Jan 282020
 

 

EDITOR’S NOTE:

On January 31st Bindrune Recordings will release two album-length splits, one by Panopticon and Aerial Ruin, and the other by Panopticon and Nechochwen. Today, Bindrune has made both albums available for streaming, and in addition to presenting streams of both albums we’re also sharing interviews we did with all three bands after we had a chance to spend some time with the music.

In this post we talked with Austin Lunn of Panopticon and Erik Moggridge of Aerial Ruin about the music on their split, which is entirely acoustic music that presents a very introspective and personal journey for both musicians. On the Panopticon side, Austin Lunn recorded two original songs and also covered country songs by Blaze Foley and Chris Knight. On the Aerial Ruin side, Erik Moggridge unveils five new original songs.

The album, in a word, is spellbinding. It features artwork by Austin Lunn and is available for pre-order on vinyl HERE, and digitally HERE.

And now, let’s turn to the interview: Continue reading »

Jan 272020
 


Photo by: Eva Nagler Photography

 

(Comrade Aleks was fortunate to get this recent interview with Remco Kreft (Soulburn, Bodyfarm) about his OSDM band Graceless, who will be releasing their second album on March 27th through Raw Skull Recordz.)

Created in June 2016, this quite extreme and merciless death doom act consists of two of Soulburn’s members – Remco Kreft (vocals, guitars) and Marc Verhaar — alongside Björn Knäckebröd (guitars) and Jasper Aptroot who gained experience in local brutal acts like Celesterre, Nailgun Massacre, and Xenomorph. Since Graceless’ founding they have stay focused, bitter and angry.

The band’s sophomore album Where Vultures Know Your Name will see the light of day through Raw Skull Recordz on March 27th, 2020. I consider myself a lucky guy, as I’ve already heard this Armageddon-evoking album, which surpasses their debut work Shadowlands (Raw Skull Recordz, 2017). And moreover, I was lucky enough to get in contact with Remco and learn more about Graceless’ dark truths. Continue reading »

Jan 202020
 

 

(Comrade Aleks has brought us this interview with Make Mäkinen, one of the guitarists and songwriters of the Finnish band Rottendawn. whose debut album is out now on the Saturnal Records label.)

Even though Rottendawn was lit in 2010, their first album Occult saw the light of day in September 2019 on Helsinki-based Saturnal Records. This death-doom band’s lineup is highly remarkable, but I have an impression that they don’t care about promotion too much. So you should know what Rottendawn is a brainchild of Pasi Äijö from Unholy (bass, vocals), Mikael “Arkki” Arnkil of Impaled Nazarene (drums), Sinisthra’s Make Mäkinen (guitars), and Joni Halmetoja (guitars) from… from… I don’t know where he came from. Why not find it out? I

welcome all fans of things heavy, distorted, and slow to join us in this compact and informative interview with Make Mäkinen. Continue reading »

Jan 132020
 

 

(In this interview conducted last year Comrade Aleks spoke with Eric Buizert, vocalist/bassist of the doom Dutch melodic death metal band Kurb Saatus, who first came to life in the ’90s and released their debut album in 2019.)

Kurb Saatus from the Netherlands celebrated their 25th anniversary last year with the release of… their debut full-length album!

Yes, I’m not kidding, this outfit who perform melodic death with minor doomy elements was formed back in 1994 but there were only a split with Officium Triste (1996), the single Never Forgotten, and a bunch of demos in their discography until May 2019 when The Withering was released. There are two members from the original lineup in Kurb SaatusHans van Wingerden (drums) and Eric Buizert (vocals, bass). So Eric is here! Continue reading »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »