AN NCS INTERVIEW: MATUS (RICHARD NOSSAR)

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  1 Response »
Jul 012015
 

 

(Comrade Aleks brings us this interview with guitarist and songwriter Richard Nossar of the great Peruvian doom band Matus, who we’ve featured on our site before and who have a new album ready for listening.)

It’s time to relax and let your mind flow with a current of old ’n’ good psychedelic stoner rock. Matus (ex-Don Juan Matus) is a Peruvian band, and we’ll talk about it with Richard Nossar (guitars) as an exception to NCS’s strict rules. Matus celebrate their tenth anniversary this year and they almost have a fifth full-length Claroscuro in their hands, so why not?

“Más allá de este sueño al que el hombre llama vida

Hay un lugar donde el tiempo no es real!”

If you get me right… Anyway, let’s try. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: BARABBAS (SAINT RODOLPHE)

 Interviews  4 Responses »
Jun 262015
 

 

(Comrade Aleks returns to our site with an engaging interview of the frontman for Barabbas.)

French Barabbas appeared on the European doom-scene in 2011 with a self-titled album, and its killer song “Barabbas” was also included in a Doom Metal Front compilation, so you may already know them. Three years have passed, and Barabbas return with great new tunes! Messe pour un chien shows the band’s evident progress as they go further from traditional doom and stoner tunes to something more massive and mobile.

The new songs are really catchy, they demonstrate all the best of Barrabas’ musical experience, and they have mordant and ironical lyrics — that’s something new for the somber doom scene, but it’s ok for the congregation of Four Saints of Barabbas. The band’s frontman Saint Rodolphe is here to spread a Word, yet not to preach. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: PREMARONE

 Interviews  1 Response »
Jun 232015
 

 

(Comrade Aleks brings us this interview (with music) of the Italian doom band Premarone.)

Sometimes I start to think that I’m the best friend of Italian doom bands! Though sometimes I think the same about Russian, French, or Peruvian bands – depends on different periods. As some of our readers know – the Italian doom scene has deep roots in retro psychedelic rock and often has a lot of common elements with old-fashioned horror movies. It’s a kind of trademark, but it’s not a rule. I like to find exceptions to rules as well as confirmations when they are cool ones.

It’s hard to describe what Premarone is… They have a pretty original opinion on the questions about how doom music should sound. They have these doom riffs and some old-school arrangements with all their tastiness, and yet at the same time they practice a punk approach to it and don’t limit themselves in their experimentations. And Premarone released their first full-length Obscuris Vera Involvens in January 2015. It’s worth a listen, and that’s why we’ve done this interview with Alessandro Lugano (drums) and other seigniors of Premarone’s collective mind. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: EVOKE THY LORDS (ALEXEY KOZLOV)

 Interviews  2 Responses »
Jun 112015
 

 

(Comrade Aleks returns with this interview of Alexey Kozlov, vocalist and bassist of Evoke Thy Lords.)

Evoke Thy Lords is a pretty original band from Russian Siberia. The band is located in Novosibirsk and there they play a fantastic mix of sludgy psychedelic doom metal with good, deep growls and mesmerizing flute tunes.

They started in 2002 with more trivial stuff, but everything changed with the Drunken Tales album (2013), and its success was developed further on the third full-length album under the ambitious title Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms in Your Cellar! (2015).

Don’t waste any time — come discover new dimensions of sound with Alexey Kozlov (bass, vocals). Don’t worship Satan! Raise giant mushrooms! Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SHAKHTYOR (CHRISTIAN HERZOG)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Jun 052015
 

 

(In this post we present Comrade Aleks’ interview with Christian Herzog, guitarist for the German band Shakhtyor.)

That ugly and bulky name Shakhtyor means “Miner” in Russian, but this instrumental post-doom/sludge band is from Germany. The reason for picking such a strange name is that one of this power trio’s members, Christian Herzog (guitars) studied in Saint-Petersburg for a few long months in the ’90s. Shakhtyor released their first self-titled album in 2012, and this record, along with the band’s powerful gigs attracted enough attention to the band that their second work Tunguska (named after the geographical location in Russia where a strange phenomenon, probably the fall of a meteor, took place in 1908) was released by Cyclone Empire both on vinyl and on CD on the 24th of April, 2015.

We discussed Shakhtyor’s new album and the Tunguska event with Chris just a few days ago.

******

Hail Chris! How are you? What has SHAKHTYOR done since the release of your debut self-titled album in 2012?

Hi Aleks, I am pretty well, thanks. Actually, we did what most bands do. We played a bunch of shows and recorded a new album. However, it took longer than expected. We had already started recording stuff for a second album in early 2013 but then we did not get any further with it. So we decided to play fewer shows in 2014 to write new songs and finally made it to the studio in November. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DELIRIUM SILENCE (ANDREY LEMARK)

 Interviews  2 Responses »
Jun 042015
 

 

(Our Russian contributor Comrade Aleks bring us this interview of his countryman Andrey Lemark, vocalist of Delirium Silence.)

It’s not a geography lesson, but take a look at a map of Russia and find Yakutsk city. It’s located just 280 miles south of the Arctic Circle. You may ask me what did I forget there? Delirium Silence. A newborn aggressive death doom band that released a self-titled EP in December 2014.

This record consists of six songs, including a cover of the Septic Flesh song “Anubis”, and it’s really worth a listen. So I asked a few questions of Andrey Lemark, the band’s vocalist.

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Hello Andrey! The first EP of Delirium Silence was pretty well-made, well-recorded, straightforward, and heavy. How long did you work over this release?

Greetings! To my mind the cover art is pretty awesome, thanks to Alex from Mayhem Project design.

You said it was heavy? I wouldn’t say so. The thing is that when we were recording the EP we weren’t sure what we wanted and in which genre we wanted to make it, but I like it loud and hard. Speaking of preparations, we weren’t actually preparing anything, it just happened. But each of us was waiting for this time to come. Continue reading »

DARK RITUALS OF DOOM — PART 2

 Mosh Pit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Jun 022015
 

 

(This is the second part of a mammoth essay by our Russian contributor Comrade Aleks, who explores a variety of spiritual rituals and their connections to doom metal. Part One is here.)

Tonight we’re finishing our brief research of Dark Rituals performed by doom bands all over the world. In the first part of this article we took part in Voodoo and Aghori rituals with Pombagira and The Moon Mistress, we participated in Christian and Black Mass ceremonies with Griftegard and Hour of 13, and besides that we even visited the Sabbath in some godforsaken pub alongside Barabbas, we summoned Cthulhu with Arkham Witch, and spent the Beltaine feast with Serpent Warning and the Wakan Tanka ritual with Caronte. Is it too much? Not at all. I have a few more examples of how sacred, ancient, esoteric traditions of dark occult wisdom have been reflected in the music of modern doom bands.

Today Reino Ermitano, War Injun, Ethereal Riffian, Tenochtitlan, Alunah, Stangala, Matus, Obake, Taak, and the almighty Abysmal Grief lead us into the mystic realms of the unknown. And I must warn you once more – don’t even try to perform these mysteries at home! Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ULTRATUMBA (LORENZO PARTIDA BRAVO)

 Interviews  1 Response »
May 262015
 

 

(In this post Comrade Aleks interviews Lorenzo Partida Bravo, guitarist of Mexico’s Ultratumba.)

Ultratumba isn’t a new band; they’ve worked in the metal underground since 1995, but it’s rare to find one who knows about this bunch of brutal dudes from Mexico City. It’s strange, because this band under the guidance of talented guitarist Lorenzo Partida Bravo have already released six pretty diverse albums (and one live album).

Their full-length La Casa del Escarabajo (“House of Beetle”) was written in 2010, and it demonstrates very harsh and aggressive death-doom metal with some unusual approaches, while the band’s last work Sopa Envenenada (“Poisoned Soup”) is closer to more traditional doom, yet with pretty wild vocal lines.

Besides that I need to mention that Lorenzo has played in the thrash/death band Transmetal since 1987 and he also has a solo progressive project named simply Lorenzo Partida! Am I talking too much today? Maybe, let’s give a word to Lorenzo. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: KING HEAVY (LUTHER VELDMARK)

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  4 Responses »
May 192015
 

 

(Comrade Aleks returns to NCS with this interview of Luther Veldmark of the multinational group King Heavy.)

It started for me with Hooded Priest’s album Devils Worship Reckoning — I like good old-school doom metal, and this record had enough catchy riffs to make me wait for new release. This record also is remarkable for me because of the really possessed and expressive vocal lines performed by the band’s frontman Luther Veldmark. The new album isn’t ready yet, but at least I got King Heavy, as Hooded Priest has been keeping silent up to now.

King Heavy is the product of a collaboration between Luther (based in The Netherlands) and three members of the Chilean bands Procession and Mourners Lament. King Heavy recorded the EP Horror Absoluto in 2014, so it’s time to ask that will come next. Luther Weldmark himself is here today!

 

Hail Luther! How are you? How much longer did your beard grow since we talked last time? It was in 2011!

Hello Alex, great hearing from you again. The slower my music the faster time flies!

Since you asked, I suppose my beard is a bit longer than last time, actually I don’t think it’s that extremely long, but yeah right, I don’t go that often to a barber. I do cut my beard on the sides from time to time, that’s about it. Continue reading »

DARK RITUALS OF DOOM — PART I

 Mosh Pit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
May 182015
 

 

(In this first part of a mammoth two-part essay, our Russian contributor Comrade Aleks explores a variety of spiritual rituals and their connections to doom metal.)

All right now! Tonight we’re summoned for a divine cause!

Mankind started the basis of society since its  primordial childhood. Many old and good traditions have been lost to the ages, yet ritualistic aspects and traditions were set very deeply in the turns of our brains. Certain traditions and ceremonies have been transformed into religious acts or became social rituals during our evolution, but most of them remain alive in modern days. Something took the form of the Christian Eucharist, something else developed into the form of the Easter Rabbit or the bacchanalia of a metal gig. These rites have provided new trappings to the symbolism at their core, but some people still seriously follow and perform its archaic elements. Let us take a look at which forms of religious rituals live their new life in the sermons of modern priests of the doom cult.

This text is a reworked, renewed, extended, and a bit rude translation of an article that I wrote for a Russian e-zine (here), but I and some of the bands who were discussed thought it would be a good idea to have an English version as well. Of course, it’s not really as much of a scientific or anthropological work as it could be, but if there’s someone who’s ready to make a proper investigation then let me know — I have an idea or two.

Here I’ve used some of my past interviews or just asked some bands straight question about their vision of certain rituals.

Don’t take it too seriously! And don’t try to perform it at home!

And as I’ve mentioned above — tonight we’re summoned for a divine cause! Continue reading »

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