Necrodeath Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
GL: We are finalizing our first DVD, to be released in the coming months. The DVD contains two concerts in northern and southern Italy, showing that we are always on the road during all these years. In addition, we are also composing new songs, for the next album.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the newer material?
GL: About our last album "Idiosyncrasy" I can only describe the sound like the best that we have recorded until now! We have spent many hours to chose the better sound and we are completely satisfied for all the choices made. Talking about my instrument I'm very happy to have found a great sound that you can listen in many part of the album. Another point is that this album has been a completely challenge different respect to the others recorded before, because is only one song long 40 minutes!

3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the new material explores?
Peso : in idiosyncrasy we have made a concept basic on true forces of good and evil… everything start from a simple idiosyncrasy but the final is really pulp…(tarantino docet!!)

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?
Pier: The band name is just the name “death” and “necro” that you can translate as “cadaver or “obscure”, so it’s like “death of a corpse” or something like that. The reason why it was choosen was just because the sound is “aggressive” like the music of the band

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and how
would you describe your stag performances?
Peso my best memory is the gods of metal in 2000 when we open slayer and many others…(iron maiden the day after…) at the stadium of monza….. for one day we has been e really rock star!! ahahahaha

6. Do you have any touring plans for the future?
GL: Yes of course! The same that we have always had during our last 25 years...play everywhere, write songs...and live on the road!

7. The band is considered part of the first wave of black metal, what are your
opinions on the bands that you have influenced?
Pier : Of course bands like Venom influenced us from their first albums and We consider them as “cult” band. But in our taste we like also some thrash band as Slayer or first albums of Metallica

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans
of extreme Metal?
Pier: Considering that metal head usually remain affection to first releases of any bands I must say that we have a great feedback. Especially our last 2 albums had a good feedback and sales. This because we tried to make something different but remaining in the same trademark of our first 2 albums.

9. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?
GL: I don't have other projects at this time...but..never say never!

10. What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
GL: We don't want be a copy and paste band, that clone the same album every year. We like explore new territory and grow musically, but at the same time, we don't want loose our roots.

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer
music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Pier : We are not stricted to extreme metal. So We like thrash music in general and also many hard or heavy bands. Recently I fonded some great album in the Ghost band and last Van halen
GL: My last listening are the last albums of Ghost and Killing Joke...but I'm grow up with thrash and death music from '80 and '90....big names like Slayer, Death, Sepultura...

12. How would you describe your views on Satanism and Occultism?
GL: I'm agnostic...I'm against all the religions and all the rules that does not make free the human being...so for me Satanism is a the way like others to go against Christian religions...so...I don’t not believe in anything!
Occultism is fascinating is interesting for the black magic and for the inner power that we have inside....I've read many books about this.

13. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
GL: We've our private life that is non away from the music and the arts in general.
I've many interests...one of this is discover the world ...so I make many extreme trips, when I don't play with the band.

14. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
GL: First of all you have to buy our last album "Idiosyncrasy" that you can find all we are now and all the passion that we have put inside, also you can follow us on our websites for to be updated for our shows or buy our merchandise.
Thanks for support us!!!!

www.necrodeath.net
www.facebook.com/necrodeath.official

Necrodeath Official Website

www.necrodeath.net

Ichabod Interview

1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

Writing, playing shows, rehearsing, drinking, smoking. Band stuff like that.

Dave-We’re all super busy with both band activities and personal things..I’m finishing graduate school and expecting my 2^nd child this month! The writing is coming along swimmingly with the new material….

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?

Dave- Well, not to overstate the obvious, but John’s vocals are much different than Ken’s were. Just as diverse, but different ranges and pitches. Also, adding Jay on guitar really beefs up and thickens our riffing. We’re starting to dabble more in harmonies and complementary parts too. Otherwise, Dreamscapes is just a natural progression if you follow our whole trajectory.

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

Witches, drugs, the new world order, technology, women, cowboys and guns.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

Dave-Ichabod translates to “Inglorious”…I mean it to infer that we’re not in the music biz to gain “glory,” or to become trendy. If we become at all fashionable, it’ll be due to our musical integrity, artistic vision, and luck. But that is definitely not what any of us set out to achieve….our “glory” comes from the pure creation of art for art’s sake; hopefully people see the truth and honor in that and don’t take it to mean we’re a bunch of pretentious blowhards. The original inspiration for the name was the protagonist from Irving’s “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”; I’m a high school English teacher, so I’m drawn to the literary references!

