Howling Giant Interview

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

We're 3 dudes that write about space, mythical monsters, and whatever the hell else we feel like writing about.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?

We tend to pull influence from all over the place, so this EP has a bit of doom, fuzz, prog rock, thrash, and of course stoner rock all wrapped up in a space blanket.

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

With our debut EP, we wrote about space travel, doomed seafarers, and a sentient android hellbent for a camel killing death crusade. This time around, we are opening up a story about the last of the human race and their struggle against the Black Hole Space Wizard.
Most of the time we keep to sci-fi themes, but try to write lyrics that people can interpret however they like.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Howling Giant'?

Howling Giant sounds a lot like a loud beast, which is what we strive to do musically. We aim to create a full sound that people might normally expect from a five-piece rather than a power-trio. The inspiration originally came from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

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 really love playing at the Springwater Supper Club in Nashville, TN. Its a tiny dive bar, but every show we've played has been very fun and you never know what will happen next at that place. We also like playing Asheville, NC because there are always enthusiastic show-goers and a lot of breweries to hit before the show.

Stage performance wise, we are very energetic. No one going to a rock show wants to see the band standing around and not feeling their own music, right?

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

We are playing a bunch locally over the next few months in Nashville and the surrounding area. We'll also get back on the weekend tour train within the next few months. Nashville is pretty central, so we can cover a bunch of ground in a weekend in our hearse.

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

We aren't necessarily looking for a label right now because we've been able to do most of the booking/recording/everything else ourselves, though if the right offer comes along, we will certainly consider it!

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

The feedback has been great! We can't wait to get over to Europe because thats actually where we've seen the biggest positive response.

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

We'll continue to write whatever we're feeling. It will all stay within the confines of rock/metal, but we'll keep pulling influence from all over. The concept of the next few albums will really drive the overall mood of the music.

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?

We have such a wide range of influence between the 3 of us. We can always jam some Mastodon, Baroness, Truckfighters, and Red Fang, but don't think we won't get down to some Erykah Badu every once and a while.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Beer. Tom and Zach work at a local brewery, Tennessee Brew Works and Roger enjoys sitting and drinking said beer. Roger also tends to be a culinary genius every once and a while.

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

Just a huge thanks to everyone for the great response on the EP so far! Can't wait to release the future installments.
https://howlinggiant.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/howlinggiant/

 

Sonic Wolves/Before the End Comes/Taxi Driver Records/2016 CD Review

  Sonic  Wolves  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  blues  and  stoner  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2016  album  "Before  The  End  Comes"  which  was  released  by Taxi  Driver  Records.

  Marching  and  folk instruments  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  direction  along  with  a  mixture  of  both  female  and  male  vocals  and  you  can  also  hear  a  lot of  90's  stoner  rock elements  in  the  music  along  with  the  heaviness  of  metal  and  the  raw  energy  of  punk  rock.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  some  of  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  70's  proto  metal  but  done  in  more  of  a  modern  fashion  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of t he  riffs  and  guitar  leads  also  bring  in  elements  of  blues  rock  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks a re  long  and  epic  in  length. 

  Sonic  Wolves  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to the  blues  orientated  stoner  rock  style  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  occult  themes.

  In  my opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Sonic  Wolves  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  stoner  rock,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Geronimo"  "Wolfwitch"  and  "Freedom  Is  The  Devil".  8  out  of  10.

These Winds Are Not Hope Interview

*1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
These Winds Are Not Hope is a new band, a side project that I've started working on few years back while playing with my band, Timesand. We have released our debut album "Yesterday's Ghosts" a couple of months ago. Marc is on vocals, Miroslav on bass guitar and me on rhythm guitars.

*2.Recently you have released your first full length, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
I would say heavy metal with a lot of melodic doom metal guitar elements and clean vocals.We wanted to have an album with lots of harmonies, both instrumental and vocal, there are some parts where we have recorded more than five guitar lines. It is melodic, it is heavy and is full of emotion.

*3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your music?
Yesterday's Ghosts is a concept album, the subject is about the Kubler-Ross model, or the five stages of grief, each song representing one stage: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'These Winds Are Not Hope'?
With the name, we tried to be original as we can be. It is the perspective of anyone lost in the downward spiral of depression, apathy or lack of confidence. If we prolong the negative feelings and emotions, we will not think of, or see a way out. We have to focus on whatever lies within our power, and just let go of what is
beyond our control.

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


*6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
It would be awesome if we can have Marc fly to Macedonia so we can do few gigs.

*7.So far you have worked with 'Kran Records' and 'Sepulchral Silence Records' are you happy with the support both labels have given you so far?
We're totally satisfied with their support. Kran Records are distributing our music in a physical disc format, while Sepulchral Silence are doing the digital distribution worldwide, on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, and more.

*8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of gothic and doom metal?
The feedback has been fantastic. We gained a lot of fans and people showing interest in our music. Although, some doom metal fans were expecting different kind of doom, and the heavy metal fans something more upbeat and with a faster tempo.

*9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a a part of?
My main band, Timesand is recording the material for our debut album, Marc, mostly is on tour with his bands, Miroslav is engaged with his other new local death metal band.

*10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We might try something more mellow, more vocals and keyboards, less accent on the guitar lines, as it is the case with "Yesterday's Ghosts".

*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?
I would say our music is influenced by bands that we have grown up with, Iron Maiden, My Dying Bride, Anathema.. Personally, most of the music that I listen to are older albums. Newly released stuff that I can mention is by Tesseract, Port Noir, Ihsahn..

*12.What are some of your non musical interests?
I love hiking and reading books.

*13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words orthoughts?
I would like to thank you for this interview and helping out promoting our band to the world. Stay heavy!

Howling Giant/Black Hole Space Wizard: Part 1/2016 EP Review

  Howling  Giant  are  a  band  from  Nashville,  Tennessee  that  plays  a progressive  form  of  stoner  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released 2016  ep  "Black  Hole  Space  Wizard:  Part  One"  which  will  be  released  in  August.

  A  very hard  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  and  also  introducing  psychedelic  elements  onto  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  the  vocals  are  done  in  a  clean  singing  style  while  the  riffs  add  in a   touch  of  doom  metal.

  While  the  music  does  have  a  great  amount  of  retro  60's,  70's  and  90's  elements  it  still  sounds  very  modern  at  the  same  time  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  there  are  also  synths  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  all of t he  tracks  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  one  song  adds  in  elements  of  punk  rock  and  thrash  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Howling  Giant  plays  a  style  of  stoner  rock  that  is  very  progressive  while  also  adding  in  psychedelic  touches  along  with  influences  of  punk,  thrash  and  doom  metal  to  create  a  sound  of their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  science  fiction  themes.    

  In  my  opinion  Howling  Giant  are  a very  great  sounding  progressive  stoner  rock  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Mothership"  and  "Ditmouth".  8  out  of  10.

Mortal Strike Interview

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

Greetings Mate! Sorry for the long time to answer, has been a busy Summer with Tours in Bosnia,Croatia,Hungary,Czech Republic,Austria and Germany.
After the Summer we will continue of work on our Second Album to be released as soon as it's finished! Probably beginning of 2017.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?
Rough,Raw,Fast,Loud & Aggressive!

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
We're not big fans of our society so we like to dab in to Social Criticism. And we also like to explore Historic Events in our songs, like the fall of Julius Caesar in "Unleash the Hounds of War" or the landing in the Normandy in World War II in "MG42".

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Mortal Strike"?
In german we say "Name ist Programm", which roughly translates to "The name says it all" or "The name reflects it's program"
It should reflect the music. It's straight in your face! :)

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
I would say, as many live reviews has pointed out, that we're very energetic, have an insane amount of power on stage and that you can really feel that we enjoy what we're doing and that, that musical enthusiasm is very contagious.
I think the Wacken Open Air Show in 2011 will always be very special to me. But the Metal Champ Final in Szene Wien was of the hook aswell. Same as our first gig with Tankard, first gig with Exodus. We loved every one of our shows, even if there were only 10 people there. Then we will play even louder for those 10!

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Still have quite alot planed this year with gigs on 2 Festivals in Hungary & Austria. We just came back from a tour of Bosnia,Croatia,Hungary,Czech Republic,Austria & Germany. And next year we're planing a new tour into the Eastern European countries.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
We are unsigned yes, and yes we are looking for a label. But not any label just to have a label.
We would really like a label who we could work well with. Not just someone who sells our merch and gets 20%, we can do that on our own. A nice partnership were we could both reap the benefits of cooperation.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of thrash metal?
Absolutely overwhelmingly positive! It's absolutely amazing to hear good stuff anywhere you go. It so awesome!

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?
It's just Dominique who plays in a second Band called Locracy. And they are still going strong! Good Technical Death Metal Band! Check them out.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We will try to maintain true to what we do, without getting boring :) We said it from the start and we will keep saying it:
"For the Loud and the Aggressive!"

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?
It has to be the Teutonic 4: Sodom,Destruction,Tankard and Kreator. And I am still listening to them to this day :)

12.What are some of your non musical interests?
Haha, I'm very fond of cooking and reading.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
All good! Thank you very much for the Interview, it's been a pleasure!



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Tamoanchan/Tlamatinime/Sepulchral Silence Records/2016 Full Length Review

  Tamoanchan  are  a  solo  project  from  Mexico  that  plays  a  mixture  of  folk  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2016  album  "Tlamatinime"  which  was  released  by  Sepulchral  Silence  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  distorted  drone  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  ethnic  and  nature  sounds  a  few  seconds  later  as  well  as  some  acoustic  guitar  playing  which  also  evolved  into  a  heavier  style  while  also  mixing  in  the  ethnic  elements  in  with  a  doom  metal  style  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  clean  singing.

  Elements  of  folk  music  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sound  very  powerful  and  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  sludge  style  screams  can  also  be  heard  in  the  background  at  times  and  the  music  also  adds  in  a  great  amount  of  stoner  influences.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  bring  in  even  more  of  a  melodic  style  to  the  songs and  some  tracks  also  add  in  touches  of  Native  American  music  along  with  some  ritualistic chanting  and  spoken  word  parts  being  utilized  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  some of  the  songs  start  incorporating  more  psychedelic  elements  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction. 

  Tamoanchan  plays  a  music  style  that  takes  stoner  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  it  together  with  the  tribal  Native  American  folk  music  of  his  home  country  to  create  something  very  original, t he  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Spanish  and  cover  Olmec,  Aztec  and  Mayan  Mythology.

  In  my  opinion  Tamoanchan  are  a  very  great sounding  mixture  of  folk  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Tezcatlanextia"  and  "Teohuatia".  8  out  of  10. 

Forsaken Peddlers Interview

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

Alexandre: After a year of hiatus between april 2014 and march 2015, we decided to bring back Forsaken Peddlers to life, with a revamp line-up, with my brother Christophe on drums (ex FatumElisum), still Hugo on guitars and me on bass guitar and singer. Since that time, we worked hard on brand new songs, three of them are almost finished. This process was quite long, but we decided to take care on more details and atmospheres. We played our first gig in our home town, Rouen, with this new line-up last April with Hell and Deveikuth, and we played once again in Rouen in June. We are still focus on the writing process for the next album.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the album?

It’s always hard to explain thyself our music, but I’d rather present it as epic doom metal, mainly influenced by the references of that style of doom metal, with some influences coming from heavy metal and traditional doom metal.

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

On Songs of Fate and Freedom, I decided to explore historical themes, the song “The Brave” is about William Wallace, and the song “The Conqueror” is about Guillaume le Conquérant. The idea was to have some epic themes on that record. But the others songs are focused on societal topics: for example, All Shall Fall is about the about the riot that happened in 2010 in London.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Forsaken Peddlers'?

Since the Middle Age to the nineteenth century, the peddlers were the men who wandered from villages to villages bringing some news about the world to the villagers and selling some stuff. They talked about some historical heroes, and, in France during the second leg of the eighteenth century, they spread the ideals of French philosophers in the countryside, which was an important fact for the rise of the French Revolution. That was the main idea when bringing this name for the band, dealing with topics about historical facts and describing nowadays society. That will be the main topics for the news songs.

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

We did not play so much gigs since the beginning of the band. But since our return on stage, I think the last two ones were the most enjoyable, because we played in front of friends, we played the new songs and to see the responses of the crowd was fine, and, we did a cover of Gates of Vallhala from Manowar, a song that is very fun to play. It’s hard to describe our stage performances, as its something very personal for the three of us. We try to enjoy our time on stage and to share our music with the crowd.

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

We haven’t yet any touring or show plans for the future; we are mostly focused on the writing process of the new songs. But we would like to play the more gigs we can.

7.Heathen Tribes are re-issuing your 2014 album on cassette, what are your thoughts on the final product?

As it is not released yet, I can’t tell you about the final product but I’m very confident about the result. Nicholas and Teo are very passionate and I’m sure they did the best for us. More over, HéloïseLaugier, a well talented person and a good friend of mine, did the artwork and her work was very good, as always.

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

We have little feedback about our music from foreign fans of doom metal, but the few one were quite good. I think the release of the cassette will help spreading our music, as Heathen Tribes are doing a good promoting job.

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

Christophe, Hugo and I used to play in FatumElisum, but the band split up two years ago.
Hugo plays guitar in Ataraxie, a well-known Frenchdoom death metal band since two years.
Hugo and I play in Malemort, with Nemery from Sordide, a brand new extreme doom metal band, since a year, we will record our first demo during this summer.
Christophe and I play together in a rock band called Ormesis.
I play in Mhönos, we’ve just recorded our second album, LXXXVII.

10.When can we expect new music and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

As said before, we worked on new songs since a year. Three songs are mostly finished, “The Rearguard of the Deposed”, “Ode to the Blind Citizens” and “Peerless”, and we have some new materials for more songs. We would like to take our time to be well satisfied with our work. I hope it will not take many years to record something new. It’s hard to describe something new, but you could expect something more epic and more powerful. You have to be patient.

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?

The main goal when founding the band six years ago was to play epic doom metal to play tribute to the old ones like Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, Solstice, Warning and Griftegard, to name a few, and also epic metal bands like Manowar (Ross the Boss era), Manilla Road, Primordial and Bathory. These are the main influences, and perhaps some Original Soundtrack like Basil Pouledoris’s Conan OST. As the years passed, we are proud to still play that kind of doom metal, heavily rooted in heavy metal, as it is not so well appreciated since many years.   

In Forsaken Peddlers, we listen to many things from metal, to rock and classical music. So it will be endless giving you a list of what we listen to. But I would notice that the demo “To Sol a Thane“from Solstice and the demo from Dautha, the new project Ola Blomkvist from Griftegard, are on heavy rotations since a month and are solid epic doom metal releases.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

I ‘m very found of literature, history and society’s topics. Watching the decay of post modern and neo liberal society is my main inspiration for Forsaken Peddlers.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
I would like to thank you for this interview.
Doom or be doomed!