Metal Bulletin Zine #86 April 25, 2016 (no.4 in April) Washington state, U.S. www.metalbulletin.blogspot.com www.twitter.com/MetalBulletinZn www.facebook.com/The-Metal-Bulletin-paper-zine-238441519609213

Lust of a Dying Breed (Kenya) Phazm (France)

Aestees (Indonesia) Interment (Sweden)

Arkona (Russia) Necrot (U.S.)

plus: The Dread Crew of Oddwood (U.S.) Seattle area concert calendar: many, many shows coming up!! for issues online, videos and more check: www.fuglymaniacs.com

— Metal Bulletin Zine P.O. Box 1339 Lake Stevens WA 98258 USA Metal Bulletin Zine #1-20: (2006-2009): Wisconsin #21-26: (2009-2010): Texas #27(2010)--now; Washington state All album reviews, news, updates below are by MMB, unless stated otherwise. ** Lust of a Dying Breed Support this band! Lust of a Dying Breed is an extreme metal band from Kenya. If you ask them, they won’t hesitate to tell you that they play metal. There is something brewing in Kenya and Lust of a Dying Breed is a good example of the interesting things happening there. This publication sent them ten thousand questions, more or less, and they were very gracious and gave wonderful and full answers. Alright then, let’s do this, let’s roll. Here in the U.S. we don't know much about your country and your country's metal music. Tell us about your city and the metal music scene there! I don’t think it’s possible to speak for or about this country, so we’ll just be giving our perspective on what this country means to us. We’ll also try and represent it in the best light possible, but we won’t lie. First of all, Kenya is a country on the East Coast of Africa, we border countries like Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. We have a very vibrant culture here, we speak as many as 40 different languages. We love sports, politics and we work very hard. Our history as a country has been mixed. We’ve had some tough times, politically, socially and economically. But we are an optimistic people with a fighting spirit! So we try and make changes, slowly. In the end we hope to be more tolerant and inclusive.

Our metal scene is young and small. We do things independently: recording, merchandise, promoting shows, the whole lot. There is no record label, instruments are expensive and hard to find, but we do what we can.

We have a couple of bands, ourselves included and others like Last Year’s Tragedy, In Oath, Irony Destroyed, Mortal Soul, Void of Belonging and so on. Very few bands are active now and even us guys are coming from hiatus. But the fans give us lots of support, they are very passionate and relentless. Our culture as Kenyans, especially those of us that have grown up in the city, hasn’t really been ingrained in us. We’ve grown up listening to Western Music, and a lot of our bands will sound like bands from the States and Europe. But ever since we discovered we can play metal, we have also decided to show what our country can offer. There is a richness of culture, folk-lore and aesthetic character that our indigenous communities have to offer. And we have a duty as musicians to discover those roots and bring them to the world. How is life for people that love metal music there? More specifically, how was it for you when you began to get into metal music? Metal lovers are misunderstood here in Kenya and it was the same situation back when we started the band. Society has a strong disapproval for this kind of music because they do not understand it. People associate it with violence, drugs and the devil. We are

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even less open minded now than when the band was started. Obviously metal isn’t strictly anti-authoritarian and extreme, but the media has made that its focus and that is the only face people see. As a band and as a scene, I don’t think we are really looking for approval from society. As things stand, the law is on our side since the constitution has changed and I hope this will allow younger people, people that are about to join our scene can be allowed to express themselves. Can you give us a history of your band?! When you did start? Was it at school? Was it easy to find other people that think alike? Did you have a clear idea how you wanted to sound? We started the ensemble back in July of 2010, it was a azcrazy idea that was pushed to me, by the bassist Tim Opiko. I had always wanted to be in a metal band and since didn’t know how to play any instruments back then, I took up the vocalist job. It wasn’t easy finding like-minded artists. But the bands were so few back then that we helped each other by filling in guest spots and doing a few shows, we got a full line-up by February 2011. How much material do you have recorded? Is it a good representation of your sound or the sound that you want? So far we have a full EP out and two other songs that we have released separately that will also be featured in the new project we are working on (a new EP called ‘Pyramid Entities’). As artists we always seek perfection. We do our extreme best when doing a song. So far we are satisfied with the sound, and we want it to evolve. Change is always a factor. When we did our first record we worked with Leon Malu, our producer who is also a musician himself, and he understands our sound and what we are trying to achieve. We

realized and proved both to ourselves and our own scene here that we are capable of playing death metal. At this point we are just looking to improve on what we’ve built, taking in the experiences we’ve had over the years and come up with better material, stuff than can speak of our nationhood and the sights and sounds of East Africa. We want to enrich heavy music, and that will be our contribution to the world.

What kind of music is on the radio in your city? Do you like it? Is metal ever on the radio? Haha that is a very interesting question. First of all, metal is NEVER on radio. The general audience here, still doesn’t understand metal and there is no way in hell that mainstream media will play our music. Radio needs something that is easily digestible, something people can sing along to and something that can be played over and over again. It will take lots of balls for any media station to

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promote metal, because they will obviously face backlash from religious organizations, parents associations and even the government. The music that is played ranges from pop, rap, reggae, gospel and lots of Nigerian music. We listen to everything because as artists it is important to appreciate all forms of art. The only shame is that the radio doesn’t played a wider variety. We hear the same songs day in day out. Are you in school or do you work full time? Is it easy to find jobs? Do your friends have problems finding jobs? How does the economic situation affect your band and the future of the band? All of us in the band are either in school or have full-time jobs. Jobs aren’t easy to find here because there is a large skill gap because of the way the education system is structured in this country. The economic situation isn’t ideal and as such looking for occupation is a tricky task. We’ve had problems finding jobs, but the most important thing is keeping those jobs. As musicians we try to balance professional lives and our music. We need to keep our jobs secure because it is our only source of income since music doesn’t pay. On the other hand, it is also disillusioning because our day jobs tend to consume us and a lot of times we don’t find time for the band. Economically, we are plagued with the problem first of all of securing a place where we can practice as a band. We don’t have our own equipment, because quality equipment is hard to find and is expensive. The economic situation has also made it really challenging for us to record music. We have also wanted to record music videos, but those plans have had to be shelved at the moment until such a time when we can be able to

afford it. When did metal music start in your country? Do you know? What were some of the earliest bands that call themselves metal? Is it your generation?! Are you the pioneers? The first bands we heard was when we were in high school, the likes of ‘point of vertigo’, ‘Blakastonian Redemption’, ‘Narcisisstic Tendencies with Delusions of Grandeur’ and those bands really inspired us back then, the sound was raw as fuck. We loved their energy and creative release that comes with metal, it is pure freedom.