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

I think our last gig at the Middle East Upstairs [Boston, MA.] was our best live gig to date with the new lineup...but I have a blast at every show so I'm probably not the best person to be asking.

Dave-Wow…I’m not sure..we’ve played a lot of great gigs in our time together. With this lineup, my favorite gig so far was with Karma to Burn in Boston. Stage performances tend toward the energetic…we all grew up in hardcore and metal bands, so those roots come out inevitably. But things can get very cerebral at times too…we’ll space you out and entrance you before we go for the knockout!!!

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

I want to play in Europe someday, especially England. I've got some acquaintances over there I'd like to finally meet face to face.

Dave-Europe would be a dream come true…We’re talking about doing more down in the deep South too…Nothing planned yet for West Coast, but it’s on our radar if the right opportunity arises. In the meantime, we’ll keep gigging as far around the East Coast as time and situation allows.

7. Currently you are signed to Rootsucker Records, how did you get in contact with this label  and how would you describe the support they have given you so far?

Dave-Our dear friend Dave Tornstrom had just finished up his degree in Entertainment Law and decided to start the label as a Petri dish, or guinea pig, to begin feeling out the industry. It’s grown from there. There are 2 other artists, Rob Byrd (ambient, Eno-esque guitar) and Eddy Dyer (psych/folk) besides Ichabod on the label now. Dave hopes to continue building the label while simultaneously using it as a springboard to help his bands move onto bigger things. You couldn’t meet a fairer, more honest guy. He’s actually played keys/samples on many of our tracks too.

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

It's been overwhelmingly positive from my perspective from most of the people who've talked about us after hearing the album.

Dave-We’ve always had our base in the sludge/stoner/doom scene, although we don’t necessarily fit any of those genres perfectly neatly. We actually get a lot more press from other parts of the world than we do right here in Boston! The biggest music paper in town has never approached us about doing anything about us, and we’ll never chase them or solicit them to do so…weird to see how they pander to the trends that come and go but ignore a band who’s been around for over a decade, chugging away!

9. What is going on with the other musical projects these days?

I've got a side band that I've been with for the last 5 years....just a weekly get together and the occasional gig, nothing serious. We've got a batch of new songs we've been putting together for the last 6-8 months that we're finally ready to play for people so within the next month or 2 we'll be putting something out. We were called Faces of Mars but that's most likely going to change before the new material is available.

Dave-I barely have time right now to play in one band! I’d like to eventually do a solo record though; Phil plays drums in another band, a kind of post punk outfit called Audrey Can’t Die. He brings a new energy to their material via his powerhouse pounding! Greg played in a death metal band called Blessed Offal until recently.

10. What direction do you see the music heading into on future releases?

More riffs, more depth, deeper into the proverbial rabbit hole.

Dave-I agree with John here…we’ve got a prog-ish, concept album coming out soon called “Merrimack”..John and Jay are laying down their tracks over the next few months, otherwise my guitar, bass, and drums are finished already. It’s a very different record than Dreamscapes due to the continuity between tracks. It’s really meant to be listened to as a whole, although you can break it down into tracks. Then we’ll begin working on the sequel to Dreamscapes, which we’ve got a majority of tracks written for as we speak.

11. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I listen to classic rock, doom, and death metal on a daily basis. It's all in there somewhere. I've been listening to a lot of Graveyard, Alice Cooper, and Opeth lately

Dave-I’m digging stuff like Black Angels, It’s Not Night It’s Space, Subarachnoid Space, Conan, Wooden Shjips, and a bunch of classic Ambient stuff (Eno, Fripp, Budd, etc.) Also digging some new death metal like Fenrismaw, and the latest Cough stuff as far as sludge goes.

.

12. How would you describe your views onn Occultism?

Everyone has to believe in something, even nothing is something. It's all just a way to try and emit and control a perception of reality.

Dave-We’ve always incorporated a diversity of esoteric/occult concepts and ideas into our music. We do so symbolically, lyrically, and structurally. For example, on Dreamscapes the song 108; it’s a very sacred number to a variety of spiritual paths. We wrote the song lyrically about ego loss through transcendental experience, AND it was structured at 108 BPM, pace wise. We do a lot of that type of thing…try to make music our ritual. We’ve always wanted to play gigs at many of the world’s sacred spots, ala Pink Floyd live at Pompeii. We never cross over into proselytization or preachiness however…there are too many individual religious beliefs within the band to adhere to one philosophical approach at large. The spiritualism present in Ichabod therefore is more universalist in presentation.

13. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

I'm a huge MMA fan and I workout 5-6 days a week. Being a larger dude I've been tying to get healthier as I've gotten into my mid 30's. I'm in better shape now than in my 20's by miles. Other than that I watch a lot of youtube and hang around at home with my family.

Dave-I’m a writer, and a teacher. I also am a dad, and husband to the coolest chick on earth. We’ve also got two amazing German Shepherds that are as much a part of the family as you can imagine.

14. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Dave-Thank you guys so much for your interest in the band! We love doing what we do, and will keep it up as long as we can. We feel we have so much more to offer yet… I second John’s praise of both Earsplit PR and Dave Brennar, and Scott from 313…they’re helping to spread the word in ways we could never manage on our own.

I wanna thank all the blogs and websites who've supported us with this new record. Props to EarSplit PR too for all great work they've done and to Glenn Smith at Amp v Ohms Studios for doing such a killer job recording this album.

Meliah Rage/Dead To The World/Metal On Metal Records/2011 CD Review

  Meliah  Rage  are  a  band  from  Boston, Massachusetts  a  band  that  has  a  long  history  and  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2011  album  "Dead  To  The  World"  which  was  released  by  Metal  On  Metal  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  no  blast  beats  being  present  on  this  recording,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  to  fast  thrash  metal  riffs  that  utilize  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  riffing  as  well  as  some  soft  and  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  power/thrash  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  very  melodic  sounding  thrash  vocals  that  have  a  heavy  power  metal  influence  to  them  as  well  as  some  spoken  word  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Meliah  Rage  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  thrash  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Valley  Of  The  Shadowless  Souls"  "Where  Nothing  Ever  Grows"  "Cold  Cruel  Fate"  and  "Awaken  Sorrow".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Bitter End/Have A Nice Death/Metal On Metal Records/2011 CD Review

  Bitter  End  are  a  band  from  Seattle,  Washington  that  plays  a  very  technical  form  of  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  compilation  "Have  A  Nice  Death"  which  has  an  unreleased  album  from 1992  album  as  well  as  some  live  and  demo  tracks  which  was  released  by  Metal On  Metal  Records  during  the  year  of  2011.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  no  blast  beats  being  present  on  this  recording,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  strong  and  powerful  sound  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  technical  thrash  metal  riffs  that  are  heavily  influenced  by  the  NWOBHM,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  melodic  sounding  old  school  metal/thrash/speed  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when t hey  are  utilized  briefly  they  use  finger  picking  to  give  the  music  a  classic  rock  feeling.

  Vocals  are  all  clean  singing  style  thrash  metal  vocals  that  have  a  power  metal  feeling  to  them  at  times  as  well  as  a  brief  spoken  word  part,  while  the  lyrics  cover  philosophical  and  political  themes,  as  for  the  production  it h as  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  the  time  it  was  released  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on t his  recording  but  out  of  date  by  today's  standard's  along  with  some  demo  and  live  tracks.

