Sons Of Providence/A Conscious End To Suffering/

  Sons  Of  Providence  are  a  band  from  Arizona  that  plays  a  mixture  of  death  rock,  goth,  industrial,  avant  garde  and  stoner  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  album  "A  Conscious End To  Suffering".

  Electronic  music  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  goth  style  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  a  few  seconds  later  drum  beats  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  direction  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that are  present  on  the  recording.

  Electronic  and  metal  parts  mix  together  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  clean  guitars  can  also  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  and  when  psychedelic  elements  are  utilized  they  give  the  music  more  of  a  stoner  vibe  and  the  heavy  riffs  also  get  very  melodic  at  times  and  a  great portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  music  gets  more diverse  with  each  song  sounding  different  and  when  keyboards  are  utilized  they  give  the  songs  more  of  a  tragic  feeling  and  some  of  the  tracks  also  mix  in  avant  garde  and  industrial  elements.

  Sons  Of  Providence  plays  a  music  style  that  takes  goth  metal  and  death  rock  and  mixes  it  in  with  stoner  rock  and  also  get  very  experimental  at  times  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sons  Of  Providence  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  goth,  death  rock  and  stoner  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Complex"  and  "Conscious".  8  out  of  10. 

Chemicide Interview

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

Well, 1st of all thanks for the interview, we appreciate the interest in the band. We've been playing often now and writing new music; we're trying to have enough material to start recording at the end of this year.

2.Recently PRC Music re-issued your 2015 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?

PRC has helped us a lot with the release of the record, we released it on bandcamp on 2015 and we got a really great response but it was nothing compared to what we received when the record was released via CD; it was unreal! The sound is way more aggressive and fast, we tried to get all the elements of old thrash metal bands with a twist of modern riffs and drumming.

3.The band has been around for 10 years but so far has only released 1 split and 1 full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the gap in between releases?

Yeah, so it's been tough man, we started back in '06 but we didn't start really playing until 2007 when we were able to put all the band together and we've been through a lot of line-up changes so we've spent almost 2-3 years without playing or practicing so it was a mess. We've had 4 drummers and 2 bass players since we started and getting the right people to play with you is hard because everybody has their own opinion and ideas so, in a band, that gets complicated but at least in 2014 we were able to find Nash who helped us with the recording and honestly it couldn't have been any better than that. He brought  lot of experience to the record and also we went back to record with Jerry Ramirez who's  the best producer we've ever worked with.

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

I try to write about lots of stuff but mostly focusing on social injustice, greed, wars, chemical mutations and disasters, pretty much the classics man.

5.Originally the band was called 'Conqueror', what was the cause of the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Chemicide'?

Well, we found out that there was another band from Canada that had released a few records before us, so, after a letter and legal advise we decided to change the name to something different, something that people could relate to what we were playing and also think about thrash metal. The word Chemicide is a combination of 2 words: Chemical Genocide. We thought that it was pretty cool and turned out that people liked it so we kept it.

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?

well, our 1st shows were insane man, people used to stage dive a lot and we used to play ground level so no stage or anything fancy, the mosh was the best and since we were so close to the crowd we love playing those shows with the people running around us and enjoying the show just like us. We try to bring 110% energy every time we play because you gotta give to the crowd the best to get the best from them. I think one of the best shows we played is where I lost part of my hearing from my right ear, that was a crazy gig!

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

We've been talking about it for a while now, it's kind of complicated for a band like us to travel to US, Canada or Europe with our own money because Costa  Rica is a very expensive country to live in so the budget is tight. We're definitely looking into options because we would like to promote the record everywhere we can.

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

The feedback has been unbelievably great, I honestly didn't think we were going to have such an awesome response from the fans around the world. We've received a lot of interest from people all around the world, all the way from Japan, Sweden, Finland, Germany to Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua; it's insane but pretty cool!

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

Yes, one of them plays in a heavy metal band but the 3 of us remaining try to keep all of our energy and imagination to 1 project only.

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

We're trying to keep the same style of music, this is the reason why we got into thrash metal, a lot of bands  that I like switched to different genres and kinda fucked up in the process. I'm not saying that change is bad, but honestly, I don't think we are changing the music we make.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I started listening to Punk with my friends, you know, black flag, ramones, misfits, the clash, bad brains, all of that. Then I met Sebastian and he introduced me to Kreator, Sepultura, Pantera and all these great bands we all like so for us, it was really easy to go down this path and try to play music that we could actually write. you know, we're not the best musicians out there man, we're very normal haha, so all these band taught me that the only thing you need is creativity and determination. I listen nowadays to Havok, Evile, Violator, Lazarus AD, Lamb of God and of course every day Pantera, Sepultura and good ol' Metallica!

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Well, I try to do some skateboarding and play football (the real football, the one you play with your feet), Sebastian is an artist he paints, and plays music all day every day, Jorge is a full on gamer, and Jairo lives for drumming man (he tries to play football but he sucks)

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

not really man, I just wanted to thank you for the time you've invested in the band and to all the readers if you'd like to see us in your city, well, help us haha tell your local agencies to bring us over, we're cheap so we don't need a 5 star hotel, with food and a place to stay we're good! This has been great, cheers - Frankie

Vigilance/Hounds Of Megiddo/Witches Brew Records/2015 CD Review

 Vigilance  are  a  band  from  Slovenia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  played  a  mixture  of  speed  and  thrash  metal  while  the  newer  material  sees  them  leaning  more  towards  blackened  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Hounds  Of  Megiddo"  which  was  released  by  Witches  Brew Records.

  A  very  dark  and ritualistic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  guitar leads  that  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavy  80's  influenced  metal  direction  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  After  awhile  the  music  starts  bringing  in  more   of  an  early  speed  metal  style  along  with  some  rough  vocals  that  are  in  more  of  a  first  wave  black  metal  vein  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  early  thrash  at  times and  some  of  the  leads  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  NWOBHM  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Some  of  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  while  the  vocals  also  utilize  a  melodic  tone  at  times  and  while  the  music  is  rooted  in  the  past  the  way  the  band  approaches  this  style  gives  it  more  of  a  modern  feeling  and  they  also  bring  in  an  instrumental  track  as  the  album  progresses  while  a  later  song  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  whispers  and  classical  guitars  and  towards  the  end  there  is  a  brief  use  of  melodic  chants  and  they  close  the  album  with  a cover  of  Bathory's  "Sacrifice".

  Vigilance  moves  away  from  the  speed/thrash metal style  of  previous  recordings  and  goes  for   more  of  a  first  wave  black  metal  style  on  this  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism  and  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Vigilance  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  first  wave  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Satan's  Funeral" "The  Enchanter"  and  "The  Tower  Of  Black  Sorcery".  8/5  out  of  10.

 

Exalter/Obituary For The Living/Transcending Obscurity Distribution/2016 EP Review

  Exalter  are  a  band  from  Bangledesh  that  plays  a  very  aggressive  form  of  thrash  metal  with  a  touch  with  a  touch  of  early  death  metal and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2016  ep  'Obituary  For  The  Living"  which  was  released  by  transcending  Obscurity  Distribution.

  A  very  heavy  and  aggressive  thrash  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with some  blast  beats  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  vocals  are  very  aggressive  and almost  have  a  death/thrash  metal feeling  tot hem  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  Back  up  gang  shouts  can  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  solos  and  leads  remain  very  true  to  an  old  school  style  of  thrash  and  the  whole  ep  also  remains  very  heavy  from  beginning  to  ending  of  the  recording  with  no  soft  or  clean  parts  ever  utilized  and  the  last  track  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  samples.

  Exalter  plays  a  style  of  thrash  that  is  very  aggressive  going  back  to  the  mid  80's  and  early  90's  style  of  that  genre  and  they  have  a  heaviness  that  is  almost  close  to  death  metal  at  times,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  unjust  war,  misuse  of  chemical  weapons,  political  tortures,  thrashing,  evil  and  mass  murder  themes.

  In  my opinion  Exalter  are  a  very  great  sounding  aggressive  thrash  metal  band  and if  you  are a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Surrounded  By  Evil"  "Nuclear  Punishment"  and  "White  Phosphorus  Shell".  8  out  of  10.  

  

 

Infernal Majesty/Nigrescent Years Of Chaos/Vic Records/2016 Demo Compilation Review

  Infernal  Majesty  are  a  band  from  Ontario,  Canada  that h as  been  around  for  30  years  and  plays  a  vey technical  form  of  thrash  metal  with  some  early  black  and  death  metal  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2016  demo  compilation  album  "Nigrescent  Years  Of  Chaos"  which  will  be  released  on  April  25th  and  contains  their  1986,  88  and  91  demos.

  A  very  chaotic  guitar  lead  and  heavy  guitars  start  off  the  compilation  bringing  in  a  thrash  metal  style  and  you  can  also  hear  some  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  when  vocals  are  added  onto t he  recording  they  are  very  aggressive  and  have  a  1st  wave  black  metal  feeling  and  back  up  gang  shouts  can  be  heard  at  times.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  compilation  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  remain  true  to  an  old  school  thrash  metal  style  and  after  awhile  the  solos  and  leads  start  getting  more  technical  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and some of  the  early  tracks  where  also  included  on  their  1987  album  and  some  of  the  later  tracks   go  for  more  of  a  straight  forward  thrash  direction  while  some  of  the  vocals  bring  in  more  of  a  demonic  atmosphere  and  the  whole  compilation  remains  heavy  from  beginning  to  closing  track.

  Infernal  majesty  played  a  very  technical  style  of  thrash  back  in  the  day  which  also  had  an  early  black  metal  influence  and  the  band  was  also  an  influence  on  later  death  and  black  metal  bands,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  demos  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  Satan,  death,  hate  and  war  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  compilation  from  infernal  majesty  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  early  thrash,  death  and  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  underrated  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Night  of  the  Living  Death"  "Into  The  Unknown"  "Hell On  Earth" and  "Those  About  to  Die".  8  out  of  10.    

Sator/Self Titled/Taxi Driver Records/2015 Full Length Review

  Sator  are  a  band  from Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  psychedelic,  post  hardcore,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2015  album  which  was  released  by  Taxi  Driver  Records.

  A  distorted  sounding  drone  starts  off  the  album  before  adding  into  more  of  a  heavy  sludge/doom  metal  sound  where  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  the  vocals  are  mostly aggressive  hardcore  style  screams  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  retro  sounding  melodies  at  times.

  All  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  melodic  post  metal  style  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the    recording  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  in  a  70's  influenced  style  of  stoner  rock  and  later  tracks also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  Sator  plays  a  musical style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  sludge  and  doom  metal  while  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  stoner  and  post  hardcore  to  create  a  style  of  their  own,  the production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sator  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  post  hardcore,  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Pneumonia"  and  "Erased".  8  out  of  10.

Psychedelic Witchcraft/Black magic Man/Soulseller Records/2016 EP Review

  Psychedelic  Witchcraft  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  psychedelia,  occult  rock,  blues,  stoner,  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Black  Magic  Man"  which  was  released  by  Soulseller  Records.

  Horror  movie  samples  start  off  the  ep  before  adding  in  a  70's  style  blues  rock  sound  along  with  some female  vocals  which  also  brings  in  more  of  an  occult  rock  feeling  while  a  stoner  vibe  is  always  present  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  remain  true  to  a  70's  proto  metal/hard  rock  musical  style  and  all  of  the  musicla  instruments  sound  very  powerful.

  On  the  second  track  acoustic  guitars  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  turn  the  song  into  a  ballad  while  later  tracks  show  the  band  returning  back  to  a  harder  direction  that  is  very  close  to  the  original  style  of  doom  rock  and  all  of  the  music  sounds  like  it  could  of  easily  been  recorded  and  released  45  years  ago.

  Psychedelic  Witchcraft  plays  a  musical  style  that takes  early  doom  and  occult  rock  and  mixes  it  with  blues  and  psychedelic  music  to  create  a  very  dark  and  retro  ep,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism  and  Left  Hand  Path  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Psychedelic  Witchcraft  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  occult  rock,  stoner,  doom  metal  and  blues  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Lying  On  Iron"  and  "Slave  Of  grief".  8/5  out  of  10.