AN NCS INTERVIEW: DAVE INGRAM (BENEDICTION)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Oct 192020
 

 

(Last Friday, the 16th of October, Nuclear Blast released Scriptures, the first Benediction album since 2008, with Dave Ingram back behind the mic. And it is thus very good timing that DJ Jet has brought us this interview with the man himself.)

Dave, you have such an extensive career in death metal stemming back to the golden ages of the genre, having been in Benediction, then Bolt Thrower, and many other bands since then, and now back in front of Benediction today. What were the early days like in Benediction and Bolt Thrower?

Hey there, my dear friend. Thanks so much for the interview!

Right, jumping straight into it I can say that “back in the day” there was no internet to help facilitate self-promotion. You really had to work for things and have patience, since snail mail took a while. There were way more phone calls back then. I can remember standing around inside the one rehearsal studio we were at in early 1993. We were playing pool, and awaiting a phone call from the record label (Nuclear Blast) to let them know we were going to re-sign with them. While we waited, in walked Robert Plant and asked if he could use the phone. We explained the situation and he fully understood, saying he would come back later. One of us (I forget who) said to him, “You were great in Whitesnake.” He left with a confused look on his face. That’s just one example of what life was like back then. It was always fun, and it still is today! Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: FVNERAL FVKK

 Interviews  No Responses »
Oct 162020
 

 

(We welcome back Comrade Aleks, who has brought us a long-gestating but highly engaging interview with Frater Flagellum, drummer of the German epic doom band Fvneral Fvkk, and we thank him for his time as well.)

Probably there’s still an intrigue for those who skipped Fvneral Fvkk’s debut full-length Carnal Confessions (released on the 27th of September, 2019). What does a band with a name like this play? Death’n’thrash? Blasphemous black metal? Or its punkish version?

Actually, this outfit from Hamburg preaches epic doom metal with texts focused on modern Catholic crimes against children, but I bet you’ve heard about them despite your musical preferences because Carnal Confessions was one of most noticeable albums of this kind for the whole of 2019.

Fvneral Fvkk has remained a quartet since 2015, and although session musicians have joined their live masses, the core lineup has been the same since then: Cantor Cinaedicus (vocals), Vicarius Vespillo (bass), Frater Flagellum (drums) and Decanus Obscaenus (guitars). The band’s members tend to keep their personalities incognito, though it’s well-known that there are members of Crimson Swan, Fäulnis, and Ophis in the band. Not a big secret then, right?

This interview was started 11 months ago or so, but things happened as we know… However I need to thank Frater Flagellum for the time he spent on answering all of this, it’s much appreciated – God speed you on, oh good Frater! Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: INCANTATION

 Interviews  1 Response »
Oct 142020
 

 

DJ Jet has brought us the following extensive interview of John McEntee (and Chuck Sherwood) of death metal legends Incantation, whose latest album (their eleventh), Sect of Vile Divinities, was released in August of this year by Relapse Records. Settle in, and prepare for a wide-ranging discussion of the band’s past, present, and future, and the new album (with lots of details that will appeal to gear-heads as well as listeners).

******

John you formed Incantation back in 1989 in NYC back when Death Metal was relatively in its first stages. What influenced you to want to start incantation and what death metal bands were you listening to at that time?

 In the mid ’80s I really started diving deeper into the underground metal world of tape trading and fanzines. In 1986 I joined my first real original underground band called Revenant. That time really had a big impact on me as a musician and person. I learned so much from my time in Revenant about underground music and also on how to promote a band worldwide and locally. With all this promotion I started to learn about new bands, more extreme bands from around the world that I couldn’t find in the local music store. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ECHOLOT

 Interviews  No Responses »
Oct 132020
 

 

(In this new interview brought to us by Comrade Aleks he talks with Renato Matteucci, bassist of the Swiss band Echolot, whose new album was just released by Czar of Crickets Productions and Sixteentimes Music.)

As 2020 marches on and Covid turns out to be the common background for any news, just like another ecological catastrophe, the underground scene endures. Swiss label Czar Of Crickets keeps on supporting the scene as far as it’s possible, and so here we have a new album from Basel-based trio Echolot, who have mixed sludge, post-, and prog influences in their songs since 2014.

Lukas Fürer (guitar), Renato Matteucci (bass), and Jonathan Schmidli (drums) are back with a new full-length album, Destrudo. As Renato says: “Heavy tones, loud amps and some floating rhythms full of different time signatures is what we want to do at the moment”. Sounds good, so let’s try it!

Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: KEVIN KVÅLE

 Interviews  No Responses »
Oct 122020
 

 

(Norway-based contributor Karina Noctum brings us this interview with drummer Kevin Kvåle, whose career includes performances with Gaahls Wyrd, Horizon Ablaze, and Svartelder, among other groups.)

I’ve been following Kevin Kvåle’s musical career for many years now. I remember when I got Horizon Ablaze‘s Dødsverk and since I like Pantheon I a lot, I knew it was going to be good before even listening to it. The music’s variety, technicality, and progression, without sacrificing the dark and cold Norwegian sound, appealed a lot to me.

