AN NCS INTERVIEW: SAMAVAYO (BEHRANG ALAVI)

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  No Responses »
Apr 202015
 

 

(Comrade Aleks interviews Behrang Alavi, the Iranian-born vocalist/guitarist for Germany’s Samavayo — and of course we have music for you to hear as well.)

Samavayo is the band for those who like stoner music and don’t fear experiments. If you want to know how stoner sounds with progressive, alternative, and Middle Eastern roots, then this band is for you.

Samavayo was born in Berlin somewhere around 2000, and different elements have prevailed in their music in different periods and on different records, but after all of that, the band have found their golden mean. I do think that their last work stands a bit apart from other albums – it’s a vinyl split release by Samavayo and the Russian band The Grand Astoria. We had a talk with Behrang Alavi (vocals, guitars) about this record and some other things. Continue reading »

AUTOKRATOR: A “GET TO THE POINT” INTERVIEW AND A REVIEW

 Album Reviews, Interviews  3 Responses »
Apr 162015
 

 

Editor’s Note: KevinP and I are sharing this post, even though he doesn’t know he’s having to share it with me. In the first part you’ll find another installment in his “Get To the Point” interview series, in which he puts a handful of questions to Lioc F., the main man behind the multinational industrial/death/drone/doom band Autokrator. And after the interview, I have a few thoughts about Autokrator’s self-titled debut album, which was released digitally earlier this year and is due for physical release by Iron Bonehead on May 29.

 

“GET TO THE POINT”

K:  Since you are a fairly new band, (formed in 2014) and I know nothing about your origins, please tell us about Autokrator?

L:  Autokrator was born out of the ashes of my former project, N.K.V.D.  I wanted to turn on a death-drone side for years, still with industrial influences, so I created Autokrator. And I recorded the album with musicians I was in connection with. Continue reading »

GET TO THE POINT: LIAM MILLWARD (THEOKTONY) — AND A FULL STREAM OF “LOSS”

 Interviews  1 Response »
Apr 132015
 

 

(KevinP puts five questions to Liam Millward, composer/guitarist/bassist/mandolin-player/backing-vocalist of Theoktony from the UK, whose new album you can stream in full at the end of this post.)

K:  Cliff notes history lesson:  You started as Pulverized in 2001, released one album in 2002, changed the band’s name to Theoktony in 2005, released a debut album in 2008.  It’s now 2015 and you are about to release your sophomore effort, Loss, via Dissected Records.  Tell us about it.

L:  Loss was actually written a couple of years ago, its just taken a while to pull together and record. Musically, I tried to keep with the original modus operandi of Theoktony, to just write and see where it took me. I try not to restrict myself to a genre.  Lyrically, I took inspiration from recent history and tried to stay on point, deal with ‘Loss’ in general, whether that be of faith, sanity, or life.

 

K:  Who’s responsible for what on this album? (Writing, playing, producing, etc,)

L:  On vocals we have Anthony Jody Myers; drums were played by Anil Carrier; guitars, bass, mandolin and samples were all by myself.  As far as writing is concerned, all music and lyrics were written by myself, with the exception of the drums for the songs “Apostate” and “Eritrea”, which were written by Anil.  I also produced the album, so if you hate it, I guess I’m to blame.  Haha! Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ARACHNID

 Interviews, Metal News  2 Responses »
Apr 102015
 

(I welcome an old friend but a first-time contributor to NCS. His name is Oily. He enjoys long walks on the beach… AT AN OCEAN OF BLOOD! In this post he interviews Paul Nicholls, frontman of a Portland thrash band long thought dead but now resurrected — Arachnid.)

All great monuments fade. Some treasures wither away, unknown and unappreciated. Seemingly lost, enveloped by the engulfing mists of time, a rare prize resurfaces — a sparkling blood-red gem of thrash metal has been wrenched away from the jaws of oblivion.

Some time back, searching through Stormspell Records’ catalogue, I came across a self-titled release from a Portland-area band called ARACHNID. Curiosity piqued, I had a listen and was blown away; this was without a doubt some of the best thrash I’d heard in a long while. Continue reading »

GET TO THE POINT: NATALIA ANDROSOVA (ENDLESSHADE)

 Interviews  3 Responses »
Apr 062015
 

 

(In this latest installment of his “Get To the Point” series, KevinP poses 6 questions to Nataliia Androsova vocalist of Endlesshade from Ukraine.)

 

K:  What made you choose death/doom as your style?

N:  I used to listen to the music of such bands as Saturnus, Doom:Vs, Celtic Frost, Ea, Fallen, etc.  I said “used to”, ’cause my tastes have changed a little. Now I mostly listen to post black, hardcore, and electronic music.

 

K:  Even though your debut album, Wolf Will Swallow the Sun, has just been released through Naturmacht Productions, this was many years in the making, correct?

N:  It took about a year to gather material and about half a year to record it.  The main problem was that Michael and I couldn’t find musicians to record all the stuff. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: HENRY BONES (CARONTE)

 Interviews  No Responses »
Apr 012015
 

 

(Our Russian contributor Comrade Aleks presents his interview with Henry Bones, bassist of Italy’s Caronte.)

There are a lot of bands who use the tag “occult” in speaking about their music. But the Italian dark masters in the doom stoner band Caronte are not ordinary followers of this genre. They play their songs with true and darkest passion and energy in practicing their mystic sacraments and sharing this experience with Caronte’s listeners. The second full-length album of this Italian cult was released by Van Records under the name Church of Shamanic Goetia in 2014, and once again Caronte have shown their best, revealing new heavy super-hits, as if Danzig himself were playing with them! I’ve used a chance to speak with Henry Bones (bass) about this new record.

 

Hello Henry! Caronte has released the album Church of Shamanic Goetia through Van Records in 2014. And though the band’s core remains the same, I hear some advancements in your music. How do you class the band’s evolution?

From the previous releases we are all matured a lot, both on a human level and at the level of composition. On our last album we really expressed ourselves as never before.

 

By the way, how many virgins did you put on the devil’s altar to gain such driving riffs and catchy tunes?

You should ask at our drummer Mike. Normally he is dealing with the virgins. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: J.N. (PICTURE ANN, SIGNALFEIDE, SAGNTID)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Mar 302015
 

 

(In this post Comrade Aleks returns to take us off our usual beaten paths with an interview of J.N., the creator behind Picture Ann, Signalfeide, and Sagntid.)

I learned about the projects of this Danish artist because J.N. was a part of the atmospheric doomy band Sick Room 7, which was a good band and one I miss. But after (or during) Sick Room’s disbanding, J.N. continued to compose dark music, but of another kind: He put his hands onto atmospheric, guitar-based, and ambient songs with deep and murky feeling. What new does J.N. have for us today? Let me clarify it.

******

Hail J.! How are you? How does your creative life go?

Hails Aleks, all is well here. I have no complaints whatsoever regarding my creative life and it is somewhat constant and solid in a sense. I am always either creating, planning, or thinking about something in relation to music and lyrics. It never really stops… and I do not want it to stop either!

 

J., you have finished a new record in 2015. It is a Picture Ann full-length record, The Darkness Had Texture. How has this project evolved since its first album?

In a certain sense there are quite a few similarities between the very first PICTURE ANN album, the one named Blaspheme 2009, and the brand new one that you are referring to, the one entitled The Darkness Had Texture. The linear drum patterns, monotonous melodies, hypnotic moods, and trance-like atmospheres are thoroughly back in place on this new album of mine, and I could not be happier with how that turned out. The album that came out last year (A Bone Case for Papery Skin) was slightly more varied, dynamic, and weird, but now that some time has passed, I consider that particular album my least favorite of the three full-length assaults. However, I think my new record sounds pretty focused, and all five songs complement each other and underline certain thoughts and emotions perfectly well. I hope that the open-minded listeners out there will give it a spin or two on a dark and stormy night. I am very proud of The Darkness Had Texture, as you can probably tell. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DOWNFALL OF GAIA

 Interviews  4 Responses »
Mar 302015
 

 

(Andy Synn presents his interview with some of the members of Germany’s Downfall of Gaia.)

Aeon Unveils the Throne of Decay, the thunderous third album from Germany’s Downfall of Gaia, was, in my estimation, one of the finest slabs of Metal (of any style) produced last year. In fact I selected it as one of my top 10 Critical choices of 2014, describing it as a “slow-motion apocalypse” (though massive, jagged chunks of it are anything but slow) which “shifts seamlessly between styles… to make [it] a fascinatingly multi-faceted and endlessly rewarding musical experience.”

And I stand by those words. In fact I’ve only discovered more layers and depth to the album as the months have passed by.

So, as a huge (and relatively new) fan of the band, I was lucky enough to be able to grab guitarist/vocalist Dominik Goncalves dos Reis for a quick chat about life, love, and the nature of existence. Continue reading »

GET TO THE POINT: CRAIG SMILOWSKI (RELLIK)

 Interviews  5 Responses »
Mar 262015
 

 

(In this latest installment of his “Get To the Point” series, KevinP poses 5 questions to drummer Craig Smilowski of Philadelphia’s Rellik, whose debut album Spiraling Infinite Chaos was released last week by Horror Pain Gore Death Productions.)

K:   The band has been around since 1987, but never released any material until 2004.  Now, 11 years later, you are finally getting to your debut LP.  What the hell took so long?

C:  Well, as far as a full-length goes it’s just the way things turned out.  The band were all working different schedules and writing/rehearsing when possible.  And had quite a few member changes along the way.  Now with this established line-up, we have plenty of ideas coming in, which makes for better song writing. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: PAUL ATTARD (MOTHER MARS)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Mar 192015
 

 

(In this post Comrade Aleks interviews Paul Attard, guitarist/bassist of the Australian band Mother Mars.)

I learned about the great stoner band Mother Mars from my mate Kamille of The Grand Astoria band. He told me that both bands had prepared a fantastic split-album and that I needed to check these guys out. Well, it was an easy task because it turns out that Mother Mars are from our planet, indeed they are Australian, so with the help of modern internet technologies we’ve done this interview with Paul Attard, one of Mother Mars pilots. Get ready for boogie stoner from the heart of the Australian deserts.

******

Aleks to Mother Mars! How do you hear me?

Loud and Clear! This is Paul from Mother Mars! Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries