Forming The Void Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

We've been hard at work writing a new album. The writing process is always really fun for us so we're not wasting any time getting back to it. We've had a few months off to reflect on where we want to take the new one, and I think we have a pretty solid vision for our next batch.

2.You have a new album coming out in March, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Relic has some slower, heavier, and more psychedelic material than we've done before. It maintains a lot of the same elements as Skyward, but we've definitely expanded the soundscape with this one. We're kind of all over the place haha.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

We really like concepts of reincarnation and a sense of endlessness that is reoccurring throughout the album.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Forming The Void'?

There really isn't much meaning behind the name. The words were aesthetically pleasing and are a good representation of the picture that we want to paint. Also it wasn't already taken haha. The first few ideas we had were already used.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We've played some of the bigger venues in Louisiana over the last couple years and those are always fun when the production quality is high. Lights and smoke really help with the mystical kind of vibe we aim for.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

We are mainly focusing on weekend runs and the occasional weeknight show for the spring and summer. We're heading into Texas and around Louisiana for now and hoping to get further out along the gulf coast later in the summer.

7.Currently the band is signed to 'Argonauta Records', are you happy with the support that they have given you so far?

Argonauta has been great. Gero has been really supportive for the whole process. He's definitely in it for the love of music.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge and stoner metal?

It's been really cool to see how fast music can travel around the world. It's still a bit early to say how Relic will be taken, but we were pleasantly surprised to see how well Skyward did.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Our newest batch has some more up tempo sections. We're still going to keep the doomy and psychedelic elements though. Hopefully keep growing in our songwriting abilities.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We really like Mastodon, Sound Garden, Tool, Alice in Chains, The Sword, Kyuss, Torche, Red Fang, Gojira, Opeth, Devin Townsend, Wo Fat, and YOB.

I've been on a High on Fire kick and our lead player, Shadi has been listening to The Eagles nonstop lately.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

We all enjoy coffee, Skyrim, and cats. We get together and watch Game of Thrones. A few of us enjoy killing a few craft beers. Some are more fans of self control haha.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks for the interview and positive review. I'm glad you enjoyed the album. Hope to be back with something new before too long!

James Marshall

Inverted Mind Interview

1.For those that have never heard od you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
1. Inverted Mind was formed in 2011 in Cracow, Poland by Jan Slomski. After 1 year and many people passing through the band it has his... final structure of 3 members. We try to represent our own style which is the fusion of sludge, stoner, doom and post metal.

    2.In January you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
2. New album is quite different from first one because we tried to expose other kind of emotions which are more depressive and psychodelic. We also wanted this album to be more heavy and cruel. 

    3.This is your first album to be released in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?
3. First of all we create our music only when we have worse time in our lives. Our music represents the worse and the heaviest fellings and emotions which are borned in the darkest and deepest parts of our souls so we do not create riffs or music every single day. Second of all we wanted this album to be, in our opinion, perfect so it took many time to make it real. Finally, the 16-page booklet was very difficult to make. All the graphics were handmade. The last shape of them was created by our graphic designer.

    4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
4. All the lyrics on this album describe the worse feelings, emotions, memories from the past. All your weaknesses, fear, anger, sadness, spaceless, loss of hope, anxiety and everything which cause your soul dying.

    5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Inverted Mind'?
5. Inverted Mind describes the other part of everyone of us. It is a metaphor of subconscious, demon which lives in everyone of us and makes us fall into madness.

    6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
6. In those 6 years we played aboout 50 concerts but unfortunately we haven't ever played abroad. We hope, that some day it will happen. I think that our best concert was on 28.01.2017 at the release day of our new album. The biggest concert we played on 21.11.2013 in the biggest club of Warsaw. There were about 1200 people.

    7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
7. Unfortunately we do not have any tour planned yet, just few local concerts: 18.03.2017 in Cracow, 1.04.2017 in Olkusz, 2.04.2017 in Rzeszow and 28.04.2017 also in Cracow.

    8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of stoner and sludge metal?
8. Broken Mirror is still new so we do not have big feedback yet, but we know that many people find our music interesting and good. Of course there are some, that does not like it or describes as too easy or boring but abut 75% of feedback of all this year is that Inverted Mind is worth listening, and found as good, sludge metal band. I really hope that we'll never disappoint fans.

    9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
9. We have just started making some new riffs so we do not stop making our music and of course hope that in the future 3rd album will be released. Looking into the future we would also love to play as many concerts as possible, not only in cities in Poland we never palyed before, but especially abroad or in some big metal festivals.

    10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

10. The biggest inspiration and our love is of course mighty Crowbar which not only inspires us to make music but also help us and gives power, hope and strength to live in so many dark moments of our lives. We also like and find inspiring bands such as: Eyehategod, Down, Superjoint Ritual, Amenra or polish Obscure Sphinx or Blindead. Our dream is to suport those bands someday.

    11.What are some of your non musical interests?
11. We all love board games such as Talisman, Arkham Horror or The Fury of Dracula. I also like painting figures, games for PS4, numismatics (especially paper money) and reading books.

    12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12. We would like to invite everybody to listen to our music, to follow us on our Facebook, YouTube or Bandcamp. We also want to thank all our fans for the support. Keep supporting metal. Stay Sludge!

Radien Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

 Radien is a five piece band from Helsinki, Finland. We started in 2014 and after few changes in the line-up the band found its current form in summer of 2016. After some demos we released Maa ep digitally in 2016 and physically on vinyl in January 2017.

2.So far you have released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

On Maa ep our goal was to offer a raw feel of a live recording. The songs were composed mainly by jamming together and slowly developing them as a band. We wanted to capture the energy we have in our rehearsals on the recording and everything on the ep was recorded at our own rehearsal space.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Original themes of Radien include northern mythologies, dark side of the mind and dystopian visions. On Maa ep we wanted to concentrate on the last days of humanity. Maa means "earth" or "land" in Finnish and that is what is left after the era of humans.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Radien'?

In northern Sami mythology Radien is the god of sky, one of the most important deities among people. Radien is the god of fertility and is the one who greets souls which arrive to the underworld. It is said that Radien can make the whole world crumble down, which can be prevented with the right sacrificial rituals.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We have played two times in Vastavirta club in Tampere and both times we have played with punk and crust bands. We try not to get too locked up in one genre when it comes to live shows, and it's been great to have a chance to play with bands from different genres. It is a challenge for both the band and the audience, but thats the way we like it. We aim to give our audience a strong and spiritual audiophysical experience.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Right now we are composing new songs and concentrating on doing random live shows in Finland. Later this year our goal is to do some gigs abroad and at least a small European tour.

7.The ep was released on 'Bunkerri Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

We tried to find a label to publish our ep. Because no label showed green light and we wanted to get this ep done so we could move on, we decided to put up our own label, Bunkkeri Records. Currently our label is only dealing with Radien-related matters, but we are very interested on releasing music from other bands also in the future.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of punk, drone, sludge and doom metal?

We are happy to find that people all around the world dig our music. Seems that we have been successful in combining those genres in our output, so that people with quite different interests find our music fresh and interesting. Instead of genre-based feedback we have got more positive feedback on the atmosphere and the overall feel of the music. Todays technology with digital distribution and social media is a gift for a band like Radien, making it so much easier to find new music, no matter what style of music you listen to usually or where you live.

9.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We are hitting the studio again in spring or early summer to record new songs! No exact plans for a release have been made yet, but there will be enough material at least for a full length album. We will continue to challenge ourselves and open-mindedly explore new ways of working as a band.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We all listen to quite broad range of music.  The style or category doesn't really matter if the music itself has a soul and is made with passion.


11.What are some of your non musical interests?

All the time we are also working with the visual aspects, such as artwork and video art, which we think are very important sides of any band or artist. Especially the guitarists and our bassist are very much in to musical gear, always developing their setups for a better soundscape. And bigger stacks.


12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Stay tuned for info on future shows and releases, many things are happening in the near future!

Oddhums/The Clarity/Inverse Records/2016 EP Review

  Oddhums  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge,  and  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "The  Clarity"  which  was  released  by  Inverse  Records.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  ep along  with  some  heavy  yet  melodic  sludge  style  riffing  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  vocals  are  done  in  a  clean  stoner  rock  style and  the  solos  and  leads  add  in  more  of  a  post  metal  sound  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  Elements  of  ambient  can  also  be  heard  at  times  along  with  some  atmospheric  synths  and  you  can  also  hear  influences  of  grunge  and  doom  metal  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  music  also  gets  very  experimental  at  times  while  also  keeping  everything  in  a  very  slow  yet  dark  musical   direction  as  well  as  being  diverse.

  In  my  opinion  Oddhums  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge,  and  post  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  "Wounds"  and  "Under  Seige".  8  out  of  10.

Sleep/The Clarity/Southern Lord Records/2017 Single Re-Issue Review

  Sleep  are  a  band  from  California  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  are  one  of  the  earlier  bands  playing  stoner  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  single  "The  Clarity"  which  was  re-issued  in  2017  by  Southern  Lord  Records.

  Distorted  sound s start  off t he  song  before  adding  in  heavy  doom  metal  riffs  and  clean  singing  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  70's  influences  in t he  sound  but  done  in  a  more  modern  fashion  and  the  song  is  10  minutes  in  length  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  stick  to  a  very  retro  fashion  and  the  whole  song  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  Sleep  creates  another  track  that  remains  true  to  the  stoner  doom  metal  style  they  are  known  for  while  also  create another  epic  song, the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  cannabis  and  spirituality  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  track  from  Sleep  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  check  out  this  single.  8  out  of  10.  

Damned Pilots/Overgalaxy/Sliptrick Records/2017 CD Review

  Damned  Pilots  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  musical  style  that  they  refer  to  as  'Post  Nuclear  metal'  which  is mostly  rooted  in  doom  metal  with  some  groove  and  psychedelic  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Overgalaxy"  which  was  released  by  Sliptrick  Records.

  Spoken  word  samples  and  clean  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  hard  and  heavy  riffs  a  few  seconds  later which  also  adds  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal  while  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  melodic  leads  and  after  the  intro  aggressive  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  that  also  mix  in  regular  singing.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  after  awhile  the  vocals  start  throwing  in  aggressive  groove  metal  style  screams  and  one  track  also  brings  in  elements  of  black  metal  and  psychedelic  style  synths  are  also  used  at  times  and  they  also  bring  in  a  couple  of  ballads  as  the  album  progresses.

  Damned  Pilots  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  doom, hard  rock  and  heavy  metal  while  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  black  metal  and  psychedelia  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Damned  Pilots  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  hard  rock,  doom,  and  heavy  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Desert  Europa"  "Gorguss"  and  "Hell  Is  Cold".  8  out  of  10.   

Heavy Temple/Chassit/Van Records/Tridroid Records/2017 EP Review

  Heavy  Temple  are  a  band  from  Pennsylvania  that  plays  a  psychedelic  form  of  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Chassit"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  both  Can  and  Tridroid  Records.

  A  powerful  sounding  bass  guitar  sound  starts  off t he  ep  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  melodic  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  music  also  has  a  lot  of  70's  influences  and  the  riffs  bring  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal  while  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody  while  also  being  retro.

  Psychedelic  elements  can  be  hear  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  drums  also  use  a  great  amount  of  aggression  without  ever  using  blast  beats  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  while  the  music  is  heavily  rooted  in  the  past  the  production  gives  the  songs  a  more  modern  feeling.

  Heavy  Temple  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  70's  doom  metal  and  psychedelic  rock  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  very  retro  yet  heavy  sound,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Heavy  Temple  are  a  very  great  sounding  psychedelic  doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ursa  Machina"  and  "In  The  Court  Of  The  Bastard  King".  8  out  of  10.

Doomster Reich/The League For Mental Distillation/The End Of Time Records/2014 CD Review

  Doomster  Reich  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  plays  a  psychedelic  form  of doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "The  League  For  Mental  Distillation"  which  was  released  by  the  End  Of  Time  Records.

  Melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  heavy  doom  metal  riffing  and  clean  singing  vocals  being  added  onto  the  recording  a  few  seconds  later  and  you  can  hear  elements  of  traditional  metal  in  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  the  solos  also  adding  in  psychedelic  touches  while  also  mixing  retro  and  modern  styles  together.

  Clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  all  of  the musical  instruments  also  sound  very  powerful  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  both  slow  and  mid  paced  parts  while  also  having  their  fast  moments  and  their  is  also  a  brief  use  of  atmospheric  synths  along  with  the  vocals  also  utilizing  more aggression  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  psychedelic  effects.

  Doomster  Reich  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  traditional  styles  of  doom  and  heavy  metal  and  mixes  them  in  with  psychedelic  touches  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  realistic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Doomster  Reich  are  a  very  great  sounding  psychedelic  doom/heavy  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "John  Woe"  and  "In  Storms".  8  out  of  10.

Kingnomad/Mapping The Inner Void/Ripple Muisc/2017 CD Review

  Kingnomad  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  psychedelic  form  of  occult  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Mapping  The  inner  Void"  which  was  released  by  Ripple  Music.

  Keyboards  and  background  70's  rock  music  starts  off  the  album  before  adding  in  a  very  heavy  yet  retro  sound  along  with  some  clean  singing  vocals  and  the  riffs  also  go  back  to  the  very  early  days  of  doom  metal  while  the  solos  and  leads  also  add  in  a  very  vintage  classic  rock  style  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  keyboards  also  add  60's  and  70's  era  psychedelic  touches  to  the  recording  and  ritualistic  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  some  tracks  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  genre  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very long  and  epic  in  length.

  Kingnomad  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  70's  era  of  the  doom  metal,  psychedelic  and  occult  rock  genres  and  mixes them  together  to  create  a  very  dark  and  retro  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Luciferian,  Black  Magick,  Occultism  and  H.P  Lovecraft  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Kingomad  are  a  very  great  sounding  psychedelic  occult  doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Lucifer's  Dream'  "The  Witches  Garden"  and  "She  Wizard".  8  out  of  10.    

The Ossuary/Post Mortem Blues/SupremeChaos Records/2017 CD Review

  The  Ossuary  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom  ad  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Post  Mortem  Blues"  which  was  released  by  Supreme  Chaos  Records.

  A  very  heavy  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of t he musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  while  the  vocals  are  melodic  and  add  in  more  of  a  70's  hard  rock/metal  style  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion.

  Clean  playing  can  be  heard  on  some  of  the  tracks  along  with  some  progressive  elements  and  while  most  of  the  music  is  rooted  in the  70's  and  80's  it  still  sounds  very  modern  at  the  same  time  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  whispered  vocals. 

  The  Ossuary  plays  a  musical  style  that takes  progressive  rock,  traditional  doom  and  heavy  metal  and  mixes  them  together  with  a  more  modern  touch,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occultism  themes.   

  In  my  opinion  The  Ossuary  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  doom  and  heavy  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Black  Curse"  "Graves  Underwater" and  "The  Great  Beyond".  8  out  of  10. 

Aeduini/Balich/Dawn Of Ages/Cruz Del Sur Music/2017 CD Review

  Arduini/Balich  are  a  band  from  Connecticut  that  plays  a  progressive  mixture  of  doom  and  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Dawn  Of  Ages"  which  was  released  by  Cruz  Del  Sur  Music.

   Distorted  guitar  amp  sounds start  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  hard  yet  melodic  guitar  riffing  is  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  riffs  add  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal.

  When  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  traditional  metal  style  and  a  great portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of   the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  while t he  music  is  rooted  in  the  80's  it  also  sounds  very  modern  at  the  same  time  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  music  gets  more  progressive  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  acoustic  guitars  on  later  tracks  and  they  also  bring  in  Uriah  Heep,  Beau  Brummels,  and  Black  Sabbath  covers  towards  the  end.

  Arduini/Balich  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  progressive,  heavy  and  doom  metal  genres  of  the  80's  and  gives  them  a  more  up  to  date  touch,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  mythological  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Arduini/Balich  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  mixture  of  doom  and  heavy  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Fallen"  The  Wraith"  "The  Gates  Of  Acheron"  and  "After  All".  8  out  of  10.     

Doom's Day/The Whore/PRC Music/2017 CD Review

  Doom's  Day  are  a  band  from  Quebec,  Canada  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  occult  mixture  of  doom  and  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "The  Whore"  which  was  released  by  PRC  Music.

  Melodic  yet  ritualistic  chanting  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  spoken  word  parts  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  that  also  mixes  in  evil  sounding  keyboards  along  with  some  aggressive  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  that  also  incorporate  some  melody  while  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  first  wave  black  metal.

  After  awhile  melodic  singing  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  which  also  add  in  a  touch  of  traditional metal  while  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  are  mostly  rooted  in  doom  metal  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  stick  more  to  an  old  school  style  of  extreme  metal and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  with  some  riffing  also  adding  in  touches  of  thrash.

  Doom's  Day  creates  another  recording that  remains  true  to  the  occult  mixture  of  doom  and   heavy  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism,  Horror  and  Dark  Fantasy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Doom's  Day  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  occult  doom/heavy  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ceremonial  Rites"  "Return  To  The  Sabbath"  and  "Star  Of  Satan".  8  out  of  10.

Show Of Bedlam/Transfiguration/PRC Music/2017CD Review

  Show  Of  Bedlam  are  a  band  from  Montreal,  Quebec,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge,  stoner,  doom  and  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Transfiguration"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  PRC  Music.

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  atmospheric  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  riffing  and  a  few  seconds  later  female  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  while  the  riffs  also  mix  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  spoken  word  parts  are  also  used  at  times  as  well  as  clean  playing  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs.

  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  vocals  also  have  their  aggressive  moments  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  very  melodic  and  also  adding  elements  of  post  metal  onto  the  recording  while  stoner  and  psychedelic  touche  are  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Show  Of  Bedlam  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  stoner,  sludge,  doom  and  post  metal  and  mixes  them together  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  mental  illness,  shame,  and  alienation  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Show  Of  Bedlam  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge,  doom,  and  post  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Black  Lotus"  "Hall  Of  Mirrors"  and  "Easter  Water'.  8  out  of  10. 

Temptation's Wings/Skulthor Ebonblade/2017 CD Review

  Temptation's  Wings  are  a  band  from  North  Carolina  that  plays  a  mixture  of  southern,  stoner,  doom  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "Skulthor  Ebonblade"  which  will  be  released  in  March.

  Dark  sounding  bass  guitars  start off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  clean  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a heavier  direction  along  with  some  melodic  solos  and  leads  that  also  add  in  a  touch  of  70's  metal  and  the  vocals  are  very  rough  yet  clean  singing  style.

  Touches  of  traditional  doom  metal  can  be  heard  in  the  bands  musical  style  at  times  while  the  southern  and  stoner  elements updates  the  genre  for  the  modern  era  and  when  spoken  word  parts  are  utilized  they  add  in  the  atmosphere  of  a  dark  fantasy  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  also  mixing  in  the  aggression  of  thrash  and  the  vocals  also  have their  aggressive  moments  and  as  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  are  also  added  onto  the  recording briefly.

  Temptation's Wings  plays  a  style  of  doom  metal  that  is  very  traditional  and  old  school  while t he  southern,  stoner  and  thrash  influences  updates  their  style  for  the  modern  era,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  an  a  warrior  named  Skullthor  and  you  can  see  the  influence  of  occultism,  mythology  and  other  fantasy  authors  in  the  songwriting.

  In  my  opinion  Temptation's  Wings  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  stoner,  southern,  doom  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "I  Destroyer"  "Lair  Of  The  Gorgon  Queen"  and  "My  Name  Was  Skullthor".  8/5  out  of  10.

Lucifer's Fall/Cursed & Damned/Nine Records/2016 CD Review

  Lucifer's  Fall  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  occult  form  of  traditional  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Cursed  &  Damned"  which  was  released  by  Nine  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  melodic  70's   influenced  doom  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  the  vocals  are  done  in  a  clean  signing  fashion  and  while  the music  is  rooted  in  the  past  the  production  makes  it  sound  more  modern.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  fashion  and  when  spoken  word  parts  are  utilized  they  give  the  songs  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling  and  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  while  the  vocals  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  aggressive  screams  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  music  also  starts  having  its  fast  moments  while  a  couple  of  tracks  also  add  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars.

  Lucifer's  Fall  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  traditional  style  of  doom  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism,  religion,  Darkness  and  Doom  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Lucifer's  Fall  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  doom  metal,  you  should  check  out  this recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Mother  Superior"  "Cursed  Priestess"  "Sacrifice"  and  "Homunculus".  8  out  of  10.   

Machines Of Indeterminate Origin/2.0-A New Body Of Work/2017 Full Length Review

  Machines  Of  Indeterminate  Origin  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays an  experimental  form  of  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  album  "2.0-A  New  Body  Of  Work"  which  will  be  released  in  March.

  Spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  along  with  a  sci  fi  atmosphere  and  after  awhile  drones  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  after  awhile  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  along  with  a  great  amount  of  industrial  elements.

  A  lot  of  sludge  metal  elements  can  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  music  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  distorted  and  melodic  fashion  while t he  vocals  are  mostly  aggressive  screams  while  also  having  their  melodic  moments  and  the  music  also  gets  very  experimental  and  avant  garde  at  times  while  some  tracks  also  add  in  touches  of  noise  rock  and  as  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  along  with  tribal  style  percussion's  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  stringed  instruments  are  also  utilized  towards  the  end. 

  On  this  recording  Machines  Of  Indeterminate  Origin  takes  sludge  metal,  stoner,  noise  rock  and  experimental  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Machines  Of  Indeterminate  Origin  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  experimental  and  sludge  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Your  Faith  Is  Inspiring"  "Foul  Moon"  and  "Exaggerated  Sense  Of  Our  Own  Importance".  8  out  of  10.   

Svordom/For Dom Som Ar Ensamma/2017 EP Review

  Svordom  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  crust  punk  and  d  beat  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2017  ep  "For  Dom  Som  Ar Ensamma"  which  will  be  released  in  March.

  Clean  yet  distorted  guitars  start  off  the  ep  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  after  awhile  aggressive  crust/hardcore  style  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  the  music  also  speeding  up  and  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  and  d  beats.

  A  great  amount  of  80's  and  90's  influences  can  be  heard  in  the  bands  musical  style  while  the  music  sounds  very  modern  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts  and  there  is  also  a  small  amount  of  melodic  guitar  leads  while  all  of  the  songs  are  very  short  in  length  and  they  close  the  ep  with  a  cover  of  Woody  Guthrie's  "All  You  Fascists  Are  Bound  To  Lose"  which  also  introduces  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  recording.

  Svordom  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  crust  and  d  beat  mixture  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Swedish  and  cover  anti  fascist  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Svordom  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  crust  and  d  beat,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Snabb  Dod"  and  "Blodet  Kokar".  8  out  of  10.       

Alastor/Black Magic/Twin Earth Records/2017 EP Review

  Alastor  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  psychedelic  form  of  stoner  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Black  Magic"which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Twin  Earth  Records.

  Distorted  amp  sounds  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  heavy  riffing  a  few  seconds  later  as  well  as  some  dark  sounding  melodies  and  the  music  is  mostly  rooted  in  a  traditional  style  of  doom  metal  and  when  guitar  leads  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  yet  old  school  fashion.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  also h ear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  done  in  a  70's  doom  metal  fashion  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  psychedelic  drones  and  all  of  the  tracks  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  Alastor  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  rooted  in  70's  style  doom  metal  while  the  stoner  elments  gives  the  songs  a  more  modern  feeling,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  and  Black  Magick  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Alastor  are  a  very  great  sounding  psychedelic  stoner  doom  metal  band  and  if you a re  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Black  magic".  8  out  of  10.

 

Offret/Self Titled/WOOAAARGH/2017 EP Review

  Offret  are  a  solo  project  from  Russia  that  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  ambient  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  titled  2017  ep  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  WOOAAARGH.

  A  mixture  of  both  heavy  and  acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  clean  singing  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in   a  decent  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  at  times.

  Element s  of  folk  music  can  be  heard  in  some  of  the  acoustic guitars  and  all  of  the  songs  sound  different  from  each  other  along  with  one  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  female  vocals  and  ambient  influences  while  all  of  the  heavy  riffs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  and  aggressive  vocals  are  also  used  briefly/

 Offret  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  folk,  ambient  and  atmospheric  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  go  his  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Russian  and cover  dark  and  poetic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Offret  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.   RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "No  One  Will  Come  Out  of  here  Alive"  and  "Possessed".  8  out  of  10.

Lethe/The First Corpse On The Moon/My Kingdom Music/2017 CD Review

  Lethe  are  a  duo  from  Norway  that  plays  an  experimental  and  avant  garde  form  of  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of their  2017  album  "The  First  Corpse  On  The  Moon"  which  will  be  released  on  February  24th  by  My  Kingdom  Music.

  Distorted  drones  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  leads  up  to  clean  guitars  being  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  melodic  leads  and  female  vocals  as  well  as  some  keyboards  and  the  music  also  incorporates  a  great  amount  of  trip  hop  elements.

  Most  of  the  guitar  riffs  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  heaviness  and  melody  into  the  music  and  male  vocals  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  there  is  also  a  great  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  presented  throughout  the  recording  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  music  also  being  very  avant  garde  and  experimental  and  saxophones  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  hip  hop  style  vocals while  a  later  track  also  adds  in  stringed  instruments. 

  Lethe  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  experimental,  avant  garde,  trip  hop,  electro,  pop  and  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  philosophical themes.

  In  my  opinion  Lethe  are  a  very  great sounding  avant  garde  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Night"  "My  Doom"  "Snow"  and  "Exorcism".  8  out  of  10.

Oozepus/Your Limit/Malignant Records/2017 EP Review

  Oozepus  are  a  band from  Japan  that  plays   a  mixture  of  noise  rock,  post  industrial  and  extreme  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Your  Limit"  which  will  be  released  on  February  24th  by  Malignant  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  some  aggressive  industrial  style  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  songs  also  incorporate  a  great  amount  of  noise  rock  elements  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  When  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  distorted  fashion  while  also  having  its  melodic  moments  and  there  is  also  a  great  amount  of  junk  metal  style  percussion  being  utilized  at  times  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  80's  and  90's  influences  along  with  the  last  track  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Oozepus  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  extreme  metal,  noise  rock  and  post  industrial  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Oozepus  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  noise  rock,  post  industrial,  and  extreme  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Insult"  and  "Farmers".  8  out  of  10.  

 

Worm Ouroboros/What Graceless Dawn/Profound Lore/2016 CD Review

  Worm  Ouroboros  are  a  band  from  the  Bay  Area  of  California  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom  metal,  dark  ambient,  and  neo  folk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "What  Graceless  Dawn"  which  was  released  by  Profound  Lore.

  Dark  ambient  style  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  drones  and  female  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  when  guitars  are  utilized  they  add  in  a  touch  of  post  rock  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  along  with  all  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Whispered  vocals  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  after  awhile  melodic  guitar  leads  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  some  tracks  also  add  in  touches  of  goth  and  death  rock  and  the  guitar  riffs  also  mix  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal  while  also  using  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  acoustic  guitars  are  influenced  by  neo  folk  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  Worm  Ouroboros  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  doom  metal,  death  rock,  post  rock,  ambient, progressive,  ethereal  and  neo  folk  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  tragic  and  despair  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Worm  Ouroboros  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  doom  metal,  dark  ambient,  and  neo  folk  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Broken  Movements"  and  "Night".  8  out  of  10. 

Forming The Void/Relic/Argonauta Records/2017 CD Review

  Forming  The  Void  are  a  band  from  Lafayette,  Louisiana  that  plays  a  progressive mixture  of  stoner  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Relic"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Argonauta  Records.

  Clean  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and   the  music  also  incorporates  a  great  amount  of  progressive  rock  elements  and  after  awhile  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavy  sludge  metal  direction  along  with  melodic  stoner  style  vocals.

  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  fashion  and  when  acoustic  guitars  are  utilized  they  add  in  more  of  a  70's  rock  touch  while  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  one  tack  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  slide  guitars  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  they  close  the  album  with  their  own  cover  of  led  Zeppelin's  "Kashmir"  which  also  sounds  nothing  like  the  original.

  Forming  The  Void  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  progressive  rock,  stoner  and  sludge  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Forming  The  Void  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  mixture  of  stoner  and  sludge  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "After  Earth"  "The  Witch"  and  "Unto  the  Smoke".  8  out  f  10.         

Mountain God/Bread Solstice/Artificial Head Records/2017 CD Review

  Mountain  God  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  plays  a  mixture  of  ambient  noise,  stoner,  doom  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Bread  Solstice"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Artificial  Head  Records.

  Heavy  doom  metal  riffing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  ambient  elements  in  the  background  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  distorted  voices  and  touches  of  noise  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffs.

  Clean  guitars  can  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  and  after  awhile  high  pitched  sludge  style  screams  start  to  make  their  presence  known  along  with  a  few  whispers  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  music  also  gets  very  experimental  at  times  and  the  heavier  riffs  also  add  in  elements  of  stoner  rock  and  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction.

  Mountain  God  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  stoner,  sludge,   and  doom  metal  while  the  experimental,  ambient  and  noise  elements  gives  the  songs  more  originality,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  esoteric  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Mountain  God  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  ambient,  noise,  experimental,  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Nazca  Lines"  and  "Hymn  To  Nothing".  8  out  of  10.

   

Nula/Kenoma/Black Bow Records/2017 EP Review

  Nula  are  a  band  from  Serbia  that  plays  a  post  form  of  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Kenoma"  which  will  be  released  on  February  24th  by  Black  Bow  Records.

  A  very  heavy  sludge  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  a  few  seconds   later  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this recording  and  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  the  vocals  start  out  with  melodic  singing.

  After  awhile  the  vocals  start  utilizing  more  aggression  and  elements  of  post  rock  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  groove  metal  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  riffs  also  using  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  music  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction.

  Nula  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  sludge  and  post  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Serbian  and  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Nula  are  a  very  great  sounding  post/sludge  metal   band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Silazak  U  Prah".  8  out  of  10. 

Godstomper/Grizzlor/Corpse Flower Records/2017 Split 7 Inch Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada's  Godstomper  and  Connecticut's  Grizzlor  which  was  released  by  Corpse  Flower  Records  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Godstomper  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  and  noise  rock.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  heavy  guitars  and  aggressive  yet  melodic  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to t hem  and  you  can  also  hear  a  small  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  leads  while  the  riffs  mix  sludge  and  noise  rock  together  and  keyboards  are  added  onto  the  second  track,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Godstomper  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge  and  noise  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Down  Here  For  Long".

  Next  up  is  Grizzlor  a  band  that  plays  noise  rock.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  hard  and  heavy  guitar  sound  along  with  some  aggressive  noise  rock  style  vocals  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  their  side  of  the  recording  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  distorted  style  and  spoken  word  parts  are  also  used  briefly  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  punk  in  the  bands  musical  style,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Grizzlor  are  a  very  great  sounding  noise  rock  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  sludge  and  noise  rock.  8  out  of  10. 

Inverted Mind/Broken Mirror/Defense Records/2017 CD Review

  Inverted  Mind  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  stoner  and  sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Broken  Mirror"  which  was  released  by  Defense  Records.

  Distorted  sounds  along  with  some  dark,  melodic  yet  heavy  riffing  starts  off  the  album  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and after  awhile  aggressive  sludge  style  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  the  guitar  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  A  great  amount  of  stoner  metal  elements  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  post  metal  in  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  a  couple  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  briefly  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard and  one  track  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  melodic  vocals and  spoken  word  parts  are  added  onto  the  closing  song.

  Inverted  Mind  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  post,  stoner,  and  sludge  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my opinion  Inverted  Mind  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  stoner  and  sludge  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS INCLUDE  "Cold  Breath"  "Subconscious"  "Deep  Hole"  and  "Let  your  Freedom  be  Your  Grave".  8  out  of  10.

Radien/Maa/Bunkerri Records/2017 EP Review

  Radien  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  punk,  drone,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Maa"  which  was  released  by  Bunkerri  Records.

  Powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  and  distorted  drones  start  off  the  ep  and  both  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length and  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  after  a  few  minutes  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  musical  direction  along  with  some  high  pitched sludge  style  screams.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  distorted  fashion  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  the  raw  energy  of  punk  rock  while  both  of  the  tracks  remain  very  slow  while  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  synths

  Radien  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  punk,  drone,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Radien  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  punk,  drone,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Vimeinen".  8  out  of  10. 

Faces Of The Bog Interview

For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
The final lineup of this band has been together since Fall-2011.  All of us grew up around the Chicagoland area and some of us knew each other throughout high school and beyond.  Prior to this time, three of the band members joined forces and started writing material, most of which was ultimately scrapped after the final lineup coalesced.  The approach to creating and writing our music has been a very natural and loose approach, and is purely democratic.  Some songs might start with a riff or melody brought in by a member, but the majority of the material is simply developed from jamming together and letting the piece take itself to wherever it wants to go.  It’s certainly not a band where one member writes the songs, then everyone else learns them.  Everyone comes from different backgrounds, both personally and musically, so everyone has the ability to provide their input and drive it where they think it should go.  It’s always interesting to go back and listen to older demo recordings to see how things have evolved over the years.

How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the album?
There is certainly a heaviness and “girth” to most of the material which quite simply comes from our love for plugging into big amplifiers and playing loud and aggressive music.  Most of us grew up with classic rock, metal, prog-rock, psychedelic rock, etc. so it was just a matter of taking those elements and putting our own passion into it.  One thing that was very apparent with this group, even in the early stages, was that everyone prefers to add their own textures and sounds to whatever section we may be developing rather than everyone just jumping on the same rhythm or riff.  There are often times when the piece may lend itself to everyone hammering away on the same thing, but most of the time we prefer to create broader soundscapes where we can all individually add our own styles and textures to the composition.  Nods to classic psychedelic and progressive music tend to spawn from this approach.  We feel this helps create a more enjoyable listen to break up the onslaught of sludge and doom elements.

The band has been around since 2011 but waited until 2016 to release any music, can you tell us a little bit more about the first 5 years?
As mentioned, the first couple years was really spent just feeling each other out stylistically and seeing where the music would take us.  There certainly was a period early on when we maybe became a bit too anxious to get out and start playing shows.  This lent itself to material which was possibly a bit under-developed and premature.  There was a definitely a moment in time where we said, “wait a minute, let’s step back and reassess what we’re doing here”.  Most of this material was either completely scrapped or majorly reconstructed in the coming years to be where we wanted it.  So in general, most of the 5 years was spent hammering away in the practice space, while still keeping up our live chops by playing a handful of shows each year.

What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
In the most general terms, the main subject of ‘Ego Death’ is life and the common experiences in human beings.  Everyone on this earth is searching for a better understanding of who we are and why we’re here and trying to break away from the mundane into a higher sense of self.   As it is in most creative (i.e. non-pop) music, we don’t try to be too specific with any of the subjects or themes, rather allow the listener to apply their own qualities and experiences to find their own meaning.

I know that the band’s name means 'faces of the god' in Polish, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?
Honestly, we had no idea the band name translated to that.  Naming a band is probably the worst part of being in a band and of course, this took time to agree upon.  I guess we feel ‘Faces of the Bog’ does a decent job describing our sound while maintaining a bit of originality.  And all the good names were already taken using words such as “witch”, “electric” “bong”, and/or “mountain”… :D

What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
We’re very fortunate to be part of this great underground/independent Chicago music scene and have shared the stage with many great local bands over the years.  It’s hard to pick specific shows that might have been our best or most memorable – we’d probably have to say our album release show was at least one of our favorites.  Being able to play the album in its entirety to a full video backdrop and lights was a great opportunity to really project the album to the crowd and present it as it was intended.  In line with the music on this record, our stage performance typically involves thrashing out during heavy sections and being “stoic-as fuck” during the psychedelic moments.

Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Absolutely!  We’ll be heading up to Minneapolis and Milwaukee in late February – we made one-off trips to those cities over the past summer and are really looking forward to get back up there.  We’ll have a handful of shows in Chicago throughout the year, but are trying to get out of town a bit more to spread the music around.  Details are not ironed out as of yet, but we’ll likely be playing some more Midwest dates in the spring, then getting out to the East coast in the summer and perhaps some Southern states in the fall.  A West coast trip is also on our list for the near future.

According to the Metal Archives page the band is signed to 'DHU Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
We played a handful of shows last year with our buds in Mother Crone from Seattle – an excellent doom-thrash outfit from the PNW.  They ran into a couple transportation issues while out on tour and we were fortunate enough to be able to help some good dudes in need.  They more than repaid the favor by putting us in touch with Robert Black at DHU Records out of The Netherlands.  DHU is a do-it-yourself label that releases limited edition vinyl packages for some of the heaviest in underground music today.  We quickly forged a great relationship and are completely ecstatic that DHU will be helping us release our debut ‘Ego Death’ on 2LP vinyl later this spring.

On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge and doom metal?
It’s truly amazing these days when an underground band from a US city like Chicago can release an album completely on their own and people from all over the world can gain access.  We’ve been amazed and humbled by the feedback we’ve received all over the world.  Fans from places like Germany, Norway, Portugal, Brazil, Australia, Russia, etc. etc. have reached out to us to give their kind words to what we’re doing.  In general, we’re very proud of the common feedback being that the record is maybe a more listenable album when compared to some other doom/sludge outfits out there today.  Combining all of the elements like psychedelic-rock, doom, thrash, sludge, stoner-rock, jazz, blues, prog, etc. was simply the music we wanted to hear, and finding that others enjoy it as well is just an added bonus.

Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Only time can tell.  We’re excited to start writing the follow-up album, but right now the emphasis is on playing more shows and sharing the music to a broader audience.  I think we’d all agree that whatever it is, it will be out sooner than 5 years!

What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
There are so many to list and it would be impossible to include them all.  Since we all come from different musical backgrounds, we all probably started with main influences in our own playing.  Then getting turned on to unfamiliar musical interests from bandmates was and is a great experience.  That’s the beauty of starting a band – you immediately are exposed to new influences and styles that you might have never discovered on your own.  But to answer the question, some easy ones to note would be bands like Black Sabbath, the Melvins, Tool, Pink Floyd, Rush, Led Zeppelin, etc.  Nowadays a lot of us are listening to new material coming from bands like Russian Circles, Yob, Neurosis, High on Fire, Mastodon, and on and on.

Does Occultism play any role in your music?
That could probably be a complete interview in itself.  But we’d never be so obvious and give those details away so easily…

What are some of your non musical interests?
Since unfortunately playing in Faces of the Bog is not a full-time paying gig (at least not yet), all of us have other jobs/careers to keep us busy and some of us even have families of our own.  Outside of those duties, other avenues for creativity include painting/sculpting, writing, martial arts, etc.

Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Nothing besides just saying again how fortunate and grateful we all are that the stars aligned and this project finally came to fruition.  It’s great to share something that we’re all extremely proud of with the rest of the world, and it’s very humbling to hear that others are enjoying it.  Keep an eye on us as we continue doing what we do and hopefully we’ll be able to press on and bring more music your way.  Cheers.