Scratch the Surface

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EP

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KVELERTAKNorwegian party-crashers

L O O S E A L L Y O U R F E A R S

D I G G I N G T H E U N D E R G R O U N D S I N C E 2 0 0 7

TOMBS - INEVITABLE END - EARTH CRISIS - NOVEMBERS DOOM

3 EARTH CRISIS

5 NOVEMBERS DOOM

7 GHOST BRIGADE

9 TOMBS

11 INEVITABLE END

13 KVELERTAK

CREW Editor: David Alexandre

Contributors: Luca Niero, Byrant Thomas, Devin Walsh, Alex Grimm, James Merrett, Ann Sulaiman, Ross Gnarly, Gilberto Rui

www.scratchthesurface-webzine.com | [email protected]

Earth Crisis has always been known for their politically-charged

message, which promotes veganism, human and animal rights,

and the straightedge philosophy.

Yet, the Syracuse NY-based quintet is more than just a voice

against negative or dangerous behaviours. They're also one of

most influential bands in hardcore and metal delivering albums

throughout their 20-plus year career that has been raised to cult-

like status.

Guitarist Scott Crouse took a few moments to talk about the band’s

longevity and their new record “Neutralize the Thread”.

You guys started the band when you were just in your teens. How

have your relationships changed over the years, and what have

been the high and low points for you in your time in Earth Crisis?

We are one of the lucky few bands that are able to maintain friend-

ships and work together musically for all these years. We have

had a few member changes, but the core of this band has been

intact since day one, and we all get along really well to this day.

That's not to say we haven't had our share of disagreements and

tense moments, but in the end we all understand each other very

well and know the difference between frustration and anger.

When the band reunited in 2008, did it take long for you guys to

re-establish your chemistry?

Not really. The first practice truly felt like we never stopped.

I think Earth Crisis is part of our DNA at this point!

The band's comeback record, 'To the Death' clearly showed Earth

Crisis on top form, following a nine-year hiatus from recordings,

and is with no doubt one of your heaviest albums to date.

Were you satisfied with the response to your comeback and re-

lease of "To the Death"?

I think we all are pleased with how it came out, and those songs

were some of the most well received new material we've ever had.

It usually takes people some time to get into new songs live, but

those seemed to click immediately.

On new record "Neutralize the Threat", you demonstrate yet again

your proclivity for exploring the most aggressive and unrelenting

side of your music. Why do you think it turned out like that?

We always try and push ourselves to not make the same record

twice. So many bands in this genre don't push themselves, or take

enough chances in my opinion. We always strive for originality on

progress on every recording.

For this new record the band decided to work again with a

renowned producer, after handling the production duties on

previous work "To the Death".

What made you choose to work again with a producer and why

did you decided on Chris "Zeuss" Harris from Hatebreed, Shad-

ows Fall and Chimaira fame?

Zeuss is an old metal/hardcore guy like us. He knows the music,

he understands it, and he respects it. We knew he'd get where we

were coming from, and help us get the sounds we were envision-

ing. We did handle some of the production and tracking on our

own, but he was pivotal to this record sonically.

Was there anything the band and Zeuss attempted to do differently

from previous records?

Words: David Alexandre

Scratch the Surface | 3

EARTH CRISISVIGILANT CITIZENS

We usually try and throw a more obscure track into every set.

I'd like to play something like Fortress off Destroy The Machines.

It's been a while since we played that one.

Besides the imminent European tour, what's next for Earth Crisis?

Some U.S. dates this fall, then off to Japan, Australia, South Amer-

ica and hopefully SE Asia off this record.

Earth Crisis - Neutralize the Threat

Armed with crushing riffs,

explosive beats and a rang-

ing voice protesting against

the injustices of the world,

“Neutralize the Threat” fea-

tures Earth Crisis’ signature

sound.

It’s business as usual for

these hardcore veterans,

though that was never a ter-

rible thing when it comes to

Earth Crisis. Tracks like

"Raise”, “Counterstrike” and “Black Tallons Tear” show the

five-piece at their rampaging best, the destructive riffs of

Scott Crouse crush everything in their path like a massive

pile-driver, while vocalist Karl Buechner spews out all his

anger and frustration. (7.5/10)


“We were discussing how the media glorifies violent criminals likegang members and serial killers, and why this happens. Weconcluded it was because of the drama and intrigue thatsurrounds their actions, and realized there were people out therewho were just as interesting, but were fighting against thisnegative behaviour...”

“Neutralize the Threat” is out now on Century Media.

www.myspace.com/earthcrisis

We wanted a tighter, more bass driven sound than To The Death.

Again, striving to not repeat the previous record.

You mentioned that the new album is lyrically inspired by real-life

vigilante actions that have taken place all over the world, with top-

ics that cover episodes like The Black Panther Party and Bernhard

Goetz also known as Subway Vigilante.

What made you decide to write about such matters which some-

how sparked some vigilante movements against crime?

We were discussing how the media glorifies violent criminals like

gang members and serial killers, and why this happens.

We concluded it was because of the drama and intrigue that sur-

rounds their actions, and realized there were people out there who

were just as interesting, but were fighting against this negative be-

haviour.

These people and their stories go unnoticed most of the time, so

we thought we'd shed some light on them.

And what other real-life episodes do you talk about in the lyrics?

Is "Black Talons Tear" about the Ferri murders?

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe Black Talons is about RAAD in

Ireland. They basically would warn drug dealers to leave certain

neighbourhoods, or face extreme consequences. They are

Firestorm come to life.

You're about to embark on a European tour in support of the new

album. Knowing how big your back catalogue is, how do you de-

cide which songs to play?

We try to represent every album in the set. At least two songs from

each.

Are there any songs from the past you wish the band played more

live?

NOVEMBERS DOOMDespite a frequently changing line-up, Chicago’sNovembers Doom has evolved into one of the mostinteresting and impressive doom outfits of todayduring the last two decades.Boasting guest appearances from Anneke VanGiersbergen (AGUA DE ANNIQUE, THE GATHERING),violinist Rachel Barton Pine (EARTHEN GRAVE) and theomnipresent Dan Swanö (NIGHTINGALE, EDGE OF SANITY,BLOODBATH), the new album “Aphotic”, which wasreleased on May 10 via The End Records, features theband’s most refined and varied songwriting yet overeight outstanding tracks.Vocalist and lyricist Paul Kuhr, took some time todiscuss the falling outs, their career and the laudablenew record.

“I don't think you can ever put the demons away.Some things need to live inside you, to remindyou of things, and keep you strong...”


NOVEMBERS DOOM fter more than 20 years as a band you’ve always man-

aged to progress and stay relevant in such demanding

musical scene, despite all the line-reshuffles and

record label instability. What’s the secret?

“The secret is I've always managed to surround myself with musi-

cians who share and understand the overall vision of what No-

vembers Doom is.

It's not been easy by any means, and when bringing in new peo-

ple, there's always a transition period. It's never smooth, but the

potential can be seen, and it's worth the long road, because you

know the final outcome will be something better then the previous.

It actually helps keep us fresh, and keeps the fire lit under us after

twenty-plus years.”

Yet the band’s line up has changed again for the new record

“Apothic”.

With the recent entrance of bassist Mike Feldman to replace their

long-time member and producer Chris Wisco, do you view the cur-

rent Novembers Doom line-up as one of your strongest and most

talented formations to date?

“Since day one, there has been no better line-up in Novembers

Doom then right now at this moment. Many bands say that, to

drown any negativity they might get from fans, or to just kid them-

selves, but I can honestly, with 100% sincerity and honesty, say

we have never been better. This is the line-up I wish we had all

along.

As far as Chris Wisco, he's a great bassist. It wasn't a talent based

decision. Chris is the 6th member of this band. He records every

album with us, helps produce, adds input, and in a live situation,

he makes us sound as good as we do. Just because he's not on

stage, he's very much in the band, and immensely important.”

Musically, their new record “Apothic” sees the band adhere to their

melancholic and poignant death-doom style, yet I’ve also noticed

that there’s a presence of more melody, progressive overtones

and acoustic guitars in the new songs. The track “What Could

Have Been” for instance, incorporates guitars, piano and violins

in an entirely acoustic structure.

For this new record, did you felt a need to push Novembers Doom

in new directions or it was something that just happened naturally?

“We push ourselves to do something new with every single release

we've recorded, so if you listen, no two releases are exactly alike.

It's something we really push for.

For ‘Aphotic’, I think we were able to remove some of the filter we

put on ourselves over the years. Any changes we want to make,

it's gradual over time, so the change isn't drastic to the listener.

This time, we weren't as conscience of that, and just wrote in a

natural progression.

When the music would come in from Larry and Vito for the rest of

the band to work on, so much more made it through out "filter" this

time, and we achieved what I believe to be our best offering so

far.

The current line-up also has made all the difference in this as well.

Many times throughout the years, the "filter" was there because

we may have had people in the band that couldn't bring to the

table what was needed, so we had to filter the music to the abilities

of the line-up.

Now, there are no more limitations, and we now have full ability

to make anything work the way we want. ‘Aphotic’ is a very

natural place for us, and I'm happy to be there right now.”

There’s clearly a surprising amount of variety on the new album,

so I was wondering how was the songs written and arranged.

Was it a group effort or did someone take the leading role?

“All of the riffs are written by Larry and Vito, and they will bring in

skeletons of the songs. Some are more complete then others.

This time, all five members contributed to the songs, lending ideas

to arranging, adding sections, or small tweaks to make something

more interesting, that maybe the other four guys didn't think of.

Working with all five guys in the same room, putting these songs

together the way we did, is a large reason for the outcome.”

Can you tell me more about the significance of the album title?

I’ve read that its main theme is about darkness.

“Aphotic is basically the absence of light. When writing the lyrics

to this CD, the music was dark, and moody, so the lyrics needed

to represent that as well, so I wanted a title that was simple, inter-

esting, and summed up the feeling of the CD in as few words as

possible.

‘Aphotic’ was the perfect title for this release.”

I’ve also read that your lyrics deal mostly with personal issues and

internal conflicts and they’re almost cathartic to yourself.

So I have to ask you if you were able to put rest to some of your

personal demons through the words written for “Aphotic”?

“I don't think you can ever put the demons away. Some things

need to live inside you, to remind you of things, and keep you

strong.

The catharsis for me is the process. I'm not one to sit down, and

talk about these things, so for me, the ability to get it out in the

form of a lyric is very therapeutic and does help me come to terms

with issues, but they are always there.

Some songs are more difficult for me to listen to then others for

this reason, but in the end, I’m usually 99% glad I wrote what I

did.”

Do you find it difficult to get your feelings poured out with just a

few lines?

“No, not at all! Sometimes, my feelings are completely summed

up in only ONE line of the song. I will either write with a clear vi-

sion, and a story to tell, or I just have a specific emotion poured

into a line, and write an entire song around it. It all depends on the

process at the moment.

I've never finished a song where I've felt I needed more space to

finish my thoughts. It's actually the opposite. Sometimes you'll

hear me repeat lines. This is because I've said what I needed to

say, and adding more words would be forcing something into the

lyrics that don't belong there. I just use what's necessary and try

to leave out the filler.”

“Apothic” out now on The End Records

www.novembersdoom.com


A


GHOST BRIGADE

Do you think you were subconsciously pressured

to write songs that would equal or surpass your

most successful album when you first started ap-

proaching the writing for this new record?

I think everybody wants to and is pressured subcon-

sciously or not to make better record than the previ-

ous one, otherwise no reason to continue. Where

this pressure comes from or what are the reasons

for it is another thing then, in our case it is because

we wanted to come up with songs that we are sat-

isfied with, songs that we enjoy and pass through

self-criticism, time will tell how we succeeded.

There was no pressure to gain maximum attention from the media,

to reach mass sales, to please our record label, to make any

sort of break through etc., that was not on our mind.

We simply wanted to push ourselves forward to

please ourselves and to fulfil our demands, and if

more and more people enjoy it as well, we don’t mind

it.

The process of making records can take a consid-

erable amount of time and can be a daunting chal-

lenge for musicians. In your case, did you

immediately figured what you wanted to do and

soon struck the right songwriting mode?

We started to write the songs pretty much immedi-

ately after “Isolation Songs” was released. We didn’t

have any strict guidelines, a detailed master-plan or concept for

the record, although we do know what we want from our songs,


...there’s plenty of fears to choose from andhumans seem to be very capable to pick them andletting them dictate their lives...

Since the release of the 2009’s album “Isolation Songs”, Finland’s Ghost Brigade has solidified as one of the

most engaging and inventive acts within the metal scene. Their break-through record was elected album of the

month in both Metal Hammer and Inferno magazines and now three years the Finnish group returns with another

mesmerizing release that proves that “Isolation Songs” was no fluke.

Scratch the Surface questioned bassist Janne Julin to find out more about the newest album “Until Fear No

Longer Define Us”, which was released this past September.

we kept writing songs until we had enough material that works to-

gether on a record. Sometimes it takes more time to complete a

song, others are easier to complete, but the whole writing process

for a record takes around a year/a year and a half.

This record didn’t differ that much from the two first ones, you just

have to be patient and take your time and the songs will come up,

no need to hurry, better to make sure you’re not forcing it and end

up with some useless half-assed crap.

So what inspired you when it came to writing “Until Fear No

Longer Defines Us”?

Broadly speaking, things you do and experience in daily life on this

planet earth, feelings and situations you go through, what goes

around in your head, our surroundings, then of course music we lis-

ten to, movies, books and so on. There’s not any specific influence

that you could point out, more like a picture painted from all of those

influences but trying to keep it coherent and not wandering off to

too many directions and of course adding your own touch to it all.

Musically those influences mainly come from metal, rock, pop, elec-

tronic direction, with some underlying connection between them all

being some sort of dark or atmospheric general feature.

How do you feel about the record now that it’s coming out?

Now that it’s finished, can you give us your thoughts on it?

I feel good about it, it’s strong and tight, the whole works well to-

gether with good continuation from song to song bringing all the at-

mospheres and emotions to fullest and all in all it’s very good picture

of this band, what it’s made of and what it’s about. But it takes time

to make up your mind about your own record, we finished this

record in the end of April so it’s way too early to say what is my com-

plete opinion about this album, I’ll have better idea of that in a year

or two, that’s how it seems to go. And we haven’t played these

songs live yet and that’s also one thing that might affect your opinion

of the record. But as of now I have to say I’m satisfied with our latest

grand opus.

Based on the reviews you’ve read of Ghost Brigade albums

what bands do you see mentioned most frequently when trying

to draw points of comparison to your style? Have you read any

that just had you roll over the eyes and shrug in confusion?

I’ve seen some pretty puzzling associations with bands like

God Forbid.

Katatonia, Opeth, Paradise Lost and maybe Amorphis, those are

the ones that usually get mentioned, all these bands have their own

unique sound just as I think we have carved out our own direction

as well. Paradise Lost and Amorphis are definitely bands that have

influenced us, I wouldn’t say the same thing about Katatonia al-

though their are very familiar to us of course, Opeth is probably the

most far-fetched out of these bands, they’re straight up prog com-

pared to us.

I haven’t bumped into any odd comparisons yet, at least don’t re-

member any and unfortunately I’m not familiar with God Forbid so

can’t say a thing about that.

In general I don’t mind comparisons to other bands, actually I find

them interesting, weird or just funny, which is fine.

When I first listened to the new record I noticed some songs

were extremely heavy and perhaps more direct like for in-

stance “Clawmaster”, “Traces of Liberty” and “Torn”. Not that

this record is simpler and fiercer than previous work “Isolation

Songs”, there’s still some intriguing and dark melodies that

beckons the audience to sing along, but it seems that some of

these new songs were tailored for a live environment, do you

agree?

I do have to disagree simply because none of the songs on the

new record are tailored or pushed into any certain direction and

the same goes for all songs we’ve done as Ghost Brigade.

Only thing we’re conscious of or paying attention to when writing

songs for a new record is that all the songs have to work as a unit,

to create a full and complete package so to say. If there is a song

that doesn’t fit with the rest of the songs then we’ll skip it.

There’s no intention to do any certain kind of songs, to make them

suitable for live situation and banging your head off or for smooching

on a couch, the songs will slowly take their own direction and little

by little you’ll have some kind of picture about the whole but you

never know exactly what you will come up with, more or less de-

pends on your mood and how your sorry brains are positioned inside

your skull at the time, I guess.

How was recording “Until Fear No Longer Defines Us” different

from recording the previous albums? How did it feel working

with Antti Malinen again?

Not much really, we’ve got to know Antti quite well and we’re pretty

much on a same level with sound matters, he knows what we’re

doing and what we’re looking for and he’s perfectly capable to deliver

those things so it’s very easy to work with him. All in all, the whole

thing was fairly smooth process, there’s always some minor difficul-

ties popping up to tease your nerves while recording but we didn’t

really have to face any bigger obstacles this time. We’re very

pleased with the sound and for that all the credit to Antti.

With lyrics like, “I will break my leash”, “Cut off the ropes” and

“Bars made of memories and walls made of cries”, it seems that

this new record deals with themes of freedom and to live your

life the way you want and to make your own decisions. Tell us

more about the lyrics of this new album.

You’re right about that, those topics are part of the more personal

side of the lyrics, dealing with obstacles of your mind, facing your

own restrictions, fears and weaknesses and eventually somehow

overcome them, finding a way for things that are important and

meaningful in your life.

The other main topic is much broader, human existence basically

and especially the dark, not so merry side of our actions and behav-

iour that you have to face day by day, getting sickened by the so

called sane and reasonable part of the human population.

All in all, I guess we try to come up with lyrics that express with im-

mediacy the raw and true feelings we go through in our daily life, no

bigger than life meanings, hidden messages nor profound subjects,

more about accepting your place on this planet and the fleeting time

we happen to spend here. I think they’re also quite easy to relate to

which supports the music very well.

What exactly is, that fear that define us? Rejection? Failure?

Well you name it, there’s plenty of fears to choose from and humans

seem to be very capable to pick them and letting them dictate their

lives and usually the outcome aint that good. So, not any exact fear

and actually the title is more like a play with the saying "what we fear

is what we are", it’s more or less connected to the lyrical themes I

talked earlier.

Come October, Ghost Brigade is going to headline their first

tour with A Storm of Light and Intronaut as supportive acts. It’s

a very diverse package, what are you looking for the most on

this upcoming tour?

Of course we’re very eager to see what kind of crowds we’re able to

get now that we’re doing our first headline tour, in other words if can

pull it through on our own and why not if you ask me.

Otherwise I’m looking for the usual things, good gigs, getting to know

the guys from the other two bands, good times in good company etc.

As for the diverse package, I don’t mind if the other bands are not

exactly in the same subgenre or whatever scene, I think it’s nice to

have a good mixture between the bands, each band bringing their

own approach and different angle and it seems to be the case with

these three bands.

Words: Luca Niero


Since 2007 Tombs has putting out innovative tunes that

fall somewhere between the coldness and abrasive-

ness of Scandinavian black-metal and the ferocious-

ness and dissonance of U.S. hardcore, really making a

difference on a often uninspired scene,

This year, the Brooklyn-based trio is issuing their soph-

omore record entitled “Paths of Totality”, which is

quickly garnering rave reviews from all over the world.

Scratch the Surface caught up with Tombs guitarist and

vocalist, Mike Hill, to find out more about their new

record and their predilection for gothic music.

Alternately engaging and dissonant, "Path of Totality" strad-

dles the line between nihilism and gloominess, incorporating

traits of such disparate acts as Neurosis, Pink Floyd, Swans,

Darkthrone, Fields of the Nephilim and Celtic Frost.

Can you tell me a little bit about the writing process for this

new record? Did you want to include more dynamism and

new nuances on this album?

Some of the material was written immediately after we recorded

“Winter Hours”, it’s been about a two year period of writing. It was

good not being under the gun to squeeze out a new record, so we

were able to really get deep into the writing process. In between

tours, we wrote and, at least to me, there appeared to be different

eras of material. For example, “Angel of Destruction” and “Pas-

sageways” were written around the same time. “Black Hole of

Summer” and “Cold Dark Eyes” were written right before we left

for the Wolves in the Throne Room/ Pelican tour.

Once we started thinking about recording a new record, we started

producing demo recordings of the material, so we can refine the

writing and begin pre-production. This period lasted for several

months. I think, it’s an essential component for us because we like

to get all of the experimentation done before we get into the stu-

dio.

Songs like "Vermillion", "Passageways", "Silent World" and

"Black Heaven" exude a similar sinister and gloomy vibe to

80's gothic acts like Fields of the Nephilim and Bauhaus.

Were you influenced at all by gothic music when putting this

album together?

I’m into “gothic” music in general. I would also add Joy Division

and Sisters of Mercy to that list. I love the atmosphere of those

bands; so dark. It fits so well with more extreme styles. I actually

find more in common with bands like that as opposed to more

“rock”-oriented bands.

While clearly more dynamic than previous record "Winter

Hours", the new music is still dark and suffocating as usual.

T O M B S

...we’d have to time travel back to 1985 and tour withBlack Flag. They invented most of the ideas about touringthat everyone takes for granted these days...

"Path to Totality" is garnering great reviews from the press,

have the fans been responding to it as well?

We just wrapped up a short US tour. So far everyone has been

extremely kind to us with respect to responses to the new material.

We’ve been playing a lot of the material on tour for quite a while

so not all of it is “new” to some people, nonetheless, we feel very

fortunate that the reactions have been favorable.

For this new album, which was released in June 9 by Relapse

Records, the band chose to work with producer John Con-

gleton, who was at the helm for the most recent work of

Baroness, the excellent "The Blue Record". How did you de-

cide on John Congleton, whose resume includes everyone

from Explosions in the Sky to David Byrne to produce the

CD?

We met John when we played in Dallas, TX on the Isis/Pelican

tour a couple of years ago. Baroness were in the studio working

on the sessions for “The Blue Record”. John Baizley contacted me

and asked if I could put him and a few other guys on the guest list

for the show. Later that night, Congleton showed up and we met.

Risking hubris, I’m going to venture out and say that he was im-

pressed by our set because shortly afterward, Gordon Conrad, our

contact at Relapse, told me that Congleton was interested in work-

ing with us on our new record.

Over the course of the next 16 months, we started trading emails

and ideas about the direction we wanted to go in with the produc-

tion. I sent him the demo’s and I feel like he had a really good idea

of where we wanted to go.

And how was he to work with?

It was great. He’s the most professional engineer we’ve ever

worked with. He’s also a really cool guy and a gracious host.

I ended up staying with him and his wife for the last few days of

the session.

Is there a lyrical theme or concept to the album? What does

the album title signify?

Path of totality is the shadow of the moon cast onto the earth dur-

ing a lunar eclipse. The underlying lyrical theme on the record is

fear, darkness and chaos.I read a novel called “The Strain” a while

ago and one of the main plot points occurs during an eclipse, or

more accurately an occultation. The concept of eclipses and oc-

cultations intrigued me so I started researching it and read ac-

counts from people that had first hand experiences with the

darkness cast by the path of totality. Most people described in-

tense, primal fear, an instinctual reaction. It made me think about

the primitive side of humanity that lives in our DNA. I just sort of

meditated on that concept.

The band is scheduled to tour Europe with another act that I

really admire, Italians The Secret. Are you looking forward to

that tour?

We’re very much looking forward to the tour. We met The Secret

on our last European tour so it’s going to be a blast hitting the road

for a full-on tour together.

If you could tour with one band, who would it be and why?

For me, we’d have to time travel back to 1985 and tour with Black

Flag. They invented most of the ideas about touring that everyone

takes for granted these days.


“Paths of Totality” out now on Relapse Records

When I first listened to Inevitable End’s new album “The Oculus”

I immediately noticed how relentless and technical some of the

new songs are.

While the band’s first album “The Severed Inception” represented

a true gem of death and grind music, this new album seems a lot

more adventurous in style.

The differences between the two records are immeasurable, so

much that I could have easily mistake the new Inevitable End for

someone else. We’ve asked guitarist Marcus Bertilsson to point

them out.

Was this type of reinvention something you planned on, or did it

just happened naturally?

“It was planned because it felt naturally one could say. We have

evolved as a band from our death metal roots more and more to-

wards punk and crust.

Guess we got a bit tired about the competition on who’s the fastest

and tightest band with the lowest guttural vocals that can hit as

many weird words as possible in the shortest possible time. We

wanted to go further and make an album that is more or less just

a punch in the face.”

It’s also hard not to notice a more prominent influence from hard-

core and its subgenres, were you aiming to take this new album

somewhere into that direction or it was just the way the music

evolved?

“I can only speak for myself here but I love the raw energy of the

hardcore and punk scene much more then the sheer brutality of

present day death metal scene. And we all felt that we wanted to

progress both as musicians and as a band. We talked for two

years about what sort of sound we wanted for the next album and

then when we had pretty much agreed we started writing and this

is what came out.

Not all natural though because we like to push ourselves as far

as we can.”

I’ve seen critics throwing some Dillinger Escape Plan analogies

at the new songs, is that something that you feel comfortable

with?

“DEP is a good band and they have played an important role in

my life but that was like seven years ago or something like that. I

think that for people that hear our album and finds it chaotic and

intense and technical as hell, DEP becomes a natural reference

point.

I would say though that we took a lot of inspiration from Crust

and Punk and just pushed it through some kind of death metal

filter and it became what it is.

Sure people can find similarities with DEP and I’m quite aware

there are some but there is other stuff in there as well!”

With regards to creating music, how do the songs start to take

shape? Do you usually approach the writing of the songs as a

team effort or does any member take the lead role?

“Definitely as a team effort! We hook up at the rehearsal place

and start to improvise until we have a structure of a song and

then I go home and try to figure out some riffs in the styles that

the song is supposed to have.

So at the first state of a song like ‘Tell us, Parasites’ there was

just some weird impro style parts that we put together with each

one of us playing random stuff to Joakim’s drums and Andreas

screaming random stuff just to get a vibe. Afterward is the actual

writing of the riffs.”

As mentioned before, “The Oculus” evolved towards a more

technical direction, some songs are extremely complex and full

of rabid riffs. Was it an easy record to piece together?


Guess we got a bit tired about the competition on who’s the fastest and tightest

band with the lowest guttural vocals that can hit as many weird words as possi-

ble in the shortest possible time. We wanted to go further and make an album

that is more or less just a punch in the face.”

“No, it was not easy.

Easy has never been

the road to walk for this

band. We want to

push ourselves

forward at all

time. This

means lots

of per-

s o n a l

practise,

searching

for new in-

teresting gear

to create all the

noises in our

heads and just keep

the inspiration going.”

Let me ask you about the significance of the title “The Oculus”, it

seems a pretty ambiguous title that could have various interpreta-

tions right?

“Yes, it can have different interpretations. But the main thought

behind it is that we are trapped in the “real world” and that’s not a

very pleasant place to be. It’s full of shit actually. So ‘The Oculus’

stands for the search out of it unto something beautiful.”

Are there certain lyrical themes on which you tend to focus?

“On this album it is freedom from “reality” you could say. But the

approach differs from song to song. A song like ‘Cadaver Inc’ is

about the meat industry while ‘Chamber of Apathy’ is about the

social welfare versus the state of being unemployed.

‘The

Supreme Treachery’

and ‘Dogmaties Paralies’

are about brain washing through

religion.

And there are some very per-

sonal songs like ‘Escaping the

Black Hole’ and ‘Zen’ which basically

works as an open window into parts of An-

dreas philosophical reflections.

“The Oculus” out now on Relapse Records

www.inevitable-end.com


K V E L E R T A KSeemingly from out of nowhere, well Stavanger-Norway actually,

Kvelertak literarily took the world by storm with their incredibly in-

fectious self-titled debut album which was already elected as one

of the best works released in 2010. That’s no mean feat for a band

that emerged only three years ago, when a bunch of friends de-

cided to create a group just to overbear the tranquil and monoto-

nous lifestyle of their hometown.

Yet not much is known from Kvelertak except for that, so I suppose

the most obvious thing to enquire about right now is exactly who

is Kvelertak? Some garage-rock musicians with a fixation towards

black-metal, punk-rockers twisting around Satyricon tunes or just

a bunch of individuals with a wide array of musical tastes and a

desire shove them over your face, as violently and energetically

as humanly possible?

“Definitely the last one!” Says guitarist Bjarte Lund Rolland. “We

are six very different people with different music tastes. We don't

really subscribe to any sub-culture or scene, we just really like

catchy rock music.”

Definitely “Kvelertak” is one of the most interesting albums to

come out last year, merging genres as diverse as black metal,

punk and garage-rock and into a potent and infectious amalgama-

tion that defies conventional labels.

Do you guys ever pay attention to what people are saying about

your music? Critics seem to throw a lot of different labels to de-

scribe your music.

“Of course we do! All bands that say they don't are liars. But it's

not like we rushed out to pick up the reviews. We did not expect

this massive acclaim obviously, so it's a flying start to a career,

and we're very grateful for that.”

How would you describe the overall mood of the album?

We wanted to make a party-album that you could listen to sober!

It starts off right in your face, and then throughout the record the

songs get longer and less single-y and more epic. I hope it makes

for a good dynamic when listening through the whole thing. I like

it when an album sounds like an album, and not just a bunch of

songs.”

I’m told that you write all the music, while vocalist Erlend Hjelvik

crafts all the lyrics.

Do you have a particular process that you go about when you’re

writing music, or it’s just a matter of sitting down and jam whatever

comes to you and then build from that?

“I'm not a jam-guy really. I like a good jam, but I'm not sure if it's a

very effective way of writing songs. You can't just expect people

to listen to something you came up with randomly. I record parts

when I feel confident they are good enough, compile them in

Cubase, play around with them for a while, re-record and mix,

throw some midi drums and dummy vocals on top, pitch a guitar

down an octave for bass, then send the mix down to the other

guys, and hope that they like it. Sometimes, if there is a part I feel

like I'm missing, we'll try it out in the practice area first, just to see

if something comes up, then I will make the demo.

‘Nekroskop’ was the last song on the record to be written, and

some of the stuff there we came up with together in the practice

area, and that's one of my favourites on the record. But usually I

will try to make a demo that expresses the idea as well as possi-

ble. Sometimes it's hard to get a certain riff or part across if it's not

in the right context. It has happened that a riff that I've

tried was rejected at practice, but when one was able

to hear it with drums and vocals and all the parts com-

bined, it made sense.

But it's not a point for me to be the sole songwriter.

We used to be several people writing songs, but it just

kinda ended up like this. As long as the songs are

good, doesn't really matter who writes them. It's not like

it's going to get you laid anyway.”


All the lyrics were written in Norwegian and I’ve read somewhere

that they deal with Norse Mythology and Viking Folklore, can you

shed some light on what vocalist Erlend manifests through his

words on the album?

“I guess it just makes sense thematically, since we're Norwegian

and all. It would be really dumb not to utilize such an amazing

source of material.

Some of the lyrics are actually pretty clever too, in that they reflect

stuff that happens to Erlend, but are disguised as your typical metal-

lyric. ‘Liktorn’ may seem like a song about that whole thing with

Balder, but it's really about this one time when I didn't pick Erlend

up from band practice, or something (even I don't know half the

lyrics).

Balder is also the Norse origin of my name, pretty clever?? Too bad

no-one will ever get to read that. Other lyrics are just very stupid.

Let's just say they were written WAY before we even dreamed of

releasing a record, hehe!”

There’s a long tradition of Norwegian bands that chosen to sing in

their native tongue.

In your case, it was just a natural choice, or it kind of happened by

accident so to say?

“In the beginning we were playing around with the idea of mixing

English and Norwegian, and so we had some really silly songs that

would switch between the languages. We quickly realized it was a

pretty stupid idea, and at that time it was not even a question, the

lyrics had to be Norwegian.

I guess the attitude was, no-one really care about lyrics because

you can't hear them anyway, might as well be Norwegian. Unless

you read them in the booklet, which we would DEFINITELY have

none of. And we stuck with that. Turns out people DO care about

lyrics! People are asking us all the time to release them. We have

been on two European tours by now, and we see people all the time

singing along to lyrics they couldn't POSSIBLY know! But they still

have to sing along! That's pretty funny. And we love watching people

post their own ridiculous transcripts. So we wouldn't want to kill all

the fun by releasing them!”

One of the most interesting things about this new record is the pro-

duction work. Sonically “Kvelertak” strikes a perfect balance be-

tween being engagingly melodic and rhythmically powerful.

I take it the band is quite pleased with the work of Kurt Ballou at his

GodCity Studios right?

“Hell yes! That was the best thing that could have happened to the

record. I was kinda worried that my lack of studio experience would-

n't do justice to the song material that we had accumulated, unless

we had a really kick-ass producer.

So we set up a strictly hypothetical wish-list of producers, starting

with Kurt. We didn't expect anyone would actually say yes. I as-

sumed we would have to do it ourselves, so I was listening around

to find references to music that I would use to describe the sound

to a technician. When I started doing some research I realised Kurt's

name was showing up on all my favourite references. I said “what

the hell”, and sent him a bunch of demos on Myspace, and on ac-

count of that (he had obviously never heard of us before) he said

yes the day after! I remember a huge sense of relief when I read

that, the fact that he said yes based on that was really a testament

to the material and his ability to hear it in a crappy demo. At that

point I knew the record was going to be bad-ass, which it was,

thanks to Kurt. Not to mention that Converge booked us for their

tour without even seeing us, and way before anyone outside Nor-

way knew about us. We really owe a lot to those guys!”

Are there any plans for a follow-up to “Kvelertak” yet?

“Of course! It will obviously be shitty, but at least there will be more

songs to choose from live.”



EVILE - FIVE SERPENT’S TEETH

(Earache Records)

Evile started out as one

of those bands that were

caught up in that whole

“thrash revival” move-

ment that was going on a

few years back. With this,

their 3rd effort, I believe

that they have finally

shed away any forms of

“thrash revival” and be-

come a pure metal band.

Five Serpent’s Teeth is

an absolute ball’s to the

wall metal album, which

will definitely stand up

there with their contemporaries and cement their place into met-

als history. There is a fair amount of variety in the album with

the melancholic song In Memoriam, which is a tribute to their

late bassist Mike Alexander, to the complete and utter insanity

of Descent into Madness.

There isn’t a bad track on here and its one album I could keep

on repeat constantly and not get bored of it. There is the mix of

the complete thrash assault of songs such as the first single

Eternal Empire, and the tracks Xarya and Origin of Oblivion and

then moving to some good old school Metallica styling’s of Cult

to the previously mentioned slower In Memoriam.

I can’t recommend this album enough and I reckon this will be

classed as Eviles Master of Puppets of Raining Blood. (10/10)

James Merrett

ATRIARCH - FOREVER THE END

(Seventh Rule Recordings)

Featuring members from Graves At

Sea, Trees, Final Conflict, and Get

Hustle, Atriarch’s “Forever the End”

dwells in the same slow-dragging

and monolithic doom of Graves At

Sea. The textures are pretty identi-

cal, slow-dragging rhythms with riffs

crawling at a snail’s pace, ominous

bass lines and drum beats, daunt-

ing harmonies and wailing, tortured

vocals. The four-piece manages to

blend all these elements to recreate an eerie and desolate ambient

that genuinely sounds like it’s their last day on earth, and an album

that most likely will appeal to those suicidal fans of groups like

Sunn 0))) and Burning Witch.

While Atriarch never really strays too far from the Graves at Sea

mould, they’ve added a few diverse twists into their songs, building

some obscure and haunting moments that verge on the ambient

goth of acts like Bauhaus and Cinema Strange. The fourth and

final song of the album, “Downfall” starts with one of these mo-

ments, spooky and lethargic harmonies creep in along with ghostly

howls to create an ambient that could perfectly soundtrack one of

those black and white horror movies from the early 60’s.

While not quite there yet, in terms of leaving a lasting impression,

Portland’s Atriarch do reveal a great understanding of how to

recreate a desolate and hopeless ambience that will surely attract

and bewitch those of you revelling in all matters suicidal and apoc-

alyptic. (6.8/10)

Luca Niero

BRAINOIL - DEATH OF THIS DRY SEASON

(20 Buck Spin)

Drenched in vicious, raw crust-sludge riffs and anguished yowls,

it’s clear that Oakland’s Brainoil aren’t in the subtlety game on their

second full-length “Death Of This Dry Season”. Made up of current

and former members of Laudanum, Stormcrow, Watch Them Die,

Destroy!, Dead Language, Grimple, Pig Heart Transplant, their

sound is a mixture of groovy-influenced sludge with a dash of crust

nihilism that has no qualms about sucking you in for a ugly and

unpleasant ride throughout 25 minutes.

The title theme opens the album with some modestly bluesy

sludge riffs, some rumbling bass lines and violently retched vocals,

and the band maintains the same groovy and bare-bones attitude

throughout the likes of “Gravity is a Relic” and “To Bury the Pages

of Existence”, while tunes like “Opaque Reflections” and “Feet

Cling To The Rotting Soil” shows the more raucous and vile side

of Brainoil.

The trio comprised of Greg on bass and vocals, Ira on drums and

Nathan on guitar and vocals have certainly offered up a gritty and

kick-ass release that lies somewhere between the realms of

Weedeater and Buzzov*en. Great stuff. (7.2/10)

David Alexandre

CIANIDE - GODS OF DEATH

(Hells Headbangers)

Although I never have heard of this

Chicago trio before, Cianide exists

since 1988 and already recorded six

full-lengths including this new one

“Gods of Death”. I may not know

their previous works, but my guess

is that the band haven’t strayed a

millimetre from their initial path,

which is grounded in old-school

death-metal. With a gritty and corro-

sive sound that falls somewhere be-

tween Obituary and Celtic Frost, “Gods of Death” sounds pretty

much like an underground tape from the early 90’s. And that is

precisely the coolest aspect of this record, its old school vibe that

favours a straightforward and crusty riffing that reeks of the low-

ALBUM O

F T

HE M

ONTH


-end groove of early Obituary and the crusty aggression of Hell-

hammer/Celtic Frost. In fact, “Death and Rotting” could easily be

mistaken for an Obituary tune as Cianide embraces a highly sim-

ilar ethos, bringing forth some straightforward guitar chops that

plod along at a moribund crawl.

Nearly every song on “Gods of Death” follows the same formula,

there’s an occasional cryptic solo here and there and a few mis-

erable and doomy riffs, but on the whole the songs blend together

without many surprises, which can be a bit tiresome following a

couple of listens.

Still, if you're feeling nostalgic for old-school death metal in the

vein of Obituary and Celtic Frost, you'll surely enjoy Cianide.

(6.6/10)

David Alexandre

DEATH VALLEY DRIVER - CHOKE THE RIVER

(Diminished Fifth Records)

Fans of that sludgy musical style otherwise known as swamp

metal will probably want to check out Death Valley Driver’s first

full-length record “Choke the River” as the Canadians engage in

some grandiosely groovy and punchy riffs that reminds me of

Down, Crowbar and Corrosion of Conformity.

They kick things off with the title track, a bouncy and groovy tune

that's sees vocalist Dan Hodgson spiting out his whiskey-soaked

and gravel vocals over some crunchy and head-bagging riffs. Fol-

lowing tracks kind of stick to the same formula, occasionally the

band ventures into harsher and thrashier territories as evidenced

in “Heavy Lies the Crown” and “Sleeping all December”, yet es-

sentially “Choke River” is filled with groovy and sludgy guitar riffs,

boogie rhythms and beer-fuelled vocals.

However, to be fair not all eight tracks prove to be exciting and en-

gaging as the opening song, there are a couple moments where

the five-piece sounds a bit redundant and generic, plus the lack-

lustre production hinders some of the impact of these songs and

might be a throwback for pickier listeners.

All things considered, the fair way to sum up this release is that

“Choke the River” will probably be appreciated by fans of groovy

and sludgy metal in the vein of Down and COC, everyone else will

certainly find it forgettable after the first spin. (6.4/10)

David Alexandre

GROG - SCOOPING THE CRANIAL INSIDES

(Murder Records)

With 20 years of existence, Por-

tuguese Grog are like a long-stand-

ing institution in the worldwide gore

scene. This new work marks the re-

turn of these veterans to recordings

following a prolonged absence that

lasted nearly 9 years and shows a

reinvigorated band with a fierce

hunger to recover all the lost time.

The current line-up, with vocalist

Pedro Pedra as the only founding

member left, enlists the impeccably talented drummer Rolando

Barros, former Painstruck guitarist Ivo Martins and ex-Bleeding

Display bassist Alexandre Ribeiro, and let me reassure that these

guys are capable of crafting some disgustingly brutal music just

as we’ve grown to expect from this band.

The album starts with “Toa Mai (Haka Powhiri)” a Maori chant used

to welcome sailors to a safe shore, which is a bit deceptive be-

cause safe is something that you won’t be feeling while listening

to “Scooping the Cranial Insides” as this third full-length from the

band is brutal and punishing throughout its 13 unrelentingly violent

tracks.

Throughout 37 minutes, Grog teeters between the vicious brutality

of bands like Cannibal Corpse and Cattle Decapitation and the de-

ranged savagery of classic acts like Pathologist and Xysma, un-

leashing furious blast beats, intense and fast guitar riffs and the

usual growling/screaming vocals from the beginning to end, with-

out ever losing steam.

All this makes of “Scooping the Cranial Insides” a disgusting and

vicious record, in a good way that is. (7.2/10)

David Alexandre

INEVITABLE END - THE OCULUS

(Relapse Records)

The first time I heard this new

record from Swedes Inevitable End

I confess that I had to double-check

if I placed the right album on rota-

tion. The transformation between

“The Oculus” and previous record

“The Severed Inception” is so huge

that it’s hard to believe that we’re

talking about the same band. I per-

sonally think this album is a major

step forward for the band, because

GHOST BRIGADE - UNTIL FEAR NO LONGER DEFINE US

(Season of Mist)

“Until Fear No Longer Define Us”

is the highly anticipated follow-up

to 2009's stellar “Isolation Songs”,

and despite starting off with a

breathtakingly beautiful and en-

tirely acoustic song “In the

Woods”, the rest of the album falls

in line with the band's previous

output.

The Finns sound has always

been about contrasts, especially

the one between light and darkness, and each song on this

record sees soothing and beautiful melodies contrasting against

bursts of rampant energy, constantly creating an emotional ten-

sion that never erupts. In one minute, they sound really mournful

and introspective, and in the next one they offer some raging

and intense moments, all this with a swaggering level of confi-

dence. First single “Clawmaster”, really emphasizes the remark-

able dichotomy that characterizes most of the album. It starts

with an edgy, heavy riffing and some emotional turbulent growls

and then switches to more a serene and smooth approach dur-

ing bridge and chorus, where vocalist Manne Ikonen adopts his

clean and soulful tone and guitarists Tommi Kiviniemi and Wille

Naukkarinen present us with a couple of those mesmerizing and

soaring guitar leads. The mellow “Chamber” recalls the sublime

melancholy of Katatonia post-Tonight’s Decision, while “Traces

of Liberty” is definitely one of the most powerful tracks the Finns

have ever penned. "Grain” boasts instantly memorable refrains,

not to mention a guitar melody that will linger in your head for

weeks.

Put simply, this is another wonderful release from a brilliant

band, and anyone who has any interest in well-written heavy

music, full of heart, emotion, and soul should definitely check it

out. (8/10)

Luca Niero


not only the Swedes have evolved towards a more intense, mature

and technical sound, but the new songs also reveal a greater per-

sonality.

The first couple of themes, namely “Tell Us, Parasites”, “Escaping

the Black Hole” and “Zen” transports us into a Dillinger Escape

Plan universe, an absolutely decimating and complex sound with

lots of technical details, which works actually. Over the course of

35 minutes, you’re inundated with a dizzying and insane riffs

played at a head-spinning speed, relentless and spastic drum

beats and the fervent voice of Andres Gerdén. The guitar noodling

provided by guitarist Marcus Bertilsson is really impressive, it’s

chaotic but has a strong sense of focus as well and the same goes

for Joakim Malmborg, who batters his drum kit with such intensity

that sounds like he is having an epileptic seizure.

Inevitable End have taken a big step in the right direction as this

new record presents us an ear-splitting, mind-boggling combina-

tion of metal, mathcore and grindcore that will surely garner some

enthusiastic reactions from fans of DEP, Converge and Botch.

(7.6/10)

David Alexandre

IN FLAMES - SOUNDS OF A PLAYGROUND FADING

(Century Media Records)

Pioneers of the Gothenburg Death

Metal scene In Flames have done it

again with their 10th studio effort.

Aside from the slightly creepy

album name, this is an effort that

stands right up there with their

widely considered masterpiece

Come Clarity. This is also the first

album the band has released with-

out any of the founding members as

Jesper Strombald left in February

2010.

Even without Jesper, the band has proved that they can still write

some brilliant Melodic death Metal and the band aren’t resting on

their well-earned laurels, with them still experimenting and trying

to push themselves further with some electronic sections with

tracks such as The Jester’s Door and the opening of Deliver Us.

There are some tracks that are slightly different from what fans

are originally used to, such as the mid-paced All For Me and the

after-mentioned Jester’s Door, but overall the band retain their

early sound which has made them this popular.

Their original sound is most prominent in the opening track Sound

of a Playground Fading and The Puzzle which both feature some

insane riffing and Anders Frieden’s vocals are getting better with

every single release

Lyric’s wise, I believe that these are the darkest Anders has ever

written with the track Fear Is The Weakness featuring lyrics such

as You take everything inside/Place in me now/You are leaving

me with scars and the track Darker Times with the lyrics Every in-

security reminds you/ Who’s at the Helm?/ Darker Times/ With fear

in the eyes/ Who’s the man in charge?

This is a brilliant effort by In Flames and while there are a couple

of stumbling blocks, this is an extremely good album which can

stand next to their previous efforts with its head held high. Defi-

nitely worth checking out if you need some Melodic Death Metal

in your life. (8/10)

James Merrett

IWRESTLEDABEARONCE - RUINING IT FOR EVERYBODY


Although I’m not a fan of Rap or Hip-Hop I’m aware that there’s

this thing called MC battles, where MCs rap against each other to

find out who’s the best at improvising some rhymes. So what’s that

got to do with Iwrestledabearonce I hear you say.

Well, “Ruining it for Everybody”, the band’s newest record really

sounds like a ongoing battle between someone like All Shall Perish

and Evanescence. Take the funnily-titled “Deodorant Can’t Fix

Ugly” for example, it starts with some really punishing breakdowns

and fierce riffs, complemented with some bestial growls and then

all of the sudden, mellows down to give us a gentle chorus that

borders on Evanescence pop-sweetness. This type of weird di-

chotomy is present all over the record and even though some

songs like “This Head Music Makes My Eyes Rain” and “Stay to

the Right” shows some musical development from the band to-

wards a catchier and more structured songwriting as opposed to

reverting to an all-out wackiness, I’d say it’s all bit too eccentric

and ends up being a tad irritating. Even for a self-confessed of Mr.

Bungle like I am. (6.8/10)

Luca Niero

JASTA - JASTA


Jamey Jasta, the charismatic leader

of Hatebreed must be a highly or-

ganized fellow to manage all his

time and focus on his own band, his

musical projects Kingdom of Sorrow

and Icepick, his own label Stillborn

Records and his clothing line

Hatewear. Surprisingly, Jasta even

found some time to write and record

his first solo record, which was re-

cently issued by Century Media.

Everyone acquainted with Jasta’s past will certainly know what

they’re getting into with this record. The self-titled release is a

pounding and enraged slab of hardcore rhythms sprinkled with

groove and harmony, even if tracks like “Screams from the Sanc-

tuary” and “Something You Should Know” demonstrate a catchier,

hook-filled and rocky vibe that even fans of Kingdom of Sorrow’s

mellower moments like “Screaming into the Sky” may be surprised

to hear.

Still, “Jasta” have plenty of bruisers, like the crushing opener “Walk

That Path Alone” and the Entombed-influenced “With a Resound-

ing Voice”, and even though it doesn’t outdo Jamey’s previous

work either in Hatebreed or Kingdom of Sorrow, it’s still a strong

and diverse record that deserves a couple of listens. (6.8/10)

David Alexandre

NIGHTRAGE - INSIDIOUS

(Lifeforce Records)

European Death Metallers Nigh-

trage have friends in very high

places as they are getting some

very big names in metal right now to

guest on their latest effort Insidious.

Although this isn’t to surprising as

this is one of the many bands that

now Ozzy/Firewind guitarist Gus G

has played in.

With members of Firewind (includ-

ing the legendary Gus G himself), At

the Gates, Evergray and Deceptor, this is a star studded affair, but

it is still a brilliant album. Listening through, this album reminds

me a lot of Arch Enemy but featuring a more melodic flair.

This is a band who don’t tend to stick with just one genre within

just one track, let alone a full album, with the title track Insidious

and the track Wrapped in Deceitful Dreams featuring some nice

acoustic playing right up next to some brilliant Melodic Death

Metal. Also George Baharidis of Deceptor and Breaking Silence


fame provides some beautifully well thought out string arrange-

ments on the tracks So Far Away and Solar Corona.

When there are no guest appearances from other artists though,

that is where Nightrage really come into their own, with the tracks

Hate Turns Black and Cloaked in Wolf Skin being stand up exam-

ples of how Melodic Death Metal really should be done.

This is definitely a record to pick up if you’re a fan of some Melodic

Death Metal when it is released on the 26th September. (9/10)

James Merrett

Novembers Doom - Aphotic

(The End Records)

When listening to 'Aphotic', the lat-

est offering from American romantic

death/doom outfit Novembers

Doom, it is evidence enough that

the band don't expect to break any

new ground with the eighth album

into their career. At the same time, it

can also be heard that the entire

record does show some, if only

slight changes in the group's style

by means of a meatier sound pro-

duction, weightier melodic riffs and a step up in tempo. While not

major changes in themselves, it does mean that 'Aphotic' is a

record which again shows that Novembers Doom are so confident

in their own comfort zone that they know well enough how to ma-

nipulate it. 'Harvest Scythe' and 'Shadow Play' are fitting examples

of such manipulation, in that without sacrificing the brooding yet

epic atmosphere that the band have established as part of their

sound, the songwriting allows space for the guitar rhythms to gal-

lop across the tracks' running length. At the same time, staying

too close to one's comfort zone can result in a lack of musical ex-

ploration as to what else one can do.

Though 'Aphotic' doesn't set out to bring across something new

to the American circuit of romantic death/doom, the record just as

well does little to add fresh air to Novembers Doom's repertoire.

Not one of the songs present here necessarily stand out, even

with a change of pace in instrumentation. (6.5/10)

Ann Sulaiman

Panzerchrist - Regiment Ragnarok

(Listenable Records)

For years the cold and harsh reality of war has been the elected

subject matter for a wide number of metal bands, from Slayer to

Bolt Thrower, from Megadeth to Marduk, they all opted to write

about actual events that actually shed more blood than all the se-

rial killers, demons, witches, vampires and other occult characters

of this and the other world combined.

For Denmark’s veterans Panzerchrist, war is their raison d'être

and on their sixth album “Regiment Ragnarok” they prove that they

still possess enough firepower to provoke some serious aural

wreckage.

The five-piece have created a raging new album that adheres to

their classic death metal style, yet it also sees them incorporate

some new features that lean towards the black-metal genre.

Those features are clearly noticeable right on opening theme “Pre-

vail”, which starts with the sound of a war tank marching into a

battlefield, aim at the target and fire way as the band engages in

some relentless death-metal attack with double-kick drums blast-

ing at light speed. There’s a definite black-metal influence in the

riffing of guitarists Rasmus Henriksen and Lasse Bak here, with

some malevolent and slightly dissonant melodies intertwined with

some thick and brutal riffs. Then there’s the dual vocal perform-

ance of Magnus Jørgensen, who moves from a deep sewer gurgle

style to some raspy black-metal screaming throughout the whole

record. “Prevail” sets the tone for the remaining 11 songs, an in-

cessantly furious and commandingly brutal sound that crushes all

opposition like a gigantic and terrifying panzer.

That said, “Regiment Ragnarok” will surely satisfy even the most

voracious death metal appetite. (7/10)

David Alexandre

Stonelake- Marching on Timeless Tales

(Massacre Records)

StoneLake are a band that although

having only formed in 2002, have

been around in one form or another

on and off since 1984. This 27 year

partnership is extremely apparent

on this effort, with the guitars and

the vocals complementing each

other very well.

Marching on Timeless Tales is their

5th effort, and the title does seem to

suit this band perfectly. With lyrics

touching on fantastical battles and daemons the band very much

go into Power Metal territory, with tracks such as Red Canyon and

Sound of a Whisper.

Whilst listening through I got a sense that this band haven’t par-

ticularly left the 80’s in a musical sense with the music hitting a

rather nostalgic spot of a poor man’s Seventh son of a Seventh

Son or Painkiller. Whilst not a bad thing, Stonelake seem more

like a nostalgic act than an act ready to take on the 21st century.

Now as I mentioned, this is not necessarily a bad thing, as I did

find myself enjoying the music, I just felt that there was that little

something missing, and that was the spark that seems to drive a

lot of the bands around today, both old and new.

Whilst this is not a bad album, it isn’t a great album either, it was

merely good and in today’s metal world, good isn’t good enough,

an album has to be great. All the tracks followed the same formula,

and at the end I couldn’t particularly remember any stand out

tracks. For this style of music, I’d recommend another listen

through Seventh son or Painkiller then buying, unless your already

a fan, then it might pique your interest. (6/10)

James Merrett

Switchtense - Switchtense

(Rastilho Records)

In a time where it is increasingly

common to listen to completely ster-

ile metal records, devoid of any soul

and personality, which were written

with musicians trading files over the

internet without being together in the

same room for a single rehearsal,

and were registered with the most

sophisticated recording software

available like Pro-Tools or some-

thing, it’s always comforting to still

come across bands that still resort to old methods and are really

committed to carry all the energy and emotions of their live per-

formances and rehearsals into the studio.

While listening to the new record of Switchtense is easily percep-

tible that this Portuguese quintet belongs to this fraction, dedicated

to refine and razor-sharp their aggressive thrash-metal by hitting

the stage as many times as humanely possible and not by sitting

in front of a computer experimenting with every feature available

on Pro-Tools.

That said, “Switchtense” is great record that faithfully recreates all

the intensity and aggressiveness of the band’s live performance.

The 12-track record features the band sounding heavier, with the

riffs and beats sounding more destructive and intense than any-

thing from their past work “Confrontation of Souls”. Indeed, songs

like “Face Off”, “Living a Lie”, “In Front of Your Eyes” and “Un-

breakable” rage harder than anything offered on their laudable

debut work and are also some of the fastest songs recorded by

the group to date. Even though, “Switchtense” is for the most part

an incredible fast, pummelling and combative record, it also sees

the band focusing on slower and mosh-inspiring tunes like the

opening song “Concrete Falls” or “Head of State” for instance,

which offers some well-placed breakdowns and plenty of infectious

and chugging riffs that will incite a lot of activity in the mosh-pit.

Bottom line, this new record reflects a band that’s older, wiser, but


their own. (7.4/10)

Alex Grimm

Weekend Nachos - Worthless

(Relapse Records)

Despite their poor choice of moniker (sounds like a drive in restau-

rant doesn’t it?), Weekend Nachos do an impressive job on

‘Worthless’ of proving their, err worth. This is a filthy, ugly and abra-

sive blend of grind, doom and punk fury that sits perfectly at home

in the Relapse stables alongside the similarly violent and chaotic

sounds of Mammoth Grinder, Disfear and Phobia.

Throughout fourteen tracks, the four-piece pick up pieces of the

most frantic and relentless grind out there, the most anguished

and hopeless doom concocted by Khanate and most Neanderthal

crust made in Swedish suburbs and tie it all together in a very im-

pressive and hazardous way.

“Worthless” begins with “Hometown Hero”, a crushing tune that

starts with some dirty and sleazy guitar riffs ala Zeke before burst-

ing into explosions of speed and aggression and maniacal

screams. Following song “Obituary” shows a similar approach, but

towards its end, Weekend Nachos switch to a slow-driven and

punishing riffing that verge on doom territory.

The rest of the album is similar fare, so prepare yourself for a

bumpy, chaotic and unpredictable ride through the unpleasant

world of Weekend Nachos. (7/10)

Byrant Thomas

Warbringer- Worlds Torn Asunder

(Century Media)

Everyone knows the lyric’s to Edwin

Star’s classic War (What Is It Good

For) War/ Huh/ Yeah/ What is it

good for/ Absolutely Nothing. This

may not be strictly true as War-

bringer have taken their musical and

lyrical influence from wartime and

have done now for 3 full albums.

The main focus here is on the brutal

assault of the ears with their violent

brand of thrash metal. Most songs

on the album are blisteringly heavy and fast, but with no two songs

ever sounding exactly the same, there is enough variety here to

keep the fans banging their heads well after the first play. With

tracks such as Living Weapon and Wake Up… Destroy being two

good example of the more heavy side, they literally pour energy

into the listener’s ears.

Whilst melody may not be Warbringers strong point, there are a

couple of tracks on here such as the instrumental Behind the Veils

of Night and the intro to Echo’s From the Void that just well with

emotion. It is a pleasant break from the sonic assault of the other

tracks.

This is another band that has grown up around the whole “thrash

revival” scene and this is another band that seem set to outgrow

that label as whilst they do undeniably do thrash metal extremely

well, they are more than that, they are becoming their own entity.

This is an extremely good album, which whilst having a few flaws,

does its job extremely well and will satisfy any hungry thrash fan.

(8/10)

James Merrett

still more feral and committed to inflict some serious aural damage

in their listeners. (7.8/10)

David Alexandre

The Cleansing - Feeding the Inevitable

(Deepsend Records)

Denmark’s The Cleansing return

with a new record that even though

it doesn’t deviate from their stan-

dard and brutal tech-death style, it

really shows the band steeping up

the game to deliver another crush-

ing slab of death-metal that will

surely enthral everyone from the

novice to the seasoned listener of

the style.

Much like their debut “Poisoned

Legacy”, “Feeding the Inevitable” is further demonstration of the

band’s remarkable ability to pen some truly brutal tunes that could

rival with the best moments of Hate Eternal, Origin and Decapi-

tated. The blistering opener “The Promethean Promise” sets

things in motion with ultra-heavy riffs, hyperactive blast beats and

vocalist Toke Eld punishing guttural growls. Following track “Third

Eye Staring” is equally brutal, raging with blasting drums and

chopping riffs, while “Your Flesh, Your Curse” shows a more dy-

namic approach with the band going from a vicious onslaught to

a more technical and controlled aggression, rounded with some

stellar guitar leads.

In fact, the amount of variation the group exhibit throughout the

whole record is impressive, from a full-on death-metal brutality to

a more harmonized and slow-paced sound as exhibited in

“Processed for Contamination”.

Once again, The Cleansing has delivered a brutal and vicious

record that will surely satiate even the most voracious of death

metal appetites. (8/10)

David Alexandre

The Konsortium - The Konsortium

(Agonia Records)

Even though Norway has produced

enough rudimentary and cult black

metal bands to congest a wide

Norse forest, it also has given birth

to some of the most compelling and

innovative music crafted over the

last two decades. This year, The

Konsortium are one of the most ex-

citing outfits to fall under this bizarre

pedigree of vanguard acts that goes

from In the Woods to Kvelertak.

While they do indulge in some fierce and devilish black-metal, they

have also been able to incorporate some progressive and psyche-

delic aspects into their sound, coming off like later Satyricon mixed

with King Crimson. Calling this “avant-garde” however would prob-

ably be far too stretched, because even though the songs possess

a bizarre and sinister vibe to them, The Konsortium aren’t really

as out-there and cryptic as Arcturus or Dodsmeigard as some

press have led you to believe.

Still, this album flows incredibly well with the Norse act tossing out

plenty of dynamics and layers to surprise and engage the listener

from beginning to end. “Gasmask Prince” starts things off with a

fierce and relentless trashy-black metal assault not too far re-

moved from what guitarist Teloch have concocted in his own Nid-

ingr project, while following track “Liv Ulken” shows a more varied

approach, with the guitars divided between frantic, malevolent riffs

and dissonant, compelling melodies. Blackened vocals are inter-

spersed with clean vocals that possess a prog-inflicted wail similar

to one Simen Hestnæs.

There is certainly a lot of hype surrounding this Norwegian group

and I believe it’s justified because the band delivered a stunning

first release, not to mention they’ve found a sonority that is entirely


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