How can people support your band? What do you want people to know about your band?! What is your band all about? We always appreciate support from our fans. We’ve also received tremendous support from friends in other Kenyan bands, bands from across our continent and online magazines like AudioInferno and Metal4Africa. The support we need most is for people to turn out for shows and enjoy themselves. We need feedback on what they want us to give to them because that is the only way we can improve. Also since we need to record and make a little money on the side, support by buying and sharing our music and merchandise will be incredibly helpful. We are on Soundcloud and ReverbNation that is where guys can locate our music.

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Lust of a Dying Breed, first and foremost, is a death metal band. Our sound and personnel is evolving. The sound we are bringing and constantly working on seeks to bring in the distinctiveness of African culture, things we are trying to uncover to tell ourselves, our people and the world at large, who we are and where we are coming from. The themes in our record also tell of where we come from as a band and where we are headed. We have gone through a lot of struggle, individually and collectively. We have experienced life altering moments and we want people to see that in our story and we are going to tell it through music. Lust of A Dying Breed is about the Divine experience told through the story of material reality. We are spiritual individuals. As such we take the blueprint of the principles of the universe, divine laws, and we correlate them with the day to day experiences of ordinary people, in the material universe. These tales are told through the brutal and visceral medium of death metal because the human experience, though divine, is a harsh one filled with toil, pain and anguish. Going forward we are accentuating those hard and bleak features of death metal with some melodies and African perspectives. What are your plans for 2016 and the future? Have you played in other cities in your country or in other countries in Africa? We have only been able to play in Nairobi and haven’t left the country as such. We hope that as we resolve the personnel problems that we have had in the past, touring may become a reality in the future. For 2016 we hope that we can finish writing material for the EP ‘Pyramid Entities’. It isn’t an easy task, but we want to focus all our energies on this. A graphic novel will also accompany the record. We are doing it in

house, with a little help from collaborators within our rock scene. www.facebook.com/Lust-Of-A-Dying-Breed-129730253730682/ www.reverbnation.com/lustofadyingbreed THE END ** Phazm Phazm is extreme metal from France with a new album called “Scornful of Icons” on Osmose Productions. The album emphasizes quality and songwriting skills. Perhaps one of the main reasons that the music is such quality is the experience and history of the band. The music leans heavily in the direction of black metal, but there’s a bit of other extreme metal forms in Phazm. Fortunately, we can find out more about this veteran band now through this interview below.

Hello, friends! You are in France, correct? How is the metal life there for Phazm? Pierrick: Hail! Here in Nancy, the city we live, north/east of France, Phazm is the biggest metal band amongst the big list of other very nice bands, such as Mortuary, Warfaith, Anunaki, Blockheads… We spend some good drunken times at some local bars, we go and see each others shows, it’s all good. How did your band start? Pierrick: I’m the vocalist/guitarist of Phazm. I

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created the band back in 2003, with Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork) on drums. In 2004, we went to Denmark, in Jacob Hansen’ studios, to record our first album, ‘Hate at First Seed’. We got signed on Osmose Productions, the famous french label, known for being one of the first label to release black metal music. Immortal, Marduk, Enslaved have been taken out or their caves thanx to Osmose Productions. We went on a European tour with Impaled Nazarene. It was crazy for us, we felt very lucky. In a very short period of time, the band was alive, with an album, a label contract and we were touring everywhere here in Europe. In 2006, we recorded our second album, ‘Antebellum Death ’n’ Roll’ and went on tour again, this time with two Polish bands, Decapitated and Hate. That tour was a really mess, we had several crash with the bus, lots of drugs were involved. Many strange stories to be told. However, that tour was very successful, we had lots of people at every gig, it was a blast. That second album really put us to the next step, we had awesome reviews. Because we were the first band to combine extreme metal music with southern rock ’n roll influences, using slide guitars, harmonica, etc. We surprised the audience and achieve to be recognized as a band to follow. Then, in 2008, the third album came out, ‘Cornerstone of the Macabre’. We had a new drummer, Pierre ‘Gorgor’ Schaffner, known for his works with Agressor and Imperial Sodomy. Because of several personal problems, we had to take a break for a couple of years. Some of us had to focus on their families, some had to clean up their bodies and mind after being on the road and surviving the metal life. Here we are back now, with a new album, ‘Scornful of Icons’. We are stronger than ever, with a good crew working for us, lots of tours are planned here in Europe. Our

music has evolved to a more occult and powerful dimension.

How do you see the music of Phazm? Does it matter to you what people call it? Pierrick: PHAZM is a pure mix of black and death metal with twisting rythms (shuffled blast-beats) and twisted harmonies. I use different kind of voice tones, I do polyphonic throat singing, being possessed by the pagan side of life. I don’t really care about how people label our music, to each their own, let you all feel free to experience our sound and react to it the way you want. What matters is if you like it or not, and why. I like to talk to our fans, and I’m always curious to know how they feel about what we do. You have a new album called “Scornful of Icon”!! What can you tell us about it? Pierrick: Well, our last album was composed after the death of my father. He was a huge fan of Phazm. Two days before he left, he asked me if we were about to release a new album. Answering him, I saw in his eyes a really weird sparkle, combining both joy and sadness. He knew he was going to die, but he was happy to know we would go on and keep on playing. Mourning my father made me deeply think about religion, which is closely linked to our mortality. The fear of what comes after. When your own spirituality doesn’t match with one of the three

