A 30TH ANNIVERSARY INTERVIEW: FUNERAL

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Jun 082022
 

 

(We present Karina Noctum‘s interview of Anders Eek, co-founder and drummer of the Norwegian band Funeral, on the occasion of the band’s 30th anniversary concert in Oslo in April 2022. The interview is accompanied and followed by a selection of the many wonderful photos of the event made by Andrea Chirulescu.)

On the 12th of April, the Norwegian doom metal band Funeral marked their 30th anniversary with a special concert in the 18th-century Jakob Culture Church in Oslo. The mournful atmosphere of the music befitted the surroundings perfectly, making the concert unforgettable. I took the opportunity to interview Anders Eek (drums) and asked about the band’s early days, as well as the anniversary concert and what’s to come for the band in the future. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2021: A YEAR-END LIST FROM KARINA NOCTUM

 LISTMANIA 2021  8 Responses »
Dec 282021
 

 

(Below our Norway-based contributor Karina Noctum presents her own year-end list of eleven 2021 favorites.)

This year started with lots of Thrash and now it ends just the same. The damper mood with lots of restrictions and lots of cancelled or postponed concerts and festivals does not allow for anything too dark nor cold at the moment. So this list is quite biased in the sense that it highly favors rhythmic virtuosity, old school sound, and non-monotonous riffing for the most part. Also I’m not going to include commercial bands that have been mentioned a thousand times already. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: BRODEQUIN

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Oct 042021
 

 

(Karina Noctum brings us this new interview of Jamie Bailey from the Tennessee brutal death metal band Brodequin, whose new EP Perpetuation of Suffering was released at the end of August 2021 by Unmatched Brutality Records.)

I discovered Brodequin pretty early when I started listening to metal as a child because I was pretty impressed by impossibly fast tempos and looked specifically for the most extreme music I could find. It was awesome to get to to see the band live and active again some years ago. Now recently they released their latest EP Perpetuation of Suffering after a long hiatus. The EP has a bit more slammy parts, but just enough, and it’s highly enjoyable. I’m really glad I had the opportunity to interview Jamie Bailey and talk about the EP, his label Unmatched Brutality, and what’s to come for Brodequin.

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I loved the EP. When did you start writing it?

Thank you! We have been working on a lot of material for about 2 years. These tracks we have had for about a year, maybe a little less. We selected these as we felt they were a good representation of how we’ve been moving in respect to the writing style. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ULVEHYRDE

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May 182021
 

 

(Karina Noctum brings us this new interview with the vocalist/lyricist of the Norwegian black metal band Ulvehyrde, whose excellent debut album was released last month on the Dusktone label.)

Ulvehyrde started in 2018 and they have recently released their first album, called Englemakersken. The band attracted my attention because they have a cold-tempered sound leaning toward Western Norwegian BM style, while at the same time infusing the necessary groove to keep it interesting.

Naturally, I had to find out more about them, so I talked to Sorath Northgrove, who also plays in Vulture Lord and Hagl. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: GOAT AGGRESSOR (MALUM)

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Apr 232021
 


photo by Ville Ruusunen

 

(Karina Noctum has brought us the following interview of Goat Aggressor, a veteran drummer and member of the Finnish black metal band Malum, whose fourth album, Devil’s Creation, was just released by Purity Through Fire.)

In this interview with Finnish drummer Goat Aggressor we talked about his most recent release with the band Malum. The band offer a melodious harmonic sound with well-structured songs. Devil’s Creation is another gem for all those who like the Scandinavian underground. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DEREK RODDY

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Mar 172021
 

 

(We present Karina Noctum‘s new interview of drummer extraordinaire Derek Roddy.)

It was time to catch up with Derek Roddy (Serpents Rise, Nader Sadek, Malevolent Creation, Nile, Hate Eternal). We talked about drumming, but also more about his band Serpents Rise and the making of Nader Sadek’s latest EP The Serapeum (premiered in part and reviewed at NCS here), which was a collaboration with Karl Sanders (Nile) and Morean (Dark Fortress), among others — as well as other interesting endeavours. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ENDEZZMA

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Feb 182021
 

 

(In January of this year Dark Essence Records released the highly anticipated third album by the Norwegian black metal band Endezzma, and in this new interview Karina Noctum spoke with the band’s vocalist M. Shax about the production, themes, and artwork of the album.)

This interview with Shax, the vocalist of the Norwegian Black Metal band Endezzma is focused on their latest album, The Archer, Fjord and The Thunder, released back on January 21st. This release is definitely worth checking out if you are fond of the Norwegian BM style as it includes lots of sonic goodies.

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How long did it take for you to write The Archer, Fjord and the Thunder?

We started working on the new album as soon we released The Arcane Abyss. I guess it took two years in the making.  It was an intricate and intense process since this album, sound-wise, is the most multi-layered one we have done. Continue reading »

A LIST OF MOST ANTICIPATED 2021 RELEASES (BY KARINA NOCTUM)

 About Your Authors, Metal News  4 Responses »
Feb 042021
 

 

(Our Norway-based contributor Karina Noctum compiled this list of forthcoming 2021 releases that she’s eagerly awaiting, with streams of advance tracks for many of them.)

2021 has just started and the news of upcoming releases by several bands I really like has been substantial. It has become one of the few highlights amidst these almost post-apocalyptic times with virus mutations running wild. I’m compiling a list of albums or EPs I look forward so I won’t forget anything since it’s already a lot, luckily. I would like to share this list here.

 

Nekromantheon – Visions of Trimegistos

Nekromantheon and Obliteration, two of the best bands Oslo has to offer (and with shared members between them). Thrash & Death the old school way, skillfully played and bringing awesome riffs. After listening to Nekromantheon’s single “The Visions of Trismegistos” from their next album, I already want more! Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: AZARATH

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Feb 012021
 

 

(Here is Karina Noctum‘s interview with vocalist Skullripper of Poland’s Azarath, whose latest (and seventh) album was released on November 27, 2020, by Agonia Records.)

I remember that as a teenager I started listening to Behemoth and I liked Inferno’s drumming so much that I wanted to see what else he had made. I was pretty happy when I found Azarath. with all its rawness, brutality, and intensity. I like it more than Behemoth, actually, and I love the fact they have their own distinct sound. The band became one of my favorites from Poland together with Trauma, Hate, old Decapitated, Lost Soul, and Vader, of course.

The Polish scene has such quality, especially when it comes to Death Metal, that it is one of my favorite musical realms. My first interview with Azarath was distributed in print at Hole in the Sky and that was a long time ago. I’m pretty thankful they still keep playing and releasing albums and that I get to interview them again. This time around I asked about their new album Saint Desecration, in which the band play a technical, aggressive, and pretty fast Death Metal. I really hope to catch a live show in the future as they are absolutely crushing and the sound is super-powerful live. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SETH VAN DE LOO (CTHULUMINATI, VOODOO GODS, EXTREME COLD WINTER, CALIGARI, ex-SEVERE TORTURE)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Jan 052021
 

 

(As part of her continuing interview series with metal drummers, Karina Noctum has brought us the following excellent discussion with Dutch drummer and vocalist Seth van de Loo, who was a member of Severe Torture for 20 years and is currently active in a diverse group of bands consisting of Cthuluminati, Voodoo Gods, Extreme Cold Winter, and Caligari.)

 

Many thanks for granting me the interview. I have been following the dramatic situation when it comes to the surgery you had. What happened? How are you feeling nowadays?

I feel great actually, thank you. Two years ago I had an accident when coming home from work on my bicycle. A guy was right in front of me on the wrong side of the track and we crashed at full speed. It was a head against head crash so I broke my skull and there were fragments of bone they had to peel off my brain. I got lucky ’cause normally these fragments puncture the brain and do lots of damage. I had two surgeries and they were 100% — well there are a few titanium plates in there but that’s it. I had and have no pain at all ’cause the nerve was cut in half. More luck for me there. It took a long time for the second operation so I had to struggle through a year with only about 30% of my energy. Things could have been a lot worse. Continue reading »

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