  In  my  opinion  Bitter  End  are  a  very  great  sounding  technical  thrash  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Tiny  Minds"  "No  Law"  "Tunnel  Vision"  and  "Meet  Your  Maker".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

F.K.U/Where Moshers Dwell/Metal On Metal Records/2009 CD Review

  F.K.U  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  old  school  of  mosh  orientated  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2009  album  "Where  Moshers  Dwell"  which  was  released  by  Metal  On  Metal  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  some  blast  beats  being  utilized  at  times,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of  the  guitars  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  old  school  style  thrash  riffs  that  bring  back  memories  of  the  mosh  pits  of  the  mid  80's  to  early  90's,  while  the  lead  guitars  when t hey  are  utilized  are  very  old  school  sounding  thrash  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  thrash  style  screams  and  shouts  with  some  power  metal  singing,  deep  growls,  and  spoken  word  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  thrashing,  moshing,  metal,  dark,  violent,  humor,  and  hateful  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  F.K.U  are  a  very  great  sounding  mosh  pit  style  thrash  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Where  Moshers  Dwell"  "The  Pit  And  The  Poser"  "He  Knows  The  Drill"  and  "Horror  Metal  Moshing  Machine".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  

arbogast Interview

 1. Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

We just released our first full length & we're working on a video. –Mike Rataj

Our friend is putting together an animated video for our song 'forming the flock' due out in April. We also just shot some footage for a heavy metal cooking show called 'brutally delicious'. – Aaron Roemig

>> 2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album and how it differs from previous releases?

More complete. We set out to write/record a full length opposed to a 3 song release. We were able to play with our influences more. -MR

I think the new album has more of a sludge feel to it than our previous releases. -AR

>> 3. What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new release?

We discuss a few topics mainly the idea was centered around the declining morals of a country where the middle class is being overthrown by the greed of the privileged. -AR

>> 4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the bands name?

We actually got the name from Hitchcock’s “Psycho”. At the time when we were getting the band started I was really into Hitchcock and wanted to reference one of his movies. When we heard the name arbogast it sounded like it could be a unique name for a heavy band. -AR

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

As far as live we go fast, we go slow, we scream, we sweat, we break our shit. We’ve meet and played shows with great bands like East of the Wall, Goes Cube, Rollo Tomasi, Bison BC, Like Rats and Czar. -AR

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

Right now we have few dates booked for our April tour to the eastcoast. 4/4 we play Philly w/ Carved Up at Kung Fu Necktie, 4/5 we are playing The Place in Brooklyn w/ Bangladeafy and 4/6 at Asbury Lanes in New Jersey w/ Wreaths. More dates TBA. –AR

>> 7. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of the underground?

So far it’s been pretty cool. We have sent packages out to people all over Europe and Russia. Wild. -AR

>> 8. Are there any other musical projects besides this band or is this a full time line up?

This is the fulltime lineup. Rataj and I have another drum/bass combo we break out every now and then called CASK. I also play bass in a band called Lord and Rataj plays drums in Still Machine. All of that came after we formed arbogast though. -AR

>> 9.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?

Just going to try and keep it heavy and interesting to ourselves. -AR

>> 10. What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Converge, Mastodon, Battles, Boris, Torche, COC, Cephalic Carnage, Thou, Wolves In The Throne Room, Today Is The Day. We have a lot of influences ranging from old school metal, hardcore, thrash and punk, to more contemporary stuff like doom, black metal, sludge and noise rock. -AR

>> 11. Outside of music what are some of your interests?

Deep sea diving. -AR
>>
>> 12. Outside of music what are some of your interests?
>> 

>> 13. Any final words or thoughts before we wrap up this interview?

Thanks for talking to us. -AR

Panikk/Unbearable Conditions/Metal Tank Records/2013 CD Review

  Panikk  are  a  b from  Slovenia  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Unbearable  Conditions"  which  was  released  by  Metal  Tank  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  drumming  with  not  much  in  the  way  of  blast  beats,  while  the  bass  playing  has  a  very  dark  tone  with  riffs  that  follow  the  riffing  that  are  coming  out  of the  guitars.



  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  thrash  riffs  that  are  heavily  influenced  by  the  Bay  Area  sound  with  some  melody  being  thrown  into the  riffing  at  times,  while  the  lead  guitars  are very  old  school  sounding  thrash  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when t hey  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  add  some  darkness  to  the  music.

  Vocals  are  mostly  thrash style  shouts  and  singing  with  some  gang  back  up  vocals  being  utilized  at  times  as  well  as  a  brief  spoken  word  part,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  violent  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  to  it.

  In  my  opinion  Panikk  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  thrash  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE "Dismay"  "Messiah  Of  Decay"  "Playground  Of  Visions"  and  "Cruel  World  (Society  To  Adapt)".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.