AN NCS INTERVIEW: VYRION

 Interviews  1 Response »
Sep 242021
 

 

(In this extensive and enlightening interview Comrade Aleks checked in with Dale J. Williams, vocalist/guitarist of the fine Australian black metal band Vyrion, whose latest album Nil arrived last year.)

Vyrion’s track premiere… how long ago was it announced here? October 2020? I remember clearly how this black metal song from Australia stuck in my mind with its hard and solid delivery and minimalistic yet expressive artwork. I still believe that the visual side of any album is absolutely important, and Vyrion’s latest album Nil has it.

Also this band is one of the rare kind who prefer bigger concepts behind their stuff than medieval deviltry and church-burning, so I would point to intellectual lyrics as another of Vyrion’s merits. Actually there was no news from the band since the Nil release, and I sent them a message to see if they could answer a few questions for NCS. It’s the band’s founder Dale J Williams (vocals, guitars) who answers our call. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ROTHADÁS

 Interviews  No Responses »
Sep 232021
 

 

(Here we have Comrade Aleks‘ interview of one of the two men behind the Hungarian death metal band Rothadás, who have a highly anticipated debut album coming out next month.)

Coffinborn, Cryptworm, Mörbid Carnage, Necrosodomy, Tyrant Goatgaldrakona… Such names! Why would someone who already plays all forms of macabre’n’morbid metal start another band? But Tibor Hanyi did.

This man indeed has around six active bands and Rothadás (“rot” in Hungarian) is a relatively fresh addition to this list. Tibor (bass, guitars) alongside Lambert Lédeczy (drums, vocals) started Rothadás two years ago, and while none would expect it, the UK-based label Me Saco un Ojo Records has announced the band’s debut release Kopár hant​.​.​. az alvilág felé will be released on the 12th of October.

The choice of cover artwork (above) was damn effective, so why not check out this killer death-doom piece and its intoxicating and striking aroma of coffins, crypts, and death? Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: PUT’ / ПУTЬ

 Interviews  3 Responses »
Sep 212021
 

 

(Today we present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Dmitry Yakovlev, founder of the distinctive Russian black metal band Путь (Put’).)

Путь / Put’ translates as “Path” from the Russian, and despite having all their releases’ titles as well as texts written in Cyrillic, this band has found followers abroad and keep on getting positive feedback from fans of black metal. Formed in Pskov about eight years ago, Put’ went through a whole transformation from a one-man project to a full-size band who refuse to sit calmly and instead do their best in composing and recording new music as well as touring.

The band is known because (their label’s efforts!) of the noticeable Russian flavor they’ve managed to create with the full-length album Pesni Smerti / Песни Смерти / Songs of Death (2018) and smaller releases including the latest EP Judol’ Skorbi / ЮдольСкорби / Vale of Sorrow. Oh, and don’t forget there’s a real Nazgul king who performs vocals on their gigs and they have a real accordion player in the lineup!

Actually it’s good to see when bands do care about their image. And if you wonder what Put’ sing about, then you can check the EP’s lyrics on Bandcamp or Metal-Archives — the band have put English translation there. Usually their texts are poetic reflections of all things grim and macabre, and for example there’s the song ‘Palesmurtian Pasture’ dealing with the folklore of the Udmurt people.

Constant NCS followers know this band well, but we always do our best to dig out more for you. It took some time, but now we have it – an interview with the band’s founder Dmitry Yakovlev. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: VORKUTA

 Interviews  1 Response »
Sep 162021
 

 

(In this new piece Comrade Aleks discloses his interview with vocalist Blizzard from the Hungarian black metal band Vorkuta, who returned with an EP this past spring as the first new music in more than a dozen years.)

You’re wrong if you think from a first glance that the “Vorkuta” name was taken from Tolkien mythology or something like that. This word came from the Nenets language and it means “filled with bears”. It’s a city right in the middle of nowhere — to be precise, in the Russian north, right beyond he Arctic Circle. The city was founded in a place surrounded by coal mines but it’s more infamously associated with “Vorkutlag”, a corrective labor camp, another cold and rotten hole in the Gulag system.

Who could imagine that a black metal band from Hungary would take “Vorkuta” as its name? However such a band has existed since 2002, and though it was silent for nearly 13 years it returned with a new EP, Wandering Alone in the Forest of Transcendence, in March 2021. Taking into account their very underground ethic (there’s just one full-length against eight split-albums in their discography), an EP seems to be a good option. This piece of cold atmospheric black metal could serve as a teaser for something more, and that suggestion was my first reason to get in touch with the band. This conversation with Vorkuta’s voiceman Blizzard may shed some light on the dark history of his creature. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ANGUISH

 Interviews  No Responses »
Sep 072021
 

 

(We have a new interview from Comrade Aleks to present, one with members of the Swedish necro doom band Anguish, whose most recent album Doomkvädet was just released days ago by Sun & Moon Records.)

Check Metal-Archives and you find there a dozen bands named Anguish, but if you’ve ever heard this grim crew from Uppsala, Sweden, you won’t confuse their necro doom with anything else. Don’t get me wrong, they perform pretty traditional low and slow doom metal but their vocalist, the mighty J. Dee, seems to think he’s still in his old death metal band Graveless! Someone tell him!

I’m kidding, which I do sometimes.

But listen – that’s true, because from their debut album Through the Archdemon’s Head (2012) up through the most recent Doomkvädet they’ve stubbornly kept the same macabre delivery of doom things with the almost pious zealotry of bloody cultists. They aren’t as extreme as one might expect but following Anguish never was an easy ride, and certainly I need some help to introduce the band to our readers. And J. Dee… eh, nope… the band’s original guitarist David lends his helping hand (though J. Dee does make an appearance near the end). Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: BIZARREKULT

 Interviews  No Responses »
Sep 022021
 

 

(Comrade Aleks has brought us this fine interview with Roman, the man behind the once-Siberian and now-Norwegian black metal band Bizarrekult, whose debut album was just released this past July by Petrichor.)

“Progressive post Black Metal with angst-ridden lyrics from Oslo, Norway!”  When you read that one single line in Bizarrekult’s Bandcamp concerning the band’s new album Vi overlevde, I bet you have a right impression, as a Norwegian black metal band wouldn’t make that shit! But if you’ll read a bit more carefully you’ll easily find that Bizarrekult was founded in Barnaul, Siberia. So what would you say now? Which black metal is blacker?!

Dash it. This story of how a Siberian black metal band turned into a Norwegian one is set out by Roman, the man who has spearheaded the Kult since 2005. And you know, his black metal isn’t that “post” indeed. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: OLHAVA

 Interviews  1 Response »
Sep 012021
 

 

(Today we have an excellent discussion between two Russians — our interviewer-in-chief Comrade Aleks and Andrey Novozhilov, the principal figure behind Olhava and a participant in Trna as well.)

The number of bands performing atmospheric/post-black metal only grows, and even I, who hardly and rarely deal with bands faster than Ahab, cannot ignore it. A few weeks ago we did an interview with the Russian one-man band Rye / Рожь, and its head Vladimir Frith advised me to check his mates and neighbours Olhava. And so I did.

This band was formed five years ago by Andrey Novozhilov who has played all instruments and performed vocals since then, with the help of Timur Yusupov who joined him as a drummer in 2019. Today they have a contract with the Italian Avantgarde Music (that gives certain quality guaranties by default) and four albums, including the fresh one Frozen Bloom.

This truly atmospheric, almost meditative, music demands a predisposition, but if you ask, everyone needs a break to take a breath of relatively clean air. So that’s it. And recently we had a good conversation with Andrey about Olhava’s background and more. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MENTAL TORMENT

 Interviews  No Responses »
Aug 242021
 

(Here, Comrade Aleks presents his interview of members of the Ukrainian band Mental Torment, whose new album Ego:genesis will be released on September 29, 2021.)

Mental Torment (Kyiv, Ukraine) was born 12 years ago. Back then the doom/death scene in the ex-USSR territories had already started to grow and develop, yet the guys took their time. Thus Mental Torment’s debut album On the Verge… saw the light of day in 2013. They pointed in the direction they wanted to follow, and though such a doom/death piece couldn’t offer any innovative ideas, it was ok. The band was silent for a few years playing occasional gigs and announcing a rotation in the lineup but out of nowhere Metallurg Music proclaimed the release of Mental Torment’s sophomore work, ego:genesis.

The official press kit sounds curious: “The album will bring a fresh view of the traditional Doom Metal genre. From acoustic ballads and funeral vibes to sludgy and modern progressive music.”  As you know “traditional doom” is associated with clean-singing bands whose names are known to any doom-cultists, and at the end of the day I tell you that the second part of this official statement is correct, as Mental Torment really add the afore-mentioned sludge and post elements to a classic doom death fundament.

So, ego:genesis turns to be absolutely another new chapter in the band’s discography, and Mental Torment‘s collective mind is ready to give us some clues about how all of this happened. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MALOKARPATAN

 Interviews  No Responses »
Aug 202021
 

 

(The subject of this very extensive and engaging new interview by Comrade Aleks is Adam S., the lyricist and chief songwriter of the distinctive Slovak metal band Malokarpatan, though he also discusses another personal project with an album in the works.)

If you haven’t heard any of Malokarpatan’s albums, I bet you know about them anyway – no one could skip over the eye-catching artworks of Stridžie dni (2015), Nordkarpatenland (2017), and Krupinské ohne (2020). Slovakian pagan traditions shine through these authentic covers, and as you might surmise, the guys write their lyrics in their mother tongue. You’ll find translations easily enough, for example at Metal-Archives, and should find them if you’re searching for new poetic discoveries.

But probably we should start with the curious fact that Malokarpatan perform an authentic (again authentic!) mix of reckless yet tricky, non-trivial, heavy and black metal. Heathen energy, the pounding pulse of the wild, and a haunted atmosphere complete a sonic canvases filled with details and nuances…

I’ve found Malokarpatan in my “need-to-interview” list, and though their last record Krupinské ohne saw the light of day nearly one year ago, I believe you don’t need to wait for another official release to talk with a band you like and respect. I’m grateful to Malokarpatan ideologist and chief song-writer Adam S. for this deep and entertaining interview. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: BIZARRE

 Interviews  1 Response »
Aug 122021
 

 

(Comrade Aleks has brought us another excellent interview, this time with a member of the Spanish death metal band Bizarre, whose debut album Invocation Codex is set for release on October 29th by Transcending Obscurity Records.)

There’s a Russian proverb “To run ahead of the train”, which means to make haste and do something earlier than it’s really needed. But I’ve had another “Lovecraftian” period these recent months and found Bizarre’s Invocation Codex promo in my mailbox with the label’s description “Lovecraftian horror”. I couldn’t skip it!

The album is scheduled for October 2021, but as another proverb says – “Strike while the iron is hot” (and “steel is strongest so say we all”). These death metal variations on a theme of “holocaust of ecstasy and freedom” are performed in a savage and uncompromising way, and no bullshit – this four men from Spain are competent in the things they do.

I got in contact with Bizarre’s guitarist Juanpa “Evilead”, and he confirmed the band’s interest in an interview. but… things turned slightly another way and in the end we have this nice chat with Germán “Obszen” (guitars, bass). Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries