EXECRATION A feast for the wretched Review

EXECRATION (US) – A feast for the wretched
CD 2008 – Comatose Music
9 tracks - 30'35
Rated: 6/10
Colorado-based deathsters released their first record of brutal death metal following the typical rules of US brutal death metal, and I ain't surprised the band is now signed on Unique Leader Records. After a promising demo, repressed on CD on Comatose Music, EXECRATION twisted the knife almost one year after.
If you're into poets like GORGASM, LIVIDITY (more the recent records), LUST OF DECAY, INHERIT DISEASE, etc... you'll probably find a morbid excitement with "A feast...". EXECRATION is very brutal and can play really fast but they had the intelligence to vary their music a bit (listen to the excellent "penetration butchery"!) with slowdowns or unusual breaks, but don't worry, this is not progressive music!
The most significative thing for me is the guitar sound of EXECRATION which really helps the band to create a malignant vibe, especially during some riffs or harmonies. It reminds me the morbid sound of "Tomb of the mutilated". Unfortunately, the band didn't reach the same atmosphere on stage taking in account the videos I checked on You Tube: the band is as brutal as a common brutal death metal band is.
http://www.myspace.com/execrationbrutality

GRAVEYARD interview (July 29th 2010)

Here's a small interview with Javi of GRAVEYARD, I love their first record "One with the dead", a blend of finnish and swedish old school death metal with a pretty good songwriting. I send him the questions yesterday and get them back this morning...


-Morbid greetings Javi & 666 thanks for answering this fucking interview. You know it's quite a pain in the ass to get my inties back sometimes!! I don't know whether my questions suck or the guys are too lazy, ahaha. So first, let me know what's in your player while answering these questions?

Hey Jim, what’s up? Right now I’m listening to one of my favorite bands of all times: CORONER, and their “RIP” album, one of the best Thrash albums ever made. Then I will go for something older maybe… As usual, I always start with Thrash and Death and then move to Rock’n Roll and Hard Rock… What about some good old WITCHFYNDE? Mmm, sounds good to me!. I know what you’re talking about, I run my own zine Hellspawn Mag and I agree with you, lazy musicians suck, especially when they show interest for the interview and then disappear…

-Then here's a non-musical question but I'd like to ask it, are you proud of your country winning the World Cup, I think Spain totally deserved it as it's the best team for some years now! But maybe you don't care about it, ahahah?

I fucking love soccer. The same with Sbe, GRAVEYARD’s other guitar player. The other 2 guys in the band hate it… We won the World Cup because we have the best team so justice was made this time, hehehe. Sorry for France, it was hilarious, I couldn’t believe what was happening with the once loyal and winner French team... You know what? 8 players out of the 11 main soccer players in Spain were from F.C. Barcelona and that fucking rules.

-So now let's come back to our main interest, which is your band GRAVEYARD. I discovered the band with the EP tape version of "Into the mausoleum" where you play some old skull raw death metal, a kind of mixture of influences like INCANTATION, AUTOPSY, ABHORRENCE, FUNEBRE, etc... I guess the response has been more than positive as it has been released several times in different formats. Do you still have good feedback about this material? What's your opinion about it almost three years after its recording/releasing?

Well, I prefer to refer to “Into the Mausoleum” as a demo released on several formats, more than EP or MCD or any other “professional” format, I mean, it was recorded as a demo and released originally as a demo. It has demo sound, demo ideas, demo approach… Its pretty weird because everybody saw a lot of finnish influences on that demo and the truth is that we’re not that much into Finnish death metal. Of course we know and love some of those bands you mention like ABHORRENCE or FUNEBRE, but I would never consider them as our main influence. “Into the Mausoleum” sounds similar to those bands not because of the music, but the sound itself which is pretty bad (in underground terms “bad” is referred as “dark”, “creepy” or “atmospheric”, you know!). I mean, people consider it Finnish because of the sound, not the songs. For me, those songs are a mix of Finnish, Swedish, American, British, Dutch, German… Death Metal!. By the way, I would never change anything on that demo, I like it the way it is, with the pros and cons. It was released in MCD, tape and vinyl 10” format.

-If I was asking about your EP in the previous questions, it's because your first album comes with the same morbid death metal, but with a more powerful sound, a better songwriting where the swedish & finnish influences are put forward. "One with the dead" combines the massive sound of swedish bands like DISMEMBER or ENTOMBED with the haunting cold melodies of FUNEBRE or DEMIGOD for example. What is a conscious change? I mean the American influence has disappeared according to me?

For me, “One with the Dead” has the same songs that made “Into the Mausoleum”. Actually, most of the riffs and ideas came from the same period of time. The only difference comes from the sound which is ten times bigger and better on “One with the Dead”, of course. I don’t think American influences have disappeared, I can see some MORBID ANGEL, OBITUARY or AUTOPSY influences here and there, but you know, when you use that fat guitar sound, it seems like only Sweden existed within the Death Metal map, haha!. As I told you, we don’t write “Finnish” or “Swedish” or “American” riffs, we write Death Metal riffs that sometimes sound similar to DEMIGOD, sometimes to MORBID ANGEL, sometimes to MORGOTH, sometimes to ENTOMBED or sometimes to BOLT THROWER, that’s how it goes, Death Fucking Metal!. That’s what is all about…

-In the instrumental track "Abandoned churches" we can hear typical heavy metal harmonies reminding IRON MAIDEN, but with the GRAVEYARD touch! Still a fan of the band and their actual music? Are you eagerly waiting their new record "the final frontier"?

We always state that; we’re a bunch of Metalheads raised on Heavy Metal music above everything. So Heavy Metal is the beginning and the end. In the middle you can find some Thrash, Death or whatever, but its always Heavy Metal, don’t forget that. We’re living a weird and crazy times where Heavy Metal isn’t getting the recognition it deserves so a song like “Abandoned Churches” is kind of a tribute to that particular music, style and way of living. We respect punk and hardcore, but we come from Heavy Metal and we needed to make it clear to our listeners. “Abandoned Churches” is a prove of that. IRON MAIDEN are the biggest band playing those twin guitar melodies, but they weren’t the first one, remember SCORPIONS, RAINBOW or THIN LIZZY!. So we can say that the song wasn’t inspired directly by IRON MAIDEN but the whole hard rock / heavy metal movement from the 70’s and 80’s. To be honest, I lost my interest in IRON MAIDEN back in the mid 90’s, actually, I haven’t heard any of their last 6 or 7 albums, only a few songs and for me it will never be the same. Of course it is Heavy Metal and it’s still well done, and that’s why I respect it, but the songs themselves lost the catchiness from the 80’s and that’s a fact.

-Your material has been released on different formats. The tape format is released by french label Ars Funebris Record. I guess you're satisfied by their job, but how comes the cooperation with them? It's quite surprising as they mostly release black metal. Which format do you praise the most?

We only wanted to release our material on CD and vinyl if possible, but the guy from Ars Funebris offered us to release it on tape so we accepted. For me, the main formats are CD and vinyl so I don’t care that much about the tape. Of course it’s cool to see your music on tape again! But it is a minor format compared to CD and vinyl. “Into the Mausoleum” could have been better, you know, it was released on a Maxell tape with printed booklet, but “One with the Dead” looks quite better and more professional. It won’t sound too “underground” to your ears, but 90% of records in my collection are CD’s. I have something like 3 or 4 hundred vinyls and some other hundred tapes, but thousands of CD’s. To be brutally honest, I think it’s quite snob and freaky to see all those 18 years old dudes worshipping tapes or vinyls and hating CD’s, that’s a stupid trend. I’m sure they ALL listen to CD’s or mp3 when they’re alone at home, let’s face it!. I listened to tapes and vinyls when I was a teenager in the early / mid 90’s because CD’s were pretty expensive and I didn’t have a CD player, that’s the truth…

-On a gig matter, do you manage to play with GRAVEYARD as much as you want to? Do you easily find places to hit the stage with GRAVEYARD? What are your conditions for doing a gig in and even outside Spain?

We have done something like 30 shows with GRAVEYARD since early 2008 which is quite good if you have in mind that our singer/bass player Julkarn lives 400 km far away from us. That distance is a handicap so we can not rehearse with him as much as we wanted. Besides, he’s unemployed so everything is more difficult now. Anyway, we have played a lot of shows here in Spain with bands like DEAD CONGREGATION, MACHETAZO, AVULSED, TORMENTED, PROCLAMATION, NOMINON, LIE IN RUINS, HAIL OF BULLETS, ASPHYX, ARTILLERY, NECRODEATH… And some other shows outside Spain in countries like France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Sweden… with bands like KORGULL THE EXTERMINATOR, HORRID, NECROS CHRISTOS, KAAMOS, MORBOSIDAD, NIFELHEIM, NOMINON, TORMENTED… Conditions? We don’t usually ask for money, just 4 flight tickets, 4 beds (hotel, your home, a dirty garage… whatever!) and shitloads of cheap beer. Remember the last condition, that’s the most important one.

-Let's talk about the spanish scene, cause without being the most over-swarming metal scene, it owns maybe good bands in different styles: AVULSED, UNNATURAL, FERMENTO, CEREBRAL EFFUSION, GODÜS, SCENT OF DEATH, MACHETAZO, WORMED, and many others, but these bands have some years of existence. Which more recent bands (or maybe less known bands) would you suggest to someone interested by the Spanish scene?

LOOKING FOR AN ANSWER, DISHAMMER, BALMOG, WOLFHEAD, MOHO, BANISHED FROM INFERNO, FOSCOR, LUX DIVINA, KORGULL THE EXTERMINATOR, ATARAXY, MORBID FLESH, LORDS OF BUKKAKE, DECAPITATED CHRIST, PROFUNDIS TENEBRARUM, REDIMONI, OBSCURE, ERED, INSULTERS, AKERBELTZ, ABORIORTH, XERION, DOMAINS, WARCHETYPE, SPELLCRAFT, PRIMIGENIUM… Those are all worth checking. Maybe I forgot someone, sorry.

-Again about your musical scene, do you consider Spain having a solid underground and supportive metalheads? Even if not the most known scene, you have dedicated bands and labels? What are the most awful trends happening actually? Do you have also to face these emo/deathcore bands or these bedroom black metal bands?

Well, its difficult to consider Spanish scene as a “scene”, you know, here 1 metalhead out of 500 does something, the rest are spending money on beers, cocaine or stupid Dani Filth homo clothes… We have some cool bands, labels, distros or promoters, of course, but remember that Spain is almost a 50 million people country, I mean, probably smaller countries like Portugal, Greece, Holland or Sweden have 10 times more people involved in the scene than here. Spain is the sun & party country, and it affects Metalheads that don’t want to pay for CD’s or shows because its better to “drink and sniff” that money. Fortunately, lately there’s more people involved in zines, labels, bands, distros… And that’s cool!. Trends here? Well, for me one of the most stupid trend here is “to be Underground”. Of course the emo/core trend is bigger, but I don’t care since I don’t see myself into the same “league” as those emo bands / assholes. That’s why the “Underground” trend worries me the most, you know, it’s happening in my “real metal” world!. I’m fucking sick and tired of some undergrounders, honestly, fucking fake, a fraud! You know, that stupid “competition” to make people realize who knows more obscure and Underground acts, even if those bands were FUCKING CRAP. I hate that kind of “if it’s from the 80’s and has raw sound, it’s cool” approach. Go and use your “demo from 1987 (downloaded on mp3 from the Internet, of course) from X megatruekvlt underground unknown act” as a dildo, jerks!. Honesty is really missed those days Jim, it seems it is all about forums, myspace and other platforms to show how “Underground” you are. And it sucks big time.
-We can clearly make a difference between some death metal "school". I mean it's easy to recognize the Swedish sound (ENTOMBED, DISMEMBER, UNLEASHED, etc...), a Dutch sound (PESTILENCE, ASPHYX, SINISTER, etc...) as well as the American sound (DEATH, MORBID ANGEL, OBITUARY, etc...). Would you say the Spanish sound does exist? For example AVULSED is quite a particular band with its own sound & vocals. Do you see any other bands with their own sound? On the other hand, some bands manage to mistake you like the German FLESHCRAWL who totally sound swedish-like...or the Swedish IMMERSED IN BLOOD who totally sounds American brutal death metal....after all it's just a matter of influences!

Unfortunately, in my opinion Spain never had a “Death Metal” trademark sound if you know what I mean. Spain was always the land of copycats, I mean, most of the Spanish Death Metal bands never tried to do something “different”. Besides, you have to know that none of the Spanish bands got a respectable success outside the country (Maybe AVULSED, HAEMORRHAGE and MACHETAZO but nobody else). If you check out Spanish Death Metal demos from 89 to 92 or so, you will always find copycats of CANNIBAL CORPSE, SUFFOCATION, CARCASS or UNLEASHED. I’m not complaining, I mean, GRAVEYARD isn’t an original band, but that’s the truth. Even in France you had some bands trying to do something original like AGRESSOR, LOUDBLAST, MISANTHROPE or SUPURATION. Nowadays, Spain is basically known for his Crust/Grind/Death bands like MACHETAZO, HAEMORRHAGE, NASHGUL or LOOKING FOR AN ANSWER which is pretty cool because finally we have something “typical Spanish”, hahaha! (In Spain, that “typical Spanish” sentence always makes reference to bad things…). I think AVULSED is OK and they have been playing for ages, so all my sincere respect for them, but I don’t see that band as an “original” band (Sorry Dave!), I mean, they play standard Death Metal with more brutal vocals, but nothing new on the Death Metal’s horizon!. ASPHYX created an style, BOLT THROWER created an style, DEATH created an style, SUFFOCATION created an style… That’s the difference. But you know, it is just my opinion, probably Mr. Dave Rotten won’t agree, I’m sure of that! J

-What comes to your mind when I mention my country France? Do you know any good bands/labels from there? Have you ever been to the Hellfest who happened every years in Clisson?

Good old bands like AGRESSOR, SHAKIN’ STREET, LOUDBLAST, TRUST, MASSACRA, ADX, MISANTHROPE… Good labels like Adipocere, Holy Records (Cult label for me), Osmose… I’m basically into the 90’s stuff made on your country, I don’t know what’s going on nowadays in terms of Underground bands or labels. I know BLOODY SIGN, Ars Funebris Records, ZOLDIER NOIZ, the guys from the Pyrenean Metal and my friend Morgan from Rock Hard France!!!. But that’s all… I never went to Hellfest, but I would love to!. Now, I’m addicted to Party San in Germany, best festival ever!.

-Javi, you and your mates play (or have played) in many bands like OF DARKNESS, THE BLEEDING SUN, LUX DIVINA, TERRORSPAWN, etc... It's really impressive how involved you are in metal music. What so many projects bring to you as a musician? What are your favourite musical styles and and your all-time favourite bands? I know that you're an ultimate MÖTÖRHEAD fan (or is it Julkarn?). Have you ever think of doing a cover band??

Over the years, we have played in several bands but most of them were just alcohol-related projects, not real bands. I’m also running my zine Hellspawn, I’m working now on issue #7. I run my own studio as well Moontower Studios which is my job actually, so I can say I live Metal 24 hours a day, haha. I consider my self pretty open minded, I mean, I enjoy music from Rock’n Roll and Hard Rock to the most extreme Black/Death stuff. I like a band as long as they are honest and deliver good music, I’m not that worried if they play the “right” kind of music for the Underground standards or not. My personal favorite style has always been Hard/Heavy Metal and Thrash music from the 80’s. But you can also find some crap on those genres, just look at the Under one Flag roster and you will find tons of third division thrash stuff there!. Both me and Julkarn worship MOTORHEAD all night and day long. But it isn’t a stupid blind following, I mean, I like THIN LIZZY, SODOM, SCORPIONS, UFO, early DEF LEPPARD, TANK, ANGEL WITCH, JAGUAR, VENOM a lot and also other bands related to MOTORHEAD’s style. Mmmm, it would be cool to do a cover band, but I’m sure we would be too drunk and wasted even before the show to play the right way, that’s what happens when you listen to MOTORHEAD before going on stage. For instance, we’re rehearsing “Deaf Forever” which should be featured on an upcoming 10”.

-What's your future plans with GRAVEYARD, you have a new track on myspace in the same vein as the album, maybe heavier, where did you record it? Are you still working on the next record? A split EP with WINTERWOLF is also planned? How did you get in touch with them?

There’s a lot of shit going on. Antichristian Front should have sent “One with the Dead” to the press plant so the vinyl edition will be available very soon. Psychedelic Lotus Order from China is working on an official GRAVEYARD Bootleg called “Death After Live”, scheduled for somewhere this 2010. We have some minor releases prepared like a 7” with Finnish masters WINTERWOLF (Julkarn contacted them or they contacted us, don’t remember!. They’re also in a Spanish label, Xtreem Music…). All the stuff is in the label’s hands (Doomentia Records) so expect it after summer. There’s also a 10” released by a new label managed by some legendary guys on the making, we will announce it very soon!. The new song “Deathcrowned” that you heard on our myspace belongs to that 10” and I think it is GRAVEYARD 100%, a little bit more “original” than our previous songs maybe. We record ALL our stuff (except “Into the Mausoleum”) on my studios Moontower Studios. I guess after summer we will start working on our new album which should be recorded around early 2011.

-The interview is over Javi, thank you for your time, keep on playing metal of death, you can end it with anything you want to add.
Keep it morbid, death metal eternal!

Hey Jim, thank you very much for the interview, hope to meet you someday with some beers and ugly, outdated and unfashioned Metal records around!, Cheers!

Javi

http://www.myspace.com/graveyardofdoom

DIKTAT demo 2008 review

DIKTAT (France) – II
Demo 2008 – Self released
7 tracks - 31'08
Rated: 7/10
DIKTAT is a french undeground band created in 1997, that people may know without listening to their music in fact. They released a demo tape in 2000, some brutal death metal reminding a mix of old CANNIBAL CORPSE (Butchered at birth), early DISGORGE (demos era) & early DEEDS OF FLESH. The whole sounded quite brutal and technical, however sometimes quite a nonsense in terms of strucures and the sound wasn't very good. Some obvious potential but also some improvement was expected.
Eight years later, here is this 2nd demo, and as I almost expected, DIKTAT becomes more technical and brutal. The sound of this 2nd demo is also better and the tracks gain in coherence. DIKTAT remains in the brutal death metal creed, got higher in the technical level and mastery. They also took the opportunity to record again two tracks from the previous demo and the lifting is impressive.
The new musicians and the years of work set an obvious progression, now DIKTAT are more in the stream of bands like ORIGIN, SEVERED SAVIOR, DEEDS OF FLESH, maybe not as brutal but surely less linear and with a great malignant touch in some harmonies. Hope we won't wait for ages until their next assault...
http://www.myspace.com/diktatdeathmetal

Zinophrenia Zine #6 review

ZINOPHRENIA Zine #6 (France)
November 2009
54 pages A4 – French written
Doing a zine, most people have influences and usually at the beginning you copy a bit what others do around. On the case of Zinophrenia, I must say that Yves the editor has a personal way of doing a zine. When you quickly look through the pages you feel like this has been done in a hurry without care. In fact Zinophrenia zine is made of a particular care: the set-up is ultra basic (done through Words software of something alike) with very few images. Then the lay-out, sine cover, logo and everything's is done handwritten. His draws are very amateurish plus he adds several sentences & jokes here and there. Firstly he can seems completely childish but then it gives a particular tone to the rag, something off style.
About the zine content, Yves deals with different musical styles and featured cool interviews with RESISTANCE or SOL (a doom/death metal band from Denmark, not the nazi crap from Australia) and inties with average (not to say mediocre) bands like EMBRYONIC CELLS, JEFF/EMMOS /etc... and SEARING SKULL. Yves asks interesting questions or at least tries to deepen them and usually the bands play the game...you just have to be into their music I guess!
There are also a good bunch of reviews with demos, CD, tapes, vynils and zines covering many styles as well from death to black metal, maybe too much black metal stuff whose best fate is ending in the trash, but then again it's a matter of taste. Yves reviews a lot of underground releases and describes them straight to the essential.
The zine got a personal artcle dealing with love! Yeah I guess it's a pretty unusual theme in our hateful and intolerant underground. Yves dare to ask about love to Lord Azmoth, Jeff (EMMOS...), Mrikk (from FAZ), Kurgan & Luna from DUKE records (those freaks are definitely crazy!), Carl Warslaughter from BESTIAL MOCKERY, etc... some answers are really surprising.
To sum up, Zinophrenia Zine is a rather cool bunch of paper, not the kind of zine for everyone, but a personal one without great ambition: a FANzine!
The zine available for 2 euros.
Contact: Yves BLOUMENTZWEIG – 37 rue des Vosges 67540 OSTWALD – FRANCE
raspoutitsatan@wanadoo.fr

BATTALION Welcome to the warzone Review

BATTALION (Belgium) – Welcome to the warzone
CD 2008 – Shiver Records
10 tracks - 42'16
Rated: 4/10
Second album for these death metal soldiers I didn' t know before and whose musical battleground is war! The production is massive and clean, a bit like a brand new tank just getting out of the army plants. First it looks impressive and shiny but on a musical point of view that's not so lethal. The riffing is quite common even if held by the bonecrushing sound. They can remind a tasteless and basic version of MALEVOLENT CREATION mixed with some ABORTED in their deathcore period, so not the kind of stuff I'm fond of... BATTALION mixes deathcore with some thrash/death stuff, the whole produced with a clinical sound that doesn't prevent the record to be boring. I guess the band may be more entertaining in a live situation. BATTALION certainly got a killing capacity, but on the warfield, you're stained with blood, mud, shit and you're under a relentless fire... and I don't feel this fury while I'm listening to this record.
http://www.myspace.com/battalionsquadcamp

HERPES demo 2010 review

HERPES (France) – Doomsday
Demo 2010 – Nihilistic Holocaust
5 tracks - 22'41
Rated: 6/10
A new act from North-West France into the arts of old skull deaf metal! Would I say that the stream is growing bigger (a bit like in Sweden), after AFFLICTION GATE, NECROS, NECROWRETCH, HERPES seems to be the latest graveyard spawn into old school death metal. The influences are obvious, nothing new from that side, but is that decently played and before, do they have the vibe that makes you shake the head, dig the grave and feast upon the corpse?
Well, for a first demo that's a satisfying start, the sound is crude (especially the drums) but good when it comes to other instruments. HERPES combines influences from the old releases of bands like DEATH, NIHILIST/ENTOMBED, AUTOPSY plus recent bands like DEATH BREATH (probably the most obvious approach) or even TRIBULATION (for the horrific side).
The tunes are good but hardly demarcate with the influences, HERPES shall found the personal touch to avoid being a vulgar tasteless clone. They have a cool rocking touch, and unleash great solos and other lead-guitars in the AUTOPSY (deep) vein, a good point though, dig it deeper in that ways you freaks!!
Tape version available through Carbonized Cells Recs.
http://www.myspace.com/cockmincer

PUTREVORE Morphed from deadbreath Review

PUTREVORE (Spain/Sweden) – Morphed from deadbreath
CD 2008 – Xtreem Music
8 tracks - 32'29
Rated: 7,5/10
Dave Rotten and Rogga Johansson who teamed up into a death metal band, that sounds juicely putrid to my ears. The result is some pretty decent low-tuned death metal, closer to the US old school death metal scene (old MORTICIAN, old INCANTATION and ROTTREVORE), and with Finnish death metal remnants (ABHORRENCE, DEMIGOD, ...). The whole is damned heavy as fuck, and sometimes you even have some deadly groove like on "the skies vomit sulphur", a kind of march of the dead, PUTREVORE manages to create some catchy tunes. Some tracks get slower, reminding doom/death metal, and kept an horrific mood strenghtened by the ultra low guttural vocals of Dave Rotten, this guy's amazing and doesn't use any effect!
"Morphed..." is the perfect soundtrack for any zombie movies, one can't only reproach the absence of guitar solos, maybe some variation in vocals like screams, but that's a pretty decent death metal release. This projects differs from what Rogga usually creates, I mean different from stuff like PAGANIZER, RIBSPREADER and their small swedish brothers.
If you're looking for horror-filled death metal to accompany your wandering nights in cemeteries, you have here the best tunes to rock your flesh eating comrades.
http://www.myspace.com/putrevore

AVICULARIA Born to be vile Review

AVICULARIA (Croatia) – Born to be vile
CD 2009 – Self released
8 tracks - 41'31
Rated: 7/10
Not easy to dissect this first AVICULARIA's release, there is a huge amount of work behind this "Born to be vile" and listening to it is exactly like being entangled in a web. AVICULARIA's technical death metal needs several listening for sure so if you're not into elaborated music please don't read further.
The musicians are skilful and create a complex blend of extreme metal, but death metal it is mainly: hard to not think about NILE in the beginning with the Egyptian atmospheres, epic occult parts similar to MITHRAS or MORBID ANGEL for some leads. AVICULARIA uses technical parts, sometimes it's a bit hard to understand the rhythms changes or the crazy breaks in the songs, that's probably the main reproach towards their music. This confusing side of the band can recall a band like SHADOWS LAND. AVICULARIA doesn't stop here when it comes to influences as you can detect riffing close to IMMOLATION or even GORGUTS and hard to not think about ATHEIST when they go into free-jazz alike parts.
But these elements written above shall not prevent you to listen to it, cause AVICULARIA mixed all these elements with pure death metal moments like these pounding riffs with great soloing that give a melodic side and help to appreciate the whole release. "Born to be vile" need an effort of listening but there are really good parts that make you forget the too much technical aspect. If you're looking for some exotical death metal form the Eastern Europe and if you're not repulsed by technical stuff, check it out.
http://myspace.com/aviculariaband

NERLICH Innards EP Review

NERLICH (Finland) – Innards
Tape 2009 – Nihilistic Holocaust
5 tracks – 17'58
Rated: 5,5/10
NERLICH after a bunch of cool demos and a quite brilliant album "Defabricated process", unleashed this EP in 2008 as an ultimate dirge before split up. A sad decision but why keeping up doing things if the guys aren't anymore into what they're doing. However, NERLICH got a good approach of death metal, rooted in the 90's era of the genre, with such influences as old SUFFOCATION, old GORGUTS, old MORBID ANGEL, etc... The tracks from "Innards" are in the continuation process of the album (especially the first two tracks), the musicianship is still good, the weak point being the drum sound (where's the kick-drum? Is it this awful click?) but you could find again these particular atmospheres from the album, you know these kinda occult ones reminding PESTILENCE on "Testimony...". The two following tracks are less captivating, more brutal they are just filling space in my opinion. There is a 5th track, and I don't know if that's a cover or a sick jam, a kinda punk/rock song, a MISFITS coversong? Anyway, this EP has a strange taste, a bit like an unfinished business, not bad but after a great album I probably expected more...
Contact: Gabriel S – 9 rue de la Scarpe – 59 552 LAMBRES LEZ DOUAI – FRANCE gabsk@wanadoo.fr http://site.voila.fr/NIHILISTIC
http://www.myspace.com/nerlichband

YOGTH SOTHOTH Abominations of the Nebulah Mortiis Review

YOGTH SOTHOTH (Colombia) – Abominations of the Nebulah Mortiis
CD 2008 – Sevared Records
10 tracks - 36'43
Rated: 7/10
This incarnation of the great old one comes from the Colombian hell and was invoked in 2003 with ex-members of PLANTA CADAVER. The conglomeration of glowing spheres is no less than a fucking death metal cosmic entity paying tribute to the Lovecraftian myth. Usually you expect some kind of atmospheres when writing music about Cthulhu and his minions, and does YOGTH SOTHOTH manage to create some? Well, with an old school brutal death style performed by YOGTH SOTHOTH you could have doubts but the band is able to surprise by playing with slow and very heavy paces. The riffing without being absolutely genuine displays some really dark tracks. In a way they can remind the brutality of bands like KRISIUN or INTERNAL SUFFERING but with more variations and slowdowns.
The music itself is pretty efficient with no innovation in terms of technical aspect, but some tracks definitely stay stuck in your brain. Some instants of linearity can also be felt and the lack of guitar solos is a mistake according to me coz they could break the linear times mentioned before.
Contact: Sevared Records c/o Barrett Amiss II – 19 East Main St. - Leroy, NY 14482 – USA
http://sevared.com/
http://www.myspace.com/yogthsothoth

GRAVELESS demo 2007 review

GRAVELESS (Brazil) – S/T
Demo CD 2007 – Self released
4 tracks - 17'49
Rated: 4/10
First demo for this brazilian outfit, and I'm surprised that they didn't sound like a KRISIUN clone. GRAVELESS is an old school death metal disciple into the late 80's/early 90's death metal. Almost no blast-beats here, just good old chuka-chuka drums mixed with thrash/death riffing. Think about stuff like POSSESSED, early MORBID ANGEL and UNLEASHED but less inspired.
This demo lacks of highlights, you listen to it but nothing really remains because it's mostly common death metal without stench of the deceased, it lacks of intensity because of tracks' linearity. I usually moans for the absence of guitar solos, there are some here, but they often sound wrong or don't fit the riff they're in. GRAVELESS has to work harder to propose something more gut wrenching coz I don't want to put this demo in my player again.
Contact: graveless_death@hotmail.com

NOMAD The independance of observation choice Review

NOMAD (Poland) – The independence of observation choice
CD 2007 – Empire Records
12 tracks - 44'29
Rated: 6,5/10
NOMAD has been active in the UG since 1994 but their name rarely comes to our frontiers, probably due to the small label that released their records and it won't evolve with Empire whose distribution is pretty weak. Fortunately, fellow traders are here to progagate the plague of death metal.
NOMAD is a death metal band that is completely in the stream of bands like VADER, DIES IRAE, DEVILYN, not they just follow these bands but they belong to the same sphere with similar influences (MORBID ANGEL, DEICIDE, CARCASS...). NOMAD's style is rather powerful death metal with old school elements and don't denies melodies and injects guitar solos for my greatest pleasure (and the guys are fucking skilled!).
The album is pretty intense due to the fast drumming but lightened by MORBID ANGEL alike dark parts. In fact some tracks could have been shortened for a matter of efficiency I think. The band also puts small intrumental pieces between the tracks and that gaves a time of rest until the next assault. In fact, you have here a good death metal band that may remain in the shadow of his great brothers VADER, HATE or BEHEMOTH to name a few. Good stuff if you're usually into extreme metal from Poland, they close the album with a death metallic version of « IX » of Italian thrashers BULLDOZER a longer version, don't know how they arrange it), this band is absolutely worth the listening for some good moments.
Info: www.nomad-band.com

CONSPIRACY Concordat Review

CONSPIRACY (Netherlands) – Concordat
CD 2009 – Pulverised Records
8 tracks – 43'04
Rated: 4,5/10
Not the most inspired moniker with the numerous CONSPIRACY existing, this one comes from Holland and is the beast of lonesome musician Al' Hazred (ex-MELECHESH) taking all instruments duty. So here is a large amount of work for a result which is a bit disappointing. Don't get me wrong, everything is well played, everything's tight, nope in fact what annoys me the most with this 2nd album of CONSPIRACY is its lack of personality. At first, you feel like listening to a bad copy of ABSU. This black/death/thrash metal reminds me a lot of ABSU with a less sharp sound and with similar vocals. CONSPIRACY is far more melodic and has the bad idea to add Swedish heavy/death alike harmonies. On the fifth track « faith » CONSPIRACY reminds a pagan metal band with choirs and keyboards, clean guitars..., a bit surprising it hardly fits the previous tracks' mood in my opinion but I guess the guy plays what he wants after all. Then on track 7 « Courage », you get a death/doom piece, quite melodic with guttural vocals, still different from previous stuff again, don't know where the mad arab wants to go...and that goes on with the last melodic instrumental closing the album. There are good moments but there are also many moments of boredom that prevent this album being just average.
http://www.myspace.com/metalconspiracy

CELESTE Nihiliste(s) Review

CELESTE (France) – Nihiliste(s)
CD 2008 – Denovali Records
10 tracks - 44'56
Rated: 7,5/10
Some people would probably choke on their vomit if they saw CELESTE's name in these pages, sorry folks but the reason for this band being reviewed here is that I loved their fucking record!
I can hardly give you an exact style to describe CELESTE. I read many shits everywhere like postcore, blackcore, hardcore/black metal, sludge black metal, etc... Something sure about this album is that you feel uncomfortable and oppressed while listening to it. CELESTE creates a suffocating cocoon of dissonant tracks, very heavy and so yes similarities with black metal atmospheres are true. But mentioning black metal would probably gave our elitists a heart attack, but even if CELESTE doesn't belong to this stupid inner circle, they are able to create sticky and dark parts worthy of any actual black metal release, if not worthier. The vocals are medium screams and they can hardly be belonging to hardcore or black metal exclusively as they fit both style in my opinion. The French lyrics would also please any worshipper of Lautreamont by their sick and sadisitc side.
On a rhythm matter, CELESTE has more in common with the hardcore or sludge style, it's mostly mid tempo parts, sometimes double bass drums, slow parts and even if that fits to the whole mood of the album there is a certain violence, but a psychological one than a physical. And to avoid deception about it you can download this album on the label's webpage, so at least you can't be too much disappointed.
Contact: http://www.denovali.com/ order@denovali.com
http://www.myspace.com/unhiverdeplus

DISCOSHIT / DISLAYNÖM split 2009 review

DISCOSHIT (Indonesia) / DISLAYNÖM (France) – Split
Split CDR 2009 – La Topographie des Erreurs
10 tracks - 18'43
Rated: 2/10 – 0,5/10
Here's is one of the first release by this young DIY label ready to offer you the most marginal stuff ever and let's star with Indonesian DISCOSHIT and their awful thrash/punk metal. If the music is tight rhythmically, one can't say the same thing about the instruments and especially the guitars (the bass probably was fucked up during the mix, or the guy was too drunk to record his basslines, who knows...) because they sound terribly wrong as if the guys didn't tuned them. What people know about melody and harmony is blasphemed here due to tuning problem. The solos, leads and harmonies would make a goat puke its guts through its ass, it's just unbearable. Imagine a wasted version of VENOM and you're probably far from the truth about this band's non-potential.
DISLAYNÖM shall be probably proud to give its contribution to the UG but UG isn't synonym of garbage. I got this impression with DISLAYNÖM and their noisy stuff with bass guitar, fake drums and above this, the shouted and horrible vocals. Luckily, their part of the split is short and my torture ends quickly. I can't give you any comparison coz DISLAYNÖM plays nonsense shit to me, probably it could please the most crack-addict punk out there but I don't think they read my rag which is the wrong publication for this kind of crap.
Contact anf hatemail: dislaynom@live.fr

EMBALMED SOULS Six rites of possession demo 2009 Review

EMBALMED SOULS (Brazil) – Six rites of possession
Demo 2009 – Self released
11 tracks - 57'54
Rated: 7/10
EMBALMED SOULS the death metal band that plays with their souls without thinking about what others say. Created in 1990, the band slowly and quietly do what they will, defending a certain idea of what is their own death metal. Here you have 6 new tracks (+5 tracks from their good demo 2005 « The Temple of bizarre cult » that I can only but recommend) recorded in their rehearsal room. When talking about rehearsal recordings people usually have a forced smile thinking the sound may be crappy. Surely the sound on « Six rites... » isn't the most perfect but that is merely acceptable. It's a bit crude with some feedback here and there but that definitely gives an idea of what the band is able. If you already know the band before you'll be pleased to hear they still play their occult old school death metal with haunting and dark melodies. I always enjoy their slow parts not far from death/doom metal reminding stuff like early KATATONIA or GOREMENT. But they don't forget to play more extreme parts, always in the old school way, with an early GRAVE touch and the usual low guttural vocals. If you like their previous recordings, this one is for you.
Contact: Paulo – Caixa Postal 8062 – Sudoeste Brasilia – DF 70 673 970 – BRAZIL
souls666@terra.com.br embalmedsouls@gmail.com

KRUPSKAYA / BLACK SISTER split EP 2009 review

KRUPSKAYA (UK) / BLACK SISTER (Scotland) – Thrash until you puke
Split EP 2009 – Ignore This / Problem? Records
3 tracks
Rated: 5/10 - 6/10
I'm not familiar with KRUPSKAYA (whose name comes from Lenin's wife Nadezhda Krupskaya) which usually performs a kind of psychotic grindcore, and who here pays tribute to KREATOR's « Flag of hate ». Musically that's a pretty good restitution of the original (where is the fucking solo?), except that the vocals are in the KRUPSKAYA style: screaming sick vocals, but that's ok if you can bear this kind of vocals. Nothing astonishing but it allows me to discover KRUPSKAYA's music, intriguing band, I shall check more about them.
BLACK SISTER is not unknow to you if you regularly the previous issue of PEZ. BLACK SISTER still got a thrash metal basis but always had a vile pleasure to mix it with punk, hardcore or whatever they feel the will to puzzle or piss you off! They offer a new thrash metal track with a cool lead (heavy metal is the law!) but it's damn short! They also pay tribute to a German legend but they chose SODOM and their « Ausgebombt », it's well played, close to the original (and they play the guitar solo here ;).
A cool split EP for vynil eaters but that's not mandatory and certainly not the best stuff to discover these two bands.
Contact:
http://www.myspace.com/problemrecordsuk
dirty_little_punk@hotmail.com

THE BOTTLE DOOM LAZY BAND Blood for the bloodking Review

THE BOTTLE DOOM LAZY BAND (France) – Blood for the Bloodking
CD 2008 – Emanes Mëtal Records
7 tracks - 47'06
Rated: 7,5/10
The French doomsters return with their first album. The band despite its many line-up changes, keep on its slow ascension towards the throne of doom metal, heavier than ever with a massive sound (Echoes Studio). TBDLB reached another step and offers a more mature music where the bass guitar got an important place, when lead guitars appear here and there.
The first CATHEDRAL is still the milestone, as well as BLACK SABBATH and its bastard son PENTAGRAM. The music gets darker and even has a melancholic touch (not depressive shit) but something nice though. It immediately reminds me the approach of a band like RUNEMAGICK.
BottleBen vocals kept the way they were on the demo, but are more mastered (no more compliments coz' I know he doesn't give a shit about that!); still a mix between singing and declaiming (Father BottleBen, pray for us!). The vocals are here used parcimoniously, as there are instrumental tracks, here vocals are used as an instrument. It's why you get a track with vocals, then an instrumental, then another tracks with vocals, and so on... This build a kind of funeral in several parts, quite a good idea, even if at the end you only got 4 tracks with vocals, it makes « Blood for the Bloodking » an enjoyable album without being boring like a REVEREND BIZARRE release with more than hour of doom preaching.
A first convincing release showing TBDLB has at least something to say about doom metal with a band like RISING DUST. Better get the LP version for a different but darker artwork.
Contact: emanesmetalrecords@orange.fr
http://www.myspace.com/thebottledoomlazyband

GRAVES OF VALOR Salarian gate Review

GRAVES OF VALOR (US) – Salarian gate
CD 2009 – Relapse Records
11 tracks - 35'33
Rated: 4/10
Never heard of this band before, the info behind the CD says these guys are ex-THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD, never heard of them either, but a wind of suspicion blows. The label put forward many shining statements (what won't they do to sell their bands?), for fans of C.CORPSE, BEHEMOTH, DYING FETUS, BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, ... is written, hu?
I put the CD in the player and woaw! I was really impressed! GRAVES OF VALOR are brutal, they can play fast, the sound is like a full-speed train smashing your body, they are competent with their instruments... You guess well, this is brutal deathcore the US way, and no, they have nothing in common with C.CORPSE or DEICIDE. They belong to this wave of deathcore I don't really know and I don't want to. The obvious influence is the AT THE GATES way of playing guitar harmonies for the melodic touch, apart from this, they can remind NEURAXIS or ABORTED (during their deathcore period). Not that it's badly played, I just don't feel anything while listening to GRAVES OF VALOR, I just don't feel concerned by this sterile music. There are no mood, dark vibe or anything malignant. Next please!
http://www.myspace.com/fromgravesofvalor

TRIMEGISTO Subterranean streams Review

TRIMEGISTO (Chile) – Subterranean streams
CD 2008 – Obscure Domain
9 tracks - 39'23
Rated: 7,5/10
Another spawn from the Chilean death metal mafia with names like THORNAFIRE, SHEOLGENNA, DOMINUS XUL and MELEKTAUS, some members of TRIMEGISTO also play or have played in the bands previously mentioned. Something good with a band like TRIMEGISTO is that they know how to play death metal with a dark mood. Of course, there's nothing outstanding coz they didn't create something new neither reach inhuman speed nor reinvent guitar scales, or whatever...
TRIMEGISTO « simply » unleashes some occult death metal the old school and obscure way. Their roots surely came from the old masters like IMMOLATION, INCANTATION, INFAMY for the way they create evil riffs, but they also add guitar leads and harmonies typical from heavy metal and it helps to create dark and esoterical atmospheres, a bit like PESTILENCE did on « Testimony... » or ESQARIAL on their first album. They also have this occult vibe like the Ancient Ones worship reminding the brazialian band SANCTIFIER.
The album loses a bit of catchiness sometimes but that's a serious and solid death metal release for anyone into exotical or dark death metal with skillful musicians.
Contact: http://www.obscuredomain.com/
Hacker – Grosser Buechel 6 – 53619 RHEINBREITBACH – GERMANY
http://myspace.com/trimegisto

RITUALIZATION demo 2009 Review

RITUALIZATION (France) – The abduction mass
Demo tape 2009 – Zombie Ritual Tapes
5 tracks
Rated: 6/10
This kind of stuff couldn't have been released by a French label except a very underground one like NH, but which label would release a demo tape inthere in our death metal supporting country? In a demo tape way, without the great sound from Denmark or Poland?
Blood Harvest did (in fact Zombie Ritual Tapes) and released this demo probably seduced by the evil death metal sound of RITUALIZATION. The death practiced here is in the fast and savage way, helped (or not) by the chaotic sound, reminding the most impious band, some specialists would even mention black/death metal, and they wouldn't be completely wrong. The early works of MORBID ANGEL , ANGEL CORPSE and KRISIUN can be a starting point but that's certainly more into the aussie burning ground that you can detect influences by ABOMINATOR or DESKRUTOR (especially for the drums style). The whole demo is a fire rain of murderous and fast riffs, drums machine gunning and bestial eructations against the way of christ. Some slowdowns appears here and there, and really create evil moods but they are too few according to me.
Contact: Zombie Ritual Tapes – BOX 7092 – 20042 MALMO – SWEDEN
info@bloodharvest.se http://www.bloodharvest.se/

TRIBULATION the horror Review

TRIBULATION (Sweden) – The horror
CD 2008 – Pulverised Records
9 tracks - 32'47
Rated: 7/10
TRIBULATION has been spreading disease for some years now, and here is their first album. Another spawn of the Swedish death metal mafia. These last years many bands appear to keep the cult of death remaining. One must admit that most of these new bands know decently how to create unholy and graveyardssmelling atmospheres. TRIBULATION is among them with their « The horror » LP who definitely got the right name as the album bathes in sheer darkness and horror. If you would mention ENTOMBED or DISMEMBER as fuel of filth creation, you better think of DEATH BREATH and especially the incredible REPUGNANT as obvious lethal checkpoint. The way they used the reverberized vocals and thrashy riffing immediately reminds REPUGNANT. TRIBULATION didn't reach the same horrific atmosphere REPUGNANT created on their « Epitome of darkness », but if you dig that record, TRIBULATION is the right morgue to visit.
On the other hand, TRIBULATION uses parcimonious keyboards to create an horror-filled mood or some dissonant arpeggios (close to some black metal riffs sometimes). Some melodies are displayed but more in a gloomy lead guitars way, close to some heavy metal à la KING DIAMOND.
A good debut album, sometimes I feel the band is able to make something more personal to be something more than an additional new « old school » death metal band.
http://www.myspace.com/soultribulation

EMMOS Vol.1 & Vol.2 Reviews

EMMOS (Fr) – Vol.1 Emmos Kratos & Vol.2 The meaning of death
Demo CD 2009 – Self released
12 tracks - 53'04/ 7 tracks - 39'09
Rated: 3/10 - 5/10
So much material to review at a time, Jeff wants me dead!! This one man project with two CD is a gathering of Jeff's multiple musical tastes. EMMOS is a crossover of thrash/black and various raw metallic remnants. This lack of unity is the main problem with so much stuff compiled. I don't know where Jeff wants to go, probably he needs to create all this music in a cathartic goal but I must say I hardly get into his stuff. Musically and rhythmically speaking that's ok eventhough when he plays some leads or solos I can't prevent to grimace as it doesn't sound good to my ears. Vocally he also used a wide panel between black metal screams, clear vocals, crossover singing, more guttural ones, and once again it's sometimes a matter of tastes to bear them all. Think about some old SLAYER mixed with DARKTHRONE, VENOM, THE EXPLOITED and many hangovers. The use of drum machine isn't scandalous as it's back mixed so you don't really care about it while listening.
Vol. 2 follows the same path of multiple influences with a try in heavy metal voice. The thrash influence is stronger here (SLAYER « South... » and « Season... ») and one riff on « Fighting each other » seemed to be taken from « Silent scream ». To end on a positive note, I particularily enjoyed the last track, a long doom/thrash instrumental with clear-sounding guitars, not bad at all except some lead guitars that suck but that's demo stuff after all. I think it would have been better to keep the best track to release a single demo instead of all this stuff for the sake of releasing 19 tracks. Half of them could have been sufficient.
Contact: jeffboss07@hotmail.com
http://www.myspace.com/jeffboss

VASAELETH demo 2009 Review

VASAELETH (US) – Demo MMIX
Promo 2009 – Self released
2 tracks – 7'22
Rated: 6/10
It's always good to discover a new band like VASAELETH who plays some traditional obscure death metal. Ultra low guttural vocals and low tuned hellsounding guitar, you can bet they abused of their INCANTATION and AUTOPSY records. The drums are buried under vocals and guitars but it enforces the chaotic and evil intents. They know how to create darkening moods by the use of simple riffs and heavy parts. These two tracks are repressed on an EP on Blood Harvest with an additional track, so you're advised to get it in you're into any kind of dark death metal. They can remind FATHER BEFOULED but without the artificial harmonic use. Promising stuff, an album shall be out while you're reading this.
Contact: vasaelethdeathkult@hotmail.com
http://www.myspace.com/vasaeleth

DEATH HEAVEN Viral apocalypse Review

DEATH HEAVEN (Italy) – Viral apocalypse
CD 2007 – Punishment 18 Records
11 tracks - 72'01
Rated: 8/10
I reviewed a three-promo-track on PEZ#4, and later BRN sent me a promo of the full album. I had a positive opinion back then and listening to the whole album I must say I'm still impressed by these guys' skills (and that's why you can read a cool intie elsewhere in these pages!).
But one must know about DEATH HEAVEN that this band plays modern, technical and brutal death metal and that they are not afraid to experiment and give diversity to their music.
The intro itself can give you a chill with the female vocals (reminding OBSCENITY on the « Third Chapter ») but as the following track can prove, this is really death metal inside, ahah!!
The album is more than one hour long, so you will need several listenings to absorb and get fully infected by this viral load of death metal. If you like complex death metal with brutal parts and some nice atmospheres, you will find some worthy substance in there. Hard to give you a perfect description but think about a meeting between DEATH (« the sound of perseverance » for the technical aspect), NEURAXIS and CRYPTOPSY (for the modern and brutal aspect), OPETH (for the use of acoustic parts), NILE (for creating similar atmospheres, especially on the track « Sacrificial ritual of the Ugarit dead ») and many more depending on your tastes...but really DEATH HEAVEN is worth to be check out. Surely sometimes you felt oppressed by so many things at a time and the tracks' length, but the slower and more atmospheric parts really create majestic and mind catching moments. DEATH HEAVEN shows that it's still possible to create interesting and solid death metal without bastardizing it with wimpy elements.
Info: http://www.punishment18records.com/
http://www.myspace.com/deathheavenofficial

SANGUINEOUS demo 2009 Review

SANGUINEOUS (Australia) – Expurgating life from earth
Demo tape 2009 – Self released
4 tracks – 18'54
Rated: 6/10
Featured in my previous issue, SANGUINEOUS unleashed this second demo tape release. The band doesn't calm down and gets higher in intensity and extremism. SANGUINEOUS is not the typical death metal band, it's more a studio project or let's say an laboratory experiment, a sick creature that escaped its cage, a monstrous metallic representation. SANGUINEOUS plays ultrafast dark brutal death metal, a kind of MORTICIAN meets INCANTATION under crack. The high speed reminds me sick shit like MENTAL HORROR or the polish MASTABAH. The guitar sound is far better than on the previous MCD, and the drum machine still sounds as a drum machine. The almost incessant pounding may be the main reproach concerning this stuff, nevertheless SANGUINEOUS still kept their morbid and brutal mood, cool guitar solos and the low guttural vocals. I just miss some slow and heavier parts one could find on the EP that made good alternances between fast parts and slower ones like the last track « Pious souls captured by oblivion ».
Contact: Tony ABOU NADER – PO BOX 436 – Coburg – Victoria 3058 – AUSTRALIA
sanguineousdeath@yahoo.com
http://www.sanguineousdeath.com/

DISFORTERROR Impalement and holocaust stench Review

DISFORTERROR (Brazil) - Impalement and holocaust stench
MCD 2008 – Nuclear War Now!
7 tracks - 21'59
Rated: 3/10
I may have a tape or two of DISFORTERROR, hidden somewhere beneath an amount of neverheard stuff, because I don't remember anything about them. So this MCD is a second chance to discover them again (luckily or not). DISFORTERROR isn't into the fast death metal stream one could expect from a Brazialian band. DISFORTERROR chose a more bestial and harsh death metal when tightness and high-defined sound is an utopy. Think about a sick mixture of BLASPHEMY and SADISTIK EXEKUTION. This vomit-filled maelstrom spares no one: if you like chaotic and hateful extreme metal, you'll probably find an interest in DISFORTERROR, on the contrary if you're looking for something with coherence and respectful from the musical theory you read the wrong review.
Beside this, even if the infernal rage and hatred if the main point here, the lack of catchy moments cannot prevent the boredom due to the abuse of too repetitive and common riffs. This could give excitement to some 20-year-old « 666 kult skullkrushing » wannabees, personally this release bores me. The guys play fast, they scream, shout at the devil, fuck Jesus in the ass, but nothing remains except the certitude the CD will remain in his case for a long time.
http://www.myspace.com/666dft

Les Hurlements de la meute Zine#1 REVIEW

LES HURLEMENTS DE LA MEUTE Zine #1 (France)
2009
20 pages A4 – French written
The zine mania seems to still have its adepts, I regularly see new zines popping here and there from all around the world and France has its own paper addicts. This first issue headed by Gilles reminds me In Extremis Zine (what? It's not a zine?) for the lay-out look alike. It cames in a A4 format with cut and paste, the whole is clear and not overcharged with useless pictures or ads. I just don't like the vertical texts and beware some parts or words are missing, not comfortable to have to guess the answers...
In these pages are gathered 4 interviews of French UG soldiers: SUBCONSCIENCE (after such a reading I think I won't go into further investigation...), TUMOR NECROSIS, AFFLICTION GATE and Abel of Invasions Barbares Zine (probably an inspiration for Gilles). The editor tries to conduct his inties with a motivated state of mind and variated questions, a good point when you know how french bands are reluctant to talk about themselves.
A bunch of around 60 reviews are written about many stuff (demos, CD, zines...), with a lot of underground unknown bands from punk to black metal; the reviews are rather short and longer when the editor is really into the release, sometimes I think it lacks of a check point to really catch the band's style but as the raw black metal on tape got a laxative effect on me I guess I don't feel ashamed losing the point...
Not a bad start in the paper madness, things can be improved (a more critical approach, more content, less black metal crap, and maybe interviews of foreign bands?) but that's a cool beginning, good luck dude!
Contact: Gilles TORCOL – La Montain 58400 BULCY – FRANCE
gilles.torcol@yahoo.fr

INFERNAL DOMINION Salvation through infinite suffering Review

INFERNAL DOMINION (US) – Salvation through infinite suffering
CD 2009 – Burning Dogma Records
14 tracks - 65'18
Rated: 7/10
Originally released by TXDM Underground, this new version comes with the tracks from the split with OPHIOLATRY and a track from demo 99 (don't get mistaken by the so called tracks from 2004, in fact they are from the split, a printing mistake I guess). Once again prepare to face more than one hour of infernal Texas death metal. INFERNAL DOMINION plays this particular evil abrasive brutal death metal with low guttural vocals. Think about INCANTATION being native from Texas. Nevertheless, both bands don't share the same sound and ID got those heavy slamming pounding parts. The tracks from the album are quite good if you're into obscure brutal blasphemous death metal, you definitely won't waste your money. The highlight for me are the tracks from the split with OPHIOLATRY. I don't know why, but the tracks are more insane maybe because they add screamed vocals. Everything sounds more brutal and malevolent. The band also increases the speed and the tracks look like a flood of brutality right on you. The slower parts are more judiciously displayed between the fast ones so those tracks really have a catchy impact and you really have here a soundtrack for burning in hell in the death metal way (the track « By darkness blessed » kills!)! The last demo track is anecdotic but it will please any collectors (the CD also comes in a red as blood jewel case).
Contact: Burning Dogma Records c/o Ricky Lockett – 635 Astoria – Azle TX 76020 – USA
dogmaburning@aol.com
http://www.myspace.com/infernaldominion

MALARIAH The cult of devastation Review

MALARIAH (France) – The cult of devastation
MCD 2008 – Self released
5 tracks – 31'50
Rated: 2/10
Another young band from my homeland, created in 2007, MALARIAH released this MCD in 2008 though a demo would have been a better idea. So let's consider this MCD as a demo eventhough the production is quite powerful. I think MALARIAH has not a precise idea of their style yet, so these 5 tracks are lacking of coherence and craziness. The music here is of an absolute boredom, with predictable riffs and structures and no real atmospheres except while they used keyboards or clear guitars. The guys are competent, no doubt about that, but their music lacks of mindblowing moments. MALARIAH reminds me the Czech band KRABHATOR on « Orthodox » album (though I never really like this band very much) due to the pounding side of these awful triggered drums. The plastic drums take away the organic side of their death metal (yes, that seems contradictory, hu?). The lead guitar sound is also just horrible but not in the good way, they are just too common and doesn't make you feel anything coz they often don't fit the riff they're in. The heavy/death Gothenburp soundlike attemps on the last instrumental track are also clumsy and end the MCD in a strange if not saying in a bad manner for a death metal band!
MALARIAH should have taken their time to elaborate more efficient death metal. Let's consider this MCD as a try and let's wait for something better.
http://www.myspace.com/malariah

NECROS / ABNORM split Review

NECROS / ABNORM (France/France) – S/T
Split Tape 2009 – Nihilistic Holocaust
8 tracks – 30'30
Rated: 6/10 - 6/10
You can count on Gab's deep interest on unknown bands to release some pestilential metal of death. This time, here are two french acts into old school death metal and death/black metal.
NECROS is the death metallic representative. They are into old school US inspired death metal, the early recordings of INCANTATION & IMMOLATION plus some pieces of AUTOPSY for the slower parts. NECROS add their personal touch through their death metal with more personal riff though.
The music isn't groundbreaking, but you can find enough satisfying catchiness and morbidity to quench your thirst of death metal from the 90's. Vocally, I can't help it, but it reminds me Hagend of BLOODY SIGN. Unconsciously they are probably influenced by their landmates, even if most people disagree with this, I guess it's due to common influences from both bands, ahah! They covered « Anoint the chosen » by the mighty INCANTATION, it differs a bit from the original, not an easy song to play, I know what I'm talking about.
ABNORM, the death/black challenger is also rooted in the 90's, with some fast and evil music. Fortunately, the death metallic side of ABNORM prevails in their music, and you can think about the Austrian BELPHEGOR in their mid-period (Necrodemon Terrorsatan) and their landmates of VORKREIST (first album). ABNORM mixes fast parts with slower, medium grunts with screamed ones, some SLAYER-esque guitar solos, black metal sounding riffs, etc... The last track « The dead end path passenger » is my favourite and where the bands is efficient when playing on slower pace with decadent and hauting riffs.
Two bands at the eve of their putrid and dark art, but it's some promising debut.
Contact: Nihilistic Holocaust c/o Gabriel S – 9 rue de la Scarpe – 59552 LAMBRES LEZ DOUAI – FRANCE
gabsk@wanadoo.fr
http://www.myspace.com/necrosband
http://www.myspace.com/thetrueabnormband

BLACK BLEEDING The great satan Review

BLACK BLEEDING (Belgium) – The great Satan
MCD 2009 – Self Released
8 tracks – 26'37
Rated: 7/10
Great to hear new material by BLACK BLEEDING almost 4 years after « The awakening » demo. Probably not well known in the UG, BLACK BLEEDING is a blackened death metal band a bit apart from the usual black/death bands, mainly because of their freaky image, by this I mean they don't take them too seriously, not the basical spiked metal warriors if you see what I mean. But does this affect their music? Certainly not. BLACK BLEEDING's music has the impact and intensity of evil sounding bands. I found similarities with bands like old VITAL REMAINS, early DIABOLIC, even some black metal (some hints of MAYHEM) but here we have mostly death metal for my greatest pleasure. Here and there you can hear more heavy metal influences reminding old stuff by EDGE OF SANITY, it makes the whole listening quite pleasant and create some diversity.
I guess the band won't have much recognition and will remain underrated probably because of lack of curiosity or maybe the band's image, a real mistake as BLACK BLEEDING is worth your attention (as good as belgian beer!). You can get this MCD directly from the band or the most skeptical can download it from their website.
Contact: blackbleeding@hotmail.com
http://www.myspace.com/beerbleeding

HYPOKRAS / BY THE SWORD split LP review

HYPOKRAS (France) / BY THE SWORD (France) – Brutal, deadly, insane / Metal 'til death
Split LP 2008 – D.U.K.E
2 tracks / 3 tracks
Rated: 6/10 - 4/10
Great to hear new stuff by HYPOKRAS, coz' there was no news about them since their MCD « Dead & hungry » released on Warpath Records. If I remember well, this was some good death metal, quite brutal with a bunch a cool tracks, even if the band didn't get much attention. Two new tracks on black wax, with a rawer sound, probably a will to get back to the roots. The first track « Strategik grim murder » reminds me the same kind of old school atmosphere you can find on Blessed are the sick, this kind of old school death metal with evil vibe. On the second track « The death wish » HYPOKRAS goes a bit thrashier in the old SEPULTURA vein (Bestial devastation/morbid visions) and in the DESTRUCTION vein, with slower melodic parts and keeping the death metal vocals though. HYPOKRAS turns into some death/thrash, I miss the brutal side of the MCD, but the stuff here is quite decent for the old school freaks who loves their metal that stinks sweat, blood and beer.
The chainsaw on the first tracks of BY THE SWORD, reminds the butchering intents of BESTIAL MOCKERY, and musically speaking « Metal 'til death » contains all the thrash/black/death clichés of this kind of band. It' well done, nothing outstanding but just a good strike in the head.
The following track « Prat del cramats » came with a quite crappy and fuzzy sound. It's more a kind of epic or doomy track, in the BATHORY vein (Blood, fire, death) with choirs and dealing with Occitan land and its medieval religious conflicts (according to the info sheet). The last track « annihilation » is a instrumental track with a sound similar to the previous one, that is to say quite horrible. The BY THE SWORD side is really not my cup of beer, but here is a cool split LP of underground french hordes even if they remains studio projects.
Contact: DUKE Cidex 1010 – 39800 LE FIED – FRANCE
http://www.myspace.com/hypokras666

ROT demo 2008 review

ROT (Poland) – Pedophile maniac + tracks from the split with MORTICUM
Demo tape 2008 – Demented Omen of masochism
13 tracks
Rated: 3/10
This release is the first production by Peter of DOOM Zine and with ROT you can expect something as dirty and ugly as Polish underground can spawn. The ROT entity is a primitive black/death fiend raping the actual crystal sounding productions coming from Poland. Here you a rehearsal-like sounding production, quite listenable though, even the drum programming sounds as ugly and basic drumming, in fact only the snare drum is perceived. Personally I didn't keep anything from this release, but probably spiked metal-headz could enjoy this gathering of VON, BEHERIT, BLASPHEMY, ARCHGOAT, DARKTHRONE influences with some thrashy parts à la 1st SLAYER album or even BATHORY. The bestial vocals used to get on my nerves as it lacks a bit of variation but this is how they wanted them to be I guess. The tracks from the split with MORTICUM are really weak and ridiculous, you can just hear the drums and the bass, the guitar is banished and the vocals sound more like an asthmatic dude than an evil fire-breathing demon Not the kind of stuff I enjoy, probably people into basic black/death may be interestedc by the « Pedophile maniac » tape, but forget the split part, it sucks!
http://www.myspace.com/rot666

YDIN Sastaa demo 2008 review

YDIN (Finland) – Saasta
Demo CD 2008 – Self released
5 tracks - 18'20
Rated: 6,5/10
The cold and pestilent wind of Finland returns with their third demo. I enjoyed the previous works of YDIN and this third one kept the icy flame of their particular death metal. YDIN doesn't play it old school but is a rather brutal death metal act playing a very precise and murderous death metal with influences from the US and European scene (DIABOLIC, PESSIMIST, PANZERCHRIST, EXMORTEM...). This demo is probably less catchy than the previous one but it keeps a frozen atmosphere. The drumming is always as tight as a scalpel cut and sometimes it really plays fast (reminding KATAKLYSM in « Serenity in fire » with the ultrablast parts, eventhought I hate this album) but YDIN use these parts with parcimony, in fact there are very few.
Not their best stuff but it's above the average and certainly more valuable than all this bunch of technical deathcore bands. YDIN has established it's trademark and now I think a full album would be the following logical step.
Info: http://www.ydinband.com/

DR DOOM S/T MCD review

DR DOOM (Netherlands) – S/T
MCD 2007 – Scrotum Jus Records / Crash Landing Records
8 tracks – 15'35
Rated: 7,5/10
Beware the name doesn't reflect the band's style! DR DOOM is a surprising grindcore explosion in the way that they don't stick to the basic grindcore brand. Hard to not think about the modern wave of grindcore while listening to DR DOOM, with of course the unavoidable NASUM or one of his numerous children like SPLITTER. DR DOOM is somekind of modern grindcore, even if BRUTAL TRUTH is certainly among their influences, but the doc in fact simply loves to experiment or let's say adding elements from death or black metal. Would I mention the word post-hardcore? Pfff fuck the brands! DR DOOM is grindcore but they display many dissonant parts or riffs close to some black metal (MAYHEM is a good example especially latest records). It results of many dark and oppressing atmospheres that really set DR DOOM apart the vulgar grindcore bands that seem to play the same track for half an hour.
Only the screaming vocals could be tiring on a longer basis, but they strengthened the madness and fits the whole mood of this MCD. I think it's an unusual grindcore release, not original, but a mind catching one at least.
Contact: Mart WIJNHOLDS – Veemarkt 34 A – 8011 AJ ZWOLLE – Netherlands
doctordoom@live.nl
http://www.myspace.com/drdoomgrind

DECEPTION Nails sticking offensive Review

DECEPTION (Poland) - Nails sticking offensive
CD 2007 – Sevared Records
10 tracks - 28'23
Rated: 5,5/10
I didn't know DECEPTION before, probably heard about them but that's all. The only fact is that underground artist Deather plays bass and sings within. This is their third album and what is interesting or let's say different with DECEPTION is that they don't come with a clean and powerful production like most of their compatriots. DECEPTION is an antithesis of crystal sounding production, their album is so chaotic and disgusting it would make some fag-gothic metalheads run away. DECEPTION is blasphemous death metal without compromises, even in the songwriting. I mean there's no refinement, it's almost half an hour of sonic aggression. Their satanic death metal is an insane mixture of BEHEMOTH (« Satanica » for the brutal side), REVENGE (for the chaotic side but DECEPTION is a bit more captivating, which wasn't so hard!) and even some US black metal à la PROFANATICA (for the evil and messy side). This kind of apocalyptic death metal could even please war metal freaks into AXIS OF ADVANCE. But there's nothing more to seek into DECEPTION's blasphemies, just pure aggression, chaos and evil intents.
Contact: Sevared Records c/o Barrett Amiss II – 19 East Main St. - Leroy, NY 14482 – USA
http://sevared.com/
http://www.myspace.com/deception667

TERRORDROME Vehement convulsion Review

TERRORDROME (Greece) – Vehement convulsion
CD 2008 – Grindethic Records
11 tracks – 29'14
Rated: 5/10
Alongside with INVERACITY and EXTREME VIOLENCE comes TERRORDROME who also want their piece of the death metal pie. They can even challenge the US bands as TERRORDROME is exactly playing in the US brutal death style, quite technical but not too much, very fast but not always, with some traditional mosh-parts but without falling in the basic slammming death metal. If you dig extreme shit like GORGASM or INHERIT DISEASE this stuff will fully satisfy you. Add some technical touches à la ORIGIN, gory/pigs vocals in the most common way (quite boring on a longer basis but the album is short so it's not that hard to bear it), and a drummer who sometimes can reach really fast blasting or fast parts close to VISCERAL BLEEDING, and I think you could get a cool brutal death album. On the side of originality, well, that's the utter desert.
Contact: Sakis CHATZITAKIS – G. Gennimata 13 – 57013 OREOKASTRO – THESSALONIKI – GREECE
info@terrordrome.net
http://www.myspace.com/terrordrome

PERVERTUM OBSCURUM demo 2007 review

PERVERTUM OBSCURUM (Australia) – Mass murder mutilation
Demo tape 2007 – Evil Speaks Records
6 tracks
Rated: 6/10
Side project of Chris Newell from SANGUINEOUS (read back the intie in PEZ#4 for further infos) PERVERTUM OBSCURUM is a black/death metal manifestation (you can label it as war metal if you will) where Chris plays all the instruments. The music itself is quite basic, bestial and intense due to the almost incessant drums blasting in the first track for example which reminds me a mix between ABOMINATOR, old DEICIDE and old IMMOLATION. Fortunately the second track is a mid paced one with an interesting mood reminding old stuff like HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST with hints of AUTOPSY, a nice track with the famous « hu! », ahah great shit anyway! Third track is again a black/death metal one in the vein of the first one but shorter with an haunting lead at the end, not bad.
The other side (of blasphemy) starts with another black/death onslaught, pretty common, but there are some cool slowdowns and lead guitar again, coz this would be pretty boring without those elements. Fifth track is probably the fastest and the most primitive, a kind of early DEICIDE under crack with a nice solo. This demo ends with an old INCANTATION alike tune, with a doomy parts with evil leads, then you get attacked once again by the black/death basis of PERVERTUM OBSCURUM. Chris has a wide range of influences and he bathes his black/death metal into those and here is his first effort. This stuff has nice dark moments and that occurs an interesting full length for any black/death maniacs.
Contact: PERVERTUM OBSCURUM – PO BOX 442 – Brunswick – Victoria 3056 – AUSTRALIA
Evil Speaks Records – PO BOX 5093 – Moreland West – Victoria 3055 – AUSTRALIA
http://www.myspace.com/pervertumobscurum

THY FUNERAL demo 2008 review

THY FUNERAL (Hungary) – Master of rebellion
Demo Tape 2008 – Karpatia Productions
3 tracks
Rated: 2/10
Second demo by this one-man-band into black metal highly inspired by the Norvegian scene. It's always a pleasure to review that kind of material as I'm almost half aware in advance of how it sounds like. Typical raw atmospheric black metal reminding the early works of EMPEROR for the atmospheric side and DARKTHRONE for the vocals and some riffs. This is just overheard stuff according to me but probably black metal freaks would disagree. They would have to bear those unbearable and terrible keyboards though (the third track with synths and gremlins screams is just ridiculous). Fortunately they are not omnipresent, the guy added some acoustic/clean sound parts to create cold and sad atmospheres from the forgotten kingdom of absolute freeze where demons lie within to possess your souls and set the world on fire so as Satan could make the biggest barbecue and the hottest party ever..... One track is okay but three? And they're fucking long (boring?)!! If you like that kind of mid paced frozen black metal, drop me a line and I would be more than happy to give you this tape.
Contact: thyfuneral666@gmail.com

KATALYSATOR demo 2007 review

KATALYSATOR (Sweden) – Mass genocide ritual
Demo tape 2007 – Zombie Ritual
3 tracks – 15'00
Rated: 6/10
The swedish old school death metal mafia introduces us to one of their numerous filth spawn. Some people may be tired by all these bands popping from here, pillaging shamelessly the inheritance of VERMINOUS, REPUGNANT, KAAMOS, NECROVATION , but one must admit that KATALYSATOR (now named INVIDIOUS) learnt well from their masters who themselves learn from NIHILIST/ENTOMBED, GROTESQUE, CARNAGE, DISMEMBER...
You have here some typical swedish death metal embalmed with putrid remains, the evil mood (the guitar leads are ultra typical but create a great dark vibe!), the decadent rock n' roll touch and a bit or reverb on the necrotic vocals. The typical recipe, it's overheard these days (it was still the case almost 20 years ago), but the guys play it with the guts. A cool second demo but absolutely not essential.
Contact: INVIDIOUS – Pelle AHMAN – Rörbäcksvägen 27 – 75752 UPPSALA – SWEDEN
http://www.myspace.com/katalysator

GOSPEL OF THE HORNS Realm of the dead Review

GOSPEL OF THE HORNS (Australia) – Realm of the dead
CD 2007 – Hell's Headbangers
10 tracks - 38'10
Rated: 6,5/10
This is probably the best effort of GOSPEL OF THE HORNS so far. After a really average « A call to arms » I wasn't expecting anything from our Australian black/thrashers. I was wrong as this « Realm of the dead » is following a path established by DESTROYER 666 (Phoenix rising), I mean some catchy tunes of black/thrash metal with many headbanging rhythms, warrior hymns and great solos. The inheritance is clearly the early stuff of CELTIC FROST, SLAYER, POSSESSED, and probably more bands whose names are unknown to the common mortals.
A good album for any thrash maniac looking for good songwriting. The only bad point according to me are the vocals which are just unbearable. Some scorched vocals that sound powerless and do not fit the music. A matter of taste though as the music compensates this detail.
A must have for our young patched-jackets warriors who eagerly wait for their heros to reform until they split up, then reform and split up again...
Contact: Hell's Headbangers – 3593 Medina Rd #109 – MEDINA, OH 44256 – USA
www.hellsheadbangers.com
http://www.myspace.com/gospelofthehorns

HOUWITSER promo 2009 review

HOUWITSER (Nederland) – Sledgehammer redemption
Promo 2009 – Self released
2 tracks – 7'00
Rated: 6/10
Freshly reformed the brutal dutch warmachine doesn't lose their killing intents. This two-track promo release is a foretaste of a upcoming album. Old school brutal death they were before their split, they keep the same style today but with a skilfull drummer this time (as Mr Kloosterwaard is so busy in SINISTER, INFINITED HATE, SUPREME PAIN, … and so many interviews to answer!). The drum-work here the the most significant change in HOUWITSER, there's a bit more variety and more aggression, a good point when you play death metal. On the other hand if like me you like their previous works, this is a pleasant foretaste, but if you don't like their shit this new material won't change your mind. HOUWITSER plays basic brutal death metal in the CANNIBAL CORPSE vein, no more, no less.
http://www.myspace.com/houwitser

AVICULARIA interview 2009

It's my first contact with a Croatian metal band, I must admit my incompetence about naming any bands from this country, and AVICULARIA is an amazing discovery believe me. AVICULARIA is a death metal band, with a high technical level and able to create great epic tunes. Fans of MORBID ANGEL, NILE, CRYPTOPSY and GORGUTS shall check it right now!

-Hi Domagoj, hope you're doing well. Let's talk about your band AVICULARIA where you handle the guitar. You created the band with the help of your friend Kreso (drums) in 2003 and then later you recruited the other musicians Igor (guitar) Sergej (bass) and so AVICULARIA could spread its web! What is your musical background? Did you play in other bands before? What led you to extreme music?
Kreso, my younger brother, and I wanted to play some brutal music...at that point we were listening bands like Immolation, Nile, Gorguts, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Kataklysm, Immortal, Cradle of filth etc., so we naturally started to play in death/black metal style. Of course, we never wanted to limit ourselves, musically speaking, we were always open minded and liked other kinds of music, but at that point death metal was our main focus. It took some time to find right bass player and guitarist, few people passed through band. In late 2007 lineup was stable, and we started to play live. It is interesting to mention that band named „Avicularia” already existed somewhere from 1999 till 2002. It was a high school Metallica/Slayer/Sepultura cover band where Kreso & Igor (guitar) played. After band broke up, Kreso played drums with Blackthorn (thrash metal) and Malformed – legendary death metal band from Zagreb. Myself played only in one band before Avicularia, that was Serpent Sun from Osijek, Croatia (melodic DM in style of At The Gates and early In Flames) and in 2003. I left the band to form „new“ Avicularia with my bro.
When talking about extreme music, Kreso and I discovered that passion together. I remember Carcass „Heartwork“, Deicide „Serpents of the light“ as our first discoveries and fascinations. I can't tell why, I think it was natural progression from Metallica/Sepultura/Slayer/Pantera/Machine Head stuff to something more extreme, more intense. I liked the speed and complexity in that music, it was interesting to me as musician. I would repeat songs over and over until I could remember every note.

-AVICULARIA plays some kind of technical death metal where I distinguish 2 prominent influences like NILE and GORGUTS. Of course, as mentioned in your biography one can also find some diverse touches of CRYPTOPSY, IMMOLATION or MORBID ANGEL. Your music is quite technical but it remains quite listenable and not boring (at least if you are into technical stuff). You kept a good balance between technical aspect and some more atmospheric parts. Was it a clear idea at the early beginnings of the band to play this complex music? The band started in 2003, but your first album is just released in 2009, why such a delay? Did you record any demos before?
No, we had no demos. Now, looking back I think that was mistake because in 2005. we already finished 4 songs. But somehow, brother and I were never quite satisfied how they sounded, so the songs and lyrics changed quite a bit until January 2008 when we entered the studio. You are right, the songs weren't so much complex in the beginning. Since I had no songwriting experienced before Avicularia so it was quite new territory to me. Also, during past 5 years we changed a lot as persons, so naturally the music changed.

-You chose a curious moniker AVICULARIA which is the name of a species of tarantula if i'm right. Why such an uncommon band name? What is the link with your music/lyrics? Never think of using a moniker like MORBID CORPSE or CANNIBAL ANGEL, ahaha!! Seriously, is it a way to take distance with the "common" death metal scene? Why such an obsession for this spider?
Yeah, we wanted to play uncommon music so we needed uncommon name to make the point. Kreso came with the name, as it perfectly describes music we wanted to create. Avicularia is Latin name for one exotic animal, that is often misunderstood by many people. It is actually very gentle creature and is not aggressive at all. It also has its unique beauty, looks strange, has impressive body structure and physical abilities, almost like an alien creature. Also, the word „Avicularia“sounded exotic, strong and intelligent at the same time. I still like saying that name up loud, it always gives me that feel.
When talking of obsession with an spiders, Kreso used to have one Brachypelma Albopilosum, and our bass player Sergej still keeps few of different species in his bedroom.

-Your musical approach is a bit similar to bands like YATTERING or SHADOWS LAND who combines technical and brutal music with some more avant-garde ones. Do you feel belonging to this today wave of technical death metal bands? The problem is that some bands like BRAINDRILL for example mistakes brutality, speediness and boredom. You listen to them but at the end you cannot remember anything. What's your point of view concerning extreme music and its technical aspect? Don't you think some bands forget to compose a track but they only gather riffs without real coherence?
I think it is hard to compare Avicularia to any of these bands. I never considered Avicularia as technical band; we really aren't that good technicians like guys from Brain Drill, Spawn of Possesion, Necrophagist or Origin. I can agree with you there are some bands that go to unlistenable extremes. By forcing speed and technicality music looses dynamics, there are no easy, moody or slower parts, so listener can rest a second or enjoy some catchy groove. At some point technique looses its meaning. In my opinion, point of music is to express emotions, about how you feel in your heart, not about how fast and insanely you can play. From my point of view that term „extreme metal“ is not only about extreme technique but rather extreme variations between fast, technical, brutal and slower, more mellow parts within a song. It is that we are trying to make interesting music that can challenge listener and ourselves as musicians.
-Who wrote AVICULARIA's lyrics? Are they linked together to form a kind of story or theme, if so, can you sum up it please, as I'm afraid I didn't fully understand it because some parts are quite obscure concerning interpretation?
No, this is not conceptual album. Every song has its own story. The lyrics were written by three of us and have different thematic. Just to make a few quick notes about the lyrics to get the point: Kreso wrote „Born to be vile“ that is a song about a way of life that is basically an ode to individuality. Igor wrote „Succubus“, a funny brutal song about evil succubus whatever that meant to him; basic and kick ass lyrics for a kick ass song! He also wrote „Spiraling Doom“ that is ecological song about world's insanity and men’s obsession with power and destruction. I wrote „Anthem to arms“ that is anti war song but also includes anti religion ideas, „Confrontation“ talks about a man confronting with himself, with his demons & final „Requiem for ego“ is a hymn about the evil side of human ego and what we truly are when our ego diminishes.

-AVICULARIA is a Croatian band. If I mention this, it's because your scene is almost unknown to me. Can you raise the veil on the Croatian metal scene and recommend us some good bands? Do you have some veteran bands into heavy, death or black metal? Is foreign metal music popular in Croatia? Do you also have to bear this terrible wave of deathcore/neodeath/emoshit bands?
Yeah, sure! When talking generally about history of Croatian metal bands, there were many of them but only few international successful like Anesthesia, Ashes You Leave, Forlorn Legacy, Father... I would recommend to listen to „Ultimate Croatian Metal“that is collection of 5 CD you can download for free here: http://rapidshare.com/users/GY8F1V . And yes we have lots of deathcore/emo crap as everywhere. In my opinion some of the finest underground metal acts that still exist are: USUD (www.myspace.com/kultkrvi), INSOLITVS (www.myspace.com/insolitvs) , TRUE (www.myspace.com/truezrud), DRAMA (www.myspace.com/dramadoom), CZAAR (www.myspace.com/bandczaar), EXCUSE FOR PAIN (www.myspace.com/excuseforpain), INFERNAL TENEBRA (www.myspace.com/infernaltenebra).

-Do you have good equipment and rehearsal places for music in Croatia? How is considered extreme music out there? Is this considered as something marginal or is it accepted as any kind of music?
Metal music is not well accepted in Croatia. We are still very traditional country, people mostly listen to national folk music and MTV crap, so you can imagine how people react on extreme metal music. In capital Zagreb situation is a bit better, just like in every big city there is decent number of rehearsal places and about 4-5 clubs and 2 big venues where you can hear metal music. In last 5 years we had acts like Nile, Suffocation, Necrophagist, Sepultura, Iron Maiden, Machine Head...etc. This year was extremely filled with metal concerts so I guess situation is getting better. I think metal will always stay marginal music in our society. You know it is not easy to be musician here, it is very expensive sport. I was saving money for years to get some decent amp and guitars; we are really on our own.

-Looking at some pictures on your MySpace page you guys seem really to have fun playing together. You play brutal and complex music but don't take yourself too seriously. You don't hesitate to distort or deformed your faces, taking funny pictures, etc...Why don't you play the tough guys with spikes and evil poses in the snow at night? Is it a way to piss the evil dudes off because they don't consider you as "true" if you see what I mean ahah!!
No, we don't really give a damn. We enjoy doing our music and don't care about how people will react. Like us, hate us – it is same to me. Avicularia is not the kind of band that is trying to look true on stage, although I think stage presence is very important. It is just, when playing live we are more concentrated on our musical performance than on stage acting. Talking about goofy faces, I'm usually the most serious guy in the band – blame it on other three hahaha!!!

-I would keep talking about the Eastern metal scene, which is more known for the grindcore stream (mostly from Czech Rep) with for example CARNAL DIAFRAGMA, MALIGNANT TUMOUR, MINCING FURY, PIGSTY and hundreds more. The death metal is less represented with bands like DESTROYING DIVINITY (Czech), ENTHRALLMENT (Bulgaria), ARHONT (Macedonia), DAGGERSPAWN (Serbia), etc... According to you why death metal is less represented in Eastern countries? Is this a less popular style beside grindcore? I think things are changing because bands find labels to release their music.
I really don't know why is grindcore more accepted in Eastern Europe than death metal. I guess people like to jump around and get wild on it. Maybe it is because grind is all about few guys jumping on the stage and making noise. Many of these countries still have bad post transition difficulties, especially when talking about economy. Socialist regime repressed people for so many years, and then brutal neo-capitalism came…I guess it is the way for people to say „fuck the system“! Since grind derivates from punk and punk by its nature is all about rebellion...I think this makes sense. I think death metal is more introverted music style, it is the music you want to listen alone in your bedroom, and grindcore is more social, more like drinking music when you hang out with your crew. Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it is just the way the people are.

-"Born to be vile" is released by Croatia Records. Who are the people involved in this label? How is the promotion working? How people can get your album and merchandising? Do you find any distributors worldwide? How is the feedback about "Born to be vile"?
Croatia Records is major label in Croatia that usually does not distribute metal music. We got studio to record this album and limited edition of CDs, but not promotion and distribution. We still do these things on our own and currently are looking for an international label that is willing to distribute merch and promote us. Right now you can buy album and t-shirts directly from us on our email: avicularia.band@gmail.com . We sent CDs to numerous webzines and magazines and so far reactions are very positive all-around. I think we shall have no problem finding the right label.

-Do you still believe in the physical musical format, that is to say vinyl, tape or CD? We can see today bands selling their music on mp3 platforms like I-tunes or things like that. Personally even if the mp3 quality increases quite well sound wise, I can't limit myself getting a virtual release. I like looking at the CD booklet or LP layout. What do you think about all of this?
MP3 format is extremely practical, you can carry great amount of music with you, access to huge amount of different music you otherwise would never hear and the most important - it is free. I know that most of them are not legal, I know all about the authors’ rights, hell I am one of them now! So, if you google phrase “Avicularia torrent” you’ll get at least 30 direct links to download our album. And you can’t stop it, and I don’t want to stop it because it is the way for people around the world to hear our music. And some people, who liked it, send us mail and order CDs and t-shirts. I personally like having CDs but don’t buy them much because of two practical reasons: First, I don’t have anymore free time to sit down in front of some nice Hi-Fi and enjoy the music, and second - it is expensive. Like it or not you can’t change this. And don’t get me wrong, I used to be that kid that spent his last money on brand new CD rather than going to pub with friends. But physical format will survive for sure, you have to have a CD, especially at live shows.
-How many shows did AVICULARIA play? Do you share the stages with foreign bands? Is it easy to organize concerts and festivals and how is usually the people affluence at gigs? Are the metalheads supportive?
As I said previously, Croatia has very small metal scene. Our state has only about 4,5 million inhabitants, so it is natural to go internationally it is the only way. So far we played only in Croatia, and this fall/winter some international gigs are coming. We shared stage with some names you might know like Quo Vadis(Can), Disinfect(DE), Distaste(A), and some local “bigger” names like Stonebride, The Rite of Retaliation, Usud, Inciter…There are bunch of people, I could say fans, that attend our show regularly and are very supportive – they make us feel worthy and proud of music we do. As Far as I know, Avicularia is the only band in Croatia doing this kind of extreme metal music.

-Please react or say something about the following records:
-ATHEIST "Elements": One awesome album! Man I should listen that old stuff more often, you just reminded me on time when I intensively enjoined bands like Cynic, Death, Pestilence and I always put Atheist there. Amazing concept in general, musicianship and AN IDEA, one of the most amazing jazz/death metal fusions. Album is very fluid and dynamic and this is the same thing I want to happen with our music in the future.
-DEATH "The sound of perseverance": It was always hard for me to pick the favorite Death album, but their last masterpiece is the real crown of Chuck’s work. Most technical album to me, also the first Death album I’ve ever hearted back in 1998, and album I’ve listened many, many times. It instantly reminds me on Chuck and his tragic fate and what kind of genious stuff would we listen from Death today if he was still around. These are the last words of the father of death metal – it is a Bible to me!
-AGHORA "Aghora": Awesome fusion of prog/thrash metal with oriental/ambient stuff. I always get the trills from guitar work of Santiago Dobles on that album. This guy is one of the most impressive players I’ve ever heard and other musicians follow him tightly. But I never liked the way the vocals were done. I would like to hear her screaming from her guts on heavier parts. To me her vocal lacks dynamics and it gets me bored when listening a while. But Santiago, he is the man!
-GORGUTS "Obscura": First when I heard this album it took me some time to digest it, to understand it. Very complex and original album, definitely on my top 10 list. It inspired me to take different approach to playing and was and still is great influence on Avicularia’s music. There is a song “Clouded” that lasts for almost 10 minutes and when I come to that song it feels like it lasts an hour! It is that sick and disturbing, like everlasting agony. It makes me nervous sometimes…hahahah
-CRYPTOPSY "the unspoken king": After that album people started to call them Craptopsy but it is not that bad. I’ve listened many times and liked it like every Cryptopsy album. New vocal style was quite the shock, but hey, Cryptopsy was always about innovations and this is the reason I’ve been following them for years. This band has no two same albums; every one has different vibe and is original. For a long time they were my favorite band and if I had to pick the worst album it would be “Once was not”. To me golden era ended with “...And than you’ll beg” when Jon left the band. That is the last masterpiece of Cryptopsy, and I hope they’ll get on that road again with next album.
-SUFFOCATION "Blood oath": The best production Suffocation ever had, but not my favorite album. It is funny that I can’t tell why, but album after 15-20 minutes of playing becomes boring. It lacks something but I can’t tell what, it sounds so perfect but does not give me that thrills like “Despise the sun” does.
-PORTAL "Outre": Man, I haven’t heard of this guys until now(God bless mp3). Interesting post/black metal stuff! On first listening it instantly reminded me on Mayhem “Ordo ab Chao” because its atmosphere and Lo-Fi production. Not bad indeed, but I’ll give them a few more listenings for better insight.

-Let us know about your recent musical purchases. What records would you recommend to our narrow-minded readers? On the contrary what's the most terrible stuff you have heard recently and we should avoid?
Recently I’m intensively listening to local demo bands and there are lots of great talents, so have a listen to some of than I recommended. Lately, beside metal, I’m listening lots of post rock and experimental stuff, instrumental stuff like Terry Bozzio, Frank Gambale. There are some impressive bands your readers might find interesting like King Crimson. They have been great inspiration to me. It is one of the most amazing bands in music generally and everyone should give them a chance. I suggest to start with albums “Red” and “Power to believe”. If you like instrumental acoustic guitar try to anything from “Miroslav Tadic & Vlatko Stefanovski”, there are virtuosos from Serbia and Macedonia that can easily be compared with guitar greats like Al DiMeola, Paco DeLucia, Joe Satriani…etc. Talking about new metal releases I hope everyone heard “Ulcerate – Everything is fire”. If not, this one is a must! I think they are Immolation of new era, the most intense and original death metal band I’ve heard in years. “Obscura – Cosmogenesics”is also awesome, “Augury - Fragmentary_Evidence”, “Gorod - Process of a new decline”, of course new Nile album…dude, there are too many of them. Stuff I don’t like I usually don’t remember, so – none!

-It's over now, thank you very much for your kind cooperation answering my questions. Let us know what we can expect from AVICULARIA in a near future. You also can end this chat the way you want. Keep on being vile!
It was my pleasure answering your questions that were precise and interesting. I am happy that you gave us a chance for promotion in France and I’m sure we’ll manage to make few live gigs around your country. It is very nice to see international interest for our music, thank you for your attention and best wishes to keep Putrefactive Effect active and strong! And to all you metalheads: metal up you ass and keep the metal faith alive! Haha…No, this is too much cliché…Listen to Avicularia at www.myspace.com/aviculariaband and if you dig us, ordering our album. Thank you all!