Sofy Major/Idolize/Solar Flare Records/2013 CD Review

  Sofy  Major  are  a  band  from  France  that  plays  a  very  metallic  and  sludgy  form  of  noise  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Idolize"  which  was  released  by  Solar  Flare  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  playing  with  no  fast  drumming  or  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,  as  for  the  sound  effects  which  are  only  used  briefly  they  bring  an  avant  garde  and  dark  ambient  sound  to  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range from s low  to  mid  paced  riffs  that  combine  influences  from  sludge  and  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  with  some  melody  being  thrown  into  the  riffing  at  times  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  are  very  melodic  sounding  noise  rock  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  mostly  clean  singing  noise  rock  vocals  with  some  more  aggressive  sounding  sludge  screams  being  used  at  times  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  samples, while  the  lyrics  cover  violent  and  hateful  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Sofy  Major  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  noise  rock,  sludge  and  metal  and if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Accune  Importance"  "Bbbbreak"  "Slow  And  Painful"  and  "Power  Of  The  Voice".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.    

Haraball/Sleep Tall/Fysisk Format/2013 CD Review

  Haraball  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  hardcore  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Sleep  Tall"  which  was  released  by  Fysisk  Format".

  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  and  at  times  they  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to t hem.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from s low,  mid  paced  to  fast  old  school  hardcore  punk  riffs  that  are  very  raw  and  primitive  sounding,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  all  early  80's  style  hardcore  punk  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  all  old  school  hardcore  punk  style  singing  and  shouting,  while  the  lyrics  cover  hateful,  violent  and  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  old  school  raw  and  primitive  sound  to  it  while  you  can  still  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Haraball  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy,  raw  and  primitive  old  school  hardcore punk  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check   out t his  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Jeremy  Smoked"  "Hair  In  My  Soup"  "Raising  The  Dead"  and  "Evil  Twin".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.  

Thinning The Herd/Freedom From The Known/Saint Marks Records/2013 CD Review

  Thinning  The  Herd  are  a  band  from  New  York  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom  metal,  sludge,  hardcore,  rock  and  blues  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Freedom  From  The  Known"  which  was  released  by  Saint  Marks  Records.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  playing  with  no  fast  drumming  or  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  to  mid  paced  riffs  that  combine  doom  metal,  sludge,  hardcore,  rock and  blues  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  along  with  a  good  amount  of  melody  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  and  old  school  sounding  doom  metal/rock  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  which  are  only  used  briefly  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  add  a  progressive  rock  feeling  to  the  recording.

  Vocals  are  mostly  clean  singing  metal/rock  vocals  with  some  spoken  word  samples  being  used  at  times,  while  the  lyrics  cover  surviving  everyday  life,  achieving  a  higher  consciousness  through  transcendentalism,  and  the  existence  of  aliens  and  other life  forms,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  dark  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  with  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Thinning  The  Herd  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  doom  metal,  sludge,  hardcore,  rock  and  blues  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Never  Wanted"  "Sludge"  "Path  Of  Gold"  and  "In  Front  Of  Me".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Zolle/ZoLLE/Supernatural Cat/2013 CD Review

  Zolle  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  psychedelic  form  of  doom/sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "ZoLLE"  which  was  released  by  Supernatural  Cat.

  Drums  range  from  slow  to  mid  paced  playing  with  no  fast  drumming  or  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,  as  for  the  xylophone  and  synths  when  they  are  utilized  they  bring  a  very  dark,  avant  garde  and  psychedelic  sound  to  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  to  mid  paced  riffs  that  combine  psychedelic,  sludge  and  doom  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  and  there  are  no  guitar  solos  or  leads  present  on  this  recording.

  Vocals  are  all  absent  from  this  recording  with  the  music  being  all  instrumental,  while  the  song  themes  cover  humor,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  dark  and  professional  sound  to  it  with  the  last  song  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Zolle  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  psychedelic,  sludge  and   doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Trackthor"  "Mayale"  "Heavy  Letam"  and  "Moongitruce".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Bakken/Death Of A Hero/2012 CD Review

  Bakken  are  a  band  from  Ireland  that  plays  mixture  of  traditional,  power,  NWOBHM  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2012  album  "Death  Of  A  Hero".

  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  strong  and  powerful  tone  with  heavy  riffing  that  dominates  throughout  the  recording,  as  for  the  synths  which  are  only  used  briefly  they  bring  a  very  epic  and  atmospheric  sound to  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  traditional,  power,  NWOBHM  and  thrash  metal  together  to  create  a  sound of  their  own  along  with  a  great  amount  of  melody  being  thrown  into  the  riffing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  power  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  which  are  only  used  briefly  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  add  some  more  classic  metal  elements  to  the  recording.

  Vocals  are  mostly  clean  singing  power  metal vocals  with  some  more  aggressive  thrash  elements  being  used  at  times  as  well  as  some  spoken  word  samples,  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  fantasy  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  with  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Bakken  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of   traditional,  power,  NWOBHM  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Darkest  Day"  "Fortress  Of  Evil"  and  "Voyage  Of  Aodh".  RECOMMENDED  BUY. 

Steve Von Till/As The Crow Flies/Neurot Recordings/2013 CD Re-Issue Review

  Steve  Von Till  is  a  musician  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  with  both  Neurosis  and  his solo  work  with  the  music  style  on  this  recording  being  neo-folk  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2000  album  "As  The  Crow  Flies"  which  was  re-issued  by  Neurot  Records  in  the  year  of  2013.

  Drums  and  bass  playing  are  all  absent  from  this  recording,  while  the  synths  bring an  ambient  feeling  to  the  recording  when  they  are  utilized,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  they  use  finger  picking  and  full  chords  to  bring  a  very  dark  folk  music  sound to  the  recording.

  Vocals  are  all  clean  singing  folk  rock  vocals,  while  the  lyrics  cover  Legends,  Nature,  Life,  Death  and  Depression,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful  and  dark  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  and  vocals that  are  present  on  this  recording  with  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  this  was  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Steve  Von  Till  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  artist,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "We  All  Fail"  "Warning  Of  A  Storm"  and  "Shadows  In  Stone".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Satan Interview

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

Brian – SATAN is alive and well.  We are rehearsing for up-coming shows and really enjoying it.  It’s great to be working together again.

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

Brian – We wanted to re-create the sound and feel of “Court In The Act, write the album that we should have written back in 1984.  When we did it, it was actually easier than we had thought it would be.

Steve-  We made sure the production was punchy  and that the album sounded the band do live. It was written to be the follow up to Court In The Act if the lineup had stayed in tact.

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

Brian – “Court In The Act” was a collection of songs about victims.  “Life Sentence” expands that theme a little more and encompasses the consequences of certain situations brought about by individuals or events.

Steve – Injustice was always a common theme with Satan, hence the judge figure.

4. The band has been broken up a few times, what was the cause of the split and the decision to reform?

Brian -  We initially broke up because of differing opinions on the direction that the band should go in and whether or not we should change the name of the band. We couldn’t agree so we went our separate ways. The guys recruited Lou Taylor and changed the name to BLIND FURY.  I went on to reform BLITZKRIEG.  Although we were no longer working together, we remained friends so when the chance came to reform SATAN it was not a difficult thing to do.  In fact when we started rehearsing for the Wacken show it seemed only like “yesterday” that we had last worked together.  It came together very quickly.  We had all enjoyed it so much that when it was suggested that we should write a new album, we just felt that it was the natural thing to do.

Steve –  On the initial release of Court In The Act thwe album wasn’t that well received by the press, especially here in the UK. Being young and impression able we thought we were doing something wrong and needed to change. In hindsight is wasn’t a good idea.

5. The band was a part of the NWOBHM movements, what are your thoughts on the musical genres that have popped up since then?

Brian  - I prefer to call it “Pure British Metal”.  That is what SATAN and BLITZKRIEG are.  It is what I do and I love it.  Other genres have come and gone.  Some were good, some were bad, but music always seems to return to traditional values at some point.

Steve – I can think of good and bad bands in all different styles. As long as its metal then it should have its voice.

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

Brian – I personally think that our performances at Wacken and KIT were our best so far.

Steve – We’ve always been able to create this great kind of frantic energy live. We even noticed this at the first rehearsal when we got back together. Keep It True 2011 in Germany was a great show.

7. Do you have any touring plans for the new release?

Brian – We are going to Canada soon and then return to Europe for some shows.  We are negotiating more shows at the moment and they will be announced as soon as we can.

Steve – We’re already being able to book shows in territories that we haven’t played in before like Sweden and Canada. So far the feedback is very positive and more shows will be added.

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your new album by fans of metal?

Brian – So far I have only read reviews by the press, but they seem to like it.  I cannot wait to hear the opinions of the fans.  They have waited 30 years for this album, it is their album, we wrote it for them.  I hope they like it!

Steve – The album reviews all over the world have been fantastic and nothing negative so far.

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

Brian – I am busy writing and recording  a new BLITZKRIEG album with the new line-up of the band.  Paul, Phil and Guy recently left to concentrate on other things and I wish them the best of luck with whatever they are doing.  Ken Johnson stayed in the band and we have been joined by Bill Baxter on Bass, Mick Kerrigan on Drums and my son, Alan Ross on Guitar.  I am also involved with my solo band METALIZER and I hope to record an album with that band next year.

Steve – We have finished writing most of the next Skyclad album and hope to record that early next year.

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

Brian – If I have anything to do with it, it will be more “Pure British Metal” for both SATAN and BLITZKRIEG.

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

Brian – I was influenced by many bands when I was younger but now I think I follow my own thoughts and create what comes along in a process with the rest of my band mates.

Steve – With Satan we have gone back to our roots which was early Judas Priest, early Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Rush. There are a couple of rairly recent bands that I’m into at the moment but I wouldn’t say they influence what I write. I like Breed 77 which is a kind of flamenco style metal and Clutch and Perfect Circle among others.

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

Brian – Working with SATAN, BLITZKRIEG and METALIZER means that I don’t have much time outside of music these days.

Steve – Yeah, we’re all pretty much full on with our music projects. To relax I like stand up comedy and attend  a few shows. Then there’s the usual reading etc.

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

Brian – I personally think that both SATAN and BLITZKRIEG have the most loyal fans that any band could wish for.  They are there at our shows, and they buy the albums. They are always there for us and we love them for it. SATAN and The KRIEG salutes you. Keep it Metal.