Bleeding Eyes Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
1) We're playing local gigs, we're trying to organize a european tour (hopefully it will happen in September) and we're rehearsing GAMMY with all the fun stuff that goes with it.

2.In December you had released a new 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?
2) We don't like to label our music, or lock it in a specific genre. We just jam together till something stands out and we feel is worth developing. Anyway, to give a general idea, "Space Doom" could wrap it up. Our previous release "A Trip to the Closest Universe" is the first album with our current lineup, so obviously it differs from the earlier releases that were more straightforward metal, but is very much connected to GAMMY, in fact, some songs from the latter were created in the same period as the previous record.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?
3) To us GAMMY means anything that can put you in a deep, introspective and psychedelic state of mind. In our case that would be: love, hate, booze, drugs, life, death, etc. and the lyrics mainly deal these subjects in a very personal way.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Bleeding Eyes'?
4) Actually there is no deep meaning behind the name Bleeding Eyes, It sounds good and it could be very graphic

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?
5) Some recent and significant shows are: in Milano supporting "Pelican", in Padova with "Eyehategod", this summer we sided "Crowbar", we had the great opportunity to play with "Graveyard" right after "Hisingen Blues" was released and we supported "Karma to Burn" in two italian shows. Answering the second half of the question, on stage we fall into this "GAMMY" dimension were everything unfolds too quickly for us to even realize what actually happened… "Intense" would be the word.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
6) As mentioned earlier, we are organizing a european tour that could bring us to Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France… But is yet to be scheduled. Till then we're playing mostly local shows, but one that stands out is in Bologna (IT) on the 12/3/15 supporting "Weedeater".

7.The last few albums where released on Go Down Records, are you happy with the support they have given you over the years?
Well, we are friends with most of the guys at GoDown so yeah it's been great! They don't pressure us in anyway and they give us as much freedom as we want.  

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of sludge, doom metal and stoner rock?
8) Overall, good! Especially with our latest album. GAMMY has been reviewed as a turbulent, unclassifiable album that lets the listener build his own idea around it.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
9) Well… Actually we have a bunch of material to work on for a future album, it's just a matter of choosing the songs that fit better together and refine them. But how they'll ultimately sound, you'll discover that soon, because we don't know it yet.

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?
10) We're pretty open minded about music and we all listen to different genres from metal, to blues, to funk, to jazz, etc. So we'll name a few bands/artist that we like listening together to please everyone in the band: Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Tool, The Melvins, Alice in Chains, Mastodon, Clutch, Neurosis, Isis, Ozric Tentacles, Jimi Hendrix, Every Time I Die, etc.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
11) GAMMY, Beer and Vagina!

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

Warhorse/As Heaven Turns To Ash... + I Am Dying/Southern Lord Recordings/2015 CD Re-Issue Review

  Warhorse  where  a  band  from  Boston,  Massachusetts  that  played  a  mixture  of  stoner,  sludge  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2001  album  "As  Heaven  Turns  To  Ash"  and  2002  ep  "I  Am  Dying"  which  will  be  re-issued  on  February  24th,  2015  as  a  single  album  by  Southern  lord  Recordings.

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album  giving  the music  more  of  a  mid  60's  to  early  70's  feeling  and  after  the intro  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  very  heavy  style  of  doom/sludge  metal  which  they  also  mix  in  with  stoner  and  psychedelic  elements   along  with  some  melodic  being  utilized  at  times.

  A  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  vocals  are  added  into  the  music  they  are  very  rough  but  have  a  melodic  tinge  to  them  at  times  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  that  are  utilized  on  the  recording  have  a  70's  doom  metal  feeling  to  them  while  still  sounding  very  updated  for  2001  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  parts  also  make  their  return  on  a  few  tracks   while  a  later  song  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  the  2001  album  closes  with  a  piano  outro  while  the  2002  ep  consists  of  2  tracks  that  are  very  heavy  doom  metal.

  Warhorse  played  a  style  of  doom  metal  that  was  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  70's  while  also  having  the  modern  heaviness  and  aggressive  vocals  of  the  sludge  genre  during  2001-2002  and  they  also  had  a  stone r vibe  to  them  and  the  music  would  still  hold  up  very  well  if  it  was  released  in  the  modern  day,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  drugs,  depression,  and  dreams.

  In  my  opinion  Warhorse  where  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  doom,  sludge  and  stoner  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band,  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Doom's  Bride"  "Amber  Vial"  "Lysergic  Communion"  and  "Horizons  burn  Red".  8  out  of  10.

    

Kevel/Hz Of The Unheard/2014 Full Length Review

  Kevel  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  plays  an  instrumental  mixture  of  sludge,  progressive  and  post  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Hz  Of  The  Unheard".

    A  very  dark,  melodic  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  a  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  remain  true  to  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  while  also  bringing  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  One  of  the  songs  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  samples  and  the  songs  bring  in  the  heaviness  of  sludge  metal  while  also  having  the  melody  of  post  metal  and  the  instrument  skills  of  progressive  rock  and  you  can  also  hear  quite  of  a  bit  of  an  improv  feeling  or  jam  session  atmosphere  throughout  all  of  the  tracks  and  a  couple  of  the  later  songs  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  blast  beats,  clean  playing  and  melodic  guitar  leads.

  Kevel  plays  an  instrumental  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  the  more  melodic  side  of  sludge  metal  but  they  also  mix  in  a  quite  a  bit  of  post  and  progressive  metal  to  create  a  musical  style  of  their  own  and  the production  also  sounds  very  powerful  for  being  a  self  released  recording.

  In  my  opinion  Kevel  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  sludge,  post  and  progressive  metal  and  if  you  are   a fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Siphon  Of  Sin"  and  "Hz  Of  The  Unheard".  8  out  of  10.

  

Ymir's Blood/Blood Of The Ice/Archaic Sound/2014 CD Review

 
  Ymir's  Blood  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  viking,  doom  and  heavy  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Blood  On  The  Ice"  which  was released  by  Archaic  Sound.

  A  very  old  school  and  traditional  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  vocals  are  both  aggressive  yet  melodic  at  the  same  time  and  you  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar riffing  and  a  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  length.

  You  can  hear  a  lot  of  influences  from  Viking  era  Bathory  throughout  the  recording  but  mixed  in  with  classic  metal  and  traditional  doom  metal  and  the  solos  and  leads  that  are  utilized  are  very  dark  and  melodic  and  some  of  the  alter  tracks  also  bring  in  melodic  Viking  chanting  vocals  that  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  pagan  atmosphere  along  with  some  other  parts  utilizing  clean  playing  and  folk  instruments  and  a  alter track  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  black  metal  elements.  

  Ymir's  Blood  plays  a  style  of  viking  metal  that  goes  for  more  of  a  traditional  doom  and  classic  metal  direction  than  most  bands  of t he  genre  and  they  create  a  style  that is  very  melodic,  heavy  and  epic,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Nordic  Paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ymir's  Blood  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  viking,  heavy  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sworn  To  The  Sea"  and  "Witch  beast".  8  out  of  10.

Auron Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
1. Our group was established in 2007, it was founded by guitarist Roman Lepev. Then joined the group vocalist and guitarist Nicholay Bogov. In the next five years, we have recorded several demos and a lot of concerts in Russian cities. In 2013 we have made our first European tour and filmed a couple of clips in 2014 released our single "Moonlight Trail", in February - our first album.

2.Recently you have released an album, how would describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
2. The sound of the album can be called a mixed - there are heavy metal, hard rock, neo-classical and progressive rock. The album sounds like because songs that are on it, written in different years from 2007 to 2013.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
3. We try to take different subjects for poetry. This historical stories, such as"Word and Deed", patriotic ("Heroes of the last generation"), autobiographical ("Marina") and social ("Mirrors").

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Auron'?
4. This name appeared randomly. We had planned to take the name of the Aura, but the group with the same name already existed. After that we just added random letters and have received the name of Auron.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
5. We had a lot of good shows, but I still remember the concert in Krakow (Poland). That night the audience was especially hot! Every show we try to energize, to involve the audience in our movement. Try to be closer to the people who came to the concert.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
6. In the nearest future we are the new tour, new video... and after that we will go into the Studio for the new record.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of progressive metal?
7. From time to time we receive feedback from fans of progressive metal from Russia and other countries. It's fun when fans from Europe to better respond about our music than the Russians.

8.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects or is this a full time line up?
8. Each of us works only in AURON, because to do group seriously, you need to fully focus on it.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
9. I think our music will become harder and more vigorous will be more progressive elements. But we want to leave the ease of perception of our music so that it was accessible to fans of other musical styles.

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?
10. We are very influenced by classical music is very powerful and eternal. As rock music 70-80 years - Scorpions, Saxon, Led Zeppelin and others. As we listen to Dream theater, Animals as Leaders, and others.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
11. We are engaged in teaching, teach children to own musical instruments. I (Roman) do research and would soon become the candidate of pedagogical Sciences.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12. I want to wish the fans of rock music often go to concerts - whether it's a huge festival outdoors or party at a local club. You need musicians playing there, they play for you. So go out there and make noise!

Kooba Tercu Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
The band consists of Johnny Tercu and his crew. Johnny gathered around him a number of creative individuals from bands that were active in the greek scene : Cube, the Bliss, Misuse, Masturbation goes cloud. It is now a six people band and is slowly morphing into a collective of musicians that like noisey, heavy and rythmic music. Major inspiration in our endeavours has been the crisis in Greece and  the idea of an anti-hero, anti-rock band thats rocks very hard.

2.Recently you have released an album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
All songs are composed collectively through jamming. The album is consisted of the snappier, shorter versions of those ideas. It is a varied record that touches upon different aspects of the same aesthetic that revolves around the heavy, the odd, the noisey and the punky attitude of playing whatever you want.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
Similarly to the music, the band wrote the lyrics collectively. More often than not, it’s process rather than content - oriented. The songs include vocalisations in non-languages (nanana nanana & ooo! nana) and themes such as Batman, boat panic, mollusk orgasms, bullying and the technology vs environment.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Kooba Tercu'?
Johnny Tercu is behind it all. Kooba Tercu means the summary of Tercu. Once a Tercu, always a Tercu.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
Our last show with our friends The Dive, celebrating both our bands vinyl record releases, took place in an occupied theatre in Athens and was self-organized by ourselves. When playing live our goal is to get the crowd into the mood to dance and trip out. Compared to the album live shows are definitely more fluid and the music has greater impact both on the heavier and the quieter parts.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
We are now in the process of setting gigs around Greece and looking for venues/festivals around Europe.

7. The album was released on Spinalonga Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label
Spinalonga Records (www.spinalonga.net) is an non-profit collective based in Greece, established in 2005. It was founded to promote underground bands in Greece through networking , economical support, information sharing and skill building to enable the bands to autonomously produce and release their music.
BodyBlows co-released the record. Bodyblows is run by Bob. Bob likes Johnny and Bob  always prefers trading to selling. Bob puts out punk, garage and rock n roll records and is based in Crete (www.bodyblows.net)

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your album by fans of underground music?
Most people have a hard time classifying the record and usually they will see in the music the bands that they like and listen to, which is probably a good thing. It might take people a few trials before the record grows on them but for the most part we have been getting positive feedback. If anything, the only downside is that we’ve released the record from a small label in the edges of the universe so not enough people had the chance to listen to it yet.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We still have to develop our current concepts and ideas further and we’re already experimenting with new material. In parallel as a growing collective, the vision is to start producing recordings (EPs or splits) and allow different configurations of Johnny’s crew to compose within the band.

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?
Influence and listening nowadays mixed: The Melvins, Sunn 0))), Wolf eyes (great live shows), Aluk Todolo, Fugazi, Hella, Minutemen, Zu, Jesus Lizard, Boredoms.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
There a few common threads that run through the members of the crew: politics and history, cooking, Eastern martial arts, political agroecology and rough trade

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

Tygers Of Pan Tang/Tygers Sessions: The First Wave/Skol Records/2015 CD Compilation Review

  Tygers  Of  Pan  Tang  are  a  band  from  the United  Kingdom  that  are  a  very  well  known  band  from  the  NWOBHM  days  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  compilation  album  "Tygers  Sessions:  The  First  Wave"  which  was  released  by  Skol  Records.

  A  very  old  school  hard  rock/heavy  metal  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  singing  vocals  and  you  can  hear  a  lot  of  70's  elements  in  the  music  along  with  all  of  the  musical
instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  what  you  would  expect  from  a  NWOBHM  band  of  the  early  80's  and  have  a  great  amount  of  skill  and  melody.

  Clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  some  of  the  songs  while  some  of  the  riffing  brings  in  a  touch  of  blues  rock  at  times  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of  tracks  that  are  long  and  epic  in  length  while  some  of  the other  tracks  have  some  fast  riffs  that  have  an  early  speed  metal  feeling  while  not  being  quite  heavy  enough  for  that  style  and  after  a  few  songs  that  stick  to  a  hard  and  heavy  musical  direction  clean  playing  and  a  power  ballad  is  added  onto  the  recording  while  they  close  the  compilation  with  a  couple  of  harder  tracks.

  Tygers  Of  Pan  Tang  played  a  style  of  metal  back  in  the  days  that  could  of  only  been  classified  as  heavy  metal  and  they  also  has  less  of  a  darker  atmosphere  than  most  of  their  counterparts  and  had  a  more  laid  back  and  fun  approach  to  the  genre,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  for  the  time  it  was  recorded  while  the  lyrics  cover  real  life  and  partying  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Tygers  Of  Pan  Tang  where  a  very  great  sounding  NWOBHM  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musicla  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  compilation.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Slave  To  Freedom"  "Dont  Touch  Me  There"  "Mirror" and  "Don't  Stop  By".  8  out  of  10.