnostic black metal, very
bleak and dark with the misanthropy shining through the
enchanted and captivating compositions. The main base of
the music is raw and quite simple, and catches quick on,
though the more time one spend on listening to the music,
the more layers show themselves and one is sucked deep-
er into the universe of Arckanum. The music has a grand
spiritual touch, and the listener will get the full output after
continuous listens to the material, on a dark night, in a
dark room with dim candle lights as the only light source,
this is music for a spiritual travel into the inner sanctum of
the soul. Made of old school sounding cold guitar riffs,
blasting double bass drumming, a nice use of an open hi-
hat and a good fill here and there, to break the monotony.
The riffing is quite good, melodic and it adds a lot of dark
and mysterious atmosphere to the overall output. The
harsh and cold scream is very fitting to the music. It pos-
sesses a lot of emotion and it can be felt that Shamaatae is
into what he sings. And the use of arcane Swedish adds to
the aesthetical side of band and adds atmosphere. As writ-
ten earlier this is a great album to get hold of for existing
fans of Arckanum, due to the hard to find material on here.
As well as it is a good start for new fans, due to getting to
Portuguese metal band Thormentor and active member of
the band Bizarra Locomotiva). All instruments are wisely
layered and with the help of a fat production the music has
an extra punch that impresses! Probably Colin Davis from
the extreme US Death Metal band Vile had something to do
with it, since he mastered “Equilibrium”.
On the other hand musically Assemblent still have to smooth
some rough edges, sometimes the music tends to be a bit
predictable. Nevertheless the band manages to keep the lis-
tener interested with the details and variations that they insert
during the songs, and I guess this is what differentiates bad
from good albums. Fernando Ribeiro helps the band with his
participation on the melodic song ‘Silent Cries’ which could
easily be taken from a Moonspell album. This song appears
placed where we start getting the feeling that Assemblent are
trapped inside their own music and its like a recharging of
batteries for ‘Grammaton Cleric’. As a bonus you get a DVD
track with the videoclip of the song ‘Heartwork’. “Equilibrium”
is an honest album with no false pretensions, a good debut
from a Portuguese band with potential. I only wish that more
labels would bet on Portuguese bands, gladly we have
Nemesis for that. [7] NUNO SANTOS
ATARAXIA & AUTUNNA ET SA ROSE : LA VIA
VERSO IL CIELSO
[EQUILIBRIUM MUSIC]
CD1 (Strange Lights): Ataraxia have always fascinated me
and this output is as great as all of their masterpieces.
Ataraxia sounds medieval and somewhat classical.
Francesca’s powerful voice is always impressive.
This acoustic release features songs from all releases of
Ataraxia and it is a fine example of the band’s excellence!
CD2 (Logos): What is this? I had never heard of Autunna
et sa Rose before but I think I haven’t missed much real-
ly... these songs are one of the most disharmonic ones I
have heard in my entire life... and the male vocals send
shivers down my spine but in the bad sense of the word. I
truly have no idea what else to say so I better stop here...
[4.5] SÓNIA FONSECA
ATROPHIA RED SUN : TWISTED LOGIC
[ADIPOCERE RECORDS]
This album from this, now disbanded, Polish band is quite a
tough one to get through, they delivers a weird blend of
melodic death metal, more straight forward pieces and
industrial elements, and some more techno-dance influ-
hear music from all eras of this great band. There is
also the band’s only video production to date, included
on the CD version, the video to the track ‘Gava Fran
Trulen’, a decent but very raw video, taped in the great
Swedish forest. Act fast the CD version is limited to
3000, the LP version to 1000 copies and the picture
disc version to 200 copies. And it is somewhat of a
treat to read the liner notes from Shamaatae as well, a
very complete release. [9] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
ARCKANUM : TRULEN
[CARNAL RECORDS]
Originally released back in ‘94 in tape format “Trulen”
only corroborates my theory that Arckanum even at an
early demo stage was a “fearful” entity to have in con-
sideration. Inside you get the first songs strictly done
by Shamaatae that probably only gave him more force
to walk the music path alone... Some of the songs fea-
tured here were after part of the debut album “Fran
Marder” under the Necropolis Records banner in ‘95.
In “Trulen” you get more than 50 minutes of pagan
black metal where the main inspiration is the master of
nature, the lord of trolls, Pan. This is an essential
release to all black metal worshippers, an excellent tes-
timony of the starting period of a great band. This is of
course not the best work done by Shamaatae (I would
recommend the superb “kampen” album) neither the
better produced, still it contains an essential intrinsic
essence that unfortunately lacks in many so called
dark releases. Raw, simple, sometimes too basic yet
powerful as a punch in the face!
As a bonus you get three unreleased versions of ‘Gava
Fan Trulen’, ‘Yvir Min Diupe Marder’ and ‘Svinna’.
Please, learn with the masters... [6] NUNO SANTOS
enced elements, which makes the card house collapse. As
such it seems like the band has some good ideas, and some
of the music does sound good and makes one want to head-
bang. But other tracks makes me sitting back, wondering:
“What went wrong!?!”, just take a listen to the track
‘Structure Of Emptiness’, which introduces dance beats,
small intriguing electronic elements, sounding very pop-like
and dance friendly, there are some heavy guitar parts on the
track, and some of the vocal performance ugly and repul-
sive, but the track is a pop-song in disguise. That is the
clearest example, others are more subtle and more blended
with extreme elements. Though there are good tracks like
the opener ‘Code Word (Personal) Cold World’, which has
some nice Carcass sounding riffs, melodies and vocals
reminding of Danish Withering Surface, but still a good
track. That is one of the other problems I faces, when find-
ing a good song on this album, there are many elements I
can place on other albums etc. and that’s a shame.
Considering the good ideas the band has. Too bad they don’t
have the song writing abilities to make them happen 100%.
I’m sure that if Atrophia Red Sun had kept on going, they
would have made some good and crushing albums in the
future, there are good elements on this album. The musi-
cians know their instruments and deliver some nice
sounding music and the band seems tight. The song writ-
ing skills are their biggest problem, or were, as I see it, but
that is one of the things that can be worked on and
improved. If you are into industrial induced death metal
with a great deal of melodies, this is an album you should
check out, but beware its different, which always isn’t that
positive a feature, but there are some enjoyable tracks on
here. [4] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
AURA NOIR : THE MERCILESS
[TYRANT SYNDICATE]
You either like or dislike Aura Noir’s Black Thrash Metal
and this far in their career, the band is surely not looking
to expand their market or please a new audience. What
will strike the listener at first is the stripped down and
really organic production. Everything sounds real when
compared to the bulk of sterile and clinical recordings
coming out these days. Apollyon and Aggressor still
share the vocal and drums duties while this time
Blasphemer (Mayhem) take care of the guitars. The
songs blend in many references to the oldschool yet they
all bear enough identity to stand on their own. Nattefrost
(Carpathian Forest, Nattefrost) and Fenriz (Darkthrone)
add vocal contributions to this thrashing fest and soon
enough you’ll find yourself hitting repeat in order to enjoy
again this album. Hoping for Aggressor’s full recovery...
[8] ERIC MASSICOTTE
AUTUMN TEARS : ECLIPSE
[DARK SYMPHONIES]
A very beautiful album! Autumn Tears’ music nicely
evolves in a poetic-like manner as the album creates slow-
ly, song by song, an elegiac, lyric atmosphere which cap-
tivates you, in the same way that reading great literature
does! You’ll agree with me and feel my words, when lis-
tening this beauty. Every song plays its role in this ten-
track album since they altogether (each one with different
tools and means) construct a memorable, unique and
refreshing for our ears (in spite of -or even due to- its vin-
tage connotations) ambience that makes this album an
item that all lovers of good, quality music should sought
after. If the band’s previous albums bored you, due to their
grand neo-classical keyboard parts and the, certain times,
ineffective long operatic vocalisms, a fact quite under-
standable for someone not familiar with neo-classical/
heavenly music, like many of our readers, please, don’t let
this impression of yours distract you from “Eclipse”. The
difference lies in the experience Autumn Tears’ have
gained after all these years dealing with this singular
crumb of sound they are involved to. Especially after com-
pleting, with their last album, the concept trilogy “Love
Poems For Dying Children”, they have gathered the appro-
priate skills to left-over the weak parts of their sound (even
if I doubt them being plenty this time) and excel in the spe-
cial characteristics that made them distinguishable, in the
first place, into the whole of the underground. They have
reached perfection so to say. Symphonic keyboard sound-
scapes, escorted by sad melodies and supported by mys-
tic percussions, with heavenly voices guiding the soul of
the listener into surreal, nostalgic and moonlit worlds!
Just great! [8.5] JOHN ZIKOS
AVERSE SEFIRA : TETRAGRAMMATICAL ASTYGMATA
[EVIL HORDE RECORDS]
The ten songs of this release show that the Texan trio
Averse Sefira are in great form. The band play a mixture of
Norwegian Black metal with American death metal which
results in this bombastic “Tetragrammatical Astygmata”.
After the introduction “Exordium”, kicker song
“Detonation” is a blast and from then on, the rush doesn’t
stop and the adrenaline keeps flowing. Songs such as
“Cremation of Ideologies” and “Decapitation of Sigils” with
their Death Metal riffs mingled with Black Metal result in
awesome tracks. The titles of the songs are quite com-
plex... “Plagabraha”, “Sonnance Inumbrate”, just to name
a few. Moreover one gets lost in the middle of it all con-
sidering that there’s always a wall of sound that doesn’t
even allow us to think and that gets a bit too tiring. Plus,
the lyrics use very complicated words such as “lexiphan-
ic”, “equipollence”... are we suppose to understand them
at all?! Hehe! Just kidding! Nevertheless, this completely
dominates you! [7] SÓNIA FONSECA
AZAGHAL : CODEX ANTITHEUS
[AVANTGARDE MUSIC]
This is Black Metal in its most brutal and rawer form.
Second in and second out Azaghal fill our ears with hell-
made noise. If you are interested and motivated to listen to
old style Black Metal, then this is definitely for you. Kicker
song has a powerful and intense refrain “Agios O
Baphometh” that immediately catches your attention.
Track number four, “Kumarra Petoa”, is a kind of homage
to thrash metal... those initial screams kinda remind me of
the mighty Rob Halford but I’m not sure all fans of this
Finnish outfit will appreciate this “experimentation” but...
we must give them a chance considering that Azaghal are
one of the best of their genre. In the 43 minutes of this
release, Azaghal have diversity spread throughout the
album and once again proved they’re not here just for the
fun of it. [7.5] SÓNIA FONSECA
BARATHRUM : ANNO ASPERA
[SPINEFARM RECORDS]
Having created a name for themselves in the cult satanic
movement since 1998, the Finns produce yet another
album of blackened heavy metal. No matter what you are
looking for, this album can give you a re-washed re-
chewed re-generated dose of Hellhammer-Venomish
ideas, sadly lacking the synthetic cleverness of their ances-
tors. Despite the fact that their previous releases, such as
the “Legions of Perkele” 1998 debut, actually gave some-
thing decent to the fans, “Anno Aspera” moves into much

ABUSED MAJESTY : SERPENTHRONE
[ADIPOCERE RECORDS]
If this album was released like 5 years ago I
would have most probably given it a 10 with
no hesitation, but it’s basically stuff since ‘87 /
94 that I’ve been digging out lately, so I on the
whole appear to be slightly deaf for albums
with a more contemporary sound... Abused
Majesty exists since ‘98, “Serpenthrone” is
their full-length debut and what it is about is
morose Black / Death Metal. An album meant
to corroborate for maybe the thousand time
that mother Poland keeps giving life to really
talented musicians.
[7.5] VANYA MARINOVA
ABYSMAL GATES : DIVINE DECEPTION
[BLACK FLAME RECORDS]
What I wrote in my review for BloodStained
Dusk can be referred to Abysmal Gates to a
great extent too, with the difference that the 4
tracks from New Jersey’s four-piece can be
distinguished for their greater amount of ver-
satility construction-wise, and I could addition-
ally discern slight Death Metal influences there.
Otherwise, Abysmal Gates were formed in
2000 and “Divine Deception” is the 3rd item in
their discography thus far. [6] VANYA MARINOVA
ANOREXIA NERVOSA : REDEMPTION PROCESS
[LISTENABLE RECORDS]
Anorexia Nervosa is a band that have always
surprised me. “Redemption Process” is the
last album featuring Hreidmarr and I guess it
will be the band’s loss... wonder if they will
find a suitable vocalist?! Well, this is a bom-
bastic album for sure but it’s still very pre-
dictable. The songs are filled with rhythmic
changes and it definitely never gets boring but
it’s not easy to pick up any highlights but the
song “Codex Veritas” is indeed one of my
fave. It’s common mid-paced Black Metal that
will please most fans... [7] SÓNIA FONSECA
ATHEIST : ELEMENTS
[RELAPSE RECORDS]
Elements is the last and final Atheist album.
The songwriting isn’t as strong as in the past,
but this is because we’re talking about a much
different direction than their previous efforts.
They’ve been experimenting a lot but definitely
it’s successful. Will there ever be a reunion for
this great band? [7] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
AURA NOIR : DEEP DREAMS OF HELL
[KARMAGEDDON MEDIA]
More or less a re-release of already re-released
material, I wonder if this compilation is a worthy
addition to the Aura Noir discography. This
might be a good place to start with if you never
heard of this band but surely not an essential
piece if you already own a good part of their
back catalogue. I would recommend anyone
interested to get a copy of their latest album
“The Merciless” instead of helping Karmageddon
Media cashing in again on this material. Note
that the low ranking is questioning the worthi-
ness of this release, not the quality of the band’s
material featured. [4] ERIC MASSICOTTE
AXIS OF ADVANCE : OBEY
[OSMOSE PRODUCTIONS]
Chaotic Death Metal with no concern for the
modern tendencies to quantize and over-pro-
duce everything put on hard-disk. “Obey” could
easily be described as being Death Metal’s
“Battles in the North” (Immortal) for its unre-
lenting pace and furiousness. Half of the mate-
rial benefits from this approach while the other
half of it loose some of its impact for the same
reasons. It might be my need to experience a
little more dynamics when listening to Death
Metal but if bands like Revenge and Conqueror
suit your requests, this album should already
be on your list. [6] ERIC MASSICOTTE
BALATONIZER : OCCLUSED IN OTTUSITY
[THIS DARK REIGN RECORDINGS]
Italian grindcore with 32 tracks in 25 minutes.
Lousy recording and they sound like they’re
ripping off old school Cannibal Corpse. They
use a drum machine but even though the pro-
gramming is good, the sound is very thin. The
end result is a really noisy mix. The nice
things I can say is the gory logo and the great
booklet which is like a comic. Maybe with a
clearer sound they’ll have more to offer to the
fans of this style, if of course this trio can find
a decent label. [3] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
BLOOD STAINED DUSK : CONTINUANCE OF EVIL
[BLACK FLAME RECORDS]
I haven’t come across Alabama’s Blood
Stained Dusk’s “Dirge of Death’s Silence”
(released via Baphomet in 2000), but the 5
tracks on “Continuance of Evil” turned out to
deal with mid 90’s influenced Black Metal.
With all the extras, like rapid drumming, dis-
mal synth melodies and slower passages
inserted here and there. Not bad, but when
you have heard tones of albums like that, you
start losing interest little by little... Check the
album out though, you might enjoy it more.
[5.5] VANYA MARINOVA
BLOODY SIGN : VANA VIGALA LOÏTS
[IBEX MOON RECORDS]
Raw, angry, and excellent, Bloody Sign comes
straight out of their corner with a brutal melee
of energetic emotive guitar work and grinding
vocals. Drums are (for once) very present but
not overbearing. The vocals on this are filtered
in a manner that makes them sound very omi-
nous and frightening, and I really can’t get
enough of the guitar tone of this album.
Something about this album is very sinister -
proceed with caution. [7.5] MAX RODRIGUEZ
CRISIS : LIKE SHEEP LED TO SLAUGHTER
[BLACKEND / PHD]
Haunting, ominous, prophecies, by Crisis, her-
ald their rather busy, musical return, in this
eerie, apocalyptic, foray, into the nether-
regions, and beyond the grave. The weird and
wonderful “Waking the Dead” does just that, in
a chorus of vengeful voices; the building, inten-
sity, of “Blood Burden” sees the dogs of war
have their day; their “Study in Cancer” is a
malignant entity, that eats away at the temporal
fabric of society, itself. This CD has 2 things
going for it: 1: Original. 2. Well-varied. That’s
about it. [4] CHRIS HORTON

20 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
duller directions not easily appreciated.
“2003 years since the bastard’s birth”, as the Barathrum
cliché goes, we would expect to see some clever song-
writing from everyone into the music business including
the bands whose sole purpose is to keep the still wor-
shiped 80’s metal decadence alive at all costs. Thus, it is
hard nowadays to understand and appreciate a song such
as “Grave Desecration”, having a chorus that’s shouting
monotonously “Grave Desecration!” 5 to 6 times, or a
song like “Angelraper” with a screaming chorus shouting
“Angelraper!” 9 to 12 times non-stop.
The album is a classic Barathrum release, from sound and
production to the vocals and guitar riffs. However, the
impression that stays in the end is that the band, although
possessing the so called old black metal flame, needs to
freshen up their synthetic abilities in order to make things
slightly more interesting for themselves, the fans, and the
poor reviewers as well. [4] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS
BARCODE : SHOWDOWN
[NUCLEAR BLAST]
If you’re into old school hardcore, with a good twist of New
York, then you should read on, because this Danish band
have balls of the size of an Abrams M1 and they are just as
head hitting and crushing. Straight ahead hardcore with a
captivating crunchy sound, catchy hooks, memorable
moments and an ace vocal performance.
I have never been much of a hardcore aficionado, but this
album took me by surprise, and I have grown fond of the
band. Check out tracks as ‘Make My Day’, catchy riffs,
crushing and a good sing along chorus, the same goes for
the last track on the album ‘I’m A Rebel’, straight in your
face, and lets us all sing along. Barcode has flair for writing
good songs, they guitar parts are catchy and you’ll remem-
ber them after a couple of listens. The rhythm section is
tight and pushing the music forward with a steady, yet
crushing drive, mid paced but very effective. The vocals on
top of the music, rules the show, it is, like the music, in
your face and is not easy to get rid off. Raw and direct, spit-
ting bile everywhere you look, hitting lyrics which are
burned into the mind of the listener. On top of the good
songs, the production of the album is good as well. The
guitars are crisp and there is a lot of power behind them.
The bass is noisy and audible, and drums sound as they
should, pounding and direct. The mix is nice as well, with
the instruments well weighed and the vocals on top of it. So
if hardcore is your game, then this is an album for you. It
has impressed me, and has gotten some heavy rotation
around here. And the best part is that when the disc stops
spinning, the beats, catchy riffs and memorable choruses
will resound in your head. [8] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
BAZZAH : KINGDOM OF THE DEAD
[FROM BEYOND PRODUCTIONS]
Malaysia and Singapore has spawned some classic cults
such as As Sahar, Sil Khannaz, Langsuir, Impiety and
Abhorer... Bazzah is and at the same time isn’t one of them.
Bazzah is a cult because they were created sometime in
`93 and isn’t a cult because thus far they have yet not been
able to prove themselves worthy to the aforementioned
hordes, at least not with their `99 debut full length “Death
is all I See...”. This is their second album and I have to say
it is much more interesting an effort than anything they’ve
created before. Basically it is plain straight forward black
metal with typical Malay guitar riffs and solos (in the vein
of old Bathory!) in each song. I specifically like the
unearthly vocals on this album that sound like a mixture of
underwater / cave growls drowned in reverb. The main
problem to be found in “Kingdom of the Dead” is the over-
all plastic monotonous sound production. It might be raw
but it is too digitized and lacks of character... for instance
you can hardly hear the snare drum and the guitars.
However it comes a long way from their past releases and
it definitely comes a long way from what Malaysia has to
offer to the black metal scene at present as most of the
previously mentioned acts have seized to exist. Maybe the
fact that being signed on a European label such as
Displeased will help in opening doors to them, who
knows? [6] ALEX ANTONIOU
BEATRIK : REQUIEM OF DECEMBER
[AVANTGARDE MUSIC]
Indeed, a Requiem Of December, this album. A piece of
work that joins the traditional and fundamental character-
istics of black metal with new forms and sets, through a
unique, bleak concept and way of working. Having bands
like Watain, Nortt, Grey and Beatrik as well writing music,
someone can only be certain that the curse feeling of the
primordial black metal warriors is still alive, despite the
various formations (or manipulations) this musical style
has faced over its time. Back to the album now, Beatrik
have something in their black metal. Something good.
More particularly, a macabre voice steering our sensations
over a darkly, misty forest; mid-low paces providing the
rhythm in what resembles to a funeral procession and,
lastly, melancholic melodies casting the blackest shadows
to our hearts. Not a jolly picture, but what did you wish
for? There’s an eerie feeling generated by this dark music
and we must blame the guitars for this. A Burzum-ish
‘cold’ melancholy is distinguishable, a fact that will make
this item desirable to a few (or many?), while the doom
parts, not only add to the atmosphere, but furthermore
help the songs to evolve in all their grandeur and dark
majesty! And, now, what’s there to loathe in Beatrik? I
mean, otherwise, this sounds extraordinarily perfect! The
duration of the album is a rather long one, and at times you
sense that it gets out of the band’s hand, sticking too much
to the doom-repetitive aspect of their sound, but magical-
ly they save it all before it becomes worse. So, truly, this is
close to perfect. With this type of black metal finding its
way to our speakers lately, dear unholy animals, we may
sleep in peace. The time of hunting for the truest among
the scene is long gone. We now have some music to talk
about. [8.5] JOHN ZIKOS
BEHOLDER : LETHAL INJECTION
[DRAGONHEART]
It appears that “Wish for Destruction”, the second album
by this Milan band, got a lot of praise for not sounding like
typical Italian power metal and, therefore, being quite
“original”. The problem is that Beholder bought a first edi-
tion copy of The Finnish Guide to Power Metal by
Stratovarius and memorised it! To get things worse, the
more atmospheric moments reek of Evanescence! So
much for originality! Now, writing songs inspired by
Stephen King might be a good idea, but not when you illus-
trate them with childish lyrics, tons of pianos and the
pseudo-theatrical use of male and female vocals. All this
wrapped up in one of the worst covers ever!
I must say to Beholder’s credit that they can actually cre-
ate some nice sing-along choruses, but that is part of the
problem, with the final result lacking weight and being
overall too poppy! If ‘eyeliner boys with electric toys’ is
your thing, please go ahead and buy this. If not, avoid
Beholder like the plague! [2.5] MIGUEL SOUSA
BELPHEGOR : GOATREICH FLESHCULT
[NAPALM RECORDS]
There are some bands from which you know what to
expect. When “Goatreich-Fleshcult” was in stores it was
certain that what was coming up would be nothing less
than a pandemonium of uncompromised speeding black-
ened brutality. “Lucifer Incestus” in 2003 promoted the
band another league towards the top. “Goatreich-
Fleshcult” to the surprise of many gives not only the natu-
ral evolution but something unique and exceptional.
The production is more polished than ever, and the
album’s synthesis resembles a passage from black to
death metal, without losing one bit of their focused rage.
The guitar work is remarkable and the riffs are catchy with-
out being dull nor repeating themselves. The title track is a
grand example of successful song writing. “Sepulture of
Hypocrisy” is actually a song with lowered tempos, show-
ing that the band can stray from their beloved hyper
speeds and still sound intense as ever.
The production is not boosted up to Spinal Tap’s eleven,
but it is sweet and clean allowing listening at maximum
volumes. “Goatreich Fleshcult” is the most diverse
Belphegor album to-date. The general feeling gives a pic-
ture of a band rejoicing in its own magnificent talents, let-
ting everyone out there know by releasing albums such as
this one. [8] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS
BENIGHTED LEAMS : FERLY CENTESMS
[SUPERNAL MUSIC]
Of all the strange music I once in a while am presented for,
this might take the leading spot. As it often is with differ-
ent musical approaches, it takes a while for the listener to
get into the music, and that is for sure a fact about
Benighted Leams. I have spent quite some time on this
album, and trying to dig beneath the surface and find what
is hidden in the belly of the beast, and has shown that all
the time have been well-invested.
At the surface we have cold and minimalistic black metal,
simple and noisy guitar riffs paints the surface with bleak
and atmospheric riffs, very much droning and leaving an
ambient impression. The disharmonic noisy sphere is
present through out the album, and will for sure keep a lot
of people away from the album, after half a listen, which is
actually a shame. Beneath the first appearance, the music
BRUCE DICKINSON : TYRANNY OF SOULS
[MAYAN RECORDS]
Well it seems that the wine gets better as it gets
older. The vocalist of Iron Maiden returns with a thun-
derous new cd. As they say “the good day shows
from the dawn”. After a small intro the cd begins with
the pompous “Abduction” The full metal sound is
obvious with heavy riffs and virtuosi guitar by Roy Z.
Modern crystal clear songs and many different
themes and lyrics. Speedy drums in connection with
the familiar magic voice of Bruce, combines a fantas-
tic outcome. I never thought that after the controver-
sial “Tattooed Millionaire” and especially “Accident Of
Birth”, Bruce could come up with such great ideas.
Every single track has its own identity, keeping the
listener fully satisfied. My top preference is the bal-
lad-like “Navigate The Seas Of The Sun”. A gloomy
melodic song that lets the feelings flow. Looks like
when the Maiden people go separate ways for a while
until their next album, they are very creative. You real-
ly got to listen to it to understand how good it is. Its
breath taking and it’ll win you from the start, just like
any great album does. [10] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
is doomy and bleak as hell, anger and frustration is
spewed forth as a scream seldom tears the heaven apart
as a lightening strike on a clear day. The scream is chilling,
reminding me of Varg Vikernes on “Hvis Lyset Tar Oss”, it
fits very well into the overall atmosphere on this output. At
other times the sparse vocals are more guttural, like a
growled whisper.
The force and weakness of this album is the twisted and
dark compositions, they are hard to get into, and that’ll
keep many from it. On the other side the intrigue compo-
sitions adds length to the album, and it can be enjoyed
again and again, and one can still find new elements,
expressions and shifts in the atmosphere. The guitar tone
and sound is good and forces itself on the listener, the
drums, which are programmed are at times really weak
sounding and at other times quite fitting into the material.
The sparse synth work that are used now and then, are
good and adds to the atmosphere, even though it is very
simplistic. If you are willing to go on a travel into yourself
and discover the darkest corners of your soul and mind,
then this album and band are the perfect companions.
Though do not expect to get anything out of the album the
first 10 listens, it is a hard nut to crack, but when it first
opens up it becomes rather good and inspiring. If hell was
a sound, Benighted Leams would without a doubt be its
manifestation. [7] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
BETHLEHEM : MEIN WEG
[RED STREAM RECORDS]
Many people deserted this band because they went away
from the more Black Metal roots they began with. Typical.
What most people will ignore then is that Bethlehem is still
a great band releasing great music. Mein Weig is their lat-
est album and probably among their best so far, delivering
catchy songs benefiting from a clear and punchy produc-
tion. Top notch varied and clean vocals from a vocalist who
can sing properly (note: this is a change from most impro-
vised ‘singers’ out there!) ornaments songs which covers
a wide range of musical genres. I know that many readers
will pass them over again and truly this is their loss. Go
buy another kvlt bedroom black metal demo instead or try
to get your head out of your bottoms and realize how good
this band still is! [8] ERIC MASSICOTTE
BEYON-D-LUSION : FIRST STEP TO THE SOURCE
[ADIPOCERE RECORDS]
A new gothic rock/metal act has risen from the dark
France; this is the duo’s first release, a mini album con-
taining 4 tracks of dark atmospheres driving music.
The compositions are built upon heavy guitar riffs, simple
power chords painting a dark bottom. The scenery is
spiced up with synths, which at times are more annoying
than fitting. It does happen that the keyboard hits the right
spot, and creates a dark and suiting atmosphere, though I
often find it annoying, together with the used violin, both
elements are up front in the sound picture, and have high
peaks, which removes the flow from the songs, if there
ever was one. A nice feature is the slow “marching” sam-
ple used in the last track ‘Orions (Ruins And Rise)’, even
though it invokes more of an industrial and doomy atmos-
phere, not hitting it quite off with the rest of the track.
The vocals are female, and powerful. Alexandra Bernhard
has a huge voice, and she can sing even though she at
times sounds a bit rough, and not that fitting to this mate-
rial. Especially when she screams at full power, she almost
breaks out of the sound picture and mix and goes too
much in front, to it is good. It seems like the producer have
had some trouble getting the instruments and vocals lev-
elled, when mixing the music together. The band has some
potential, especially when considering the force of the
vocals. But there is needed some improvement on the song
writing side. The songs are very straight forward, and the
mix of the instruments make the release sound out of bal-
ance, and I don’t really feel the gothic dark atmosphere that
often. Often I get associations to driven hard rock, instead
of melancholic soundscapes, and I’m pretty sure that was-
n’t the intention with this release. And at times it seems like
they are trying to incorporate nu-metal elements, as groovy
breaks and the driven guitar into their world, and that does-
n’t quite work. Gothic has never been my favourite style of
music, but considering the appearance of Where Angels
Fall on this scene as well, Beyon D Lusion have to get going
to prove their worth. [3] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
BLACK WITCHERY : UPHEAVAL OF SATANIC MIGHT
[OSMOSE PRODUCTIONS]
Sometime during the last years, the eyes of the black metal
community turned their attention into the North American
& Canadian scene. After the (now considered classic) split
Hellstorm of Evil Vengeance with Conqueror back in 1998
and the first album Desecration of the Holy Kingdom, this
group gathered a “kvlt” status around fans and press.
Upheaval of Satanic Might is their second full-length and
maintains their reputation practicing some furious and
intense black metal. With some Blasphemy references in
their sound (for some reason in 2000 Black Witchery were
invited to open for that Canadian band in one of their rare
live gigs), this group has short songs (the album has 9
themes and less than 30 minutes) of satanic, underground
and distorted black metal. After a sinister intro, the first
theme evolves to a ultra fast song with vocal lines spitting
the total annihilation of human race with teeth grinding
despair and that’s the way the album goes until its end
(with the exception of short interludes/intros).The melody
is really slight and is brought in the mix by the bass lines,
since the guitar has a really nasty sound. Perhaps they
intended it this way! I mean, they deliberately used few
resources, in order to obtain this primitive feeling towards
their music! However, the problem is that old school black
metal productions are often confused with bad sound
recording and mix - there can’t be low-fi without hi-fi and
people are always misinterpreting this. The drum sound is
also very poor and undistinguished: blast-beats from
beginning to end (at least when we’re capable to listen to
it clearly, because, with the exception of the cymbals, the
sound is really fucked up). Sometimes I even feel like I’m
listening to this album in a very old and used tape, since
its equalization is really bad. To my ears this is just boring
and uncreative. Maybe this is what one may call “trve”
black metal. [6.5] GUILHERMINO MARTINS

DREAMTALE : DIFFERENCE
[SPINEFARM RECORDS]
Finnish power metal. Nothing more nothing
less. Greatly played, invoking feelings of both
melody and speed. With the aid of Timo Tolkki
they manage to write another chapter in the
metal scene of their country. Classical speci-
men of uptempo beats and catchy refrains, that
as easily they can be listened to, as easily they
can be forgotten afterwards. They don’t make
the difference as their cd title claims, but no
one can say that they are ignorants to music.
Moving forward! [5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
EDENBRIDGE : SHINE
[MASSACRE RECORDS]
You have gothic metal and fantasy metal, and
Edenbridge makes the bridge between the
two. Fantastic choir and female vocal lines,
combined with the great guitar playing of
Lanvall makes the band deliver a great record
again. And although the surprise of previous
records such as “Sunrise In Eden” or “Arcana”
has disappeared, this still stays a very enjoy-
able record. Also a lot of progressive influ-
ences have been added to the bands sound
and make songs like “Move Along Home” or
“And The Road Goes On” rather interesting.
This is with no doubt one of the top class
bands in the genre. [8] KURT VAN CAMP
ESOTERIC : SUBCONSCIOUS DISSOLUTION
INTO THE CONTINUUM
[SEASON OF MIST]
How much doom can you handle? How heavy
can it push on you before you crumble?
Esoteric surely wants to test you with their
new album. Esoteric offers psychedelic-influ-
enced, snail-paced Doom Metal of the finest
class and this new album could easily serve as
a template for new bands aspiring to the genre.
The band crafts long moody songs alternating
between sublime and ethereal moments to tor-
turous and abysmal dirges where long instru-
mental passages leaves place for guttural, cav-
ernous rumbles and high pitched screams. A
fine piece of deadly Doom that, if not an easy
one to start with, should be added to any self-
respecting collection. [8] ERIC MASSICOTTE
ETERNITY : ...AND THE GRUESOME RETURNS
WITH EVERY NIGHT
[W.T.C. PRODUCTIONS]
Eternity exist since 1994, but still “And the
Gruesome…” is the first ever item that I’m
hearing from these German guys. Thus, in
case you are also unaware of this band and
have not come across any of their demos and
split albums with acts like Luror Dunkelgraven
or Wolfsmond, I will then tell you that killer
Black Metal in the vein of the 90’s first half is
what you should be prepared for! Grimly
devoid of keyboard effusions, the 9 tracks on
Eternity’s CD additionally delight the ear with
their straightforward structures and lugubri-
ous moods. And the vocals are exactly my
type - no senile shrieks, just pure laryngeal
hate! [8] VANYA MARINOVA
FAR BEYOND : AN ANGEL’S REQUIEM
[SOURCE OF DELUGE RECORDS]
Despite of my huge respect for one-man
bands in general, I will have to say that Far
Beyond’s guardian left me far from intrigued
with his debut! It’s just that adjusting the
“melodic” term to Black Metal is something
that I’ll may never agree with! Many will most
certainly like “An Angel’s Requiem” for its
take-me-on-the-wings-of-night-and-show-me-
the-truth atmosphere though. I see darkness
in music elsewhere. [4] VANYA MARINOVA
FLESH MADE SIN : DAWN OF THE STILLBORN
[KARMAGGEDDON MEDIA]
Don’t say Flesh Made Sin is just another
thrash band in the vein of Kreator and
Destruction, although it’s simply the truth.
This band is far from original, but damn, they
fuckin’ thrash like hell. It seems this young
band listened very carefully to the old records
of the German thrash monsters and then tried
to create such a record themselves. Well, they
succeed in every way. Great riffs, aggressive
vocal lines, thundering drums... fine songs like
“Crowned In Torment”, “Possess The Flesh”
or the title track will break the neck of every
thrash metal fan around. In the lowlands they
are a big success, so let’s hope Europe fol-
lows! [8] KURT VAN CAMP
GLORIA MORTI : LIFESTREAM CORROSION
[WORLDCHAOS PRODUCTION]
We’re dealing with a six-piece band from
Finland. They vary from thrash/speed metal to
a typical black/death approach. They are kinda
atmospheric but they can’t escape what’s
already played a million times by bands like
Dimmu Borgir or Cradle Of Filth. Quite wide
range of vocals and an amazing production
are their zenith. So if you dig another extreme
Scandinavian band the choice is yours.
[5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
GODS OF FIRE : WRATH OF THE GODS
[BLACK THIRTEEN RECORDS]
The name “Gods Of Fire” intrigued my curiosi-
ty. I thought I would have to deal with an epic
band, but then I found out that they came
from NYC playing shows alongside metal
bands as well as hipsters. Those things don’t
match, even if they were well received in all
shows. They have epic imagery and themes
but also female dancers called “The Fire-ettes”
on stage when playing. Even though they are
melodic and sometimes their tunes are catchy,
they seem to lack orientation. The American
power metal wave has died 25 years
ago...period! [4] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
GORGUTS : AND THEN COMES LIVIDITY /
DEMO ANTHOLOGY
[GALY RECORDS]
Gorguts are local heroes for me. Being among
the first few bands being able to conquer audi-
ences abroad and get signed to a big label
(Voivod being first), Gorguts where also
among the first Canadian bands to make the
transition from Thrash to Death Metal. This
demo anthology covers the whole career of
the band, from its early beginnings to their
accomplished Obscura album. Being demos

22 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
BLACK WITCHERY / CONQUEROR : HELLSTORM
OF EVIL VENGEANCE
[DARK HORIZON RECORDS]
Yet again another chapter of depraved and nihilistic black
metal, this time brought by USA’s Black Witchery and
Canada’s Conqueror (RIP). The association of these bands
on this split results in a vehement mark on the war metal
field, although musically speaking there isn’t that much
merit in here. First things first, Black Witchery’s side has 4
songs of the usual negative, ugly and dirty ambience and
it’s very easy to find their Blasphemy influences, plus
some Beherit and Sarcofago connections. Talking about
Blasphemy, there’s even a cover of the song “Demoniac”
here and, by the way, it results as the best song in the split.
Black Witchery is all about hyper speed and brutal black
metal and strangely (or maybe not considering that this
time the guys worked with some producer/technical assis-
tant) it is perfectly clear that this release has a better sound
than their second opus Upheaval of Satanic Might (also
reviewed on these pages). The guitar and drums are really
more “in the game” on this split. Then comes Conqueror’s
side with 5 themes that maintain the insanity, led by some
oppressive and destructive guitar work and very simple
song structures. All very violent, loud and bad mixed, I
have to say. There’s like tons of reverb here and that brings
us to the old story of the thin line between sounding aton-
al or evil in extreme metal. Ok, there’s some sense of
melody on the guitars and a lot more variety compared
with Black Witchery but a better production couldn’t bring
any harm, right? This now-defunct Canadian group
showed us some very visible thrash metal influences, par-
ticularly from Slayer (check out, for instance, the first sec-
onds of “Chaos Domination” or the Kerry King look-alike
solo on “Ross Bay Damnation”). Also the voices have dif-
ferent dynamics and help to draw the necro paint. The
sound doesn’t help and it’s all very simplistic, yet quite
enjoyable to tell you the truth. [7] GUILHERMINO MARTINS
BLEED THE SKY : PARADIGM IN ENTROPY
[NUCLEAR BLAST]
‘Paradigm in Entropy’ is Bleed the Sky first album release
by Nuclear Blast. This even tells us immediately that we are
in presence of a well-produce album, well-made and good
enough. That’s Nuclear blast quality standard. Bleed The
Sky’s ‘Paradigm in Entropy’ doesn’t stand apart this stan-
dard-line. Playing a Metal/Hardcore, e.g. Metalcore, well
achieved, not forsaking their American origins without lead
astray from the American Metalcore path; fluctuating
between a more melodious Metal style side and a more
brutal Hardcore, Bleed The Sky manage to conjugate two
opposite sides into one musical entity. To achievement this
high standard surely is the vocal performance of Noah
Robinson within his hysterical scream singing. Welcome
to the world of Metalcore! None of the ten songs run from
this eclectic equilibrium, balancing between, the peaceful
and melodic with clear voices and no distortion; and the
more hardcore with vehement screams and slashing gui-
tars. Not adding anything new to the world of Metalcore,
Bleed the Sky will be another one to succeed in Metalcore
gender as long this gender stays update in Metal, getting
certainly their fan-base group easily. From America with
Metalcore, I give you Bleed The Sky. [6] CARLOS FILIPE
BLODSRIT : HELVETESHYMNER
[OAKEN SHIELD]
For me this is a total newcomer. I might have heard or read
about this band before, but I really can’t tell... It amazes me
though, for what I have in front of me is one Hell of a fuck-
ing great piece of Black Metal! This is the kind of Black
Metal I can listen to for days, over and over again! It flows
into my ears like cold beer into my throat on a hot after-
noon (or at any moment for all I care!). This is already the
third full-length album for this Swedish trio, which means
I’ve got 2 CD’s to check out in a very near future!
The Black Metal Blodsrit plays could be described as
prominently fast, melodic (yet with modesty), pretty
catchy, and with a lot of variety. The drums are really tight
and perfectly in place; the guitars are awesome! They real-
ly carry that Northern gene, both melodically as concern-
ing the distortion... The distortion... Goddamn, the distor-
tion fucking rules!! Blodsrit somehow found out how to
transpose Dismember’s heavy groove into Black Metal,
and it really fits in! This “constant” massive wall of groove
is often interjected with cool and varied breaks, for exam-
ple with one guitar playing a strange riff and with a differ-
ent distortion (as for example on “Horns”). There are even
some clean choirs on one track (“Illdjarn”), and I must say
they’re well achieved! Really, if you like Black Metal, and
especially if you also dig Dismember, then what the Hell
are you waiting for? [8.5] TARAS VAN DIJK
BLOOD RITUAL : BLACK GRIMOIRE
[MORIBUND RECORDS]
Blood Ritual is a death metal band with Floridian origins
comprised entirely by one man called Tim Bishop. With
titles such as “Invocation to Satan” or “Destruction Ritual”
the band’s flyers might as well be distributed along with
the Anton LaVey’s works of art.
The focusing element of this piece of work is the way-
too-low-in-quality guitar sound, plus the out of focus
snare drum that sounds as if it jumped in from a differ-
ent recording. Some ideas in there are listenable, for
example the dark ‘n slow “Ritual of Lust” and other
scraped parts grasped from bits and pieces out of the
album here and there make the overall impression echo-
ing valuable. The guitar solos are apparently a bonus and
thus many of the otherwise stagnant songs wear a veil of
paranoid character that many ancient death metal freaks
might enjoy. Also worth mentioning is the epic “Ur
Song”. Occult references in music can act as a powerful
ally, as long as they are well hidden in meanings and used
in discretion. Blood Ritual is a band that is absolutely
drenched with straight forward titles and imagery from
occult groups and this regretfully produces a more unin-
spired than daring result. Moreover the music is yet to be
brought to levels able to produce the equivalent feeling.
To end, “Black Grimoire” is not a failure, but not a suc-
cess either. [6] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS
BLOODSHOTEYE : WITHOUT ANY REMORSE
[GALY RECORDS]
My first introduction of Bloodshoteye was live, and I was
mostly impressed by what sounds came out of those small
pipes of singer JeSicka. I mean, that girls can belt out
screams with the best of them. The music on the other
side is pretty standard issue deathcore in the God Forbid
mold while with the uniqueness of their vocalist certainly
give them a sound of their own. What is probably most
impressive in this record is they do the mid tempo break-
down that is so standard with these bands but they
approach it from different angles than your typical hard-
core band. Another band that is afflicted by the crappy trig-
gered double bass drum sound, these are still very techni-
cally played along with all guitars. If that interest anybody,
Lamb of God vocalist D.Randall Blythe guests on a couple
of songs to great effect, giving texture to the vocal per-
formance that is very interesting. This is, once again, a
quality Galy release, a local label, for me, that constantly
release the highest quality music. [7] SIMON THIBAUDEAU
BODIES IN THE GEARS OF THE APPARATUS :
SIMIAN HYBRID PROTOTYPE
[THE SPEW RECORDS]
This is a re-release of this apparently highly regarded mini
album from this New Jersey band. On top of the original
release, there are added 5 bonus tracks to make it more
attractive, this time around.
The music is hard driven grindcore with quite a technical
and insane approach, the similarities to the Relapse
Records wave are many, though I sometime miss a catchy
drive in these songs and sometimes it goes too fast and
gets too insane to keep up with the music. Though the
compositions are good and the band can for sure keep up
with their own shenanigans. They must be quite good
musicians to keep the riffs flowing as fast as do, to keep
the insane drumming running and delivering the neck
breaking breaks, that pops in here and there.
The screamed vocals are as such okay, though I haven’t
really gotten into it as such. The variation of the frenzy
screaming and the deeper growls are pretty well. The pro-
duction is to the thin side and not that fitting, I would have
preferred some more weight behind the instruments and
that would have provided some more punch behind the
music as well. If you’re looking for a quick grindcore fix, this
will for sure give you the needed kick, a listen or 2 is great,
though after that I am starting to get a bit bored to be hon-
est, a lot of the material on here sounds a lot reminiscent.
The cover of S.O.D’s ‘Fuck The Middleeast’ is delivered okay,
but not far off the original, the vocalist even sings deeper,
instead of screaming his lungs out. And the other 4 bonus
tracks are from the band’s first demo session, there must be
a reason why they haven’t been used before now. Though an
interesting band, that could become one of players within a
couple of years. [6.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
BORN FROM PAIN : IN LOVE WITH THE END
[METAL BLADE RECORDS]
Moshcore. Does anyone know what this genre is? Well,
some consider it as metalcore, but fuck no... it ain’t metal-
core! Combining the old NYHC school (Agnostic Front,
Madball, Biohazard) with some thrash (sometimes death)
riffage, Hatebreed since early contributed to the creation of
this genre. Born From Pain are from The Netherlands and
they deliver us a fucking fist full of anger, frustration, per-
severance and discipline. If you’re searching from tech-
nique, guitar heroes...etc, etc, this is not definitely your
record. Groovy riffs, “tough guy” voice and fucking double
bass drumming though the whole record, along with those
traditional hardcore breaks are the served dish in here.
Born From Pain tries to inject, occasionally, some melody
to the songs, but we really don’t notice that very much,
trust me (no clean voices, don’t worry!). After successful
festival appearances last year (e.g. With Full Force,
Pressure Fest, Fury Fest), tours with Hatebreed, Madball
and the Eastpak Resistance tour, and US and Japan tours
in support of their last full-length album “Sands Of Time”,
Born From Pain are now gearing up to take everything a
step further. With a new worldwide deal on Metal Blade
Records and a busy tour schedule backing the April 2005
release of their new full-length “In Love with the End”, the
band is more than ever ready to conquer Europe, the US
and the rest of the world. If you like Hatebreed/Cataract
acts, you’ll enjoy this act. [7.5] SIMÃO FONSECA
BRODEQUIN : METHODS OF EXECUTION
[UNMATCHED BRUTALITY]
With a name based on the ancient French Inquisition tor-
ture instruments you can surely know what kind of
sound these guys practice. Yes, that’s right... brutal
Death/grind!!
“Methods Of Execution” is the latest effort of Brodequin,
and are there any new elements that distinguish this
band from the whole underground/mainstream brutal
death? No, I’m afraid not. The insane raw drumming...
the guitars with the loudest and most brutal riffs... it’s all
kinda “dejà vu”, you know. When you wanna buy a death
metal record what do you search for (excluding the old
school bands)? Spawn Of Possession? Severe Torture?
Hell yeah... and these mentioned bands have usually one
thing that is lacking on Brodequin: different rhythms and
a cleaner production. The blast beats are here all the
time, the insane voice (with high distortion) is also pres-
ent, but you get to the fourth song and you’re already
with a small feeling of disappointment (eager to the end
of the cd, in some cases)... some variety on the songs
would be very welcome, otherwise let’s see: all songs
last for two minutes and half, they all sound the same
and there are no great technical solos (hum, are there
any normal solos at all??)... I listen first to their debut
and after that I listen to this “Methods Of execution”, and
I wonder “where the fuck are the differences?!”. Maybe
I’m asking the guys too much, and considering that they
deliver furious death/grind I can’t ask for some acoustic
guitars or pianos! But the thing is the market is full of
this kind of sound. If you appreciate insane death/grind
with no variations you have yourself a good record, oth-
erwise... [6] SIMÃO FONSECA
CALLISTO : TRUE NATURE UNFOLDS
[EARACHE RECORDS]
This is being a particularly turbulent year for hardcore in
general, like a blink of an eye, the word “core” has been
part of every metal magazine in the last three/four years,
and nowadays the consumer must consult a good maga-
zine or listen to the whole record before buying it... you
don’t wanna buy an emocore record, do you? “’core’ this,
‘core’ that” you guys might be wondering why are hard-
core records doing on an underground metal magazine as
Ancient Ceremonies is. Well, first of all, hardcore/punk has
always been part of metal as well as both sides listeners;
second, without punk there would be no heavy or thrash
metal, right?; and last, but not least, in this magazine we
try to review the “good” hardcore, and Callisto are a true
must on the scene nowadays. This is Callisto’s debut
album, and it’s a memorable experience that you won’t for-
get after listening to this masterpiece. Desolation, cold,
dispair, melancholy... and these feelings will haunt you in
such an emotional way that you will feel numb after a
while... weren’t Callisto a Scandinavian band, of course.
The band is composed by Johannes Nygård-guitar, Juho
Niemelä-bass, Ariel Björklund-drums, Markus
Myllykangas-vocal/guitar, and... Nasum-vocalist/guitarist
Mieszko Talarczyk (R.I.P.) recorded and produced the
album at his own Soundlab Studios in Örebro, Sweden,
with the assistance of Jonas Olsson, who had been doing
the preliminary work and pre-production in Finland before
entering the studio. The finishing touches were put to the
album by the master of masts, Peter In de Betou (Dimmu
Borgir, Meshuggah, Entombed etc.). Occasional violins,
screaming guitars, desperate voice and epic structures
make “True Nature Unfolds” one of the most impressive
sludgecore debuts ever. Doomsters will also appreciate
this record very much. Impressive. [9] SIMÃO FONSECA
CANDLEMASS : CANDLEMASS
[NUCLEAR BLAST]
The veteran, kings of Doom Metal (who rank right up there
with Black Sabbath and Trouble-having been around
almost as long) return with a self-titled, heavy, opus, that’s
sure to please both old, and new, fans alike. This appears
to be a concept album, about darkness and light. Opener
“Black Dwarf” combines energy, with classic riffs, a wide
vocal range, and definite talent, getting things off on the
right track. The catchy, melodies, and percussive
“Assassin Of The Light” is an amazing, moody, epic, with
feeling delivered straight from the heart. The title “The Man
Who Fell From The Sky” suits this repetitious, yet still
effective, instrumental, offering. The crunching, churning,
“Born In A Tank” is a veritable Houdini (R.I.P.) horror,
that’s musically orchestrated, to create just the right
atmosphere. Closing the book on a high note, “Mars and
Volcanos” is fast-paced, signalling that “life goes on”, and
hopefully, that applies to Candlemass, as well?! The cover
art is kept basic, with the band’s logo, and a cross, as it’s
what’s inside that counts (the music). Probably bigger in
Europe, than they ever will be in North America,
Candlemass are definitely cult legends. [7] CHRIS HORTON
CAPHARNAUM : FRACTURED
[EARACHE RECORDS]
We deal with a bunch of youngsters who started playing
music at the ages of 9 and 14. Regrouped in Florida they
have already one Cd called “Reality Only Fantasized” since
1997. They play American death metal in the vein of
Obituary and old Sacred Reich. Of course Sacred Reich
were never a death metal band but I used them as exam-
ple to show the weight of Capharnaum’s music compared
to Sacred Reich’s “Ignorance” days. Now their new
attempt “Fractured” is on the shelves. It’s well written and
catchy, but forgive me for saying so, it’s not my best. They
seem very technical though and they indeed have a clear
sound. Google ‘em for more info. [4] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
CARNAL LUST : REBIRTH IN HATE
[DIAMOND PRODUCTIONS]
The brutal death metal mongers from the French band
Carnal Lust is now ready with the follow up to 2003’s full
length album “Whore Of Violence”, which as such was an
okay piece of utter brutality and blasting death metal,
though it got a tad boring in the length. “Rebirth In Hate”
is a 4 track mini album, offering hateful and brutal as
always death metal.
The band doesn’t work with refined elements to fine tune
their music, they pick out some riffs, fires them away, the
drums follows up and delivers pace shifts, often from fast
to faster, not that interesting drumming, it delivers the
beats and that’s about that, we are getting served some
fills and off beat breaks, but they doesn’t work that well
with the rest of the material. The bass crushes and crunch-
es all entering the sub level, a noisy fucker that rumbles
away. The guitar sound is quite funny and cold, and I had
a hard time getting used to it, there is some okay guitar
work here and there. To be honest the riffs are quite
rehashed and boring, but there are a good solo or 2 on the
album, and some nice leads as well. The vocals are sense-
less growls, running in the same line almost all the time
through the album, varied by some not that good scream-
ing, it doesn’t really do that much for me. The messy and
muddy production isn’t that fitting for the music in my
opinion, and it isn’t always that tight. This might satisfy the
most brutality and senseless straight out of the road death
metal heads, but I miss something that makes me say:
“Hey, damn this sounds good and makes me wanna listen
to it again, and tell people about this band”. But I can’t find
such moments in these 4 tracks, and that is kinda disap-
pointing. But I guess Carnal Lust is satisfied with their
niche, since they keep on crushing away in it, which has to
be respected. [3] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
CARPATHIAN FOREST : SKJEND HANS LIK
[SEASON OF MIST]
Carpathian Forest is the new shit these days. While most
people passed over them when they were making their
debuts, now everyone owns one of their CD and claim high
how they are the hot shit (fitting quite well to their lyrical
themes). I will agree that the band had a string of really
good releases lately but, sadly, this ‘new’ one hardly
impress. We’re getting the re-issue of their ‘92 Bloodlust
and perversion demo (which most of you already have
downloaded off the web anyway) along some unreleased
(and bad) songs, live material and alternate mix of ‘Skjend
Hans Lik’. The bonus video track is probably also on your
hard drive and is surely not the reason why anyone would
buy this. It might have some value as a gap-filling release
and for die-hards of the band but I wouldn’t spend many
bucks on it in a shop. Hopefully the next album will take up
where ‘Strange Old Brew’ hinted. [4] ERIC MASSICOTTE
CARPTICON : MASTER MORALITY
[BLACKSEED PRODUCTIONS]
Do you miss the early 90s Norwegian black metal scene?
Tired of bad produced black metal albums or bands that
hide themselves behind the raw sonority to disguise their
lack of ability to play or compose interesting songs? If yes
Carpticon will surely awake the black flame in you with
“Master Morality”! Not overproduced as some might think,
Carpticon turned out a good surprise with their razorsharp
debut album. Simple black metal influenced by the early
works of the nineties but with a contemporaneous fat pro-
duction, probably for fans of bands like Satyricon,
Gorgoroth or even Dimmu Borgir.
“Master Morality” can’t be pointed as a mark of originality
cause that isn’t what the band aims for, but more like a
good opus of well thought black metal with enough varia-
tion (the songs wander between the fast to mid tempo
speeds) to keep everybody in misery. The band features
members of Vidsyn and Nebular Mystic and also a guest
appearance of Erik Tiwaz “Tyr” (Emperor, Satyricon,
Borknagar) on one of the songs.
The lyrics are based on dark themes, and take form by
Volund’s hateful vociferations. His vocals are a mix of gut-
tural and highpitched grunts layered on a powerful drum
work (in my opinion in a few moments just slightly over
the top on the mixture), a twin guitar attack and an intense
bass. “Master Morality” continues the work of the ‘05
praised demo tape “Occularis Infernum” (even includes 4
re-recorded songs of it) and confirms that Norwegian is
still on the black path... [7.5] NUNO SANTOS
CATAMENIA : WINTERNIGHT TRAGEDIES
[MASSACRE RECORDS]
The 6th album from the Finns Catamenia is a masterpiece.
From the opening riff on, one gets entangled in the web
knitted by this talented outfit. Absolutely brilliant!! I can
honestly say that I haven’t been this excited about an
album for quite a long while now... that’s a shame surely
but Catamenia have restored my faith on metal again!
Well, the line-up changes didn’t affect the band’s integrity
and talent and the new vocalist O.J. Mustonen and bassist
Mikko Hepo-oja are indeed valuable. The new songs are
raw and still maintain the Black Metal flame alive. Opener
“The Heart of Darkness” is addictive and presents lots of
variation of rhythms and blastbeats which is always cool.
“Verikansa” is the 2nd track and is definitely the best one in
here. It’s in Finnish but the melody and vocals are so catchy
that one can’t help but being completely seduced by it.
“Verikansa” is a mixture of Black metal and Viking Metal...
in fact, it’s a mixture of this and that... in the end, the result
CODE : NOUVEAU GLOAMING
[SPIKEFARM RECORDS]
Code features members from the UK and Norway’s
metal scene, including guys from Ulver and Ved
Buens End and all people aware of the quality of the
mentioned bands should expect a great album in here
and they’ll find... a great album indeed! I’ve heard
people complain about this but I don’t agree with
them at all. Opener “The Cotton Optic” is a killer and
from then one the band experiments as much as they
can, mixing all kinds of elements with shrieking
vocals... it’s brilliant indeed! Maybe it’s hard to put
them into one simple category but I totally appreciate
bands that don’t jump into bandwagons. They’re sim-
ply themselves and that’s what makes Code so fuck-
ing special! I am so speechless that I will quote their
label Spikefarm: “Code is progression and regression.
No limits. Where cold, grim Black Metal and the
avant-garde meet in a new and strange direction,
devoid of superficial trappings.” Closer track “Ghost
Phormula” is awesome! Well, better check it out
yourself! [9] SÓNIA FONSECA
is brilliant! Another ear-catching song is “Iced Over” which
results wonderfully. I think all the songs are great and I
truly advise “Winternight Tragedies” to al the fans of metal,
especially the ones interested in melodic Black Metal.
Follow us, the heart of darkness. [8] SÓNIA FONSECA
CATARACT : WITH TRIUMPH COMES LOSS
[METAL BLADE]
Like a vinyl record, this CD snaps with pent-up aggression,
and brute force, as Cataract come across like Pantera
(R.I.P.) on steroids. Here we have yet another of Metal
Blade’s roster of environmentally, conscious, acts, who
also tackle the topics of religion and war. Greg and Simon’s
razorsharp, guitar, riffage, on opener “Killing Tool” maims,
tortures, then destroys it’s hapless victims, in swift, clean,
sweeps, like the grim reaper, with it’s scythe. Ricki’s brutal
pounding of his drum kit, on the well-executed “Vanished
in the Dark”, caused my head to bang so hard, it fell off,
beheaded by their guillotine. The sudden attack of “Skies
Grow Black” is the looming threat (of war) on the horizon,
growing, building, and blotting out any hope of salvation.
The raging torment, of the rather short, yet still impacting
“Reborn From Fire” releases a horde of serpents, to devour
all mankind. The eerie, title track sums it all up, in one
song, perfectly. [6] CHRIS HORTON
CHAOSTAR : THE SCARLET QUEEN
[HOLY RECORDS]
As far as soundtracks are concerned, I have to confess that
I am more in favour to those that are of a “direct” / repeti-
tive approach (e.g. Basil Poledouris, Hans Zimmer etc.) or
to the ones that have an unusual and more unique sound
and structure to offer (e.g. Thomas Newman). Chaostar`s
third album is not classified in the above and is not much
different than their previous two albums, at least structure
wise. Very much inspired by Elfman, classical music and
Hollywood in general this could easily be the soundtrack for
almost any Tim Burton movie. A compliment and a negative
at the same time for yours truly. There is a magnificent
structure behind these compositions with grand layers of
choir / orchestra and general darkness. These reasons are
enough to make your purchase of this release (if thou art
interested in music composition and soundtracks) a worthy
task, as there is a lot of talent and effort to be found beyond
the music itself. However I doubt if any generic metalhead
would appreciate this album, apart from Septic Flesh fans,
the music to be found here could just be too much for
someone that is not into neoclassical material. Not your
typical Cold Meat Industry package here but following his
own path and way of expressionism. [8] ALEX ANTONIOU
CHUCK SCHULDINER : ZERO TOLERANCE II
[KARMAGEDDON MEDIA]
A gathering of unreleased demo material and live record-
ings this is probably as essential as it comes for hardcore
Death fans - and not only! On these second disc one will
come across several low profile recordings with Control
Denied, the classic mid 80s Death demos “Infernal Death”
and “Mutilation” and numerous hellishly produced live
recordings. In other words, the very same tracks that have
shaped this revolutionary and in times controversial form
of extreme metal. Being on the verge of an official release
and a bootleg, this release still consists of some rare to get
hold - off material. Anyone who expects a highly polished
remastered sound quality should turn his back as this is as
underground as it gets sound wise. Dirty, fuzzy and with a
constant hiss, Chuck’s classic tracks such as “Evil Dead”,
“Zombie Ritual” and “Mutilation” never sounded more
underground! I only wish this was released prior to his
death, at a time were maybe the profits would have helped
Chuck survive... R.I.P. [8] ALEX ANTONIOU
CIANIDE : HELL’S REBIRTH
[FROM BEYOND PRODUCTIONS]
Chicago underground veterans Cianide have been around
since ‘88 and although they haven’t released that many
albums, they have steadily moved forward, evolving but
always remaining true to their roots. Their fifth opus, “Hell’s
Rebirth”, is pure Death Metal that relies preferably in low
end of the scale tunes to create its heavy and punishing
anthems of brutality. And when I say heavy, I mean HEAVY
indeed, because Cianide don’t fall for the easy blast beat or
for the technical bravado American death metal is known
for. Actually, there’s something very thrashy about these
guys’ death metal, possibly due to their musical roots: the
press release mentions Venom and Hellhammer and I’d say
Possessed too! Just listen to “Sickened to Behold” and to
the groovy death metal hymn “Death Metal Maniac”!
Anyway, there’s plenty of variety here, with songs ranging
from the fast opening blast beat driven “Age of hell’s rebirth”
to the torturously slow “Wormfeast” which apparently clos-
es the album. I say apparently because there’s a hidden track
in the end, none other that classic neck breaker “Infernal
Death”, taken out of Death’s debut “Scream Bloody Gore”
and given the Cianide treatment! This pretty much shows
where these three guys come from, summing up their musi-
cal attitude quite well. Personally, I would love to see this
material performed live, since these songs have a strong
‘live’ feeling, but with the present impossibility of that, I’ll
keep on playing Hell’s Rebirth”, definitely the strongest
metal Cianide has delivered to date! [8] MIGUEL SOUSA
CIRCLE II CIRCLE : THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
[AFM RECORDS]
‘Middle of Nowhere’ is the second release from US band
Circle II Circle, a band formed in the fall of 2002 by
Zachary Stevens, the legendary vocalist of Savatage in the
90’s who has accomplished the unique greatness of fol-
lowing the charismatic and vocally incomparable Jon Oliva
with great applause from every Savatage fan base.
Listening to Middle of Nowhere’s first song ‘In This Life’
we are consecrated by Savatage influence leading to a
Zachary Stevens Savatage, but this is not a burden, au
contraire, it sounds as a tribute to a great progressive
power metal band that shaped Zak in the skilled musician
he became, while developing this talented and promising
band which CIIC is nowadays. Although this Savatage feel-
ing can be sensed all the way through the ten songs that
make up ‘Middle of Nowhere’, (most of the time without
the intensity that is instantly recognizable in this first
track), it bears also a distinct sound of its own that will
make CIIC recognizable in a split second listening. In addi-
tion, the songwriting is very good and the production is of
the highest level making CIIC’s ‘Middle of Nowhere’ one of
the best 2005 releases. After learning with his mentors
Paul O´Neill, Jon Oliva and guitarist Chris Caffery, that has

and pre-productions, you get a rougher
recording (and slightly different versions in
some case) of the material available on their
albums. A live track is closing the CD. Being
so, this might only appeal to established fans
of the band, not really being a good place to
start with. [6] ERIC MASSICOTTE
HELLFIRE : REQUIEM FOR MY BRIDE
[SONIC AGE RECORDS]
Hellfire hail from Poland and, ever since they
have started it all (1999), this album appears
as their second. It offers 9 power / speed
tracks filled to the brim with energy and mys-
teriousness. As I have stated in another review
here, I have never been into acts referred to
the aforementioned blend, but still I shall
admit that the songs on the CD shine with the
remarkable ease and assuredness they have
been performed with. Some people have defi-
nitely not wasted their time through the years.
[7] VANYA MARINOVA
HUMAN GROUND : HUMAN GROUND
[NAILBOARD RECORDS]
I will have to admit that the Estonian bands
I’m aware of are quite few. This one, at any
case, must have turned a lot of heads in May
2005, when its debut CD has been unleashed!
What Human Ground has for you is 12 tracks
of tight, solid Death Metal in the Swedish vein
aesthetically diversified by entrancingly melan-
cholic guitar tunes woven here and there. Each
single riff and drum hit is in its proper place,
and one can’t help thinking that Valm and Co
are self-reliant enough that not to feel the des-
perate necessity of attracting the masses’
attention with cheap tricks on the performance
level. Way to go! [8] VANYA MARINOVA
IN BATTLE : WELCOME TO THE BATTLEFIELD
[METAL BLADE RECORDS]
The Swedish demons hit us again with fast
Viking Black Metal without polishing. The cur-
rent album “Welcome To The Battlefield” was
released via Metal Blade and it’s super-fast,
though quite technical, too. They sound a bit
like US bands in some parts mostly because
the mix was done in Tampa, Florida. A kick
ass high level playing though that doesn’t lack
variation as well. Strange riffs, sometimes
melodic. They are well balanced between pure
hatred music, brutality and technique. It’s a
dream come true for brutality classy fans.
[7.5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
JENNIE TEBLER : SILVERWING
[BLACK MARK RECORDS]
Jennie Tebler was known for her performanc-
es in Lake Of Tears albums. In early 2004 she
collaborated with Quorthon for a solo project
but even though the songs were done,
Quorthon died and the album wasn’t released.
Finally she decided to let it out saying: ”For
the love of Quorthon, his hordes and music”.
It’s a 2 song release named “Silverwing” with
a same name song and a cover version of the
majestic “Song To Hall Up High”. I don’t really
like her voice that much, but only for
Quorthon’s musical genius I give it a 6. RIP
my friend and hail your warmates in Valhalla.
[6] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
KIUAS : THE SPIRIT OF UKKO
[SPINEFARM RECORDS]
What Finland’s Kiuas (formed in 2000) offer
with their debut cd is rhythmic Thrash / Death
in the vein of The Haunted adorned with typical-
ly Power / Progressive solos and discreet synth
parts here and there. Something that I could say
in the guys’ favour is that the 8 tracks they have
come up with are very well constructed. I doubt
that I’ll ever get back to “The Spirit of Ukko”
though. [6] VANYA MARINOVA
MASSMURDER : SLAUGHTERED FOR SNUFF
[UNMATCHED BRUTALITY RECORDS]
This album is pretty brutal, I don’t really know
how much of a lasting replay value it will hold
over the years in your collection. But I’ll say it
holds more than initial shock value. 8 tracks
clocking in at just about 22 min., this record
lyrically and sonically will leave you feeling dirty.
One thing I can compliment is the bright drum
work used that cuts through the madness with
some great cymbal work. Although these guys
are very talented musicians and possess great
technical skill, I’m going to say it’s nothing that
will change your life. [5.5] MAX RODRIGUEZ
MAY RESULT : SVETOGRDJE (THE BLASPHEMY)
[ROCK EXPRESS RECORDS]
May Result are a band that I’ve come to know a
few years ago... and they’re quite ok. The 8
tracks on “Svetogrdje” are all in the Serbian
language so don’t expect to understand what
they’re saying. Basically you can only appreci-
ate the music and melodies and I can say they’ll
surprise you with their talent. Great tracks in
here but track one exceeds the 11 minute mark.
They have gone one step forward with their tra-
ditional Black Metal. This album is a tribute to
the Serbian culture. [6.5] SÓNIA FONSECA
METSATOLL : HIIEKODA
[NAILBOARD RECORDS]
Please... for crying out loud! Estonian folklore
epic metal in native language?? Change your
attitude guys and become European. Take a
step forward! You’ve been around since 1990!
Your music has got potential. You are inven-
tive in many ways and you manage in many
songs to put together fantastic tunes that with
the right production can boost you forward.
But for god’s sake start singing in English. We
want to be able to understand whatever mes-
sages you wanna send to us. Break that freak-
ing glass! Cheers! Music 6/10 - Vocals...
below zero. [6] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
MINDRIPPER : KAHOS HUMANA
[ADIPOCERE RECORDS]
This French act was formed in ‘99, “Kahos
Humana” is their first album ever and calling it
groundbreaking would mean to tell you a lie.
What I’m listening to right now sounds like
one of those standard Black Metal releases
that remind you of at least 10 bands born
circa 1996 and the moment you try recalling
any concrete name(s) you meet fog! “Kahos
Humana” will be certainly praised by many
though, as the Mindripper are not bereft of

24 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
co-written with Zak the songs of CIIC debut album
‘Watching in Silence’, Zak Stevens takes another step
ahead with Middle of Nowhere showing off his skills even
more intensively. This evolution is highly present in the ten
magnificent songs on display, balancing between fast
songs like ‘Psycho Motor’ to the calmly melodic last
songs ‘Faces in The Dark’ and ‘Lost’; fleeting through
majestic power metal songs like ‘Cynical Ride’, ‘Open
Season’, ‘Holding On’ and ‘Hollow’ where the guitar riff
dominates, giving them power composition contrasting
with the more soothing and melodic aspects of the pro-
gressive power metal pieces like ‘All that Remains’ and the
title track ‘The Middle of Nowhere’. CIIC gives us an excel-
lent and promising second album, which will certainly put
Zak Stevens and crew in the frontline of melodic power
metal. [8.5] CARLOS FILIPE
CIRITH GORGOR : FIRESTORM APOCALYPSE
[KETZER RECORDS]
Being their third full-length, Cirith Gorgor are quickly
becoming black metal veterans and their music clearly
shows it with their fast and relentless black metal coming
across more vicious than ever. I could lament that sound-
wise this is not as powerful as their Osmose albums, but I
will not do so, because the production manages to leave
every instrument just at the right level. Besides, this is
classic early 90ies black metal (with no keyboards), so I
imagine that sound shouldn’t really be a major concern to
Cirith Gorgor’s public. Anyway, the technical abilities of the
musicians are the main focus here, with guitars (bass
included) matching up the excellent extra-fast drumming
in precision and intensity. The down side to “Firestorm
Apocalypse” (there had to be one, otherwise they would
possibly still be in Osmose) is the lengthy and not too var-
ied songs: although there’s some well constructed speed
changes, I must say that stylistically every song sounds
pretty much the same, with only “Perishing Nights”
sounding different because of the guitar solo.
This is a good album, but at almost one hour long (seven
songs and an interlude), this becomes too thick to be fully
enjoyed. Still, I bet this might make many a black metaller
happy with its ferocious velocity and dark atmosphere.
[6.5] MIGUEL SOUSA
COMMUNIC : CONSPIRACY IN MIND
[NUCLEAR BLAST]
Since I happen to belong to those who have been consid-
ering Nuclear Blast as a latex-clad love Metal stars breed-
ing house lately, it was quite natural for me to feel biased
towards the CD from Norway’s Communic (featuring for-
mer Scariot members). Eventually, although I really doubt
that I’ll keep spinning “Conspiracy in Mind” once I finish
writing this review, I am far from apt of calling this album
really bad. Basically Power / Progressive directed, the 7
tracks on the CD shine with their top-notch sound and
simply faultless constructions. Some melancholically
deliberate passages inserted here and there contribute to
the bigger diversity of “Conspiracy in Mind”. Then again,
Communic are not for me: give me the bread, keep the
croissants. [6] VANYA MARINOVA
CONFESSOR : UNRAVELED
[SEASON OF MIST]
After the tragic demise of guitarist Ivan Colon in 2002,
Confessor thought that the best way to pay tribute to him,
was to reform. Now, many people might not have heard of
this band before, but their Confessor’s debut album
“Condemned” surely was one hell of a record, with brilliant
songs like “Collapse into despair” and the title track being
truly unforgettable.
Their slow and tortuous doom metal crossed with techni-
cal thrash raised many eyebrows and paved their way into
the Gods of Grind tour. And then, when no one expected,
they evaporated into thin air.
Now, more than a decade after “Condemned”, Confessor
deliver its successor in the shape of “Unraveled”. And has
it been worth waiting all these years? Hell, yes! One minute
into “Cross the bar” and I’m in doom metal heaven: heavy
slow monolithic chords, the wondrous vocals of Scott
Jeffreys (sounding better than ever) and a sound to die
for! But it is track 2 “Until tomorrow” which really delivers
the goods here thanks to an awesome usage of double
vocals, pounding double bass work that makes the song
extra heavy and a mid section that is classic Confessor
with its complex rhythms and structures. Songs like “The
downside” and “Hibernation” also deliver great technical
passages in the old style, showing just how brilliant is the
rhythmic section of bassist Cary Rorvells and drummer
Steve Shelton. However, the key word here is doom, with
the guitar work echoing classic names such as Saint Vitus
and Trouble. This is true classy/classic doom metal most er. ‘The Torment Continues’ forecast us to a world of mas- metal. To be honest the band hasn’t gotten new inspira-
of the time, and with so much half-assed power metal sive savage destruction where rein harmonically belliger- tional sources since then, the music is still symphonic
flooding the market these days, it’s damn refreshing to ent distortion. That’s the feeling emanated by Corpus black metal with a heavy scent of Emperor. Crionics even
hear something as heavy, as metal, and as honest as this. Christii and translated into songs that demonstrating a cover Emperor’s “The Loss And Curse Of Reverence” from
A must for all doom and really HEAVY metal fans. Doom or raw, dirty low-level production craft detonating some lack “Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk” on this album.
be doomed! [9] MIGUEL SOUSA of ambition. Why Corpus Christii hadn’t bet in something The songs are well written, there is a nice drive to them.
more superior? More tangible that can be able to embody There are some good riffs and melodies here and there,
CONTINUO RENACER : CONTINUO RENACER and shape satanic Black Metal gender? ‘The Torment even though many sounds like the have been heard before.
[INDAR PRODUCTIONS] Continues’ is an insufferable album at any level except for There are some nice technical breaks both from the guitars
Continuo Renacer is truly enlightenment for metal ears. the musical essence and manage atmosphere inherit, the and drums. Though they at times appear to be a bit too
Employing a great degree of intelligence in the crafting of sharpen guitar sound and the vocal performance. All the chaotic, and once in a while they break the momentum of
these songs, with their unusual textures and compelling rest is forgettable. First of all, the album soul ripper, the the songs, instead of giving them a kick. I noted it espe-
rhythms and quirky melodies, this disc is by far one of the production, slaying the drum part and making ‘The cially in the track ‘Black Manifest (The Sermon To The
most standout metal albums to take aim at my ears lately. Torment Continues’ even more disinteresting than it is Masses)’, where at a point there are many breaks, which
Sure to be one of the top heavy metal CDs of the year, CR’s already. For who want 80’s revivalisms could learn with the destroys the atmosphere of the song. A shame though,
stunning math-prog metal is totally engaging and easily masters of Black metal, the ones that still out there today because the song is actually good, and I like the way the
something an intelligent metal freak could get inside of, giving excellent cards. Corpus Christii could present a band incorporates pieces of one of Verdi’s (or at least I
jagged-but-precision riffage and all. In fact, it’s this angu- more daring and foreseen work and less underground. think it is by Verdi, feel free to correct me if not) operas
lar, sharp rhythmic sensibility, fuelled by an irresistible Looking to their press release, it jumps to my eyes the into it. The variation between fast and more midpaced
desire to explore the sonic palette, which makes Continuo most revealing phrase about their ambition and most com- moments are also nice, and the midpaced sections are
Renacer’s music as fascinating and ever-curiosity-induc- promising. The next statement: ‘Not expected to be a turn needed at times, after the runs with hyperfast drumming
ing as it is. This band refuses to rest on its laurels and pro- point in the Black metal scene but to be one more contri- and riffing etc… The vocals are varied from a evil rasp, to
duce standard metal compositions; indeed, it demands bution…’ Please, true Satanic Black metal doesn’t need a lower dramatic scream and some tries with clean singing
more than just a moshing thrash groove or grinding, one more contribution! True satanic Black metal need new like in the track ‘Disconnected Minds’, the result is not the
churning guitar sickness a la grindcore. Instead, the band comers that will push Black Metal a little further into the best, but it is listenable.
couples the darkness and heaviness of metal to intricate excellence. [5.5] CARLOS FILIPE This isn’t a groundbreaking album of any sorts, it’s a
progressions and surprising layers of instrument lines. decent symphonic black metal album which delivers the
The production and mixing of the sound is also a signifi- CREMASTER : BOLETUS SATANAS deal, but not much more. A listen to “Armageddon’s
cant point in CR’s originality. The noticeable bass line [CONQUER RECORDS] Evolution” now and then is good, but it can’t be denied that
(bass lines are underappreciated) help add an extra ele- I still keep good memories of Poland’s Conquer for having Crionics is close to Emperor, their moods and ways of
ment to the band’s compelling audio landscape and often signed with such killer acts like Hell-Born or Immemorial. arranging the music. So if you like Emperor and misses
bring a sort of jazz influence to the proceedings. This The band the CD I’m spinning of right now has definitely new material by them, you should check this out, even
Funkified focus on the bass almost makes you think of managed to call the smile on my face! Style-wise I’m apt though this doesn’t posses the musical brilliancy Emperor
what Primus would achieve if there was more seriousness of defining the debut CD of Poland’s Cremaster as Metal / was known for. On a side note I should mention that the
applied to the compositions. Of course, that’s just the Core related basically. A real metal / core vortex decorated work of the keyboards on this album is pretty good, nice
bassline; CR sounds nothing like Primus. The guitar lines with tones of amusing moments calling associations with spheres, good and atmosphere invoking, often subtle and
also shoot for more complication in songwriting texture involvements in gazillions of situations ridiculous enough not too dominating. I think there is a future ahead of
than you might otherwise expect, and they move with the that to lead you to acquiring the ability of meeting your Crionics, if they move outside the Emperor box and get
constant sense of trying to keep the sound refreshing from everyday troubles with laughter approaching the hysteria their own identity. [5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
riff to riff. There are times where the band will threaten to borders! And all that expressed with enviable skill and
veer into extreme territories (often the work of the excel- vitality! That’s something that does impress me, as CRITERION : THE DOMINANT
lent drummer’s abrupt tempo/rhythm changes) before “Boletus Satanas” turned out to be Cremaster’s first full- [MORBID RECORDS]
steering back leftward into infrequently explored but length ever! Check this CD out, in case you’re into more This rather new Norwegian band only needed one demo to
rewarding musical realms, the sort of exploration Continuo humorous stuff! [8] VANYA MARINOVA convince the German label Morbid Records about that they
Renacer seems to prefer. [9] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN should pick them up, and release their debut full length
CRIONICS : ARMAGEDDON’S EVOLUTION “The Dominant”. Quite a wise choice of Morbid Records,
CORPUS CHRISTII : THE TORMENT CONTINUES [CANDLELIGHT RECORDS] due to “The Dominant” being some of the most captivat-
[UNDERCOVER RECORDS] This album has now seen its release in Europe, after ing, ugly and brutal, yet technical death metal to come out
The present release ‘The Torment Continues’, constitutes Empire Records released it in Poland last year. This is the of Norway the latter years.
Corpus Christii second opus of an announced trilogy start- Polish black metal band’s second full length album, their The music has its roots in the old European scene with a
ed with ‘Tormented Belief’. That’s the way Corpus Christii first was “Human Error - Ways To Selfdestruction” from heavy and groovy foundation, with some good melodic
has found to say hail to every satanic Black Metal support- 2002, which offered Emperor inspired symphonic black leads here and there, and many straight forward mid-
tempo double bass drum drives. That is spiced very much
up with technical extravaganza from the US death metal
scene, where disharmonic leads and off beat rhythm pat-
terns are dominant. Especially American bands as Morbid
Angel, Immolation and Incantation are among the players
here, especially Morbid Angel being very influential for the
singer, just check out the vocals on the title track.
The musicianship on the album is excellent, there are lots
of technical goodies from the guitars, the bass and the
drums, killer leads and melodies, especially all the dishar-
monic stuff is great. The breaks from the drums are great
as well, and the drummer knows how to vary his play, and
keep it from being boring. The compositions are well writ-
ten, they are technical, brutal and very disharmonic at
times, but possess great hooks, so the listener doesn’t get
lost in the audio frenzy attacking from the speakers.
A good and effective debut album from Criterion, a band
that we will hear much more of in the future, no doubt
about that. Great song writing skills, good musicians and
CRAFT : FUCK THE UNIVERSE a good dark and heavy production, a good start for a band
[CARNAL RECORDS] and their first label release. If dark, technical death metal
I feel lucky to have found and follow this Swedish outfit for the past years and I must say that they have become a with a disharmonic touch is your style, this album will rock
your world. [9] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
serious project on the black metal movement and above all a band that knows how to grab a listener by the balls and
put him in front of the speakers drooling like a retarded. Slow riffing demented tortuous black metal is what Craft are CROSSBOW : BREAK THE ICE
shredding the humans with. Forget all the new stuff you are hearing lately cause the new Craft album is already out, [SOURCE OF DELUGE RECORDS]
meaning on the dark uncrowded side streets! “Fuck The Universe” continues the legacy left by “Terror Propaganda” I’m a sucker for heavy metal, so when the first tones left
and adds a bit of rock’n’rollish feeling to the songs. Similar to what Carpathian Forest, Satyricon and even the speaker when I pressed play with this album in the
player, I started to get exalted. I didn’t know the band, but
Darkthrone are making but with their own special hunting vicious slow touch! found out it was a German quintet, which lost 2 members
The songwriting is of top notch, versatile, full of tempo changes and layered by a clear powerful yet raw production after the release of this album, and that “Break The Ice”
to emphasize the dark atmosphere! Nox’ vocals sound even more frightening than last time, Joakim and John’s gui- was Crossbow’s second album.
tar work is superb sounding like possessed riffing freaks with constant pace changes and Daniel’s drumming is pre- This is pretty straight forward heavy metal with an epic aura
surrounding the music. The musicians seems like they have
cise and cutting like a meticulous surgeon! Sometimes its doom, sometimes its dark, even rock’n’rollish but always
their instruments under full control, there are bits and
hateful black metal. When some try to conquer, Craft has already a flag in it for some time! Warning: I guess you pieces there are good, but I can’t help to feel like I have
won’t come out from home ‘till your daily dose of Craft... vicious stuff inside! [9] NUNO SANTOS heard most of the musical expressions before. The only
more or less unique thing is the vocal, but that takes some

skill and the wintrily morose ambience their
material emits will definitely bring them new
fans. [6.5] VANYA MARINOVA
MOONSHINE : SONGS OF REQUIEM
[DOPE ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC]
When the hell will I learn that a band coming
not from Europe or the US doesn’t necessarily
offer something different! Moonshine are from
Korea anyway, they were formed back in ‘93
as Deathrasher (Korea’s first ever Death Metal
band, as they claim themselves), and “Songs
of Requiem” is their second longplayer.
Although mid 90’s Black Metal related, the 11
tracks still keep the echoes of the Deathrasher
times in some moments, and this definitely
contributes to the bigger diversity of the
album itself. The atmosphere, on its turn,
attracts with its obscurity. But still we have
heard that before... [6] VANYA MARINOVA
MY SON MY EXECUTIONER : IN BETWEEN
HEAVEN AND HELL
[DOLL HOUSE RECORDINGS]
Execute me now please! Such brutality and
song molesting deserves a few lines. A bunch
of guys scratching their musical instruments
not knowing the reason why, deliver a blow
right in the face of fans of bands like Unearth
etc. Merciless headbang and meaningless I
might add. Metalcore to rip you apart and tear
your flesh from bone. Only for grindcore
fanatics that are used to making it out of
onslaughts alive! [3] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
NOUMENA : ABSENCE
[SPIKEFARM RECORDS]
“Absence” is the first longplayer of this 7-year
old outfit from Finland, and what I can basical-
ly say is that this CD, as soon as being
reviewed, is going to be placed in my oblivion
bin for all eternity! Although not bereft of
good performances, these 9 melodic Death
Metal tracks sound totally predictable con-
struction-wise, and if “predictable” is not
another word for “tedious”, then I don’t know
what it is! Heh, need I also mention that the
vocal parts here are based upon the good old
grunting / melodic male and female singing
interaction? I bet not... [5] VANYA MARINOVA
PLASTIC EARTH : S.E.A.M. 01
[WORLDCHAOS PRODUCTION]
The music of this band sounds like In Flames
and Dark Tranquillity. But the band is Japanese
and to expect anything else than digitized great
playing is “wishful thinking”. They are clean,
polished even aggressive where it’s needed but
they don’t persuade me that they can be origi-
nal at some point. You can’t easily categorise
their style and that’s a downside, since you
can’t tag them as Death Metal, like they claim.
Typical example of another band that probably
needs a lot of work before they make their
paveway to greatness. [4] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
PROFANATION : DEAD BODY FUCK
[SELF RELEASE]
For a fan of brutal/death/grind style metal, this
band suits a need. Other than that they have
memorable song structures, but there’s not
really much I can say for a cd that I didn’t
quite like in conclusion. The closest approach
I can give is that they mostly sound like
“Waco Jesus” or bands of that idiom.
[3.5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
SAINTS OF EDEN : OVERLOAD
[METECH RECORDINGS]
It had been a while since I heard an industrial
metal band. This style burned out quite fast.
With vocals ranging from rough and
processed to clean and ethereal, the title track
opens the album, presenting a nice groove.
Then the atmosphere changes from gothic to
metallic riffs, moody tracks and a heavy guitar
flavour here and there. Underlying synthesiz-
ers are present as well. There is always space
for improvement though, since according to
my ears there’s something missing in general.
There aren’t any songs standing out but the
outcome is easily listenable and your time
passes quite nice. [6] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
SALACIOUS GODS : PIENE
[FOLTER RECORDS]
Some of the most energetic and powerful
sounding black metal I’ve heard of late,
Salacious Gods is a group definitely out to
make an impression. Originally formed in
1994, this band has a great attitude to make
melodic metal while keeping a grim atmos-
phere and never losing any energy. It’s very
likely to get a bad case of whiplash if you get
the chance to check out this act live. Fans of
aggressive, raw black metal, look no further.
[7] MAX RODRIGUEZ
SAURON : FOR A DEAD RACE
[NEUROTIC RECORDS]
Sauron (even though I really dig the name)
are very furious and aggressive black met-
allers, yet annoying and stressful. The shitty
production comes on top of it and the drum-
mer seems to play another song sometimes
than the rest. Actually this isn’t a cd which
you can suggest to someone to listen to. If
you like searching for new gems feel free to
check them out, but I personally didn’t find
much good stuff in this production.
[2.5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
SETHERY : KHOLERA
[WOODCUT RECORDS]
Sethery, a Finnish band formed in ‘98, has
finally released their first album in 2004. And
what a release! “Kholera” brings you 40 min-
utes of melodic brutality thanks to powerful
guitar riffs, fast drums, symphonic keyboards
and that good old fashion black metal voice.
“Kholera” is one of those albums in which you
really don’t know what to say, you have to lis-
ten to it. It’s a hell of an album with a remark-
able production that manages to keep melody
unspoiled despite of the power and brutality of
the whole piece. And it will probably remind
you of Dimmu Borgir when you listen to it. A
must have for any melodic black metal fan.
[8] SUSANA FERNANDES

