Monday, September 28, 2015

Islay/The Angels' Share/Final Gate Records/2015 CD Review


  Islay  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  blackened  form  of  melodic  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2015  album  "The  Angels'  Share"  which  was  released  by  Final  Gate Records.

  Drum  beats  and  powerful  sounding  bass  guitar  solos  start  off  the  album  before  adding  in  melodic  leads  and  blast  beats  that  dominate  throughout  the  recording  and  when  growls  are  added  into  the  music  it  gives  the  tracks  more  of  a  Swedish  feeling  along  with  some  high  pitched  black  metla  screams  being  added  in  at  times.

 Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  melodic  styles  of  black  and  death  metal  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  singing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  they  also  give  the  songs  more  of  a  modern feeling  when  they  are  utilized  while  the  classical  guitars  when  they  are  brought  in  add  progressive  elements  onto  the  recording  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  few  seconds  of  atmospheric  keyboards  that  are  almost  close  to  being  symphonic  at  times.

  Islay  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  90's  Swedish  melodic  styles  of  death  and  black  metal  and  mix  them  in  with  some  modern  elements  to  update  the  sound  for  current  times,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  war  and  anti  religion  themes  along  with  one  of  the  tracks  being  written  in  German.

  In  my  opinion  Islay  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Under  The  Sway  Of  God"  "Blind  messiah"  "Napalm  Shower"  and  "The  Angels'  Share".  8  out  of  10.

Islay Facebook

  

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Xaemora Interview


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

We're Xaemora, melodic Black Metal from St. Louis, formed in 2012.

2.So far you have released a demo and an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings?

We put a lot of emphasis on melody to balance out the chaos. "Kingdom Venom I" is a great representation or musical snapshot of Xaemora at that particular time, there's fast stuff, slow stuff, some melodic, some brutal, some heavy, some meloncholy, it's a pretty well rounded Black Metal album, it's exactly the kind of stuff I look for in an album.

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

This is pretty simple, most of the songs are about death and suicide.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Xaemora'?
When it came time to start releasing the music we had been working on and start playing live, we knew immediately that we needed a unique name to stand out in the overcrowded world of cliche metal band names, Xaemora is a name we created.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Our first tour this spring was absolutely amazing, some truly great shows, most notably, West Texas Death Fest and Full Terror Assault Open Air earlier this month, those shows were incredible!

6.Do you have any touring plans for the future?

We'll be doing a Southeastern US tour in October as we make our way down to Black Kvlt Fest III in Miami. After we record and release "Kingdom Venom II" the goal is to tour as much as possible in 2016!

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of symphonic black metal?

We've got followers from all over the world but we're still very underground and relatively new, the reactions to our latest EP have been largely positive so we're very happy about that.

8.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

Too many to name! Pretty much everyone in the band has other musical projects outside Xaemora.

9.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We're focusing on releasing the next EP "Kingdom Venom II" in 2016, it's too early to try to predict either one of those.

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?

Lots of influence from Emperor, Dissection, Mayhem, Watain, and 1349.  Lately I've been listening to a lot of the new Keep of Kalessin, Ravencult, Dead Shore, Micawber and Advent Sorrow. Our local friends in Tyranny Enthroned and Black Fast have incredible new albums out right now too.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

This one could really go all over the place, there are five of us and we all have so many different interests outside of music.

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

Look for "Kingdom Venom II" to be out early next year, we're going to tour as much as we humanly can next year, if you want us to come to your city, contact us and let's set it up! Otherwise, if you see us on the road coming through your town, come out to a show!

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Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Hypermass/Clouded Visions/2015 EP Review


  Hypermass  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  self  released  2015  ep  "Clouded  Visions".

  Clean  guitar  playing  and  sound  effects  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  a  few  seconds  later  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  solos  making  their presence  known  on  the  recording  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  into  a  very  fast,  technical  and  brutal  blackened  death  metal  direction.

  Death  metal  growls  are  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  the  band  also  mixes  in  elements of  modern  and  prog  metal  along  with  a  heavy  dose  of  thrash  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody and  some  songs  bring  in  a  jazz  influence  but  done  with  more  heaviness  along  with  a  couple  of  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  clean  playing  also  makes  its  return  briefly  on  the  last  song.

  Hypermass  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  more  melodic  sides  of  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  elements  of  prog  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sound s very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  philosophical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Hypermass  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black, death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ionize"  and  "In  The  Final  Stage  Of  Embryonic  Mutation".  8  out  of  10.  

http://www.facebook.com/hypermassmetal
https://hypermass.bandcamp.com/

Monday, September 14, 2015

Xaemora/Kingdom Venom I/Merdumgiriz/2015 EP Review


  Xaemora  are  a  band  from  Missouri  that  plays  a  very  symphonic  and  melodic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  ep  "Kingdom Venom I"  which  was  released  by  Merdumgiriz.

   A  very  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  ep  before  getting  more  heavy  and  symphonic  along  with  soem  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  melodies  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  meldoic  guitar  leads  and  blast  beats  make  their  presence  on  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Some  of  the  riffs  bring  in  elements  of  thrash  and  death  metal  and  the  bands  musical  style  also  brings  in  a  very  dark  atmosphere  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  style  of  symphonic  black  metal  and  also  has  a  little  bit  more  aggression  than  most  bands  of  this  genre  and  the   last  track  is  all  instrumental  and  also  introduces  clean  playing  onto  the  recording.

  Xaemora  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  symphonic  and  melodic in  the  mid  90's  Nordic  tradition  and  also  bring  a  lot  of  aggression  that  is  rarely  heard  in  the  genre  these  days,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Misanthropy,  Chaos  and  Death.

  In  my  opinion  Xaemora  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Gadara'  and  "Desolation  Solitude".  8  out  of  10.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Xaemora
Bandcamp: http://xaemora.bandcamp.com/

     

Sunday, August 30, 2015

ORCumentary Interview


1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the musical project since the recording of the new album?



Finishing the album was a big relief, but no rest for the wicked, as they say. I have two CD pre-release shows lined up in a couple weeks, so I’m busy rehearsing 7 new songs.



2.You have a new album coming out in October, 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?



Destroy the Dwarves is a continuation of the style on Orcs 1 Goblins 0, which is the album I think of as ORCumentary’s true beginning. I coined a new “genre” called “orc rock”, because it’s legitimately difficult to sum up my style quickly. I incorporate influences from music I like (mainly melodic death, industrial metal, power metal, and folk metal). I have fast songs, mid songs, slow songs, straightforward songs, long songs, melodic songs, aggressive songs, you get the idea. I work very hard to make sure every song is one I can be proud of, one I will enjoy playing live, and one that offers something that hasn’t been presented in an ORCumentary song before.



Bringing all that back to your original question, I went even further on both ends of the musical spectrum with Destroy the Dwarves. To give two quick(ish) examples, there’s one song towards the end of the album that’s about 3 minutes long. Very catchy and straightforward. It starts out as kind of a garage rock song but it kind of builds into something heavier and there’s a great guitar solo in it. Now compare that to a song around the middle that’s 7 minutes long, has an ambient intro, switches tempos midway through, and has extended instrumental sections. That and everything in between is what listeners can expect to hear on Destroy the Dwarves.



3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with the newer music?



Lyrically, ORCumentary’s music follows a storyline. To sum it up quickly, Orc Adams, hero of the orcs and wielder of the Keyboard of Mayhem, is on a mission to establish orc supremacy and lay low all the other races in The Five Lands. Destroy the Dwarves is a continuation of that story and the Dwarves are on the chopping block next. The Dwarves raise a white flag and want to meet with Adams to make a peace treaty, but the hero of the Orcs has other ideas. Needless to say, things don’t go according to plan for either party. There’s lots of violence, flatulence (as Dwarves are rather gassy), scheming, razor-sharp wit, and the ending is rather shocking.



4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name ORCumentary?



It literally means “a documentary about orcs.” The lyrical content has always been from the perspective of orcs, but everything after my debut album follows a continuous storyline.



5.On the albums you record everything my yourself, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future or do you chose to remain solo?



I get asked this question a lot. I thought about making it a full band once, went as far as to seriously consider it. However, ORCumentary means too much to me to allow anyone else to be a part of the process, if that makes sense. It’s been my creative outlet for almost 10 years. It has also already been established as a solo band, and people love it that way. It’s part of what makes ORCumentary stand out. Something huge would be lost if other people were added to the mix It’s nice to be in complete control of everything, although the downside of that is if I’m not motivated, nothing gets done. If I could do absolutely everything myself for ORCumentary I would, but I don’t have the skills/means to do the mastering and artwork. Luckily, Not A Damn Cheese Design and I are always on the same page when it comes to bringing my ideas to life, and my friend Ben Lane does a great job mastering.



6.What are some of the best shows that you have played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?



My live show is literally just me on stage with a keyboard and a mic. I have a larger-than-life stage presence, which makes up for the lack of members. Orc Adams on stage is the complete opposite of what I’m like in real life. He’s boisterous, loud, demanding, arrogant, but he’s got a great sense of humor (although I have a good sense of humor too) and the stage shenanigans are really hard to take seriously. Anyways, I do vocals and play keyboard parts live. It’s very energetic, or so I like to think.



My favorite show so far has been my CD release back in 2013 for Orcs 1 Goblins 0. For the songs “Orc and the Butterfly” and “Sword of Iron”, a group of about 15 people came up and helped me do the gang vocal parts. It was pretty surreal. I also opened for Agalloch back in 2012, which was really cool too.



7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?



Nothing concrete, but I’m probably going to take it easy for the rest of this year. Might pick up a couple shows, but next year is when the heavier gigging will take place. I can’t do extensive touring, but I want to do a few weekend tours next spring/summer; hopefully the Philly area, maybe return to Buffalo, who knows?



8.Can you tell us a little bit more about Orc Rock Records?



Most people/publications take artists who are signed more seriously, so that was honestly the only reason why I put it on there.



9.In one interview you talked about your interest in fantasy novels, what are some of the fantasy authors that you have taken an interest in lately?



Terry Brooks is my favorite author. 5 of his books are at the top of my “to read” list. R.A. Salvatore is one of my favorites too, although I haven’t read any of his books in years (he’ll be next). I really liked the first four books in The Sword of Truth series, but I couldn’t stick with the fifth one. Jacqueline Carey wrote this really interesting duology called The Sundering, which portrayed the “villains” as the heroes often are, and the “heroes” as the villains often are.



To be honest, I haven’t been good about keeping up with new authors and those recommended to me because up until a few years ago I had kind of “fallen out” of reading. Now that things have settled down a bit in my life, I’ve been re-reading a lot of the ones I own. I want to be “caught up”, per se, before pursuing new authors and books. Over the past few years, I’ve reread LOTR, Harry Potter, Dragonlance Chronicles (which was a bit of a disappointment), and some Terry Brooks too.



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



The response is mostly positive. Usually the only really negativity is from the online community. It’s definitely a love it or hate it thing. The people who come out to shows have a great time and can appreciate not only the comedic aspects, but the musicianship too. I’m really lucky that the response has been as supportive and positive as it has been.



11.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?



I’d like to continue to keep songwriting as my main focus. I’ve kind of started a side band (actual band with other people) and I have 4 songs in various stages of completion for that. I don’t want to talk too much about it, but I really want to do just vocals live if it kicks off and we start doing shows.



I like the idea of getting back into playing sheet music as well. I took piano lessons for 11 years (age 7 to 18), but after I graduated high school, my main focus has been on songwriting. Getting back into technical and theoretical study on the piano would be great, but it depends on if I have the musical time for it.



Eventually I’d like to start a project for ambient/soundtrack style music, but again it’s about having the time and sufficient inspiration. The vast majority of what I listen to is metal, so that’s what I want to play and write most of the time. I have a really hard time finding non-metal that’s interesting, so I think I’d like to make whatever ambient/non-metal side project similar to ORCumentary, in the sense that I’d take influence from lots of other genres and just write what I like to hear.



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?



My favorite subgenres are melodic death metal, power metal, and industrial metal. I’m influenced by a lot of different bands these days, but my favorites are Elvenking, Mnemic, Soilwork, Poets of the Fall, and Thrice. I also really like certain soundtracks like LOTR. I can find something good in most styles of music, whether it’s something I personally enjoy or not



13.What are some of your non-musical interests?



My non-musical interests include reading, walking, archery (although I don’t get to do it very often), video games, and movies. I love spring and fall weather and I try to be outside as much as possible in those times of year.



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



Thanks for your thoughtful questions and for taking the time to listen to my music. Keep orc rock alive!

https://orcumentary.bandcamp.com/

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Vermin WombPermanence/Throatruiner Records/2015 EP Review


  Vermin  Womb  are  a  band  from  Colorado  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  death  metal,  grind  and  sludge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  ep  "Permanence"  which  was  released  by  Throatruiner  Records.

  A  very  distorted  reverb  sound  starts  off  the  ep  before  going  into  more  of  a  fast  death/grind  direction  that  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  along  with  some  vocals  that  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  growls and  screams  while  the  slower  sections  bring  in  elements  of  sludge  and  some  of  the  faster  riffs  bring  in  the  rawness  of  black  metal.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  also  gets  very  brutal  quite  a  bit  throughout  all  of  the  tracks  and  none  of  the  songs  ever  use  any  solos  and  leads  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  only  use  a  small  amount  of  melody.

  Vermin  Womb  plays  a  style  of  death/grind  that is  very  raw  and  brutal  and  mixes  in  sludge  in  the  slower  parts  and  also  brings  in  the  dark  atmosphere  of  black  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  apocalyptic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Vermin  Womb  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  death  metal,  grind  and  sludge  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Bitterness"  and  "From  Below".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Vermin_Womb/3540383492

Thursday, August 20, 2015

ORCumentary/Destroy The Dwarves/Orc Rock Records/2015 Full Length Review


  ORCumentary  are  a  solo  project  from  the   Orc  lands  that  plays  a  mixture  of  folk,  industrial,  power,  black  and  death  metal  and  this is  a  review  of  his  2015  album  "Destroy  the  Dwarves"  which  was  released  by  Orc  Rock  Records.

  Neo  folk  style  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  a  few  seconds  later  and  once  the  music  gets  heavy  elements  of  industrial  and  death  metal  can  be  heard  as  well  as  some  growling  vocals  being  mixed  in  at  times  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melodies.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  some  tracks  also  mix  heavy  parts  with  electro  industrial  elements  and  you  can  also  hear  clean  singing  on  some  of  the  tracks  and  as  the  album  progresses  folk  instruments  can  be  heard  at  times  while  some  songs  can  also  be  very  symphonic  at  times  and  when  solos  and  leads a re  utilized  they  give  the  music  more  of  an  old  school  metal  feeling.

  ORCumentary  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  death,  black,  industrial,  folk  and  power  metal  and  mixes  them  to  create  a  musical  style  known  as  'orc  rock',  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  orcs,  goblins  and  dwarf  themes.

  In  my  opinion  ORCumentary  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  death,  black,  industrial,  folk  and  power  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Destroy  the  Dwarves"  "He  Drank  Deep  From  His  Mug"  "Within  The  Folds  Of  My  Fat"  and  "Cropduster".  8  out  of  10.    

http://www.metalunderground.com/news/details.cfm?newsid=115689