Arven/Black Is The Colour/Massacre Records/2013 CD Review

  Arven  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  symphonic  and  epic  form  of  power  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Black  Is  The  Colour"  which  was  released  by  Massacre  Records.

  "Believe"  begins  with  power  metal  rhythm  guitar  riffs  and  trad  metal  guitar  solos  along  with  some  drums which  leads  to  the  melodic  clean  singing  as  well  as  some  symphonic  keyboards  in  the  background  and  after  awhile  the  song  speeds  up  a  bit  before  slowing  down  and  adding  in  powerful  bass  playing  and  violins  before  going  back  to its  normal  pace  and  closing.

  "Dont  Look  Back" begins  with  keyboards  and  guitar  leads  which  leads  to  the  vocals,  bass  playing  and  guitar  rhythms  which  leads  to  the  chorus  as  well  as  keeping  the  leads  and  mixing  in  violins  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  the  song  goes  into  a  softer  direction  and  combines  it  with  the  heavier  part  and  adding  some  choirs  which  include  both  male  and  female  vocals.

  "Rainsong"  begins  with  some  soft  keyboards  which  leads  to  the  vocals  as  well  as  having  an  orchestra  in  the  background  and  adding  in  some  bass  guitars  before  heading  into  guitar  rhythms  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  violins  make  their  presence  known  along  with  the  music  getting  more  symphonic  while  also  maintaining  a  heavy sound  and  adding  in  some  guitar  solos.

  "The  One  For  Me"  begins  with  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  keyboards  which  leads  to  the  drums  and  the  song  going  into  a  more  progressive  direction  while  keeping  the  metal  elements  and  after  awhile  male  vocals  make  their  presence  known  as  well  as  the  female  singing  which  both  combine  which  return  leads  to  some  guitar  solos  and  bass  guitars,  after  awhile  guitar  solos  kick  in  while  keeping  the  vocals  and  rhythms  before  going  into  a  softer  direction  and  mixing  it  with  metal  elements  as  well  as  returning  with  leads  and  going  in  a  faster  direction.

  "All  I  Got"  begins  with  some  soft  keyboard  playing  which  leads  to  some  melodic  vocals  and  powerful  bass  and  after  awhile  drums  kick  in  and  after  a  few  minutes  guitar  riffs  make  their  presence  known  along  with  some  melodic  leads  before  returning  to  a  softer  direction  but  maintaining  some  rhythms  and  leads  as  well  as  switching  back  and  forth  between  heavy  and  soft.

  "My  Darkest  Dream"  begins  with  some  ambient  style  keyboards  which  lead  to  drum  beats  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  which  also  sets  the  pace  for  the  vocals  to  kick  in  and  after  a  couple  of  melodies  make  their  presence  known  for  a  few  seconds  and  after  that  melodic  guitar  leads  make  their  way  into  the  song  and  combine  with  the  other  instruments  and  vocals.

  "Cercle  D  EMeurade"  begins  with  folk  style  violins,  heavy  guitars  and  drums  and  after  awhile  guitar  leads  kick  in  before  going  into  a  softer  direction  with  bass  and  keyboards  and  switches  back  and  forth  between  soft  and  heavy  parts  and  there  are  no  vocals  present  with  the  song  being  all  instrumental.

  "In  Your  Dreams"   begins  with  some  soft  acoustic  guitar  playing  which  utilizes  finger  picking  and  full  chords  and  then  the  keyboards  start  combing  with  the  acoustics  setting  up  the  mood  for  the  vocals  which  leads  to  some  drums,  bass  and  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  it  starts  switching  back  and  forth  between  heavy  and  soft  parts.

  "Fireside  Stories"  starts  off with  heavy  guitar  riffing,  bass,  drums  and  keyboards  which  lead  to  some  melodic solos  and  after  awhile  vocals  make  their  presence  known  among  the  rhythms  as  well  as  some  back  up  singing,  as  the  song  moves  on  guitar  leads  make  a  return  and  combine  with  the  guitar  riffing  as  well  as  other  instruments.

  "My  Fall"  begins  with  some  soft  keyboard  playing  and  after  awhile  it  starts  using  a  variety  of  different  keys  which  leads  to  some  bass  kicking  in  and  shortly  after  that  guitar  rhythms  and  leads  make  their  presence  known  along  with  an  orchestra,  as  the  song  moves  on  it  goes  into  a  softer  direction  and  introduces  some  vocals  and  switches  back  and  forth  between  heavy  and soft  parts.

  "Black  Is  The  Colour"  begins  with  some  soft  keyboard  playing  and  classical  guitars  setting  up  the  pace  for  some  vocals  and  there  are  no  heavy  parts  with  the  song  being  a  soft  ballad.

  "Ride  On"  begins  with  some  classical  guitars  and  violins  setting  up  the  pace  for  some  keyboards  and  singing  which  utilizes  both  male  and  female  vocals  and  there  are  no  heavy  parts  with  the  song  being  a  ballad.

  Song  lyrics  cover  fantasy,  nature  and  emotion,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  album  along  with  some  of  the  songs  being  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Arven  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  and  epic  power  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dont  Look  Back"  "My  Darkest  Dream"  "Fireside  Stories"  and  "Ride  On".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

  

The Mezmerist/The Innocent, The Forsaken, and the Guilty/Shadow Kingdom Records/2013 Compilation Album Review

  The  Mezmerist  where  a  band  from  California  that  played  a  very  psychedelic  form  form  of  doom/heavy  metal  and  also  used  Bill  Ward  from  Black  Sabbath  as  a  session  member  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2013  compilation  album  "The  Innocent,  The  Forsaken,  And  The  Guilty"  which  was  released  by  Shadow  Kingdom  Records  and  contains  their  1983  and  85  ep's.

  "The  Forsaken"  starts  off  with  avant  garde  sound  effects  which  lead  to  some  demonic  spoken  word  ritualistic  parts  as  well  as  some  synths  and  the  song  serves  as  an  intro  for  the  ep.

  "Dead  Ones  Cry  No  More"  starts  off  with  heavy  guitar  rhythms  and  leads,  along  with  occult  vocals  and  drums  which  also  leads  to  solos  and  powerful  bass  playing  as  well  as  introducing  the  clean  singing  and  after t he  while  the  song  starts  mixing  in  psychedelic  elements  with  classic  metal  sounds  as  well  as  a  variety  of  many  different  styles  of  metal  riffing  and  leads.

  "Arabian  Nights"  starts  off  with  hard  rock/metal  style  riffing  before  introducing  the  drums,  vocals,  lead  guitars  and  bass  before  going  into  the  chorus  and  mixing  in  psych  elements  as  well  as  going  into  a  more  progressive  direction  at  times  and  the  song  switches  back and  forth  between  leads  and  rhythms  while  also  keeping  the  vocals  all  at  the  same  time.

   "Victim  Of  Environmental  Change"  starts  off  with  early  speed  metal  guitar  riffs,  drums  and  vocals  before  slowing  down  and  mixing  in  doom  metal  and  psychedelic  elements  as w ell  as  mixing  in  guitar  leads  and  powerful  bass  playing  and  the  song  switches  back  and  forth  between  rhythms  and  leads  while  also  mixing  in  a  good  amount  of  variety.

  "Kingdom  Of  The  Dead"  starts  off  with  melodic  guitar  riffs  and  powerful  bass  playing  which  leads  to  the  drums  and  guitar  solos  kicking  in  as  well  as  keeping  a  rhythm  and  introducing  the  singing  which  leads  to  the  music  switching  from  slow  and  mid  paced  while  also  introducing  some  melodies  and  taking  the  song  into  a  doom  metal direction  while  also  bringing  back  in  the  guitar  solos.

  "No  Family,  No  Friends"  starts  off  with  heavy  guitar  riffs,  powerful  bass  and  drums  before  going  into  a  more  mid  paced  direction  while  also  keeping  in  the  slower  doom  sections  and  switching  back  and  forth  and  introducing  some  melody  and  singing  which  lead  to  some  brief  guitar  leads.

  "The  Jam  Song"  starts  off  with  some  powerful  bass  playing  and  drums  with  the  rhythm  guitars  kicking  in  after  awhile  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  guitar  solos  make  their  presence  known  and  there  are  no  vocals  present  on  this  song  with t he  music  being  all  instrumental.

  Song  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Fantasy,  Darkness  and  Everyday  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  the  era  it  was  recorded  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  album.

  In  my  opinion  The  Mezmerist  where  a  very  great  sounding  psychedelic,  heavy/doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dead  Ones  Cry  No  More"  "Arabian  Nights"  and  "Kingdom  Of  The  Dead".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.    

Argus/Beyond The Martyrs/Cruz Del Sur Music/2013 CD Review

  Argus  are  a  band  from  Pennsylvania  that  plays  a  mixture  of  traditional  and  doom  metal and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Beyond  The  Martyrs"  which  was  released  by  Cruz  Del  Sur  Music.

  "By  Endurance  We  Conquer"  starts  off  with  some  melodic  sounding  heavy  metal  guitar  solos  and  a  minute  later  rhythm  guitars,  bass  and  drums  start  kicking  in  and  take  the  song  into  a  heavier  direction  while  keeping  the  leads which  sets  up  the  mood  for  the  clean  singing  vocals  which  leads  to  the  song  becoming  very  old  school  and  epic.

  "No  Peace  Beyond  the  Line"  starts  off  with  a  melodic  guitar  riff  power  the  drums  and  power  chords  start  kicking  in  which  in  turn  take  the  music  in  a  mid  paced  direction  as  well  as  introducing  the  vocals  while  also  retaining  the  melody  and  after  awhile  a  guitar  solos  makes  its  way  into t he  song  on  combines  with  the  rhythms.

  "The  Hands  Of  Time  are  Bleeding"  starts  off  with  melodic  guitar  riffs  and  drums  before  going  into  a  heavy  doom  metal  direction  which  sets  up  the  mood  for  the  vocals  to  kick  in  and  as  the  song  moves  on  guitar  solos  make  their  way  into  the  song  and  combine  with  the  rhythm  parts  and  vocals.

  "Trinity"  starts  off  with  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  which  leads  to  the  drums  kicking  in  and  as  the  music  gets  heavier  the  vocals  make  their  presence  known  and  as  the  song  moves  on  melodic  guitar  solos  and  lead  come into  the  song  while  also  maintaining  the  rhythm  parts  and  vocals  and  after  awhile  the  music  gets  heavier  direction  with  the  song  going  into  doom  metal  and  adding  in  spoken  word  samples.

  "Four  Candles  Burning"  starts  off  with  classic  melodic  guitar  leads  and  drums  before  the  heavy  rhythm  guitars  and  vocals  kick  in    and  the  leads  combine  with  the  rhythms  and  as  the  song  moves  on  the  rhythm  guitars  get  alot  heavier  and  the  song  gets  more  old  school  with  melodic  guitar  solos  while  the  focus  is  more  on  the  riffs  and  vocals.

  "The  Cowards  Path"  starts  off  with  drums  and  melodic  doom  metal  guitar  riffing  and  when  the  drums  and  power  chords  kicks  in t he  song  gets  darker  and  heavier  before  going  into  soft  clean  guitar  playing  which  sets  up  the  mood  for  the  vocals  which  leads  to  the  return  of  the  heaviness  and  goes  back  and  forth  between  the  soft  and  heavy  parts  along  with  the  bass  playing  sounding  stronger  and  after  a  few  minutes  the  song  goes into  a  more  mid  paced  direction  along  with  a  powerful  guitar  solo  making  its  presence  known  a  minute  later.

  "Cast  Out  All  Raging  Spirits'  starts  off  with  an  old  school  power  metal  riff  before  the  drums  kick  in  as  well  as  going  into  a  classic  direction  direction  with  old  school  guitar  solos  being  utilized  which  in   return  leads  to  the  music  getting  heavier  and  the  vocals  kicking  in  while  also  retaining  the  melody  and  after  a  few  minutes  the  bass  playing  gets  stronger  along  with  the  solos  making  their  return  before  reverting  back  to the  heavy  parts  and  vocals.

  "Beyond  The  Martyrs"  starts  off  with  a  heavy  doom  metal  riff  before  the  drums  and  melody  kicks  in  while  also  remaining  dark  and  heavy  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  old  school  heavy  metal  guitar  leads  make  their  presence  known  will  also  keeping  the  rhythm  elements  and  towards  the  end  the  music  gets  softer  with  some  acoustic  guitar  playing  and  there  are  no  vocals  on  this  song  with  the  music  being  all  instrumental.        

