Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Withdrawn/Demented/Things Change Others Remain/Great Dane Records/2014 Split CD Review


  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between France's  Withdrawn  and  Demented  called  "Things  Change  Others  Remain"  which  will  be  released  later  this  month  by  Great  Dane  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Withdrawn  as  band  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  blackened  death  metal.

  Drums  and  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  start  off  their  side  of  the  split  before  going  for  more  of  a  death  metal  direction  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  and  after  awhile  blast  beats  and  growls  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  band  also  uses  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast parts.  and  on  the  second  track  black  metal  screams  are  added  into  the  music  and  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  brutal  blackened  death  metal  sound.

  Withdrawn  takes  the  old  school,  brutal  and  melodic  styles  of  death  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  a  heavy  black  metal  influence  to  create  their  own  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Withdrawn  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  brutal  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Relentless  Fear  Hammer".

  Next  up  is  Demented  a  band  that  plays  a  very  dark  and  old  school  form  of  death  metal.

  A  very,  dark  and  melodic  old  school  death  metal  sound  starts  off  their  side  of  the  split  before  getting  a  lot  more  heavier  and  adding  in  growling  vocals  and  after  awhile  blast  beats  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  their  side  of  the  split  and  you  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  talent  and  skill  in  the  way  they  approach  the  instrumental  assault  and  the  band  also  sticks  to  mostly  a  slow  to  mid  paced  musical  direction  while  the  last  track  shows  the  band  going  for  more  of  a  faster  direction  before  slowing  down  a  band  and  giving  their  music  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling.

  Demented  plays  an  early  90's  style  of  death  metal  that  displays  a  great amount  of  talent  and  skill,  the  production  sound s very  old  school  yet  professional  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  a  dark  subject  matter.

  In  my  opinion  Demented  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Mystical  Experience".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  black  and  death  metal.  8  out  of  10.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Withdrawn/58937#band_tab_discography
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Demented/3540281093#band_tab_discography

Monday, October 6, 2014

Maahlas/Nightmare Years/2014 Full Length Review


  Maahlas  are  a  band  from   Norway  that  plays  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  black/death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Nightmare  years".

  A  very  fast,  aggressive  and  melodic  black  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  aggressive  screams  and  angry  sounding  shouts  and  a  few  seconds  later  they  start  adding  more  symphonic  elements  in  their  musical  sound  as  well  as  a  good  mixture  between  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  You  can  hear  a  great  amount  of  progressive  death  metal  parts  in  the  bands  musical  style  as  well  as  acoustic  guitars  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  being  showcased  in  a  brief  instrumental  later  on  during  the  album  which  also  bring  in  an  early  Opeth  influence  and  after  awhile  the  vocals  starting  adding  more  of  a  deeper  death  metal  orientated  sound  while  also  still  using  black  metal  vocals  and  after  awhile  the  faster  parts  start  adding  in  more  elements  of  thrash  and  the  modern  Norwegian  black  metal  sound  as  well  as  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  in  more  of  a  melodic  musical  direction  and  the  band  also  adds  in  elements  of  prog  to  both  the  synths  and  guitars  and  on  some  of  the  alter  tracks  there  is  the  addition  of  clean  singing  which  also  adds  more  to  the  atmospheric  side  of  the  bands  musical  style  while  the  heavier  and  faster  parts  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  at  times.

  Maahlas  takes  a  very  melodic  style  of  Norwegian  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  death  and  progressive  metal  to  create  and  album  that  is  very  heavy  yet  atmospheric  and  original  all  at  the  same  time,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  on  the  confusions  and  frustrations  of  life  along  with  a  touch  of  mythology.

  In  my  opinion  Maahlas  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sun  Of  The  Sumerian"  "An  Ancestral  Memory"  ":Nightmare  Years"  and  "Simulacrum  of  Reality".  8  out  of  10.

Official Website: www.maahlas.net

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Manimalism Interview


1.For those that have never heard you before, can you tell us a little it about the band?

Manimalism was formed in Oslo in 1992 under the name Taarenes Vaar. We played Black Metal with a dissonant twist, and soon evolved further away from what people associated with pure Black Metal. We released one cassette demo in 1996 and one in 1997. After years of turmoil we have now finished our first album, featuring the same tracks which appeared on the demo cassettes along with two tracks written during the same time period. The line-up is Petter ‘Plenum’ Berntsen (Virus, Audiopain) on bass, Bjeima (Yurei, Alfa Obscura) on drums, Joachim Svebo on vocals, Member 01 (The Konsortium) on vocals, and me on guitars.


2.You have your first full length album coming out in November, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Metal. To me it is that simple. Some people call it Avant-garde Metal and post-Black Metal, so I sometimes use those terms to describe it, just to make it easy for myself.


3.You had a few demos you released in the 90's but this is the first official album, can you tell us a little bit more about the delay?

The years following the releases of our two demos were a constant struggle. Firstly, I was a young and ambitious man with much too high expectations of myself and those around me. Being a total perfectionist breeds a lot of problems, and problems take time. So, there were years of chaos, with members coming and going and recording sessions not meeting my standards. For long periods of time during these years I simply focused on other music, being fatigued by all the problems associated with Manimalism. I decided to let the album take the time it needed to reach a point where it could be released. That time is now.


4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

The Animal in Man. Death, lust, and the labyrinth of mammal insanity.


5.While the music is rooted in black metal, I have noticed that you keep all of the vocals clean are you open to using more harsh vocals on future releases?


We had harsh vocals on both of our demos, along with sung vocals. But I don’t feel that kind of vocal style fits my lyrics or mental state at his point, and it might never fit again.


6.The band was originally known as 'Taarenes Vaar', What was the decision behind the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Manimalism'?

In the late nineties I wanted to part ways with the Norwegian lyrics, and therefore wanted an English name that also felt less melodramatic. The interpretation of Manimalism is open to anyone, but the themes of the lyrics are pretty much mirrored in the band name.



7.Has the band done any shows or is this strictly a studio project?

We have never played any shows. If all the members lived in the same city and wanted to play live I would be ready to play right now.



8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music so far by fans of metal?

It is still early, ask me again in a couple of months and I will know more.


9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

This album pretty much nails the sound of Manimalism. Although the core of the more current material is the same, the spectrum is much wider. Manimalism has always been, and will probably always be, Metal with dissonant guitars, sneaky bass lines, great drumming, and crooning perverts.


10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Some of the early influences are the early days of Norwegian Black Metal, Voivod, Celtic Frost, Morbid Angel, Thorns, Ved Buens Ende, and some Doom bands. And very importantly: a lot of non-Metal music. I am not much into thinking about music in terms of genres. Give me quality, integrity, expression, wisdom, and a proper dose of sadistic entertainment and I am game.


11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Anything that assists me in feeling that I am alive right now.


12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Manimalism will be out November 17. on gold and black vinyl. This is so far a vinyl only release. Order from Adversum via the official distributor Neuropa Records.

Bandcamp
Facebook


… 

Friday, October 3, 2014

Singularity/Self Titled/2014 Full Length Review


  Singularity  are  a  band  from  Arizona  that  plays  a  mixture  of  symphonic  black  metal  and  technical  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  and  self  titled  2014  album.

  A  very  melodic  and  symphonic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  and  deep  death  metal  growls  and  after  awhile  the  music  speeds  up  and  adds  blast  beats  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  they  also  add  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  spoken  whispers  on  one  of  the  tracks.

  At  times  the  music  can  be  very  progressive  which  they  display  very  well  on  the  instrumental  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  are  in  a  very  melodic  musical  direction  and  on  the  later tracks  the  band  starts  bringing  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  few  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  one  of  the  later  tracks  brings  in  a  sampled  choir  along  with  the  synths  using  a  variety  of  many  different  keys  which  also  does  not  take  away  from  the  heavier  elements  and they  also  bring  in  s  brief  use  of  clean  singing  on  a  couple  of  the  songs.  

  Singularity  takes  a  very  symphonic  and  melodic  style  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  more  progressive  and  technical  side  of  death  metal  to  create  a  very  different  approach  to  the  way  black  metal  is  played  as  well  as  helping  the  genre  to  evolve,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  science  fiction  and  utopian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Singularity  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  symphonic  black  metal  and  technical  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "A  Withdrawal  of  Salvation"  "Monolith"  "Utopian  Flesh"  and  "The  Resolution".  8  out  of  10.

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YEJvX8NRYc
BUY: http://singularityaz.bandcamp.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SingularityAZ

    

Thursday, October 2, 2014

PreEmptive Strike 0.1 Interview


1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new ep?
JIM: We have just finished our new pure electronic CD(the 5th one) that will be released by the famous electronic label INFACTED RECORDINGS once again. But we will have a collaboration with the Polish old school black metal band BLACK ALTAR. This will be a hard, guitar-driven track that will surely interest the extreme metal fans that read this interview. Besides this we have done a cover of a well-known song of the power metal band SABATON!

2.Recently you have released a new ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
JIM: Well our sound can be describe as dark electro with hard guitars and a combination of distorted industrial vocals and death/black metal growls! Note that we avoided using danceable beat (except on the last track that is a remix) even though we have drum programming. In the 2 exclusive tracks of the vinyl we used real drums including a blastbeat. Surely as a whole the mcd and the vinyl differ a lot of our 4 previous dark electro cds, but it is close to the remix mcd that we did last year with AD HOMINEM. On each of our last 2 cds we had a collaboration with an artist from the extreme metal scene or some guitar driven tracks. So the original PIERCE THEIR HUSK is taken from our 4th cd‘’TALOS’’ and one alternative version of INTERSTELLAR THREAT can be found on our 3rd cd :”THE KOSMOKRATOR’’.

3.This is the first recording to be released in the past 2 ½ years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?
JIM: During these 2 1/2 years we did a remix mcd for AD HOMINEM named SLAVES OF GODS TO THE GALLOWS but unfortunately their label (DARKER THAN BLACK) didn’t promote it as it should so many people thought that we were inactive during this period.

4.What are some of the themes and concepts you bring out with your musical sound?
JIM: Generally sci-fi themes that have to do with the sci-fi b movies of the 50s. So we have written about all the possible ways that aliens can invade the earth! With spaceships, with flying saucers armed with deathrates, with burried capsules that wait aeons to function again, as beings that have morbid plans to resurrect the dead on earth, as microorganisms, as plants, as insects mutations, as human replicants and with any possible way that these legendary movies have described! I could write many pages about my lyrics that have to do with alien invasion! My favorite of all is the battle of earthlings with alien insects about which I have written 3 tracks so far…. Apart from this, we have also written about horror themes and on our 2 latest cds about Greek mythology.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'PreEmptive Strike 01'?
George: A preemptive strike is a tactical military surprise attack with the aim to destroy the enemy’s ability to respond or retaliate. We chose it because it is fitting for the sci-fi themes our lyrics usually refer to. It was a cool and unusual name, memorable too, and noone had used it before so we went for it.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
JIM: The answer to this is very easy: We did 2 great shows in May of 2007 one in Edinburgh in the Dark City festival and later one show at the famous WAVE GOTHIC TREFFEN in Leipzig in front of 1500 people.

7. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
JIM: Yes we have plans but first the organizers should book us to play....It is really sad that since 2007 we haven’t played outside Greece. Probably we have to find a tour manager or agency to book us for some shows abroad. So if a promoter is read this interview....We ask only for the tickets and the accommodation for 2 persons...

8. On the new album you had a few quests, can you tell us a little bit more about what they contributed to the ep?
Jim: Yes definitely, Niklas Kvarforth of Shining sung on some of our songs specifically on the vinyl.(PIERCE THEIR HUSK, THE WAR AGAINST THE BUGS, INSECT INTRUDE) Then Kristoffer Oustad and Eddie Risdal from the Norwegian Death metalers V28 contributed some vocals and guitars on our song INTERSTELLEAR THREAT. Then we did together with AGGREASH and Nephastus(ex BELPHEGOR,ex DEBAOUTCHERY ,ex ZOMBIE INC) from the German black/death industrial metal band LYFTHRASYR the song ‘’THE NEW ERA OF IMMORTALITY. Regarding the remixers, the guys from SKILTRON NV101 are members of the black metal bands ENSHADOWED and VULTURINE. Behind the remix from NYNE is PSY CON NYNE the guy that plays live guitars for SEPTIC FLESH when they tour worldwide. VIGILANTE is one of the biggest names in the industrial metal scene and finally the last remix is done in collaboration between the dark electro bands NANO INFECT and DEGENERATED SEQUENCES

9.The new ep was released by Sonic Hell Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
Actually it is a sub label of the serious and elitist Polish black metal label ODIUM RECORDS. Shadow, its owner, has decided to establish Sonic hell in order to release more dark electro, industrial and ambient stuff. We made the start and we are hoping he does not regret it and releases cds from other bands too. His promotion work is the same as the one he does with his main label so his bands have worldwide promotion and distribution to the metal audience and fans.

10. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer recording by fans of harsh electronic music and extreme metal?
It is positive so far but it is still too early. I was afraid that this release possibly is too metal for the dark electro fans and too electronic for the extreme metal fans but we received very good reviews from both and we managed to enter the German electronic web charts - something that we didn’t expect! I think of course that the name of Niklas Kvarforth played its role ;)

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
This year we added a new member to the band (YIANNIS DESEQ) that contributes with synths and production aspects. He adds a ‘’more epic’’ touch to our sound so we will continue to release dark electro releases via INFACTED RECORDINGS and on each release we will have at least one collaboration with artists from the extreme metal scene. If we collect again a number of such collaborations we will gather them on a cd and possibly we will release it via a metal label as we did this year.

12. What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Jim: Well I think that our sound is unique in general especially in our last 2 cds. Initially we were influenced by S.I.T.D., DECODED FEEDBACK, GOD MODULE but this is past now. But I can easily tell what I am listening to nowadays as I follow and buy new music in cds and vinyl continuously.
From the dark electro/ebm scene (that is 70% of my purchases) I like: FEINDFLUG, FUNKER VOGT, E-CRAFT ,TYSKE LUDDER, HEIMATAERDE, HOCICO, DECODED FEEDBACK, SUICIDE COMMANDO, FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY, FGFC 820. From the metal scene (that is the other 30% of my purchases) I like RED HARVEST (My favorite metal band ever), SUMMONING, RAMMSTEIN, FEAR FACTORY, ALESTORM, SEPTIC FLESH, EX DEO,SAMAEL, FINNTROLL, AMON AMARTH, MINISTRY,ROB ZOMBIE. Btw the best cd that I have listened to in 2014 so far is ‘’TITAN’’ by SEPTIC FLESH!
George :S.I.T.D,E-CRAFT,DECODED FEEDBACK.ASSEMBAGE 23,FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY from the dark electro/ebm scene and I also listen to various genres of metal and even trance/edm

13.What are some of your non musical interests?
Jim: For 20 years now I have had the same interests! I am into hard body building (which is where the nickname JIM ‘THE BLASTER’ originates) and I also playing football and I am really fanatic with my football team and with this sport in general. Besides sports I am always buying tons of CDs and vinyls and I watch sci-fi and horror films.
George:My hobbies are reading and comprtitive gaming

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you very much for the interview. Even we have given tons of interviews to the printed or the web magazines that belong to the dark electro/ebm scene this is the first interview that we have done with a web magazine from the extreme metal scene so we are really glad about this. And we finish this interview with a statement: “Dark music is one, whether it is extreme metal or dark electro. That is a fact’’.


PREEMPTIVE STRIKE 0.1 
JIM THE BLASTER:VOCALS,LYRICS,DRUM PROGRAMMING,SAMPLES,SEQUENCES,ARRAGEMENTS
CRYON(GEORGE):SYNTH PROGRAMMING,SEQUENCES,ARRANGEMENTS
YIANNIS DSEQ:SYNTH PROGRAMMING,SEQUENCES,ARRAGEMENTS,PRODUCTION

DISCOGRAPHY
LETHAL DEFENCE SYSTEMS cd 2006(INFACTED RECORDINGS)
EXTINCTION REPROGRAMMED cd 2008(INFACTED RECORDINGS EUROPE-COP INTERNATIONAL USA)
THE KOSMOKRATOR cd 2010 EUROPEAN VERSION(INFACTED RECORDINGS)
THE KOSMOKRATOR cd 2010 USA VERSION(METROPOLIS)
T.A.L.O.S cd 2012 EUROPEAN VERSION(INFACTED RECORDINGS)
T.A.L.O.S cd 2012 USA VERSION(METROPOLIS)
AD HOMINEM:SLAVES OF GOD TO THE GALLOWS THE PREEMPTIVE STRIKE 0.1 REWORKS mcd digipack 2013(DARKER THAN BLACK
PIERCE THEIR HUSK 7'' Vinyl 2014 (SONIC HELL/ODIUM RECORDS)
PIERCE THEIR HUSK mcd digipack 2014 (SONIC HELL/ODIUM RECORDS)

https://www.facebook.com/PreEmptiveStrike0.1/

Saille/Eldritch/Code666/2014 CD Review


  Saille  are  a  band  from  Belgium  that  plays  a  very  symphonic  and  melodic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Eldritch"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Code666.

  A  very  dark,  atmospheric  and  ambient  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavy  and  melodic  riffing  a  few  seconds  later  which  leads  up  to  come  death  metal  growls  before  speeding  up,  adding  in  blast  beats  and  high   pitched  screams  which  in  return  takes  the  recording  into  more  of  a  symphonic  black  metal  direction.

  There  is  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  throughout  the  recording  and  the  keyboards  bring  in  some  elements  that  have  not  been  done  on  a  symphonic  black  metal  recording  since  the  days  of  Limbonic  Art  and  Tartaros  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  added  onto  the  album  they  bring  more  of  a  melodic  black  metal  dimension  to  the  bands  compositions  as  well  as  some  melodic  clean  singing  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Clean  playing  is  added  onto  some  of  the  tracks  at  times  as  well  as  some  of  the  heavier  parts  bringing  in  a  death  metal  influence  and  after  awhile  spoken  word  parts  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  a  few  songs  along  with  a  good  amount  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  album  always  has  a  dark  atmosphere  being  evoked  throughout  the  recording.

  Saille  plays  a  very  epic  and  symphonic  style  of  melodic  black  metal  on  this  recording  that  goes  back  to  the  90's  era  of  the  genre  and  they  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  darkness  that  has  not  been  present  in  this  genre  for  years,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Paganism  and  the  writings  of  H.P  Lovecraft  and  Edgar  Allan  Poe.

  In  my  opinion  Saille  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  symphonic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Walpurgis"  "The  Great  God  Pan"  "Eater  of  Worlds"  adn  "Dagon".  8  out of  10.

www.saille.be     

  

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Mandatory/Catharsis/2014 CD Review


  Mandatory  are  a  band  from  Austria  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  blackened  death  metal  with  touches  of  thrash  and  progressive  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2014  album  "Catharsis".

  A  very  modern  sounding  and  melodic  thrash  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  aggressive  vocals  bordering  on  death  metal  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  spoken  word  parts  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  some  guitar  solos  and  leads  that  display  a  very  melodic  and  old  school  style  of  metal  being  added  into  the  bands  modern  approach  to  metal.

  After  awhile  the  music  starts  adding  in  more  melodic  elements  of  Swedish  black  and  death  metal  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with clean  singing  vocals  being  mixed  in  with  the  more  extreme  parts  at  times  and  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  the  band  starts  utilizing  more  blast  beats  along  with  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  after  awhile  more  progressive  metal  influences  and  a  small  amount  of  synths  become  a  part  of  the  album.

  Mandatory  takes  a  very  modern  style  of  thrash  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  more  melodic  and  heavy  sides  of  black  and  death  metal along  with  a  touch  of  prog  metal  to  create  their  musical  style  and  while  this  is  not  something  I  regularly  listen  to,  I  still  feel  the  band  is  very  good  for  what  they  are  trying  to  achieve,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes  along  with  a  3  part  concept  being  presented  on  the  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Mandatory  are  a  very  decent  and  melodic  sounding  mixture  of  black,  death,  thrash  and  prog  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "End  Of  Watch"  "Emperor"  "For  the  World  To  See"  and  "Blueprint".  7/5  out  of  10.