AN INCS INTERVIEW: POEMA ARCANVS

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Nov 062020
 

 

(In this new interview our friend Comrade Aleks talks with guitarist Igor Leiva Benavides, one of the members of the Chilean band Poema Arcanvs, whose roots go back to the ’90s and who released their sixth album in August through Transcending Obscurity Records.)

Santiago-based doom-death band Poema Arcanvs was born back in early 90s. They played some raw ideas under the monikers Garbage and Garbage Breed beginning in 1992 and until 1997 when they changed the band’s name to the one we know nowadays. South America was always a dark corner for doom fans, and I can name you two-dozen bands or even more which were born in the same period and remained in the deepest underground for years. Poema Arcanvs is another thing. They aren’t hyper-productive, but they were always somewhere near recording and releasing new material.

Their sixth full-length album Stardust Solitude saw the light of day on the 28th of August, 2020, according to Transcending Obscurity Records’ schedule. They kept their mark of delivering excellent sorrowful and epic doom death with a few raw edges as always, and this time Enzo Toledo granted Poema Arcanvs really killer artwork!

As a Poema Arcanvs member since its first days, Igor Leiva Benavides (guitars) is the right person to ask about Stardust Solitude and things which happen around the band nowadays. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MARCHE FUNÈBRE

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Oct 262020
 

 

(Here’s Comrade Aleks‘ interview with drummer Dennis Lefebvre of the Belgian band Marche Funèbre, whose new album Einderlicht was jointly released on September 25th by Hypnotic Dirge Records, Solitude Productions, and The Vinyl Division.)

We did an interview here with Belgian Marche Funèbre about a year ago. Back then they had new EP, Death Wish Woman (released on October 14th), a tour, and a lot of fun… Now the band has a new full-length album Einderlicht and no gigs at all.

I think it was a matter of luck that Marche Funèbre got finished in time and managed to record the album with Markus Stock at his Klagschmiede Studio in February 2020 before actual shit started to hit the fan. But well, we’ve completed quite a good interview with the band’s drummer Dennis Lefebvre, and I welcome you to read it. Another portion of good and fair doom death doesn’t hurt anyone. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: APHONIC THRENODY

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Oct 222020
 

 

(Comrade Aleks brought us the following discussion that he had with two members of the multi-national funeral doom band Aphonic Threnody, whose latest album is out now on Transcending Obscurity Records.)

A bit of good deathly funeral doom won’t hurt anyone. International project Aphonic Threnody proves it with their third album The Great Hatred released by Transcending Obscurity Records just a few days ago.

Formed in 2012 by Riccardo V (guitars, bass) and Roberto M (vocals), who are also known with their doom death band Dea Marica (put on hold since 2013), Aphonic Threnody gained a fair reputation delivering their artistic and grim litanies at full capacity. The lineup changed from album to album and now the project consists of Riccardo V, Juan Escobar on keys, and Justin Buller on guitars. Juan joined Aphonic Threnody six years ago, and he took part in over a dozen different bands (you know for sure the Chilean melodic death doom band Mar de Grises, one of his most well-known outfits). Justin Buller has a shorter list of bands he was involved in, and funeral capella In Oblivion is one of them.

So… The Great Hatred is a killer title, something most of us know well nowadays. Let’s learn more about it with Riccardo and Juan. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: FVNERAL FVKK

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Oct 162020
 

 

(We welcome back Comrade Aleks, who has brought us a long-gestating but highly engaging interview with Frater Flagellum, drummer of the German epic doom band Fvneral Fvkk, and we thank him for his time as well.)

Probably there’s still an intrigue for those who skipped Fvneral Fvkk’s debut full-length Carnal Confessions (released on the 27th of September, 2019). What does a band with a name like this play? Death’n’thrash? Blasphemous black metal? Or its punkish version?

Actually, this outfit from Hamburg preaches epic doom metal with texts focused on modern Catholic crimes against children, but I bet you’ve heard about them despite your musical preferences because Carnal Confessions was one of most noticeable albums of this kind for the whole of 2019.

Fvneral Fvkk has remained a quartet since 2015, and although session musicians have joined their live masses, the core lineup has been the same since then: Cantor Cinaedicus (vocals), Vicarius Vespillo (bass), Frater Flagellum (drums) and Decanus Obscaenus (guitars). The band’s members tend to keep their personalities incognito, though it’s well-known that there are members of Crimson Swan, Fäulnis, and Ophis in the band. Not a big secret then, right?

This interview was started 11 months ago or so, but things happened as we know… However I need to thank Frater Flagellum for the time he spent on answering all of this, it’s much appreciated – God speed you on, oh good Frater! Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ECHOLOT

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Oct 132020
 

 

(In this new interview brought to us by Comrade Aleks he talks with Renato Matteucci, bassist of the Swiss band Echolot, whose new album was just released by Czar of Crickets Productions and Sixteentimes Music.)

As 2020 marches on and Covid turns out to be the common background for any news, just like another ecological catastrophe, the underground scene endures. Swiss label Czar Of Crickets keeps on supporting the scene as far as it’s possible, and so here we have a new album from Basel-based trio Echolot, who have mixed sludge, post-, and prog influences in their songs since 2014.

Lukas Fürer (guitar), Renato Matteucci (bass), and Jonathan Schmidli (drums) are back with a new full-length album, Destrudo. As Renato says: “Heavy tones, loud amps and some floating rhythms full of different time signatures is what we want to do at the moment”. Sounds good, so let’s try it!

Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ULFVEN

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Oct 082020
 

 

(Comrade Aleks returns again to NCS with a new interview, talking with Jonathan Hultqvist, vocalist and bassist of the promising Swedish band Ulfven, whose music you can also explore within the conversation.)

New blood pours into the Pagan Cult veins with the appearance of the Swedish band Ulfven. They practice a bit blackened and melodic death-doom metal with lyrics written mostly in their mother’s tongue and a grim folklore concept behind it.

Born from biting cold and hostile forest shadows, their music carries on a dark message through their new EP Bland Aska Och Sten. Taking into account that Ulfven’s full-length Folklore was released just a year ago, I suppose that the heathen gods sped them on. Let’s learn how Jonathan Hultqvist, the band’s vocalist and bassist, sees it. Continue reading »

AN NCS DOOM SESSIONS INTERVIEW: 1782 AND ACID MAMMOTH

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Sep 162020
 

 

(Earlier this year the Heavy Psych Sounds label announced a series of splits called Doom Sessions, and Volume II (which will be released on September 18th) features songs by the Italian band 1782 and the Greek band Acid Mammoth. Comrade Aleks reached out to both bands with a few questions, and we present the results today, along with music from the split. Aleks‘ interview of the bands who participated in Volume 1 is here.)

Heavy Psych Sounds Records keep on providing us more of modern doom/stoner vibes, and the second volume of their series of splits named Doom Sessions is on its way. Volume 2 features Acid Mammoth from Greece and the Italian 1782. Both bands are quite fresh but they have already proved their serious attitude with full-length albums.

Once more the label’s owner Gabriel Fiori (Black Rainbows band) introduces us to these participants in the Doom Sessions, as members of both bands are going to reveal a few things behind their work. Marco Nieddu (vocals, guitars, bass) on behalf of 1782 and Chris Babalis Jr. (guitars, vocals) on behalf of Acid Mammoth bring us the folowing words from behind a quarantine curtain. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: CRUST

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Sep 092020
 

 

(In this new interview — and a very good read it is — Comrade Aleks talked with Artur Filenko, vocalist and bassist of the Russian genre-bending band Crust, whose new album was released in August of this year.)

Crust from Veliky Novgorod, Russia, searched for their own working formula beginning in 2015 when their first, self-titled EP was recorded. Three more EPs and a full-length, The Promised Land (2019), led them to the sound they embody with their crushing new album …And a Dirge Becomes An Anthem released by [addicted label] / no name label, on which Vlad Tatarsky (guitars), Roman Romanov (drums), and Artur Filenko (vocals, bass) perform a nihilistic and driving combination of death-doom with some shades of black.

Recorded live at the studio, this material offers tasty old school vibes and severe delivery. I dig this album, so the interview with Artur was just a question of time. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: HEX

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Sep 082020
 

 

(We present Comrade Aleks interview of Adolfo Cantoya, guitarist of the Basque Country band Hex, accompanied by the live performance photos of Panda Queen.)

Hex is a relatively new band from Bilbao, Basque Country, as it was started about eight years ago, but the band’s core is built by gents who have years of experience playing heavy music behind them. For example Hex’ vocalist Jonathan Pernía García started in the brutal death act Forensick back in 2001 and guitarist Adolfo Cantoya aka Drake did some thrash with Beer Mosh and From The Cross in the early ’90s. Together they’ve strode the path of death-doom since 2012, but it took five more years to record a new album after their debut full-length Deadly Sin (2014).

And so God Has No Name was released almost a year ago by Transcending Obscurity Records, but why not revisit this album together with Adolfo today? Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ATAVIST

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Sep 032020
 

 

(We present Comrade Aleks‘ extensive interview of Chris Naughton from the UK band Atavist, whose new album III: Absolution was released in June by Candlelight Records.)

Sometimes they come back… Manchester-based Atavist was put on hold twelve years ago and almost by accident I learned that the band had reunited in almost its original line-up: Chris Naughton (guitars), Toby Bradshaw (vocals), Shane Ryan (bass) and Callum Cox (drums) who joined Atavist in 2006, soon after the recording of their debut self-titled album. They didn’t waste the time that elapsed in that long break between their 2008 split Infernal Procession… And Then Everything Dies and their new full-length work, III: Absolution but were instead playing in different extreme metal bands and honing their skills.

Released by Candlelight Records earlier this summer, III: Absolution represents Atavist at their peak, with the band bringing deep, devastating, and uncompromised doom-death battle in its slower and minimalistic form. They pay attention to arrangements and very rare decorative elements like cello or some samples, but overall it’s cold and bleak (in the good sense of the words) doom-death. We got in contact with Chris Naughton to learn more about Atavist’s return. Continue reading »

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