There has to be something in the water in Finland.. or perhaps something in the snow? Despite having a population of a little over 5 million (that’s less than half the population of New York City) this small country produces legendary Black Metal band after legendary Black metal band, Beherit,Satanic Warmaster, Horna, Behexen , Archgoat and the list just goes on and on.
Cavus has been around for a little over 10 years now with an ep and debut album under their belt. The debut came out on Listenable Records from memory. I know they went through some line up changes but we finally have a new album from them. If you are a fan of raw, uncompromising Black metal in the vein of the 2nd wave of Norwegian bands like Gorgoroth than ya gotta check out Cavus – you will love them. Fucking savage. Jump on the hate train and pick up this album You will not be sorry
Tracklisting
1.The New Era 02:50
2.Killtech 03:37
3.Divine Power 05:22
4. I Watch You Die 03:14
5. Morphine 04:14
6.Calling The Flames 03:44
7.The Strength Of Hatred 05:14
8.Presence Of Existence 03:44
9.Come To Me Shadows 03:57
10.There Will Be Blood 04:23
running time : 40:24
bio
Cavus was formed around the year 2007 by the founding fathers guitarist J.K and drummer T.T.T in their hometown of Porvoo, Finland. They gave birth to this creature of hatred and devilry to serve them, loyally and unquestioning, through times of violent intoxication and depths of depravity. By the joining of vocalist W, bassist A.R.G and second guitarist B.P, the lineup was complete and a truly devastatingly destructive force.
The first offspring of this alliance was a self titled EP, consisting of four hymns in the honour of plague and pestilence, that was released in 2009. After live performances with bands like Mayhem, Behexen and Sólstafir in the autumn of 2009, Cavus signed a worldwide recording contract with French record label Listenable Records. Recordings for a debut album “Fester And Putrefy” started in February 2010, and released by Listenable Records September 27th in the EU and during October in the USA and February 2011 in South America.
The release was followed by an european tour together with Gorgoroth. 2012 the band started to work with a new album but during the process vocalist W decided to leave the band. Therefore the album process was delayed. Late 2015 B.P decided to take over the vocals and the album was completed.
Vomitile hail from island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean. You don’t normally associate brutal death metal with Cyprus but I guess before Death, Obituary, Massacre, Deicide and Morbid Angel – most people did not think of Tampa being the capital of death metal either – so there ya go.
I gotta be honest with you – I have listened to so much death metal over the years and so much good death metal Carcass, Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower etc that a lot of newish death metal does very little for me (I gotta say for the record that Blood Incantation is one of the best new Death metal bands in the last 10 years) anyways I digress.
So yeah where was I ? Oh I know – on the whole I would rather review black metal records – especially ones that push the boundaries of black metal, for example if you sound like a 10th rate Dark throne copy then please don’t ask me to listen to your album. However I try to keep an open mind PLUS I base all my reviews on knee jerk reaction. Meaning I am going to turn your record off after about 10 seconds or I am going to dig it.
These guys I did – sure its savage fucking death metal – but to me what is appealing about Vomitile is the fact that they write songs. There is a structure here and you can make out the lyrics without referring to a lyric sheet. This is a DM band I can get behind
Not sure if we will ever see them play live in America but fuck, this album is great
Track-list:
01. Mass Extermination
02. Pestilation
03. Labeled Dead
04. HateField
05. Glorify The Insane
06. Executioner Of Strength
07. To Deflesh
08. Nothing But Pain
09. Soulskinner
10. Carnal Surgery
Length – 36:46
Pick up a copy today and show some support for the scene
Khatch Yildizian – bass & vocals
George Yildizian – guitars
Panos Larkou – guitars
Hugo Olivos – drums
Vomitile was formed during the summer of 2007 with the sole intention of playing an aggressive form of metal and since thrash and death metal were the main influences of the band, it slowly evolved to what it is today, a pure Death Metal band. Since then, the band has released an ep followed by two full length albums in 2013 and 2014 and a newly recorded full length album entitled Pure Eternal Hate which is scheduled to be released sometime in mid-2018. Considered the leaders of the local death metal scene, the band is also known for their powerful and brutal live performances. Some of their prominent live shows include supporting the German thrash legends Sodom and Kreator, Florida’s death metal kings Obituary, Poland’s very own Vader, a mini tour with British thrash legends Onslaught and a co headlining tour with death metal godfathers Master.
Grimorium Verum are a Russian black metal band that have been going for over 20 years now. Their latest album Revenant (released May 2018) is their best album yet. According to their press release “Revenant” is a true journey to the dark corners of the soul. If that’s the mood they are going for, well they damn well achieved it!
Personally I am not the greatest fan of Symphonic Black Metal (well to be fair I am not a fan of Symphonic metal either) I found way too many of these bands to be so way over blown and generally corny but Grimorium Verum know how to be dramatic and build emotion without being cheesy.
I also want to add in case you are not aware the band uses a drum machine but it works perfectly for them (I know some of you guys hate bands that use artificial drums)
If you love old school Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir then the Revenant is for you.
American fans note that this is a co-release with Russian label Satanath Records and American labels Cimmerian Shade Recordings (USA), The True Plague (USA), Black Metal Records (USA) so ya will not have to mail order overseas to get your copy.
Line-up:
Zavalnyy Andrey – guitars, bass, keyboards
Dokuchaev Roman – vocals
Uryavin Alexander – keyboards (live)
Track-list:
01. The Born Of The Devil
02. The Kingdom Of The Pain
03. The March Of The Northern Kings
04. Blind Faith In Nothing
05. The Light Of Dark Father
06. Revenant
07. The Circus Of The Dark Illusion
08. Sacred Temple Of Blood
09. The Great Serpentine Saint
10. The Resurrected On The Devil’s Hands
We spoke to Christy and Laurie of Ails back in Feb 0f 2017 for our women in Black Metal round table. It was high time we caught up with the band to talk about their killer new album “The Unraveling” read on!
* Congrats on the new album I feel you guys are yet again pushing the boundaries of Black metal and that’s a good thing – what was the songwriting process like on “the Unraveling” ?0
Sam- Christy had Bitter Past & Mare Weighs Down written when I joined Colby, Christy, & Laurie in the band. Since then it has been a back and forth between myself and Christy on song writing. For example I wrote Dead Metaphors, then Christy wrote The Echoes Waned, then I wrote Any Spark of Life, then Christy wrote The Ruin. Once we bring the riffs and arrangement ideas to practice, it becomes a full collaboration between everyone. Parts and arrangement such as riff order and length of parts will get tweaked according to any ideas anyone has. Really it’s the same with drums and Vocals. Colby puts drums to it and sometimes a suggestion to tweak a thing here or there will be made and we try it. Laurie writes all her lyrics and lays down the cadence. Christy does the same on any vocals she might be doing closely working with Laurie. Christy and I will write our solos and add our harmonies if there are any, and the inner rhythms and pulse of it all just fall into place over time through good old-fashioned feel.
* Where did you record the album? I love the production, it is raw but still has a great sense of song structure and melody something too many BM bands forgo in trying to be “grim and frostbitten”
Sam- Brad did a great job with that! I’ve heard other people referring to the production as raw. I agree its not a slick production but I don’t really consider it to be all that raw. One thing though is it’s pretty real. Meaning we didn’t use a lot of the standard studio tricks predominantly heard in modern metal, the main one being fully triggered drums. It’s amazing how much more organic it sounds with the lack of the “perfection” that a drum trigger forward mix brings. Colby plays a lot with different hits depending on the feeling of it all. He ebbs and flows with volume and intensity and I would hate to lose that. I think the album is a deeper experience over all because of that choice. To be clear I have nothing against albums with a ton of drum trigger or studio perfection. I like it on a lot of what I listen to, but I don’t think it was right for us on this one. We wanted it to sound like us as much as possible, and we got fairly close I think.
* Congrats on the new album I feel you guys are yet again pushing the boundaries of Black metal and that’s a good thing – what was the songwriting process like on “the Unraveling” ?
Laurie-Thank you so much, we are thrilled that you love it!! It was a slow but steady process. Christy and Colby started out mostly practicing a few songs that Christy wrote, then I joined and then when we got a 2nd guitarist (Sam) and bass player (originally Eli) to join, Sam wrote songs too, we started practicing more regularly and things became more cohesive and together. For me, after each song is mostly composed, I usually figure out the placement of where to put in the vocal parts and then complete the lyrics, because it works better for me that way and I want it all to fit in the song as dynamically and as uniquely as possible.
* Did you find that you and the rest of the band going through a period of heavily listening to a certain artist or genre before the writing of the album? if so who? I gotta think you guys have a pretty eclectic taste in music and I don’t just mean BM (I know some bands when they are in “writing mode” will not listen to anybody as they do not want to subconsciously pick up influences).
Laurie- For myself, I’m always listening to music daily and have my headphones on whenever I leave my front door, so every day involves some form of influence or inspiration, but over these more recent years I’ve mostly been rediscovering music I loved from when I was younger..I felt influenced and inspired from metal bands like Bethlehem and Ved Buens Ende, doom like Cathedral, Swedish doom like Runemagick, to revisiting my favorites from when I was still in youth, like Peter Gabriel-era Genesis, Deep Purple, Bowie, MC5, Neil Young, Patty Smith, Roxy Music, Nico, , Lee Hazlewood, Nina Simone, Bauhaus, Laughing Hyeanas. I’ve been currently obsessed with Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Algiers and Dirtmusic for weeks now…but I’m sure it will fluctuate again soon. Not very metal of me but I’m 48 now so I kinda don’t give a hoot. ha! And we all have very broad and diverse tastes in music. The list is never-ending for all of us I think!
Like the late great Martin Eric Ain of Celtic Frost once said – “There are more feelings to express than just aggression and destruction.”
* Where did you record the album? I love the production, it is raw but still has a great sense of song structure and melody something too many BM bands forgo in trying to be “grim and frostbitten”
Laurie- It was recorded by Brad Kobylczak at New Improved Studio and Moon Dog Studio. Mixed by brad at Condemned Studio and mastered by Dan Randall at Mammoth Studio.
I do agree with you overall and also like the production. There are a few things about the recording process I hope to try differently next time but yes it was a great experience. I don’t think that we are a traditional necro/atmospheric-sounding bm band with 100’s of layers, and I believe we are more comparable to a heavy metal/rock band sound, which is why it’s important to have all instruments, vocals included, equally heard, rather than a low-fi/pushed back deep and far away in the cave sound or as you say “grim and frostbitten” I think that type of production and mix wouldn’t work very well with our material. Much of the song-writing and guitars do have a great melodic almost organic quality that I too love a lot, I’ve always been a huge fan of how Christy writes guitar melodies. Like the late great Martin Eric Ain of Celtic Frost once said – “There are more feelings to express than just aggression and destruction.” There you go..
* Did you try anything new in the studio that you had not done before as Ludicra?
Laurie- For me personally, I wanted to to do more clean singing harmonies as I feel it adds a whole other layer of lush heaviness and somber sadness and dynamics, although this is basically the same thing I’ve been doing for many years in Ludicra so I’m not sure much has changed for me during the recording process.
The thing she misses the most is being able to see a mind-blowing bill of bands every other week here
* You and Christy are pretty much “veterans” of the Bay Area Black metal scene – how would you say the scene has changed for the best in the last 10 years?
Laurie- I think maybe there are just a lot more bands, most of which are incredible. There is a sense of pride here because there are truly so many really good local bands. A friend in Portland recently told me that the thing she misses the most is being able to see a mind-blowing bill of bands every other week here. And there are so many great musicians here, young and old! There is a great sense of community and support towards one another, it’s one of the reasons to try to stick it out and stay despite the insufferable rents and lack of affordable and fair housing for all.
* And in what ways has it gotten worse?
Laurie-Well we could go the opposite I suppose and say that since there are so many bands here, we have become spoiled in a way which could also lead to more “jaded” interpretations of the Bay Area metal scene.” I suppose music can sometimes also be a tricky thing here in our Bay Area and you can’t always satisfy or connect with everyone.
Tech, realtors, greed, speculation etc have definitely affected the live music scene in SF
* Speaking of getting worse – I love how an amazing music scene has flourished in the Bay Area for the last at least, 50 years but with all of the Tech money coming into town has that been much of a detrimental effect on the live music scene?
Laurie- As much as I try my best to support local shows in SF(I’m one of the few left living here), yes tech, realtors, greed, speculation etc have definitely affected the live music scene in SF. Some venues no longer exist and the ones that still do, often struggle to have well-attended shows. So many artists have had to vacate the city, it’s become a rather square and aloof “ignore thy neighbor” environment. There are still a few gems left in SF and even a few new ones despite the mass gentrification but it’s not the same and sadly never will be the city of freaks that I once loved so dearly. Oakland carries the torch for music, especially metal, I’m glad to be able to bart over and see all the good folks, good shows and of course my bandmates!
* We all know unless you are Dimmu Borgir or Cradle of Filth Black metal is more of a labor of love than a career option – what does everyone in the band do to keep themselves alive? (day jobs)
Laurie- I’m working as a Supportive Housing Case Manager/Money Manager for formerly homeless folks in SF. It’s a labor of love as well. I’ve recently come to accept that I take on a higher level of vicarious trauma-related stress than I wanted to believe, so I’m working on better self-care and better health in order to continue doing the other things I love, mostly being in Ails. I try my best to stay afloat despite the frustrations of the “most expensive city now in America” and all the very complex social and political disparities that exist here. Hey at least I’m in still here, rather than somewhere like Alabama, it could be a lot worse!!
* Have you played the new songs live much yet? If so what song(s) have gone over live the best to date?
Laurie- Ha! We’ve been playing the same 6 songs for almost 3 years now! We hope to have new ones very soon.
* Have any of audience reactions surprised you?
Laurie- I may not be best one to know or answer but it seems that most of our songs seem to go over live pretty well, we’ve learned over the years that some don’t seem to have the same effect as some others though.
* Are we going to see you guys on the East Coast this year?
Laurie- At this point,it’s not very likely, but I’m sure we will get to NY and hopefully surrounding area for a short tour in 2019 at least.
We would love to play more festivals as well
* Any touring plans in place yet?
Laurie – We can’t do long tours due to life,work schedules, and sometimes for me personally, getting older.. but we will do a few short mini-tours up and down West Coast and hope to get over to East Coast and Europe properly and eventually. We would love to play more festivals as well! We just played the incredibly well-run fest – Northwest Terror Fest in Seattle and it was such a wonderful experience for all. We all try our best to juggle our schedules but it’s more challenging to do so for longer touring.
* Any final words?
Laurie – Getting to perform again and be in a band again, especially with people I love and respect as friends…it has been the most uplifting and enjoyable thing for me in many years, just grateful to keep doing it for as long as it can go. Thank you so much!
Ghastly is one of the best death metal bands to come about in the last 10 years today I caught up with Ian from the band to chat about The Tampere Music Scene, How you can’t street drink in California and much more.
Hi Ian, congratulations on your 2nd album ‘Death Velour”, loving the sound of it
* How did you guys approach the song writing of this album compared to your first album?
After the first album I only had one song ready and it took me few years to start developing new songs, but after that hiatus the songs started flowing easily. There weren’t any different kind of approach compared to the first album, it was made similar way as “Carrion of Time” was songwriting-wise, but this time I had more knowledge of recording an album and I had quite clear idea how I want it to sound.
I should have learned not to record an album by myself again
* What mistakes did you learn from recording your first album that helped you this time around?
I should have learned not to record an album by myself again, but then I wouldn’t had achieved this kind of sound and control over it. Recording guitars worked so much easier this time and the sound is also better compared to the first album.
* How did you hook up with the 20 Buck Spin guys? (seems like a good fit for you) and are you happy with the job they have done so far?
I sent a promo to 20 Buck Spin, Dave liked it and wanted to hear more. After hearing the whole album, he offered us a deal. Been familiar with 20 Buck Spin’s releases for years and seeing how great quality stuff they put out, it was easy to say yes to that offer. We have been very happy with everything that 20BS has done for us. Really dedicated label and it is great to be part of their roster.
There are really great Finnish death metal bands around, new and old
* How is this death metal scene in Finland these days – its seems to me as an American we hear much more about the Finnish BM scene than the Death metal scene.. is that a fair assessment or no?
Can’t really say much about black metal, I’m not that interested in that particular genre even though there can be found some black metal kinda things in Ghastly’s music too. I like some black metal and go to few shows now and then but the people and overall atmosphere at the gigs is something that I don’t go crazy about. Don’t have any clue if Finnish black metal is a big thing in the US.
There are really great Finnish death metal bands around, new and old and it is great to be part of that scene. It’s cool that there are more unique sounding bands rather than some worship bands who take everything from influential groups, but maybe there is a place for those bands too.
* What about the Tampere metal scene? Is it very strong now?
Not huge but a good one. Not really heavy metal bars anymore but that’s a good thing because they would play some mainstream metal and rock in those bars, which usually is terrible. We have few great DJ nights around the town at least, Gassy Sam’s Pacto De Sangre for instance.
Only thing that counts is if the band is good
* Back in the early 80s Tampere had some great punk rock bands.. do you think there is a Tampere “attitude” compared to other major cities in Finland?
We have a strong punk scene here and also many metalheads are digging punk, I don’t but it doesn’t bother me that much. I haven’t paid any attention if there is an attitude going on in Tampere and I don’t really care that much. Only thing that counts is if the band is good, no matter where are they from.
Early Amorphis started showing me northern European death metal scene and I was hooked.
* Growing up how did you get into Death metal – for me bands like Morbid Angel and Death were eye openers. Whispers Through the Aether definitely has that old school Morbid Angel feel to my ears.
That’s pretty cool if you can get Morbid Angel feelings out of that song. Wasn’t any intention but “Altars of Madness” is one of my favourite DM record, so it has been a huge influence through the years. When I was in elementary school, my classmate had Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel albums and those were the first death metal bands I heard. Then later on Entombed’s “Left Hand Path”, early Amorphis started showing me northern European death metal scene and I was hooked.
* Has any of the band ever visited the USA before? if so what were your impressions? Many visiting Norwegians are surprised that everyone doesn’t live in like an episode of Seinfeld or Friends (ha ha)
Gassy Sam visited the States when he was a kid, so probably he doesn’t have any wild memories. I visited USA in 2016 for Frost and Fire II, Cirith Ungol’s first gig in decades. It was a cool trip and I only spent time in California. Really cool place and great scene, awesome crazy metalheads there. Good food, beers and weather, so I liked it a lot. Only things that were fucked up was that it was expensive as hell there and public drinking was extremely forbidden.
I would totally want to do tours and see the world
* I know you guys play live but it is not an important factor for your band. Is there a reason for this? Would you like to be a band that does a couple of big tours every year?
It’s hard to maintain a live band when I’m playing almost everything on the record. We are rehearsing at the moment and focusing on starting to do shows. I would totally want to do tours and see the world at the same time, rather than doing jobs but there’s bills to pay. Hopefully we can do touring as soon as possible.
* Speaking of playing live – what has been your best show so far as a band and why?
There has only been two shows till this day and I wouldn’t say any out of those were the best. Those gigs happened in 2013 and we played as a trio. Now we have added a second guitarist and our songs will definitely sound better than in 2013.
* What can we expect from the band for the rest of 2018
Hopefully few gigs, at least one is booked for September with Anatomia, Cryptic Brood, Solothus and God Disease.
* Any final words?
Thanks for this interview. Be sure to check out news and other info from our fb site and also visit 20 Buck Spins website for physical copies of the album and shirts too.
MERRIMACK have announced Japanese tour dates in support of their latest album ”Omegaphilia”, which was released on June 09, 2017. The Parisian black metal fanatics will hit the road to Japan in November, where they will join MARDUK for four shows. A full list of confirmed dates can be found below.
MERRIMACK comment on the tour: “9 Years after our successful USA tour with the mighty Marduk, Merrimack will support the Swedish devils again for 4 shows in Japan this November. We are stoked to explore the Nippon territories for the first time, and deliver some pure french Black Metal, played with devotion and faith, to the maniacs there. It’s a brand new experience for us, but it will definitely leave a mark on the Japanese crowd as well!”
MERRIMACK Japan tour
+Marduk
22 Nov 18 Osaka (JP) Fan J Twice
23 Nov 18 Nagoya (JP) Imaike 3 Stars
24 Nov 18 Tokyo (JP) Cyclone
25 Nov 18 Tokyo (JP) Cyclone
MERRIMACK will be playing in support of their latest release ‘Omegaphilia’, which was released on June 9th, 2017 and is streaming in full here!
The cover art of ‘Omegaphilia’, which has been created by Dehn Sora and the album’s track-list can be viewed below.
Track-list
1. Cauterizing Cosmos
2. The Falsified Son
3. Apophatic Weaponry
4. Gutters of Pain
5. Sights in the Abysmal Lure
6. Cesspool Coronation
7. At the Vanguard of Deception
Musicians as any artists can be roughly categorised into different groups by their approach to composing. There are those for example, who come with restless souls and always try to find new ways and break into uncharted territories. Others prefer to evolve within a certain genre, driven by a desire to hone their skills and striving to bring their art to perfection. MERRIMACK as black metal traditionalists obviously belong to the latter circle and their fifth full-length with the apocalyptic title ‘Omegaphilia’ is an impressive demonstration of how far the French band has matured.
MERRIMACK are breathing fresh life into an exhausted genre, not by heaping up epithets such as progressive, post-, and avant-garde, but by razor-sharp songwriting, captivating melodies, and close to perfect arrangements. ‘Omegaphilia’ achieves excellence through hard work and experience that shows through on every single song.
MERRIMACK were founded by guitarist Perversifier in 1994 with a clear vision to keep the black metal flame burning as an act of aesthetic terrorism – as adamantly based in the underground as opposed to any attempts to co-opt, commercialise, or turn the style into a self-parody.
With a number of demo recordings (‘Prologue’ – 1995, ‘Act 1’ – 1995, ‘Horns Defeat Thorns’ – 2001) and split releases (with Hirilorn in 1998 and Sargeist in 2002), the French gained respect in the scene by remaining true to their words. Although MERRIMACK decided to reach out to a larger audience with the release of their first full-length ‘Ashes of Purification’ (2002), the Parisians did not sever their roots with the underground at any time.
‘Of Entropy and Life Denial’ (2006) and ‘Grey Rigorism’ (2009) followed and witnessed MERRIMACK closing ranks with the most influential, active, and authentic acts of the French black metal scene. Their classic combination of harsh sound with epic structures appealed to critics and fans alike and put the band on their celebrated first US tour with MARDUK and NACHTMYSTIUM in 2009.
Following the recording of ‘The Acausal Mass’ (2012) again in the legendary Necromorbus Studio (WATAIN, DESTRÖYER 666), MERRIMACK embarked on a European tour with Norwegian icons MAYHEM and accepted invitations to prestigious festivals such as Hellfest in their native France, Germany’s Party-San Open Air and Summer Breeze and Montreal’s Messe des Morts in Canada.
Having firmly established their black name and message around the globe, MERRIMACK are setting a bold exclamation mark with ‘Omegaphilia’. Be warned, this album is determined to remain in your playlist for a long time.
This week I spoke with Aura Noir main man Aggressor. In case you have been living under a rock the Aura Noir guys have been making black metal since back in 1985. read this and learn something new.
Congrats on your first record in 6 years
Oh, thank you
* What have you guys been doing in the interim?
Playing a few short tours and a lot of festivals, plus writing this new album.
* You have worked with Satyricon Ulver and many more – what would you say are the biggest differences between how Satyricon and Ulver work?
I played in those 2 bands more than 25 years ago. Don’t remember much, and I’m sure they have a routine worked up many years ago that wasn’t even considered when I was in those bands. I’m still in contact with the Ulver-guys, Satyricon, not so much..
* You guys got your start on Nocturno Cultos label right? How was that in the early days?
No. Actually Tyrant Syndicate was our 4th record-label. We had been on Hammerheart records, Malicious records and Hot Records before signing with Tyrant. Our first release on Tyrant was «The Merciless», which was our 4th release.
Cadaver were the first
* I saw you guys play a metal fest back in the early 2000s as part of Cadaver Inc. Would it be fair to say that Cadaver were one of the first Norwegian Extreme bands to have a worldwide release – right? How was it working with Neddo?
Well, yes. The first Cadaver album came out in 1990, so if you don’t count in Mayhem’s Deathcrush-album, yes, Cadaver were the first. But this was way before we came in to the picture. We started in 2000, I joined cause not much was happening with Aura Noir at the time and Apollyon joined later. We were ambitious, but not much came out of it, so we laid down the band. Neddo is a swell guy with lots of irons in the fire..
The music became more important than ever after my accident
* In 2005 you fell off a 4th story building and was hospitalized for many months – how has your life changed since that terrible time?
That’s a big question. It’s now 13 years ago and I’ve gradually made a good life for myself. I have some chronic pain, but I’m able to live with it. The music became more important than ever after my accident, or maybe I realized how important it always was.
* How does your output with Virus differ to your work with Aura Noir. Do you set out to write for each band individually or do you get into “blackened thrash mode” to write for A.N. or?
Well, the 2 bands are like different planets. In Aura Noir we have the music in our bloodstream, while in Virus we have to see what we can conjure up. Virus is experimental, Aura Noir is somewhat traditional.
* I know in the past you guys have demoed songs and lived with them for some time before doing the album – did you take this approach for the new album too?
Yes, we always do that. The songs has to mature. We make rehearsals and listen alot, then do the proper adjustments. This is one of the reasons that it takes so much time in between albums.
* From the thrash side what bands have been the biggest influences for Aura Noir?
Early stuff from before there were clear definitions on what was thrash and what was black metal.. There was a time when people called Celtic Frost speed metal, you know? All the early to mid eighties stuff. Venom, Slayer, the german bands, Sodom, Kreator, Destruction. The first Voivod albums, etc..
There was much more rivalry in the old days.
* You guys have been doing this since the 2nd wave of Black Metal hit Norway – how you would say the scene has changed since the early 90s?
Very much. People are much more supportive of each other now than before. There was much more rivalry in the old days.
* What do you think are the benefits of being the old guys in the scene now?
I don’t know if there are any benefits other than when it comes to making music. We are more certain on how we want to sound, and how to achieve that sound.
* If you could go back in time and give your younger selves advice what would it be?
Work harder.
It’s a way of life.
* What keeps you guys going after so many years?
Speaking for myself, music is something I need to do. It’s a necessity for me. It’s not a hobby or a job. It’s a way of life.
* I know you guys are doing a run of dates for this record – any plans for US dates this year?
No concrete plans no, but we want to go there for sure. We’ll see what we can work out for early 2019.
But South America is something special
* From memory when you last played South America the fans went nuts – would you say thats your favorite market to play or do you have other favorites?
Greece is always good. But SA is something special, yes. Wild crowds all over.
* What else can we expect from the band in 2018?
Everything will revolve around this this album. A couple of small tours. One in Australia-New Zealand, two in Europe. Plus a few festivals and one-offs.
This week I spoke with Damon from Mournful Congregation, probably one of the best bands doing Funeral Dirge in the world today. Damon comes from South Australia and we spoke about the isolation of being a doom band based in Australia, what it takes to be in a band for so long (since 1993!) and the misconceptions of Americans you get from watching TV – read on.
•First off Congrats on the new album – it certainly feels like you guys were doing something to move doom into a more accessible position- Was this a conscious decision or did it just happen naturally?
I actually didn’t come away from this album thinking we had made a more accessible album than any albums previous. I actually thought, this album will not necessarily gain new fans, or turn new people onto our style, but will perhaps appease fans who already know our style. I mainly thought this because I think this album is a bit of a hard listen overall, because of its length and because of its intensity and somewhat unrelenting nature. We did intend to create some sort of intoxicating sound though, that fulfills all the right frequency cravings from listeners. So, if we did happen to make a more accessible album, then I guess it was a consequence of two strains of thought from us. But it wasn’t high on our list of things to achieve, no.
•How do you guys find splitting up your releases with 20 Buck Spin in the USA and Osmose for Europe?
It has so far worked really well for all of us. We started this way of working with “The Book of Kings” album back in 2011, and have continued working this way since. Also not to forget Weird Truth taking care of Asia too. It seems to make sense in this era, having labels to take care of each continent rather than one label taking care of world distribution.
•Australia has always had a pretty great underground metal scene – what factors do you think contribute to this?
Isolation, cultural identity (stemming from a mixing pot of cultural identities), certain climactic features, certain attitude (that is uniquely Australian) and certain features that are unique to this land itself must all contribute I guess.
We didn’t need to be connected to any particular cities’ “live scene”
•Being based in South Australia must be pretty isolating. What would you say are the best pros and cons to being based in SA?
Being based in Australia in general is not a great thing for bands who want to tour. So being in SA doesn’t really seem any worse to us than being based anywhere else within Australia. In fact I would prefer to be here than in any bigger cities like Melbourne or Sydney. Up until 2009, we were strictly a studio band, so everything we did was through the underground networks of letter writing, fanzines and tape trading etc. So it didn’t really matter where you were from in this case. We didn’t need to be connected to any particular cities’ “live scene” or anything like that. And still don’t need to be.
•After being in a band for what 25+ years now? what keeps you going?
There has never been a consideration to stop. We have plenty of new material written to work on for the next album. It is a compulsion to keep exploring this style, and trying to better and further explore this style. I do not really question it, if the inspiration keeps coming, which it does, then I will keep being the prepared vessel for which it may come through.
At this point I think the strongest bands have survived
•How would you say the Aussie metal scene has changed in those years?
It’s had its ebbs and flows. It’s not free from trends, and I’ve seen trends come and go. At this point I think the strongest bands have survived and you probably know them by now. In the last few years I have seen very few new bands offering anything interesting. So you could say we are in the ebb rather than the flow right now.
•What about the scene worldwide?
Perhaps the same could be said for the scene worldwide. Although I do hear new and interesting things emerge from different parts of the globe sporadically. So I must deduce that “scenes” don’t seem to emerge so much from one place anymore. Things are spread out alot more. Certain cities or even countries might produce one good band nowadays rather than ten good bands like they used to.
•What metal bands do you rate in 2018?
Hooded Menace, Phrenelith, Acephalix, Bell Witch, Illimitable Dolor, Malokarpatan to name a few. Not necessarily new bands, but good ones by my reckoning.
•Whats the one thing you miss from the old days of the underground scene in the early 90s?
Although I could not be fucked writing letters anymore, I do miss receiving letters full of flyers and maybe a demo tape or two.
This is the beauty of travel though, myths and stereo-types are often busted wide open
•You did your first US tour in 2011 if I am correct? What was it like to finally visit America? Did you have many misconceptions that were laid to rest (I know many Scandinavian bands expect everyone in NYC to be like an episode of Friends or Seinfeld)
Yeah, it was 2011 touring with Aldebaran and Anhedonist. Oh yeah, many myths were put to rest haha!
I didn’t see one incidence of gun violence or gang violence – that’s what the media would have us believe the US is all about . And alot of Americans are very humble, quiet and welcoming – not loud mouth tourists or Hollywood-type extroverts. Really, it exposes our own ignorance for believing such stereo-types. This is the beauty of travel though, myths and stereo-types are often busted wide open.
Playing in the Californian mountains at Stella Natura Fest was a very fond experience
•What were your favorite places to play in the USA?
I have a fondness for the Pacific Northwest overall. But Texas was also very interesting and cool, and of course playing in the Californian mountains at Stella Natura Fest was a very fond experience.
•One of the biggest challenges I have found for Australian bands is the cost of flights to get to America or Europe – have you made much inroads into the various metal scenes in Asia (China. Japan etc) since they seem much closer to Australia and therefore more affordable to travel to.
We have toured in Japan once, back in 2010. But really it is not much cheaper to fly to than Europe or the US. It is cheaper for us to fly to South East Asia – like Indonesia, Thailand etc, but they tend to have less promoters willing to pay the flight funds. So we have never had the right offers come through to actually perform there, even though it might seem logical.
•In the past you have talked about the occult history of humanity – is this something that still interests you?
Yes of course. But I would say it becomes harder and harder to find valid and fulfilling works towards this interest. There is a point where you realize you must integrate practical knowledge over theoretical knowledge, and actually add to the pool rather than just swim in the pool. The framework of such ideas can be laid down through reading and research, but you must be willing for such framework to be shattered and expanded upon through experience. It is an ongoing process and actually part of being human – the very thing you are trying to unravel.
I am very fascinated by the psychedelic resurgence in the last few years
•Have you followed any occult paths yourself? if so which ones and what experiences do you care to share with us?
Yoga and meditation have been a solid foundation over the years. And I am very fascinated by the psychedelic resurgence in the last few years, of which I have delved into a little, and which I feel is harmonious with other spiritual/ occult practices. This is about as far as my ongoing discipline lies.
•What do you have lined up for the rest of 2018?
We are performing a few shows in the US in July, finishing at Migration Fest. And we are doing a 10-date European tour in November, finishing at Madrid is the Dark Fest.
In between these live sojourns, we will be working on our next album.
This week I spoke with influential bands in the Brazilian Black metal scene Carpatus – read this and learn something new.
* You guys are from Sao Paulo Brazil correct? How is the black metal scene down there these days?
We are from Santo André, in the region of São Paulo. My view is that the scene has already been very strong and expressive in the past. It has been somewhat weakened some time ago, but it has strengthened again over the last years.
We have some good local bands from different variants of Black Metal. More and more we have international shows, all year round. Many of them have great audiences, and we continue to do our best to strengthen the scene even more.
Sepultura was of enormous importance
* Do you think bands like Sepultura did much to help progress the metal scene in Brazil or did they just do there thing without much impact on the rest of the scene?
Of course, Sepultura was of enormous importance. I lived the metal scene in Brazil in the early 90’s, and we know that the world was different than it is today. Sepultura in a way brought the metal culture to the national media, many people in Brazil, and around the world, came to listen to metal music because of them. There are even more expressive names in the Black Metal scene itself, such as the great Sarcófago, for example – among many other Brazilian bands of that era.
Carpatus is an essential part of my life, and always will be.
* You formed the band in the late 90s correct? Whats kept you going after all this time?
In a way I see myself as responsible for doing something for the whole. For what the scene represents to me for my story. When we started in the late 90s, we were not sure where to go, I never thought Carpatus would have an end. Although much has changed since then in all aspects of our lives, our essence remains the same. The same for Carpatus’, it will always keep this way. I have a huge passion for what I do, and I have no doubt that this makes all the difference. Carpatus is an essential part of my life, and always will be.
* Even though you guys are only a duo – do you do many live shows? If so how do you manage? Backing tracks or hired hands?
Yes, we perform live shows. Officially, the band’s current line-up counts only with me. But we have session members for the other instruments. Answering your question, we do a bit of both: backing tracks for corals, acoustic guitars and stuff like that, while all the rest is done live, by myself with the support of the session musicians.
* How has the black metal scene changed in Brazil since the late 90s?
The see a huge development and expansion in the scene from these times to nowadays. Despite this, I do not see the same aura, the same spirit that existed at that time. Black Metal was once a kinf of “forbidden” subject, a taboo, a cult. Today, a part of that has been lost. With the popularization of access to information, mainly due to the facilities brought by the advent of the internet, I see somehow a banalization of the cult. In the 1990s, metalheads around the globe used to exchange information and materials by mail, recording K7 tapes, buying vinyl records or CDs. None of this is necessary today, everything is relatively easy, anyone has access to it. The best we can do is try to take advantage of the good side of all of this, and make things happen in the world we live now.
* How do you feel the bands sound has progress since the last album?
I think Malus Ascendant is our best album so far. We had some development as musicians, which led us to enrich the musical structure with arrangements and adding corals, keyboard and acoustic guitars. The atmosphere also refers back to the past, perhaps this is our strongest work, conceptually. This long pause brought the band some benefit, after all.
Cold, intense, true Black Metal. Melodic, though raw and authentic
* What can we expect from the new album?
Cold, intense, true Black Metal. Melodic, though raw and authentic. The graphic material is in perfect sync with the entire lyric and musical concept. Black Metal as an art, in several ways.
* What is the song writing process like for you? Do you create everything yourself or does Animus Atra have much sonic input in the final results?
I do everything by myself. I usually create the drum rhythm for each peace of music too, but the drummer is free to add some new ideas and somehow give some contribution to the composition process. (Note: Animus Atra is no longer a band member. Drums on Malus Ascendant was recorded by Morbus Deimos, currently playing at Justabeli)
Evil and darkness surmounting the light is the content that brings reality to the surface.
* Lyrically what subjects does Carpatus cover?
The lyrical concept varies between each song, always on subjects related to the Cult to the Darkness, analogies to occultism and suffering in real life, as part of a ritual of purification. Many of the events we live in could be used to understand our journey, through analogies and stories. Evil and darkness surmounting the light is the content that brings reality to the surface.
* How do you guys record? Like many bands do you work at home from computers or do you choose to go to a professional recording studio?
We went through the ancient ways. Most of the record has been done at Marcos Cerutti Studio, and the mixing and production at Eiffel Studios, which is a huge professional place for audio recording work.
* How do you think the digital age has effected the Black metal scene – to me it feels like it is easier to get the message out there and easier to find new bands but at the same time there are many bands who should not be releasing their music so easily
I agree, absolutely. The more easy is to take every step in the process, the more common is to face crappy artists which should never released anything. Of course, in the other hand, really professional bands also has more room to develop their work and to reach out to even more people.
The main event that drive us to such a long break was the death of our guitarist
* What happened between 2010 to 2015? Why the 5 year break? Family and work commitments? or?
The main event that drive us to such a long break was the death of our guitarist, my best friend Lucas Mandelli. He died at the age of 27 by car accident in October 2010. We were working on the stuff that furtherly would became the Malus Ascendant album at that time, and I had no condition to continue working after that facts. 5 years later, I finally got my head up again and went back to the job.
* How did the deal with Black Lion come about?
Our producer (and bass guitar session member when playing alive) Marcos Cerutti works for Black Lion Productions. He introduced the band to the label representatives, and their impression about us was pretty good. I presented the album concept and the project itself, and shortly after we got the deal done.
* Are there plans at all to play shows in Europe?
Not in 2018. But maybe in 2019. We are still working on some local gigs with session members. But surely a mini tour in Europe would be definitely awesome.
* What can we expect from Carpatus in 2018?
We have been working on our first official video clip, for the song “Flames to Eternity”. It is now at the end stage of preparation, we will realize it in early May 2018. After that, we should play alive in some few metal festivals. We will also play alive in Sao Paulo – Brazil as opening act for Bölzer, in May 2018. We will then start to work on the new album stuff, we expect to have some news by the end of 2018.
* Any final words?
Very glad to have this opportunity. Thank you so much for all your collaboration! Keep on supporting the underground darkness! Hail Bruder Des Licht!
Baume is the brain child of Gaetan from Cepheide – read our interview with them HERE.
As any long term reader of our site knows the French have been killing it with Black metal in the last 15 years or so. Baume is no exception. A lot more raw and pained than Cepheide, Gaetan plays all instruments on this album (with the exception of some vocals and bass handled by Laurene and Hugo respectively.)
With its official release date of March 2nd 2018, its already streaming on bandcamp but you can order cds and shirt bundles from there too
Check out the album here and let me know what ya think!