Atlantean Kodex/The White Goddess (A Grammar Of Poetic Myth)/20 Buck Spin/2013 CD Review

  Atlantean  Kodex  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  an  epic  form  of  traditional  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "The  White  Goddess  (  A  Grammar  Of  Poetic  Myth)"  which  was  released  by 20  Buck  Spin.

  "Trumpets  Of  Doggerland (There  Where  Giants  In  Earth  Those  Days)"  starts  off  with  a  spoken  word  part  before  the  epic  heavy  metal  guitar  riffing  and  drums  kick  along  with  some  melodic  Norse  leads  setting  up  the  mood  for  the  rest  of  the  album.

  "Sol  Invictis  (With  Faith  In  Fire)"  starts  off  with  clean singing  before  the  guitar  riffs,  drums  and  melodic  leads  kick  in  which  leads  to  the  song  going  into  a  more  mid  paced  direction  and  the  song  mixes  in  epic,  doom  and  traditional  metal  elements  in t he  riffing  while  also  reverting  back  to  rhythms  and  leads  as  well  as  adding  in  a  variety  of  many  different  styles  of  metal  riffs  throughout  the  song.

  "Bilwis  (Sorcery  And  Witchcraft  In  Bavaria)"  starts  off  with  soft  acoustic  guitar  playing  and  sounds  of  nature  and  the  song  is  only  a  minute  long.

  "Heresiarch  (Thousandfaced  Moon"  starts  off  with  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  powerful  drums  which  leads  to  some  melodic  Viking  metal  guitar  solos  and  after  awhile  the  singing  makes  its  presence  known  along  with  some  powerful  bass  playing  before  returning  to  its   heavy  roots  and  mixing  in  some  spoken  word  parts  as  well  as  combining  the  leads  with  the  rhythms  and  at  times  the  song  puts  more  focus  on  the  bass  guitars  and  as  the  song  moves  on  the  music  goes  into  a  softer  direction  with  some  pagan  style  chanting  before  reverting  back  to  it's  heavy  sound  and  also  keeping t he  solo's  and  closing  with  spoken  words.

  "Twelve  Stars  And  An  Azure  Gown  (An  Anthem  For  Europe)"  starts  off  with  a  spoken  word  parts  which  leads  to  heavy  guitar  rhythms,  powerful  drums  and  melodic  leads  before  the  vocals  kick  in  and  the  music  goes  into  a  softer  direction  with  some  acoustic  guitars  as  well  as  more  spoken  word  parts  before  returning  to  a  heavy  sound  as  well  as  switching  back  and  forth  between  the  soft  and  heavy  parts  as  well  mixing  in  some  mid  paced  sections  and t he  song  closes  with  spoken  words.

  "Der  Untergang  der  Stadt  Paasaa  (Flaming  Swords  Of  The  Watchers)"  starts  off  with  some  acoustic  guitars  before  a  brief  guitar  riff  kicks  in  and  the  song  goes  into  a  more  tribal  direction  with  pagan  chanting  setting  up  as  an  intro  for  the  next  song.

  "Enthroned  in  Clouds  And  Fire  (The  Great  Clean sing)"  starts  off  with  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  rhythm's  and  solos  along  with  some  powerful  drumming  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  the  vocals  kick  in  and  as  the  song  moves  on  the  music  uses  of  vary  of  many  different  riffs  and  leads  with  all  of  them  being  true  metal  and  there  is  a  brief  use  where  the  instruments  stop  for  a  few  seconds  and  focuses  more  on  vocals  which  enhance  the  epic  elements  as  well  as  mixing  in  spoken  word  parts.

  "The  White  Goddess  Unveiled  (Crown  Of  The  Sephiroth)"  starts  off  with  some  tribal  elements  before  the  melodic  leads  and  drums  kick  in  which  sets  up  the  pace  for  the  heavy  guitar  rhythms  while  keeping  the  leads  which  sets  up  the  mood  for  the  vocals    and  epic  metal  and  after  a  couple  minutes  the  guitars  vanish  for  a  few  seconds  to  focus  on t he  vocals  before  making  their  come  back  and  the  leads  sound  even  more  powerful  than  ever  along  with  a  great  amount  of  melody,  around  the  5  minute  mark  the  song  goes  into  a  cleaner  direction  along  with  some  whispers  as  well  as  mixing  the  heavy  parts  in  and  returning  to  its  normal  pace,  around  the  9  minute  mark  the  music  starts  adding  in  some  piano  playing  which  also  closes  the  song  and  album.

  Song  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  on  Robert  Graves  novel  on  mythology  "The  White  Goddess",  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  album  with  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Atlantean  Kodex  are  a  very  great  sounding  epic  heavy/doom  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sol  Invictus  (With  Faith  And  Fire)"  "Twelve  Stars  And  An  Azure  Gown  (An  Anthem  For  Europa)"  and  "The  White  Goddess  Unveiled  (Crown  Of  The  Sephiroth)".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.

A Storm Of Light/Nations To Flames/Southern Lord Records/2013 CD Review

  A  Storm  Of  Light  are  a  band  from  that  plays  a  mixture  of  doom  metal  and  post  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Nations  To  Flames"  which  was  released  by  Southern  Lords  Records  and  contain's   Soundgarden;s  Kim  Thayil  and  Indian/Nachtmystium's  Will  Lindsay  on  select  tracks.

  "Fall"  starts  off  with  audience  chanting  before  the  drums,  guitars  and  bass  kick  in  with  the  music  going  into  a  heavier  direction  after  that  which  leads  to  some  clean  singing  vocals  as  well  as  doom  metal  and  post  rock  elements  along  with  a  brief  use  of  guitar  lead  effects  while  focusig  more  on  rhythm's.

  "Apostles  Of  Hatred" starts  off  with  people  sounds  before  going  into  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  along  with  some  melodic  elements  which  leads  to  the  vocals  as  well  as  the  bass  lines  and  the  song  getting  alot  heavier  and  going  into  a  more  mid  paced  direction  as  well  as  mixing  in  post  rock  elements  as  well  as  some  semi  industrial  parts  while  remaining  heavy  and  utilizing  elements  of  spoken  word  samples  before  going  into  a  guitar  solo  while  retaining  the  rhythm  elements.

  "The  Fore  Sermon"  starts  off  with  some  dark  and  melodic  chanting  before  going  into  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drums  as  well  as  some  dark  sounding  melodies  while  also  remaining  heavy  which  leads  to  some  keyboards  and  vocals  and  going  into  a  mid  paced  but  heavy  direction  for  a  few  minutes  before  a  guitar  solos  kicks  in  and  combine's  with  the  rhythm  guitars.

  "Omen"  starts  off  with  some  samples  before  some  heavy  industrial  guitar  riffing  and  drums  kick  in  which  leads  to  the  keyboards  and  vocals  and  as  the  song  moves  on  distorted  sounding  guitar  leads  make  their  presence  known  briefly,  after  awhile  there  is  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  mixing  in  with  the  heavy  riffing.

  "Dead  Flags' starts off  with  noise  elements  as  well  as  powerful  bass  playing  which  leads  to  the  drums  and  spoken  word  samples  with  the  heavy  guitar  riffing  kicking  in  shortly  after  that  and  as  the  song  moves  on  vocals  make  their  presence  known  as  well  as  some  melodic  elements  and  after  a  few  minutes  there  is  a  brief  use  of  harsh  vocals.

  "All  The Shining  Lines"  starts  off  with  noise  effects  before  kicking  into  heavy  technical  guitar  riffing,  drums  and  powerful  lines  which  leads  to  the  vocals  kicking  in  and  after  awhile  the  riffs  get  more  diverse  mixing  doom  metal,   industrial  and  post  rock  rock  together  along  with  the  bass  playing  getting  heavier  and  utilizing  industrial  vocals  and sound  effects  and  the  song  closes  with  psychedelic  elements.

  "Disintrate"  starts  off  with  sound  effects  and  powerful  drums  before  adding  in  heavy  guitar  riffing  which  are  heavily  influenced  by  industrial  which  leads  to  vocals  that  are  in  the  same vein  along  with  some  keyboards  and  the  song  switches  from  slow  and mid  paced  structures.

  "Lifeless"  starts  off  with  spoken  word  samples  and  keyboards  before  the  drums,  guitars  and  vocals  kick  in  which  leads  to  the  music  getting  alot  heavier  and  as  the  song moves  on  it  adds  in  a  variety  of  different  styles  of  riffs.

  "Soothsayer"  starts  off  with  sound  effects  before  the  keyboards,  clean  guitar  playing  and  spoken  word  samples  kick  in  and  as  the  song  moves  on  drums  make  their  way  into  the  music  with  the  song  only  being  close  to  2  minutes.

  "Yout  Are  The  Hunted"  starts  off  with  spoken  voices  samples,  heavy  guitar  riffing  and  drums  which  leads  to  the  rhythm  and  lead  guitars  as  well  as  vocals  which  leads  to  the  music  going into  a  heavier  direction  and  as  the  song  moves  in  the  music  gets  alot  more  diverse  while  remaining  heavy  as  well  as  mixing  in  mid  paced  sections  and  chanting.

  "The  Year  Is  One"  starts  off  with  Rosemarry's  Baby  samples  along  with  some  keyboards  which  leads  to  drums  shortly  afterwords  and  as  the  song  moves  in  heavy  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  and  bass  playing  makes  it's  way  into  the  music.

  Song  lyrics  cover t he  falls  of  government,  religion,  and  nations,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  album.

  In  my  opinion  A  Storm  Of  Light  are  a  very  great  sounding  hybrid  of  doom  metal,  industrial  and  post  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS INCLUDE  "Apostles Of  Hatred"  "Omen"  "Lifeless"  and  "The Year  Is  One".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.    

Dark Design Interview

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

Ray Lewis: The band started forming in 2008; me, Robbie and Mike got together with a bass player named Anthony Taylor and started writing songs. Anthony left and was replaced by Mark Whichard from a band called Jonin. After several months Mark left and was replaced by Robbie's brother Matt on bass. Matt was supposed to be temporary, but he stayed. Finally Andy walked into the practice place and assumed the vocal reigns. Then we were off and running.

The idea was simple, we wanted to play metal and the kind we enjoyed, pulling from all of our collective influences of course, though we shared a lot of common ground.

2. How would you describe your musical sound?

Andy Bertrand: Imagine the technical thrash movement of the late 80s, congealed with mid 90s death metal and got sexed up by the new millennium progressive power metal scene.

R. Lewis: Our sound is like Prego spaghetti sauce it's in there. We've been described as Toxic , Death , Mercyful Fate , and Fates Warning. However we've been described as Iron Maiden meets Iced Earth also.

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

R. Lewis: Andy writes all our lyrics so it's up to him. Some of our songs are based on sci-fi novels such as ‘Dragonmount’ based on the novel “The Wheel Of Time" by James Oliver Rigney Jr., and "Spice World" is about the Middle East situation; the title is an allusion to Frank Herbert’s "Dune" and the “spice” is oil, well if you have read the book you will get the correlations. But all in all it just depends on Andy.

A. Bertrand: Distrust of authority/power, depression, escapism, war. A few of the songs are based on books. I'll listen to the band play a new song and try to feel some vocal melodies or cadences for words. Only our titular song & ‘No Death’ had concepts going into them. The others just kind of occur to me at some point and I go from there. Most of my lyrics are written in “fortuitive” bursts on a Sunday morning before practice. ‘No Death’ is the only one that went through major changes, losing a verse, changing whole sections of words-hell. It was originally performed under the title ‘Trouble Man’. I like using alliteration, wordplay, turning turns-of-phrase on their heads. There are nods to other bands' songs & album titles. I'll make so many references; Family Guy's people will call me for material. At some point I'd like to have a site online where we can put the lyrics and have hyperlinks to explanations of the various lines.

4. What is the meaning and inspiration behind the band’s name?

A. Bertrand: There seems to be a dark design at work in things, mobilis in mobili, a pervasive sense of being socially engineered. The dark designs of the rich & powerful, the intelligence community, down to the dark designs of a man in his mind, the lone wolf, the radical.

R. Lewis: The band name comes from the premise that what we see in Washington and in the media is not exactly what is real. Like the lyrics in "Dark Design" says "Conductor of this dark symphony, never at the podium, always in the wings". There is a Dark Design behind what we see , there is a puppet master pulling the strings behind the curtain.

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

A. Bertrand: Opening for Queensryche earlier this year was a career highlight for all of us. The Warriors of Metal Festival in Ohio summer of '12 was our first real road trip as a band. It was filled with unforgettable hijinks & a lot of calls to the hotel's maintenance man every time the toilet/shower. were used. We met a lot of cool cats, JP from Borrowed Time & his crew was the first friends I made there with their TV/VCR & their Rocktober Blood. Keith & Pickill from Mystic Force were staying at the same hotel & became good buds. James Rivera from Helstar was there too for a late night rock n' roll hotel drink'n sing-a-long. We did a benefit show opening for one of my favorite bands, While Heaven Wept, along with Twisted Tower Dire, Widow and Hellrazor.

Our live show is pretty straight forward. The instrumental aspect of the performance requires the other guys to focus while I do the opposite and just do whatever I feel in the moment. I'll throw out copies of the books we've written songs about, snacks, merch. We have a few songs we favor opening and closing with, a cover or two. We usually play ‘Dust in the Wind’ as part of our set but we've been known to encore with ‘The Trooper’ from time to time. I'll get down in the crowd & share the mic for that one since everyone knows the words & I'm usually hoarse by then.

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

R. Lewis: Nothing major at this time. First thing first, the album needs to drop in September. There are some things in the works currently and hopefully they will be announced soon.

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

R. Lewis: Worldwide we are just starting to break, but fortunately what feedback we have gotten is positive. The debut has not officially dropped yet so it has not gotten around on a mass scale yet. I do understand that a label in German has shown interest in possibly putting ‘Prey for the Future’ out on vinyl, now that would be pretty cool.

8. Are there any other musical projects going on these days?

A. Bertrand: Robbie plays in a hard rock band called Devyce that plays throughout central & eastern NC. I'm currently playing drums for a crossover/punk thing called Vacant Planet & am in two bands with Alan Rueda of Hellrazor. The first is a heavy take on Nirvana, the other features Charley from Hellrazor/Daylight Dies on guitar & Jerry from my old band BlackWatch on bass playing Fastway's Trick or Treat soundtrack. Jerry & I are working with Mark on giving the BlackWatch album we did in 2007 a proper release. We only made 100 copies & barely finished it before people moved away. The three of us recorded some folkier stuff over the intervening years that will make up some of the bonus material.

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

R. Lewis: Our musical direction depends on what we come up with at practice.We have various influences so there is no telling.LOL

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

R. Lewis: Metallica, Death , Slayer , Iron Maiden , Iced Earth , Atheist , Cynic are our influences to name a few.

Right now Robbie is listening to Between The Buried And Me , I'm listening to Redemption and Into Eternity , and Andy is listening to everything

A. Bertrand: Dark Design's music, to me, seems influenced by Confessor, Watchtower, Atheist, early Fates Warning, King Diamond, Iron Maiden. Vocally, I'm channeling Messiah Marcolin, Rob Lowe, Blaze Bayley, Danzig, Dio, Matt Barlow, King Fowley. I don't feel I sound like any one of them but I'll borrow the bits that seem to work.

Lately I've been listening to a lot of Carnivore/Type O Negative, the last two Trouble releases with Eric, Satan's newest album ‘Life Sentence’ kicks my ass pretty hard.

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

A. Bertrand: I play disc golf whenever free with a group that includes Jerry, Alan & Charley from the Fastway tribute, Drew from BlackWatch & Jim from ShadowRealm. I read in my few spare minutes but have been cracking out on all the Star Trek & Doctor Who I've missed in life. 

R. Lewis: Beer, women , movies , you name it.

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

R. Lewis: Our debut album, ‘Prey for the Future’ has been a long time in the making and we hope that people enjoy it. John E Wooten of the band Widow recorded us and Jamie King who has worked with many great bands mastered the album and it sounds pretty damn good. Heaven and Hell Records are pushing it and hopefully the metal fans will like it.

Please go and check us out on Facebook or over at the Heaven and Hell Records various media outlets….See you in the Future. Pre-order the album here: http://heavenandhellrecords.bandcamp.com/album/prey-for-the-future-pre-order

Dark Design/Prey For The Future/Heaven And Hell Records/2013 CD Review

  Dark  Design  are  a  band  from  North  Carolina  that  plays  a  technical  form  of  power/thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Prey  For  The  Future"  which  was released  by  Heaven  And  Hell  Records.

  "In  Media  Res"  starts  off  with  soft  classical  guitar  playing  which  uses  both  finger  picking  and  full  chords  setting  up  a  perfect  introduction  for  the  rest  of  the  album.

  "Dark  Design"  starts  off  powerful  drums,  bass  playing  and  melodic  guitar  riffs  which  sets  up  the  pace  for  the  heavier  parts  which  leads  to  a  melodic  classic  metal  guitar  solo  and  then  the  guitar  rhythm's  and  power  metal  vocals  make  their  presence  known  along  with  some  speed  metal  elements  and  after  awhile  the  leads  start  combining  with  the  rhythm's  and  as  the  song  moves  on  back  up  thrash  gang  vocals  start  coming  in  mixing  with  the  singing.

  "No  Death"  starts  off  with  a  spoken  word  sample  before  the  bass,  drums  and  speed/thrash  metal  guitar  riffs  kick  in  along  with  some  blast  beats  before  going  into  a  guitar  solo  with  some  clean  parts  in  the  background  which  sets  up  the  pace  for  the  melodic  vocals  and  then  the  heavy  mid  paced  parts  come  along  with  the  thrash  back  up  gang  vocals  while  also maintaining  the  solos  and  combining  them  with  the  rhythm's  as  well  as  mixing  in  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars.

  "Abiding  Contempt"  starts  off  with  powerful  drum  beats  before  the  bass  playing  and  melodic  sounding  guitar  riffs  kick  before  going  in  a  heavier  direction  and  introducing  the  vocals  while  keeping  the  melodic  elements  as  the  song  moves  on  death/thrash  growls  make  their  way  into  the  song  for  a  few  seconds  along  with  the  gang  vocals  while  focusing  more  on  the  power/thrash  elements  which  sets  up  the  pace  for  the  bass  and  guitar  leads  which  utilize  alot  of  classic  metal  melodies  and  the  rhythm's  start  mixing  in  some  modern  metal  elements  with  the  old  school  parts.

  "Welcome  To  Your  Doom"  starts  off   with  a  powerful  bass  lead  before  the  heavy  guitar  rhythm's  and  drums  kick  in  which  sets  up  the  mood  for  the  vocals  which  mix  power  and  thrash  metal  together   with  the  gang  shouts  and  then  the  song  starts  adding  in  melodic  guitar  solos  with  the  heavy  rhythm's.

  "Dragonmount"  starts  off  with  a  spoken w ord  sample,  before  the  bass,  drums  and  guitar  riffs  kick  which  sets  up  the  mood  for  the  singing  and  gang  vocals  before  speeding  up  and  adding  in  thrash  elements  along  with  some  heavy  mid  paced  sections,  after  awhile  a  melodic  guitar  solo  makes  it's  way  in  the  song  while  still  maintaining  the  rhythm  parts and  going  into  a  slower  but  still  heavy  direction  before  speeding  up  again  and  adding  in  blast  beats  towards  the  end.

   "Meditations"  starts  off  with  a  melodic  guitar  solos  along  with  some  drums,  bass  and  guitar  rhythm's  which  takes  the  music  into  a  speed  metal  direction  before  slowing  down  getting  heavy  with  vocals  that  combine  power  and  thrash  metal  together  while  also  speeding  up  at  times  as  well  as  switching  back  and  forth  between  slow  and  heavy  parts.

  Spice  World"  starts  off  with  heavy  guitar  riffs,  powerful  drums  and  melodic  guitar  leads  before  going  into  a  speed  metal  direction  and  mixing  in  power/thrash  vocals  while  also mixing  in  powerful  bass  lines  and  a  brief  use  of  deep  growls  and  then t he  music  slows  down  but  remains  heavy  with  another  solo,  after  awhile  a  classical  guitar  comes  in  and  the  music  goes  into  a  cleaner  direction  while  keeping  the  solos  before  going  back  to  the  heavier  elements.

  "Dust  In  The  Wind"  which  is  a  Kansas  cover  starts  off  with  soft  acoustic  guitar  playing  before  the  drums  and  heavier  guitars  kick  in  which  sets  up  the  pace  for  the  bass  playing  and  melodic  guitar  solos  and  then t he  vocals  make  their  presence  known  while  also  mixing  the  soft  and  heavy  elements  together  as  well  as  rhythms  and  leads  combining.

  Lyrics  on  the  album  cover  darkness  and  fantasy  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy,  old  school  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  with  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Dark  Design  are  a  very  great  sounding  technical,  power/thrash  metal band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dark  Design"  "Welcome  To  Your  Doom"  and  "Dust  In  The  WInd".  RECOMMENDED  BUY.