Yidhra Interview

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

Well since the release of "Cult of Bathory" we did some touring, played a few really cool local gigs and started writing new material. We also hooked up with Jerome of Arts In Bloodshed Custom Effects to develop our signature FUZZ pedal the "Hexed Fuzz" which we are really stoked about. It's really versatile and has a killer tone. We go out on another tour starting 7/20/2016 and when we get back we're going to knuckle down on the new material and get in the studio as soon as we can.

2.In December you had released a new ep, 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?

I'd say it's equal parts Heavy, Melodic, Raw, Organic, Somber and Angry. The biggest difference is that I played rhythm guitar on "Cult of Bathory" and we tracked it live. It has a bit of different vibe than Hexed but that's about it. When you play the songs shuffled around they all sound good together.

3.Your lyrics cover some occult and witchcraft topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in these subjects?

Sure, we are all really into all things Horror and supernatural. Movies, comics, literature, art, what have you, we love it. But as for myself, the witchcraft and occult influences were instilled in me from the get go. My brother and I were raised in a very open minded and free thinking environment. We were exposed to many different multi cultural belief systems through our mother. She always encouraged us to find our own path and never forced hers on us. She did what she did and only discussed it in detail when we asked. In short, she was a witch. What I like to call, an Episcopagan. A multi-theist with an appreciation for the more  positive aspects of Christianity.

4.I know that the bands name came from the Cthulhu Mythos, does your interest in this also go past Lovecraft and into the other authors that had expanded on this universe after his death?

Of course, Walter DeBill in particular. We have become friends with him through the use of the name Yidhra and he has even commissioned some original art from our lead guitarist Dave K.

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've been fortunate to have played with some amazing bands. Bands like Conan, Crowbar, Bongripper, Weedeater, Windhand, Buzzov•en and more as well as kick ass locals like Behold! The Monolith, Destroy Judas, teeth, chrch, Hornns, Ancient Altar, Pendulous, Wovoka, Colombian Necktie, Trapped Within Burning Machinery, Deathkings, Temple Of Dagon and more. There are a lot of great bands out there and promoters like Daniel at Church of the 8th Day are putting together some seriously epic shows.
Our shows are loud, and intense. We like to keep the show moving you know, not a lot of stage banter with us.

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

Yeah, we're heading out on a 5 day jaunt starting 7/20/2016 and working on getting over to the east coast and Europe in 2017.

7.The ep was released on 'Black Voodoo Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Black Voodoo Records is the metal side of the punk rock label Irish Voodoo Records. They are putting out some of the best local So Cal bands right now. A lot of the bands I mentioned above have had there records released by BVR. Danny is a great guy and he genuinely cares about the scene and the bands in it.

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

So far we have been pretty humbled by the amount of positive feedback and reviews worldwide. Sometimes, even with how connected we are these days, it's easy to feel isolated you know? So when we get orders, reviews or messages from people on the other side of the planet it's honestly pretty great. We are fortunate in that way.

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

We're shooting for 2017. Maybe a split and a full length, we haven't decided for sure on that yet. As far as musical direction, we honestly let the songs dictate all of that. We don't sit back and plan it out like we need a slow song or a fast song etc. It's a fairly natural and organic process. Rest assured, it will be loud, heavy and wrought with riffs.

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?

As individuals our influences vary quite a bit but we all agree on some of the more obvious influences like, let's say Black Sabbath. Dave and I come from a Punk Rock and Hardcore background with bands like Black Flag, Ramones, Adolescents, SSD, Die Kreuzen, Discharge etc. Where Chris and Erik are much more into the Classic Rock stuff.
I've been listening to a lot of ethereal music lately. That and 30s and 40s stuff. But I mix it up pretty heavily. I'll jump from ABBA to Venom in a heartbeat.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

We touched on some of it above. Horror, Supernatural, Sci-Fi, creating art, collecting movie posters, vinyl, toys, comics, books, animal rights and watching the current social and political shit show unravel around us.

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

Thanks for your time and interest in what we do. We are very thankful for the support and exposure. It's sites like yours that help keep underground music alive.


Best,

Ted V
YIDHRA!

Dead Ranch/Antler Royal/No List Records/2014 Full Length Review

  Dead  Ranch  are  a  band  from  Winnipeg,  Canada  that  plays  a  mixture  of  sludge,   post  metal,  punk  and  noise  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Antler  Royal"  which  was  released  by  No  List  Records.

  A  very  dark  yet  melodic  guitar  riff  starts  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  style  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  takes  the music  into  more  of  a  sludge  metal  style  and  after  awhile  aggressive  screaming  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  and  the  solos  and  leads  bring  in  a  touch  of  noise  rock.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  also  incorporates  a  lot  of  post  metal  elements  and  on  the later  tracks  some  riffs  start  incorporating  the  raw  energy  of  punk  rock  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats  and  some  songs  also  add  in a   touch  of  alternative  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Dead  Ranch  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  sludge,  post  metal  and  noise  rock  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  a  mixture  of  French  and  English  and  cover  dark  and  real  life  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Dead  Ranch  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge,  post  metal  and  noise  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ice  Desert"  "Unipolar"  and  "Lenny  Beastman".  8  out  of  10.    

Mos Generator/Abyssinia/Listenable Records/2016 CD Review

  Mos  Generator  are  a  band  from  Seattle,  Washington  that  plays  a  heavy  mixture  of  stoner  and  hard  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Abyssinia"  which  will  be  released  in  August  by  Listenable.

  A  very  hard  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  cleaning  vocals  and all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  bring  in  a  70's  hard  rock  and  proto  metal style  to the  music  while  the  songs  still  have  very  much  of  a  modern  day  feeling  to  them.

  Some  of  the  riffing  brings  back  the  90's  stoner  rock  style  and  you  can  also  hear  a  touch  of  doom  metal  in  some  of  the  heavier  riffs  while  some  songs  also  add  in  a  touch  of  grunge  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well as  a  brief  use  of  steel  and  slide   guitars  along  with  a  touch  of  psychedelia  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  the  last  track  is  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Mos  Generator  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  styles  proto  metal  and  hard  rock  styles  and  mixes  it  in  with  a  modern  stoner  sound  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  real  life  and  occult  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Mos  Generator  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy  mixture  of  stoner  and  hard  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Strangest  Times"  "Easy  Evil"  "As  Above,  So  Below"  and  "Outlander".  8  out  of  10. 

Into the Storm/Where The Merfalo Roam/Alive And Breathing Records/2016 Full Length Review

  Into  The  Storm  are  a band  from  Seattle,  Washington  that  plays  a  progressive  mixture  of  sludge  and  noise  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2016  album  "Where  The  Merfalo  Roam"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Alive  And  Breathing  Records.

  Dark  yet  melodic  guitar  riffing  starts  off  the  album  before going  into  more  of  a  heavier  musical  direction  along  with  some  aggressive  screaming  sludge  style  vocals  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  lot  of  noise  rock  elements  and  all  of  the  musical instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  in  the  music  at  times  and  the  songs  also  take  a  lot  of  90's  influences  and  mixes  it  in  with  a  more  modern  style  while  also  getting  very  progressive  at  times  while  some  songs  also  bring  in  elements  of  doom  metal  while  some  of  the  vocals  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  singing and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow  and  mid  paced  parts  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  guitars  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  a  couple  of  songs  also  bring  in  violins  and  trumpets.

  Into  The  Storm  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  sludge  and  noise  rock  and  takes  them  into  more  of  a  progressive  direction  to  create  a  sound  of  their own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  covers  a  journey  through  discontent,  oppressive  governments,  dystopian  eras  and  the  connection  between  the  cycles  societies  go  through.

  In  my  opinion  Into  The Storm  are  a  very  great  sounding  progressive  mixture  of  sludge  and  noise  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ghostmaker"  "Wellwisher"  "Fell  of  A  Horse"  and  "Where  The  Merfalo  Roam".  8  out  of  10.   

  

    

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!