AN NCS INTERVIEW: EPITAPHE

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Jan 082020
 

 

(Epitaphe is a quartet based in the French Alps, with a debut album released last June, and today Comrade Aleks brings us this discussion with one of its members.)

Aesthetic Death produced a curious volume last summer. I’m referring to the debut full-length of the French band Epitaphe, which is based in the Alps region. They confirm such influences as Incantation, Esoteric, and Immolation, but I would add Misanthrope to this short list too.

It turns out to be an eclectic, avant-garde combination of quite intellectual death metal with doom-death shades. The album is titled simply I, but it’s wrong to blame Epitaphe for a lack of imagination. We’ll try to prove it together with Laurent. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: BESTIALORD

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Jan 062020
 

 

(We present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Mark Anderson, guitarist/vocalist of the Kansas-based death/doom band Bestialord, whose second album was released last June by GrimmDistribution.)

It’s said that Bestialord raised its head in 2016, but when you see Mark Anderson (guitars, vocals) and Chris Johnson (drums) in the same band, Sanctus Infernum comes to mind. It’s their previous blackened death doom outfit, which seems to have beem put on hold in about 2014 after eight years of darkness, blasphemy, and death. So Mark and Chris, alongside Rob Harris, started this new project, and look — GrimmDistribution released Bestialord’s sophomore record a few months ago. The Black Mass Wedding album still displays a few Sanctus Infernum features, but it has its own individuality as well. Let’s make it clear with Mark. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: KVAEN

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Jan 032020
 

 

(Our Norway-based contributor Karina Noctum brings us the following Q&A she had with Jakob Björnfot, the man behind the Swedish black metal band Kvaen, whose debut album is set for release on February 28th by Black Lion Records.)

The Funeral Pyre, the debut album from Swedish melodic pagan black metal unit Kvaen, is slated to drop on February 28, 2020, through Black Lion Records. No Clean Singing hosted (here) the premiere stream of the album’s title track. Clocking in at nearly 7 minutes of relentless exhilaration, the track features a guest guitar solo by Sebastian Ramstedt (Necrophobic, Nominon) and drums by Freddy Ortscheid (Black Lily, Omnicide).

Adds Jakob Björnfot, the sole mastermind behind Kvaen: “’The Funeral Pyre’ was one of the first songs that I composed for this album. I lived in a big house on a huge mountain in the VERY north of Sweden. I had nature around me everyday. It was very inspiring, to say the least. One day, I was messing around on my computer, trying out ideas. I remember that I had the fireplace burning and it was snowing outside. I wanted to write a song where I could feel the connection of spirits in Tornevalley and I have to say: I succeeded. The atmosphere, Sebastian’s solo, and the lyrics became something truly unique.”

I put more questions to Jakob: Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: CRYPTIC BROOD

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Jan 022020
 

 

(Here’s Comrade Aleks‘ interview with Steffen Brandes, drummer/vocalist of the German death-doom band Cryptic Brood, whose latest album, Outcome of Obnoxious Science, was released in late November by War Anthem Records.)

Deep-rooted in a bloody and filthy death metal aesthetic, Cryptic Brood of Wolfsburg steadily walk their path remaining true to rules set by their predecessors in the ’90s. It’s one of those death doom bands which keeps the underground spirit of rot filled with disgusting images.

The Graveyard Brood, Wormhead, Brain Eater, Inevitable Death, and Infectious Decay — when you see the titles of Cryptic Brood’s releases you know what will come next. And yes, these Saxons kept their brand with two new releases in 2019, as the full-length Outcome Of Obnoxious Science and the split cassette with their more straight Italian colleagues Ekpyrosis titled In The Grip Of Death won’t disappoint fans of Asphyx or more modern bands like Anatomy, Hooded Menace, and Coffins.

Steffen Brandes (drums, vocals) tells us a few cryptic things in this fresh interview. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: CARCINOID

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Dec 302019
 

 

(Today in the annals of NCS interviews we present Comrade Aleks‘ discussion with the Australian death/doom band Carcinoid, whose debut album was released this past fall.)

This filthy and sick death doom outfit was formed just one year ago by Az (guitars), Carter (drums), Jess (bass), and Josh (vocals). All of them previously played in different underground bands, but the will to perform this macabre metal from the graveside unites them. The result of Carcinoid’s efforts are the full-length debut Metastatic Declination (Memento Mori, October 2019) and a split with the Russian death metal crew Gosudar (Fucking Kill Records, October 2019).

I’ve tried to root out the band’s origin and other details in this interview with Carcinoid’s collective mind. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: TYRANNIC

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Dec 272019
 

 

(Comrade Aleks has brought us this interview with drummer/vocalist R of the Australian underground band Tyrannic, whose latest record was released by Séance Records in February 2019.)

This project from Sydney has spread the bestial morbid vibe of savage Celtic Frost / Hellhammer-oriented thrash / doom metal for almost nine years. Did Tyrannic succeed on their path? Some way, yes — Séance Records helped them to break through releasing their first full-length Ethereal Sepuclhre (2018) and the fresher EP Exterminating Angel. How do things go in the deep Australian underground? R (drums, vocals) is here to shed some light on Tyrannic’s gloomy existence. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: PROSCRITO

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Dec 232019
 

 

(Comrade Aleks helps us begin hell week with a fiendishly entertaining and perhaps surprisingly wide-ranging interview of guitarist Ricard of the Spanish death metal band Proscrito, whose debut album will be released on January 27th by Memento Mori, as well as by Discos MeCagoEnDios.)

Proscrito is a tough and ugly death doom outfit from Sabadel, Spain (referring to the music, to be clear). It was formed as a trio in 2016, not long ago as you see, but their progress from the demo El Calvario released in 2017 to the forthcoming full-length Llagas y Estigmas is remarkable. It’s straight and hellish, truly macabre and slow torturous doom, so I didn’t expect such an in-depth conversation from one of Proscrito’s crew. However, their guitarist Ricard provided a great interview that I’ve truly enjoyed. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: HANGING GARDEN

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Dec 182019
 


photo by by Kalle Pyyhtinen

 

(Today Comrade Aleks presents the following interview with Toni Toivonen, vocalist of the Finnish band Hanging Garden, whose name will be well-known to long-term visitors at our site, and whose latest album Into That Good Night was released by Lifeforce Records on November 15th.)

Started fifteen years ago as a melodic death doom band, Hanging Garden from Finland follow their way of metamorphosis from album to album, while keeping a few things inviolable. They have a dominating melancholic mood, through the general melody of their material and their artistic approach to performing their material, and emotional variety based on heavy and cleaner instrumental parts as well as extreme and clean vocals.

Their sixth album Into That Good Night saw the light of day on November 15th through Lifeforce Records, and we can tag it as “melancholic metal” as this term doesn’t imply any strict obligation. But why not try to root out Hanging Garden’s essence with one of its members — here’s the interview with Toni Toivonen (vocals). Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SUN OF THE DYING

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Dec 162019
 

 

(Comrade Aleks has had a very busy fall, and as a consequence we have many of his interviews lined up to appear between now and the end of 2019, including this discussion with members of the Spanish doom/death band Sun of the Dying.)\

Here we have Madrid-based Sun Of The Dying, a band that has developed shortly from a quite depressive yet melodic doom death metal of their debut album The Roar Of The Furious Sea (2017) to the richer melancholic and atmospheric themes of their brand new album. The Earth Is Silent saw the light of day on the 29th of November through Art Of Propaganda, and the band sounds really updated, and that’s not only because of a new vocalist on board.

It’s something rare, but almost the whole band took part in this interview. Let me introduce you to – Daniel Fernández Casuso (guitars), Eduardo Guilló (vocals), David Muñoz (keyboards), Jose Yuste (bass), and  Roberto Rayo (guitars). I don’t know why Sun Of The Dying’s drummer  didn’t take part into this — I hope he’s fine there. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MORBID STENCH

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Dec 132019
 

 

(You may have noticed that during much of 2019 Comrade Aleks has turned his interests in doom in, shall we say, nastier and more deathly directions, and continues that pattern with this interview of The Master Butcher, vocalist of the Central American band Morbid Stench, whose potent debut album was released just a few months ago by Putrid Cult.)

Morbid Stench… Do you feel that taste on the tip of your tongue? A stench of death, doom, and Central American swamps? It’s an international project, as the Morbid Stench members live in both El Salvador and Costa Rica, and are members of such death bands as Conceived By Hate and Insepulto, which names are probably better-known to the NCS audience.

This band is relatively new – it was founded in 2014 and the full-length Doom & Putrefaction, released on September 30th by Putrid Cult, appears to be their first big work. Why not learn more about its rough, straight, and really morbid aesthetic with their vocalist The Master Butcher? Continue reading »

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