AN NCS INTERVIEW: AWAY (VOIVOD)

 Interviews  2 Responses »
Feb 132015
 

 

(We present Wil Cifer’s interview with Voivod drummer Michel Langevin (Away).)

Here’s an interview I did with one of the most underrated drummers in metal — Away from VoiVod, who I caught up with on the Space and Grind Tour, where they continue to steal the show from Napalm Death.

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Caught the show last night and you guys were amazing, one thing I thought was interesting was that all of the songs except for the new one were from Nothingface” and back, and when I heard Target Earth I thought, “Wow, this is the album that should have come after Nothingface” just from the vibe it had.

Away – We have three sets and songs from Target Earth are on two of them, but we have been debating that, since we are on tour to promote that album. What do you think, should we play more from Target Earth? Continue reading »

GET TO THE POINT: A.C. OF THROES

 Interviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Feb 122015
 

 

(In this latest installment of his “Get To the Point” series, KevinP poses 5 questions to multi-instrumentalist “A.C.” of the UK band Throes, whose debut album Disassociation is coming out March 22nd… and we have a new song to stream as well.)

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K:  Another day, another new band from you.  So what’s this all about?

A:  Throes comes from a turbulent time.  It was originally formed as a full band in 2011 but due to DG’s term of house-arrest we were forced to disband.  There’s not a great deal worth delving into with regards to the history of Throes. In fact, we’d rather leave most of it feigned in mystery.  This is for a variety of reasons but mainly because when you look at the current incarnation of Throes it bares no similarities to its predecessor (i.e., as opposed to being a full band), it is now a two-man outfit with all instrumental and writing duties handled by myself and vocals performed by DG.

 

K:  So musically what were you aiming for on this, as opposed to the plethora of other bands you are involved with?

A:  This has a whole load of electronic influences and definitely takes a much more experimental approach than any other record I have done.  Also, I wrote the material over a fairly short period of time in comparison to what I would normally spend on a record. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SCOTTY SIMPSON (BENEATH OBLIVION)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Feb 092015
 

 

(Our Russian contributor Comrade Aleks brings us this interview of Scotty Simpson, vocalist/guitarist of Ohio’s Beneath Oblivion.)

It’s time to dig out this piece of doomy sludge! Beneath Oblivion (Ohio, USA) have been in business since 2003. This band isn’t hyperactive, as they have only two full-length records so far – Existence Without Purpose (2006) and From Man to Dust (2011). But Scotty T. Simpson (guitars, vocals) sent me an e-mail with the good news of some new songs that Beneath Oblivion is working on. Do you need some violent, maniacal, and depressive tunes? Scotty has a few ones for you.

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Hi Scotty, how are you? What’s the weather in Cincinnati?

Hi Aleks! I’m doing alright as of late; been playing a lot of doom metal lately, and that has a way of pushing all of the negativity out of my system… The weather here is snowy today, and it could be warm tomorrow. Cincinnati is always up and down, never consistent.

 

Hah, do you always play doom when you feel negative vibrations? And what do you do when you have no chance to play but you really NEED to push this negative stuff out?

Haha. I wish I could play doom metal whenever I feel negative vibrations… but I don’t always have an amp and guitar right next to me. Fortunately, I probably could just scream my head off whenever I feel that way, but people would think I’m totally nuts, which I may well be. What I do is let that build up and go to the stage, studio, or rehearsal space with said energy and put it out that way. If I don’t get to put out that energy, crank up an amp, and scream my head off, I can turn into a real manic depressive asshole. My girlfriend will usually let me know if it get’s to that point and tell me to get the fuck out of the apartment and into the rehearsal space. Continue reading »

GET TO THE POINT: ASTROUS (AENAON) ANNOUNCES NEW GREEK SUPERGROUP — KATAVASIA — AND WE BRING YOU A SONG PREMIERE

 Interviews, Metal News, Premieres  3 Responses »
Feb 022015
 

 

(KevinP brings us another edition of his short-interview series, “Get To The Point”, and he talks with Astrous, vocalist of the Greek black metal band Aenaon. But this time the interview includes both a news scoop about the new Greek supergroup Katavasia and the world premiere of a new Katavasia song.)

K:  So what’s the big news you want to share with all of us today?

A:  I feel great to announce a new alliance in the Greek Black Metal circles which is called KATAVASIA. This new project consists of well-known musicians and guest appearances, aimed to produce the unique sound and spirit of the early Greek black metal era.

 

K:  Can you tell us who is responsible for this alliance? Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MARKUS STOCK (THE VISION BLEAK)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Jan 282015
 

 

(Comrade Aleks interviews Markus Stock of the German band The Vision Bleak, among others.)

If you like really dark and mystic metal, then you should certainly know the German project The Vision Bleak, a duo of Markus Stock and Allen B. Konstantz. They boldly explore a world of myths and horrors, writing album after album; the fifth full-length record Witching Hour was released in 2013, and I felt a need to know if the band had plans for something new for us.

Markus is also a mastermind of the forest-influenced band Empyrium, and an honorable member of post-black-metal project Eudaimony; it was obvious that he had a lot of things he could tell us about. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DOMINANZ — “DEEPER INTO DARKNESS”

 Interviews  1 Response »
Jan 272015
 


Dominanz 2014 – photo by Monika Kaczynska

(In this post Evita Hofmane of the Latvian e-zine P3LICAN interviewed members of the Norwegian black metal band Dominanz, whose new album Noxious can be streamed at the end of the interview.)

Dominanz is a modern and a hellishly powerful band hailing from Norway, a land with a tradition of extremity in its music styles. Therefore, this band could be no exception, but Dominanz have enriched their sound even more. The band members basically come from the Black Metal scene (Hades Almighty, Immortal, Taake, Thy Grief).

In late 2010 Dominanz presented “The End of All There Is”. “The End Of All There Is” was the title track of Dominanz ‘s first single, released on October 25, 2010. On August 2011 Dominanz debuted with their critically acclaimed first album As I Shine. Continue reading »

GET TO THE POINT: NIKOS PANAGIOTOPOULOS (UNIVERSE217, LUNATIC MEDLAR)

 Interviews  2 Responses »
Jan 202015
 

 

(KevinP turns in another edition of his new NCS interview series, Get To the Point, and in this installment he talks with Nikos Panagiotopoulos, bass player for the Greek bands Universe217 and Lunatic Medlar.)

 

K: I was all set with my first question being “hey you had a busy 2014 with the Universe217 Ease EP & Lunatic Medlar’s debut album, Finely Tuned Machine, then I noticed the latter was in 2013. Sooo, I guess, I’ll go with “what are your plans for 2015”?

N: Universe217 will do a 4-way split with some good friends (Agnes vein-Allochiria-Hedvika) and also planning on finishing our next LP (which we have already started recording). And maybe some re-releases from our earlier material.
As for gigs, we are hoping for some European dates. We have almost finished our Greek tour for our EP Ease and our label, Van Records, already booked us for their Acherontic Arts Fest this coming May.

 

K: The songs for the 4-way split and for the upcoming full-length, can you give us some idea what to expect based on your prior material?

N: It’s more minimal/monolithic and has a colder vibe. We didn’t do it on purpose but I think we have less of that Balkan eastern element of our prior works. We didn’t lose it but you can hear it less. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: JANI KOSKELA (0XíST)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Jan 142015
 

 

(In this post Evita Hofmane of the Latvian e-zine P3LICAN interviews Jani Koskela of Finland’s 0 X í S T. Music from the band’s live performances and their forthcoming second album is also included with this interview.)

 

The Finnish band 0 X í S T, for “zero exist”, was formed in 2008. The band aim to create dark metal that stands truthfully for the description in their name. Therefore, 0 X í S T perform music that is menacing, heavy, and dark.

0 X í S T completed their first recording, the Unveiling the Shadow World CD-EP in September 2009. The EP was released in April 2010 by the French extreme doom metal label Ostra Records. After releasing a two-track demo in October 2010, the band started to concentrate on producing their debut album Nil. Nil was released in December 2012 as a joint effort by Ostra Records and Cold Void Emanations. It includes six doomy tracks of dark metal.

The band recorded their second album One Eon during the summer of 2014 and has announced that it will be published as a CD and digital release on the 4th of February 2015. A limited edition picture vinyl print will follow in March. One Eon will feature six works of slow and heavy Dark Metal, with cover art made by Hungarian artist Péter Takács. The album was recorded at D-Studio and partly recorded and mixed at 0 X í S T’s private studio. The band will self-release the album on Death Shrine Offerings (www.deathshrineofferings.net). The CD and digital versions are now available for pre-ordering at http://0xist.bandcamp.com.

In this interview the band’s leader Jani Koskela speaks about their new album, touring, and music itself. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MAGNUS OLSFELT (THE CROWN)

 Interviews  4 Responses »
Jan 122015
 


The Crown – photo by Patrik Skoglöw

(Karina Noctum rejoins us with the following e-mail interview of Magnus Olsfelt of Sweden’s The Crown, whose new album Death Is Not Dead was reviewed by our Andy Synn here and will be released on January 13 (tomorrow!) in the U.S. by Century Media.)

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1. Ok, I would like to start with a little update about The Crown…

Ok we have the new album to be released next week and we will have a release party gig here in Gothenburg this saturday. Live drummer Henrik Axelsson will join us, but unfortunately he was rushed to the hospital yesterday with bad fever so let’s hope he can recover by Saturday!

 

2. What can the fans expect from the new album? Would you say that the fact that you guys were actually writing a The Crown album this time influenced the sound?

People can expect us doing a new album that we  have done our best and put a lot of effort into. We think it should be listened to as a whole experience, from beginning to end, to have the full ride, with ups and downs and everything. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: JARMO NUUTRE (ODOTA)

 Interviews  4 Responses »
Jan 122015
 

Odota — photo by Berit Lamp

 (Comrade Aleks brings us this interview with Jarmo Nuutre (Blood Pavilion, Hjem, Skull Trading, ex-Talbot) whose new solo project is named Odota.)

 

Odota is a new experimental black metal project of Jarmo Nuutre, who took part in the massive Estonian duet Talbot till 2013. Jarmo has decided to concentrate on his solo career, so he plays all instruments on Odota’s first release Fever Marshal. Subjectively, as a person who is not the biggest fan of black art, I got this stuff, and if you need a reason to pay attention to this record, then here’s an interview with Jarmo.

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Hail Jarmo! I’m glad that we have a chance to talk, but let me start our interview with the predictable question about leaving Talbot. Let us clarify it at once – is it time to speak about the reasons and is there any chance that you will return?

Hi there, Aleksey!

Well, the main reason for leaving Talbot was that I wanted to focus on my solo stuff once again. Odota, Blood Pavilion, Skull Trading, etc., Hjem too, although I’m not alone there — there’s a singer as well.

Over the years I’ve actually left different bands for the sake of my own projects, so I guess I’m not really good “band-material”. Continue reading »

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