26 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
time to get used to, it is rather distinct, but I have grown to ten as a cow corpse in the middle of a salt desert, and the
like it, I really hated it from the start. The compositions are production is screaming “do not buy me!”. I may not be
rather boring at times, and seldom consists of layers, so the biggest grind/death metal fan but believe me I know
they seems thin and not finished, like demo tracks or pre- how to judge something good from something awful. And
recordings. The thin and bad production doesn’t help this this is awful. Seriously, get a fucken grip (so said the
matter, there isn’t any punch behind the guitars or the bass, Lord). [2] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS
the vocals doesn’t get blown out of the speakers, as it
should do, its seems like all the instruments are recorded DECEASED : LEGIONS OF ARRGGGHHHH
from their amps and not processed very much, and that [TRAUMA RECORDS]
does give a bad and rather misleading result of the actual Man, I’ve been a fan of Deceased for quite a while, the band
material tries to present. If I bought this album as a demo, never seem to let their fans down with their own unique
I would be satisfied, but if I had to pay the same for this as brand of heavy metal and speed induced thrash. They have
for an instance, the new U.D.O. album “Mission X”, I would their classic heavy and raw trademark sound, together with
be severely disappointed. The song writing and skills of the good and effective guitar work, straight to the bone drum-
musicians aren’t on the same height of course, but that ming, hooking bass lines and the distinctive vocal from
can’t be expected. But the production is too weak, com- King Fowley. This release is not presenting us for any new
pared to “normal” releases, no punch and the production material, even though that statement is a bit wrong.
lack energy and focus. I have grown to like the material and D’EVIL LEECH PROJECT : BLEED YOUR MIND “Legions Of Arrggghhh” is a collection of Deceased’s
the band, and I believe if the music some day was re- [RAGINGPLANET] demos for the ‘97 album “Fearless Undead Machines” and
recorded and produced properly, it would kick serious ass, How to describe what this young Portuguese band is about and define what they play, it’s a tough job, complicated ‘99’s “Supernatural Addiction”, together with those 2
but for now heavy metal maniacs with a taste for bands in demos there are added 3, so far unreleased Deceased
the vein of Manilla Road should try to check it out... but and ambiguous because of their transversal originality. Nobody ever heard something so entrancing. Since their tracks, recorded live in 3 different venues from ‘90 to ‘92.
consider yourself warned. [3] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN beginning in 1994 as Devileech, they became D’Evil Leech Project in 2003 and release ‘Bleed Your Mind’ in the same Let’s start with the “Fearless Undead Machine” demo,
year. I am astonished by the energy present and blazed with the brutality of their music delivering an experience which has a quite raw sound due to it being recorded on
CRUX CAELIFERA : AD LUCIFER AETERNAM GLORIAM beyond imagination enhanced with Alfred’s grunted and brutal voice from beginning to end preaching sexual perver- an 8 track recorder. Even though the recording isn’t the
[SOMBER MUSIC] best, the tracks does unfolds as pure Deceased material,
sion surrounded by a cyber world atmospherically created by these four men. I have the opportunity to listening the
Hailing from Brazil, Crux Caelifera is a 5-piece band origi- and it’s great to hear the band playing the early renditions
nally formed in 1996 as the “cult” band Desmodus excellent predecessor album ‘Leechtron’ and I surely can say that ‘Bleed Your Mind’ is a step forward in their career, of 5 of the tracks, which later ended up on the real album,
Rotundus, so says the biography. I still haven’t figured out revealer of all D’Evil Leech’s impending metal band. By this time you may ask: ‘What’s after all D’Evil Leech?’ D’Evil with a somewhat better production. If you know the album,
what is so “cult” about a band I’ve never previously heard Leech is the combination of Death Grind Metal blend with Industrial Metal and a cybernetic atmosphere emotionally you’ll know that the material on it, was where Deceased
about, but anyway, it’s definitely not the first (and it won’t progressed more or less, into the more rock n’ roll straight
dismissed delivered followed by ambiguous scenery. ‘Bleed Your Mind’ is a well-produce album, very aesthetic musi-
be the last) time that I’ve seen this word being misplaced forward style, they do nowadays, without loosing the mad-
in such a manner. What I also don’t understand is what the cally and visually prove by the art cover, not leaving a single moment for us to breathe in a true demonstration of ness from “The Blueprints Of Madness” album.
use is for mentioning on the press-sheet all the bands and strength, aggression, visceral singing and powerful performance on playing. For those who like to know all about The next 5 demo tracks are songs that later would end up
side-projects Crux Caelifera’s members take part in. Thus D’Evil Leech must know the fact that there is no drummer. This sound ridiculous, lets say flawless and who have on “Supernatural Addiction”, this recorded on a 16 track
we have Mythological Cold Towers (the only one I’ve experience their music must be astonish. They have opted from early days for the coldness of a sequencer instead of recorder, and that results in a not so thin and more full
vaguely heard about), Miasthenia, Spell Forest, Vulturine, sound, compared to the previous demo. Again a great pre-
Cruor Cultum, Roba El-Khaliyeh... Come on! Who cares?? a real drum set, providing a very organic human’s aggression, transforming the duality of both elements, organic and view at some of the songs that ended up on “Supernatural
I don’t even know these bands! electronic, in an demolish tie. One last note: I known, I known, Sometimes we feel we are listening Cannibal Addiction”, the songs here sound very done, and have the
Having taken a look through the booklet before actually lis- Corpse... but they constitute their supreme influence, praying religions to them. [9] CARLOS FILIPE full mysterious and catchy atmosphere, that made the
tening to the CD itself I got the idea I was dealing with yet album one of the best Deceased albums. The song writing
another Dimmu Borgir wannabe-clone here... Fortunately is clever and the musicians deliver a hell of a job, espe-
this is not the case. Still, Crux Caelifera belong to the wave ing this stuff. Moreover, it takes a great deal of courage to Storm music. Unfortunately, the underproduction feeling cially the guitar work is killer.
of tidy so-called Black Metal bands, who don’t seem to write a review on them. Still, Damnation have been around in ‘Infernal Tyrant’ doesn’t let Butcher’s drum part to be The live tracks are raw and noisy, and sets one straight back
have much affinity with indecent and putrid layouts; the since 1989, so the interest might as well be increased one more asset to add in. The drums, which are played to the early 90ties. The tracks are ‘A Tolerance For Horror’,
type of band that insists in using well got-up and perfectly accordingly. according to the Hell&Earth philosophy, sound a little flat. ‘Terrifying Spectres’ and ‘Industrial Tumors’. As such good
symmetric corpsepaint, etc. I guess you could call this Ignore the intros and cover songs and you have 6 songs ‘Infernal Tyrant’ goes away like an infernal massacre of tracks, in the vein of the “Luck Of The Corpse” style thrashy
Metrosexual Black Metal, hehe! One thing is for sure, with to deal with, thus perhaps this review should be in the obscure darkness merging within dark Storm ideology and death metal the band delivered back then. It is also quite
such mentality you can’t expect aggressive and genuine demo section. No originality, not that we were expecting imaginary. Dark Storm’s ‘IT’ do not constitutes a BM funny to hear King’s vocals drenched in reverb, as on ‘A
Black Metal as a result! And so this goes for Crux Caelifera, any, production and sound as weak as a starving imposing release and even less a new BM sound approach, Tolerance For Horror’, to be honest not the strongest vocal
even though they’re not necessarily bad musicians. During Ethiopian, and lengths of 7 minutes -per- song are the but still quiet good enough album to get everybody’s atten- performance from him. Though a good varied track, with
the first minutes of listening I realised that there was no elements that might make you snap. Decent riffs are hid- tion, specially the pure black metal ones. [7] CARLOS FILIPE the later to come trademark dark atmosphere, and on a side
power in the music. For a moment I thought I was listen- den within “Insulter of Jesus Christ” and “Bloody note, one of the tracks where the band uses lightening
ing to a long kind of intro, but the song had actually start- Vengeance”. The fun part is that, this album presents an DARKWELL : METATRON speed blast beats. It’s interesting to hear the band at that
ed already. It became clear to me that the guitar-sound was overall sincere effort from a band that cannot impress [NAPALM RECORDS] stage, and cool to have some not before released tracks, but
at a very low frequency and that the synth was dominating but can sure do anti-popular black metal well. If you are The first highlight listening Darkwell, for the good and the this is a pure fan thing. As the entire release of course is, all
together with both vocals and drums. the kind of person that despises anything that even worst, is Stephanie Luze’s voice. Her singing quality and the demo tracks can be found on the respective albums, but
Another negative point is that there are no highlights on remotely touches modern musicianship, Damnation are distinctive voice tone makes Darkwell’s tuneful character- as a fan it is always cool to hear the songs in early stages
this CD; it’s like I’m listening to a constant bridge (in the your boys. Yet many of you will think that if some inspi- izer element. Everything else is crammed of a painful and settings, or at least I think so. This is quite and enjoy-
musical sense) of uninteresting slow riffs. After having ration could be bought down at the super market, Cds banality that makes ‘Metatron’ a general unevenness and able album, with killer Deceased tracks as ‘The Silent
heard the CD for 3 times I still can’t remember any riff! I such as this one would never be recorded in the first boringness, making it a perfect candidate to be putted on Creature’, ‘The Premonition’, ‘Dark Chilling Heartbeat’,
just feel very sleepy... [5] TARAS VAN DIJK place. [6] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS the shelf after the first listening of so boring it is. Darkwell ‘Night Of The Deceased’ and many more, a pure goody bag
plays Dark Gothic Metal loaded with sensuality full of bit- for Deceased fans, but act fast the release is limited to 500
tersweets desires - as the band name - and supported by copies. [7] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
Luze’s vocal skills to celebrate ‘Dark sensualism’, like
declared in the first statement. This mixture reveals a fail- DECEIVER : RIDING WITH THE REAPER
ure album in the whole concept. Otherwise, the most [IRON FIST PRODUCTIONS]
prominent Darkwell’s aspect is at the same time the most Swedes have more than often proved their ability to resur-
dreadful, not by Luze’s fault, or even less, lack of skills, but rect old metal. Bewitched, for example, were responsible for
by her voice timbre seems to be not the best one for bringing thrash back to the masses. Other examples could
Darwell music, surely fitting better in another musical be mentioned, but lets just say that there’s some strange
audience outside Metal. ‘Metatron’ is a sufferable album thing in Sweden that generates a healthy interest for all
with a set of songs, undoubtedly Dark Gothic, that pre- things classic and, why not, classy! “Riding with the
tends to make reverence to the feminine magic of Gothic Reaper” is pure and unquestionable love for the old school,
Metal without craft it by lack of ambition, creativity, bold and when I say old school, I mean the likes of Mercyful Fate,
and sensuality. [5.5] CARLOS FILIPE Venom, Motörhead, Iron Maiden and “Kill’em All” Metallica.
In fact, this is a strange brew of NWOBHM with Motörhead
DAWN OF RELIC : NIGHT ON EARTH and early thrash that totally rocks! As a matter of fact,
[SEASON OF MIST] Deceiver are pretty damn good at what they do, specially
Fade in: an a typical intro named ‘Evenfall’ comes from because they cook their influences their own way, creating
silence with a well-sustained riff till at the first chords of a final product which sounds as exciting as it sounds per-
‘Serpent Tongues’ the hostility break through settling sonal. Expect moody passages and some excellent dual gui-
immediately the sound of Dawn of Relic: Thrash Metal tar work (by Pete Flesh, formerly of Maze of Torment). Also
Obituary like with a singing taken from Death Metal world the bass is left quite audible in the mix, thus adding extra
CULT OF LUNA : SALVATION reminding us Pestilence days, jointly with guitar solos very power to the songs; this is of course courtesy of a Tommy
[EARACHE RECORDS / MEGAMUSICA] heavy/speed/thrash and a melodic part like Metalcore as Tagtgren production at The Abyss. Tunes like the sing-along
Sweden band Soilwork does. ‘Night on Earth’ is Finnish “Riding with the Ripper” and “God of Dead” make for a hell
“Such is the way with Cult of Luna, based in Umea in the cold far north of Sweden, far removed from the more fash- Dawn of Relic third album that blends genders all over the of a ride to the good old glory days of metal, but just check
ionable centres of Stockholm and Gothenburg. The culture of Umea has always thrived around the youth of the city, eight songs with a fusion full of strength and energy, but out the dual vocal work in “She - Ghost”, reminiscent of the
principally the university but also the arts and political scene. Naturally merging thought and art, the music scene unfortunately, without constituting any kind of newly, that “St. Valentines Day Massacre” EP which teamed up
has built a reputation for confronting, questioning and searching new ways to express the feelings of a population is, it’s not drinking from different sources, getting a little of Motorhead and Girlschool: recommended for those of you
a particular gender and mingle all together in a ‘Metal’ tired of angelic soprano vocals, cause this lady here sings
that is cut off from much of what outsiders traditionally imagine when they think of Sweden. Life in Umea is tinged the rock n’roll way! Considering that Deceiver were formed
mixer, press tree times and take it into hell to baking, that
with darkness and hostility, and the music emerging from the town reflects this - Meshuggah, Refused, Naglfar - all will obtain a newly with plenty of originality. To achieve that, in January 2004, have recorded an MCD shortly after and
are distinct and diverse, but all have one thing common - a grim individuality. Cult of Luna reflect this distinct per- every wannabe band has to define what to play very care- now deliver this hell of a debut, I just wonder where they are
sonality trait - they don’t sound like anybody else, they don’t claim influence from anybody else, and yet they know fully and then have a good idea and forget all done till that going with this creative intensity! [7.5] MIGUEL SOUSA
day, and then, the wall of fame will bend it at thy foots for-
where they are headed. Clarity of purpose indeed.”
ever. But for that they have to get a higher level. Dawn to DECEIVER : HOLOV POSEN TRO MAY TROT
This was the press release, from Earache Records, and They couldn’t be righter. Cult Of Luna are, definitely, one of Relic manage a high solid work full of great splendid pure [IRON FIST PRODUCTIONS]
the weirdest and hottest bands of the Hardcore scene. Creating a claustrophobic, desolating and emotional environ- metal moments in form of riffs and solos in the most tradi- After a few moments of the starter ‘Ancient God’ we know
ment, C.O.L. are one of the very finest examples that if you want to sound heavy there’s no need to use maximum tional way, but always update, not seen in metal for a while. that Deceiver is a bit changed. First thing we notice, com-
To prove that, listen to ‘Night on Earth’ highlights: ‘Serpent pared to “Riding With The Reaper” we have a fatter more
distortion. “Salvation” is a fine example of how you can write beautiful and abstract music without Death Metal
Tongues’, ‘Birth’, ‘Sinbred City’, ‘Nemesis’ and ‘The Room in your face trashing production still done by Tommy
riffage: sometimes calm and simple chords sound great. In “Salvation”, C.O.L. have pushed the envelope, in what of Paintings’. Not constituting a great album, ‘Night on Tagtgren on the well known Abyss Studios. Secondly we
concerns to their fabulous album “The Beyond”: the structures sound much more connected, they evolved a lot as Earth’ presents himself with a set of powerful and consis- notice a vocal style change since their singer Destormo left
song composers, as well as the ability of creating a desolating feeling that consumes your mind and heart. tent songs like the good old Thrash Metal style from the the band to focus on their other projects, Serpent Obscene
They say that they have no musical influences, but I disagree a bit with that. They have emerged from the so called 80’s update to 2005; Dawn of Relic assume itself as the and Maze Of Torment. Now guitarist Pete Flesh handles
most purist vein of Metal true essence. [8] CARLOS FILIPE also the vocals and his style is more like thrash/death
“Post Hardcore” movement, whose laws were established in the early 90’s. So if you like Callisto don’t miss this dark grunts fitting the Deceiver raging style but in my opinion
masterpiece. It’s Epic, It’s calm and intense. It’s modern Sludge at its best. [9] SIMÃO FONSECA DEATHGUY : CONCENTRATE THE ANIHILATION not at the same rock’n’rollish level as their old singer
[VRYKOBLAST PRODUCTIONS] Destormo. Thirdly, instrumentally they are far more furious
And what’s this? These guys look like suicide bombers. than on their prior release yet a bit repetitive sometimes
DAMNATION : DESTRUCTO EVANGELIA DARK STORM : INFERNAL TYRANT How cool is that... I reckon I have a pretty good idea what’s which for me is not entirely a bad thing. What I miss more
[THREEMAN RECORDINGS] [AGONIA RECORDS] in here... Extreme Brutal Death Metal from Thailand! The is the shredding sound of the guitars and the beer chorus-
The rotten-in-every-way cover art may also act as an indi- Dark Storm is pure raw Black metal played by Butcher, things that stand out are naturally the shocking images of es that the “Ripping With The Reaper” was so abundant at.
cation of what’s to discover in Damnation’s debut disc. Astaroth, Vlad Blasphemer (my favourite name of all Black penises (is anybody shocked yet?) and chopped hands All in all a band that still likes to bang at the sound of their
Don’t ask why, but Destructo Evangelia stinks heavily of Metal musicians) and Devilish. Not being so brutal as we and legs and also... Oh screw it I am not a meat salesman. idols like Motorhead, Metallica, Venom and that stick to
Black metal a-la Bathory and Darkthrone only simpler and can imagine from this names, ‘Infernal Tyrant’ lays into They should probably consider the profession though. old winner formulas! They have for sure changed a bit but
more decadent. Judging by current standards it takes a Black metal aesthetic with a raw slash vocal performance 9 songs in total and not one stands out. And I mean not still know how to thrash till death on a hot summer day
great deal of effort nowadays to impress anyone by play- and drifting edges guitars pacing like Hell and Earth, Dark one. The vocals are simply growls, the guitars are as rot- with a few beers! [7.5] NUNO SANTOS

ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 27
DELUGE : DILUVIAL SORCERY
[HAMMER & ANVIL RECORDS]
For a band hailing from the Land of Oz, symphonic black
metallers Deluge have fewer points in common with fellow
countrymen Destroyer 666 and Gospel Of The Horns then
with Norway’s Dimmu Borgir or Borknagar. Ambience is
the key note here, with the six members of the band mak-
ing proficient use of their instruments (vocals included)
throughout the six tracks of “Diluvial Sorcery”. Three of
these actually score above the 7 minute mark, which is
noteworthy and, in this particular case, not a bad thing!
The excellent axe work intertwined with pompous key-
boards keeps things flowing and interesting, though not
necessarily very unique.
Although I don’t blame bands for not being original, I
would have expected good musicians such as these
Aussies to have crafted a more personalized effort. In the
midst of all the references to other keyboard prominent
metal bands (the aforementioned Dimmu Borgir and
Limbonic Art, for example) there ends up being not too
many space left to leave a personal mark. This record
might have been a classic if released back in the heyday of
symphonic black metal, but to stand above the competi-
tion these days you have to try harder. But be ware:
“Diluvial Sorcery” displays some fine musicianship and I
wouldn’t be surprised if in a near future Deluge actually
deliver what they promise! [6.5] MIGUEL SOUSA
DEMONLORD : HELLTRUST
[SOURCE OF DELUGE RECORDS]
Almost twenty years have passed since Helloween
unleashed their speed/power metal classic “Walls of
Jericho” and bad tempered bangers like me would say that
its influence is finally waning under the pressure of today’s
commercial acceptable power metal formulas. In the wake
of the new millennium band photos have become more
important than the actual music, which in turn accompa-
nied the tendency for artificiality by becoming more and
more poppy! Cynics will of course deny this, saying that it
is the price of evolution and blah blah blah... but we all
know what I’m talking about, don’t we?
Fortunately some bands are honourable exceptions to the
rule and Demonlord are such a case. Opening track “Quo
Vadis” owes as much to Helloween as it does to Rhapsody
(just check out the epic sounding chorus!) and “Ruins in the
Dark” is classic Heavy Metal with some dual guitars that are
reminiscent of KK Downing and Glenn Tipton. From then
on we are presented with a parade of heavy metal hymns
that takes us right back to the second half of the 80ies. If the
Italian influence never really disappears, it is nonetheless old
Helloween and Rage circa “Perfect Man” that set the pattern
here. Hell, even the singer sounds like Mr. Hansen some-
times (or even Peavey!) and I’ll be damned if that’s a bad
thing! Mid-paced “Poisoned Souls” and the anthemic
“Overture to the End”, are the living proof of this!
But Demonlord are no clones either. This Hungarian bunch
has been around since 1997 and this is their second album
(the first was self-released). “Helltrust” shows that they
know their metal and clearly have the ear to take the best
advantage of good heavy metal tunes! If quality power
metal is your thing then Demon Lord are definitely worth
investing your hard earned money on! [8] MIGUEL SOUSA
DESASTER : ANGELWHORE
[METAL BLADE RECORDS]
Metal troopers Desaster have built a strong reputation
across the underground cemented with albums such as “A
Touch of Medieval Darkness” and “Tyrants of the
Netherworld”. New opus “Angelwhore” is their fifth full
length and their first for Metal Blade.
The metallic wonders resulting from the fortunate marriage
of thrash and medievalesque melodies have been
Desaster’s trademark for over a decade, and again the
German horde applies the winning formula. The traditional
intro sets the atmosphere till “The Blessed Pestilence” kicks
in. This is possibly the album’s best song (together with the
massive epic “Nihilistic Overture”) featuring some cool
bass work by Odin. Dark sounding and raw, this record is
the most brutal Desaster release to date, with Tormentor’s
drums pounding the way for Infernal’s six string onslaught.
By now I should be totally familiarised with Sataniac’s harsh
vocals, but I firmly believe that Okkulto’s style favoured
Desaster’s subtleties better. Now, with the abundant thrash-
ing rage generously displayed throughout the album every
Desaster fan should be blissfully banging their hands with
a massive shit-eating grin on their faces! But this fan here
is not entirely pleased. Good tracks alternate with less
inspired tunes: title track “Angelwhore” lacks dynamics and
so does a couple of other songs. Sodom-esque “Revelation
Genocide” promises but never actually delivers its full
potential. Of course that the good songs (let me add To give these dudes some credit, I have to say that at times ance of Novy (for not writing again about the bass), the
“Conqueror’s Supremacy” and “Ghouls to Strike” to the Devastator manage to pull out some fairly competent black riffty guitars by Hiro and Mauser along with Doc’s drum.
first two I mentioned) balance things up and make metal, but when they do so they manage to sink it right Definitely Dies Irae drinks from different kind of Death
“Angelwhore” a worthy effort, but they don’t hide the fact under a long boring excuse for a song. [4] MIGUEL SOUSA Metal bands where Dies irae members came from, to com-
that quality is a bit below Desaster’s standard of excellence! pose adding individual parts and contributions to put
Tunes like “Past, Present, Forever” and “Nekropolis DEVILYN : 11 together ‘Sculpture of Stone’ and make an album like
Karthago” would eat most of these songs alive. But no rea- [CONQUER RECORDS] Polish Death Metal bands do, in their unique and original
son to worry! A few Bitburgers and a bit more inspiration What a strange name to a Brutal Death Metal band? Isn’t it? way. The best song of all, is all that music that is between
should be enough for Desaster to get back on their creative Sometimes a name express unequivocally what we are the xylophone partitions. Brutal, powerful, gargantuan, ter-
peak!! [7] MIGUEL SOUSA about to listen, what a band want to transmitted musically rorizing, Dies Irae. [7.5] CARLOS FILIPE
to the listener. In Devilyn case, I never suspect founding a
DESENSITISED / PEACH-HER : BOUGHT BEAUTY band that flows in the same vein as Cannibal Corpse or DISINTER : AS WE BURN
/ GASTROPHOBIA Morbid Angel. Defining their last release ‘11’, it’s defining [MORBID RECORDS]
[GRODHAISN PRODUCTION] Brutal death metal itself. ‘11’ could be an honest nice tem- 4 minutes into Disinter’s “As We Burn” and already two
I miss splits. There were so many in the past but now only plate, well, one involving a melodious atmosphere. This last songs have burst out of the speakers, one of which being
grind and old school hardcore bands seem inclined to do hint is the main aspect of Devilyn music express all over under 2 minutes long. Benefiting from excellent sound and
them. But I always thought it was a great promotion idea, get ‘11’ and the one who shape the sound, giving it a personal- production, these two fast and brutal fuckers end up being
a band different from yours to participate and you are auto- ity of their own equalizing brutality with melody. To com- too short for their own good! Fortunately, track three
matically promoted to their audience. Dutch Desensitised plete the devastating blast is at the helm, the gargantuan “Black Seas of Infinity” kicks in and finally shows what
and French Peach Her understood and joined forces for a voice of Michael. Turning down ‘11’ we found it downside. these Chicago dudes can do when giving the music its own
split of old-school death/grind and deathcore. On The common Death Metal bands’ problems: A very repeti- time to grow, i.e., tight Death Metal which, whilst not being
Desensitised’s side of things, the five song presented are a tive sound that make always the album a little flat and technical, displays excellent technique (if you know what I
decent mix of old-school death and a bit of grind that remind- demonstrating a songwriting drain of imagination, making mean). “Born to Darkness” confirms the previous suspi-
ed me of an old local favourite Traumatism. The main prob- all the songs sounding like the same. Devilyn don’t escape cion, with Disinter writing some fine material that sounds
lem with this band is crappy vocals, just awful vocals that from this so kind Death Metal setback. Only the most tech- strangely European. But what makes “As We Burn” a
deprive the listener of any enjoyment so annoying they are. nical and skilled bands, like the ones I mentioned above, pleasurable experience is these guys capacity to keep
Peach Her on the other hand are fine with their vocalist but can reach avoiding this setback. It’s not Devilyn fault, no, things varied as they shift tempos in the six minute sur-
the music truly doesn’t go anywhere. Patchwork of riffs it’s the difficulty of doing, playing and writing Brutal death prisingly melodic and heavy “Dig me no Grave” and pres-
without any kind of care taken in transitions you have metal, even when you add (and an applause for that) ent some groovy guitars in “A Curse of Pain and Hate”.
incredibly uneven songs that seems like they were just melody. Devilyn’s ‘11’ manage the impossible: Make a With the pointless acoustic reprise of “As We Burn” clos-
thrown together. While I respect that include sounds that are melodious extreme album. [6.5] CARLOS FILIPE ing a record that almost fails to hit the 30 minute mark, I’m
not often found on metal record, like slap bass and a little left with the feeling that this album could have been excel-
country-western interlude, when it doesn’t make sense as a DIES IRAE : SCULPURE OF STONE lent if it had some more material in the vein of the afore-
whole, it just does not make an appealing prospect. Peach [METAL MIND RECORDS] mentioned “Dig me no Grave”, a song which is given its
Her just need time to refine this sound that could very well In first place, Dies’s Irae isn’t about their Death Metal own space to mature. “As We Burn” ends up being an
be interesting once it is done. [5] SIMON THIBAUDEAU music or the fact of being around since 1992, but yes, of album like its first two songs: too short for its own good.
Anyway, there are still twenty something minutes of excel-
lent Death Metal to enjoy, so check this out and make your
own mind about it! [6.5] MIGUEL SOUSA
DISSIMULATION : PRAKEIKIMAS
[LEDO TAKAS RECORDS]
Lithuanian Dissimulation has been around since 1993,
though is just now ready with its second full length album
“Prakeikimas”. Their first full length “Maras” was released
in 2002, also by Ledo Takas Records, which also is the
label behind this release. I haven’t heard the first full
length, the only of the band’s earlier material I have heard,
is the quite good “Miglose” 7” EP from 2000.
The band has matured quite a bit within the last 5 years,
but the sound and approach are still reminiscent from the
7”, though it’s much more thrashy now and the song writ-
ing is somewhat better and catchy. With an approach in old
styled violent black metal, the band weaves in harsh thrash
and paces up the compositions. There is a good amount of
DETONATION : PORTALS TO UPHOBIA pace shifts involved, as well as many good variations of
[OSMOSE PRODUCTIONS]
the used riffs. The band mixes up quite a few genres, and
Not really being released by a band that’s impressively named, “Portals to Uphobia” is released by Osmose produc- touches atmospheric black and folk metal more than once,
tions. Stay with me on this one. A darkly brilliant little masterpiece is one way to put it. The other way would be that and the shifts from the aggressive thrash/black to the
more atmospheric parts, work great as ‘Karo Ugnys/I
this disc is the second best album of Dark Tranquility that strangely disappeared after the release of “Mind’s Eye” and
Dausas’, even though the last part of that track, the elec-
was re-discovered by Detonation in year 2005. Good for them things are much simpler than that. tronic ambient ending, gets a bit too much for me.
Resemblance is one thing, and ferocious copying is another. This album resembles all that was good about that The production of the album is very good, much better
Gothenburg metal school. The guitar solos are stimulating, the songs professionally arranged and presented in a than expected. There are a lot of punch behind the music,
it’s heavy and gets thrown aggressively out of the speak-
flawless aura of metallic essence stripped to absolute melancholia.
ers, carrying one away in frenzy, just to be taken down to
Although the general idea is, sad melodies wrapped up in the cruelty of heavy metal craftsmanship, the elements of earth by an atmospheric passage. The members of the
“hard ‘n heavy” are too deeply carved here to be lost, keeping the mood of the fans steadily to happy-and-smiling band are also handling their instruments very well, there
levels. Whether you are an Opeth/Dark Tranquility loyalist or not, what you’ll find here is a record not easily ignored are good guitar parts, and the drumming is quite satisfy-
even if you wanted to. Great work gentlemen. [9] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS ing as well. This is without a doubt an album to check out
with dark blackened hordes are on the normal playing
schedule in your cave, good and healthy old school black
metal influences, and even healthier old school thrashing,
DEVASTATOR : THE END being a super-Polish-group featuring musicians known and the very Hellhammer sounding start of ‘Suteikim
[REGIMENTAL RECORDS] from Vader, Sceptic, Decapitated and Devilyn. ‘Sculpture of Jiems Kancia’ is amazing nostalgic. This is one of the more
Devastator’s choice of name for their debut album is a Stone’ constitutes their third release for Metal Blade and surprising albums this year... do you really wanna miss
curious irony, for “The End” doesn’t ever seem to end! don’t throw some stones against it at the first seconds of this? [8.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
With a running time of 72 minutes and with six songs out ‘Sculpture’. That unworkable and annoying xylophone
of seven being over the 9 minute mark, this album is guar- noise sound, looks like a calling to the beginning of Dies’s DIVERCIA : CYCLE OF ZERO
anteed to either overwhelm your seared heart with black Irae hostilities till the very ending seconds. Meanwhile, [KARMAGEDDON MEDIA]
metal hell or bore you to death! With tracks like “The call Dies Irae craves to eternity ‘Sculpture of Stones’ with a Divercia’s atmospheric power metal-infused death thrash
to war” aiming solely to deliver 13 minutes (!!!) of blast strong Death Metal album full of aggression at any level. sends you reeling with its proud, regal display of metal
beats and second rate old school black metal, I go for the Leaving apart the tiny xylophone weakness, Dies Irae deliv- prowess. It’s heavy and headbanging and the kind of thing
second option. You see, there’s neither dynamics nor aes- ers a powerful Polish-death Metal like, engraving their a metalhead can wrap his hornfingered grip around, but it’s
thetics to save this. Instead you find the same drum pat- ‘stone’ ornamentally where the bass will promise to shiver also imbued with melodic sensibilities the heavier stuff
terns repeated over and over again! Not even the occa- the ground and blow off your speakers. Listen Novy’s bass doesn’t always embrace. There’s so much focus on beau-
sional outburst of retro thrash manages to refresh the lis- and feel his might and potent lower frequency vibration! ty in songwriting, even going so far as to include lush key-
tener. Vomiting sentences like “Holocaust!!! Endless pain, All Sculpture’s songs are high level standard production, boards to buoy up the already glorious guitar lines, and so
sacrifice!!! Exterminate, the human race, sodomize. songwriting and very well pace, making it a very cohesive much in the way of power metal passages, you can’t deny
Genocide, total death, this is the end...” doesn’t help either. release. All of them sound great. The huge vocal perform- that the band owes as much to the power genre as it does

SIX REASONS TO KILL : REBORN
[BASTARDIZED RECORDINGS]
“Reborn” is the first album that I’m hearing
from Germany’s Six Reasons To Kill (formed
in ‘99) and it’s actually their second (after
“Kiss the Demon” since 2000). What we
have here is 10 tracks fully complied with the
Metal / Core blend. No more, no less. In the
performance field the guys have done a great
job, the sound quality is also high above the
TODAY IS THE DAY : KISS THE PIG
[RELAPSE RECORDS]
Today Is The Day stands on a ground very
few people dare step upon these days. “Kiss
the pig” is a grim-sounding creature assem-
bled upon a noise-coated grind skeleton
with a roomy and authentic production job
holding it all together. Often sounding like a
japa-noise D.R.I. cover band snorting
mescaline lost a voivodian craze, Today is
TWYSTER : XPLODE
[MASSACRE RECORDS]
This German act was devised in ‘95, “Xplode”
is their 4th full-length so far and the first ever
I’m coming across. And hopefully the last that
I’m giving a listen to! Not that the guys (and
the girl - Kordula “Coco” VoB on vocals) are
that bad musicians, it’s merely that I’ve never
been into Power / Speed / Heavy stuff... All
that pathos on-dragon-wings is something
VOCIFERIAN : UNIVERSAL HATE DECADES
ULTIMATUM
[INFERNUS REX RECORDS]
Vociferian has created one of the grimmest
and bleak atmospheres I’ve ever heard on a
record. This is absolutely some of the most
relentless black metal ever made.
The recording is a bit fuzzier than most, but
the sound quality still maintains enough to
make it listenable. As a one-man outfit, a
around since the guitars are shredding
everything in their way. Bloody and gory art-
work (that I like very much) and brilliant
lyrics are their strong point and they earned
my respect for it. Crazy madmen playing
metal at an extreme speed. If you like it don’t
hesitate! [5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
ZABURON : SIC BELLUM LUCIPIT
[SELF RELEASED]

average level, but when you have heard too
many bands like that, you’ll need imagination
really vivid to write a review longer than
mine is. [6] VANYA MARINOVA
SKYFORGER : SEMIGALLS WARCHANT
[FOLTER RECORDS]
“Semigalls Warchant” was the first demo of
Skyforger, re-released now by Folter Records.
A little far away from their earlier albums,
“Semigalls Warchant” has fewer elements of
folkloric music and relies more on traditional
Black Metal. This re-issue comes with new
tracks specially created for this re-release. I
definitely prefer their later albums but I think
that this is a good way to see where the band
came from initially. [6] ERIC MASSICOTTE
the day is not for everyone and probably not
for me either, or maybe they are? I am a lit-
tle destabilized here... but I can’t say I don’t
like it. [6] ERIC MASSICOTTE
TO/DIE/FOR : IV
[SPINEFARM RECORDS]
I’ve been a fan of this band for awhile, and
this, while definitely not their finest work is a
very good, pleasant album for fans of a more
melodic goth-rock style. The piano on this
album is very present but with taste and pur-
pose, accenting driving anthems. The cover of
“New Year’s Day” on here is amazing too.
Check out some of their older stuff if you
haven’t already, this band is a pretty choice.
11 Tracks of the melancholy and lovelorn, this
album is worth picking up. [7] MAX RODRIGUEZ
that I have always felt abhorred by!!
[4.5] VANYA MARINOVA
VISIONS OF ATLANTIS : CAST AWAY
[NAPALM RECORDS]
Unlike Edenbridge, Visions Of Atlantis (also
form Austria) is a rather new band in the goth-
ic/power metal genre. With “Cast Away” they
deliver a good, yet not really strong record.
Their music isn’t that original and although
songs like “Send Me A Light” and “Cast Away”
are very enjoyable, other tracks can be rather
boring. This means the band has some pro-
gression to make to create a better next
record, but somehow I believe they can man-
age it. A nice bonus for the fans is the video
track of “Lost”, which is added to the record.
[5.5] KURT VAN CAMP
great deal of talent is shown in Universal
Hate - even real drums are played rather
than just using the easy-out drum machine
method that so many bands take the route
of these days. Well worth a listen, check
out all five tracks of sheer brutality. The
tracks are weaved into an interesting mael-
strom of sound, keeping me interested all
the way through. [6.5] MAX RODRIGUEZ
WATCHMAKER : KILL.FUCKING.EVERYONE
[EARACHE RECORDS]
Nineteen tracks in 29 minutes is not some-
thing I honestly could listen to easily. No
song is bigger than 2 minutes. They are
insane, chaotic, maniac. Speed that can drive
you crazy and intense screaming vocals. I
feel that when they play it’s a mess all
The band was formed in 1999 and they are
Antonello D’Aguanno (bass guitars),
Christian Togni (drums), Luca Zanardi (gui-
tars) and Davide “Satras” Ricciuti on vocals.
So far, Zaburon has issued a 2001 three-
song promo only. For the new recording
they decided to offer the best production
possible. So the mastering was done at the
“New Sin Recording Studio” (Eldritch,
Labyrinth). The band is inspired by Sodom,
Kreator, etc. and they try to find their way
through that and present their own style.
They show aggressive vocals, technical
bridges and good memorable riffs. These
Italians didn’t wait much and started work-
ing on a new album, due spring 2006.
[6] KOSTAS ANTONATOS

28 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
to the more extreme styles. However, there’s no real short-
age of vocal grind and ongoing speed to appease those of
you that like a little extremity in your melodic metal. While
I do think the power vocals are a mite weaker than the
death/thrash side, I can’t criticize them too much for the
energetic hybrid metal they so enthusiastically churn out.
[6] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
DOLORIAN : VOIDWARDS
[WOUNDED LOVE RECORDS]
It’s impressive how dark a sonority can turn out...
Dolorian are masters in creating slow, tortuous and
spatial dark doom metal like nobody else! If you think
you have already entered in the deepest sides of the
human mind think twice cause Dolorian not only reach
them but creates an own universe in that remote little
dark zone of your brain. “Voidwards” is a long 65
minute journey of impressive hypnotic rhythms and
murmuring words! After almost a five year break they
enter again in Tico-Tico studios and return to continue
from their self titled second opus. I guess I miss a bit
the more angry side of the early “When All The
Laughter Has Gone” period where they used more the
blackened grim vocal effect. But even so they are able
to keep the same hypnotic raging dark feeling that
they always had and if we put side by side the three
opus we can hardly see much differences, which is for
sure a good thing! Its comforting to see that they still
create their art without neglecting any essential ele-
ment from the past. Dolorian belongs to that sector of
bands that is peremptory to be in a certain state of
mind to fully appreciate their void styled music, like
Esoteric for instance. [8.5] NUNO SANTOS
DRACONIAN : ARCANE RAIN FELL
[NAPALM RECORDS]
These Swedes left a good impression with their debut
album “Where Lovers Mourn”, released at the end of 2003,
despite the obvious leanings towards the old style of
Theatre of Tragedy and other well-known gothic/doom
bands. With their sophomore full-length, “Arcane Rain
Fell”, the band now ventures seriously into harder doom
territory, while still retaining a good share of their Goth
roots. The first half of the record features the heavier and
doomier material on offer, and contains also probably the
best music Draconian has ever recorded. Sorrowful
melodies driven by crushing guitar notes and a discreet
backing keyboard (no violins this time) carry the dwelling
vox duet of Andreas Jacobsson and Lisa Johansson. The
male vocals sound always very heartfelt varying between
death growls, desperate, and spoken parts. This later vari-
ety appears more frequently than on “Where Lovers
Mourn”, and adds a great deal to the overall emotion. The
vocals of Lisa are not specially remarkable (she sounded
better on the previous record), and fortunately her solo
singing on this part of “Arcane Rain Fell” is limited. After
this half of the record (first 3 tracks) a nice spoken inter-
lude (“Expostulation”) courtesy of Ryan Henry of Necare,
gives way to the songs where the gothic/doom elements of
“Where Lovers Mourn” can be found. Included in this set
is a re-recording of “Death come near me”, a 15-minute
epic originally demo-ed in 2002, and the most website
requested song by Draconian fans. Although the level of
composition remains as good as in the doomier songs, the
same lack of originality that plagued “Where Lovers
Mourn” is still to be found here, in particular the similari-
ties with the aforementioned Norwegians. To make things
worse the vocals of Andreas remind me very often of
Raymond Rohonyi’s growls. Moreover in the doom sec-
tion, the influence of My Dying Bride (“The apostasy canti-
cle”) is overly obvious to pass unnoticed. Originality aside,
however, this has all the ingredients to make it an excellent
and enjoyable album. In the end Draconian prove once
again, and better than before, their ability to thrive in this
darker branch of metal. Yet, up to this point in their career,
they didn’t managed to carve a niche of their own. But I still
have high hopes for the next record. [8] ERNESTO MARTINS
DROTTNAR : ANAMORPHOSIS
[MOMENTUM SCANDINAVIA]
The nearly relentless forward drive at high power of
Drottnar’s pretty but punishing black metal onslaught will
surely get Black Metal fans into a whipped up frenzy of
antichrist fury. The propulsion of the music and the extrem-
ity of its sound will no doubt be welcome with open arms
and greeted with screaming corpse-painted faces. Drottnar
pulls no punches and takes no prisoners - this music is
uncompromised and has no purpose but the execution of
potent metal. This is music that looks you dead in the eye
and lets you know what you’re in for. (Though there is a sur-
prise slab of gothic metal tossed into the midst of the CD,
just to keep you off guard... and, perhaps, to make you that
much less prepared for when the beast returns to full force
and keeps grinding away at you with blackest intent.)
Beauty and harshness join hands in hellish matrimony on
“Anamorphosis.” It’s always nice to hear a band that can
bring its ferocity unharmed to the table yet do it with a touch
of melody. Often bands do one or the other, but here both
are present, and it’s a solid effort. [8] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
DROWNED : BY THE GRACE OF EVIL
[COGUMELO RECORDS]
Drowned is a band from Brazil and “By the Grace of Evil”
is their latest release. A CD characterised as the passage
from heavy to thrash/death metal coming from Brazil may
sound exotic. Grammar mistakes are there, not that I care
too much but it is funny to see them to such an extent in
an official release. The general layout is nice, lots of cheesy
graphic work here and there and it looks cool, in a way.
The production sounds old. Really old. As in, did-some-
one-built-a-time-machine-and-turned-time-as-back-as-the
underground-scene-of-the-90’s kind of old. Nope. This is
2005. And what you will listen to here is Maiden-ish
melodies with guitars that could be easily better recorded
by using your home computer and a cheap Washburn
amplifier. The vocals remind me of... god damn it. I can’t
even begin to remember what they remind me of. The
drums are miscounting, with the guitar solo parts not real-
ly impressive but plainly ok. Riffs are too simple and done
before, thus inspiration nears zero. Sorry guys but bore-
dom here is too great to ignore. We needed to listen to
something more impressive. “By the Grace of Evil was
recorded without using keyboards of course. Evil shall be
with you for ever!”. This is found written within the cd lay-
out. I mean common. Come fucking on! Either these guys
are less than 10 years old, or they should probably start
using keyboards to improve the overall interest factor in
their music. I can give some positive points for enthusi-
asm, these people believe in what they are doing, but I
conclude that what they play is dead. As in D.E.A.D. I
remember European bands doing something similar in mid
90’s but again it was a slightly more inspired retro effort.
Keeping the old style song-writing alive at all costs is
proven as futile. Listen to “By the Grace of Evil” and you
will probably agree with me. Oh boy do I need some
Behemoth after listening to this. [4] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS.
DROWNED IN BLOOD : THE WARFARE CONTINUES
[AMERICAN LINE PRODUCTIONS]
A new Mexican force has risen and are ready to take over
the world. American Line Productions has many times
shown their flair for finding good and brutal, yet talented
bands, and Drowned In Blood is yet a band fitting into that
category. Drowned In Blood delivers a lethal strike of bru-
tal and grinding death metal, the band doesn’t show much
originality, they steamrolls over the barren wastelands and
shows no mercy in their effort to blast the listeners of their
first album into oblivion.
As written earlier there aren’t much new thinking included
on this album, if there are any at all. The compositions are
straight forward, a guitar riff is driving the music forth,
there aren’t used that many riffs or variations of them, but
it is effective and the music grinds away. The drumming is
acceptable, the speed is okay, it doesn’t seem as tight all
the way through, though there are some good breaks and
the drummer has the ability to speed up his drumming lit-
tle by little, without it sounding forced. The vocals are a
deep and guttural growl, fitting very well into the context,
and okay effort without being exceptional. Though the
vocalist screaming his guts out on this album, Jorge, has
since the release of the album been replaced by a guy
named Alejandro, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can
keep the intensity and brutally up.
“The Warfare Continues” is for sure a good start for this
Mexican band, it shows which direction they wanna take
off in, and gives them a solid backbone for people getting
into them. Brutal very straight ahead death metal with a
few technical elements here and there. Though the band
might use some more time to learn how to work their sam-
ples into the songs, in a more natural way, the few movie
samples that are present on here, goes in and out very
abrupt and that’s a shame. But still a good album all you
death metal heads should check out, this could become
one of the band’s we will hear much more from in the
future. [6] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
EARTH : STAR CONDEMN’D
[IRON FIST PRODUCTIONS]
Behold, Earth (not to be confused with the doom-drone
entity of the same name). Yes, truthfully, I was initially star-
tled because I assumed (idiot that I am) that I was dealing
with the doomsters here. So imagine my surprise when
death metal began to use me as a punching bag as it came
running violently out of my speakers. Here is a band that is
right down your alley if you want some slick but heavy and
fairly atmospheric death metal with Goth overtones. Gee, I
kinda reviewed the whole CD in one sentence. But so as not
to cheat our readers, I’ll elaborate a tad for ya.
Drawing from modern trends in the genre, Earth maintains
the heavy-hitting aspects death metal fans have a right to
expect, but expand the sonic palette by moving past dis-
cordant grind as its method of presentation. Instead, the
band embraces the melodic death metal subgenre popular-
ized by bands like In Flames, etc., and applies a tad of the
technicality some of the Gothenburg artists exhibit. The
band demonstrates that death metal need not be entirely
devoid of melody. In fact, the music almost seems to like
gothic metal as tinges of that inform the songwriting. The
guitar lines on “Condemned” are crunchy and conscien-
tious, recognizing the need for both heaviness and song-
writing skill. Speaking of the songwriting, it’s got some
dynamics to it; rather than barrelling ahead with a relent-
less but simpleminded groove, it makes an effort to go
places, shift, look around, not languish in one vein through
the course of the whole album. A seamless blend of death
and gothic considerations. [7] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
EAST TRADING WANG : FAVELA YAYO CAIPIRINHA
[NAILBOARD RECORDS]
I’m usually pretty open minded about all genres and styles
of music, but this album really gets on my nerves after a
track or two. The vocals are pushed pretty far in the back-
ground which makes me really strain to hear what’s even
going on. I detect a definite Soundgarden influence, as
well, but the whole grungy biker-rock idea isn’t pulled off
nearly as well. Most of the riffs present are bland and
repetitive, like eating an overcooked porterhouse without
any sauce. “Bad Brains” has a weird UFO sound effect
thing out of nowhere too, which weirds me out.
This was a decent attempt to create something that hasn’t
been touched on much in the past few years, but I think
they need to give it another try or two. [4] MAX RODRIGUEZ
ECITON : OPPRESSED
[ADIPOCERE RECORDS]
As I could read in the bio of this Danish act, it was formed in
2000, “Oppressed” is their debut, as well as that the Eciton
members have been involved in numerous bands before in
the last 12 years. And I could definitely sense that the guys
are far from devoid of routine, but calling their music melod-
ic Death Metal, now this I could not accept! These dudes do
play Death Metal, yeah, but I really wonder where the one
who composed the Eciton info sheet found melodiousness,
if we bear in mind that the 8 tracks on “Oppressed” are
notable for their extremely grinding riffs, thick sound and
grunts sounding like coming from 3 feet below! The only
reasonable explanation that I’m coming up with is that the
guy must be a meanest Grind Core sounds admirer to call
Eciton melodic... Otherwise, I do not tend to enjoy what the
band have done as I’ve never been a diehard Death Metal fan.
But if you are then check this CD out! What I can mention in
Eciton’s favour is that in 2003 they entered the Danish Melo-
Death Metal Grand Prix (the biggest Scandinavian competi-
tion in Scandinavia for unsigned bands) in 2003 and
obtained the first place. [6.5] VANYA MARINOVA
EIKIND : VARGTIME EP
[VICIOUS RECORDINGS]
If you like your black metal raw then you’ve come to the
right place. Black metal like it used to be (and still is if you
know where to look) is what you’ll find when you slam this
one into your hungry CD player. Polish-seekers beware.
This is the kind of instance where unpolished production
(or at least production meant to sound that way) only adds
to the horror of the proceedings. The sheer, blaring crunch
and DIY production are a spirited punch of hell. The vocals
seem to emanate from the smallness of space and remind
you of your eternal doom. Summoned from the darkness
the music swells around you, the vox are the vox of a
demon distantly heard with a message all too clear - you’re
damned! Withering guitar lines and painful percussiveness
create a soundscape for your own personal apocalypse.
Surprisingly, this band is also inclined toward presenting
some surprisingly (for black metal) groove-oriented stuff.
In fact, I’d say there’s a strong tinge of death metal here
and about. This seems to be the only real concession to
“accessibility”; the fact that it doesn’t override the rawness
of the proceedings is a tribute to the band’s ability to add
subtlety to their sound and still be the old, unsubtle black
metal. Eikind’s personality has some distinctiveness to it
and fans of the old, black stuff will be pleased.
[8] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
EKTOMORF : INSTINCT
[NUCLEAR BLAST]
Not bad. But how much further this tribal ethnic metal
thing can go, I wonder. It is common knowledge that
Ektomorf sound a lot like Soulfly or Sepultura’s “Roots”.
“Instinct” is a good effort of an album, but still an imita-
tion. Zoltán Farkas, the vocalist of Ektomorf, probably has
a statue of Max Cavalera in his front yard. The vocals are,
as you may have assumed, identical to Soulfly.
Many bands lack originality but shouldn’t be exactly con-
demned to the chair. Ektomorf’s style can be much to any-
one’s taste. The interesting mid tempo fills in “Burn” or
songs like “Until the End” or “I Break You” are somewhat
different than the general overused formula and raise the
album’s value steadily. However, despite the heavy doses
of headbanging mid-tempo tribal metal, the interesting
solos and the angry choruses, the debate on Ektomorf is
yet to be intensified. The band shows to have possibilities
but if they keep walking the same path, it will be like charg-
ing into a losing war. [6] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS
ELEGEION : THE LAST MOMENT
[DARK SYMPHONIES]
My only problem with Elegeion’s third album is to discov-
er and understand their goals; to realize where their musi-
cal path is leading to. This Australian group, primarily con-
sisting of three musicians, with the assistance of various
session members created the lamenting “The Last
Moment”. A record benefited by the fact that certain excep-
tional features of its music shine through, immediately
after the first spin. Though, generally speaking, the excite-
ment doesn’t last long enough after the album’s time is
over. Indeed, the voice of Dieudonnee (female) is enchant-
ing whilst some guitar melodies that appear along the way
are truly black-hearted and, therefore, consistent with the
dark, doom-y and classical atmosphere that the band
wishes to achieve. “Success” one may shout in rejoice, but
I cannot say that I’ll fall for his words. From a band at its
third album already, you expect more lucid full-lengths and
songs that share the same soul and principals in order to
constructively build the psyche of the band. To give you an
example of what I’m saying, the first song starts with
melodic guitars and while it evolves into a symphonic
black metal hymn adorned by extreme singing, a melan-
cholic melody breaks in and the song ends with some
chanting of the female member. The second track is a
piano ballad for the loveless catching your attention at
once. Just like any other ballad it surprises you with its
direct impact, striking your most sensitive chords, espe-
cially when found in an album that has black metal refer-
ences! On the long-run however, it seems to be out of
place. No reason for the band to convince us of its pop
potential. The next song continues from where the open-
ing one stopped. ‘Taste’, the next number, is composed
upon a completely acoustic environment, with the female
voice playing key-role (everything is built around her vocal
lines) that discloses a different method of writing music,
than what the rest songs follow. The final tracks give more
truth to the label’s remarks of ‘black doom metal’, with
romantic moments I would add. After all you realize that
instead of walking on one steady road, they lose their way
on the various crossroads that appear in front of them.
Moreover, the lyrics are rather simplistic for native
English-speakers (exception to the rule the poetry of
‘Wallow’), a deliberate decision I suppose that doesn’t
favor them. Fans of melancholic, atmospheric metal will
love this, but I have to mention the existence of other
bands, oddly or not from Australia as well, that have made
more successful attempts in combining symphonic music
with black and doom metal. Once there was a Virgin and
she was Black... [6] JOHN ZIKOS
ELIS : DARK CLOUDS IN A PERFECT SKY
[NAPALM RECORDS]
Sometimes there is a few albums quiet good enough to be
heard and purchase without constituting a newly in the
metal scene, a desolation or less a sub-product, or even
less in the other side of the metal scale, a masterpiece
(10/10). These albums are just like that: very good. Elis’s
2004 proposal, ‘Dark Clouds in a Perfect Sky’, is one of
theses releases. Since the opening song ‘Der Letzte Tag’ till
the last song ‘Ballade’, we are exalted with Sabine
Duenser’s exquisite voice and a balanced equilibrium
between guitars riffs, keyboard and drums to grant us a
beautiful and honest Gothic Metal. At Elis production head
is the well known Alexander Krull from Atrocity and
Leave’s Eyes, influencing Elis music with his production-
skills, pushing it far beyond the Gothic Metal component
and pushing Sabine performance to a level, where some-
times I ask my self if I’m not listening Leave’s Eyes and Liv
Kristine. Beside this musical pro quo, Elis do not setting a
millimetre apart the Gothic Metal vein produce in ours
days, delivering us with ‘Dark Clouds in a Perfect Sky’ a
skilfully, well-play, well-written and produce musical piece
that will seduce, in special, all Gothic Metal lovers and in
general all metal listeners! [8] CARLOS FILIPE
ELITE : BEKMØRKT
[NO COLOURS RECORDS]
I know many that have been waiting anxiously on new
material from Norwegian Elite, since the release of the
great debut full length “Kampen”. Good old school black
metal, not leaving much left to be wished for, and togeth-
er with the harsh music, the lyrics are sung in Norwegian
which adds a good slap of atmosphere and aesthetics to
the game. This is not a new full length album from the
Norwegians though, but an EP limited to a 1000 copies.
Grim and harsh metal is flowing from the speakers as soon
as the album starts, 4 tracks of frustrations and hate are
pushing the listener against the wall and making him/her
taking a stand. Either with or against the band, there isn’t
left room for compromises. The monotonous guitar is
delivering good and cold melodies, making cold shivers
appear and thought towards old Darkthrone and Burzum
come forth. Together with simple but very effective drum
work, going from mid-paced to a not too fast blastbeat
again and again, together with a few good fills. The cold
and grim raspy scream, fits perfectly into this context and
adds even more coldness and eeriness into the music.
The compositions are very mature and atmospheric, Elite is
following the path they choose early on and do not stride
from it. They are making something new of an old recipe,
something they can call their own, a thing many newer
black metal bands can’t. The laidback quite thin production
do also fit very well to this release, and makes it seem older
EVOKEN : ANTITHESIS OF LIGHT
[AVANTGARDE MUSIC]
The obscure doors of darkness have been open.
Death, surrounding by an army of thousand dead
souls doomed forever, walk through the glittering val-
ley’s trench. The gloomy walking burden grieve the
soldier’s skeletal faces, slowing them their pace, mak-
ing it more and more slowly and heavy, till the thresh-
old where the dead-souls reach a hypnotically cathar-
sis. Night rein over their helmets and he, Death, writes
the Antithesis of Light! If you have read these last
words, now you are prepared to listening to Evoken,
and to submerge inside a hypnotic and dismal atmos-
phere transmitted in an extreme, slowness, hypnotical-
ly and magisterial way. ‘Antithesis of Light’ put Evoken
in the frontline of the most extreme Doom Metal, that
to all of us means playing with maximal slowness
laden with deep emotions, but to Evoken that means
transmitting a draconian emotion instead of a melan-
cholically one, singularizing from the others in these
way. Evoken plays a unique Doom Metal, a kind of
lethargic trance coming from the confiding places of
the Earth struggling against himself to escape from the
darkness to the light. After a short intro, we enter
Evoken world with five uncompromising pieces of
more than ten minutes long each, leading us through
the path of the Antithesis of Light! [9] CARLOS FILIPE
ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 29
than it actually is, it could have as well been recorded and
released in ‘93, and not in ‘05 as we write now.
Fans of the band are most likely in ecstasy over the 4 great
tracks on this release, it is a pure old school feast, even
though it’s not as powerful and hard hitting as the full length
release from the band, here I am thinking of the production,
the song writing is still as good, though not as captivating
as the material on “Kampen”, but not far off and if this is a
preview of the forth coming full length album, there are a
great deal to look forward to. [8] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
ELVIRA MADIGAN : ANGELIS DEMONAE - WIC-
CAN AFTERMATH
[BLACK LODGE]
Angelis Demonae is the third release by Elvira Madigan’s
sole member Marcus Hammarstrom, and it should be con-
sidered as a tribute album in fact, for it features Marcus’
interpretations of some of his favourite works, among which
T.Amos’ “Iieee”, Scorpions’ “Alien Nation”, Chris De Burgh’s
“Spanish Train” and even Y. Mitsuda’s “Chrono Cross” from
the best-selling Japanese Playstation RPG with the same
name! As this Swedish artist writes in his bio, “this album
was to be filled by tracks that sound as if they were Elvira
Madigan originals or it wouldn’t be recorded at all”. Well, he
definitely made it - if you are not familiar with any of the
artists the songs Marcus has done covers of, you would be
easily deluded that he has come up with a very good Dark
Metal CD that most of all attracts with its remarkably mys-
terious, nocturnal eeriness edged ambiences. I personally
recognized solely “Alien Nation”! [7.5] VANYA MARINOVA
ENDLESS WAR : TRIUMPHANT HATE & BLOODY
SWORDS
[EVIL HORDE RECORDS]
Endless War is as abrasive, destructive and skull shearing
as you might expect from a band dubbed “Endless War.” If
you consider that the black metal genre has traditionally
been a riotous statement against Christianity and the evils
that extend therefrom, you can easily see why a band such
as this would embrace such a moniker. And if you also con-
sider that as a purveyor of modern-roots-style black metal
(i.e. Mayhem era roots as opposed to Venom era roots),
then you’ll understand a certain audio allegory at work in
the name, as well. This is destructive, harsh music and as
such could be seen as musically paralleling the violence
and chaos of war. Also, nihilism is thematically common in
extreme metal and here is a name that concisely expresses
the cynicism with which this musical realm is rife. The
band’s blackened descent into sick and slashing evil metal
is a taste treat delight for fans of black metal’s raw roots.
The band hammers ahead with drum abusing tempo while
twisted black metal guitars speed-ladle unholy guitarwork
across the top of this. The throat lozenge rasp of the vocal-
ist is equally raw, and appealing for being so. Occasionally,
the vocals switch to a deeper, grittier and clean by com-
parison style that’s almost reminiscent of old school hard-
core. At any rate, this music is perfect for fans of old
school black metal and the band conjures just enough
unique personality not to be another dark name on a long
list of underground bands. [8.5] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
ENOCHIAN CRESCENT : BLACK CHURCH
[WOODCUT RECORDS]
Half a decade after the release of the second album
“Omega Telocvovim” these controversial Finns return with
another dose of black metal served in silver plates! The
Black Church picks up where their previous albums left,
and they still manage to crush us with some melodic most-
ly mid-tempo black metal tunes. This new album shows a
band in its peak where they deliver some intense songs full
of different influences without sounding too much forced
or progressive. Everything is kept simple even if its full of
different rhythmn changes and patterns layered behind
some intense riffing, double blasts and scratching vocals.
One of the charms on this album is that you find little
details in all songs that really make them stand out in a way
or another, a simple beer drinking wicked chorus, a guitar
killer solo, some tribal percurssion tunes, intense blasting
á la Death Metal, whispered melodic vocals, a viking
atmosphere, you name it! Enochian Crescent have always
progressed in each album and till this moment without
neglecting their black metal roots, and they have reached a
point of well composed and mature songs where the lis-
tener is bombed with the key element in their sound: diver-
sity! A good album for all those who prefer well produced
and thought black metal songs with enough influences
from other styles. [7] NUNO SANTOS
EQUILIBRIUM : TURIS FRATYR
[BLACK ATTAKK RECORDS]
Coming from Bavaria in Germany, Equilibrium begin their
hostilities in a summer Metal-fest in 2001 were was ask to
the guitarist René Berthiaume to play cover-songs of
known bands as Dimmu Borgir, Hypocrisy and Cryptic
Wintermoon. ‘Turis Fratyr’ is their first release after a 2003
demo, under the direction of Tommy Hermann of
Darkseed. Nowadays all wannabe bands try to bring some-
thing new to the metal scene, starting with a great defini-
tion of themselves in hope to get people’ attention. After
hearing their proposal carefully, I always think good vibes,
good quality sound (some times), good things of this
wannabe, but, I feel we have listened that concept before in
a better way. Equilibrium don’t step aside this rule. They’re
defined as an Epic Melodic Pagan Metal band and sound
like Bal-Sagoth and have a vocal approach too close to
Shagrath of Dimmu Borgir. Settling that down, although, I
can say they’re able to establish a sound-like their defini-
tion supported by Germanic mythology and fantasy,
appealing to Pagan Metal lovers and all who like Epic metal.
For all of you, Equilibrium as written ten songs that will
mash Christianity aesthetic delivering a fast percussion
beating overwhelming by a Black Metal Shagrath-vocal and
seasoning by an Epic Melodic Pagan Metal keyboard part
bringer of a musicality altogether. [7] CARLOS FILIPE
ERADYKATE : REKTALIATION
[GALY RECORDS]
Death metal and porn, nobody ever thought of that! In a
more serious note, Eradykate are very competent musi-
cians that think they are better than they really are. Doing
30 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
a fusion of genres looks easy on the surface but you have
to somehow master both genres, or at least partially.
Eradykate have the problem of not mastering the different
genres they include in the music for dramatic effects, like
jazz and classic rock. The result is a decent death-grind
with god-awful interludes of crappy bass and pseudo-
improve by guys that clearly have no idea of what they are
doing. The death and the grind are quite fine, it is all the
other attempts at sounding weird or fun that fall way (way)
off the mark. I am sure they think they have mastered their
sound perfectly but they obviously don’t. A band like
Behold the Arctopus navigate the same waters but actual-
ly know their shit and the result is a hell of a lot more con-
cise and homogeneous than this. This is a nice attempt but
it certainly needs more work. Noticed how weird it is that
jazz musicians like Fred Frith, Joey Baron and Bill Frisell
are entirely capable of doing grind and Eradykate aren’t
able to pull off 2 minutes of jazz over an entire CD. Take
that as you wish. [4] SIMON THIBAUDEAU
ESTUARY : TO EXIST AND ENDURE
[IBEX MOON RECORDS]
The first thing that catches our attention in this album is
the fact that the lead vocals are accomplished (perfectly)
by a woman: Zdenka Prado. Her voice is deep, strong and
faultless throughout the album. I mean, this chick totally
sounds like a guy! And I’m talking about the fat hairy type!
She easily overcomes the additional vocals, which are
brought to you by a man, the also guitar player Ash
Thomas. Mixing thrash and death metal styles, the guitar
riffs are original and captivating, combining power and
melody. The bass and drums are also very good and com-
plete perfectly what makes a great band formation.
“To Exist and Endure” is a promising first album by this
American band whose energy will make you crave for a live
show after you listen to it. [8] SUSANA FERNANDES
EVILWAR : EVILWAR
[SOMBER MUSIC]
Not even the fact that former member of Murder Rape are
part of this band will make this album any better. The prob-
lem with albums like these is that whilst listening to them,
the only thing one will gain is 40 minutes of well played yet
boring black metal. There is hardly any direction or any-
thing new in this album and for a Brazilian horde I would
rather listen to something more occult or even rawer.
Instead I am listening to a “C” grade black metal clone that
has been heard several times before. All songs in “Evilwar”
sound the same with the lead guitar and the drums on the
foreground. There are hardly any intelligent layers in the
songs themselves making this experience totally unmem-
orable. Sometimes it is better for South Americans to stick
in what they can do best and not try to sound too mod-
ernized in order to “cater” for the European market.
Albums from Ammit and so forth have much more to offer
than “Evilwar” so I hope their new album will follow a more
interesting path than this one. [5.5] ALEX ANTONIOU
EVILWAR : BLEEDING IN THE SHADES OF BAPHOMET
[MUTILATION RECORDS]
If Evilwar’s second album failed redundantly mostly due to
their inability to compose good memorable songs and also
due to the weak production, this third opus “Bleeding In
The Shades Of Baphomet” marks definitely a new era in
this Brazilian trio. This new chapter is marked by changes
on the band, the vocalist Sabatan gladly left the band and
Halphas replaced comfortably the spot giving more
dynamism and personality to the vocal side of the band.
Production wise this third opus is well layered and has a
very powerful yet realistic sound. All instruments are audi-
ble and not over the top like the last time. The tight drums
(I.Niger which already played on Murder Rape knows what
he is doing), sharp guitar and rasping type of vocals are
equally levelled and the music gains a new dimension that
never had before. The bass like most black metal releases
is slightly behind the mix and the scattered keyboard gives
an extra dimension to Evilwar when its used, gladly is
mostly intro based type of synths. On the composition
side, the songs are simplistic yet interesting from the first
to the last seconds with plenty of memorable details,
something that lacked on the previous efforts. Lyrically the
band demonstrates all its hatred towards christianity by
their satanic related texts. “Bleeding In The Shades Of
Baphomet” is a quality album that can easily cross the
Atlantic sea and be a successful release on the European
black metal market, just give them an opportunity and they
will for sure conquer your black hearts! [7.5] NUNO SANTOS
EVOCATION : EVOCATION
[BREATH OF NIGHT RECORDS]
Evocation’s sound is pleasantly schizophrenic. By pleas-
ant, I mean in a this-feels-good-if-you-like-extreme-metal
way. By schizophrenic, I mean there are dramatic shifts in
the music. (OK, I know schizophrenia technically has noth-
ing to do with multiple personalities but it just sounds
cool, so fuck off.) By pleasantly schizophrenic, I mean to
say that the style shifts are blatantly deliberate and com-
posed and certainly a part of the band’s personality. It’s
what makes them a little bit more than just another freakin’
death metal band. Let’s face it, a lot of death metal bands
sound roughly the same. Same song, different band.
Super fast, super sick, super heavy, growl-a-lot and voila!
You’ve got a death metal band. Not so Evocation. Here is a
band that utilizes pseudomathy non sequitur to lurch mad-
deningly from fine-tuned death sheen to rugged surfaced
sickgrind. There are sonically chaotic stretches in the
music where it seems Evocation is reaching for total
cacophony; madness unleashed translates into a psychot-
ic display of metal fury. Then there are spots - also brutal,
but different - where it seems Evocation is shooting for
more technical, studied music. The alteration of the two
allows the band to create music that keeps moving and
doesn’t stand still (which a lot of heavy bands can do, no
matter how fast they’re moving). [7] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
EWIGKEIT : CONSPIRITUS
[EARACHE RECORDS]
First I should start by saying that I elected the previous
effort from Ewigkeit, “Radio Ixtlan”, as one of my favourite
records of 2004. And I am not what you would call a die-
HATE ETERNAL : I, MONARCH
[EARACHE RECORDS]
“I, Monarch” is Hate Eternal’s third release. As many good bands nowadays, this one wasn’t taken seriously in the
beginning, mainly because people saw them as a parallel project of ex-Morbid Angel’s guitarist Eric Rutan. As Morbid
Angel was dying in terms of creativity and popularity, Rutan took the chance and ceased it very well. Hate Eternal are
one of the most respected Death Metal bands of today, and I would say they’ve beaten M.A. in terms of originality.
“King Of All Kings” was a solid and highly technical record, but Hate Eternal knew they could do a lot better. They
didn’t want to be the AC/DC band of Death Metal, because for that we already have Cannibal Corpse, don’t we?
Despite the work as a producer that Rutan develops, he’s never put aside Hate Eternal’s goal: to become a stronger
band and one of the most important ones in the American scene. In this record the band has spread his horizons.
They’ve used instruments such as Tibetan drums, tabla and didgeridoo, contributing to a more open minded Death
Metal act. The album starts with the blast beated song “Two Demons”: insane guitar riffs, technical solos, groovy
bass and a true violent drumming discharge by Mr. Roddy. You can see that they’ve evolved very much, and are try-
ing to define new laws on Death Metal combat field. On this record, Rutan’s gotten all for himself the lyrics. Hate
Eternal never sounded as furious and evil as they do now that Rutan writes all the lyrics. The anti religion issue is
still the main motto, but some words have also been dedicated to obscure powers and spiritual strength (check out
“Behold Judas” and “The Victorious Reign”). Due to Jared Anderson’s drug problems, H.E. obtained a new bassist,
and his name is Randy Piro. I must tell you that I admire a lot Anderson’s bass style, but weirdly I don’t even
remember the guy when I listen this CD. I guess that Piro has integrated the band very well and quickly, so I hope
he’s here to stay. The first single is named “I, Monarch”, and with the (good) video playing on MTV2, H.E. want to
expose themselves to a more wide audience. The song is very catchy and the drumming is perfect, but I wonder how
Rutan manages to play the very complex structure of the song, since he’s the only guitarist... you gotta listen to the
song, the guys couldn’t have chosen a better single as this one. Nevertheless, don’t think that just because they have
a video on MTV, the song is easy to absorb by the MTV generation. Fuck no!
Ending the album you get that cherry on the top of the cake. “Faceless One” is a not a song very vulgar to be fea-
tured on such an extreme band as Hate Eternal: on this totally instrumental song, the trio delivers to us a special
bonus. Rutan’s interest on Tibet is shown on this track, so if you don’t like ethnical music you won’t like the song.
Otherwise you’ll put Hate Eternal on the top of your favourite albums. “I, Monarch” is one of the most thrilling, open
minded and technical releases of 2005... [9] SIMÃO FONSECA
hard fan of industrial/electronic-oriented metal, I just found left a little offkilter feeling by some of OWM’s power metal
the approach developed by this James Fogarty character procession. At other times I was underwhelmed.
quite refreshing and innovative. So, it was with some antic- Sometimes a band comes along that you can tell isn’t a
ipation that I checked “Conspiritus”, the newest full-length, poor band, but they simply fail to connect with you. A sit-
and to tell you the truth the record didn’t lived to my expec- uation such as that provides difficulty for the reviewer who
tations. The problem is that all the elements that I found the desires to be as fair as possible, and I try to be fair, often
most appealing in “R. I.” are now something of the past. to a fault. This isn’t bad stuff or anything, as I said, but I
For instance, that characteristic dry electronic percussion just think it’s strictly for fans of power metal. Power metal
that pervaded in “R. I.” is nowhere to be heard in can be a bit of a misunderstood genre for those outside the
“Conspiritus”. The death vocals are also completely gone. field of fans, for those who don’t get or appreciate the
Instead, most of the songs feature now an annoying key- genre’s indulgences. With Eyefear, the vocalist isn’t bad, he
board sound that has more to do with dance music and just didn’t seem to offer anything for me. Don’t get me
derivatives than with hard industrial. So, while the new wrong; he can sing. And I happen to be one of those who
record is by no means a complete waste, it’s a new sonic understands and appreciates power metal. But the vox on
incarnation of Ewigkeit that’s not particularly interesting for this one just don’t reach out and grab me, unfortunately.
a metal/extreme audience. Being stripped of most hard- The instrumental execution is just fine, it’s just that at
sounding elements, it’s not surprising also that many cuts times it seemed pedestrian. Again, all is played compe-
in “Conspiritus” turned out too much uplifting and even tently and I can’t really fault the band, but - to me, at least
happy. I guess this may have hurted the overall emotional - it lacks spark, it needs flair. Then, there is the off-kilter
depth which I lack in many songs. Besides all the depar- bit, which wasn’t meant to read as insult. It’s actually one
tures from “R. I.”, it must be said that the new Ewigkeit pre- of the highlights of the music. There are some rhythmic
serves many of the tribal, psychedelic and ambient aspects structures herein that are a tad offbeat, I think, for tradi-
of the previous record and even features some remarkable tional power metal, and so it gives things a slight math-
moments as exemplified by the tracks “Transcend the prog feel. And the more you listen, the more initial reac-
senses” and “The nightmare institution”, but unfortunately tions fade away as you realize exactly what you’ve got
these are not enough to save the day. Finally, if the parallels here. While on one hand, it’s not terribly original, in other
some critics have drawn between “R. I.” and Dark Side of ways, its subtlety original. So it is and it isn’t. At the very
the Moon in terms of impact in the respective music least, it’s competently executed and does make for an
scenes, sounded overtly exaggerated, then any possible interesting listen if you want to try something a tad differ-
parallel seen between present day Ewigkeit and Pink Floyd, ent for your power metal meal. [6.5] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
is simply ridiculous. [5.5] ERNESTO MARTINS
EZRA STONE : VOLUME I
EXCELSIS : THE LEGACY OF SEMPACH [SELF RELEASE]
[SELF RELEASE] I have to say that upon first listen I was not impressed by
Power goth with a sideways glance hint of doom and, uh, this album. First of all bear in mind that this is power metal
monkish chanting? Well, yeah. So, let’s say this is an orig- and as far as power metal is concerned, if it is not epic like
inal band, eh? Strangely original and a witch’s brew, genre- Kamelot / Blind Guardian and the voice is not serious
bending mixture, Excelsis certainly know how to write enough like Warlord / Crimson Glory then I’m afraid it
music that doesn’t sound like the rest of the crowd, and, won’t do it to me. Fortunately for the band, they have
hey, isn’t that what you want? Of course, many will criticize somewhat of an epic approach to their music with mid
the excesses of both the goth and power genres, but in this tempo tracks such as “Nightcaller” and the killer “Time
case, both of those styles are brought to bear in a way that Alone”. Great melodic epic power material reminding of
emphasizes their strengths, not their weaknesses, and the the best moments of Savatage and Warlord respectively!!
strange brew that is the end result is certainly interesting However these great moments are accompanied by some
and not run-of-the-mill. The overwhelming atmosphere of strange nu-metal vocals in some of the other tracks which
“The Legacy of Sempach” is that of goth, but not with some totally baffles me and the whole direction of the album. Is
fluffy, generic chick vocals. (As I said, this isn’t exactly sta- it to attract a vaster market or is this a new music genre?
ple goth metal and the female operatic approach seems to As far as the majestic power metal moments are con-
be the latest trend in that subgenre.) Instead, it’s a robust, cerned, Ezra Stone has a lot to offer and who knows, they
chest-deep male vocal approach with multi-voiced backup could one day be seen next to their country mates
vox. This makes for interesting vocal textures, whether Kamelot`s gloriousness. However they still need work in
you’re talking about power metal, or goth metal. And getting a more powerful sound, especially on the vocals.
besides these two influences - and the slight doominess - I Bear in mind that credit goes to the fact that the album is
can detect a hint of folk or traditional music in Excelsis’ self released, at least it shows dedication and potential.
proud music. Finally, there’s that monk-like chanting. Good luck to them! [6] ALEX ANTONIOU
Dunno what to tell you about that except that it’s quite the
capper to an unusual CD. [7.5] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN FECULENT GORE TOMB / AMOEBIC DYSEN-
TERY / DISGUSTING / TARTOPOIL : 4-WAY SPLIT
EYEFEAR : 9 ELEMENTS OF INNER VISION [ROTTEN FOETUS PROD. / DERANGED FOR LEFTOVERS PROD.]
[MASSACRE RECORDS] Hum, 55 tracks within 53 minutes... that can be only Grind
For reasons I don’t think I can adequately describe, I was Core and nothing else! Ok, here we go... Brazil’s F.G.T.
 It took nearly five years to have a new AG
album... however you are one of the busiest
bands on the planet! In between you released
a bunch of split Eps, Compilations, re-releas-
es, gigs and so on. Although we know that a
new album has a different symbolism, so
how do you feel to be “back”?
“How do I feel to be back? I never had the feel-
ing that we were gone or something. But it is
nice to have done a new full album again after
quite some time. It would be nice to make a full
Alive for more than 20 years by now, Agathocles remain in these days as album more often, but by getting older, our
one of the oldest grindcore (aka Mince core as Jan likes to call it) bands lives are getting more hectic. Anyway, the new
still among us. Many of us followers of the career of this Belgian act feel full album is done, and more (split) releases
are waiting to be released.”
that they haven’t had so far the necessary exposition to all metal fans, You are around for more than twenty years
remaining buried deep into the grindcore movement (like many other and helped in the creation of a music style.
Do you consider yourself as one of the fathers
bands). Its time to change that and fortunately their newest album of Grindcore?
“Mincer” was released by the well known label Displeased Records who “No, I don’t consider AG as one of the fathers
can certainly push them a bit further. As we suspected Jan AG revealed of grindcore. The pioneers of grindcore can be
found in extreme noise hardcore/punk bands
to be a friendly talkative person with strong beliefs and concerns about such as Cyanamid (usa), Wretched (Ita), Larm
the world we all live in. Just for that even if you don’t like the band or (Hol), Revenge Of The Whores (Ger), Kuolema
(Fin), Sekunda (Fin) and many more. Maybe we
whatever we guarantee an interesting reading...
are one of the first to start using the term
journalist: Nuno Santos | photos: Michel Oversteyns Grindcore and Mince Core.”
I know that you never wanted to be tamed by
a big label or anything but since you started
at the same time (and earlier) as bands like
NAPALM DEATH, BRUTAL TRUTH, CARCASS
and so on, don't you have the feeling that you
were left behind? How do you see this?
“I surely don’t feel left behind, in contrary. We
have chosen another way, far away from money
grabbing labels trying to milk out the fashion
that grindcore was at that time. Gindcore is
about DO IT YOURSELF, social and political
awareness, creating good working alternatives
against mainstream commercial bollocks, set-
ting up a network of worldwide friends who are
sharing the same ideals. That is what AG was
and still is about. Surely our aim is not to be the
fastest, most selling grindband and having our
faces in every magazine. Fuck that.”
Explain to me how a band can put out around
140 releases (Eps, Splits, Lps, Cds, Dvd) in
around 20 years... What's the formula to be
always so active and why?
“It’s simple. Just believe in what you stand for,
create a large network of friends who share the
same ideals and there you already have a great
soil on which you can release your stuff. You
do not need managers, booking agencies, big
labels... all needed is a network of friends who
are willing to build up an alternative.”
Yet it’s definitely not very common. Do you
think this also due to the different attitude on
the grindcore movement compared to other
extreme styles of music?
“Yes, I do think that this has a lot to do with the
ideals from the old grind-movement. Ideals
such as DO IT YOURSELF, creating a network of
friends, creating an alternative circuit to record,
release and distribute records... These ideals go
back to the early days of anarcho-punk in the
1970’s, with bands such as Crass who record-
ed, released and distributed their own records
and set up their own gigs and festivals. By
doing things this way, they could keep the
prices of their records and gigs fair and cheap.
These ideals can also be found in old school
grindcore movement, because grindcore for me
is an extreme kind of anarcho-punk mixed with
some raw metal-elements. This way of doing
things can also be found in other kinds of
extreme music, but mostly in grind, mince,
noise-core and anarcho-punk.”
“Mincer” is your new album, how do you see
it now after been out for a few weeks? Would
you change anything?
“It is a good album, 21 brand new songs in 35
minutes. I like the sound and songs and art-
work. Hmm, if I could change something? Well,
it would make it sound more raw and noisy.
That’s all, I think.”
Do you remain happy with what your long
time producer, Frans is doing at Soundshape
Studio? This fixation can be seen as fear of
putting your music into someone's hands?
“Frans is a very nice and friendly guy. He has a
32 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
lot of patience, is always happy and is great to
work with. And we know what he can do in his
studio with his equipment. So why change
this? Most other studios are pushing you
around, are asking too much money and are
just copying the sound of bands which are a
hype at the moment. We don’t need that shit.”
Do you think there are too many bands
around sounding all the same? Or this is sim-
ply a matter of trends where bands come and
go according to the latest musical sensation?
“Bands come and go all the time. Right now,
this extreme death/grind thing with gory lyrics
is a big trend. Just look around and see how
bands jump on this bandwagon. But 90% if
them will disappear and form a new band play-
ing the next trendy music. Look what happened
with old school death metal in the late 80’s,
black metal in the early 90’s... Trends come and
go, music business sucks it dry to cash in and
bands change their musical direction just to fit
in. And about studios, yes, too many bands
record in the same studio with the same pro-
ducer (who the fuck needs a producer) and
sound the fucking same. Boring! Remember all
those Morrisound studio sounding death metal
bands from the late 80’s?”
Yeah sure it was big thing back then.
Everybody wanted to record there!
“And now some Swedish studio is the latest
hype to record techno death/grind... Where the
fuck can you find any identity in those bands?”
I guess you are right! We all know that AG is
the type of band that points all sorts of prob-
lems in our societies. However how do you
get inspiration to write about particular top-
ics, do you need big exposure events by the
media? Like for instance on the new album,
the CIA death squads on El Salvador
(“Matadores Del Libertad”), the bureaucracy
behind social security systems (“Maze Of
papers”) or the Big Brother fever by our gov-
ernments (“Archives and Files”)...
“As a protest band, there’s inspiration enough to
sing about. Listen to the news, read a newspa-
per and you already have tons of topics to write
about. Lyrics are very important for us, but we
all know that our lyrics will not overthrow gov-
ernments and all. To create big change, move-
ments of people are needed. And maybe our
lyrics can persuade people to join certain move-
ments like an ecological organisation, peace
movement, anti racist action group!”
Still there is another side where you bring
themes like masturbation (“Forced To
Masturbate”) or the nerds at gigs (“Pricks at
Gigs”) where we get a more “unserious” side
of the band!
“It’s really strange that many people think that
“Forced To Masturbate” is a “fun” song. It is
not a fun song. The lyrics of “Forced To
Masturbate” are sarcastic and cynical, but they
deal with the fact that many people are being
put in psychiatric institutions just because they
disagree with the policy a government is mak-
ing. There’s this story of a guy which was put
in a closed psychiatric facility for over 30
years, but he was totally sane, no psychiatric
disorder at all... He was just locked away
because he did not agree with what the state
stood for. As for “Pricks At Gigs”, this song is
not about nerds, it’s about macho assholes
playing in bands just to pick up girls, earn a lot
of money, hang out the rockstar...”
Do you believe there are certain groups of
individuals connected for instance by a mutu-
al music taste that are more aware of what
happens around or it simply depends on the
individual? What I’m trying to know is that if
just by the fact of been a grindcore, hardcore
or a punk fan you are more aware to all soci-
ety problems than for instance a Death, Black
or heavy metal fan?
“It depends on the individual of course. But cer-
tain kinds of socially and politically aware music
can make others aware of things happening
around the world. When I was young and just
got started with extreme music, lyrics of bands
surely had in impact on my way of thinking and
acting. I discovered things like DO IT YOUR-
SELF, writing letters to people, making your
own tape releases and zines... Fact is that in the old school
grind movement and anarcho punk movement, people are still
very much into spreading their stuff by trading tapes (or CDrs),
trading your own releases for other bands releases. I experi-
ence that in the metal scene, it’s mostly about “buying” new
releases... But what the hell, how can you expect that someone
from Bulgaria buys a new CD in Western Europe for 20 Euros
if they only have 150 Euros each month to live from. In that
way, I do think that grinders and punks are more socially and
politically aware than metalheads. But hey, I know metalheads
who set up festivals against racism and fascism, so it’s not a
“grind or punk” only thing.”
This protest attitude that AG has is only seen on the music
or is also extended with other sort of activities that you are
connected with?
“There are also other activities besides the music part, but I am
not gonna tell too much about these things. These activities are
about anti racism, anti fascism, ecology, social security...”
Like I said you have a strong concern to transmit a message
with real daily facts in your lyrics. So my next question
would be what's your reaction when reading lyrics from
bands from other styles of music, like Death, Thrash, Black
metal or whatever?
“I don’t mind reading other kinds of lyrics, as long as they
don’t preach racism, homophobia, nazism... And these
themes seem to have become famous in some extreme right
winged death/grind circles. About gore lyrics and all that, I
don’t take the time to read that, it’s so boring... except the old
lyrics of Dead Infection, I like the way they are written. They
are like short stories. And I also like cryptic lyrics such the
Hellhammer lyrics. Their lyrics rule. Listen to this “Was it
tomorrow? Or will it be yesterday?”... Fantastic! And it was
written in 1983! Classic!”
Are you serious with that HELLHAMMER comment or just
been ironic? I guess we must place things in their time and
also when they wrote Hellhammer songs they had around
17 years old...
“No, no, I am serious about this Hellhammer lyric. Can’t you feel
the DADA-esk, surrealistic feeling of “was it tomorrow...”? I like
their lyrics. They are not cliché, like a lot of black metal bands.
Old black metal lyrics were fun, I think. Old Venom, Arsenic, No
Mental Effort, Voor... but the Hellhammer lyrics were great. And
I just love all recordings from Hellhammer. They can do no
wrong. Hellhammer makes Celtic Frost sound like impotent
wimps! And Tom Warrior should show a lot more respect for
his old band Hellhammer than he does in his book “Are you
morbid?”. He says he hates and laughs with Hellhammer. Dear
ol’ poor Tom... He’s getting soft.” (both laugh)
You have made your position concerning bands that uses
gore / snuff photos on their records in the song “Goredom -
Boredom”. While a large percentage of these photos may
be real, we know that another huge amount is simply photo
manipulations. Should an artist be limited by moral codes
or dogmas in the creation of his art? Shouldn't we be able
to express ourselves freely?
“Snuff is no way to express yourself. You know, Snuff, the
filming and taking photos of real murders, real rape... and sell-
ing that for big money. This has nothing to do with art. Fuck
all people who support and spread snuff. Feed them to the
lions. I know that photo manipulations are used for artwork,
and of course that is no problem at all. But Snuff, no way!
What would you do if you see a band using a photo of your
sister being gangbanged and killed? Would you still think
“Shouldn’t we be able to express ourselves freely?”?
Gladly I don’t have a sister. But yes this is a serious issue
and when I said that, I was referring to photo manipula-
tions! But hey aren’t equally criminals the ones who print
that stuff, the ones who distribute and so on...?
“Of course the distributors of Snuff are criminals. Same as
with kiddie porn, etc... With this internet thing, rubbish like
this gets spread very easily, one of the bad sides of the inter-
net. And the internet makes all so anonymous. I do know it will
be hard to trace the makers of Snuff but for sure we all can
speak out against people, bands, distributors who use real
Snuff for their fucking releases. How sick can you fucking be?
Still hard for me to understand. Sick twisted people. Hear this
story: at one of our gigs, some twisted fuck came to me and
asked if we had records out with real mutilated dead bodies as
“artwork” on the cover. He said he only liked bands with such
photos on their releases (NO photo manipulations!!). It turned
him on. I told him to fuck off. The sick motherfucker.”
During the whole Agathocles career the band suffered many
line-up changes but since 1990 you had a steady drummer,
Burt. Then in 2002 when no one expected Burt left the band
to be replaced by the current drummer, Roel. What lead
your long time companion to left the band?
“Burt wanted AG to choose another way of working and Dirk
and I did not agree with that. Also some musical differences
made his departure happen. He was very much into this dub
reggae thing, stoner rock and space rock. So he left the band.
After his departure, he played in 4 different bands but left all.
One band was a grind band, the other one a doom metal band
and the last one a space rock band or something. Anyway,
Roel joined in summer 2002 and he still beats the skins for us
and in Fahrenheit AGX, another band I am in.”
Tell us a bit more about FAHRENHEIT AGX. I only know it’s
a fastcore band...
“Fahrenheit AGX or FAGX is indeed a fastcore band, inspired by
1980’s fastcore bands such as Larm, Revenge Of The Whores,
Deep Wound, Straight Ahead. The members are Roel AG on
drums, me on guitar and vocals and Tony on bass. Tony is the
singer of Belgian noise core band Permanent Death. Until now,
we have done around 6 gigs and have released Fagx / Agathocles
split CD in Bulgaria and Fagx / Industrial Noise split 7”EP in
Brazil. Another release, the Fagx / Muculords split CD will be
released in summer 2006. Fagx play short, fast songs, around 30
seconds to 1 minute. And NO metal riffs in it. (laughs)”
Burt besides been the drummer marked the AG history in ‘01
by releasing in his label Uxicon Records your previous album
“Superiority Overdose” as well as the ‘94 album “Black
Clouds Determinate”. Did you guys around that time tried to
take full control of AG? I mean also the business side of it?
“Black Clouds Determinate” was first released by the Dutch
label Cyber Music, who also released AG/Smegma split 7”EP
(‘90), “Theatric Symbolisation Of Life” album (1991) and
“Razor Sharp Daggers” album (1995). We still release AG stuff
by ourselves but we know we can use the help of other labels
and individuals to get our music spread. And as for gigs, we
arrange all AG gigs ourselves. Mostly Roel, our drummer, is
taking care of that and he is doing a great job at it.”
I know that the deal you had with Morbid Records gave total
freedom to do whatever you wanted and when you wanted,
Uxicon were Burt's label... so what about the deal now with
Displeased Records? In what formats have you inked it?
“I know Ron from Displeased Records since end of the 80’s.
We had some talks with Displeased Records for a possible
new AG studio album and it turned out that they have released
the “Mincer” album. The deal works out really well. It seems
the “Mincer” album has a very good distribution which is
always nice. And the price of the album is being kept low so
that’s a really good thing. So far, all things are going well, in
friendship and honesty. Meanwhile, we will keep releasing
other AG stuff by ourselves or on other labels.”
You are aware that many nowadays Grindcore bands state
AG as their influences and pay tribute to the band by making
cover songs. What's the sensation of been quoted by other
musicians as an important influence of what they are today?
“For sure it makes me feel proud and happy, I guess that is a
normal reaction. It is great to see that many other bands are
playing AG songs and all that. It is always nice to know that
there are people out there that appreciate the things you are
doing, being it musically or lyrically.”
By the way what influenced you to become a musician and
start playing?
“I started doing zines at the age of 11, zines of extreme punk
and metal. At the age of 13, I got my first guitar so I immedi-
ately started the band. There was no time to waste, only time
to make noise (laughs). It just turned out that way, and with
Erwin, the first AG drummer, we started recording and finding
other members to complete the band. We just wanted to cre-
ate noise, to say fuck off to commercial music business. We
did not care about our musical abilities because we did not
had them, (laughs). And I guess we did not want them.”
It were good times them? Would you change anything if you
had the opportunity?
“No, I would not change anything. Those times were great,
relaxed, fun and spontaneous. We were 13 years old when we
started the band. We were the youngest fucks at gigs in those
days... and listening and playing the most extreme kind of
music at that time. The older punks and metalheads were
laughing with us. We liked that. We felt strong and happy that
we were doing something different. That was our aim. We did
not get much respect from the older people in the scene at that
time... The help and respect came later. I loved those days!”
During your musician career you already worked with
dozens of labels. Can you point the ones who had a serious
impact on the spread of Agathocles' message and the ones
who were simply dragging you down?
“All labels and individuals have done their part to spread the
noise of AG all around the world. So far, AG has released records
on labels from countries such as USA, France, Spain, Belgium,
Holland, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria,
England, Japan, Brazil, Italy, Austria, Peru, Canada, Switzerland,
Sweden, Malaysia, Finland... and some other countries, I think.
There’s one label that fucking ripped us off and that is Wiggy
Records from USA. They released an AG 7”EP and never send
us a single copy. We had to buy our own copies. Shit happens.
But the other labels have treated us fair to very very fair.”
Finally you have a DVD out which was released last year
called “Cd-Release Party Superiority Overdose 2002” by
Tumult Productions. Was this a dream come true?
“Not really a dream come true for me. I even don’t have a
DVD-player at my home. Anyway, this DVD was released by
our guitar player Dirk. It’s nicely done, it has good sound,
many songs on it. He still has copies of it, so if you are inter-
ested, drop him a line.”
Talking about the visual side of the band, can you explain us
the meaning of the front cover of “Mincer” and how did the
idea appeared?
“It is a very simple idea. The front cover of the “Mincer” album
is a photo of an old “Mincer”. You know, a meatgrinder. A min-
cer is a meatgrinder.”
Yeah I know about that. My grandmother still has a machine
exactly like the one on the cover!
“The idea came from our drummer Roel, to keep everything
on the album very simple. If you read the lyrics of the song
“Mincer”, you will understand for what we wanna use “our”
mincer for. It’s not to grind meat (laughs).
Well Jan it was a pleasure talking with you. Any last words?
“Obrigada (ed. thanks) Nuno, for your interest and for doing
this interview. I hope you enjoyed it a bit.”
Yes it was very cool chatting with you!
“Thanks for all people taking the time to read this. And hey,
keep your eyes open and start doing something to make this
world a better place for everyone. Listening to music is sheer
luxury. People are still dying each day because they don’t have
food, clean water... Everybody can help to stop this by making
other people aware and put pressure on governments to take
actions. Anyway, if you want to contact us, write me at: Jan
Frederickx, Asberg 8, 2400 Mol, Belgium. No emails to me.
Paper mail rules. Or check our website to find the addresses
of the other AG members.”
MINCE CORE FOR PASSION, NOT FOR FASHION!
- www.agathocles.com -
AGATHOCLES : MINCER
[DISPLEASED RECORDS]
These guys exist for more than 20 years by now and they def-
initely know what they are doing! They remain faithful to their
roots and to what lead them to create a band.
I don’t remember any other band having spit out around 140
releases, but these guys who remain proudly inside the crust
grind circle have! “Mincer” is their newest album after almost
five years of split Eps, Compilations, DVD and so on, so this
new album was eagerly expected and it fills everybody’ expec-
tations, like any other AGATHOCLES release! Simple yet effec-
tive mincing crust punk groovy grind in its purest form.
As before the band is pointing the finger to some important
rotten themes of our societies on the lyrics. Jan and Dirk
materializes the words with grunting, growling and raw high-
pitched vocals in a constant duet battle.
Instrumentally don’t expect the grinding furious brutality sim-
ilar to the bands of the genre but more a groovy almost danc-
ing form of political grind, with lots of variation, as expected.
Production wise this is far from excellent (recorded in
Soundshape Studios), there is a constant fuzzy (especially on
the bass) aspect on the songs which in the end it gives a per-
sonal groovy touch to the album.
Another good release of mince core by this Belgium cult act.
[8] NUNO SANTOS
ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 33

Brazilian bands usually do not cross the Atlantic sea to reach the European shores... during the last 30
years there were just three or four bands that sailed successfully to this part of the world like
Sepultura, Ratos De Porão and Sarcofago. There are a dozen more on the immensity of the under-
ground scene that achieved some success like Murder Rape, Mystifier, Overdose and so on, but in
general they remain totally unknown. We had the opportunity to check the latest album from Evilwar
“Bleeding In The Shades Of Baphomet” that disclosed a highly competent black metal band leading to
a enjoyable talk with long time drummer Ichthys Niger and guitarist/vocalist Halphas.
I. Niger you are the only former member of Evilwar from the
original 4 piece line-up. How do you see the path that
Evilwar have forged ‘till now? Do you think that you are
stronger and more united as a band than ever even with all
line-up changes?
“We worked a lot since the beginning of Evilwar, and as the time
passed we overcome the problems, continuing the profane
march. Evilwar never changed, people changed their aims of liv-
ing and so they were replaced, now days we are three warriors
with the same aims, so I believe that this is the right and
strongest formation, and things are flowing better so we intend
to keep this formation. Certainly the bands that keep the classi-
cal formation since the beginning are stronger, for the fans do
not worry whether the changes of the members would influence
negativity or not. Evilwar has already had some changes, but
this happened to guarantee our ideas.”
After the release of your second work, Sabatan (vocalist)
left the band. I know that he had an important role in the
creation of the songs/lyrics, so my obvious question would
be; his left had any major negative impact on Evilwar and
why did he left?
“It happened the opposite, the impact was positive, Sabatan
did not worry about growing as vocalist, this deficiencies were
perceived alive and in the CDs. With Sabatan we could not
escape from the stereotype of a death/black metal band, cause
his death metal characteristics were evident. He cooperated
with the lyrics, for he was the guy that was more in tune with
our ideology. He left because of interferences of his particular
life inside evilwar. Now a days the lyrics and are done by the
three members.”
You referred that now the songs are composed by the three
of you, what about the composition process? It changed
also due to the line-up changes or the formula is basically
the same but with different persons?
“The lyrics were done by myself and Sabatan, and the songs
were composed by the guitarist and some parts with the
34 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
journalist: Nuno Santos
drums, the formally bassist had no contribution, even though
he was free to do it. Nowadays all the members contribute.”
Halphas handles now both guitar and vocal duties. Did you
searched for a vocalist without success or Halphas was the
first and only choice? I must say that he fits perfectly
Sabatan’s place.
“Initially, Typhon Seth (ex bassist) was interested in doing a
test, we thought he was the right guy, but in the first rehearse
we noticed that he was not. We had a show and Halphas
decided to do the vocals, till we find a vocalist, but Halphas
very quickly adapted to play the guitar and the vocals at the
same time.”
Did he have any experience as vocalist from past bands?
“We played in a band called Thormentor in 1990, he played
the guitar and the vocals, but it was nothing serious and the
band stopped in 1991, he quit playing for a while and I con-
tinued on my way, and today we are together at evilwar.”
As a 3 piece band do you find it more easily to create new
songs, playing live, rehearse...
“Certainly, everything is quicker.”
Do you see the new album as a sort of new page on
Evilwar’s career? I mean between your previous work and
the new album several changes occurred, starting from a
new logo, new band members and new label!
“We made a new logo, our idea was to begin a new era. Now
days our music represents better our lyrics and our ideologies.
Now with the support of Mutilation, things are happening.”
Do you think that by playing at the side of bands like
Marduk, Enthroned, Rotting Christ, Desaster, Dark Funeral
and Gorgoroth gave you the necessary experience to
develop as a live band and musicians?
“We acquired more experience playing besides big bands.
Everything was faced professional and seriously on the tours.”
Your most recent live experience was with Rotting Christ
just a few days ago. How was the reaction from the public
to the new line-up and songs? What about Rotting Christ?
Halphas: “The audience was satisfied with the new song sand
with the show. We received positives comments. Rotting Christ
played lots of old songs which are more appreciated by the
Brazilian fans.”
From all shows you played with well known bands which were
the most memorable for the better and for the worst? Halphas:
“All of them were very important, we were in touch with bands
that we used to enjoy. There were not the best or the worst
because all of them were important.”
Any of those bands have disappointed you by any means?
Sometimes we create high expectations just for the fact they are
well recognized bands but in the end they turn to be assholes as
persons or their shows did not meet our expectations...
“The assholes take part of small and big bands. We were concen-
trated at Evilwar’s work, and we had no problems with the bands, at
least with the bands we had more contact. Many shows were hurry
up, so that we hadn’t had time to talk to the other groups’ members.”
Bleeding in the Shades of Baphomet is also your debut album
for the Brazilian label Mutilation Records. Previous to that you
were signed to Somber Music, so what lead this change?
Somber Music wasn’t interested to renew your contract or it
was time to move on?
Halphas: “We were not interested in continuing with somber music,
we needed a label that helped us better. We knew about mutilation’s
honesty concerning the bands, and we opted for Mutilation. For the
new album, Bleeding in the Shades of Baphomet, we had from the
label Perish in Light from Germany an appointment, which was our
first contact with a European label.”
And why haven’t you reached an agreement with them, wasn’t
this a chance to conquer the European soil?
“When people from perish light talked to us, we had already got
an agreement with Mutilation, thus we firmed what we had com-
bined. This did not cause any problem to us, we kept the contact
with Perish in Light, so that the label was the first European one
to receive the copies of the new album.”
Can you already give us a realistic feedback about Mutilation
Records’ job compared to Somber Music?
“The main difference between the two labels is that mutilation
wants their bands growing, what makes the growing of the label
too. Not only taking advantage of the bands, and this happens I
Brazil because the bands need more the labels than vice-versa.
There are many bands in Brazil, but the labels don’t care about
them because they know that there are bothers bringing them
their material without any cost.”
Once again you have chosen Clinica-Pro Studio, in Curitiba
(Brasil) to record this new opus. Do you have there all the nec-
essary conditions to record or its more like a budget issue?
“We recorded all the albums at Clinica-pro Music, which has all
the conditions concerning equipment. This album was recorded
by the producer, Murillo da Rós, the owner of the studio. We are
very satisfied with the results.”
It’s a studio more directed to the Brazilian Metal bands or they
record and produce other styles of music?
“This studio is very experienced in metal, at least in Curitiba. Almost
all the extreme metal bands have already recorded there; the studio
has worked with Black, Death metal since 1992.”
One of the things that changed on Evilwar’s music is that nowa-
days the songs have more feeling than before! Many bands fail to
create good albums cause in the end, the result is simply hard
work to create original compositions or play the fastest or darkest
or whatever, forgetting one of the key elements, Feeling. One of
the things that separate today’s metal bands from the past ones is
the attitude and feeling on the records!
Halphas: “This can be faced as a positive point of evilwar after
many changes. In this new album we showed more the feelings
of the melodies and the lyrics, not giving only importance to the
speed of the songs, what cause sometimes the songs straight and
non sense.”
You are a veteran in matters of playing music... for the ones not
aware you were the drummer on Murder Rape and recorded the
first 2 albums (“Celebration of Supreme Evil” and “And Evil
Returns”). Do think you still have the same strength and enthu-
siasm to play music compared to those days?
“At that time the enthusiasms were more important than the
strength, but I intend to play black metal, because is my life.”
You released a DVD called “Underworld Of Black Goat” which
if I’m not mistaken is not an official/professional release. What
is your aim with it and what contains?
“This is not an official DVD, we just wanted to register what had
passed with the band since the beginning, and this material was
spoiling in the VHS, so when we changed to DVD we thought we
could do some compilations, but we didn’t sell them.
We just wanted to show how underground were without any pre-
tension. On this DVD you can see some scenes with Enthroned,
the show with Dark Funeral in Curitiba, the first rehearsal of evil-
war with the first formation, while we were composing Unholy
March songs.”
Well it was a pleasure talking with both of you. Any last words?
“Certainly it is our pleasure. We are much thanked; it is our first
time making an interview with a European magazine. We hope
playing in Europe in the beginning of ‘07. We hope to make some
contacts with producers booking some dates. Hail Satan!”
- www.evilwar.com.br -
 COMPILATION CD
01. CRAFT - Demonspeed 02. THORON - Return To
from “Fuck The Universe” CD Dust
www.carnalrecords.se from “Return To Dust” CD
www.no-colours-records.de
04. DECEIVER - Ancient God
from “Holov Posen Tro May
Trot” CD
www.ironfistrec.cjb.net
07. ORENDA - Back To The
Grave
from “Back To The Grave” CD
www.no-colours-records.de
10. TAUNUSHEIM - Sleipnir
from “Nebelkampfe” CD
www.schwarzdorn.de
13. AZAGHAL - Tuhoaja
from “Luciferin Valo” CD
www.avantgardemusic.com
16. HALO OF KNIVES -
Watch The Red Devils Burn
from “Eat God” MCD
www.grindheadrecords.com
19. RIVENDELL - Rivendell
from “Farewell - The Last
Dawn” CD
www.pervertedtaste.de
22. OBEISANCE - Caligula
from “Unholy, Unwholesome
And Evil” CD
www.blackseedprod.com
05. LOITS - Aeg Argata
from “Vere Kutse Kohustab”
CD
www.loits.org
08. CARPTICON - Master Of
Mind And Flesh
from “Master Morality” CD
www.blackseedprod.com
11. EVILWAR - Deluge Of Blood
from “Bleeding in the Shades
of Baphomet” CD
www.mutilationrecords.com
.br
14. DEVILISH IMPRESSIONS -
Crowned To Be Crucified
from “Plurima Mortis Imago”
CD
www.conquerrec.com
NO COVER AVAILABLE
17. FOREVER MOURNING -
Innocence Fades
from upcoming album
www.forevermourning.com
20. BEYOND TERROR
BEYOND GRACE - Living A Lie
from “Still Human, Still
Humane?” EP
www.grindheadrecords.com
23. EBOLIE - Rape Of Sanity
from “Elevation Into
Disintegration” MCD
www.grindheadrecords.com
BEYOND TERROR BEYOND GRACE
MERCILESS CRUCIFIXION
DEVILISH IMPRESSIONS
FOREVER MOURNING
HALO OF KNIVES
INFERNAL WAR
ASSEMBLENT
TAUNUSHEIM
CARPTICON
OBEISANCE
RIVENDELL
SILOVANJE
RIMTHURS
DECEIVER
AZAGHAL
EVILWAR
THORON
VEMOTH
ORENDA
HYDRA
EBOLIE
CRAFT
LOITS
03. INFERNAL WAR - Dead
13
Head’s Empire
issue
from “Terrorfront” CD
www.agoniarecords.com
COMPIL ATION VOL . 10
- featured in ancient ceremonies issue 13 -
06. VEMOTH - Domen
from “Kottkroksvals” CD
www.templeofdarkness-
records.com
ANCIENT CEREMONIES
09. SILOVANJE - I Raped A
Rapist
from “Taste Of Death” CD
www.grindheadrecords.com
NO COVER AVAILABLE
ANCIENT CEREMONIES MAGAZINE #13 . COMPILATION Vol.10
12. HYDRA - Head Of
w w w. a n c i e n t c e r e m o n i e s . c o m / a n c i e n t . c e r @ n e t c a b o . p t
Medusa
18. MERCILESS CRUCIFIXION “Supreme Blasphemous
20. BEYOND TERROR BEYOND GRACE “Living A Lie”
from “Head Of Medusa” Demo
16. HALO OF KNIVES “Watch The Red Devils Burn”
www.templeofdarkness-
records.com
17. FOREVER MOURNING “Innocence Fades”
14. DEVILISH IMPRESSIONS “Crowned To Be
Apartado 60334, 2701-904 Amadora, Portugal
15. ASSEMBLENT “Heartwork”
(courtesy of Temple Of Darkness Records)
23. EBOLIE “Rape Of Sanity”
19. RIVENDELL “Rivendell”
(courtesy of Black Seed Productions)
(courtesy of Black Seed Productions)
22. OBEISANCE “Caligula”
21. RIMTHURS “Ur Kaos”
(courtesy of Grindhead Records)
(courtesy of Grindhead Records)
(courtesy of Grindhead Records)
13. AZAGHAL “Tuhoaja”
15. ASSEMBLENT -
(courtesy of Avantgarde Music)
(courtesy of Forever Mourning)
(courtesy of Conquer Records)
(courtesy of Nemesis Musica)
(courtesy of Perverted Taste)
Heartwork
from “Equilibrium” CD
www.nemesismusica.com
Crucified”
Outbreak”
18. MERCILESS CRUCIFIXION
- Supreme Blasphemous
Outbreak
08. CARPTICON “Master Of Mind And Flesh”
from “Airesis” MCD
03. INFERNAL WAR “Dead Head’s Empire”
www.blackseedprod.com
09. SILOVANJE “I Raped A Rapist”
07. ORENDA “Back In The Grave”
11. EVILWAR “Deluge Of Blood”
12. HYDRA “Head Of Medusa”
(courtesy of Temple Of Darkness Records)
(courtesy of Temple Of Darkness Records)
02. THORON “Return To Dust”
04. DECEIVER “Ancient God”
10. TAUNUSHEIM “Sleipnir”
(courtesy of Black Seed Productions)
01. CRAFT “Demonspeed”
(courtesy of Schwarzdorn Records)
(courtesy of Iron Fist Productions)
(courtesy of No Colours Records)
(courtesy of No Colours Records)
(courtesy of Grindhead Records)
(courtesy of Mutilation Records)
05. LOITS “Aeg Argata”
06. VEMOTH “Domen”
(courtesy of Agonia Records)
(courtesy of Carnal Records)
21. RIMTHURS - Ur Kaos
from “Ur Kaos” MCD
(courtesy of Loits)
www.templeofdarkness-
records.com
BANDS / LABELS
INTERESTED IN
HAVING YOUR
SONG(S) FEATURED ANCIENT CEREMONIES MAGAZINE #13 . COMPILATION Vol.10
ON THE UPCOMING
Instead of cutting this page you can download the above CD front and back covers at:
SAMPLER CD.
www.ancientceremonies.com/magazine/downloads/issue13_cd.jpg
GET IN TOUCH
NOW!

Bolt Thrower is a band that needs almost no introduction. Their history mingles itself with the
one of death metal, a genre in which they remain to this day one of the most influential. Now on
the verge of completing its 20th anniversary, the war-obsessed five-piece from Birmingham
releases Those Once Loyal, a record which took more than the usual time in the making due to
the departure in 2004 of ex-Benediction frontman Dave Ingram, who left his mark on the highly
acclaimed previous album Honour, Valour, Pride. Finding someone to fill on Dave's shoes could
have been a hell of a task. Luckily, and much to the joy of the fans, original growler Karl Willetts
was available and willing to return on a permanent basis to the band he abandoned ten years
before, regrouping again the legendary line-up core.
Those Once Loyal their 8th studio output, is an album that follows closely the trademark of Bolt
Thrower's three previous releases - simple in structure, few but very good riffs, and a devastating
wall of sound. Put simply, there are no surprises here. Just an album that stands shoulder to
shoulder with the best these brits did in the past. As guitar player Barry Thompson told us a few
weeks prior to the album release, this is how Bolt Thrower will always be. It's not just a matter of
loyalty to the fans, but of genuine band integrity.
journalist: Ernesto Martins
36 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
First of all let me just congratulate you guys for this great
Bolt Thrower album, and so I start by asking you about how
is the collective feeling inside the band these days concern-
ing this brand new release?
“Perfect! We have now Karl (Willetts) back in the band, not that
anything was wrong with Dave (Ingram) being in the band at
all, it's just nice to have a friendly face you've known before
coming as a replacement for Dave. Karl has been out of the
band for a while now, even though he came back in 1998 to do
the "Mercenary" album he's been out of the band gigging-wise
for over ten years, so it's nice having a bit of a spark back into
the band, and I think that is reflected in the album as well.”
From our perspective, the recording and release of this new
record seems to have taken an eternity. As I recall, Karl
rejoined the band about a year ago, when you had most of
the songs, if not all the songs, already ready to record. So
why did it took almost a full year to have the new record out?
“Well, first it was all down to the fact that Dave left the band. The
songs, yeah, you are quite right, we did have a lot of songs actu-
ally finished and ready to record. However in that meantime
when we had to get a new vocalist until Karl rejoined, we took a
look at the songs we had and thought - we don't need to record
right now, so let's just take a bit of a timeout, look again at the
songs we've got, and make sure they are right. We only want to
release the best we can do, so after reflecting over the songs we
just thought there was a bit more work needed on them...”
There was no hurry then...
“No, not really. I mean, we always tour in January around
northern Europe which is our favourite time to go out, and we
missed that slot this year. So we ended with more time to work
on the songs, even though we went really close to the deadline
for recording and nearly missed the release date, but we even-
tually made it on time.”
After the album was recorded the release date was post-
poned two or three times, right?
“Yeah that's right. Metal Blade told us initially we were sup-
posed to have the masters ready no latter than the first or sec-
ond week of August. Later we replied that we could be over that
time, so we asked them to give us the last two weeks in August.
They said ok, but no latter than that. By the deadline they gave
us, we were still struggling in the studio getting it down right
and mixing it properly, so they gave us two additional weeks
until the middle of September, and we just made it on time.”
This time you recorded with Andy Faulkner. Was it the first
time with him?
“No, we did "Honour Valour Pride" with Andy. He's been a
friend of the band for many years even before that album, so it
seemed natural to go to him again.”
And are you completely satisfied with the end result?
“Oh, we are never satisfied! Never satisfied, but happy with it.
There are always things you want to do better, and maybe in the
future we probably take those ideas on board and do it in the
next album. But it's something that keeps going on and we never
been totally happy with any album, and I honestly would like to
continue this way so we have always something to strive for.”
I don't know, but it seems to me that the sound in this record
is just slightly cleaner, not as harsh as on the other records.
What do you think?
“Yeah, I think that's probably a fair judgment. We spent a lot
more time working on this album than on any other album we
ever recorded. We probably let Andy have a little bit more say-
ing on the guitar sound we have been using, and the harshness
was one of the areas we discussed. We tried to loose a bit of it
off the guitars while keeping basically the same sound. We got
rid of some of that harshness by keeping instruments in their
proper frequency range - bass guitar in the bass frequencies,
guitars in the mid-range and so on. So the result is that the
drums are very clear, the bass is very clear and the guitars are
very clear as well, but we didn't lose any of the sound in the
process. I think we accomplished very well.”
Yeah, it's still typical Bolt Thrower! These ten songs in the
CD (nine plus the bonus track) are all you recorded, or did
you left something out?
“We recorded again the drum track for an older song of ours
called "In battle there is no law", but we didn't finish it. We will
probably go back to it again and release it around our 20th
anniversary. Other than that we didn't recorded any other
tracks even though we had on demo probably about another 40
to 50 rough songs, but since we don't like to record in the stu-
dio anything we think it's not strong enough, they were left out.
Probably we will just take the best bits out for another album.”
One thing that I always found fascinating in your music, is
that despite your punk and grind roots you now play a brand
of death metal which is extremely organized and structured
as opposed to chaotic; and I mean structured in a way that is
easy enough for the listener to follow and headbang to it.
What do you think?
“Yeah, I agree with that totally. You gotta be able to just listen
to a song and enjoy it. You don't wanna search for stuff in the
song to find it interesting. You just want to put it on, and listen
to the song! Probably our older songs were maybe a bit too
long but that's our own self critical point of view. We could
have made some of them simpler, like not going back into that
first verse there... So while writing for this album, if a song
sounded right we didn't searched for something else into it. It
was always like - if it sounds interesting there's no need to
repeat that first riff or whatever.... So we tried to make the
songs as simple but as interesting as possible. For example the
song "Anti-tank (dead armour)" is build on only three riffs but
is still a killer!”
... and that is a general paradigm in Bolt Thrower, isn't it? I
mean, little but killer riffs!
“Yeah, but it takes a long time to come up with that riffs! You
have no idea of the number of riffs that are thrown away and
don't make it to the recording. It's unbelievable! Maybe we
should release them on the website as the ones that didn't
make it (laughs).”
This record has that unmistakable Bolt Thrower sound and
style which you have been using for many years now. Didn't
you ever felt the need to evolve a bit from this tried and test-
ed formula?
“No, never. And the reason for that is quite simple to explain.
The fact is all our favourite bands from years ago went all bad.
I mean, at some point they stopped producing as good materi-
al as they used to, because they were trying to play to a mar-
ket. When we first started up the idea was to play music the
way we like and hopefully the fans would like too. When we
came round to doing more and more albums, it became impor-
tant for us to keep all our fan base. So, putting ourselves in the
position of Bolt Thrower fans, we thought that what they would
really like is to have another album like the last album the band
did. It's like if you are a fan of Slayer, you would like to have
another record similar to "Reign in Blood". A fan of Discharge
would love to have another "Hear nothing, see nothing, say
nothing". So what we tried to do is to go down that line and play
the music our fans are expecting to hear, hopefully picking up
more listeners on the way. And at the same time we're still
playing the music we were always into.”
But probably you would need to introduce new elements in
the music if Bolt Thrower were releasing records more often,
say every one to two years, don't you think?
“No, I don't think so. We would just write the songs the way we
have just done. When we first started out and death metal did-
n't existed - it was a genre that they gave to us after labelling
us as grindcore - we've always been playing the same sort of
music. Off course we evolved individually as we became better
musicians and we naturally progressed our own sound, but
we've always sounded as Bolt Thrower and we always will.”
Still about the record, but now more on the side of the lyrics,
I know that the main topic is off course war, but do you know
what Karl wrote about in particular?
“Karl can't give off course first hand experiences of war, but he
as written generally about personal stories of war, the history of
war and his own perspective of the future of warfare. And on this
album he has taken these subjects through different decades as
opposed to what we did in the past where we stuck to a certain
era. So he went from the first world war days right up to futuris-
tic warfare, but always focusing on personal drama and human
loss. That's pretty much what this album is generally about.”
Has he wrote about any contemporary war issue like for
instance terrorism?
“No he hasn't. Karl was pretty much given free reign about
what to write about. So, just like the music, we stuck to the
same kind of lyrics we used in the past. And I think that a lot of
the album can be summed up by the words Those Once Loyal,
which is a kind of tribute to the people directly involved in all
those past conflicts.”
Where have you got that album cover from? Is that a picture
from some monument?
“Yes it is. It's in Horse Guards Parade in London. Actually the
cover was going to be different, but we settled on this one. We
gave a rough picture of this monument to an artist and then he
went back to the place, took a set of photographs and gave
them the colour treatment we wanted. Fortunately it came out
perfect. We also took off our stained glass around our logo and
made it fit in with the actual monument stone and it turned out
well. I think this cover is a nice transition from our last album
- you can't have every album cover being a Real of Chaos-type
cover, so we had to change it a bit. Our last "Honour Valour
Pride" cover was great, but you can't have another one like it...”
What about the return of Karl? Is he back for good this time?
“Yes, that's right. When we did "Mercenary" with Karl it wasn't
the right time for him to come back because there was some
many things he wanted to do personally, he was going to uni-
versity and so forth. But this time when we asked him to came
back and do this album, we said it was up to him to whether
just do the album, or come back full-time. And he just didn't
hesitate, he decided to return full-time. And we are very
pleased about that because I think it will be great to go out on
our 20th anniversary tour with most of the original line-up.”
I know that you re-recorded some songs from "Honour Valour
Pride" with Karl on vocals ("K-Machine" is available for
download from the band's website). Do you intend to release
that sometime?
“No. Not at present because I think it would be a bit unfair on
Dave. We did it as a kind of trial run on Karl as he has been
vocally inactive for a number of years, so to get him into the
spirit of things we just re-recorded "Honour Valour Pride" And
it came out very well even though we've only demoed it, but I
don't see us actually releasing it. Maybe we will give it away
free or something like that, maybe an occasional track here and
there. I think that releasing it officially would be unfair to Dave.
After all he's part of our history, Dave was in the band for quite
a few years, so I certainly wouldn't want to do that to him.”
By the way, did Dave abandon music completely?
“I don't know really. I guess he's involved with bands in
Denmark but I don't know if he's gonna do anything seriously
again. It's a shame for Dave. Obviously I don't wanna go into
the reasons why he left because they are personal to him. He
did leave for personal reasons and nothing else really. He's a
nice bloke and I just wish him all the best.”
You mentioned already a few times your 20th anniversary
which is to be completed in 2006. So what are the plans to
commemorate that? Will we see a DVD release finally?
“No, I don't think so. That's one of those things we tried a cou-
ple of times to do, I mean live stuff, and it never really captured
the whole sound...”
... you could try it on the upcoming tour.
“Yeah, I'm sure we will record it. We did it last time during so
many gigs. Not just off the PA system, I mean a proper record-
ing with the appropriate equipment and everything. But when
we got back it just didn't sounded right, so we didn't bothered
in mixing it properly because it didn't had what we were look-
ing for. At one time we thought we had it, I mean the sound was
right, the views were perfect and everything, but for some rea-
son we didn't have Dave's vocals on the recording (laughs). I
think it was maybe a sign that wasn't yet the right time to do it.”
Now you have a major headlining European tour lined up for
the beginning of 2006, right?
“Yeah, that's right. With Malevolent Creation, Nightrage and
Necrophagist.”
I have no memory of you guys ever had played in Portugal?
Did you ever?
“No, we've never been in Portugal, but it's obviously a place I
would like to go. At the moment we are in negotiations with a
portuguese promoter to do a festival.”
That's good news!
“Yeah, it's something that the band always wanted to do - going
to Spain and Portugal - for a number of years, but either it's never
been right for us or never been right for the promoters. So this
time I guess we will come to do some dates in Portugal which
should be hopefully around next April. We'll have to wait and see.”

Talented musicians can’t stay much time without doing anything, simply laying
around at home watching TV, drinking, fishing or whatever. At some point the lit-
tle bug will start to grow and become a wild famished beast. When someone is
good at something it’s evident that he shouldn’t stop and Ihsahn already proved
years ago is musical skills. Every black metal fan speculates if someday Emperor
will return... its clear that the little bug is inside Emperor members since they
have played a couple of shows this year, but that’s another story!
The solo album of mastermind Ihsahn, is entitled “The Adversary” and it’s a hymn
of well layered compositions blended with all influential elements from all peri-
ods/stages of his background been the most prominent... Emperor.
Variation and improvement was the trademark of the last Emperor albums and
“The Adversary” pushes even further this aspect without been tied to a particular
style, its epic, powerful, extreme, orchestral...
journalist: Sónia Fonseca
38 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
What inspired you to write "The Adversary"?
“Well, I had in it the back of my mind that I would do a solo album ever since the pre-
Emperor because I've always done some solo work... so it was a good time to do it on
my own I think.”
This is very Ihsahn against the world. What revolts you so much about our society?
“Well, it's a bit too wide a topic to go into details... but the general ignorance and will-
ingness to see things for what they are, to ignore the problems that we are all facing.
And also the very closed society that is really not that open to the outer boundaries, it's
just very focused on the middle, it's getting around mediocrity and the outer sides of
things so to speak. I guess these are classic scenes nowadays...”
It seems to be common thinking that "The Adversary" is a mixing pot of elements
from Emperor and Peccatum. Would you agree?
“To the extent that I've been a creative part of both bands. Musically it's part of my musi-
cal history and it's part of my musical learning so... Of course there are elements there
that were inspired by those periods. More similarities to Emperor, but on the other hand
especially in the later years of Emperor I wrote the majority of the material so I guess
similarities there are not really that strange. It was not my intention with this album to
really go into something totally new. I just wanted to continue my work within the metal
genre.”
Yes, but I read a review and at some point the reviewer said "there's also the man's
desire to step out from the long shadow looking forward and desirous of being seen
as an entity on its own". Do you have any comments?
“I guess that at this point with this album which is very much my own expression and
also in some respect to the way Emperor has been perceived especially, being constantly
judged or reviewed on that behalf, which of course is natural. But I think maybe sub-
consciously the result of this whole album is so clear and so direct probably because I
really want to set an example of this is what I stand for, this is what I do without getting
it too mixed up with all the preconceptions. I wanted a very clean and clear expression.”
The influence of King Diamond is quite evident. How much of an impact did he have
on you?
“Well, especially the "Them" and "Conspiracy" have meant a great deal to me. Into this
day when hearing I know both albums by heart so to speak. And Mikkey Dee has been
a favourite drummer of mine from his period in King Diamond and Andy LaRocque's
solo playing especially is one of my great favourites. So I guess the choice of tone and
the whole melodic feel of King Diamond which is kind of... King Diamond is, musically,
I suppose more progressive and an extension of the typical elements of early Heavy
Metal, like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden. I suppose I do metal music as an extension of that
again but, of course, I came in later. But, yes, among my early heroes King Diamond is
definitely one of them.”
Yes, but I was mainly referring to the vocals...
“The vocals? Ok. I think it is more the result of trying to... because when it comes to
straight Heavy Metal vocals, all of my attempts to sing like Rob Halford eventually end
up sounding like King Diamond. But I need to say that some of the vocals parts on IX
Equilibrium and the direct influence on some songs where I sing in falsetto was an
attempt for me to scream like Rob Halford and it ends up sounding like a milder version
of King Diamond.”
Because those vocals mustn't be easy…
“Well, it all depends. I think it's technically... sound wise are probably, at least in the con-
text I use them, are less revealing than the more quiet voice. Personally I find the more
quiet parts like the beginning of "The Pain is Still Mine" much more challenging vocals
to do.”
Does this solo album mark a new era for you as an individual and as a musician?
“Both yes and no. I suppose it is a statement for myself and I suppose it marks a dif-
ference because this album has a very different audience and a different reach so in that
respect, yes. But for me personally it's not that much of a difference. I think I'm just con-
tinuing to make music I feel like doing. So, my personal situation hasn't changed that
much.”
How do you feel about being a kind of "God" in the metal world? Is it a big responsi-
bility?
“Well, to some extent, yes. I think it's a big responsibility but, more importantly, I think
that my view on my role in that respect is more important. When on tour, I meet people
who may act towards me as if I am something else than I am. I recognise the feeling
from going to shows and meeting some of my heroes. I have invested so much of my
own emotions to it, to their product. I've listened to their albums and all the mental
images that are built up around music... they represent so much and especially from an
early age. When you're a teenager, you connect all that is happening to the music that
you're listening to at the time and I think that it's important... Earlier on I would try to
level myself down in their eyes because I was uncomfortable being given that role
because my reality is very different than theirs and their situation but on the other hand
I'd rather they kept the illusion because it's not about me, it is what they represent me
with, what I represent to them. It's nothing to do with me at all. It's just how they relate
to my music. I think it's a great point because it means my music has become some-
thing greater than myself and I think, as an artist, that's something we all wish to
achieve. That's my view anyway.”
But have you changed your behaviour just because you're a role model or do you act
naturally?
“I try to be as natural as I can, you know? I think when meeting people I'm just trying
to... I appreciate what we did with Emperor now in Easter on the show we did in Oslo
and people were very appreciative and we all in Emperor we appreciate them coming...
it's kind of a very mutual thing I think it's important. In all relations, if you're in an artist
relation or in a private basis, it's important to treat people with a deserved respect.”
Is this solo project a substitute of Thou Shalt Suffer or will you keep on working under
that monicker?
“At the time I did Thou Shalt Suffer that was kind of a side project because I was doing
metal in Emperor but for now I don't see any use for that kind of side project. Though I
hope to do similar projects again with orchestral music and exploring that part more but
it's not under that name I think... I'm quite finished with what I did with Thou Shalt Suffer.”
Because an album like "Somnium" is quite pleasant to listen when we are trying to
read something, because there's only music, there are no vocals to distract us...
“For me that album is more like a learning experience because
I didn't have access to all the great samples or anything, it's
done with very simple means and very simple equipment. It
was my try out orchestral music and it was a very valuable les-
son for me. All albums I do I see as a kind of learning but that
album in particular for me it's something that I'll appreciate
more for what I learned from it than the actual music.”
You played all the instruments on this album, except for the
drums. Why did you choose Asgeir?
“Actually he chose me... (laughs). He heard I was doing a solo
album and he kinda offered his services because that's what
he does. He's a session drummer amongst many other things,
he's very talented in many areas. Before he contacted me I had
him in mind for potential session drummer and, really
because I knew his work from Borknagar and I knew he could
do all the extreme metal parts. I knew his work from Spiral
Architect so I knew he could do all the progressive parts. And
when we talked on the phone he said he also loves Mikkey Dee
as a drummer... he's been wonderful for this album. I sent him
the pre-production and he's done a very nice live version of
what I pre-programmed. Always being constructive and being
creative where I wanted him to be creative. He's done won-
derful recordings. It was very practical because we run a sim-
ilar studio and we run the same software so we could more or
less work over the Internet.”
You use the Internet a lot these days in order to produce
your albums?
“Oh no, not really. That's the only one... (laughs)! It's more
that he's very good with computers so he'd just upload the
files from the net instead of sending things in the mail.
It's easier, definitely easier!
“He set up a server because parts of songs are not something
you send over email.”
Why did you choose "Invocation" to be the promotional
video?
“Well, it's the opening track and, from the moment I wrote it,
I knew it would be the opening track so... it's just very good
head-start for what the album is about. It has a rather catchy
rhythm. The album has much easier songs to get into, say for
example "Astera ton proinon" which is more, what can I say?
It's a very different song. I suppose it's a very quick repre-
sentation of what the album is about and that's what a video
is for... to give people an insight into what it is.”
Is the video being aired on TV?
“Yes, it's getting there. I'm not sure on which stations but it's
distributed round to different people. I know that the TV com-
mercial for the album is based on the video and is being aired
several times on American MTV. So, it's getting there.”
The album has been out for a few weeks. How is it being
accepted by the fans? Do you have any idea?
“Well, I have got a myspace profile as well as the regular web-
site so I'm getting lots of positive feedback and very flattering
from a lot of fans. I'm very happy about that people catch up
and follow to my work. People have been really appreciative
and I really appreciate that too.”
So, how important are the fans to you?
“Obviously it's them who make this into a living. I am in a very
privileged position because a lot of people are interested in
what I do and take pleasure in it. I'm very humble about the
fact that people add their own feelings to what I do hopefully
and give meaning to it. Having been part of music creations
that people really invest much in I think it's a very nice
achievement as an artist, of course. But, at the same time, I
don't want to go on tour and go everywhere to meet fans and
all that. I'm more private than that I suppose... it's not that I
don't care, that's how I am. (laughs)!
Do you keep any regular contact with fans? If you get any
email, do you answer?
“I usually don't because I get a lot of requests and if I start
answering some emails, I'd feel obliged to answer everybody
else's too and it would be too much work. I try to respond
generally... most people who contact me will get an answer
but I do not have the time or opportunity to go into personal
mail dialogs with fans even though I am flattered that people
would but it's just a matter of capacity really.”
But in your early days, when everything did you write back?
“I tried to do all this tape-trading and penpal stuff but I was
horrible at it. Samoth received 10 to 30 letters a day and I
never got the hang of it. I was just more the nerd doing the
music, I've never been good at corresponding.”
Okay. Since we're talking about fans I want to ask you if you
have any funny or strange story involving fans.
“Not that I can think of right now. (laughs)! Well, we just
recently met one of our fans in Oslo. A guy from Ireland I
think! He turned up to get signed a huge Emperor icon "E" ban-
ner and that was the banner that we've been looking for years
because it was stolen from a show in London Astoria 2 in
London in 1999 and he had bought it on ebay. So, I guess
that's funny!”
Yeah! Are you intending to promote this album live in the
future when you find session musicians?
“Yes, in the future I hope... At this point, with all the Emperor
shows and all the rehearsing for that, and for the fact that I
only have one album to pick from. I'd rather wait and see after
the second album and see where it goes and if I can find good
session musicians and do it live. You know, it's very playable
live because I had it on the back of my mind when writing it.
But not at this point, I'll reconsider after the second album.”
Okay, you'll have more songs to choose from...
“Yes, definitely.”
According to you, once you release an album you don't lis-
ten to it for quite some time... when you end up listening to
it again, what do you think about it?
“I think I can review it more objectively and this album I've lis-
tened to songs here and songs there but ever since I mastered
it I haven't had one full listen all in one go. I listen to different
songs from time to time, playing songs to friends and stuff
like that. But when you spend over a year working on those
songs, it's very good to take some time off from it.”
Do you discover new things?
“Nah, not really. Well, sometimes when the album is getting
really old I may be surprised that I don't really remember the
full order of the songs but it usually gets back to me in a few
seconds when the riffs start coming, so it's stored some-
where. It's hard to keep track of all the songs I've released. I
have released some songs until now so it's hard to keep track
of them all.”
Do you have a life motto like "Live and let die", something
like that?
“Nothing so... I have many slogans that I really like and that
really appeal to me but nothing in particular that I could just
voice out. I really like that Mnemosyne slogan we have
"Hungered, slaughtered, godless" which is a quote that I also
used in one of the lyrics.”
Why did you and your wife ventured yourselves in the music
business? What kind of label is Mnemosyne?
“Well, it's really just a gathering umbrella for our musical
work. Its home to our own musical creations and it's home to
a studio we own and a second studio that we partly own. So
we are looking for new artists and hope to be using our expe-
rience and our network and forces to continue bringing out
dark music, hopefully of great quality and that includes things
we want to do ourselves in the future and also producing other
bands. We are not aiming to have loads and loads of releases,
we're aiming more to cooperate with new artists.”
Have any signed artists?
“We have some bands that we've looked at and that we've
been interested in and we're having a dialog but it's nothing in
concrete, it's not something we can reveal.”
I know you just did your premiere show with Emperor this
year. How did it go?
“It went surprisingly well, actually. We're very pleased that
we've been given lots of positive feedback from the press and
fans alike so it was a great pleasure that they all responded so
well. So now we're looking forward to the next ones.”
Where will the next ones be?
“Next ones will be in mid July, we're playing 2 shows in New
York and 2 shows in Los Angeles. Then we're headlining
Wacken at the beginning of August and after that we'll just
have to see.”
How's your fanbase in the US?
“Well, it's getting quite well I think. I don't know the numbers
yet but it seems that so far the American market picked up the
album just as much as the European market so that is very
positive and I'm getting a lot of positive feedback from the US
market. That's something new, you know? America is kind of
behind Europe when it comes to extreme metal in many ways
but things seem to be evening up somewhat.”
Yes, some bands that are big in Europe are still unknown in
the US. It's like a different world, isn't it?
“Yes, yeah. But I guess it's like that the other way around too.
A lot of bands that are big in America haven't really been heard
of here. Different continents.”
I know you have recently entered your 30's. Do you feel any
different? I read you say you think you are arrogant...
“No, that was in Terrorizer I suppose. That's not what I meant,
that was taken out of context. But I don't think I'm very arro-
gant but it's just that I don't really care how people perceive
me and I guess that's something that comes with age and
experience... you're more comfortable and more at ease with
who you are. So, if people don't like that, it doesn't really mat-
ter.” (laughs)
(laughs) Yeah but in a magazine like Terrorizer when you
read those capital letters you have to read the whole inter-
view because it really catches people's attention.
“It gets people's attention so I guess that's the point of put-
ting on big letters like that!” (laughs)
Apart from music, what else do you appreciate?
“I appreciate my close family, my wife and child, I enjoy
movies and stuff like that. But I don't have a hobby in life. I like
reading stuff, some philosophy, I like some martial arts but
not to the extent that I would consider something that I go
very deep into, it's more on a private level... music takes up so
much of my time.”
Yes, but what kind of hobbies do you have when you're not
dealing with music?
“It's really all the time. Sometimes I read philosophy, some-
times I read some music theory or sometimes I read a regu-
lar magazine. I can watch old classic movies or follow up in
the latest movies or read the newspaper but very much my
time goes to music... speaking of time… I'm supposed to be
at a concert of a pupil of mine in 15 minutes so I need to go.
Thank you for the support!! Talk to you after the second
album, ok? Bye.”
- www.ihsahn.com -
IHSAHN : THE ADVERSARY
[CANDLELIGHT RECORDS]
I guess most of us were missing the compositions of Ihsahn...
“The Adversary” is the first solo album of the man behind the
well known Norwegian black metal cult horde Emperor. Is this
somehow similar with it? Well yes and no! Let me explain, this
is certainly not as black metal oriented than any Emperor
release, neither so aggressive yet there are bits that could cer-
tainly be used in any Emperor song. First and foremost you
have Ihsahn’s vocals that are quite diverse and wander
between several patterns (from raging black metal fury to
melodic and gentle Opeth styled, to soprano or even Kind
Diamond alike) however its hard not to think of Emperor two
or three times in each song.
Instrumentally Ihsahn creates a constant fusion of diverse
sonorities, like black metal, death metal, rock, classical music
but always with a clear progressive epic edge, similar to the
last works of Emperor mixed with Peccatum, Opeth and
Arcturus. With such a vibrant and undeniable talent nothing
else could we expect than a meticulous journey through
labyrinthic compositions. Ihsahn wrote and played every bit of
“The Adversary” with the exception of the drums, which are
executed by Asgeir Mickelson (Borknagar, Spiral Architect)
and a guest vocal participation on the song “Homecoming” by
Garm (Ulver, Arcturus).
This is certainly an album for all Emperor fans (I still think that
one day they will return) that keeps growing on you with every
note, every phrase, every riff and its impossible to dissect it
song by song or simply select one or two highlights simply
because I feel everything is related. Simply genius!
[9] NUNO SANTOS
ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 39

For quite some time that Horna are acclaimed as a raging force inside the underground Black
Metal circle by the fans of the genre. Even on their early period when they were signed with
Solistitium Records the fuzz was already immense after the release of the first albums
“Hiidentorni” and “Kohti Yhdeksän Nousua”. Nowadays the competition is higher, there are a
countless number of bands playing Black Metal however Horna remain faithful to their earlier
primitive principles. In the imminence of the release of the sixth album entitled “Ääniä Yössä”
there was the opportunity to talk with Shatraug, guitarist and former member of the band.
journalist: Nuno Santos
40 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
You have just released your fifth album entitled “Ääniä
Yössä”. One of the things that are curious on this album is
that it was composed and recorded solely by Shatraug and
Corvus. What lead this to happen?
“Hails. I and Corvus created the album quite far to be a sepa-
rate project at first. As it is we kept the recording almost 2
years to ourselves until it was noticed that Horna will go
entirely towards a similar direction musically. Instead of re-
recording the album was released in its original attraction.”
The fact of only Shatraug and Corvus participated on the
creation of this fifth opus do you think that compared to your
previous albums has any major differences?
“Not really. Since the beginning Horna has always been my
vision and everyone else has been under command more or
less. Since our recent drummer problems we have turned a
new page here as well and in the future nobody will see a solo
creation of Shatraug under the name Horna, we are now a full
band with each member bringing their passion in it. The first
sign of this can be heard on the coming split LP with Sacrificia
Mortuorum.”
What is even more enigmatic is that the four songs featured
in it are older than the stuff recorded in “Envaatnags Eflos
Solf Esgantaavne”?! How can this be possible?
“Very simple. I don’t feel any rush to release everything that’s
recorded and created. A lot of material can stay in notebooks
or demo versions for a long time. Some are never released,
some end up changed, some directly manifested as they are.
It’s all just a part of how the time at hand fits these creations.
I am one of the most creative persons around (and this is
from other people) - I just can’t keep my hands off the guitar
but create almost everyday.”
The album is based on the Black Plague that occurred on the
14th century caused by the Yersinia Pestis bacteria and
killed one third of the European population. What is Horna’
vision of this period?
“The dance of death, with fevered visions and apocalyptic
signs. A nature’s way to tell humans they are worthless in most
cases... I can’t really go more in depth here as major part of the
lyrics were written by Corvus and he’s not at hand to answer
this. From my point of view he deals with a more perverse and
tormented vision of Black Plague here, a praise of Satan.”
Many already have said that the world is in need of a simi-
lar plague. Do you foresee a similar bacteriological virus on
the coming years? I mean we live in a period where animals
are infecting humans with all sorts of virus…
“I am quite sure that it will happen. Whether it’s a mutation of a
virus already existing in nature or a creation in laboratories
unleashed by man with intent or by accident, that I do not know.
HIV is already one good example of this. Mankind’s frustrating
fight to cure all diseases is senseless though... we deserve to
die in most places and there would be a lot less problems if all
nations were just left on their own to deal with their circum-
stances. Take for example South-America or Africa... the tribes
would be happy hunting and gathering without white man. They
would have no hunger problem either... just eat each other!”
Graphically the concept of the album was masterly passed
to paper by Benjamin Koenig. Did you had any previous con-
tact with him and how have you decided to choose him to
illustrate “Ääniä Yössä”?
“I met him by chance at last year’s Misanthropic Violence fes-
tival and later on learned that he was very skilled on painting
and had, in my opinion, a great sense of colours for example.
I asked if he wanted to do the cover and the result is there to
see. He did a perfect job.”
You had always a tendency to compose a few long songs
during the years with running times around 6 – 7 minutes,
but this time you have taken things to an extreme and
recorded a 21 minutes track. What do you think of the final
result, is it as hypnotic and destructive as you planned?
“The song was probably the hardest ever for me to record.
Even during creation it was hard to not loose my mind in the
hypnosis of the riffs, always forgetting what comes, how long
and what ever... In the end I did all by feeling and chance, a bit
experimenting and improvising. The final song is definitely
what I sought for... morbid ambience without normal “ambi-
ent” instruments but pure Black Metal sound. I’m not at all
sure if I could do this again with Horna or if I even want to but
that is sure that our future looks as bleak as this album.”
The release date of the new album was supposed to be on
06.06.06, however as far as I know the CDs arrived at the
label totally fucked up and the release date was postponed.
Was an error made in the manufacturing or what?
“Before the CDs were delivered there were already problems
with cover artwork files that needed to be corrected. What was
wrong on the final pressing was not asked to be corrected so
I suspect that they overlooked this issue instead of getting it
right. In the end the errors are not that big but enough to both-
er the hell out of us.”
On the beginning of the year you signed a two album record
deal with Debemur Morti Productions. Been Horna already
a cult black metal band I supposed you had a bunch of
labels interested in signing you, am I right? Why have you
decided for the French ones? Was a decision based on their
work on your gatefold split EP with Tenebrae In Perpetuum?
“The whole decision to sign with Debemur Morti is based on
two things. The manager Void has been a good friend for me
for a couple years before this, and, he convinced his devotion
to the label and his promises on the Behexen tour where I was
playing bass for them. It’s rare to find labels and persons who
deal 100% honesty and keep their word no matter the cost in
the underground anymore. This is by far a good enough rea-
son to sign.”
The split between you and Behexen will also be re-released
by them. Do you believe that this particular split wasn’t prop-
erly distributed and thus the decision to release it again? Will
it have any differences from the original pressing?
“The CD version of this split which Autistiartili released was
practically impossible to get for a long time. The guy just quit
his label, had no more interest in Black Metal or to spread out
his releases. It took a while before Morbid Moon Records
bought all his stock but it was still soon sold out and the
repress comes. There’s not much difference in the repress but
some artworks have been done all over again and there are
lyrics included, as much from Behexen as was possible to
make out since Torog had accidentally lost his only existing
sheets which were handwritten...”
I know that you regret having released the Ouroboros gate-
fold split 7”EP under the banner Lookinglassblack Records.
What happened with this deal? Did you have any other bad
episodes with labels on the Horna discography, perhaps
Solistitium Records?
“This Lookinglassblack thing is just history... I don’t want to
think of that anymore. The guy turned out nothing like he pre-
tended to be, just a poser and that’s that. There are always
some shits happening with split releases so there will be only
few in the coming ages anymore.”
What was going on with the US license deal with The End
Records that was cancelled by you?
“The license deal was made by our ex-label Woodcut without
consulting us first at all. I had already spoken with Moribund
about possible licensing but that lead nowhere when we found
out this conspiracy behind our backs. It was one final nail to
the coffin of Woodcut. A lot of talk but empty words flow...”
Have you consider releasing a Horna album under your own
label Grievantee Productions? Having full control of all sides
of your music isn’t something that attracts you at this point?
“I thought of this at first but in the end I want to put all my
effort and finance in supporting other bands. It’s too easy to
neglect my own work and keep it secondary on the schedules.
I also know that Debemur Morti can and will promote Horna
much better than I would do. I’m just into the underground, I
don’t see the commercial aspect that would be needed from
real “business” even if that’s not the main thing here either.”
You have just released the Blood Red Fog self titled album.
What can you tell us about this band?
“One of the best newcoming bands from Finland. Cold,
depressive, often slow Black Metal with tormented howls. Fits
under the wings of Grievantee perfectly.”
This is not the first time you venture yourself on the realms
of releasing material, I remember you had a project called
Warmoon Records a few years ago and released the
Sargeist demos. Can you go back in time and tell us about
that project?
“It was just a half-serious tape label with simple things, that’s it.
I took things one step further and started Grievantee soon after.”
I have already pointed a few of your activities, like Horna or
Grievantee Productions but you are also active in other bands
like Sargeist or Blutschrei. Tell us how is a typical Shatraug
day? How do you find time to coordinate everything?
“Typical day... work, mails, packing, composing, being a father
among all things. There’s nothing typical in any day really, with
small children there’s a surprise for each dawn.”
Black metal is not solely your main musical interest. During
the years you have had also other projects related to other
musical styles like Death metal or goregrind. Some are still
active others don’t. In my opinion is healthy to not focus
only in one particular style but aren’t you afraid that some
narrow minded persons would see you as “traitor”?
“No fear of that. I have never taken part in anything that I
would not take 100% serious and never will either. For me
doing music is always serious and I stand behind it.
Death/grind projects have also been something totally fit for
the time and my vision, as fucking perverse and horrid those
days have been. It was a shame to notice how many posers
that genre has... nothing but posers really. Fuck off forever.”
Returning to Horna, are you preparing yourself to hit the
road and promote “Ääniä Yössä”? Do you have any gigs
booked for the next months or is anything in preparation?
“We are planning some touring for the end of the year but
that’s it for now, details will be revealed when time is right. For
now we take things easy and rehearse.”
Latest news refer that Ravenum (who replaced Gorthaur)
had to leave the band. What lead this decision?
“He injured his arm and could not play anymore. He could still
record but he can never perform full live sets with the risk of
loosing all ability to use his arm. We can’t allow him to take
this risk, it’s just not worth it.”
Have you found a proper replacement behind the drums?
“Yes, he is called Vainaja, also known from a newer desecrat-
ing horde Vitsaus.”
During the years you had already your own share of people
coming and going. Why do you believe is it so difficult to
maintain a steady line-up in a band but more precisely in
Horna?
“I keep quite a tight focus on what to do and if time and moti-
vation is not right, off you go. To replace Gorthaur was in the
end necessary as he just didn’t come to rehearsals enough.
We could not slow down and let all the material just disappear
in the wind... The line-up changes often happen when people
no longer have the same passion or vision for the band.”
More than 10 years already passed since you formed the
band, do you feel you have changed during the years? I
mean in the way you saw the black metal movement back in
early nineties and now!
“Yes, there’s been some change within myself... natural growth
is of no mention here but I have a lot more insight and devotion
for Black Metal than I had 10 years ago. It has crept into my soul
to forever haunt there. This is one of the things that I saw in
other members missing... they just started taking Black Metal as
music, nothing else and that was sad.”
My final question is, everything you have thought for the
band was accomplished and is there anything that you now
would like to modify or do?
“No changes. I will always have another vision for tomorrow
and face the dawn with a sinister grin.”
- www.legion-horna.c o m -
My first question is related to what lead you to form Zyklon;
I mean you were part of one of the most successful metal
bands, Emperor. Weren't you satisfied at a musical level,
didn't Emperor fulfilled completely your artistic needs?
“I believe this is already well-documented and old news.
Anyway, at one point it became more and more clear that
Emperor were coming to an end. Basically the creative forces
in the band were pulling in different directions and rather than
making too many compromises, we decided to end the band
while the spirit was still there you know. The last show we did
for "IX-Equilibrium" was in Poland in the end of 1999, and that
became the last Emperor show of that era. "Prometheus" was
purely a studio effort and was not really made as a collective The third album from this Death metal force is already on the streets! This time the rest of the
band unit as previous Emperor albums. During that time I laid
down the groundwork for the Zyklon debut album, and made Emperor team (Samoth & Trim) together with Destructhor and Secthdamon (both on Myrkskog)
plans to build this new band.” refined their brutal formula and composed their best album entitled “Disintegrate”.
Back then your intentions were simply to create a band and
just have fun playing or did you aimed to put Zyklon at the Released again under the British label Candlelight Records (like also Ihsahn and Myrkskog)
same "status" as Emperor for instance? this third chapter will not disappoint the fans of the band in fact they will solidify even more
“I was definitely serious about forming a new band, and we
have worked hard to set Zyklon on the map as a real band and the growing legion of fans. Based on the “Aeon” technical yet straight forward formula they
not only as "Samoth's project" in the shadow of Emperor or managed to enrich it with more dynamic vocals, a superb twin guitar riffing, mind blowing
whatever. I think we've done pretty good with that, but to ever
reach a status like Emperor was never really the aim, and I solos, precise brutal drum patterns... For sure “Disintegrate” can be among the highlights of
think it would be a bit naïve to think so as well.” 2006 and it will be considered a must for all fans of technical death metal.
How do you see the success and cult status that Emperor journalist: Nuno Santos
had and still has? At any time were you afraid that the black
metal community with all its dark fervour used Emperor for
instance as a killing tool?
“Emperor means a lot to all of us, it's been a big part of our
lives and even who we are today, and it has also leaded us to
many possibilities. But this success and status didn't happen
overnight, you know. We kept Emperor going for over a
decade and we had many ups and downs along the way, and
I think we always managed to stay really grounded. We always
did our thing and wasn't lead by record labels, hypes, or what-
ever.”
Now that you are older and wiser (laughs) how do you see
the killings and church burnings?
“It's not really something that I think much about, as it's hard-
ly relevant for who I am and what I do today. It's more like yes-
terdays news really. I'm a bit bored of people wanting to do all
kinds of documentaries, books, articles, etc. about the early
Norwegian black metal scene. Of course, I can see the "true
crime" factor and that the story will fascinate people. Though
I feel sometimes that some people make too much out of it.
Then again, I was in the middle of it all and that's almost 15
years ago, so I'm bound to view it differently than someone
reading "Lords of Chaos" for the first time and hearing about a
crazy obscure scene way over in little exotic Norway. It was a
very unique scene, which also spawned a lot of unique bands
that actually ignited a whole new worldwide music scene. It
was also a lot of darkness and mystery surrounding the scene,
and with the true dedication of music and action this scene
was bound to become kind of mythic I guess.”
I know you are a father like me, so what would you say to
your daughter when she questions you about those episodes
and your imprisonment?
“(laughs) Good question! My daughter is already 9 years old,
so it's coming up shortly I guess. She knows me well and
whatever I might have done in my teens won't affect who I am
and how she sees me as a father.”
Returning to Zyklon, the selection of Trym as drummer is
completely understandable since he already played with
you in Emperor but what about Destructhor and afterwards
Secthdamon? How have you select them?
“Well, I was quite good friends with Grim of Myrkskog, who
sang and played bass on their "Deathmachine" album, and
through him I met the other guys. I also knew Secthdamon a
bit through his old band Odium, as they released an album on
Nocturnal Art in 1998. Anyway, Myrkskog shared rehearsal
room with Emperor for a while and I checked out some
rehearsals and got to see Destructhor's awesome talent.
When Trym and I looked for a lead guitarist he was one of our
first choices. Destructhor was up for it and that was the first
real Zyklon line-up, Trym, Destructhor and myself.
Secthdamon joined a bit later, in 2001, right before the US
tour with Deicide and Morbid Angel. Basically Daemon, who
sang on the debut album wasn't up for all the touring, and we
really wanted someone who could handle both vocals and
bass anyway. Secthdamon is a multitalented musician and I
was pretty sure he would be up for the task. I was a bit hesi-
tant as we already had one Myrkskog member, but anyway we
tried it out for the US tour, and it worked well, so he became
a permanent member. Secthdamon's first vocal job for Zyklon
was actually during the "World ov Worms" session where he
laid down the vocals for the "Dominate" cover track we did for
a Morbid Angel tribute CD. It wasn't until a year later that he
actually got the offer to audition for us for the US tour.”

42 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
There is a "fifth element" in ZYKLON which is Bård "Faust"
Eithun who creates the lyrical concept of Zyklon. Did he
had/has complete freedom to write the lyrics or you trans-
mit your ideas and he passes them to lyrics?
“More or less, yeah. He writes very freely, but of course with-
in the framework that he knows will fit Zyklon. Sometimes I'll
give him ideas or tell him to change something, but overall it's
been a pretty relaxed co-operation I feel.”
Before the new album you release a DVD called "Storm
Detonation Live". The concept used in it is somehow simi-
lar to all music DVDs, a live gig, some photos, bios, clips…
Are you satisfied with the end result and would you call
"Storm Detonation Live" a perfect DVD release?
“I don't know if I would call it a perfect DVD release. You
know, it's not a huge production or anything, but I think it
turned out to be a good underground release, and a good
package for fans of Zyklon.”
Sound wise "Storm Detonation Live" has an incredible
sound. How did you captured it and was it affected by any
post-production?
“It was professionally recorded, so we did mix the sound
afterwards and it also went through a mastering process, as
any official audio production should.”
How did you select Germany and Party San Festival to
record the gig for the inclusion on the DVD? It was a deci-
sion based on past live experiences?
“Party San filmed everything for their own festival DVD. So
basically they had a good recording of the show and
Candlelight really wanted to make a DVD, so we chose this
recording. Simple as that!”
Do you find any major differences between Zyklon and
Emperor live crowds?
“No, it's pretty much the same crowd, but obviously with the
Emperor reunion we pull bigger and more ecstatic crowds
(laughs)!
By the way Emperor returned to make a few live appear-
ances. Did you had the feeling you said goodbye to your
fans without a proper farewell or can we expect anything
more?
“As we've stated many times now, there are no plans for a new
Emperor album. Never say never I guess, but no such plans as
of today anyway. We are quite comfortable with the current
situation, Zyklon is doing well, Ihsahn is also doing really well
with his solo album and other projects, and we're truly enjoy-
ing the Emperor reunion shows.”
What's your opinion about the re-release versions of the
Emperor albums on vinyl by Candlelight Records? Many
fans see them as just a utilization of the Emperor' name to
make easy money. How do you react on that?
“I see what you mean. Basically, there's still a demand for our
complete back catalogue, so I don't think it's such a big prob-
lem that the catalogue is being made available for everybody
who wants it. The reality is, Candlelight is a business and they
want to sell records and with Emperor being their best selling
act ever they will always make sure our catalogue is on the
market.”
The musical progression from your debut "World ov Worms"
to "Aeon" was undeniable and when probably most people
expected a third album with a new dose of development,
you return with a refined formula of "Aeon". Have Zyklon
found its personal formula?
“I definitely think we have perfected the sound more with
"Disintegrate". I feel that the overall quality is better this time
around, with generally stronger, more diverse and dynamic
song writing. I think there's still room to push things even fur-
ther. We're always open to try out other things and new ele-
ments. But I guess it's fair to say that we have found the basis
of our sound with this album.”
Trym: “We have worked more on making the arrangements
within the songs better, and not been afraid to do changes that
might be different from what we have done before. I think that
this album is representing more what Zyklon's music is all
about.”
One of the differences from Aeon is Secthdamon' vocals
which are more diversified. Was this a conscious thing, you
felt you had to create more dynamism in them?
“Totally! We have used more of what we refer to as "industri-
al vocals". I've wanted this type of vocals in Zyklon since the
beginning, and we've tried some with Daemon on the first
album. On "Aeon" we did experiment a bit as well, but the gen-
eral vibe is quite death metal. On "Disintegrate" we worked a
lot more on the vocal production and really tried to push
Secthdamon more in different directions. I think he did a great
job and he will suffer for it on stage (laughs)!”
Fans and even metal journalist state names like Morbid
Angel when describing Zyklon's music. Do you find it hard
for new bands to distance themselves from the names who
built a certain style? We all know that plagiarism and influ-
ence are words separated by a very thin line...
“It's never been a secret that there's been a Morbid Angel
influence in Zyklon. Since I first heard the "Thy Kingdom
Come" demo and "Altars of Madness" album I've been a big
Morbid Angel fan. They are the Slayer of Death Metal in my
opinion and have definitely been a great inspiration for me and
for Zyklon in the beginning. But even though you might find
inspirations of Morbid Angel in a few Zyklon tracks, we've
never sounded like a clone band or anything. We've always
worked towards an individual style. It's hard for new bands to
come up with something fresh and original in today's scene.
However, being totally original is not necessarily a good thing
either, but a band definitely needs their own individuality.
Some half-way plagiarism just won't do.”
Trym: “I think it's hard for any bands to not be compared to
other bands that might be similar in certain ways. As long as
the description is of positive art, I guess we should be happy.”
"Disintegrate" is certainly a fitting title for a band with a
name like ZYKLON. In which content should the word
Disintegrate be inserted? War? Cannibalistic?
Meteorological?
“Partly sociological and fictional is probably more correct. The
title and lyrical concept of the album basically reflects upon on
the world today and how a lot of things seem to fall to a part.
Generally, the topics on "Disintegrate" are exploring around the
same topics we've introduced on earlier albums, such as various
aspects of religion, apocalyptic thoughts and revelations, man
vs. nature, modern world apathy, how humanity often seem to
fall into their own trap of self-destructiveness, etc. It's all put into
an apocalyptic frame with a fair blend of fiction and reality.”
It's the third time you go to Akkerhaugen Lydstudio to record
a ZYKLON album. Why this Akkerhaugen fixation? Is this the
best studio you came across?
“Akkerhaugen is a local studio, so that makes it a very com-
fortable recording situation for us. Sometimes maybe a little
bit too comfortable (laughs)! Anyway, it allows us to still do
our everyday stuff and other things we're involved with, which
also allows us to work over a longer stretch in the studio. It's
been working well, so we've kind of stuck with it. Though,
since "Aeon" we've decided to take the mix elsewhere. It
became important for us to have another input after a while,
and the decision to use Fredman Studios in Sweden has
worked out really well.”
Like on "Aeon" you cooperate with Stephen O'Malley for the
design of the front cover. How this interest for his art
appeared and do you have an active role on the creation of
the Zyklon covers? The new one is quite intriguing!!
“Thanks, I'm really happy with it. I've worked with Stephen
O'Malley for many projects over the years and really like his
style. For Zyklon we've used other designers too though. We
used a Swede named Johan Hammarman for "World ov
Worms", and for "Disintegrate" we've also used Killustrations
from Germany for everything except for the front cover. I usu-
ally work very closely with the designers, and usually have a
quite clear vision of what I want to have. For "Disintegrate" we
wanted portray something very striking and iconic. The actual
imagery on the front cover is from a Japanese temple in Kyoto
that I went to see when I was in Japan a few years back. It had
a really special feeling. The rest of the artwork portrays dark
obscure nature elements mixed with some of the ugly inter-
ference of the modern world. I really like such imagery. I love
the atmosphere of dark desolate nature and at the same time
I can find the look of an old rusty pipe really appealing.”
There are already a few gigs booked for a UK mini tour in
September, where you will play with your countryman
ENSLAVED, 1349 and KEEP OF KALESSIN. What do you
expect from those dates and from touring in general?
“That's right. There's talk about a European tour as well. I
expect good times and a lot of hilarious moments, which are
to be expected touring with Enslaved (laughs)! Touring is
quite stressful at times and it fucks up the everyday agenda,
but it's usually cool. I think this specific tour is a really cool
underground package and I'm excited about it.”
Destructhor has left a huge mark on "Disintegrate" with its
lightning speed fast solos, shredding leads and technique.
I wonder why you haven't set that task to yourself! This
means he his the guitar hero on Zyklon, (laughs)?
“Hell yeah, he's the fucking shred master! I guess I should
have started practicing earlier in my younger days. I spent too
much time on my typewriter networking in all the corners of
the world (laughs)! I'm happy being the "visionary", while
Destructhor rapes his guitar.”
Besides Zyklon you still have time to dedicate to Scum (that
released recently a debut album) and your label Nocturnal
Art Productions. Are you the type of person that must be
related to Metal Music 24 hours a day?
“Well, it has sort of become what I do you know, and after all
these years I still enjoy it. I like being creative and being a part
of active bands, managing, A&R, record label biz, etc keeps
me active and creative. But I've also taken up some school
courses in the last couple of years as well, and am actually
looking into studying philosophy in the fall. We'll see if I can
make it all happen (laughs)!
Now that you are also part of the enemy (laughs)… mean-
ing you are a label owner. Do you have a different vision of
the metal business than back on the period where you just
created your art?
“Yeah, I've learnt a lot from having a label of my own. I've
always been interested in the business and networking aspect
of the music scene, and it's been very beneficial for me in the
context of my bands. In the beginning we knew fuck all, but
you learn a long the way. Also, running a professional band
it's not just enough to be artistic and creative, but you need
some sort of organisation to all make it happen, you know.”
Samoth, thanks a lot for your precious time! It was an hon-
our talking with you. If you want to tell us something more
feel free to!
“Thanks for the support, Nuno. Hopefully Zyklon will make it
down to Portugal this time. Stay fucking metal!”
- www.zyklontribe.co m -
ZYKLON : DISINTEGRATE
[CANDLELIGHT RECORDS]
The new opus from Samoth & “company” is settled in the win-
ning formula of their previous effort “Aeon”, so that means we
get 45 minutes of intense technical death metal riffing, fast
tempo changes, intense rasp death/black vocals courtesy of
Secthdamon, tight brutal drum patterns by Trym, mind blow-
ing solos by Destructhor and even some Emperor subtle influ-
ences. Now you may ask, the team is still the same, the for-
mula also, so what changed? Sticking to something that was
world widely acclaimed isn’t necessary a bad thing and even
less when the machine is better oiled.
“Disintegrate” is with no doubts the best Zyklon album so far,
everything was elevated, like for instance Secthdamon’s
vocals are now more dynamic and pushed upfront in the mix
like they should be. The twin guitar effect reaches thundering
proportions and the occasional shredding wicked solos gives
the necessary “je ne sais quois” that some bands are so afraid
off. Zyklon combines perfectly undeniable technical skills,
brutality, wicked atmospheres, fierceness with a slight touch
of progression without sounding over-layered or hard to fol-
low. With such a lethal instrumental tornado what more could
we ask? Probably only a great production, but that is exactly
what they have. Recorded again in Akkerhaugen Lydstudio
with mixing duties by Fredrik Nordstrom at Studio Fredman
they managed to obtain a well balanced record with a modern
sound for old and new death black metal bastards.
Songs like ‘In Hindsight’, ‘Wrenched’, ‘Vulture’, ‘Disintegrate’,
‘Subversive Faith’ will remain in you hear for weeks!!
[8.5] NUNO SANTOS
ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 43

Seven years after the release of their
debut album “Like Cutting The Sleeping” this
British blackened Thrash metal band returns with
the second opus “Author Of Incest”. Previous to
that in 2004 they shared a vinyl edition with
Witchmaster which initiated their cooperation
with the polish label Agonia Records.
This new piece of... using the band’s own words:
“FIST METAL” is a provocative and blasphemous
piece of music, certainly a delight to all fans of
the genre. Not to mention that they have a power-
ful vocalist called Melissa that can easily leave
all distrustful metalheads on their knees; such is
the power of her voice!
The bassist Chris Nunravager left his busy drink-
ing day to answer our questions
journalist: Nuno Santos
44 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
Rise and attack... is this your personal and
band philosophy, like the word Adorior states?
To obliterate the fans with total old school
aggression!!
“Sounds about fucking right! But also to obliter-
ate faggots face’s with a broken whiskey bottle
while you are drunk and stinking of pussy juice!
Thats fucking Adorior!”
After the release of your 96 debut demo, you
got signed with Metalion’s own label Head Not
Found to see the debut “Like Cutting The sleep-
ing” out 2 years after in 98. However after that
Adorior entered in a total void ‘til the split with
Witchmaster in 2004. What happened in
between and what went wrong?
“Our original drummer was deep into Satanism
and decided to leave the band to concentrate on
that. We simply couldn’t find anyone to replace
him for a long time, as we are many peoples
worst nightmare both personally and musically.
So nobody was either talented enough or fucked
in the head enough to want to join. I just spent
most of the time drinking everyday, doing drugs
and fucking wenches. It was all great inspiration
for writing “Author Of Incest” it took a long time
but in the end was worth it.”
I heard that you were actually the first non
Norwegian band that Head Not Found got
released. I believe that Metalion at first only
wanted to release stuff from his country...
Looking back do you feel honoured by that?
“That’s not true, there were other non Norwegian
bands on Head Not Found before us. I’ve heard
this story before but I don’t know where it came
from. It was not Metalion that only wanted
Norwegian bands on the label, it was Voices Of
Wonder (who paid for everything) who said this
and they obviously wanted to cash in on the
cheesy black metal that Norway is so fond of pro-
ducing. We were honoured that Metalion stood
up to his pay masters on our behalf. Anyway,
being on that label turned out to be a waste of
everyone’s time.”
Are you still in contact with Metalion? Have he
told you his opinion about Adorior nowadays?
“I have not seen or heard from the filthy fuck for
years, but Mellisa still has some contact with
him. From what I’ve been told he is very much
into our new shit!”
I read somewhere that the split Lp with
Witchmaster was supposed to be out under
another label? Something called Circle of the
Tyrants?
“Yeah it was originally supposed to come out on
Circle Of the Tyrants, but that label collapsed
after all its funds were ploughed into alcohol and
hookers! (laughs)”
You don’t look too much mad about it! Aren’t
you tired of liars?
“(laughs)! I can’t really be pissed off about it, as
I was involved in the fun myself! But of course I
am pissed off with all the liars in the metal world,
it seems a major fucking problem that no-one
can be fucking straight about simple business.
Also it’s the bands that constantly get fucked and
practically never get paid! There are many cunts
making money out of metal, but if your actually
making metal you will be the last to see cash. It’s
not that I’m out to make money, but I also don’t
want to be some fucking label or promoter free
meal ticket. So we will do nothing for nothing!”
During your musicians career you were also
active in Demoniac. Can you elucidate us on that?
“I just played as a session bassist for them for
one tour. They needed a bass player and I need-
ed free alcohol.”
What about now? Anyone has any side proj-
ects?
“I have played in Razor Of Occam for the past
few years, but have recently quit (not without
some regret) to put all my hatred into Adorior.
Slut Sodomiser (guitar) played in Throne of Nails
for a while, before the band split. He and T.kaos
(guitar) have a project that fucking rules called
Whore Licker, they should have a demo out soon
and D.molestor (drums) plays in Goat Molestor.”
What’s the motivation inside the band with the
second album out and playing gigs?
“To create evil to defy the universe! To play Metal
to crush the weak! To fuck chicks, drink alcohol
and twist my fucking brain until it explodes and
to rape family values!”
But you are now more motivated to play live
and compose new material than before?
“We are certainly more motivated to start playing
live more now. I think it just feels like the right
time for our type of shit to rise out of the gutter
and show its cock off! The writing process will
not change, we like to take a long time and play
the fuck out of riffs until we know it is impossible
for them to become boring, also many off our
best ideas for improving tracks come after play-
ing them for a couple of years.”
Recently you played at the side of the mighty
Nifelheim and Desaster. Are you nowadays
playing more often live?
“That was the first show that we have done for
two years, so the answer would have to be no.
This gig was a real fucking metal night, and soon
we will do more. Our next show is the Steel
Warriors Rebellion Fest in Portugal at the end of
April. We will have Shrapnel from Destroyer666
standing in for T.Kaos on guitar at that show, as
T.Kaos fucked up his hand while pissed at a fes-
tival last year and now has had to have an oper-
ation on it that will stop him from wanking for the
next couple of months. Then I think we will do
the Tyrants Festival in Holland, a show in Sweden
and a couple in Germany. If we are still alive we
plan to do a tour before the end of the year, as I
need some fresh cunt!”
If you are still alive... I noticed also this kind of
comments by Melissa on the booklet of the CD.
Are you expecting the end of the world or some-
thing (laughs)?
“We are surrounded by chaos, so I never know
what to expect, but I’ll give you a simple exam-
ple. Four of us went to the Open Hell Festival last
year and by the end of it three of us ended up in
hospital (laughs). It is only the start of March
now and I have already been in hospital twice
with broken bones and as I said before T.Kaos is
also out of action because of hospital treatment.
I think you get the message.”
What are your expectations for the Steel
Warriors Rebellion Festival that you will play
here in Portugal?
“I hope for some crazy fucking drinking, a audi-
ence full of lunatics and lots of pretty girls! None
of us have been to Portugal before, so we have
no idea what to expect, but of course we hope it
will be great! Anyway I look forward to it and
promise to deliver the word of FIST METAL to all
that bang there fucking heads for us! With the
line up I think we kind of an odd band out, so it
will be interesting to see what kind of reaction we
receive. No matter what, we will crush!”
How did you get signed with Agonia Records by
the way? Was something like a forced decision
to see the split with Witchmaster out or did you
had other options?
“After the split with Witchmaster, Agonia
Records offered us a deal, but there was nothing
forced about it. I think we were offered about
nine others but Agonia had the best deal, at least
on paper. So we took it.”
You had offers based on spoken promises?
Anything extraordinary and by any mainstream
label?
“Some offers were verbal, others were offers just
sent to us by e-mail and to be honest we didn’t
really take much notice of them as we had never
heard too much about these labels. There were a
couple from slightly bigger labels, but nothing
even close to the mainstream. We are not a main-
stream band and a label like that couldn’t handle
our shit or even understand it. In that situation I
think they would always be out to censor us, and
that will never happen!”
Returning to the main topic, your new album
“Author Of Incest”! How are people accepting it?
“They accept it like catching AIDS! At first they
can’t believe it happened to them, next they feel
filthy and tainted, then they realise the only way
to go on is to take loads of drugs to prolong the suffer-
ing while passing it on to others for fun until they die!
The reaction has been great! If someone is a real fuck-
ing metal demon they cannot help but worship it!”
What’s your opinion about the newer metal fans? Do
you think they have the same feeling about metal
than the old bastard who listens to Thrash all day
long?
“For along time I felt that most of them were wimps,
but in the last couple of years I’ve seen more and more
embracing the real spirit of metal with hard drinking,
fornication, drugs and headbanging! Instead of wor-
shiping the moon or acting like some depressed fuck-
ing poof gothic. It may be different for them to listen to
the old bands the way I would as I grew up through all
the different styles of metal, but I’ve seen for myself
some learn to worship with the same passion! This way
Metal will never die!”
Do you see major differences on the crowds and how
the fans nowadays respond to the music compared to
when you started?
“We have only played about ten shows since we start-
ed, so we don’t have a very wide reference point, but I
have to say we have received great support in recent
years from crazy fucking audiences of metal monsters,
so this has really inspired us to play more! We hate
boring wanker audiences. We need to see a wall of
banging fists and heads in a sea of blood and broken
bones! It makes me fucking hard!”
What about concerning Melissa? I believe that nowa-
days people are more receptive to female vocalists
than 12 years ago!!
“Melissa being a wench has never been of any concern
for us or anyone else as far as I know. Her voice and
attitude stench like the bog of eternal filth and I think all
know that.”
The front cover of “Author Of Incest” looks like a par-
ody to Hieronymus Bosch’ paintings. Was him an
inspiration?
“The basic content for the cover and gatefold cover are
my ideas, I just passed them on to the artist, Paul Mc
Carroll, who is an old drinking partner of mine and let
his sick fucking mind run wild! You would have to ask
him if there is any sort of parody there, but I do know
him to be an admirer of Bosch.”
What about the nude photo of Slut Sodomizer inside
the booklet...
“On a drunk’in fucking evening his photo was taken, he
was stupid and drunk enough to let us take photos of
him while he was naked! That’s all, just a perfectly nor-
mal metal pass time. Anyway we wanted to give some-
thing back to the girls that have given us so much!
(laughs)”
Adorior has the tendency to write long songs. Don’t
you find it difficult to maintain the listener interested
both musically and lyrically?
“We make things as long as feels necessary and I think
our longest ever track “Birth Of Disease” is our best
one ever. If they bore you, turn them off and listen to
some three minute pop music! We don’t give a fuck!”
When can we expect a third album? Are you already
composing new songs?
“Who fucking knows! We have started to write some
new stuff, but we will not rush it, and if the shit is great
enough we may do one in a couple of years. But if we
are not sure that we do a better Lp than “Author Of
Incest” we will never make another! There are too many
fucking wimpy bands drowning the metal scene with
weak releases! We will not!”
Do you feel that “Author Of Incest” is the perfect
album? Would you change anything now?
“If I thought that it was perfect I would have stopped
playing as soon as it was recorded, but we are very
proud of how it turned out and I think the quality of it
justifies the length of time it took to compose. I spent
two years getting one of the tracks right. The only
things that I would change are that we mixed it in only
four hours and I would rather have spent four days
doing it, and some small touches here and there got left
out. Both of these small problems arose because we
were so fucking drunk the whole time, so what can you!
Stopping the piss-up is not an option, it would be an
insult to all that is fucking metal!”
It’s time to end. Thank you for existing (laughs)
“Cheers fucker! I think you should send me some of
your mothers used underwear for this! FIST METAL!!”
ADORIOR : AUTHOR OF INCEST
[AGONIA RECORDS]
Insane blackened thrash metal
are the words that cross my
mind when hearing “Author Of
Incest”. Let me introduce this
sick british quintet... First and
foremost you have the pos-
sessed Melissa “Jadelungs” furi-
ous vocal attack that can simply
smash anyone ahead, then you
have Molestor with his pile of
skulls beating like a mental
deranged. Tony “Slut Sodomizer”
and T.Kaos shreds with their non driven guitar riffs/solos and to end the
heavy pounding Chris Nunravager bass and you have a winner team.
This second opus features nine songs where two of them (‘Ritualized
Combat’ and ‘Vitriolic Megalomaniac’) already appeared on the 2004
split LP with the polish act Witchmaster. Unfortunately I’m not able to
compare this with their ‘98 debut “Like Cutting the Sleeping” but who
cares about it, in here you get 55 minutes of pure raging blasphemy in
the form of a unique black thrash blend. Its like a mixture of the per-
verted essence of Hellhammer with the brutality of Angelcorpse and the
geniality of Slayer. “Author Of Incest” is adorned by a Hieronymus Bosch
inspired painting done by Paul McCarroll who already worked with the
band on their debut album.
Untill now Adorior was a completely unknown name to most head-
bangers, including myself, so I guess “Author Of Incest” will open some
closed doors to the band. Adorior was a hidden old school rude gem
that the British underground scene had hidden for more than ten
years. I must agree with these guys when they shoot out “Fist
Metal rules!”. Fuck yeah! [8] NUNO SANTOS
Vemoth is composed by elements that
already had played together previously in
other bands. Why have you decided to get
together and form Vemoth?
“It all really started in spring 2004 when I had
to leave my previous band because we dis-
agreed in how the band should develop. In
June or July 2004 Behemiron, Adimirion and
Amatis heard of me while searching to form a
black/death squadron so they called me and I
came and played with them and got stuck...
When Draugald told me that he also jumped
of the same band as I left earlier and felt for
playing black metal, instead of the crap our
previous band had created the last few
months he was in that band. The same week
Draugald showed up at the rehearsal place in
Amatis’ basement and we wrote some new
stuff together and off we were. 2 weeks later
we took Vemoth as our name.”
And what means Vemoth by the way?
“Vemoth is a modification of the Swedish word
vemod and would in English be melancholy.”
Bands give several explanations for the fact
of writing and singing on their mother
tongue. Can you share with us why have you
decided to express yourselves in Swedish?
For instance 10 - 15 years ago no one was
using any other language besides English!
“The Swedish bit came natural to us while
expressing oneself in one owns language is
much easier. We will always be able to write
much better lyrics in Swedish. Writing in
English would make us have to use dictionar-
ies and such tools. The only bad part with
using Swedish is that not all who listen to it or
read it will understand the lyrics. We have
thought of translating them so the fans can
read what the lyrics are all about. We'll see
when and if it will happen.”
For that reason can you give us a brief
insight of what consists lyrically Vemoth?
“The lyrics are mostly about visions and mes-
sages given from the dark gods. Most of the
lyrics at Köttkroksvals are about killing the
weak and to destroy this world as we know it.
The “weak” that we speak of are not related to
skin colour that some newspapers back here
where we live think. When we say weak we
mean people doing as cattle; following others
without thinking and understanding. People
with this kind of mentality do not have a place
in the coming tide.”
You and Draugald are the main lyric writers
on the debut album “Kottkroksvals”. How is
the writing process made?
“The creation of most of the lyrics for
“Köttkroksvals” took place first in mine and
Draugald's minds and we presented them for
46 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
each other. Thereafter we helped each others
out to complete the lyrics. We have similar
ideas but we see it in different ways and we
completed each other on this matter.”
There is a strange vocal effect throughout
the entire album which looks like there are
two elements of the band singing at the
same time. Is Behemiron simply possessed
or there is really another band member on
the background?
The first one is Behemiron's normal voice and
the other voice is a pitched dub that lays a bit
lower then his “normal” voice, all to create a
demonic effect at the vocals. It sounds cool
but has its drawbacks while it makes the
vocals sound a bit monotone. The plans for
the future albums are to use as little effects as
possible to get the vocals more dynamic.
Behemiron has become a much better vocal-
ist since last recording so it will be really cool
to see how the results will be for the next visit
we'll do in the studio.”
Will you be able to make the same effect
also in the live environment?
“Live everyone except me is doing vocals at sev-
eral parts of the songs to get that demonic effect.
As it sounded the last two concerts I thought the
mental erection I got from hearing the vocals
would never wear off. It's a quite magical experi-
ence hearing our material live I guess.”
What do you think is Vemoth' trademark? In
a period where there are hundreds of bands
sounding much alike what separates you
from the rest?
“We are killer at creating good fucking songs
that will penetrate your mind if not gentle. The
title for our debut album describes it pretty
good. Our hooks will penetrate your flesh and
bones and invite to a morbid dance to salute
the dark gods that will be hard to get away
from. We are not doing anything new or any-
thing like that; we only do it better then many
of the other bands of today.”
One of the things that really impressed me
was the concern you and Temple of Darkness
had to produce a highly professional package,
especially the photos (you guys suspended by
butcher hooks). Do you think it's important to
mark by the difference and where did you
came across with the whole idea?
“The artwork for an album should reflect the
music on the disc. It should heighten the
experience of listening to the album while
looking inside the booklet. It was no question
that we wanted that feeling we had playing the
songs should be transferred also to the listen-
er. And the artwork is a powerful instrument
so we contacted 42 Media who were willing to
help out. The guys at 42 Media are since long
Young Swedes Vemoth have just release their debut album through Temple Of Darkness Records
entitled “Köttkroksvals”, meaning Meat Hook Waltz. The strength of this four piece act is based on
strong guitar riffing melodies and compositions crafted to satisfy all your Death and Black metal
needs. Founding member Toxal, the man behind the skins, was the one who cursed us!
time friends of Vemoth and understood exact-
ly what we wanted to say with the pictures and
artwork. We decided early in the process that
we would take all photos for the artwork in an
old butcher house to be able to create that
feeling those pictures have. All ideas for the
artwork came at the same time as we decided
that “Köttkroksvals” (Meat Hook Waltz) would
be the title for the album.”
By the way how the deal with Temple Of
Darkness Records did come across?
“By the will of our dark gods they surfed around
on the Internet and listened to new bands and
came across our homepage where we had
some clips and full songs. After they had lis-
tened to the songs, Temple of Darkness
Records took contact and wondered if we
would like to sign with them for the release of
our debut album. We already had the album
ready at that time except for the artwork that
was in the making. So we signed as the deal
was good and we would not have any problems
making sure we would release a quality album.”
I know that besides a CD version the new
album was released also in a limited Picture
LP edition of 500 copies. For a band that does-
n't have their name widely spread, Temple of
Darkness is betting strongly in Vemoth!
“Yeah! It was incredible to be able to release a
PIC LP that soon in our pretty short career as
Vemoth. Temple Of Darkness Records is real-
ly supportive and has this far showed that
they believe in Vemoth. Our name is pretty
known in Sweden what it seems now because
of the massive promotional work we did
releasing our demo “Blodregn”, but in the rest
of the world not many know of us I guess.
That will definitely change with this release.”
About your “Blodregn” demo... The debut
album features all the songs of that demo-
tape. It's a common decision from bands to
feature on the debut album songs from their
demo tapes; still I would like to have your
comments regarding this.
“The reason was that we thought the songs
where to good to stay only at the demo along
with us not having money enough to record 3
new songs instead of only rerecording the
vocals at the demo songs.”
“Köttkroksvals” is a mixture of styles been
the more prominent the Death and Black
metal ones. So my next question would be
how important are those particular styles to
the band members and if you had to state a
few band names that influenced you guys as
musicians what would those names be?
“We listen to most genres of metal, even if most
of us mainly listen to black and death metal. I
guess we are a lot influenced by Dissection,
Behemoth, Arckanum, Satyricon, Carpathian
Forest and other bands we listen to. It's hard
not being influenced from things you like.”
Melody is one key factor on Vemoth' sound.
Most songs are played in mid tempo with
their share of fast elements. Even if key-
boards are used in a few occasions, the
melodic touches aren't brought by that
instrument but by well constructed guitar
riffs! Do you plan to use more the keyboard
in the future and do you think that some
bands fail to release a coherent product due
to their afraid of using melodies?
“Keyboards will not be more used in the
future what it seems like right now. But it will
still be used as an atmosphere building com-
ponent. The aim is to use it only where it's
needed or would make the whole a lot better.
I guess we all got tired of using keyboards
after playing in our previous bands.”
You have just played at the side of Carnal Forge
and Corporation 187 at the Dead Generation
festival. So how the experience was and what
importance do you give to live gigs?
“We put in much energy to be a good live act. As
musicians it's a valuable thing to perform live
because first there you get the appreciation you
deserve. Anyone can record a decent record
these days if it’s not totally retarded but playing
live and being good at it demands hard work and
determination. As far as that festival goes I can't
tell... Most of us got drunk and went home
because of too many worthless bands before the
good ones... I guess our playtime sucked as it
was the opener for Saturday. So there weren’t
many persons there to see us. The whole festi-
val was lacking audience and Corporation 187
cancelled their gig at Friday night because the
play scheme got too much delayed.”
I know that you still haven’t played many
gigs but as a band how do you react when
playing to really small crowds?
“Small crowds are no big problem for us, but
of course we have been disappointed a few
times when only a few has showed up. But as
soon as we go on stage we are the only thing
important as we do this for our own sake. A
big crowd makes us feel better doing what we
do, but we play like we have 10000 persons
lending us their ears no matter what.”
Its time to end, take care and good luck.
“Thanks for the interview and best of luck with
the Ancient Ceremony Magazine. Hopefully
we will be able to do some gigs in your area
to spread the plague in the future. Until then -
visit us at the web and buy our music!”
- www.vemoth.com -
journalist: Nuno Santos
turned out being surprisingly good for my ears even, if we
take into account that I am not a Grindcore admirer. Their
tracks are strongly Death / Punk influenced too, I’m actual-
ly calling them good musicians with no hesitation, as much
as the grindcore involved allow a definition like this. What
additionally diversifies the picture here is the eerie movie
samples taken most certainly from F.G.T.’s members’ private
collections. Plus, the sound quality is totally decent! Check
these dudes out! Amoebic Dysentery from the US play Grind
Core again and the sound is pretty good here as well, but
one can barely hear the vocals. Nice done though. Looks like
we are sinking in the very depths of the grindcore bog now
- sensibly more primitive than the previous two bands.
Disgusting deserve their name definitely! I could sense that
they are not on the scene since yesterday though. It’s mere-
ly that they seem to find pleasure in being more brutal and
chaotic on the performance level at least. I believe Amoebic
Dysentery will bring plenty of fans very soon anyway!
Tartopoil: the more you’re digging, the wormer it becomes!
Time stops in the world above and, as long as you have the
ears to hear, it continues running beneath by means of
grunts sounding like coming from a soil-stuck throat and
decapitating riffs adorned with the obligatory horror movie
excerpts. Now that I heard the 4 bands: it was hell of a trip,
and Feculent Gore Tomb ended up being my doubtless
favourites here! [7.5] VANYA MARINOVA
FENRIZ : FENRIZ PRESENTS... THE BEST OF OLD
SCHOOL BLACK METAL
[PEACEVILLE RECORDS]
In this record, the Black metal legend named Fenriz makes
a compilation of bands that have made an incredible
impact on the extreme metal scene, from Celtic Frost to
Bathory, Mercyful Fate and Mayhem, among others. This is
an easy way for Peaceville to cash some money in and I bet
it will be very useful for newcomers to the Black metal
scene who are eager to know more about the origins of
this genre. This release is all about primitive, raw and Hate
Black Metal! It kicks off with ‘Winds Of The Black Godz’ by
Blasphemy. Then we can find other Black metal gems such
as “Slut of Hell” by Nattefrost, “Burst Command Til War”
by Sodom, “Dawn of Meggido” by Celtic Frost, “Black
Unity” by Aura Noir and the final song is “Dies Irae” by
Bathory. This is a great compilation featuring great songs
being my particular favourite “Into the Pentagram” by the
mighty Swiss godz Samael. It takes us back to the late
80’s, early 90’s. Definitely a cool selection of 16 tracks by
the master Fenriz. [7] SÓNIA FONSECA
FIREWIND : FORGED BY FIRE
[CENTURY MEDIA]
Gus G. and the rest of the “warriors of steel” that comprise
Firewind released this album back in 2004. The music is
power metal, surprise surprise. This album might be char-
acterised as a sale-success for a variety of reasons. The
rising young super-guitarist Gus G. is a reason for this
album to sell wild on its own. The guitar playing is phe-
nomenal but the riffs are sadly not far away from being
characterised as a series of clones taken from a bunch of
bands too forgotten to mention. Apparently that didn’t stop
the album from selling good to the somewhat gullible
masses of Japan, yet I fear that we “western” fans possess
a greater deal of awareness. As many of you may already
know, the album was mixed in famous Studio Fredman and
James Murphy kicks in a solo on “The Forgotten Memory”.
The sound and production reaches perfection, naturally,
but plain old self respect may keep you from characterising
this album as “decent” by simply taking these facts into
account. The smell of cheese in the air cannot be ignored
after the 1st listening of “Forged by Fire”. Add this to the
fact that a guy named “Chity” (a slice of emmental any-
one?) is behind the microphone singing in classic hyper-
romantic power metal patterns and hunks of cheese may
actually start melting off your CD player. But let’s conclude.
Usually when a heavy band tries to adopt commercialism,
the bad criticism from the cruel die hard metal sweethearts
is always there by default. Fitting into that category isn’t
really my style. However, it is one thing for someone to
INFERNUM : FAREWELL
[NO COLOURS RECORDS]
Simply take Graveland`s best material and turn it into
something more acoustic, more pagan and more
melancholic and you will get this “Farewell” of a mas-
terpiece! A more calmed down version of their past
recordings, I still think this is probably their best
material with just five lengthy tracks that sum up
Poland’s mid 90’s glorious scene! There is a distinc-
tive Graveland aftertaste due to the repetition and the
simplicity but this is what makes this release so truly
awesome. An album filled with pagan pride and a
sound reminiscent of the true black metal spirit of
what once was. For Infernum fans this is a must -
earpiece of an album. I wouldn’t like to comment or
compare this to the new Infernum as I haven’t heard
it yet. [9] ALEX ANTONIOU
IN SOLITUDE : NETHERGOD
[RECITAL RECORDS]
After the intro reminding us the adventures of Mr. Frodo and Aragon, setting the mood for the upcoming bursts of
metal in form of songs, we are completely dive in a very well-made Power Heavy power Metal, making In Solitude a
bringer of enchantment, wrath, melody and muscle. The title-song, ‘The nethergod’, show us In Solitude’s maximum
exponent where they reveal all their skills as songwriters, players and performers. ‘Children of the dark’ as found his
contender! ‘Nethergod’ is In Solitude’s maturation album. Listening the album thirteen songs, we are transported to
a grandiose universe of powerful Heavy Power Metal polished with a very discreet keyboard partition, but always
present, where every song try surmount the predecessor in hope the successor will not make face, song after song
till the last one, in a cohesion manner, homogeneous; with highs and lows moments levelled at the high-level stan-
dards. ‘Nethergod’ is an album not seen for a while in the metal scene; giving us a musical experience filled of
straight and loaded with energy, which on stage, live, get a much more greatness and dimension as I have the
opportunity to experience. [8.5] CARLOS FILIPE
impress through a combination of inspired song writing,
production, performance and some basic balls, and anoth-
er thing to produce a sugar coated album as an excuse to
bring your talent forward. Because that’s all you’ll ever find
here. An exceptional guitarist. The rest is just a sample of
a genre long dead. [5] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS
FLAME : INTO THE AGE OF FIRE
[IRON PEGASUS]
A black metal band consisting of 2 ex-members of
Barathrum and Urn and a currently Urn member make the
sweet taste of blood sweeter and the expectations to a
grim straight forward black metal album go high. The band
does also pull off grim black metal, giving other Finnish
hordes something to be aware of. In the blend, the band
has also thrown a great dose of thrash which rounds of the
ugly feel and atmosphere.
The vocals are cruel and cold, possessing emotions of hate
and anger, it is drenched with reverb, which can become too
much of the good once in a while, but also adds more punch
to it and makes it bigger and more haunting. The music is
old school black metal, spiced very much up with thrash,
killer riffs and good solos here and there. There isn’t any-
thing new about, but it sure works. Much of the guitar work
is very catchy, and one does often catch oneself in head-
banging like a madman, while listening to this album. The
drumming is okay as well, it seems somewhat untight at
times, though that doesn’t really matter a lot, it adds to the
pure raw and relentless old school aura surrounding the
album. This album will speak to all fans of grim black metal
and thrash, old school as hell, the composition are taken
directly out of the 80ties and are delivered with passion and
energy, very catchy and hard to let go of. The dirty and
untight sound is great and very fitting, it blasts the music off
and works on the listener all the way through the album.
This is a very interesting new horde from Finland, and if they
can keep up the energy and passion, they’ll release many
great albums in the future. [7.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
FOREFATHER : DEEP INTO TIME / THE FIGHTING
MAN / ENGLA TOCYME
[KARMAGEDDON MEDIA]
Having discover Forefather with their acclaim fourth album
and last one, ‘Ours is the Kingdom’, it’s now time to me to
discover forefather’s debuts albums re-release, the ones
who has shape Forefather as a great Viking Pagan band
like no other in ours days. The brothers Athelstan and
Wulfstan in 1997 established Forefather defining then a
unique sound from day one, a medieval one, loaded with
Epic Viking metal taken from the Anglo-Saxon imaginary.
Now, the three first Forefather albums, ‘Deep into Time’
from 1999, ‘The fighting man’ from 2000 and ‘Engla
Tocyme’ from 2002, are re-release with bonus-material
and a re-mastered sound, praising religions to Viking
Metal, as well Black Metal (for Deep into Time) and trans-
versally garnish with Heavy Metal. The times of under-
ground are gone forever for them. Hail to the forefront
Viking Metal cos a new king is there to rein along the metal
kingdom! In the far year of 1998 Forefather release ´Deep
Into Time’, having record it in August 1998 in their own
home-studio and having release it themselves in early
1999, ‘Deep Into Time’ has being a well receive album, at
that time, in the underground scene. Listening ‘Deep Into
Time’, we are taken into the heart of Forefather. The
scratch voice and the astonishing guitar sounding give an
Epic Metal personality to the Viking Metal attack, confiding
to ‘Deep Into Time’ a raw sound making us remember the
firsts Bathory releases. But don’t mistake it. The atmos-
phere of Forefather is a mediaeval one, not a demoniac
one! An Anglo-Saxon medieval atmosphere, a Middle-age
honnorability! One thing is certain; this musical feeling will
be always inherent proving the four Forefather releases till
now. All ‘deep into Time’ sound great despite the home
made production; delivering a set of great Epic Viking
Metal songs with Black Metal flavour, where I point enthu-
siastically ‘Dusk to Down’ and ‘the ornamented Sword’.
Continuing on the same track, Forefather second album,
‘The Fighting man’, is the one that follows, showing the
natural evolution. On the other hand, besides having a bet-
ter production, it stays a step behind ‘Deep Into Time’. ‘The
Fighting man’ suffers from the second-album syndrome.
After a first one very good and very sound defining, it’s
hard to overtake it. But apart this step back, ‘The Fighting
man’ still a very honest album where Forefather denotes
yet a crucial evolution. The vocals are not anymore scratch
(no more Black Metal think) and Forefather introduce more
melody, more medieval folk giving it a stronger heart, but
alas not a better album. ‘The Fighting man’ is the natural
evolution album between two great ones that precedence
and proceeds, and will culminate in the best of all and out
of this review scoop, ‘Ours is the Kingdom’. That
Forefather philosophy: One step each time. The best songs
in this second release are the instrumental ‘The call to
Arms’, ‘Out of Darkness’ and ‘The paths of Yesterdays’.
Finally there is the best of the three: ‘Engla Tocyme’. After
the big step from ‘Deep’ to ‘Fighting’, Forefather does a
tiny one with ‘Engla’. We are puffed with better production
increasing the music quality, more Forefather presence to
reach excellency. Forefather future will be crossing the
castle of majesty, but till that day arrival we have to listen
waiting patiently the four previous albums. ‘Engla Tocyme’
is the last but one and it’s not the best one of all Forefather
albums because there is ‘Ours’. Forefather show to every
one in the metal world how to evolve from one good idea
without compromise the music created at the career
beginning. Forefather has created a distinguish sonority
recognizable immediately, providing Viking Metal Kingdom
with the supreme King: Forefather. [8] deep into time; [7]
the fighting man; [8.5] engla tocyme CARLOS FILIPE
FOREST OF SHADOWS : DEPARTURE
[FIREDOOM MUSIC]
The Firebox Records imprint Firedoom Music has a flair for
signing some of the heaviest and doomiest bands around,
Forest Of Shadows are one those bands, even though the
one man force doesn’t deliver funeral doom, the settings
are still heavy and bleak, a desolate landscape of melan-
choly and longing, dim stars gets through the thick fog,
that flows out of the speakers, the fog that envelops the lis-
tener in the atmosphere of the last hours.
The compositions on this album have been written and
developed trough 4 years, and they do carry the mark of
being very thought through. The different elements steps
in, when they are needed and even at times when they
aren’t expected. As the noisy bombastic and aggressive
part of the first track ‘Sleeping Death’, which appears after
8 minutes. Until then the track has been slow, displaying
bleak and melancholic, almost doomy rock and suddenly it
explodes and shakes the earth.
The musically output is very atmospheric, not the usual
doom-atmosphere, where everything is being crushed
under the cloven hoofs of destruction. There are a lot of
melodies on this album, and melancholic rock metal,
would perhaps be a better term than melodic doom. Even
though there are trademarks from traditional doom here
and there, the final outcome is way more bleak and at
times it moves into the death/doom area and crushes all,
even though the growls on this album aren’t many, they are
present at times. It is quite an album Forest Of Shadows
here has created, a huge bite to swallow and digest, but for
the grey and cloudy Northern winter days, it is very fitting.
Looking at the clouds going across the sky and looking at
the candlelight’s flame, while listening to this album makes
the thoughts wander off. Melancholic and bleak, yet beau-
tiful compositions are what we get with this album, and the
album is somewhat a treat for people into this world of
darkness. [7.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
FORGOTTEN TOMB : LOVE’S BURIAL GROUND
[ADIPOCERE RECORDS]
From what I had read about this Italian band I understood
they played some kind of depressive Black Metal, but it
was only when I found out they had signed a deal with
Selbstmord Services from Sweden that I concluded I most
certainly would dig this band! Thus (not surprisingly)
when, with “Love’s burial ground”, I for the first time heard
Forgotten Tomb, they right away got themselves a new
devoted fan! This is Forgotten Tomb’s third full-length
album (the 2nd for Adipocere Records), and it is really
interesting stuff! Just like the press-sheet mentions as
musical influences, I can hear strong affinity with bands
like (old) Burzum, Manes, Katatonia, and perhaps even
Shining. Just like with these bands the songs are mainly
slow, heavy, and built upon a very dark core. The vocals
are a bit alike Varg’s, and a lot of guitar-riffs are totally
Katatonia - really melancholic yet somehow beautiful (I
hate to use this word, but I just couldn’t put it any other
way!), and sounding as distant as the latter. That kind of
distortion really has something majestic... Sometimes the
atmosphere turns a bit Summoning-like, but concerning
certain passages only, and mainly due to the vocals.
The bass really has a key-role within Forgotten Tomb, as it
firmly pounds a negative force into the songs and incon-
spicuously keeps one’s mind grasped to the music.
The overall atmosphere is one of sadness, insalubrious
beauty and total negativity worshipping. This is definitely
an album I’ll be listening more often, and I advise you all
to check out this masterpiece! [8.5] TARAS VAN DIJK
FORLORN LEGACY : PATHS OF INSANITY
[METALSOUND RECORDS]
First and foremost, let me say that I’m sincerely impressed
by the vocals on this album. It seems that everyone who tries
to create melodic death metal with un-garbled vocals these
days just ends up sounding horrible, but that’s definitely not
the case with vocalists Darko Etinger and Mario Romanic.
Croatian accents just sound sweet anyway I guess. Anyone
who enjoys melodic metal of any flavour should definitely
give these guys a listen. They’re not too heavy or too light in
any respect. With calculated riffing and generous flashy gui-
tar work without being overly-dramatic, this may be one of
the better albums to come out of 2004. Track 10, “Numb”
deserves particular attention for the beautiful solo reminis-
cent of a bygone era of metal. All in all, this is about an hour’s
worth of musical bliss. Very tasteful, very interesting and def-
initely worth a listen. [8.5] MAX RODRIGUEZ
FOSCOR : ENTRANCE TO THE SHADOWS’ VILLAGE
[SACRAL RECORDS]
Ohhh man! Beautiful. Beautiful in a sick way, of course.
Saintliness of sickness, if you will. Embrace at sickness in
your soul - and also that which resides in the bowels of
Foscor, a dark, vicious beauty that fills the air around your
bleakened spirit with despairing and grim black metal hell-
ishness. Like some Cthuluian rift in the depths of space
spilling out the bile of the darkest realms of the universe,
Foscor’s enshrouded in darkness music marches forth like
frostbitten Hell on a tirade against the known universe.
Rooted in the old ways and eschewing the more polished
evolution of black metal’s current state, Foscor provides a
powerful, immediate fix for the Black Metal fiend who
needs to ride the metal elevator to Hell. There’re no efforts
at 100-piece orchestras or anything of the like. This is
satanic potency distilled to its purist essence. Foscor will
envelope you in its evil. Atmosphere drips from the walls
and ceiling like some kind of black, black ectoplasm. And
you - you welcome its calling unto thee... Like the hymnal
for ancient, anti-God religion, older even than Satan him-
self, Foscor’s tunes will serve as siren song for the lover of
all things black and the listener will sink with pungent
sweetness into the offerings. [8] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
FROSTHARDR : MAKTESLOS
[MOMENTUM SCANDINAVIA]
There’s a pretty decent amount of dynamics and variety
moving through Frosthardr’s slightly goth and doom tinged
black metal proceedings. The band indulges heavily in the
demonic darkness that’s the hallmark of traditional harsh
black metal. Soft but sinister stretches of thin but razor
sharp, deliberately paced guitar lines that easily churn your
brain to gooey madness like a whisk made of razor wire
slide menacingly across the middle of the soundscape, cre-
ating an eerie ambience. This can give way to rambunctious
black metal assaultings, out of which spring the vocal hiss,
produced to sound as if it is coming to you from within the
hollow shadows of darkness. The percussion acts as the
club-to-skull beating shifted to high speeds as it punches
like bullets. The vocals match the harshness of the rest of
the surrounding sounds and serve as the warning that
you’ve entered reamls verboten, the place that should not
be. The music can shift from interludesque passages to
pressing-forward black metal speed. Gothic overtones eddy
in and out of the music, but referencing that subgenre with
sufficient obliqueness not to override the dripping black
heart of Frosthardr’s audio intent. There’s also an expan-
sive, atmospheric and also subtle hint that some doom
metal got listened to while this album was being written. A
sense of bleakness hints at this personality infusion. Of
course, it’s always possible I’m imagining things. What
truly matters is that Frosthardr’s dread sound is appealing
and melodic in an old school way. Very good stuff. Or
should that be, very evil stuff? [8] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
GARWALL : BLACK BEAST
[HOLY RECORDS]
Garwall’s “Black Beast” CD seems to be a fairly even blend
of thrash and black metal. The argument could be made
that black metal is by definition really fucking fast (like
thrash), but there’s a distinguishable groove-oriented riff-
ness that has as much in common with thrash as it does
with black metal. If you tried to decide only one of these
categories to lump the band into (which would be unfair, of
course), your brain would waiver mercilessly back and
forth between the two. There’s gobs of riveting, heavy
speed propulsions through this release, and all the extrem-
ity has got some strong metal melody pumped into it. The
vocals range from traditional black metal skin-ripping to
deathly growls, just to keep things lively and varied.
Extreme thrash and melodic black metal find a conver-
gence in the sound of Garwall. Others may hear this same
album and come to entirely different conclusions or may
even think I’m full of shit. But sometimes there’s some-
thing that moves beyond mere technical analysis of the
material at hand and resides more in personality. And I can
truly hear the music as having a shred of pan-genre tran-
scendence. I mean, this isn’t any myriad-genre-hybrid-
style-bender, per se, but the argument could be made that
thrash and black metal met in a sick lover’s embrace and
out popped this from the womb. And at the same time,
beyond personality and back to technicality, there are
ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 47

LEAVES’ EYES : VINLAND SAGA
[NAPALM RECORDS]
After “Lovelorn”, Leaves’ Eyes - the project that united Liv Kristine (ex vocals in Theatre of Tragedy) and members of
Atrocity - have now released their latest album. “Vinlad Saga” is a satisfactory sequel that won’t disappoint the fans.
Sticking to the same melodic, atmospheric lines, as well as Liv Kristine’s remarkable vocals, this album takes us in a
journey through Nature, the four elements and the circle of life and death. This is accomplished not only by the
lyrics, constantly focusing on the theme, but also by the music itself: its epic and folk character reminds us of the
power and greatness of the forces of Nature.
“Vinlad Saga” has indeed a feeling of “grand” to it, capable of raising the hair on the back of your neck. However,
you might get the general feeling that this album isn’t as heavy as the previous. Alexander Krull (male vocals) sings
in three songs “Solemn Sea”, “The Thorn” and “New Found Land” creating that great guttural/clean contrast with Liv
we got familiar with since “Lovelorn”. But the guitars are cleaner and the drums softer in many songs, and the
album even contains a calm instrumental piece “Amhrán (Song of the Winds)” revealing its strong folk influences.
In spite of that, the album doesn’t lose any of its strength or feeling. Liv Kristine’s impressive vocals along with the
rest of the band’s performance create an enviable balance, only surpassed by the songs in which Alexander also
sings. For the lovers of early Theatre of Tragedy albums, “Vinlad Saga” is a must-hear, as all Leaves’ Eyes work has
been so far. [8.5] SUSANA FERNANDES
objective elements that make me interpret this way. If I did-
n’t waver so much between which sides of the fence the
music seems inclined to land on, I might be more apt to
say, this is such-and-such with such-and-such influences.
But as it stands, there seems a pretty even blend at work
here. [7] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
GIGANTIC BRAIN : THE INVASION DISCOGRAPHY
[RAZORBACK RECORDS]
Here is something entertaining for sure. Although I am not
exactly certain how serious any of this is, it is awfully fun
to listen to. Gigantic Brain is a drum machine-based grind
project that resembles what Agoraphobic Nosebleed used
to sound on those first demos and 7” but taking into
account some better grasp of the technology and less gui-
tars. There are plenty of the songs that entirely machine
based and used effects on the vocals to sound as evil as
you could sound. In fact if you thought nobody could gur-
gle like Will Rahmer well here comes technology to the
rescue. This would be even better if there were actually
more than 5 or six audible and/or good riffs on the whole
63 tracks this record has. I love the way this is going but
unfortunately the whole package isn’t there yet but most of
the parts are there to create some great music. Anyhow,
any grind freak will like this, provided he is open to differ-
ent approaches. [7] SIMON THIBAUDEAU
GLASS CASKET : WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY...
[BASTARDIZED RECORDINGS]
I threw this disc in the player without knowing what would
hit me, when I pressed play. Though it didn’t take many
seconds before I realized I was dealing with a metalcore
outfit. The chugging riffs, massive hardcore style bass and
breakbeat style drum breaks, gave it all away. Heavy hard-
core laced with technical to melodic death metal and a
ferocious scream, is what Glass Casket offer in their debut
full length.
The music is pretty varied, and blazes from extreme hard-
core moments, to blasting death metal attacks, to more
technical parts, though the way the compositions are
made, it doesn’t always seems like an entity, and it’s easy
to loose track of the madness. It also seems like the band
doesn’t really know which direction to take it, its cool with
some variation and various influences, as long as the band
can keep it on track and keep it interesting, and Glass
Casket fails at that a bit too often. Like in the opening track
‘Pencil Lead Syringe’, where we are offered all from brutal
technical grind, to nu-metal break downs, a vicious growl
and a Zack De La Roca frustrated vocal attack. And the like
goes on the rest of the track, with other clear influences,
without the listener clearly knows what is head and tails.
I’ve been listening quite a lot to this album, and been won-
dering why the press material is as positive as it is, and
why it has pressed as many positive reviews of the album
as it has. Because when “We Are Gathered Here Today” is
done, I am left with an empty feeling. There are good ele-
ments on the album, though not a single track as I would
classify as great, and I doubt that I will pick this album up
again, when this review is done. Metalcore has never been
my favourite style, and an album like this doesn’t help it.
Chaos and variation for the sake of it, seems to be Glass
Casket’s motto. [4] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
GLOOMY GRIM : THE GRAND HAMMERING
[HOLY RECORDS]
This French band released “The Grand Hammering” in the
beginning of 2005. It was supposedly released along with
a DVD I didn’t have the chance of watching. I will try and
keep this short.
The music is supposed to be satanic black metal with extra
atmosphere. It kind of touches occult standards during the
first few songs, however childish some of the titles/lyrics
may seem. Extra points go to the back cover art, seems to
be a smart idea showing a large fish eating a smaller one.
However, when I hear “corps of doom! attack! -gunfire fol-
lows-” as a song intro, I can’t help but laugh heavily.
Positive marks go to the “Nothing but Hate” song that
48 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
shows some good mid tempo parts. I do have the impres-
sion that the album grows stronger towards the end.
Musically I can distinguish a mix of black and heavy/thrash
metal. Black metal is noticed in the beginning of the disk,
concluding to heavier patterns in the end. I can’t say I was
greatly interested but it sure was a listen that wasn’t bad.
Better songwriting is needed to boost up that god damned
“interest” factor. [6] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS.
GOAT OF MENDES : A BOOK OF SHADOWS
[SOURCE OF DELUGE RECORDS]
Founded in 1995, Goat of Mendes releases their fourth full-
length album, ‘A Book of Shadows’. I’m amazed with this
fact. Listening to a fourth release, even without listening
any of the predecessor albums, I assume in first place, a
certain quality at any level acquire in the three albums
before. With Goat of Mendes my presupposing his wrong!
Their lack of quality is felt in every sense. I can’t tell about
their musical evolution, but I can say about this album,
that is inexistent or is manifestly insufficient. Playing a
merge Black/Death/Thrash metal interleave with paganism
ideology, devoid of skills and originality, GOM is the per-
fect example of what Metal should not be in our days. If
where living in the 80’s underground Black Metal scene,
maybe, and I say it again, maybe GOM would have some
expression! But releasing metal sub-products, flat like
these one, without appropriate production (and I remain
just in this rung); G.O.M. like in ‘A Book of Shadow’ is a
disposable Black metal artist as so disinteresting he
becomes and so deprived of quality he shows. For a fourth
full-length it sounds like a demo! But you know something,
it’s not their fault. It’s Metal fault! Of having from long time
put the quality lath so high that only the best ones, the
most capable and audacious, achieve to conquer it. At the
lath-base are wannabe bands like Goat of Mendes. Not
changing their attitude and improving their skills and get a
better production, they will never conquer Metal high-
lights. Find a bigger pole and make it good as you can,
very flexible to not crash it at middle way, and you will con-
quer that lath Goat of Mendes! [3.5] CARLOS FILIPE
GOD DETHRONED : THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM
[METAL BLADE RECORDS]
God Dethroned return once again, to reconquer the throne,
via venomous assault, blending Maiden style guitar har-
monies, with the brute force of bands like Immolation and
Incantation. They’ve successfully unleashed their queen, to
ravage the world, in this crowning achievement. Their iron-
ic, play-on-words, with “Sigma Enigma”, discusses a
criminal mind “opening doors”, and is also eye opening
(as much of their controversial material is), that keeps a
steady, followable, pace, is midrange, and very addictive,
at the same time. Picture a slightly, faster, Kreator, from
their “Coma of Souls” era, and you have “Loyal to the
Crown of God Dethroned”, a blasphemous testament to
the band’s beliefs. Finally, the negativity released by the
vengeful, spiteful, “Last Zip of Spit”, based on the movie
“Kill Bill”, is ejected in a facial stream, blinding the eyes of
the beholder, that they may no longer bear witness to all of
mankind’s pain and suffering. Having always been a fan of
both snakes, and mythology, I was quite impressed with
the cover art. This, unfortunately, did not include the 50
minute bonus DVD, that I was so looking forward to.
[6] CHRIS HORTON
GOREZONE : HATE, PEACE & UNDERSTANDING
[CHAINSAW FISTING RECORDS]
A death/grind assault of the more merciless kind, is what
this German band delivers. Even though the band is from
Germany, it isn’t exactly the German/European death metal
style that has inspired the band, they have looked across
the sea, towards America and jumped on the wave of
death/grind with a hardcore touch.
The music is pushed forward by raw and fast riffing, the
compositions are pretty technical and often fast, though it
does happen more than once, that we are served mid-
tempo moshing. Nice with such breaks, in the otherwise
hyperspeed world of Gorezone. The band uses hyperspeed
riffing once in a while, and that isn’t exactly my cup of tea,
I don’t like the way it crushes all hope to hear what’s going
on, but luckily there are more down to earth riffs as well.
The bass is abused in great manner, and are pretty audible
most of the way through this release. The drumming is as
we can expect within this genre, a blend of crushing blast-
ing, double bass drum abuse and the slower mid-tempo
paces. The pace shifts are many and well executed, and
there are some good, both guitar and drum breaks. The
vocals are guttural as hell, and a real joy for me, it has been
a while since I’ve heard such a brutal and guttural attack,
a brutal rendition of Chris Barnes in the Cannibal Corpse
days, though we aren’t offered much variation from the
vocals. This is as such a good death/grind album Gorezone
has made here, though I can’t help to think that I’ve heard
this and that, many times before. The Germans are on the
right path, no doubt about that, they are delivering 11 skull
crushing attacks on this album. Though some better and
more “unique” song writing would do the trick, and I’m
sure that’ll come in time, but Gorezone will for sure be an
exciting band to follow, I have for one enjoyed listening to
this album. [6] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
GRAVE FLOWERS : INCARCERATED SORROWS
[FIREBOX RECORDS]
Visiting the band’s website we may see a man’s arm
embellished with a tattoo of My Dying Bride’s logo. It
appears to be Grave Flowers’ main-man right upper limb.
Enough said, don’t you think?
Well, actually not. “Incarcerated Sorrows” isn’t the sound
proof of Matte Andersson’s commitment to the British
doom legends. Not even a cheap attempt to pay tribute to
the genre-innovators. Apart from sporadic appearances of
the said-band influences, that, let’s face it, all gothic-doom
claimers of the throne enclose to their sound, the duo
behind GF has worked hard to forge a distinctive sound.
Points must be given to the two-member band for com-
pletely basing their music on guitars as well as for the sur-
prising emerges of a few solos (a part of music particular-
ly forgotten by the youth of metal bands, nowadays).
Additionally, deliberate, I presume, choice must be the
long duration of the songs. The time-limits of each, range
between (approximately) 5 and 7:30 minutes and even if
this fact does no harm to the compositions themselves, it
results into a sixty minute musical escapade that, unfortu-
nately, the listener bears with difficulty. Even though the
singer’s voice suits the songs, it constantly remains on the
same level, on the same tone without any variations in its
expressions whatsoever, a fact somehow connected with
the general absence of stirring moments. Lastly, their
obsession to sound melancholic and sad sometimes make
them lose the objective (to write good songs) and contin-
uously walk again and again over the same old dark &
gloomy road! I suppose, in case the music was driven to a
more lightened avenue, it might have cast a different shad-
ow to the album, in other words, a different face; a more
favourable outcome. As all wise men say... there’s no light
without darkness! In an attempt to reverse this proverb,
there’s no real dark music without, even a small, tiny,
bright hope shining at the very background. [6] JOHN ZIKOS
GRAVELAND : DAWN OF IRON BLADES
[NO COLOURS RECORDS]
The Polish band from hell strikes again. Born out of fire
and blood, staying true to their pagan, right wing, aryan
beliefs (to which I stay indifferent because I only care for
music). Middle ages atmosphere, dark setting and tunes
straight from the mouth of hell. You know what awaits you.
Graveland exist since 1992. They fought with all major
LEVIATHAN : TENTACLES OF WHORROR
[MORIBUND RECORDS]
It seems to be a good year to be an American black
metal band. The States have never been so “powerful”
in its entire black metal history and it seems to be
similar to what Norway was in the mid 90s. Leviathan
has managed to create a nightmare of an album, a
journey through the unknown. Combining both ele-
ments from black metal and dark ambient noise
soundscapes this effort truly pushes the boundaries of
music to another dimension. A milestone of an album
filled with unorthodox compositions, the way black
metal should sound... pure and unexpectedly uncon-
ventional crushing the expectations of the “mass” and
avoiding the creation of a stereotypical market. While
most of its black metal compositions brings in mind
ye older Norwegian scene, for me some of the ulti-
mate highlights include the abyssal ambient moments
that can be found throughout this album, possibly
explaining the reason why mainman Wrest can also be
found as a guest in SunnO))) for sometime now. Not
only is this album the best Leviathan assault to pres-
ent but it is also one of the top ten best American
black metal albums ever recorded. [9] ALEX ANTONIOU
Black Metal labels for differences of beliefs, like Osmose,
Nuclear Blast etc. This attempt proves that these guys at
least ain’t false. They stand up for what they have to say,
creating feelings of doom and chaos, based on old Bathory
style that can drive a metalhead totally insane. Nothing
commercial, just pure hatred towards Judeo-Christianity,
that has failed mankind and slowly withers and dies. The
choice is yours... [5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
GRAVEN : THE SHADOWS ETERNAL CALL
[UNDERCOVER RECORDS]
I really don’t have anything against bands when they use
the same formula to create quality music. Inside you get
old school Black metal in the vein of old Drakthrone,
Immortal or Bathory like we have heard so many times
before but “The Shadows Eternal Call” is so wisely crafted
that I guess all this is put aside with no problems at all.
This second opus follows the same path covered by
“Perished And Forgotten”, yet I find this new work better
produced however maintaining the same grim rawness (so
forget the note on the debut album that said: “This is
Graven’s final recording in that kind of too clear and unraw
sound. Definitely our future releases will be again more
grim and hateful”). Vargsang has left the band (to develop
a solo project) and the three year break was necessary to
find new members. There is Vronth from the original line
up behind the drumkit and you have Mardar on the guitars
and Zingultus (Graupel, ex. Nagelfar) who delivers some
wicked grim screams! If you are looking for innovative
black metal please go look somewhere else cause inside
you get the stuff that makes your chest hairs to grow... raw
high-pitched vocals, icy cold guitar riffs and a straight for-
ward killer drumming. All in all mingled with mid to fast
passages and enough diversity to keep you interested all
the way! Great! [7] NUNO SANTOS
GREY : THE FIRST SHADE OF...
[AVANTGARDE MUSIC]
With lot of pleasure I embrace the latest operations of
Avantgarde Music, whose release schedule over the last
months is keen on suicidal or funereal black metal. Despite
these being among my most preferable branches of Black
Metal as of late, there’s (at least in my estimation) a
catholic approval of such releases by the metal press.
Especially when the albums deserve every word of praise
they receive, like the case with Beatrik (of the same label)
and this French act, the enthusiasm grows even wider.
Grey, a man’s sole venture, is for sure a “band” that should
be brought to the ears of the metal crowd across the world.
There’s a macabre and blood-stained soul inside those
three-concept (divided in smaller) tracks, drowned in a lake
of melancholy and desperation, only to be picked up and
brought to safe ground by enormous, white-dressed
angels of despair, on a scenery painted by the most evil
colours of the moonlight. Bringing in the mind and soul of
the listener, emotions and notions that the generators of
Black Metal firstly ever spawned, the music of this unholy
lad cannot but automatically be inputted among the most
promising ones. I fail to find something to dislike here. If
Forgotten Tomb’s albums were items you cherished, and
you can accept your black metal slowed down to -even-
doom paces, ‘The First Shade Of...’ won’t simply be a sat-
isfactory purchase, but an album you will look upon as a
fine example of 21st century black metal. [8] JOHN ZIKOS
GRIND INC. : EXECUTED
[MORBID RECORDS]
Innovative and going new ways is 2 terms that doesn’t fit
on Germany’s Grind Inc. They are going their own way
alright, though following an old path of crushing
death/grind, punishing and relentless, leaving the listener
back without breath and with a sore neck.
Catchy straight forward guitar riffs are delivered in a fine
tuned maelstrom, churning the listener down into a vortex
of brutality and ecstasy, it isn’t the most original riffs that
are used, though they are effective and the solos in this
game aren’t that good to be honest, but they are there and
that is positive. The drumming is like a hammer to the
forehead. Pummelling double bass drumming, a blasting
snare drum and good use of the cymbals. There are many
many drum breaks and the drumming is quite technical
and good, it is interesting to follow the drummer going
berserk and a joy to let the hair flow to the changing
rhythm patterns. The growl is guttural and all over the
place, a perfect companion to the brutality of the music.
This is good old death/grind with emphasis on death
metal, heavy, brutal and churning, leaving no prisoners.
Old Suffocation, Pyrexia and the likes brought into the new
century with German scent of brutality and no sense for
mercy. If you like your death metal fast, but varied with a
technical touch in form of many breaks and with a low gut-
tural vocal, this is for sure your band. This is a release that
I enjoy a lot and hell Grind Inc. must be an awesome live
band, gotta catch them someday so they can destroy my
neck completely, been a while since I’ve heard music this
suitable for headbanging. [7] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
HAEMOTH : KONTAMINATION
[DEBEMUR MORTI PRODUCTIONS]
Quite an intense experience we have here!! French black
metal scene is gaining more and more recognition over the
years due to the amount of good bands that come from
there, Antaeus, Mutiillation, Arkhon Infaustus, Deathspell
Omega just to name a few. Haemoth is certainly not for the
mainstream part of the scene but more for the fans of
REALLY raw and cruel black metal. In fact for me there are
two or three aspects that do not let me fully appreciate this
MCD. Firstly we have the too chaotic (non)production
which even if it was a conscious thing from the band (the
creation of the most cruel, raw and extreme piece of
music) sometimes everything just sound like a big raw
mess. Then we have the annoying synths in a few
moments of Kontamination that simply do not have any-
thing to do with the rest. And to end the painful vocals are
levelled with the rest of the instruments (drums) and
sometimes the buried effect even if quite effective in the
achievement of a wicked atmosphere (there is no doubt on
that) could have an extra savage impact on the listener if it
has a bit more in front and had more variation.
Still I can recognize that for the fans of extremely raw and
filthy black metal, Kontamination will give an impact that sub-gender and less constitute a new one! The closest I rate. And they rage from within the confines of this deeply BROKEN HEARTED : BROKEN HEARTED
probably no other record had in them. If you thought old found his Apocalyptica, where the unique similarity is the old school black metal furiousness, blazing as it does with This time the name of the band is not just indicative of the
Darkthrone, Immortal, Satyricon were raw then you should use of an acoustic string instrument. As a soundtrack the gritty, underproduced glee of underground BM. Like music found on this demo but, honestly, a profound
listen to Haemoth cause it will decimate (in rawness) those movie Hermann Kopp’s ‘Nekronology’ is an 8 point rating taking a cheese grater to your face as entertainment, description of the whole! What's that? Unholy, old-school,
old dusty (yet cult) records! [6] NUNO SANTOS worthy album, but as a Metal item... [1] CARLOS FILIPE Hordes of the Lunar Eclipse cast their spell of stiletto to the traditional, evil and raw Norse black metal! Just kidding,
gut, eviscerating music, with its oxymoronic melody of the just kidding….take it easy. Mirko, Roby and Simone, a
HELLKULT : THE COLLECTION HIGH ON FIRE : BLESSED BLACK WINGS dirtiest variety, parlayed with ear-twisting illness sure to group of friends from Italy, made an effort (with the
[REGIMENTAL RECORDS] [RELAPSE RECORDS] cause brain leakage in your parents’ skulls. It’s this brutal invaluable help of Roberta Staccuneddu of Evenfall) in
My eyes went wide with unholy wonder as these dreadful- I happen to be a reviewer of High On Fire’s previous intensity and vocal quirk that bring to Hordes the kind of recording 5 songs on a demo, sharing the ambition of
ly diabolical sounds began to claw at me from my harried “Surrounded by Thieves” CD too (even if for another zine), elite appeal that you’d expect to come out of your speak- introducing, this way, their selves to the world of metal!
speakers. A demon of such shredding classicism rising up so this act from San Diego is not unknown to me. Still, I ers after popping into your disc player a CD with a band Obviously, the music can't be anything else (as the 'down-
from the depths of the extreme metal universe to blaze my couldn’t prevent myself from goggling eyes when I gave name such as this gracing the cover. Raw and ready to kill, hearted' name suggests) than atmospheric melodic metal,
flesh and crush my soul. This black metal is so goddam “Blessed Black Wings” a very first listen! The thing is that Hordes of the Lunar Eclipse are prepared to challenge the with exclusive female singing (apart from one small part
brutal in its punishing, raw grit that I nearly felt the sweep the guys turned out sticking to their Neanderthal-ponderous world and its holy ways. An occultist haze will surely sur-
where a man interferes), keyboards and sad-driven
of time travel as I fancied myself projected backward into Stoner riffs on the one hand and turned out to have gener- round you, fog your brain, rape your soul, chew you up,
arrangements. The second track, namely "For You", the
the dark regions of black metals rise from its shadowy ously injected moods typical for the earliest Pantera albums flay your skin ... in short, do all sorts of evil metal shit to
most interesting of them all, was written after the tragic
birthing place. Imagine, I could have been transported to on the other! In the first moment I was ready to denigrate you. [8] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
death of a man who was tied with friendly bonds with the
Norway in the early 90s, to the land of Mayhem and the High On Fire’s latest effort as a complete screw up as I want-
members of Broken Hearted, and for this very occasion a
like. Raw, evil and cold! Fans of Cradle of Filth, Dimmu ed my mellow Stoner atmospheres back, goddammit, but I HORNED ALMIGHTY : BLACK METAL JESUS
Borgir, etc., will have to look otherwise for appeasement. gradually got to like “Blessed Black Wings” for proving to be [INFERNUS REX] few other musicians contribute to the song, as a tribute to
This will provide none of the symphonic or overtly melod- such a killer combination of straightforward extremity and The Danish black metal band lead by Soth, Smerte and his memory. The voice of Roberta has a unique accent,
ic black metal purveyed by Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir. incredible musicianship! These dudes must rip on stage! Harm is now ready with their first full length album “Black sweet and 'refreshing' for our ears and, as a matter of
This is for those with purist tastes (or at least those who, Nice cover artwork, too. [8.5] VANYA MARINOVA Metal Jesus” a nice and offensive album title, there for fact, her participation gives a tremendous boost to the
like me, can appreciate both sides of the spectrum ... but sure will gain some attention. Blackened thrash, heavy and demo. They should really buy her a big present! About the
if you don’t have a love for the raw horror of underground HIGHLORD : MEDUSA’S COIL grinding slowly away in mid-tempo manner, with some arrangements now, I can admit that I am fairly surprised
black metal... then begin to tremble, I say... as for myself, [ARISE RECORDS] upbeat pace shifts now and then, grim and necro as such for them being concrete, without any lousy parts that
I’ll tremble, but with orgasmic shudders of joy!) Hellkult If you like the Italian power metal sound in the vein of music is supposed to be. might have been caused by the band's inexperience.
presents its lovely (drool, drool) odes of black metal bile, Rhapsody etc. then this band is definitely for you. Following The music is slowly moving forward, grinding the listener However, there's not a moment in this 5-song sampler
an assault on the ears, a lawnmower on the eardrums. that wave of bands they play perfectly balanced power into the universe of blackened thrash. The raw and thrashy that grasps the listener's attention or fulfil his hearts with
Blood! Noise! Glory! [8.5] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN speed metal. All Italian musicians are truly educated in the riffs from the guitars are driving force of the music, keep- emotions. In other words, apart from the general satisfac-
classic forms, so whatever they attempt always proves they ing the wheels moving at all times. There are some good tory taste that the demo leaves you after the first contact,
HEMNUR : SATANIC HELLRIDE know how to do it. They started out in 1996 and have riffs here and there, and some acceptable, but all in all, this there's no apparent reason why to listen this again. And
[INFERNUS REX] already released 4 albums. The progress they have achieved is material worth of a good amount of headbanging, the this fact raises question marks regarding BH's future.
I don’t really know what to say about this album other than is obvious. Even though they have gone through a lot of band will for sure do good live. The compositions are good Unless they find a formula that will manage to create a
that it totally kicks ass. My mind was blown for all 9 tracks. changes, their music has evolved to what the industry of and catch fairly quickly on to the listener. There are good certain feeling, without disrupting their theoretically
This is dirty, no frills brutality at its finest. Raw, groovy metal really likes. Polished, clear songs with catchy tunes hooks in most of the songs, and melodies as in the track approved (but cold) musicianship, they will stay behind
mid-paced black metal that’ll leave you with something to and melodies, around 5-6 minutes each. Excuse me if I ‘Exit Planet Earth’ is keeping the album together and is the rest metal bands that might not have the same musi-
think about. One of the definite perks about this to me is sound controversial, but from one hand we have a flawless interesting, together with creating a good and cold to eerie cal skills like them but do know how to make strong emo-
the fact that the production is incredibly warm and present. playing band and from the other we haven’t got what dis- atmosphere. The vocals from Vrede are great and well-pro- tions paint the world of the listener! Perhaps a full-length
nounced, it is more or less always possible to follow the will do more justice to their music. For the moment, these
abominations from his mouth, which perfectly goes along few tracks desperately want something to lift them up.
with the music. It is by far not the most groundbreaking [5] JOHN ZIKOS
album the Danes here have made, but a good solid slap of
old school black metal with a healthy dose of grim thrash, CARNAL RAPTURE : PROMO 2004
not technical in any way, or showing off hyperspeed activ- It's funny that a band formed twelve years ago couldn't be
ity. It all moves forward in a nice and comfortable pace, able to release more than two promos, especially if we're
grinding the bones of the weak and leaving no mercy
talking about a band that is very good. The guys are from
behind. Very recommendable for fans of such grimness in
Italy and I don't think that any of them is part of a know
these days of polished and technical metal. And if you act
band. This promo CD consists of two songs only, but very
fast and get a copy of the vinyl, which is of course very
good songs: "Next Darkest Dream" and "Collecting Scars",
recommendable, you’ll get a killer cover version of
respectively.
Burzum’s ‘War’, a really well-delivered piece of black
Well, there's not much to talk about a release with two
metal. [7] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
songs, but let me try to define you what these guys play:
HUGI : SOLARLIOD Technical Death Metal at it's best! Oh, it reminds me so
[REGIMENTAL RECORDS] much Cynic's "Focus", or those tech Atheist albums. This
I guess you all are familiar with the feeling of listening to trio really knows how to handle an instrument and how to
an album, disliking it, kicking it away... And then later to teach any guitarist wannabe. I can imagine if some Korn
pick it up and find it interesting and to some extent capti- guitarist took some guitar lessons with Emilio Trilló, and I
vating and hard to put away again. This is exactly how I felt bet that the Nu Metaller poser would say "uau, so a guitar
about “Solarliod” at first and later, and now it has grown to has six strings and a riff is made of more than two notes?
be a steady companion of mine, when I enter the dark and I gotta review my notion of playing guitar...".
bleak corners of my mind. I already have some water inside my mouth... I hope these
At first the music and compositions seem a bit thin and guys find a good label and release an album as soon as
LOITS : VERE KUTSE KOHUSTAB weak, though as time passes by. The riffs works onto one possible! [8.5] SIMÃO FONSECA
[LEDO TAKAS RECORDS] and the cold melodies is burned into the mind and starts
Goddamn, what a masterpiece!! If this isn’t a revelation, I don’t know what is! Formed in 1996, the Estonian horde of haunting. The first thing that sprung to my mind was that DEAD TROOPER : SPIRITUAL FUNERAL
the musical output reminded me of the bastard son of a This is heavy, somewhat heavier than I remember the ear-
Loits has been abroad the scene, but due to some misfortunes (labels suddenly ending their activities, a guitarist
meeting between early Burzum and Darkthtrone era lier material from Norwegian Dead Trooper to be. The
dying...) they’ve never seemed to properly make their voice heard, at least this is my impression. I hope I come to “Panzerfaust”. Though there is more depth to it than that. band has always had their base in thrash, but this time
change that with this review, once and for all! Black Metal scene, meet Loits! Stick this name into your heads! You’ll The atmosphere Hugi invokes is mesmerizing and a big around they have added some heaviness, a bit of groove
be forever thankful, trust me on this. part of this album is successful. Cold and bleak, but at and straight ahead death metal brutality, and some good
same time majestic... like lying in a forest on a winter night, melody here and there.
Loits called my attention after I read an interview in Terrorizer magazine. Their imago showed to be really one of a
surrounded by snow and looking up at the frost-cold sky, Fierce riffing, powerful chords and a good crunchy drive,
kind: all dressed-up in 2nd World War military gear, but staged really professionally, and making great action-pic- displaying all its stars and thinking back to ancient times. is what first hits you when the music starts flowing out of
tures (not the sort of crap-pictures like Graveland!). Logically, a band that invests in such professionalism must have Musically the album isn’t the biggest treat. There are some the speakers. Flowing is to put it mildly, the heavy and
something special to offer on a musical level as well, I thought. I’m so glad I was right! This is easily the best album good riffs once in a while, even though the most of the gui- very direct production of the music throws it out of the
I’ve heard in 2005. tar work sounds like it has been heard a couple of times speakers, and into the living room with brute force.
before. There are some nicely placed breaks, which indi- There's no where to hide, the pounding tones from Dead
Loits combine a lot of different kinds of structures within their songs. Where I was expecting some new sort of War- cates the band has used some time on writing the songs, Trooper will catch up with you and leave you for dead. The
Metal, I got amazingly good Black Metal instead! By times a bit experimental, it sounds to me as an original mixture and not just have thrown them together. The cold and evil
drumming is hard hitting, varied pretty good and interest-
between bands like Khold, Satyricon, Darkthrone, Ved Buens Ende...(!!), and Isvind (especially concerning the vocals are good as well, a cold and frustrated scream,
ing most of the way through, especially the double bass
bonus-track on “Dark Waters Stir”!). “Vere Kutse Kohustab” is an album you can easily hear every day without ever which is enchanting and quite powerful in its own way.
drums attack do good, but the merciless snare drum and
What I started out to think was an annoyance, has turned
getting fed-up with it. The songs are really varied and superbly well performed. The drums just totally kick ass. The razorsharp cymbal work is great as well.
out to be a nice acquaintance, which has haunted me for
guitars create perfectly directed structures that sooner or later just had to be invented, cause the world is a lesser The vocals are a form for growled scream, pronounced
many hours, when I think back. The cold spheres of dark-
place without ‘em. Another credit goes to the vocalist, which obviously understood the picture and knows what to do ness and melancholy. The raw sound and the pounding slowly and well, great and raw vocals. It is at times alter-
double bass drumming, together with the hollow snare nated with a clean kind of vocal, which actually fit the
with his voice! Nothing in these tracks gives evidence of anything less than perfection. I am so amazed. With also a
drum and icing guitar melodies, makes a strong debut music very well, but doesn't sound that good, to be hon-
perfect production, there is really nothing I don’t like on this album. I just don’t give it a 10 because that mark is est. The good vocals, together with the good guitar work
album for this German band. I highly recommend you
reserved for the Devil himself. [9.5] TARAS VAN DIJK check out the album, if you somehow have felt intrigued by and good compositions are keeping these 5 tracks going
what you just have read! [7.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN for a long time. The Norwegians have hit something right
on this release, that's for sure. If there is any justice left in
The audio is all pushed to where you feel like you’re sitting tinguish a band among the others: the true identity! They IMPALED NAZARENE : DEATH COMES IN 26 this world, Dead Trooper should soon be picked up by a
in the room watching the madness ensue. play things that have already been played a thousand times CAREFULLY SELECTED PIECES label and get a full length on the streets. It's about time
Harsh vocals present thoughtful, interesting lyrics that add around. They include 2-3 great songs but again they can’t [OSMOSE PRODUCTIONS] we get to hear them on a record, with a top notch produc-
a lot to the overall atmosphere. Eerie ambiance is created easily make an experienced listener look deeper in their cre- It’s been a while since we first heard of this live album. tion, they have the compositions and ideas ready, this is
throughout with (tasteful) synths and some sound effect ations. Maybe I’m just grouchy, but that’s the feeling I get. After countless delays and various problems it’s finally yet a band of the future awaiting the chance to bloom for
work mixed in. Great album, definitely something all black To give you an example...I was a fool for the first 2 albums available. This release suffers from the same problem real. [7.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
metal fans need to check out. [8.5] MAX RODRIGUEZ of Drakkar...remember them? Well, when the 3rd album plaguing most live documentations, namely the lack of
was released all the raw feeling and the small mistakes of visual footage. While there is nothing wrong on this audio DEATHEVOKATION : BLOOD DEMO 2005
HERMANN KOPP : NEKRONOLOGY the youngsters were absent, leaving me almost indifferent. recording, I really think this would have been the perfect When listening to bands like Deathevokation, things are
[RED STREAM RECORDS] Anyway, the band has already got a good name in Italy and DVD for the band. The sound is good, the performance is pretty straight forward.
Hermann Kopp is an unorthodox violin player, releasing they have toured a lot in their homeland. Moreover they tight and the song selection is almost perfect, sampling The band is said to be influenced by Bolt Thrower,
from his instruments a large range of groans, shrill and took part in Helloween’s tribute in 2002 along with other the band’s whole catalogue. Since it was recorded in the Unleashed, Entombed, Autopsy and Dismember. Mix that
strange sounds to combine with a moog synthesizer and bands. These are important steps and if you add their band’s native Finland, you will (most probably) not under- with the "revival of old school death metal" cliché punch-
create the perfect atmospheric ambience to a movie score, superb choirs one should listen to their effort harder and stand Mika’s rant in between songs but it’s surely not a line and you've got Deathevokation.
or better to underground splatter and ultra violent movies. more thorough than I did. [6] KOSTAS ANTONATOS major problem. If they’d managed to release the same con- The music is stale although even a monkey could see that
‘Nekronology’ is a compilation of Hermann Kopp’s work to cert on a DVD, I guess this would have been perfect. As for the guys are trying hard. The sound and production need
the mournful musical selection from German director film- HORDES OF THE LUNAR ECLIPSE : DANCING now, enjoy the audio version of it. [8] ERIC MASSICOTTE some boost if there are any ambitions what so ever. There
maker Jorg Buttgereit’s infamous, outraged and shocking DEMONS IN THE GREY-LIT GLADE are 2 intros and 3 songs in this demo, two of which last
films, like Nekromantik, Nekromantik 2, Der Todesking [DARK HORIZON RECORDS] IMPERIAL SODOMY : DEMOLISHED for 7 or 8 minutes in total. A basic suggestion would be:
Kind; weird, gore, and ultra violent German movies banned Kinda weird vocals (I’m not going to try to describe them [DIAMOND PRODUCTIONS]
fewer intros and smaller songs. (duh!). Some of the ideas
from a hand full of countries because of such scenes like other than to say their like traditional, yet weird, yet ...). I On “Demolished,” Imperial Sodomy produces all the
in there aren't bad, yet the "interest" factor is lost if one is
bath tub suicide, a rabbit being skinned alive or necrophil- mean, I hate to leave you uncertain of what they sound explosive grind the band name - and CD title - promise.
to see this recording as a whole.
ia sequences. ‘Nekronology gives the musical bodily to like, but describing them is beyond me at the moment. All Extremely guttural vocals mixed with a snarlier variety
The fact that the "blood demo" is supposed to be distrib-
Buttgereit’s eccentric universe creating a dense and drea- this makes it sound as though they’re something really come crushing out of the gate as song structures shift
uted on tape further complicates things. The revival of
ry, bizarre atmosphere through a raw ritualistic sound. strange or distinctive, when it’s not that at all. As I said, wildly and frantically and dizzyingly in the best grind tradi-
past musical concepts should rely on the amount of musi-
Now you ask me: What a hell this has to do with Metal? they’re essentially traditional black metal vox, only there’s tion. It’s a boiling, roiling, surging, crushing mass of metal
cal intelligence present, rather than tape-made crusades.
Nothing. Hermann Kopp doesn’t fit in any Metal gender or a slight something ... who knows? They’re cool, at any madness stomping under foot all who get in its way. In the

ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 49
midst of all this seeming chaos, though, you can detect
musicians at ease with their instruments, confidently dis-
charging their duties as purveyors of extreme music for
skullcrushing. Talent and skill are obviously at the heart of
the seeming audio destruction and you can tell it if you lis-
ten closely. Instrumental prowess makes tight this bull-
dozer on speed. Grind, grinding away with all the vigour
their dark hearts can muster, the members of Imperial
Sodomy here produce a death blow to the head with their
harrowing death grind. [5.5] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
IMPERIUM DEKADENZ : UND DIE WELT WARD
KALT UND LEER
[PERVERTED TASTE]
There are certain bands that really grab our attention even
if the style of music they play is one of the most popular
ones, like Black Metal still is. What is noticed on this
Germanic duet on the first listening of their debut album is
a great passion for the black arts which is clearly denoted
on their music by a tremendous dark, raw yet simple
atmosphere (a winning formula). Vespasian and Horaz use
simple yet catching arrangements to conquer the hearts of
the fans, especially the ones placed on the beginning of the
nineties where Norway was sitting on a big golden throne.
Said this its obvious that their musical influences travel
back in time, to bands like Darkthone, Immortal, Satyricon.
They have drunk the blood of the ancients and in trance
summoned an entity consisted of an infernal blend of sev-
eral demons. Their songs are a mix of slow and semi-fast
tempos drowned in a pit of melodic icy riffing depression
and cruel ritualized English and German words. In a few
occasions (like on For Those Who Sleep Eternally, Weine
Reise Durch Die Zeit or the ending track “...Und Die Welt
Ward Kalt Und Leer) they put aside the traditional instru-
ments to use some synths, acoustic guitar and even piano
parts that enrich even more the music. “...Und Die Welt
Ward Kalt Und Leer” is composed of ten dark hymns that
will surely please most of the fans of this style of music,
hateful, raging, furious yet depressive tortuous black
metal. Indeed, a really nice surprise! [8] NUNO SANTOS
IMPIOUS : BORN TO SUFFER
[KARMAGEDDON MEDIA]
Some might say that pressing demos onto CD is most of
the times rather, well, superfluous, but fans and bands
seem to like it. The first have the chance to find some rare
documents and unreleased stuff, the latter rest assured
knowing that thirty years from now, when the original
tapes have turned dust, they’ll have a nice CD to recollect
old memories! Impious’ “Born to Suffer” digs up their
demo 96, a three track affair that blends death metal (both
Swedish and non-Swedish) and black metal, with lots of
blast beats and some eerie atmospheric moments. The fair
sound quality adds to the historical (?) interest of the
piece, which is put here on comparison with the four
tracks of their promo 2001, a much more thrashy effort. In
fact, the less informed listener would have some trouble
discovering that it is the same band playing on both
demos! Anyway, the 53 minutes of music available here
are completed with 6 cover songs from the likes of
Possessed, Metallica (2), Running Wild, Sepultura and
Motley Crüe, whose “Live Wire” is given a pretty amusing
rendition! Superfluous? Perhaps so, but not a bad release,
though. [5.5] MIGUEL SOUSA
IMPIOUS : HELLUCINATE
[METAL BLADE RECORDS]
I must confess I got quite worried once I looked at the
results from Impious’ photo-sessions for their latest offer-
ing “Hellucinate”. Some dude with dreadlocks and baggy
pants surrounded by 4 guys wearing fishnet isn’t exactly
my idea of a band that claims to be hard on their thrash!
In fact, I could have nightmares if these guys music
matched their looks!
Fortunately, and for the sake of my sanity, things aren’t that
bad! Impious might have stripped off their leather jackets,
but they still know how to make noise! Music wise, every-
thing ranges from modern sounding thrash to Swedish
metal. The first corresponds to the more aggressive
moments of hyperspeed drumming and thrashy riffing. As
for the second, the Swedish metal element, I’d say that a
comparison with fellow countrymen The Crown would not be
out of place here, but they sure remind me of Dark
Tranquillity’s ear for melody. It is this last factor that ulti-
mately makes their songs quite catchy, with the choruses
sticking to your memory like super-glue. The musicianship is
far above average and “Hellucinate” sure makes a joyful ride,
but I feel that something is missing in order to create a more
lasting impression that would make me want to spin this
piece of plastic in my CD-player for days in a row! Still, this
is a worthy listening experience, especially if Svensk metal is
your thing! Yes, Impious look like fashionable wimps. No,
their music is actually quite OK. [7] MIGUEL SOUSA
IN MEMORIUM : FROMMISERY...COMESDARKNESS
[MORIBUND RECORDS]
Atmospheric symphonic metal from Seattle, is what we get
from In Memorium. “From Misery... Comes Pain” is the
band’s self released debut full length from 2003, which the
American label Moribund Records has chosen to release
now, after the band is getting into gears, after having been
quiet for a couple of years. The compositions are as
expected, there are good catchy moments, good atmos-
pheric pieces and straight ahead more brutal parts. The
approach reminds me a lot of the earlier works from Cradle
Of Filth, era the second and third album. Many ups and
downs, bombastic moments, at times breathtaking at oth-
ers too romantic or too simple to be good. The musicians
seems to be good, they deliver some good work here and
there. There are many good guitar melodies, not the most
original ones, but the work and induces both coldness and
atmosphere. The drumming is okay, even though I’m not
too fond of the drum sound. The keys which are used here
and there, are mostly okay, mostly subtle and fitting and
adds to the atmosphere.
The production on the album is quite good, and fits the
music very well. There are some power behind the music
and the instruments stands pretty clear in the overall sound
picture. The drums do at times sound too weak, and at
other times the double kick drum attack is too dominating
50 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
in the sound picture, as well as the keyboard sounding a bit
weak, though that’s probably more the keyboarders choice
of sound, than the actual production. This is by far not a
groundbreaking album by any means. Though there are
interesting moments on it, and to it is the band’s first effort,
the chances for In Memorium getting a style of their own
on an upcoming opus would be big. The musicians are tal-
ented, they need a bit of practice in writing powerful songs
all the way through, something that usually comes with
time. The vocalist is also good, a nice cold and ear piercing
scream, I’m sure there is a good future ahead of the band,
and if you’re into symphonic black metal, this is an album
you need to check out. [5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
IN TORMENTATA QUIETE : IN TORMENTATA QUIETE
[DAWN OF SADNESS]
This self-titled album is quite an interesting release from
this Italian outfit that has more members than most bands
I know! For a debut album it sounds quite alright and the
mixture of gothic influences with Black Metal and neofolk
is quite amazing. I can’t say the vocals are the best but
they are okay... in a band with 3 vocalists I guess they
could explore the vocal side a bit more, however, the
female vocals are quite cool and add a nice touch to the
songs. All lyrics are in Italian and six of the nine tracks in
here have a running time that exceeds the 5-minute mark!
I appreciate albums that bring me that “touch” of surprise
and this one did exactly that as it has this “etterno mis-
antropico dolore” feeling... The cover is quite cosmic and
the booklet contains some interesting pictures, namely of
a doll which quite reminds me of Chuck’s Bride... hehe!
Horns up for In Tormentata Quiete! [8] SÓNIA FONSECA
INFERNAL LEGION : YOUR PRAYERS MEAN NOTHING
[MORIBUND RECORDS]
You lie tied to the rails, you feel the ground shiver, as you
see the freight train roll towards you, grinding the rails,
inch by inch, until it tramples over you. That’s more or less
the feeling and blow to the head you get when the music
on this album starts to play. Heavy and pummelling death
metal, mid-paced and crushing. The band has an old
school feel, without sounding outdated on any way, the
music is fresh and hard hitting, without loosing the roots
in the satanic and crushing death metal of the late 80ties
and early 90ties.
It’s hard not to get gripped by the driving force of Infernal
Legion, the drive to the music is going straight to the neck
and forces it to move. The riffs are pretty simple, and the
band doesn’t use that many different riffs in the songs, but
the riffs they use are effective and gripping, raw as hell and
captivating. There are some good melodic leads now and
then, and they serve as refreshers and a good spice to the
heavy tunes. The growl is very mentionable, deep and gut-
tural, and it possesses evil emotions and adds to the dark
atmosphere, invoked by the compositions and guitar work.
There isn’t that much to say about this release, if you’re
into old school death metal, and like the mysterious and
dark hateful atmosphere Morbid Angel invoked with
“Altars Of Madness” and the distorted disharmonic mad-
ness Immolation presents, then you’ll dig this album as
well. Those are the 2 closest references I can come up
with, though there is a deal of Acheron present as well, due
to the style of the vocal and the topics touched. Though
Infernal Legion has their own style and message, and it
won’t be long before they show their evil mark of legion
throughout the world, this album is a very good start for
the band. [7.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
INFERNAL WAR : TERRORFRONT
[AGONIA RECORDS]
There are two things that come to me immediately listen-
ing Infernal War. A visual one and an auditory one. First:
The visual. Infernal War ‘TerrorFront’ art cover settling
instantly the perfect mood to what we will listening, prais-
ing religions to the band name, Infernal War. ‘TerrorFront’
cover shows us an upside down inferno, a futuristic hell
like, replacing Dante’s Inferno description. We are about to
enter a devastated world, a war zone, a holy war against
Christianity. Looking to ‘TerrorFront’ cover we are taken
into their music world, Satanic Black Metal. Second: the
KULT OV AZAZEL : THE WORLD, THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL
[ARCTIC MUSIC GROUP / CRASH MUSIC]
The “Kult” return with their third release “The World, The Flesh and the Devil”. Florida has given birth to many strong
black/death metal bands and this we all know. Kult Ov Azazel though, may actually be that one step beyond. Get
ready boys and girls. We are talking some non stop flow of energy here.
Certain things in life never change. The classic BM formula is present in this release as it always has, but if you
assumed that this album would be forgotten in a matter of months, you were plainly wrong. The ultra-fast BM tempos
are kicked into melodically inspired guitar elements and riffs that can easily electrify your spine, reaching epic propor-
tions. Each song has that certain moment that will put a smile on every corpse painted face out there.
It is apparent that the band has gained a dose of elegance and greatness-through-experience from their last albums as
the riffs are ever so imposing and focused. To sum up, this album will be immediately characterised as their best yet,
but the interesting part will be to see if the “Kult” will be able to surpass the walls they themselves have built through
the greatness of this album. Shouldn’t we all feel lucky we live in a world where songs about Satan never become out
of style? Sure we should. Albums such as this are proudly the proof. Top of its kind. [9] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS
KILL THE THRILL : TELLURIQUE
[SEASON OF MIST]
Claustrophobic industrial rock, is a thing that French Kill The Thrill is very good at delivering, the music on this
release becomes soon claustrophobic and messes quite good with the listeners head, expanding the boundaries of
what’s sane and not, opening views to new worlds and dimension.
The compositions are very well made, during the first listen the album seems kinda dull and non saying, though as
soon as the second listen commences, the listener is sucked into the void known as K.T.T. Smothering tunes, droning
guitar riffs, out of this world cold and eerie industrial effects, always driving the music forward and keeping the atten-
tion held in an iron grip. Effective but very simple drum patters are delivered from the drum machine, the drumming is
complimenting the music well and adds a cold void atmosphere to the imagery the music creates. The slow, almost
spoken vocal fits the dark and cold universe of Kill The Thrill very well. It might be an obstacle to some, due to the
monotonous and quite distinctive tone, but give it some time, it is really fitting, and at times it reminds me of Bono to
be honest. The music almost moves in cycles, up and down all the time, taking the mood of the listener with it. The
band hits the right nerve almost each time, and takes it as far as they can, without overdoing it. That is quite impres-
sive when thinking of how simple the music actually is, simple but very hard hitting and gripping, a perfect example of
more is less. This new album from the French band is an impressive effort that is very addictive, it wants more and you
want to listen to it more, due to each you give it a spin, it’ll take you deeper into the world of K.T.T. There is a lot of
nerve in this industrial post rock adventure, and that nerve is striking and doesn’t just as such loosen its grip in its vic-
tims. Give the album a chance if you dare, it soon becomes amazing and mesmerizing. [9] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
music. The most expressive part we found is the drum IVORY KNIGHT : UNCONSCIENCE
part. Brutal, frenetically brilliant, very fast, take it to [SELF RELEASED]
extreme, making us reminding a continuous machine gun I have repeatedly stated that Canada is one of my favourite
blast that devastated all ‘TerrorFront’ songs and giving countries when it comes to metal. What and who to
them a warrior bound. Because of being this manner it remember first? Anvil, Exciter, Razor etc.? Great bands
ended unfortunately to be the weak point at the same time. that have left their mark in metal with golden letters, and
The drums make ‘TerrorFront’ a repetitious album, pre- some still do! One more very good band, hidden in the
dictable and tedious. ‘TerrorFront’ do not constituting mist of mediocrity that surrounds the other side of the
something really new as a Black Metal product, but Infernal Atlantic for some years now, is Ivory Knight. They’ve been
War brings a new sound approach, warlike, exquisite and here since 1980, reaching their peak in 2004 when select-
unique, making right to their band name, and could be seen ed among many to open for WASP in a show that was
as a new Black metal sub-gender. Welcome to Infernal war, finally cancelled. They didn’t quit though and the result is
Welcome to Satanic Black War Metal! [7] CARLOS FILIPE a brand new album, mixed and mastered by Jeff Waters of
Annihilator. The result is sympathetic to the ears of those
IUVENES : TOWARDS SOURCES OF HONOUR who seek low profile power metal bands of old style. You
AND PRIDE won’t be disappointed. [5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
[NO COLOURS RECORDS]
I honestly don’t know how to “categorise” Iuvenes since IVORY NIGHT : 7 - DAWN OF THE NIGHT
they’re such a unique band which blends several character- [SELF RELEASED]
istics... it’s not that they need a tag but some people like The instrumentals of Ivory Night are strong and sleek and
them. “Towards Sources of Honour and Pride” is the 5th fuelled by a thrash-consciousness that really add some
full-length by this Polish act and surprisingly contains only infectiousness to the music. This is power metal with mus-
5 tracks whose titles would be very suitable for a war film. cle, a Camero of metal goodness shooting by. Fans of
If you have a hard time believing my words, read this power metal will find, I think, that the tunes here are a
“Blood, Steel and Temper of Spirit”, “Songs of Brave Heart” fusion of old school power metal, and new. There’s a teflon
(quite nice for a sequel to Braveheart, don’t you think?!), quality to the music that points forward but an overall atti-
“When our swords hit their shields”, “Banner Pulled about tude to the sound that looks to the glories of the past and
by gale” and the title track of course which is in fact the brings them to the present. There’s definitely a mien here
opener for this album. As the titles are quite explicit, it’s of the metal of days gone by (ah, he nostalgia) but there’s
easy to conclude that the lyrics are based in war and pagan- also a gripping speed and precision that marks more
ism. Iuvenes have, once again, delighted me with their recent entries in the genre. The instrumental aspect of this
work. “Towards Sources of Honour and Pride” includes music is quite tight. The only weakness, and it’s not a
acoustic parts, mainly in the initial part of the songs and it major one, is that I feel the vocalist is, occasionally, not
does kick ass. It’s a fine listen on gloomy days! I can point QUITE strong enough to pull off the demands of the power
out “Song of Braveheart” as my favourite. All songs exceed wail. He’s pretty good so don’t get me wrong. There are
the 5 minute limit. I honestly predict that the line “we’ll see just bits here and there where I get the feeling he’s strain-
the victory’s sign on our flags” from their song “When our ing to pull it off right. Overall, though, he pulls through a
swords hit their shields” will become true because Iuvenes solid job of vocal delivery. The slight weakness is so
are about to become BIG! [7.5] SÓNIA FONSECA minute as to be almost noticeable. And I’m inclined to say
it may be just an individual voice quality thing that’s sub-
jective and has little to do with actual ability. At any rate,
Ivory Night isn’t shaking up the genre, but they’re present-
ing a solid example of it. [7] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
KAPEL MAISTER : INTO SALVATION
[ICARUS MUSIC]
Argentina is not a country of great metal tradition in all gen-
res from folk to black and death metal. Kapel Maister is no
exception to the rule of all modern bands playing power
metal. I think that if for the vast part of your existence you
play mostly Stratovarius cover songs, you can’t easily
escape from that vein. Formed in 2000 they released their
debut LP in 2005. A new thing they introduce is the female
vocals by two ladies, which you can’t really tell apart, as
they both surely have served some opera time in studies. I
can’t say it’s bad but sometimes it gets boring to hear high
octaves all the time in almost every song. Those ladies
sound a lot like the one and only Tarja from Nightwish and
the comparison is inevitable. I’d prefer it much better if
there was more music and less vocals, because from musi-
cal side they sound really good with a mixture of fast and
slow songs, played significantly well, since all the guys have
studied a lot. In fact their career seems to have taken a
boost after they opened for Nightwish in Argentina in 2004.
Your time passes cheerfully when you listen to their cd but
don’t expect any shooting stars. [5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
KAWIR : EPOPTIA
[STORM RECORDS]
This is the re-release of the same album released in 1999, this
time by Storm Records, including to remixed songs in bonus.
Kawir plays a form of pagan Black Metal that is traditional,
with some Mediterranean and Eastern feel to their melodies.
Relying on keyboards in a way Master’s Hammer used to
work, Kawir is not to be confused with the later incarnation of
what we are fed with being labelled symphonic Black Metal
these days. Alternating from fast to mid-tempo sections, the
band relies a lot on the vocals and the whole ambience creat-
ed by the guitars and the keyboards. As a good alternative to
the Nordic genre, interested people should also check out for
their new album, which might be even more interesting than
this re-release. [6] ERIC MASSICOTTE
KILL : HORNED HOLOCAUST
[INVICTUS PRODUCTIONS]
There’s something going on in Sweden again, after years
and years with the hyperspeed melodic black metal bands
dominating the scene, the dark and grim underground is
on its rise. Kill is one of the dark and grim black metal
bands hailing from Sweden, simplistic compositions of
hate and evil is tossed out of our speakers and makes the
light of day dark and eerie. Slow and grinding guitar riffs
drives the music forward, not the most original riffs
around, but they fit the context of kill and once in a while
brilliance is shown in its most simple way, like the melod-
ic, cold and eerie middle part of ‘The Devil’, the cold and
horror-like atmosphere the band creates with the guitars
there are extremely well executed and effective. The drum-
ming is simple as the rest of the music, but well varied both
regarding pace and rhythm patterns, there isn’t a boring
moment to be found on “Horned Holocaust”. The low raspy
growl is good as well, intoxicating and captivating, even
though it is mixed very low, the drive of it and the pronun-
ciation hits a nerve and the ears are drawn towards it.
The horror feel gets completed on the last track ‘Fields Of
Devastation’, and the effects and cold and chilling guitar
lead in that track works perfectly and induces a feeling that
only old Necrophagia has done to me before. Kill has
matured quite a bit from their demo and there is more
coherence in the material and it catches better on. The pro-
duction is raw and a bit muddy, but that doesn’t matter at
all, the music comes greatly through. The only thing with
the sound is, that it is incredible low, but that can be fixed
with the volume button, even though that opens up for
some white noise from background. But still a very rec-
ommendable album for all you metalheads who like your
black metal not too fast, darker than black and spiced up
with horror atmospheres. [8] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
KILLING SPREE : CHOOSE AND DECIDE
[MORBID RECORDS]
This one caught my attention almost immediately due to
the unusual way this band uses the keyboards in an other-
wise almost standard thrash/death metal framework. The
label advertises “Choose and Decide” as ‘atmospheric
death metal’, a tag which describes quite fittingly how the
band sounds. I know the use of keyboards in death metal
has been pioneered by others a few years ago and is not a
novelty anymore. However there is something of innovative
in the approach used by Killing Spree. For the most part the
keyboards just stay in the background interacting with the
MANEGARM : VREDENS TID
[DISPLEASED RECORDS]
All I remember to have heard by this Swedish band
prior to this, their album, is a track on an old
Displeased sampler, a track that must not have said a
lot to me, since I didn’t check the band further out,
back then. Though that might have been a mistake, if
their old material is as good and well-written as the
music on “Vredens Tid”.
First off, the album oozes of atmosphere, when listen-
ing to the music, it’s like being put back in time.
Melancholic spheres are working their way into the
mind of the listener, while the music is blasting away.
Heavy metal done with a black metal approach, togeth-
er with many folk elements to spice it up and to create
the perfect viking metal atmosphere, a thing Månegarm
does more or less to perfection. We are presented with
violin en masse and it sounds really good and gives a
lot to the arcane atmosphere. The guitars are great as
well, and drive the music nicely forward. The drums are
straight forward and punishing with a lot of double kick
drum work, at first the very direct and kinda brutal
drum work seems out of context, but the more spins
the album gets it is very appropriate. At other times,
when the music slows down and drives on the atmos-
phere, the drums are working as percussion. The
vocals, going from a great clean, very melancholic
vocal, to the grim rasp, to the great choirs and the frag-
ile female vocal, all goes hand in hand with the concept
of the band and music, and fits perfectly into the uni-
verse of Manegarm and makes the experience even bet-
ter. The music works in itself, but the vocals are the
icing on the cake. The recording and production of the
album, done in Studio Underground with Pelle Säther is
also great and very fitting. The sound is powerful, a bit
raw, but still as clean so the instruments get through
the soundwall and shows all details. This is quite and
impressive album that stunned me upon the first listen
and it got better and better. Atmospheric yet metallic
viking metal with an arcane and melancholic feel, which
guitar lines and creating a dramatic and mysterious effect.
At some points their role is enhanced but without ever
becoming the driving element in the songs or turning out
cheesy. As a result the aggression comes across a bit pol-
ished but without losing all the intensity. Besides all this
keyboard thing, what constitutes really the backbone of
Killing Spree is a pair of competently played downtuned
guitars and an energetic frontman who growls in a tone
that reminds Dave Ingram or Vader’s Piotr Wiwczarek. In
fact it must be said that all members of this German outfit
are experienced musicians with careers spanning over 15
years, despite this being their debut album as Killing Spree.
“Choose and Decide” features a set of memorable songs
like for example “The discovery”, “Star soldiers” and “Keep
the war”. It’s a pity that the riffs and the songwriting in
about 40 to 50% of the album do not match the level of
these tracks, resulting in cuts which are merely passable. It
seems that the gods of inspiration weren’t enough gener-
ous with them. Maybe next time. If you care for a taste of
death metal with a different flavour, then you may want to
give this one a try. [6.5] ERNESTO MARTINS
KORPIKLAANI : VOICE OF WILDERNESS
[NAPALM RECORDS]
I remember what a startling and enlightening thing it was
to behold the music of Korpiklaani for the first time. To
encounter such an unexpected yet surprisingly well put-
together fusion of such disparate styles. To think that
something as classic and acoustically oriented could be
welded so effortlessly with something so modern day and
electric like metal, especially death metal. Korpiklaani’s
folk/death blend doesn’t sound like something that would
work, but it does, a fact I appreciated fully the first time I
heard it. Well, this CD represents the second time I’ve been
exposed to their music and it’s the same unique pleasure
greeting my eardrums. Korpiklaani deftly does what would
seem impossible and hybridizes the traditional, organic
folk flavours of Scandinavia with grinding thrash progres-
sions. Flavours of old are used smartly to weave into what
otherwise would be plain ol’ thrash-grooved death metal
and make a new being entirely. K isn’t alone in the world
for doing this (Finntroll comes to mind) but they’re cer-
tainly an excellent purveyor of such metal goodness. The
blend is startling but absolutely surprising in how well it
meshes. The final product is guaranteed to make you for-
get whatever else you were listening to at the moment.
Such vital energy and staunch creativity is rarely to be
found and it should be embraced and encouraged. Metal is
too often derivative and lacking in originality (as are most
other genres, so don’t get mad at me) and Korpiklaani cer-
tainly deserves to be cited as one of the metal world’s tal-
ented examples. [8] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
seems to be out of this world. Really good song writing
with catchy tunes and a lot of details, which makes the
album more and more interesting together with the
amount of spins it gets. This is classy as hell and
“Vredens Tid” should mean the breakthrough of this
band. [9.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
MANEGARM : URMINNES HAVD
[DISPLEASED RECORDS]
This is for sure a very ambitious project from this
vikings which had been cocking in their minds for sev-
eral years... a strictly folk music release. I have my
doubts if a Manegarm fan will buy this if in beforehand
know what to expect or if a metal fan after checking
one or two songs will run to the nearest shop to buy
“Urminnes Havd”. Imagine Manegarm undressed of all
regular instruments, guitar, bass, drums, metal vocals
and to fill those empty spots they add a female vocalist
(she has an incredible voice), some male vocals, then
they double the already present folk elements on
Manegarm with the addition of cowdrum, djembe, vio-
lin (interesting work by Janne Liljekvist where in several
moments takes the lead of the songs), acoustic guitars
and so on... the result is a folk based work which cer-
tainly can open the eyes of many metal fans for a style
of music that they probably never thought they would
hear or buy. I really like the fast moments of “Urminnes
Havd” where they manage to mix several layers of
instruments and create a vision in someone’s mind of
been actually in a medieval tavern and singing along the
words: Hey, Hey, Hey!
One of the highlights on this record is definitely the vio-
lin parts of the long time Manegarm’s partner Janne
Liljekvist which give an extra soul to this Mcd as well
the beautiful voice of Umer Mossige-Morheim which
sings on the folk Swedish band Tva Fisk Och En Flask.
My last thought on this would be, I wonder what the
Folk scene thinks about “Urminnes Havd”? If they like,
Manegarm have hit the jackpot, otherwise...
[7] NUNO SANTOS
KRAGENS : DYING IN A DESERT
[MANITOU MUSIC]
Kragens is a French band that is a mix of Testament, Iced
Earth and King Diamond, falsetto included thank you very
much, if that makes any sense. These guys have chops, a
lots of it, including and singer that is actually quite com-
petent, something that is hard to find in Power Metal. The
main problem I have is that every song sounds like some-
thing I have heard before, not in a general sense but in a
rather specific sense. In fact, song after song I was certain
I had heard that chord progression or that riff or that
melody on a Nevermore or Iced Earth album, and that is
not a good feeling. There is a way to respect your influ-
ences, even do a tribute to your influences but straight rip-
ping them off is not the way to go. There are few good
songs on there that don’t rip anybody off but they are too
few and far between to have any kind of impact.
And that King Diamond falsetto has to disappear.
Seriously. I am not kidding! [3] SIMON THIBAUDEAU
KRIEG : BLUE MIASMA
[NO COLOURS RECORDS]
As a goodbye gift for all Krieg fans, “Blue Miasma” ends
up with a forced smile on the face and a whispered: thanks.
Krieg has a legacy of uncompromising fast black metal
records played on the old tradition and “Blue Miasma” is
probably the only that truly escapes that (I don’t have them
all but only the mighty “Rise Of The Imperial Hordes”,
“Destruction Ritual” and “The Black House”), I wonder
why Imperial decided to go this way now!
Please don’t be fooled with my words, “Blue Miasma” is a
good record, but just different from what we are all used
to. It doesn’t have the typical black metal production where
the guitars are in front of the rest of the instruments nei-
ther it has that grim violent sound, but more a balanced
version of Krieg where all instruments are loud and clear
and a more filled sound. Imperial also slows down the
infernal horses and present us a slow, melodic and more
structured version of Krieg! “Blue Miasma” gathers a few
metal influences most likely due to the several guest
appearances from band members of Nyktalgia, Satanic
Warmaster and Nachtmystium! We have thrashy moments
like on the song 6 (No Colours Records once again hasn’t
sent any info together with the CD), some Death Metal
parts but always based on Black Metal. Inexplicably the
last songs return to the old Krieg formula with the use of
raging sharp speed guitars, fast drumming, grim atmos-
phere... For an album this long it lacks highlights, memo-
rable parts, and homogenous style and quality from the
first to the last second and this is probably what corrupts
“Blue Miasma”. [6.5] NUNO SANTOS
KROHM : A WORLD THROUGH DEAD EYES
[VICIOUS RECORDINGS]
Being released by the defunct Selbstmord Services / Vicious
Recordings, I wouldn’t expect anything less than an album
filled with self mutilating suicidal depressing black metal
anthems. At least that was the case with that label’s other
signings which include the Katatonia influenced Forgotten
Tomb and even The Shinning. And so it is, like these bands,
this act follows a similar direction yet with a more low key
guitar sound in times reminiscent of the early Ved Buens
Ende guitar atonalities, yet in a less annoying context if you
know what I mean. The riffs through this album are indeed
breathtakingly crafted and very depressing like the title itself.
“A World Through Dead Eyes” is an exceptional album pick-
ing up on where it left with the “Crown of the Ancients” mini,
not a long time ago. With bands like Krohm it is good to be
a black metal band from the Americas! Too bad it has been
released on such an unreliable label... the ones with their
noses deep in the underground, know what I’m talking
about! [8.5] ALEX ANTONIOU
LED ASTRAY : DENYING THE INEVITABLE
[SELF RELEASED]
Left, right, up or down, at every direction you move your
eyes in this review section you’ll find a band walking on a
parallel line with the Dutch Led Astray. A death metal band
at its first steps, just what this magazine is void of!
Nonetheless, still, in this endless sea of extreme metal out-
fits, there are some “musical axioms”, if we may use such
a phrase, that we should look up, appreciate and when we
have the chance, applaud and congratulate with passion a
band that works under the influence of those. For instance,
Led Astray do know how to play the guitar (important
axiom, right?). They do know how to write death metal (of
secondary importance axiom, but still). They have techni-
cality, but not in the sense of producing a sound with pro-
gressive tendencies, but in the one of composing excel-
lent, correct, ‘professional’ guitar chords and if metal is the
case, this is the most important thing of all. Furthermore,
it’s not a, briefly described, ‘well-performed’ self-financed
Mcd but a collection of nicely arranged tracks that were
forged under the will of creating something good and
inspirational for the scene. At least, this is how I perceive
the sort of variety to be found on the vocals. Good thing for
a three year old band, that wishes to surpass the usual
borders of this music, not forgetting though the axioms we
told. The challenge now, is to work hard for a full-length in
order to check if the group’s stamina is full and ready to
produce some cool death riffs. I think they are not a long
way far from a quality album. It might come tomorrow, in
three or even five years but the talent seems to lay there.
Even if you have to sell you souls to Satan, don’t change
guitar players! [7] JOHN ZIKOS
LILITU : THE DELORES LESION
[THE END RECORDS]
Much more polished and a bit lighter of a sound, Lilitu
returns on The End records with “The Delores Lesion”
While vocals maintain a passionate, middle of the road
midrange level with a great deal of passion, I feel a lot of
the songwriting, although very precise, seems somewhat
forced in several places on this recording.
The synths are a bit drawn from the mix and detract some
attention from the progression of the song. Overall this
record gets a bit boring to me with many of the same twist-
ing and pinch harmonic laden parts prominent throughout.
Lilitu has progressed much as a band, but I feel that per-
haps in another album or two they will realize their top
You can't really fight an F-15 war aircraft by using an old
WWII Spitfire nowadays can you? The effort is appreciated
but the demo standards are nowadays tremendously high.
[5] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS
DELIRIUM X TREMENS : CYBERHUMAN
This is a 5 piece band from Italy releasing their first demo.
The death metal they struggle to get their hands on is far
from melodic. Floridian influences are present with certain
thrash formulas harmonically yet over-simplistically inject-
ed. The vocals stand out as brutalised growls touching at
times a sewer-level of performance.
If you're smart enough to judge things by being what they
are, this is a rather interesting effort of a debut demo.
However as years pass the music scene is homogenised
more and more, bringing instant comparisons to the best,
even from the very first steps a band takes. Delirium X
Tremens gave us at least something to wonder about with
this release, but the overall result cannot escape mediocrity
if compared to other full length similar acts. The standout
track would have to be "Inside Me". Waiting for the album..
[6] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS
DODSFERD : KRUZIFIXXION OF HUMAN DISGUST
Dodsferd's "Kruzifixxion of Human Disgust" is, if you'll
allow the odd hybridist term, doomish ambient black metal
- at least a fair amount of the time. The guitars seem slug-
gish for black metal standards and a metallish ethereal is
created, from the bleak centre of which springs the
demon's scratchthroat snarl, full of sinful ideas to corrupt
the hearts of the innocent and further cement the black-
ened, cold state of the already converted (deconverted?).
But the drums can kick in with a fast ferocity that shows
how much of a difference in style the drums can make. The
thickly atmospheric aura so prevalent much of the time can
kick over into more straightforward black metal (of the old
school). Whatever the case, Dodsferd is a magnificently
entertaining BM artist. [6] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
ENRAGED : RESIST OR SERVE
Holland's Enraged are as un-polite as Extreme Metal gets,
with vomiting vocals, blast beats and sick riffing incorporat-
ed as some sort of torture kit to the maximization of the lis-
tener's masochist pleasure. So, if intense and brutal Death
Metal is your thing, you might find something to delight
your ears in this 4 track promo. Though I am not too sure if
this is good enough to catapult Enraged to a record deal,
there's still some potential in their music that is worth of
some development, namely, their extremely aggressive
delivery. If their music is allowed maturing and growth
while keeping its raging and violent pulse, then they might
surprise us one of these days. [6.5] MIGUEL SOUSA
EXTINCTION AGENDA : EXTINCTION AGENDA
An all out old school thrash metal attack is what this
American force offers us. The band is a new horde, so far
only consisting of 2 members, and while hunting for more,
they decided to record 3 tracks and release them as the
"Extinction Agenda" demo to let us all have a taste of their
wrath. The first thing I thought when I saw the album cover,
was Venom due to the design of the logo, that was far good
enough, Extinction Agenda do have some of Venom's
straight ahead "here we come" attitude.
The band has found their motivation to form this band
when listening to their favourite albums from the middle of
the 80ties to the very early 90ties. There is a nice old
school smell, yes smell, over this album, it reeks of vintage
thrash with a bit of old death metal mixed into it. Though
without at any point sounding outdated. The sound is raw
and straight in your face, a tad muddy, but it works well
with the ripping riffs and the pounding drums and the raw
and bone breaking vocals. The voice is raw and drills
through skin and bones, and attaches itself to the dark side
of the mind.
This is for sure a good demo, which soon clings itself to
ones "have to hear each day" list and I'm sure it won't go
away soon. Good riffing, killer leads, good mosh parts,
driving drumming and insane vocals. A good recipe for
thrash metal, the band does have a sound of their own,
even though this isn't the most original release I have heard
to date. But if you are into thrash from the period of time I
penned down earlier, the 3 tracks on this release will please
you and your neck, this is a band we soon will hear more
from, that's should be a hard hitting fact!
[7.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
FOREVER SLAVE : RESURRECTION
Forever Slave start "Resurrection" with a nice intro,
"Overture: The Dark Secret Mysteries in Carpathians", creat-
ing the mood for what the rest of this gothic-metal demo
will be.
The second track gives us the first taste of the female
vocals: pretty decent opera-like singing that merges
English, Latin and Spanish lyrics about vampiric lust, death
and Satan worship. The guitars and drums do their job but
are nothing extraordinary, enjoying the typical help of violin
and keyboards to complete the atmosphere.
The female vocals are combined with clean male vocals in
songs like "Ophelia's Eyes", but they don't have quite the
same effect as the combination clean/growl would have.
Nevertheless, the demo is pretty good, creating the dark
gothic mood we would expect from a tribute to Elizabeth
Bathory.
The demo closes with the requiem "Funeral of the Lost
Soul", but they have already released their first full-length
album, "Alice's Inferno", and if you're into dark gothic metal
maybe you should check it out. [7] SUSANA FERNANDES
GHASTLY : A MORBID DEMO
Only 5 tracks here from which one is an intro and the other
a Running Wild cover of the classic "Black Demon". Not
much to bother about apart from the fact that Aussies
Ghastly manage to instantly deliver some excellently per-
formed old school eerie black metal. Upon first listen this
will not sound like something breathtaking but only after a
while the brilliance of this recording will surface! Sounding
ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 51
form. Fans of a cleaner, or more melodic metal are likely to
enjoy this album for a few listens, but don’t go out of your
way to snag a copy. [5] MAX RODRIGUEZ
LOSA : THE PERFECT MOMENT
[METAL BLADE RECORDS]
What first comes to my mind is that the debut album of
this band from Dallas, Texas is meant to be from one of
those releases about which some (including myself) would
conclude that they simply have their own pulse that no one
in the world can take! After hearing the opening riffs on the
CD you might contentedly smile that you have heard that
before - “yeah, this is Death Metal, what else”. But only in
the next second you end up being thrown in the heavy
waters of saturnine Doom passages, and the moment that
you start thinking that you “have learned to swim” you
meet a tidal Core wave so uncompromisingly huge that
you eventually give in... Angst and internal contradictions
is what Losa’s CD emits in my opinion; judging from the
tracks, the guys should face many perfect moments very
soon. Moments that to make them watch on themselves as
individuals totally opposite to the name they have given
their band to! [8] VANYA MARINOVA
LOST SOUL : CHAOSSTREAM
[WICKED WORLD / EARACHE RECORDS]
I was fairly impressed by this Polish band’s last release
“Übermensch” from 2002, aggressive, fast, brutal, but var-
ied death metal from this veteran, but very much over-
looked band. They have now been picked up by the Earache
imprint Wicked World and are ready with their new album
“Chaosstream”, and there are streams of chaos and crush-
ing death metal awaiting, when this album starts playing.
A wall of extremely well played death metal is thrown out
of the speakers, the blasting snare drum is punishing, the
bass drums get a good beating, and the cymbals are mak-
ing noise. Razor sharp guitar solos and leads, whirls in and
out, below and on top of the crushing riffs. The bass is
pounding right behind the guitar-armageddon. The growl
on top of the music is mean and raw, it compliments the
music and the overall atmosphere really good.
Even though Lost Soul is a merchant for brutal and fast
death metal, they incorporate a nice deal of technicality
into the music, well thought breaks, good technical details
and some progressiveness once in a while. The band has
been in the game since 1991, but is for sure not lost back
then, they have progressed all along the way, and are per-
haps a step or 2 in front of their actual time. There’s also a
nice amount of thrash and black metal present, and that is
giving some to the overall dark atmosphere. The music is
also receiving a boost from the powerful production.
This is a really good death metal album, which seems last-
ing. The material is hard hitting, without being overpower-
ing and with a healthy dose of needed variation, both musi-
cally and pace-wise. This is a sure buy for death metal
fiends, and an album that hopefully will put Lost Soul on
the death metal map, and give them the recognition they
deserve. [9] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
LUNA AD NOCTUM : SEMPITERNAL CONSECRATION
[METAL MIND RECORDS]
Well, I had never heard of this band... and I apologise for
my ignorance! However, Polish band Luna Ad Noctum
have surprised me because they’re the typical Black Metal
band but they have a “je ne sais quoi” that drew my atten-
tion. Overall, “Sempiternal Consecration” is not an out-
standing album but it’s a rather pleasant listen. I especial-
ly appreciated the cover of Samael’s “Into the Pentagram”
at the end but I don’t think it added anything special or new
to the original... well, mind you, it’s not easy over doing
Samael considering that they’re so great!
For fans of Black Metal with lots of variation, Luna Ad
Noctum are just in for you but for the more demanding lis-
teners, this band is only average. [6.5] SÓNIA FONSECA
LUNAR AURORA : ARS MORIENDI
[SUPERNAL MUSIC]
The masters of sophisticated black metal are back with a
re-release of their sold out 2001 album, this time on
Supernal Music. And what an album this is!!! It made a
great impression on me 6 years ago when I first got it on
Ars Metalli Records but still sounds fresh after all these
years. One knows that it could not have been more sophis-
ticated than this if it takes a minimum of 10 times to com-
prehend what has struck you in the face! Not far away from
the sound of early Emperor this album does indeed smell
mid 90s all way through it. Razor - sharp guitars and sick
low profiled vocals in the vein of Ihsahn bring classics such
as “In the Nightside Eclipse” straight into consideration.
And when the eerie synths come forth out of nowhere,
Mortiis of the early Emperor era can also be seen giving his
regards! Not a clone band and not a clone album if this is
what you think but the stuff here is so timeless and sophis-
ticated that the only band that I can compare it to is early
Emperor. Just listen to the third track “Kaltetod” with its
majestic riff that sums up the whole albums grandeur! The
“scene” desperately needs more bands like Lunar Aurora!
Bands that create timeless masterpieces and ignore any
trends that infest the true meaning of black metal! Excellent
and necessary to get hold off re-release! [9] ALEX ANTONIOU
LUX FERRE : ANTICHRISTIAN WAR PROPAGANDA
[KETZER RECORDS]
After some demos and splits, Lux Ferre has managed to
conquer the interest of a quite good label with a precious
black metal catalogue: Ketzer Records, home of bands like
Pest, Cirith Gorgor or Vinterriket. So, as you can imagine,
Antichristian War Propaganda is another piece of satanic
art and I’m sure it won’t disappoint anyone. Memorable
grim riffs, great leads and a sometimes epic feeling is what
this album offers. All is backed up by an intense drum
work and a hellish voice (cold as fuck and with strong con-
viction) screaming about hate, self-destruction and war.
“Next to Satan” (the fourth track) is a fine good example of
this, with the lead guitar harmony creating a great ambi-
ence within the song. The guitar sound is sharp and “au
point” taking into account that we’re talking about a home-
production. As for the drums - played by Brazilian Lord
Mantus - , they were recorded in a “real” studio but they
didn’t come out with the best equalization (maybe that’s
52 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
why they aren’t that high on the final mix), although we can
perceive a good work here in terms of speed and dynam-
ics. However, the overall production is better than the
usual, really above the average in the black metal scene.
Therefore, it’s clear that Lux Ferre support their philosophy
and aesthetics with a strong concern with their music and
that’s something to praise! Also their songs’ structures
show us that these guys have some maturity and consid-
erable concerns about the quality of each song. This
Portuguese group has some old Satyricon influences (lis-
ten to the repeated riff on “Achtung! The Devil’s Garden”)
and one can hear some hints of Setherial and Marduk here
(in this last case, maybe it’s due to the “war” concept). No,
they’re not breaking new ground but definitely are one of
the best and most violent black metal bands coming from
Portugal. A promising first album and a fine piece of dark
art! [7.5] GUILHERMINO MARTINS
MAGISTER DIXIT : INFERNAL MARTYRISM
[GALY RECORDS]
Magister Dixit’s vicious rant against all the good whole-
some people out there seethes and speeds with hateful and
evil tone. Waves of wickedness fly off the music and into
the listener’s ears like sweat flaying off the thrashing body
of a mosh pit zombie. At first it seems that you’re hearing
fairly standard (but very well done) old school black metal.
The guitars shoot along with an infernal blaze, producing
that kind of distort vileness and gut-wrench melodies that
stand as time-honoured staples of the genre’s in its purest
form. The drums, of course, provide the rhythms of speed
daemons fucking at unholy rates of speed, barrelling along
at a pace that makes you think the percussionist’s arms will
surely fly off his shoulders in a gory spray. Messages of
dire foreboding slice across your face with a wicked
scrape, as all that’s “good” and “holy” is withered in the
face of true, unabashed “evil.” However, keep listening, let
the music sink in ... take note of the extra layers you won’t
find in just any old traditional black metal albums. There
are surprising, open-minded regions in the album’s geog-
raphy in which the listener encounters something of a less
abrasive but just as bleak nature. Expanding the depth and
dimension of the songs is a layered, non-grinding sung
vocal attack that smoothly moves in, insinuating itself into
the overall sound. This new level in the metal almost
seems to be hinting at a goth/power metal combo being
sewn into the fabric of the angel-pounding black metal
phalanx. It’s an unexpected approach, given the genre’s
reputation for elitist artistic sensibilities (at least among
old-scholars). It’s going to be strictly a personal preference
on whether or not this added element alienates or ingrati-
ates the listener. Purists may balk at bringing in genres that
are often derided by those outside said genres’ fandom.
However, those who happen to appreciate black metal in its
early format but also approve of experimentation will like-
ly find this an interesting listening that steps aside from the
run-of-the-mill stuff. And, even with/despite the unusual
direction, M.D. never strays from its diabolical diatribe of
indignation. [7.5] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
MALEVOLENT CREATION : CONQUERING SOUTH
AMERICA
[BLACKEND / PHD]
It seems like everyone is recording live albums, these
days, and Death Metal acts are no exception, what with
the success of Six Feet Under’s live discs. Thus, Buffalo,
NY bred Malevolent Creation have logically chosen to fol-
low suit, recording 15 tracks, for the very first time in 10
years, in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, that capture the band at
their peak. Just check out the double bass drum work,
and infinite vocal screams, during “Multiple Stab
Wounds”, when they induce pit action; the brutal “Blood
Brothers” is dedicated to their fans, and speaking of, since
no merchandise was available at this particular show,
their vocalist offered up the shirt off his back, to the “sick-
est motherfucker out there, who I see fit, that’s gonna
fucking kill in the Goddamn pit; the death march, sees a
“Rebirth of Terror”, in one of my personal favourites, and
I’m sure lots of headbanging, and moshing, as well; then,
the uncontrollable “Monster” is unleashed, upon the hap-
less South American victims; the controversial, yet
catchy, “Alliance of War” asks the commanding question
“Are you ready to get some?” and they certainly deliver;
ending it all, with the track that inspired their name, and
yet another favourite “Malevolent Creation” cannot be
destroyed, but is the destroyer, and South America is
finally conquered! [8.5] CHRIS HORTON
MANTAS : ZERO TOLERANCE
[DEMOLITION RECORDS]
Jeff Dunn and Tony Dolan are two of my best friends.
Having spent a lot of time with both of them, I’ve discov-
ered that they are very cultured and open minded people
with interests that go way beyond music. So when I first
heard Jeff’s decision to assemble a new band for his
Mantas project, I couldn’t wait to hear the result. He first
sent me a very nice demo with 3 songs “Zero Tolerance”,
“Rage” and “Kill It”, with a booklet to show all the new
members and a bunch of info. I can assure you that it was
the heaviest material I’ve heard since Venom’s
“Resurrection”. Nothing conventional. Just pure fuckin’
hatred right in the face of everyone. A seriously deranged
singer, a 17 year old girl in the drums sounding like Dave
Lombardo in crescendo, a second guitarist outta hell and
the supreme presence of Jeff and Tony D. When I finally
received the full album it was like a true nightmare. As if
the war between heaven and hell is still raging, the band
moves from hardcore to industrial to heavy to thrash to
metal sound, so easily you couldn’t believe. The feeling is
supported by the loud and pompous production and the
clever intros in most songs by sounds of drills, screams,
newsmen etc. This album is way better than the Mantas
solo works of the past (remember the hairdo?) In fact it’s
a completely different band. I hated it when I heard that the
band is reforming again. Tony D’s out and the killer lady
drummer Cherisse as well. But I’m confident that Jeff will
be on top of things again, cause he’s talented and he
knows how to pick musicians to support his never ending
destruction tendency. Just don’t take too long brother ok?
Cheers! [7.5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
MANTICORA : 8 DEADLY SINS
[MASSACRE RECORDS]
Struggling in the competitive and complex world of Metal,
Danish Manticora band lead by Kristian Larsen has man-
aged releasing in their early years (1992-95) 3 demos tapes
catching the Old bay area Thrash wave and give it a touch
of Germanic Power Metal. Till ours days with three full-
length albums in hand ‘Roots of Eternity’, ‘darkness with
tales to tell’ and ‘Hyperion’, Manticora has developed his
own melodic Power Metal style embracing a more progres-
sive way. That’s the music of their last release ‘8 Deadly
Sins’. Interleave by an intro and an outro are Manticora’s
eight deadly sins. By sound of thunder and power the eight
deadly sins committed all over the album are a so fresh
POWER Metal that take us to an EFICIENT musical world,
where Lars F. Larsen sings plenary engaged with force and
vividness offering one splendid vocal MELODY. A PRO-
GRESSIVE hint crease ‘8’ taking us in a timeless journey
where ORIGINALITY reins. The rhythm imposed balances
between slow and fast creating a unique ATMOSPHERE to
tell the STORY written as lyrics, completing the eight COM-
PLEX musical pieces. All the concept works in perfection,
conjugating straight firm hand Lars vocal-skills with com-
plex songwriting and a very melodic and progressive key-
boards and powerful drums giving ‘8 Deadly Sins’ a magic
of it own and to Manticora a truly Power Metal album, that
unfortunately, could be taken further adding musical-skills
complexity and therefore making it more progressive.
Maybe that was asking too much to this young band and
demanding the impossible. Let’s wait and see. Hail to
Power metal! Hail to Manticora! [8.5] CARLOS FILIPE
MASTODON : LEVIATHAN
[RELAPSE RECORDS]
With “Remission” winning both critics and fans Mastodon had to deliver with this new album, and let me tell you,
they do. Mixing many influences, the band manages to craft great memorable songs, often helping us to forget the
skills displayed and let us go with the steady balance of hard and more atmospheric riffs. All this sits comfortably
over the backbone of the drums which are simply everywhere. The display of musical talent is tremendous and it’s
not wonder why the hype around this band transcended the Metal genre. Wrapped in a luxurious packaging display-
ing great artwork, “Leviathan” might either be your new classic or this album you’ll love to hate. Either ways, the
future looks bright for Mastodon and they truly deserve it. [9] ERIC MASSICOTTE
MAZE OF TORMENT : HAMMERS OF TORMENT
[BLACK LODGE RECORDS]
The Swedish old school thrash worshippers Maze Of
Torment is now ready with their new strike of ripping
thrash-mania “Hammers Of Torment”, and the album does
indeed hammer the message into the head of the listener.
The guitars spews forth crushing riffs, it is very hard not to
be carried away by the drive and punch behind the riffs.
There are some nice melodies involved as well, and that
serves as the needed variation. There are couple of good
harmonies involved as well, and it works well too, like the
on in the start of ‘Into The Bloodswarm’. The backbone of
the band, the heavy pummelling bass and the smashing
drums works well, and are tight. There are good rhythms
and the play is varied a bit, and doesn’t get boring. The
vocals are straight in your face, the main vocal being a raw
thrashy scream, piercing both skin and bones, alternated
with a growl. It would be a lie to say that there were much
new under the sun on this album. Maze Of Torment knows
their roots and are proud to continue the thrash legacy, with
base in especially the German wave. The Swedes are good
at blending in death metal influences as well, which gives
more depth and bottom to some of the tracks, which works
great as well. On this album they also have included a good
and heavy version of Venom’s ‘In League With Satan’, a
track it’s hard to get enough of, even though Maze Of
Torment doesn’t twist it much, but still good work. If you’re
looking for something to fill the void when you aren’t lis-
tening to early Kreator, Destruction and Sodom albums, this
is your album... a good punch in the face, delivered with
today’s technique and sound. [7] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
MERCILESS CRUCIFIXION : AIPESIS
[BLACK SEED PRODUCTIONS]
There is nothing worse than a bad intro... “Aipesis” starts
with an annoying crossover from a Japanese b-movie
soundtrack with some religious chants giving you the wish
to simply take it off or forward to the next song. Then it
pumps a massive dose of Black Death Metal chaos in the
form of ‘Supreme Blasphemous Outbreak’ that judging for
the first seconds of the intro ‘Aeshma-deva’ was surely not
expected. These guys are certainly not newbie’s (two of the
three members play in Enshadowed, Burial Hordes or Vomit
Church) and know how to create old school massive songs
in the vein of Sarcofago, Blasphemy, Autopsy! They even
cover the classic song ‘I.N.R.I.’ from Sarcofago on this
short (too much for my liking) 18 minute Mcd. I guess as a
first introduction Merciless Crucifixion impresses any old
Death Metal bastard (more if they hadn’t an intro to every
song) with their fast riffing, brutality and diversity (they go
from bone crushing brutality to slow and tortuous doom
guitar chunks, like on ‘Predominate In Sacrilege’). I will be
waiting with curiosity what these Greeks will do next, cause
they have achieved something quite powerful in here!
Unfortunately this is just a small aperitif! [6] NUNO SANTOS
MERRIMACK : OBSECRATIONS TO THE HORNED
[MORIBUND RECORDS]
More of a gathering of their best material than an actual full
length, this is a 19 track sampler from this mid 90s French
black metal horde. Their gig in London a couple of years
ago left me a bit sour with their Watain copied sound and
attitude, despite their quality performance. However this
album sounds like it was dug out of the mid 90s era and so
it is as every other song is a pre 2000 recording. Notice the
change of sound from the early synth material (don’t forget
it’s mid 90s soothe use of synth is allowed!?) to the new
tracks towards the end of the cd that sound closer to Watain
and Marduk. Don’t get me wrong, I do like Watain but for
that reason only I shall listen to Watain and not a clone. For
a band that exists since the mid 90s and has changed direc-
tion a handful of times Merrimack is not doing a very good
job. Will their new full length sound like orthodox religious
black metal crap or will it have a Merrimack trademark?
When will bands understand that it is of no importance to
cater for the mass? I just hope the band will find its own
direction with their new material instead of following trends,
after all they have been around longer than the rest. For the
time being, if one would like to listen to this quality mid 90s
black metal material which derives from their early demos
and split with Hirilorn then go ahead. The only problem with
samplers like these is that it does not justify the band 100%.
Everything sounds dissimilar as it is taken from different
eras hence sounding more of a compilation of different
French black metal bands than a compilation of
Merrimack`s best works. [7] ALEX ANTONIOU
MESS AGE : CRUSHED INSIDE
[METAL MIND RECORDS]
Mess Age, despite one of the worst name in the history of
music, actually play some decent thrash. Somehow
sounding like a hybrid of the Haunted, second-generation
Testament and the Crown, they churn out some pretty
good riffs and a decent amount of energy. The bad thing is
that there is not an ounce of forward thinking in there.
They are more than happy to repeat old riffs and tired old
rhythms. The work is honest but the results are mediocre.
What is even less appealing is the vocals that are beyond
and have no power nor express any kind of conviction.
Once again, I am sure they are well intentioned but the fact
remains that it is just run of the mill mediocre music.
[4] SIMON THIBAUDEAU
MIASTHENIA : BATALHA RITUAL
[SOMBER MUSIC]
For the ones that are aware of their mid 90s underground
black metal, the Miasthenia / Songe D`Enfer split album
had caused quite an impression. At least for me, that
album was one of the best, most innovative releases
spawned from these lands at that particular time frame.
Heavily based on synths but in a more occult / dark
approach and not of the Dimmu Borgir school that infest-
ed most of the scene back then it was definitely a highly
recommendable split assault from the South Americas
with a difference! There was another album in between
that infamous split and “Batalha Ritual” so I can’t com-
ment on what the band has been up to in between those
two releases. However, this album sees the band taking
over from where they have left. Still sounding mystifying
and with the synths taking the upper hand, Miasthenia this
time explores the mysticism of ancient and extinct civiliza-
tions through the Portuguese tongue. The guitars are tak-
ing a secondary role on this one hence reminding me of a
harder version of Polish Profanum`s `98 masterpiece
“Profanum Aeternum”. For the ones that are into black
metal with an occult Eastern feeling in the vein of
Melechesh but with the presence of synths like Profanum,
then this album will do it for you. A great effort from this
remarkable horde! [8] ALEX ANTONIOU
MISERICORDIA : DECHRISTIANIZE energy that a new band would be jealous off, to reign “They Can’t Tame the Devil”. This could have been indeed MUTILATION : CONFLICT INSIDE
[DOWNFALL RECORDS] supreme. Songs are fast and also midtempo, slow paced the album Quorthon always wanted to record after the [ADIPOCERE RECORDS]
“Dechristianize” is the first full-length from Swedish met- sometimes and then raging. Beautiful cover artwork as “Twilight of the Gods” or even “Blood on Ice” albums. Poland’s Mutilation were founded in ‘91 and, if I judge
allers Misericordia who play “Pure Dechristianizing always and a breath of northern winter. They earned their Powerful Viking black metal with a marching mid tempo from the “Mutilation” track the guys have joined a cover of,
Blackmetal” and it was delayed a few months due to some appearances in Wacken and Bang Your Head festivals in drum all the way through to the end accompanied by flaw- the band must have been named after the song originally
problems in printing. Well, shit happens all the time, doesn’t 2005 and their aggression and raw power is all back. less clean / Viking vocal works and crystal clear acoustic featured on Death’s cult “Scream Bloody Gore” album.
it? Yet I still think that Misericordia are a band that truly Invest in them without regrets. [7.5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS guitar moments. This is by far the most perfectly assembled Respectively, one who is yet to hear Mutilation will be
shows no mercy (Misericordia!) because they kick in so bru- Morrigan work to date and there is a lot of effort put through hardly surprised to read that their “Conflict Inside” CD is
tally that it will make your ears bleed. This is not a band that MORGENSTERN : FUEGO it in order to achieve accuracy in all levels. Of course there firmly oldschool Death Metal oriented. In the last 5 years I
pleases me at all (and nor does the other French band named [NAPALM RECORDS] will be disapproval from some as this is a 100% Bathory got the impression that the Polish Metal Scene literally
Misericordia. I wonder if it has anything to do with their I have seen a certain Morgenstern live in some obscure worship and disgust by others as it does not contain many teams really talented musicians, and Mutilation only cor-
name?! hehe) so I must be honest and say that place in France a year ago and my impressions where fast black metal moments but all these people can simply roborates my observations! What the 9 tracks on their CD
“Dechristianize” didn’t make it to the top of my “Must Listen” absolutely awe inspiring! They summoned a very electric “fuck off and die”. There is a time and a place for everything offer is maximum extremity on one hand and vertiginous-
list of albums but I can add that it is in the same vein of their dark ambient noise of a trance, if words can describe their and after Quorthon`s demise, this album speaks by itself as ly brilliant musicianship on the other. These dudes do
mini album “Erase The Skies” released back in 2002. This is music! So very anxious was I in getting hold of this album the ultimate tribute. Invest... [9] ALEX ANTONIOU know what they’re doing, you know! It is hard to believe
brutal and raw as Black Metal is supposed to be, though it which apparently belongs to another band with the same
may be more melodic in the end than you’d expect it to but name. The music unfortunately is not what I had expected.
still don’t look for mercy in here. This album was recorded in What we have here is a bad copy of In Extremo’s impres-
the Endarker Studios under the supervision of ex-Marduk sive debut album. Not really a poor man's In Extremo but
member Magnus Devo Andersson. This material turns out to still a bad copy because the bagpipes sound slightly out of
be more technical than their previous stuff and the vocalist tune, the voice is powerless and there is too much varia-
has improved his vocal abilities a thousand times alternating tion in the music. Apart from the usual folk / nu-metal
because death metal growling and black metal screams. Of tracks one will also come across some happy - clappy
all the ten tracks, the title track “Dechristianize” does stand tunes with saxophone, tracks with mediocre female vocals
out along with “Euphony of Our triumph” and “I love them and so forth. Track 7 "Kinderspiel" is definitely the highlight
dead”. Enough said... [4] SÓNIA FONSECA of the album and closest to In Extremo’s early and finest
works. If only all songs sounded like this we would be talk-
MISTRESS : IN DISGUST WE TRUST ing about an 8/10 of an album. For the time being, I just
[EARACHE RECORDS] give it a... [4.5] ALEX ANTONIOU
The hyper blast sewer masters are back to indulge another
cup of filthy sludge and grindcore. Mixing the best of their MORGUL : ALL DEAD HERE...
first two releases (the self-titled first album and The [SEASON OF MIST]
Chronivisor) with their natural tendency to be rude (check Following the footsteps of previous records, the new album
the song’s names) and adding even more groove to the for- from Norway’s Morgul is an exercise in what we can shortly
mula, In Disgust We Trust turns itself into an intense piece describe as a kind of symphonic black metal with gothic ele-
of heavy and angry music. Coming from the birthplace of ments. For the most part the material on offer includes catchy
metal (Birmingham, England), Mistress has the courage to orchestral/synth arrangements intertwined with shredding
combine elements that were previously used and abused black metal sections. The melodies are usually dementia laden
by metal icons like Napalm Death (for some reason there’s (in harmony with what appears to be the lyrical content of the
a rumour out there about Mick Kenny - yeah, the master- album) and seem to induce a constant feeling of tension. MORS PRINCIPIUM EST : THE UNBORN
mind behind Anaal Nathrakh and Frost - joining Napalm Vocals are sometimes clean, a la Simen Hestnaes, sometimes [LISTENABLE RECORDS]
Death to replace Jesse Pintado’s spot), Extreme Noise deep and haunting, but most often consist of a typical black After the great "Inhumanity" released in 2003, the Finnish Mors Principium Est have returned with an even greater
Terror or Brutal Truth, improving the mess with a strong metal rasp. The violin, masterfully executed by Sirenia’s Pete
release titled "The Unborn". They have taken a step forward in quality, both music and production wise. Their melodic
disrespectful personality and good songwriting. Therefore, Johansen, and also the piano, are key instruments in the over-
don’t expect a mere band tribute since sometimes this all soundscape portrayed in “All Dead Here...”. The violin parts Death Metal is quite astonishing and really surprised me because they use keyboards in an aesthetic way that gives a
group comes up with even better themes. There’s a mix of enhance the sinister atmosphere and sometimes appear bril- new edge to all the guitar leads, riffs and rhythm. An album like this is always exciting because it's filled with so
crust, grind and death metal and it’s easy to imagine how liantly in the form of short leads such as in the title track, in many rhythmic changes that one never gets tired of listening to it. Opener "Pure" is indeed pure with its enigmatic
the songs will work live: tons of violence in the mosh pit! “Hategrinder” (the only cut incorporating blast beats) and also female vocals and all the other nine tracks manage to entrance you too. The ten tracks here don't grab you immedi-
The album has also a strong consistency with the vocal in “Sanctus perversum”. This last track starts with a beautiful
lines adding the “diversity” element to each song. Dave piano sequence that is recurrent throughout the whole song ately, you have to take a few listens before being completely overwhelmed by the mightiness of these Finns. Their
Cunt’s work (also in Benediction and Anaal Nathrakh) is and is probably the record’s finest moment. A subtle industri- lyrics are simply amazing and are quite representative of the talent and charisma of these guys! So allow yourself to
great from the singing chorus on “Static” to the unortho- al background touch can also be found in opener “The mask be captivated and this it will grow on you as it did on me! I must add that the limited edition includes a cover of
dox effect on “Whiskey Tastes Better” and (my favourite) of sanity”, but this is more an exception in the whole record "Blood of Heroes" from the legendary Megadeth. Mors Principium Est will definitely mark the Finnish metal history
“Me Ves Y Sufres”, which makes me picture a group of rather than the norm. All in all ADH features a handful of very
with this release. [9] SÓNIA FONSECA
drunk English hooligans running towards the other team’s well crafted songs, some of them even excellent, that may
supporters to start a fight after a football match! All ten provide you a long-term enjoyment, particularly if the sonic
tunes have a remarkable rock’n’roll (death n’roll?) feeling equivalent of the description above seems relatively new to
and the production is wonderful: despite its roughness, all you. If that is not your case, then you will probably discover, MORTEM : DE NATURA DAEMONUM that I, the non-Death Metal fan, am typing this: if I ever get
instruments sound crystal clear. And what about the CD’s as I did, that there isn’t much novelty to be found in this fifth [IRON PEGASUS RECORDS] the opportunity to attend a Mutilation concert, I’d gladly go
front cover with photo collages? Yeah, that old Earache studio output of Morgul. In fact, after the impact of the first Since Mortem’s previous “Decomposed by Possession” for it! [7.5] VANYA MARINOVA
vibe is alive here! A final comment to all Brutal Truth fans few spins, the record leaves an impression of redundancy, as release (2000) keeps growing in me, it was quite natural to
that are feeling a little orphan since the end of that out- it brings to mind the bands that originally stretched the bound- ask Nuno (the director of Ancient Ceremonies) to send the MY COLD EMBRACE : KATHARSIS
standing band: this is the closest to the guts of Brutal Truth aries of black metal to symphonic heights with far superior band’s latest CD to me. And what I have to say is that it [SELF RELEASED]
you will get in years. [9] GUILHERMINO MARTINS results. [6.5] ERNESTO MARTINS looks like the punches of time have been felt like feather Certainly the name gives you the wrong impression.
slaps by some people - these Peruvians are going to cele- Although the title put things in the right order, the band's
brate their 20th anniversary as a band in 2006, and it’s all moniker might confuse and mislead you. In case you want
to their credit that they keep sounding as dedicated and to come to terms with My Cold Embrace then put aside any
enthusiastic as they must have been in that moment far concepts of melancholic melodies, lyrics about loves that
behind, when they have met with the intent to place their never flourished and covers of dark colours and woe! This
own skills in front of the altar of Metal one day. For those is death core/metal wrapped in a shroud of sheer brutality,
who are yet to hear Mortem I will elucidate that this band so give us a break, you pathetic lovebirds! But to be (just
is strictly Death / Black related. Hail the South American like the music) brutally honest, our German fellows here,
scene, extreme! [8.5] VANYA MARINOVA want to enclose melodic guitar riffs to their sound maybe
in an effort to adorn their steady death metal. So basically,
MORTIIS : THE GRUDGE you get a band that knows, first of all, how to reach a
[EARACHE RECORDS] favourable status of extremity and, secondly, a band that
Still relying heavily on mood and percussion, ex-Emperor (not quite successfully) plays around with melodies. In
bassist, and primary songwriter Mortiis, returns with “The other words, it's just like mixing in the same bottle water
Grudge”, his follow-up to “Stargate”, I believe! The and oil. No matter what you do, they will always stay sep-
strength and perseverance of “Way Too Wicked” screams arated. It's not that M.C.E. experiment is totally disastrous.
in the face of authority, and doubt, and is perhaps the best In any case, they do have a couple of years on their back,
solo track of his career. The aggression and energy live experiences and many appearances in compilation
expressed by “Decadent and Desperate” caught my atten- albums. They have found a formula that I personally do not
tion, immediately, and is sure to go over well, live. The entirely enjoy. To me, their most triumphant moments of
honesty, and integrity, of “Le Petit Cochon Sordide” is both this album are the brutal parts of it. With a concept similar
eye opening, and awe inspiring, and is the final gem of to all politically-(in)correct grind bands, a clever front-
“The Grudge”. The disturbing cover art features a lone cover, an excellent sound quality for a self-released album,
troll, in the solitude of some Norwegian forest, baring the the only thing the band needs to do is to diminish, in the
scars of life’s sorrows. Overall, this needs more punch in smallest dosage possible, the melodies on the guitar and
MOONSORROW : VERISAKEET the mix, to make it more affective, and appealing, at the specialize in groovy, hardcore and straight death metal
[SPIKEFARM RECORDS]
same time. [4] CHRIS HORTON songs. What's the point in listening to the sound of some-
one pissing on the intro? Maybe a representation of some
New album from one of my all time favourite Viking black metal inspired bands, celestially named Moonsorrow. MORTUARY DRAPE : BURIED IN TIME physical, "nature-calls" type of Katharsis? Useless, neither
Since their legendary "Tama Ikuinen Talvi" demo, this Enslaved vs. Bathory worshiping horde always had shown the [AVANTGARDE MUSIC] way. [5.5] JOHN ZIKOS
potential of being destined for greatness! Unlike Mithotyn who kicked off with some powerful material but their latest Considering that Mortuary Drape are supposed to be con-
efforts turning out into "sour cream", Moonsorrow keeps recording massive releases one after the other with
sidered a cult black metal band, the sound of this album NAE’BLIS : BEYOND THE LIGHT
came as a tiny shock. The cover art seemed strangely [NO COLOURS RECORDS]
"Verisakeet" possibly being their most powerful and Grande album to date! Nothing much has changed if you are ideal, and by just a look at the general layout I could tell Suicidal and depressive metal from Germany, my curiosity
already aware of their musical abilities, but the songs are spanning to a majestic 15 min. each and the sound is even that something has evolved. Inspiration is one thing, and had already been lighted at that point. When I received this
more superb than ever. All accompanied by Bathory`s acoustic guitars, Thyrfing`s folk elements, old Enslaved`s strength is another. "Buried In Time" seems to possess a album, I only knew of Nae’Blis by name, and that it was a
harshness and the typical Moonsorrow track - structure that keeps the listener focused on the music solely. There greater deal of the second element. Yet frankly, this is one man band from Germany. Quite an active band I have
everything I could ever expect from this band. to say, it was formed in 2004, released its first demo in ‘04,
are only 5 tracks on this one but they are all trademark classics with a capital TM. Songs with a proper structure that The sound is nothing impressive but it is exactly what this got signed and released this full length album all within the
are able to balance the aforementioned elements. Songs with prospect and direction evoking images of Scandinavian album needs. Cutting edge riffs that are aggressive yet same year, which is quite impressive I have to say. When I
vast lands and bloodied battlefields. Viking metal is not dead, at least not with acts such as Moonsorrow! This is one questionably melodic. Simple guitar work and a really nice find it impressive, it is because the music is actually pret-
of the best samples of this form of art I have heard in recent times and also one of Finland's finest who instead of general production that's not perfect but is designed to do ty good and captivating, it hit some certain emotions with-
its job with more action and less talk. There is not one in the listener, or at least within me, that makes me relate
following typical black metal stereotypes choose to follow their very own sad path since day one. [9] ALEX ANTONIOU
song that will not make your neck start moving back and to the atmosphere and emotions in the music.
forth. The title here is: Heavy. This is a really heavy black The music is pretty simple, but very effective as well. Cold
metal album. Binding to the old metal euphoria found in haunting melodic guitar leads, raw and dark riffing at times,
MORGANA LEFAY : GRAND MATERIA MORRIGAN : HEADCULT their guitars, are the slightly modernized drums and com- and computer generated drums rating from acceptable to
[BLACK MARK RECORDS] [UNDERCOVER RECORDS] binations of thrash - mid - slow tempos making the songs pretty bad and boring. The guitars paints a picturesque and
After a period of experimentation and name change to It is of no importance what people think but at least with sound desirable. Count one in for the retro-based guitar melancholic scenery, and all who have had dark thoughts
plain Lefay, here we deal with a band that one cannot eas- bands like Morrigan we can rest assured that the spirit of solos especially in "Deep Void". "Ectoplasm" is a highlight should be able to relate to the atmospheres invoked by
ily label. The musical style and genre of Morgana Lefay Quorthon will live forever. “Headcult” features the typical of a song indeed. There is nothing throughout this Cd to Magnus Wohlfart. If you can look besides the rather weak
waves between metal oceans of sometimes doomy feel- Morrigan sound and songwriting but this time it is fully provoke negativity, yet above all it's just a gathering of sound, and pretty simple music you will get an album you
ings and others of speed uptempo ones. The fantastic matured. The structure of the songs gives out more of a slightly revived old metal ideas plus the songs seem to will enjoy, or one there will hunt you on dark lonely trips to
voice can lead you to travel in various mystical ways with Morrigan trademark than anything else and apart from the lose strength as the album progresses to closure. To con- a darker place. The music is composition-wise well made,
a veil of uncertainty crawling upon you. Highly lyrical and Viking Bathory - era elements one will also come across tra- clude, "Buried in Time" came in as a nice surprise. there are good hooks, the atmospheric keyboards are
with the original line up once again, they emerge with an ditional power metal elements such as Manowar in the song [7] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS placed in the right places, and the few riff changes and pace

54 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
shifts are well placed as well. The track ‘Serene Fury’ which
I at first had spotted as the weakest track, due to some fast
and not that good sounding drum programming and the
length of it and lack of memorable pieces, was actually the
track which one time after the other pulled me down and
into the universe of Nae’Blis when I listened to the album
on “autopilot”. The album is really strong it is own sense,
but beware it is not an album for all, either you will like the
thin production and the dark depressive atmosphere or you
will dislike it. But I suggest you try to check the album out
if you feel the least intrigued by the writings above, I spent
the needed amount of time with “Beyond The Light” and I
got pulled into it and are now dwelling in darkness.
[7.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
NAPALM DEATH : THE CODE IS RED... LONG
LIVE THE CODE
[CENTURY MEDIA]
When they first started playing Discharge covers, they
didn't know they would practically define a new punk
genre, Grindcore. Although this may be questionable
(some say Extreme Noise Terror were the pioneers...),
Napalm Death wrote some of the best extreme music
records ever. "Scum" and "From Enslavement To
Obliteration" were the first releases, but after that the
band changed completely their sound, and started to
play US Death Metal with new vocalist (Mark "Barney"
Greenway), but changes weren't over. In the middle
90s they've tried new things and experiences, with
the release of "Inside The Torn Apart", for instance.
After some troubles with Earache Records, they've
released an album that was "Napalm" sound, entitled
"Order Of The Leech", and now, with a new contract
with Century Media, they deliver us "The Code Is
Red... Long Live The Code". Once again focused on
political issues, Napalm Death signs one great come-
back with their old fans and, at the same time, writes
one of the best 2005 albums. They also invited Jello
Biafra (ex. Dead Kennedys), Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed)
and Jeff Walker (ex. Carcass) into three demolishing
songs. After twenty years of extreme music, Napalm
Death has nothing to prove to anyone. The songs are
great, and I'd like to underline the following ones:
"Elements Of Persuasion", "Pledge Yourself", "Silence
Is Deafening", among others.
This album is a unique intense experience that must-
n't be ignored by anyone. Napalm Death's actual
sound could be described as Crust mixed with
Thrash/Death, or Crossover with some power vio-
lence influences, but who cares? The code is red...
so, long live the code!! [9] SIMÃO FONSECA
NARGAROTH : PROSATANICA SHOOTING ANGELS
[NO COLOURS RECORDS]
Kanwulf is always ready to surprise us and he has done so
in this new release. The intro “Love is always over with
ejaculation” (do you really think so?!) starts with the
words “Spread your legs” and is followed by a woman
moaning, moaning... oh man, this is something “outra-
geous”! Haha! From then on, this release leads us into a
world of old school Black metal recorded in a raw way. The
lyrics deal with hatred, war and misanthropy, Nargaroth’s
main interests and they are very angry towards society,
having reflexive and interesting meanings. For example,
the lyrics for “Satan Industries” are a enumeration of all
the bad “things” on our planet these days (Air Pollution, V8
Power, Gatling Gun, Napalm Fire, Agent Orange, cumming
Shotgun, H.I.V., Body count, Child Abuse, etc, etc). Great
release for fans of “erotic” Black metal. As Nargaroth, or
better, Kanwulf says “I will hide my mortal Spirit inside
Black and Blasphemic Death Metal”. [7] SÓNIA FONSECA
NATTEFROST : TERRORIST
[SEASON OF MIST]
Nattefrost’s “Terrorist” is in the same vein of his latest out-
put “Blood And Vomit” and is as provocative as hell. It
seems almost impossible that a guy that plays in a band as
great as Carpathian Forest, can release an album as awful
as this. The album sleeve also contains some of the most
disgusting pictures ever seen but it turns out to be awe-
some because it reminds me of the covers of yore. I won-
der… maybe all the awful songs that Carpathian Forest
dismisses, Nattefrost uses to play in this project?! This is
absolutely painful, awful, incoherent Black Metal. The track
list will probably give you a slight idea of the lyrics of some
songs, especially “Nekronaut (Cunt Cunt Gimme More)”,
“Black Metal Suicide (Claws Of Perdition), “Satan Is
Endless, Satan is Timeless”, among others. The last track
on the album “The Death Of Nattefrost (Still Reaching for
Hell Part II)” seems to be somewhat out of place as it
sounds too rocky... what the hell was he thinking?! The 13
tracks in “Terrorist” are very twisted stuff, well, a crime
really!! But Nattefrost deserves some credit for engaging
in this one-man project... [4] SÓNIA FONSECA
NAUMACHIA : WRATHORN
[ADIPOCERE RECORDS]
Polish Death Metal band released “Wrathorn” which is a
mixture of symphonic black metal with touches of death
metal. Well, as it is tradition in Polish metal bands, quality
stands... yet, there are some exceptions! Naumachia fall in
that camp but their music is not thaaaaaat bad. The lyrics
are too childish and stupid, to say the least, and that is def-
initely a minus point to them. They use keyboard through-
out the album and results in quite cool melodies... the gui-
tar solos reveal talent from the band members. Some
tracks are quite nice and Naumachia may have a brilliant
future in the metal scene if they decide to change their
lyrics a bit. The intro is a symphonic piece that prepares us
for what is to come. The vocals are what I’d call Black
Metal. [5] SÓNIA FONSECA
NAUSEOUS SURGERY : IMMORTAL WARRIORS
[GENOCIDE PRODUCTIONS]
Painfully mediocre death metal is what Nauseous Surgery
brings to the world. Despite having almost 15 years of
death metal behind them, this Brazilian band manage like
a pale copy of what made Floridian death metal any good
without any kind of forward thinking in the songwriting. I
understand that not every band wants to create something
new but if you are going to rehash something that has
been perfected fifteen years ago at least put some passion
into it. Nauseous Surgery just seem to go with the motions
and never let anything bring them forward. I am not ask-
ing for melodic leads or electronics here, simply show me
something, anything, that will have me pick up the record
from the shelf. I find nothing of interest here and I doubt
anybody could. [2] SIMON THIBAUDEAU
NECROPHAGIA : HARVEST RITUAL VOL. 1
[SEASON OF MIST]
Having not heard anything from Killjoy and company, since
their classic “Season of the Dead” opus, “Harvest Ritual Vol.
1” was an interesting, and welcomed, listen. Pioneers and
purveyors of all that is death and gore related, they’ve
become more of an Industrial, Death, machine, through 22
years of metamorphosis. Taking samples from Clive
Barker’s “Night Breed”, experimenting with weird sounds,
off-tune strings, fabricated radio frequencies, combining it
with a Satanic concept, Necrophagia push the limits of the
genre to all, new, extremes. I hear elements of Godflesh,
Malhavoc, Skinlab, and, of course, Rob Zombie, creeping
under their skin, and burrowing into their songs. The insan-
ity of “Dead Skin Slave” is bludgeoning, brutal, skull-crush-
ing, to a bloody pulp. The haunting “Cadavera X” chilled me
to the bone, as it rose from the grave, to feast on flesh, and
it actually has a groove to it, believe it or not?! The evil,
unleashed by the title track, summons the beast, in a bar-
rage of chants, invocations, and Congo drums, all in the
name of Satan. The cover represents everything Killjoy
holds dear, to his own black heart, and is sure to capture the
attention of both fans, and critics, alike... [5] CHRIS HORTON
NEURAXIS : IMAGERY - A PASSAGE INTO FORLORN
[GALY RECORDS]
A lengthy split (2 albums on one) release, reminiscent of
Massacre, Death (R.I.P.), and early Kreator. "Open your
mind" to "Oscillated to Intelligence", a manic, moshable,
Thrasher, that's quite versatile, for this brutal a style; Rob
Milley's wicked, guitar, riffs, give new meaning to
"Reasons of Being", and make "death" almost worthwhile;
it's a good thing there's instrumentals, like the devastating
"Atmospheric Holocaust", to help break up the bad, from
the good, otherwise this would have practically no merit,
whatsoever; Rob's mystical and serene, Classical guitar
piece "A Drift..." is the calm before the storm; the missing
"Link" is a busy, barrage, of bombarding, blastbeats; then
we have the creative "In Silence", which is probably the
highlight of this conceptual release, containing, by far,
their best songwriting skills, as a band; finally, we have
BW&BK David Perry interviewing Rob Milley, who states
that their "music was simplistic, Death/Grind", that
"evolved", in the heart of Montreal, where they have to keep
their music "quality", with future "hopes for a new album
and tours." The main problem with this, is their vocals
(Chris Alsop and Ian Campbell), which are incomprehensi-
ble, at the best of times, and terrible, for the rest.
Unfortunately, they have had numerous line-up changes,
over their 10 year career, thus have not been a very cohe-
sive unit. [3] CHRIS HORTON
NEURAXIS : TRUTH BEYOND...
[EARACHE RECORDS]
More metal to the European people due to the cooperation
between the American label Willowtip Records and English
Earache Records. Even though Neauraxis' third album
"Truth Beyond..." already once has been released in Europe
by Morbid Records back in 2002, when it initially was
released upon the world. Though this re-release is quite a
goodie, since it also contains the band's 2 first album
"Imagery" from 1999 and "Passage Into Forlorn" from
2001, both released by Neoblast Records. So now the
entire band's material is available again, so we hungry
metalheads can get our thirst for metal satisfied.
It is very interesting to follow the Canadian band from its
first release to its third, and hear how the band has devel-
oped throughout the years, without leaving the roots and
path they started out with. They have the base in heavy,
groovy thrashy death metal, which is spiced up with stel-
lar technique. The musicians in the band really know how
to use their instruments, they are killer musicians and they
show it all the time. There are great riffs, amazing leads
and breathtaking solos. The bass work is excellent to a bit
anonymous at times. The drumming is straight ahead and
brutal yet very technical. There are some killer and twisted
breaks, wicked pace shifts and amazing details all the time,
again and again. And seldom does the music loose its
momentum, it keeps on steamrolling forward, like a run-
away freight train. A guttural and grim growl, to a fiercer
and ear piercing scream, a vocal presentation with a lot of
emotion and passion. The band has progressed steadily
throughout the years, though the sound that became
Neuraxis' trademark they have kept intact from the first
years, until now. The progression from the first album to
the third is remarkable as well. From very brutal on the first
album, to more technical and melodic on the second, to
the third where it all are mixed into the superb wholeness
which shows a mature band. And despite the line-up
changes through the years, the goal and sound of the band
has never been compromised.
This is a release death metal heads can't be without,
whether it's the technical side, the brutal side or the met-
alcore part, Neuraxis delivers it all. And this package,
where you get all 3 albums, 2 bonus tracks and a video
pretty cheap, it would be stupid not to hit the music store.
The band hasn't received its real breakthrough yet, though
they are about ready with their new album "Trilateral
Progression", which already has been released in North
America, and I'm sure that's the album which will make the
band well known all around. [8] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
NIHILIST : NIHILIST 1987-1989
[THREEMAN RECORDINGS]
A collative, collection, comprised of 14 cuts, taken from 4
different demos, spanning a 2 year period, this Swedish act
were from the same era that brought us Obituary and
Suffocation, and spawned the legends Entombed and
Unleashed. This is a must for any diehard Death Metal fan.
From 88's "Premature Autopsy" demo, comes "Supposed to
Rot", with some of the catchiest riffs and melodies of the
entire Death Metal genre, delivered by Alex Hellid and Ulf
Cederlund, it's just too bad that it's also the shortest on this
compilation. On to the familiar "Carnal Leftovers", from the
same demo, it follows a steady, pace, with downtrodden,
killer, rhythms, and also proves to be a highlight. Then they
got progressively heavier, and faster, on "Only Shreds
Remain", especially evident on "Revel in Flesh", that reminds
me of early Unleashed, circa "Where No Life Dwells". On to
88's "Drowned" demo, where they became more technical,
skilled, musicians, as evident on the epic "Severe Burns",
with its amazing guitar licks. Finally, we have 89's "But Life
Goes On" demo, when they reached the pinnacle of their
career, and climaxed with the fast and furious "Shreds of
Life". Coincidentally, I also possess a few of these same
demos on audio cassette, but nowhere near this quality,
albeit raw (the way it should be). [6.5] CHRIS HORTON
NOCTURNAL : ARRIVAL OF THE CARNIVORE
[DISPLEASED RECORDS]
Here is a band that I was really curious to check out after
reading so many superlatives... And I was definitely not
misled! Germany's Nocturnal have been around since
2000 and after several demos, split releases (with Toxic
Holocaust, Vomitor and Bestial Mockery) and a mini album
since 2002, "Arrival of the Carnivore" appears being their
first full-length. Recorded at the Toxomusic Studio
(Decayed, Metalucifer, Desaster) it features 10 tracks of
oldschool Thrash Metal certainly capable of making every
80's alcoholised mourner starting to drink even more as a
result of his inability to move 20 years back. On the other
hand, the Nocturnal crew should be regarded as quite gen-
erous compensators for time's missing function of run-
ning retrograde, as "Arrival of the Carnivore", at least in my
opinion, is meant to be an eloquent proof that you don't
need to be 20 in '86 at any cost in order to come up with
decent Thrash Metal releases. You are either born to play
Thrash Metal or you aren't! [7.5] VANYA MARINOVA
NOISECORE FREAK : MY MOTHER THE ANARCHIST
[DEADSIX COMMUNICATIONS]
This Mcd was first released on the "Welcome To The
Stichface Scar Sitter Experience" CD in 1999, now it was
extensively remixed and remastered. Noisecore Freak is a
one-man-band, Chris Stepniewski, and it is a total chaotic
noisecore band. You'll find the most exotic and weird nois-
es on this record: screwdrivers, glasses being broken,
machine guns... you name it! This guy, Chris, must really
be fucked up in the head, because he creates the most
experimental/chaotic/weird records of all times. There isn't
much to say on a noisecore Mcd with thirteen tracks, let's
just say this shit is weird and brutal as hell, just like The
Berzerker or Agoraphobic Nosebleed. This record is for
open minded people and it isn't as fast as Agoraphobic
Nosebleed, it is much more harsh-noise actually, just like
Merzbow are doing it nowadays. Don't even try to under-
stand what the guy is screaming about, you won't get it at
all! Noise, noise, noise, and more noise! A very weird
album for noisecore freaks!! [7.5] SIMÃO FONSECA
NOKTURNAL MORTUM : WELTANSCHAUUNG
[NO COLOURS RECORDS]
The new album by the Ukrainian outfit Nokturnal Mortum
could have been the perfect soundtrack for the trilogy
“Lord of the Rings” considering it’s such a majestic epic
piece of metal. It starts off with the sound of a battlefield
and from then on one gets impressed by the truly amazing
themes. There are fourteen songs on this album: six are
“real” songs but the remaining eight tracks consist of folk-
ish and epic melodies between the songs. Tracks such as
“The New Era of Swords”, “A Taste of Victory”, “I Feel The
Breath Of Ragnarok”, “Weltanschauung” ,”Hailed Be The
Heroes” are absolutely fabulous and I bet all fans of Aryan
Black Metal will be extremely pleased with this release. I
have been listening to this album on a non-stop basis and
I’m still not tired of it... I need to find another cd to listen
to before this one wears off (hehe)! If you have some extra
money from xmas you could well spend it on this master-
piece! Take my advice and you won’t regret it! This one is
definitely on my “priority album” list! [9] SÓNIA FONSECA
NOSTRADAMEUS : HELLBOUND
[AFM RECORDS]
This is the 4th release of Swedish band Nostradameus.
They play power metal and, therefore I don’t know any of
their previous releases so I don’t know whether they
evolved or not. So, after listening to the ten tracks of
“Hellbound”, I can say that this is something that doesn’t
please me at all. To be honest, it isn’t bad at all but this is
not my kind of thing. “Hellbound” includes tracks that
make you feel joyful. Opener track “Never Turning Back”
makes your spirit lift when you feel down. Some tracks
like it has been recorded in a cave this is a brilliant mix of
filthy old school black metal with a very spine chilling
sound and cold riffs that bring in mind "A Blaze in the
Northern Sky", early Sigh (especially the damn fine vocals
which sound like old Mirai aaarghh!) and even melodic
Beherit in times!? A very strange mixture but it works
effectively and comes far from the stereotypical neo -
European black metal movement of today. Honestly this is
one of the most refreshing (funny to say considering their
old school influences) pieces of black metal that I have
come across to lately. Even the Running Wild cover is per-
fectly performed bringing back some good old memories!
The material here can be found on their split cd with the
Finns Flame out now on Asphyxiate Records. Get it for
Ghastly`s sake! [8] ALEX ANTONIOU
DEMO OF THE ISSUE
HORRICANE : THE LYNCH-LAWYERS’ DEATH SQUAD
Let me say right in this first sentence that these 6 Estonians
have made a hell of an impressive demo! And I'm not only
talking about sound and production (yes, they're great for a
demo), which are things that money can buy, but about the
actual music. Horricane have not only the talent but also a
creative intelligence (not available in your local hardware
shop) that turns these 5 songs into a joyride. You see,
"Coup de grace" starts off with heavy slow Morbid Angel
style riffing with, somewhere during the song, some weird
keyboards peering through in the background to good
effect. These keyboards become more audible in "Fraction
in your eyes" and then quite dominant in the more mid-
paced title track, helping create atmospheres which are
more creditable to some Norwegian post-black metal! But
note that this is not your average emulation of pianos and
strings, this is an original and sometimes discordant work
which fits the death metal structures pretty well and con-
tributes heavily to the almost cinematic aesthetics of the
record. In fact, this almost like watching a movie, with it all
coming full circle in the last song "Nitro burst turmoil",
evolving with those monstrous slow death riffs into a keys-
driven climatic ending.
Now, I'm not really moved by the lyrics, but I like the art-
work, which makes me think of the 1930's and 1940's noir
films - something that quite fits that cinematic aesthetics of
this demo. I heard these guys were signed by Black Mark,
so I'm looking forward to hearing their debut!
[8.5] MIGUEL SOUSA
INFERNAL KINGDOM - Frozen empire
After some live gigs in the North of Portugal, this young
group has released its first demo-CD. Frozen Empire is a
fine effort of fast and brutal black metal. Based on an
intense guitar work of freezing melodies with a good skilled
approach, Infernal Kingdom proves to have some maturity
towards composition, since there's diversity and good
arrangements in their songs. By this way, there's no chance
for the listener to get bored and the small intros full of dark
ambiences also help the dynamics of the demo. There's a
bunch of good ideas along the 6 themes and the Immortal
alike vocals bring an even colder ambience to the work.
Remarkable is the fact that the voices are spitted by a
female vocalist and that's something you don't see that
much. Naamah Satana uses her grim trademark and some-
times she tries some grunts as a complement of the main
lines. As for the drums, I can only say they perfectly back
up the guitar lines and, together with the good production,
bring this material to a higher level. All in here sounds clear
and we can really follow the musicians' work with no diffi-
culty. It's a good demo and creates promising expectations
for the future. [7] GUILHERMINO MARTINS
ISRATHOUM : BLACK SCENERY AVATAR
[SEVERELY ALCOHOLIC RETAILING SATANISTS]
Two years after the release of “The Art Of Malice”,
Israthoum returns with a brand new work following the
same traced path, symphonic Black Metal. This new work is
better produced (still with a few flaws) than the last one
and the keyboard passages (sometimes too much in front
on the mix) are more varied and sinister, in some moments
they even have a grandiose feeling, like the first seconds of
‘Dimensions’. This is probably one of the highlights of
“Black Scenery Avatar”, this songs denotes a good balance
on the melodic keyboard side with some savage guitar riff-
ing and tempo changes. However the six songs featured on
this demo tend to have slightly different vibes according to
the member who compose them. That could have been a
tremendous positive thing since it would create more diver-
sity to the songs, but that’s not entirely truth. We have dif-
ferent guitar riffings and ideas and sometimes Israthoum
simply look like a driver in a drunken night... out of the
road in some curves!
They have a great potential and they probably already have
good material for a debut album, so I guess its just a mat-
ter of finding a steady line-up and tracing a path to follow!
[7.5] NUNO SANTOS
LUPARA : PROMO
This is, without too many words, above-average death
metal. The second promo-demo from Lupara is most cer-
tainly crafted with the appropriate "know-how" on the art of
creating US death metal! Its exceptionally good production
makes the impact of the demo rather strong and at the
ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 55
have very rocky riffs and clean vocals and you can actual-
ly understand the lyrics when first listening to it... that’s
new to me because being I mostly listen to Black Metal and
those vocals aren’t that easy to understand at first. haha!
But then again, some tracks have a Death metal feeling...
it’s very surprising... I bet this will please fans of Power
Metal. [6] SÓNIA FONSECA
NUMEN : BASOAREN SEMEAK
[GOIMUSIC]
Numen's black metal sound should find some fans on both
general sides of the BM fence. The genre has gone through
a lot of changes since its Scandinavian underground
explosion of deliberately scraping, brusque music to the
times of orchestral approach of bands like Dimmu Borgir
and Cradle of Filth. While Numen rests largely on the early
side of the genre, it's that variety of old school sounds that
incorporates a dark, withering loveliness into its music. On
one hand, the band is thick with raw, atmospheric grit:
brutal, ugly guitar burn and demonic melody and grim
atmosphere. On the other hand, that ugly and brutal guitar
slash is pretty in its destructive way. And remember that
word a minute ago: melody. Numen pulls together the
roots of black metal - dark and menacing - and fuses (but
not to the degree that it vanquishes "pure" black metal, if
you want to call it that) some of the precision and melod-
ic elements that have cropped up in black metal's evolution
from its early, primordial days and its current era, where it
has found surprising acceptance outside the core, elite
black metal scene. Purists will still be the biggest audience
for this album, no doubt, but I think the melodic element
will perhaps help non-initiates of the raw side of things
start to understand the appeal of more primitive black
metal. In this way, Numen may very well function as a
bridge band. [8] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
NYKTALGIA : NYKTALGIA
[NO COLOURS RECORDS]
Ok, this is not the most original release but it is still a fuck-
ing awesome piece of black metal art, very close to what
black metal sounded back in the mid 90's when it had a
more focused direction. In fact, this album could have
been part of the mid 90's European black metal wave when
bands like Marduk, Enslaved, Dissection and Burzum ruled
the world (...gone a bit over the top here!)! With just 4
tracks and a spanning time of a perfect 40 min this is a
highly recommended album in what seems today as an era
where bands either want to re-invent themselves or get
inspired by what is in demand for the mass. Nyktalgia
instead, choose to get inspired by what once was and they
do it very well with a lot of feeling both on the music and
on the vocal department which is very Varg influenced. The
whole album actually reminds something of Burzum`s
"Hvys Lysset Tar Oss" but it has been done with such a pro-
fessional / accurate manner that it doesn't end up being a
pest, if you know what I mean. There is nothing much to
say here apart from the fact that Nyktalgia is a German act
for the lookout and one of No Colours` best recent releas-
es. [8] ALEX ANTONIOU
OBEISANCE : UNHOLY, UNWHOLESOME & EVIL
[BLACK SEED PRODUCTIONS]
Having in consideration the praised previous work "Lucifer
Master" released on Utterly Somber Records in 2002, this
could have turned out much better! Just hear the sound of
this drum and you can't simple end up thinking when we
all used our mother’s pans to party with our childhood
friends or simply train our beating capabilities! Don't mat-
ter what adjectives some might use to disguise this, for me
unfortunately this simply sounds like bad produced un-
aggressive drums. They were using Daniel Corchado (from
the mighty Centopath, The Chasm) to produce their releas-
es and the change to C.J. Holguin (Reign Of Terror) was
certainly not a nice move.
Said that lets explore a bit the universe created by the
American (Texas) band Obeisance... they play a mix of old
school fast thrashing Speed / Black / Death Metal chaos
were the songs are based in fast drum, guitar tempos lay-
ered in speedy spoken raw vocals of Martin Von Fah-Q
(founding member). The opener 'Caligula' truly reveals all
that we can expect from this band, old school music!
All in all "Unholy, Unwholesome & Evil" has some great
moments which can't be entirely appreciated due to an un-
aggressive production. [3.5] NUNO SANTOS
OPERA IX : ANPHISBENA
[AVANTGARDE MUSIC]
Italian outfit Opera IX have always delighted us with pure
Black Metal and now they’ve come back with a deep and
extra worked lyrical concept “Anphisbena”... the cult of the
Bi-headed serpent, which is an hymn to Paganism and the
Ancient religion. The production of this 5th album has
improved and the song-writing also has taken a step for-
ward. Long and complex songs very rich in language and
meaning are featured in “Anphisbena” and I must point out
some highlights such as the cover of Bathory’s “One Rode
To Asa Bay” which is a great and fine piece in the memory
of the late Quorthon. The band vary as much as they can
by using female vocals, pipes, flute, cello, harp and an
intense use of keyboards, yet they manage to be extreme-
ly epic and sensational. [7] SÓNIA FONSECA
OPERATION WINTER MIST : WINTER WARFARE II
[REGIMENTAL RECORDS]
I don't know if it's just that I've listened to too much black
metal today, or if this just doesn't quite do it for me.
Generally, I'm pretty sympathetic to the black metal genre
and find it on the whole, one of the more palatable (for me)
genres in the realm of extreme metal. Oddly, it's the crusti-
est, most old school stuff that I find most enjoyable - the
least "accessible" stuff. But, unfortunately, I'm not really
quite getting into what O.W.M. has to offer, which is
strange. I certainly like old school black metal, which this
is. There's no denying that this is straight out of the pages
of classic nasty black metal. I like my black metal pretty
raw, which this is. This band totally eschews the super-
polish of some acts operating in the black metal scene
today. I like it harshly aggressive, which this is. It's a nasty
little beast waving its claws, ready to take your face off. I
like it evil and sick, which this is. Christians will fall in the
56 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
face of its unholy glare. This is almost definitive classic, phases (since, at the moment, we cannot do progressive)? first album that comes to my mind is Satyricon's
underground black metal, yet I can't entirely get into it. But Some will get excited, others will nod indifferently and oth- "Volcano", or Immortal's last releases, but Phazm explore
I can't entirely dismiss it, either, come to think of it. Let's ers will swear the God of metal! Music always divides peo- better the dark side of old Rock.
just chalk this up to a matter of taste (my tastes can occa- ple’s opinion, and that’s one good thing! I cannot say that The first track "Inchaos", is one of the best ones of the CD,
sionally betray me) and end this up here with the assur- this is bad music. I will lie if I do so. Even if “Truth which combines everything I've mentioned so far: grim
ances that fans of the old sickness can find their fix here. I Inside...” makes me believe that Persefone can produce an feelings, despair Motorhead and that "slow, wait, it's get-
really don't know why it's not jumping out at me. In the interesting album in the future, this debut gets drowned in ting faster now... no it's gotten slower again!" beat! Very
end, my brief protest of "I'm not digging it" is overridden its own attempt to find a unique musical identity. The influ- good indeed. But it gets better, check out the next track
by everything I've said before, which screams, "If you dig ences, which are very recognizable, are getting mixed up "What a Wonderful Death (!) and see what these guys were
the mean shit, here it is". [7] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN frequently disorienting the vision of this, the first band to smoking at the time they recorded "Hate At First Seed".
ever emerge from Andorra! Separately, each song can Great Rock solos and a furious oriented beat. A true hymn
ORDER OF THE EBON HAND : XV - THE DEVIL stand on its own (a positive fact), however, at the end, to hatred, my friends!. The rest of the album drinks the
[SEASON OF MIST] you’re left with a peculiar taste, mainly due to their inabili- same water, so it's useless to comment every song indi-
Being the band that was more mature to anything else ty to amalgamate into a distinguishable sound their influ- vidually. So, Phazm likes trees, Rock n' Roll, Black Metal
Hellas has ever produced, one should excuse their ambi- ences with their own music. Many listeners will get enthu- and weird shit. It's worthy that you, at least, check out a
tious expectations, modern sound and avant-garde siastic about this right from start, most likely because of few songs. If you like fast and narrow-minded Black, get
imagery. It has always been part of the group and in this its surprising musicianship and quality production, but I the fuck away from "Hate At First Seed", if not, the record
second album of theirs (could have been their 3rd one if challenge the guys (that’s why I put a low and a bit unfair is a must to your collection. [8] SIMÃO FONSECA
they had not totally scrapped that unreleased 2nd strike of mark) to tingle them hoping they will try harder in their fol-
theirs!!) it grows even more. Upon first listen, one could be lowing opuses. Only because it’s obvious they can do bet- PIG DESTROYER : TERRIFYER
baffled by the numerous riffs and samples accumulated on ter. They are lucky to have the support of a label like [RELAPSE RECORDS]
this album but this opinion will eventually be altered. All Adipocere. Hand-in-hand, they can produce a good piece Grindcore isn't anymore what it used to be. The true grind-
tracks have a powerful structure and one can see why it of metal. [5.5] JOHN ZIKOS core was "metalless", non-violent and political oriented, but
took them 8 years or whatever to complete this piece of art now times have changed and grindcore is mostly often
both musically and lyrically. However there will be times PEST : IN TOTAL CONTEMPT considered a metal sub-genre... but who cares anyway? It
that the overall product will seem slightly over the top like [NO COLOURS RECORDS] sounds quite more metal than in the beginning, but it still
an epic Americanized Hollywood franchise but still, the This third full-length of one of the best bands of Raw Black cativates the listener, right?
atmosphere is there and what the band wants to portray (in metal from Sweden was expected by many fans because in So, Pig Destroyer returns with "Terrifyer", the long await-
this case fantasy battles through fine lyrical craftsmanship) one hand the last Pest album was out in '03, in other hand, ed full-length follow up to its critically acclaimed previous
is being achieved! Fans of mid 90s inspired majestic black everyone was expecting one album more powerful than CD "Prowler In The Yard", and it is a totally mind blower,
metal with grand atmospheres of the Emperor / Limbonic the last Pest EP, "Black Thorns". I clearly noticed a lot of old trust me. Pig Destroyer have taken some more risks, and
Art vein will drown in this 50 minutes album. One will also Darkthrone influences in the entire album. A great feeling no wonder they've injected some more punk rock rhythm
come across "Spellbound", a cover of Siouxsie And The and power in all the songs, even so the production are the ("Gravedancer") to their suffocating sound, along with the
Banshees which no matter how well performed, kind of typical raw black metal band production. A bigger influ- thrashy/death riffs used in their previous work. It's quite
spoils the overall album concept. A cover of the timeless ence of European Thrash metal, mainly in the song "Cold uncomfortable for me to criticize a grind act, it sure is,
Bathory would do better in this case but apparently this is Stare" where we can hear an old school solo. Necro, vocal- because you usually get the same from the beginning to
already on the way in the form of a tribute split 7" with ist, guitarist and drummer, shows a lot of hatred in all the the end of the record... and Pig Destroyer is no exception
Macabre Omen. XAIPE! [7] ALEX ANTONIOU songs of "In Total Contempt", wish is something that nowa- to the rule. Nevertheless, P.D. has fallen the steps of the
days nobody seems to care a lot. All the guitar composi- last acts from the Swedish mad grinders Nasum, so no
PACTUM : STAINING THE WHITE VEILS OF CHRIS- tions are very well composed and performed. surprise at all when you listen to down-tuned death metal
TIANITY WITH THE BLOOD OF DECAPITATED LAMB Equimanthorn, who plays bass and guitars in league with mixed with the traditional groovy Napalm Death's riffs
[SOMBER MUSIC] Necro, compose a great harmonious work in "In Total alongside with some punky vibes.
I can't tell you how much this unapologetically vile and sick- Contempt", we can listen a well composed bass in every The lyrics still fall upon violence and black humour in case
ening slice of black metal makes me a happy man. But since song even in most aggressive parts. About the lyrics, deep you wanna know what these guys are screaming about!
I'm a music reviewer, I suppose it's my job to share and as always, Pest continue to attack in a vein of hatred and "Terrifyer" features 32 minutes of insane grind as well as
expound upon that information, so here goes. First off, the misanthropy and approach the most varied subjects relat- the 37 minutes bonus audio DVD "Natasha" mixed in 5.1
backbone of this music is traditional evil black metal, with ed with death. "In Total Contempt" is a full-length that if it surround sound. All these ingredients are more than
flesh-flaying instrumentals and rasping throat work (partic- was released ten years earlier it would be a Black metal enough to make you go buy the CD. [8.5] SIMÃO FONSECA
ularly raspy here), that creates a bleak and horrific frost on masterpiece nowadays. [8.5] NUNO CARVALHO
your brain. Such arctic ambience and frozen audio land- PITCH BLACK : THRASH KILLING MACHINE
scape is ambrosia to those who dwell in the darkness, and PHAZM : HATE AT FIRST SEED [RECITAL RECORDS]
Pactum does a fine job of executing the grim, utter bleak- [OSMOSE PRODUCTIONS] With such a record-title, one should know what to expect
ness the genre at its roots demands. But there are hints of When Black Metal was born nobody would say it would be from this Portuguese bunch. Yeah, you guessed it, this is
groove here at times that add an element of depth to the so popular or it would last for so many years, but Black thrash metal alright. Recorded in 2002 and mixed in 2003,
music, without risking ruining the raw (a alliterative phrase Metal was there to stay and kiss ass. Churches burned, this might not be the best testimony of what Pitch Black do
I ought to remember) by way of too much polish, some- christian people got beat up and a lot of inverted crosses these days, but still it is a positive effort.
thing that's taken black metal in a direction many lament. were spread within each black misanthropic release. Most of the material on display here is mid-paced with
Personally, it's not an issue to me; I just prefer the beauti- As a matter of fact, the definition of "Black Metal" comes some incursions into faster territory, and some good struc-
fully ugly shit. But it is nice to encounter a touch of polish from the early 80's - when bands such as Bathory, Celtic tured songs like the opener "Disturbing the peace". It
(note I said TOUCH) in the music to give things an energetic Frost, Venom or Merciful Fate - picked up the dirty Brit seems to me that there's something very Sepulturesque
drive. And as I noted, there's no lack of purity to this face- Hardcore Punk and added Speed Metal to the sound, or haunting this record, so this is definitely not that type of
raking black metal bludgeoning. So take the plunge, sacri- simply played Heavy Metal with a very dark/anti-christian Euro-thrash founded by the big-three of Deutsche pride
fice your soul to Satan and get those horn fingers in the air. feeling. Well, the movement gained a lot of fans and this (Sodom, Destruction, Kreator), despite the Knarrenheinz
Prepare to be immersed in the bottomless pit of metallic evil new genre started drinking some faster and raw influ- clone on the cover! In fact, with their use of staccato gui-
that is none other than Pactum. [8] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN ences, and this is when Mayhem and, a bit later, tar and hardcorish vocals Pitch Black at times come across
a bit too... well, hardcore for my liking. If "Thrash Killing
Machine" had a more crunching and dense sound and
more vocal variation, it might actually cause some victims.
As it is, though, it does little more than to wet the listener's
appetite for Pitch Black's next effort. [6.5] MIGUEL SOUSA
POSTNUCLEAR DEATHMASS : GENERATION DOOM
[SELF RELEASE]
Postnuclear Deathmass brings some quality, absolutely
crushing old-school death metal to the table. This album is
drenched with thrashy mid-tempo riffs that are carefully
placed in a moderately progressive, and very interesting
manner. I’d love to see more bands return to this formula
as some of the acts coming out these days pass up some
of their heritage for sheer brutality. Although this album
isn’t going to change your life, it’s a really fun listen, with
some great humour thrown in (such as the chorus to “Dr.
Dan”). Aggression, antagonism, and a taste for the melan-
choly are all encompassed in approximately 25 minutes of
tasteful and memorable metal. Definitely worth a listen.
[6.5] MAX RODRIGUEZ
PENTACLE : UNDER THE BLACK CROSS PRIMORDIAL : DARK ROMANTICISM
[KARMAGEDDON MEDIA]
[IRON PEGASUS RECORDS]
After listening to “The gathering wilderness” I am not quite
Concept albums have a life of their own that derives from their unifying thematic. Critics have loved to hate these sure what to say about this release. Its obviously a throw
intricate pieces that tend to epic grandeur, like on "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", for example. Truth is, whatever back at the band’s beginnings (their 4 track demo) and you
the central theme might be, composing music and lyrics for a conceptual album is in itself an epic task! Note that can smell the Bathory influence which, although less pres-
the music should actually help in the telling of the story instead of just being a support for verses: think again of Iron ent these days, definitely is a major one on Primordial (and
you get a live version of Total Destruction). Much Blacker
Maiden and how the aforementioned album evolves. Paradigmatic, isn't it?
in essence than later material, “Dark Romanticism” reminds
"Under the Black Cross" is another chapter in the Pentacle saga and, you guessed it, it's a concept album. Wannes us that Primordial really started as a Black Metal band (you
(bassist, vocalist), feeling it was about time to combine his interest in the Second World War and Pentacle's music, also get a live Darkthrone cover to attest that). Raw, unpol-
decided to write the lyrics that describe, as closely as possible to the historical accounts, the events that occurred in ished and, well, 11 years old, this demo re-release is inter-
esting to listen to, if not really a mandatory buy. You also get
1942 under the moniker of 'Operation Chariot'. And what a fortunate meeting this is! Pentacle's music is as warlike
a DVD of their San Open Air concert from August ‘03 as a
as it gets, with their guitar ensemble often resembling the continuous rattling of machine gun fire. In fact, the music bonus, which is not bad. [6] ERIC MASSICOTTE
accompanies the storyline so well that it actually creates visual sensations on the mind of the listener, like on the
instrumental "March of the Campletown", a crunching piece that illustrates the arrival of HMS Campletown. All those PRIMORDIAL : THE GATHERING WILDERNESS
[METAL BLADE RECORDS]
familiar with Pentacle already know their obsession with old Black/Death Metal and bands like Celtic Frost, Venom or
No matter how good Primordial may be, in my opinion,
Possessed, and though they have never been clones, in "Under the Black Cross" there is a whole different colour and they’ll never do another album as good as “Imrama”.
meaning to their music, possibly because of this visual dimension. Whether they're blasting the listener with fast and Maybe you’ll think I’m insane (and that’s not false at all!)
furious tunes like "Into the Fiery Jaws", crushing bones in the slower mid-section of "A Devil's Shooting Gallery", or but “Imrama” had that Black Metal feeling that Primordial
thrashing with the fistbanger "The Last Fight (ML 306's Stand)", Pentacle manage to keep everything intense and mil- have lost along the way. Nemtheanga and company are still
fine musicians yet all the seven songs in “The Gathering
itarily precise. And all this packed up with magnificent artwork to give the fans extra value for their hard earned
Wilderness” are too melancholic and soft for me.
money! The old flame is still alive, and these Dutch commandos are the living proof of that! [9] MIGUEL SOUSA Primordial are once again not worrying about criticisms or
anyone’s personal opinion and are following their own very
special path... the Celtic and pagan elements are all still
PERSEFONE : TRUTH INSIDE THE SHADES Darkthrone join the scene. Actually, these two titans played here and this release may not be easily appreciated but it
[ADIPOCERE RECORDS] Death Metal at first, but that's a long story... starts growing on you the more you listen to it.
What about a Children of Bodom song-structure method, Phazm is a highly influenced band by early Bathory and The lyrics are very mature and the contract with the new
a bit of Cradle of Filth breaks and some spicy Opeth-like Darkthrone. Formed in 2003, these dark minds distil a label, Metal Blade, seems to have given more confidence
calm melodic passages, along with some power metal raw/post Black Metal with high rock n' roll influences. The to the band. Songs such as “The Soul Must Sleep” and
“The Coffin Ships” can prove that!! Maybe you’ll enjoy this RAPTURE : SILENT STAGE a metal band. With Requiem Aeternam, I can add one a good use of the different cymbals. Especially when the
release... or maybe you won’t but I hope you at least give [SPIKEFARM RECORDS] more: Dialectical Metal. That's how Requiem Aeternam drummer slowly churns up the speed on the kick drums and
this album a chance! [7.5] SÓNIA FONSECA A strange blend this Finnish band delivers, melodic death defines themselves, supported by their contrasts sound, snare, a little by little sounds killer. This is not an album
metal the Swedish way, blended with gothic rock sounding oppositions and inequalities. Listening 'Philosopher', their that'll speak to all metalheads, I guess you need to enjoy
PRO-PAIN : PROPHETS OF DOOM moments and at other times more death/doomish ele- second album, surpasses immediately an interleaving of wicked old school material, to be able to get into this album,
[RAWHEAD / SOULFOOD MUSIC] ments. It seems like the band doesn't really know which influences (System of a Down, Death and Opeth and was- and I am also pretty sure that the first listen will leave some-
Picture, if you can, entering an old-fashioned home, and way to go or perhaps they are just in a transition. n't that for Martin Lopes and Martin Mendez in the original what a bad impression, due to the vocals. Though give the
seeing this album cover, embroidered, hanging on a wall. The compositions on this album are pretty good, they line-up in 1995) and styles as Nu-metal, Death Metal and album some time and let the vocals work on your mind and
That’s the style, but not the (idea) l. It appears to contain catch fairly quickly on and leave and impression. There are Thrash Metal; without blending them altogether to present it'll start to fit. Musically the album is really good, good riffs,
references to ward off evil. Hard-core heroes Pro-pain a lot of dark and bleak atmospheres involved in the music us something unusual and original like this Uruguayan trio good melodies and good drumming and pretty clever song
(with various members featured in other supergroups) are and that is what drives the music and makes it interesting. has establish for metal definition. Instead, we have time writing. [7] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
back, with their most energetic, effort, yet! The in-your- The music is more or less heard before, the guitar riffs are slots of every metal influence and band in every song,
face, moshable, “Neocon” is sure to see frantic pit action, okay, but kind of boring and not that innovative, and often song after song, constituting 'Philosopher' a homoge- RIMFROST : A JOURNEY TO A GREATER END
when they hit the road in support; this continues on the it feels like it has been heard before. The drumming is neous piece, and good enough to pay attention and com- [NO COLOURS RECORDS]
Thrasher “UnAmerican” that lays it on the line, at the fore- okay, but again not that interesting, there are good breaks pose by well-play set of songs. Unfortunately, they carry a I've seen bands struggling for years without much success
front, preparing this troop of doom for an all-out assault; and pace shifts here and there, but pretty standard rhythm sound heard before in others lands, like North America, to reach the sort of quality that we get in "A Journey To A
the building up, of the primarily instrumental “Getting patterns. The bass gets a lot of space in the sound picture, South America or Norwegian and without the Spanish Greater End" and these 18 year old boys simply hit it in
Over”, sees them moving on, and getting on with life, after and there are delivered some good bass lines from it, so accent every time José Romero sings with a clean voice. their first compact disc strike.
a scourge of death, takes it’s toll; the suitably titled “Torn” that is more than justified. A good feature is the electron- That's a little annoying. For this musical approach-type, This Mcd is composed by three long tracks of blasting
lives up to it’s name, as a life is lead, and blood is shed, in ic, almost ambient industrial elements in the track 'The certainly has contributed the production of Joe Pedulla and Black metal blended with an extra dose of Thrash and Death
the names of glory and respect; the killer riffs, combined Times We Bleed (Closure)', they spice up the track and Arun Venkatesh (Overkill) and mastering of Tom Hutten metal elements which give an extra brutal punch and
with the lyrical concept, of “The Prisoner”, breaks free of adds a good angle to the melodic gothic rock in that track (Iggy Pop; Foo Fighters). Certainly a risky move on getting aggressiveness to the music. Not to mention the fact that it
the ties that bind, providing the perfect recipe for success! and makes it seem more bleak. every one's attention that can maybe lead to no one was recorded at Black Lounge Studios with the help of well
Excellent! [8] CHRIS HORTON The best feature on the album is the vocals, a good mix appealing. Otherwise, Requiem Aeternam never forsake know producer Jonas Kjellgren (Centinex, Carnal Forge,
between a fragile clean vocal and the grim growl, the their Latin origins, although they flew to New York City Scar Symmetry, Dellamorte), which already worked with
PROJECT: FAILING FLESH : A BEAUTIFUL SICKNESS classic combination, if look beside that both vocals on (USA) to settling down in 2002 (especially RA singer and bands like Steel Attack, Katatonia, Constructdead,
[KARMAGEDDON MEDIA] here are male and that the growl isn't used that much, front man José Romero), singing some lines in Spanish in Incapacity, Facebreaker just to name a few. The end result
While everybody raved about E-Force, I one of the few that which I find a shame. Production-wise the album is quite songs like 'Desperation'. Requiem Aeternam's was already stated by many as a version of the latest
thought that it just was mediocre, and that’s being positive. good, a well-weighed heavy production, which leaves a 'Philosopher' is a good and honest proposal, living open a Immortal works and I must totally disagree with that
Eric Forrest new endeavor, he pretty much lets the song- lot of room for each instrument, something which the bright future ahead for this young band as soon as they because Rimfrost have much more Death and Thrash metal
writing part of the deal out and concentrate on wailing like bass especially is gaining a lot from, it is really good found their right vein to follow in. One last written to the elements than Immortal on any of the latest records,
he can, exactly what he was doing in Voivod. To be honest, sounding and adds heaviness yet something ugly but lyrics theme witches José Romero based to make this "Damned In Black", "Sons of Northern Darkness" you name
that suits him perfectly. Kevin 131 and Tim Gutierrez have beautiful to the atmosphere. The band has so far album. Each of the 'Philosopher' song's lyric is based on it. Not to mention that Hravn's vocals tend to be much more
enough chops and talent to carry this whole thing on their received some good reviews on all of their albums, and the work of a specific philosopher and on Romero's book influenced by the Swedish blackened death metal scenes.
shoulders and Kevin 131’s production is one of the best I I believe this one will get some praise on the way as well. 'Forbidden Writings'. [6.5] CARLOS FILIPE All in all the more I listen to this the more it looks like a
heard in metal for a while. Thrash in the vein of what the Though I'm not sure of how impressed I am, the music thrashy death metal album with strong black metal influ-
Haunted have been doing for a while, the musical men is well written and there are some good moments here RESUSCITATOR : A WARRIOR’S DEATH ences. This was certainly a nice kick off by this young band
behind this project throw arrangements curve balls all over and there, but when the band is best, it either sounds like [DISPLEASED RECORDS] that will see their debut album recorded soon, lets wait to
this record with piano, organ and viola lines that enhance Katatonia or My Dying Bride. Though this is a mandato- Yet an old American death/black metal band getting into see if they manage to surpass this Mcd! [7] NUNO SANTOS
the listening experience beyond belief. This is a very well ry band to check out of you are into melodic doom with gears and starting to move faster and faster. Californian
and crushingly powerful record that I urge every thrash fan tendencies towards a more rock-sound and approach. Resuscitator was formed back in 1992, but haven't RIVENDELL : FAREWELL THE LAST DAWN
to pick up as soon as possible. [7] SIMON THIBAUDEAU [7] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN released that much through out the years, but in the latter [PERVERTED TASTE]
years that has started to happen a lot and the band seems Its impossible to have an idea on how many bands are
very much active nowadays. playing metal these days, I mean the depths of the world-
Raw and grim death metal with a good dose of black metal wide underground scenes are to immense that some are
mixed into the melting pot is what the band delivers. It is only known to a few selected persons, usually friends. I
ugly as hell, the guitar tone is raw, the production is sim- can't say Rivendell is an unknown act since they have
ple and straight to the bone, everything is as it should be. already released two albums prior to "Farewell" but still I'm
The compositions are pretty simple and straight ahead sure most of you fans of bands like Finntroll or Falkenbach
with some good breaks and pace shifts, the band are also never heard of this one man band hailing from Austria and
incorporating some good twisted melodies into the battle, you don't know what you are missing!! "Farewell" marks
and they work well, keeps the music interesting and serves Rivendell's history as the first album for the German label
as hooks, so one can remember the tracks. Perverted Taste after two titles on Skaldic Art Productions
At first the vocals are a hard lump to swallow, they are very (label of Vratyas Vakyas, the man behind Falkenbach),
slow, almost regurgitated at times, a raw rasp, moving "Elven Tears" in 2003 and the debut "The Ancient Glory" in
slowly forward, about half the speed of the music, which 2000. Unfortunately I was also among those who never
makes it twisted at first, but with time it starts to work out heard of the talented Falagar before, so these two albums
for the better and gives the final output quite a special passed aside me and I can say much about the progress of
atmosphere. The speed of the music is interesting, it goes the band. Still its easy to enter and be astonished by the
up and down all the time, especially the drum work is excel- dreamy Tolkienish world created by Falagar on "Farewell"...
lent, a blasting snare drum and kick drum extravaganza and with strong Folk influences this metal record has the abili-
ty to travel through time to distinct historical periods from
the bravery of the Viking era to the exotism of the Eastern
countries and then back to middle age. This third opus has
a constant melodic pulse in all songs, even the more
aggressive parts (like on the black metal styled song 'Back
To Lands We Once Did Know') are harmonious. All songs
PROSTITUTE DISFIGUREMENT : EMBALMED MADNESS were written and played by Falagar and besides the usual
[UNMATCHED BRUTALITY RECORDS] guitars, drums, vocals (mostly clean folk-styled) we also
I first heard this Dutch band upon the release of their second album "Deeds Of Derangement" which was released in have traditional instruments like flute, violin, accordion,
2003 by Morbid Records. This is the band's debut album which has been re-released by Unmatched Brutality. The mandolin or the Indian Sitar that gives the necessary vibe
in Rivendell. This is for sure a precious gem that the
original release was made by Dismemberment Records in 2001 and limited to 500 copies, so that one has been gone Austrian scene was hiding for too long! [7.5] NUNO SANTOS
for a while. Though now it's available again together with 5 bonus tracks, the songs from the band's "Disfigure"
demo from 2000, so a real treat we get here. It was also made a new cover artwork for this release, even though it SABATON : PRIMO VICTORIA
[BLACK LODGE]
pictures the same as the original artwork, it's not as offensive here, due to it being a pure illustration.
With song titles like "Panzer Batallion" and "Stalingrad", one
Heavy and down tuned gore/grind death metal is what the nice Dutchmen delivers. Heavy and catchy main riffs, very
might mistake Sabaton for another WWII obsessed black
captivating while dragging the listener into the tracks. Extreme and blasting drumming, not much rest for neither the metal band. But, fortunately or unfortunately (according to
kick drums nor the snare. An extreme heavy and pumping bass, rumbling away, keeping the rhythm in awe. A killer one's personal tastes), these Swedes are not on Marduk's
growl, guttural as fuck, at times turned into a wicked scream, but the growl takes the price. Relentless, ugly and side of the bunker, rather on Hammerfall's! Yes, this is
more than competent heavy/power metal fronted by a
grim as hell. The production is raw, but pretty good and fitting, considered the music it is supporting. There are
REVENGE : VICTORY.INTOLERANCE.MASTERY singer lower than most. In fact, most of my interest on this
some white noise here and there, but the music is blasted out of the speakers, the drums sound okay, though a bit [OSMOSE PRODUCTIONS] record was motivated by the capacity that this band has for
artificial here and there, I suspect it to be programmed drums, but they do actually sound pretty good and fitting and variation, and the vocals certainly suit that. At least it sure
The decay of the western world has been object of
adds brutality to the whole bloody scenery. makes a change from Cans and Co. and I'm sure fans of
philosophical debate for a couple of centuries, and it this type of music will find this a pleasurable listen.
This is the display of the start of this band's glorious career, Prostitute Disfigurement has just released their 3rd
was only a matter of time for extreme metal artists to Still, despite the excellent sound (after all, this is an Abyss
album and haven't strayed from the path they laid clear on this first album, and their demo. If you are into death product!) and the musicianship on display here, I find my
start sucking inspiration from the 'ways of the world'.
metal, this is a mandatory album and the band will soon go into the history and become as important as Cannibal curiosity decaying as the record goes on, perhaps because
But if Satyricon's Post-Black Metal opus "Rebel
Corpse, Suffocation and the likes! [9] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN the first four songs are possibly the strongest, with the
Extravaganza" raved in the gloomy pleasures of decay opening one "Primo Victoria" being a real heavy metal
to good aesthetical effect, Revenge is altogether punch with an epic feel that sticks to your ear.
PSYOPUS : IDEAS OF REFERENCE REPUGNANT : EPITOME OF DARKNESS something else. Something camouflaged beyond a Power metal is obviously a not very innovative style of
[REFLECTIONS RECORDS] [SOULSELLER RECORDS] music, but this is well performed and varied enough for a
wall of extreme sonic violence. J. Read (ex-Conqueror)
Another "core"... another strike! Oh yeah, baby! Mathcore There are albums not meant to be heard by the new breed good mark. And, like I said, I like the vocals and the dra-
has gotten itself a new interesting hyper-tech band. of metal fans simply because they will most likely not and Pete Helmkamp (ex-Order From Chaos and matic treatment they give some of the tracks, with the full
Sometimes it gets boring to review CDs where you know understand or appreciate. "Epitome Of Darkness" belongs Angelcorpse) have teamed up to create a machine of choruses and keyboards. And check out that lovely accent
what you'll find and you know for sure that it will be painful to that "category" and should certainly be placed in a shelf pure and utter cosmic destruction and, I daresay, they on the chorus of "Panzer Batallion"! [7] MIGUEL SOUSA
to do the critic, but when I get good "core" CDs the scenario along with the smelly late eighties, early nineties death have succeeded! No traces of melody are to be found
changes completely. There's a whole new movement - which metal vinyl records that any proud headbanger should
in this raw and unpolished celebration of extreme
SACRIVERSUM : SIGMA DRACONIS
started like 10 years ago approximately - that is totally possess in their collections. Unfortunately it's their first [METAL MIND RECORDS]
impossible to get indifferent with; we're getting hit by these and last album since this Swedish band split-up after it. musical brutality where guitar and bass smother the If you like driven, power-tinged gothic metal, then I've got
new American bands, and some of you are really pissed off Gladly for all of us they still had time to bomb us with 10 unaware listener to a relentless succession of hyper- a treat to tell you about. Too much Goth out there is just
about Metalcore and Emocore. But this is no Metalcore, songs of well crafted old school death metal in the vein of speed drumming! "Iron Intolerance" is pure blastbeat same old, same old. How much can you take? Well, maybe
O.K.? This is the SHIT. I tell you what: get drunk really bad, old Entombed/Nihilist. In fact this is more a gathering of a little bit more once you get your paws on this disc. While
mania, with "Traitor Crucifixion" guaranteeing total
take some acids and go to a strip tease bar. During that trip selected songs from all their demos and Eps, starting from Sacriversum does anchor itself in the standard lovely
get your hear phones plugged into your ears and put "Spawn of Pure Malevolence" '98 Demo to the "Premature neural annihilation. "Hate Oath" might be a bit more female vocals and powerish, melodic metal songwriting, it
Psyopus' "Ideas Of Reference" playing. The result? You Burial" '04 Ep released also by Soulseller Records. So this moderate speed wise, but doubles the heaviness and doesn't stick with merely that. The band chose to go
won't be able to tell. Maybe you'll feel dead and numb, but means that for a Repugnant fan most of the material is the distorted intensity of Read and Helmkamp's instru- beyond the mere staples of conventional Goth metal trap-
still, you won't tell a thing about what struck you in the head. already known with the exception of 3 songs 'Hungry Are ments. But more than musical extremism, "Victory. pings to do something to distinguish itself, always the
So, I wasn't talking about Limp Bizkit. I can't quite describe The Damned', 'Eating From A Coffin' and 'Another Vision'. mark of a good band. The music has also incorporated ele-
exactly what goes on the minds of Pysopus guys, but they While most bands nowadays seek a great production it's Intolerance. Mastery" is a brilliant aesthetic achieve- ments of thrash at times and grinding vocals also figure
love jazz, Cynic and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Both guitar incredible to see that others, like Repugnant can recreate a ment fuelled and inspired by a decay that demands into the textures of the music. Sometimes just blending
works are out of descriptive words, as well as the drums sound used 15-20 years ago. This is a memory arouser annihilation, not revel. That is why this is such a heavy and pretty doesn't work; it's an obvious ploy to be
blasting (beats) breaks; add some harsh hardcore vocals, tool to all old death metal bastards! [8] NUNO SANTOS severe opus, the musical encoding of a categorical "dynamic." But sometimes it does, indeed, work. Here's a
abstract lyrics, and cook it during 43.17 minutes: dinner is case of the latter. It is beauty-and-the-beast metal (a term
denial of weakness and an apology of strength. The
served. Forget the trendy goth and emocore wave; crush'em REQUIEM AETERNAM : PHILOSOPHER I lifted from doom-metal.net, dunno where they got it), an
all and listen to "Ideas Of Reference". I'm sure you'll run to [ICORP] post-modern mankind is moribund, Revenge are here increasingly popular flavour these days. But something
your nearest records store and buy it. [9.5] SIMÃO FONSECA Until now I have found over 250 different ways to classify to collect the spoils. [9] MIGUEL SOUSA that gives this an edge in its possibly small but still over-

