AN NCS INTERVIEW: NAMTAR

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Mar 032020
 


photo credit – Nadja Geskus Photography

 

(Our Norway-based correspondent Karina Noctum forges ahead with her series of interviews of drummers, and here presents a discussion with Namtar, former drummer with the Dutch symphonic black metal band Carach Angren.)

2020 started with several losses of both musicians and bands in the metal scene. So to join the row of sad news it was announced that Namtar from Carach Angren was going to leave his band, and so I took the opportunity to talk to him.

Carach Angren had a pretty well-conceived and interesting concept, both musically and image-wise, that will continue for sure, but no two drummers are the same. So it remains to see who is going to take his place and how it will turn out. A new album called Franckensteina Strataemontanus to be released on May 29 has been announced, but the news is taken with mixed feelings of course. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: YAWNING VOID

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Feb 282020
 


photo by Photo by Jami Kallioväli

 

(In this new interview Comrade Aleks spoke with three members of the Finnish band Yawning Void, whose music is black/death/doom from the depths of the void….)

Our constant readers may remember the interview we did with the crushing death doom band Solothus from Suomi. We had a nice chat in December, and now their new album Realm Of Ash And Blood has been announced by 20 Buck Spin Records — it will be out on March 27th — don’t miss it!

So if you remember, we finished that interview on a bit of an awkward note about Yawning Void, a kind of blackened death doom outfit from Turku that includes three of Solothus’ members. I wish I could announce the release date of their new album, but true to say it’s blurred, though we had a great conversation with TKI (drums, keyboards), KTK (vocals), and VTK (guitars). Well, Yawning Void’s debut Streams Within was actually officially released by Weird Truth Productions only in October 2019, so it’s still an actual thing – grim, thick, and lightless as our miserable world which “keeps spinning towards unknown paths of doom”. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: NORNES

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Feb 272020
 

 

(Comrade Aleks has brought us this interview of the French band Nornes, which focuses on their 2018 debut Vanity and, of course, other things… including the band’s new EP Threads, which will be released on February 28th through Sleeping Church Records.)

I try to avoid interviewing bands with only an EP and demos in their discography, with rare exceptions like it was with Marble Chariot who at least continued their pilgrimage under the Carcolh moniker… But when reverend Rodolphe of the Barabbas band advised me to take a look at Nornes from Valenciennes, I couldn’t refuse.

And indeed they remain a very cool trad-doom band with both clean and harsh vocals, despite the fact what their one and only EP Vanity was released in 2018. Where’s the new stuff. men? Here you’ll find an answer to this question, a few facts about the band, and one French joke. Don’t forget to turn on the play button and listen to their EP (you’ll find it below), I need to return to my beer. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ANTICHRISTIAN (TSJUDER, BEATEN TO DEATH, GOTHMINISTER)

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Feb 262020
 

 

(Karina Noctum conducted this extensive interview with the prolific and multi-faceted drummer AntiChristian, touching upon many subjects, including the activities of three of the very different main bands he now plays in.)

AntiChristian is a Norwegian drummer known for playing in Tsjuder and Gothminister. He also plays in a less-known band called Beaten to Death that is getting increasingly more recognition both in Norway and elsewhere. This interview includes some in-depth questions about BtD since it is a pretty interesting and unique band that picked up my attention since the beginning. In addition to drum-talking, there is also some cool news when it comes to Tsjuder and Gothminister, which will most likely be topics for in-depth interviews in the future. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: TETHRA

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Feb 242020
 

 

(This new interview by Comrade Aleks takes us through an extended discussion with vocalist/lyricist Clode Tethra and guitarist Federico Monti , members of the Italian death-doom band Tethra, whose new album will soon be released by Black Lion Records.)

Tethra are a death doom band from Italian Novara, Tethra spend their twelfth year on the scene, and there are two full-lengths plus one EP in itheir discography. Oh, correction – their third album Empire Of The Void is planned to be released by Black Lion Records on the 20th of March.

The album sounds both familiar and refreshingly new. Familiar because it radiates that warm melancholic vibe of classic mid-tempo melodic doom death. Refreshing because of its potent sound and its richness. It’s interesting how Tethra survive – and not just survive but succeed, as the only original member is Clode Tethra, who has provided both deep growling vocals and amazing clean singing in the band since 2008. Other members are relatively new, including guitarist Federico Monti who just left the thrash death band Total Death in order to join Tethra in 2017. Clode and Federico tell Tethra’s story tonight. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: LYING FIGURES

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Feb 192020
 

 

(Comrade Aleks has brought us another interview, and this time he amicably interrogates two members of the French death-doom band Lying Figures, whose debut album arrived in 2017 and who are now working on a successor to that one.)

Lying Figures from the French city of Nancy isn’t the most active band in the world. They started to forge their death doom metal slowly in 2008, and their EPs From Nowhere To Nothing and A World Of My Own appeared in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Their full-length work The Abstract Escape saw the light of day three years after, and this Katatonia-inspired material drew the attention of Brave Murder Day fans easily.

Well, Lying Figures didn’t turn int0 a cult band the very day this album was born, but they’re interesting enough to approach them and learn more about the band’s current status. Matthieu Burgaud (guitars) and Frédéric Simon (bass) eagerly helped me with that. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: HANNES GROSSMANN

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Feb 172020
 

 

(We present Karina Noctum‘s recent interview with Hannes Grossmann, the German drummer, composer, and producer who made his name drumming with such bands as Necrophagist, Blotted Science, Obscura, Alkaloid, and Hate Eternal. His most recent solo album Apophenia was released last year, and he is now recording a new solo album.)

 

As a drummer you have played various styles of metal throughout the last years. You’re also a successful composer and producer/sound engineer. Which task and what style do you find the most challenging?

To me it is very important to have an even work balance between writing, producing and drumming. I wouldn’t be satisfied if I just played drums for various bands. My first professional band was Necrophagist and it was extremely difficult to play their music. But it wasn’t the technicality I was interested in in the first place, it was the fact that the music was something unique, something new.

Of course technical stuff like Blotted Science and Necrophagist was the hardest to play on the drums, mainly because it’s fast and complicated. There isn’t any room left for improvisation, unlike in Obscura or Alkaloid. In those bands, being a main songwriter, I have much more freedom to express myself on the drum kit. But then writing and producing is really tough. Especially the last Alkaloid album Liquid Anatomy was difficult. Overall it is probably the hardest record I’ve done, but also the most rewarding. So it really depends. I can say that with every difficult task I have grown as a musician. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: STEELFEST 2020

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Feb 102020
 

 

(Atlanta-based NCS contributor Tør is hoping to attend the 2020 edition of Steelfest in Hyvinkää, Finland, on May 15-16. This year the open-air festival will include such bands as Deicide, Sodom, Moonsorrow, Primordial, Venom Inc, Nifelheim, Impaled Nazarene, and many more. In this interview, Tør spoke with Steelfest founder Commander.)

 

Tell us a little bit about the concept and history behind Steelfest. What motivated you to organize it and how is it different from other metal festivals?

Steelfest started over a decade ago, 14-15 years ago, as a private “festival.” In the beginning, it was just local bands, friends, and lots of beer. I think in the first few events, there were more band members than the audience. So just the normal underground activity as usual.

I don’t remember how it happened but one day we just decided to change the venue and try to sell some tickets. We didn’t really think about what kind of bands or genre we wanted to focus on. We just invited bands what we liked at the time, and of course those we could afford to invite.  In the first years, we had seven guys doing this and it really showed in our lineups. So, we didn’t have much of a [cohesive] idea about what we were doing or what kind of festival we wanted to do.

Nowadays, there are just two guys including me behind our events. So in the last four or five years we have founded the path that Steelfest is now on. As we concentrate on the underground and extreme side of black/death metal and other obscure controversial stuff, I would like to think that Steelfest is different because of its whole atmosphere. Atmosphere made by the venue, bands, audience and all of Steelfest’s volunteers crew. Usually, Steeefest includes some rare artists which you cannot find in other festivals. So maybe that also is something that is unique to us and what we are known for. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: KONVENT

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Feb 072020
 

 

(Our Russian friend Comrade Aleks caught up with a rising star within the Napalm Records roster, and co-produced this engaging interview with Heidi Withington Brink, bassist of the Danish band Konvent, whose debut album was released by Napalm Records late last month.)

The modern death-doom scene is overcrowded with a host of bands – both old and new. Sometimes it’s hard to find something different, but you’ll remember Konvent for sure.

Formed in Copenhagen back in 2015, this all-ladies band provides thick, powerful stuff with inhuman growling vocals and a low vibe. They aren’t that brutal, like Derketa for example, but they’re remarkably heavy and depressive.

Konvent’s debut full-length Puritan Masochism was released by Napalm Records on January 24th, and with the help of Mona Miluski we’ve caught the band right in the middle of their tour. Heidi Withington Brink (bass) provided comprehensive answers to all our questions despite the stirring life of spreading death and doom over Europe. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: VAMPYROMORPHA

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Feb 062020
 

 

(Comrade Aleks brings us this tremendously entertaining interview (which delves into both horror films and The Kybalion as well as the music, with Michael “Jimmy” Imhof from the German band Vampyromorpha.)

You probably know that vampyromorpha isn’t only a bizarre kind of octopus, but also a power-heavy doomed duet from Würzburg, Bavaria.

Formed in 2014 by Fabian Schwarz (guitars, bass, drums) from a good number of bands including Runamok, Terrible Old Man, The New Black, and more, accompanied by Michael “Jimmy” Imhof (vocals, Hammond organ) of Lex Rhino, Naked Star, and more, Vampyromorpha released their debut Six Fiendish Tales Of Doom And Horror… in 2015. This strikingly refreshing combination of heavy powerful riffs delivered in mid and fast tempo, killer tunes, and old school macabre charms alongside expressive vocals telling real and fictional stories from the dark side of human lives is criminally catchy and truly remarkable.

Four years after, these gentlemen return with a second full-length work, Herzog, and that’s the thing we’re talking about with Jimmy tonight… That and horror movies. Lots and lots of horror movies. Continue reading »

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