GET TO THE POINT: STEPHAN GEBÉDI (THANATOS, HAIL OF BULLETS)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Mar 182015
 

 

(In this latest installment of his “Get To the Point” series, KevinP poses 5 questions to Stephan Gebédi, guitarist of Thanatos and Hail of Bullets.)

K: Be honest with me here. Does Thanatos flying under the radar all these years annoy you in any way?

S: Well I would be lying if I said that it has never annoyed me, ’cause we had loads of bad luck and deals with shitty record labels that did us more bad than good. But on the other hand I know we made a lot of bad decisions ourselves as well, especially in the early days. Not everyone in the band was serious enough about taking the band to another level, so we’re too blame as well.

And maybe I should not have disbanded in 1992 when I grew tired of all the record label bullshit and irresponsible behavior of certain band members, and maybe I should have just kicked them out and recruited new band members. But at that moment I was sick and tired of all the lineup changes in the past. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: NARBELETH

 Interviews  3 Responses »
Mar 162015
 

 

(We welcome back Karina Noctum, who delivers an interview with Dakkar of the one-man Cuban black metal band Narbeleth.)

Narbeleth is black metal made in the most adverse conditions in Cuba. When I first heard about this band I was impressed because of their achievements, then I listened to the music and I really liked it. It’s a display of raw feeling and I really appreciate that in a band.

Not always can you learn something good from BM bands; it is almost the opposite. But when it comes to Narbeleth, they are living proof that passion for metal knows no boundaries, and that the impossible can become possible if you work hard enough and never give up. Continue reading »

PREPARE FOR THE ADVENT OF “MISSING”: AN INTERVIEW WITH JEFF WILSON

 Interviews, Metal News  6 Responses »
Mar 092015
 

photo by Samantha Marble

Yesterday, while on a short work break, I took a quick scan through my Facebook news feed and quickly discovered an invitation to a new Facebook page for a band named Missing. And when I saw who was in the band I got bug-eyed with excitement:

Charlie Fell (Abigail Williams, ex-Lord Mantis)
Fade Kainer (Statiqbloom, Theologian, Batillus)
Sanford Parker (Corrections House, ex-Nachtmystium)
Ken Sorceron (Abigail Williams, ex-Lord Mantis)
Jef Whitehead (Leviathan, Lurker of Chalice)
Jeff Wilson (Wolvhammer, Chrome Waves, Abigail Williams)

An official announcement about the band was released today, about a half hour ago. But yesterday, before the news became official, I reached out to Jeff Wilson and persuaded him to answer a few questions about this new project and what it holds in store. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ARCHIE HUNT (ATTEN ASH)

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Mar 042015
 

 

(NCS Russian contributor Comrade Aleks interviews Archie Hunt of North Carolina’s Atten Ash, whose excellent new album The Hourglass was released by Hypnotic Dirge Records in February and whose similarly excellent split with Lycanthia was released by the same label in January.)

Hypnotic Dirge surprises me again! The label has another killer release after a one-year hiatus, and this time it’s by a melodic death-doom band from North Carolina named Atten Ash. The band’s name literally means “near the ash”, and this trio has created a fantastic – and I use this word very rarely – a really fantastic album, The Hourglass. The album was completed three years ago for digital release by the band, but lay on the shelf until Hypnotic Dirge suddenly found it.

I think you need to know that the band consists of three members – Archie Hunt (who roared with Legion of the Fallen) on vocals, with James Greene responsible for the great clear vocal parts and most of instruments, and Barre Gambling of Daylight Dies playing guitars and keyboards.

The Hourglass is a perfect gift for those who like the old death doom stuff of Katatonia from the Brave Murder Day period, the progressive and emotional works of Opeth, and the melancholic and melodic works of Daylight Dies as well. Without any delay we’ve done this interview with Archie Hunt, with the help of Nic Skog, the head of Hypnotic Dirge. Continue reading »

GET TO THE POINT: MIKA LAMMASSAARI (MORS SUBITA)

 Interviews  2 Responses »
Mar 022015
 

(In this new installment of KevinP’s interview series, he talks with Mika Lammassaari, guitarist of Finland’s Mors Subita, who have a new album named Degeneration coming out soon — and we’ve also got the official lyric video for the new album’s first single, “End Complete“.)

K:  So it’s been 4 years since the release of your debut album, Human Waste Compression, fill us in on what’s going on?

M:  To be quite honest, the last 4 years have been just a mere glimpse, it´s gone past so fast. During this time we´ve toured with Mors Subita and written the new album, obviously. Unfortunately, we also had a couple changes in the line-up, so that has caused a few grey hairs.

All in all it´s been a lot of great moments and we´re more than excited to be releasing the successor to HWC. Right now, we´re doing the final prepping for the release of the new album and rehearsing a lot with the band. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: NICOLAS MIQUELON (NORILSK)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Feb 272015
 

 

(Our Russian friend Comrade Aleks has been busy — for the second day in a row he brings us a new interview. Today, his conversation is with Nicolas Miquelon, lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist of the Québec band Norilsk.)

Norilsk is a Russian industrial city, the world’s northernmost city, with more than 100,000 inhabitants — and it’s one of most polluted cities in the world due to intense mining, a bleak land of ore and melted metal, of biting frost and acid rains. But Norilsk is also the name of a death/doom band from Québec, Canada, and their debut full-length record The Idea Of North will be released on the 10th of March through Hypnotic Dirge Records.

I found the band on their label’s new compilation Subarctic Nocturnes: Doomed to Be – Vol.1 (available here), and it was a worthy discovery. Are you ready for the cold, distorted, and burning breath of arctic wind? Nicolas Miquelon (all instruments but drums, and vocals) is here to spread the very idea of North. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ALEX SCHENKELS (YAMA) — “STONER THAT KILLS THE EGO AND HELPS REACH ENLIGHTENMENT”

 Interviews  1 Response »
Feb 262015
 

 

(In this post our Russian contributor Comrade Aleks interviews Alex Schenkels, vocalist of the Dutch psychedelic doom/stoner band Yama.)

Yama have been playing their heavy and driving stoner for about five years, but their first full-length album Ananta was released only at the end of 2014. It was worth waiting for it — a bunch of strong, highly energetic, and catchy songs that evoke no less enthusiasm than the new works of more famous bands. Yet I don’t want to waste your time with a long foreword, ’cause Yama’s frontman Alex Schenkels is already here.

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Hail Alex! You have released Yama’s grand debut about a month ago. How long did the band work for this release?

Hail Aleks! Yeah, Ananta has finally found its way to the public. It’s been quite a long process to be honest. We recorded Ananta approximately 1.5  years ago. Due to many factors the release got postponed several times. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: CHRISTIAN DRAGHI (DOCTOR CYCLOPS) — “SURREALISTIC VISIONS OF MANKIND’S OBSCENITY”

 Interviews  2 Responses »
Feb 232015
 

 

(Our Russian contributor Comrade Aleks returns with this interview of Christian Draghi, vocalist/guitarist of Italy’s Doctor Cyclops.)

Take the map of Italy and find the small town Vaghera in Lombardy. Do you see it? It’s there in the North… Yes, that’s right. It’s a place where the Maserati Brothers were born, four gentlemen who created what has become one of the world’s best luxury sports cars for a long time. But today this place is more interesting for us because of Doctor Cyclops; they’re a trio who have been playing pretty original retro doom rock since 2007. Their songs have a unique Italian touch – some prog elements, something from the atmosphere of Argento movies, and something elusive and really fresh. And they are not as simple as one might think.

I had this interview with Christian Draghi (guitars, vocals), and we discussed their two albums Borgofondo and Oscuropasso. After that I have even more respect for the band. So here he comes – Doctor Cyclops. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: RITUAL BUTCHERER (ARCHGOAT)

 Interviews  4 Responses »
Feb 182015
 

photo by Duffi-Graffie

 

(Wil Cifer interviews Ritual Butcherer, guitarist, composer, and co-founder of Finland’s Archgoat, whose new album The Apocalyptic Triumphator is one of 2015’s high points so far.)

Your new album The Apocalyptic Triumphator has really set the bar high for metal coming out in 2015. One of the most impressive things about Archgoat is the fact that despite being incredibly heavy, you guys pull this off and still write good songs instead of placing all the focus on the heavy element. What do you attribute this to?

Our whole composing process is guitar-riff orientated and everything builds around the guitar parts. If the guitar riff is good and in company of 4-5 equally good riffs, it is then easy to add tempos with the drums to keep things interesting, but if the guitar part is weak or mediocre the drumming or vocals will not help the situation. We have in the two last recordings really wanted to get a heavy and thick sound because it just works with our hymns. And the drop tuning we use adds even more beef to the whole barrage of sound.

 

How has the songwriting process changed for you guys over the years?

In the beginning we all participated equally in hymn writing, but I have been taking more and more responsibility than in previous years and now have alone composed all the music from Heavenly Vulva as for The Apocalyptic Triumphator. It is, though, irrelevant who of the members does what, as the band is a band, and not for personal glory but for the glorifying of Lucifer. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: “H.” (LIFELOVER, KALL)

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Feb 162015
 

Lifelover

In the span of only four albums and about six years of recording, the Swedish band Lifelover made a remarkable impact on the evolution of metal and on the hearts and minds of their fans. After the death of co-founder Jonas “B” Bergqvist in 2011, the remaining members laid Lifelover to rest.

Several years later, however, the survivors of Lifelover formed a new band named Kall, a band we’ve been following and covering since the first news of its existence began to circulate in the underground. Kall’s self-titled debut album (reviewed here) appeared last fall, and another song also appeared even more recently on one of the excellent Elemental Nightmares splits (reviewed here).

Recently Prophecy Productions has announced that in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Lifelover’s formation, the band will reunite (without “B” of course) to perform a special concert at Prophecy Fest this coming September. And that provided the occasion for me to conduct the following e-mail interview with Lifelover / Kall guitarist “H.” — who talks about the reunion concert, the formation of Kall, and what lies ahead.

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Continue reading »

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