58 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES

RITUAL CARNAGE : I, INFIDEL
[OSMOSE PRODUCTIONS]
With this fourth album for Osmose, the Japanese / American Thrash Metal leviathan Ritual Carnage continue to sur-
prise with their musical growth. "I, Infidel" is as menacing as the awesome front cover by Joe Petagno (he of
Motörhead fame) suggests, with the band reaching new heights of technical excellence as displayed on the tremen-
dous "Do Not Resuscitate", a sombre track with lyrics influenced by Edgar Allan Poe. It is clear that Ritual Carnage
know where they are going and exploring their instruments is a priority in that path, with the band often venturing
into the techno-thrash territory where both guitarists (Eddie and Wataru) give wings to their creativity. These
moments offer some wondrous guitar duelling to the listener's pleasure, like on the savage "Axion". Ritual Carnage
move farther and farther from the retro thrash tag to which they might have been associated, thus evolving from
their Slayer and Kreator roots to create their own brand of quality Thrash. Danny has left the bass playing to new
man Hiroyuki so he can fully concentrate on vocals, and this is possibly why he has delivered his best vocal per-
formance to date (we're talking about the Vio-lence school of vocals here).
Anyway, after listening to "I, Infidel" a few times, it still amazes me how these lunatics can spit forth tune after tune
of the most vicious and venomous thrash metal available in these days. Glorious! [8.5] MIGUEL SOUSA
populated (in my opinion) genre is a certain spark to the
frontlady's vocals that give her a little more personality
than some run of the mill, operatic Goth metal power
chick. I hate to say it, but there are a lot of pretty voices out
there in the Goth metal scene - most of them quite nice -
but it all starts to run together at some point. Fortunately,
between the successful fusion of disparate musical ele-
ments and the quality of the female singer's voice, this act
stands out. All told, a strong entry in the gothic metal
scene. [7.5] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
SAPROGENIC : THE WET SOUND OF FLESH ON
CONCRETE
[DEEPSEND RECORDS]
American Saprogenic is one of the bands that has been
talked quite a bit about in the underground death metal
scene, I've heard a bit about them as well, but have to
admit that this is my first encounter with their music.
Brutal and heavy death metal with pummelling bass drums
and a guttural growl beyond belief is how Saprogenic pres-
ent their variation of death metal.
There is a great flow in the music, and it more or less
immediately carry the listener away on a wave of head-
banging and maniacal moshing, it is damn hard to sit still
while listening to this album. There is a heavy groove pres-
ent through all the songs, and together with some good
hooking guitar riffs, it is easy to get into the music. The low
guttural and ultra brutal growl adds a lot of darkness and
evilness to the final output. It is also mixed low in the sound
picture, a nice effect, which isn't used that much anymore,
but I really like the darkness that it invokes. The composi-
tions are well made and built very reasonable, the band
knows what they are capable of, and does it and execute it
well. There are some good breaks and many pace shifts, so
even if the final output isn't neck breaking technically, they
know how to make the music interesting and varied. This is
a stellar example of good skull crushing death metal, heavy
and devastating, it simply moves forward and relentlessly
crushes all that comes in the way. The production is nice
and dark and the instruments sound good and are well-
placed in the mix. The variation of blasting parts and mid-
tempo crushers are good and the overall musical perform-
ance is very acceptable, together with the good composi-
tions. And all fans of guttural and low vocals will dig the
vocal in this album, that's for sure. This is a very enjoyable
album that all death metal fans should get into, the deeds
of old school American death metal, fused together with
newer and more technical atrocity, a nice slap of gore
straight into the living rooms. [8] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
SATAN’S HOST : BURNING THE BORN... (A NEW
PHILOSOPHY)
[SELF RELEASED]
I admit that I asked to review this album out of pure curios-
ity. I've been searching for years for an original LP copy of
"Metal From Hell" but always it goes too high in prices.
When I had listened to it, my opinion wasn't very good, but
I had a lousy sound copy. We deal with a black metal band
in a Norwegian vein. All the standards are present. Corpse
paint, fast and furious drumming, growling vocals and
satanic titles. The difference is that all these elements are
neatly put together with a very careful introduction of
melody underlying in most of the tracks. A very hon-
ourable effort indeed, which can capture one's ears even if
black metal isn't your favourite genre. The general feeling
that the 4 crazy Americans create is hell in all its magni-
tude. A fiery front cover comes to support the hellish
music and the mystical surrounding. All Satan's Host
legions worldwide won't be disappointed from the band's
attempt to re-write history. [6.5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
SATANIC WARMASTER : CARELIAN SATANIST
MADNESS
[NO COLOURS RECORDS]
"Carelian Satanist madness" is most probably the best
album from Satanic Warmaster so far. Offering the tradi-
tional necro black metal played with hints of Pagan Metal
elements, mainman Werwolf also showcase here stronger
songwriting skills. Alternating between more melodic pas-
sages to rockier moments and relentless blast sections, the
music benefits from the minimalistic (yet really good) 4-
track production. I'll end claiming that beyond the futile
political reserves some may have concerning Satanic
Warmaster, we have here a great album of non-commercial,
underground Black Metal. Advice: get the great-looking LP
version of this album if you can! [8] ERIC MASSICOTTE
SATUREYE : WHERE FLESH AND DIVINITY COLLIDE
[KARMAGEDDON MEDIA]
The violent forces of death metal and thrash meet head-on
in a crushingly destructive force known as Satureye. "Where
Flesh and Divinity Collide" boasts incredibly charging
thrash-it-up grooves providing the super killer overdrive to
this revved up, tachometer-blowing metal rave-on. The
sheer energy is blistering and whooshes past like a subway
train going way too damn fast. The thrash-isn't-dead
propulsion serves as the sturdy skeleton to Satureye's pro-
ficient slab of extremity. Death metal also adds its intensity
to the merciless beating inflicted upon the unwitting listen-
er. Building around the breathtaking speed and grooves,
death adds its intensity and heaviness, cementing
Satureye's qualification as a band that knows how to pro-
duce solid hard metal. Occasionally you'll hear such drivel
as this: "Thrash is dead." Just remember, these people are
liars and not to be trusted, not musically, anyway. While
Satureye's molten metal might not be, strictly speaking,
thrash - there's just as much death abounding in what's
going on here - there is still plenty of the ol' mosh energy of
thrash. Listen to this CD and tell me if you don't want to get
to writhing around like a seizure patient on crystal meth. Go
ahead, I dare you. Can you take it? [7] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
SCAVENGER : METHOD TO OUR MADNESS
[SENTINEL RECORDS]
In a power metal scene often overcrowded with cheesy
bandwagon jumper acts more concerned with how they
look in promo pictures than with their music, Scavenger
are certainly a breath of fresh air with their peculiar brand
of Heavy Metal that owes more to the NWOBHM than to
the current legion of continental power metal worshipers.
I am sure that the fact that "Method to our Madness" is an
Emerald Island export has something to do with this.
Besides, the Stuart Anstis (Ex-Cradle Of Filth) might have
also contributed to the album's British atmosphere!
Anyway, this is pretty damn good for a debut since it dis-
plays quite a lot of personalised musical maturity, which
means that Maiden and Priest influences are recycled with
good consequences for the metal environment! The sound
quality deserves improvement, but that doesn't affect my
opinion that Scavenger know how to let a song flow,
rejecting the fast n'cheesy power metal choruses in favour
of a sober combination of healthy doses of melody and
Megadeth style thrashy riffing, like on the 9 minute long
"Prisoner Of Time". The more recent Rage albums also
spring to mind, with Scavenger adopting a similar musical
attitude. It is no wonder Sentinel Records thought "Method
to our Madness" to be worth releasing!
All in all, these Irish boys might well be on the way of mak-
ing a name for themselves if the music business is in the
mood for it! [7] MIGUEL SOUSA
SCENTERIA : ART OF AGGRESSION
[NEW AEON MEDIA]
"Art of Aggression" is the first album by the Swedish band
Scenteria, formed in 2002. After three successful demos,
the band caught the eye of a couple of record labels and
ended up signing with the New Aeon Media, which
released the album in 2004.
In a Death/Thrash style, the 9 tracks of the album offer us
40 minutes of melodic riffs, powerful drum action and
vocals, in a quality production that will surely pump loads
of energy into your blood stream. Although "Art of
Aggression" doesn't represent a major breakthrough when
it comes to originality, Scenteria is a band that appears to
have a lot to offer in the future so we'll have to keep an eye
on them. [7.5] SUSANA FERNANDES
SCHIZO : MAIN FRAME COLLAPSE
[AVANTGARDE MUSIC]
First time ever released on CD this 1988 classic album
remains for many as a hidden jewel straight from the
depths of the not so much prolific Italian Thrash Metal
movement. Together with Bulldozer and Necrodeath they
lead the scene however like their two country fellows they
never achieved a big success compared to bands like
Slayer, Kreator, Sodom or Metallica most likely due to a
bad promoted album, weak distribution channels...
"Main Frame Collapse" is their debut and only album, it
shows a simple and rawer Thrash metal influenced by
bands like Sodom, Hellhammer or Venom. Prior to this
record Ingo of Necrodeath entered the band to handle the
vocals and marked the path of the band with a more Trashy
styled musical approach, clearly present on "Main Frame
Collapse". I wonder if the fact that the band nowadays is
looking for a label to release their 2nd opus entitled
"Cicatriz Black" has anything to do with the timing for this
re-release, nevertheless this is a essential piece of work for
all old bastards into Thrash Metal that do not possess the
vinyl version! [7] NUNO SANTOS
SERIAL BUTCHER : GENOCIDE LANDSCAPE
[DEEPSEND RECORDS]
This new Belgian band, which partly is being promoted
featuring a Leng Tch'e member, which of course is natural
considering the popularity that band lately has got. It is
Leng Tch'e bassist Nicolas, who here is handling the gui-
tar, and he is joined by drummer and guitarist Nico and
vocalist Steven.
Serial Butcher, gotta love that name, is delivering brutal as
fuck death/grind with a good slap of gore in the mix. The
grinding guitar work is catchy and heavy maelstrom after
maelstrom of poisonous riffs are being spewed forth, bru-
tally without mercy of any kind only disrupted by a noisy
lead here and there. The drumming is merciless as well,
pounding kick drums, a punishing snare drum, effective
fills and crashing cymbals. The vocals are guttural and just
as brutal and relentless as the rest of the recording and
growled with a small variation consisting of some inhu-
mane screams, causing shivers down the back.
Composition-wise the songs are pretty standard within the
genre with signs of brilliancy here and there, like in
'Cum/Gut/Expulsion', where the band goes into a atmos-
pheric and quite slow part where the riffing is an obvious
tribute to Cannibal Corpse, before going into a nice solo
and back into the main riff.
For fans of utter brutality, this is one of the best releases
right now, I got very surprised by this band and the way
they plough through the masses of brutality and leaves
back an enormous impact and lust for more. There are
many promising death metal bands on the scene right now,
and this one has just got into that list, it is going to be great
to hear more material from this slaying Belgian trio, they
have what it takes. [8.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
SERPENTIA : NAILS ENIGMA
[METAL MIND RECORDS]
The opening track on Serpentia's "Nails Enigma" is mis-
leading but in a reasonably artistically legitimate way. If you
heard only the initial instrumental number on this CD, with
its downright folk-inspired flavour that blooms into what
promises to be a sweetly powerful power metal set list,
you'd expect, um, power metal (how many times can I use
a form of the word power in one fucking sentence, any-
way?). The truth of the matter is that this gorgeous open-
ing track is the setup for your being being crushed (repet-
itive today, ain't!?) by a blackish death attack. Lighter
(that's relatively speaking, you understand) segments of
song achieve almost progressive metal structures, but this
can at a moment's notice surge into chunky death crunch.
But the death growl isn't the only oral outpouring here.
Solid baritone clean singing finds its way into the mix at
times, as well. All told, there's a respectable dynamism
here, proving that competent songwriting rules the day
more than uncontrolled mayhem. [6] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
SETH : ERA DECAY
[AVANTGARDE MUSIC]
"Era Decay" is Seth's fourth full-length album and it gives
proof of strong and mature band. My impression is that
especially with their third album "Divine-X", Seth took a
more defined course within the Black Metal übergenre. It
is a mixture of melodic, fast, technical, sometimes a bit
experimental (for example on the instrumental song
"Ascention"), but also somehow controlled, thus with no
place for flaws. This is enhanced by the professional pro-
duction by the well-known Excess Studio from Rotterdam.
This is where I think some rawness got lost. The produc-
tion is so well done that it all tends to get a bit too clinical
(here I am for example referring to the triggered sound of
the base-drum). Of course I understand that for a band like
Seth it is important to hear every instrument properly on
the CD, since the music leans on a lot of small details and
technical structures which, on their turn, would pass
unnoticed with an inferior production. Therefore I think
there should be more of a balance between these ele-
ments, but at the same time I know how fucking difficult it
is to achieve this.
But I definitely don't want to mislead you into thinking this
is not a good album. It is! Seth is a very interesting band,
yet with originality an untrained ear might not notice
immediately! For example the last track "The blade upon
mankind"... There are some parts here which are dark and
twisted in a very uncommon fashion, ending up creating
quite eerie atmospheres. Heimoth (the main composer)
has quite a unique way of creating these atmospheres and
only sporadically he turns to the synthesizer for this pur-
pose. But when he does, he does it right, and with the
proper modesty. As for the guitars, they project a much
studied way of riffing, wherein both guitars intertwine each
other and end up flowing together as rather technical har-
monies. The bass (played by Helldryk) also has an impor-
tant role, sometimes even carrying the main melody (just
same time, gives them a great advantage against the rest of
death metallers that strive for recognition and/or a contract.
Members of this death combo have previously offered their
services to respected ensembles, like Broken Hope, a fact
that makes perfect sense. Otherwise, these concrete
arrangements and solid metal riffs would seem to have
come out of the blue. For some strange reasons (even my
shrink can't scientifically justify), good death metal always
makes my day! No matter the worries, no matter the taxes
and the unpaid bills, a piece of well-performed death metal
music will magically solve all of my problems! At least I
think so. And imagine that I am not quite the most lunatic
fan of this genre. Therefore, witnessing extreme musicians
not letting their passion for music run dry, even if their for-
mer bands demise, and still wish to unleash death
"assaults" not only makes my day, but also springs promis-
es for the future. My only objection goes to the ambient,
introductory to each song, passages that appear here, since
I fail to find a reason that will accurately explain their exis-
tence. With a notch of grind spreading here and there, this
promo sums up, to my ears, all the qualities that modern
day death metal squads should carry along. It may not
bring fresh air, but it strengthens the quality rates of the
scene. As a matter of fact, who needs 'fresh' air, in 'death'
metal? Dear label owners and A&R personnel's, I'm not
writing their address for nothing... [7] JOHN ZIKOS
MARTIAL BARRAGE : HAIL THE VALKELION
These Canadians’ demo has certainly come to the wrong
reviewer! What I mean is that I never got to love Death /
Grind stuff (well, with quite a few exceptions), so the 4
songs on “Hail the Valkelion” just speak nothing to me!
Quite impartially, I can note that the demo must be taken
for a sign that Martial Barrage have reached the moment
when they got skilled enough that to think of releasing a
studio album. And such one is already a reality actually - it
calls “Call of the Serapeum” and can be ordered from
Sinister Sounds. [5] VANYA MARINOVA
MIND-A-STRAY : SIGN OF VICTORY
After some demos, a couple line-up and name changes, in
2000, Tiihonen (rhythm guitar, back-vocals) decided to start
Mind-A-Stray with a solid line-up of Ilvonen (vocals),
Hoffrén (bass, back vocals, keys), Lappalainen (solo guitar)
and Lehtosaari (drums), who entered in Mind-A-Stray after
the demo record.
This self released demo with 3 tracks of a classic
heavy/thrash metal with hardrock influences differs nothing
from any other classic heavy metal band. The sound is
good, very well produced and played with a versatile voice.
Mind-A-Stray have the quality in their songs like any other
finish band. Finland is really full of bands with great pro-
ductions. However there is nothing new in this demo, it's
good but it lacks originality. I guess that with some innova-
tion it could be better. Mind-A-Stray's demo ends with
some different parts of the whole that they could explore
more in some future releases. [6.5] NUNO CARVALHO
OF INFINITY : THE ESSENCE OF INFINITY
Of Infinity was born in 1999, gathering its members from
distant states of America - Texas, New Jersey and
Arkansas. Their first Cd, "The Essence of Infinity" was
released last year, with only 3 tracks and a length of 17
minutes. Despite the shortness of the Cd, they've success-
fully created an appealing mood with the gothic sonority of
keyboards and violin, accompanied by the heavier touch of
drums and guitars.
The only thing that doesn't seem to go along with the
whole is the female vocals, which aren't that impressive.
Alessandra Zinicola, lead singer, states as her influences
bands like Nightwish or Theatre of Tragedy, but her voice
relates more easily to The Gathering, although in a weaker
level.
Anyway, "The Essence of Infinity" is definitely a release to
enjoy, and it gives us a glimpse of the quality this project
may have to offer in the future. [6.5] SUSANA FERNANDES
SABATAN : LIKE A BULLET IN THE BRAIN
Here come the Spaniards again. In 2000 I had reviewed
their first demo called "Metal Louder". It was just what you
can call brilliant. Raw metal in the vein of old great bands.
So I was eagerly expecting their follow up which was very
much delayed (end of 2003), due to the change of singer
Miguel Pulido. He was replaced by Miguel Corte-Real, com-
ing from a rock band called Arya. After listening to their
new 4 track demo called "Like A Bullet In The Brain" I got
the exact same feeling as the title. It was just like someone
shot me in the head from a close range. A totally different
sound with rhythmless songs, not well tied together and
with a voice trying to imitate David Coverdale in a lot of
moments. The old horse pounding riffs were absent, a
clearly polished sound for the masses and a lack of inspira-
tion, originality or even a mainstream metal beat. I barely
listened to the end of the Cd and I don't think their effort to
find a decent company contract will soon be rewarded. I
sincerely expected more from a band that opened for the
mighty Saxon in the past. [3.5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
SIRIAKAL : NIGHT N’ LIGHT
Siriakal released their first demo in 2004, entitled "Night n'
Light", composed of four black metal tracks in what, I must
say, with a terrible production. I mean, the production is so
bad that it leaves little room to try to understand the quality
of the musicians itself.
The guitars don't sound that bad (sometimes), but the bass
is way too loud and the drums aren't powerful enough. Not
to mention the voice: a failed attempt at growling some-
thing with a Spanish accent that I can't decode without the
help of a lyrics sheet, which is inexistent by the way. The
chorus on the third track, "War in the Vulture Land", actually
made me laugh...
In spite of not wanting to condemn this project to eternal
obscurity, I must confess it needs some serious changes if
they wish to make it in the real world. Finding a new guy
for the vocals and a decent production would definitely be a
start. [2] SUSANA FERNANDES
ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 59
listen to the track "A Pallbearer's Gloom"!).
One thing is for sure, if you liked the "Divine-X" album,
you'll probably like "Era-Decay" more! [8] TARAS VAN DIJK
SHAARIMOTH : CURRENT 11
[CARNAL RECORDS]
Once in a while appears a band from nowhere and
reveals to the world their ability to compose good
songs. The members of Shaarimoth are not newcom-
ers, in fact some may know Rune Andreassen and
Frode Ramsland by playing in Disiplin. However this
is a total new story, "Current 11" is an intense death
metal journey through the occult depths of Sumerian
mythology, where the listener is ritualistic pushed
straight to the dark abyss!
These Norwegians are blending bits of Morbid Angel,
Incantation, Behemoth, Nile and Deicide to create
their own brutal style not to mention an uncommon
production that gives an incredible strength to the
instruments. Just hear the first seconds of 'Flood The
Cosmic Gates' and don't tell me that this isn't proba-
bly one of the most intense songs you have ever
heard, brutal drumming, intense fast guitar riffs and a
growling that makes David Vincent blush. One of the
things that I really like in Shaarimoth is that they
manage to write brutal technical songs without
sounding too much complex at all. They look simple
yet extremely dynamic and versatile, sometimes com-
parable with old Morbid Angel. The material featured
in "Current 11" is a bit old, recorded back in 2002 and
I just hope they are able to maintain the same quality
on future releases. A record that will please all death
metal maniacs since the band managed to grab all
death metal aspects that make a killer album, starting
with interesting tempo changes, good vocals, extreme
drumming, you name it! Before you buy it I feel I
must warn you that this record has the ability to be
constantly in your stereo! [8.5] NUNO SANTOS
SHADOWSPHERE : DARKLANDS
[SELF RELEASED]
What we're dealing with here is a really promising band
from Portugal. In 2001 they had recorded a demo called
"Death And Dreaming". It was a great demo with a lousy
sound. Brutal vocals, right in your face, blackthrash metal.
The greatest moment is the breath taking song "Forever".
2004 finds them, after suffering a lot of line up changes,
with their first full length album called "DarkLands". It
includes their first demo and a lot of new songs. A really
professional attempt, illustrated cover and booklet, excel-
lent lyrics dealing with their obsession for Bram Stoker's
Dracula. The vocals remain brutal but this time the sound
really supports their image, leading them to success. Full
compulsive songs that prove the band knows exactly what
they want. Again in the Swedish Death Metal vein, but
influenced by old school thrash, these guys are gonna
make it! They deserve a shot to the top and I truly hope
they get it! Keep it going brothers! [7] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
SHINING : IV / THE EERIE COLD
[AVANTGARDE MUSIC]
I do not cut my wrist and bleed for my sins or feel guilty
for my miserable existence and think 24/7 about suicide.
Still, I can reckon that Shining is among the best bands in
the 'suicidal' genre. They have the cold and sterile sound,
the clean production and the musicians to provide a solid
performance. Everything here is surrounded in a bleak
aura and the vocal delivery surely helps to drag in the lis-
tener. Having heard the earlier version of this album, I think
the spoken word introduction was omitted from the final
retail version (but I am not sure). If I ever need to get lost
in suicide-mania I would take Bethlehem's 'Dictius Te
Necare' anytime over any of the Shining albums but I think
that this new one is probably their best so far. Now let that
dirty blood of yours stain you stereo. [8] ERIC MASSICOTTE
SIGILLUM DIABOLI : SIGILLUM DIABOLI
[BLASPHEMOUS UNDERGROUND PRODUCTIONS]
Typical cold and grim Norwegian black metal, simple as
that! Sigillum Diaboli is a Russian one man project creat-
ed by Taedium Vitae in 2003 and this is their demo (origi-
nally released by Orthodox Productions) pressed in CD.
This has all the elements of a decent black metal album, icy
cold riffing, ritualistic drumming (sometimes too monoto-
nous for me) and summoning alike vocalisation (probably
the best part on Sigillum Diaboli). This short 19 minute
Mcd opens with organ alike synths and explodes with
'There Darkness Rules Over Light', a fast drum machine
alike black metal song with sharp one dimensional riffing,
then follows 'Inquisition Delight' in the same path,
'Wandering' is slightly more dynamic with a guitar (wanna
60 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
be) solo in the end. 'Invocation' slows down turning into a
boring riffing song with an even more tedious drum
machine. This ends with 'Waste Of The Coldest Soul'
where he manage to create some interesting guitar pas-
sages that not only enrich the song but gives the neces-
sary variation not to end in mediocrity. All in all let's not
forget that it's only a demo, yet better sounding than many
black metal records... it only lacks originality, soul and
dynamism. [4] NUNO SANTOS
SINCE THE DAY : EL MENSAJERO NO ES
IMPORTANTE
[BASTARDIZED RECORDINGS]
The metalcore scene is really blooming these days, new
bands seem to pop up from everywhere, especially in
America, but Germany has also been a steady deliverer of
metalcore bands through some years. One of the new acts
on the German scene is Since The Day, which now are
ready with their first full length album.
This is one of the more hardcore driven bands I have laid
ears to in a while. A harsh and direct hardcore bottom,
spiced up with melodic leads, behind the heavy guitar wall,
we have a rumbling bass, and the drums… the drum work
isn't that exciting, but it keeps the rhythm and gives us a
bit of off beat extravaganza here and there. The rhythm
section seems tight as well. Though the song writing
seems a bit uninspired at times, I do once in a while catch
myself in being bored while listening to this album. At
times it seems like the music doesn't move forward, but
stands still, and some of the songs are built upon the same
blueprint, of an ear catching beginning, a groove part, a
soft or aggressive middle part and more groove. The high
guitar tone on some of the leads tends to be annoying as
well, but it keeps me from dozing totally off though.
Another annoying factor on this album is the vocals, the
main scream is flat out hideous, it keeps on grinding away
in a monotonous tone, raw and raspy, which have fitted
more in a black metal band, if hidden a bit more in the mix.
The vocal are on top of the mix most of the time, and that
doesn't make it better. Some more variation than the clean
nu-metal "whining" that the band uses on e.g. 'Lunar
Eclipse' and 'Mascara Eyes' would have been nice. A harsh
hardcore base, melodies and a raspy vocal is this album
summed up, this didn't wake something in me, rather the
opposite. [4] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
SINISTER : CREATIVE KILLINGS
[KARMAGEDDON MEDIA]
This fifth full length is the only Sinister's album recorded
for another label besides Nuclear Blast Records. The label
was Hammerheart Records, in 2001. This release was the
first Sinister work with Rachel on vocals and... I like it! Of
course Mike was really great as a vocalist but Rachel is
good too. Nice guitar compositions, with twisted details
and great riffs, sound somewhat like Cannibal Corpse. The
drums have got enough power to sound like any other
Sinister release but... The major problem about "Creative
Killings" is the bass. I cannot say if the bass is good or bad,
I just can't hear it. Creative Killings ends with a Possessed
cover, Storm in my mind, well executed. This
Karmageddon Media release includes the legendary
Sinister's "Perpetual Damnation" demo from '90 and a
Slayer cover, Praise of Death. Perpetual Damnation was
totally remastered to get in this release but, if you know
this cult demo, you're not gonna notice any big difference.
Including "Perpetual Damnation" in this release is half way
to compare Rachel to Mike voices. Sinister reformed in
middle 2005 due to letters from the many fans around the
world. A newcomer drummer Paul, former bassist Alex
Paul will move to guitar and drummer Aad moves to
Vocals. I wait anxiously for new work as good as the oth-
ers. [6.5] NUNO CARVALHO
SKYCLAD : A SEMBLANCE OF NORMALITY
[DEMOLITION RECORDS]
What can I say about this band? One of the most influen-
tial folklore metal bands that ever existed. A low profile
compilation of excellent musicians that always gave their
absolute best to their fans. Political lyrics that kick ass and
the violin as the trademark of their homeland tradition. Add
the excellent voice of Martin Walkyier and his aggressive
tempo and you have the glorious albums of their past with
"Prince Of The Poverty Line" as their zenith, in my opinion.
But...all good things come to an end eventually. Martin had
to step down due to financial problems. You see, Skyclad
was never a rich band. After many experimentations the
band decided to continue without him, having Kevin Ridley
take care of the vocals. That's where the whole salad gone
bad. Even though the lyrics are still in top shape and
Georgina Biddle's violin carries on, the metal sound is
absent. It's like you hear the old tunes with a polished talk-
ing-not singing voice in a dolby noise reduction environ-
ment. On top of it, the logo of the band has changed as
well, to my disappointment. The "Semblance Of Normality"
isn't simply Skyclad. It's not even close to Folkemon (what
a stupid name) for crying out loud. There are only a cou-
ple of songs still justifying their existence, like "Ten Little
Kingdoms" storying the division of Great Britain into sev-
eral autonomous kingdoms in the past. I honestly see no
reason for them to continue and become a bad image of
their exquisite past. [3] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
SOILENT GREEN : CONFRONTATION
[RELAPSE RECORDS]
Racing into oblivion, the winner is, Grindcore gurus
Soilent Green (a band I've heard so much about, thus was
curious to hear, first-hand, for myself). Blending Tommy
Buckley's blast beats, and infinite time and tempo
changes, with the Phil Anselmo style, vocal, attack of Ben
Falgoust, and the monster, Sabbath, riffs of Brian Patton
and Tony White, the killer "Leaves of Three" is a definitive,
lesson in violence, digging the meathook in, pulling out
bodily organs, and leaving entrails in its wake. The irony of
"Forgive and Regret" is that it won't, combining a Punk
mentality, with hints of Black Sabbath creeping in. "Pretty
Smiles & Shattered Teeth" is pretty much self-explanatory,
with similar results, akin to being punched in the face by a
steel fist. Once again Sab influenced, "Theory of Pride in
Tragedy" is a moshers dream come true, that's sure to go
over well live, and is one of my personal favourites on
"Confrontation", and the instrumental "Another Cheap beats. This time they didn't went that far testing new ideas
Brand of Luck" adds a touch of Southern charm and hos- - at least compared with their other records -, since Red
pitality, to all the chaos that's surrounding it. The fiery for Fire is a conscious return to their Viking roots and so,
cover art, featuring an armour clad warrior, in full battle less focused on the experimentation. Perhaps in a time
gear, is a far cry from the usual feminine, who adorns their where the motto "avant-garde" lost its total significance
covers. [7] CHRIS HORTON and it's often confused with the "hey-look-at-me-I'm-dif-
ferent!!" attitude, these guys decided to take a step back
SOLACE IN THE SHADOWS : THE SCREAMING and explored another vision of their music, more straight-
TO SURVIVE EP forward and focused but maintaining all those trademarks
[RED CANDLE RECORDS] we know - and like - about them (the sax on the first song
The black thrash attack of S.I.T.S. is technically proficient makes us immediately remember their previous album In
in instrumental execution and blends speed aggression Harmonia Universali). Also their epic feeling continues
with melodic considerations on the songwriting end of truly untouchable and the common use of female vocals in
things and grounds it all (or, rather, does anything but tie the album plus the good production help to maintain their
it down to the ground!) with a hooky groove that snatches sound fresh. Perhaps this album will take them to a wider
you nearly from the beginning and carries you to bullet spectre of public recognition in opposition to their cult sta-
speed with a quickness. Stabbing forward with devilish tus on the post-black metal area. Nonetheless, this CD has
pacing, utilizing the ultra groove that's the heartbeat of a problem that a band with five albums should have
thrash but executing it with the utmost modern style. On learned to fix: its inconsistency - all in all, the album still
display here is accomplished control of instruments, solid has a melting pot effect on the listener. However, the best
playing and tight structuring. This is extreme metal that parts on it should maintain the will to press the play but-
embraces the speed and the heaviness and sounds like a ton over and over again. At least it worked that way with
good example of what the European metal scene has been me. [7.5] GUILHERMINO MARTINS
offering on its platter for a while. For personality's sake,
there's just a hint of blackness to this teflon rush of metal SOTAJUMALA : DEATH METAL FINLAND
intensity, a slice of the dark side (as if metal this heavy isn't [WOODCUT RECORDS]
already the product of the shadow inside!). The only com- This Finnish quartet plays the kind of technical death metal
plaint I would offer is strictly one of a personal nature - that many used to favour about ten years ago. Floridian
there's nothing wrong with the execution whatsoever. It's death with hints of the Scandinavian sound are found
just that sometimes this technical extreme metal that throughout and not much in terms trying to find an identi-
somehow hampers (for me) the overall organic tone. ty in this mud. I'll admit that I am not a fan of most of the
There is a certain sterility to the sound (this is a thing I influences I hear in there (Cannibal Corpse, Malevolent
have with stuff that seems somehow too clinically techni- Creation etc) but I just can't see the point in rehashing this
cal, so it's probably just me) but what disadvantage there stuff up if you are not going to even try to find a sound for
is, is mostly overridden by the sheer power and drive of yourself. I'll admit that they can play and that the drummer
SitS's music. And, really, that's a critique of the whole sub- is mostly tight throughout, but they really need a hefty dose
genre, not the band. If this is the brand of metal you enjoy, of Drumagog for those triggered bass drums, it sounds like
then I think you'll find that Solace in the Shadows will give a drum machine that has faulty power input. What bothers
you what you want. [7] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN me even more is how linear and predictable the production
and playing of these death bands have become. I don't
SOLDIER : SINS OF THE WARRIOR expect these guys to revolutionize things, just be a little for-
[HEAVY METAL RECORDS] ward thinking would be nice. [5] SIMON THIBAUDEAU
Whoever is involved with the NWOBHM era surely knows
of "Sheralee", the infamous 7" that is sold in really high SOUL REAPER : LIFE RAZER
prices when found original. The band was formed in 1979 [KARMAGEDDON MEDIA]
but they couldn't find a steady line up nor a good contract, This band was formed from what was left of Dissection,
so in 1983 they split. Through the raging wave of recent and "Life Razer" was released in 2004 by Karmageddon
old band reunions, they have decided to reform in 2002 media. "A more brutal way of doing death metal in the
with mostly original members. The material was there, Gothenburg area" they claim, and they are very much right.
waiting to be released, so they recorded that old stuff. The The cover art is primitive, but strangely appealing and the
dark riffs and great power vocals have returned, proving general CD layout is not bad either. The music kicks in with
that these old buzzards still got it. The outcome is a very "Godless Reaper of Souls" a fast death metal piece of work,
nice album which was delayed for almost 20 years. Do leaving no disappointments to the dedicated fans whatso-
they have a chance to do something more or they just try ever. The production is a plus, a very good job in general
to make some extra bucks for their pockets? The future yet nothing too overwhelming.
will show. But for all of us, lovers of that certain era, it's a The songwriting is steady and solid. The songs stand right
must! [7] KOSTAS ANTONATOS between each other and even when viewed as a global.
Despite the obvious musical integrity present, the interest
SOLEFALD : RED FOR FIRE (AN ICELANDIC is lost at some point since not many monumental ideas are
ODYSSEY PART I) found in here.
[SEASON OF MIST] The title track "Liverazer" however is indeed impressive.
The one thing I always recall while listening to Solefald is The kick-ass named "the Devil's speech" is also a highlight.
the fact that these guys took the clean vocal's work very The riff work is found to be very good in certain parts of
seriously since day one. Evolving from an already twisted the record here and there and this just might bring shivers
black metal vision back in the early days to a current pro- down your spine. Soul Reaper existed more or less to fill
gressive mood, one will always know to expect the unex- in the gap left by Dissection. "Life Razer" is an album that
pected from each of their albums. Lazare and Cornelius are fully supports the band's existence, and although it may
back with this Red for Fire, which is the first part of a saga not be the ultimate death metal breakthrough, it is worth
about the Viking mythology and history. The second Cd noticing for many reasons. Take a look at the band mem-
called Black for Death will be released in middle 2006. The bers for starters. [7] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS
album starts with an epic, quite melancholic and peaceful
tune "Sun I Call" with great female vocals and glorious SOULGRIND : THE ORIGINS OF THE PAGAN BLOOD
aeons. The following tracks will take us back to the com- [HOLY RECORDS]
mon Solefald sound with harsh and clean male vocals (of Finnish weirdoes Soulgrind are by now an experienced and
various kinds), heavy riffing and (mainly) mid tempo drum more than competent bunch, and if you're looking for the
STROMMOUSSHELD : HALFDECADANCE
[METAL MIND PRODUCTIONS]
Before starting writing the present review, to be completely honest, I have to declare that my wave his not Industrial
Metal (besides a few old Fear Factory records that I like a lot) and ever lesser Electronic Metal, and aware the fact
that Strommoussheld merge theses two styles in one joining some obscurity and mystery to it, to perform a Dark
Industrial Electronic Metal, at first instance, I easily could look to this album scarcely with indifference and not being
the perfect appraiser for it. But no, far from it, much on the contrary! I am marvellous with Strommoussheld! There
is no other like 'Halfdecadance'. We are taken to another dimension, another Universe, a mysterious one, cybernetic,
avant-garde, dark; where we breathe an industrial atmosphere in an electronic futuristic Era, melting metal with flesh
in a perfect symbiosis men-machine full of ambiguous sensation and emotional contradictions. Strommoussheld's
Halfdecadance looks like the world of Stanislaw Lem's Solaris, where a single planet, a single being, awake and
change the emotions of the surrounding livings beings metaphysically. Like in Solaris, in Halfdecadance the same
events take place. 'Halfdecadance' is an EP establishing a bridge between 'Behind the Curtain' and the forthcoming
full-length that will come this year, and looking to the present record, I only can remain curious about or even anx-
ious. A standing ovation to Strommoussheld for their originality, their contribution to expand metal far beyond imag-
ine, providing us, and certainly to the world of Metal, a perfect combination between metal, industrial and electronic,
never leaving to be a Metal item. And what to say about that vocal touch giver of all the dark side against the impres-
siveness of light? [9] CARLOS FILIPE
mid-term between Emperor and The Gathering, you prob-
ably will find it in "The Origins of the Pagan Blood". In other
words, the pastoral love for melody of the authors of
"Nighttime Birds" and the symphonic complexities of the
Norwegian black metallers are both here, constituting, as a
whole, a well crafted dark metal piece that could only come
from Finland! Yes, there's something very Finnish-sound-
ing in this 6 member band' music! The said fusion
between melody and complex guitar and synth arrange-
ments contributes to the dual mood of the record, with
catchy tunes like "The valley" and "Northlander" (songs with
harsh black-metallish vocals in the verses and female
singing in the choruses) parading side by side with haunt-
ing tracks like "Red river" and "Circle of pain and glory". The
dual vocals and the keyboard laden songs are the definitive
make-up of this record, but I particularly like the space left
for some classic metal soloing along the way, which helps
keep things tight. Although this is definitely not my cup of
tea, I do admire Soulgrind's songwriting abilities, and I
believe "The Origins..." should definitely leave their fans
more than pleased when played in those dark rainy autumn
days. [6.5] MIGUEL SOUSA
SPLATTERHOUSE : THE HOUSE THAT DEATH BUILT
[RAZORBACK RECORDS]
These guys have taste, simple as that. I mean, covering
Dahmer is a sign of good taste beyond belief. Dahmer is
one of those bands that deserved a lot more credit that they
were given and to toil as long as they did in a completely
dead scene is commendable. Unfortunately, good taste
doesn't necessarily mean that you can write good music.
Splatterhouse actually find themselves in the middle
ground between the mediocre and the classic, like Dahmer.
Their mid-tempo Gore-Metal is actually quite good but in
the age of the Exhumed and Pig Destroyers of the world it
seems to me that they should up the tempo and little more
often because their mid-pace stuff is awesome. The high
tempo grind that they manage to include here is simply
sub-par and doesn't have the low-end "thump" required to
catch my attention for too long. This is a band that actually
pulls off some incredible section of songs only to bore me
for the rest of it. Consistency is the important word here
and Splatterhouse simply doesn't have it right now. This is
a promising record though and I'll be keeping my ears open
to more from these guys. [6] SIMON THIBAUDEAU
STALAGGH : PROJEKT TERROR
[NEW ERA PRODUCTIONS]
I will hereby introduce you to the strangest and one of the
sickest projects to arise from the Dutch (and Belgian?)
Black Metal underground. I haven't yet been able to check
out their first album "Projekt Nihil", but it looks like at least
on one point Stalaggh hasn't changed: nobody still seems
to know who are the disturbed minds behind this project (I
mean projekt). All that exist are speculations... An old
Stalaggh-flyer states that everything has been recorded
under the influence of extreme self-mutilation and being
the result of "real mental illness". This is pretty much the
same concept as Abruptum was built upon, and which they
stated on the promo of the CD "Obscuritatem Advoco
Amplectere Me". I guess not only conceptually, but also
"musically" speaking Stalaggh approaches this same
atmosphere, although Abruptum managed to be far more
musical. This is really sick stuff. There is noise from the
beginning to the end, screams of pure despair, more noise,
some distant guitars (?) with distortion, sometimes traces
of drumming, assisted by even more noise... It all
debouches into a thick wall of sonic pain and hellish suf-
fering. If there's not coming a 3rd album for Stalaggh, this
might be due to the persons involved having died during
the recordings of "Projekt Terror", or maybe they've just
been institutionalised soon after...
Now comes the hardest part. How the hell am I to give this
a grade? It's an impossible task. I mean, was Apator just a
sick fuck or was he a genius? Well, I guess he was both,
thus the same goes for Stalaggh! [?] TARAS VAN DIJK
STRIBORG : EMBITTERED DARKNESS / ISLE DE
MORTS
[DISPLEASED RECORDS]
This was probably one of the hardest tasks I have commit-
ted myself of doing... hearing this from the first to the last
minute! This is dull, plain, uninteresting, badly produced
raw and zzzzz black metal. The first 5 songs entitled
"Embittered Darkness" are new songs recorded in 2006,
while "Isle De Morts" is the old 1997 demo when the band
was called Kathaaria. Don't get me wrong I have "bad pro-
duced" albums like "Transilvanian Hunger" as cult releases
on my vinyl collection but the whole fast fuzzy repetitive
atmosphere and unhearthless drums drives me crazy in
Striborg. I really don't see much people hearing this on a
daily basis since almost all songs sound indistinguishable!
Not to mention that some tracks sound like improvisations
during the recordings. As I said I like cruel grim, icy cold,
minimalistic black metal, but it most have a soul, be well
played, furious, interesting, dark... This whole buzzzz pro-
duction simply sounds as an excuse to be the most grim,
cruel black metal band around these days! [3] NUNO SANTOS
STURMGEIST : MEISTER MEPHISTO
[SEASON OF MIST]
Never judge a book by its cover, they say, but I sure liked
this cover right here as hell! Sturmgeist is a solo band by
Terje Refsnes. He combines Norwegian "Black Metal" with
"Viking virtues". What I see, is a mixture of hyper fast plas-
tic drums, black-goth-like vocals and melodic guitars, lead-
ing to a musical plethora that aims straight to your balls.
"Shock and Awe" is perhaps the first song to highlight. The
basic riff is epic and heavy, that is, of the nicest kind. Keep
in mind that there is an electronic feeling throughout the
album so if you are a "truest of the true" metal fan then stop
reading please. This song was written as a comment on US
invasion of Iraq, although the commoner cannot see that by
naked eye. "Army of Odin" is a fine peace of art. Heavy riffs
and mid tempo powerful drumming with a snare drum that
slices and dices anything in its way. Smart riffs and fine lyric
set-up is what many will notice. Highly sophisticated, yet
easily listened to. A strange feeling indeed. "Meister
Mephisto" presents a collection of mentally strange
melodies, bound within epic northern feelings and black
62 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
metal ideas. The heavy factor is mixed extensively with a
shiny -yet- frozen sound production. There are many mem-
orable moments able to keep us all focused, giving this
effort a high standard grade and very well done. "Sturmgeist
is for all the party in man.". [8] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS
SUFFOCATION : HUMAN WASTE (RE-ISSUE)
[RELAPSE RECORDS]
The first CD ever released on Relapse records has been
remastered and it comes with one deluxe bonus: two
bonus tracks from the demo "Reincremation" available for
the first time on CD. Suffocation was, maybe, the creator
of the brutal death metal genre, as we know it today, and
no wonder that many brutal bands quote Suffocation as
one as their most influential bands. Originally released in
1991, "Human Waste" was very likely, the beginning of the
"down-tuned death metal", combining high technical
riffage with the speed/demolishing "slayeresque" drum-
ming, not to mention the technical bass. Check out the
classics "Jesus Wept" and "Human Waste" if you're not
familiar with the band, so that you have an idea of how
important Suffocation was to the extreme metal scene.
Enjoy "Involuntary Slaughter" and "Reincremation" from
the hyper rare demo "Reincremation". The only flaw I've
found is the drums, because they're still very raw and with
a nowadays production it would sound much less like
Slayer and less raw. I was expecting some "Souls To Deny"
production... [8] SIMÃO FONSECA
SUI GENERIS UMBRA : AMOK
[METAL MIND RECORDS]
Wow. Weird, wild and wonderful. You might almost
call this minimalist experimental industrial doom
blackness. Or something thereabouts, anyway. This
isn't the sort of thing you're apt to hear coming out of
your radio. Nor is it the sort of thing you're going to
encounter playing over the speakers at your local
record store. This is some way out stuff, dark and
menacing and gothic in a way that's, well, REALLY
gothic, though that's not the best description because
it conjures the wrong image. There is a strong root of
electronic industrial with a heavy inclination toward
experimentation. By heavy inclination toward experi-
mentation I mean that this isn't standard techno
trance electro-industrial; this isn't the EBM rocking
out in the clubs. Not at all. This is more exploratory
and spacey, with spartan but infectious textures. This
is all presented in such an oppressive manner that,
even minus the riffage of some industrial, there's a
feel of doomness here and there. It's just so bleak
(but utterly beautiful in its bleakness) and dripping
with shadows. Also, in places, you can detect almost
the aura of black metal's horror, it's that grim. But the
consistent personality here is the experimental indus-
trial heaviness that manages to be minimal yet a
monolithic presence. It shows the artistry behind the
band that such minimalism can be used to conjure
such massive aura. [8.5] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
SUPERCHRIST : HEAVY METAL TONIGHT
[BESTIAL ONSLAUGHT PRODUCTIONS]
After three self-produced and self-released albums,
Chicago's Superchrist finally releases something through a
record label. Curious enough, it's a live album and a funny
one too. You see, this was recorded in one of those small
gigs where the crowd is almost onstage with the band. Of
course, this reeks of beer and sweat, and the crowd scream-
ing and shouting really adds to the live feeling of "Heavy
Metal Tonight". As for the music, you get 13 tracks of solid
good old... well... Motörhead!! Yes, these guys are as
Lemmy and co. as it gets and don't even bother to hide it.
Of course you shouldn't expect this to be "Ace Of Spades" or
any of the classic Motörhead albums, but Superchrist are
still good crowd pleasers! In fact, this is just the kind of cool
shit you'd play in your car stereo when you're driving with
your friends to one of those small pub local gigs where
everyone gets pissed on not-so-cheap beer (everyone but
the conscious drivers, of course!). This would surely get
everyone in the mood for a night of good old headbangin',
but I must confess that I wouldn't play "Heavy Metal Tonight"
too much at home. [6] MIGUEL SOUSA
SUPREME MAJESTY : ELEMENTS OF CREATION
[MASSACRE RECORDS]
A lot of too-technical power metal strikes me, for some rea-
son, as too clinical and sterile, lacking somehow in an
organic quality needed to prevent me from being disinter-
ested in a second listen. There's just something about the
meatier, earthier power metal that has more appeal to me
sometimes. I must observe, however, that Supreme
Majesty's sound is lush and, well, majestic, and represents
a quality level of power metal that has all the technical flair
of European power metal, but has enough thick, organic year pause "Nebelkampfe" is clearly a continuation of their
presence (but not so thick as to weigh down the stratos- '98 "Ilmarsj" demo tape with more mature arrangements
pheric soaring of the music) to avoid my distaste. Sort of like and a better production. [7.5] NUNO SANTOS
it's got the proficiency of Euro and modern metal but with a
taste of classic metal's approachability. It's a perfect blend. TENEBRAE IN PERPETUUM : ANTICO MISTICISMO
It's not too much on either side of the scale, for the most [DEBEMUR MORTI PRODUCTIONS]
part. Guitars and keys resonate with engaging melodies and Due to the huge amount of black metal bands that prolific
there's even just enough sprinkling of 80s metal flavour to the metal scene it's almost impossible for a band to release
spice things up a bit. [6] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN something original or even just unique in these days! Still
this Italian duet has managed to create not something orig-
SYSTEM SHOCK : ARCTIC INSIDE inal but quite impressive and even unmatched in its own
[KARMAGGEDON MEDIA] dark way! This is my first introduction to this band and I
Melodic death metal is somewhat of a misnomer because must say that they stand on their own feet, clearly not try-
the minute a band is melodic it isn't death metal anymore, ing to merely copy what others have made so well but aim-
isn't it? Anyhow, System Shock is an early Dark Tranquility ing to compose songs that would transmit the feeling of
rip off that actually has some decent songs here and there total icy darkness and this is where many have failed.
but doesn't have one original idea to its name. This CD is Simplicity is one of the strong points in Tenebrae In
quite enjoyable on a very superficial basis but as soon as Perpetuum but exhibited in a icy grim cold way that its hard
you start listening closely you feel that this is the type of to even imagine. The furious varied guitar riffs, fast drum
band that owes way too much to its predecessors to even work and a reverbed voice coming straight from the pits of
qualify as good. While the bands that started this move- hell are the tools that "Antico Misticismo" uses to summon
ment in the middle 90's try to do something different, to demons that are totally unknown for us, humans.
varying results I admit, these guys play the nostalgia game The crisp production makes all instruments take another
in an era where you have to push the envelope, one way or shape compared to other Black metal albums, this is cer-
another, to actually have something interesting to say musi- tainly a plus in here still sometimes I wish the sound was a
cally. This simply sucks the big one. [3] SIMON THIBAUDEAU bit more rawer and slightly less thin. What makes this an
excellent release is the fact that the band manages to cre-
TAUNUSHEIM : NEBELKAMPFE ate diverse riffing blended with constant tempo changes,
[SCHWARZDORN PRODUCTION] where its impossible for the listener to ever think in words
I guess that when mixing folk, pagan music with Black like boredom, annoyance, irritation or tedium. For all grim
metal its hard not to end up sounding like Finntroll for icy cold black metal freaks! [8] NUNO SANTOS
instance, however this Germanic band not only have
accomplished that but also released a debut album that TENEBROSUS : LOST AND FORGOTTEN
immediately grabs the attention of the listener. [METAL MIND RECORDS]
Taunusheim is influenced by ancient Nordic sagas and glo- I got to know this Polish black metal horde through the
rious battles that many bands have also sung about, still passion I have for the Finnish band Angmar, I once pur-
they transmit that period to their songs with varied mostly chased a mini CD with Angmar to check them out, and I
slow to mid paced material. "Nebelkampfe" is a sublime found them good. Afterwards I tracked down a split tape
combination of folk with pagan metal hymns, the band with Angmar and Tenebrosus and liked what I heard from
uses here and there traditional instruments (like mouth Tenebrosus as well. Fast and furious black metal, in the
harp, keyboard, flute or foghor) that gives the necessary vein many Swedish bands are known for. I later got the
folk atmosphere without turning the songs too much first full length album with Tenebrosus entitled "The Fall Of
adorned. This is probably one of the things that set them Worthless Morals", which also turned out to be a good slap
apart with acts like Finntroll, they turn out more dark and brutal yet melodic black metal.
grim and less "happy" Viking sounding. The band has now unleashed it's second full length and yet
The band managed to insert their own heritage by singing again brutal full speed ahead black metal is what we gets.
mostly in German and let me say that Erik the main vocal- The obvious influence is still the Swedish scene, though
ist does a great job putting enough variation on his voice the band is getting closer on their own style, no doubt
to produce different moods, like for instance on about that. There is still melody upon melody, but the
'Taunusheim". In this particular song there is a English melodies are good almost all the way through the album,
introduction where speaks in a vampiric accent reminding and mostly fitting into the context of the music. The pace
Dracula, then the shredding guitars and he transforms is still lightening fast and blazing all the time, there aren't
himself in a raging harsh black metal vocalist then some many pace shifts to the slower side, if there are pace shifts,
sing along lines with his brother Patrick. Ilona (keyboard, it's usually from fast to faster. The drummer must have a
flute) also adds some vocal lines and some might know stamina out of this world, with the work he pulls off, good
her in her other project called Carved In Stone. Variation is drumming that's for sure. Even though some slower parts
something that the band clearly tries to introduce in all would have been a nice variation at times. The vocals are
songs, and the listener faces several tempo changes, from as always in context with Tenebrosus aggressive and
slow to fast rhythms then back to mid tempos, but always direct as hell, brutal, straight in your face and very fitting
with strong fury even when the keyboard is put aside to to the aggressive aura that surrounds the music.
create some atmospheric/folkish moments. After a seven The production on this album is quite a step forward com-
THANATOSCHIZO : TURBULENCE
[MISDEED RECORDS]
Situated in Trás-os-Montes, Portugal, Thanatoschizo is one of the Portuguese bands that have played more gigs in
the last four years. Always putting a lot of effort on their music, the band early started to play a Death/Black Metal
with slightly doomy influences, and later evolved into a Progressive Dark Doom. Thanatoschizo are not a band that
broke through the underground thanks to "idols" shows or because of having one female member on the team. This
is not Evanescence, O.K.? Patrícia doesn't sing badly as Amy Lee, nor does she appears on every magazine cover in
posing positions (!). "InsomniousNightLift" marked the change of an "innocent" debut sound into a more "serious"
project. I'm not saying that "Schizo Level" was a bad release, fuck no. "Schizo Level" was a funny album, with good
ideas waiting to be improved, to become more adult and personal. Still, it was a good CD filled with a very ironic lyri-
cal theme focused on what Heavy Metal is today and about those "evil bands", like Cradle Of Filth".
So, with "InsomniousNightLift", Thanatoschizo injected some prog ideas that worked very well among the fans and
the Portuguese critics, in spite of losing some fans that "were there because of the raw Black songs and Death riffs".
With the success of their second album Thanatoschizo needed to risk and give a good firm step if they wanted to
continue on evolving and stepping aside from the mediocre Portuguese Metal underground. And that's what they
did. "Turbulence" marks the best Portuguese records released so far, in my opinion, not wanting to provoke other
bands. "Turbulence" has incredible Avant-Garde songs with a deep emotional feeling, and that's what captivates me
as a fan of their music. For instance, "Sweet Suicidal Serenade" almost could be a single because it sounds so catchy
and melodic... yet, dark and with a clean/guttural voice from Eduardo on the vocals. After the first listening I found
myself singing "Sweet Suicidal Serenade" within my head! The keyboards that seem not very important play a very
critical role in the songs' structure. I wanna salute the two vocalists for their improvement as singers, because they
inject a desperate (yet positive) feeling on every song, and sometimes that's what misses on some interesting
Portuguese bands: the feeling.
Thanatoschizo also explored the ethnic territory, just like as The Firstborn have recently done, and "Void" is one hell
of a fabulous song. African/Asian melodies, melodic keyboards along with a constant tribal beat on the drums.
Actually, this is THE SONG that proves I'm serious when I say these guys are totally Avant-Garde: the structure starts
with a very simple rhythm but it develops into a more complex guitar work (G. Martins also has improved as a gui-
tarist) with - in the end - a quick smell of that good ol' 80's Sepultura thrashing mad spirit.
Globally this is a fantastic release from a band that must deserve all of your respect and credit. Bands like these
don't come everyday. Progressive Doom at it's best. [9] SIMÃO FONSECA
pared to the earlier material from the band. It is heavier
and has a much better bottom, the music is thundering out
of the speakers with an immense and captivating power,
and that is really suiting to this attack on all things chris-
tian. This is a nice reunion with this Polish horde. All on
this album is hard hitting and brutal, it might not the most
original piece of black metal ever made, but it is well made
and is delivered with energy, passion and a brutal punch.
A sure buy for fans of Dark Funeral, Marduk and the likes.
Though do not expect much variation on this album, there
is one way and that is forward in a blazing and breathtak-
ing pace! [7.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
TENEBRUM INFECTUS : TENEBRUM INFECTUS
[ADIPOCERE RECORDS]
Chunk blowing madness befalls you!! Beware to be con-
sumed by the heady pieces of vomited gristle about to rain
down upon your head (which will be eaten by your stomach
acid). But I stretch the analogy. I speak of the utterly sick and
just as utterly heavy and thick grindcore bruising of ye old
Tenebrum Infectus. With a name like that, you might expect
black metal, but you'd be wrong. This is, instead, dense and
pile driving grind (with a smidgeon of doomness to the
riffage but maybe no more than you might typically expect to
find in a thick-ass grind band like this... guess it's all the dis-
tortion going to my head, huh?). Intestine-wringing metal
onslaught, grinding as sick as Ebola, death awaits you. All I
can tell you is that you'd better expect a beating before you
go and put this in your CD player, because once you hit play,
its one way trip down the gullet of a monster. Loud and
bashing, ready to crush your bones to powder, prepared to
decimate your skull. If you like grind you've come to the right
place. [7] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
THE AMENTA : OCCASUS
[LISTENABLE RECORDS]
I had heard about that release in 2004 and back then some
friends' reviews had left me with the impression that The
Amenta was supposed to be Australia's answer to Anaal
Nathrakh or The Axis Of Perdition. Well, if you take into
account the Industrial touches here and there that would-
n't be far from the truth so much... On the other hand, The
Amenta's full-length debut proved to have its own aura -
basically Death Metal oriented, it will have certainly
appealed to all those for whom trying their eardrums'
endurance remains prior hobby. I personally found
"Occasus" strong enough that to allow The Amenta being
viewed as an act less promising! Suicidal extreme and
incredibly apocalyptic atmosphere-wise, these 10 tracks
appeared to be vivid enough to fill your head with 10 I-see-
future-in-black scenarios, as long as your mind is bravely
open enough that to let fluids like that in! In addition, the
"Occasus" release features a Cd-Rom including band bio,
interviews, photos, lyrics, etc. By the way, it was a huge
surprise to find out that The Amenta's message board at
their website was done by people hailing from my own
country (Bulgaria)! [8] VANYA MARINOVA
THE AXIS OF PERDITION : DELETED SCENES
FROM THE TRANSITION HOSPITAL
[CODE666]
Axis of Perdition sound is deranged. Quite fitting with the
album title, the music is a collage of complex riff patterns,
dark ambient passages and demented vocals. Chaotic, dis-
cordant and sinister, the sounds available here could easi-
ly serve as the soundtrack for some film noir depicting the
atrocities happening between ill residents of this transition
hospital the band refers to. This is the kind of music that
would definitely benefit from a cinematic treatment, fitting
more on film than on tape. Everything is gathered togeth-
er by a digital-heavy production that will either delight you
or leave you cringing for this good old and warm tape pro-
duction you're so much used to. Is it good or not, I am still
asking myself the question but the band surely gains a few
points for the destabilizing effect their latest album offers.
[7] ERIC MASSICOTTE
THE AXIS OF PERDITION : PHYSICAL ILLUCI-
NATIONS IN THE SEWER OF XUCHILBARA...
[CODE666]
The Axis of Perdition is a Middlesbrough duo specialized
in a strange form of noisy and cinematic dark ambience
combined with pieces of industrial black metal. This 30-
minute-piece released by avant-garde Italian label
Code666 is the sound representation of a nightmare trip,
full of insanity and surreal images. All in here is ugly,
involved in desolation with the aim to represent the decay
of contemporary urban society. Some may describe The
Axis of Perdition as "horrifying black metal" but for me it's
really hard to limit this band in terms of categorization,
since (almost) all in here is unconventional. However, we
can point out some parallels with bands like Anaal
Nathrakh (the frantic driven drum machine similar to the
pre-Codex Necro era and with an even more inhuman beat,
creating a creepy landscape) or Aborym (all the morbid,
post-apocalyptic ambience). Screams of pain and disgust
that ended up in the mix with really strange effects (some-
times it looks like thousands of voices invade the speakers
coming from many bizarre places) as well as samples from
horror games, intend to create an unpleasant journey for
the listener. The filthy guitars are the element we can relate
more with black metal, although they have an original
approach (almost mathematic) and not the usual tremolo
picking and power chord riffing. The production is very
coherent taking in mind that we're talking about a painful
catharsis that's really pushing the black metal boundaries.
And, of course, don't expect to hear "songs" for Physical
Illucinations in the Sewer of Xuchilbara... works as a whole
piece like a soundtrack of a horror movie, in which the
main character is lost and starts to become paranoic about
the environment of the dark labyrinth he's in. It's a "love or
hate it" band and definitely not suitable for the common
black metal fan. [8] GUILHERMINO MARTINS
THE CHASM : THE SPELL OF RETRIBUTION
[EARACHE RECORDS]
Under one of the worst cover art available right now hides
some great Death Metal courtesy of the infernal south
American trio The Chasm. We get treated here with old-
school, epic, heavy-metal-influenced Metal of Death, of
THE GODDAMNED : DAMNED
4 song EP for these purveyors of heavy rock in the up-
tempo stoner type. A lot of this is pretty damn good and
catchy and those four songs are toe tapers. In fact this
demo reminds me of a time where Soil were a good band
that didn't fancy themselves as Load-era Metallica. Singer
has good powerful voice, the musicianship well up to par
for this type of music, leads are decent, there is nothing in
there to hate. Except if you don't like this genre to begin
with. [7] SIMON THIBAUDEAU
HIGHLIGHT
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER : MIASMA
[METAL BLADE RECORDS]
"Unhallowed" has shown in 2003 how melodic metalcore should sound like, and nothing else would be expected than
a more powerful comeback two years later. Their second record sounds much more technical and faster than their TO-MERA : DEMO 2005
debut record, and that could be a result of their intense tours with different bands, such as Arch Enemy, Napalm This band came as a surprise for me, especially when I
found out who the singer was. It is Julie Kiss, who used
Death, The Red Cord or Terror... whatever has happened to these North-American guys, it has been a good thing!
to sing for the great Bulgarian band Without Face, which
I must confess that the metalcore thing has begun falling in disgrace since the labels found out about the scene, has released the extremely good albums "Deep Inside"
which is a pity, but that fact could be positive. Well, you may be wondering "why"? Well, it's very positive because now and "Astronomicon". She has now left that band, a thing I
only the strong will survive in this competitive market (where every band that plays some Swedish riffage along with didn't know, I must have been sleeping in class again.
some "hardcore" screams is automatically considered "metalcore"), and there will be no room left for those pseudo- But now she is ready in this new band, which has its base
in England, and contains the following members, Tom
metalcore bands (Thrice, The Used, Thursday, Avenged Sevenfold...). But let's return to what "Miasma" is about. This
CD is really gonna kick your ass, from the moment you press play button 'till the end of it, you'll find a very good McLean, Akos Pirisi and Lee Barret. This demo is the
band's first release.
sense of melody combined with fast/blast-beating drumming, cutting riffs (33.32 minutes) and shredding vocals. This
As it was in Without Face, the compositions here are also
represents the "next step" the guys needed, and don't judge them by their look... they may not look "evil", wear boots built up around the amazing voice of Julie. Her voice is
or spikes, but they write sick lyrics and sound much more "evil" than many death metal bands you may know. Are you really captivating, and drags the listener into the world of
a fan of Dark Tranquillity's "The Gallery" or At The Gates' "The Red Sky Is Ours"? Now add some hardcore vocals and her lyrics and atmospheres. The picture here which is
breaks and you'll find yourself one of the best 2005 records! [8.5] SIMÃO FONSECA painted by the vocals is huge and enchanting, it is hard to
let go of this demo, due to the great vocal work. The
vocals are smooth and go up and down, very emotional
one the highest calibre. Great original and busy riffs build a new ground. I'm pretty sure The Old Dead Tree will grow and follow the moods in the music perfectly. The music is
a solid thrashing structure where half-growled, throaty a lot more over the next years. Some words about the melodic progressive metal with a scent of gothic metal, it
vocals deciphering the abominations are fleshing out booklet of this album: really unique, making it look like a is quite atmospheric and catchy, and possesses a great
dynamic songs. Everything benefits from the reasonable book: The Perpetual Motion book and its soundtrack.
deal of technical features. There are some good breaks,
and clear recording, avoiding over-producing this edge Definitely, there's something happening on the French
some nice keys used in the right places, so they add the
and urgency which helps The Chasm stands above the metal scene... [8] GUILHERMINO MARTINS
right scent to the atmosphere, there are also some nice
triggered and clinical acts littering the genre these days.
Now if they can link themselves with a decent cover artist, THE RED CHORD : CLIENTS keyboard leads. The guitar riffs and melodies seems rec-
this band could offer the ultimate death/thrash album of [METAL BLADE RECORDS] ognizable and not that interesting again, but the do work
next year. [8] ERIC MASSICOTTE Following the successful album "Fused Together in well in this context. Both the drumming and the bass are
Revolving Doors", "Clients" is the 2005 comeback from The audible and deliver some good details now and then.
THE LAST ACT : NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED Red Chord. "Fused Together..." was a very good album, I This demo is a very interesting release that shows a good
[SELF RELEASED] must confess, so I had high expectations on what the band band on their way, this should without a doubt get them a
I was reading a review the other day in a Greek music mag- would do after that wonderful release. deal right away, so I guess it won't be long before we see
azine (I am from Greece, you see) and the reviewer was Well, "Clients" isn't what I expected... not at all. Well, To Mera's full length debut album in the stores. If you feel
ending his essay saying something like "this album gets 1 somehow, the recognized brutality on The Red Chord lacks intrigued by the above writings, you shouldn't hesitate to
for my tastes but, if we want to be objective, a 7 for its qual- very much. Instead they tried to combine more Jazz with check out this band. [8] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
ity". Even though such a way of handling reviews would be Mathcore techniques, but the result is far from being as
of substantial help, in several occasions, I've never made good as some Converge, for instance. The guitar riffs and
use of it! So, before you get this introduction all too wrong, bass lines are still as good on the previous CD, but the
my intention when writing so, was to explain that often one drums aren't that good. I don't know what happened, but VOICES OF DECAY - Doing maximum
gets to review a band's latest offering whose music might this album has its ups and BIG downs. We get very good This Italian Gothic Metal outfit actually released a debut CD
exceed his field of musical knowledge and liking. What do songs, like "Fixation On Plastics" - the first song - but right entitled "Nocturnal Domain in 1999, but since some difficul-
we do then? Personally, I am not used to giving two marks. after this track you find a generic track, that any regular ties emerged, they are back to the demo scene. This is a
But the fact remains the same. The Last Act perform a Metalcore band would be able to write... It's quite frustrat- three track affair that lines with what bands like Crematory
branch of rock/metal that isn't completely unknown to me, ing. The violent Grind parts are missing here a lot. Were have produced in the past. In fact, were this given a
but it rests far away from my personal broadband of taste they trying to sound more like Burst or Mastodon? If they stronger production and full sound, it might actually com-
and (I guess) from the interest of a big part of A.C. readers. were, they've completely missed the train, because no way pete with some German gothic metal but not with the best.
On the other hand, I am sure that each and every one of us they sound 50% as good as Mastodon. Overall, this is kind The grunted vocals suit the music well but everything here
share the appropriate musical background, in order to enjoy of a mediocre CD, and if you loved the first one you will not is too dependent on keyboards, with the guitars staying in
a good ol' hard rock album. This is plainly what The Last Act be pleased with this second effort. [5] SIMÃO FONSECA the background. Keyboardist Chris is actually quite in love
have prepared for us and there's a rare feeling surrounding with The Gathering's pre-Anneke albums, using his instru-
the music here that, in all honesty, makes me cheerful. The THE SOUNDBYTE : RIVERS OF BROKEN GLASS ment in a way that immediately harks back to the
second album of our dear Canadian friends grows the [AURAL MUSIC]
Doom/Death classic "Always...". Just listen to "Breaking the
impression that they had (while at the studio) the time of The Soundbyte is the solo project of Third and the Mortal circle" or "In a web", with the latter sounding like old The
their lives! It's just so refreshing to meet a band that is able main composer Norwegian Trond Engum. He presents us Gathering with a weak gothic rock chorus. Still, don't be
to bring a smile to your face for this very reason. As you his own conception of musicality world definition surround- fooled by these references, since this is nowhere close to
may realize it's not a matter of reaching success, setting ing by industrial lethargic sound, one characterize as mas-
the quality of the aforementioned record. This is a bit
new standards in hard rock or anything but having fun! And sive, cutting and cold; providing the listener a non-pre-
monotonous and, to be honest, Crematory (though far from
that's the most mature choice for a group to make, in total dictable single innovating experience. 'Rivers of broken
being brilliant) did all this much better. [5] MIGUEL SOUSA
contradiction with all those black metallers who take them- Glass' merge influences from different places and metal
selves all too seriously (pretending maturity and dedication) universes, like Industrial, Gothic, Electronic, to reveal a
ZYMOSIS : DISHARMONICAL SYMPHONY OF BLACK DIMENSIONS
and burn down churches. Final words: "No good deed..." is exquisite sheer music involved into a smooth dense pleas- [DARK MATTER KREATIONS]
reminiscent of good old-school hard rock, with its splendid ant atmosphere voided of Humanity and fulfil with rusty
arrangements; its calmer ballad moments; its progressive industrial machinery, making the pace of The Soundbyte In Portugal, it is common to be confronted with speeches
7-9 min adventures; its joyful feeling! [8] JOHN ZIKOS music. Listening 'Rivers of broken Glass' make us thinking about how people should help and support the metal scene
we are visiting alone a forsaken drift ship or that we are in our country, no matter what. Honestly this is something I
THE OLD DEAD TREE : THE PERPETUAL MOTION enter a old abandoned industrial factory; where the place have never agreed, since, from my point of view, one should
[SEASON OF MIST] inside still breathing after years of inactivity, making the support the bands he/she likes or, at least, the ones he/she
The Old Dead Tree have jumped to the second wagon of dusty air dirty by the metal rustiness that involve the inner believes that have quality. The Portuguese Metal scene has
the European metal scene since their debut The Nameless dense monotone atmosphere, deprived of Human life, mak- good and bad bands like any other country and there's no
Disease. With their mix of Death Metal grunts, pop-rock ing the massive metal structure looking to and fearing the difference between a good band from Portugal and a good
structures and a "petit je ne sais quois" of the current visitor, us. The most metal close band I found to relate with band from Singapure (the same goes to the bad bands). Now
Katatonia's atmosphere, they started to be a reference for The Soundbyte is Tiamat. They share the same type of talking about Zymosis... The first contact I had with this band
fans of this particular musical spectre. Nothing new, it's musicality, a smooth dense dark gothic electronic metal that occurred while viewing their pictures and they didn't inspire
true, since there's a bunch of metal bands nowadays lives in the same Universe but in their own lethargic distinct me good things. I immediately remembered Luciferian
exploring these territories (Thine, Klimt 1918, Rain Paint worlds. Trond Engum experience various different concrete Dementia, another black metal act from Azores. "Oh no,
or Crowhead) but this French band has something that sounds adding a sheer transparent vocal enhanced by the another Cradle of Filth clones" crossed my mind. And right
turns the spotlights towards them: Manuel Munoz's voice. contribution of Rune Hoemsnes, Arild Folstad and Berit after seeing this release's name I thought about Dimmu
And what a voice! Now that he's (almost) rid of that Sternsland; redefining The Soundbyte music to ensemble Borgir. Definitely, it wasn't a good start! Then came the
unpleasant French accent (he sings in English), the power its own personal identity. [8] CARLOS FILIPE music and I can't lie about this: the keyboard's intro took all
of his harmonies is really astonishing. I mean, by the sec- my doubts away, since it immediately brings up the COF
ond audition of the CD you can sing-a-long all the song's THUNDERBOLT : INHUMAN RITUAL MASSACRE influence. Zymosis hasn't got bad players: they can handle
chorus and the will to listen the album again and again [AGONIA RECORDS]
their instruments. However the production here is quite weak
grows. Don't fool yourself: The Old Dead Tree has its pow- Previously a part of Poland's NSBM scene, this new album is and this becomes really obvious while listening to the drums'
erful "metal" moments with grunted voices, almost death far away from their early days. Now delivering the blows sound, because you feel like losing the drum kit on the
metal riffing and guitar leads but the highlights of each based on a Marduk-meets-Death Metal aesthetic, the band speakers in the fastest parts. All in all I can't avoid associat-
song are the great singing lines on the chorus and bridges. follows a path similar to fellow Behemoth and the likes. ing Zymosis with that middle 90's wave of gothic black metal
It's really hard to point out one song, since all of them are Keeping some similarities to their older material, the major bands that rose everywhere and were influenced by the UK
very well composed and it's not that usual to see a band changes are in the drum department and the overall produc- group previously mentioned. I really expect Zymosis to
with only two full-length albums have this kind of maturi- tion. Everything is faster and definitely hitting harder. I would evolve and mature their ideas into something more credible,
ty and sensibility. Once again (very well) produced by Andy openly say that I prefer the band's more mid-tempo dynamic
because I have serious doubts that this way they'll get any
Classen, this album (with the exception of the first song) sections than their hyper-blasting ones as there is some tasty
praise as a black metal band. Azores has a strong tradition in
is divided into three chapters with songs lyrical and musi- riffs to feast upon there. Anyway, the main idea here is not to
terms of quality metal (Morbid Death or Prophecy of Death
cally connected. If you're into Anathema, Paradise Lost or impress with subtleties but to aim fast and hit the jugular,
are good examples) but unfortunately this demo won't be
Katatonia, I'm sure this is the perfect album for your taste leaving an oozing pulp of human meat and moving to the next
remembered for much time. [4.5] GUILHERMINO MARTINS
but the point about this band is that they bring the style to target. Thunderbolt does it real well. [8] ERIC MASSICOTTE
ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 63
 death metal. While the reasons behind this lack of popular-
ity can be manifold, I would attribute this fact, at least in
part, to their poor editorial activity during the first fifteen
years of the band's existence that resulted in only three
studio albums which, to make things even worse, didn't
benefited from the best production and distribution. In
their previous releases, namely "Daimonion" (1998) and
"Suffocated in Slumber" (2000), the polish outfit had
already shown some intelligent and unique ideas, but to
some extent their talent wasn't yet fully uncovered, so this
time around I was eager to hear the new developments
brought about by "Imperfect Like God". And yes, there are
many good things to look for. First up the band has evolved
into a death metal style more of their own. The songwriting
has also improved considerably without sacrificing a single
bit on the aggressiveness. Although incorporating a big
share of punishing blast beats, ILG is based on much more
than that. It features structured songs with lots of variety,
a tight and virtuous execution of all the instruments and a
handful of fresh details that will grab your attention at all
times. Proof of the above is most easily found on tracks
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN : MISS MACHINE such as "The madness here" and "Beyond the perception".
[RELAPSE RECORDS] The mixing and production is finally as good as the band
deserves so, with all the instruments sounding upfront and
There are some bands that just don't wanna sound like everyone else, or simply like to be creative and to push the very alive. In a nutshell, this is classy death metal that sim-
envelope on what concerns to originality; and one of the latest cases is called The Dillinger Escape Plan. The band start- ply blows away the endless pounding played by many well
ed playing some ten years ago, very influenced with the Noise and underground scene, they decided to mix Noisecore established bands. So, it seems that finally Trauma is real-
with Proggy Jazz, and built one brutally technical machine! Along with Converge and As The Sun Sets, T.D.E.P. created ly firing in all cylinders with a bright future ahead of them.
I just heard the band is about to release the successor of
a new Hardcore genre, named "Mathcore". Well, they mention Math because their rhythms, beats and tempos, that are ILG, so you have to excuse me 'cause I have some hunting
like Math: they must be perfect and synchronized. And that's what they do: they write mathematical extreme music. to do. [8] ERNESTO MARTINS
The CD opens with the demolishing "Panasonic Youth" and "Sunshine The Werewolf" songs, which sound totally chaot-
ic and weird. The two guitarists' dear to defy the rules of hard riffing, the bass sounds beautiful and the drummer is TURBO : IDENTITY
[METAL MIND PRODUCTIONS]
on my favourite top ten drummers. They abuse on dissonant chords and forget all the Death Metal techniques, using
If you haven't ever noticed this Polish band in the past it's
Jazzy ones, instead. Mike Patton participated on their last CD and you notice that on "Miss Machine". "Miss Machine" probably because they never gained the recognition they
isn't as raw and intense as their debut, for they tried new experiences that you might find on Fantômas, for instance. I deserved. Finally, after ages, Metal Mind Productions
think that if it wasn't because of Death and Cynic, extreme music would not be as technical and innovative as it is achieved to provide a descent worldwide promotion for
this great band. Don't expect to hear any innovative and
now, and The Dillinger Escape Plan would never see the light of the day. So, "Setting Fire To Sleeping Giants" and
progressive songs. They deliver magnificent traditional old
"Unpetrofied" are two calm songs. The first one explores better their rock side, the second one is much more ambient time classic metal right in your face. After 25 years they
and darker. I must warn you that the lyrics are very weird and don't seem to make much sense, so don't ask me their sound perfect. A mix of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, sup-
that's exactly what you get in "Ihmisvihan Eliitti", an
extremely well layered album where all instruments are
audible even the bass which isn't very common in a Black
Metal band. Definitely an album that after the shock on the
first listening will grow in you!! [8] NUNO SANTOS
UNEARTH : THE ONCOMING STORM
[METAL BLADE RECORDS]
Place this CD into your Cd-Rom drive, and a "RUN_ME", hi-
resolution, graphic screen, with the Metal Blade logo in the
centre, "ENTER" in the upper right hand corner, and "EXIT"
in the lower left, appears. Click on "ENTER", and immedi-
ately their intense, dark, live video for "Black Hearts Now
Reign" kicks in, combining black and white, and colour,
footage, with lots of energy, in a small club setting, with a
lot of focus on their vocalist, guitarists, and most impor-
tantly, the crowd! Click on "WEBLINKS" which brings up
the insert band promotional picture, with both band, and
label sites, below, and "BACK", to return to the previous
screen. "EXIT" shows both "Made with Macromedia" and
"Quicktime" logos, simultaneously. Recorded at a much
lower volume, than anticipated, "The Oncoming Storm" is
definitely a case of a negative release, creating a positive
result, where the busy "Failure" features some of Buz
McGrath and Ken Susi's catchiest, guitar, harmonies, that
I've ever heard; the mechanized "Black Hearts Now Reign"
showcases the incomparable talents of drummer Mike
Justian (the key to the success of any band, is their drum-
mer, and he is a fine one, indeed); the low end, Corrosion
of Conformity (circa "Wiseblood")/Black Sabbath
("Technical Ecstasy" era) influenced "Lie to Purify" has
some interesting, moshable, tempo changes, that add to
the overall intensity of the track, itself; the ironically titled
"Predetermined Sky", based on what occurs below it, is a
manic, Thrasher, that's sure to go over well, live, and also
makes fine use of guitar hammer-ons. The cover art
reminds me of the wake of 9-11. Overall, for a new band, I
can see them going places, all they need is the right push.
[6.5] CHRIS HORTON
UTUK XUL : GOAT OF BLACK POSSESSION
[FROM BEYOND PRODUCTIONS]

meaning (I even wonder the concept behind the title "Miss Machine"). If you thought that hardcore was just about
Grindcore you'll hit with your face right on the wall. This CD is for people who like extreme and original songs without
having dressed in black guys playing'em. It is PERFECT. [10] SIMÃO FONSECA
THUNDERSTONE : TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION
[NUCLEAR BLAST]
Somehow Finland is the birthplace of the most exciting
metal bands nowadays. Nobody can ignore bands like
Amorphis, Stratovarius or Children Of Bodom. Another
band that could end up in this list is Thunderstone. 'Tools
Of Destruction' is already their third record. The strong
predecessor made it hard for the band to do better.
Nevertheless they succeeded. The record starts strong with
"Tool Of The Devil" and they continue on the same level with
tracks such as "Without Wings" or the memorable "I Will
Come Again". All the ingredients of the previous records are
there again and give the band a very recognizable sound.
The great guitar and keyboard parts mix very well with the
cool drum fills... The last track "Land Of Innocence" is just
great! Again the band has grown, so hopefully they step out
of the shadow of big brother Stratovarius and get the
respect they deserve! [7.5] KURT VAN CAMP
TO SEPARATE THE FLESH FROM THE BONES
: UTOPIA SADISTICA
[SPIKEFARM RECORDS]
I listened this release a few times and my first opinion was
"What a great band! Really cool grind/brutal death. Just the
way I like it!" After some minutes of internet investigation
about this band I read this: "Members like to keep their
identities a mystery, but this is a side-project of members
of HIM and Amorphis." I couldn't believe it. It seems that
HIM drummer knows how to make good music in drums!
This is a great album, one of the best of 2004 in their style
(which are not many of them). The short songs of this bru-
tal grindgore band sounds great and show us what I used
to call destruction speed ("Amputated Whore", "Absolute
Holocaust", "Bare your Wounds for Me" are the best exam-
ples). The old-school influences in every song, the well
heard and played bass (like in the intro of Meretricious
Murderess, track #6), nice drums intros and all the drum
execution is well played. The extreme voices and guitars
sounds like old Carcass (Jeff Walker of Carcass makes a
special appearance in this release). All the production of
"Utopia Sadistica" is great. This album is full of technique
and great musicians. This second release from T.S.T.F.F.T.B.
makes me want to listen to their Mcd ("For Those about to
Rot") and watch them live. Only suitable for extreme ears,
this is fast and painful grindgore. [7.5] NUNO CARVALHO
TODTGELICHTER : WAS BLEIBT...
[FOLTER RECORDS]
Todtgelichter is a black metal band born in 2002 in Germany
guitar riffs, hiding far down in the mix. A heavy and noisy
bass driving the songs forth, in a slow and crushing pace.
Sparse drumming, working as percussion and a dark and
low whisper, sounding like wheels in a big machine setting
off. Evil and eerie atmospheres, making a cold and dark
night, even colder and darker. That is how the music of
Torture Wheel affects a soul not knowing what to expect,
when the music starts to flow from the speakers. Torture
Wheel is an American one-man project made off E.M. Hearst
from Wraith Of The Ropes, and this is the man's debut Mcd,
even though it clocks 45 minutes and consist of 4 long and
breathtaking tracks. The song writing is quite skilled, even
though simplicity is the way. There aren't that many ele-
ments in the songs, few and effective tracks, good backed
up by the synth work, which always add the last piece of
seduction and atmosphere, to keep it all going smooth. The
darkness and coldness are created by the simple and noisy
guitar riffs, the industrial synth work and effects and the
vocals, which often are lying really low, and at other times
more visible, and that is when they are most chilling and
scary, like in the title track.
This is not an album for the ordinary Joe, this is quite spe-
cial and one have to be a fan of dark and droning doom to
appreciate this, otherwise I'm sure it will seem quite boring
and un-appealing. But for fans of the darkest and slowest of
doom metal, this will be a good and lasting album, supply-
ing a lot of hours of depressions and thoughts of elimina-
tion. And as a quite strange thing that I have noticed, the
album and music, make the time fly by… the album is over
almost before you get settled with it, even though it clocks
45 minutes, which must be a sign of great song writing
skills and great compositions. [7] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
TOTAL FUCKING DESTRUCTION : COMPACT
DISC VERSION 1
[BONES BRIGADE]
Noisy grindcore, great style made up of thrash and punk,
delivered to its full extent by these Americans in Total
Fucking Destruction. This isn't the long awaited full length,
the fans of the band have been waiting for, the day the band
delivers a full length will be the day, though I doubt it ever
will happen. This release is a compilation of the band's 3
first demos and a bunch of live tracks as bonus. The music
on this album does only speak to fans of harsh and relent-
less grindcore, there aren't any golden in betweens here,
this is pure noisy grinding metallic punk all the way through.
The guitar riffs are good and raw and as such pretty catchy.
The drumming straight forward, pretty simple, but very
effective and it supplies a good backbone for the music. The
port performances to many huge bands as Sepultura,
Vader, Kreator etc., have managed to list them among my
favourites. A mainstream metal fan won't be disappointed.
Tight song writing, metal voice and cool rhythm section
will bring satisfaction to your ears. Turbo seem to have
found their own true identity. [7] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
TYMAH : TRANSYLVANIAN DREAMS
[NO COLOURS RECORDS]
Beware... This is for sure a blood thirsty BEAST!! Forget
the cliché title "Transylvanian Dreams" or the clear Mayhem
"De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" / Darkthrone "Transylvanian
Hunger" influences and you end up with a killer old school
Black Metal album not very common in year 2005. I miss
the energy and dark atmospheres that the early 90's black
metal albums had and this Hungarian band was one of the
few newcomers that could actually transmit at some
extend all these feelings!
First they have a tremendous vocalist named Dim that can
embarrass any competent male black metal singer. Her
voice can for sure awake the dead with a style being a mix-
ture of Burzum / Mayhem and she even plays powerful
hypnotic guitar riffs at the same time. Then we have Gelal
on drums which produces a cutting and dynamic drum-
ming with some double blast beats sounding like roars of
cannons (just hear the almost 12 minute song 'Holdlény'
or the 8 minute muscled 'Oregmocsár'... he remains tight
from the first 'till the last seconds of each one and let me
tell you that with the raging speed that both songs have its
not for all) and then the pounding bass of Shadow.
This isn't anything new neither the band aims for that,
however if you are looking for the old raw nostalgia when
hearing songs like "Funeral Fog", Tymah can for sure pro-
duce a similar atmosphere... but the ultimate darkness can
only be produced by the cult releases!! [8.5] NUNO SANTOS
TYRANT : GRIMOIRES
[WORLDCHAOS PRODUCTION]
Yet another Japanese band but very different from what
I've heard lately. They sound like an uptempo King
Diamond, much harder and blackened. Should I really
mention the excellent - state of the art- production? This cd
could easily be a soundtrack for a thriller movie because
the satanic vocals buried here and there keep standing out.
They have a guy called Z3 which is an excellent guitar play-
er, when showing his part, since the band prefers to blend
him with the rest of the music in order to create the right
feeling. The downside is that all the songs sound the same
and it's like listening to one huge track. So the musician
ship comes in second place. [5] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
UHRILEHTO : IHMISVIHAN ELIITTI
[SCHWARZDORN PRODUCTION]
Fourth album from this Finnish Black/Death metal band. I
wouldn't say that it's their best to date but rather their
This Colombian outfit with a name taken from Lovecraft's
work that translates into "Evil Spirit" plays blasting Black
Metal in the old vein and the lyrics are evidently satanic.
The sound and production are raw and I bet this will please
fans of pure raw and primitive Black Metal. "Goat Of Black
Possession" is the band's first full-length even though
they've been around for over a decade and features seven
tracks. "Snake of the abyss" and "Vision of fire" can become
a bit too tiring considering that both are over 10 minutes
long and having full speed for 10 minutes in a row can be
a little too much. The intro is over 3 minutes and is an orig-
inal recording of Anton Szandor Lavey performing a ritual
and is, evidently, evoking Lord Satan. The lyrical concept
behind Utk Xul is in fact based in Satanism and Lucifer
throughout the whole album, but the band manages to
write interesting lyrics not falling in repetition. The album
ends with Anton Szandor LaVey again saying "Viva Satan,
Viva Satan" and I guess it's hard to be more explicit than
that! Well, if this album had been released in the early 90's,
it would become a success. Yet, it's still nice to remember
the good old days of the Black Metal scene... it was Utuk
Xul's main intention for sure! [7] SÓNIA FONSECA
V.E.G.A. : COCAINE
Debemur Morti Productions
Behold the effects of too much cocaine use... warp speed
Black metal!! V.E.G.A. which stands for Vaccum Era Gelid
Atmosphere recorded in 2002 ten tracks that would be on
the shelf 'till the moment that Debemur Morti from France
now releases it on 2006 on CD format (nevertheless
already had a limited vinyl version of 300 copies). As they
say with aged wine... the longer the wait, better it will
taste! Unfortunately this isn't entirely true with V.E.G.A.
since there are two or three aspects that could have been
better, like for instance the vocals. They have an industrial
edge that in a few occasions doesn't have the necessary
dark aura for this type of music, looking like just a strong
fuzzy noise (like on the opener 'Lilja...'). The production
could have been more muscled giving more space for the
instruments to take its own place instead of just equalizing
them at the same level (the guitars sound a bit thin). This
could have helped on another aspect... since all songs tend
to have really fast tempos giving no time for the listener to
fully appreciate it I end up after several lines of "Cocaine'
with a feeling of nothingness. None of the songs stick in
the head like glue except perhaps the hypnotic effect on
'Beton#2' where the listener is pushed back on his chair
with repetitive drum and guitar work waiting for the mas-
sive musical explosion that never occurs! But do not be
deceived with my remarks 'cause "Cocaine" is an intense
experience of (triggered drums) fast black metal that will
most likely feed your dark needs! [5.5] NUNO SANTOS
VARATHRON : CROWSREIGN
[BLACK LOTUS RECORDS]

that has released their second album last year, called "Was
Bleibt...". Apart from some melodies achieved by keyboards,
like on "Erinnerungen eines Wolfes", this album is an angry
discharge of blast beats and furious German vocals in a
style that transmits decay and desperation. However, thanks
to the terrible production (that I can't be sure wasn't delib-
erate, in order to create the rotten atmosphere of the
album), "Was Bleibt..." loses points: the drums are barely
audible when both guitars are playing. Along with the bad
production, after a while the voice starts to sound a little too
desperate and even... annoying. "Wunden", is a good exam-
ple: the man basically starts to cry. In whole, the album is
noisy, not very original and poorly produced. Of course that
if you're into this style of decadent black metal you might
enjoy this album, but for me it was just an easy way to give
myself a headache. [3] SUSANA FERNANDES
TORTURE WHEEL : CRUSHED UNDER...
[FIREDOOM MUSIC]
Bleak droning landscapes, emotive and melancholic sounds
from a forgotten realm, captivating and dangerous. The lis-
tener gets pulled into the universe of Torture Wheel and it
can be hard to get away again. Simple song structures, dark
vocals are an insane scream, fierce and aggressive enough
to make small children piss themselves and grown men cry.
The messages the band have gets delivered as a 10 ton
hammer in the forehead, being it the serious songs or the
more humorous ones. The demos show the band's devel-
opment, which really isn't that big. They have found their
style and they crush with that without thinking of the day
tomorrow. The tracks are quite varied, and there isn't left
room for a single second of boredom through the almost an
hour this disc lasts. The live part is wicked as the studio
tracks, the sound is rawer, but good quality, if you like a live
recording sounding live, as I do. When the first round of the
blitzkrieg this album is has settled, and you gets used to the
sound and insanity of the band, the real treat opens up and
brings the one blasting killer track after the other. I didn't
react that positive to my first listen to this album, but as time
went by and I got more into it, it showed to be one hell of a
mind-explosion. [8.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
TRAUMA : IMPERFECT LIKE GOD
[ADIPOCERE RECORDS]
Trauma is probably one of the most underrated bands
coming from the land with the highest talent density for
most diverse and complete... in other words probably their
best, hehe. The only thing I would like to underline in
"Ihmisvihan Eliitti" is that in the anxiety of creating some-
thing unique and original they sometimes tend to combine
too much strange elements, like some synths á la Deep
Purple on the song 'Vitutuksen Viitoittama Vuosikymmen',
or some funky oriented tempos on 'Kolmen Minuutin
Armopala', or some labyrinthic progressive brutal tempo
changes on 'Huoranpenikat Ja Huijarikuninkaat' or even
some clap hands on 'Vasaroin Ja Taltoin'. All these little
details make you like or dislike the nine songs featured in
here. I must say in their defence (if they need) that the
details, combination of elements and diversity in here is
something that doesn't happen that often in Black / Death
metal bands and they surely have this in their advantage.
The foundations of the Uhrilehto's sound are still Black
Metal but during the years they have blended it with other
elements, like Death Metal, some Rock and even
Progressive parts. All this mixtured with some diverse
vocal lines by Nidhogg, where he manages to cover all the
metal spectre, from the rasp Black Metal tunes to growling
alike Death Metal vocals, spoken parts, clean ones, you
name it. These elements required a good production and
How many times have you been driving your car and taken
a turn on a junction that is usually the wrong one as you
were unsure whether to turn left or right? Well this is the
case with this album, Varathron have taken the wrong turn.
Gone are the occult mid tempo guitar riffs and the decaying
vocals. These are replaced by a power metal guitar sound,
numerous piano rolls and technicalities of various sorts.
Still better than the incomplete "Lament of the Gods" mini,
this album features once again a totally new line - up hence
a totally different sound; a sound closer to Greek mysteri-
ous power metal than black metal occultism. Still
"Crowreign" NEEDS to be played for a minimum of 10 times
before coming to a respectable conclusion. It is the most
technical Varathron album to date, filled with numerous riffs
and layers and some very clever musicianship. Some amaz-
ing songs on this 11 track assault with "The Sign of Eternal
Curse" and "Angel of Revenge" as ultimate highlights remi-
niscent to old Varathron. Surprises do not end there, just
listen to the instrumental tracks or even "Creation of Satan"
with that Eastern mysterious feel to it half way through the
song. All in all, the album is not bad for what it is but this is
the last thing I expected from a band like Varathron. I
expected an evolution in sound, not a change of musical

