AN NCS INTERVIEW: EVOKEN

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Oct 162025
 


all photos by Eva Tusquets

(We present our Comrade Aleks’ recent interview with John Paradiso, vocalist/guitarist of the long-running U.S. funeral doom band Evoken, whose first new album in seven years [reviewed here] will be released tomorrow by Profound Lore Records.)

While funereal death-doom has never been (and never will be) a popular genre, there are bands that know how to squeeze the most out of its dry rulebook and present their vision creatively and with a spark. American pioneers of this genre, Evoken, are generally considered to have formed in 1994, although the band had existed under other names since 1992. Of that original lineup, only two remain in Evoken today: Vince Verkay (drums) and John Paradiso (vocals, guitar). However, the rest of the band are no newcomers either: Don Zaros (keyboards), David Wagner (bass), and Chris Molinari (guitar) have been elevating this slow and agonizing funeral doom to the level of true art for over fifteen years.

I respected Evoken, albeit not fanatically, but their latest full-length Mendacium resonated with me, reflecting a lot of things happening in the world right now. And objectively, this moderately original, distinctive, and mature album is interesting not only from an artistic perspective, but also as a metaphor for a deeply ill world. A world in which we still live. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: GJALLARHORN’S WRATH

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Oct 102025
 

(Today we present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Lord Ashler, bassist of the multi-national black metal band Gjallarhorn’s Wrath, whose debut album The Silver Key is out now on Non Serviam Records.)

There was no way to pass by a release with obvious references to Lovecraftian mythology. The Silver Key may not be his coolest story, but as an important part of the Dream Cycle, it remains a landmark in his bibliography. Gjallarhorn’s Wrath is a young international black metal project that has nothing to do with Norse mythology, according to which Gjallarhorn was the golden horn of Heimdall, the guardian of the gods. The sound of this horn is supposed to herald the coming of Ragnarök, but I didn’t encounter anything of the sort in the project’s first album.

Formally, the members of Gjallarhorn’s Wrath live in four different countries, but in reality, the guitarist, bassist, and drummer hail from Spain, where they once played black metal all together. Only vocalist Alex Caron is originally from Canada.

The guys describe their black metal as “symphonic,” and such qualifications always make me wary, but Gjallarhorn’s Wrath successfully avoid all the traps of the unbridled carnival madness that some “symphonized” bands tend to indulge in. Orchestrations are present, they are tasteful, but, as a rule, they fade into the background compared to the guitar, which is naturally the main driving force of the songs, and, despite some theatricality, the project easily switches to the mode of destructive manifestations and, more rarely, reaches the level of infernal cacophony.

We interviewed Gjallarhorn’s Wrath’s bass-player Lord Ashler recently, and you can find it below easily. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: LIGHTS OF VIMANA

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Oct 092025
 

(We present Comrade Aleks’ interview of Riccardo Conforti, which focuses on his band Lights of Vimana and their debut album Neopolis, released in June of this year on the Dusktone label.)

Lights of Vimana is a new project of musicians known by a lot of doom fans. It features Jeremy Lewis, current guitarist for Pantheist and Mesmur, and Riccardo Conforti, drummer and keyboardist for the epic Italian project Void of Silence. On vocals is Olmo Lipani, aka Déhà, who has performed with Clouds and… well, he’s got about twenty other active projects and bands, ranging from the ambient drone band Slow to the cutting-edge black metal band Cult of Erinyes.

In short, there are only three members, but they’re all experienced and well-rounded. It’s hard to say who’s in charge in Lights of Vimana, but the rich, cinematic keyboard arrangements evoke similarities between Neopolis and Void of Silence‘s albums, so it seems as if Riccardo deserves credit for the music. On the other hand, the divinely inspired guitar melodies and progressive compositional structures are clearly the work of Lewis. Déhà, as a vocalist, has complete freedom of expression, and the album’s five tracks provide ample space for both growls and clean vocals.

Needless to say, this is a project I couldn’t skip easily, so we got in touch with them in order to shed some light (of Vimana) on Neopolis. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: STEVE MERRY (BE’LAKOR)

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Oct 062025
 


Photo Credit: Oli Sansom

(NCS contributor Tør last appeared in our shredded pages during the depths of the covid pandemic, but he rejoins us today from Australia with a very extensive and interesting interview of keyboardist Steve Merry from the Australian progressive/melodic death metal band Be’lakor following completion of their recent North American tour and just a few days away from the band’s three-date tour of Australia with Persefone and Orpheus Omega. We’re grateful to both of them for all the time and thoughtfulness they devoted to this discussion.)

NCS: Years ago when I was still in the US, I was always looking forward to you guys doing a US tour. So, that’s where I want to start because it kind of relates to me personally, but also just knowing that the tour landscape in the US is logistically so brutal. There’s a lot of travel involved, it’s a different culture, there’s gear challenges, and lots of other things going on. So my first question is, how did it go for you guys? Did it live up to your expectations?

SM: Well, firstly, I hope you’re coming to our Melbourne show, we’ve got you on the guest list.

NCS: Yes, I am!

Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: FER DE LANCE

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Oct 012025
 


photo by Matt Chains

(Comrade Aleks has brought us a truly excellent interview with members of Chicago-based Fer de Lance, whose enthusiasm for metal and their own music-making is highly infectious. Their latest album, which is an exception to the not-entirely-serious rule in our site’s title, is also an excellent one, and worth checking out before, during, or after this very engaging discussion.)

Around 2019, MP Popeye (vocals, guitar) and Pat Glockle aka Rüsty (bass) left the Chicago heavy doom band Professor Emeritus, so it took their friend Lee Smith another six years to find a new lineup and record a second, and by the way, very cool, album. But it was all part of a cunning plan, as MP and Rüsty quickly found collaborators (Scud on drums and J. Geist on guitars) and formed their own band, Fer De Lance, and in 2020 recorded the EP Colossus, followed by their full-length debut, The Hyperborean, in 2022.

To Fer de Lance‘s credit, they didn’t waste any time and are already thundering along with a second, more powerful album. Fires on the Mountainside combines a number of musical concepts, among which are doom metal, classic heavy metal, even some elements of Mediterranean folk, and the epic nature of Viking-era Bathory. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: GORLEBEN

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Sep 252025
 

(On October 15th the German band Gorleben will have their second album released by Darkness Shall Rise Productions. The music and other aspects of the album are fascinating (as we’ve already previewed), and so is the following interview conducted by Comrade Aleks with Gorleben member 235U.)

Gorleben was named after a municipality in Saxony, next to which an ill-famous radioactive waste storage facility is located. Hence the radioactive hazard sign in the logo, hence the nicknames of the participants taken from the names of radionuclides, hence the themes of the songs.

43 minutes of Menetekel are divided into four tracks. “Countdown” begins with a dreamy psychedelic theme accompanied by the sounds of nature, but gradually “the electricity turns on” and the melody becomes doomy, menacing, and heavier. It’s strange, but at some point it seems that two different tracks are playing: something like mid-tempo gothic metal and melodic death-doom in the vein of Katatonia. Gorleben know how to keep their identity yet also keep to the “Katatonia” scenario, further adding to their palette a duet of growls and harsh female screaming.

Suddenly, electronic samples penetrate the composition, and the riffs become chopped, industrial, and the male growl is replaced by a heart-rending black scream. In short, a lot happens in the first thirteen minutes of the album. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: EMISSARY

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Sep 232025
 

(In this new interview our Comrade Aleks talked with Michel Regueiro from the Spanish thrashing death metal band Emissary, whose debut album was released last March by Fetzner Death.)

Michel Regueiro (guitars, vocals) and Hlib Overchuk (drums) from Barcelona got together in 2023 in the name of old-school thrash/death metal, and believe me, they wasted no time recruiting Philip Graves (guitars) and Cosmil Martin (bass) and soon had eight tracks for their debut album Eldritch, which came out earlier this year.

The telling cover-art and track titles “The Shadows Lengthen in Carcosa”, “Hobb’s End,” and “At the Throne of Chaos” promised Lovecraftian horror in slightly atypical form. Indeed, I’ve gotten used to hearing Lovecraftian mythology in black, death, or at least, doom bands, but Emissary play their variations on themes in a completely traditional thrash vein with a bit of death overload. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: HOODED MENACE

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Sep 222025
 


photos by Pasi Nevalaita

(Finland’s Hooded Menace have a new album on the way, set for release on October 3rd by Season of Mist, and today we present Comrade Aleks‘ interview with Lasse Pyykkö.)

My eyes filled with tears of affection when I put my hand on Hooded Menace’s seventh album Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration. These seven tracks captivate with the inspiring melodies of ’80s heavy metal, the mood and sound of ’90s death-doom, and even a hint of VHS horror soundtracks. These songs warm with a reminiscence of early Paradise Lost, and even Harri Kuokkanen‘s exemplary death metal growl at times recalls the roar of Holmes in his prime.

Meanwhile, the guitar harmonies (Lasse Pyykkö‘s specialty) can’t help but evoke sheer metal classics. Drummer Pekka Koskelo, with a quarter-century of underground experience, hammers away with the focus and intensity of the possessed — and in short, this trio is a dream team.

I can’t hide my excitement with this driving, filled-with-hooks record, but I prefer to hand the floor over to Lasse Pyykkö himself; he has a few things to tell about Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SILENT TOMBS

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Sep 192025
 

(Today we happily present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Victor Mercado, vocalist of the Mexican doom/death metal band Silent Tombs, whose excellent debut album will be released by Personal Records on October 17th.)

Islander already wrote about the forthcoming release of Silent Tombs’ album Mourning Hymns from Beyond, and it’s hard to add something new to his words. This bunch of experienced extreme metal musicians from Colima, Mexico managed to create a stunning melodic death-doom masterpiece combining all the key influences of the genre yet obtaining a clear individual touch.

These mid-tempo songs built of riffs heavy as a coffin lid, soaring breathtaking melodies, and a firm, vivid rhythm-section accompanied by killer growling parts make a modern classic. I’m still surprised with the top level of this release and its mature, natural vibe, and I bet that this interview with Victor Mercado will give you an answer to some questions you may have after listening to the first singles from Silent Tombs. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: COLOSALIST

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Sep 122025
 

(On September 9th Hoggorm Music released the debut album of Colosalist, a Czech band of veteran members split between Norway and Czechia. Comrade Aleks fell for the album and arranged the following excellent interview with Colosalist‘s well-spoken founder Petter (formerly Petr) Staněk.)

In the mid-’90s Petr Staněk was a guitarist and vocalist in two Czech bands – the death metal crew Scapegoat and the doom band Silent Stream of Godless Elegy, but the first one only managed to record a few demos, and creative differences forced him to leave the second one somewhere around 2001. Much water has flowed under the bridge since then. Petr moved to Norway, managed to play gothic with LiveEvil and industrial with Robotized, and then remembered the past and started Colosalist.

He recorded his first Colosalist EP Pass into Oblivion with the bass guitarist of the Czech band Endless, Petr Hutin, back in 2014, but it was only seven years later that he assembled a full line-up and recorded his first large-scale work Two Suns. Petter Staněk is now joined by two more former members of SSOGE: Zuzana Zamazalova Klementova (vocals, violin) and Filip Chudý (bass), as well as Jan Jaglarz (drums), who played in the gothic doom band Euthanasia since 1994, and Tomáš Paulus (guitar) from Second Chance.

Well, this is some kind of miracle, but as a result, Two Suns sounds like a decent doom album from the second half of the ’90s with significant gothic metal influences and the characteristic sound of SSOGE of that period! “Creeping Frost” with its rhythm, rough vocals, and violins laid on driving metal reminds one of the album Themes. It’s even interesting that Petter’s voice hasn’t changed much in a quarter of a century! Continue reading »

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