AN NCS INTERVIEW: MONASTERIUM

 Interviews  No Responses »
Jul 272022
 

(Last month the Polish “epic doom” crew Monasterium released their third album, Cold Are The Graves, via Nine Records, and that prompted Comrade Aleks to reach out for the following interview.)

I believe that my colleges here will confirm this simple thing: the best reward for our job here is any support we’re able to provide to the bands we’re talking about. And a good interview is a rewarding experience in itself, so it’s easy to return to some bands I interviewed before when they have news to share. Well, that gives an illusion that life isn’t bad in the end and there’s a bright side after all.

Today Monasterium‘s new album Cold Are the Graves brings this silver lining among dark clouds of daily news. This epic doom metal band from Kraków, Poland keeps on providing heroic and triumphant hymns to obscure memories of our past and fantasy realms for nearly eight years, and despite a relatively short career there are three full-length albums in their discography as well as a good reputation due to their dedicated approach to epic doom as it should be.

One of the band’s merits is its stable lineup, because Tomasz Gurgul (guitars), Michał Strzelecki (vocals), Filip Malinowski (bass) and Maciej Berniak (drums) have played together since 2014 (and three of them played before that in the same band, named Sadman Institute). However two are enough to tell the story of Cold Are the Graves, so here are Tomasz and Michał. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ROTHEADS

 Interviews  No Responses »
Jun 232022
 

 

(Comrade Aleks has brought us another informative and entertaining interview, this time with guitarist/vocalist Bogdan from the Romanian death metal band Rotheads, who have a new album headed our way next month via the Memento Mori label.)

Not long ago Memento Mori premiered the first track from Rotheads’ second album Slither in Slime, which is set for release on July 25th, but we already have this interview with one of the band’s founders, Bogdan “Spurcăciune”.

This band from Bucharest, Romania shaped its old school and dirty death metal sound through the EP Unfazed by Death (2016) and the full-length Sewer Friends (2018), so naturally Slither in Slime is a more mature and professional work.

Bogdan performs guitars and vocals in Rotheads, and it seems that he’s the one who’s responsible for the band’s aesthetic and concept, so we got in touch with him in order to learn more about the way Rotheads grow and bloom. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ASSUMPTION

 Interviews  No Responses »
Jun 212022
 

 

(If you haven’t yet heard the new Assumption album Hadean Tides, you’re missing a remarkable experience. Maybe this excellent interview by Comrade Aleks of Giorgio Trombino will give you the push you need.)

Giorgio Trombino (guitars, bass, vocals, synths) and David Lucido (drums) formed the death-doom unit Assumption in 2011, but these guys from Sicily had a rich background already, and I wouldn’t like to waste your time mentioning all of their other bands. I’m just going to tell you – it’s more than ten, you see.

Despite all the genres they explored with other bands Assumption gives them a firm ground for psychedelic experiments on the fields of death-doom in its most twisted, and sometimes extreme, forms. And this is a great opportunity to taste some really sophisticated doom, as Everlasting Spew Records and Sentient Ruin released Assumption’s new album Hadean Tides a month ago. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: PURIFICATION

 Interviews  1 Response »
Jun 102022
 

(We present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Field Marshall William Purify from the Portland-based doom metal band Purification. You will not be bored.)

I don’t remember where I heard of this band from Portland for the first time, but it was Count Karnstein himself who gave me a kick and reminded of Purification when his own band Cardinals Folly recorded a few songs for a split album with them. So it’s true doom metal time!

Purification was started four years ago and there are already four full-length albums in their discography – Destruction of the Wicked (2019), Perfect Doctrine (2020), Dwell in the House of the Lord Forever (2020), and The Exterminating Angel (2021). Add to this list the new Possessed in the Ritual Grove split and you’ll see how this band is hyperactive.

We’re used to doom bands not hurrying usually, but Purification seems to be a bit unusual, so let’s break some cliches with this interview. Continue reading »

A 30TH ANNIVERSARY INTERVIEW: FUNERAL

 Interviews  No Responses »
Jun 082022
 

 

(We present Karina Noctum‘s interview of Anders Eek, co-founder and drummer of the Norwegian band Funeral, on the occasion of the band’s 30th anniversary concert in Oslo in April 2022. The interview is accompanied and followed by a selection of the many wonderful photos of the event made by Andrea Chirulescu.)

On the 12th of April, the Norwegian doom metal band Funeral marked their 30th anniversary with a special concert in the 18th-century Jakob Culture Church in Oslo. The mournful atmosphere of the music befitted the surroundings perfectly, making the concert unforgettable. I took the opportunity to interview Anders Eek (drums) and asked about the band’s early days, as well as the anniversary concert and what’s to come for the band in the future. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SEPULCHRAL CURSE

 Interviews  No Responses »
Jun 072022
 

 

(We present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Kari Kankaanpää, vocalist of the Finnish death metal band Sepulchral Curse, whose most recent record Deathbed Sessions was jointly released last month by Personal Records, Transylvanian Recordings, and Lycanthropic Chants.)

There are three Finnish bands which are tightly entwined with each other. So guitarist Aleksi Luukka plays in death-doom band Solothus, the doom/black band Yawning Void, and the death metal act Sepulchral Curse. And I can tell you the same about vocalist Kari Kankaanpää who roars in the same three bands. Previously, Yawning Void’s drummer Tommi Ilmanen performed his duties in Sepulchral Curse too, and now his place is occupied by Johannes Rantala, who was noticed in Yawning Void as well.

It looks like a death metal focused Santa Barbara, but things are easier indeed, and though we did interviews with all three bands previously, now it’s Sepulchral Curse’s turn again because they have a new EP and took part in one compilation which we need to discuss too. Kari Kankaanpää is here to tell everything. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: VOIMATON

 Interviews  No Responses »
May 252022
 

(Comrade Aleks has a knack for finding people to talk with who have the right spirit and whose conversation is both humble and inspiring, and he’s done it again here with an interview of Pat O’Hara from Chicago-based Voimaton, whose debut album is set for release on June 10th by Personal Records.)

Voimaton is Finnish for “powerless”, but this band from Chicago will knock out the spirit from you with their primal death-doom metal. Well, to tell you the truth, the doom-component doesn’t play an equal role with the death-component, but if you think about Cianide then you may have an impression.

Being founded in 2018 by Dave Tibbets (bass, vocals), Pat O’Hara (drums), and Henry Fordney (guitars), they started with a nameless demo (2019) and two EPs before making the effort to record their first full-length album and here it is! The release of Profane Vestige is scheduled by Personal Records for June 10th. I was lucky to have a talk with Pat, and we discussed everything about Voimaton, so hi Pat! Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SELFGOD – SERGE STRELTSOV

 Interviews  1 Response »
May 242022
 

 

(The world turns, people leave us, and sometimes they come back. Florida-based Dan Barkasi wrote for NCS off and on in 2014-16, and now he has returned with the following interview of Serge Streltsov, the mastermind behind Pittsburgh-based Selfgod.)

Hard-hitting, uncompromising death metal is something that most who frequent NCS are kind of privy to. Just a tad, right? Mix that up with a dash of black metal underpinnings, and you have a recipe for something awfully delicious. Enter Selfgod.

The brainchild of Serge Streltsov (guitars/bass/vocals/keyboards), who plied his trade with Necrophagia and Automb in the past, you can hear how both of those bands played a part in shaping his new project Selfgod – quite literally, as you’ll soon read!

We discuss Selfgod’s debut release Born of Death in depth, along with Serge’s own story of his Ukrainian background and how his heritage is ingrained into both his music and daily life, and how he’s doing his part to help out those affected (and how you can, too). We also discuss Selfgod’s upcoming run of dates this month, the local scene in Pittsburgh, and other interesting topics. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: INANNA

 Interviews  No Responses »
May 182022
 

 

(Last month Memento Mori released the superb third album by Inanna, their first one in 10 years. We helped spread the word through this premiere, and the occasion also prompted Comrade Aleks to get in touch with the band. Today we present that great conversation below.)

There are bands which grant not only the twisted pleasure of listening to their (extreme) music but also with a simple communication, and the Chilean outfit Inanna gave me both. Their new album Void of Unending Depths was released by Memento Mori in late April, and I’m excited with their wicked, a bit blackened, and progressive, death metal rituals.

Why rituals? Well, because the band’s lyrics deal with things extra-terrestrial, occult, and divine. There’s a sense of Lovecraftian madness here, do you feel it? And besides that, the guys are absolutely easy and interesting interlocutors, so let’s not waste our time with just my mumbling, and let’s get straight to the point. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DRUID LORD

 Interviews  1 Response »
May 132022
 

(With a new album and a new split under their belts for 2022 so far, Druid Lord have made a strong start for the year, and the time was right for Comrade Aleks to reach out to Druid Lord guitarist Pete Slate for a new conversation — and you’ll find the results below.)

I love Druid Lord, and I bet that you love them. Their debut album Hymns for the Wicked (2010), which represented wicked death-doom metal, offered a few absolutely thrilling tracks and a sweet old-school attitude which was propelled ahead through a series of splits and EPs until the sophomore full-length Grotesque Offerings (2018) appeared.

Druid Lord introduced me to a few old horror movies that I didn’t know, as well as their death-doom colleagues Wooden Stake, another great band with a similar concept behind it. I couldn’t skip their new album Relics of the Dead, released by Hells Headbangers Records earlier in 2022, and now – in addition – Me Saco Un Ojo Records has announced Druid Lord’s split with Anatomia which is scheduled for release on May 15th. Another good reason to get in touch with mister Pete Slate (guitars), who’s always ready to talk about “doom/death metal with horror themes and overtones”. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries