Poem: 'Liberty Felled!' by Rich Orth

Liberty Felled!

© Rich Orth 12/06/2017

real surreal

cold wars old wars

cold sores..

Washington whores

Pay to play

fraying flag

fracking ...

collateral swag

hacking ...

bilateral phlegm

Ahem...ahem...amen

bow to my lord

my god...

how can we afford

to dream again

as nightmare

slips 'neath sheets

as we lay us down...

down to sleep

stocking hung with care

a whole 60,000

supplying the coal

for sinners...

evangelical...

for strippers...

angelical...

for boys and girls

debaced

for patriotism

defaced...

replaced with

I ...Me... Mine

Unrefined extremes

disposable dreams

swept under carpetbaggers

haggard old bastards

ruling in tyranny

oh say can you see

feel free to take a knee

for only their beliefs

perceived from texts...

so ancient...

antiquities written

by the hand of man...

frictional fiction

fanning the flames ..

flames of or HELL

as all true liberty is felled....

Lady hangs her head

Shamed into mediocrity

Flame extinguished....

Give me your tired...

your poor...

your huddled masses...

yearning to breathe free

Give me them... NO MORE!

Poem: 'Melancholy Twilight' by S.C.C.

Melancholy Twilight

by S.C.C.

Into the vast sky...

Into the deep sea...

Into the shadows...

Fear no more the midnight, fear no more the sea...

It's just a memory fading... Or is it forming?.

Black. White. Darkness. Light.

Pain. Joy. Sadness and Happiness.

Rage. Calm.

Hear my call... Hear my call...

Destruction. Creation.

Destroyer and Redeemer.

Rise and fall... Into dawn and dusk.

Poem: 'Two Swallows' by Sarah McKellar

Two Swallows

by Sarah McKellar

Two swallows fly,

away from the earth,

they question their judgement,

they question their worth.

Higher and higher,

the death toll still soars,

like eagles in flight,

they chase the wind more.

We watch in desperation,

as they fly towards the sun,

their time on earth,

it will soon be done.

As much as we wish our swallows will return,

their memory lives on,

and our hearts they shall burn,

because forever they shall ride the vespers,

and trees,

forever with them,

our heart will be.

Poem: 'Paper Prince' by Skitz J. Fitch

Paper Prince

by Skitz J. Fitch

I reject you paper Prince wearing your crown of thorns, A fictitious fairy tale backed by brutal tactics of subjugation at the fist of those you call the Holy church. Suppression of My faith to the Gods will never be given even with your threats of slaughter of women and children for proud is my blood and strong my memory it will never fade I refuse to bend the knee and with my life I shall pay. You will not take me without a great battle for I shall never see your paper prince as mine a struggle between our faiths locked in eternal struggle for all time.

One day the Gods will rise again and strike your prince from his throne and paper is all you shall be left with in the dark and all alone.

Poem: 'Life In A Gunsight' by Steven Michael Pape

Life In A Gunsight

(c) Steven Michael Pape 2011

I heard on the news yet again tonight,

Another soldier killed, life in a gunsight

And these children fighting far from home,

As their relatives await news by the phone.

Blood in the forgotten land amidst all the contraband,

And the trigger that is pulled by the youngest hand

This government war, bullet casings on the floor,

As the tanks thunder on and the bombs all roar.

Agonized protests in these days of unrest,

A mere tool of the state in bullet-proof vests

Caught up in a web that slowly tightens,

A thin alibi concocted for all of the frightened.

The injuries inflicted in this human dirt War,

Each step of co-operation, more bodies on the floor

In this structure of long lost authority,

A faded fundamental mode of the majority.

Again the union jack is draped over the wood,

The governments quoted,`This soldier did good`

Yet War rages on, no submission and no light,

As another innocent is lined up in a gunsight.

Poem: 'The Unraveling of an Eye' by Tony Sokol

The Unraveling of an Eye

by Tony Sokol

I used to float, and time and space

meant nothing. When I looked beyond the face

that blinded me, then I saw

the land that cried because the law

had restrained us, had held us dead.

It restrained us in our heads.

Now my body's dead and I've gone blind,

there's nothing left me but my mind,

and for eternity, in this one spot,

I have to witness my own brain rot.

I cannot move, nor scream, nor turn:

I wish I'd had my body burned.

Single Review: BESTIAL INVASION Memories: The Аrchitect Of The Universe (Independent) by Dave Wolff

BESTIAL INVASION

Memories: The Аrchitect Of The Universe

Place of origin: Ukraine

Genre: Technical thrash metal

Release date: May 2, 2018

The new single from Bestial Invasion shows the Ukranian band continuing to progress, as they’ve done at a breakneck rate since their 2015 debut single Silent Wonders. I’ve been covering Bestial Invasion for a long time; more than ever I see them evolving into a force for the creative, unorthodox spirit of making music as well as the pugnacious, camaraderie-driven spirit of thrash metal. The full lengths from 2015 and 2017, Act Of Retribution and Contra Omnes, and their 2016 EP Trilogy: Prisoner Of Miserable Fate are already brilliant by old school standards. This new single leaves those releases at the starting gate when it comes to exercising imagination and taking overlooked aspects of older songs, blowing them up and taking them in new, unforeseen directions. Holding on to the thrashier edges of their songwriting, they add a greater number of time changes and create new arrangements that unfold smoothly for their technical advancements. From a fleeting acoustic introduction starting Memories. The Аrchitect Of The Universe, there is clearly more emphasis on serene guitars, presented in a way that is classy as opposed to what would have been considered wimpy in the 80s. Many bands like Queensryche, Testament, Destruction and Fates Warning wrote such parts into their songs, placing their stamp on their acoustic sections and achieving the desired effect. Bestial Invasion do the same in the intro and in sections where acoustic guitars accentuate the heavier, crunching guitars from underneath. I can describe it more graphically, but you can’t appreciate the arrangement without hearing it firsthand. The two part guitar harmonies and solos have improved in the few years the band has worked together, and new bass sounds are experimented with to accompany the John Cyriis (Agent Steel) inspired vocal scales. I’m assuming this is an advance single from a new full length the band is working on. If so, this has made me curious as to how the other songs will sound. Bassist Metal Priest’s Youtube channel World of MP has several new videos posted, including album reviews. -Dave Wolff

Band lineup:
V. Zadiev: vocals

Denis Shvarts: guitars

Metal Priest: bass

Efim Burak: drums

Full Length Review: MASCHARAT Mascharat (Séance Records) by Dave Wolff

MASCHARAT

Mascharat

Séance Records (Australia)

Place of origin: Milan, Lombardy, Italy

Genre: Black metal

Release date: September 15, 20174

Limited to 500 copies

Available for streaming on Bandcamp

The literary concept Mascharat explores on their debut is fitting for black metal, and the genre is a fitting vehicle to introduce listeners to a centuries old tradition from their native Italy. In an interview for Occult Black Metal Zine the band explains basing their tale on the Carnival of Venice, and basing their lyrics on literature and philosophy as well as occultism and esotericism. But this album is occult for delving into history, finding a part of it that many may have not known about, and telling about it while drawing parallels to modern times. For fans of extreme music with a taste for the observance of something historically meaningful that is celebrated to this day, you’ll want to seek this out. You’ll likely have to research the tradition of Venetian Carnival, reading as much material as you can find. The band make a point of extensively researching their subject matter and it shows. For the amount of work channeled into this recording, it’s worth taking the time and besides, the background information is needed to get the complete picture. According to historical accounts the Venetian Carnival was started in 1162 to celebrate the Venice Republic’s victory over the Patriarch of Aquileia. The carnival involved wearing costumes and masks to symbolize rejection of religious dogma, Outlawed by the Holy Roman Emperor and the Emperor of Austria in 1797 and practiced in secret once or twice, it was officially revived by the Italian government in 1979 and remains a prominent annual festival today. Whether or not you appreciate black metal with raw production, you can tell Mascharat display their research both musically and lyrically, with a well-educated grasp on the tradition as what they call an allegorical story. Being that it’s told within the medium of black metal, they somewhat present it as a parody of religious dogmas or false promises under a religious guise. As much as I understand their perspective; I’ll leave it to the listener to decide if the carnival is a parody, an homage to the past or a way of casting aside centuries’ worth of repression. However you choose to perceive it, this album is a commanding figuration of illusion and redemption, told with a musical backdrop as animated as it is astringent. As I gather, the lyrics are sung entirely in Italian in order to sustain the mystique, and in many moments you feel the tradition brought to life in a way that will inspire you to learn more. -Dave Wolff

Track listing:

1. Intro

2. Bauta

3. Médecin de peste

4. Mora

5. Vestibolo

6. Simulacri

7. Iniziazione

8. Rito

9. Outro

Full Length Review: NAZGHOR Infernal Aphorism (Non Serviam Records) by Loki Astaroth

NAZGHOR

Infernal Aphorism

Non Serviam Records

Place of origin: Uppsala, Sweden

Genre: Black metal

Release date: October 13, 2017

Nazghor are a band from Sweden that has been featured before in this zine and plays a very melodic and atmospheric form of satanic black metal and this is a review of their 2017 album "Infernal Aphorism" which was released by Non Serviam Records.

A synth orientated intro starts off the album along with some ritualistic spoken word parts before going into a faster direction which also uses a great amount of tremolo picking and blast beats to give the songs a more raw feeling along with the solos and leads being done in a very melodic fashion.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams while all of the musical instruments have a very powerful sound to them along with the riffs also bringing in a great amount of melody and the songs also bring in a great mixture of slow, mid paced and fast parts as well as some of the tracks being very long and epic in length, on some of the tracks atmospheric elements are also mixed in with the heavier sections of the music while as the album progresses a brief use of keyboards, melodic chants, clean playing and whispers can be heard on a couple of songs. spoken word parts,

On this recording Nazghor takes their melodic style of satanic black metal into more of an atmospheric direction, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover Satanism and nullification of religious existence themes.

In my opinion this is another great sounding recording from Nazghor and if you are a fan of melodic and atmospheric satanic black metal, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Malignant Possession" "Deathless Serpent" "Spawns Of All Evil" and "Infernal Aphorism". 8 out of 10. -Loki Astaroth

Band lineup:

Nekhrid: Vocals

Armageddor: Guitars

Angst: Guitars

Crowlech: Bass

Cosmarul: Drums

Track list:

1. Opus Profanus

2. Malignant Possession

3. Decretion At Eschaton

4. The Darkness Of Eternity

5. Deathless Serpent

6. Rite Of Repugnant Fury

7. Ephemeral Hunger

8. Spawns Of All Evil

9. Absence Of Light

10. Infernal Aphorism

This review can also be read at Occult Black Metal Zine -DW

Full Length Review: INRED Serpents Hold (Independent) by Dave Wolff

INRED

Serpents Hold

Independent

Place of origin: Lindenhurst, New York, USA

Genre: Symphonic folk/black/death metal

Release date: May 11, 2011

I remember when the core members of Inred were in Deathkids in 1996. They started in their early teens and were active in the Long Island club scene appearing at clubs like The Roxy. If memory serves I was one of the first local writers to review their demo and CDs, giving them exposure in Good Times Magazine, though it was the staff that came up with the tagline “evil comes in all ages.” Toward the decade’s end their activity increased until they inexplicably disbanded. Fast forward to the mid 2000s and they returned to writing and composing, only now they were writing and composing classic heavy and power metal as Inred. I heard several demo tracks and was favorably impressed with their new direction, but even so I had no idea how much they would progress into what they became in the early 10s. They haven’t released anything new since It Begins And The Search Never Ends (2010) and Serpents Hold (2011), but I hope they continue as those full lengths validate their hard work from the debut Deathkids demo onward. The former is rawer and retains their death metal roots, while the latter shows them tightened, polished and honed into a streamlined machine of technical and visceral energy. It sounds miles ahead of the material they composed when they started and if you’re not prepared for how far they’ve come Serpents Hold will shatter your expectations A handful of influences Inred cite on Facebook are Wintersun, Finntroll, Equilibrium and Ensiferum with Iron Maiden and composers Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman. The formula by which everything is structured is a conclusive remonstration that an extreme metal band can synthesize musical expressions they embraced from their youth and add a host of others picked up along the way, no need to reject anything as anachronous. Serpents Hold is as theatrical and industrious as anything from Europe or Russia, and displays ideas you may not have heard from the bands by which they outlined and sculptured their work. The band’s symphonic elements come on strong, the lead solos soar, and the vocals strive toward the theatrical quality of the music. The electronic sounds and keyboards keeping company to their fusion of folk, black and death metal is Inred’s most unique idea. Sometimes those sounds resonate of prog metal, other times 80s video game effects, other times horror movie soundtracks, but they fit remarkably well added to the myriad genres anatomized and reconstructed here. Standout tracks include The Crimson Wind, The Last Battle, Rogue and their cover of Anataboshi, originally recorded by Milky Way, an international dance-pop act from Japan. If you listen to the original recording it screams for reinterpretation. Inred cover it flawlessly, as if it had always been a metal song. -Dave Wolff

Band members: Kenny & Harley Wootton

Track list:
1. The Crimson Wind
2. Panic in Serpents Hold
3. The Last Battle
4. Unraveling the Frenzy
5. Ogre Den
6. Rogue
7. Heroes of the North
8. Go Back to Your Hole
9. Curse of the Bounty Hunter
10. Stone Hearts
11. Anataboshi (Milky Way Cover)
12. Betrayal (The Secret Enemy)