Velvet Six Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?
1. We have been preparing us for the upcoming shows and planning a tour just after the release of the new album. We have also already started jamming on some new tunes for our third album, it just feels like there is a lot of inspiration even though we just finished the second album.  The man point of focus is rehearsing for the upcoming shows, which we are very excited for!

2.You have a new album coming out this year, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?
2. The sound is heavier and the music is more diverse than the first one. The main themes in the first album were pretty much love and nightlife, in the upcoming album the lyrical theme is darker and death is not a subject that is avoided. The upcoming album is a bit more technical and the sound is both deeper and darker than in Dark city Nightlife.

3.This is going to be the first album released in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap between releases?
3. We didn't want to release anything we'd be unhappy with and then there's some other stuff that we cant talk about. There was basically an ongoing creative process for four years, a massive amount of new songs were written but we felt that they just didn't make the grade. We also played a lot of shows around in Finland, we opened for The 69 Eyes in Rytmikorjaamo which was a memorable night. We also had a change of label, the first album was released under Studio 57 and the upcoming one is through Inverse records.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
4. Death is always a fascinating subject, which is also present in the new album's lyrical themes. The occult is also a theme that is presented in Demons Los Divas.Our inner demons and how we have to face them on a daily basis is a matter of important lyrical theme in the upcoming album.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Velvet Six'?
5.We were named hollow before but had to change that for legal reasons,
so we took ''Velvet'' from the song ”some velvet morning” by Lee Hazlewood and threw in the number six.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
6. Every single show is our favorite because we get to perform and play our music in front of a crowd. We love to feel the energy from the crowd and the exchange of energy between the band and the audience. Our stage performance is therefore very energetic and even raw at times. One of the most memorable shows is when we opened for The 69 Eyes and when we played in Semifinaali, Helsinki and Ville Valo was attending the event and gave our show a thumbs up.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?
7. The first show is on April the tenth, which is also the release date for the album. After that we will pretty much be playing every weekend for a time unknown in the future. So far we only have booked shows in Finland, but a tour abroad is very likely in the near future.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of goth rock and metal?
8. It's been really good so far, people have liked the way we have all these different inspirations and how we mash them up to a entirely new entity. Many fans have told us that they like the diversity of our music as well, especially the heavy guitar riffs.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
9.It's almost impossible to say at this point, since we are just releasing our second album. Even though we already started jamming tunes for the third album, it's hard to say where it will eventually take us.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
10.Danzig, Type o negative, Nick cave and the bad seeds, The cult and many more. Everyone in the band has their own preferences in music an therefore take their influences from bands ranging from ABBA to Lamb of god. So it's really a mishmash of different genres of music. Nowadays we listen to pretty much everything, except for ''dansband''.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
11.We have all different interests, some of us like to lift weights, some like gaming, sports and so on. We all like to party though, the nightlife is in our blood.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12. We'd like to thank all of our supporters and associates. Demons Los Divas will be released 10.4 and it will be available in around the world through many webstores, check out our Inverse Records page to find out where to get your copy: http://inverse.fi/wordpress2/sample-page/velvet-six/

Also visit our facebook page and give us a like at: https://www.facebook.com/velvetsixband?fref=ts
Listen to our music at our official Velvet Six Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/VelvetSixOfficial
The new album will also be available in Spotify, so check it out!

Violent Reaction/Marching On/Revelation Records/2015 CD Review

  Violent  Reaction  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  hardcore  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2015  album  "Marching  On"  which  will  be  released  on  March  31st  by  Revelation  Records.

  A  very  old  school  and  heavy  hardcore  punk  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  a  some  blast  beats  being  added  into  certain  sections  of t he  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are very  angry  sounding  hardcore  punk  style  shouts  which  also  use  back  up  gang  shouts  at  times  and  the  bands  musical  style  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  80's  east  coast  hardcore  punk  style  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  oi  and  streetpunk  influences  and  there  is  never  a  soft  or  week  moment  to  be  heard  anywhere  on  the  recording.  

  Violent  Reaction  plays  a  style  that  mixes  80's  hardcore  with  street  punk,  straight  edge  and  oi  to  create  some  very  fast  and  raw  music,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  yet  professional  all  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  political  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Violent  Reaction  are  a  very  great  sounding  hardcore  punk  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Leave  me  Out"  "Death  Threat"  "War"  and  "Marching  On".  8  out  of  10.    

Wino & Conny Ochs/Freedom Conspiracy/Exile On Mainstream/2015 CD Review

    America's  Wino  who  is  a  legend  in  doom  metal  circles  teams  up  with  Germany's  Conny  Ochs  who  is  known  for  creating  a  doom  metal  influenced  style  of  neo-  folk  and  together  they  create  an  album  that  is  more  along  the  lines  as  folk  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Freedom  Conspiracy"  which  will  be  released  on  March  31  by  Exile  On  Mainstream.

  Acoustic  guitars  which  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  open  notes,  finger  picking  and  full  chords  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  being  utilized  in  the  background  which  also  use  a  great  amount  of  guitar  slides  and  the  vocals  are  all  clean  singing  folk  rock  style  vocals  and  the  music  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  folk  rock  and  country  elements.

  You  can  hear  a  lot  of  60's  influences  in  the  duo's  musical  style  and  there  is  also  a  small  amount  of  distorted  guitars  which  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  metal  being  utilized  at  times  and  also  bring  in  a  few  seconds  of  leads  on  a  alter t rack  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  blues  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  slower  musical  direction  and  also  has  almost  nothing  in  common  with  Wino's  more  famous  bands.

  Wino  &  Conny  Ochs  create  an  album  that  brings  out  the  best  elements of  neo-folk  and  folk  rock  together,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Wino  &  Conny  Ochs  are  a  very  great  sounding  neo-folk  rock  duo  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sound  Of  Blue"  "Time  Out  Blackout"  "Dirt  Floor"  and  "The  Great  Destroyer".  8  out  of  10.    

  

Iron Kobra/Might & Magic/Dying Victims Productions/2015 CD Review

  Iron  Kobra  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  traditional  form  of  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Might  &  Magic"  which  was  released  by  Dying  Victims  Productions.

  Spoken  word  parts  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  for  a  more  traditional  and  old  school  style  along  with  a  great  amount  of  melody  being  utilized  and  the  vocals  are  all  clean  singing  while  some  of  the faster  riffs  bring  in  a  touch  of  early  speed  metal  along  with  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  being  and  acoustic  guitars  utilized  at  times.

  You  can  hear  a  lot  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  remain  true  to  an  early  80's  style  of  metal  and  the songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  NWOBHM  influences  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  all  of  the  tracks  sound  like  they  could  off  easily  been  recorded  and  released  more  than  30  years  ago  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of  tracks  that  are  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Iron  Kobra  plays  a  very  true  and  traditional  style  of  heavy  metal  that  is  very  dark,  melodic  and  has  a  very  vintage  82  era  sound  to  it,  the  production  sound s very  old  school  yet  professional  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  cover  biking,  heavy  metal,  fantasy,  mythology  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Iron  Kobra  are  a  very  great  sounding  traditional  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Tomb  Of  The  Stygian  King"  "Spirit  Archer"  and  "Cult  Of  The  Snake".  8  out  of  10.  

      

Broken Lingerie/Lying Words/Inferno Records/2015 MCD Review

  Broken  Lingerie  are  a  band  from  Spain  that  plays  a  mixture  of  heavy  metal,  punk  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  ep  "Lying  Worlds"  which  was  released  by  Inferno  Records.

  A  very  hard  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  ep  and  the  music  bring s in  a  good  mixture  of  metal,  punk  and  70's  rock  influences  but  done  in  more  of  a  modern  day  style and   the vocals  are  all  clean  sung  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  90's  riot  girl  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the songs  also  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

   All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot  of  melody  coming  out  of  the  guitar  riffing  at  times  and  the  solos  and  leads  the  band  uses  also  bring  in  more  of  an  old  school  hard  rock  and  heavy  metal  sound  to  the  songs  that  they  are  utilized  on.

  Broken  Lingerie  takes  a  traditional  style  of  heavy  metal  and  mixes  it  with  punk,  hard  rock  and  a  touch  of  90's  alternative  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Broken  Lingerie  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  heavy  metal,  punk  and  hard  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Mile  69"  and  "Lose  Control".  8  out  of  10.

     

Fossils/The Meeting/Indisciplinarian/2015 CD Review

  Fossils  are  a  band  form  Denmark  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  metal,  punk,  hardcore,  progressive  and  noise  rock  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2015  album  "The  Meeting"  which  was  released  by  Indisciplinarian  and  also  contains  all  of  the  tracks  from  their  instrumental  first  album  but  done  with  vocals  this  time  around.

  A  very  heavy  and  aggressive  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  vocals  that  combine  the  harsher  side  of  noise  rock  and  hardcore  together  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  in  the  bands  musical  style  along  with  the  songs  sticking  to  mostly  a  slow  or  mid  paced  direction.

  Harsh  noises  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  main  focus  remains  more  on  a  guitar  orientated  sound  and  as  the  album  progresses  you  can  hear  a  lot  of  progressive  elements  and  an  influence  of  post  hardcore  while  the  music  is  too  heavy  to  be  tagged  with  that  label  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  the  energy  of  punk  rock.

  Fossils  continues  the  noise  rock  and  hardcore  mixture  of  previous  releases  but  this  time  adds  in  vocals  to  add  another  dimension  to  their musical  style,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  humorous  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Fossils  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Deadringer"  "Ridge  And  The  Rock"  and  "Kofhabit".  8  out  of  10.

 

    

Ufomammut/Ecate/Neurot Recordings/2015 CD Review

  Ufomammut  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  occult  form  of  psychedelic  doom/sludge  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Ecate"  which  will  be  released  on  March  31.

  Psychedelic  sounding  drones  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  a  couple  of  minutes  later  a  powerful  sounding  bass  guitar  is  added  onto  the  recording  which  slowly  leads  up  to  a  very  heavy  sludge/doom  metal  sound  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  psychedelic  sounds  and  most  of  the  tracks   are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  When  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  are  in  a  clean  singing  direction  while  they  do  get  more  aggressive  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  at  times  and  the  songs  also  stick  to  a  very  slow  yet  dark  and  heavy  musical  direction  which  is  also  very  experimental  and  avant  garde  at  times  and  there  is  also  a  brief  instrumental  that  displays  a  small  amount  of  acoustic  guitars  before  closing  the  recording  with  another  very  heavy  track.  

  Ufomammut  continues  the  sludge/doom  metal  sound  of  previous  recordings  while  also  getting  a  more  more  psychedelic  and  experimental  on  the  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  about  Hecate  and  her  links  to  the  past,  present  and  future.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Ufomammut  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Chaosecret"  and  "Daemons".  8  out  of  10.