Milfits 'zine issue#2 (Full Publication) by Rossano Lattanzio

OKULAR

HATEFUL

LANTERN SPHERON

AD PATRES

FUMIGATION

BURIAL VAULT FEBRUARY 2014 I ISSUE 2

MILFITS'ZINE INTERVIEWS

CONTENTS

Finally it's time to get hammered for the second time with this new issue of “Milfits 'zine”. Four months late from the first planned release date, but somenthing special has happen again in my family. Meanwhile, my second child was born. Obviously, the delay has been necessary to set up my ordinary life. About “Milfits 'zine”, however, not much has drastically changed since issue#1. Reviews and interviews are still only ingredients of the release. No special section or live reports are present here. Probably, you will never find this kind of stuff on my 'zine. Too time and effort are needed to plan these sections. So, I'll remain sticky with the ints & revs write plan. As happened with the previous issue, I'm giving this 'zine away online for free. This should make the 'zine more accessible for most underground metalhead out there. I hope you'll find of some interest the collection of noteworthy bands here, bands you know and love already, as well as bands whose path you've yet to cross. My best regards goes out to all bands who took the time and effort to promote their talents and complete my interviews. As always, there were several other interviews which didn't get answered, but it's their loss not mine. Thank you to all the people who read/download/buy the 'zine. Take care of you and tstay true to whatever it is that you do. Last but not least, extra special thanks to my wife and my sons for putting up with all my ciraziness. Cheers! Rossano Lattanzio Contact Information: milfits@gmail.com

Facebook: /Milfitsextreme metalzine Twitter: @Milfits_Zine February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

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7 BURIAL VAULT 10 FUMIGATION 13 HATEFUL 16 LANTERN 20 OKULAR 25 SPHERON

REVIEWS

Coverphoto by Romina Tripaldi

AD PATRES

“Ad Patres” is a France based death metal band. Their first recording, released late 2010 and rereleased in 2012 as a splittape with “Writhing” (USA), allowed them to get early exposure. Now, they have released their debut album "Scorn Aesthetics" through “Kaotoxin Records”. This album is an incredible punch in the face delivered with force and passion. Everything falls into place on "Scorn Aesthetics", with the energy level dished with skillful instrumentation. I talked to Canard (guitar) and Arnaud (bass) about some background and band's recent activities. “Ad Patres” was formed at the end of 2008 and it's a relatively young band. Did you have any basic ideas for its sound in your head for years before 2008? Canard: Not really, Arnaud, Julien and I started the band with the idea of keeping our former deathgrind band alive ater the drummer called it quits. It didn’t take long (maybe an hour) to acknowledge the fact that it wouldn’t be possible, so we started playing what was on our mind. As we all were death metal fans it just came naturally. 4

In 2010, your promo release was recorded by Mathieu Pascal (“Gorod”). How has Pascal’s work and legacy influenced what you’re doing in “Ad Patres”? Canard: We’ve known Mat for a long time now and have recorded several time with him. I wouldn’t say that has influenced me much on a musical point of view, he’s such a talented musician that I can’t even relate to what comes out of his guitar most of the time. As a producer, he is really great to February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

work with, he will always point out what is wrong in your take how try to give you directions on how to improve and that’s really cool.

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external influence, apart from the music we like. As I said, the lyrics are not influenced by Lovecraft, HG Wells, or those author that have been references for so many bands in our musical genre. Maybe Freud and What was the recording process like for Jung could be considered as mentors? I “Scorn Aesthetics”? What did you focus don’t know! on the most while recording it? Arnaud: In all honesty, I think we only How is the cooperation with “Kaotoxin focused on playing the songs correctly. We Records”? How does the label support are not sound or instrument geeks but we you? knew that if our tracks were recorded well, Canard: It’s going great actually, it might without any need for editing and cheating, not be the biggest label on earth but we Mathieu would have the best material really feel taken care of. They have really possible to create a great sounding album. got us a lot of exposure both in France and abroad and are always willing to do the Which element of your debut fulllength maximum for us. They got us in touch with album are you most proud of? “Blakhart Guitars” who now endorse me, Arnaud: As simple as it may be, I am proud they always try to get us fair prices for of the songs, the riffing. I think that many merch production and we even get a little band tend to be a bit lazy on songwriting text for our birthdays, isn’t that sweet? and can balance that with big productions. Many people love overcompressed and With new death metal bands popping up overproduced sound. We prefer clear everywhere, how is difficult to be well sounding and we always give special care to recognized in the genre? put together the best matching riffs. Canard: I don’t think there’s that much more death metal bands than before, it is, What kind of subjects have you been however, really easier to have some decent exploring in the lyrics to “Scorn sounding material and get some exposure Aesthetics”? through the web. I, as a listener, find it Arnaud: I am not interested in gore, horror, overwhelming, you get access to hours and mythology, Chtulu, Lovecraft and stuff...My hours of music and you’re not sure you’re favourite topics are death, humanity, fate, going to find anything you may enjoy… To arts and social behaviours. I really like to stand out in that kind of context, you need draw connections between themes that do some kind of balance between musical not seem to be related, and I also like to use style, talent, communication skills, not to the vocabulary or lexical field of a theme forget being damn lucky. that is not linked with my main subject and create parables and metaphors. I also like to It’s been a couple years since you’ve write my lyrics like descriptions of scenes played at “Hellfest Open Air 2011”. How or pictures I elaborate. did it feel to be able to play in such type of big festival? What's your memories? Is there any particular art/literature Canard: It was really impressive, I mean that’s influenced your musical direction? REALLY. A couple weeks before we were Arnaud: Regarding music, there is no playing in our hometown in front of fifty February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

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friends or so and there we were, with thousands of people waiting and everyone coming to us while we were warming up saying “guys it’s like really crowded out there but don’t freak out” which wasn’t helping us calm down at all of course. I mostly remember the sound of the crowd when we went up the stage totally breathtaking. It was an amazing opportunity and we’re really glad we did it, awesome festival, awesome audience, awesome crew and awesome show! We’d do it again whenever possible. Tell me about shooting the music video for “Scars of Compromise” and what’s going on in the song. Canard: It took us a while to make this video, it is our first one and you can’t just have everything straight on the first try. We worked with Padre, a young team which did all the planning, filming, editing, acting, well everything altogether actually. We did have the brilliant idea of recording the band scenes in february in a non heated warehouse, which is why you can see steam coming out of us sometimes in the video.

overwhelming those days and I think some people are just engulfing music. I mean like downloading album, listening once or twice and then delete it and repeat with the next one. We are doing our best to write great songs that remain good and catchy for as long as possible, not disposable death metal. Are there any final thoughts you’d like to add? Arnaud: First, we’d like to thank you personaly and you webzine for offering us some time and lines. Also thanks a lot to your readers and all the people showing their support to our band. If you haven’t yet, check our first album “Scorn Aesthetics”, I assure you won’t regret if you like your death metal catchy and brutal!

What’s the status of the songs for the next studio album? What can we expect from it? Arnaud: I think it is too early to focus on writing new material. We are collecting some ideas when we have it but today, this is not our priority. Our album “Scorn Aesthetics” was released just one year ago and it is not distributed in shops in The Netherlands, Luxemburg and Belgium for anly a couple of months. As Canard said above, music productions can be 6

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

BURIAL VAULT

Germany's “Burial Vault” was formed in 2006. After a couple of EPs, in 2012 the band signed to “Apostasy Records” and released their debut album, “Ekpyrosis (Peridoic Destruction)”. One year later, their sophomore album “Incedium” (a review could be find in the review section) is released also via “Apostasy Records”. This album was inspired by Ray Bradbury’s classic novel “Fahrenheit 451”. With these two albums the band has gained a reputation as one of the finest new death metal bands today. Here they took some time to share “Burial Vault's” plans and answer my curious inquiries. How the band got together? The band was formed in 2006 by Tobias Schaub (guitar), Alexander Petri (guitar), Eugen Deutsch (bass), Daniel Pasligh (drums) and Raimund Ennenga (vocals). Tobias, Alexander and Eugen worked as a threepiece under the moniker “Carbacan” before the actual formation of “Burial Vault”. A lot of the songs from the selfreleased debut “… There Is No Resort” were written through this time. Then Daniel and Raimund came into the picture, completed the first official lineup and the band changed their name into “Burial Vault”. After two selfreleased EPs (“… There Is No Resort” and February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

“Come To Grief”), two albums via Apostasy Records (“Ekpyrosis (Periodic Destruction)” and “Incendium”), a lot of great shows and some lineupchanges the band currently consists of Tobias Schaub (guitar), Alexander Petri (guitar), Raimund Ennenga (vocals), Immo Groeneveld (drums) and David Speckmann (bass). i

What are bands that have helped you most to influence and shape your sound? This is always a tough question though the influences changed a lot through all 7

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the years. In the beginning “In Flames” and “Amon Amarth” had a huge impact on the direction of the music. But there are a lot of other bands that had an impact, too: like “Death”, “Hypocrisy”, “Dissection”, “God Dethroned”. Many bands share the same influences but after seven years of making music it doesn’t matter too much for us personally. It might be a lot easier for an external listener to say “That sounds similar to…”. We want that everybody can hear that this is “Burial Vault”. That’s what counts the most! Why did you go the concept album route on your sophomore album “Incendium”? During the writingsessions for “Ekpyrosis (Periodic Destruction)”, we worked on the lyrics for the song “Those Things Which Were Thought Can Never Be Unthought” in a special way. All the lyrics were based on a short story that Raimund wrote. So we took that influence out of this story right into the lyrics for the song. After finishing “Ekpyrosis (Periodic Destruction)”, we instantly thought about a concept album. It looked like an adventure and we wanted to lift both the music and the lyrics up to a higher level.

“Fahrenheit 451” come really close to the society of today. Maybe we are allowed to read but nobody takes the time to read and write properly. It is all about short messages and fragments that just show one aspect of a certain circumstance that we take as a significant aspect. We lose the connection to each other by using technology rather than to communicate face to face. In general, is it important for “Burial Vault” to conjure imagery with the songs? Yes, indeed it is. For a lot of bands in the more extreme Metal subgenres lyrics don’t matter. They are full of clichés and stuff like that. The phrasing takes a bigger role than the content of the songs. We never wanted that for “Burial Vault” even if we tried to do that in the very early days. The music itself tells stories and so do the lyrics. We like to create images that people can (or can’t) relate to.