I remember I met Kevin years ago in Bergen at a festival — Oh! the golden days of old when I took live shows for granted — and got to congratulate him upon hearing he was going to play together with Gaahl. I was not surprised — he was a natural choice. I enjoyed many of the live shows both in Norway and abroad and became a fan, so I was pretty happy when Gaahls Wyrd won the Spellemannprisen (the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy). For all the aforementioned reasons I included him in my list of drummer interviews. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ULFVEN

 Interviews  No Responses »
Oct 082020
 

 

(Comrade Aleks returns again to NCS with a new interview, talking with Jonathan Hultqvist, vocalist and bassist of the promising Swedish band Ulfven, whose music you can also explore within the conversation.)

New blood pours into the Pagan Cult veins with the appearance of the Swedish band Ulfven. They practice a bit blackened and melodic death-doom metal with lyrics written mostly in their mother’s tongue and a grim folklore concept behind it.

Born from biting cold and hostile forest shadows, their music carries on a dark message through their new EP Bland Aska Och Sten. Taking into account that Ulfven’s full-length Folklore was released just a year ago, I suppose that the heathen gods sped them on. Let’s learn how Jonathan Hultqvist, the band’s vocalist and bassist, sees it. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MANES

 Interviews  No Responses »
Sep 222020
 

 

(We present Karina Noctum‘s interview with Torstein Parelius of the Norwegian band Manes.)

Manes is a Norwegian band that started in the early ’90s as a Black Metal act, but developed a pretty distinct sound and found their niche in the avant-garde scene. In this interview we talk with Torstein Parelius about the band’s beginnings, their latest album Slow Motion Death Sequence, their latest single “Young Skeleton“, and future plans.

******

What were you aiming at in the very beginning when you started?

When the band started in 1992 or so, I wasn’t a part of the formation. Before that, Tor-Helge Cern was in the band Atrox which he co-founded back in 1988. I do believe he had an urge to create something darker and grimmer than the death/doom that Atrox played at the time – without compromise. Continue reading »

AN NCS DOOM SESSIONS INTERVIEW: 1782 AND ACID MAMMOTH

 Interviews  1 Response »
Sep 162020
 

 

(Earlier this year the Heavy Psych Sounds label announced a series of splits called Doom Sessions, and Volume II (which will be released on September 18th) features songs by the Italian band 1782 and the Greek band Acid Mammoth. Comrade Aleks reached out to both bands with a few questions, and we present the results today, along with music from the split. Aleks‘ interview of the bands who participated in Volume 1 is here.)

Heavy Psych Sounds Records keep on providing us more of modern doom/stoner vibes, and the second volume of their series of splits named Doom Sessions is on its way. Volume 2 features Acid Mammoth from Greece and the Italian 1782. Both bands are quite fresh but they have already proved their serious attitude with full-length albums.

Once more the label’s owner Gabriel Fiori (Black Rainbows band) introduces us to these participants in the Doom Sessions, as members of both bands are going to reveal a few things behind their work. Marco Nieddu (vocals, guitars, bass) on behalf of 1782 and Chris Babalis Jr. (guitars, vocals) on behalf of Acid Mammoth bring us the folowing words from behind a quarantine curtain. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: CRUST

 Interviews  No Responses »
Sep 092020
 

 

(In this new interview — and a very good read it is — Comrade Aleks talked with Artur Filenko, vocalist and bassist of the Russian genre-bending band Crust, whose new album was released in August of this year.)

Crust from Veliky Novgorod, Russia, searched for their own working formula beginning in 2015 when their first, self-titled EP was recorded. Three more EPs and a full-length, The Promised Land (2019), led them to the sound they embody with their crushing new album …And a Dirge Becomes An Anthem released by [addicted label] / no name label, on which Vlad Tatarsky (guitars), Roman Romanov (drums), and Artur Filenko (vocals, bass) perform a nihilistic and driving combination of death-doom with some shades of black.

Recorded live at the studio, this material offers tasty old school vibes and severe delivery. I dig this album, so the interview with Artur was just a question of time. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: HEX

 Interviews  No Responses »
Sep 082020
 

 

(We present Comrade Aleks interview of Adolfo Cantoya, guitarist of the Basque Country band Hex, accompanied by the live performance photos of Panda Queen.)

Hex is a relatively new band from Bilbao, Basque Country, as it was started about eight years ago, but the band’s core is built by gents who have years of experience playing heavy music behind them. For example Hex’ vocalist Jonathan Pernía García started in the brutal death act Forensick back in 2001 and guitarist Adolfo Cantoya aka Drake did some thrash with Beer Mosh and From The Cross in the early ’90s. Together they’ve strode the path of death-doom since 2012, but it took five more years to record a new album after their debut full-length Deadly Sin (2014).

And so God Has No Name was released almost a year ago by Transcending Obscurity Records, but why not revisit this album together with Adolfo today? Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries