Alastor Interview

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

Alastor is an entity born out of our love for heavy riffs, horror films, the occult and our hate towards the modern society and life in general. Alastor is our way to portrait that horror flick that your parents always told you that you could not see but you watched secretly anyways even if it scared you shitless.

2.You have an ep coming out in March, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Imagine being submerged in quicksand while on drugs.

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

Personally I have always been drawn to the occult. Be it music or movies and art, there’s just something about the dark realms of the human mind that plucks a string inside of me. I guess that part of my interest lies in the fact that the occult is considered taboo and forbidden. 

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

Well obviously it comes from the Harry Potter character ”Alastor Moody”. Or maybe it doesn’t..

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 haven’t played that many shows but they have all been memorable in some way. But if I had to say just one it would have to be our latest gig in Malmö since the release of the ”Black Magic” single. When we started playing Black Magic people actually came up to the stage and sang along with the lyrics, it was surreal to us. As far as stage performance goes its difficult to answer from the perspective of someone on stage. I try not to think to much when we play, I just want to get completely lost inside the volume and distortion for a short period of time.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans once the ep is released?

Nothing written in stone yet but we have some plans that hopefully will come through. Otherwise we will try and play as much as possible anywhere where theres a stage and a stack of amps.

7.The ep is coming out on 'Twin Earth Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Twin Earth Records approached us after we released the single on our bandcamp and wanted to release the rest of the EP. Ric who runs the label is a really great guy that cares for the bands that are on the label. If you want more great music you should check out Haunted and their self titled debut album that Twin Earth released. Really solid doom heaviness on that record.

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

Overall very positive. Its crazy to think that people on the other side of the earth is sitting and listening to our music and enjoy it. I don’t think any one of us could have imagined that when we started this band.

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

Wherever the music takes us. We try not to limit ourselves too much although we have no intention of doing something totally bizarre and unique. We just want to play loud heavy 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?

We all listen to various kinds of music. All from Hank Williams to Kikagaku Mojo to Entombed and Hellhammer. Personally I think all good music and artists inspire me in some way just not necessarily sonically.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

The occult, horror movies, the usual stuff that distracts us from the strains of life. Alastor is in many ways our way of coping with all the stupidity and chaos that exists in this world that we are unwillingly born in.

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

Thank you for the interview! Die in fire!

Nula Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band? We formed band in late 2013, we’re from Belgrade, Serbia and basically, we gathered around the love for heavy riffs and mighty grooves. We came from different musical backgrounds including death, thrash, sludge metal and hardcore punk but were united by our common passion for aggressive, raw and essentially emotional sound and intense live delivery.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings? We are not into putting labels on stuff, but the best way to describe our music would be as a mixture of sludge, doom and post metal, with a hardcore approach. Although the music is dominated by heavy, groove oriented riffs, we also throw in some moody passages to emphasize the atmosphere from time to time, and are absolutely hell bent on drawing the listener to a specific emotional state that makes him question his own inner space and mindset (that’s maybe caused by our local musical influences, traditionally seen as emotionally intense).

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music? The goal is always to be as sincere and as personal as possible, cause it’s the only way to feel the emotional and mental release that comes with playing this kind of music. Lyrical themes are mainly tied to personal inner struggles and often convey a pessimistic worldview that is in itself a call to strength, a form of expressing our protest against all that is predetermined.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Nula'? Nula means 'zero' in Serbian and for us, the name symbolizes a state of perfection and internal/external balance, a 'clean slate' so to say, a feeling of fulfillment that is reached through emptying one's mind. Or something like 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? All of the band members have their own favorites, so it’s hard to say. In most cases, the more ‘personal’ the show, the better. At most times, it just feels more natural and easy going to play clubs then, for instance, festivals, cause the vibe is clearer and the exchange between the people and the band is more intense.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future? We would be thrilled to have the opportunity to promote this EP live as much as possible. A tour around Serbia is almost certain, and it would be great to visit other Balkan countries and hopefully Europe.

7.So far you have worked with 'Grim Reaper' and 'Black Bow Records, are you happy with the support these labels have given you? Having in mind that both labels are basically more or less underground and conceived on the basis of love for the music and not financial success, we were and are perfectly satisfied with the treatment we were given, cause we always considered ourselves to be a DIY, independent band, centered around the love for the groove and the pursuit for, so to say, a perfect personal expression and complete artistic freedom.

 8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge metal? We’ve received great feedback from fans and reviewers/critics alike and are basically happy with the way things are developing. We hope that people will dig our vibe and that the fan base will grow.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future? We try not to confine ourselves to a certain genre and we are always looking for new ways to expand our musical expression. Most of our songs are conceived through jamming which allows us to experiment a lot. Currently our sound is evolving towards being more atmospheric but without leaving out the skull crushing riffage.

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 we already said, we come from different musical backgrounds so that is kind of a hard question for us to answer. Our main influences include Neurosis, Crowbar, Down and a local band called Bjesovi (check them out). We are also influenced by other genres like electronica, industrial, post punk, ambient and of course good old seventies heavy rock.

11.What are some of your non musical interests? Pork, beer, hard liquor, harder synthetic drugs, fine arts, philosophy, and a strong breakfast. Also, contemplating the noose and promiscuous women.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? Life is death, death is life, but before you die, check out our EP.

Nathaniel Shannon And The Vanishing Twin/Trespass/Aqualamb/2016 CD Review

  Nathaniel  Shannon  And  the  Vanishing  Twin  are  a  band  from  Brooklyn,  New  York  that  plays  a  mixture  of  experimental  and  dark  ambient  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Trespass"  which  was  released  by  Aqualamb.

  Acoustic  guitars  and  ambient  style  synths  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  psychedelic  elements  and  clean  singing  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  a  neo  folk  feeling  and  you  can  also  hear  a  little  bit  of  electric  guitar  distortion  at  times  and  saxophones  are  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Drones  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  later  tracks  introduce  sludge  guitars  onto  the  album  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  distorted  guitar  leads and  the  music  also  gets  very  avant  garde  and  experimental  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  programmed  drum  beats  can  be  heard  in  some  of  the  songs  and  a  great  amount  of  diversity  can  also  heard  throughout  all  of  the  tracks.

  Nathaniel  Shannon  And  the  Vanishing  Twin  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  neo-folk,  dark  ambient  and  experimental  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own,  the  production sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Nathaniel  Shannon  And  The  Vanishing  Twin  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  neo-folk,  dark  ambient  and  experimental  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "One  Sixty  Second  Street"  "Lost  Hills"  "Tombs'  and  "Never  Drink  Dead  Blood".  8  out  of  10.  

        

Kenoma/The Tides Will Prevail/Translation Loss Records/2017 CD Review

  Kenoma  are  a band  from  Ohio  that  plays  an  instrumental  and  melodic  mixture of  atmospheric  sludge,  doom  and  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2017  album  "The  Tides  Will  Prevail"  which  will  be  released  on  April  28th  by  Translation  Loss  Records.

  Heavy  yet  slow  sludge  and  doom  metal  riffing  along  with  melodic  guitar  leads  start  off  the  album  and  none  of  the  songs ever  utilize  any  vocals  or  lyrics  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  clean  playing  is  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Elements  of  post  rock  can  be  heard  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  rain  and  thunder sounds  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  when  synths  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  give  the  songs  a  more  atmospheric  feeling  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  cries  and  drones  as  the  album  progresses  and  the  riffs  also  use  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction.

  Kenoma  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  heavy,  melodic  and  atmospheric  sides  of  sludge,  doom,  and  post  metal  and  mixes  them  together  without  any  vocals  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own  and  the  production  sounds  very  professional.

  In  my  opinion  Kenoma  are  a  very  great  sounding  instrumental  and  atmospheric  mixture  of  sludge,  doom  and  post  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "1913"  and  S'leeping  Prophet".  8  out  of  10. 

 

Space Witch/Arcanum/HeviSike Records/2017 CD Review

  Space  Witch  are  a band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  psychedelic  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge,  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Arcanum"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  HeviStrike  Records.

  Electronic  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  psychedelic  elements  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  leads  up  to  clean  playing  being  added  onto  the  recording  and  when  heavy  riffs  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  mix  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  their  is  also  a  brief  use  of  back  up  choir  vocals  and  a great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  vocals  are  added  onto  the  recording  they  are  done  in  a  shouting  hardcore  style  fashion  and  spoken  word  parts  are  also  used  at  times  and  when  the  music  speeds up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing.

  Space  Witch  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  psychedelia,  sludge,  stoner  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  metaphysical  and  esoteric  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Space  Witch  are  a  very  great  sounding  psychedelic  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge,  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Astro  Genocide"  and  "Battle  hag".  8  out  of  10.

Morass Of Molasses/These Paths We Tread/HeviSike/2017 CD Review

  Morass  Of  Molasses  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "These  Paths  We  Tread"  which  will  be  released  in  May  by  HeviSike.

  Clean  playing  and  water  sounds  start  off  the  album  before  adding  in  a  heavy  stoner  influenced  sound  a  few  seconds  later  along  with  solos  and  leads  that  also  follow  the  same  direction  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  aggressive  sludge  style  screams  and  melodic  singing  is  also  used  at  times  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  Touches  of  post  metal  can  be  heard  in  the  bands  musical  style  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  the  heaviness  of  doom  metal  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  ritualistic  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction.

  Morass  Of  Molasses  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  mythological  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Morass  Of  Molasses  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge,  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "My  Leviathan"  "Serpentine"  and  "Wrath  Of  Aphrodite".  8  out  of  10. 

Temptation's Wings

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album? For the past few months we've been gearing up to play Skulthor live. Getting our CDs printed, getting banners printed for the new artwork, a new t-shirt design, practicing our sets for the next few live shows, and even writing a few new riffs for the future.

2.You have a new album coming out in March, 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 best way to put it is that it's more fully realized than our previous works. Stylistically, it's pretty similar to our earlier stuff, we've always blended a lot of influences, but our songwriting has matured.  We're always striving to keep improving on our playing and songwriting, and we think Skulthor represents the very best of our abilities at this point in time. We have relentlessly obsessed over this album and the story for over a year now, and we feel like the hard work really shines through.

3.This is your first album in 4 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame? Since Legends of the Tusk a lot has happened musically, and in life for us. We wrote a bunch of songs in that span, some that made it onto Skulthor, and some that weren't up to the bar we've set for ourselves. Our long-time bass player Willie retired from the band to focus on family and building a house. We knew we wanted to keep going as a band, but I think both of us might've had our doubts that we would be able to find the right person. In the interim, we landed a couple good opening spots, one for Black Tusk, and one for Night Demon, for which Willie was glad to pick up the bass and take the stage a couple more times. Enter Chad Barnwell. We knew Chad from playing lots of shows with his band, Through the Fallen. We had become good friends with those guys and were pretty surprised when Chad, a lead guitar player, wanted to play some bass with us. Long story short, Chad has been the perfect fit, and we've picked back up with a renewed drive and energy.

4.The lyrics on the new recording are a concept album, can you tell us a little bit more about the songwriting? Out of the new songs we were writing, we started noticing a common theme. We felt like we could connect the songs into a grand tale of a warrior's journey. We had the core of the album, but we needed a beginning, one for the middle, and then an end. I Destroyer, Treachery of the Blind Raven, and My Name was Skulthor came about very quickly to fill in our missing pieces. The lyrics were written, re-written, and re-written again to make the story as coherent and flowing as possible. We also have most of a short story written, which we will be releasing in the future.

5.Also in the songwriting I can also see the mythological influences, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in mythology? I (Micah) took an interest in Greek and Roman mythology at an early age. The first Clash of the Titans movie was on TV a lot when I was a kid, and I always loved to watch it. Same with Conan the Barbarian and Destroyer. Someone eventually bought me a book on mythology not long after, and I remember reading Beowulf and Icarus and Daedelus, among others. Later on, I discovered Norse mythology and was captivated again. Skulthor combines elements of Greek, Roman, Norse, and Conan, as well as our own mythology we began creating with our Warmallet EP.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Temptation's Wings'? When the band was first starting to come into realization, I was trying to turn a corner in my life, and get it together. I was listening to the first Down album religiously back then, and the song Temptation's Wings really resonated with me. It's still one of my favorite albums to this day.

7.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 had the opportunity to play with and open up for some great bands including Night Demon, Visigoth, Black Tusk, as well as the mighty Iced Earth. We also landed an opening slot on Y&T's upcoming show in our hometown, Asheville, NC. In the past we always went for the no frills approach, just us and our instruments on stage. With this album we're going for a little more in the visual aspect, with our life sized album art, by David Paul Seymour, and some home made lights.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?
We plan on playing as many shows in our region as we possibly can, and hopefully landing a spot on a festival or two. In the fall we'll be hosting our Stone and Steel Festival in our hometown, Asheville. It'll include some of our favorite bands from close by, and we'll hopefully landing a national headliner. Last year Cloak headlined. They recently signed a deal with Sea on of Mist, and we'd definitely recommend checking them out!

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest? We're currently unsigned and manage ourselves. Our drummer Jason does the vast majority of our booking. Realistically we can't do much lengthy touring, as we all have full time jobs and families, but if the right deal came along, I think we'd all like to make a career out of our music.

10.on a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of stoner and doom metal? We've been blown away and excited by the amount of feedback we've had so far. We've all been playing music for quite some time, and to have our music played around the globe is a great feeling. The UK has been really kind to us, in particular, and we've received some kind reviews from France and Spain too. There have been a couple people who weren't too thrilled with the album, but that's okay, we realize not everyone will like it, and the majority of the responses have been great so far.

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future? We're going to keep striving to improve our skills on our instruments and as songwriters. Our vision is to keep making music that blends our favorite parts of all our favorite styles of metal. We've already been discussing what kind of story we might want to work on for the next album. Making a concept album was a lot of fun, and one hell of a good challenge. It's very possible we might go that direction again.

12.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 ones that stand out most in our songwriting are probably Amon Amarth, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Grand Magus, The Sword, and maybe a little Clutch. SRV, Pink Floyd, and ZZ Top are also some of our favorite bands, but maybe not as prominent in our songwriting. Lately I've been listening to a lot of Opeth and High on Fire. Jason has been listening to Khemmis and the new Overkill album. Chad has been listening to Mastodon and George Lynch.

13.What are some of your non musical interests? We all like to play some video games when we can. We like to watch NFL football, and Chad and I like baseball. We're all pretty good cooks too. We try to get together with our families and friends, smoke some Boston Butts, and have a big feast when we can.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? We appreciate the great questions and the chance to talk about our music! Skulthor Ebonblade comes out on March 10th, and we hope everyone enjoys his tale as much as we do. Bring the metal!
https://temptationswings.bandcamp.com/album/skulthor-ebonblade