Strong Addiction Interview

1. For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Anssi: It all started nearly a decade ago, when we were just a teenage guys who wanted to make music. We never made any decisions about the musical style or genres which we should follow, so therefore we have managed to create the style of our own. Basically we want to give unique sound for metal music, and an alternate choice against all the clichés which are running the rock/metal scene nowadays.
Sebastian: Our band has a unique authentic music flavored by metal and rock n sweet ambient of space eternal timeless melodies here to eternity. As a singer i always try to create something new that has'nt done before.

2.Recently you have released a new album, 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?
Anssi: The style of sounds and ambiance on "Anesthesia" is strong, but also soft in a dreamlike way. You can hear the heavy guitar walls, with a strong and ethereal guitar melodies. The vocals in many songs sounds like something you would hear in a dream, with the massive echoes. The production of the ambiance was a big part of the work with Anesthesia. We wanted to shape the sounds to match the visions of the songs, and again we wanted to have rather "odd" sounds than a pop sound which you can find from many new albums. I guess that the bigger investment on sound production differs from what we have recorded earlier.

3.In 2010 you had released an ep but waited until 2015 to put out a full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the 5 year wait?
Anssi: There's many challenges in writing our music, cause there's no certain reference points to get inspiration from. In past five years we have made some 20 songs, and half of them were scrapped, some of them even before we played them live anywhere. I would say that the quality requirement is far more important for us than the high quantity of albums. We also played a lot of gigs in past five years which slowed the writing even more.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Sebastian: I always write lyrics about my life and experiences of my human relations and how i see the world around me. For example those emotions of cold winter nights to hot summer nights to anywhere.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Strong Addiction'?
Anssi: It's a part of human characteristic to create addictions on different things. Many of those things are something that no one really needs, but some "inner voice" makes people reliant on them. Everyone can find their addictions from 'Strong Addiction'.

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?
Anssi: I'd say that the best shows has been those where we can feel that we are one with the audience. When the stage height isn't separating us from the audience there is lots of positive vibes going on. Then we can fully reach them with our music and with our message. I like to go deep into my thoughts while we are playing live. Then I can play some melodies which I wouldn't play otherwise. Other guys are just letting the music flow, and that's really energetic. I guess that everyone are putting their emotions 100% on the show. It's therapeutic in a way I guess.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of alternative and metal?
Anssi: We have received a lot of positive feedback from different people. We are really grateful of it. Of course I hope to spread the word even further!

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Anssi: At the moment we are just focusing on new songs, and I guess we are going to drop a new lyrics video sometime soon. We also sadly parted our ways with our drummer just a while ago, so we are at the moment searching a new one. When we are done with these tasks, we are definitely going to play a lot of gigs with totally new songs!

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future
Anssi: It's good to keep future open in an artistic way. I guess that the ambiance of our next album is starting to be clear. Anesthesia was a bit dark, and as I said "dreamlike", so we could explore other possibilities in our musical style. When I'm writing music, I like to think that it's made for a movie. I can make a movie script in my mind, and think of the scenes and which kind of music would fit in them. So as the Ansesthesia was perhaps a dark sci-fi film, the next album has a lot of different opportunities. Future will show our way.

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?
Anssi: Our influences stem from many different music genres. From Rock, Metal, Grunge,  Ambient, Progressive, Psychedelic, Classical etc. There's even some cinematic features in our music. It's really hard to pick influential bands because there's so many artists who are inspiring us. Personally I listen to many kinds of music, and I also like to compose cinematic ambient music along with the Strong Addiction.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Anssi: I like to do some visual arts, such as digital art and photographing. I also love astronomy, I have read a lot of books about it. It's something I have been interested since I was a kid. I have found a way to create one totality of my interests. For example when I'm editing my photos or making some other form of visual arts, I like to think about different things while working. Sometimes I even think about some big astronomical theories. That is something which then inspires me to make music.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Anssi: I would like to encourage people to search music more widely over genres. Music has become something that media offers with a huge hype and usually it offers too similar artists. That makes music scene a bit monotonous. Music shouldn't be so categorized as it is nowadays.
Sebastian: Keep on following us, cause we are going to hit big soon.

