AN NCS INTERVIEW: GLOOSH

 Interviews  2 Responses »
Oct 012021
 

 

(Comrade Aleks has again brought us a very interesting conversation with a very engaging personality, and this time it’s George Gabrielyan, the man behind the black metal band Gloosh from Siberian Russia, whose new album is being released today.)

Gloosh means “thick forest” or “backwoods” in Russian, a fitting title for  a black metal band from Siberia, isn’t it? It’s a one-man band / studio project started by George Gabrielyan just two years ago, and there are already one EP and two full-length albums in the Gloosh discography. This black metal has a strong “atmospheric” aspect and the lyrics are written and performed into Russian, though you can find the translations in Metal-Archives or Bandcamp, ‘cause George cares for the band’s followers.

Well, actually the second album named Sylvan Coven is just being released today, and it’s a good reason to interview George. But besides that news, George has much more to tell, as he does play nowadays in two more black metal bands – Eoront and Frozenwoods — so he seems to be the right person to know about a few more subjects, and not only about his own path to the blackened underground but also about the Siberian scene in general. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: LUCIFER

 Interviews  1 Response »
Sep 302021
 

 

(DJ Jet returns to NCS with the following interview of Johanna Platow Andersson, vocalist of the Swedish/German band Lucifer, whose new album Lucifer IV will be released on October 29th by Century Media. Credit for all photos accompanying the interview goes to Ester Segarra.)

 

Johanna we must start at the beginning back when you were an adolescent. Tell us about your family.

Both my father and step-father were photographers and my mother was very musical. I grew up with a brother, eleven years older than me and was always surrounded by art, books and music. We traveled a lot every year, I guess to compensate for having been locked up behind the iron curtain before we moved from east to west Berlin in 1985 when I was six.

 

What was it like for you as a kid to move  to West Berlin when “The Wall” was still in place?

It was a culture shock but a good one. It made me an outsider at school. It shaped me and made me very adaptable to anything life throws at me. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: HEATHEN DEITY

 Interviews  No Responses »
Sep 282021
 

 

(Comrade Aleks continues an ongoing series of interviews of black metal bands in this discussion with guitarist Azrael of the English black metal band Heathen Deity.)

In order to support the underground Black Metal scene as well as the war against Christianity (if you don’t mind) we offer you this in-depth interview with Heathen Deity, whose long-awaited debut album True English Black Metal was finally out in June 2021. Heathen Deity was active for six years from 1998 to 2004 and then after a ten-year-long break its members re-united in order to deal with deeds started long ago. Thus, after the live album Nottingham Infernal (2019) and The Damnation Tapes compilation (2020) they finally have reached the point when the work was right and all material properly recorded.

Here’s the detailed story of True English Black Metal with an in-depth look at Deity’s cult daily life. The band’s original guitarist Azrael channels Deity’s will patiently and consistently. Continue reading »

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  2 Responses »
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 »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries