Interview with The Great Old Ones – Atmospheric and Extreme Black Metal from France

Today I spoke with guitarist Benjamin Guerry from the French band The Great Old Ones, we spoke about the legendary H.P. Lovecraft, The cancer of organized religion and how nice English people are..read on!

* Hi Benjamin, loving your new album EOD: A Tale of Dark Legacy – how long were you guys working on this album before you went in to record?
Benjamin Guerry (guitar, vocals): Hi! The composition work began just after the recording of our second album, “Tekeli-li”. It’s important to keep our head aware to ideas that can happen whenever. I spent more time composing this album because there is always a desire to make our music evolve.

* How did the recording process differ from your last 2 releases?
BG: The only difference was that we changed producer. We recorded this album with Mobo at Conkrete Studio, and the result is exactly as we wanted, very powerful, but with the atmospheres that characterize us.

* How did your record deal with Seasons of Mist come about? It’s a great label for you guys to be part of.
BG: Yes, we are very happy of that. After a tour with Shining, the Season of Mist boss has expressed interest in working with us. So we seized this opportunity, in order to offer our album a greater visibility, in Europe, but also in USA. We really hope that this collaboration will help us to play in as many countries as possible!

* What was the fans reaction to your Bjork cover like? Do you know if Bjork heard it at all? Her ex-husband artist Mathew Barney is a huge Black metal fan and has hosted many Black metal shows at his art studio here in NYC
BG: I don’t know if Bjork listened to our cover but I hope! Maybe Mathew Barney made her listen. The original song has a dramatic tension that sticks to our music. We did not expect this but this cover has made a lot of talk about it, our fans still tell us about it today.

“We are working hard to propose a big show, a true Lovecraftian experience.”

* Do you guys prefer recording or playing live? many black metal musicians are quite happy just to create and record music but do not like to play live, whereas others..it’s all about playing live.
BG: We love playing live. Recording an album is of course very stimulating, as much as the creative process itself. But we are working hard to propose a big show, a true Lovecraftian experience. So yes, we want to play as much as possible, in as many places as possible!

* By now it is well know the bands love for the great Horror writer H.P. Lovecraft? Are any of the bands fans of say Edgar Allen Poe or more modern horror writers who were inspired by Lovecraft like Clive barker or Stephen King?
BG: H.P. Lovecraft is the base of The Great Old Ones concept. He is a full member of our band so he will be with us for a long time. He created an exciting mythology, populated by charismatic creatures. There are still many stories to tell.

But of course, we are all fans of literature in general. Personally, I’m a big fan of Stephen King.

His work is extremely varied and almost always exciting. I’m also really like Maxime Chattam’s books. Very good thrillers.

* France wasn’t exactly known for its world class Death metal bands in the 90s but it produces some of the best Black metal bands in the world these days – why do you think this is?
BG: It’s been a long time that France gives birth to very good bands of black metal, but it’s true that it has accelerated in recent years. The press is increasingly interested in our country in terms of music, and an international fame is beginning to take hold. It’s really great to see so many talented formations emerged every year here. I hope this will continue, and allow groups to continue to export, whether on album or live.

* You guys are from the South west of France right? What’s the music scene there like? Do you get many international artists coming through Bordeaux? or do you have to travel to say Toulouse or Montpellier to see the big name acts?
BG: Exactly, we are from Bordeaux, city of wine. There are a lot of good bands here, in different music styles. Certainly you know most of these bands but I think about Year Of No Light, Gorod in particular. They are very respected each in their style, and have a real international notoriety.

* Speaking of France – you guys have done a decent amount of touring so far right? What’s the best part of going on the road? Any crazy tour stories yet?
BG: We try to play as much as possible. As explained previously, doing concerts is really important to us. It is of course the concert itself that is always the most exciting on tour. But going on tour is also really nice because it allows to take a rhythm only dedicated to the music.

To be honest, I don’t have true crazy stories to tell you. But we had the opportunity to play in some crazy places. During the last tour, we played in a real and beautiful Italian style theater, with a fantastic acoustic. It was an absolutely fantastic experience!

* How did you guys enjoy London when you played there? Had you been before as a band or just as tourists?
BG: Every time we played in London it was great. English people are really nice. It’s also a very beautiful city, with very varied districts.

Most of us have been there as a tourist, but we always enjoy walking around before playing.

“Makes us realize that religious fanaticism is truly a cancer for the world today”

* One of the things we hear a lot about France on the news here in the USA are the terror attacks – are things there as crazy as the mainstream media makes out? Is it just sensationalism? or are things much worse?
BG: Mainstream media always do in sensationalism. This is unfortunately their way of functioning. But what they tell comes from real facts, and very sad facts. Of course, we do not live in fear. This especially makes us realize that religious fanaticism is truly a cancer for the world today. I would even be tempted to say all the organized religions. We must fight to keep our total freedom of expression, especially through music, and Art in general

“We would really like to come to concerts in the US”

* Any plans to play the USA in the future?
BG: We would really like to come to concerts in the US, and of course we have that idea in mind. But it is very difficult when one is an underground band to go play there, especially for financial matters. But we keep hope!

* What plans do the band have for the rest of 2017?
BG: We will open for Inquisition for two gigs in April, and some festivals in August. At the moment we are working on a big European tour. We hope to announce good news soon.

* Any final words?
BG: Many thanks for your support and for this interview. We really hope to come to the US!

Interview with Set and Setting Atmospheric Black Metal from Florida

Today I spoke with Shane from St Petersburg , Fl Atmospheric Black Metal band Set and Setting, we spoke about googling the band name, crooked cops in Bumfuck Mississippi and much more.

* So how did the band come about? Was it always the plan to be instrumental?
The band started as a recording project with a friend a long time ago. We found Mark Etherington to play drums, and the full band started then. It was not originally planned to be instrumental.

* Having 2 drummers definitely gives you guys that extra low end..how on earth did that even come to pass? (I’ve got 2 drummers in mind and I can’t decide which to go with, I know, we’ll use both!)
My brother (Stephen Handal) used to come to our practices and just hang out. One day we were just jamming around not playing our songs and he started playing a floor tom or something with Mark and it sounded rad so we tried it on one of our own songs. It quickly became a full drumset and a real position as our second drummer.

“I personally have had bad experiences with singers and yeah that definitely came to mind when we decided to just give up on having a singer.”

* Have any of the band ever been in bands before with singers? If so was that so traumatic that you guys decided to forgo one for Set and Setting?
Yeah every band we have ever been in has had a singer. Mark, one of our drummers, currently plays guitar and is the lead singer for his other band band. I personally have had bad experiences with singers and yeah that definitely came to mind when we decided to just give up on having a singer. The main issue was that we just couldn’t find one that we liked.

* Does the name have any deeper meaning or was it chosen just as its a cool name?
Google Set and Setting and you will find out really quickly haha. It’s a term with a meaning. I suggest people doing this with all band names. Usually band names are well thought out and not just a random selection of words. Not always though.

* What are the guys influences? You guys are from St Pete right? The whole Tampa bay metal scene was pretty much brutal death metal back in the 80s and 90s
We all have many different influences. The band started as a Pink Floyd worship band. Obviously that has changed a lot these days, but I think you can still see it. I love old school Tampa Death Metal and used to be in a death / thrash band a few years ago but we were all too young to really live through that (I was born in ’88). I don’t really think it has a direct influence on the band, but most of us listen to those bands still.

* Speaking of – how is the Tampa metal scene these days? Would you say better or worse than the old days?
The Tampa metal scene is pretty small comparatively speaking to major cities. Most of the heavy bands that are like minded, are friends and we all play shows together at some point or another. We kind of dabble in other scenes and don’t really consider ourselves a metal band so I don’t know how accurate this is really haha.

* You guys are traveling to Europe soon – is this your first European tour or have you been before? Where are your expectations at?
This is our first European tour. We are obviously really excited to tour out there, and to play on a different continent should be a crazy experience. We try not to expect too much, but we know we will have a good time.

* How do you guys go about writing songs? Do they come from epic jam sessions or does everyone bring parts in? or is it more of a dictatorship where one person comes in with everyone’s parts written already?
I write the riffs and bring them to the band. Most of the time there will be a pretty solid idea of where the song needs to go but when I bring the songs to the table we work on them as a band and sometimes things change. Once a pretty solid song structure is formed, leads and more changes come into play and usually gets tweaked a little more by the time it is done. We don’t really jam too much. Everything is pretty thought out and planned ahead of time.

* There is definitely a psychedelic tinge to your music, any of the band use psychedelics at all? if so what ones?
This is something we like to leave up to the listener.

* Let’s talk equipment – what kind of guitars do you use? Do you have a “go-to” guitar?
I have a American made Fender Jazzmaster that I love and have been using since our second album. I don’t really see myself using much else, but I said that with my Gibson Les Paul 1960 Classic Re-Issue that I don’t currently use anymore except on recordings haha.

* How about amps? I know a lot of guys these days swear by digital amp models, do you prefer that or a full blown stack? Any favorite amp brands you prefer?
We definitely don’t use digital amp models. Live I use an Orange Rockerverb 100 with an Orange 4×12 and 2×12, and Ryan uses a Peavy 6505 with matching 4×12. I have always used Orange but I woulnd’t consider us to be gear snobs. We both have simple set ups and just use what we have found to like over the years.

* What’s the recording process like for you guys? I would imagine it is not a ‘set up- bash the songs out in a live environment” type of recording situation?
We start but tracking the drums, song by song. I will play a scratch track guitar with them for reference and so I can play along with them. After that we track the bass, and rhythm guitars. We end with leads and any additional ambience, or extra instruments.

* I know you guys are not afraid to get out and tour? What’s been your favorite show so far and why?
We love to tour. We all wish we could do it more, but you know, we have bills to pay and jobs and loved ones and that isn’t easy to drop and hit the road. It was easier when we were younger but I think as we get older the touring will continue to slow down. I honestly have no idea what my favorite show of ours has been. I’ve never thought about that before and now thinking back, we have had a lot of killer shows. It would be impossible to narrow it down to one. I will narrow down one I’m looking forward to the most though – Dunk!Fest in Zottegem, Belgium on May 27th.

“A narcotic officer in bumfuck Mississippi pulled us over on an overnight drive, planted weed in our van, arrested one of us, charged us $600 in cash only and never filed the report once. Good times”

* Any crazy tour stories you can share?
A narcotic officer in bumfuck Mississippi pulled us over on an overnight drive, planted weed in our van, arrested one of us, charged us $600 in cash only and never filed the report once. Good times.

* Outside of your next European run what can we expect from Set and Setting in 2017?
We are touring the US (and probably some shows in Canada) in October of 2017. We are also playing the inaugural Dunk!USA in Burlington Vermont on this run, October 8th.

* Any final words?
Thanks for reading! We just released Reflectionless, our third full length album in January and we’d love it if you gave it a listen. Here are some links to keep up with us and/or support us:

http://www.facebook.com/setandsetting
twitter and instagram: @setandsetting

merch:
http://setandsetting.merchnow.com

Russian Funeral Doom FUNERAL TEARS debut new track – hear it here

Initiated from Tomsk, Russia during December, 2007, Funeral Tears is the solo Funeral Doom project of Nikolay Seredov (leader of bands like Стахановцы [Stakhanovite] and Taiga). Dark melodic music and lyrics convey the inner state of Nikolay at different periods of life, the struggle for spiritual balance, at war with himself for only purpose – to find his own eternal peace. With two grief-stricken full lengths and a split with Poyezd Rodina, Funeral Tears has made their place in the realm of underground Funeral Doom Metal.

The third full-length of Funeral Tears, “Beyond The Horizon”, clocking in at near an hour, creates the aura of getting buried into the grave of intense depression. Prepare to be crushed amongst the gloomy passages of 06 unadulterated Funeral Doom tracks.

“Beyond the Horizon”, the title track of the album,exhibits despondent melodies, slow yet heavy riffs, and wide range of vocal craftsmanship including scream, growl and spoken words within its over 09 minute duration. Thematically, the track is about the limitation of ours in terms of finding the truth; we can’t get beyond the horizon and and can’t find the truth from within. The only thing left for us is to live, and we will only be free when we will die.

Canadian Black Metallers THE PROJECTIONIST release their Second Album

The Projectionist (previously known as Lord Matzigkeitus), was initiated by the frontman Lord Matzigkeitus (Ex – Idolatry). He was soon joined by comrades from some other diabolic acts including Vile Insignia, Unrest, Ov Enochian, Belchior etc, however the lineup has continued to change. The music is centered on themes of hatred and isolation, to evoke new unexplored domains of intellectual fury and bleakness in black metal with complete despotic will poured over its endeavors.

Beginning their warpath in 2016, they released a full length and EP, entitled “Poisonous Disengagement” and “The GallowForest Eulogy” respectively, which attacked listeners with ghoulish screams and mournful yet ultimately violent guitar work, gaining good reviews in the process. Exalted Solitude is the Projectionist’s next phase in evolution. Refined and despotically black. Here, the ramparts of hell are fully manned and blotting out the sun with hateful arrows. Meant to vanguard the tortured isolation of Satanic rule. Lord Matzigkeitus, Parageist and new drummer Malphas bludgeon True cultists with eloquent savagery and indominable power.

With lavish artwork by Sang Ho Moon and Jan Pysander Whitney, and a guest guitar track by Christopher Hernandez of Xasthur. Out April 20th on Appalachian Noise Records and The True Plague Records jointly.

click here to order your copy

Ukrainian Black Metal LAVA INVOCATOR Release Debut Full Length

LAVA INVOCATOR is a mystical black metal formation from Ukraine, the idea of which originated in the small Swedish town of Lund, near Malmö… Dark storm clouds over the Öresund strait, black rocks, high forests and whispers of mysticism mixed in an infernal whirlwind of emotions – so originated the concept of the band.

The band was founded in 2015 by members of another Ukrainian black metal band DEF / LIGHT, after which the team immediately began partaking in concert activities. Infrequent, but with powerful and atmospheric performances, the band quickly won the minds of the circle of audiences, the red-hot lava was deeply ingested and filled among the souls of metalheads. The sound of LAVA INVOCATOR is a dense and verified alloy of iron and steel – tough and uncompromising, and at the same time melodic and atmospheric.

“Mörk” (from Swedish – “Dark”) is the debut work of the band. With the 07 nefarious tracks, the generated music of this album walk the pathway of the traditional black metal, inspired by such icons of the genre such as Dissection, Mayhem, Dark Funeral, Ulver, Darkthrone etc. The presence of both malicious ferocity and dismal aura of black metal can be descried.

The Band Stated

“The album is conceptual in essence and puts the listeners in the picture of the story of an intangible essence, which is dark and gloomy in nature”

Dumal release new song and announce NYC gig

Pennsylvania Black Metal band Dumal have released a new song on Youtube today , “Devour the child” an exclusive single recorded for the “Black Disc” and available via Omega Magazine issue #4 limited to 200 copies worldwide.

They are also pleased to announce they will be playing legendary NYC venue St Vitus in Brooklyn supporting Finnish Black Metal legends Behexen on June 5th

 

Interview with Flesh of the Stars Atmospheric Chicago Doom

Today I spoke with Chicago Doom metalers Flesh of the Stars on their 3rd album “Anhilla”, Life in the North side of Chicago and playing gigs in their friend’s barn, read on:

* Firstly congrats on the release of your 3rd album Anhilla, was it a coincident you released it on Valentines day this year or was that planned?
Mike Fox: Thanks! It was very intentional. We actually waited a year to move on it because we specifically wanted to put it out on Valentine’s day.

* What does the title Anhilla mean?
MF: It’s just supposed to evoke “annihilation”. No big mystery or anything unfortunately. I wish that I had a cooler answer because a number of people have asked us about it, but that’s it unfortunately, haha.

* I feel this album was written to enjoy as a whole as opposed to the modern day mentality of “picking tracks” much like many classic rock albums were of the 70s..was that intentional or am I seeing into it too much?
MF: Yeah, absolutely! it was written to be a single track. It’s firmly in concept album territory.

Travis Marmon: It was written as one continuous piece of music and we debated making it a single track. Parts of it work individually but it is intended to be consumed all at once.

Matt Ciani: I’ve said this before, but it’s worth mentioning again: there’s a single-track version of the record that I’ll make available if anyone is interested.

“All the projects we worked on in 2016 made us better at everything”

* I feel you guys have really developed your sound over the last 3 albums – what do you feel has been the biggest change since your first release “Hide” ?
MF: Production-wise, we’ve definitely gotten more comfortable with the equipment. Matt in particular has a very firm grasp on the space that we record in, and an even better grasp of the equipment that we use to record. We did something like four or five records last year, and we’ve become a lot more confident with our gear.

MC: All the projects we worked on in 2016 made us better at everything, but our recording quality probably saw the biggest leap forward. It also seems like our style is starting to stabilize.

Anhilla is less all-over-the-map than Hide or Hosanna. It conjures and single mood, for the most part. It took a little while, but I think we’re finally past our early exploratory period as a band.

MF: With regards to songwriting, we’ve definitely been able to flesh things out a little more. Up until last August, I lived in Ohio, which made it significantly harder to sit down in a room and work songs out as a group. Anhilla was a nice first step away from that.

MC: When we finally started working on Anhilla material, we spent a lot of time actually playing together in my apartment, which is obviously a different vibe from when we used to practice alone, then do all our recording in quick weekend sessions when Mike and Nico would come to Chicago. The second half of Anhilla is the most live-in-a-room recording we’ve ever done as a group. That was really exciting for me.

* You have probably covered this in previous interviews but what are your influences? I am hearing everything from Sleep and Electric Wizard all the way through to Pink Floyd.
TM: All three of those bands are definitely an influence on us. We also love Pallbearer, Black Sabbath (obviously), Candlemass, Saint Vitus, etc. In the future I want to incorporate sludge like Eyehategod, Iron Monkey, Thou, and more. Outside of metal, we’re all over the place.

MF: I listen to Warning a lot nowadays. Outside of metal Matt and I both listen to a lot of synth-centric music. Mort Garson, Kaitlyn Aurelia-Smith and John Carpenter have been pretty big influences on us. I listened to David Lang’s Death Speaks a lot when we were making Anhilla, and I think that shows. I’m a pretty big Jim O’Rourke fan as well.

MC: I’m always down for some spooky folk music like Linda Perhacs and Anne Briggs. I realize how un-metal it is to mention Anne Briggs in an interview, but I’m doing it anyway. I’ll also give a shout out to Minneapolis doom dudes Livid, who were one of the first mind-expanding doom shows I saw back before Flesh of the Stars were a thing.

“I’m realizing I actually listen to a ton of music riding in Mike’s or Travis’s car. Mike’s CDs stress me out a little.”

* What are your favorite ways to “consume” music? Me personally, if I am just checking something out youtube or spotify is fine but if I am really into a band I need the album and make an event of it and sit down and listen to the entire thing with no interruptions.
TM: Personally I need to be doing something while I listen to music, unless I’m on a plane or something. Usually I listen to full albums while using my computer, and I listen to an iPod on shuffle when I’m driving or going to work.

MF: Ditto with Travis. I’m usually listening to music while I work or drive. I also have a pretty extensive commute, and because my car’s stereo doesn’t have an AUX cable, I have around 400-500 CDs in there now. I also tend to listen to music while I cook.

MC: Ha. I’m realizing I actually listen to a ton of music riding in Mike’s or Travis’s car. Mike’s CDs stress me out a little. As for my habits: I like to listen to music in an almost meditative state. I listen almost exclusively to full records. I’ll put on dance music if I’m doing other stuff, but I generally don’t like being distracted from listening.

“My and Nico’s junior high band Nuclear Fallout, who mostly just had a cool-looking album cover. I think we practiced like three times before disbanding.”

* Chicago has always been a great town for metal – were you guys in any name metal bands before Flesh of the Stars?
TM: No, this is the first metal band for all of us. I was in a blues rock/rockabilly cover band in college though.

MC: Mike and I have been in tons of bands, but most of them were based around Cleveland, Ohio, where we grew up, and none of them were metal bands. Unless you count my and Nico’s junior high band Nuclear Fallout, who mostly just had a cool-looking album cover. I think we practiced like three times before disbanding.

MF: There was a brief period where I played in a stoner metal band called Wizard. We also disbanded after around 3 practices.

* Speaking of Chicago – how is live there these days? All we ever hear in NYC is all the killings every weekend in Chicago
TM: Like many big cities, the gun violence is very much concentrated in certain areas, which we don’t normally go to. The North Side is no more dangerous than any other major city, and we love living here. All of us are transplants–I’m from the suburbs of Detroit, the other three are from outside of Cleveland. The reputation that the city has developed is unfortunate and I’m pretty unhappy with the local government’s handling of it, but this is still my favorite city in the world. And the metal scene is insanely good.

MF: There’s a lot of horrible socio-economic reasons why the south-side is the way it is, and like Travis said, I don’t think that the local government has done much to help that. This city is pretty corrupt in a lot of ways, but it’s still an amazing place to live. I certainly wouldn’t want to live anywhere else at the moment.

MC: Chicago rules, but we have to take care of our people better. Us North Siders should always be trying to do more to help out the more underserved communities.

“Every time we’ve played live so far has been a weird and unique and fun experience. I would love it if we could keep it just as weird and awesome going forward”

* Do you guys play many live shows? If so what’s been your favorite so far?
TM: We’ve only played three live shows so far, though we’re trying to play more. It’s been hard because our drummer lives in Ohio still–we’re trying to find a live drummer in Chicago. My favorite was probably when we played with the Minneapolis bands Livid and Without at a dive bar in Wrigleyville. We played in front of almost nobody, but those bands are awesome and also very nice people, so it was fun to play for them.

MC: Our recent Columbus show was a fun kind of challenge. The venue neglected to hire a sound guy, so I had to set up the PA and run the board all night. Our other show was at our friend’s barn in Ohio, where we provided a soundtrack to a pig roast. Every time we’ve played live so far has been a weird and unique and fun experience. I would love it if we could keep it just as weird and awesome going forward.

* Any plans for national tours or would you rather “pick your battles” and just play cool events? There is a good argument for both options.
TM: We love performing but we’re really not built for life on the road. Matt and Mike enjoy recording and producing music as much as playing it. I’ve got health issues that would make extended touring difficult. We all have day jobs. It’s just not really feasible. But we’re down to play anywhere in the Great Lakes area.

MF: If we were invited to play at a cool event outside the GL region, I would absolutely jump at that. Otherwise, yeah, we’re much more of a studio band.

* How do you guys write your songs? Does it start with a mood or feeling? or a guitar riff or?
MF: It really comes from all angles. I’ll usually start with melody, riffs or chord progressions. Anhilla was much more of an attempt to cultivate a mood though. We also put a lot of effort into lyrics and a lot of times things evolve out of that.

* What’s the recording process like for you guys – after 3 albums you must be vets by now?
MF: Very quick! We’re extremely methodical when it comes to recording. We mix while while track for the most part, and it really only took about a month and a half for the whole process this time around.

MC: Yeah. It’s always fast and fairly easy, honestly. We come in somewhat well-rehearsed and just bust it out in a few marathon sessions. We track drums whenever we can get Nico in town. I have a specific way I like drums to sound, so I pretty much do the same thing every time. For Anhilla, Travis did most of his bass live with Nico. After that, all the overdubs were done at my house or at our rehearsal/studio space in Evanston. Mike and I are both gear nerds, so I’m sure we could go on at great length about why we chose which amps/synths/mics we chose, but I’ll spare you the boring details.

* What can we expect from Flesh of the Stars in 2017?
TM: Playing more shows and writing more music. MF: We’ve got a couple things rolling. We’re taking it slightly slower this year than we did in 2015/2016, but there’s a lot of things that we want to get moving on.

MC: I see no reason why we wouldn’t get another record out before the end of the year.

* Any final words?
TM: Thanks for seeking us out! The response to this album has been awesome. We worked hard on it and the reactions have been super rewarding. MF: Ditto! Thanks for the support

 Netherbird — Hymns From Realms Yonder

NETHERBIRD sprung into existence October 30th 2004 in Stockholm, Sweden when Nephente, Bizmark and Grim decided to start collaborating. The was goal was to create harsh metal with influences from both black and death metal without any regard or limitation when it comes to style or even line up. Since their journey began, the band has released four well-received albums featuring guest appearances from members of At the Gates, Katatonia, Lord Belial, Dissection, among others.

A broad retrospective of all rarities, covers and non-album tracks throughout Netherbird history, Hymns from Realms Yonder is a must-have for every collector. Tunes that were once available as digital releases only have now been gathered into one CD summarizing the band’s creative journey through the first decade of its existence. Written and recorded during different session and lineups, these songs present a staggering sonic rollercoaster when it comes to their sound, tone and atmosphere, at the same time remaining recognizable and keeping all the distinctive elements that made Netherbird who they are today.

Original tunes (single b-sides as well as limited EP’s material) are neighboured by several cover versions of renowned classics of metal and obscure alternative, including Annihilator, Paradise Lost, and Sentenced. Vika Yermolyeva’s masterpiece piano rendition of Pillars of the Sky is definitely a rare gem to crown the album. The release is scheduled for the 7th of April, 2017, via Black Lodge Records.

 

Interview with Grave Plague – old school Death Metal from Cleveland

Today I spoke to the boys from Grave Plague –  guys playing classic old school death metal in the vein of Obituary and Autopsy. We spoke about stealing death metal from your local library old school VHS horror film collecting and more – read on:

* So you guys formed about 2 years ago How did the band come together?
Thomas Haywood: The band was formed by Anthony Biello (ex-Severed Remains – Drums) and myself. Anthony had been itching to play again and really wanted to do something raw, uncompromising, and visceral. After a number of phone calls, texts, and online messages, I finally gave in and started writing some material. Joe (ex-Severed Remains – Vocals) was the next member added and it remained just the 3 of us until all the music was essentially written, although we always knew we were going to ask Michael Wilson (Abigail Williams, Aborted) to join.  We knew what we wanted to hear guitar lead-wise and knew, absolutely, that he was the man for the job. We reached out to Caleb Bingham (Athanasia), who’s become a good friend of mine, also a Ohio native, currently living in Los Angeles, to mix the 2 song demo. Caleb ended up loving the material so much, we asked if he’d like to join in on second guitar, and the rest is history.

Joseph Reed: Basically Anthony and Tommy showed me the songs and I offered to lay down vocals. I knew they wanted Autopsy type of vocals and really raw intensity.

 

“Cleveland is a very rough place to live. It’s a very violent and unsettling environment. The music reflects that”

* Cleveland has a great history as a rock/metal town – why do you think that is?
Joseph: Cleveland is a very rough place to live. It’s a very violent and unsettling environment. The music reflects that. The city is also smaller so people tend to find one another easily.

Thomas: The sun never shines here…it’s always grey and overcast. It is not a very pleasant place to live. It’s cold 8 months out of the year – Cleveland is a cold hard place and I think that has a lot to do with the music that comes out of it.

*I love hearing young guys playing old school death metal – what would you say your biggest musical influences are?
Joseph: Old school death metal’s influence for me has always been the ability to take a formula and create your own unique sound. Autopsy, Entombed, Obituary all achieved this.

Thomas: Autopsy are the kings, but all the usual suspects apply, Obituary, Entombed, Grave, Dismember, Immolation, the list goes on.

“Biello and I were very young. 12 and 13. Very impressionable. Obituary’s Cause…and Morbid Angel Formulas…were pivotal. We stole both from the library.”

* When did you get into Death metal and what were your “gateway” bands so to speak. I was speaking to a band a while back and the guitarist told me him and his buddy broke into an abandoned house when they were 12 and found an “at the gates slaughter of the soul” cassette left there..changed their lives – ha ha
Joseph: Biello and I were very young. 12 and 13. Very impressionable. Obituary’s Cause…and Morbid Angel Formulas…were pivotal. We stole both from the library.

Thomas: Hm…honestly, Cannibal Corpse was the first, then probably Mortician ironically enough. I use to listen to this local radio show when I was 13-14 called “Day Man Lost” , and that show introduced me to Death and Black Metal – this would have been around 1993-94’. Decrepit, also from Cleveland, were one of the first – still one of my all time favorites!

* The Infected Crypts release came out this year – how’s the feedback you’ve gotten so far?
Joseph: Amazing! Thank you to all the fans, zines, sites, and labels for the support.

Thomas: Incredible- blown away by the response of the demo!

* I love the artwork – who did that and did you just buy the finished piece or did you have a vision in mind for what you wanted and just commission it?
Thomas: a friend from Brasil, Marcio Menezes, better known as Blasphemator Art, did all the artwork. My great friend, Felipe Eregion, of the Brasilian band, Unearthly, helped with some of the layout using the original artwork. It wasn’t a purely commissioned piece persay, I told him what we ultimately were looking for, but Marcio is working on new pieces constantly, and shows me stuff all the time. There were a few pieces purchased from him for this album. He is great!

* You have released The Infected Crypts digitally, as a 7″ and a cassette. Are you surprised to see the return of cassettes esp in the grindcore / black metal and punk rock scenes?
Joseph: I’m not. When I was growing up I saw the vinyl revival in the hardcore and punk scene. Everything is cyclical.

Thomas: The cassette thing is a little strange to me – but I love it. It’s still a pretty niche market, but there is a time and place for it.

* Out of the 3 formats listed above what was your favorite?
Joseph: The 7″ is rad and sounds great but Caco-Daemon did an amazing job with the tape. Both are cool respectively.

Thomas: I can’t say I have a favorite, esp because the 7” hasn’t been delivered by the factory yet haha. Still waiting. Caco-Daemon Records did a fantastic job on the cassette though for sure.

* Like most good death metal bands you have a fascination for 70s and 80s horror films…do you collect on VHS at all? (Have you seen the prices of good 80s VHS tapes on ebay? Its like $12 for a brand new blu ray and $400 for the VHS these days)
Joseph: I do collect VHS and there are some great distributors and collectors in Cleveland. My favorite tape is Maniac signed by Matt Harvey of Exhumed.

Thomas: Haha I’m not surprised. I have a pretty big collection on both VHS and DVD – maybe my shit will be worth that much someday !!

* What are your top 5 favorite horror films from the 80s?
Thomas: (these are not all from the 80’s but whatever)
1. House by the Cemetery
2. The Beyond
3. The Shining
4. Let’s Scare Jessica to Death
5. Poltergeist

Joseph: This is in no order.
1. City of the Living Dead
2. Prince of Darkness
3. Return of the Living Dead
4. The Shining
5: Inferno

* Do you rate any of the modern day horror franchises?
Joseph: I enjoyed Cabin Fever quite a bit and Wrong Turn. I think for the most part horror isn’t viable anymore in mainstream cinema and the art of effect production is gone.

Thomas: Eh, there were a couple I liked. I actually quite enjoyed the first Insidious. I liked the Conjuring and The Conjuring 2 a lot as well. Others worth mention, The Mist, The House of the Devil, and It Follows.  I like more of the psychological / Supernatural horror films then all the ridiculous gore nonsense.

* How many live shows have you done so far? Any notable shows?
Thomas: No shows thus far. We are all old and have kids, day jobs, the whole 9 yards. If we get some festival offers or possible some short tour offers, we’d most definitely consider.

“It’s been my dream to visit Sweden. Please book us. Anyone.”

* Are there national /international touring plans on the horizon?
Thomas:  see above

Joseph: It’s been my dream to visit Sweden. Please book us. Anyone.

* What else can we expect from Grave Plague in 2017?
Joseph: A full length LP. Pure death worshiping horror.

* Any final words?
Joseph: Thank you all for supporting us. Death metal lives.

GRAVE PLAGUE:
https://www.facebook.com/graveplague

REDEFINING DARKNESS RECORDS:
http://www.redefiningdarkness.com
https://redefiningdarknessrecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/redefiningdarkness

SEEING RED RECORDS:
http://www.seeingredrecords.com
https://seeingredrecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/seeingredrecords

TO DUST:
https://todustgrind.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/todustgrind

VINTAGE WARLORDS:
https://vintagewarlords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/vintagewarlords

HUMANITY IS CANCER:
https://www.facebook.com/humanityiscancer

 

QUADRUS release their debut album

Greek cinematic progressive metal project releases concept album “Entropia”


Greek symphonic progressive metal band QUADRUS, were formed by panist/guitarist and composer John Galanakis in the summer of 2014. John Galanakis immediately began working on the compositions and orchestrations for what was to be the band’s debut album, “Entropia” and he was lucky enough to quickly find other like-minded and accomplished musicians as partners (and eventually fellow band members) so as to complete his ideas and record them.

“Entropia” is a concept album dealing with mankind’s history as well as the endless cycle of the interdependence between humanity and the universe. The answers to such burning questions as “how did it all begin?”, “what brought about our downfall?”, “what is the meaning of life?” as well as others, are all well hidden inside the album allowing the listener to judge as well as interpret a deeper meaning, basing it on their own understanding and knowledge concerning the world.

The album features some of the finest musicianship, both in terms of song-writing as well as performance. With beautiful orchestrations and cinematic songs, progressive rhythms and operatic vocals as well as male and female vocals, sprinkled with some brutal singing, all fused together nicely, while each managing to perform a distinctive role. These are all elements that give a somewhat theatrical character to the album and guarantee to maintain the listener’s interest until the very end.

“Entropia” features two notable guest appearances: guitarist George Constantine Kratsas (MANHATTAN PROJECT) and vocalist Iliana Tsakiraki (ENEMY OF REALITY) and it is set for release on April 14th on CD and digital. Pre-orders are now available directly from the band.

Watch the lyric video for “Deceptive Projection”

 

QUADRUS line-up:
ALEXANDRA MISAILIDOU: Female Vocals, Choirs
JON SOTI: Male Vocals
JOHN GALANAKIS: Guitars, Orchestras, Brutal & Clean Vocals
MARIOS KONNARIS: Lead Guitars
JOHN SOTIRAKIS: Bass Guitars
NIKITAS MANDOLAS: Drums

“Entropia” track listing:

CHAPTER 1 (Born – Fear, Anger, Doubt)
1 Astral Nova (Intro)
2 Shadow Provision
3 The Alpha Origin
4 Sense of Matter

CHAPTER 2 (Living – Deception, Guilt, Sadness)
5 Alternative Hypothesis (Interlude)
6 Deceptive Projection
7 Attribution Theory
8 Aggression

CHAPTER 3 (End of Circle – Redemption – New beginning)
9 Entropia (The Final Chapter)
Part I:  Atom
Part II: Epiphany
Part III: Kosmos
Part IV: Shadow light Spirituality
Part V: Justification
Part VI: Elevation
Part VII:Redemption

Band links:
http://www.quadrusband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/QuadrusBandOfficial/