“Incendium” truly is a splendid piece of work from you guys. Obviously, it's an album that’s meant to be experienced in full. It shows your musicianship at its best and it really shows your skills as a band, both musically and lyrically. Which There are obviously the Ray approach did you choose to create Bradbury's “Fahrenheit 451” this concept album? How did you references in the “Incendium” album. challenge yourself soundwise to fit Do you have a general fascination for this concept? Scifi literature or was it more just First of all: Thanks for your kind the idea of the moment? words. It’s cool that you like our stuff! It is not a fascination for SciFi in After defining “Fahrenheit 451” as the general but more for dystopian themes. basis for the music, we defined specific We liked the fact that some old parts of the book and divided them into dystopian novels and especially several parts. We wrote short stories 8

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

for these parts that set the foundation for both the music and the lyrics. Then Tobias started to write the music. He really wanted to make the mood of each and every situation as obvious as possible. So the challenge was not to be as technical as possible but to make the music fit the story. But to be honest, it is obvious that “Incendium” is our most technical work to date. One of the distinctive features of this work is the presence of atmospheres looping from raw to melodic passages. How do you decide what works best within a song and what to put where for maximum effectiveness? As we already mentioned, everything was worked out to fit the concept and its story. There are several twists and turns in the story which shall be symbolized by the loops that you mentioned. We think that the maximum effectiveness unfolds by listening to the album as a whole and by reading through the lyrics. Everything works hand in hand. You have used sporadic clean type of vocals on “Incendium”. Do you plan to use more clean vocals in the future? Do you think clean vocal may add more quality to your music? Raimund always thought about doing clean vocals someday but it had to fit the music. The clean vocals in “Peculiar” really capture the feelings of the protagonist in that scene. So it was the right momentum to use them. We don’t know if clean vocals add more quality but they add a different dynamic. Maybe we’re going to use them again in the future. Who knows… February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

BURIAL VAULT

Overall, are you pleased with the outcome of the album or would you have liked to have changed anything in retrospective? We are really satisfied with the album. It is our most ambitious album to date and in the end everything turned out great. We recorded “Ekpyrosis (Periodic Destruction)” in March 2010 and a few months later we began to work on “Incendium”. It was some sort of a cathartic moment when the album was actually recorded and we were able to hear the result. A lot of bands lately have been playing live various albums in their entirety. Could “Incendium” be played on stage in its entirety someday? That really is in our minds. Maybe we can do this someday. It would be a dream coming true. Where does “Burial Vault” go from here? Is “Burial Vault” getting ready to put out their new album? “Incendium” was released in May 2013 but we are currently writing new material for its successor. But we are at a very early state and don’t want to pressure us. We set a good foundation with “Ekpyrosis (Periodic Destruction)” and “Incendium” and we want to put “Burial Vault” to the next level with the next album. Be prepared! Anything else you'd like to promote? Thanks to everyone who listened to “Incendium” and everyone who will! We really appreciate your support and hopefully we get the chance to see you all at one of our upcoming shows. In 2014 we want to play a lot more. Stay tuned! 9

FUMIGATION

Canadian death metal outfit “Fumigation” recently dropped their debut fulllength album "Integrated Pest Management" on “CDN Records”. The blend of death and blasting heaviness that forms "Integrated Pest M a n a g e m e n t " i s o u t n o w, a n d i n s u p p o r t o f t h e re l e a s e bassist Chris Humeniuk got in touch with me to dissect the album. See also what Chris had to say about the artwork and lyrics of the album, and about his daily obsession with insects and rodents in the full interview b e l o w. Your debut album “Integrated Pest Management” has just been released, how long had you been working on it? Hey Ross thanks for getting in touch! The process for “Integrated Pest Management” started when the band formed back in early 2008 as we slowly wrote songs. Along the way multiple member changes happened which always pushed back us being able to do a full length CD. Eventually we were able to land a stable set of 10

Exterminators and did IPM in a few months with our good friend Dan of “From the Frost Audio”.

What challenges did you face when you were conceiving and recording the album? Finding the time to do it was the hardest part really. Everyone in Fume has either a full time job, or full time school with a part time job. Add a girlfriend to the mix plus another band on top of that, and sadly recording becomes tough to fit in. That said, February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

pretty much every metal musician in Ottawa has 2 bands on the go, so we can't really use that as an excuse. The actual recording of the album went really smooth, took maybe a week total for all parts, then it was just waiting for Dan to mix/master the thing. How do you accomplish to make “Fumigation” sound so brutal and sick? Ha! well thanks for the compliment! I guess that's a combination of my superior writing skillz and Dan's production. I do 95% of the writing in “Fumigation” , and I listen to a lot of stuff like “Cephalic Carnage”, “Immolation”, “Severed Savior”, “Odious Mortem” (who apparently are writing new material as we speak!!) so that’s where the more brutal aspects of the band come from. We're not quite as brutal or techy as those bands, we tend to groove it up much more, but we do keep the more old school flavour in our music. Why the lyric obsession with insects, rodents and chemicals? Are there any particular situations that’s influenced the use of these topics? Well I'm actually a licenced Exterminator...so there you go. I kill bugs and rodents each and every working day of my life. They say to write about what you know, and small pests is what I know. We take the

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

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theme of pest control pretty far, from stage props to album art and lyrics. The music sells itself I think, but there's so many death metal bands out there its really tough to stand out...our theme should help in that regard. Who handled the artwork of “Integrated Pest Management”? I think it captures the feel of the music perfectly. Our drummer Mat did the artwork and I agree its great! Every couple days he'd send me a bunch of drawings, and I would give him a bit of direction as to what I thought was working and what wasn't, and eventually it turned into what you see now. The original idea was to make it look similar to the Spawn comics...personally I’m not a comic book guy, but Mat has a bunch and I think he captured the feeling of it pretty well. Does the band have any upcoming shows in support of “Integrated Pest Management” ? We're laying low right now, but will be back in business in 2014 for sure. What should people who haven’t seen you live before expect from your live shows? Entertainment. That’s what people want after all right? “Fumigation” brings you a really heavy show, with

FUMIGATION

some pest control themed antics and an overall feeling that we actually care about what we do. What’s the strangest place you’ve ever played a “Fumigation” song? Well our first ever show was in a really really small bar in Quebec that holds maybe 40 or 50 people total, and the stage was right beside the washroom. I had to literally get out of the way of people going to the washroom while playing on stage. It was strange for sure. What bands would you love to share a lineup with? Feel free to be completely unrealistic. Unrealistic you say? In that case opening for the Gods of Metal Black Sabbath would be amazing. Original lineup, of course.

Underground. There are no delusions of grandeur in this band. Are there any final thoughts you’d like to add? Winter brings hordes of mice. Winter is not just the holiday season, but mouse season as well. Make sure you seal any and all possible entry points into your home by caulking or using spray foam around pipes, vents, and any holes or big cracks you find around the home. The last thing you need is to get up in the middle of the night for a midnight snack and find mice running around your kitchen getting into your food!!! Join the fight against small pests by heading the advice of “Fumigation” and buying our shit!!! OFFICIAL http://www.fumigationmetal.com

What’s the status of the next “Fumigation” release? The next release is a couple years away. There's a few songs written for it, maybe half a dozen actually, but we haven't really started working on them yet. Don't worry about whats next though, live in the present and listen to “Integrated Pest Management”!

FUMEBOOK http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fumig ation/137024276331132

What are your aspirations for “Fumigation”? Where would you like to see the band go from here? In the end, we'd like to leave a mark on the Canadian scene. At the very least, we'd like to be remembered in the Ontario scene and locally. We don't have the means for World Wide Tours, let alone North American tours, so unless the internet warms to us and we go viral, we're not getting our hopes up to becoming a major player in the

FUMECARTEL http://fumigation.bigcartel.com/

FUMECLOUD http://soundcloud.com/fumigation FUMECAMP http://fumigationmetal.bandcamp.com/

CDN RECORDS http://cdnrecords.com/store/product details.php?productID=4182

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

HATEFUL

This is my interview with the very talented and wonderful “Hateful”. The italian band has been intermittently on the metal scene for over fifteen years. Though, it was only until 2009 that the band released their debut album "Coils Of a Consumed Paradise". Recently, “Hateful” released their second album entitled “Epilogue of Masquerade” through “The Spew Records”. What they put on the table is an "intricate" death metal characterized by an unique and whirling songwriting. Here, I caught up with Daniele Lupidi, bassist and mastermind of this band, to get the skinny behind the new album. As “Hateful” undoubtedly have a multi extreme metal approach, with a healthy dose of death metal, hints of grind, and technical leaning, how was the impact of these styles in the formation of the band? Since the beginning we just wanted to do “our own thing”. Of course we are fans of many different styles within the extreme music realm and what you can hear is the combination of all our influences. In the early days we weren’t able to play fast or intricate

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stuff. If I look back to the band’s history I see some guys that improved their skills slowly, but constantly. The current sound is the result of the hard work and I’m happy we found our identity as a band and that our sound is not immediately comparable with a specific band or niche. The band’s braintwisting meters and multipart structures aren’t the kinds of things you usually learn in school. What do you do to get this

HATEFUL

creative inspiration? I’m really happy you noticed this side of our music. I admit it takes more than a couple of listening sessions to be assimilated. As a composer, when I write the music, I just try to be as natural and flowing as I can. I usually pay a lot of attention to the song structure and then try to improve every single riff of melody. I know a lot of people just collect riffs and then merge them together to create a song, but it’s not my case. Everything must be flowing and every part must be functional to the final result. If a rhythm comes out odd or twisted it is not because we forced it. It’s probably the natural brainchild of a twisted mind hahaha. What appeals most to you about performing technical death metal songs? We never wanted to play technical stuff for the sake of being “technical”. We simply write some intricate stuff following our inspiration and then try to play it as best as we can! It’s challenging but very satisfying. Death Metal has changed significantly since the early 90′s. What are your thoughts on the way the genre has changed? I have some mixed thoughts about the way it changed. Of course we are early nineties Death Metal fans, I think the stuff that was created in that period is still the best expression of extreme music. The scene is now fragmented into a lot of subgenres but I admit there is a lot of great stuff out there! Anyway, I definitely miss the early days unpredictable evolutions of the band, even if sometimes they resulted

in complete flops! Has recording “Epilogue Of Masquerade” been a different process from recording the first album? We took care of the production by ourselves once again, but we had much more experience this time. Another important factor has been the addition of our guitar player Massimo, who is also an experienced sound engineer, as well as a great musician. We had better equipment and a proper place to try different solution and mixes. We did appreciate the result on the first album but “Epilogue of Masquerade” sounds way better! What was it like working with Dan Swäno on the mastering of “Epilogue Of Masquerade”? What level of input did you receive from him? He only took care of the mastering and did a great job. We tried two or three different masterings and he was very patient and supportive. His huge experience has been very important to add the final “professional” touch to the album. I wondered if the longer period of time for the sophomore fulllength “Epilogue Of Masquerade” was a necessity or a delay. Could the album have been completed in less time? Would the songs have been different, simpler and have less arrangement if you have used less period of time? It was a necessity. As you said, the complexity of the songs and the arrangement needed a very focused work and we wanted to take all the time necessary to record pre productions and verify every single February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

detail. We wanted to start the recording sessions only when completely satisfied. In my opinion, it’s better not to rush the whole process in order to have all the details at the right place. In which ways “Epilogue Of Masquerade” continues the work introduced on "Coils Of a Consumed Paradise", aesthetically and lyrically? We picked up where we left off. I wanted to paint a cover that represents the ominous intricacy of our music. It’s obviously the same mind that created “Coils of a consumed Paradise” but this time I wanted something deeper and more abstract. Lyrically I didn’t change my style, once again I wrote starting from concepts and images that were floating inside my mind. I develop this Ideas for a while and then I start writing when I feel inspired. The inspiration comes from different sources: paintings, books, personal experiences, weird scientific stuff. Our albums are very diverse, thematically. I saw you guys for the first time in November 2013 at “Tipografia” alongside “Vomitory”. What it’s been like touring Italy with “Vomitory” on their last ending tour. What do you remember of your first gig here in Abruzzo? It’s been definitely our best experience as a band so far. “Vomitory” are a killer band and very nice guys, we had great timed with them! We also gained a lot of experience and visited places where we’ve never been before…we couldn’t ask for more! The gig in Pescara was amazing, we have to thank our friend Riccardo for helping us, filling in for our regular drummer Marcello. I remember the event perfectly: good

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

HATEFUL

place, killer audience and last but not least very beautiful girls! Who have been some of your favorite bands to share the stage with? It a difficult question! Probably “Napalm Death” were the biggest band we supported, that gig was awesome, even if we had to cut our setlist due to weather problems….We already mentioned “Vomitory” and I remember another killer experience when we opened for “Malevolent Creation”, one of my fave bands! But we had many other great experiences. In 2012 I remember an incredible show with “Ad Nauseam”, “Death Mechanism” and “Psychotomy” but I could go on for hours hahaha. With the band musically stronger than ever, what the future held and what would you like to add to your sound? We just want to improve as band and as musicians, see new places and spreading our name around. We had a lot of good responses recently and we’ll keep promoting “Epilogue of Masquerade” as best as we can in the next months. We are already working on some new material and I can say our sound won’t change drastically. The formula is still the same but of course there are some new and maybe more “progressive” sick ideas coming out! Its’ nothing premeditated, as always we just follow our inspiration and try to let it flow naturally Is there anything you want to say to close this up? I want to thank you for this cool interview, I hope your readers won’t find my answers too boring hahaha. I also would like to return to Abruzzo for another sick show, we’ll see…..Thanks Rossano!

LANTERN

“Lantern” is a twoman black/death metal band from Finland where Cruciatus plays all the instruments, and Necrophilos shines on vocals. After the duo's debut EP “Subterranean Effulgence” back in 2011, they finally unleashed a fulllength titled "Below" through “Dark Descent Records”, which incorporates elements of everything from oldschool death to black. Though they retain the signature traits of black metal, they don’t maintain a conventional attitude towards this genre, making their own waves and steering away from the norm. I got the chance to ask them about their debut album. See what they had to say in the interview below.

What events drove you to the point where you created “Lantern”? The motive for forming “Lantern” came from me putting my old band “Cacodaemon” to rest yet still wanting to continue making music. I remember the day me and our vocalisttobe Necrophilos (already a relatively old friend of mine back then) sat in the same group of people, just relaxing and having a few beers. We were discussing the past, the present and the chances of the future, and just somehow ended up deciding to create some metal music together... and here we are! 16

Do you think it was a benefit for you to wait a bit of time before to get this album out? Did it help you to better refine your sound? How do you think “Lantern” has evolved in this span time? It was a definite benefit, no doubt about it. If we would’ve made this album earlier, it could have become a solid death metal album for sure, but it would not have reached the same level of depth and why not even innovativeness it ended up possessing. And as “Lantern” is pretty much based on elements such as depth and atmosphere, elements that should February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

not be rushed or forced, it appears to be a necessity for us to let things take their sweet time anyway. And how the band itself has evolved? That’s actually a hard one for me to answer, as all our past works have been so diverse, and the same will go with our future material. Thus, the development and the transformation that has been taking place is still ongoing, although not as noticeably as between the previous releases. But I could say the process of putting this material together is more controlled nowadays, as we have started to realize how “Lantern” is supposed to sound, appear, manifest itself. Hence, we have become more stable with our creations; more distinct and maybe even more stubborn, haha. It seems like different genres (e.g. progressive rock) have an influence on “Lantern” sound. What bands and albums are you personally listening to most often? My musical palette has been expanding wildly throughout the years, even though I still find myself listening to mostly metal. Almost everything goes, well except for overly happysounding music, reggae, rap, plastic chart pop and such. Right now I’m listening to “Crumbsuckers”, just because I’m at the office... “Live to Work”, you know, haha. But to give you a better glimpse: Primordial (“To The Nameless Dead”),

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LANTERN

Morbid Angel (“Altars of Madness” and “Covenant”) and Carnivore are some of my socalled everyday favourites, mainly because of their high energy content. Some other faves include Mortuary Drape, Autopsy, Samael (first two albums), Darkthrone (first 3 albums), Mercyful Fate, Celtic Frost (“Monotheist” exclusively), Judas Priest (usually the slightly older end of their discography) etc... To balance things out, I have also found myself listening to a lot of funeral doom during the past years; Thergothon, Mournful Congregation, Unholy, Profetus and Esoteric are constantly on the menu. From the lighter side, I could mention Camel (the 70’s albums) and Yes (especially “Close to the Edge”, “Going for the One” and “Relayer”), Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Ennio Morricone, Joy Division, The Cure... the list would go on endlessly. And as of late, I’ve been listening to a lot of Peter Gabriel era Genesis. Those compositions, stories and performances are simply masterful... unparalleled. Other than that, I’m continuously checking out new metal / rock acts or older records I haven’t been paying enough attention to, and listing all of them here would a downright waste of time and space. Who was an artist you admired growing up that directly influenced your songwriting and the way that you looked at music?

LANTERN

I reckon the works of Quorthon and the “Venom” lads inspired me the most back then, as the masters behind acts such as “Darkthrone” and “Beherit” would follow. From death metal, “Possessed” was my first true love, whilst “Mercyful Fate” and “Judas Priest” lured me to the heavy metal / rock direction. Playingwise, I could add Pete Walli (the guitarist of Finnish psych rock band “Kingston Wall”), Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore and Jimi Hendrix to the pool. I learnt to play guitar (and piano way earlier) before I got into metal, so I grew to appreciate such musicianship over nowadays silly hi speed shredding.

What is the most important ingredient for a Lantern's song? Atmosphere. The riffs, the lyrics, the song title and all should support it.

Compose all music and playing all the instruments alone is quite a challenge in itself. How do you handle doing this? Have you been thinking about getting some help? I am constantly thinking about getting help, haha. Seriously, it can be an immense burden to deal with composing and the entire instrumental repertoire singlehandedly, even though it does help you try to materialize your vision 1:1. Yet, a Each song on few rehearsals ago, “Below” moves in I asked our live an amorphous crew if they’d like to try to help us out fashion, casting brilliant moments with the next “Lantern” recordings. that soon fade into darkness and vice The guys seemed open for the idea, so versa. What I really like about this chances are we might actually be album is that you manage to write shaking this duo thing soon. Our pretty instinctive songs, with a rhythm guitarist might even contribute signature mix of oldschool death with riffage; he’s a long line death / metal and creeping blacky pieces, black metal guitarist and sure knows instead of endless piles of guitar the score. But time will tell how all of riffs. How did you piece each part this goes! together in a sensible, flowing manner? How important is it to you that Lantern’s music pours together into people pay attention to the lyrics this form in an immensely natural way. apart from listening to the music? So it’s hard for me to analyze this The music itself should be able to do topic to pieces. To me, music as well the most of the talking, but in our case, as many other things incl. life / I could say people would just miss a nature itself appear as a cyclic, vital piece of the puzzle if they ignored rhythmic, flowing entities... constantly the lyrics. A treat, even? I’m saying changing, like the shadows cast by a this because I’m extremely satisfied lantern’s flame (lame pun, hah). with some of the texts I’ve written for

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“Lantern”, and if I were asked, you can unveil the songs’ true faces only by plunging into their lyrical content. The texts will change them almost fully. Finland has got several seminal bands like “Impaled Nazarene”,“Sentenced”,“Amorphis”, “Thergothon”. In your opinion, what bands and what people were the most important to the Finnish metal scene in the early stages? I am not the best expert regarding the early stages of the scene, as I got into metal in the mid 90’s or so. But, on top of those you mentioned, I could at least list some important names such as “Stone”, “A.R.G.”, “Sarcofagus”, “Tarot”, “Beherit”, “Barathrum”, “Demigod”, “Demilich”, “Xysma”...with all of them contributing to Finnish metal very differently from the 80’s to the early 90’s.

LANTERN

While planning the next release(s), a few live shows here and there would be optimal. Speaking of which, we are going to perform at KillTown Deathfest 2013 in Copenhagen a month from now, so that’s our next primary step, and one of the most interesting opportunities “Lantern” has been offered so far! Is there anything you have/want to say? Tons of thanks for this interview, and a grand hail to all supporters of “Lantern”!

I suppose you are currently writing new tracks for a new full length? How's that going? I have two new tracks ready and a couple of more in the making. We’ll see on what kind of formats each of the songs will eventually end up. Nothing’s been decided yet. Otherwise, things are moving slow but steady...I don’t want to rush anything right now just to “stay afloat”. The material I have completed so far has – I dare say – evolved from the “Below” days, but it’ll be recognizable “Lantern” for sure. We try not to repeat ourselves, and we’re still on the right track regarding that. What other important ideas “Lantern” hope to unleash next?

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OKULAR

After the band's debut album “Probiotic” back in 2011, Norvegian outfit “Okular” has unleashed a fulllength titled "SexForce", which incorporates elements of everything from acoustic playing to death metal. With this new album dropping few months ago, “Okular” got in touch with me to discuss the fulllength's recording process and let us know what they can fell from this latest opus. Composer, lyricist, backing vocalist and mastermind “Okular”member, Andreas Aubert, spoke with “Milfits 'zine” about merging disparate music styles on “SexForce”. How did the project “Okular” come together, and what did you want to accomplish with it when you started? I, Andreas Aubert, have written songs using the software “Guitar Pro” since 2004. In 2009 I found suitable musicians to record a full length album. At that point, my concern was simply to get an album professionally recorded without thinking too much about what would happen later. I became very happy with that first “Okular” album, entitled “Probiotic”, which was eventually released in 2011. So as you understand, “Okular” started 20

as a project. Then we agreed to record another album, and it was still a project at that point, with me writing everything and also paying for everything. But we have now finally managed to get a full lineup and have already played our first concert. Things will work differently from now on. Although I will continue to write most of the music and probably also a good deal of the lyrics, it will be more of a group process where everyone gives their input. The idea is to record pre production of several songs, and let the songs mature over time, before we February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

finally record the third album. It should also be noted that I am not performing anything except some additional/backing vocals on the albums and I am not part of the live lineup. So far I have also taken care of most of the practicalities regarding the band, but now the areas of responsibilities have been distributed more evenly among us. I still have a difficult time trying to describe what “Okular” sounds like. If I could, I would just say "progressive death metal," but it would sound incomplete. How would you describe the style of “Okular”? I am happy to hear that and take it as a compliment. It probably means there is some extent of originality to our music. Yes, it might be difficult to explain our style with precision. Here is an attempt: We play progressive death metal with many technical elements, and with a sense of adventure and exploration to it. Some songs are long, some are short, some are very technical, some are more straightforward. The songs do not follow any fixed formula or pattern. The music is arising very spontaneously and playfully, mostly written into “Guitar Pro” without the help of a guitar. I think that this form of composing is part of what makes the music sound a bit different and hard to categorize. I can also mention some established bands as a reference to give some idea of our music, but none of those references alone can fully give you the idea of what we are doing: “Death”, “Morbid Angel”, “Decapitated”, “Gojira”, “Obscura”, “Immolation”, “In Flames”, “At The Gates” etc. Actually, this may not February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

OKULAR

make you much smarter. It would be better for the readers simply to check out our music! These days we often simple refer to our sound as “Extreme metal with progressive elements”. That is probably good enough. However, Progextrememetal has seen a bit of a resurgence recently with bands like “Opeth” and “Enslaved” bigger than ever. Why do you think this is? Possibly it has something to do with the times we live in. One cultural trend in general seems to be the mixing of various elements that have previously been seen as opposites. This can also include influences from different cultures and different parts of the world. It is becoming more common to mix various styles and influences and see them as complementary to each other. The narrow confines of genre definitions are starting to break down, and creativity seems to flourish in new and exciting ways. Maybe it also has something to do with the internet and social media making the world “smaller”, leading to many perceived boundaries breaking away. To explain my point about combining elements together in an unusual and exciting way, I can point to the bands you mention who are combining extreme, aggressive parts with more atmospheric and “clean” parts. I think that part of the appeal of such styles can by explained by a certain shift of consciousness taking place in a greater number of people these days. A larger segment of humanity is seemingly waking up to the reality that life is life is not as black and white as we often take it to be, and that different people, phenomenon and modes of expression

OKULAR

are interconnected in many subtle ways. The progressive music of the bands you mention, and many others, might to some extent illustrate this shift in perception – even if the musicians themselves may not necessarily be fully aware of these dynamics. With the new album titled “Sexforce”, what is it exactly that you’re looking to say about? How did it come about? First I would just like to make clear that while the first two albums were all written by me (including “Sexforce”) – meaning I wrote the music, lyrics and made the concepts – “Okular” is now a band with 6 members. Our views might differ in some aspects. The other guys may not necessarily agree with everything I say. I am speaking on my own behalf. On to your question: There are many angles from which I can explain the title. The term sexforce is referring to the sexual energy in humans, which is very much connected to our passion, creativity and our will to live. If sexuality is repressed, it is difficult to really flourish in life – creatively and in other ways. The music and lyrics, as I see it, is an expression of sexforce expressed in an unapologetic and lifecelebrative way. There is no holding back of passion and pure vitality and no holding back of the longing for something that is true and real. It is lifeaffirmative death metal. When I use the word sexforce, I am refering to much more than just sexuality or the sexual act. I am refering to an explosive force that can erupt from inside, bringing aliveness and joy, and a fierceness that will not allow halftruths and 22

superficiality to give direction for ones life. The cover displays a couple in a naked embrace, sitting in some kind of volcano which is erupting. They are in a frozen, icy landscape, with a city in the distant – tall buildings etc covered by ice. This is symbolizing the frozen, rigid aspects of human civilization. This includes dead, outdated belief systems and everything which tries to keep people in place – as opposed to truly living and expressing their subjectivity, which exists on a deeper level of who we are. This deeper level can become veiled, but cannot be completely destroyed by beliefsystems – there is always hope. The sexforce which the couple expresses and allows through their lovemaking, is here coming to life as a volcano. It is dynamic and cannot be controlled. It will by its nature shatter the old and dead and create new life – in the individual and in society. How does “Sexforce” compare to “Probiotic”. Did you pursue a different direction or do you perceive this album as a continuation? There was no agenda behind it, other than to make the best album we could. As “Okular” is about aliveness and creativity, as I see it, it would not be possible that the new album would sound like a poor mans version of the first album. It is the nature of life itself that there will be a progression – unless we are stupid enough to hinder that from happening due to being influenced by some alienating ideas. The album is perhaps not a continuation seen from a linear and logical perspective, but if you look at the deeper driving forces behind the music, there IS a continuation. You February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

could say the album is a continuation of the first one, although it represents something different.

OKULAR

enough are often already too busy in various bands and projects to be able to commit to being permanent members. But we eventually got a complete “Sexforce” has got a multifaced lineup together, and this lineup will sound. Was there any deliberation or also be featured on the next album. So specific goals about the kind of music it is not only a lineup for liveplaying – to write for “Sexforce”, or did this is how “Okular” now appears as a everything come naturally when you complete band. started jamming together? When we decided to do this second What artists shaped you most? Who album, the songs were for the most part do you come back to now that you already complete. It was mostly a even listened to as a kid? question of me selecting the right I can answer only for myself: songs. There was no jamming involved. “Pantera”, “Morbid Angel”, “Death”, When selecting the songs, I wanted it “In Flames”, “Kreator”, “At The to sound a bit different from the first Gates”, “Decapitated”, “Gojira” are album, and to explore some things that perhaps the ones that have perhaps were not covered on the first album. shaped me the most. But it is quite rare Such as having some of the songs be a that I listen to “alltimefavorites” such bit more crazy and technical, yet on the as these nowadays. I rather listen to other hand also feature some more new stuff. And I never listen to straightforward and simple songs. “Metallica” or “Iron Maiden” anymore, although I will still count a lot of their Other than the stable band members, music as very good. When I listen to how easy or difficult was it finding music, I usually emphasise to listen to session musicians to fit into the something I am not yet familiar with. puzzle? Such as in example listening to newer It was fairly easy to find session bands who are “pushing the musicians to be featured on the album boundaries” of extreme music, or – as we already had guitars, bass and listening to older bands within the drums covered by the stable band death metal genre which I may not be members – and those are the so familiar with yet. I rarely listen to instruments that demanded the most music for nostalgia etc, I find that preparation. We mainly used session quite boring. At the moment I am people for some of the vocals, as well actually not listening that much to as a few other things such as some music at all, and I often choose piano/orchestration and one song with something else than metal. acoustic guitars, done by another guitar player. On the other hand, it was very How much of the Viking philosophy hard to find musicians to complete the is ingrained into your everyday life? livelineup. It was difficult specifically I can only speak for myself. I am not because the music is hard to play – even sure what you mean by Viking harder than what many musicians are philosophy. I prefer to stay away from able to. And those who are skilled philosophy, in terms of beliefsystems February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

OKULAR

that are rigidly followed, as it can easily be a substitute from experiencing life directly and following my own heart and intuition. That said, I do believe that the Vikings embodied some desirable and distinct qualities. Every culture has its strengths and weaknesses. I do believe that the Vikings were intense and strong people – and that those qualities can be used in both good and bad ways. I can sometimes feel a connection to what I perceive as a “Viking fierceness”, especially when it comes to the sense of not compromising with what I perceive to be true. I can sometimes tap into a courage that does not allow me to accept halftruths and superficial politeness. This might be something that lies within me partly as universal qualities, but also partly as a Viking heritage. But in either case it is not a matter of philosophy, it is a matter of allowing what naturally wants to express itself – when cultural dogmas and psychological defences are put aside. What are your artistic ambitions? What would you like to achieve as a musician? Speaking for myself as a composer and lyricist, I would like to continue to push my own boundaries, and I would like our coming albums to take new and interesting turns. I would also like to see a decent level of success for “Okular”, both in terms of concerts and in terms of getting more established within the metal scene in general. In regards to this, there are many practicalities that needs to be taken care of. It is not enough to write good songs or be good musicians. We need to promote the band in a good way, 24

have a long term vision of what we want to achieve etc. What's in the future for “Okular”? More albums, more liveplaying, reaching out to more people. Thanks man! Last words are yours. Check us out, and thanks for the support! www.facebook.com/okularmetal www.okularmetal.com

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

SPHERON

“Spheron” is a young death metal band from Ludwigshafen, Germany. They have succeeded to achieve a global recognition in a very short time with their first full length album “Ecstasy of God”, out on “Apostasy Records”. This album marks a band truly confident of their sound, and experts in their genre. It’s rare that a band shows such high level of cohesiveness only on their first release. Bass player and lyricist Matthias Minor took some time to share thoughts about “Ecstasy of God”. He goes amazingly in depth in the interview and sheds some light on what it was like making one of the best death metal albums of 2013.

Congrats on releasing such a strong album as “Ecstasy of God”. As a relatively young band are you surprised by all the positive and encouraging attention you've received thus far? I wouldn't say we're surprised about the positive reactions in general, because we really took our time to get “Ecstasy of God” as close to our expectations as possible, but still we're quite impressed about how many people reacted on it and how far the message about it has spread. We're still February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

a young band, as you already said, and no one can expect a band's first full length album to be widely noticed from the very beginning. I guess it's due to the hard work of our new label “Apostasy Records” that our album did get so much attention anyway. What did you set out to accomplish as a band with “Ecstasy of God”? Maybe you'll be disappointed to hear, but actually we don't spend too much time on thinking about our goals as a band. At least we don't have any

SPHERON

revolutionary and farsighted ambitions such as “Let's become the most technical band on earth!” or “Let's give the word 'Death Metal' a whole new meaning!”. “Ecstasy of God” is a rather spontaneous product of our creativity. The music was written with care, but it's not meant to “accomplish” anything. Of course we wanted to show our stuff around to let people know about our work, and of course we wanted to present it as good as we could, but I don't think there is much more behind it. Could you please describe the implications of the title “Ecstasy of God”? All the lyrics on the album deal with man's need to devote himself to a higher principle, or in other words, to a god in a metaphorical (and actual) sense. This devotion is like an ecstasy: illusive, but still clarifying, calming, but destructive, needed by many, though necessary to no one. Each song tries to deconstruct another “god” of man, such as subjectivity, perception, science, moral, aesthetics and (not only, but also) religion. We kind of stole the phrase “Ecstasy of God” from our friends from “Deadborn” as a tribute to their great music, and because it matched perfectly well with the leading concept behind our lyrics.

with your musical vision? Even though we're damn proud of our cover artwork, the whole layout story was surely the biggest problem of the whole production. We were desperately searching for an artist, who was able to visualize the atmosphere of our music, but most of the art samples just looked like typical death metal clichés or uncreative copies from other bands. We even tried to let Daniel paint his own artwork for us, but despite his awesome painting skills he could not really convince all of us. Months after the actual recording we finally saw Eliran Kantor's art on the internet and knew: “He's going to make it!”. And I have to say, his way of working is brilliant. After we had engaged him, he did not need any instructions or corrections at all, he just studied our lyrics and came up with a great concept inspired by the biblical myth of the golden calf combined with post apocalyptic and dystopic influences. His clever and creative interpretation of our music absolutely completed our conceptual package, adding a whole new perspective to it. We just had to take his cover.

Your tracks are bursting with different riffs and progressions. Is it a natural byproduct of your individual tastes and influences? Thanks for the What can you tell us about the cover ByProduct! artwork for “Ecstasy of God”? How compliment. That sounds as if the ideas did you get in touch with Eliran just fell down from our ingenious asses Kantor? How does his artwork fit while we're sitting on the toilet. 26

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Unfortunately we still have to think about what we're doing and our songwriting in the group mainly consists of some kind of trialand errorprocess. But still I would say that our musical brain Tobias A., who writes around 90% of our music, has a very natural and spontaneous style of composing. He often “finds” the riffs on the guitar before writing them down and of course his fingers often just play variations of what they have learned so far. So yes, to some extent his musical influences just sneak into the songs without being planned. Maybe your impression that our album is full of different styles is just a result of Tobias's wide ranged playing experience. What bands and albums are you personally listening to most often? What would someone be surprised to find in your music collection? Well, with these questions I can only speak for myself, but right now I'm totally into the music of “Vektor”, who have the most creative and innovative way of playing I've heared the last two years. Also I'm absolutely captivated by “Exivious” who gave a perfect response to the music of my beloved “Cynic”, especially concerning the bass playing. Apart from that my all timefavourites are bands like “Ahab”, “Obscura”, “Deadborn”, “Opeth”, “Necrophagist”, “Behemoth”, “Death”, but also “Moonsorrow”, “Enslaved”, February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

SPHERON

“Dark Fortress”, “Melechesh”, and all that boring metal legends (sorry to those, who wanted to see something new here). Maybe the most surprising thing for a fan of “Spheron” is my love for the orchestral music of Frank Zappa, who is extremely undererstimated in this genre. The

album

was produced by Christoph Brandes (“Iguana Studios”), what made him the perfect producer for “Spheron”? How did his work enhance the nature of your sound? Christoph was definitely indispensable for the whole product “Ecstasy of God” as it can be heared now. Without his passion and experience I think most of our ideas on the album would just sound uninspired and unemotional, but as he primarily worked for the final result and not just to get the work done, it feels like there is even more ideas on the album than we put into it. Also Christoph was perfectly able to find a brilliant compromise between a harsh, technical sound and a warm, atmospheric sound, which is basically Spheron's sound desire number one. I guess we couldn't be more satisfied. How much important has been also Tomasz Wisniewski from “Apostasy Records” in the development of “Spheron”? Tomasz is the main reason for our

SPHERON

album to be so widely appreciated and maybe also the reason why you can read this interview right now. Even though “Ecstasy of God” is really something to be proud of, I don't think anyone apart from our live audience would even know about it, not to mention how many gigs we would not have played. If we did anything right in our short musical “career”, then it was working with “Apostasy Records”. German extreme metal scene has been always good. Actually, many German death metal bands are doing well and are well recognized throughout the underground. Do you think German death metal scene is getting better nowadays? Yes, Death Metal is definitely getting more professional, more innovative, and more selfreflected nowadays, but I would say that this is rather a global phenomenon and not only limited to Germany. The technical developments in sound engineering, amplification and recording combined with the improved spreading of information via new forms of internet made it possible to give such a small musical genre enough possibilities to exceed its own standards. Maybe Germany as a highly developed country benefits from these innovations a little more than a few others, but I don't believe we have an exclusively national trend here. . Promotional videos are always good tools for getting band promoted. Do you think “Spheron” might consider shooting a video next? We're currently thinking about making a music video, but we must still evaluate our technical possibilities and we also haven't decided about what 28

could be seen on it. I mean, the internet is full of boring clips with headbanging guitar players in an old factory hall. Let's see if we can make the world a little better by avoiding such a crap. Now that you've released “Ecstasy of God”, what will your next move be? As you may have guessed, we're already working on the next album right now, which is going to be more atmospheric, more aggressive and even a little catchier. Pseudodeepminded as ever the lyrics will be about the predetermined nature of the universe. Hopefully you won't have to wait another three years for it. Promising artwork designers wanted. Is there anything you want to say to close this up? Thank you for this very interesting interview and the support in “Spheron”!

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

AVERSE CONCEPT

“ Av e r s e C o n c e p t ” i s a U S b a s e d b l a c k m e t a l d u o t h a t s e l f released this “Symbol of Loss” EP in 2013. I did find “Symbol of Loss” to be an engaging and varied listen. With four songs and a short instrumental, it features a somewhat progressed black metal approach that incorporates both some old 90s style blastbeats with post metal passages, as well as hints of h a r d c o r e a s p e c t s . “ Av e r s e C o n c e p t ” r e a l l y d o t r a n s c e n d b l a c k metal, especially for its use of hardcore vocals surprising p o p p i n g u p a l o n g t h e w a y. H o w e v e r , “ Av e r s e C o n c e p t ” d o e s n ' t overindulge in the experimental field. The atmospherics are controlled and every element are focused. The drumming are s o l i d , t h e g u i t a r s a r e f u z z y, b o t h c r e a t i n g a w a l l o f s o u n d while still displaying a discrete level of rhythmic skill. The band's songwriting suggests they have quite a bit of promise, so if they keep pursuing their abilities for further development, t h e i r f u t u r e w o r k w i l l b e m e t w i t h a m o r e t h a n w i l l i n g e a r. Averse Concept Symbol of Loss Self Released 21 February 2013

Track Listing: 1. Grey Skies 2. Welcome to the Trance 3. Resigned Devotion 4. Desolate Alleviate 5. Clouded Recovery

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

www.facebook.com/pages/AverseConcept

BESIEGED

Canadians “Besieged” originally selfreleased “Victims Beyond All Help” in 2010. This album is now seeing an official CD reissue through “Unspeakable Axe”, the sub label of “Dark Descent Records”. “Besieged” plays a betterthanaverage highspeed deaththrash. They released an album that might be best measured by the soreness in your neck rather than its level of originality. “Victims Beyond All Help” have that of a "been there, done that" feel, and it is openly influenced by “Sepultura’s” early stuff. In its way, this album is a nostalgia trip back to the heyday of raw deaththrash metal. All seven songs on here are characterized by a plethora of fast riffs. All tracks display a strong sense of furious riffing along with some insane solos. The lead work is a little light on the melody and high on the aggressively fast notepunching. The drumming is also not bad but nothing to brag about, basically little more than just pummeling the skins. About the thing that I could possibly find worn with this album is that at times it does get kind of repetitive attitude. The band shows a pretty one dimensional fast sound with songs that do not feature many tempo changes, and creative transition riffing. Overall, this is a good highspeed deaththrash album. Though at times repetitious, the work done on here still kicks ass. Besieged Victims Beyond All Help Unspeakable Axe Records 9 July 2013 Track Listing: 1. Internal Suffering 2. Death 3. Buried Alive 4. The End 5. Victims Beyond All Help 6. Trapped Inside 7. Black 30

www.facebook.com/Besiegedthrash www.facebook.com/unspeakableaxerecords

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

BURIAL VAULT

G e r m a n a l l a r o u n d d e a t h m e t a l b a n d “ B u r i a l Va u l t ” r e l e a s e d t h e i r sophomore album “Incendium” on “Apostasy Records”, just after a year later their fulllength debut “Ekpyrosis Periodic Destruction ” was released under the same label. “Incendium” is designed as a concept album inspired by classic novel "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray B r a d b u r y. R e c o r d e d a t t h e “ S o u n d l o d g e S t u d i o ” w i t h p r o d u c e r J o e r g Uken (“DewScented”, “Nightfall”, “God Dethroned”), it combines speedy pace brutality with moments of lightness and beauty that expertly crosses genres and styles. There are two sides in “Burial Va u l t ' s ” s o u n d t h a t c o e x i s t t o g e t h e r. T h e f i r s t i s a f a s t s t y l e o f t h r a s h y d e a t h m e t a l w i t h a s t r o n g s e n s e o f m e l o d y. T h e s e c o n d , a n d t h e p a r t t h a t h a s m u c h a p p e a l e d t o m e p e r s o n a l l y, i s t h e d a r k e m o t i o n a l c o n t e n t that borders on black metal. “Incendium”embodies both of these sides p e r f e c t l y b a l a n c e d . B r i n g i n g i t a l l t o g e t h e r, “ B u r i a l Va u l t ” h a v e p u t out a good record that could excite and attract horde of metalheads with their progressive influences and the energy of their music. Burial Vault

Incendium Apostasy Records, 24 May 2013

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Track Listing: Chapter I: 01. The Stench Of Burning Thoughts 02. A Blind Follower And A Watchful Hound Chapter II: 03. Soil & Green 04. Peculiar 05. The Nightly Horror 06. Prelude To Peripety 07. Fatal Accident Chapter III: 08. Struggling Doubt 09. Moment Of Truth 10. Awareness Chapter IV: 11. Surveillance Web 12. Catharsis 13. Black Into White

CENTURA

“Centura” is an American extreme metal band from Charleston, South Carolina. In 2010, they put out their first, and actually, only release so far: the “Black Sheep” EP. Stylistically the band ranges from fast thrash and groove, to a more straight laced melodic death metal with hardcore influences and classic heavy metal touches. The average pace on this EP is high. The songs are not too complex, but performed with a lot of energy. These four tracks stick in your head at most by the second listen. The guitar work stepped up with some cool riffs, incorporating some groovemetal in its attack. The lead work takes a bit of backseat on this EP compared to the rhythmic riffs. The vocal lines are intense and extreme as well, but in a way that avoid both the guttural and the screaming tones. Beside the quite lofi production, the greatest misconception about this EP is that there is a general constancy in the aggression factor and a lack of atmospheric nuance. Basically, all songs rely on percussive and riff contrast rather than melodic development to achieve a sense of variety. Still, the songs sometimes seem to lose their edge with choruses that are completely at odds with the rest of the music and, as a result, “Centura” lose much of their appeal. In conclusion, “Black Sheep” is a valid work but with undesired flashes of immature songwriting.

Centura Black Sheep 2010

Track Listing: 1. Black Sheep 2. Sky Inferno 3. Death Bed 4. Ghost

www.facebook.com/centurametal

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

DARKALL SLAVES

“ Darkall Slaves’ ” single “Abysses of Seclusion” (limited to 1000 handnumbered copies available through “Kaotoxin Records”), firmly shows that these frenchmen have spent a lot of time listening to US brutal death metal bands. They bring back the true roots of the early 90’s wi t h t he se t wo songs, t ha t c e rt a i nl y prove t he ba nd’s abilities as capable musicians and as a band. “Abysses of Seclusion” shows an album which is not pushing the boundaries by any stretch, but is able to deliver a sound which is full of all those dirty and gritty tones, groove e l e m e n t s a n d r i ff i n g t e c h n i c a l i t y, a l l r e m i n i s c e n t o f o l d US death metal school, that can be reasonably described a s c l a s s i c b r u t a l i t y. “ A b y s s e s o f S e c l u s i o n ” h a s j u s t enough of every element to intrigue and keep the attention projected towards their debut fulllength album, which is planned to be released sometimes during 2014. DARKALL SLAVES

Abysses of Seclusion 3 June 2013 Kaotoxin Records Track Listing: 1. Intro 2. Mindless Damnation 3. Abysses of Seclusion

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

www.facebook.com/darkallslaves www.kaotoxin.com

EMBLAZONED

“Emblazoned” is a death metal act hailing from Milwaukee. It's a band which is filled with veteran members who have performed in some well recognized US death metal bands, like “Jungle Rot” and “Decrepit Birth”. “The Living Magisterium” is the title of t h e i r s e c o n d E P. T h e r e l e a s e i s f i v e s o n g s l o n g , f o r a t o t a l o f about fifteen minutes of listening time. In terms of riff composition and instrumental execution it's all well done. Their blackened death metal sound is characterized by lightning fast blast beats, highintensity death metal riffs, and a handful of wistful and inspiring riffs that are able to throw highlights to certain catchy sections. These small moments of catchiness break up the huge wall of force brought on by the guitars, that give the m u s i c a s p e c i f i c m o o d w i t h o u t g o i n g i n t o m e l o d i c t e r r i t o r y. Overall, “The Living Magisterium” is an angry and solid release that is worthy to be checked for its hysterical death & black metal paces and good musicianship showed throughout.

Emblazoned

The Living Magisterium Deepsend Records 3 September 2013 Track Listing: 1. Premonition 2. Extiction of Creation 3. Bound By Eternal Penance 4. Refuge In Darkness 5. In Ex Cathedra 34

www.facebook.com/emblazoned666 www.deepsend.com

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

ETERNAL REST

Australia’s “Eternal Rest” released their debut fulllength album “Prophetic” through “Deepsend Records”. This nine track album delivers a well performed HP death metal that hits for freshness and ferocity. A seductive heavy riff present at the beginning of the album helps to warm up your ears before the starting of the blastbeating scenario. However, the blastbeat isn't an auto pilot move for them. They try to find new ways to give more expressiveness to their furious sound. The guitars are very solid, technical riffs here and there are well meshed with some really great sounding acoustic licks. “Prophetic” turns like a mooddriven album with plenty of tanklike riffs performed with staunch intensity. “Eternal Rest” goes beyond the boundaries of the canonical death metal sound to embrace a “Nile” orientaloriented sound with excellent hooks and atmospheres that made the album enjoyable with its firm balance between groove and brutal dissonance. This album is not revolutionary in its roots but highlights the groove technicality and brutality behind “Eternal Rest”, and can be considered a good debut release.

Eternal Rest

Prophetic Deepsend Records 16 April 2013

Track Listing: 1. First Gate (Isten Baba) 2. Preaching the Decimation of Spheres 3. Acts of the Unspeakable 4. Manifestation 5. Infernal Reign 6. Prophetic 7. Onset of Destruction 8. Remnants 9. Last Gate February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

www.facebook.com/eternalrestband www.deepsend.com

EXHUMER

Five years after the release of their debut album, Italian's “Exhumer” unleash its successor titled “Degraded by Sepsis” via “Comatose Music”. This new release displays skills of technical brutal death metal. Tracks don’t exude atmosphere, challenge your brain, or push any boundaries. The album lives and breathes on its battering. The guitar work is excellent. It's gritty, intense, and technical. The bass, like the guitar, is technical and showcases a muddy tone; however, I wish that it was a little more audible at times. The vocals are a bit disappointing, they are not at all emotive, they’re not captivating, they’re just monotonous guttural death vocals. The drums, for the most part, are gravity blasting away and only occasionally deter from the standard blasting beat tempo. The few breaks from brutal death to groove don’t exactly transition from one another too cleanly. In addition, some of these slower parts, aren’t as heavy or as dark as I would have liked. The absence of sinister atmosphere is a big lack of this album. I know this feeling is difficult to represent in such a brutal form of death metal, but it would have been good sacrificing the technical merit for a nuance of evil atmosphere. Besides my complaints, any fan of the brutal death metal genre may find this album excellent and worthy of attention.

Exhumer

Degraded by Sepsis Comatose Music 15 October 2013 Track Listing: 1. Admire Your Ending 2. Vapours of Cadaveric Mucilage 3. Pungent Aroma of Uterine Necrosis 4. Effervescence of Corroded Coarse Remains 5. Foaming Secretions 6. Misery 7. Enzimas Podridas 8. Adipocere Corporal Glue 9. Scent of Decomposition 10. Degraded by Sepsis 11. Putrescine 36

www.facebook.com/exhumer.official

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

FUMIGATION

“Fumigation” is a five piece death metal band from Ottawa, ON, Canada. They have just released the debut full length album "Integrated Pest Management" on CDN Records. They have come up with a very laid style of brutal bottomheavy death metal. The listening experience here is absolutely delicious. The album’s tempo is primarily slow, never boring its listener with the abuse of nonstop blasting. Even though the music moves along at a similar snailslow slammin pace, throughout there are enough variations in each tracks that makes sure that the listeners’ attention doesn’t decline. The guitar work is precise and is based on true death metal riffs that are methodically crafted to yield a sort of melody, and always serve to follow into very well played slam sections. Guitar solos do not play a very important role on this album, with only few solos that can be found on here. Instead of soloing, guitar work focuses mostly on the brutal and omnipresent groove. The band is able to build up stinking atmospheres simply using heavy guitar riffs, well supported by deep cavernous vocal lines. In closing, this is a brilliant album. Truly crushing and powerful, with a lot of controlled skill involved.

Fumigation

Integrated Pest Management CDN Records 20 August 2013 Track Listing: 1. Craniofacial Duplication 2. Fleshlight Castration 3. Pediculosis (Mommy, I Have Lice) 4. Entomophagy 5. Methyl Bromide Poisoning 6. Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite 7. Evacuate the Hive 8. Rodenticide Torture 9. The Lick of Carnivorous Caterpillars 10. Vanier Shack (Roach Motel) February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

www.facebook.com/pages/Fumigation

GRAVEYARD OF SOULS

Spanish melodic deathdoom metal act “Graveyard of Souls” released their debut fulllength “Shadows of Life” under German metal label “FDARekotz”. The way as “Shadows of Life” has been conceived isn’t arcane or revolutionary by any means. “Graveyard of Souls” is a band that doesn't use complicated and unconventional musical structures. Stylistically speaking, their music is not complex at all and they try to make a good product f r o m s i m p l i c i t y, a v o i d i n g c o m p l e x f i e l d s . W h a t m a t t e r s f o r “ G r a v e y a r d o f S o u l s ” i s t o d e l i v e r a s o u n d s o m b e r, m o u r n f u l , and melodic at same time, to stick in your mind as the songs roll a l o n g . H o w e v e r, t h e y h a v e o n l y p a r t l y s u c c e e d e d i n t h e i r a i m . Where I feel that “Shadows of Life” falls off the wagon a bit is simply in the repetitive nature of the ideas on the album, with tracks almost lacking of memorable and enchanting moments. In conclusion, “Shadows of Life” is a good effort without a great deal of variety in its tracks. GRAVEYARD OF SOULS

Shadows of Life 21 June 2013 FDARekotz Track Listing: 1. Genesis 2. Shadows of Life 3. Dreaming of Some Day to Awake 4. Memories of the Future (We Are) 5. Follow Me 6. Mad World 7. Solitude's My Paradise 8. Dead Earth 9. There Will Come Soft Rains 38

www.facebook.com/GraveyardOfSouls www.fdarekotz.com

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

HAIDUK

“Haiduk”, originally formed in 2010, is a solid all around one man band, driven by Luka Milojica's mastermind. In 2012, following an eighttrack demo entitled “Plagueswept”, Luka selfreleased his first debut fulllength album entitled “Spellbook”. Luka has made no compromises with this release. The sound showed here is a dirty, crushing, and fast thrash/black metal infused also with a good bit of traditional death metal influences as well. The intents of Luka are shown from the very start, with the opening song “Lich”, where he takes you by surprise blasting away relentlessly. “Haiduk” is a creature that rely on its speed and aggression to make an impact. Instrumentally, this album unleashes a virulent storm of guitar riffs that make this album great. It all goes at a frenetic pace and the dark and occult feeling are forged by a thick density of contrasting guitar layers. In conclusion, “Spellbook” is a very interesting and original record, one that will resonate in your skull harder with each listen. HAIDUK

Spellbook 18 July 2012

Track Listing: 1. Lich 2. Stormcall 3. Black Wind 4. Maelstrom 5. Forcefield 6. Hex 7. Tremor 8. Fire Wield 9. Lightning 10. Vortex February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

www.facebook.com/haidukmetal www.myspace.com/haidukmetal

HUMILIATION

Malaysian “Humiliation” has released their fourth studio album “ Tu r b u l e n c e F r o m t h e D e e p ” , t h e f i r s t r e l e a s e u n d e r “ D e e p s e n d Records”. The album is a mix of death metal combined with some tastefully inserted doom sensibilities. There's nothing truly stand o u t h e r e i n t e r m s o f t e c h n i c a l i t y. T h e m u s i c i s v e r y o l d s c h o o l based, composed by rather simple, mostly mid paced riffing. It does have that gritty feel of the old days but its still sounds clean at the same time. Occasionally you’ll hear more melodic parts, but mostly t h e s o n g s a r e m a s s i v e l y g r o o v y a n d t o t a l l y h e a v y. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, some of the songs actually sound quite alike. The biggest factor in them sounding the same is probably the fact that the riffs mainly lack differentiation. Thus, songs came out without pretentiousness but also without the true class which could have elevate the album appeal. Humiliation

Tu r b u l e n c e F r o m t h e D e e p D e e p s e n d R e c o r d s, 2013 Track Listing: 1. No Return 2. Operation Obeo One 3. Phosphorous Shell 4. Calibrated Chaos 5. Bachok's Invasion 6. Sea Denial 7. Total War 9. Order of Battle 10. The Deadly Trouble 11. Submerged at the Seabed 40

www.humiliation.my/online/

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

HYBRID

“ H y b r i d” i s a S pa ni s h de a t h m e t a l ba nd f or m e d i n 20 04 by m us i c i a n s f r o m ot he r M a d r i d a c t s . “ A ng s t ” i s t he i r s o pho m or e a l bum out now on “ D e e p s e n d R e c or d s ” . “ A ng s t ” s t r a y s f a r a w a y f r om t h e bou nd a r i e s a nd e x pe c t a t i o n s of d e a t h m e t a l a nd e xp l or e s va r i ou s g e n r e s a nd e xt r e m e m us i c s t y l e s . I f o und m y s e l f i m p r e s s e d by t h e ba nd ' s gr e a t m us i c a l c a pa b i l i t y, b u t a p a r t f r om pl e a s a nt t e c hn i c a l a s pe c t , t he r e a r e di ve r s i t y a n d m e m o r a b l e v i ol e nt gr oo vi ng a nd m e l o dy a d de d he r e . T he y d o n ot j us t pl a yi n g t e c h n i c a l , b ut t he y p l a y w e l l t og e t h e r, c r e a t i ng a s ou nd t ha t i s s ur p r i s i n gl y o rg a n i c . T he r i ff s a r e bi z a r r e , t h e s ong s p r e s e n t m a ny di ff e r e n t pa t hs o f c o ns t r u c t i o n l a y e r i n g s e ve r a l pa t t e r ns a nd m us i c a l pa s s a g e s , bu t a t t he s a m e t i m e , not v a r y i n g s o m uc h t o t u r n o ut c ha ot i c . E a c h t r a c k i s m a de e v e n m or e i m pr e s s i ve t hr ou gh m a r v e l ou s j a z z s e gm e n t s t he b a n d t hr o w s i n h e r e a nd t h e r e . T h e i r s o un d a ppe a r s pr oj e c t e d t o i n n ov a t e t h e f us i on b e t w e e n de a t h m e t a l a n d p r ogr e s s i ve s e ns i bi l i t i e s . O v e r a l l , “ A ng s t ” s ho w s a n i n c r e di bl y t i ght pi e c e o f s ound, r y t h m i c a l l y a nd m e l odi c a l l y or i g i na l i n i t s c o m p os i t i o n. Hybrid Angst Deepsend Records 14 May 2013

Track Listing: 1. Flesh Fusion Threshold 2. Enter The Void 3. Collapse To None 4. SelfImplosion 5. Cuando El Destino Nos Alcance 6. AngstRidden Inertia 7. Doomed To Failure February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

www.facebook.com/hybridmetal www.deepsend.com

IMPRECATION

Texas' “Imprecation”, is an old underground band formed in 1991, who released two demos, an EP, a compilation, and then splitted in 1998. After the 2009 lineup reactivation, “Imprecation” are back with their first fulllength album, “Satanae Tenebris Infinita”. It's a dirty early90's death metal album. The band plays an old and raw death metal along with some atmospheric tones obtained by keyboards. The influence of the East Coast death metal is obvious on the band, sharing some similarities with “Morbid Angel'” and “Incantation”. The emphasis that goes with “Imprecation's” music is never on highspeed or technicality. The band focuses more on groove rather then being overtly brutal or fast. Slower, haunting passages are interlaced with early death metal parts and slow doom sections where you can recognize some “Hellhammer / Celtic Frost” influences. The leads are frenzied rather than melodic, and things are kept largely simplistic. The production on this release has a primitive sound quality, giving it a certain 90's death metal charm. Overall, “Imprecation” delivers some good death metal anthems and the quality of their oldstyle songwriting doesn't disappoint, but sometimes this material doesn't have enough rotten energy to fully crush my head. Imprecation Satanae Tenebris Infinita Dark Descent Records 25 June 2013 Track Listing: 1. Blood Dominion 2. From Beyond The Fiery Temples 3. Hosanna Ex Inferis 4. Angel of Salvation’s Doom 5. The Coils of Eden 6. Chapel of Rotting Flesh 7. Rancid Blood on Blackened Thorns 8. Of The Black Earth 9. Carrion Winds of Golgotha

www.facebook.com/pages/Imprecation www.darkdescentrecords.com

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

MASADA

H a i l i n g f r o m t h e c i t y o f b r o t h e r h o o d l o v e , P h i l a d e l p h i a ( PA ) , “Masada” released "Hideous Rot" EP by “Deathgasm Records”. This release is pretty cool. Songs are stylistically fragmented and emotionally schizophrenic and are conceived with different paths of construction, but at the same time, not varying so much to blow your mind. They are able to incorporate ample amounts of oldschool death metal feel into their music while still remaining tasteful, original, and interesting. In addition, touches of thrash variations sometimes alternate between heavier and darker moments. This EP features also a flute song titled “Fluteotherapy” performed by Clive Jones of 70s rock b a n d “ B l a c k Wi d o w ” . T h i s s o n g l i v e s o n t h e c u t t i n g e d g e o f experimental music. The eclectic mix of vocal effects, improvisation, minimalism, and experimental flute sound set it apart from the rest of t h e r e l e a s e . I t ' s a n a w e s o m e t r a c k t o h e a r. I n c o n c l u s i o n , “ H i d e o u s Rot” definitely deserves a listen if you have an appreciation for old school death metal played with an original approach.

Masada

Hideous Rot D e a t h g a s m Records February 2013 Track Listing: 1. Hideous Cerebral Pulp 2. Fluteotherapy 3. Exist to Rot 4. Suffer Mental Decay 5. Toxic Unreality February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

www.facebook.com/masadadasam www.deathgasm.com

NECROTIC DISGORGEMENT

“Necrotic Disgorgement”, after more than nine years from their debut album, have returned with their second fulllength release: “Documentaries of Dementia”. And what a come back it is! “Documentaries of Dementia” is an exemplary piece of brutal and technical death metal. It's not technical in an “Atheist” musical style, but more like “Suffocation”. It is full of twisting guitar riffs and solos, lightning fast and precise drumming. Instrumentation appears tight and locks in together precisely. The songs are well written and the song structure is pretty coherent and flows as well as brutal death metal can. However, “Documentaries of Dementia” is not an album you can thoroughly digest upon first listen. There are so many riffs, slumming fragments, ideas and transitions in this album to fill up two albums by other bands. After listening to it multiple times you finally realize that “Documentaries of Dementia” is a so good piece of art. The production is relatively clean and matches the material. In conclusion, “Documentaries of Dementia” is an album that is able to catch brutal death metal ears and lead them to enjoyment. Necrotic Disgorgement Documentaries of Dementia Comatose Music 25 June 2013 Track Listing:

1. Intronitiation 2. Pincushion Pussy 3. Conceived for Incest 4. Postmortem Fluid Evacuation 5. Crack Whore Compost 6. Anal Trauma 7. Icepick Ear Sodomy 8. Grotesque Skeletal Reconstruction 9. Defecation Delicacy 10. He Wears the Flesh 44

www.facebook.com/Necrotic.Disgorgement.official

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

NEFAS TERRA

“ N e f a s Te r r a ” i s a R u s s i a n b l a c k m e t a l a c t f r o m P o d o l s k . I t w a s f o u n d e d i n 2 0 0 5 , t h e n s p l i t u p i n 2 0 0 6 . I n 2 0 11 t h e b a n d w a s reactivated, after which it was recorded the album “Life in Darkness". The album flows nicely from start to end. Noisy and intense from start to finish, backed up with powerful guitar riffs, the tracks as a whole are wellconstructed. The music draws heavily from furious black metal, but also contains many elements of melodic death metal. The soft and harsh sections contrast well against each other and give the tracks depth. Sure, the album has these highlights, but once you reach the end, you tend to find yourself more moderately pleased than blown a w a y. Wi t h i n t h e t r a c k s y o u g e t a s e n s e o f d e j a v u a n d n e a r l y e v e r y one has the same structure. The songs are pretty on par with one a n o t h e r, a n d I g u e s s a r e f a i r l y s i m i l a r t o o n e a n o t h e r. T h o u g h t h i s record isn’t really an innovating piece of art, the band does allow t h e i r o w n t o u c h t o s h i n e t h r o u g h o c c a s i o n a l l y. O v e r a l l , t h i s i s a s o l i d , if not necessarily groundbreaking release. Nefas Terra Life in Darkness 2011 Track Listing: 1. Life in Darkness. 2. NO Exit 3. Early Christianity 4. Vice 5. Suicide 6. Poison

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

www.facebook.com/NefasTerra www.vkontakte.ru/nefasterra

PANTHEON OF BLOOD

“Pantheon of Blood” are a Finnish black metal band that have put o u t t h e i r s e c o n d a n d n e w e s t E P “ Te t r a s o m i a ” f o r “ E l d r i t c h L u n a r Miasma Records”. The release contains four tracks, for a total lenght time of about 18 minutes. The music is heavily devoted to m e l o d i c b l a c k m e t a l g e n r e . C a t c h y, m e l o d i c r i f f i n g a n d p l e n t i f u l double bass are present everywhere. While the drums focus on the speed of the album, the guitars take their time with the melodic riffs. From time to time the guitars also attempt more tricky passages but losing most of their melodic vibe. Otherwise, if “ Te t r a s o m i a ” s o u n d s a l s o b r u t a l t h i s i s m a i n l y d u e t o t h e v o c a l , t h a t comes into its own and turns out to be the greatest part of this album, creating a sense of ritual participation in the occult leanings of the band. Overall, the songs are quite simple, but certainly aren’t boring, and though a bit repetitive at times, I wouldn’t say they l o s e t h e l i s t e n e r. “ Te t r a s o m i a ” m a y n o t b e a n i n n o v a t i v e e f f o r t , b u t it shows some depth and offers some hope for the future. Pantheon of Blood Te t r a s o m i a Eldritch Lunar Miasma Records 2013

Track Listing: 1. Thunder Alchemy 2. Monta Maailmaa Nähnyt 3. Stigma ja Kolmikärki 4. I.N.R.I. (Igne Natura Renovatur Integra)

www.pantheonofblood.bandcamp.com/album/tetrasomia eldritchlunarmiasma@gmail.com

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

POTENTIAL THREAT SF

“Potential Threat SF” is a Bay Area thrash metal band originally formed in 1986, but they didn't release their first fulllength until 2009. Their sophomore album is “Civilization Under Threat” released via “Old School Metal Records”. It's based on musical elements that have already been played by other Bay Area thrash metal bands, and delivers some of that classic thrash energy with its midpaced tempo. The songs themselves are quite long and have a quite complicated structure. Opener “Destroy And Dominate” is a tune lead by pounding drums and guitars and it's successfully countered with thrashing punkrock chorus. It's overwhelming because of its simplicity and efficiency. It's exactly what a good opener on any thrash metal album should be. The rest of the songs are hit or miss, with each song that has some solid moments but usually misses with a bad chorus, bad phrasing choices, or just suffers uninteresting songwriting. Vocal lines are strong, but they are performed without dynamicity which made the songs less brilliant. Guitars, bass and drums instead are played proficiently. The production isn't impeccable with guitar solos that are buried in the mix below the overthetop rhythmic section. In conclusion, “Civilization Under Threat” is an album for diehard thrash fans, especially fans of early Bay Area styled thrash. Potential Threat SF Civilization Under Threat Old School Metal Records 18 June 2013