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monotheistic religions, you have to build your own references. The Nordic Asatrú helped me a lot. To me, monotheism is the urbanisation of spirituality. I’d rather turn my back to it and focus on what’s real, Nature. Monotheism is one truth for the masses, Paganism is billions of truth for the individual. That’s what our album, ‘Scornful of Icons’, refers. We are influenced by the Norwegian black metal scene from the ‘90s and ourselves. After several albums, we have found our style, we just make it evolve and progress. The album was recorded at our own lair, ‘Studios de la Forge’, in France. There’s a lot of atmosphere, the production is amazing. I used the nyckelharpa, a Swedish instrument, there’s plenty of tracks hidden here and there. It’s a very rich album. How did you become a metal musician? Pierrick: I grew up learning how to play classical guitar. I was studying in a music academy, located in an old castle in the south of France. My passion has always been playing music. When I discovered Iron Maiden, my life changed completely. That album, ‘Fear of the Dark’ had this dark mood which wasn’t always the case at that time. I mean, listening to Ac/Dc and Def Leppard was interesting but at some point really boring. I found something very exiting in playing very dark music, frightening songs, connected with the occult. And when black metal started to emerge from Scandinavia, with all the church burning and murders, with the most exciting music to my ears, it was a call. I had the chance to join Scarve when I was nineteen, an already big band here in France. So the connection with the right people were made easily. I had the pleasure to play with Agressor, the very first French death metal band. So I’ve been introduced to the scene and its protagonists in the best way you would want.

What can metal people do to support your music? Pierrick: Come to the shows ! Buy our stuffs ! Wear them ! Be proud of what you are ! Be strong, fight for your beliefs! Stand up and scream for the One-Eyed Man ! Do you plan to tour or to play shows in 2016 and 2017? Pierrick: We’ve just signed with a big touring agency, and several tours are in the track. Canada is on the list. Wait and see, but believe me, we will play a lot of shows in the upcoming years. How important is making money from your music? What is “success” to you? Pierrick: Well, money is not something that should matters when it comes to art. As we have our own studio, we avoid big costs. We also are sponsored by brands, like Ibanez for example. We never play for free. We sell merchandising. We’re not starving. It’s all right. What type of lyrics is important to your band? What are your views about the situation with terrorism in your country? Pierrick: My country, like many others in Europe, is contaminated by the Islam plague.

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Everyday we have to deal with the fact that Islam is attacking us, in many ways. You have the killings, but you also have the women wearing the veil, the hijab. It’s becoming a trend here. The Salafists try to convert all the Muslims to their sect, opening Islamic schools here and there. But we fight, we will never surrender. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, to me, it’s all the same shit. Monotheism is responsible of the greatest killings in history. Phazm stands against that. Our political situation in France is the worst you can get, our government consists of the most disconnected people ever. They only serve their own cause and the rich company that make them powerful. We live in a sick world. Phazm is not affected by that, it only makes us stronger. As we are warriors, in some way, our music is our weapon, our voice. We’re not afraid. We are stronger than they think. They are dumber than you think. They believe the Earth is flat, and their prophet was a pedophiliac crazy maniac. Islam is the worst of the three monotheistic lies. They are digging their own grave by having the whole word against them. Again: we are not afraid. What other Phazm news do you have? Pierrick: We have ideas about releasing an EP, it will consist only of covering BM tunes in a very shamanic way. It’s too early to talk about that, but keep in touch and you won’t be disappointed… www.thetruephazm.bandcamp.com/releases www.facebook.com/thetruephazm?fref=ts THE END ** Aestees (Indonesia) Aestees is an extreme metal band from Indonesia. As you will read in this interview, they don’t care too much for genres with their

groovy, heavy extreme sounds and growling vocals. Their older material was a bit more typical death metal, but their newer sounds point to a groovier sound. Even though they are not a new band, they are a new band to this publication. Rizal, the drummer, answered questions from this publication in order to shed some light on Aestees.

Greetings! You are in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Tell about the life of your metal band in Indonesia. Greetings, sir/ma'am! Thanks for interviewing us Metal Bulletin Zine! It's been fun and exciting! In Indonesia metal is not only a music, it's a cult! And as a band we really enjoy the process, not just the result. We cannot reveal what we did. That’s not the point. We just believe that process is a point. Not the result. Just do something that we want to do. As a human being you know? Human always expressing something conscious or unconscious. And life seems so empty without expressing what their passion. Sometimes people can't express their expression with talking, cooking, doing something 9 to 5, doing something weird & etc. So we expressing it in music. We are just doing it without agenda, just doing it for live! Why I do

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this? Why I do that? No agenda. Yes, you're right! My lovely Jakarta! Metal had changed our life. In the past we believed that metal is only a music if you are a listener or playing your show perfectly if you have a band. But that's not the point. Hanging out, socializing, making something (song, craft, art), and etc. Having fun is the point! Tell us about the beginnings of your band. Aestees is formed in Jakarta, Indonesia on May 28, 2010 with the first name "Another Sword To Slain" and changed to Aestees. Consisting Ainu Ropiq - vocals, Bebby Fisher - guitars, Krisnanda Yusuf - guitars, Ahmad Zulfikar - bass, & Rizal Arifin - drums. “Galactic Reborn” was our mini album in 2012. And now we are still in process searching the material for new album in end of 2016. I am Rizal the drummer. How would you describe your metal music? We are just expressing something that we want to show. We don't want to be trapped in words. We don't care about the genre label. This is tech metal, this is prog, this is jazz, this is rock or this is blues. Whatever they say. We are just making music and expressing it. Because explaining music with words is wrong. Word cannot explain the consciousness. Word is only a tool. You know, music is a language that can't be interpreted into words. It's kind of mystery language. Language of the gods lol If we want to consider it. We will say "Unknownable Psychedelock Death Metal" LOL How many recordings do you have and where can people hear your music and what can they expect? 9 songs. You can listen it in our SoundCloud or ReverbNation. Our works: Demo album "Fatalisme Hari Mati". Self Released (2011) Recorded at Helter Skelter

-Mini album "Galactic Reborn". 404Records (2012) Recorded at A4 Studio -Indonesia Underground#4 by Edelweiss Production (2013) -Single "Elixir" By self-released (2014) -Promo album 2016 By Self Released (2016) Recorded at Plug Studio What I expect is so simple just make our listener happy every time. LOL

How did you start your adventures in the life of rock and roll in Indonesia? In my childhood I inspired to playing guitars by Guns N Roses. Slash rocks! LOL and introduced to metal music by Metallica. I remember that, as a 13 y.o. boy when I was going to market store. I was looking into the cover and the name makes me interested "Metallica'. I buy the mp3 album in illegal CD store in there. Yeah. It's like hell! Trapped in cage. But it's a fun process when you want to socializing and promote yourself that moments. I love it! What type of support do you want? Buy the our merch, listen to it, know what the meaning of our album, and enjoying life. We want to make people inspired to do something that passionate him/her and to be conscious. Do you plan to play shows?

