AN NCS INTERVIEW: HORIZON OF THE MUTE (JANI KOSKELA)

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May 042017
 

 

(We present the interview by Latvian music writer Evita Hofmane with Jani Koskela, the man behind the Finnish band Horizon of the Mute.)

Finnish one-man doom/industrial metal act Horizon of the Mute has announced more live dates in support to its debut album release Trobar Clus. These shows will take place in Baltic countries, Romania, Slovakia, and France in May. Trobar Clus was released digitally and on CD in November 2016 by Death Shrine Offerings.

I had a chat with Jani Koskela (also or previously of Cynabare Urne, 0xíst, Let Me Dream, and Saattue) to hear all about his new project. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: CHELSEA WOLFE

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  1 Response »
Apr 202017
 

 

(Greek writer John Sleepwalker of Avopolis.gr returns to NCS with this interview of Chelsea Wolfe conducted in advance of her appearance in Athens on April 29 at the Smoke the Fuzz Fest with Amenra, Oathbreaker, and Skull & Dawn. )

 

Your style has reached out to audiences unfamiliar with experimental sounds, thanks to its remarkable accessibility. Do you believe diversity can be an obstacle when aiming at new horizons, and how much do you see your sound further developing? When should we expect a new full-length release?

CW: I think sometimes being difficult to define can hold an artist back from certain opportunities, but I’ve been really lucky to still have support from a lot of really great people despite being sort of in-between genres. When I’m writing a new album I just follow my instincts and pay attention to what my bandmates and I are writing naturally, and then we hone in on that and refine it. We actually just finished recording a new album and if all goes well, it’ll be out later this year. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SOLACE (TOMMY SOUTHARD)

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Apr 192017
 

 

(In this interview Comtrade Aleks checks in with guitarist Tommy Southard of New Jersey’s Solace.)

This dirty, angry and literally possessed stoner crew is known because of its charged and uncompromising delivery and damn vivid shows. They’ve shaken the New Jersey scene since 1996 and since then have achieved some recognition with three full-length albums, a few smaller releases, and a lot of live gigs.

Solace’s latest work “A.D.” was released in 2010, and that’s okay since the band’s members also play in more sinister and sludgy outfits like The Disease Concept, Social Decay, and Chrome Waves. They’re busy men, and they know well how to play loud and heavy.

I hadn’t heard anything new from Solace for awhile and was worried a bit. As result I got in touch with Tommy Southard (guitars) and he patiently answered my questions, helping with this retrospective interview. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: CONDOR (MAGNUS GARATHUN)

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Apr 102017
 

 

(Argentinian writer Matías Gallardo rejoins us with this interview of guitarist Magnus “Magressor” Garathun of the Norwegian band Condor, whose blistering new album (and probably their last one) Unstoppable Power will be released on April 28th.)

 

You might have noticed Condor the first time they flew over our heads in 2011 with the release of the Speedwagon EP. Championed by none other than Fenriz from Darkthrone, that material secured the thrash/black Norwegian trio a cult following that embraced with joy their self-titled debut released two years later.

Fast forward four years and Condor is back with a great new LP, entitled Unstoppable Power. The successor of 2014’s split with Töxic Death, Victims of Burning Death, feels like the guys left the darker influences aside and chose to go with a full old-skull German-influenced thrash metal sound instead, which is – obviously – awesome news. Following, guitarist Magnus ‘Magressor’ Garathun tells NCS how unstoppable is the new menace that dwells in the skies. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: KINGNOMAD

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  No Responses »
Apr 032017
 

 

(Comrade Aleks brings us this interview of one of the founders of the Swedish band Kingnomad, whose new album Mapping the Inner Void was released by Ripple Music earlier this year.)

 

Take Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, add a cleaner and heavier sound to their vintage doom rock, then enforce it with Sabbathian tritone and Dead Meadow’s psychedelic vibe, and it’s not difficult to imagine how Swedish occultists Kingnomad sound on their new record Mapping the Inner Void.

They don’t reinvent the wheel, but they do their work heartily, masterfully, and with sinister passion. Ripple Music did the good job lending a hand to Kingnomad to help with the release of the album. The time for unholy doom rock in all its crimson glory has come!

This interview with Johnny is the result of science and a spiritualism alliance as he gave me his answers through the virtual séance in truly unimaginable ways. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DRAUGSÓL

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Mar 302017
 

 

(We welcome back to NCS Argentinian writer Matías Gallardo, who brings us the following interview of guitarist M.K. and vocalist A.J. of the Icelandic band Draugsól, whose debut album Volaða Land was released in January by Signal Rex and can be streamed in full after the interview.)

 

It seems ‘Icelandic’ and ‘black metal’ are two terms that work extremely well together. If you have doubts, just listen to Volaða Land, the debut album by Reykjavík-based trio Draugsól. In less than 40 minutes, these newcomers display a unique approach to the vicious sounds we’ve heard coming from the land of eternal ice.

In fact, the mixture between classic Scandinavian black metal riffing, ambient-like passages, and epic melodies sounds extremely personal for such a new band. Now, read what guitarist M.K. and vocalist A.J. has to say about the album that might turn Draugsól into one of the year’s most pleasant surprises. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SYLVAINE

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Mar 292017
 

 

Last spring we had the pleasure of premiering the opening song on Wistful, the second album by Norwegian composer and multi-instrumentalist Sylvaine. On that album, Sylvaine again composed all the music and performed vocals and almost all instruments, with Alcest’s Neige and Stephen Shepard splitting the drum performances and with additional guests Coralie Louarnika and Thibault Guichard performing violin, viola, and cello on the title track.

Aided by Sylvaine‘s ethereal voice, the album is entrancing and enthralling, a beautifully layered atmospheric work that’s capable of transporting listeners far away from the mundane aspects of daily existence, though the places it may take you are deep inside the crevasses of your own memories and emotions.

In this post we bring you an interview of Sylvaine by John Sleepwalker of the Greek web zine Avopolis.gr, which has also recently been published at that site. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MICHELLE NOCON (BATHSHEBA, DEATH PENALTY, LEVIATHAN SPEAKS)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Mar 272017
 

 

(We welcome Comrade Aleks back to NCS with this wide-ranging interview of Michelle Nocon, which delves into her participation in Bathsheba, whose new album is out now on Svart Records, as well as her work with Death Penalty and her solo project Leviathan Speaks. All photos by Burning Moon except where noted.)

 

Doom band Bathsheba is named after a personage of the Hebrew Bible, the woman of complex fate, “daughter of the oath”. What made this Belgian outfit choose it? Have patience my friend, for soon we’ll learn the answer!

The band was formed by members of a few local death and doom bands in 2013, and its lineup has been the same since then. Raf plays bass, Jelle is the drummer, Dwight plays guitars, and Michelle is the vocalist. Michelle also sang in Gaz Jennings’ Death Penalty, so there were at least two reasons to get in contact with her, as Death Penalty has been silent, and Bathsheba released their debut full-length Servus just in February 2017. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: WOE (CHRIS GRIGG)

 Interviews  6 Responses »
Mar 212017
 


Photo by Samantha Marble

(Wil Cifer delivers to us this interview of Chris Grigg — founder, vocalist, and guitarist of Woe, whose new album Hope Attrition has just been released by Vendetta Records.)

 

Woe is one of my favorite American Black Metal bands, right along side Liturgy and Nachtmystium, though Woe stuck closer to more conventional metal, even after their move to Brooklyn. With their fourth full-length Hope Attrition, the band continues to plow into fierce territory, blending in flourishes of death metal and hardcore. I recently caught up with main man Chris Grigg to discuss the new album and the state of black metal in America, and the results went something like this.

******

I heard that in the process of making this album you guys scrapped almost an entire album’s worth of songs in order to settle on what became the final product. What determined what made the cut?

It might not have been a whole album, but pretty close. We got rid of everything that sucked. We just kept reworking the songs and if there was a transition that felt forced, a riff that didn’t feel just right, we scrapped it. We demoed this intensely, so at the end of the day what would be left going into the studio were the best that they could be.

Continue reading »

GET TO THE POINT: BLASPHEMER (UK)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Mar 152017
 

 

(KevinP brings us another episode in his series of brief interviews, and this time he quizzes guitarist/vocalist Arno Cagna and drummer Dan Mullins of the UK’s Blasphemer, whose self-titled debut album was released in January of this year.)

 

So you’ve been around 25 years (since 1992) and you just finally got around to releasing your debut album.  Amuse us with the explanation why it took that long?

Arno:  The band actually formed in 1990.  Our first demo was released at the end of 1992.  From 1992 to 1995 we released several demos and received positive press in the fanzines of the day.  That led on to us receiving 5/5 demo reviews in Terrorizer magazine in the UK in 1994 and then being voted best unsigned band by their readers. So you would have thought our first album would have been released in the 1990s. It wasn’t to be though, as around 1995 the project as Blasphemer was put hold. This was due to an unreleased demo that fell into the hands of a record label. Continue reading »

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