64 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES

THE FIRSTBORN : THE UNCLENCHING OF FISTS
[PROCON MEDIA]
Initially known as Firstborn Evil, The Firstborn used to
be one of the most respected bands in the
Portuguese underground scene. Under the name of
Firstborn Evil they released "Rebirth of Evil" and "From
the Past Yet to Come", two albums that received very
good reviews. Their initial sound was Black Metal
mixed with some Death Metal clichés, but - apparent-
ly - they wanted to take a huge conceptual step, and
right after "From the Past Yet to Come" (in 2000) they
put their effort on some spiritual and innovative influ-
ences. Drinking a whole inspiration on Tibet's history,
the band leaves here a total hymn to the Oriental cul-
ture. The Black Metal structure has been left behind
almost totally, and instead, we get much more Death
Metal oriented riffs and blast beats. Everything here is
almost perfect and "fresh", because there aren't much
clichés, you know. "Voyage" is this amazing track, or
"Fire Channels". You will recognize some Nile,
Emperor or, for instance, Sepultura parts, especially
on tracks like "Movement for Practising the Way" or
"Golden Libation" - true Epic and beautiful moments
to be consumed with a total peaceful mind. But don't
think the album is all calm, far from that, my friends.
The album has very brutal songs ("To Roam the
Endless Plains") that only a very few Portuguese
bands would dare to write. The Firstborn has, per-
haps, the best Portuguese drummer: Rolando Barros,
from Grog, Sacred Sin, Neoplasmah, etc. That's why
the drum parts were recorded so well. The whole CD
has a very nice production (not common on
Portuguese records...). "The Unclenching Of Fists" is
one of the greatest Avant Garde albums recorded
ever, thus, you can't miss it. [9] SIMÃO FONSECA
direction. The latter should result in a change of band name
if anything. I seriously struggle to figure out who this album
is applying to as dedicated Varathron fans would not be able
to welcome this one. [7] ALEX ANTONIOU
VARGSANG : THRONE OF THE FORGOTTEN
[UNDERCOVER RECORDS]
This is Vargsang's second and final release. Having praised
his black metal ideals with a band named Graven in the
past, Vargsang apparently made a name for himself in the
cult BM genre, although he now apparently hates the latest
evolution (...) of the scene and has decided to call it quits.
Buying 46 minutes of non stop Misanthropic Black Metal
may not sound so desirable to many of you, yet it is under-
stood that the aim of musical outcasts such as this one is
not to be heard, nor sell, only to exist and be discovered by
those few sick individuals.
The riffs are as dry as they could possibly be, minimalistic
in their own nature and simple as one-two-three. As Fenriz
from Darkthrone used to say, the drums in Black Metal
should "just be there" and so they are. Within the ferocious
glacial chemistry of Vargsang's doings, a frozen black
metal aesthetic is mastered carefully but with such sim-
plicity in all aspects that makes you wonder why you are
still interested in listening to this after the first total play.
Strangely enough, circumstances being what they are, this
shit ain't bad. Far from producing a masterpiece, a break-
through of its kind or a total failure, Vargsang's second
album is located somewhere in between those three con-
clusions. Try and avoid listening in overdose. The hypno-
tising effects and deep sadness it produces within might
be difficult to cast away. [7] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS
VARIOUS : CHOOSING DEATH
[RELAPSE RECORDS]
This is the companion CD compilation coinciding with the
release of Albert Mudrian's book "Choosing Death: The
Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore". Beyond all
the fuss around the release of this book, what you get here
is an easy, thrown together compilation released more in
order to cash in with the book than to document anything
properly. As if adding demo versions of tracks from Nihilist
(pre-Entombed) or live soundboard recordings from
napalm Death would have people running to buy this. I will
not debate the book's content as I have not read it but this
'original soundtrack' is surely not worth to get. If you real-
ly need the material here, get yourself a high speed con-
nection and sample the P2P listings out there. You'll get a
wider sample and won't help people to cash in on some
past glories which are not their own. [1] ERIC MASSICOTTE
VEMOTH : KOTTKROKSVALS
[TEMPLE OF DARKNESS RECORDS]
If you are one of those not yet tired of intense Swedish
66 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
Black Death metal, than Vemoth is certainly a nice catch!
Mixing influences from bands like Dissection, Naglfar or
Satyricon this quartet present us a good debut of coherent,
rightly correct furious black metal. Do not expect any sort
of strange improvisations cause these guys play black
metal in the old Swedish tradition, raw, aggressive,
intense, from mid to fast tempos, diverse and with a clean
fat production that allows all instruments to shine on their
own! The only comment I can have on "Kottkroksvals" is
that Behemiron tend to use the same sort of raspy wicked
vocals without much variation giving a nostalgic feeling
towards the end. Still this is overstepped with a tight
instrumental side where the dark atmospheres are built on
melodic aggressive riffs and superb intense drumming.
Highly competent in what they are playing Vemoth can
with no doubts become bigger if they manage to insert a
more personal touch in their compositions instead of grab-
bing bits of this and that to make the whole. Songs like the
brutal fast opener 'Morka Drommar', the riffing 'Smidas Pa
Nytt', the melodious 'Manskligt Avskrade' or the mighty
thundering drumming of 'Domen' are not easily forgetful.
[7] NUNO SANTOS
VESANIA : GOD THE LUX
[NAPALM RECORDS]
This is definitely more like it. Poland's Vesania are not to
be considered as a project band although they include
members Daray from Vader (drums) and Orion from
Behemoth as the guitar/vocalist. Now here is something
many of you may not know. Vesania were formed up in
1997, a great deal of time before either specialists had
joined the later Polish super bands, fact that makes
Vesania even more respectable to the naked eye. "God the
Lux" is their second release after the "Firestorm Arcanum"
released in 2003. You will find no monotony here. This is
nothing less to expect from a band where Daray and Orion
meet the keyboards of Siegmar and the 4 strings of bassist
Heirich. Keyboarder Siegmar has written an orchestration
nearly at the same standards of Dimmu Borgir's excel-
lence, although the melodies do not sound so up front as
the above mentioned band. Binding this with a totally bril-
liant performance of darkened music, what we have here is
impressive. The keys also provide brief spaces between
the songs, giving an even greater complete image of an
album. Yet, those of you that go after easy chill out listen-
ing will be sadly disappointed. This album needs to be
drained rather than simply listened to.
Daray's drumming sounds heavy and brutal, reminding
perhaps his other band, and providing a cutting edge
steady foundation for Orion's guitars and Siegmars' keys
that touches perfection. The vocals are mixed in a medi-
um volume. All that black metal lyric vomiting is more like
following the music than making a stand by itself. If this is
a minus or a plus, you can judge by yourselves.
The beauty about this CD is that not a single track stands
out of the total. This album is one unique piece of work, all
together and undivided. It may not be the great break-
through for its genre, but the combination of the polish
death metal school with that sweet orchestral aristocratic
feeling is a must-hear result. [8] THANOS KALLIANIOTIS
VREID : KRAFT
[TABU RECORDINGS]
The band that rose out of the ashes of Windir, and I don't
have count on how many reviews I've seen dealing with a
comparison of the 2 bands, instead of dealing with the
actual music Vreid has made, there are some compar-
isons, but not that many. Vreid is much for straight for-
ward, a thrash band incorporating black metal influences
into their music, is a pretty good way to put it.
Catchy thrashy riffs are thrown out of the speakers, often
in a mid-paced manner, the riffs are thought through and
makes an impact on the listener, and hooks the ear, so to
say. Simple, but effective guitar work. The compositions
are well made as well, well-weighed song writing with
focus on the song, instead of different wicked details, and
it's nice to hear such music once in a while. The variation
is nice as well, and makes the album somewhat long last-
ing. There is the direct thrashy mid-tempo opener 'Wrath
Of Mine', with snarled vocals, well pronounced so we can
follow the lyrical wrath and bile. We have a song as the epic
and very black metallish 'Songen Åt Fangen', cold and epic,
nice cold guitars and a good atmospheric solo and quite
speeded up compared to the most of the album, and good
rasping vocals, this track isn't far of Windir. The semi-
acoustic 'Empty', which almost has a Pink Floyd feel to it,
dreamy and melancholic, with psychedelic sub harmonics,
a thing which is present more than once on this album.
At first I didn't get into this album, but as time has passed
and I have gotten more familiar with it, and the music has
had some time to work on me, it have made quite an
impact, and I am left impressed behind. There is an enor-
mous impact by the music, it is captivating. It contains
good melodies and great riffs. The bass is always audible
and is sounding good. The drumming is precise and
straight in your face. The music and performances from
the musicians are great and very varied. The vocals are
raw, and again nicely alternated, and are pretty catchy,
when one gets beneath the raw cover. Grab this album, and
let it work on you, it will be worth the time, I have used a
long period of time to get into, and now when I have been
taken away by it, it shows to be a damn good musical
adventure. [8.5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
VULPECULA : IN DUSK APPARITION
[INVICTUS PRODUCTIONS]
I got in touch with Vulpecula back in '96 when they
released their "Phoenix Of The Creation" and I was one of
the lucky bastards who grabbed one of the vinyl copies of
that demo. The year after Merciless Records releases the
Ep "Fons Immortalis", then a complete silence 'til now! The
four tracks featured here (plus a cover song of 'Major Tom
(Coming Home)', originally recorded by Peter Schilling
and only available on a limited edition compilation cas-
sette) were supposed to be out on the debut album entitled
"Down Among Them". These songs were extracted from
tapes that were only pre-production exercises for the
album that was supposed to come so don't expect a
tremendous studio quality!
Its hard for me to put this material aside with the stuff they
compiled in "Fons Immortalis" (songs from the "Phoenix Of
The Creation" '96 demo plus from a rehearsal tape of the
same year) because in my opinion Charles Keller (the man
behind Order From Chaos) reaches its climax in Vulpecula
with that particular release. "In Dusk Apparition" shows a
side of Vulpecula that was never explored... long songs
with running times between 7 to almost 8 minutes.
Composing long songs isn't an easy task but they do it so
naturally that is almost creepy. The music is a strange mix
of mid tempo Dark Death Metal with some scattered spa-
tial tunes and low grunted whispered vocals.
The only note I have with the material in here is that is
mostly drum driven... meaning that the drums are slightly
on top of the other instruments; still he can hear clearly the
bass lines and the guitar (during the solos the guitar is per-
fectly heard however during the riffing it could be a little
upfront). Nevertheless it gives a strange intense refined
feeling to the songs that probably only Vulpecula can
accomplish! I have the feeling that sooner or later the offi-
cially defunct band will return... [7] NUNO SANTOS
WAPENSPRAAK & DRINKGELAG / GARMEN-
HORD : DE STRIJDLUST VAN HET ZWIJN
[LUGBÚRZ PRODUCTIONS]
The first band on this split-CD is Wapenspraak &
Drinkgelag (which in Flemish means something like
Weapon speech & Drinking laughter), and as you can
expect from a band with such a name, they indeed play
pagan Metal (with strong Black Metal influences), and
obviously they sing in their own tongue which, by the way,
sounds really good! It definitely creates the same grim
harshness the Scandinavian languages use to do!
The folky instrumental guitar/flute intro gave me the
impression that the musical quality wouldn't really be of a
high level, since it sounded quite simple and corny. I was
wrong though, and I apologize for this, but I was misled by
its (actually suitable) simplicity! I must admit this is a real-
ly good-sounding band! In five powerful tracks they prove
to have all the qualities a good band within this Metal-
genre should! Even the live-recorded track "Puur Heidens
Krijgsmetaal" kicks bloody ass, and therefore isn't a mere
cheap filling of recording-time. The typical pagan feeling is
there, like we know it from bands like Kampfar, Isengard,
and in some extent Finntroll, but still W & D stand for orig-
inality, and (in all humbleness) they kick Kampfar's ass
easily! But I guess this is not really a surprise if you take
in consideration the fact that the band assembles mem-
bers from Aguynguerran, Enthroned and Gotmoor...
The quartet Garmenhord (featuring 4 songs + a live video-
recording) also shares the same pagan bloodline, but
musically they have a different approach...
The opening track "De Val van Raepenburg" convinced me
immediately that this was also fucking good shit though! It
all starts really grimly, with an Arckanumish atmosphere,
but with some awesome intertwined bass lines resembling
to the earlier Burzum releases. I really have been spinning
this track over and over again! This is the stuff alright!
Generally the songs are mid-tempo (by times reminding
me a bit of Tumulus, even though I'm not quite sure in
what way exactly), with some faster parts here and there,
and with the main focus on somewhat epic, medieval and
folky atmospheres. For this Garmenhord used pagan "sing-
along" choirs and refrains, ending up having created really
catchy songs which stick in your head for hours (of course
especially if you understand Flemish!). Both bands are
musically and vocally really good, and also the production
is totally appropriate. Therefore I can only conclude this is
without any doubt a very successful release, and definite-
ly a trophy to be held high for the Flemish Metal scene! I
can't wait to see both bands live! [8.5] TARAS VAN DIJK
WELTBRAND : RADIANCE OF A THOUSAND SUNS
[NEW ERA PRODUCTIONS]
This is an interesting, and in my honest opinion one of the
most promising bands to emerge from the Netherlands
lately. The Black Metal-sound Weltbrand stands for (and by
themselves described as "Nihilistic Assault Metal") com-
bines a lot of sheer violence with dark industrial atmos-
pheres and results in quite an original-sounding band I
must say! The riffs within Weltbrand aren't necessarily
complex or too melodic, nor is the drumming necessarily
technical, but for some reason I get an overall feeling of
professionalism, and especially conviction! Weltbrand is
an oiled machine in motion, a fresh blast of energy into the
Dutch scene! "Radiance of a Thousand Suns" was first
released as a Mcd limited to 250 copies, which New Era
Productions decided to re-release, adding 6 new tracks
(from which on is a Carnivore-cover), ending up in a total
of 17 tracks! I think New Era made a smart move bringing
out this release, for it shows itself worthy to be listened by
much more than a mere 250 souls! [7.5] TARAS VAN DIJK
WETWORK : SYNOD
[KRANKENHAUS RECORDS]
The first thing I noticed about these Canadians is their
bassist, Chay McMullen, who played for Infernal Majesty,
so I thought I knew what I should expect out of Wetwork's
cd. How wrong I was! There's not much that you can do
when you get hit by a female that Hell itself denied! Kristen
Parker is a demon of the dark past. She is so scary you
can't believe. She doesn't imitate noone and she's defi-
nitely out of this world. I never thought I could survive her
bestial malevolence to the end. Even though they claim to
be technical death metal they sound more like extreme
thrashers. An overall great effort and since Canada is one
of my favourite metal countries I suggest you give them a
chance without much thought. [8] KOSTAS ANTONATOS
WHORE : DOING IT FOR THE KIDS
[MORIBUND RECORDS]
Prejudice kind of took over when I saw the title and the
cover artwork for this album. Though that is always a good
start, it means that the expectations to the release aren't
too high, and like that it's easier to get surprised positive-
ly. And I indeed did, instead of the awaited lo-fi porn-grind
assault, Whore surprised with some well-weighed
death/grind with a healthy amount of speedy thrash metal
included. The compositions are well made, and pretty
catchy, even though the music is pretty brutal and straight
forward with its grinding guitar riffs, and loud cymbals,
pounding double bass drumming and noisy bass. The
drumming is quite and varied, from the straight ahead
classic death metal style, to more noisy and alternated
beats, there are quite some pace shifts as well, and that
adds to the whole. The guitars are good, there are deliv-
ered some nice and catchy riffs and some good solos now
and then. The vocals are good as well, a well pronounced
and deep growl, delivered slowly upon our helpless ears,
so we get the accounts of violent abuse of the sluts print-
ed on our retinas. The tales of horror are well painted and
entertaining as they should be.
If gore-grind is something up your alley then this album is
a sure buy, well crafted tunes of demented sex, violence
and gore is what Whore is about, together with the grind-
ing, blasting death metal. The influences from speed and
thrash metal supplies the necessary alternation, together
with the great pace shifts. The sound is raw and natural, no
annoying over-triggered drums or sterile guitars, and it's
straight ahead in an organic and spell-binding manner.
Weak and righteous souls might find the multiple horrors
and porn influenced intros quite offensive, together with
the lyrics, the song titles and artwork, but this is offensive
metal, the way offensive metal is meant to be… And
death/grind fused together with speed metal works, just
check out 'Goddamn You're Ugly' and the more pure
speedster 'Shocker', and if you want the full treat take it
from the top. Though be aware that the album gets a bit
repetitive towards the end, many monotonous sounding
riffs and compositions drags the album out, and the outro
is quite annoying as well. But when that is said, the album
is very enjoyable. [7] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
WIGRID : DIE ASCHE EINES LEVENS
[NO COLOURS RECORDS]
Cold, melancholic and droning black metal is what we get
from Wigrid. Atmospheric long tunes, displaying solitude
and longing for something not available, frustrations and
anger are being let out through the speakers, as the almost
ambient music moves slowly forward.
The compositions are almost standing to still at times, not
offering enough interesting elements to keep it interesting.
The guitar is cold and distant, almost lifeless, adding a lot
of the atmosphere in the music. The kind of atmosphere
that keeps Wigrid alive and the music interesting. The riffs
aren't many and the variation isn't that big either, some of
the melodies are good, others to the weaker side. The
drumming is sparse, it works more or less as percussion
all the way through, it works okay and the variation of it is
quite good as well. The vocals, a scream from beyond the
grave, cold and frustrated, it fits the musical output per-
fectly and is good. It reminds me a lot of Burzum's early
vocal work, as well as the music does, there are many
resemblances to Burzum and Ulfhednir is obviously draw-
ing many references from the Norwegian band into his
own music. Black metal bands displaying solitude, depres-
sion and death are becoming many and many of them are
good, and it seems like they have received recognition in
the underground fairly quickly. Perhaps they have touched
issues many can relate to and by that it is easy to identify
oneself with the atmospheres and anger expressed
through the music and vocals. This is a quite good album,
which as these albums often do, a bit of time and spins to
open up for real. Though the simplistic ambient title track
is too long, simple and boring for a pure electronic track,
especially when the 4 other tracks are as good and capti-
vating as they are. [7] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
WILLOW WISP : INCINERATOR BOUND
[SELF RELEASED]
So, this release isn't anything to write home about really.
The synths used are set on probably the most annoying
sound I've ever heard loaded on a keyboard. A mix
between Marilyn Manson-esque low melancholy clean
vocals with shrill black metal styled vocals. I thought that
all this neo-goth stuff had died out by now but I guess not.
I did a little research and saw that these guys are from
Hollywood, though, and that's where anything is possible
in the realm of finding genuinely bad music.
I think this band has a long way to go, but I guess I could
see someone who's into this sort of stuff liking it a lot.
So... if you like Cradle of Filth and Marilyn Manson, check
them out I guess. [3.5] MAX RODRIGUEZ
WINTER OF APOKALYPSE: SOLITARYWINTERNIGHT
[MORIBUND RECORDS]
Self-entitled as the true heritors of the great Norwegian
Black Metal wave, Winter of Apokalypse introduce them-
selves as the natural successors of bands like Dissection,
Mayhem, Morbid Angel, Destroyer, Bathory, Venom and
others. Being known before as Thy Infernal in the previous
two albums, they have abandoned this name in 2004 to
Winter of Apokalypse and release in 2005 'Solitary Winter
Night', their third release. Musically speaking, WoA is a
straight-forward pure Black Metal band. If they are or not
the heritors of old Black Metal I cannot say it, but I can say
they sound as the above mentioned bands, the great ones,
the ones that as embody Black Metal and have evolved
themselves... It will be that Black Metal needs revivalisms?
I think not. Black Metal, as any other Metal gender, dis-
penses any old reminiscence. He needs yes, new gender
bringers, new innovators who bring something 'outra-
geous' to a gender, as CoF have did it in middle 90's or Nile
is doing today for Death Metal, and therefore perpetuating
Metal in time. Putting aside the philosophic questions, and
looking to what I have in hands, WoA's 'Solitary Winter
Night' is a good suggestion of pure Black Metal, essential
to the purist fans. To the lesser purist only remains waiting
to WoA evolution, such as happened with many Black
Metal bands. To sustain my opinion I point Dimmu Borgir.
Look to 'Far All Tid' and 'Death Cult Armageddon' (the first
and the last) and you'll see what I'm talking about! 'Solitary
Winter Night' is to WoA what 'Far All Tid' is to Dimmu
Borgir. It only remains us all to wait to WoA's musical evo-
lution because all the rest is there. [7.5] CARLOS FILIPE
WITCHKRIEG : DARK MY WAY
[REDE & RITE RECORDS]
There's almost a punkishness, though it's anything but
punk. A lot of that may just have to do with the obvious
DIY element afoot here. Nothing wrong with that, in case
 that the band is very technical, and might have the math-
core label attached to them as well.
The music kicks of full throttle and straight into warp speed,
it doesn't stay in that pace through out the album though,
the release are pretty varied and we are presented for a fair
deal of pace shifts. The guitars are insane, there a tons of
riffs and variations of them, right as you find ease with one,
it gets changed into the next and it is like that the whole way
through "In The Midst Of Bloodied Soil". I don't mind tech-
nical music and tons of riffs, though I'd like a decent hook
once in a while, something which makes me remember
which song I am listening to, and I can't quite find that on
this album. The compositions are like tornadoes of riffs,
melodies, beats, killer bass lines and a wicked rasping
growl, thrown in the air and transforming into a unit of some
kind, before it hits ones ears. There are bits and pieces of
melodies which make me think of the catchier In
Flames/Dark Tranquillity material, parts resembling of
death/grind, and weird over the top technical parts, making
USURPER : CRYPTOBEAST one think of mathcore, a nice mix up of a lot. There are good
tendencies in the band, but I can't quite get into this, and
[EARACHE RECORDS]
suddenly in the middle of it all, an instrumental intermezzo
Ten years ago being 'over the top' was something quite tasteless and unfashionable. You will possibly remember track with some nice dark gothic-like synth work, I miss a
trend-setter Max Cavalera and a few trend-following VIPs (I bet every country had at least a couple of these anti-OTT pattern and something I can relate too. When the disc stops,
activists) campaigning militantly against all things traditionally metal! Sign of the times or maybe not, the truth is I have forgotten what I listened to, and when I press start
again, I can't tell the tracks a part, and that's good once in a
that metal's death was proclaimed in the US to everyone's rejoice. Praise the lord! I must add that, with all the crap
while, though it gets very tiring in the long run. But a band
labelled as 'metal' that spawned from across the Atlantic in these last few years, metal had better remained 'dead'!! with a lot of potential and some damn good musicians when
Ten years forward in time, the leather clad headbangers known as Usurper produce their most recent masterpiece, judging on this album. [5] ANDERS PETER JØRGENSEN
"Cryptobeast", and folks, it doesn't get much more OTT than this. Being so scandalously metal is a matter of honour
for these guys, and the music reflects that crystal clear. "Cryptobeast" is a potent and menacing slab of highly per-
WOLVERINE : THE WINDOW PURPOSE
[ELITIST / EARACHE RECORDS]
sonalised metal. Production, sound and musical execution are all near perfection, and you just know from metal Originally released by a small label in 2001, this is
hymn number one "Bones of my enemies" that you're in for a treat! Awesome choruses, brilliant tempo changes, Wolverine's debut album reissued in a fully remastered
incredible dynamics and variety, it is all here! From the thrashing viciousness and velocity of "Return of the werewolf" version featuring new artwork and an additional track. You
may have already heard about these Swedish devotees of
to the amazingly intense and atmospheric "Wrath of god", Usurper knows no weaknesses. They can even afford to
progressive metal in the context of their latest release
compose an interlude like "Ectoplasm", which sounds like the more introspective Agent Steel moments on their "Cold Light of Monday", so this is your chance to check out
"Unstoppable Force" album, and to deliver a die-hard fist in the face of every baggy panty/spiky hairy poser wimp in how the band sounded in their formative stages. I bet you
the shape of "Kill for metal", a real thrash banger complete with lovely verses such as "Bringing the demise of this won't be disappointed. "The Window Purpose" is an hour
mainstream shit / Skulls will be broken, throats will be slit / Shitting on the posers, making them pay / Bringing back plus of great music played both with heart and technical
proficiency. The songs go through diverse moods and
the true metal ways". Usurper are pure metallic bliss in 2005, with "Cryptobeast" sounding as old-school as it gets generally excel in the long instrumental breaks with amaz-
and, at the same time, unbelievably refreshing!! OTT? No, just pure fucking metal!! [10] MIGUEL SOUSA ing leads and clever arrangements. And while these breaks
may be at times really complex and intricate they merge
seamlessly in the overall structure of the songs, making
you think I'm implying such, just noting what I hear. At any death adds intensity and the thrash, well, speed of course. them relatively easy to get into. But what surprised me the
rate, as I said, it's NOT punk. There's a certain black metal The music is alive with thick guitar chords and groovy per- most in "The Window Purpose" was the quality consisten-
(old school) rawness to this, but it's not really black metal. cussion while the vocal chores move sweetly between a cy kept throughout its eleven cuts, which is quite remark-
I can tell that the members of this songwriting team have solid death growl and aggro-female singing. There's a able for a debut album. Also, this first Wolverine long-play-
digested their share of black metal and that it has definite- fused diversity here that brings to Witchkrieg's sound a er still features the occasional appearance of the growled
ly had an influence in their tonnage, but black metal isn't. dose of originality that helps them shine a bit in the metal vocals of Marcus Losbjer (the only reminiscence of the
More than anything, it's a trinity of gothic metal, thrash underground. [7] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN band's death metal past), which creates an unexpected
and death, but these other influences are there in the most and unique contrast with the band's 'clean' sound. As for
oblique of fashions. Their presence as influences aren't WITH PASSION : IN THE MIDST OF BLOODIED SOIL the main voice in the band, I must admit that it took me a
overt or blatant necessarily, but the trained ear, as it were, [EARACHE RECORDS] while to get used to the way Stefan Zell sings, as he
can pick up on these things. Or maybe I just overanalyze. This is a pretty new American metalcore band, as their sounds sometimes a bit too naive. Contrary to what usual-
Who knows? Whatever the case, it makes for a relatively record label, labels them. Though there are more to it than ly happens with bonus tracks in album reissues, the
unique listen, and yet one that is accessible for any metal that. Yes we do have the melodic death metal inspirations almost 10 minute epic "Again!" (originally released on their
fan. The Goth element adds delicious atmosphere, the and a healthy dose of hardcore in the picture, but besides "Fervent Dream" EP) re-recorded for this new edition of
TWP, is really on par with the remaining material. Finally
there's no way to deny that the record reveals obvious
influences both from old and contemporary prog leaders,
but I guess I tend to undervalue this issue in view of a
debut record of this fine quality. [8.5] ERNESTO MARTINS
WYKKED WYTCH : NEFRET
[DEMOLITION RECORDS]
Whether or not you can say I liked or didn't like Wykked
Wytch's music would depend on which particular passage
I'm hearing at the moment. During the band's straightfor-
ward black metal passages, it's pretty groovy. It's a little
more of the technically proficient, precision-performed
variety, chock full of speed but also melodic songwriting
tendencies, almost at times modern melodic thrash but
with black metal vocals and aura. That's great. There are
also rawer, but equally as appealing punkish death metal
segments that I find quite enjoyable. But when the band
slips over into the clean-voxed Goth side, I just don't like
it as much. I give them much credit for the largely suc-
cessful attempts at variety and anti-boredom tune writing,
but somehow those gothic stretches just don't quite cut it
for me. Overall, though, this is a strong band and it's pret-
ty terrific to hear such a strong-voiced woman shred
through death, hardcore-ish and black metal vocal
stylings. [5] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
WYNJARA : HUMAN PLAGUE
[NOCTURNAL ART PRODUCTIONS]
Wynjara's grindingly brutal but lushly melodic death metal
reveals an admirable degree of maturity informing the music
at a core creative level. Murderous onslaught isn't hard to
find as the music rages on and the guttural death roar of the
vocals stomp you into headbanger's submission. Metal
fiends will easily find the blasting assault their masochistic
little ears so greedily desire (yum, yum). But wrapped inex-
tricably about all this blisteringness is a highly developed
sense of melody, bordering at times on the sort of beauty
you only expect metal to produce in, say, the power metal
sector. It's a nice way to expand the death metal sound and
give it some extra meat and appeal. The get-together of such
thrashy heaviness and rich loveliness is heady stuff and
promises a growing fan base. [6.5] KRISTOPHER UPJOHN
XASTHUR : TELEPATHIC WITH THE DECEASED
[MORIBUND RECORDS]
Many of you are ecstatic when referring to what I simply
consider "miserable bedroom black metal". Maybe it's just
me getting fed-up beyond endurance of the dreadful drum
machines, the moaning and intelligible vocals or the
excessive use of reverberation but I truly despise this kind
of music these days. I can't take it anymore and I feel like
it's not only a matter of free-form bashing. It's repetitive
without being trance-inducing, badly produced and truly
miserable to a point of exhaustion. We've heard it all
before elsewhere and to be honest I would recommend
anyone to spare the few bucks required to buy this and
spend it on a good set of earplugs. I might be cruel or
maybe just no longer interested but whatever... Now get a
life! [1] ERIC MASSICOTTE

Yes, it is true, Onslaught have reformed! Few possibly imagined this reunion would ever happen, but
the fact is that the finest English thrashers are back to the front. No rest for the wicked, hum? With a
new album on that forge and Sy Keeler again filling the frontman’s shoes, Ancient Ceremonies tracked
down bassist Jim Hinder to get the whole story...
Onslaught might be a name unknown to some (if not most) of our
readers, but back in the days when long hair and leather jackets
ruled, these British lunatics certainly have delivered the goods.
Formed in 1983 by Nige Rockett (guitar) and Steve Grice
(drums), Onslaught started in the hardcore/punk scene, hav-
ing for reference bands like Discharge, The Exploited and
GBH. However, the metal demon grew on the young band, and
when their storming debut ‘Power From Hell’ hit the stores in
1985 there was no doubt that some massive injections early
thrash had made an effect on the young band’s sound. In the
following year, with new vocalist Sy Keeler (who would
become a fan favourite) fronting the Bristol boys, Under One
Flag released the thrash metal classic ‘The Force’, a bold and
fierce opus that earned the band the tag of “Europe’s answer
to Slayer”. But then some changes occurred, with Keeler leav-
ing the band during the recordings of their third album due to
label pressures. Packed with new vocalist Steve Grimmett , a
bag full of power metal tunes and a less aggressive produc-
tion (read polished) and attitude, 1989’s ‘In Search of Sanity’
found some commercial success, but disappointment soon
followed, with an identity crisis a record label no willing to
renew the band’s contract being definitive blows on the band’s
aspirations. The break-up soon followed.
Over a decade later, Onslaught’s return is as real as it is unex-
pected. To everyone’s surprise, the old beast is reformed and
it already has a new album on the forge baptised ‘Killing
Peace’. Rockett and Grice, this time joined by bassist Jim
Hinder (responsible for the 4 strings on ‘In Search of Sanity’),
new man guitarist Alan Jordan and, of course, charismatic
Simon Keeler on vocals, are ready to kick ass again.
Jim Hinder tells the story: “Steve and Nige had remained
friends through the non-Onslaught years. Steve received a
royalty cheque for sales of the re-released ‘Power from Hell’
and ‘The Force’ CDs... in the princely sum of 20 pence [!!] or
so... this got the guys thinking that someone, somewhere,
was capitalising on the band's former success. This occur-
rence was the catalyst - Steve and Nige got to thinking “what
if..?”. Matters moved forward when Steve rang me and asked
if I’d be interested. I said yes, I would! Similarly with Sy”.
So the new editions of the first two albums had a major role
in the re-forming?
“Absolutely. We spoke to the distribution company the other day
and were pleasantly surprised to hear that we’d sold some 7000
copies of the two albums over the last couple of years. All we have
to do now is track down who’s got our share of the royalties!”
I see... This appears to be quite a common situation amongst
eighties bands. I suspect that Onslaught might have no legal
68 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
journalist: Miguel Sousa
rights to those albums and don’t get a penny for them. Hinder
sighs: “We should get something, of that I’m fairly certain.
We’re investigating the situation as we speak”.
With legal matters on their way to being clarified, our friendly
interlocutor fills the time gap between the break-up and the
reunion and tells Ancient Ceremonies where new guitarist
Alan Jordan came from.
“Steve and Nige formed a band called Frankenstein shortly
after Onslaught’s demise, which lasted for a few years. Steve
eventually left and Nige ended up forming the Power Junkies,
which also lasted from a while before disbanding. Sy had been
fronting Mirror Mirror at the end of the 80s and that continued
for a while into the 90s. Alan Jordan, our “new” guitarist
(who’s been in the band for a year now!) played in all three of
the aforementioned acts. From my own perspective I didn’t
play the bass for over ten years!”
On a personal level, what are the motivations for playing metal
again? Living the good old days again? “We all had our reasons
for reforming. Nige and Steve in particular wanted to record the
album that Sanity never was - the brutal culmination of the ideas
promulgated on the first two albums.” As for himself, Jim has the
best of motives for someone who hasn’t played his instrument for
a decade, “I wanted to play some gigs again!!”, he laughs.
When I heard about the reforming, my first thought was about
the identity of the vocalist. Surely Sy Keeler had to be in
Onslaught again. Not only because he is the fans favourite, but
also because the reforming might not make sense without
him. But personal differences due to the unfriendly sacking
could make Sy’s return difficult. “There was no question that
Simon is the only person who could have been involved with
the reformation”, reckons Hinder, “without him the project
would not have worked and I wouldn’t have been involved”. As
for the problems in the past, it seems that they are exactly
that: past, and Keeler was quite ready to leave those pains
behind, “He’s a true gentleman, he would have had good rea-
son to have taken issue with the way in which he was treated
prior to the release of ‘Sanity’, but has chosen to concentrate
on the here and now.”
Hurray for that! With the line-up complete, the new millenni-
um Onslaught were ready to hit the rehearsal room. It must
have been exciting to play the new songs again. But the
bassist has a different perspective. “Nerve-wracking for sure.
And crap. We sounded dreadful!!”. And what was the first
song you played? “First on the butcher’s block was Metal
Forces. Fortunately things started to improve fairly quickly!”.
Did you immediately started coming up with new ideas for
songs, or you focussed solely (at an earlier stage) in just play-
ing the old songs back to shape?
“Bit of both. I think it took us a good four months to work out
the style of music that was coming from our hearts, ignoring
the cultural filters to find that Onslaught sound again. In that
period we did work on songs like ‘Shellshock’ and ‘Sanity’
[interviewer’s note: songs from the third album, ‘In Search of
Sanity] - it was good to hear Sy’s vocal takes on them. The
new songs we were coming out with at this stage were, in ret-
rospect, a stepping stone to the new vein of creativity we seem
to have struck of late. Not much of the material from this time
remains in the new songs!!”
With an album due to 2006, old fans are certainly wondering
how do the new songs sound like. I ask the friendly bassist if
there are any conscious influences from one of the previous
albums and if fans can rest assured that Onslaught will deliv-
er the same fury and intensity they can find in the awesome
‘The Force’. “Absolutely”, he replies enthusiastically. “That
album represents the high water mark of the band’s career to
date. That said, we certainly haven’t copied the ideas from the
album - I think there are elements of ‘Sanity’ in the new mate-
rial, for example - but, as you say, we have aimed to capture
that album’s inherent brutality and lack of compromise. No
acoustic guitar or bullshit intros on this one…”.
Yes! Now that’s the answer I wanted to hear! Despite having
been released 20 years ago, ‘The Force’ still sounds unbeliev-
ably vicious and threatening. Just listen to those neck-breaking
anthems of brutality like ‘Let there be death’ or ‘Fight with the
beast’, with Sy Keeler excelling on those great Cronos-school
vocals intermingled with his trademark high pitched scream-
ing. With a laugh, Jim Hinder informs me that Sy still manages
to hit the right notes. “Yup, he flexes the larynx appropriately”.
And he leaves a threatening remark, “I actually think his
singing is much more angry and vehement these days...”
Wow! Now that’s something I want to hear! With a comment
like that, one might think that the new lyrics might have some-
thing to do with that. What’s on Onslaught’s minds these
days? “We’re not going to revisit the overt satanic themes of
the first album - much more to concentrate on man’s unpleas-
antness to man. That said, we certainly are utilising the
imagery - I think in a much more allegorical context.”
Jim’s sentence sure says a lot about his band’s classic concept,
so it seems only natural that some of the satanic imagery had
to remain, if filtered through the form of allegories. Despite the
metallic edge ‘Power from Hell’ displayed, it were those lyrics
and aesthetics that really defined Onslaught to the crowd.
“At that time, absolutely”, he agrees. “It was a phase the band
went through - no-one took the practices of what was preached
seriously - and it certainly touched a nerve with the metal public”.
Yes, imagine how important that was for a band coming out of
the punk scene. Jim explains how Onslaught shifted into a
metal outfit. “Nige and Steve were first-generation punk rock-
ers of the old school who gravitated to the harder sounds of
the likes of Discharge and The Exploited. As the first wave of
Metallicas and Slayers appeared they found themselves drawn
to that sound”. And how about himself, being a later addition
to the band? “I was metal through and through. First albums
(bought by my brother in 1982) were Let There Be Rock (no
joke) and Number of the Beast. Hearing Ride the Lightning in
1984ish just about changed my view of the world and a cou-
ple of years later I found myself in Onslaught”.
And then came ‘In Search of Sanity’, a record that carried
great expectations (sic). Do you think Onslaught might have
become as big as Slayer with that record? “Had ‘Sanity’ been
what it might have been sans watered-down hair metal pro-
duction and change of line-up, who knows...”. So what do you
believe was the main problem with said record? Steve
Grimmet’s vocals? The polished sound? Were the songs not
as strong as those in the previous record? “Latter two,
methinks”, considers Hinder. “Don’t get me wrong - Steve
Grimmett has the finest pure metal voice to ever come out of
the UK, period. But juxtaposed in a thrash context, it was all
a hideous mismatch. I can understand why we used Stephan
Galfas to produce the album - very knowledgeable guy, very
experienced - but his background was entirely wrong, and it
showed when it came to the final product. The songs are
strong, if overlong... dirty ‘em up, like we’ve done at the recent
shows, and they hold their own more than competently versus
the first two LPs. Apart from Let There Be fucking Rock...”.
Okay, lets just ignore that misfortunate cover. Onslaught have
kicked a few heads on their day, and now they are doing it
again as they oil the machine for the new record. Does Jim
think that crows have changed much during all this time
Onslaught was gone?
“Difficult to say as I’ve been to so few metal shows in the last fif-
teen years! The guys and girls at our gigs have been very warm,
welcoming and appreciative. Perhaps the years show in terms of
the physical reaction from the crowd... it’s much easier to slam-
dance for an hour-and-a-half when you’re eighteen, for exam-
ple...”. Apart from the old-school fans, Onslaught are apparently
drawing attention from the younger fans as well. “It was pleas-
ing to see some youngsters in the crowd, particularly at the X-
Mass fests, and they certainly seemed to be enjoying it!”
There’s certainly renewed blood in the Onslaught soldiers, but
what does he think about recent efforts by bands like
Destruction, Kreator and Slayer?
“I have only heard a couple of recent Destruction tracks, which
I thought were superb! Kreator’s last album is fantastically
played and produced and a welcome slab of old-school German
thrash. Slayer remain personal favourites and I think that ‘God
Hates Us All’ is probably my all-time Slayer LP... controversial!”
Ha, really!?! Now that might indeed cause some discussion!
Especially when for many a metalhead the first commandment
is that ‘Reign in Blood’ is not only Slayer’s, but also metal’s
most emblematic record ever. That for sure is too dogmatic a
view in my perspective, but ‘God Hates Us All’ being a
favourite... I dunno, mate (laughs)! Anyway... lets move on.
So, Jim, any particular dream you wish to come true in 2006?
“Release the album we should have done 15 years ago. Do
some shows with the guys and enjoy ourselves. And that’s it!
No great desire for stardom, thank you very much!”. Wise
indeed. So there you have it. Onslaught are back! Old-school
grumpy denim and leather fans (like myself!) have one less
reason to complain about today’s ‘metal’ (if you know what I
mean), and new younger fans have one extra motivation to get
into real thrash metal.
“We’ve been genuinely touched by the great reception we’ve
received so far and it’s so gratifying to know that so many peo-
ple still appreciate the music we made so long ago. To the new-
bies... we’d be delighted for people to check out what we do and
bring a little bit of old-school thrash into their lives” (laughs).
You have been warned. ‘Killing Peace’ is due for release in
early 2006, so thrash or be thrashed!
- w w w. o n s l a u g h t f r o mhell.com -
Hard Club, Gaia, Portugal, 1.11.2005
For the second time, Epica’s fans had the opportunity to see (or see again) live, one of the best Gothic Metal bands in
ours days, in a night performance full of sensuality and enchantment, presence and musical embody, angelically and
demonically moments, in the best Oporto’s venue, the Hard Club. I will talk about Epica’s performance ahead on this
review, because first as ascend to the stage 2005 European Tour Epica’s supporting Band: Oceans of Sadness. They sur-
prise everybody that night. The more or less 1200 people that fulfil Hard club and thirsty for Epica, were astonished. All
1200 souls have hold back certainly this name: Oceans of Sadness from Belgium. No, no, that’s not what you are think-
ing about: this band name looks like another female Gothic Metal band as Epica! Au contraire, Oceans of Sadness are a
very powerful band that plays a Death/Metalcore metal and they have enraptured all the audience in the night of the day
of the dead in Portugal. Starting with less than half of the people that finally was in the Hard Club, Oceans of Sadness
deliver on stage a pure demonstration of domineering brutality in a monumental and professional way. There are no
words to describe the sextet performance lead by their highest flame and venue arson, Oceans’s vocalist: Tijs Vanneste.
The lesson of power and rituality began ten minutes before nine p.m., supported mostly by their last release ‘Send in
the Clowns’ with eight expressive revelations of pure visceral Metal, with song like ‘Wild Mystery’, ‘Eyes Like Fire’ or the
ending song ‘Hope is One’ to close the act fifty minutes after beginning. As you see by know the entire contagious ener-
gy of Oceans of Sadness is due to a unique man, the restless Tijs Vanneste, that sings and screams like hell leaving us
thinking their lungs will be tired out his mouth as the screams comes out. The primitive screams enter an anthropolo-
gy area leading Tijs to dance as a tribal leader in an old primitive ritual. Before such force and attitude their band mates
only can do providing the sounding mood of the guitars, bass, drums and keyboard to let Tijs glitter. The five band mem-
bers remained still on stage, playing their instruments carefully to not blemish the entire ensemble, the entire ‘tribal’ cer-
emony of demon’ exorcise. And at 10 p.m. the lights turn off to Epica. The crowd goes crazy, that what we were wait-
ing for. A red-Epica light from the stage blows up the audience’s eyes and enlightening Epica’s logo on the background
at the sound of Consign to Oblivion prologue, ‘Huban K’u’, breaking out all over the hard Club, loud and clear, rising the
emotion in everyone’s hearts. One by One all Epica members take their place on stage till Simone Simons appearance
at last. A night of seduction and majesty full of Gothic Metal crumble at the first chords of ‘Mother of Light’ followed by
‘The Last Crusade’, praising religions to Epica’s last release ‘Consign to Oblivion’. It was a different Epica to a better one
that has played this second time in Portugal, showing more presence, more at ease and exhibit a firmness security, mak-
ing Simone Simons performance a more mature one, but having in that growing process lost a tiny little sensuality, con-
stituting this one the major emotion transmitted to the previous audience in Epica’s concert last year. Meanwhile, Simone
has gained a deeper expressivity and has added more theatrically to her performance, to her beautiful voice and amaz-
ing singing in every song; embody them with a bigger soul to Epica repertoire. Enhancement the Epica’s live perform-
ance is always a very good lighting set and a ventilator focalizes on the mezzo-soprano Simone and the ‘grunt men’ Mark
Jensen and guitar player, giving to both more expression, especially to Simone, throwing into the air her beautiful hair
and giving her an eye-catching glamour, sensuality and seduction. Balancing Simone’s angelical mezzo-soprano singing
is Mark Jansen, like we know him from the two albums, setting free the entire demon inside him with a powerful and
large scale of grunts and screams enlightened with a demonic green light around him. Like in the albums, Epica live lays
down in this dual vocal paradox, to delight all Epica’s fans with a night full of beauty and demonic moments, grandios-
ity and sensuality performance. After the first tracks of ‘Consign to Oblivion’, Epica dives into ‘The Phantom Agony’
album visiting ‘Sensorium’, ‘Cry For the Moon’, Façade of reality’, ‘Illusive Consensus’, ‘Seinf al Din’ and to close the set
list ‘The Phantom Agony’; without before shifting again to Oblivion a couple of time and to play the new Epica’s single
version take from ‘The Score’, ‘Solitary Ground’, in a stage set lightening dark blue light focus on Corn Jansen and
Simone’s back crammed with a white bright light from below, in a catching magnificent unique serene moment with the
mezzo-angelical face enlightened beautifully, providing the two, pianist and vocalist, a forever moment to everyone
remember of so lethargic and beautiful it was. Surely this middle concert moment will be Epica’s live performance mark,
a mandatory item in future Epica’s tours. The rest of the band mates haven’t swerved from the leadings characters, doing
their part individually to the whole making another Epica magic night at the Hard Club. And at the end, everyone was
calling Epica… Epica… And they return to the encore; playing ‘Dance of Fate’ and leaving the crowd more euphoric till
the lights fall down again… leaving the fans’s calling vibration of ‘Epica’ to bloom in the Hard Club’s stoning walls, till
Corn Jansen comes to the stage to express Epica’s feeling about this night and announcing a second encore started right
after with a extended version of ‘Consign to Oblivion’ where Mark Jansen reach a high level of grunting and screaming,
showing Epica like nobody as seen till today, only broken by Simone Simons ‘intromission’ part song. A marvellous
night of Metal leaving everyone present wishing a new encounter with Epica as soon as possible. Its 23h30 and Simone
Simons close the tonight show with a simple: ‘This is the end.’
journalist / photographer: Carlos Filipe
ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 69
My first question as you may understand must be related
with your past. You started the band as INFERNAL SS but
afterwards decided to change the name to its present form.
With a name with clear connections to National Socialism I
assume you had your share of problems. Was this the rea-
son for the change?
“No, we didn’t had any problems. Sometimes we had some
problems with playing gigs under our old name, but that’s all.
The main reason for changing the name was the fact that
moniker Infernal War better reflects the ideological back-
ground of the band, which is death worship and terror propa-
ganda. Infernal War is not and never was a national socialistic
Black Metal band. Our political views may be seen as contro-
versial, but we don’t give a fuck. Infernal War has always been
black metal band. Hail Satan!”
And in the band anything changed? Musically, lyrically...
“Absolutely nothing changed. Some musical progress is obvi-
ous, but ideologically, Infernal War has not changed at all.”
Did you know that there is a Brazilian black metal band with
the same name?
“We didn’t, but this band was formed a year after the release
of our debut Mcd so it is obvious that we were the first to use
the name Infernal War.”
How is the reaction from people in general and metal fans to a
band with such “strong” ideology? In the past here in Portugal
skinheads didn’t go along very well with headbangers!
“Well, some metal fans were confused, some were discour-
aged, some were encouraged... I really don’t care. Infernal War
is not a kind of entertainment for pathetic, tolerant wimps.
There are people worth respect and there are ones deserving
nothing but bullet in the head. The most important thing is that
we are satisfied with who we are and what we do but, of
course, it’s great when people appreciate Infernal War.”
One of the positive things that your debut album has is an
inherent Hate, Crush, Kill attitude. The music is pure sheer
brutality leaving no place for survivors... Where came all
this strength?
“This attitude results from our views and our musical inspira-
tions. I think there is nothing more to add here. We just cre-
ate music we want to listen to.”
Music by fans for fans I guess? What bands from the current
metal scene do you like most?
“I can say so, but personally prefer rawer approach to black
metal. Besides, I listen to different kinds of music, but my core
interest is, of course, metal. I like many bands from the cur-
rent metal scene, i.e.: Inquisition, Gospel Of The Horns,
Destroyer 666, Watain, Ondskapt, Kaamos, Revocation,
Necrovation, Revenge, Axis Of Advance, Revelation Of Doom,
Throneum, Kriegsmaschine, Desaster, Witchburner, Morrigan,
Sunwheel, Malign, Throneum, Dissection, Svartsyn... There
are many of them and I spend almost all my money for new
albums (laughs). I guess I don”t have to express our worship
for the bands like Sodom, Vulcano, Sarcofago or Bulldozer...”
Agonia Records from Poland was the label that released
“Terrorfront” your debut album. Did you had any connections
already with them or was something that came by surprise?
“No, it did not come as surprise. The best offer we got was from
Filip and we accepted it. We’ve just signed for another album.”
What’s the message that Infernal War is trying to transmit
with its music, lyrics, imagery?
“The message behind Infernal War, as I mentioned, is death
worship and hate propaganda towards today’s world pathetic
population. That is the ideological basis of the band.”
I believe you recently played together with Union (ex.Christ
Agony). How do fans react to the new material? Judging by the
songs on “Terrorfront” I believe you are definitely a live band!
“Alas, that tour was crap for many reasons. Union had prob-
lems with their drummer and didn’t play on that tour and
Infernal War played only two gigs. However, I think we are def-
initely a good live act. Our shows are really brutal and hateful.
I think everyone who saw Infernal War on stage would agree
with me. We do like playing live.”
I believe you can easily gather fans from both Black as well
as Death Metal genres! This is in my opinion also another
positive aspect of your music; I mean you gather several
aspects from different genres turning your music richer!
“Yes, it is true. There are many death metal fans who really
enjoy our music. We are inspired by lots of Black / Death /
Thrash Metal bands so it’s not strange one can hear many
influences in our music.”
Now that you have a deal with a record label have you seen
any past closed doors now been opened? Like for instance
the small tour with Union (a band that is also signed with
Agonia Records)?
“As I said, that tour wasn’t successful, but the distribution and
promotion is much better now. The more people know the
music and propaganda of Infernal War, the better it is.”
From the info on the booklet, Triumphator (guitar player) is
the main writer since he composed 6 from the 8 songs. How
70 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
Furious intensity is probably one of the positive
aspects that grab the listener when hearing the
debut album “Terrorfront” from the Death/Black
Polish metal band, Infernal War. Most of you prob-
ably don’t know, but they were a controversial
band inside the Polish circuit... formed back in
1997 under the name Infernal SS they soon
grabbed the attention as is understandable for the
wrong reasons (what were they expecting?!) and
accused of been a national socialistic Black
Metal band! Soon after the band decides to
change the name for Infernal War and kicks now
everybody on the balls with their debut album.
Talented vocalist Warcrimer talks about all this!
journalist: Nuno Santos
is the composition process taking place nowadays? Is he
open to suggestions from the other band members?
“Yes, Triumphator is the main composer in Infernal War, but we
are all open to suggestions from each other. We work as a col-
lective. Our composition process is rather typical. Triumphator
composes the basic riffs and then each of us focuses on his
duties until we are all fully satisfied with a given song.”
From what I know all band members have also other bands,
like Thunderbolt, Darzamat, Iperyt and Arkona... Is it difficult
to maintain all band members focussed on Infernal War?
“Not really, Infernal War is our priority (maybe Godcrusher
whose main band is Darzamat is the only exception), but we
still can afford to play in other bands. For example, I am also
a member of Iperyt which I treat really seriously.”
Iperyt also released a MCD under Agonia. The fact of been
already signed to them gave any advantage for Iperyt?
“Partly, I think. Iperyt got an offer from Filip and we signed to
Agonia. I think Iperyt would get this offer and sign it even if we
didn’t know Filip back then. Of course, it is easier to co-oper-
ate with someone who you already know.”
You are vocalist in both bands. When did you discover this
ability to sing?
“I can’t recall, but I had my first metal band when I was 15.”
Your vocal approach is different in both bands. Which band
do you find it more difficult to perform your task and why?
“My approach is different as these bands are totally different
from each other! Besides, the music of Iperyt requires a differ-
ent vocal approach. I think it’s good to me as I can develop my
skills. I am very satisfied with the vocals on new albums of both
Iperyt and Infernal War. To me, it’s more difficult to perform my
task in Iperyt, especially live as the song structures of Iperyt as
well as all those hardcore techno beats and bass drums demand
more of my concentration when I am on the stage.”
Lyric wise are you influenced by different topics for both
bands? What about the creation of lyric, do you have the
same... let’s call it method for its creation?
“Well, I didn’t write lyrics for the debut Mcd of Iperyt but I
wrote the majority of lyrics for our debut album. In general,
there is no bigger difference between the topics for the lyrics
of both bands. However, the lyrical concept of Iperyt has no
limitations as it is not a black metal band. I think the lyrics of
both bands are very hateful and anti-social.”
Are you totally satisfied with the final result of “Terrorfront”
and your cooperation with Agonia Records?
“You won’t be surprised if I tell you, we are not fully satisfied,
will you?”
I will not be surprised at all! (laughs).
“Some things could have been done better or faster, but it is
normal, I guess. However, Filip does a good job for us and I
hope our future co-operation will be even more successful.
Agonia is good label for Infernal War.”
You used the word faster... As far as I know the material of
“Terrorfront” was recorded in April of 2004 however it only
saw the light of day in the spring of 2005. What happened
in between?
“Nothing actually (laughs). We have some problems with the
front cover and the whole layout, but it’s not important now.
Unfortunately, I consider the front cover of our debut album a
total crap. It’s unserious and fits neither the music nor the lyrics.”
Infernal War is a band with a strong antichristian attitude at
least lyric wise. Do you have that same attitude on your per-
sonal and daily life?
“Yes, definitely.”
Is it hard to put in words the influence that this antichristian
attitude has in your life?
“I am a very anti-social person and don’t see almost any dif-
ference between christians, modern pop cultural faggots and
brainless majority of metalheads with lots of emotional prob-
lems. In everyday life I just live in my own way and try to be
as harmful as possible to everything that stands on my way.”
If you had to select one song from the debut album to sym-
bolize everything that Infernal War is, what song would be
and why?
“Difficult question. I would choose “Crushing Impure Idolatry”
as it perfectly represents the band, both musically and ideo-
logically. The same I can say about “Dead Head’s Empire”.”
What’s your next move? Working for a second full length?
Playing live as many gigs as you can to promote both the
band and your CD “Terrorfront”?
“Music for the new album is already recorded and I am
recording vocals next week. It will be entitled “Redesecration:
The Gospel Of Hatred And Apotheosis Of Genocide” and I can
tell you that it’s even more hateful and aggressive than
“Terrorfront” and the sound is really crushing. Total inhuman
massacre! We don’t want to play gigs at any cost as we pre-
fer well organised shows with the bands we like and respect
to playing anywhere with anyone.”
Are you using the same studio where you recorded
“Terrorfront”?
“Yes, but this time we used a different sound engineer and the
sound of the new album will be ten times more powerful than
“Terrorfront”!”
Its time to end, would you like to a add anything?
“Thanks for your interest! Prepare for our new album and
watch our for the debut album of Iperyt (out this spring on
Agonia). 666!”
Elite is one of those new precious gems from the Norwegian Black Metal scene. During
our talk with Chris-Rudi we reached the conclusion that this was one of his first inter-
views which is evident by some of his answers. But do not be fooled by this ‘cause Elite
has all the professionalism of an older act versus the intensity of a new breed. Their
new album “Bifrost” is certainly a serious shadow to some more recognized acts...
Your debut album had a quite positive impact on
the metal scene; do you believe that “Bifrost” will
surpass the expectations?
“I think Bifrost is a much better album than
Kampen. And I hope and think that people will feel
it the same way.”
One of the things that “Bifrost” is by far better
than “Kampen” is production wise. I believe you
recorded Bifrost in a different studio this time am
I right? Did you have better conditions this time?
“Hell yeah, this time we went to Ballerina Audio in
Umeå, Sweden. Bands like Nagelfar and Vintersorg
have recorded some albums there. Bifrost, produc-
tion-wise is much better than Kampen. Ballerina
Audio is a fantastic studio and Nils Johannson is a
fantastic man to work with. So yes, we are really
happy with the result.”
The recording process was the same used on
“Kampen”? If I’m not wrong in “Kampen” you
recorded everything live!
“On Kampen we recorded everything Live. This
time we didn’t. Rainer first recorded the drums, and
then we recorded the guitars and bass. And finally
Bent recorded the vocals.”
On the past the lyric theme was based on hatred
towards christianity. Is this the same topic sub-
ject of your lyrics nowadays?
“Actually no. On Kampen there was more hatred
against christianity than on Bifrost. We have a little
bit hatred against christianity on Bifrost also, but
not that much. Now when Bent writes lyrics, he
focuses on Norse mythology. He’s really into the
Norse mythology and writes a lot on the subject.”
We all know that Norway was the centre of the
Black metal movement a few years ago, yet
nowadays things are totally different. Do you
believe this was a natural progression based on a
trend or simply the same media that gave high
coverage to the incidents related with Black Metal
bands turned their heads towards other topics and
the fever simply passed away!!
“The golden eggs chicken was simply murdered by
all the excesses... I don’t know!!”
Elite still maintain the characteristic Norwegian
Black Metal sonority. Do you believe that the
Norwegian Black metal sound is slowly progress-
ing or the interest of people is simply changing?
“Elite are still Norwegian black metal. We have a
good sound on Bifrost, but we still have the Black
Metal sound I think. Some of the big bands don’t
have this dirty Black Metal sound any more, but it is
still Black Metal if you ask me.”
The album title “Bifrost” is based on the Norse
mythology. How important is mythology and also
your ancestors to Elite?
“Yes the album title and the lyrics are focused
around Norse mythology. It’s not so fucking impor-
tant, but it is a very fascinating topic, and Bent likes
to write about it. Some bands write about Satan,
and some bands write about how they’re going to
kill the christian people (laughs). And we write
about Norse mythology, and a little bit about how
we’re going to kill the christian religion (laughs).”
Can you explain us the concept of the “Bifrost” front
cover? Is there any relation with Norwegian themes?
“Hmm, I’m not sure about that. For me it’s just a
front cover with a Norwegian beast on it (laughs). I
have never asked Bent about it, he’s the man who
wanted that cover, so I’m not the man you should
ask about that.”
As far as I know only Per Frank Valla (bass player)
plays in another band called Allfader. This way
journalist: Nuno Santos
gives more freedom to focus only in Elite’s music?
“First of all I just want to say that Per Frank is play-
ing guitar in elite now. Tor-Arne (TAF) is not in Elite
anymore. Now I’m playing bass. Per Frank has left
the band Allfader, and now he can focus more on
writing music for Elite”
Any of the former members of Elite had any
experience before forming the band?
“Yes, Per Frank has played in Allfader. Bent has
sung in a band called Bortgang. Chris has played
in a band called Fury. But now everybody has their
focus on Elite.”
In between your debut album and this new one
you released under your present label, No
Colours Records, a MCD titled “Bekmørkt”. Can
you give us some info about this released!
“No Colours Records wanted to release a MCD of
Elite, and Bekmørkt was a MCD that we wanted to
release. So we decided to release the fucker.”
I know that it contains songs from your past split
eps. Do you think it’s fair for the people who
have the original 7”Ep versions to see now those
songs release under another format?
“Hum, I don’t know. We have never thought about
it that way. We just wanted to do it, so we did!”
One of the main aspects that I found quite inter-
esting on Elite’s music is the fact that you create
ferocity without loosing at all the important
melodic edge to maintain people interested on
the music, especially on the guitars!!
“For us it’s very important to have the melodic gui-
tars. It creates magic, and we like that. We love
these mystical, melodic guitar parts.”
I read somewhere that you started the band with
no intention whatsoever to play live or give inter-
views. Still you already played quite a few times
live and you answer interviews. What lead this
change of plans?
“(laughs) Yes you’re right. Elite was started just for
fun, so we would have something to do in our free
time. And I’m not sure why we started to play live,
but we’re doing it now, and its fun, and we love it...
Yes we try answering interviews. We are not so
good at that, because it’s still a new thing for us,
but we try!! And especially when people/magazines
or whatever show interest in us (laughs).”
Which bands had an important role in your foun-
dation as a metal fan? Are these the same that
influenced in any way Elite?
“Bands that have influenced me are Kiss, Metallica,
Manowar, Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth. These
are bands I started listening to. Today I get my
influences from many different bands, like
Immortal, Taake and many more. But in Elite we’re
trying to stay away from all the black metal clichés,
we’re trying to create our own style. And make
music that people can hear is definitely Elite!”
Do you think that it’s important for any musician
to dig back the old classics? During the last
years I’ve found many arrogant statements / atti-
tudes from black metal band members towards
old school bands.
“No. people don’t have to dig in the old metal clas-
sics. But I think every musician digs out one, two
or three old bands, I think everybody do that.
Because there are so many cool old bands and
people can’t hate everything. If a 14 year old boy
or girl starts listening to metal, like Dimmu or
something like that, then they will dig out the old
bands sooner or later (laughs).”
- www.elitenor way. c o m -
The first question that we need to make as you might under-
stand is why a Black Crucifixion debut album 15 years after
the creation of the band and above all after more than a
decade of total silence?
“The recording sessions of our new album “Faustian Dream”
began already in ‘96. But due to various reasons it was never
completed. But some years ago we felt that the material we
already had was so strong that we wanted to finish the album
and get it released. And now I can say that it was worth the effort
as the album turned out great. Making this music now is even
more rewarding emotionally than it was 15 years ago. “Faustian
Dream” took ten years to be completed so you can imagine that
it was satisfying to finally get the first CD’s in our hands.”
The musical differences between what the band composed in
the early nineties and now are enormous, sounding like two dif-
ferent bands. Why have you decided to continue the Black
Crucifixion legacy instead of the creation of a new band? Do you
feel that you are still under the same “path”?
“I feel that the “Promethean Gift” mini-album that we released
in 1993 was already in this vein, but in a more primitive form.
The vocals were already melodic and the songs had much
more variance than our debut “The Fallen One of Flames”
which is our only release that can be labelled as black metal.
So yes, I feel that “Faustian Dream” is on the path as our ear-
lier music. Of course more developed and better, but hey, fif-
teen years should mature our art. (laughs)
We kept the same name as this really exactly the same band that
started recording the album in ‘96, so we did not see a reason
to change it. It is the same path but we just have wandered it
further on. On “Faustian Dream” we have managed to combine
the dark melodies and the northern aggression in a way that
sounds pretty unique. People who have heard the album so far
have been really taken so we are not the only ones who feel so.”
You mentioned that you started the recordings of “Faustian
Dream” in 1996. The songs that you composed back then
are in any way similar to the ones now released?
“Yes, very much. About 90% of the albums material has been
composed in the nineties and about half of it totally originates
from the original sessions. Much of the lyrics and arrange-
ments have been done lately as well as the mixing and the
mastering of course. I really like the album, as it combines the
things that we were good at back then with the skill and expe-
rience that we have now due to the time and experience in life.
For example the lyrical output would not have been possible
back then as so much has happened during the years.”
Will you be able to continue the Black Crucifixion sound cre-
ated with “Faustian Dream”? What can we expect for a next
release?
“Our present sound expresses our ambitions and feelings
well, so this kind of tight and aggressive yet very lively and
breathing kind of metal is the kind we should play in the future
as well. In our old band Promethean we went through a mas-
sive amount of musical experiments, so now it is much easi-
er to know what kind choices fit each idea the best. And we no
longer need to try out things just to know how they will sound
just for the sake of trying. The music of Black Crucifixion is
always heavy and very much influenced by Scandinavian
melancholy, so that defines pretty much how we will sound.”
Perhaps what many do not know is that the former line-up
of Black Crucifixion had 2 Beherit members on the band.
What’s your opinion about the whole enthusiasm around
Beherit that even today is noticed?
“Beherit were totally unique at the time in the European metal
scene, so it’s great that people have found their stuff as well.
They were ahead of their time. They had a great impact on us
when we began in 1991, but already in 1993 our material on
“Promethean Gift” mini-album was quite different from what
Beherit was doing. Beherit stayed very primitive, regardless of
their changes in line-ups or musical styles.”
You are the only member from the original Black Crucifixion
72 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
formation, yet E.Henrik (bass player) is with you since
1992. You also formed a progressive rock/metal band called
Promethean that released two albums under Avantgarde
Music in 97 and 98. More than a decade after, you are still
together and share the same musical ideas, it seems that
your metal symbiosis is extremely strong!
“Yes definitely. It has gotten better year after year. I think that
having a partner in creative work is extremely important as
both can contribute on the areas that they are strong at. We
were together the dynamo in Promethean and wrote much of
the material and in Black Crucifixion we write and produce it
all. We also do the art direction for the band, so our artistic co-
operation is very wide ranged.”
I’ve read that back then you got fed up of black metal. So my
obvious question would be; was Promethean your answer to
the whole black metal movement created in 93 - 94?
“Totally. When the Norwegian black metal kicked in we were
already venturing to a wider area of dark metal music, just as
the black metal bands of nineties have started doing lately. I
think nowadays it is called post-black metal or something.
Promethean was the continuation of Black Crucifixion but as
the music and personnel was so different (there were seven
members in the band) we wanted to use a different name for
the band. The two albums we did have strong material and
emotion on them, but as we’ve gotten older it feels better to
step harder on the pedals and play heavier stuff that you can
hear on “Faustian Dream”.”
It’s curious to see that usually musicians tend to play harder
music when getting older instead of turning softer and mellow.
Is this a secret way to contour the laws of aging (laughs)?
“Must be that. E.Henrik says that he enjoys playing metal
again to get rid of his angst and anger and I just like it for
some emotional reasons that I can’t verbalise. It’ll be interest-
ing to hear what kind of stuff we play after next 15 years!
(laughs) One thing I can say is that we’re not in it for the
money, ‘cause after all one would earn more in a week of
plumbing work than releasing underground metal (laughs).
Actually I don’t even think that you should do this kind of
music to pay the bills, as then you would be already on your
way to compromises as the sales for even bigger extreme
metal bands are fairly poor. In the case of Black Crucifixion
you can be sure that no commercial preference has affected
our creative work as this nothing to do with any kind of busi-
ness. That gives us an enormous creative freedom.”
Can you introduce Lehtar, the drummer? What musical
background does he have and how he got into the band?
“He is a great musician and delivers much of the groove that
we have on “Faustian Dream”. His playing really differentiates
the album from most of the contemporary metal releases as
all the playing is real, we have not used Pro Tools to manipu-
late the drumming or other instruments. This why our sound
breathes and is lively and I really like it. I would hate do ster-
ile computer generated music. “Faustian Dream” is old school
metal for new school metalheads.”
The 1991 demo “The Fallen One Of Flames” was released
by Soulseller Records a few years ago. As you know the
reviews about it were amazing, it seems that everybody
liked what you were making in that period. Do you ever
regret for having put Black Crucifixion on ice?
“(laughs) I don’t regret anything. We have always made music
from our hearts without any calculation. Probably it would
have been very beneficial to do black metal in the nineties, but
that would have not been music that we love to do! Looking
back at it now, the Promethean material would fit into the
post-black metal movement very well, but I guess we were
ahead of our time on that field as well. That is what people
have said. Progressive rock also became fashionable in main-
stream rock after 2000 with bands like System of a Down,
Muse, Mars Volta, TOOL, and Radiohead, so YES: I believe
that we could have been successful in both black metal and
more progressive metal. But no, I don’t regret it, because
things have been very good to us on other fields of life.”
How do you see now the songs composed and recorded by
Black Crucifixion? For instance looking back to your first
demo-tape what are the first thoughts that come to mind?
“It is very serious music, created with a serious frame of
mind. Music from our very hearts. As is “Faustian Dream”, it
is different and way better than the old material but I also
respect the two mini-albums we made, as they were the best
we could do at the time. And now people can hear them again
as they’ve been re-released. “Promethean Gift” coming soon
on SoulSeller Records and “The Fallen One of Flames” is avail-
able both in Europe and in USA.
I know that several labels were trying to “grab” the old B.C.
tapes to release them in Cd and vinyl formats, so why your
decision for the Dutch label Soulseller Records?
“SoulSeller first re-released “The Fallen One of Flames” as a
limited edition vinyl in 1999 and then on CD that is available at
the moment as well. The label manager Jorn had the right atti-
tude as he wanted to release it as a fan and not just to make
easy money. So it was not hard to choose him. Also the time
just felt right as so many years had passed and we found a
good partner in SoulSeller.”
“Faustian Dream” got released by Paragon in USA and
Soulseller in Europe. I’ve read some statements made by
Paragon where they compare your music to bands like
Celtic Frost, Ophthalamia and My Dying Bride. We all know
that in the urge to sell more records labels state big names
to grab people’ attention... so what’s your opinion on that?
“On one sense it is good as then people might get some sort of
an idea about the style of the music but on the other hand I don’t
think that we sound so much like any of those band or do you?”
No not really.
“Of those bands only Celtic Frost has been an inspiration for
us when we started, as the others mentioned were our con-
temporaries and we did not listen to them. So I hope that peo-
ple would check the album out from the label websites or
record stores to get an idea. Believe your own ears, not record
labels (laughs).”
Moving to another subject, you have announced your par-
ticipation on the Faustian Scream Festival on August 26.
Will this mean that the release of “Faustian Dream” will be
supported by a live promotion?
“We are not planning on extensive touring but it will be great to
play a concert as we love the album and like playing it live as
well. I think that the songs will work great live, but so far they
have only been played in studio conditions over the years.”
What kind of crowd do you believe will be more open to
what you are doing nowadays? Do you see an old “The
Fallen One of Flames” fan into the new stuff?
“Hell, we created “The Fallen One Flames” and still like it, so
logically fans of that period should have no problem with
Faustian Dream?
But seriously, anyone who likes their metal a bit more natural
and dirtier than what the big metal names do should check out
our new album and listen to their heart after listening to our
music. Some will hate it and others will love it. That much I can
promise! But if someone is narrow minded enough not to lis-
ten to anything else than some Norwegian church burning
punk, then he or she should stay very much away from
“Faustian Dream”. People who have already heard it have loved
it, but we have also been called wimps and posers, which we
naturally and very proudly are.” (both laughs heavily)
Do you still remember how were the first Black Crucifixion
gigs and with whom you shared stages?
“We played in Day of Darkness metal festival in northern Finland.
It was in late August ‘91 so it will be exactly 15 years to the
Faustian Scream Festival. So it will be an absolutely historic
evening. Back then we shared the stage with Amorphis, Beherit,
Demigod, Impaled Nazarene, Belial and Sentenced. So it was a
 More than a decade after, Black
Crucifixion returns... far from their raw
Black Metal roots “Faustian Dream” took
ten years to be composed and is a real
testimony that musicians evolve and
some even feel that they aren’t part of
the growing process of evolution that all
music genres suffer...
Forn, the original vocalist answered all
needed questions in order to understand
all the changes inside the band as well
as the early days of the band when there
were two Beherit members in it.
journalist: Nuno Santos
pretty heavy night. I filmed the Beherit and Impaled
Nazarene shows, some of the readers might even have
seen them as bootlegs.”
Is “Faustian Dream” based on Faust’ story where
he sells his soul to the devil in exchange of knowl-
edge and power?
“There is no concept on the album, but “Faustian
Dream” can be interpreted in many ways. Is it a
dream somebody has in his sleep, is it a vision or
something to hope for?”
What’s your personal vision of the Faust’ story?
Personally I see it almost like a mirror or what
happens today, I mean according to today’ needs
humans are more or less all Faust’s! We live in
societies based on material and financial needs
where we struggle daily for those things.
“It is easy to agree with you. After all it is very much
up to an individuals own ethics and values to define
how to gamble the on life he or she has.”
I’m curious on one thing, how is a typical day for a
person who lives in the Arctic Circle where in the
winter the temperature may drop under - 50 Celsius?
“Well, it is cold and dark. But in a different way as
one living among the olive trees might expect: the
sun does not come up for months so it is basically
dark night and day, but as there is so much snow
reflecting the light of moon and the stars, you can
always see around even in areas without electric
light. And if you are not close to the sea, the frost
does not bite as hard as one might expect as the air
is not very moist. The sea climate combined with
frost and wind is the real killer - in the very mean-
ing of the word. In Lapland where I come from you
just need to wear enough clothes and keep moving.
Or stay in a house. But cars stop functioning in
those temperatures as even the tires freeze into
unsymmetrical forms. Life in Arctic Circle has been
the biggest influence on our music, not music made
by other bands. There’s a track called “Winterkill”
on the album that pretty much defines the atmos-
phere that far north.”
Are you still known as the Fornicator? How do you
see now the use of those names, like Blacksoul,
Sodomatic Slaughter or Holocausto Vengeance?
“My artist name nowadays is Forn, short for the old
name, to keep the connection. The people in ques-
tion were something like 15-17 years old when
coming up with those names, so that is what you
come up at that age. A “fornicator” without too
much experience with women to brag about...
hmm. They are great names for somebody with a
corpse paint and too much time to kill, but I really
don’t see grown up men running around calling
themselves Sodomatic Slaughter or anything.
Actually that must be the most absurd name anyone
has ever had! (laughs) But this kind of music is art
and artists must be open to self-ridicule as well or
they are too, one dimensional. So no, I don’t regret
them. Though I don’t know how Holocausto or
Sodomatic feel about their past.”
Well Forn its time to end. Any last words?
“We are proud of “Faustian Dream” and can hon-
estly recommend it to people who want to hear
metal that is different from all the stuff released
nowadays. Visit our website and get “Faustian
Dream” from www.soulsellerrecords.com (Europe)
or www.paragonrecords.net (USA). There are two
tracks available for free to download.”
- w w w. p a a s t o .c o m / bc -
Craft isn’t probably a new name to you reader, since they were already featured in our pages. However after
the release of the third killer new album “Fuck The Universe” it was imperative to have some update about
this tremendous Swedish black metal band, so Joakim was invited again to share his thoughts.
Hails, how are things in Sweden as we speak and how is the
conditions of the black metal scene nowadays?
“Sorry, I don't know the conditions of neither Sweden nor the
black metal scene. I am fine, however.”
Will you please start off by introducing yourself and tell us why
you spend your time in Craft creating havoc and how you got
into the path of black metal?
“The name's Joakim, I'm a guitarist and I write the music and
lyrics of Craft. I started the band together with our former drum-
mer Daniel in late 1994. Craft's lead guitarist is John, vocalist is
Mikael Nox. I got into black metal in the early 90's, thanks to a
friend at the time who had, for some strange reason, got a the
first Burzum album. It was so totally different to everything else
I had ever heard. I was hooked.”
What is black metal to you and how would you define the genre?
“If it's Satanic (atheistic "Satanic" philosophy excluded) and/or
strongly misanthropic and is adept metal music, then its black
metal to me. Unfortunately, a lot of people seem to have other
opinions on the definition.”
You are ready with your new and third album "Fuck The
Universe", a quite saying and strong title, what are your thoughts
behind the album and what do you want it to symbolize?
“"Fuck the Universe" is the logical step after "Terror Propaganda".
We wanted it to be an evolved version of our old albums, and I
believe the new songs provide a lot more detail and complexity
compared to the older ones. "Fuck the Universe" is basically our
way of giving the middle finger to everything and everyone.”
What do you want to accomplish with the album and how has
it so far been received?
“We have no concrete plans on what we want to accomplish with
it. Personally I am fed up with "Fuck the Universe" and want to
concentrate on the future completely. You, as a listener, are
always about two years behind us as far as Craft material goes.
So naturally, when a new Craft album hits the market we are very
tired of it and just want to let it go. But we can't concentrate on
the future completely, as we still have to discuss the album in
interviews and approve/disapprove deals and those types of
record label related issues. The album has been received great.
So far we have very opposite opinions on it. We have the old fans
who think the new stuff is great, the new fans who haven't heard
the other records, the old fans who think "Fuck the Universe" is a
huge disappointment, and the people who just think we suck in
general. It's an entertaining array of opinions which "Terror
Propaganda" couldn't generate because it was too generic, and
couldn't piss anyone off since it was what a lot of people want-
ed to hear at that time. After three released albums you get used
to everyone having an opinion on your music, and even on your-
self as a person, and on every other thing, and it just doesn't
raise any eyebrows anymore.”
Which lyrical themes have you touched this time around and
what do you want to tell with your lyrics?
“The lyrics are a channel for expressing our hatred for the creation
of the demiurge. Sometime it's about the humans, sometimes it's
about the world, but always regarding the hatred for creation and
in honour of the glorious light of Lucifer. The lyrics are easy to
journalist: Anders
understand and don’t need to be analyzed further, I think.”
How important do you find the lyrics compared to the music?
“I'd like to think they are equally important. Without lyrics, well,
then we would just have metal music, and without the music who
would pay attention to the lyrics?”
Musically you are delivering your metal the old school way,
though very heavy and crushing, how important is it for you
that your music is heavy and thundering?
“None of us listen much to fast music, we're mostly into rock music
and doomy, evil stuff like that. But most importantly, the fast,
monotonous black metal has already been done by other bands that
are better at handling that sort of music. We like the dark, slow,
creepy stuff and the rock music, and in my opinion it's significant-
ly more interesting to create and play. We play the music we want
to listen to ourselves; we don't have a masterplan or anything.”
Where do you find fuel to your fire and inspiration for your music?
“It's easy, it's a huge part of our lives. I could find fuel for the fire
in any old place. My hate for this world is an inexhaustible source
of inspiration, but I don't really need to fuel my fire anymore.
Journalists always ask this question, but The Fire is not exactly
a small fireplace that I have to attend to every now and then for
it not to go out. It's a raging, unstoppable forest fire.”
Are there any recent events that have sparked some music or
lyrics, inspirational?
“Not that I can think of.”
What do you want people to get out of your out and how do you
want people to experience it?
“I have no idea. That's a really difficult question to answer. I don't
think about it much, but I think it's more a question of what we
want out of it ourselves, everything else is secondary.”
Which 3 tracks on "Fuck The Universe" means the most to you
and why, and will you please explain the lyrical concept of
them, together with a bit of how the music was spawned?
“They all have about the same importance to me, but my three
favourite songs are "Earth a Raging Blaze", "Xenophobia" and
"Assassin 333". The first is a few sentences expressing my hatred
towards 'god' and this planet. It's also a part of a magical work
I have made, which I can't explain further because it would be
both impractical and impossible to do so. "Xenophobia" is about
the fucking humans. The title "Xenophobia" and the lyrics repre-
sent the distance between myself and the rest of humanity, as
you probably already figured out yourself. I don't want to try to
explain the lyrics for "Assassin 333" as its a work by my brother
Shamaatae, and it's best left up to him to explain it, if you get the
opportunity to interview Arckanum sometime.”
How do you look upon the future of Craft and what can we the
fans expect from the band?
“We will record a fourth album if everything goes according to
plan, and after that we'll see. I have just recently started working
on material for a new Craft album. I have a ton of ideas at the
moment which I'm really eager to place into their full context. I
can say that we will continue to work with the fourth album until
it completely destroys our other three many times around; it'll be
a masterpiece before we let it go. We have something different in
mind for the fourth album.”
ANCIENT CEREMONIES . 73

Originality is something that is now more than ever seen as an essential part in
new and older bands. We reached a point where most bands are pushed to the
limits of creation if they want to get attention, yet others remain faithful to
the roots of a particular style. Tymah belong to the second pack that simply
don’t give a damn about that aspect and compensate this with musical feel-
ing... In a style ruled by men, female vocalist Dim screams out hateful words.
First of all since most readers do not know
Tymah give us a small insight on the band’
history and music you play.
“Tymah comes from Hungary, but doesn’t
belong to its scene as it is trendy and slobbery.
True carpathian Black Metal is the name we use
for those bands that always stay true to Black
Metal. Tymah appeared from the depths of my
soul, from the dark forest of the evil. Stepping
on the path of darkness and death, in 2003 a
demo, The Beginning of the End was born with
the help of Shadow. Then Gelal joined us as a
drummer, and after we had wandered through
Transylvania’s evil forests, in 2004 the three of
us recorded the Funeral Fog demo. In December
2005 a festival, Stygian Shadows Fest. was
organized in Budapest where we played a gig
(among many other bands). After the gig many
people from the Hungarian underground turned
against us. These people are simple sissy guys
for whom we are too brutal. They were shocked
by our complete seriousness about the whole
Black Metal philosophy, because for them this is
only music. During the summer of 2005 we
recorded the Transylvanian Dreams album. At
the end of the same year a split EP with the
Swedish Necroplasma was released by Turanian
Honour Prod. Although it is me who writes the
music and the lyrics, Gelal’s drumming and
Shadow’s bass guitar is just as important as my
vocals and guitar. Tymah is total with the three
of us.”
Which are the roots where you have built your-
selves as Metal fans? I mean with what bands
did you grew up listening to?
“Burzum, Mayhem, Bathory.”
What about bands like Venom, Hellhammer,
Sodom or Destruction? What’s your opinion
about them and their earlier works?
“We listen to the bands you mentioned, but
rarely than for example Burzum or Mayhem. We
don’t really listen to many bands. For us Bathory,
Burzum and Mayhem are those who contain that
dark power undiluted. But naturally, if I had to
choose between Hellhammer, Venom, etc. and
between the so called BM bands we hear today,
I would definitely choose the first, and I would
listen to them night and day.”
I haven’t seen so far much reaction from the press
towards your debut album even if only a few
weeks passed from its released. How has been
received by the metal community in general?
“We are quite isolated from the whole metal com-
munity, so we have not much information about
the reaction to the album. I saw some reviews on
the Internet, which were quite positive.”
One of the things that on the very first listening
of Transylvanian Dreams grabbed my attention
was the total old school black metal feeling and
the fierceness of your music. Where did come
the inspiration and total hateful attitude?
74 . ANCIENT CEREMONIES
journalist: Nuno Santos
“The inspiration comes from inside. All my
music, all my lyrics - the whole Tymah reflects
those feelings and moods which are in the
depths of my black soul. Definitely, grim
Transylvanian nature gives me a lot of
power/inspiration. I think there is not one poet or
musician who would not write a poem or sing a
song when seeing the fog descending from the
mysterious mountains at twilight, or listening to
the deadly silence of black pine forest. However,
this is not just nature; it is something much
stronger... dark power of pure evil. This is what I
feel inside. I am full of black hatred and pain! I
fucking hate this world, I fucking hate humans! I
will never accept my existence, and the existence
of the whole universe. My only and final wish is
to end up this fucking circle of life and to enter
the black gates of death. Ironically, this fight, this
war, this resistance is what keeps me here and
alive.”
On the latest years we have seen the growing of
a new... lets call it breed of black metal bands
with this hate for humans and suicidal attitude.
Haven’t this already turned into a trend?
“Yes, you are right. Black Metal has become a
trend. 99% of so called Black Metal bands are
scum, while the rest are those for whom Black
Metal means more than just cool trendy music.
But fashion is always moving on and changing,
and this trendy period of Black Metal won’t last
forever. Black Metal is a big tend in Hungary,
also. There are lots of girls in black lacy skirts
and long-haired boys who are too coward to
even hit back if I strike one of them. These slob-
bery people form the audience and the most of
the so called black Metal bands here in Hungary.
I really hope the fashion wave is starting to
move on from the Black Metal.”
Do you believe that after so many Black Metal
albums released the fans needed something
like Tymah?
“Tymah is not for fans. We play music not to be
famous or to pose like fucking clowns in front of
human idiots. We play Black Metal because it is
our way to go. Music is a great instrument to
manifest our emotions. In our fight this is our
weapon. Black Metal is the spell by which we
curse the world. By playing our music we liberate
demons and spread hatred. Many albums have
been released, which have been called Black
Metal, but only a tiny little percent of these can
bear rightfully this name. No doubt, Black Metal
has come into fashion and thus a lot of scorn has
appeared who claim that they play Black Metal.
Obviously, Tymah has nothing to do with these
posers. So in a sense, I say yes, Tymah is need-
ed now to show the scorn what Black Metal is.”
What about the title of the album? You have fall-
en into a sort of cliché with it, don’t you agree?
“A cliché? No, I don’t think so. The album is ded-
icated to Dead and to his Transylvanian Dreams,
thus it becomes evident why the title is what it is.
So, is it a common place to pay my respect to
Dead and to his art? Transylvania has a mysteri-
ous atmosphere, and even simple humans feel
that. Many assholes talk about it, just as they talk
about other things they don’t understand. But
these words, falling out of their mouths, don’t
mean anything. We have been in the deepest
Transylvanian forest at darkest moonless nights,
and we understand what Dead was talking about.
As I have already mentioned Black Metal has
come into fashion, and all that scorn that claim
to play Black Metal don’t understand the essence
of this Black art; the only thing they see is the
surface, which is a kind of very brutal music. So
they had to start innovating if they wanted to dif-
fer from other scorn. Nowadays, everything that
is old is called cliché. We are interested in and
deal with old things. There are things which
don’t have to be changed.”
I believe originality isn’t a key factor?
“What is originality? Today it is everything that
is new, no matter what kind of shit it is, no mat-
ter it has nothing in common with Black Metal.
I have been playing the harp for thirteen years,
and according to the things we can hear and see
in the modern black metal scene it would be
very original to play a distorted harp in Tymah
(laughs), but it would not be Black Metal! When
you create music you give body to your feelings.
The final result depends on your abilities. At the
beginning it is harder, I think, but as soon as
you find the right way (to use the music) a spe-
cial atmosphere will develop around your cre-
ation, and this is what I would call originality. In
my opinion, Tymah has this special atmosphere
that doesn’t appear anywhere else.”
I must agree with you. Bands are trying so
hard to sound different than anybody else that
they forgot one of the most important
aspects... feeling! Still I must say that fifteen
years ago, things were totally different...
there was a different atmosphere around
Metal fans and bands!
“I agree with you. Even ten years ago things
were different. There were few people who knew
Black Metal, it was a closed society. Now it is
open for every shitty human. We don’t believe in
changes of any musical styles. Everything we
do, we do as in the old times, otherwise we
would not call it Black Metal.”
The first seconds of the opener Atoklatomás
do remind me a lot of Mayhem’ De Mysteriis
Dom Sathanas due to the guitar riffs. Mayhem
is a big influence on your music; in fact you
even dedicated one of your demos to Dead!
“Mayhem is really important for us. I have lis-
tened to De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas for thou-
sand times but I have never heard any similari-
ty between it and Átoklátomás. Not only the sec-
ond demo,Funeral Fog, was dedicated to Dead,
but also the album.”
If Dead were alive how do you foresee his
musical career? Euronymous in an old 87
interview, when Dead got into the band,
referred him as mentally insane...
“I’m sure Dead would have continued what he
had started before he died. I don’t know how the
slobbery human beings in the modern scene
would have reacted to his things... Anyhow, I
think Dead was the most honest person in the
whole Black Metal history. It is natural that Dead
was a bit crazy; if you are different from the oth-
ers you are considered crazy.”
How do you see the progression of the music
of Mayhem?
“Now I can see that Necrobutcher and
Hellhammer understood nothing despite the
fact they spent so much time with Dead (and
Euronymous). After Dead was killed and
Euronymous also was gone, the legendary
Black Metal band progressed into a boy team,
Gayhem. Now they realised that they can pock-
et even more money and popularity if Csihar
Attila become the singer. The only thing I would
like to ask: why these fucking assholes use the
same name, Mayhem?”
In my opinion No Colours is by far the most
respected black metal label with great bands
in it. What’s the feeling to be part of it?
“Yes, No Colours Records is really a good label.
I heard a compilation CD with their bands,
which was quite good. I am glad that Tymah
was released by them. That’s a good point that
all Tymah stuff is available at their website
(demos, album, video clip...). I am also glad that
Steffen managed to print Tymah T-shirts.”
How did you ended up in No Colours Records?
“Nádudvari Zoltán from Kárpátia Productions,
who released our second demo, Funeral Fog in
MC version, sent some MCs to No Colours
Records and so Steffen became interested in
Tymah. I didn’t know about this, so I was very
surprised when Steffen wrote us about the
release of Tymah.”
What’s the main topic on your lyrics? On the
Transylvanian Dreams album are they just
about Transylvania or do you blend also other
topics in them?
“As far as I can remember there are only two
poems which exactly mention Transylvania as a
geographical place. Erdély (it is the Hungarian
name for Transylvania) and Transylvanian
Dreams. As to the other lyrics, well, it depends
on how you read them. They are about ancient
damnation, about secrets, and the book which
Dead was searching for. They are parts of an
ancient nocturnal evil flow of dreams.
Unfortunately the English translation shows less
than the truth, but I think it is enough to decide
whether you like it or not.”
Can you give more info about that story; I
mean the book that Dead was looking for to
our readers?
“I don’t know too much about it, unfortunately.
It is a book made of human skin and written in
blood. It is the road to dark powers, it is the gate
to ancient evilness. It is possible to handle it but
only for someone who is not human. Dead was
seeking for this book, he wrote about it in the De
Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. He thought he would
be able to open it and to liberate the evilness
captured in the book. There are many other
things which possess magical quality, and per-
haps not all of these can be found.”
I’ve seen the video clip for the title track.
Where it was filmed?
“Naturally, it was filmed in Transylvania, far
away from human beings in the Carpathian
Mountains during our wandering in its mysteri-
ous forests at the end of August 2005.”
Are you planning to have it available in any TV
metal programs? Or do you think that the
music of Tymah is too extreme and under-
ground for TV and big money interests?
“No, we are not planning such things. Anyway, I
don’t think these music channels are interested
in broadcasting the Tymah video clip.”
Is it been easy for a female to wander into the
black metal movement? How do big bad
wolves behave?
“At the beginning there was very small informa-
tion about Tymah. Shadow (bass) had been
already known for his band Dusk, and we didn’t
want anyone to think that Tymah were another
project of his. So nobody knew even our real
names, because they were translated into
Russian (?=Dim, ?=Shadow). Then at concerts
it turns out that I am a woman. I think some
people from the audience gets surprised, but
that’s all I can tell about it. For me it is very nat-
ural to play and sing Black Metal. I have never
had any anxieties about my sex - Night has no
sex, Darkness has no sex, etc. A soul always
chooses the best body to complete its mission,
so obviously there is a reason why I was born
as a girl. I am not a human, as nobody is human
who understands Black Metal. I have a female
body, but this does not change my Cold and
Dark Soul. Anyway, if someone listens to my
music and read my lyrics, I am sure this person
won’t find it girlish or sissy. I don’t really have
contacts with anyone outside Hungary, neither
with males nor with females. So I don’t know
what people, who know Tymah think about me.
There are not many of us, true warriors of evil,
in Hungary. We live far from each other and
rarely meet. As far as I know they don’t bother
about the fact that I am a female and play Black
Metal.”
To end what’s the next step in the Tymah’
realm? Any live gigs?
we aren’t planning anything special, except writ-
ing new songs. Perhaps there will be some gigs,
maybe in Germany, but nothing is sure. Thank
you for your interest. Darkest hails from the
misty Carpathians...