Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Zine review: UNDERWORLD ZINE & COMPILATION Issue #5

UNDERWORLD ZINE & COMPILATION Issue #5
I received a copy of this zine from Roy who was publishing Trendcrusher zine when I first contacted him about a decade ago. We were out of touch for years but I found it refreshing that he is still involved in supporting bands after all this time. Like Trendcrusher, Underworld is based in the Philippines and a valid source of information when it comes to the deepest recesses of the underground of extreme metal. The editing could admittedly be a bit tighter, but the print quality is decent and introductory blurbs of varying length are included at the start of each interview. Issue five’s featured bands are Usul, Fester, Blastperversion, Morgengrau, Severance, Hate Beyond, Incapacitate, Mongrels Cross, Disfugurement, Nervecell, Hod and Warzy. Included with this issue is a CD compilation to provide a greater musical sense of the bands listed above. Including a compilation always helps you to understand where bands are coming from in their interviews. Some personal favorites are Fester’s “I’ll Hunt You Down,” Hod’s “Ritual Of Vengeance” and Hate Beyond’s “Assassin” though the entire CD is pure uncompromising underground madness and all the songs will shred you if you dare load this CD into your stereo. I’m hoping Roy continues supporting the underground for long to come. -Dave Wolff