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Yes, after we finish the album records. We will touring to other cities and playing show as many as we can. Why do you devote yourself to making music? What is “success” for Aestees? I think we just expressing our inner soul to the world, making art and not just in locked metal music scene, but general terms it's a music and it's life! To make life so meaningful! To be inspired living our life! It's a boring life to do 9 to 5 and spending all day in the bedroom with phone. There’s so many ways to do. Not just being musician. I really don't think about. Money? Maybe yes, maybe no. I know I really care about it but for me, the most important thing, I’ll say it over and over and over until I die or quit creating music or things that people inspired about. Process is the point. Nothing else matters! The end result is neither here nor there. That’s why it doesn’t matter if someone thinks of me or us it’s good or not. Get money or not. What came out of it isn’t the point; the point is the process, the journey from here to get there, and that’s why I go through. because I love going intensely through the process. I have a hypermad mind; I love learning about life, and that’s only one ways that I do it is through the process. We don't really care whether we are success or not. We are just having fun and enjoy living fully. Tell us about the lyrical concepts in your music. How does living in Indonesia affect your lyrics? About consciousness, mystery of the universe, scientific term and pseudoscience, spiritual, tragedy, history, religion, and ideology. Terms that not everyday lunch. What I want is to remembering the human essence. How to be a human? And how see life in many perspective. Why am I alive? Why I exist? How universe was created? Yes, I have. Our mission is to destroy the people ideology, bigotry,

racist, and fanatic to realizing people that we are one. I really love Indonesia very much. I dont have any opinion! I can't say anything. You must come here! It's fun! LOL What other Aestees news do you have? We will release the album in the end of 2016 under East Breath Records. It's called Lex Talionis! So be aware of it! www.facebook.com/AESTEES www.SoundCloud.com/aestees www.reverbnation.com/aestees THE END ** Arkona Since 2002 and with at least seven full-length studio albums so far (in addition to live albums, videos and other recordings), this Russian pagan/folk metal band has earned the respect of the folk metal public and their audience keeps growing every year. The band obviously has been dedicated to their art for a long time, and they are getting more recognition, but maybe not as much as the Scandinavian and Finnish bands. Is it to rectify that? Below you will find official information about the band so the folk metal faithful can get more acquainted with them, in case they are new to you. Below are a couple of band links. In addition, you can hear some of the band’s full albums at YouTube. The band is: Masha “Scream” – voice; Sergei “Lazar” – guitar; Ruslan “Kniaz” – bass; Andrey Ischenko – drums; Vladimir “Volk” – wind ethnic instruments. BIOGRAPHY: The beginnings of ARKONA date back to 2002, when members of local pagan community “Vyatichi”, Masha “Scream” Arhipova and Alexander “Warlock” Korolyov, decided to form a band that mirrored their individual philosophy and musical tastes. The

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band, at the time still known as Hyperborea, comprised Masha “Scream” Arhipova (vocals), Eugene Knyazev (guitar), Eugene Borzov (bass), Ilya Bogatyryov (guitar), Alexander “Warlock” Korolyov (drums), and Olga Loginova (keyboard), but it wasn’t until February 2002 that ARKONA surfaced from the depths of Russia’s underground scene. ARKONA soon decided to record several of their pagan/folk songs for their first demo. The recording took place at CDM-Records Studio in December 2002. The demo included 3 tracks – “Kolyada”, “Solntsevorot” (Solstice)” & “Rus’” (Russia). These tracks were later included as a bonus on the live album “Zhizn’ vo slavu” (Live for the Great) released in 2006. ARKONA began performing live in early 2003. Many concert-goers experienced the band for the first time at the Yazycheskaya Rus Festival. By the summer of 2003, ARKONA was ready to record their debut, but disinterest in the band by some of its members saw the band disappear from the scene as quickly as it had arrived. Yet Masha’s perseverance would not subside. Continuing on her own, and with the help of the members of Nargathrond, she proceeded to compose new material. Her fellow musicians readied their instruments, read through the partitions, and without ever looking back, recorded their debut album “Vozrozhdenie” (Revival) in March 2004. “Vozrozhdenie” (Revival) quickly became one of the most successful Slavic pagan metal albums of all time. As soon as the studio work was completed, Masha dedicated herself to the creation of new songs and by the end of summer 2004, the material for the second album “Lepta” (The Contribution) was completed. With the support of the same line-up, the band finished the recordings in autumn. “Lepta” was released in December

2004 and presented the listener with a darker and gloomier style. ARKONA was also supported by poet and vocalist Les’yar (Nevid’, ex-Butterfly Temple), who not only performed, but also wrote the lyrics for “Zarnitsy Nashei.Svobody”.

The album’s release placed ARKONA back on the scene as a contending force. With a complete line-up, ARKONA returned to the stages in the beginning of 2005. An ever-espousing fountain of creativity, Masha continued writing new material and by the summer of 2005, ARKONA was recording their next album. “Vo Slavu Velikim” (For the Glory of Great) proved to be the most complicated and varied album thus far, as the band withdrew from the use of synthesized sounds, replacing them with authentic folk instruments. As such, the list of guest musicians grew considerably including the renowned folk musician Vladimir Cherepovskiy (Mervent, ex-Voinstvo Sidov, Veter Vody, Trio Mario), as well as members of Svarga and Alkonost.

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Though the arrangements for each song at times exceeded 100 recorded tracks, ARKONA was able to finally piece together the album and “Vo Slavu Velikim!” (For the Glory of Great) was finally released in September 2005. During the touring that followed in support of the album’s release, ARKONA recorded their performance for the purpose of releasing a DVD and the live album “Zhizn’ vo Slavu”. Fueled by their outstanding achievements, ARKONA opted not to rest on its laurels and made sure to return with a new album as soon as possible. Fans heard a preview of “Ot Serdca K Nebu” (From the Heart to the Sky) at the 2008 Ragnarok Festival. In addition, the band embarked on a 30-day tour throughout Europe with Brutal Assault being just one of the highlights. Back at home, ARKONA decided not to take a break, but to immediately begin working on their fifth album. In order to top their previous effort, the band aimed to create something unique. While working on “Goi, Rode, Goi!”, the band also planned their second DVD. “Noch Velesova” was released via Napalm Records in May 2009. ARKONA also performed at the German festival Winternoise, taking a well-deserved break from the arduous recording process. Upon their return, ARKONA continued to work on the new album, completing the recordings in June 2009. It was quite an enterprise, as over 40 musicians were involved in the making of “Goi, Rode, Goi!”. The band described the process as the most labor-intensive and time-consuming work in its history. ARKONA made use of a full-fledged chorus and string quintet for the first time in their career. The heart of the album is undoubtedly the 15-minute saga ‘Na Moey Zemle’ that relates the adventures of a Slav in European countries. This epic features the voices of members of

Manegarm, Menhir, and Heidevolk, among others. Vladimir Cherepovsky and Vladimir “Volk!, who has recently become a full-time member of ARKONA, are responsible for the traditional instruments on the album. The artwork was again the work of the legendary Kris Verwimp. He delivered a series of conceptual illustrations for each song on the album.

The result was worth the hard work, as “Goi, Rode, Goi!“ proved to be the next logical step in the band’s journey. Fans would experience the live power of the new material at numerous live performances. ARKONA also produced video clips to the title track, the anthem “Yarilo”, as well as the melancholic “Liki Bessmertnykh Bogov“. The band played numerous shows in support of the new album and also released an EP in the summer of 2011 to ease the fans’ anticipatory wait for the upcoming album. The members of Arkona have already managed to make a name for themselves within the pagan metal scene that extends

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way beyond the borders of their native Russia. Their new album “Slovo” acknowledges their well-earned reputation with outstanding tracks. The band revolving around lead warrior Masha Scream has managed to outshine all past efforts. “Slovo” bundles Arkona’s strengths and catapults the band to new musical heights. The foundation of blast beats, double bass attacks, and heavy riffs remain, yet it is the attention to detail that rounds off Arkona’s multi-faceted sound. Folk melodies, complex vocal lines and choruses, clean vocals and growls, orchestral passages, and authentic instruments (violins, flutes, etc.) serve to embellish “Slovo”. The diversified end result features epic ballads and heavy folk-oriented tracks bound for certain glory at upcoming live performances. Masha’s Russian lyrics add a hardened, yet melancholic touch to this latest work. Once again, Arkona has chosen master illustrator Kris Verwimp (Vintersorg, Månegarm, Thyrfing, etc.) to design the album’s artwork. “Slovo” is an album full of highlights destined for yet another impressive victory on the pagan metal battlefield. Right after the release of the album “Slovo”, Arkona was participated in the Heidenfest tour 2011 across 11 countries in Europe. After that, the band discovered the North American continent: Arkona played 36 concerts in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. February 11th, 2012, in Moscow, the band was celebrated 10th anniversary with the biggest show history: a concert with the academic choir and string quartet. This performance was recorded and published a year later on a CD titled “Decade of Glory”. Arkona was played a long concert tour, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the band , in Russia , Europe, North America (USA , Canada, Mexico ) and South America (Argentina and Brazil) , and also participated in many festivals , including 70,000 Tons of Metal. Anniversary tour

included more than 100 performances. After returning from PaganFest tour in early 2013, Arkona started to prepare 7th studio album called “YAV”. Until June, musicians were in studio, working on the album. Recording was appointed for the end of month, but after performance at the festival “MetalFest” in Poland 22.06 Vlad «Artist» decided to leave the band. The group asked him to record the part of the material , which he learned before his decision and play with Arkona all upcoming concerts. The other songs were recorded by famous Russian musician Andrey Ishchenko. Later he became a permanent member of Arkona. “YAV” got the highest category of complexity of all recorded Arkona albums. Masha decided to not use choir and strings, and concentrate on her own vocal line and guitar parts. The album got a completely conceptual character and, unlike previous works, all the songs sounds in a dark and epic vein. In October 2013 Arkona took a break with the work on the album to go to the biggest tour in band’s history: first headlining tour in North America, headlining tour in South America, and finished with 11 European countries, touring as a special guest participant on tour with Therion. www.arkona-russia.com www.facebook.com/arkonarussia **

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NEWS: Interment Scent of the Buried Dark Descent Release: 1 April 2016 What a history this band has! It’s classic-style death metal from Sweden, but here’s the catch: the origins of the band reach back to 1988 and the early days of the sound known as “Swedish death metal.” There is a lot more going in the story of the band, but fortunately they have an excellent biography that explains who they are, where they come from and where this rotten death metal is going. The band’s new album sounds exactly as you would expect it to be: loyal to the bone, maniac to the heart. It’s time to find out more about the band now. This is the official information about them.

Swedish chainsaw-cadavers INTERMENT once again unravel the hellish mausoleum with the group’s latest scorcher Scent Of The Buried! Six years and a few line-up changes later, INTERMENT came back more savage than ever at the peak of the current Swedish Death Metal scene, with hints of the band showing maturity and dynamism but without ever losing their integrity as a no-holds-barred

primal beast. In murderous HM-2 SweDeathmachine we trust. Recorded and mixed by the legendary Tomas Skogsberg at Sunlight Studio, Stockholm (Nihilist, Entombed, Dismember, Grave, Desultory, etc) and mastering duties handled by Demonical frontman Sverker ‘Widda’ Widgren at Wing Studios (Diabolical, Demonical, Centinex, Nidsang, Setherial, etc). Featuring the extremely frightful artwork of Juanjo Castellano (Portrait, Revel In Flesh, Avulsed, etc). Formed in 1988 and formerly know as Beyond, INTERMENT is considered as an underground cult act among the Swedish Death Metal community. After the dissolution of INTERMENT, all the band members went on to form and play in other bands such as Uncanny, Centinex, Regurgitate, Dellamorte, Moondark, etc. Ex-Katatonia bassman Mattias Norrman was also previously in INTERMENT. Scent Of The Buried marks INTERMENT’s sophomore album in their 28-year existence! The mastering for Scent Of The Buried was handled by Demonical frontman Sverker ‘Widda’ Widgren. The artwork for Scent Of The Buried was hand-drawn by Spanish artist Juanjo Castellano, whose past works include Portrait, Revel In Flesh, Avulsed, etc. BIOGRAPHY: Interment started under the name Beyond during the autumn 1988 and released a rehearsal demo called "Birth of the Dead" in the summer 1990. The line-up was Dan Larsson (vocals), Johan Jansson (guitar), John Forsberg (guitar), Tomas Änstgård (bass) and Sonny Svedlund (drums). Beyond played some shows and spread their name until the autumn 1990 when a line-up change took place. Dan and Tomas left the band, which resulted in Johan taking care of

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both the vocals and guitar and Michael Gunnarsson joining as the new bass player. After this line-up change the band felt it was time for a new beginning and therefore changed their name to Interment. In February 1991 Interment entered the famous Sunlight Studios in Stockholm to record their first real demo tape, "Where Death Will Increase". The legendary engineer Tomas Skogsberg did a splendid job and the demo was spread around gaining very good reviews and reactions. By the end of the year it was time again for a line-up change. Kennet Englund became the new drummer as Sonny had decided to leave the band.

In May 1992 a music video was made for the track "Infestering Flesh". The recording of the clip was a project and collaboration between the local youth centre Musikhuset and the ABF association. Despite a non-existing recording budget and lack of experience the video won a price in a local competition. In June the same year Interment had again booked time at Sunlight Studios in order to nail down the "Forward to the Unknown" demo tape. However due to double-bookings and some other last minute issues the band decided instead to work with engineer Dan Swanö at his Gorysound Studio. The new tracks presented a faster band with an even

more down tuned guitar sound. In 1993 Interment started to fall apart due to various reasons. The band did rehearse occasionally and worked on new material but it was quite clear that the spark was gone. Still, the band finished the new songs by early 1994 and decided to do a last recording, "The Final Chapter". Once again Interment entered Gorysound/Unisound Studios. John couldn't take part in the recording so Johan was solely responsible for the guitar work and as this claimed full concentration, Jens Törnroos was asked to do the vocals. After the recording the band split up and the members continued to concentrate on all their other bands and projects. Johan played in Uncurbed together with Michael and in Moondark - which later became Dellamorte - together with Kennet. Michael, Kennet and Johan were also involved in a grind/gore project called Pyosisfied. John was active in several projects such as Astma and Morgue. Then in the spring 2002 Johan wanted to unite Interment again for a recording of the old songs but also some new material. The other members were excited so the band started to rehearse again and planned a new release. Some years went by without any action worth mentioning. In March 2006 Mattias "Cryptan" Norrman became the new bassist as Michael had decided to step aside. Around the same time Interment were offered a deal by US-based Conqueror of Thorn Records who wanted to release some material. The band agreed to release the old demo tapes as a demography CD but also to record some new tracks for a split CD with Funebrarum. During April and May 2006 Interment recorded 5 new tracks at the Black Lounge Studio together with engineer Jonas

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Kjellgren and these tunes were then released in January 2007 as the "Conjuration of the Sepulchral" split CD.

The first show in 15 years took place in Stockholm in January 2007 when Interment shared the stage with Grotesque and Nirvana 2002 at the release party of the now already legendary book "Swedish Death Metal" by Daniel Ekeroth. A few months later Mattias decided to leave the band due to time issues, which resulted in Martin Schulman being recruited as the new bassist. In August 2007 Interment played at the Party San Open Air in Germany, which also was the bands first ever, show abroad. In early 2008 a deal was made with Pulverised Records from Singapore. Interment did two gigs during 2009. The first was on Thunders Over Miriquidi festival in Germany together with bands like: Death SS, Törr, Minotaur, Tormented, Tribulation, Excruciate etc... The second gig was in December at The Cave in Sundbyberg, Sweden together with Carnal Forge and Scaar. The long waited "Where Death Will Increase" discography CD/LP was finally released Jan/Feb 2010 as collaboration between the US-based labels Morbid Wrath and Necroharmonic Production. In January 2010 Interment entered the Erebus Odora studio and recorded their first full-lenght ever with Peter Bjärgö. The title of the album is "Into The Crypts Of Blasphemy" and

was released on CD by Pulverised Records 2nd August in Europe and 31st August in USA. The limited LP version was released by Cyclone Empire in August. Interment supported Nachtmystium(US) and Jarboe(US) at Musikhuset, Gävle in the beginning of April. Other support bands were In Mourning, Ascend Upon Ashes and Corrosive Carcass. Later same month we played at "Stockholm Metal Walborg" together with Human Desolation, Circle Of Chaos, Scourge, Demonical and Spazmosity. In Nov/Dec we did our very first European tour called "Black Steel Worship" together with Urn (FIN) and Diabolical. Due to some reasons John and Kennet couldn’t join the tour, therefore we have Perra Karlsson (Nominon, ex-In Aeternum etc) filling in behind the drums and Toob Brynedal (ex-Insision, ex-Genocrush Ferox) on the second axe. They did a tremendous job on stage, eternal thanx dudes! It was a killer tour that always will be remembered!! In 2011 we did some gigs and a bunch of festivals. First one was The Pentagram Fest(ESP) in February then Protzen Open Air(GER) in June, Obscene Extreme(CZE), In Flammen(GER) and Hammer Open Air(FIN) in July and Summer Breeze(GER) in August. We played two times in Stockholm, at KGB in April w/ Repuked and at Debaser w/ Dr Living Dead and Guilty in September. In year 2012 we we're booked for Maryland Deathfest(USA) in May but we have to cancel our appearance due to one members family issues during the time of the fest. In the end of August we played at Kill-town Deathfest in Copenhagen(DK). Other bands on the bill were Sadistic Intent, Corpsessed, Necros Christos, Morbus Chron etc. In the beginning of September we played at Truckstop Alaska

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in Gothenburg(SWE) with Rust and Dishonourable Discharge. The last gig of the year was with Spasmodic in December at Kings Arms in Falun(SWE). We decided to let Torbjörn "Toob" Brynedal, who have been live-session guitarist with us since the "Black Steel Worship European Tour" with Urn and Diabolical we did in Nov/Dec 2010 until 2012, to become a permanent member. John Forsberg who has been invisible on stage with us since April 2010, unfortunately didn't have the time with Interment and wanted to spend more time with his family with fully respect. In March 2013 we entered the crypts of Erebus Odora studio again with Peter Bjärgö and recorded four new songs and one oldie for a couple of split EP's. In May the "Into The Crypts Of Blasphemy" was re-released by Black Vomit Records(UK) and in the end of July, three of the recorded songs were released as a split 12" with Brutally Deceased(CZE) by Doomentia Records. In the beginning of August we played at Gamrocken in Ludvika w/ Demonical, Disrupted, Ikon, Tormention etc. A promotional video for the track "Faces Of Death" was released on YouTube made by our friend Costin Chioreanu at Twilight13media. After 6 years with Interment Martin Schulman decided to leave the band. The reasons were that he was too busy with his mainband Demonical and his booking agency Dreamtide Music so the time for Interment was not enough. Martin’s statement: "I have decided to step down from the bassist position in Interment due to time related issues. In a way it sucks but thinks this is the best solution for all parties. I wish the guys best of luck for the future". Luckily we found an old good friend of us, Allan Lundholm (ex Circle of Chaos, Convulsion & Mortum) who joined us on bass!

Interment created a Bandcamp site. The split EP with Brutally Deceased was released on CD by Doomentia Records in early November. Interment played in France for the first time ever at the Wolfthrone Festival in Paris w/ Deströyer 666, Demigod, Disma, Convulse, Dead Congregation among others. It was easily one of our best shows, what a killer support! Enter the eternal fire... www.facebook.com/interment ** NEWS: The Dread Crew of Oddwood (U.S.) Lawful Evil self-released Release: 25 March 2016 For millennia the human race has not been able to answer life's most mysterious questions and no question has boggled the human mind more than this one: "What is acoustic pirate metal?" Alas, the answer be not far away, matey. Ahoy, do you happen to have Johnny Depp's phone number? I need to call him and tell him that they better make another movie because this band be the soundtrack for it. See this official information. West Coast acoustic metal pirate armada THE DREAD CREW OF ODDWOOD has just unloaded the booze-drenched cannon stench of their pillaging fourth studio recording with Lawful Evil. A nonstop auditory rampage in the stripped-down and dirty style sans-amplification and riding high on Heavy Mahogany mastery, the unruly newalbum discharges fourteen debauchery-ridden rippers intoxicating the listener with more than forty-two minutes of top-shelf hard-partying action.

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Through the support of townspeople on shores the world ‘round THE DREAD CREW OF ODDWOOD self-released the putrid tunes of Lawful Evil under the guise of no label rules; the result is a necessary acquisition for fans of hammering brews to the Dropkick Murphys, crashing the renaissance faire, anybody who has quoted Yellowbeard, and diehards of Korpiklaani, and other seafaring acts Swashbuckle and Alestorm. Lawful Evil was recorded at Seahorse Sound, was mixed by Aksu Hanttu (Korpiklaani, Shade Empire) and mastered by Svante Forsbäck (Korpiklaani, Apocalyptica, Dragonforce, Rammstein) at Chartmakers Audio Mastering. The “Sulfur” video was directed by Michael Sasso with cinematography by Sean Fitzgerald, and editing by Casey Nimmer. The band also included several guest vocalists on the album including Brittney Slays from Unleash The Archers, Admiral Nobeard from Swashbuckle, and others. The Lawful Evil cover art was created by Mark Gibbons (World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Warhammer, and more). THE DREAD CREW OF ODDWOOD will be performing at a renaissance faire in the Los Angeles area for the next seven consecutive weekends. The band is also traveling to a one-off gig in Chicago at the Official Ommegang Game of Thrones Beer Release Party. A widespread invasion of the American lands will take place as the 2016 harvest season approaches; keep watch for a scroll of ports

to be raided in the months ahead. www.facebook.com/thedreadcrewofoddwood www.thedreadcrewofoddwood.bandcamp.com ** NEWS: Necrot (U.S.) The Labyrinth Tankcrimes Release: 15 April 2016 Their name is Necrot and they are certified death metal of the old school and bonafide chop blocking zombies. A few seconds in and you will hear the rotten death metal. It's dirty and primal. Read this official information and say "arghhhhh" to the death metal of the classic times. ** Oakland-based old-school death metal squad NECROT, featuring within its ranks current and former members of Acephalix, Vastum, Saviours, Watch Them Die and Atrament, has joined the Tankcrimes Records roster for the release of their The Labyrinth full-length. Featuring eight tracks cultivated from three hard-to-find and long out-of-print demo tapes, The Labyrinth was recorded at Lennon Studios by the late great Jef “Leppard” Davis (Abscess, Acephalix, Vastum) and at Earhammer Studios with Greg Wilkinson (Brainoil, Annihilation Time, Noothgrush), mastered at Mammoth Sound by Dan Randall (Ghoul, Toxic Holocaust) and will see release on April 15th on CD, digitally and deluxe, foil-stamped LP. Additionally, the record will receive cassette treatment via Sentient Ruin in the US and Extremely Rotten in Europe. Fans of the bone-crush of Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, Sacrilege etc. pay heed.

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Formed by the initial duo of bassist/vocalist Luca Indrio (Acephalix, Vastum) and drummer Chad Gailey (ex-Vastum. Atrament), and subsequently rounded out by guitarist Sonny Reinhardt (Saviours, ex-Watch Them Die), NECROT are one of the most punishing, savage and treacherous death metal acts to ever tread Californian soil. Initially forged in 2011 as a side-project of Acephalix, NECROT have since then built a devout following in their native Bay Area and beyond, and have become known as a merciless and bloodthirsty death metal killing machine thanks to their bulldozing live sets and their savage and butchering recordings. Since inception, the band has only made their music available as very short and hard to find demo tapes that are now completely sold out, impossible to find and have become something of a cult object or collector’s item, elevating the band’s reputation to that of absolute cult and DIY monument in the Bay Area underground metal scene. Taking cues from legends like Asphyx, Bolt Thrower, Grave, Discharge, early Sepultura, early Morbid Angel, and Entombed, NECROT have thus far existed as a power trio with the build and attitude of a bloodthirsty tank. NECROT’s music is a literal onslaught of buzz-sawing death metal riffs and spine-rupturing rhythms – an authentic sonic bludgeoning that can batter the listener’s flesh into complete

submission within seconds, and which owes much of its crude heaviness and primitive ferocity to old-school death metal just as it does to (crust) punk. www.facebook.com/cyclesofpain **

concert calendar Seattle area concert calendar by Metal Bulletin Zine (Washington state). If you know of other metal concerts in the area, please get in contact with Metal Bulletin Zine. April 28 Rhine, Deathblow, Xoth, Hexengeist at The Highline - Seattle, WA April 29 The Devils Of Loudun,Oxygen Destroyer, Ghostblood, Rhine at The Kraken, Seattle, WA April 30 Napalm Death, Earth Control, Rot Monger, Narrow Minded, The Drip at Mainstreet Studios, Walla Walla, WA April 30 Holy Grail, DevilDriver, Incite, Hemlock at Studio Seven, Seattle, WA April 30 Fear Factory, Soilwork, American Wrecking Co. at El Corazón, Seattle, WA May 1 Holy Grail, DevilDriver, Incite, Hemlock at Knitting Factory, Spokane, WA May 1 Napalm Death at The Showbox - Seattle, WA May 2 The Devils Of Loudun, Thieves of Eden,Odyssean,Vesuvius at Funhouse, Seattle, WA May 8 Primal Fear, Luca Turilli's Rhapsody at El Corazón, Seattle, WA May 10 Dying Fetus/The Acacia Strain/Jungle Rot/Black Crown Initiate/Reaping Asmodeia/Nylithia/System House 33/Twisted Heroes /Into The Flood at Studio Seven, Seattle, WA May 12 Skelator at the Central Saloon, Seattle, WA May 13 Sacrament Ov Impurity at 3rd Street House, Mt. Vernon, WA May 13 Pallbearer, Norska,Wounded Giant, Scriptures, Nox Velum at The Highline, Seattle,

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WA May 14 Pallbearer at Obsidian, Olympia, WA May 14 Dropdead, Magrudergrind, Yautja, The Drip at The Highline, Seattle, WA May 15 Soulfly, Suffocation, Battlecross, Abnormality at Studio Seven, Seattle, WA May 16 Night Demon, Visigoth, Xoth at the Highline, Seattle, WA May 17 Amon Amarth, Entombed AD, Exmortus at Showbox Market - Seattle, WA May 17 Pentagram at Studio Seven, Seattle, WA May 23 Act Of Defiance, American Wrecking Company, Kill Closet at Tony V's Garage in Everett, WA May 24 Tengger Cavalry, The Devils of Loudun, Eye of Nix, Hexengeist at the Highline, Seattle, WA May 27 Anvil, Unleash the Archers, Graveshadow at El Corazón, Seattle WA May 31 Corrosion of Conformity, Lamb of God at WAMU Theater, Seattle, WA June 2 Discharge, Eyehategod, Toxic Holocaust, Ringworm at Studio Seven, Seattle, WA June 4 Rotten Sound, Wilt, Mercy Ties, Scalafrea, MRSA at The Highline, Seattle, WA June 5 Iron Kingdom at Tony V's Garage in Everett, WA June 10 Armored Saint, Metal Church at Studio Seven, Seattle, WA June 11 Voivod at El Corazón - Seattle, WA June 14 American Wrecking Company at Studio Seven - Seattle, WA June 16 Taake, Young and in the Way,WOLVHAMMER at the Highline, Seattle, WA June 17 Perdition Temple, Sempiternal Dusk, Ascended Dead at the Highline, Seattle, WA June 17 Queensryche at Silver Reef Casino, Ferndale,WA June 17 Venom Inc.; Necrophagia at Studio Seven - Seattle, WA June 18 Venom Inc.; Necrophagia at Shakedown, Bellingham, WA

June 18 Obsidian, Rhine at Funhouse, Seattle, WA June 19 Unaussprechlichen Kulten, Dire Omen, Drawn and Quartered, Dilapidation at The Highline, Seattle, WA July 7 Wayfarer, Alda, With The End In Mind, Falls Of Rauros The Highline, Seattle, WA August 12, 13, 14 Migration Festival at the Capitol Theater in downtown Olympia, WA: Alaric, Auroch, The Body and Krieg collaborative performance, Christian Mistress, Dead to a Dying World, False, Fórn, Full of Hell, Hell (U.S.), Khemmis, Kowloon Walled City, Krallice, Magic Circle, Mizmor, Mournful Congregation, Mutilation Rites, Nightfell, Obsequiae, Pale Chalice, Panopticon, Thou, Vastum, Vhol, Yellow Eyes August 24 Sammy Hagar at The Tulalip Amphitheatre - Tulalip, WA October 1 Def Leppard at Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, Washington November 26 Dark Tranquillity, Swallow the Sun, Enforcer, Star Kill at El Corazón, Seattle, WA November 29 Sonata Arctica at El Corazón, Seattle, WA January 28 Blue Öyster Cult at Historic Everett Theatre, Everett, WA — metal programs (these are Pacific Times) Mosh Pit (Madison, WI): Monday night 9:30pm-12am WORT 89.9 fm www.wortfm.org Sweet Nightmares (Houston, TX): Thursday night 9pm-12am KPFT 90.1 fm www.kpft.org Excuse All the Blood (Olympia, WA): Friday night 11pm-1am www.kaosradio.org Metal Shop (Seattle, WA): Saturday 11pm-3am KISW 99.9fm www.kisw.com — This zine is available at: www.issuu.com/metalbulletinzine