AN NCS INTERVIEW: GOST

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Mar 072024
 

(We’re grateful to Daniel Barkasi for reaching out to Gost, and to Gost for participating in the discussion with Dan that we now present, on the eve of release of Gost‘s new album on Metal Blade. We’ll present Dan‘s review tomorrow.)

To those familiar with the darker side of synthwave, no doubt Gost has crossed your listening pathways. Also known as James Lollar, the Texas native exploded onto the burgeoning synthwave scene with a highly unique take on the genre with debut EP Radio Macabre in 2013, soon followed by Skull. Since then, Gost has – along with the likes of Carpenter Brut, Perturbator, and Dance with the Dead, among others – spearheaded the darksynth style into existence, and ultimately, the prominence it has ascended to today.

Always on the creative forefront and never stale, Gost has amassed an impressively eclectic discography. The worlds of electronic music and metal also merge with Gost, who has dabbled in metal projects in the past, and has toured with the likes of Mayhem and Katatonia. Even a heralded performance at Maryland Deathfest in 2017. Gost stretches the boundaries of what’s possible between the two genres.

Now, with a brand new album in the form of Prophecy, Gost has returned to his bombastic early days, while not losing the industrial and gothic influences that have been integral components of his more recent work. He was gracious enough to have a chat about how the new record came to be, the contentious climate of the world today, his connection with metal music, and a variety of other interesting topics. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: AGNETE MANGNES KIRKEVAAG (MADDER MORTEM)

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Mar 042024
 


photo by Camilla NessetKnut J. Berget

(Our old friend KevinP has rejoined us at NCS with a very special interview of Agnete M. Kirkevaag that we’re very happy to share with you now, about one month after the release of Madder Mortem‘s latest album [enthusiastically reviewed here by Andy Synn].)

It has been 8 years since we’ve last sat down with Agnete Mangnes Kirkevaag, lead vocalist of Norway’s Madder Mortem. An abundance of things have transpired in her life since that time; 2 full length albums and a documentary about the band have been released, coupled with personal loss, mental and physical transformation.

Please join me again as I delve into the psyche of an enlightened and articulate gem of a human being. We discuss the new album, Old Eyes, New Heat (released January 26, 2024 via Dark Essence Records), how growing up in Norway and cultural norms shaped her life, who we have to thank for the band’s existence, and her journey of acceptance and gratitude. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: VLTIMAS (RUNE ERIKSEN)

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Mar 012024
 


photo ©Jolanda Siemonsa

(Our old friend Ben Manzella returns to NCS with the following interview of Rune Eriksen. The focus is on Vltimas, whose new album EPIC is set for release on March 15th by Season of Mist.)

While there are still a few weeks until Vltimas’ fittingly titled next LP, EPIC, is released, I’m grateful to present this brief conversation with Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen. After editing it for clarity and reading over his answers from our email exchange, I only wish we could have met in person for this conversation. He offered plenty of info, I think, for the few questions presented here.

If you have yet to pre-order EPIC through Season of Mist, the time is now. This rollercoaster of personality in recorded form hit me like a train from the first listen. The creative trio of David Vincent, Flo Mounier, and Rune is hard to match and even describe. They have crafted an extreme metal record that will stand out not only in the year 2024 but in general, and I would not be surprised to see it on many year-end favorite lists. EPIC is due for release on the 15th of March. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ALKALOID (HANNES GROSSMANN)

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Feb 232024
 


Photo Credit: Christian Martin Weiss

(Delays of various kinds make this interview of Hannes Grossmann by Comrade Aleks later in coming than we would have liked, but it’s better late than never, as we hope you will agree!)

This interview was started by email in October 2023 or so, and why do we publish it now? Because things happen not as planned, and it took too much time to finish it, though even that didn’t help much, so I feel it is incomplete. And I bet that you already heard Alkaloid’s third album Numen, which was released by Season of Mist last September, so what else to add?

However, it was good to get a response from Hannes Grossmann, Alkaloid’s drummer and a super-busy musician who’s involved in a few more bands and projects. You can listen to some of Numen’s songs while you read the text. I think that it won’t take much time. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULTEN

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Feb 222024
 

(Anyone who has followed Comrade Aleks lo these many years knows that if any metal band is inspired by the works of HP Lovecraft he will eventually talk with them. As he did with Joseph Curwen from the Chilean death metal band Unaussprechlichen Kulten, and a good conversation it was.)

Chilean death metal band Unaussprechlichen Kulten was named after the fictional occult grimoire invented by H.P Lovecraft and R. E. Howard. And, according to its name, the band have continued to channel the will of ancient malign entities through their ferocious and macabre songs since 1999.

Their six album Häxan Sabaoth was released by Iron Bonehead Productions on the 2nd of February, and we made this interview with Unaussprechlichen Kulten founder Joseph Curwen (vocals, guitars) in the lead-up to its release. And, in my opinion, we had a pretty smart, even witty conversation thanks to Joseph. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: FUNGOID STREAM

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Feb 212024
 

(The Argentinian funeral doom band Fungoid Stream has four albums to their name dating back to 2004, but not much news in the last 4+ years, so Comrade Aleks decided to reach out and see what’s happening. The following conversation with vocalist Simon O. was the result.)

We interview bands when something important happens in their careers: a release of a new album, a reunion, or a big tour. But sometimes just nothing happens! No reports from the studio, nothing about reissues of the back-catalogue or anniversary shows. And that too is a good reason to try to get in contact, to see if they’re still alive there in their underground.

Lovecraftian funeral doom duo Fungoid Stream are based in Buenos Aires. Joseph C. (all instruments) and Simon O. (vocals) released four albums since the band’s origin in 2003: Celaenus Fragments (2004), Oceanus (2010), Prehuman Shapes (2014), and The Winds Among the Stars (2019).

As you see, it’s too early to worry, because the pause after the most up-to-date release isn’t critical yet. But I worry anyway, that’s why we organized this interview with Simon O., Fungoid Stream’s vocalist, and it’s a right time for you to check the band if you haven’t met it before. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: GÉVAUDAN

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Feb 162024
 

(The UK doom metal band Gévaudan put out a hell of a good album in Umbra last fall, so good that Comrade Aleks felt compelled to reach out for an interview, and the results are his very engaging conversation published below with Gévaudan bassist Andy Salt.)

The “Beast of Gévaudan” was a nickname of a semi-mythical man-eating wolf from French folklore. The creature made about 250 attacks on people in the Gévaudan region from 1764 to 1767, hence its name.

Several heavy bands are named after the beast, and the Hertfordshire doom metal quartet have carried it since 2013. Gévaudan was the first band for Andy Salt (bass) and David Himbury (drums), as Bruce Hamilton (guitar) had already performed in the stoner band Burn the Yeti, and Adam Pirmonhamed (vocals) had previously sung in the progressive thrash formation Manufacture.

First, the EPs Message for the Damned (2014) and Litost (2016) were released, then the group collected enough material for the full-length album Iter (2019), after which the presence of such a promising doom metal unit could no longer be ignored in the underground. So, by the end of 2023, Gévaudan came out with their second big work – Umbra. The album consists of one track with a duration of 43 minutes, and this is not nearly as scary and depressing as it might seem. This deep, emotional doom metal with epic (as well as progressive and psychedelic) touches has its original blend with recognizable traces of some classic acts.

A few of my doom-hooked friends recommended me Umbra, and it’s something each doom-head needs to know. Andy Salt told us a lot about the band’s and album’s backgrounds, so here we go. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ARIS SHOCK

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Feb 152024
 

(After some unforeseen delays on our part, today we are honored to bring you Comrade Aleks‘ in-depth interview with Greek metal writer and historian Aris Shock, focusing on his two landmark books about Hellenic black metal, and with hints about the third one to come.)

It’s an extremely rare case, but today we’ll speak not with a musician, but with a journalist. The paper books turn into artifacts, the runs drop low, and you won’t get rich writing about underground metal bands, I know. But some metalheads turn to keeping the old-school attitude, and that’s why we have a kind of small vinyl renaissance, reprinting some old fanzines, and so on.

Today we’ll speak with Aris Shock, who started to release a printed fanzine Shock! Aesthetics in 2001 covering extreme music and horror movies. His interest in both led him to the idea of focusing on covering and supporting the local underground scene. Thus, the Rites of the Abyss book was written. As Aris’ first book explored and revealed the history of such phenomena as Hellenic Black Metal, his second work was the natural continuation of the first one, as The Serpent & The Pentagram is the biography of Necromantia, one of three core representatives of the genre.

We did the interview with Necromantia‘s spiritual leader The Magus a few weeks before this one  regarding his new album and this book [published here], so the interview with Aris is one more logical link in the chain of events related to the world of Hellenic Black Metal for me personally. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: URLUK

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Feb 122024
 

(Today we present an excellent interview that Comrade Aleks conducted with the two members of the Italian black/doom band Urluk, with apologies to all concerned for our delay in publishing it.)

The grim Italian duo Urluk was founded by M. (drums, vocals) and U. (guitars) in 2020. They started their underground career with the EP Loss (2022), followed by the full-length More after a formal one-year-long pause. Five new compositions fit into 34 minutes, slightly ahead of the first release in total duration.

More is the spiritual successor to Loss, and the main motives of these five compositions are identical: loneliness, despair, occultism, and obsession with negative states, clothed in the form of black doom.

It is worth noting that “Urluk” in the Lombard dialect means “tawny owl”, an owl often found in this region and, in the context of the album, associated with abandoned dwellings and forests. In this strange way, the duo demonstrates a close connection with their native land and emphasizes an interest in mysticism and darkness in various forms. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DETHRONED

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Feb 082024
 

(Today we bring you Comrade Aleks‘ interview with guitarist/drummer Barkayal of the German black metal band Dethroned, with roots in the ’90s and a new album released in December 2023 by Dominance of Darkness Records.)

Germany’s Dethroned was founded in 1991 under another name, Mysticism. They changed it to Dethroned only in 1995 and continued to record demos until their split-up in 1999. A reunion in 2007 wasn’t fruitful at first, and it took ten more years to record the band’s first full-length Bluontrunst. But six more years passed, and now Dethroned have returned with their sophomore work A Bridge to Eternal Darkness.

The band consists of its original guitarist and drummer since 2007, Barkayal, his bandmate (vocalist and guitarist) since 1995, Nebulah Danyal, another vocalist Golzarath, the guitarist John Never, and bass player Corpse. Together, they provided quite a convincing act of blasphemy, and Barkayal has a few things to say about it. Continue reading »

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