AN NCS INTERVIEW: TRYM TORSON (EMPEROR)

 Interviews  5 Responses »
May 112020
 

 

(Continuing with her ongoing series of interviews with metal drummers, this time Karina Noctum spoke with Trym Torson, who of course is the drummer for Emperor, and formerly for Enslaved and Zyklon, among other groups.)

 

Enslaved played Frost in its entirety in Bergen in 2018. It was a pretty special show with artificial snow and all that, really good. I don’t recall seeing you there. Why weren’t you a part of it?

Ivar told me to stay the fuck away and not ruin the evening! No, I’m just joking, I was never invited, so I never went… Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: “ABYSMAL DAWN”

 Interviews, WAXING LYRICAL  4 Responses »
May 092020
 


photo by Terco Fredes

 

(In this new edition of Andy Synn‘s series of interviews focusing on lyrics in metal he elicited thoughts from Charles Elliott, vocalist/guitarist of California’s Abysmal Dawn, who have a new album out on Season of Mist.)

Since the release of their debut album, From Ashes, way back in 2006, Abysmal Dawn have gone on to become one of the most unrelentingly heavy, unfailingly reliable, and unrepentantly riff-heavy acts in Death Metal.

Hell, their most recent album, the fantastic Phylogenesis, recently received a glowing write-up by our own DGR, while its immediate predecessor, 2014’s outstanding Obsolescence, still remains in my regular listening rotation even now.

So, with all that in mind, what more is there left to say about the band?

Quite a bit, apparently, as you’re about to find out from vocalist/guitarist (and overall mastermind) Charles Elliott! Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: BLIDVINTER

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May 082020
 

 

(It is rare to read an interview that’s so endearing in its candor and humility as this one, brought to us by Comrade Aleks, with Joakim Lundbäck, the Swedish man behind the band Blidvinter, whose debut album Petrichor was released this past March.)

Blidvinter is a solo project of Joakim Lundbäck who chose to work in the direction of mixing progressive death and melodic doom metal. The EP This Solitary Creation (2015) turned out to be a good teaser to the debut full-length Petrichor, released only a month ago.

Joakim’s material is multilayered and rich with a wide range of moods, from temporary melancholy to blind fury, and this storm of emotions is clad in tight, dynamic sound. Petrichor offers you a 50-minute journey in this dark realm of Joakim Lundbäck, so why not to talk with its author about the things we meet on our way? Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: HOUR OF PENANCE

 Interviews, WAXING LYRICAL  2 Responses »
May 022020
 

 

(For this new edition of a column devoted to lyrics in metal Andy Synn obtained insights from Paolo Pieri, who for the last decade has been lyricist, vocalist, and guitarist in the Italian death metal band Hour of Penance.)

If you don’t know the name Hour of Penance, well, chances are you’re either new to this site and/or new to Metal in general, as we’ve been fans of these Italian iconoclasts (who celebrated twenty years of existence by releasing their eighth album just last year) for a long, long time now.

In my own case it was stumbling across a copy of The Vile Conception in my local (now sadly defunct) independent record store (remember those?) which first introduced me to the band and their brand of ultra-intense, hook-heavy Death Metal and which led, by a complex, convoluted route, to actually supporting them on a short run of dates in the UK at the end of last year!

As you might have gathered, this edition of Waxing Lyrical is particularly special to me, and so I’d like to send out a personal thank you to HoP frontman Paolo Pieri for taking the time to craft such an interesting and well-thought-out series of responses for us.

Now, without further ado… Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: LACRIMA MORTIS

 Interviews  1 Response »
Apr 302020
 

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(On May 27th Talheim Records will release the debut album of the Brazilian band Lacrima Mortis, and that prompted Comrade Aleks to reach out for an interview… which now follows.)

Five hooded figures wearing black masks stand in front of old church, one of them holding rope in its hands. I couldn’t ignore Lacrima Mortis when I saw this photo.

The band was formed in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil, 2016. The band’s members clad their identities with pseudonyms — Requiem (guitars), Dread (vocals), Baud (guitars), Scavenger (drums), and Reaper (bass). There was only the EP Optare Mortem (2017) in their discography until recently, but Talheim Records announced the release of Lacrima Mortis‘ first full-length work, Posthumous, on May 27th, so fans of slow ceremonial doom-death metal be aware!

Meanwhile we’ve taken a glance at the Brazilian underground together with one of the hooded congregation — Requiem. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: VAINAJA

 Interviews  1 Response »
Apr 292020
 

 

(We present a very timely interview by Comrade Aleks of a fascinating death-doom band — Finland’s Vainaja — who released a new EP just two days ago.)

Vainaja is one of most specific and obscure recent Finnish death doom bands. All members of this grim trio have played in the death/thrash metal outfit Demolisher since 2005 but made the decision to slow down and started Vainaja in 2011. Since then they’ve worked on telling their own “conceptual storyline of religious horrors” with the universal tongue of dense, a bit raw, and deep death-doom.

Vainaja are Aukusti the Gravedigger (drums, vocals), Kristian the Cantor (guitars, vocals), and Wilhelm the Preacherman (vocals, bass). Together, Vainaja have created two full-length liturgies – Kadotetut (2014) and Verenvalaja (2016), which have their own features but are united with the same story. And as Vainaja are just releasing a new EP, Kiviristi, that will expand this story, it felt so damn right to know more about this Cult’s inner work. With Kristian the Cantor’s blessing let’s start this pilgrimage of grief, death, and unavoidable doom, for the last times are upon us. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: RAGE OF SAMEDI

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Apr 282020
 

 

(Comrade Aleks has remained busy in these shut-in times and has brought us this engaging interview with Sam D. Durango, founding guitarist for the German band Rage of Samedi, whose latest album Blood Ritual was released in January of this plague year by Argonauta Records.)

Okay, so I was intrigued by whether the German sludge-doom outfit Rage Of Samedi had any connection with the voodoo creed as they’re named after one of most respected deities of that Afro-Caribbean cult. And the release of their third album Blood Ritual in January 2020 through Argonauta Records only stirred up my interest more. Are they that pious? Are they into catchy voodoo rhythms and riffs? What kind of shit is happening on the Blood Ritual artwork?

A lot of highly improtant questions disturbed me, so I approached Rage Of Samedi’s guitarist Sam D. Durango and learned a lot about how to stay cool, strong, and healthy. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: FUNERALOPOLIS

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Apr 222020
 

 

(In this new interview Comrade Aleks spoke with members of the Swiss death/doom band Funeralopolis, whose latest album will be released on April 27th by Memento Mori.)

Despite being named after an Electric Wizard song back in 2009, Funeralopolis perform hard-as-hell death doom on a verge of slowed-down death. And if you’re tired of waiting for a new Asphyx or Autopsy release, you should give a chance to this band of punishers from Switzerland. Especially now, when after being on stage for about 10 years, the guys have recorded a killer full-length album, their first one, …Of Deceit And Utter Madness.

Let’s hope that Memento Mori Records will be able to release it on April 27th as it’s scheduled. Meanwhile we had a cool chat with Sodomator Of The Doomed Venus a.k.a Nico (bass), Chanting Ghoul of Ravenous Redemption a.k.a. Thuri (guitars, vocals), and Invoker of the Ancient Deathtune a.k.a. Pascal (guitars). Be ready for horrors of death and doom! Go! Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: WORM

 Interviews  2 Responses »
Apr 202020
 

 

(In this new interview Comrade Aleks spoke with the principal creator behind the Floridian extreme metal band Worm, whose latest album Gloomlord was released by Iron Bonehead this past January.)

Being born amidst the swamps of Florida as a solo project, Worm was a black metal outfit run by Phantom Slaughter, a.k.a. Wurm. He recorded two demos on his own — The Deep Dark Earth Underlines All (2014) and Nights In Hell (2016), and then he met a like-minded person.

Since 2017 Phantom Slaughter has worked together with Equimanthorn, and their collaboration has resulted in two full-length albums, Evocation Of The Black Marsh (2017) and Gloomlord (2020). Both albums were released by the famous Iron Bonehead Productions and both demonstrate Worm’s tendency towards a new direction – dirty and savage blackened death doom in its most nihilistic form.

How is it there in the Floridian underground? Let’s take a look together with Phantom Slaughter himself. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: JANNE JALOMA (NIGHT CROWNED, DARK FUNERAL)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Apr 162020
 

 

(In this new installment of Karina Noctum‘s interview series devoted to metal drummers she talked with Janne Jaloma, the drummer of Night Crowned (whose 2020 debut album is out now on the Noble Demon label), Dark Funeral, and Despite.)

In the summer of 2019 I went to a festival called Gamrocken in the middle of nowhere in Sweden. That festival is sadly no more. The 2019 version had an awesome line-up and some unknown bands to me. Out of those bands the one that I liked the most was Night Crowned. I eagerly waited months for their new album Impius Viam to come out, because it’s not like there are lots of bands at that technical level appearing all the time, and the fact they are from Gothenburg was a huge plus, because that scene is just awesome.

I love it when the Swedes play extreme Death Metal. You have acts like The Forsaken, Dimension Zero, Spawn of Possession, Soreption, Hypocrisy, to name a few. So I was really happy to have found Night Crowned to add to that list, and besides, their style is blackened — something that I truly appreciate.

So I had to interview their drummer, Janne Jaloma, who plays in Dark Funeral as well. His drumming is fast, neat, and he doesn’t withhold anything on his latest album. Continue reading »

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