Thursday, May 21, 2015

CD review: ARKHAM Raising Worms by Dave Wolff

ARKHAM
Raising Worms
Independent
Melodic death metal from El Bolson, Rio Negro, Argentina. Arkham formed as Croaton in 2008, went on hiatus in 2010 and returned in 2012 with a new, steady lineup (Oscar Orcellet: vocals, Fabio Nahuelquir: guitar, Juan Thedy: guitar, Leonel Martinez: bass, Ariel Sanchez: drums) and their new moniker. Since reforming they recorded a demo and a debut MCD consisting of five songs. Arkham have been making a name for themselves locally opening for fellow Argentinian thrashers Serpentor, Eternal Grave, Mastifal, Lethal, Osamenta, Evisceration, Inflection, Sindrome and Induxión Mental. For a lineup that has worked together for two to three years they display solidarity and combine their influences cohesively. As I perceive it their sound often draws parallels to Swedish death metal (Amon Amarth). I also hear recurrent hints of classic metal and thrash in Perpetual Red Line, Martyr and Eternal. When fusing styles like these together as a new band just starting to record, the completed product can either be convoluted or fused together tightly. In these songs Arkham manage to link their influences in the appropriate places and channel them with controlled energy. Eternal also interjects a brief interlude of folk music in the midst of their heaviness. All this makes for a good start to their career. -Dave Wolff


CD review: MISANTHROPE MONARCH Misanthrope Monarch by Dave Wolff

MISANTHROPE MONARCH
Misanthrope Monarch
Independent
For a small state of what Misanthrope Monarch are capable of, the four songs on their debut MCD made me want to hear more. The German death-thrashers assail you, shred your consciousness and depart before you even know what hit you. This is really two full tracks, an intro and outro but it’s difficult to deny the German underground metal community can still produce quality music once you hear it all the way through. It seems this self-titled release together with the track The Omega Embrace was released on Bandcamp to generate a social media buzz before the inevitable release of a full length. The band themselves formed as a three piece in 2014, and how they pulled their act together since then demonstrates their potential as professionals as well as musicians. There is a buzz being generated in print as well as on the net, which includes zine and independent magazine coverage and independent shirt sales in which you can order directly from them. The band’s determination to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with in metal reflects their undeviating, unrelenting and multi-faceted style of death-thrash. Given the tight riffs, blast beats and occasional hints at Morbid Angel (not to mention the ambient theme introducing the MCD) there is more going on than you’ll experience at first listen. Dissonant chords and multi-layered guitars are only two aspects that establish Misanthrope Monarch as having their own identity in the field of extreme metal, showing the ability to branch out in yet another direction in a subculture that has consistently showed the potential for growth and maturity on its own terms. Visit the band on Facebook and discover this for yourself. -Dave Wolff


CD review: OTHERS Our Hearts Turn Black by Dave Wolff

OTHERS
Our Hearts Turn Black
Independent
Where Others’ single Heart Of Darkness (Tales Of Dracula) was captivating classically tinged gothic music, Our Hearts Turn Black is the uncompromising black metal you’d expect to come from Europe and Asia. When I began streaming this I expected to hear something like the aforementioned single but this was a more than pleasant surprise. I must clarify that Others is not a black metal band; rather they have made a tribute to black metal specifically for this album. What is unique about this band is they seek to make each release different from the last. Alternating between goth, punk and black metal, they create varying atmospheres on every new release. Our Hearts Turn Black is not all nihilism and misanthropy; Marquis DeBlood’s theatrical side reveals itself more than once. The intro Incantation (with a guest appearance by Les Hernandez), with a haunting soliloquy by Mistress Jessica as The Priestess, leads into the instrumental A Coming Storm, in turn followed by Immaculate Deception. The arrangement of these cuts makes for an inventive start that reaches poetic heights. The lyrics of Troy Usher do as much theatrically for this album as the music composed by DeBlood, and like many black metal albums of similar ilk, the collection of songs with all their components plays like a horror classic from the 50s to 70s era. At times I was reminded of Cradle Of Filth, other times I was reminded of Dark Funeral (Secrets Of The Black Arts era), still other times I was reminded of Charmand Grimloch’s Tartaros. The point is there is too much going on here for this recording to be pigeonholed into one category. And this is usually makes for worthwhile albums of any genre. -Dave Wolff

CD review: VARIOUS ARTISTS Curse Of The Vampire

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Curse Of The Vampire
The Horror Of It All Productions
Curse Of The Vampire is a compilation released by Marquis DeBlood, host of the web series The Horror Of It All that airs during October at What’s Goin’ On Binghamton (whatsgoinonbinghamton.com). DeBlood contributes three cuts to this EP that are quite good. Kiss Of Blood, Halloween Night and Villisca are goth metal/horror rock with an inherent sense of entertaining fun, as if Vincent Price appeared on Elvira’s Midnight Madness (they did guest together on The Tonight Show in 1986). The songs interested me in watching episodes of his podcast this October and reminded me of John Hex’s Creepshow, only less punk-oriented. DeBlood is the owner of Horror-Punks.com, a news and media site that promotes music, art and literature. This community is worth checking out as much as this compilation. At What’s Goin’ On Binghamton and Horror-Punks’ Youtube there are several clips by DeBlood, including his virtual cemetery tours. Such clips are up my alley, so I stumbled onto something I’ll like watching at my leisure. The other tracks included here showcase diversity in the bands Horror-Punks supports. Recycled Zombies (Day Of Wreckening) and Hollow Bodies (Homicidal Night) head into heavier, thrashier territory while The Docktor has a song for fans of techno-industrial (GHOST5 The Haunted). If you like occult rock like Coven and classic rock like Bob Seger, Grace’s Ghost would appeal to you since their song Fire On has elements of both. Others contribute a punk edge with Horror Academy. All the tracks are new and unreleased, gathered exclusively for this EP, and links for the bands are provided at the Bandcamp link above. -Dave Wolff

CD review: SOCIAL DECAY Sick Society by Dave Wolff

SOCIAL DECAY
Sick Society
To The Point Records
It’s impressive how hardcore music has survived pop punk, nu metal, metalcore and other mainstream trends and emerged from the shadows cast by them stronger than ever. New Jersey’s Social Decay personify this accomplishment as they’ve been active since 1984, before hardcore bands even crossed over with metal. Once when I visited the LIU radio station, one DJ involved in metal and indie programming assumed no one today knew of Bad Brains. This would most likely be unthinkable to Social Decay. Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Urban Waste, Discharge and virtually all of hardcore’s originators are familiar to them as they’ve shared the stage with almost anyone you can think of. Their longevity and experience is evident on this full length which retains their roots all the way back to the early 80s while incorporating some elements of metal in an unforced manner that’s far more convincing than what passes for punk and hardcore according to most college stations these days. Listening to Sick Society you can almost feel going to a hardcore matinee or evening show, paying the single-figure cover charge and walking into the club, sweat and dirty bathrooms and all. It may be a cliché but I’d rather have a bathroom stinking of piss and puke than an upscale club turning out third rate “punk” bands whose only source of information is the aforementioned indie programming. What was lost in this transition, Social Decay bring back with a vengeance. Kind of gives new meaning to titles like Life's Not Hard… You're Just Soft (the title of the band’s debut EP). Any of the songs gracing this album will educate the uninformed and revitalize the faithful. -Dave Wolff

CD review: MOLOCH Verwustung by Dave Wolff

MOLOCH
Verwustung
Human To Dust
Ukranian black metal at its rawest, coldest and most misanthropic; take heed and beware the coming of night. Moloch is a one-man project birthed by Sergiy Fjordsson who plays all the instruments here (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and vocals) and is known for his involvement in Psilocybe City Life, Saturn Form Essence and Silver Sphere Moon. His track record speaks of a musician who is experienced in his field, knows what he wants to do and is of many ideas to express. Fjordsson has done Moloch since 2004 and released an endless succession of demos, splits, compilations, box sets and full lengths. If MTV introduced you to black metal in the 2000s this might not be for you, but if you’ve been into it over the long haul and appreciate Burzum, Vlad Tepes and Fimbulwinter, you’ll be doing yourself a favor by seeking this out. Verwustung has similar cult-like themes, with no effort made to sugarcoat them. I again get that feeling I got from black metal in the 90s as if the old spirit never departed the ether; those old ghosts from the past still have much to say and who better than Fjordsson to be their spokesman? In traditional fashion the first track Todesstille sets the tone with cold, atmospheric keyboards, marking the transition from the world of light to the dark of Fjordsson’s imagination. Preparing you for the cuts to follow, this ambient track eclipses the stars, establishing visions of long forgotten crypts with tormented souls waiting to share their tales with the unwary listener. When those tales are given voice you feel inexorably drawn into this sea of crypts with a thin chance of escape, if any. The title track closing the album gives the impression that you are one of those spirits. For information about the different formats Verwustung was released in visit http://molochukr.bandcamp.com, -Dave Wolff

CD review: SALEMS LOTT Salems Lott by Dave Wolff

SALEMS LOTT
Salems Lott
Independent
My first thought of Salems Lott was that they reminded me of Loudness around the time Thunder In The East was out. At that time I was undergoing my transition from rocker/metaller to die hard thrasher (which in turn led to the eclectic musical tastes I have today). There was a long period when I shunned arena rock, but in this modern age of American Idol, boy bands and formulaic reconstituted pop I would take almost anything else. Salem’s Lott doesn’t pander to trendies. Touting themselves “violent Hollywood shock metal”, the band is creative, expressive, cutting edge and basically everything shock rock should have been in the 80s. Note that I said “shock rock”, not “cock rock”. If you’re expecting the latter you’ll be sorely disappointed, that’s for certain. Gene Simmons once stated you don’t play with your mind, you play with your dick; Salem’s Lott makes a more than convincing argument for the other side. The band take the darker visual elements of Motley Crue (Shout At The Devil) and EZO, combining them with the classical experimentation of the aforementioned Loudness and the late, great Randy Rhoads to spawn something frightening and original. Also added are some goth and thrash elements, something it was unheard of for glam bands to do when they were appearing on MTV from 1987 to ‘89. The band’s single/video “No Choice To Love” resonates a great deal with tales of vampirism somewhat similar to goth bands from the 90s to the present, and the rest of the album contains some unexpectedly brilliant moments with overlapping guitar solos and classical guitars. -Dave Wolff

CD review: DEADLY SINS Anticlockwise by Dave Wolff

DEADLY SINS
Anticlockwise
Independent
I don’t hear of many metal bands coming from France, but in those rare moments the experience is enough to remain with me for an indefinite period. Deadly Sins from Lyon, France are giving me one those moments as I listen to their full length Anticlockwise. This album is blistering 80s’s style thrash that assail your senses from the first note. Definitely an old school feel among these songs, and no mainstream friendliness to be found anywhere. Just rude and crass sounding songs, especially where the drums push the string instruments onward with a relentlessness that should be felt firsthand. For a French band they seem to have the vibes generated by German bands of the classic thrash era down pat, with some Bay Area themes added for good measure (a la Exodus, Testament). The lead vocals are somewhat reminiscent of Mille Petrozza (Kreator); at times there are hints of Sodom’s Tom Angelripper on In The Sign Of Evil; supported by backing vocals resonating of dangerously rowdy, heavily inebriated bar patrons. The musicianship conveys the songwriting in a harsh, unapologetic manner. At times the delivery is so intense I feel my skull is about to implode any second. With no ballads or mellow parts, the energy is made plain by the bloodcurdling scream accompanying the beginning of the first track and compounds itself as the album progresses, even leading to a blast section here and there. If more thrash bands were like this one, and there were fewer copycats of Metallica and Slayer, thrash may not have waned in popularity in the late 80s. -Dave Wolff

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Interview with Virghon of INTROSPECTION by Dave Wolff

Interview with Virghon of Introspection

Start off by discussing the current state of the metal underground in Brazil and your hometown. What are some of the independent print zines and webzines that are currently active these days? How about bands and venues?
Brazil is an extremely large continental country; therefore underground metal here has different characteristics. For example, we are from Maceió-Alagoas in northeastern Brazil. Here the city has very few shows in the year; when it happens it is a promoter bringing bands from other cities, generally in the south and southeast. But the northeast is very large and has several cities. Here we have many Black Metal shows. Death and Heavy Metal in general is oriented toward the northeast as a whole. Fortaleza-Ceara in the Northeast has a strong attraction with various bands. Recife-Pernambuco (the neighboring state to Maceio, our city) has a regional scene but made inside to speak of underground metal. But it still has several international attractions. But as in all of Brazil there is hyper appreciation for the bands of the south of the country and even foreign bands. Already southern Brazil has many more underground shows with little public because the public only appreciates foreign, European or American bands. What is being built is a great fragmentation in the Brazilian underground. And, in a way, it is even good. But on the other hand, our country is a melting pot; we are very mixed. Thus, there is an internal and external culturalization that collides ideologically. It's funny and at the same time confusing to see bands with their culture transcending ideologies. Brazil has many independent zines in various cities. The most famous metal webzine of the country is Whiplash.net. But the number of zines is so large that it is difficult to list them here. Therefore it would be an unfair choice. But in fact, there are many dedicated warriors in every Brazilian state; I would say we have serious and valiant zines from the national scene in every state. But printed zines and webzines are too small. Here in the city there are two Black Metal bands, but it seems that no material has been released yet. It has some old bands that persist in the struggle. In terms of Death Metal there are three great ancient bands in our city: Lammashta, Goreslave and Nós. We came from seeing these bands and going to their concerts. Thinking about it, time passes very fast; we will complete ten years of the band in 2015. We have three independent demos and we are launching our first official CD recorded in Peru in Latin America. We have a tape to be released by a record company in Costa Rica, and a representative and digital distributor of our work in the United States. And also, we have some splits and participation in various zines and national, European and North American collections. We need to take a living doing what we love, and we want to play our Death Metal to death. That is the law. Despite living in Maceió, northeast Alagoas, it's been three years that I have lived from season to season in São Paulo in the city of Guarulhos, the second largest city in the state of São Paulo. In São Paulo the scene is stronger, and the constant attractions are greater. I'm in the city studies completing my Masters in Philosophy. If the doctorate is approved I will have to put up with this for four years, and then we will inevitably be playing live, writing and participating in the local scene.

Describe Whiplash Zine and indicate how well known it has become in Brazil? Name some of the bands that Whiplash has featured of late? How long have Roadie Crew and Rock Brigade been active in Brazil and how many readers know of it?
Whiplash.net is a site about rock and metal in all its sub-styles. The philosophy of the site is to invest in the community that exists around these styles; more than being the largest source of information on bands and artists, we want the site to be the largest meeting point for users interested in this subject. Whiplash.net today is most likely the most important vehicle of communication about Rock and Heavy Metal in Brazil. Although many people think Whiplash.net is a site just about heavy metal or heavy music in general, the site also covers classic rock bands and pop rock. The misconception comes from the early days of the site in 1996, when we used skulls in the background. Users of the old school site still complain that it was good at the time. Damn skulls in the background. Accusations that the site is selling out and starting to publish material about pop bands to have more hits date back to 1996, when in the fourth or fifth field site we published something about Nirvana. The site was opened in June of 1996. In 1994 Whiplash existed as a zine on paper and then circulated as a distributed messaging in the areas of BBS (the "prototype" of the Internet) text. Various known and unknown bands have access to the site. All bands in the scene are always disclosed by the magazine. Besides Whiplash we have two great heavy metal magazines in Brazil, Roadie Crew and Rock Brigade. I think they have been around more than ten years; I don’t know exactly.

Explain how Introspection got together as a death metal band, how you chose the band name and started to spread word among the local and national underground scenes etc.
Introspection was founded in the summer of 2006 by Virghon, who was in the corridors of Philosophy course at the Federal University of Alagoas, Brazil. Virghon proposed to revive a subdivision of the Death Metal genre that mainly focused on more traditional death metal without ignoring more classical fusion thrash-death metal or even old school death metal, thus highlighting a thematic and philosophical sense that values a turn towards more technical compositions. As such, Introspection currently performs music that incorporates a perspective based on atypical metal, without losing the traditionalism that characterized underground fusion thrash-death metal from the 80s and 90s. In terms of the issues addressed in the lyrics, Introspection highlights the critical values that conservatives throughout history have used as an instrument to instigate the suicide of humanity. Introspection means “insight” in the narrow sense of the word, suggesting an awareness of internal emotions through observation and reflection on one's own internal workings as the subject itself. Thus, the individual is the subject of knowledge and the object of study in self-observation. From its genesis to the present day, the band has released three independent demos; "Suicidal Psychology" (2007), "The Beast With Return The Past” (2008) and “Domination Of Death” (2009/2010) and has participated in many underground Brazilian compilations and zines. Presently Virghon, the main proponent of the ideas driving the music, is in the process of composing his latest artifact in order to support members invited to achieve the next album from Introspection. The latest release, "Human Emancipation”, was released in late 2013/early 2014.

How long had you been studying philosophy at the Federal University of Alagoas before starting Introspection? How does he channel his education into the band’s lyrics? What critical values of conservatives does the band write about?
I began graduate studies in philosophy in 2005. Before even finishing the first half of 2005 I met the band Death. I've liked Death Metal produced in the city of Tampa since 2000. The idea of creating Introspection was hatched in the halls of this university course in philosophy. In fact the building was in law school. The course of philosophy is one of the ancient woes of the state and even today does not have its own building. So the idea of creating a band that could play Death Metal materialized after I met Darlan Lourenço, a student of philosophy studying in the same room as me. He introduced me to his cousins, Paulo Oliveira and Pablo Oliveira. Paulo entered the band and we played together until today. The first lineup was Virghon on bass and vocals, Darlan Lourenço on guitar, Paulo Oliveira on drums and A. Casado on guitar. Pretty soon A. Casado left because he played with me since before when we had a Black Sabbath cover band. A. Casado could not stand the aggressiveness of Death Metal and jumped out. Soon afterwards Pablo Oliveira took over on bass. So in that period I, like the rest of philosophy students in this course, was in love with the ideas of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Thus, the letters try to engage with the concepts of philosophers. The idea is based on the critique of modernity and at the same time it’s a return to unity between the Greek gods Dionysus and Apollo. It was on the idea of a fierce critique of Christianity and metaphysics, exposed to the announcement of the death of God. If you see the title of our songs you will notice the clear influence. "Eternal Return" and "Death Of God". Today we do not abandon this criticism, but we think it is enough just to criticize the topsy-turvy world. This is the religious world. A topsy-turvy world is an inverted world. You need to put things in their proper place and talk about the real world. Hence the title of the current CD is Human Emancipation; it speaks of man in his world. We continue criticizing the fantasies of religion, but now with not so much emphasis. Therefore, the consequences of this inverted world are produced by the real world. When I wrote this the band was still influenced by the ideas of Nietzsche. He speaks of nihilism, and nihilism divided into active nihilism and reactive nihilism. The active nihilism that is interconnected with will power and the idea that man is master of his own life, so it must create its values from himself, asserting his will to live and surpassing oneself. The reactive nihilism is one that referred to conservative values that deny life. Enslaving the life of man’s alienated will. Christianity is as nihilistic as Nietzsche. But it is a reactive nihilism that denies life. And it is a conservative driving toward suicide of humanity. Not suicide as something biological, but as existential negation, as a kind of spiritual bondage and self-forgetfulness.

When you and A. Casado were involved in a Black Sabbath tribute band, what songs by Black Sabbath were you covering?
Only a few songs. This band that played covers of Black Sabbath lasted from 2001 to 2004. In 2005 we created Introspection. A. Casado was part of the first band, but did not last long. Following are the Black Sabbath songs that we rehearsed: Iron Man, Paranoid, War Pigs, N.I.B, Black Sabbath, Electric Funeral, Children Of The Grave and National Acrobat.

Does Introspection cover Black Sabbath songs in their live show? Are there other bands whose songs you have covered?
we are rehearsing our version of a Black Sabbath song to play live, Electric Funeral. We are rehearsing a song by Brazil’s Sarcófago to play live and we soon intend to play A Fine Day To Die by Bathory. We are not a cover band, but it's always good to play the classics. We also like Dissection a lot.

Are you Introspection’s main lyricist? How did you begin to channel your education in philosophy into the band’s lyrics? Is Introspection the first band to exclusively explore philosophy in your lyrics, or are there other bands doing the same?
In 2015 I realized it was possible; my intention was to defragment my life. I remember at that time I only studied philosophy and was beginning to create Introspection, so I thought, why not address philosophy of themes in the lyrics of the band? And, by the choice of the title of the band itself, that's what I did. There are many bands that do that. Remember, Death’s The Sounds Of Perseverance places a quote from Nietzsche in the album booklet.

How widely were your three demos distributed in Brazil and other countries? How much interest in the band was generated in the tape trade network? Can you quote reviews your demos received from fanzines?These first three demos had restricted distribution. The truth is they were test drives where he served more for the band to study than to promote. The three previous demos were an internal study, and therefore without wide distribution. These were the learning discs. The opinions were more to support the band because it was the band that was starting its work. In the beginning it was more connected to the lyrical content of that instrumental music, though in particular I always thought they were two important aspects and therefore deserved the same attention.

Name the compilations you have appeared on since the release of your demos. Were they released on physical CD? Which of your songs were included on the compilations you listed? Which of those compilations have gotten you the most exposure?
The collections were launched in physical CD and digitally. Here are a few: Odicellaf Zine Compilation/Bahia-Brazil; Underground Zine Compilation/Bethlehem-Brazil; Undergrondzine Sampler Review-Italy and Extreme World-Poland. The last we participated in was Extreme World Volume 5. The song was Human Emancipation. We have gotten a good response outside Brazil, especially in italy, Poland, Austria, Germany, Peru, Brazil, Russia and Western Turkey.

Were you introduced to the writings of Nietzsche when you were taking philosophy courses? Which of his books were you assigned to read and what first interested you in his philosophy?
I knew the philosophy of Nietzsche more rigorously in the course of Philosophy. Here in Brazil, in particular, newsstands sell various Nietzsche books but the German translation into Portuguese is very bad. The publisher is bad actually. So I already knew a little, but the assumptions of my interpretations were quite different than I really got to know in the course of philosophy. About the books: The Antichrist, Thus Spake Zarathustra, Ecco Homo. These three in particular I have much appreciation for. Certainly the critique of Christianity; the notion of freedom; existentialism in power and the idea of love fate.

What do you most appreciate about Nietzsche’s books The Antichrist, Thus Spake Zarathustra and Ecco Homo?
The Antichrist is impossible to deny the concept of nihilism, and more, as the thinker characterized Christianity itself, which is, as a negation of life, Christianity as a form of nihilism. Christianity is nihilistic, but it is a negative nihilism, reactive without supplements for human life, on the contrary, it removes the right to life to the detriment to the ideals of worship, abstractions, and transcendent beings. Also in this book, which draws attention is also the concept of happiness. It is what we want to overcome. It is the feeling of passing of victory, that we can overcome an obstacle. This is the way Nietzsche defines happiness, I think of a rare depth. In Thus Spake Zarathustra it is difficult to characterize only one aspect. The whole book is very interesting, in the exhibition and in more detail the content itself. The notion of superman. The notion of man as a bridge. The presence of Dionysus. There are several aspects and wealth of thought in this book, which the author stated as the one most important of his career. On the other hand, in the Ecco Homo, the most interesting is the notion of love-fati destination of life, what cannot be changed. Will not meant as a destination for history preescrita fantastic beings and that we should follow. Here, it seems to me that there is a great contribution to the psychology of Nietzsche. It seems to me that this aspect, love-fati became a disposition to deal with things past. The past is something that once was, the important thing is build our present without worship of idealities. No cults or illusions. These illusions are not necessarily religious core. The individual also has no religion that creates multiple illusions, conditions for their own happiness, and think you can only be happy when you get them. Their lives trapped in an ideal and they cannot be happy here and now. Happiness is power that creates more power.

Explain in greater detail your studies of the Greek gods Apollo and Dinonysus?
Before Nietzsche, gods were present in mythology. It was the polytheistic religion of the ancient Greeks. Apollo is the god of wisdom, moderation, reason etc. Dionysus, on the other hand, is the god of wine, the orgy, happiness etc. Philosophically, in Nietzsche, especially in his first book "The Birth Of Tragedy, Or Hellenism And Pessimism" the German philosopher, who actually was a philologist, created a thesis. The thesis is that before the advent of Socratic philosophy, there was Plato’s philosophy known as the richest moment of philosophical classical Greece. Before that, in the pre-Socratic period, or cosmological, there was a unification of the Apollonian and the Dionysian. And as for Nietzsche that was the richest time of philosophy. It went against the whole philosophical tradition that celebrates Socrates and Plato. For Nietzsche, philosophy decays with Socrates and Plato, it begins to decline, because with these philosophers, also born the art of making concepts, metaphysical philosophy is the philosophical basis later taken by the Catholic Church in the fourth century before Christ to support Christianity on the rise. So, I think the exaltation of unification between Apollonian and Dionysian in Nietzsche is a way to criticize the philosophical metaphysics and also Christianity drinking this metaphysics. As Nietzsche would say, "Christianity is Platonism for the people". And extolling Dionysus in one of its aphorisms: "If I believe in any God, that God would be a dancer", referring to Dionysus. In criticizing metaphysics, you kill metaphysics, the philosopher also want consequently to martyr the Christian God. This is the meaning of the idea "God is dead", that is, metaphysics is dead.

What is your interpretation of ‘will to power’ from what you have studied?
The will to power is a category that exists in every aspect of life, particularly in human life. Actually, this category was inherited from Nietzsche's philosophy of Schopenhauer, especially his magnum opus, i.e. World as Will and Representation. But Nietzsche’s idea of will power is replaced in two fields of philosophy, ethics, and epistemology. That is, what the metaphysical philosophy has always sought, namely, a truth in and for itself, is nothing but a will to power. There is no truth about everything; that there is will power of certain people that drives a truth should be acceptable. Nietzsche criticizes that using this concept. In ethics, it is quite evident that established values are all fruits of the will to power.

Can you cite some Introspection songs and explain what they mean to you personally?
Fetishized Form and Human Emancipation are the two songs with the strongest meaning. In the sense that certain ruling class in the fourteenth century made a revolution in the head and body of society, put down all the values of the medieval world and today says that the possibility of revolution no longer exists. It is understood as alienation, loss of control. And the Human, by their more general character, there is talk of an emancipation, a full human freedom and truth in a universal level. Without favoring classes, castes, intellectual groups, etc.

I understand you are looking for distribution in the United States. How many U.S. labels or distros have you contacted so far? Are you working on any new Introspection material? How soon do you plan to record a second full length and what do you have in mind for it?
In the United States today, our distribution is digital. But we plan to get a physical distributor. We actually have a novelty for our next CD. I'm always working on new songs and new riffs. And in ideological terms we will get into the field of anthropology.

Introspection

-Dave Wolff

Interview with POST MORTAL POSSESSION by Dave Wolff

POST MORTAL POSSESSION
Interview with Jake McMullen (guitar), Tim Church (bass) and Eddie Gremba (vocals)


Having started in 2013, Post Mortal Possession is comprised for former members of several bands including Tyrant and Dead By Dawn. Did you know one another beforehand? Does your collective experience as musicians benefit the band?
Jake McMullen: We all knew each other from being in bands and playing out in the Pittsburgh metal scene. Nick played in Enbludgeoned and A Moment Of Clarity, Tim played in Victims Of Contagion and Tyrant, me and Brian played in Torrential Bleeding and Tyrant and Ed was the singer in Dead By Dawn with me and Nick a good twelve years ago. I and Nick played in another band in between Post Mortal Possession and Dead By Dawn called Wretched Decay. Tim has played in so many bands I lose count so I'm not even going to attempt to go over that list. Seems like in a lot of places including Pittsburgh guitarists are a dime a dozen, then you got only a handful of bassists and drummers to go around.
Tim Church: I’ve been in a ton of bands. That’s also another great thing about the Pittsburgh metal scene. There are so many musicians here and different styles of metal that it’s like a playground for bassists who really want to push their own abilities.

Are the bands you listed above still active in the Pittsburgh scene?
Jake McMullen: The ones that have broken up that I listed are Dead By Dawn, Wretched Decay, A Moment Of Clarity, Embludgeoned and Tyrant. Just because they broke up doesn’t mean the bands members aren’t still active in the scene cause a lot of them are. The only band that one of us has left that is still a functioning band is Tim’s last band Victims of Contagion.
Tim Church: Victims Of Contagion is great. It was a hard decision for me to leave that band but sometimes you gotta make choices. I love those guys and miss jamming with them. I wish them all the best in the world and if anybody knows any sick bassists send them Victims Of Contagion’s way.

Does your collective experience working with other bands and musicians benefit PMP today?
Jake McMullen: Our experience in other bands definitely influences how we approach writing music. We all have a part in the writing process and we all get a say. For me playing with other musicians and different styles of metal has forced me to write out of my typical realm of what to do and where to do it. It seems like there was always a formula early on. The formula changes from song to song now, so once we have an idea or a real good riff we build from that and see where the song takes us. Other times one of us will come up with allot of the song on our own. Me, Brian and Nick all write guitar parts and we collaborate in different combinations. Doing it that way really helps keep our music sounding different and fresh. Also keeps things interesting for us.

Explain how the band formed and what the current lineup had in common musically.
Eddie Gremba: Me and Jake met in high school and shared a lot of the same musical interests. We also both had it in common that we played the guitar. Shortly after high school we started our first band (Cenotaph). With some musical differences the band disbanded after about two years. In early 2001 we answered an ad for a drummer looking for a metal band. That drummer was Nick and that is how Dead By Dawn started. Me, Jake and Nick played together for about three years then went our separate ways. I left the scene altogether but through the years Nick and Jake played in a few different bands together and at some point started playing with Brian and Tim who were in a band called Tyrant. In October 2013 I was invited to sit in on a practice they were having and they happened to be looking for a singer. So that's how we all ended up being involved in this project. As far as our common interests we all like evil, violent, technical, old and new school death metal.

Is there a meaning or inspiration behind naming the band Post Mortal Possession?
Eddie Gremba: The meaning of post mortal means that you’re dead so that would make you a possessed dead person which is basically a Zombie or I guess you could even say it could be a demon. With me being into horror movies and criminal psychology it made sense. Just a unique/clever play on words.
Tim Church: Then again everything is always left up to interpretation. My interpretation is that post mortal possession means an after death possession. If people want to associate that with zombies that’s fine, but for me I see it as a demon possessing your corpse.

Was the band name partly inspired by horror movies or books, or did it come about when you brainstormed for a name?
Tim Church: The name came from us bouncing around ideas and that's the name that stuck in the end.
Eddie Gremba: It came from brainstorming, however horror movies are an influential part in lyric writing. Originally I wanted to call the band "Post Mortem Possession" but "Post Mortal Possession" won the vote.

What interested Ed in criminal psychology, and in what ways does it influence his contributions to the band?
Eddie Gremba: I have always been interested in the criminal side of sociology and psychology. The way people act, socialize, and react to situations. As well as the darker side of history: war, famine, genocide, possession, hauntings, torture, serial killers and things of the sort. I think people are interested in things that are hard to understand or explain. As far as contributions to the band go being the lyricist in the band my interests have and will always influence my writing.

Has Ed taken courses on criminal psychology at any college, or has he studied it on his own time? Present some examples of his studies being reflected in his lyrics.

Eddie Gremba: I have from a very young age studied psychology and took two years of criminal psychology courses. There's a big criminal psychology aspect to most of the songs I write. Songs of war, murder, stalking, pillaging, history and serial killers. Death March encompasses the felling of war. Visceral Butchery is a song about the BTK killer. Our newest song Devices Of Death is about Americas first serial killer; H.H. Holmes. Forest Of The Damned is about possession and the effects of it.

Did Ed’s interest in serial killers come from his studies of criminal psychology? Who were the BTK killer and H.H. Holmes, and what made him decide to base songs on them?
Eddie Gremba: My interest in criminal psychology actually came from my grandmother who has always been into it. The bind/torture/kill killer or BTK killer was a man named Dennis Rader (who did just what his name says) killed between 1974-1991 a total of ten people. H.H. Holmes aka "America’s first serial killer" killed 9-200 people between 1888-1894. He turned his hotel into a torture facility complete with windowless rooms, gas chambers, and experimental surgical rooms. With doors locking from the outside only. Interesting stuff so I wrote songs telling their stories.

When did Ed’s grandmother begin relating tales of serial killers to him? What interested Ed in these accounts?
Eddie Gremba: It started with me watching unsolved mysteries, America’s Most Wanted and Cops with her when I was young. Not sure what excited me so much about it but I was hooked at a very young age.

Does Ed watch documentaries about serial killers on the Discovery Channel, National Geographic and other stations? If so, which does he most remember watching? Did Ed generally prefer reading books on serial killers to watching programs on cable? Which books does he remember most and why? What were the reasons he stopped watching TV as much as reading?
Eddie Gremba: I don't really watch TV anymore but when I used to I watched History, A&E, and Discovery. Anything to do with history, sociology and psychology in the criminal sense, I'm into. Those were the shows it started with then later on I got into forensic files and documentaries. I still watch a lot of documentaries on war and crime. I have read biographies on most of the well-known serial killers; Fish, Bundy, Dahmar, Jack the Ripper and have read a lot of books on the civil war and World War II. I don’t have cable anymore.

How many different subgenres of metal is brought into Post Mortal Possession's formula? Is there anything resulting from this combination of styles making the band unique in your local scene?
Tim Church: I do have to say "subgenres" is an endless spectrum of possibility used by people to describe their interpretation of what they hear. Which always varies from person to person. And in that same broad sense, death metal itself is a subgenre. So with that being said, no matter what the songwriting formula maybe: examples varying from one songwriter to multiple songwriters. Each member of this band writes their own parts. So consciously or subconsciously every style of "heavy" music is being explored in our own way. Regardless of whether it's purposeful or not. And that collaborative ability to hammer out brutality at its finest not only sets us apart in our local scene, but soon the world. Our brand of old school meets new school death metal is very distinct. That in itself is what sets us apart. When you’re listening to Post Mortal Possession you know who you’re listening to.
Eddie Gremba: It’s our blend of new meets old death metal that sets us apart in our local scene.
Jake McMullen: We are able to appeal to both types of death metal fans with our breed and I think we keep them both interested. When you only appeal to one subgenre you isolate yourself from other genres sometimes without meaning to. Some of our fans like black metal, some like tech death, some brutal death, some like nasty breakdowns and we try to keep them all interested. Can’t make everyone happy and that’s not really why we do it. We write and play what drives us. We aren’t just musicians, we are fans as well and if it bores us then the listener will probably lose interest in it. All of my favorite death metal is the shit I always come back to.

Does feedback from fans help the band shape their formula and incorporate other genres of extreme music into it?

Tim Church: We always appreciate what our fans say but we write this music for ourselves and we aren't going to change our sound for anybody.
Jake McMullen: The music we create is just a mixture of everything we listen to and pretty much what we want to listen to in a death metal band. I listen to anything anyone tells me as far as opinions of our music go and what we should do, but that has very little to do with how a song is put together in this band. We have a good idea of what a song should be. The five song EP we put out this year is just a taste of what's to come. We couldn't fit everything we wanted to show on an EP so keep an eye open. We should have another release sometime early next year.

How often have fans noticed or commented on the variance in influences brought into the band’s style?
Tim Church: Anytime I get a chance to talk with a fan I'm always hearing something different. Everyone always has their own take on what or who a riff or even a song sounds like to them. I could talk to ten different people and they would tell me who they think we sound like, but all answers would be different. Examples being Suffocation, Obituary, Deeds Of Flesh, Cannibal Corpse etc. Which in itself puts a smile on my face. Don't get me wrong it's flattering to be compared to other bands that I am a fan of. But at the end of the day, we sound like Post Mortal Possession.

Is there more of a sense of camaraderie or competition between bands in the Pittsburgh metal scene? How do bands in the scene relate to one another?
Jake McMullen: Well from my perspective there is more camaraderie than anything. The bands are so different from one another that even though we are all playing metal it doesn’t feel like a competition. Who really knows what people say and think when you aren’t around to hear and more importantly who gives a shit if someone doesn’t like you? We know our friends and the people that do like us and support us and that’s a big part of why we play our style of music. Our fans are great! We are the only death metal band in Pittsburgh that sounds like us and I like it that way. We have an identity that comes with our music. I’ve had people come up to me after shows and tell me that they didn’t even know we were playing a show that night but they heard us from the street and recognized it was us playing so they had to stop up. Makes me feel like we are doing something right you know? If one person walks by a show, hears us and comes to our show out of 50 people we scare away with our music I’m a happy guy (laughs). It’s death metal and we don’t have the reach that a mainstream band have but what death metal does have is loyalty and you know a hardcore metal head when you meet one.
Tim Church: It’s great sharing the stage with all these different bands in the Pittsburgh scene.

Death metal has always had a fiercely loyal fan base. Although it primarily remains an underground phenomenon (with the exception of bands like Cannibal Corpse who broke aboveground) that loyalty has remained consistent.

Tim Church: We hope to have the longevity of a band like Cannibal Corpse but honestly we haven't even been on the scene for a full two years yet. We can only hope to have that kind of loyalty someday.
Jake McMullen: I would say that loyalty and the fact that Cannibal Corpse keep producing more and more music is a big part of their success. Not to mention the fact that they were one of the first to be as explicit with their cover art and shirts, so there is also the shock factor that made them different for a while. Seems like everyone does that kind of stuff now. Very few death metal bands make it anywhere close to that level and it took them a long time to get to where they are. They paved the path for the rest of us and they busted their ass to get there. Those are big shoes to fill for any band in our genre.

Not many people give death metal and extreme metal the credit it’s due, for the talent and endurance it takes to play it.

Tim Church: I have no concern on how other people view or think about death metal. The only thing that matters is that there are people who love it, support it and the bands. Those are the people that make playing live shows worth it for me. Their great people and I get to hang with them at every show. Those are the best times and memories in my life and I wouldn't have it any other way.

How is the scene doing as far as independent record outlets and local print zines? How about internet based distros?
Tim Church: The independent metal community as a whole isn’t as easily accessible as it used to be outside of the local scene. Then on the other hand with the internet and online sharing, everything is at your fingertips as long as you have people sharing your music. Now independent record outlets and local print zines seem to be harder and harder to come by. With everything on the internet no one seems to be as curious as they used to be in independent record outlets or zines. It’s kind of sad watching the days of old disappear. Especially tape trading!
Jake McMullen: We do a lot of the sharing of our music ourselves and we are lucky enough to have fans that are excited about our music enough to let their friends know about us and share our music through social media. With the lack of people going to record stores to buy music anymore the social media outlets are about the best way we know besides playing shows to get music out there. Back when I was in Dead By Dawn it was all about Myspace then as time went on it turned into Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp, and so numerous other places that we don’t really know anything about “over saturation“. I’m not a huge Lars Ulrich fan but the guy was right about the pirating of music and how it would affect the artists. The music stores are really suffering and so are the bands. I see a lot of bands using Pandora Radio and other free music outlets and I understand it’s for the exposure and to help you get your name out there but I just can’t bring myself to support places that take that much of a percentage of the artist’s sales and not and barely give back to the artist.

On what social media sites does the band get the most responses? Do you see web zines and e zines replacing print zines or will there always be people who prefer to reading interviews in print?
Jake McMullen: All the social media sites work together in promoting the other. Facebook is probably the one we get most use out of. We use it to promote our merch, shows, music and anything we want our fans to know about. I would guess that most of our Reverbnation and Bandcamp activity is from clicking the links we have set up on our Facebook page. As far as webzines and print zines go, only time will tell. I think with the way people are glued to their computers nowadays the webzine will be around longer than the print zine but I’m sure there are people out there that want that physical copy like I do when I buy music. As long as those people are around the print will be here.

What do you remember about the conflict between Metallica and Napster over the pirating of their material?
Eddie Gremba: I remember them suing Napster over giving away their music for free. Copyright infringement I believe.
Jake McMullen: That was the basis of it. Napster was an mp3 sharing website sharing everyone’s music for free and Metallica being one of the big four metal bands wasn’t liking the fact that their music was being passed around and traded like a commodity rather than the art that it is. From a business standpoint, this is about piracy which is taking something that doesn't belong to you; and that is morally and legally wrong. The trading of such whether it's music, videos, photos, or whatever is, in effect, trafficking in stolen goods. Music gets passed around for free while artists are spending money to record and produce their records and make nothing. I think it did eventually get settled but piracy didn’t just go away. The only way to stop it would be for music listeners to do the right thing and pay for their music but that isn’t the world we live in.

Does the band make it a point to purchase physical releases from national and local bands?
Tim Church: I always make it a point to buy physical copies from the bands I like listening to. Not only is it more convenient for me to have a physical copy, but I always try to support bands, local or national.
Jake McMullen: If I like a band’s music I have to own it. I do it for the convenience but I also look at it from a band perspective. I know when I buy a physical copy it’s helping a band make some cash. There is no better way to show a band you support than to pay for the music you listen to.

Many bands are streaming their own material on their own social media profiles (labels have been doing the same). Do you think this will give them more control over their own songs?

Jake McMullen: We do the same thing. Currently there are only a few places you can get our music and only one where you can actually purchase it. We use Reverbnation and Bandcamp for streaming our music and the one that you can buy our music at is Bandcamp. We don’t have a label and we do everything ourselves as far as printing, producing, paying for our own recordings, paying for our shirts. Everything we do comes out of our pockets so ultimately we have all the control over our music and merch. That could change very easily if a good label picks us up but if we have any say in it we would keep as much control as possible. It feels good watching your music turn a profit and it’s one of the most rewarding parts of being a musician. These people enjoy your music enough to help support what you are doing. It feels great and keeps us going. We have kept things as simple as possible up to this point because there are a lot of other social media outlets and online radio like Pandora and Itunes that we haven’t really turned to just yet. However that could be something we do in the future if there is any real benefit to use something like that.

Was the band involved in tape trading before the advent of social media? There are still a few stores here in New York even if they are fewer and farther between. Do you think there will always be a need for them and people who want to go?

Tim Church: Tape trading ended long before Post Mortal Possession was even a thought.
Jake McMullen: That was before my time, so I know very little about tape trading. I guess Bandcamp, Reverbnation, Youtube and Myspace replaced the need for tape trading. As far as the need for record stores go, I think they still have a need, especially the used stores. I used to get my disks from record stores all the time back in the day but the convenience of Amazon and record company online stores is my go to when I want a disk now.
Tim Church: There will always be a need for stores to distribute music as long as people are still interested in buying physical copies of music.

A record outlet recently opened in Philly called Sit And Spin Records, that deals in punk and metal albums. Ironically, I heard about this store through social media. In that sense, can social media sites help the mom and pop record stores?

Tim Church: As long as they are marketing themselves where they can be seen by their targeted audience.
Jake McMullen: Social media is a great place to market because everyone uses it. A lot of people don't listen to the radio or watch cable TV anymore because you can stream all of those things on the internet. Things are still changing right now in the world as far as movies, music and television are concerned and its obvious music took a hit. The same goes for television and movies. When people don't use things as much the people making the music, movies and television programs lose money. When that happens they either make less or find other outlets so they can make that money in other places. Same goes for the mom and pop stores. You got to get with the times unfortunately.

In the electronic age we have been discussing, will there still be a need or a demand for vinyl despite the changing times?
Tim Church: There will always be a demand for vinyl records. No matter how much the times change there will always be someone who wants it weather it's for nostalgia or for DJ'ing. Vinyl is probably the only form of mass produced media that will never die. That of course is only my opinion.
Jake McMullen: I can’t say much for vinyl as I have never owned it. 

Does experimenting and writing while drawing influence from other subgenres help you progress as musicians?

Tim Church: Any time you as a musician have the time to experiment with any kind of technique or style of music that is not your own will only propel you to become a better musician, player, performer and inspire others inside your own genre. After all, Pollock didn’t paint with just one color. So why limit yourself as an artist, no matter what palette you chose to express yourself with.
Jake McMullen: Who the hell is Pollock?
Tim Church: Jackson Pollock! He’s an icon in modern art. The best abstract artist ever.
Jake McMullen: Bob Ross is better.
Tim Church: At landscapes Bob Ross was way better than Pollock.

Fill the readers in on who Jackson Pollock and Bob Ross are, and what sort of artwork they design?

Jake McMullen: I honestly know close to nothing about these artists and only know Bob Ross because he was the guy with the awesome fro and the “happy clouds’ and whatnot haha.
Tim Church: Pollock and Ross are two completely different artists. As everyone knows Bob Ross is best known for is landscape paintings and his televisions show from back when I was a youngster. I mean who couldn't love his "happy trees"? (laughs) And of course Pollock is world renowned for changing the face of modern art with his abstract paintings. I strongly urge people to check them out.

Describe in detail the composing and recording process of your first release. How has the band been progressing so far?

Jake McMullen: The composing process of the music was drawn out for about a year before the recording. It might have even been longer. We all play a part in the writing process and that’s a big part of why our songs sound different. Some songs I write, some Brian has a lot to do with and some Nick contributes a lot to. Those are the typical combinations. Tim and Ed both give their input on the songs. Some songs me and Brian or me and Nick will write together to try and think differently. All these different combinations really help keep things exciting for us because it takes us outside of our normal thinking patterns and forces us to do things we wouldn’t normally do. It’s never boring writing in this band that’s for sure. We have only released one EP, “Possessing Entity” and since then we feel like we have progressed as a band and musicians. We should have something new to release by the end of this year hopefully. The new material is different but similar to what we normally do. There is no real formula to our writing. We just know what we like and we try things and if it’s something we would pop in our stereo and listen to ourselves we know we are on the right track. We want our music to be memorable and catchy so that people want to listen to it and we always strive to get better and push ourselves to the next level.
Tim Church: The idea was to write what we wanted to listen to. Most importantly, not follow what everyone else is doing. We simply took the time during the writing process to hear each other out and try out everyone's ideas which worked out pretty well for us. The recording process was actually a blast for me personally. We went into Shane Brutal Studios and hammered it out. Shane did an amazing job capturing our live sound which is why it's such a strong brutal EP from start to finish. The foundation has been laid. Things will only get more intense and brutal from here.

In what ways did Shane’s studio experience help the band on your debut EP? Which of the songs best represent this?
Tim Church: Recording with Shane as a whole was beneficial for me personally. I always get extremely nervous and jittery before recording. But going into Shane Brutal Studios was very relaxing for me. It was no pressure and I just rocked out and hammered out all my parts for the "Possessing Entity" EP in about two hours. So for me and a bass standpoint, it helped my performance through the entire EP.

What bands had Shane been working with before he worked with Post Mortal Posession? Describe the equipment at Shane Brutal Studios and Shane’s methods in producing the band.
Jake McMullen: Before he worked with us he recorded for his band Mutalist and I think he also recorded for Improvidence. We recorded in a 7x7 room with a few microphones and a computer with all his recording software and that’s about it. The room was built like a little isolation booth with sound blocks all over the walls to kill echo. He is currently working on building his new studio where we will be recording our next EP with him. I’m really looking forward to that as well as the rest of the band. Recording is a blast.

How well did the rest of the band handle their duties while recording their parts for Possessing Entity?
Jake McMullen: We play shows and practice constantly. With our music being second nature for us recording went about as smooth as it could.  There’s definitely a feeling out process when you record with someone new but we really liked working with Shane. He’s new in the recording industry and with that comes maybe a passion that someone who’s been around for a while with nothing left to prove might not have as well as he knew what we were going for with this release and was excited about being a part of it. There really is no room for mistakes the way we play and that goes for recording as well. The sound that we go for is a slightly extremely clear sound because we want everything to be heard. It is different from a lot of typical super distorted muddy death metal. It’s the same sound that we bring to our live performance and we wanted this recording to be a good representation of what you will hear and see when you go to one of our shows. We plan on going back to the studio with Shane again later this summer for our second release so keep an eye out for that.

Does the absence of recording pressure show on the EP? What aspects of Possessing Entity has gotten the most positive feedback this far?
Tim Church: The lack of pressure definitely shows on the EP. The relaxed environment breathed new life into the solos and made for a tighter more brutal sounding album. It would be tough to pin point exactly what aspects have gotten the most positive feedback. I'm always hearing different things that people like about the EP. Whether it's songs or recording quality. Thus far all feedback has been positive.

What does the band have in mind for their next recording?
Jake McMullen: We will record our next EP this August so you can expect a release by the end of this year beginning of next year. We don’t want to give away much more than that as far as what’s to come with this recording but it’s safe to say that it will be a punishing release.
Tim Church: You'll have to wait for the next record because we're just going to wing it and see what happens.
Jake McMullen: We aren’t sure exactly how it will expand on our present material. It will be different for sure because no two songs are alike in our set list but many of the songs on the new recording will be songs that we were just unable to put on the first EP as well as a few really new tunes. We will keep fans posted on our Facebook page as well as other social media sites we use.

Post Mortal Possession on Reverbnation

Post Mortal Possession on Facebook
Post Mortal Possession on Bandcamp

-Dave Wolff

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Zine review: PARANOIZE ZINE Issue #36

PARANOIZE ZINE Issue #36
http://www.facebook.com/paranoizenola
The new issue of Paranoize is available in PDF format and soon to be released in print. Those of you who read Lady Kat Chaos’ review of Paranoize issues 19 and 31 to 35 will already be familiar with this New Orleans publication. This fanzine is run by Bobby Bergeron, a member of The Hanging and head DJ at Paranoize Radio (at Core Of Destruction Radio’s official site); you can read his interview elsewhere on this blog. As usual Paranoize is supportive of local underground scenes in NOLA (metal, punk, hardcore). This issue has a flier advertising a festival happening in neighboring Hammond, Louisiana (Burn The Throne IV) with Mule Skinner, Hellgoat, Ritual, Hod, Kavyk, Ominous Hymn, Suspended Obscurity, Barghest, Namada, A Hanging and others. The fest is taking place on May 15 and 16. An editorial and scene report relates information about the zine and other goings on in NOLA. New albums are announced along with some more local shows and a few record outlets. Interviews are with Gasmiasma, Classhole, Gristnam, Osacrux and Criminal Slang, plus there are CD and zine reviews at the end. The scene report mentioned above is an appropriate read to become better acquainted with the NOLA scene in general. Free or $2 postpaid you can’t go wrong with this. -Dave Wolff

CD review: MORS OMNIBUS Nocturnal Carnival by Haniel Adhar

MORS OMNIBUS
Nocturnal Carnival
Independent

There are some things that you listen to that, after you hear it, you have to question your views about music, life, and everything in between.
This may very well be one of those times.
Mors Omnibus' "Nocturnal Carnival" is an attempt at breaking down perceptions about music and reality, by using various a-tonal melodies, atmospheric synths, and free-time rhythms to create something that cannot be defined.
This is quite frankly very successful at making the listener want to shove a red hot poker through their eye socket, because the music, or shall I say "soundscapes", is painful, agonizing, and terror inducing, making this the perfect soundtrack for an indie horror film, and at times, possibly even a snuff film. In other words, this is fucking brilliant. The gloriously depressive sounds of "Spirit Session 1 and 2" are enough to make the listener not want breathe any more, with the duration of part 2 being a total hypnotic, mindfuck experience. Strewn with old movie samples that just add to the mind bending atmosphere, this album is a total experience into madness, in the most demented and twisted way possible.
"A Dark Walk in a Carnival Park" will fuck you up. Seriously. You have to be a twisted sonofabitch to write something like that, and the complex harmonic structure confounds the listener, lulling into a false sense of security. This song IS the monster under the bed that we were all scared of as kids. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
This is an 80 minute release folks, and the amount of time and effort that went into it must have been astounding. This is not for the squeamish, not for the feint hearted, and not for anyone who gets their musical selections from Total Request Live on MTV or some shit. This is serious music for seriously demented people, and this CRUSHES anything I have heard from Mortiis, or pretty much any of the so-called "ambient" releases in recent years, in my opinion. 14 songs, with the last one being a Vangelis cover, which would probably make a good track for a video game like Amnesia.
The verdict on this is that it should be a resume for a movie scoring contract. It would very likely fit some really artsy, intelligent, but dark and twisted indie film, and probably make a very bad movie much, much better. This is the sort of genre defining music that is rare these days.
Conclusion: Buy this, but beware, you may hate it or get freaked the hell out by the dark brilliance of the songs.
You were warned: -Haniel Adhar

Zine review: IN DARK PURITY ZINE Issue #6

IN DARK PURITY ZINE Issue #6
http://www.facebook.com/idpzine
This zine is based in the Philippines where there has always been a strong underground scene. Editor and publisher Alexander Dela Cruz is one of those diehard supporters of extreme music in his home country and elsewhere. And his dedication shows in this zine. The bands he interviews are of the most extreme and cutting edge schools, and he asks them questions relevant to the present day and the changes the underground has experienced in the last decade with the advent of social media and the internet. The editorial written for the title page raises those questions so one can conclude it’s of importance to him. He goes on to explain the reasons he still prefers listening to CDs and vinyl records as opposed to listening to a band on the internet. For him holding something physical in his hands while hearing the songs completes the listening experience and allows him to see through the band’s eyes, something many feel has been at least partially lost when bands made material available for streaming on Bandcamp and Soundcloud. The net can be convenient while reviewing but I also grew up with physical albums, cassettes and CDs so I support his point completely. So the bands he interviews for this issue are Anal Fissure, Braindrained, Defeated Sanity, Disastrous, Down From The Wound, Heaving Earth, Internal Bleeding, Mass Hypnosia, Piukeilization, Pus Vomit, Revilement and Splatter Clothing. The zine comes with a mixed CD from Berdugo Records from Singapore featuring doom/sludge/stoner bands from the Philippines. -Dave Wolff

Zine review: METAL HORDE ZINE issue #14

METAL HORDE ZINE issue #14
METAL HORDE ZINE SWR Barroselas Metal Fest XVII Special Report

http://www.facebook.com/MetalHordeZinePortugal
The editorial of Metal Horde #14 is a description the journey the editors made to interview the bands featured within. The locations mentioned include England, Netherlands, Germany, Cyprus and the U.S. where meetings happened with said bands. This issue has a real and genuine sense of the extensive planning that went into compiling it. From reading you see everyone has different tales of their respective scenes and the tone of the issue resonates of a monstrous underground road trip, for lack of a better term. The most prominent band appearing here is Napalm Death; accompanying them are Inner Blast, Denial Of God, Destroyers Of All, Enraged, Quartet Of Woah, Kaapora, Uzala, Forgotten Path Zine and Pitch Black Records. The editors’ visit to Cyprus was for a scene report as well as interviews with PBR and Arrayan Path. This issue furthermore has a new section devoted to horror movie reviews penned by Rui Marujo of Morde Essa Bolacha Zine. SWR Barroselas Metal Fest is a yearly event in Metal Horde’s home country of Portugal and I see it’s of no small notice. This fest has many well-known sponsors and the bands showcased in its seventeenth incarnation are Metal Church, Discharge, Hirax, Gorguts, Blood Red Throne, Pungent Stench, Black Witchery, Mystifier and several others. The Facebook community page for Metal Horde alerts is to a special report on this year’s eighteenth SWR fest. -Dave Wolff

Zine review: UNDERWORLD ZINE & COMPILATION Issue #6

UNDERWORLD ZINE & COMPILATION Issue #6
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007080078579
This zine is from the editor and publisher of Trendcrusher zine, whom I corresponded with in the 2000s. Quite a few of you out there may well remember Trendcrusher as a publication fiercely dedicated to supporting extreme music the world over Roy Sierra defined a trendcrusher as one who ignores what is popular, and remains in touch with the spirit of the underground. That zine may no longer be in print but the song remains the same as they say. We got back into contact recently and began trading again; I interviewed him for what was planned to be the 25th printed issue of AEA. When the print zine folded the interview was among the first posted at this blog. He still supports extreme metal as actively as ever with Underworld Zine & Compilation. This is the zine’s sixth issue and hosts interviews with a good amount of bands. The editorial is at the end of the issue, shouting out to AEA, No Bullshit Zine, Unlight who designed the cover art and everyone interviewed. You can read about Toxemia, Evil Madness, Funeral Rites, Cultfinder, Istidraj, Demona, Sargatanas and more besides a few labels, production companies and radio programs. The issue includes a compilation CD featuring the bands appearing within and includes a special page dedicated to bands Roy was in contact with in the early 1990s. -Dave Wolff

Zine review: TESTAMENT ZINE Issue #15

TESTAMENT ZINE Issue #15
http://www.facebook.com/TestamentZine
Issue #15 of Testament Zine (Peru) features a full color cover boasting Phlebotomized. The pages are in black and white newsprint and the material is printed in Spanish. Many bands of the extreme metal persuasion are included: Shining, Denial Of God, Forgotten Tomb, MX, Chaos Inception, Pandemonium, Alfahanne, De Silence Et D/Ombre, Nechochwen, Sacreligious Impalement, Bones, Fervent Hate and the aforementioned Phlebotomized. A thorough section of music and zine reviews comprises the last seven pages and ads are printed for Brute Producrtions, Egregor Productions, Lavadome Productions and Moribund Records. The title page has a distro list and a brief news section for CD releases and local shows. Added bonuses are a poster and a video compilation on DVD. Over thirty videos were gathered for the DVD, from the bands listed above along with Ad Patres, Agharti, Beastmilk, Diabula Rasa, Draco Hypnalis, Fortis Natura, Jess And The Ancient Ones, Night Demon, Revocation, Satariel and many others. -Dave Wolff

CD review: ACHELOUS The Cold Winds Of Olympus by Dave Wolff

ACHELOUS
The Cold Winds Of Olympus
Independent

Achelous started as a single-member project in 2011, eventually growing to a working band after vocalist Kappas (formerly of Reflection) joined founding bassist Chris Achelous (for the complete lineup see their Facebook community page linked above). Their 2014 demo Al Iskandar (limited to five hundred copies) sold out quickly following its release, generating enough fan support for them to head immediately back to the studio to record their follow up MCD, The Cold Winds Of Olympus. This release was recorded by Achelous, Kappas and guitarist Stelios Avgouleas, with guest musicians Irakis Loukakis (Keyboards) and Stathis Pavlantis (guitars). My first thoughts are this MCD is old school and epic; if you like Iron Maiden, Helloween and Fates Warning you’ll find something of interest in the four tracks included here. The first song (also the title track) has all the qualities of the start of a metal opera, complete with a grandiose opening, steady buildup and a similar epic feel to albums like Awaken The Guardian (Fates Warning) and Walls Of Jericho (Helloween), with variances in tempos and moods that will hold your attention and have you wondering what is coming next. This is answered soon enough with Guardians Of The Light which hints at 80s arena metal but doesn’t lose its conceptual license in the slightest. The mid-tempo Myrmidons takes things back underground with a catchy chorus and nicely arranged lead harmonies. The last song Dragon’s Nail closes the MCD with some hints at classic Manowar added to the guitar riffs. So the band bring a sense of diversity to this release and tie everything together tightly enough to deliver all of them with equal conviction. My personal favorite has to the track one which sets the tone for all that follows. The band has a new video out for Guardians Of The Light. -Dave Wolff

Interview with Chris Meyer of ABERRATION NEXUS by Lady Kat Chaos

Interview with Chris Meyer of Aberration Nexus 

This interview was conducted live on Facebook by Lady Kat Chaos (Obscure Chaos zine) and guest interviewers February 4-5, 2015. Posted with permission. 

Lady Kat Chaos: Hails Chris! Thanks for taking your time out for this live Facebook interview. Currently, you're in the process of releasing a new single but ran into some delays, what is the hold up?
Chris Meyer: Hails! And thanks for having me. There's always a delay with Aberration Nexus stuff! I'm held up on vocal recording for the time being. It's not easy juggling schedules! I would like to be more prolific and spend more time on my music, but family and work commitments are the priority.

Lady Kat Chaos: No matter if you’re a band or a zine at times we all have some setbacks. It’s not simple to create a one man project. It’s a ton of hard-work with writing, arranging, performing, recording, producing, engineering, promoting, and distributing. Are you in the process of writing another EP or a full-length this year?
Chris: The song is complete and everything else is ready to go. Yeah, it's really tough sometimes, but it's something that I want to do and I work very hard at it! I have most of the songs written and ready for the impending full length. Mostly. But there's a lot more work to be done as you mentioned above! There are plans for a split album soonish, but I can't elaborate on that right now!

Lady Kat Chaos: Indeed, doing it all yourself takes longer but in the end worth it. Your latest EP, “Libro Lacet" which translates to book of lies, at first your original idea for this EP was going to be in chapters, a prologue and epilogue written in Latin, have you ever restricted to your concepts for any of your tracks?
Chris: I am completely restricted to concepts and at times I hate it. But this is what I've chosen to do. Aberration is an apocalypse themed project - so being bound by that has certain pitfalls. The reception of the EP has been incredible. Very humbling. I have had a lot of very positive feedback on it! Makes all the hard work a pleasure! Further, everything is kind of fluid. The creative process taking so long gives me plenty of time for editing and reviewing the material.

Lady Kat Chaos: I found it brilliant having an intro in the beginning, one of my favorite tracks are. "Burn The Book Of Lies" and "Rite Of Eternal Dominion". What inspired you to create and write these two songs?
Chris: Rite was just a little something I wanted to open the EP with, nodding my head to the symphonic elements I was leaving behind on it. Burn the Book of Lies was more of a controlled burn so to speak. A lot of hatred and anger went into that track. Well, into all of them! Having Haniel blister his fingers and everyone's ears with his guitar solo was just perfect!

Brad Kierce: How did the guest spots for the EP come about?
Chris: The guest spots came about as long held conversations and ideas with both Matthew and Haniel. It had the greatest outcome, far greater than I envisioned or expected! I am deeply grateful to them both

Brad Kierce: After such a long time as a musician with inverted prophet and now aberration nexus the ep being the first time something released on cd, how proud are you of achieving the goal?
Chris: Extremely proud! It's something that I can check off my list of things to do before I die!

Lady Kat Chaos: The other day a horde and I was discussing your track, "Hawking" in which is another brutal song. As we were speaking he mentioned that your keyboards will take you on a psychedelic ride. Do you feel that many bands today are losing the atmosphere?
Chris: I'm glad to hear that someone understands what I set out to achieve with the keys! There are many. But I think music (not limited to metal) is kind of lost. Lacking direction and focus. It's one thing to make "brutal" music. But it's another thing entirely to create atmosphere. I hopefully keep both elements infused.

Lady Kat Chaos: The full release was creative and a master piece. How long did it take you to write this EP?
Chris: I think all up it was about three months work on the actual writing, with the drum programming taking up a large chunk of that. One song got scrapped entirely and became iconoclast soliloquy. The recording and production side of it took a lot longer.

Lady Kat Chaos: Where are you getting your CDs pressed?
Chris: Getting the CDs pressed was a Greek odyssey!

Lady Kat Chaos: Interesting that you mentioned "Iconoclast Soliloquy" because I was just in a chat talking with my friend and told them they would enjoy this song especially with the spoken words and how it has both fast and slower elements and heavy riffs. More his range of a song. Some bands get trigger happy from time to time where as some just know when it’s enough. What drum programs have you used?

Chris Meyer I use EZ drummer - the drum kit from hell. But I spend a hell of a lot of time on the writing and production of them. I hate drum machines that sound like, well, um. Drum machines! I want my programming to sound like a real drummer and I write it as a drummer. I also hope to hear somebody actually playing the drums someday, so I keep that in mind too. Would be an exceptional drummer however!

Lady Kat Chaos: The music you cast out into the world is raw and aggressive, powerful and enormously diverse. I found myself repeating tracks the content was so utterly absorbent. There are many layers to discover each time you listen to it. What is your song writing process, and how do you know when a song is done?

Chris: Thanks! You just "know" when a song is done! I write initially on an unplugged electric guitar. If it has the stamp of evil then I proceed with it. Usually it's a process of riff collection and editing/arranging. Other times there is a linear flow. The songs tend to write themselves and I never force them. Once the guitars are written, I move on to the other elements and drums. Vocals always come last.

Lady Kat Chaos: You were asked earlier about having guest on your EP, with today's technology such as Soundcloud it makes it easier to share files to create songs together. What made you decide to have guest instead of doing it all on your own?
Chris: The guitar solo came about because, like the drums. I couldn't do it to save myself! Haniel and I had discussed it for a while and "Burn" had the perfect place for it. The vocals on "Iconoclast" were a similar context but different situation. Matthew and I had discussed the possibility a long time ago. And the opportunity presented itself by way of me having writer's block!

Lady Kat Chaos: We all tend to have writers block every now and again and it can become very frustrating. What do you do to overcome it?
Chris: My usual process with writer's block is to down tools. Take a break and wait for inspiration to strike. Which isn't always far away!

Lady Kat Chaos: How has Robert Frost's poem "Fire and Ice" inspired you?

Chris: Well spotted! That was my wife's doing! The poem is awesome. Either way is fine. So nihilistic and it fits perfectly with the idealization of the music. But, to perish twice! Divine!

Lady Kat Chaos: Your wife has good taste. It’s great to see she helps out and I know she is your manager as well. Does she help with promotions and setting up your band interviews? I also know you have to head out for about 30 minutes and will return.
Chris: She is my rock! I handle everything but I couldn't do any of it without her support!

Lady Kat Chaos: When it comes to creating with different instruments, which one do you like playing most and which one did you find was most difficult to learn? Hence, we do learn something new every day.
Chris: I love music. That is first and foremost. I really enjoy playing the bass, but guitar is my passion. I suppose most of my learning in this context is composition and creating something "other". My intention is to be true to the genre/style but also to remain different somewhat, somewhere, somehow. Learning how to construct (or deconstruct) within a certain composition is the hardest part.

Lady Kat Chaos: How long have you been playing each instrument and who would you like to be endorsed by down the road?
Chris: I've been playing guitar for about 24 years, bass for about 18. Still suck at both! As for endorsement, I've always been partial to Jackson guitars and Yamaha basses. So either of those would be neat! I wouldn't expect to be endorsed by anyone for anything so I'd be pretty happy with anything I got! I use very low tech lo fi gear. I'd love to upgrade some of that stuff for sure!

Lady Kat Chaos: If you were to create your own signature Jackson guitar what would be the most important key element?
Chris: It'd have to be black.

Lady Kat Chaos: What about pickups?
Chris: Very black. Minimalist design and hardware. One pickup and no control knobs.

Lady Kat Chaos: It's interesting that you mention control knobs. A few guitarist have mentioned that before. I'm not a guitarist can you explain the issue about control knobs?
Chris: The setup I have now is really basic. Anything would be a step up! With the control knobs, I think they are unnecessary. I want a guitar to just be on. Like an acoustic. Simple and no fucking around!

Lady Kat Chaos: When someone wants to learn to play the guitar do you think they should learn on acoustic first before and electric one?
Chris: It depends on what you want to learn. And why. My suggestion would be to study classical guitar first. Master playing clean and fluently. Then move on. At least, that's what I wish I'd done! I did it the other way around.

Lady Kat Chaos: What type of strings and gauges do you use?
Chris: I use Dean Markley strings on my guitar with a wound g. Slinky's on the bass.

Bob Williams: who is some of the biggest influences on your music? And what do you plan on incorporating with new material?
Chris: I hate that question about influences! Hahaha! But definitely old school black metal, Florida and European death metal feature heavily in my life. Bands like Obscura, Opeth, Death and Cynic are influences that aren't necessarily reflected in my music. New material is more expansive and more "mature" as a songwriter

Lady Kat Chaos:  I get into a lot of disagreements because I'm an old schooler. Back in the days the underground stood underground and within that circle. Now with the internet many underground bands are coming out. What is your thoughts on this issue?

Chris: I'm kind of the same mind. I think the Internet is great, but it's also responsible for Unleashing a tsunami of shit! Every man and his dog with a computer can produce something and put it out. I am very much underground. Proud to be. And will always remain. No one would've heard my music if it wasn't for the Internet. I am part of the tsunami!

Lady Kat Chaos: We would all have discussions about different bands, still trade demo's which then started to be CDs to spread it between us. Indeed, I've met many great underground bands through the internet. I think it has open the gates, it has its ups and downs. Do you feel it’s helping the underground or destroying it?
Chris: I think there's a homogenization of sorts. I have met some great people/friends and heard many bands through the internet. Wouldn't have been that case (and wasn't) twenty or more years ago. There are a great many amazing bands out there but also a shit ton of dross...

Lady Kat Chaos: What are your thoughts about people putting your music on free downloading sites? I was also talking to another horde about you tube and was told you can even take songs off you tube and convert it into an mp3. I'm lucky I can get onto Facebook.
Chris: At first I was furious. Having put all the time, work and effort into the EP only to find it on a Russian torrent site within eight hours of its release. Then I sort of thought well, people are hearing it, although you can stream it for free on my Bandcamp page. Everything is everyone else's property on the Internet. It's such a big issue and one I'm not going to fight. Video killed the radio. The Internet killed everything! Only diehard fans would buy CDs and merch. Even digital copies. I don't like to think about it too much.

Lady Kat Chaos: Indeed, and if one of the sites gets closed down another 10 just open. I refuse to go onto any of those sites. Never have and never would. Where can one obtain your release?
Chris: The EP is available at http://aberrationnexus.bandcamp.com as is the God And Ashes single. Physical copies of the EP are available at aberrationnexus.bigcartel.com and aberrationnexus.bandcamp.com.

Lady Kat Chaos: In 2011 you released "The Apocalypse Code". Is this still available? Or is still an unmastered Instrumental demo still in the works?
Chris: I pulled most of the demo tracks from YouTube as a preparation for the album. Things have changed somewhat as far as the music goes. If you go to the Reverbnation page, I think you can still find the links to the vids on Youtube. I've listed them as private, so unless you've got the link you can't find them!

Lady Kat Chaos: What about your demo, "God & Ashes (Dead in any Fucking Language)" which will also be a part of your full length from what I've read or has that changed as well?
Chris: That stays pretty much as is, just re-recorded. It will be on the album for sure!

Lady Kat Chaos:  What is Aberration Nexus’ actual full discography?
Chris: The Libro Lacet EP, The God and Ashes single and the upcoming single. That's it for now!

Lady Kat Chaos: I'm not always a fan of bands covering other bands material some just really suck balls doing, others nail it and others make changes to their sound, I found it interesting that you've covered Death's song, "Leprosy", in which turned out kick ass. If you were to ask to do a comp for one of the underground band who would it be?
Chris: I toyed with the idea of doing a couple of cover songs for the upcoming single. That's as far as it got. When it came down to doing it. I decided against it. I'm just too focused on doing my own thing. Having said that, there are a number of songs I'd like to cover.

Lady Kat Chaos: I've heard you were planning on making a video for one of your songs, will it be a lyrical video?
Chris: The video will be a kind of play through sort of deal.

Lady Kat Chaos: I keep getting a lot of chats to ask about Aberration Nexus in a live setting...but if they read that it's fully a one man project they would figure out that would be impossible at the moment. Have ever thought of hiring session players or having other hordes perform in the future for a Black Metal fest down the road? And do you miss playing live?
Chris: Yeah I miss playing live but it's just not on my radar at the moment. It would be fucking awesome to take this music on the road! Maybe one day?

Lady Kat Chaos: Having a family it does make it harder to play out. One of the concepts your name, Aberration Nexus came about was the Apocalypse and the end of our human life. What are your thoughts on nuclear bombs?
Chris: I love them. Something that I've always been fascinated with. Having a family has changed my desire to see it happen. But the utter destruction of everything is still as appealing as ever.

Daniel Maldonado: What do you do outside of music for fun?
Chris: Fun Daniel? What the fuck is that!!!!

Daniel Maldonado: I think it's this one indie hipster band...
Chris: I have my family and my work. I like to brew beer when I can afford it. But, I don't have many interests and am not very interesting!

Lady Kat Chaos: And what are your thoughts on Haarp, do you think it actually causes these natural disasters happening around the world?
Chris: Haarp and conspiracy theories. Most of them are good for a chuckle, but there are many things under the sun. Who knows what the powers that be are up to? The song "the apocalypse code" is about all of that. Except that in the end we did it to ourselves. By ourselves. By ignorance. Not by treachery or design. Also not with a bang but with a whimper.

Lady Kat Chaos: Besides being our worst critic we can also be our worst destruction. Was there ever a moment in your life that you just wanted to give up creating music and what has drawn you back to creating?
Chris: There have been a few times where I've thought to chuck it in. But I can't. Making music is almost as important to me as breathing. I can't stay away from it for long as something new always tends to pop up. Aberration Nexus doesn't leave me alone. Even when I want it to. Maybe I shouldn't have sold my soul!

Willy Kizl (Kerangkenk): Chris, I also created ten songs for my band too, I created lyrics, played Bass, guitar, lead guitar, backing vocal and lead vocal on all songs, and for drum track I used BFD drum kit, I arranged all drum in each song. I make editing, mixing and mastering by myself and two friends, And all songs is on Wave Master finished in 2008, I found drummer and bass player in 2012 (need 4years to find player). I taught all the songs to them directly. In 2013 we have passes for live performances. My question is, if that drummer can give more technique and more brutal skills to the songs, do you will accept his idea to change what you have created on your song and record them in live track recording?
Chris Meyer: Willy, the short answer to your question is that I'd love to have a real, live drummer playing. If that were an option to me, I would do it in a heartbeat! Good on you for your achievements and best of luck for the future!

Lady Kat Chaos: You weave intelligent themes in with your EP, such as: Apocalypse, Blasphemy, Psychology, although some are more concerned about the atmosphere and not lyrics. How important are they both to you?
Chris: Intelligent themes eh?! Well, I just have to say that I try to keep things interesting. Atmosphere always takes precedence to the lyrics. If they enhance said atmosphere then so much the better! If my music doesn't have a certain darkness or edge of sanity quality then it just doesn't make the grade. I don't see the point in writing any old bullshit and I endeavor to make each track as unique and as malicious as possible!

Lady Kat Chaos: Black Metal is a lifestyle that seeks beyond the limited mind and has the goal to break out to express inner self. What limits have you pushed? Have you ever felt lost in a strange world, not fitting in in society, and have you found enlightenment through darkness?
Chris: Black Metal to me, is a state of mind. A place where one can lose oneself in the darkness of the music. It's about the negation of self. The annihilation of all. The repulsion of society and its ills. It's a private practice and meditation. I have never quite felt at home on this planet. I push my limits on everything I put my hand to in my music.

Lady Kat Chaos: Do you want to give some information about your recording sessions in the studio, and preparation for release? What are your thoughts on pro-tools and polished releases?
Chris: My studio setup is very basic. All done on my laptop. I record mostly in the dark with a single candle for focus. Even though I use digital recording equipment, I try to keep everything as simple and organic as possible. Pro tools and other recording cheats are just that...I like to keep my production clean. This is probably due to the amount of time spent listening to technical death metal! I don't feel that my music would be as aggressive with lower quality sound engineering. I like to be able to hear everything and keep everything clearly defined. The guitars, bass and vocals are recorded in a live kind of way. I use a click track but I like to leave some fuck ups and other artifacts in the recording. Very minimal editing happens in the recording/mixing sessions.

Lady Kat Chaos: When recording at your home studio you can work at your own pace compared to when you rent out a studio. Do you think some recording studios won't exist in the future?
Chris: No, there will always be studios. It's a skill and not everyone can be an engineer... as much as they might like to! I keep my sessions tight although they are sporadically timed.

Lady Kat Chaos: Did you go to school for recordings or did you pick it up over the years?
Chris: I did a sound engineering course in 1996. Done a few recordings over the years and some live sound work. That's where I learned most. Nothing like the pressure of a show to make you work! It's like anything, practice. And time. My ears are my tools. I rely on them more than anything I may have learned through study. Sure, you use certain skills but without the experience and a clear idea of what the end result will be like...well...

Lady Kat Chaos: Have you lost any of your hearing over the years or do you wear earplugs?
Chris: I think my hearing has definitely been damaged over the years. Not being in a band at the moment, I don't need to wear earplugs. I don't like wearing them as they take away too much of the experience. Beethoven!

Lady Kat Chaos: When recording do you spend a lot of time and energy in testing different microphones for the guitars?
Chris: None at all! As I said earlier, my setup is very simple. I don't use amps or mics. I use a vox amplug that goes directly into the computer. A little eq and reverb is all it gets. Some other tricks that I employ are my own secrets!

Lady Kat Chaos: The visual conception of the EP layout, who is the artist?

Chris: All the artwork was created by myself. Except the logo by Riaj Gragoth.

Haniel (Markradonn):  Hey Chris Meyer, nice job bro. I was off Facebook for a few days, to take a break...just saw this now. Chris, I remember you once saying you loved technical death metal and technical guitar playing. Has that style had any influence on Aberration Nexus at all, and if so, how?
Chris: Maybe the tech death influences are in some of the riffing and drum patterns? But I think it's mostly subconscious.

Lady Kat Chaos: I know that you have to get going...Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your support.


Aberration Nexus