Harmorage Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

Daniel : Since the recording ended, we tried to prepare the release of the album. Even though, we could give some shows in the near of our city. We recorded a video clip too, which will be launched in the next weeks, and we worked on the next shows to defend “Psychico Corrosif” on stage the best we could.

2.Recently you have released a new album, 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?

Nicolas : It's a trash metal album with a hoarse and raw French singing. We wanted to modernize our sound. Our wish was to go further in our trash / heavy sound while bringing things from other styles like from punk hardcore, industrial metal as well as Van Halen styled Rock'n'Roll. Despite all that things, it's trully a French Trash Metal album.

3.This is the first album to be released in 8 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?

Nicolas : First, we wanted to make some shows to defend our previous record on stage. After that, we decided to create a new album. We wanted to make it in a pure "Do It Yourself" way. It takes us a little time to organize ourselves to be the most effective in all of the production part. We needed to create our own studio before to get in the creative part of the album. That's what we love : all the reflection, the composition, the song-writing to progressively get the concept for the album. Then, we had a new member in : Bertrand takes the follow on drums. All the time after that was for the recording process, mixing, mastering and so on.

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

Daniel : We write a lot around human and the individual. It goes from thoughts and fears to the place the human takes in today’s society. On “Psychico Corrosif”, we choose to explore two aspects. The first is the impact the society has on individuals, and the second is people’s reaction that these feelings can lead to.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Harmorage'?

Nicolas : "Harmorage" is a mix of "Harmony" and "Rage". It's the way we want our music to be. We try to explore ambient based sounds to dissonance, and served by powerful and full-distorted sounds.

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?

Daniel : The stage is really the place our music takes place and gives the best of it. Our performances should be punchy and full of power. We want to create an alchemy between fans and us. The goal is to share great moments with peoples.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?

Daniel : For now we are just starting the promotion of the album. At the same time, we are just starting to look after gigs. First we mainly want to get on tour in France and our neighbouring countries.

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

Nicolas : It’s the first time we release an album worldwide. The first feedbacks are good but it’s too early to get something meaningful.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Nicolas : We don’t want to restrict ourselves. We want to get the freedom to explore new sounds. That’s our guideline. I hope we will keep it for the future. Personally, I would like to go further into violence as well as ambiances while keeping in mind that songs must be great on albums, and explosive on stage.

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?

Daniel : We mainly have three influence sources. The first one is in actual metal bands like Children of Bodom, Black Label Society or Die Apokalyptische Reiter. The second one is with old school bands like Slayer or Motörhead, and the last one is with bands from the independent French punk / metal scene, like Lofofora, Black Bomb A and Tagada Jones.
Nowadays, I’m listening to “L’enfant sauvage” from Gojira, “The Gray Chapter” from Slipknot,  “L’épreuve du contraire” from Lofofora and “Confortable Hate” from Black Bomb A.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Daniel : I like art in general. Any kind of art for their freedom of expression purpose. I like history too or simple things like sport for example.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Daniel : I would simply thank you for letting us talk about Harmorage.
Nicolas : Yes, thank you.

Steve Von Till/A Life Unto Itself/Neurot Recordings/2015 CD Review

  Steve  Von  Till  is  a  solo  artist  from  California  best  known  for  his  work  in  Neurosis  and  plays  more  of  a  neo-folk  style  with  his  solos  material  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2015  album  "A  Life  Unto  Itself"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Neurot  Recordings.

  Acoustic  guitars  and  slides  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  Americana  elements  and  a  few  seconds  alter  clean  singing  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  when  violins  are  utilized  they  add  in  elements  of  Celtic  folk  music  along  with  a  touch  of  avant  garde  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  both  finger  picking  and  full  chords.

  Some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  folk  rock  at  times  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  electric  guitar  noises  while  the  main  focus  remains  more  on  an  acoustic  style  and  as  the  album  progresses  psychedelic  elements  and  guitar  leads  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  synths  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  tragic  atmosphere.

  Steve  Von  Till  stays  away  from  the  more  heavy  and  experimental  sounds  of  his  other  musical  projects  to  focus  more  on  a  dark  and  melancholic  style  of  folk  music  with  his  acoustic  material,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  metaphysical  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  recording  from  Steve  Von  Till  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  dark,  neo-folk,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "In  Your  Wings"  "Night  Of  the  Moon"  and  "Known  But  Not  Named".  8  out  of  10.

      

Deathwish Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Bitty: Well two of us play in a band called Wartorn, Ryan and myself, and I really wanted to do a project like Motorhead style punk, better known as motorcharged or speed punk-n-roll. So I  asked Sam to drum and got SC to play second guitar.

2.Recently you have released an album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording? Aggressive Motorcharged rock n roll!

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?              Well population Zero is just about how irresponsible humans are with things in general, so they definitely should not be working with nuclear power. An easy example is the Chernobyl disaster but let’s also not forget two civilian targets that were hit in WWII.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Deathwish'?
Besides that bad ass movie? (well just the first one) The song “Deathwish”  was written in solidarity with anyone who has ever been bullied. My experience was that I grew up in the 70's and 80's and as a child I had my first episode with mental illness in 6th grade . I was also put in school early so I was already small but being a year younger I was usually the second smallest in most classes. Punk and skateboarding seemed to be a logical salvation at the same time (but also put another target on my back for bullies) Now if there was something that I figured out early on is there is one thing a bully hates more than themselves is someone who won't give up, give in, and stands their ground . Do whatever you can to give them hell!

5. What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance? We played with EYE HATE GOD at No Tomorrow Fest last year. We played Crust stock 2 with Extinction of Mankind and many other rad bands. We played a great show with Agent Orange in Green Bay, WI but we also have an awesome time at smaller shows and I’m really stoked about the upcoming shows and tours.

6. Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album? Yea we are touring with MDC, that starts May 1st in Chicago. When we get back we have two weeks off and we tour with RAW POWER. Then we do a couple dates with Dirty Kid Discount and we’ll play Cruststock 3 and tour back home with THE SYSTEM.

7. The album was released on Beer City Skateboards and Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label? Well my old bands Remission, Default and The Droids worked with them years ago and always was a great easy label to work with as the years went by they now do bands like DRI , Die Kreuzen ,Toxic Reasons , Raw Power and MDC . So i feel even though we are a new band we fit in with the label and label mates. I’m old school so these are all the bands I grew up on . Mike does a great job.

8. On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of hardcore punk? Well this is a different for me because with this band we can play a total old school punk show and fit in great, but we can also play a total metal show and fit in just as well. It seems to be a win-win in my opinion because I like a lot of different kinds of music.

9. Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future? Another LP that will be pretty much if Motorhead was a punk band and not a metal band and wrote a whole record of raging tunes. We play stuff that moves, so more raging rock-n-roll.

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? Well Motorhead  Inepsy, Midnight and Disfear would definitely be influences. I listen to mostly old school punk and Motorhead. Although everyone in the band has a different taste in music .

11. Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? Thanks for the interview and see you on the road!

Evil Force/Ancient Spores/Headbanger Force Productions/2014 CD Review

  Evil  Force  are  a  band  from  Paraguay  that  plays  a  mixture  of  speed  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2014  album  "Ancient  Spores"  which  was  released  by  Headbanger  Force  Productions.

  Dark  sounding  synhs  start  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  the  music  goes  into  into  a  speed  metal  direction  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  and  a  few  seconds  later  aggressive  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  giving  the  music  a  thrash  metal  sound  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  music  gets  more  aggressive  and  brutal  and  the  vocals  start  adding  in  more  of  a  thrash  sound  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  while  the  music  style  is  played  in  an  80's  style  and  the  production  makes  the  music  sound  more  modern  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  power  metal  while  the  music  is  too  heavy  for  that  category  and  they  also  bring  in  a  brief  instrumental that  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  classical  guitars..

  Evil  Force  plays  a  style  of  thrash  metal  that  brings  in  the  more  aggressive  side  of  the  genre  from  the  80's  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  touch  of  speed  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  metal,  feelings  and  headbangers.

  In  my  opinion  Evil  Force  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  speed  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Speed  Metal  Evil"  "Burning  Steel"  "Headbanger  Force".  8  out  of  10.

 

    

Space God Ritual Interview

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

Currently we are rehearsing new material in preparation for a new album to be released later this year.

2.In November you had released a new album, 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?

The new album (From Void to Ocean) is heavy, atmospheric and contains some of our best lyrics to date. We also endeavored to expand on our arrangements so you can hear more complex song structures and orchestrated  passages than previous albums. So far, From Void to Ocean has the best production of the three we have released. We produce all the music ourselves, so we are constantly learning how to make our albums sound better and better.


3.Your lyrics cover a lot of the writings of H.P Lovecraft, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this author and also do you have an interest in the authors that have followed in his footsteps?

H.P Lovecraft pretty much invented horror! His stories have monsters, insanity, cults, ritual murder, whats not to love! As a kid, his writing really fascinated and scared me. It exposed me to this world of cosmic horror where man is insignificant in the shadow of mind bend horrors. Can you imagine the effect that had on a twelve year old? As for those who followed him, there are some who have done excellent work like August Derelith, Robert E. Howard and Brian Lumley while there are others who are pretty forgettable. I tend to stick with the Lovecraft himself.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Space God Ritual"?

Space God Ritual's founder, Lee Waldron, came up with the name in high school just before the band was started. I don't know if there is any kind of meaning behind the name other then it sounds cool. Lee's not here to clarify so i'll leave it at that.

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

In the history of Space God Ritual we have played live three times. Each time was during a significant change in sound and direction and the shows were less then excellent. Since that time we have remained a studio band.

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

We would love to play our music live some time in the future. As of now, however, we have no plans to tour or play live.

7.Recently the new album was released on vinyl, can you tell us a little bit more about this version of the album?

Actually our second album, Eldritch Tales is being released and the vinyl are currently available by Kosmik Artifactz/Bilocation records. We have yet to receive our copies of the records, but we know they come in Purple or black and with a gate fold cover. The master sounds really thick and heavy too!

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

So far the feedback has been very positive. Aside from a few lukewarm reviews our albums get some nice praise and we hear some pretty cool feedback from fans.

9.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

As of now Space God Ritual is the main focus for all the members. There have been a few side projects here and there: Alexander and Brendan play in Booze Lords together. But other then that most other projects have been shelved for the time being.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We would like to play a couple live shows and we have our newest album to record which we want to self release on a vinyl format on our own label, Morose Music.

11.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?

We listen to all kinds of things from Pentagram to Frank Zappa. Recently i've been on a Manilla Road kick, and John Carpenter just released his first solo album and i've been really enjoying that too. Mainly, influence for us comes from the books we read and metal is a good vehicle to get our ideas out there.



12.Does Occultism play any role in your music?

Occultism does play a role in the music in a kind of 1970's horror movie/comic book kind of way. If anything it inspires the sort of hokey atmosphere we try to capture. As for taking part in actual occult practices, we have little to no interest.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks for the interview!

Dygitals/Dynamite/Mausoleum Records/2015 CD Review

  Dygitals  are  a  band from  France  that  has  been  around  since  the  80's  and  plays  a  traditional  form  of    hard  rock/heavy  metal and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2015  album  "Dynamite"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  Mausoleum  Records.

  A  very  hard  and  heavy  80's  orientated  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  singing  vocals  and  back  up  chorus'es  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  remain  true  to  an  old  school  style  of  heavy  metal  and  they  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  While  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  80's  the  production  and  technology  gives  the  music  more  of  a  modern  day  feeling  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  hair  metal  in  the  bands  musical  style  of  times  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  while  the  main  focus  remains  on  a  hard  and  heavy  sound.

  Dygitals  plays  a  style  of  heavy  metal   that  is  rooted  in  the  80's  and  has  a  sound  that  brings  in  some  of  the  heaviness  of  traditional  metal  and  the  melody  of  hair  metal,  the  production  sound s very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dygitals  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  hard  rock  and  heavy  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dynamite"  "Sin  City"  "No  Way  Out"  and  "End  Of  The  Story".  8  out  of  10.