Track Listing: 1. Intro 2. Destroy And Dominate 3. The Threat Of Things To Come 4. Stick To Your Guns 5. In For The Kill 6. Edge Of Insanity 7. Beneath The Surface 8. Behold The End 9. Written In Blood 10. Rise Of The Apocalypse February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

www.www.myspace.com/potentialthreatsf

SERPENT CROWN

“Serpent Crown” has just released their first, selftitled full length album through “Horror Pain Gore Death Productions”. Their music is based on midpaced thrash side of things being simple and heavy but not particularly calculated or structured specifically. There is a general constancy in the heavy factor and a lack of atmospheric nuance. Though admittedly repetitious at times, all six songs are good enough and pleasant to hear. Riff wise this album is heavy as hell, being a mix of the groovy thrash riffs with sludge tendencies. The few guitar leads recall some of 70s rock solos. However, they seem a bit arbitrary and dry as opposed to giving the tunes an extra boost in atmosphere. The vocal work is handled by lady guitarist Dara Santhai. Her vocalstyle sounds somewhat like a normal voice, although she can also peak at some shrill screams from time to time, but it turns out flattened and drained of character. The drums are lethal with the guy behind skins that makes full utilization of drumming skills. Surprisingly, the bass is audible throughout the vast majority of this album with a great tone. The overall production is quite rough, though not really much lower in fidelity of sound. In conclusion, though at times repetitious and though some may be put off by Dara's vocals, the work done on here still kicks ass. Serpent Crown Serpent Crown Horror Pain Gore Death Productions 4 June 2013 Track Listing: 1. No Beacon of Light 2. Prelude to the Netherworld 3. To Leave This Land 4. The Trickster 5. Doomsayer 6. Children of the Night 48

www.facebook.com/SerpentCrown www.serpentcrown.bandcamp.com

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

SIDIOUS

UK blackened death “Sidious” are offering this surprising “Ascension to the Throne ov Self” album. Taking their basic blackened death style and merging it with orchestral parts, “Sidious” brings us an highly creative accomplishment release, that is both amazingly atmospheric and absurdly brutal. Orchestration ends up to be a very addictive and enjoyable factor into their sound, and while bands like “Cradle of Filth” and “Dimmu Borgir” have long employed symphonic orchestration to accent their sound, “Sidious” manage to keep their sound much more linear, and therefore much more smoothly and listenable. Things never get boring here, all tracks hold interest and none are filler, with some of them head well off the blackened death beaten path. The guitar work is heavy and aggressive, built on interesting riff structures. Also working extremely well are the vocals, highly emotional and delivered with a characteristic growl tone. The production is great, and allows all the instruments to be picked out. Full credit for the production must be given to the legendary producer Russ Russell (“Dimmu Borgir”, “Napalm Death”, etc). “Ascension to the Throne ov Self” is unequivocally a good release that highly worth your consideration, money and time. SIDIOUS Ascension to the Throne ov Self Kaotoxin Records 7 May 2013

Track Listing: 1. Insurmountable mass 2. Sentient race 3. Nihilistic regeneration 4. Ascension to the throne ov self

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

www.facebook.com/sidiousofficial www.twitter.com/SidiousBand

SPHERON

"Ecstasy of God" is the debut fulllength album from German death metallers “Spheron”, out on “Apostasy Records”. “Spheron” drew me unsuspectingly with this release, and is hard to believe it's only a debut album. Their technical death metal is strong here, with furious growls and relentless drums, urgently pacing the skilled music. The creativity and songwriting skill on “Ecstasy Of God” shines through. In this album many music ideas have taken a great form and shape while including mounds of shred, changing tempos, and changing time signatures. Still, these straightup tech death metal songs change frequently from death or black to doom or just slow guitar riffs. All the tracks are greatly layered and complex, never easing into a rhythm or anything remotely comfortable, but not so much chaotic so that it shadows everything. The songs on “Ecstasy Of God” are all very wellwritten, and each one is unique. “Spheron” has succeeded to incorporate so many different extreme metal sensibility, mostly to an excellent result. “Ecstasy Of God” is certainly worth hearing, even if it’s just to hear remarkable m us i c i a ns h i p. SPHERON Ecstasy of God Apostasy Records, 5 July 2013

Track Listing:

1. A Means To An End 2. The Beheaded Coachman 3. Prestige Of The Mortals 4. Saturnian Satellites 5. Clasp The Thorns 6. Prelude To The Misery 7. Five Degrees 8. Pulse Of Instinct 9. Tragedy Of The Clerics 10. Choking On Incense 11. Anthropogenic 12. From Glint To Crackling 50

www.facebook.com/spheronmusic www.apostasyrecords.com

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

THE DARK AND BLEAK

“The Dark and Bleak” comes from Columbus, OH. It's a band carried by a young solo artist, Jonathyn Arthurs, just 16 year old. The music he presents is dark with a feeling of black malevolence all throughout. However, this does not sound like a typical black metal band, “The Dark and Bleak” hardly plays hyperfast, this is mostly mid paced. Moving from classic heavy metal to pounding, percussive traditional black metal to gothic metal atmosphere to death metal aggressiveness to his own variations on all of the above, this young man does not claim any allegiance to one style or genre and can seemingly move effortlessly between all of them. In this album the drum bases are obviously rigid and mechanical sounding. However, the guitar work is solid, there are also some nice leads and excellent melodies and riffing segments thrown in for added atmosphere. “Rebirth” is not without some flaws, of course. This album does not maintain a high level of quality throughout the entirety of its eighteen (!) tracks, and at the moment Jonathyn Arthurs gives the impression to be unable to combine the various elements present here in order to create a coherent album. In conclusion, “Rebirth” is a very interesting and original record, with some signs of immaturity, yet promising ideas. THE DARK AND BLEAK Rebirth Selfreleased

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thedarkandbleak Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/thedarkandbleak Twitter: www.twitter.com/thedarkandbleak Reverbnation: www.reverbnation.com/thedarkandbleak thedarkandbleak@hotmail.com February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

TRIALS

“In the Shadow of Swords” is the sophomore release by Chicago (Da B e a rs! E d.) de a t ht hra sh m e t a l a c t “ Tri a l s” . T he ba nd j um ps from thrash metal to progressive metal at breakneck, stopstart i n t e r v a l s e a s i l y, w i t h g r e a t a t t e n t i o n t r i b u t e d t o m e l o d i c p a s s a g e s . This variety means that this kind of music may be worth your attention. The tracks offer a lot to discover but need some patience until they grow as they sound strangely complex and quite straight at the same time. The songwriting is focused, each song sounds in some way distinctive, but there is a little something that disturbs my full appreciation for this output: some melodies resemble too much those melodic passages used by late 1990s crappy neometal bands. H o w e v e r, wonderfully furious percussive elements, metallicthrashy guitars, and vocals that range from passionate sc re a m s a nd growl s t o m ore m e l odi c si ngi ng, m a ke s “ Tri a l s” sound listenable. TRIALS

In the Shadow of Swords 1 May 2013

Track Listing:

1. Conjoined 2. Believers in Black 3. Blueprints of Metaphor 4. In the Misery Machine 5. With Only Sorrow Now 6. All the Promises 7. Upon this Day 8. Ancestor 9. Embracing Nothing 10. Jawbreaker *(digital release only) 52

www.facebook.com/trialsmusic www.trials.bandcamp.com

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

WOUND

G e r m a n y ’s “ Wo u n d ” p u t o u t t h e i r f u l l l e n g t h d e b u t “ I n h a l e t h e Vo i d ” under FDA Rekotz. This record feels like legitimate old school death m e t a l . “ Wo u n d ” s h o w s t o b e a s o l i d a c t t h a t h a s m a d e n o c o m p r o m i s e s with this release. Their intents are shown from the very start, with a sort of Sunlight sound taking the place throughout. The riffage have much of that traditional harsher guitar sound from Sweden. The songs are not that complex. The time is mostly fast, sometimes changing into mid paced parts where the band focuses the attention on the pure heaviness through the riffs. The guitar work is delivered with a death'n'roll vibe and provides also an accessible bridge towards rock and punk territories. The drumming is simple, just standard rhythms and minimalist fills. The bass is very audible and it tends to play away from the guitars sometimes adding little good licks. The vocals are not t o o e x t r e m e b u t q u i t e r a g i n g a n d r a w. A l t h o u g h n o t h i n g r e v o l u t i o n a r y, this is a good death metal record with some solid hooks, a pleasure for most old school death metal fans. WOUND I n h a l e t h e Vo i d FDA Rekotz 26 July 2013

Track Listing: 1. Odium 2. Codex Arcanum 3. Echoes 4. The Unsolved Obscurity 5. Forever Denial 6. Confess The Filth 7. Corroded From Within 8. Among You 9. The Prince Of Tyranny 10. Inhale The Void February 2014 I Milfits 'zine

www.facebook.com/wound.deathmetal

WYTCHFILTH

“ Wy t c h f i l t h ” i s a o n e m a n b a n d o r i g i n a l l y f o r m e d a s “ Wi t c h k i n g ” b y sole member Grief in 2003. After several demos, Grief released his f i r s t E P e n t i t l e d “ T h e Vo i d O f H u m a n Wa s t e ” i n A p r i l 2 0 1 3 . “ Wy t c h f i l t h ” i s n ’ t p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t e r e s t e d i n g e n r e p u r i t y o r r e m a i n i n g true to the early incarnations of black metal. This EP spills some i n d u s t r i a l a n d p s y c h e d e l i c s o u n d s i n t o b l a c k m e t a l . H o w e v e r, i t o f f e r s a wellrounded listen, giving both the black metal and the experimental aspects some time to have the focus. There is the genre of black metal itself with its raw and abrasive wall of sound, but it also has a strange tendency to remind its listeners that everything about black metal is bizarre. It presents as a strangely melodic black metal over caustic blasts, obtained by drum machine, that suddenly manages to devolve into a void of faint chiming percussion, drowned i n a n u n f e e l i n g , r o b o t i c v o c a l g l a z e . “ T h e Vo i d O f H u m a n Wa s t e ” E P is a good effort which feeds the appetite for the origins of black metal w h i l s t s o m e h o w r e f u s i n g t o n e g l e c t t h e e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n o f t h e n o w. WYTCHFILTH The Void Of Human Waste Self Released April 2013

Track Listing: 1. The Six Limbed Child 2. A Drink To Malice 3. The Void Of Human Waste 4. Where Nothing Exists And Nothing Speaks

www.facebook.com/Wytchfilth www.wytchfilth.bandcamp.com www.wytchfilthstore.bigcartel.com

February 2014 I Milfits 'zine