Integrity/Suicide Black Snake/A389 Recordings/Magic Bullet Records/2013 CD Review

  Integrity  are  a  band  from  from  Ohio  that  has  a  very  long  history  with  a  musical  style  I  would  describe  as  being  hardcore  mixed  with  extreme  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Suicide  Black  Snake"  which  was  released  by  A389  Recordings.

  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  them.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  hardcore  with  extreme  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  soft  and  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  when  they  are  utilize  are  very  melodic  sounding  old  school  metal/rock  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  to  enhance  the  darkness  that  is  coming  out  of  the  recording  along  with  a  brief  use  of  harmonica's.

  Vocals are  mostly  hardcore style  yells  with  some  clean  singing  and  spoken  word  parts,  while  the  lyrics  cover  Darkness  and  Occult  themes,  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 t his  recording.  

  In  my  opinion t his  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Intregrity  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Suicide  Black  Snake"  "Beast  As  Gods"  "All  Is  None"  and  "Lucifer  Before The  Day  Doth  Go".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Ape Machine/Mangled By The Machine/Ripple Music/2013 CD Review

  Ape  Machine  are  a  band  from  Portland,  Oregon  that  plays  stoner  rock  with  some  metal  influences  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Mangled  By  The  Machine"  which  was  released  by  Ripple  Music.

  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  synths  when  they  are  utilized  they  bring  more  psychedelic  and  70's  rock  elements  to  the  recording.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from s low  to  mid  paced  stoner  rock  riffs  that  also  combine  influences  from  metal,  blues,  and  psychedelic  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  70's  style  rock/metal  guitar  solos  and  leads.

  Vocals  are  all  clean  singing  stoner  rock  vocals,  while  the  lyrics  cover  pissed  off  and  protest  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 t his  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Ape  Machine  are  a  very  great  sounding  stoner  rock  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Every  Body  Bleeds"  "Mangled  By  The  Machine"  "Grind  Of  Defeat"  and  "Pay  Attention".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

Magister Templi Interview

1.Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

Check out the music… We are in no way the most interesting thing about us. we’re a strange combination hairy, stinking Metal Heads, like any other hairy, stinking Metal Heads. Our rehearsal space looks like shit and smells even worse. I guess the song Denim and Leather by Saxon covers it, along with a bunch of dusty books on classic occultism.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

Baphomet: Our sound is kind of a mix of classic Heavy Metal fused with proto doom, with a lot of dramatic, quasi-progressive elements added.

3. The lyrics cover a lot of occult topics, how would you describe your views on Occultism?

Abraxas: Rather than seeing occultism as a set of beliefs or as mere Satanism our take on occultism is that it is an ultimate spiritual rebellion against all such set doctrines. The student of the occult is ever searching to challenge his or her view of the world while the Christian/Satanist/Atheist is always looking to confirm it.

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

Abraxas: Magister Templi is the name of one of the highest grades of the 18^th century German alchemical order “Gold und Rosenkreuzer“. The title was also used by the British magical order “the Golden Dawn” as the first grade of their third order, or the order of the secret chiefs of the tradition. Not known to anyone except a select few of the greatest adepts.

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

Baphomet: It's difficult to say which show was the best. We had a blast when we played with Pagan Altar. Those guys has been a huge inspiration for Magister.

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

Abraxsas: Not yet. We have some shows planned in Norway, but nothing more so far. Hopefully people will like our record and book us.

7. The band is from Norway a country known for black metal how would you describe the scene for doom and traditional metal?

Baphomet: The black metal tradition in Norway is really strong and the Norwegian metal scene has in many ways been centered around the black metal culture. Even though Magister Templi is not a black metal band, we all listen to black metal and 3/5 of the members play in Svarttjern.

The doom and traditional metal scene does not have a strong identity like the black metal metal subculture, so it's scattered all over the place. The bands are very different. But I guess the whole metal scene in Norway is more aware of the old gods, bands like Pentagram, Angel Witch, Witchfinder General and Pagan Altar. There is a lot more traditional metal and doom metal records around, but especially when it comes to traditional heavy metal, there are very few Norwegian bands.    

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

Abraxas: So far, so good. We’ve had nice people from all corners of the world saying great things about us.

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

You never know. We started this band with no preconceptions of what kind of music we wanted to play. The whole idea with this band was to write riffs and lyrics with a free mind, without thinking genres. So the songs we have today are a genuine expression of this process, and if we were to change this, we would lose the creative force in the band. 

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

Abraxas: The common ground of the band is that we are all suckers for 70’s hard rock and 80’s Heavy Metal. Lately Slough Feg has been a lot on our minds and in our stereos, apart from that it’s business as usual; Manilla Road, Deep Purple, Jethro Tull and Uriah Heep.

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

Baphomet: Movies, especially the films of Herzog, Jarmusch, Argento, Carpenter and Jean Rollin, and everything weird, like obscure biker movies from the sixties and stuff like that. I also have a degree in sociology, which is a "once in, never out" type of fascination.

Abraxas: Occultism, literature and Home Brewing.

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

Get a bottle of Gammel Opland Aquavit, sit back in you iron maiden and check out our album.

Cheers!

The Moth Gatherer Interview

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

Well, right now we’re just enjoying the release of ”A Bright Celestial Light”. It has been some intense months with The Moth Gatherer, writing and shooting a music video, building up our name etc. But it is fun! Now I guess that we will start thinking about a follow-up to our debut.

2. How would you describe the musical sound of the new album?

I would describe ”A Bright Celestial Light” as an introvert album. It is very personal, intense and melancholic. People have said that the music ranges all from postrock to sludge/doom to ambient. So it is a diverse album, and I think that you have to really give yourself to the music to get something back.

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

Each song is a journey and when you combine them all you kinda get a pattern. The lyrics is about losing someone you love to cancer and how that transforms you. It’s about learning how to continue to live with the loss. But I do not want to get into my meaning of the lyrics, it is equally important that the listener finds his or her own interpretation.

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

When something life altering happens to you it can feel like you are lost in darkness. And like the moth you search for a source of light. With the background we came from we felt like the name The Moth Gatherer really described us and the music we make.

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

We have never played live and we don’t know if we will do it any time soon.

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

No. It is a huge project to bring The Moth Gatherer to a stage, and we don’t have any plans to play live at the moment. We will focus on writing new songs and recording but who knows what the future will bring?

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

When we had recorded half of our debut we sent a track to Agonia Records and they got in touch, awhile later we had signed a deal with them. It was a really good move for us since Agonia are amazing to work with. We get alot of support from them and they really help us and help the debut to be seen and heard! Cheers from The Moth Gatherer to Agonia!

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

It has been great! We are in awe of all the feedback we have got. It feels like alot of the listeners so far has understood the album. ”A Bright Celestial Light” is not an album that you play on a party, it is an album that you should listen to with the lights out and just let the music let your mind wander off. The album is being released this week in europe and in two weeks in North America so it’s gonna be fun to see how it is recieved by the public.

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

I have no idea actually. We know that we will not make an album on the same topic again. But we have some ideas on where to take it but I think that it will become clear when we sit down to write again. But when we have something it will sound like The Moth Gatherer, that’s for sure.

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

We are influenced by alot of different bands and genres but some of the most important bands is Neurosis, Breach and Cult of Luna.
I don’t know what Victor is listening to now, I’m guessing Avicii or Swedish House Mafia or Meshuggah.
As for me, nowadays I’m listening to Baroness, Inter Arma, Ken Mode, Triptykon, Eels, Interpol, The Old Wind and The Konsortium. There’s probably alot more, but there you have some of the bands.

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

Both of us are avid gamers, me more than Victor I think. We also watch alot of movies and read books. And one of my biggest interest is to find new music, so I’m often searching in record stores and abusing Spotify.

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

If you decide to pick up a copy of ”A Bright Celestal Light”, turn of the lights, lay down, turn up the volume and close your eyes and let the songs take your mind on a voyage.

Thanks for paying attention!
//Alex of The Moth Gatherer

Potential Threat S.F Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

Kenny: Mike (singer/guitars), Noel Bailen (old vocalist) and I started the band in 1986.

Mike: Noel is the one who had us on a crash diet of Exodus, Metallica, Kreator and all of those types of thrash bands. He took me to the legendary Ruthie's Inn in Berkeley for the first time to see Possessed.

Kenny: We ended up as a five piece band until 1992 when we all took a hiatus from the band. We reformed as a three piece band in 1999, and have since added a second guitarist, which is the line up you see today.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

Kenny: We are old-school San Francisco Bay Area thrash.

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

Mike: I like to write lyrics that have a little bit of a darker tone to them - things like end of the world, apocalpyse type of lyrics. Sometimes I also get influenced by stuff I see or hear on the news, or details that are on crime shows - things of that nature. You can't help not being influenced by that.

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

Kenny: We used to play parties with a bass player friend of ours, John "Jage" Jacobsen, back before the original line up of the band. We called ourselves PT (short for Power Trio) at that time. Jage went on to attend Bass Institute of Technology in LA and he stayed down there. I had drawn a really cool logo for PT and we were trying to come up with another band name so we could still use the initials PT. That's how we came up with Potential Threat.

Mike: We found out there was an old punk band in England with the same name, so we added the SF on the end. No disrespect to the original Potential Threat, of course.

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

Kenny: From back in the original days, we had some great shows with bands like Slayer, Testament, Overkill, Nuclear Assault, King Diamond - there were a lot of good times back then.

Mike: I think from our more recent tours, we both agree that our favorite show was when we played with Death Angel at the famous Whisky A Go-Go in October (2012). We had never played there, so it was kind of a historical show for us, and the fans were awesome!

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

Kenny: We will definitely tour once the CD is released, but we don't know for sure where we are going. We have toured the States and we have toured Europe, so anything is possible. We'd really like to play a festival at some point.

7. Currently you are signed to Old School Metal Records, are you looking for a label and if so what kind of label do you feel that would be a perfect fit for the music?

Mike: We love OSM Records and Patrick has helped us a lot, but our contract is up after we release this record. We like to keep our options open, but our ultimate goal at some point is to be able to have a label that can help us land some bigger tours so we can get our music out there to even more people.

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

Kenny: We have received a lot of support in Europe and the States, and are now starting to get a bit of a following in Asia and South America, so I think we're doing really well. When we play a show with other thrash bands, the fans really go nuts, and it make us want to play harder for them. We have even been getting responses from people in Russia and India, and I think that shows how far-reaching any type of music can go if the fans are willing to listen.

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

Mike: This is the first album we've released lately with two guitarists, and we started as a three-piece at the beginning of the recording for Civilization Under Threat, so I think we'd really like to explore the use of more harmonies. Don't worry, we're still going to be thrashy and heavy - I mean, Megadeth did it a long time ago, why can't we?

Kenny: We also started writing some news songs in the key of E, so we may do a bit more of that.

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

Kenny: We're definitely influenced by Metallica, Heathen, Death Angel... really, most any of the bands we started with when we were first introduced to that part of the genre are our influences. The first bands that get you into a genre are usually the ones that you are influenced by, and it's no different with us.

Mike: I've had a renewed appreciation for Iron Maiden lately. I've also been playing quite a bit of Aerosmith, Hatriot, Diamond Head, UFO, Dio-era Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne and Exodus.

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

Kenny: I'm into anything to do with history, travel, ancient aliens, science debunking religion, and any channels on tv that have shows like that. Anything to broaden my horizons.

Mike: I like watching a lot of forensic science shows, American Dad, Seinfeld and Family Guy. I love thriller movies and comedy movies as well.

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

Mike: Get yourself some new tattoos and see you on the road!

Kenny: I got nothing. I'm a man of few words.

Axecutter Interview

1. Can you tell us a little bit about the band for those that have never heard of you before?

Hello, we are Axecuter from Curitiba, Brazil. We play 100% Heavy Metal with no modern crap influences. The band started oficially in the beginning of 2010 and we already have three releases: "Bangers Prevail" (cassete-ep, Infernö Recs and Canometal Recs, 2011), "Innocence is our excuse" (7"ep, Dying Victims Prods, 2012). Our first full lenght is available since March 2013, and it´s called "Metal Is Invincible", also via Infernö Recs.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

Some people say we play "thrash" or "speed", but we prefer to say we just play Metal music, raw and straight to the point.

 

3. When I listened to the album and sounds like it could of easily been released in the 80's, what are your thoughts on the newer metal styles that have came out since then?

Yes, that's the spirit of Axecuter, you got it right! Newer metal styles? No, we don´t care about that. What was made in the 70s and 80s is enough for us, we don´t need more.

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

In our lyrics, we put our opinion and our points of view about past and nowadays metal scene and also our personal experiences with heavy metal.

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

"Axecuter" is just a pun, a fusion between the words "axe" and "executer". We wanted a band name which is simple and strong. It fits good to what we need, that´s ok.

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

We did some gigs, yeah, but nothing really enthusiastic. I think our show with Assassin was really cool. Our stage performance is common, like thousand of bands everywhere. Just three guys playing their instruments. We go to the stage, play and leave, that´s it. On the other hand, we appreciate performances of bands such as Judas Priest, WASP, Accept and many more. It means that we don't stand on the stage like a tree, haha! We like to bang our heads and make the audience bang theirs with us.

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

No tours planned. We are a underground band, extremelly underground. We play as much as possible, but not very often, because we have regular lives, job, family etc. We won´t try to make money with the band.

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

It´s being good, really good. Our music is destined to die hard old school metal maniacs only, and all those people are accepting our music very well, we can´t complain.

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

Axecuter is our focus now. Baphometal has no projects nowadays and Danmented has been playing with Death Metal act Imperious Malevolence for three years. We're looking for new bassist, let's see what will happen.

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

We´ll do more of the same, no progression, no modernity, just metal. We play what we want and what we like to hear.

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

We are 100% influenced by the spirit of the 70s and 80s, that old atmosphere. We basically listen to what we are used to: 80s metal. 

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

Pussy, tits, legs and butts. Porn stuff in general. Barbecue and pizza... Eat and sleep. We are not regular family guys and we hate our fucking jobs, so besides metal our only interests are sex and caloric stuff.

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

Thank you  for this interview and also thanks to all old school die hard maniacs around, for your endless amazing support! BANG YOUR HEAD UNTIL YOU'RE DEAD!

Sinocence/No Gods, No Masters Vol 1/2013 CD Review

  Sinocence  are  a  band  from  Northern  Ireland  that  plays  a  very  melodic  form  of  heavy/thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2013  album  "No Gods,  No  Masters  Vol.  1".

  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 h ave  a  very  powerful  sound  to t hem.

  Rhythm  guitars  range  from  slow,  mid  paced  to  fast  riffs  that  combine  thrash  with  melodic  metal  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  along  with  some  clean  playing,  while  the  lead  guitars  are  very  melodic  sounding  metal  guitar  solos  and  leads,  as  for  the  acoustic  guitars  when  they  are  utilized  they  use  finger  picking  to  enhance  the  melodic  moments  of  this  recording.

  Vocals a re  all  clean  singing  melodic  metal  vocals,  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  everyday  themes,  as  for  the  production  it  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  being  a  self  released  recording  with  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on t his  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Sinocence  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  melodic  metal  and  light  thrash  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out t his  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Long Way  Down"  and  "West  Of  Eden".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.