Svordom/Forstord Varld/2015 EP Review

  Svordom  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  d-beat,  crust  punk,  hardcore  and  sludge  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  ep  "Forstord Varld".

  A  very  heavy  crust  punk  song  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  angry  hardcore  shouts  and  back up  gang  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  th e musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  all  of  the  tracks  are  very  short  in  length  with  the  longest  one  being  under  3  minutes.

  Element s of  d  beat  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  a  lot  of  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in t he  mid  80's  and  early  90's  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  being  utilized  and  you  can  also  hear  melodies  in  the  music  at  times  and  when  the  music  slows  down  a  great  amount  of  sludge  elements  can  be  heard  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  melodic  guitar  leads.

  Svordom plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  old  school  crust  punk,  d  beat  and  hardcore  and  mixes  them  together  with  a  touch  of  sludge to  create  their  own  style,  the  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  cover  angry  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Svordom  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  crust  punk,  d  beat,  sludge  and  hardcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Karlek  Dodar"  and  "Haxjakt'.  8  out  of  10. 

Nest/Self Titled/Tribunal Of The Axe Records/2015 CD Review

  Nest  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2015  album which  was  released  by Tribunal  Of  the  Axe  Records.

  A  very  distorted  amp  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  slowly  going  into  more  of  a  heavy  doom  metal  direction  along  with  some  rough  yet  melodic  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  that  add  more  of  a  sludge  feeling  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  after  awhile  70's  style  guitar  solos  and  leads  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  retro  elements  at  times  and  the  whole  album  sticks  to  a  very  slow  and  heavy  musical  direction  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Nest  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  traditional  70's  style  of  doom  metal  and  mixes  it  in  with  the  heaviness  of  sludge  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Nest  are  a  very  great  sounding mixture  of sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Born  Against"  and  "Under  The  Sword".  8  out  of  10.  

   

Lung Molde/Self Titled/Caligari Records/2015 Cassette Review

  Lung  Molde  are  a  band  from  Oregon  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2015  album  which  was  released  on  cassette  by  Caligari  Records.

  A  powerful  sounding  bass  guitar  starts  off  the  album  giving  the  music  more  of  a  70's  doom  metal  feeling  and  after  awhile  the  music  also  goes  i9nto  more  of  a  heavier  sludge  direction  along  with  some  vocals  that  are  very  aggressive  while  also  being  melodic  at  the  same  time  and  the  riffs  also  use  melodies.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  mid  90's  style  of  sludge  metal  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  in  a  retro  stoner  rock  feeling  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  mostly  a  very  slow,  dark  and  heavy  direction  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording  while  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  can  be  heard  on  the  last  track.

  Lung  Molde  plays  a  style  of  sludge/doom  metal  that  is  very  slow,  dark,  heavy and  melodic  sounding  in  the  90's  style  of  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  substance  abuse,  depression,  and  self  deprecation  themes.

 In  my  opinion  Lung  Molde  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Witch  Trench"  and  "Skulls  In  The  Acid  Well".  8  out  of  10.

 

Sturmovik/Destination Nowhere/Selfmadegod Records/2015 CD Review

  Sturmovik  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  d  beat  and  crust  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Destination  Nowhere"  which  was  released  by  Selfmadegod  Records.

  Air  raid  sirens  start  off  the  album  and  after  a  few  seconds  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavy  and  melodic  musical  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  d  beats  and  aggressive  crustcore  style  screaming  vocals  that  also  add  in  touch  of  hardcore  style  yells  and  the  solos  and  leads  bring  in  even  more  of  an  old  school  metal/punk  style.

  Most  of  the  music  has  its  roots  in  the  80's  while  also  sounding  very  modern  at  the  same  time  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  bass  guitar  leads  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  mid  paced  and  fast  musical  direction  and  the  whole  album  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording.

  Sturmovik  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  d  beat  and  crust  while  also  having  a  touch  of  proto  thrash  at  times,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion Sturmovik  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  d  beat  and  crust  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Matters  Not"  "Mental  Uprising"  "Trial  By  Fire"  and  "Choosing  Death".  8  out  of 10. 

Hellbastard/Feral/PATAC Records/2015 CD Review

  Hellbastard  are  a  band  from  the  United  kingdom  that  has  been   featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  crossover  mixture  of  crust  punk  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2015  album  "Feral"  which  was  released  by  PATAC  Records.

  Tragic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  and  after  awhile  screams  can  be  heard  which  also  leads  up  to  more  of  a  heavier  thrash  metal  direction  along  with  some  hardcore  style  shouting  vocals  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  melody  and  tremolo  picking  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  added  into  the  music  they  bring  in  even  more  of  an  old  school  metal  style  to the  bands  musical  style  and  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  great  amount  of  crust  and  d  beat  elements  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Throughout  the  album  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  present  on  the  recording  as  well  as  keyboards  also  making  a  return  at  times  and  also  bring  in  an  epic  atmosphere  when  they  are  utilized.

  Hellbastard  creates  another  album  that  remains  true  to  their  crust  punk  and  thrash  metal  style  while  the  music  also  shows  a  great  amount  of  progression  and  this  is  probably  the  most  diverse  album  I  have  heard  from  this  band  so  far,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Hellbastard  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Outsider  of  the  Year"  "W Are  Coven"  and  "Wychcraft".  8  out  of  10.   

Ampmandens Dotre Interview

    1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Ampmandens Døtre is a sludgepunk trio from Oslo, Norway. Born late 2010 and has to this date released 2 LPs an 2 EPs + 4 tours abroad. All DIY.


    2.Recently you have released an album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Dirrty!


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

Anders: Some of the lyrics are very political and placed on the far left side on the political spectrum. When you see the political scene in Europe with the uprise of the right and far right and higher inequality all over the world, it is not difficult to find inspiration. Unfortunately.

Lyrics can also be inspired by characters in novels and films, or mundane episodes that happen in our lives.


    4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Ampmandens Dotre'?

Cancer Bats said it best when we shared stage with them in 2012: Amplified Daughters!

Really a rewriting of the title of the Norwegian novel Amtmandens Døtre (1854) by Camilla Collett. Not to be confused with the 70s feminist folk group.

    

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

The best shows are always those that we have the lowest expectations for. Never fails.

We are loud, hard hitting and energetic. 


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

We did a few shows around the recent release of I Tre Volti Della Paura and have one festival gig coming up. Then we will see what the autumn brings.


    7.The album was released on 'Ampandens Records, is this label owned by the band?

Yes.


    8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge and punk?

Thumbs up! Especially in Spain and Czech Republic where we have toured the most. Luckily, Norwegians seem to like sludgepunk as well...


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

Haven´t really started making new songs yet, but why change a winning team?


    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?

Ampmandens Døtre has always been about mixing elements of hardcore, punk, noiserock and stoner. The influences are many, but nowadays it is the new albums of High On Fire, KEN mode and Fight Amp that get the most rotations.


    11.What are some of your non musical interests?

I run. 


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

That one goes to you. Thanks for reviewing our record and doing this interview with us! Great job.

Hexenjager Interview

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

Hello ! First things first, thanks for the interview ! We are currently working on our first full length album. We're on it since the release of the demo. We're also working for a split with the Italian band Lizard Queen. We keep ourselves pretty busy lately.

2.In March you had released a demo, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

C : The two tracks on the demo are really old now, over two years for the title track. How do we describe it ? Is slow paced heavy shit an acceptable definition ?

F : What he said. The two songs are quite old, and it seemed to us that those were the best songs we had at that time. It's kinda hard to describe the sound, we want to play slow and heavy. I have to add that we recorded the demo ourselves in one day. We like the way it sounds, but we hope to have a better sound on the album.

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

We are total nerds. So basically, the lyrics covers anything that inspires us. It can be movies, novels, horror, fantasy, etc... Classical heavy metal stuff !

4.I know that the band name means witch hunter in German, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?

C : We just like the figure of the witch hunter, and in german it sounded cool. There's no hidden meaning behind that.

F : I think the name fits pretty well in the new doom « scene ». There's a lot of « witch » in band names nowadays, in some ways it can be pretty boring, on the other hand you can almost be sure that you will listen to a doom related band.

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

The one we played with Stonebirds and Burn Society Burn (friends of us from our hometown). It was our best, first and only show so far. We're not really seasonned veterans yet, but we're looking for more ! Our stage performance was pretty straight forward I guess, we played and got drunk afterwards. No fancy stuff, candles or animal skulls..

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

Nothing yet, but we will take any opportunity. We hope to hit the road after our recording sessions.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

Yeah, we're looking for a label. Our next record is the most ambitious thing we've made yet and we hope to find someone to release it. We have recieved a proposition to release something but we don't want to talk too much about it since nothing is done.

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

The feedback has been good so far, essentially outside of France (it seems no one gives a fuck about what we're doing here). We're all very pleased with all the reviews so far !

9.When can we expect a full length album and a where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We have a recording session planned this summer but we can't give no release date yet. If we find a label, we hope to release it before the end of the year.

You can expect more experimentations. But the tracks are still heavy. We're heading towards a more personal sound.

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?

C :The big influences on the band's sound are the ones we have in common : Black Sabbath, St Vitus, Pentagram... Stuff like that. We all listen to a lot of different stuff and it influences us in one way or another.

F : We listen to a lot of different things, from blues to black metal, from rock 'n roll to drone... As long as it's good, I'm in ! Lately, I've been listening a lot of stuff, The Gates of Slumber, Seremonia, Stone Dagger, Townes Van Zandt, Sinister Haze... I'm pretty much always listening to music.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

C : I'm big on horror. Movies, books, comics... And whiskey, of course !

F : Same thing here, as we said, we're nerds so... novels (Howard, Lovecraft, Wagner...) movies (mainly old horror), video games, etc...

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

Thanks for the interview,  !