Firebrand After Dark Issue 3 - September by Firebrand's Rock&Metal Express

Issue 3 - September 2013

ReVamp Heaven Shall Fall Promethium Angels Of Babylon Absolva Headstones Annihilator Kinetik Powerwolf Asomvel

10 14 24 28 32 36 38

04 06 07 09 18

- ReVamp - Absolva - Tyr - Kinetik - Promethium - Reverence - Ovidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Withering

- News - Twitter Top 10 - Unearthing The Underground - Firebrand DJ Top 5 - Heaven Shall Fall - Making Of The Video 41 - Top 5 Videos 42 - 18 & Life

45 - Exumer - Powerwolf 46 - Angels Of Babylon - Dark Design 47 - The Devil Wears Prada - Ferocity 48 - Annihilator 49 - Nhor - Argus 52 - Covenant - Scalpel 53 - Thunderfuck & The Deadly Romantics - Emblazoned 54 - Headstones - Abominant 55 - TBSO Toranga 56 - Tyr 57 - Sarke - Otargos 58 - Asomvel

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Editor In Chief Rick Palin

Well its that time again where I put pen to paper and try to come up with an halfway interesting editorial ~ tres dangereux. As ever its been an eventful and hectic month in Firebrand land as we try build a better magazine to suit your needs, as without your continuing support we wouldn’t be doing this. One of the things which pops up time and time again is increasing the number of features that we fit in to the magazine so this month we are trailing a couple of new ideas and would love to hear your views on them. The first feature that we are trailing is a news section dedicated to just the unsigned and independent bands giving this often under looked area a chance to shine though. We are also trying out a Firebrand After Dark Twitter Top 10 where our own master of the tweet DJ Stoodge picks out the top ten tweets that have popped up on his radar this month. Speaking of features, we all love to see music videos on Youtube etc so when we found out that Heaven Shall Fall were filming their first ever music video we caught up with them to document the filming of this momentous occasion for this fledging young band. Joining us on the ‘Firebrand DJ Top 5’ this month we have Michael Spiggos treating us to his top 5 tracks that are currently hitting the airwaves during his shows this month. So what else do we have in store for you this month? Well besides the normal scattering of album reviews we also feature interviews with the likes of ReVamp, Absolva, Reverence, Kinetik, Promethium and Tyr who also treat us to a track by track break down of their brand new album ‘Valkyria’. So with that thought I will bid you farewell and leave you to enjoy the rest of the magazine.

Senior Media Consultant Rachel Whiston Editor Lee Walker Reviews Team Heather Blewett Stoodge McNulty Graham Pritchard Jon Seymour Contributing Writers Chris Nelson Download Content Team Rick Palin Judith Fisher Content Download sales@fbrr2010.com Advertising Enquiries sales@fbrr2010.com Review Requests afterdark@fbrr2010.com

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Contact Telephone +44(0)1244 940961

NEWS third album will be released in 2014 by FDA Rekotz. Kaos.Kult.Kreation is available on CD The 29th of November is the date that has been and vinyl formats at www.fda-rekotz.com. While Arroganz is working on crafting the set for the release of “Futile” the debut full-length sickness that will become their next release, the album from Eudaimony, the band formed by former Dark Fortress frontman Matthias Jell and band has booked several rituals. NAGLFAR’s Marcus E. Norman (Bewitched, Clutch Postpones September Tour Dates Havayoth, Ancient Wisdom). The eight-track album, which will be released on Germany’s Cold Maryland rockers Clutch have been forced to postpone the September tour dates of the "Earth Dimensions label, includes guest appearances Rocker" North American Tour. This is due to a by Mick Moss of Antimatter and Schwadorf of health issue with singer Neil Fallon. Most of the Empyrium and The Vision Bleak. The vocal recordings, mixing and mastering of “Futile” were shows will be rescheduled and dates are listed below. Support on the rescheduled shows will carried out by Markus Stock at the Klangschmeide Studio E and the album artwork remain the same and come from The Sword is by Ben Borucki (Irrleuchten) from the German and Crobot. Tickets that were already purchased for the dates in September will be honored for the band Sonic Reign. The title track from “Futile” was debuted recently and can be heard at http:// rescheduled dates in January. Unfortunately one of the shows could not be rescheduled and has Soundcloud.com/audamony-futile been cancelled. This is show is Vienna, WV on With a lineup that includes Jell on vocals 9/21. The shows scheduled for South Burlington, and Norman on guitars, bass, synthesizer and VT on 9/24 and Long Island, NY on 9/27 will be programming, Jörg Heemann (Secrets Of The rescheduled for a later date, please hold on to Moon) on drums and Peter Honsalek your tickets. Refunds for the West Virginia are (Nachtreich) on viola, the natural assumption available at point of purchase. The band will still would be that Eudamony music fits somewhere within the Black Metal/DSBM genres. But that is be playing "The Shindig" festival on September 14th in Baltimore, MD. All dates on the October too simplistic an assumption to make where Eudamony is concerned, because this is a band November leg of the tour will go on as scheduled that explores the hopelessness and futility of life, and planned. The Hampton Beach, NH date both lyrically and visually, as exemplified in Jell’s originally in September is now scheduled for October 25. Unfortunately The Sword and lyrics and the sense of mystery in Borucki’s Crobot will not be appearing on this new date in artwork, whilst the music itself forms an Hampton Beach, NH. News about support will atmospheric soundscape of rich melodies that be released in the coming weeks. range from the fragile and haunting to the Clutch frontman Neil Fallon gave an update on powerfully dark and brooding. his condition: "Dear friends, this week I've learned that a German Death Metal Unit Arroganz Signs childhood injury to the neck, a genetic with FDA Rekotz FDA Rekotz is proud to announce the signing of predisposition for spinal disease, and 20 some years of head banging will exact a toll. I've been German death metal undeads, Arroganz. diagnosed with an ugly case of cervical spinal The band's latest and second album, stenosis and two herniated discs. Kaos.Kult.Kreation, has been met with great In some instances these conditions can be response from every corner of the rotten crypt. treated non-surgically. This is not the case for ARROGANZ delivers blackened classic-styled me. I have been advised by several death metal with its own unique markings. The band's brand of metal is catchy but independent, neurosurgeons that my spinal cord has already been damaged and that I risk further damage raw, brutal and murderous. Their forthcoming

Release date set for upcoming album from Eudaimony

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were I not to address the situation. For this reason, I've decided to take care of this ASAP. Believe me, re scheduling a tour turns my stomach, but I believe this is the wisest choice given the prognosis. On Tuesday I will undergo surgery. The procedure will fuse three vertebrae together with a small titanium plate. I have faith that this surgery will go as well as it can, and that I will be back in the saddle for our October-November tour. On behalf of my spine, deepest apologies to those who had been looking forward to seeing Clutch over the next two weeks. We'll make it up to you." Health and Happiness, Neil. Earth Rocker was released March 19th via the band's label Weathermaker Music. The album entered the Billboard Top 200 chart at #15 achieving the band's highest chart position to date. The album then proceeded to hold its own on the Billboard Top 200 for a total of 5 weeks. The album also came in at #1 on the Hard Music Chart and #3 on the Independent Album Chart. The digital demand for this album continues to be very strong. In the week of release Earth Rocker shot to #4 on iTunes' overall Top 100 album charts and was #1 in their rock chart.

the Roadburn Festival 2014. “The Tower” will be released on Digipak CD, solid white gatefold double LP, transparent green gatefold double LP and black gatefold double LP. The LP versions, as well as the digital edition, will include the bonus track “Blood Don’t Eliogabalus”. All physical formats, along with exclusive merchandise are already available for pre-order from http:// vultureindustries.bigcartel.com/ Vulture Industries are due to hit the road in September for a series of European dates guesting with LEPROUS on the first leg of their European Coal Tour. Starting in the band’s home country on September 13th. Vulture Industries has also been performing Turning Golem with the Happy Gorilla Dance Company, a project part concert rooted in the heavier segment of experimental/progressive metal and part theatre performance. Two more shows of TURNING GOLEM are schedule this year – 25 October at the Garage in Bergen, Norway and the 26 October and at the Phantoms Of Pilsen in Pilsen, Czech Republic.

Vulture Industries Debuts ‘Lost Among Liars’ Video With their latest full-length album “The Tower” due out on Season of Mist on the 27th of September in Europe and the 1st October in North America, avant-garde metallers Vulture Industries have today debuted a video for the track “Lost Among Liars”. The video is an animated surreal visual critique of today’s society which takes us on a journey through a surreal cityscape populated by people and machines, each with their own different duties and functions. From the vagrant loser to the dutiful cog in the wheel of industry, to the facade of family life to the mask salesman, they are all here. Each of them tells a story of oppression, restitution, control and freedom. The video has been made by the Romanian artist Costin Chioreanu who, despite his relatively young age, has already made his mark not only as a graphic arts, but also as a stage artist, musician, animator and movie maker. Aside from having designed the cover art for “The Tower” Chioreanu has also produced the cover art for bands such as Ulver, Ihsahn, Arcurus, Aura Noir and DARKTHRONE. He is the official artist for

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Yes, we have entered the vortex that is the twittersphere. If you are apart of the social media maelstrom you can find us @fbadmag. Each day we will sift through all your outrageous, brainsick, curious and Metal related tweets. Don't feel bad if your tweet hasn't made it into this months top 10 as we've had so many to go through. Keep safe, keep Metal and keep tweeting us like Hell.

TOP 10

@BeerSlayer863 I use Red Bull instead of water to make my coffee. Try it, bet you get to work and realise you forgot your car. Metal breakfast! @MasterMetalFan #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal #Metal @Syndicate2008 Those Once Loyal is my favourite Bolt Thrower, an absolutely crushing live band.

@Olcracker @fbadmag is the most brutal mag out there! Horns up bitches \m/!

@_funeralopolis MUNICIPAL FUCKING WASTE!

@jennybean_ Maynard James Keenan's voice, KINELL!

@SonicHomicide I wish I had the money to go see @kreator at Hammerfest. I need to punch the shit out of things to one of the best fucking bands. @JACKOLYTE Apparently screaming "THRAAAAAAAAAASH" at my boss when he asks what I would like for lunch isn't an appropriate answer. @metalseddon1 It's easy to fall in love with a band when they sing songs about one of your favourite things....Booze! @Deny_Tomorrow My granddad has every single Black Sabbath record, and he won't let me even touch them. That's somewhat child abuse.

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Sterbhaus (interviewed in issue 1) have been announced as main support to Shining on the upcoming Razors Over Europe tour. Other support to these two Swedish Heavyweights comes in the form of Norways Crest Of Darkness. The tour runs from 22 nd November to 8th December and includes UK and Ireland dates. Pestilence are back with a new album entitled 'Obsideo' which will be the bands 7 th studio release and it's out on Candlelight Records. Dropping on October 21st this will be the Dutch bands first album since 'Doctrine' which came out in 2011. Italian Progressive Metal act Ephel Duath will be releasing their new album 'Hemmed By Light, Shaped By Darkness' on Agonia Records. This will be the bands first album in five years and again consists of a different line up. The records hits stores in Europe on the 19 th November and North America on the 24th. Indias Demonic Ressurection have announced that as part of their UK/Europe tour next summer they will be playing Scotlands Les Fest on Friday 27th June. The band will be announcing more dates very soon. Dissect Molest Ingest the new album from Bristols Amputated is set for release pretty soon. The record will be on Sevared Records and the release date is as yet unconfirmed. With Cyclone Empire Records soon re-issuing their first three albums Shropshires Cancer are reforming wih the bands original line up. The band will soon be announcing festival dates and have stated that they will be only performing tracks from their first three records. Lascailleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shroud have just revealed the track list and art work for their forthcoming double disc album. Interval 02: Parallel Infinities, The Abscinded Universe will be released later this year. Norways Obliteration are set to release their first album in four years. The band have already released the artwork and tracklisting onlinefor the record to be titled Black Death Horizon and it'll be released in Europe on Indie Recordings on November 8th, it's also the groups first release on North Americas Relapse Records andit gets unleashed state side on 12th November. Cadaveria have announced the band will be releasing their first DVD on October 22nd. The double DVD will come out on Scarlet Records and will feature live tracks, unseen backstage footage and a videography.

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This month Michael Spiggos will be bringing you his top 5! Having to compile a list of just five tracks is nearly impossible with so much great music out there. For that reason alone and for this top 5 list, I have decided to stick to this year’s release (2013) and just present you with the songs which stood out the most for me.

Powerworld - Children Of The Universe (Cybersteria) When I first read the press announcement about Powerword’s Cybersteria album, I was immediately impressed by the themes and concepts this album’s lyrics would debate. Being a huge George Orwell (1984) fan myself, I have always kept my eyes and ears open for anything that would even remotely try to touch on any of the subjects on the aforementioned writer’s (and of his contemporaries) work. “Children Of The Universe” is an intense yet emotional track, which deals with the concept of misery and social isolation in our world. Happy times, right?

Artlantica - Across The Seven Seas (Across The Seven Seas) Featuring members of Angel Of Eden and Artension, Artlantica released their debut album last May. Anticipation was high and when the album finally arrived, it certainly didn’t dissapoint. The eponymous track of the album, is a slow paced, eastern flavoured track, featuring some great vocals by John West and some very tasteful guitar passages by Roger Staffelbach. I dare you to try and shake off the pictures of daunting sea travels and adventures to the eastern seas while listening to the song, if you can.

Edenbridge - The Bonding (The Bonding) What about a 15:26 minute track as an album closer? I remember before the album’s release, I used to receive requests to play something off the upcoming Edenbridge album, and when I first played this particular song on the show, it left people in awe. I’m a keen admirer of what we would call long epics and this certainly doesn’t disappoint. The song touches on the subject of belief and is presented as a conversation between the one universal energy (Sabine Edelsbacher) and the disbeliever (Erik Martensson). The acoustic middle part of the song is one of the most beautiful musical paintings ever recorded.

Famous Underground – Dead Weight (Famous Underground) Back to the dystopian future (or present?) concept again, Famous Underground sounds like a combination of Metallica and Guns ‘N Roses and if someone was to check out their video clip of the song, they would definitely receive the message. The verses are perfectly adorned with acoustic guitars before the song jumps into a furious chorus. Someone would describe the chorus’ lyrics as hateful but the song is catchy, if not quite passionate.

Taberah – 2012 (Necromancer) This is the opening track of the upcoming album by Australian Heavy Metal band Taberah, “Necromancer”. The song, as the rest of the album is quite heavy, double bass and all, yet the choruses are almost anthemic! The song itself is about the end of the world and I have to say that the feeling of urgency that this song exudes is evident throughout. Some great guitar playing can also be found here too!

Don’t forget to check out Michael Spiggos’ show The Melodic Rock Show Every Sunday 2-4pm (UK) Firebrand After Dark 01

Stoodge McNulty Interviews Floor Jensen of

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The Queen of Metal Floor Jansen speaks to Firebrand After Dark about the recording of fantastic new ReVamp album 'Wild Card' and the bands upcoming tours. The new album is ready to launch and your currently off the road. You all catching up on some home time? I have been touring with Nightwish so my home time was limited. We have shows coming up so that thing will happen later on. I'm Ready to play shows with ReVamp now.

happen in my life. Personal yes, but why not write about it? For me it’s great to get it ‘out of my system’ and for whomever reads it, it might bring something as well. Seen through different eyes with different backgrounds the same words can mean a hundred different things. I like that and hope this will happen with my words again, I know they did in the past and even helped people if it Congratulations on the new album by the way, I've been was only because it felt recognizable. blasting it here all day. That is wonderful to hear that! I have to say I love your vocals on the album (Floor) what's your singing background and how did you learn This is the bands second album and first since the self to accomplish singing with so much diversity? titled debut that came out in 2010. How does it feel to I studied music and singing for 6 years, sang in bands have elapsed the so called 'difficult second album' stage for 15 years and was I born with nice cords. with such success? Really good. It was a challenge but I guess people You are touring Europe in September and November, I become stronger in times like these and deliver better s there any reason why there is nothing planned for work. We are super proud of this album! October? We play the Metal Female Voices Fest in Belgium. How was the recording process of this album and was That’s something. it any different from your first gathering together in the studio? The producer Joost van den Broek made sure all recordings were running well since most was recorded in different studios. I was on tour with Nightwish while the guys recorded their instruments. The Drums were done in the Sandlane Studio’s and recorded by Joost and the Bass by Johan van Stratum (Stream of Passion) in his home studio. The Guitars recorded by Jord Otto in his homestudio and everything was re-amped in the Sandlane Studio. Keys were done mostly in Ruben’s home studio and other parts were done with Joost in his studio. I also did the vocals there. Choir was recorded in the Sandlane Studio again and the mix was done there as well. The new album 'Wild Card' is there a main subject matter or story behind the album? No there isn’t. Some lyrics deal about my burn-out period and the best example are three songs connected to one lyrical theme called ‘The Anatomy of a Nervous Breakdown’. All other lyrics have subjects of their own and musically there is no theme either. There is a trilogy of tracks on the record with the subheading 'The Anatomy Of A Nervous Breakdown' is this an indication that this is somewhat a personal album? In those lyrics I write about my experiences while suffering from the burn out I had. That is personal indeed but I‘ve always written about things that

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You successfully took part in a kickstarter project online. Can you gave us some information on that program? We want to reach our fans worldwide but touring is expensive for a band as big or small as ReVamp. We asked our fans to help us get on the road and they did! I would suggest to go to the website and check out how it works. A new way of bands and fans to be in tough with each other in a constructive and fun way! We want to thank everybody that helped us with this!!! Will you be heading over to the US for a tour and with Symphonic Metal being predominately European how do you think it's getting received these days in the states? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost certain we will come to the US for an extensive tour but I cannot announce anything yet. I have noticed an increasing interest in metal from Europe in the US thoughout the last 10 or 15 years. Nevertheless we still have two completely different scenes. Bands can become huge in the States without us here in Europe even knowing them and vice versa. But there is a crossover area that is growing and makes it very interesting for us to come to your side of the planet again. What sort of show should fans anticipate from ReVamp on the upcoming shows? Boring show with seats on the stage and nothing but a curtain of hair to look at instead of a faceâ&#x20AC;Ś.. No, just kidding. How about an energetic metal show with a vivid interaction between band and audience.

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Stoodge Interviews Chris Appleton 14

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'Beyond Live' the CD/DVD Fan Pack from Manchester Metallars Absolva comes out on 30th September. Chris Appleton the founding member of the group tells us a little about the package, the bands addiction to touring and what the horizon could have in store for the three merry men from Rocksector Records. Thanks for taking time to speak to us, I know it's been a busy year for you guys and it's certainly not over yet.

You play a lot around central Europe (Belgium, Germany, Netherlands) do you see any difference in the crowds over there than to those here in the UK? They speak a different language & their Beer is better You release your first Live release on 30th September than ours. Metal is the universal genre, everyone's as part of your 'Beyond Live' Fan Pack. Can you tell us similar, and its like one big family. about this package and why are you releasing it now? You played Bloodstock this year for the second time It just seemed like a good idea. People were asking under the banner of Absolva, how was the about a Live album and I've never done one before. I experience? think the DVD & CD was a good shot. The response Last year we were on the acoustic stage and this year we had when we announced we would be doing it we were on the Sophie Lancaster stage. It was was fantastic. fantastic, the fans we saw there were from all over the place, the energy was electric! The behind the scene footage, anything we should be looking out for it that? It's been a couple years since you played Bloodstock Haha, all of it. It's great behind the scenes footage of as Fury UK, how different is that festival now? the show and the tour that went with it. Great Bigger, more successful I would say. Seeing the in-sight on what we're like, and its funny as hell in Sophie Lancaster Stage grow into the huge stage that places. it is now, from a little white beer tent is really something. I'm really looking forward to seeing it, have the camera men and producers done the band justice by Have you been dabbling in writing any new material capturing the high octane energetic show that has with all that time to kill on the road? become accustomed to your live shows? Yeah, we enter the studio to record the 2nd album in Yeah I think so man. We brought our own lighting November. All the material is pretty much done. guys over to really give it our stamp. Lazers & scanners. And we really went for it. You guys certainly love being on the road, have you ever thought of enlisting a 'Rain Man' type of person to accumulate the mileage that you've covered over the past 12 months? Yeah, its our favourite part of being in Absolva. Touring!! There's no other feeling. Mileage my god, I'm sure we've got it somewhere. The more miles the better! You go back out in the van in September for a European Tour, what's the aim of these shows and are you playing in familiar venues? Yes all pretty much familiar venues. We want to tour the DVD, we have some new songs also we are giving an airing.

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Tom Atkinson left the band earlier this year, you had Luke (Appleton) from Iced Earth back in the line up. Will this be a long term fixture or are you looking for someone that can come in on a full time basis? No, Absolva is now a 3 piece. Strong, powerful and dangerous.

How much of a musical progression do you see Absolva from Fury UK? Its a different band man, it has my voice, but I wouldn't see it as a progression just different. I created Absolva with the pure vision of the hardest working British 'METAL' band since Iron Maiden. That's what we're heading to achieve. And we haven't even touched anything yet, with I've had a request to ask you about the Future of what our big picture is. Fury UK. Will we ever hear new material from Fury UK in the future or are you 100 % Well best of luck with the release of the Fan concentrating on Absolva right now? Pack and Tour. Have you any words for the Never ruling it out, but with Absolva, it has people out there that might be in need of a kick grown beyond our original expectations, and of in arse and are yet to see you dudes live yet? course the massive-ness of Iced Earth, we cant Just thank you very much to each and every one see it happening. Maybe the odd Fury UK song of you that has supported and stuck by Absolva. will appear in the Absolva set you never know. Its been amazing. Cheers Guys

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Heaven Shall Fall

Making OF The Video! Firebrand After Dark 01

Broken Home Why did you decide to make a video? Martin: We had always dreamed of making a video, since Jordan and I first started the band. The whole idea of there being a music video for our song was just amazing. Adrian: We wanted to show that we’re not a one off band we wanted to make our mark on the music scene. Scott: We thought it would push us out there a bit! Chelsey: I think we just wanted to do something to put us out there, and see if we gained anything from it.

Chelsey: Andy was in charge of everything, and he’s done an amazing job at it! I don’t actually What made you decide to pick ‘Broken Home’ know how he put up with us! Funnily enough, as the song to make a video for? when Kayleigh and Ross are in the forest Martin: We managed to come up with a pretty cool together, they are actually both in completely storyline that fitted the song well. different forests. Scott: Broken Home is a versatile kind of song, people who like all kinds of music such as rock/ How did you choose the cast for the video? metal/heavy metal/punk can enjoy it. Scott: It was easy: we had a lot of friends and Chelsey: It has emotion behind it that helped people wanting to get involved. making a storyline for the video. Adrian: While we were planning it, we asked who would be interested in featuring in the video on our Where did you shoot the video and who filmed band page. it? Chelsey: A lot of people in the cast were people Adrian: We shot the video jumping from Andover who wanted to be a part of it, we asked who would to Southampton to Fair Oak and Christchurch. want to be in it and people came forward, although Martin: Tidworth and Ludgershall, also. we personally asked Ross and Kayleigh. Scott: Andrew K Moodie filmed it! Martin: We were set on Ross since the name

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was suggested. For Kayleigh, Andy Moodie made the final decision.

been a very exciting experience for us. Adrian: I’d agree with Scott, it was the most fun the band have had together since I've joined. We worried about getting it done in time, but it made us a better band: we worked hard for what we achieved on the recording, and had a blast doing it. Chelsey: It was really fun, but at the same time it was the most stressful moment of being in the band. Martin: It was a lot of fun, obviously stressful too, but in general we loved the entire experience.

How did you decide upon the theme? Chelsey: Martin and Jordan came up with the theme. Martin: Actually we had watched a fair amount of zombie films and TV shows. How long did the video take to shoot? Did it end up with many outtakes? Scott: It took about four days in total, and there was a fair amount of outtakes, but that is why we got the best result we could. Adrian: The filming was meant to take three days, but we had problems with location and my car breaking down. In the scene where I'm one of the army guys and I'm holding back the main guy (Ross) back from his girlfriend, there was a few times I would either slip or look dodgy while holding him. Chelsey: The whole video was meant to take three days, but we ended needing two extra days, one for performance and one final day with Kayleigh. Martin: Yes we had lots of takes for different parts. The band performance part took around 6 hours to film in itself.

What was your favourite part of the video? Adrian: Mine and Jordan’s slow motion recording is my favourite part. It was actually very fast, we had a few laughing fits trying to sing our own song aggressively at double the speed. Scott: All of it was great; I can't pinpoint a single moment where I didn't enjoy it. Chelsey: My favourite part was doing the band performance so I could actually get involved. Martin: Personally love the bit where Ross kills the zombie Adam.

Were you nervous about watching the finished product? Adrian: I wasn't nervous about seeing the final product, I was more eager to see how good our acting was. We knew we were in good hands with the director and he would keep making us do it over and over until it was perfect. Scott: Not really, as I had seen Andy's previous productions. Chelsey: I was really nervous about watching it, because we literally just filmed it all and Andy went into hiding to put the whole thing together. The outcome was actually amazing, more than I expected. Did you have much fun shooting it? Scott: Yes it was possibly the most fun we've had Martin: I’m always a bit nervous about not achieving our original plan. as a band. Parts were stressful, but everyone worked through it and had so much fun, it has

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Have you been happy with the feedback you have had over it? Adrian: The feedback has been amazing: everyone said they found it fun to watch and that it has a great story line. Martin: Yes, people seem to like it. Scott: We are thrilled that everyone enjoys it this much Chelsey: We've only really had positive feedback from the video, and it got quite a few people interested in the EP now.

Are there any messages you would like to pass on regarding the video? Adrian: A massive thanks to Andy Moodie for making an amazing music video for us! Scott: All I can say is that we all out blood sweat and tears into this video so we hope that anyone who watches it enjoys it! Martin: Thank you for all of your support with the video and our band so far. We can never fully express how much we appreciate it.

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Competition Winners Last month we ran our first ever competition, and we would like to thank everyone who entered it and Victory Records for supplying the fantastic prizes. We had a very hard time selecting the winners but there could be only 3 and they are below.

Daniel Reilly Favourite Album : Kill On Command. Why : I have heard every single album I believe but maybe 1 and that's Terror Regime. I've heard a couple songs on YouTube from the TR album but can't quite remember the names at the moment. Now, going back to the question...when I heard 'Blood Ties' on the Kill On Command album, I was hooked. Skin The Living is also a sick ass album and Warzone also but the song Blood Ties is the one along with the rest of the album, where the writing has mixed better, and I mean that as musicians, Dave and the fellas seem to be real 'comfortable' when it comes to the writing now. Like the song Life Negated, damn, that song sounds like it could've been on the STL album. And to open the album with a badass song like 'Their Finest Hour', dude, they, to me, did no wrong writing Kill On Command.

Ralph Pancoast My favorite Jungle Rot song is Terror Ragtime. When you hear it, it makes you want to mosh around (even when your old you can remember the good old days).

Colton Craker Dead and Buried is my favourite Jungle Rot album because Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the record that got me into them.

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Interviewed by Stoodge Mc Nulty Firebrand After Dark 01

Many a battle has been won and lost during the verses of a Tyr song and with their new album having just exploded Worldwide you can now behold some heroic and lustful hymns of the Norse Mythology kind. On the eve of the release of the bands fantastic new opus 'Valkyrja' frontman Heri Joensen talks to Stoodge and sheds light on the concept behind the groups epic seventh studio album.

Hey guys, your new album 'Valkyrja' comes out on 13th September, how are the preparations for the release? There's not much preparation on our part. We're just getting ready for tour, today is actually the first day of tour. The album has been recorded, mixed and mastered, the artwork has been done and approved. I guess most of the preparations that need to be done after that are the part of Metal Blade. The band's deadline is long before the release date, 3 months or so. Now we're just reading reviews and answering interviews.

album is an anonymous Viking who, for patriotic and personal reasons, leaves his earthly woman and home to go off to die on the battlefield. His intent is to fight and die bravely enough to be taken by the Valkyries and to be taken to F贸lkvangr. His plan works. The deeper thought behind the album is how women affect men and what men do to impress women.

Due to all the tracks on this record having a familiar connection was this album in anyway dissimilar to to compose than past crusades? This album is a concept album, who's idea No, not at all. This is not the first concept album was it to do such a venture? we have made, and the writing process was The idea was mine. I had it around the much like the other albums we have made, recording of the last album. I thought it would be nothing new there. I also find it much easier to easiest, to write about what's on my mind most write the lyrics when I have a concept or a story of the time anyway. Not that I ever write about line to stick to. If I don't have that then all something that's not on my mind, far from it. But options are open every time I start on a piece of this is a subject that presents itself, uninvited, text and it can be difficult and take a lot of time again and again. I'm sure most guys know what to find a fitting subject for each song. When you I mean. have a concept for the album all the work is just putting the songs in a fitting order and finding a Did it take you long to warm to the idea or tentative title for each song, as I did very early did you settle on the idea of 'Valkyrja' on in the process and then when the music is straight away? finished I write the lyrics. There was never any discussion, not with myself or the other guys, about what the What element from your native land the concept would be. I had some other ideas as Faroe Islands do you apply into the bands well, but I decided to save them for future sound? albums, since this is what I wanted to write at Almost all our songs are based on traditional the moment. You'll see on the future albums Nordic melodies, mostly from the Faeroes, but what the other ideas were, if you're curious also from Iceland, Denmark, Norway and about that. Sweden. That is the most direct and basic local influence that we have. Then we also have a Would you like to give us a brief synopsis of few songs sung in Faeroese, our local the narrative behind the album? language, and also a few other Nordic The central idea of the album is the mythology languages. We also use choirs more extensively around the Valkyries. The flying female fair and than some of the other bands we're usually fierce warriors who carry half of those who have associated with and that probably also comes fallen in battle to Valhalla, the hall of Odin, and from the Faeroes. Choirs and choir the other half, as is less known, to F贸lkvangr, arrangements have been very popular here. the realm of Freyja who is the goddess of sex among other things. The protagonist of the

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Is there any interesting facts you'd like to share about the Faroe Islands? Yes, there's a fantastic metal band that's from there, they're called TĂ˝r! Just kidding, I guess it's easier to find the interesting facts if you're not from there. But what foreigners always talk about is the nature and the landscape, and after that the culture. Judging from what they say, I have come to believe that we probably live in the most beautiful place on the planet. We are only 48.000 people, and we have our own language, our own culture and so on and so forth. I guess that's unusual enough on it's own.

what we have tried to do. Maybe we could make the Faroe Islands into a Metalhead paradise just like when all the Ravers go to Ibiza? Yes, we could, and we should! There are a few other bands there with a lot of potential. I could mention HamferĂ°, Synarchy, Sic and Heljareyga, There are also some annual festivals during the year, mostly in the summer. Maybe we should add a metal festival, in the winter. Your tour with Finntroll will be beginning very soon, how much of the new material are you planning on unleashing to audiences on this tour? We are playing three new songs for this tour. The three songs that have been released already. We could play more, but it doesn't' make for a good concert experience to listen to a lot of songs you've never heard before, so we decided to play only three. We're also playing some new old ones, that we haven't played live before. Have you plans of doing a full headline tour yourselves later in year or early 2014 to support the new record? We do have tours booked through 2014, you just need to wait for the official announcements. I also believe we are already discussing 2015, so we are excited that there is so much interest even before the album is out.

We've had a few readers asking if you are preparing for a journey to the US or Asia for tours in the near future? We're going on an extensive tour in North America early next year. Asia looks a bit further The nation has a tiny population of 50,000 people, is there much of a Metal scene there? off. We've been wanting to go there for a long I wouldn't call it a metal scene. It's a music time, but personally I hope we're going to Asia scene with all kinds of music in it. It has its soon. Things are looking up for us in the EU and advantages and its drawbacks to be a musician the US, so if Asia follows we should be getting there. It's very easy to get noticed and a very short way to the top. And it is also relatively easy there soon as well. to get your music published. Then again you can't tour there, or make any kind of living playing only locally. You have to go international if you want to make any kind of career, and that's

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Track By Track Heri Joensen from Tyr talks us through the tracks that make their new album 'Valkryja' so magical. BLOOD OF HEROES - is a very basic power sounding metal song about what's good about what we owe to our ancestors for making and leaving a good homeland for us. This sets the stage for the protagonist to go off to defend his homeland. MARE OF MY NIGHT - is a slightly progressive but pretty basic heavy metal song. The text is built around the myth of the Mare, the female creature who sneaks up on men at night causing them to have nightmares, hence the word. This is our protagonist telling of his experience of his woman, a relationship going from good to bad and then to a nightmare. HEL HATH NO FURY - an upbeat happy sounding Nordic melody. The protagonist contemplates his options and decides to leave for the battlefield. THE LAY OF OUR LOVE - a ballad based on a traditional Faeroese/Danish melody. The protagonist leaves and has a dialog with his wife. Liv Kristine form Leaves' Eyes sings the part of the woman. It's a duet with her and me. NATION - a heavy and progressive song, based on an Icelandic tradition, partly sung in Icelandic. I wrote this with the Icelandic national crisis in mind. As far as the concept goes these might be his thoughts as he marches towards the battlefield. Contemplations about what a nation is and what holds it together. We have dedicated it to the people of Iceland and to our late friend Ingólfur Júlíusson who did our first videos. ANOTHER FALLEN BROTHER - a partly progressive partly classical heavy metal song. The protagonist has reached the battlefield and he fights with his goal clear in mind, to fight bravely and to fall. GRINDAVÍSAN - this is a Faeroese traditional about pilot whale hunting. We've made it in a slightly progressive way and with the usual choirs. It is dedicated to Paul Watson, our dear friend in the organisation Sea Shepherd, who is currently an international fugitive. One might draw a comparison between our protagonist being slain and the pilot whale hunt. That's why the song is placed where it is in the sequence. INTO THE SKY - is a short song based on a Faeroese traditional melody. Our hero lies on the battlefield, proud of his own achievements and knowing that the Valkyrie will come for him. FÁNAR BURTUR BRANDALJÓÐ - a norwegian traditional melody. The title means Fades The Sound Of Swords. The protagonist is taken into the sky by the Valkyrie, as he marvels at her beauty. LADY OF THE SLAIN - our hero arrives in Fólkvangr. This song is about Freyja, but it could be about any woman you like really, as long as you like her, if you know what I mean. VALKYRJA - Gunnar came up with the basic idea for this one. It is very long and winding and has a long build up, very epic in a way. Our hero contemplates his past, and realising that everything went to plan, although he had not expected it. Then we have two covers, which of course have nothing to do with the concept of the album. They are Where Eagles Dare by Iron Maiden and Cemetery Gates by Pantera.

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Stoodge Speaks to Guitarist Chris from

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Hey Chris how's life treating you? Better than I deserve, but awesome!

recorded were used. So that cut down on the actual recording time in the studio.

Your awesome debut album 'Heavier Elements' came out in April to a lot of positive reviews, what's your honest opinion on the feedback the release has got? I think the response to this album has been enormous! We've had nothing but great reviews and awe-inspiring love from fans since the release. Just back from a tour in July with Casket Of Cassandra and that was an amazing experience! We've never played outside of California before. People went ape-shit when we played out! They love the sound from the album and our brand of metal. So I think we're on the right track with the sound.

Does the album sound like you thought it would sound before going into record? It sounds bigger and better than we imagined. Zack Orhen is amazing with the mixing and mastering shiznit! Andy and I also had a major part in the sound of the album by conversations via email with Zack to get it perfected. That took longer than recording the album itself. We finished it in August of 2012 and didn't get the album mix mastered and packaged until March of 2013. Between holidays and Zack having a busy recording schedule and being in-demand, it all played a part in that situation happening the way it did. Nonetheless it turned out beautifully and we're very proud of it!

How do you guys like to write material? Mostly by bouncing ideas off the other guys in the band. Everybody writes their own material. The key of the song and time-signature are decided after jamming on ideas that everyone brings to the table. We really don't like repeating anything we've done before. So when we start a new song it's a whole different mindset. A whole new way of approaching the next musical theme.

What was it like working with Zack Orhen in the studio? We worked with him on our EP "Stoppage Time", so we knew what to expect. He's a frozen burrito eatin' kinda guy with a dry since of humor, but we love him! Joking aside, he's so fast and brilliant at what he does, that's why we like working with him. Not to mention who he's worked with (All Shall Perish, Warbringer, Decrepit Birth, As Blood Runs Black, Cattle Decapitation.) just to name a few. He makes it Were you holed up in the studio for long recording easy for you to get the right take by pumping you up the album? and giving encouragement when needed. We Actually, no. Funny enough, we only booked the definitely will work with him again in the future. studio for eight days. That's what we estimated we could afford. We had done a lot of pre-production for How does your current sound compare to when this album by having our own Pro-Tools rig. So we Kinetik first got together in 2007? had our parts down to a point... We hadn't actually To us, it's in the songwriting department. The early rehearsed the album as a band before entering the sound was much more disjointed and manic. We studio. But everybody knew their parts individually love songs; everybody loves songs, so that's our by showing each other the sections during the focus now and in the future…writing good pre-production process. Which is essentially us songs. People retain much more when parts repeat. recording ourselves haha. Andy, our drummer, has a On the early stuff, we'd sometimes never repeat a riff degree in sound engineering and recording. I'm not or come back to a section just cause we thought the too shabby myself with Pro-Tools, which is the more technical and crazy the better. I think we also recording software I use. Andy and I created all the needed to play together for a while. We needed to atmospheric keyboard sounds throughout the album build a chemistry to find out what sound we were and brought those into the studio ready to be looking for and find ourselves as band recorded. Also some of my guitars that I personally

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Do think being from California has shaped the bands sound in anyway? No, I think it's just based on musical influence and taste. We're all different ages and come from a diverse musical background that helps shape our sound. Ideas just flow on their own with no real thought in mind as they're created. Meaning we're not trying to emulate any other bands in the San Jose/Bay Area California scene. There's many a band out here that have their own thang going on. Also California is so big! Wherever we go in Cali the bands are so drastically different.

sage! Pretty much, he and I run the band’s logistics. Jeff is like the managers of old, planning the tours watching out for ya! Hell, he even goes with us on tour to ensure everything runs as smooth as possible. He's basically grooming us to be a touring band, so we can spread the music and build a bigger demographic. We're trying to break free and become something bigger. Having Jeff on our side, we know it’s only a matter of time.

There's a lot of great bands on that roster also, how's your contact and friendship with the rest of the guys? Going back to your album 'Heavier Elements' it's got All the guys on the Donarus roster are nothing but loads of atmospheric elements, do you feel that the family. Jeff has picked the cream of the crop in terms band fully portrays this live? of professionalism and integrity. Oh yeah, and did I I'm gonna say we try as hard as we can to deliver that mention they all kick major ass! Most of the bands same experience. We have backing tracks and play to have met one another at social gatherings held a Jeff's a click track live, so we can be as tight and precise as house, on tour together, playing shows together, or possible for the fans. Our drummer, Andy, also uses a the like, and all of them are our brothers. We have trigger personally system toured with blended Betrayed By with live Weakness on drum to our last tour, give it that and love those big arena fucks, great sound. We guys. We have fill it out tours in the pretty good works with a for only four dudes making all that music. Rob our bunch of others on the roster, which we can’t vocalist has such a dynamic range that his voice fills announce quite yet. Soon! the whole place wherever we play. Plus we embrace the live performance and bang the shit out of our So what's the rest of 2013 got in store for Kinetik? heads, shred those leads and slappa da bass as hard as A few more gigs down south and up north. More just we can! beating the pavement in terms of pushing the album’s reach and working on some Any bad habits or party tricks any of the members endorsements. Planning more shows and putting like to do on stage? together a touring showcase with some of the other We're a pretty traditional type of metal band no Donarus bands. Just trying to take over basically dressing up or pyrotechnics shooting out of my haha! guitar. Just good old fashion head banging and acting a fool on stage haha. We plan in the future to If I'm chatting to you again this time next year incorporate synced lights using a computer program to where will you and the band be in terms of your making the whole experience much more intense, but career? for now it's just us and the music. We wanna be world recognized, and work hard to get there playing, touring, and expanding the brand! You're currently working with Jeff at Donarus Hopefully we'll be playing SxSw (South by Southwest) Management and PR, what's your friendship with next year in Austin, Texas, and doing month long tour Jeff like and does he be pulling many strings? in July! Then in 2015 a possible European tour baby! Jeff is a great friend and mentor to us, he's put us Details will be coming soon on which bands and where into a whole new light in terms of marketing the band the tours will take place! Just wanna keep trucking and getting recognition from outside of what we were towards success; I love what I do and am blessed! able to achieve on our own. He's our very own

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Rick Palin speaks to Dan Lovett-Horn

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Dan, pleasure to be chatting with you today. So how did Promethium come about as a band? There were a few bands in the area that had broken down for various reasons and we kind of melded together from that. Gary the singer joined a year or so later after his band split. I had been trying to poach him for a while so I was pretty happy when he agreed to work with us.

eclectic style we have used on the album. Plus it absolutely rocks you to your core so we figured it would get people interested. Describe a day In the life for Promethium. Well we all work full time jobs so that’s pretty boring, on the road we would get in the bass players van and use his 1000 year old tape deck to play some tunes while the guys take the piss out of me for wearing slippers and ironing a crease in the front of my jeans…..i don’t really I did it once as a mistake and I’ve never lived it down. I did think a pie from the restaurant was frozen the other day when infact it was just the dish it came in was cold..i complained and everything….im a bit slow sometimes!!

Promethium’s first album “Welcome To The Institution” received some great feedback at the time of it’s release, must have been a great feeling to get that recognition? It’s really awesome that people like what we do, thats why we do it. We want people to appreciate what we do and enjoy it as much as we do making it. It makes it worth while when you “Origins” is already getting great feedback get the recognition for the work. from the press already. What are your hopes and dreams for this album? We just really hope that people like it and enjoy the music we make, of course it would nice to get the extra exposure from it and become a noticed band, but connecting with people like our musical heroes connected with us is very important.

Well that was then and this is now. Promethium are back with the new album “Origins” care to tell us a little about it ? Its progress for us as a band in the writing style , the sound and a return to the music that really made us get in to this in the first place, the music we grew up with and still listen to today. So overall it about us going back to our roots. The band have decided to give a track away through Skyfire PR’s Website to the listeners to get a taste for the album (link below). The track is the excellent “Gunslinger” why did you choose this particular track ? It’s a real different sound to anything out there I think, and so we really wanted to showcase the

How does the band gel, what are the dynamics in the band when it comes to working together? Its a really good set up we have. We have our own rehearsal room so we can come and go as we please so there is no clock watching. Usually the bulk of the writing stems from me and then is what’s called “De Danned” by Rossi, and then we allow the others to add their parts, and then we hand it to Gaz to write about whatever comes to mind. Luckily we have just got a new young talented drummer called Adam, and I can’t wait to get started on the next album with him as he is such a creative force. What’s the plan for promethium in the coming months? Well the main thing is promote the new album to death, make everyone and anyone listen to it. We also have a few gigs lined up and were also shooting a video for the first single “Wont Break me”. Hopefully it won’t get banned like the last video so deffo will be lest blood in the video ha ha. Are we likely to see Promethium doing any live events in the coming months? Yeah we have a few more gigs coming up in Birmingham, Wakefield, Bradford and also

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London. For all dates check out www.promethiumband.com

prepared to take criticism. A lot of the manufactured bands don’t last because they don’t have half of those qualities. Lets face it 1 If you were offered a support slot for a big direction are singing nursery rhymes for teens world famous band who would you choose that they haven’t written themselves how can and why? they even discuss integrity and they are shielded Well I’ll get shot for saying this, but it would have from the criticism. They haven’t written the songs to be Annihilator, as Jeff Waters is my hero and I so what do they care. am totally obsessed with him and his writing in a non gay way of course. But if I was to answer for Think to the future perhaps fifty or sixty all the guys, then it would have to be one of the big four. Quite simply because these guys paved years..you are about to peg it..what would the way for bands like us and that’s where we get you have written on your gravestone? are influences, plus it would be one major piss up Totally should have ducked afterwards and Gaz and Barry would deffo create some exposure with their antics. What do you think it takes to succeed in this industry nowadays? Hard work, determination, talent, integrity and broad shoulders. You wont please everyone don’t try and this is a tough business so be

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Stoodge Mc Nulty Interviews Brian Holland Of

Bryan Holland from Reverence takes time out to chat to Stoodge not long after the band performed a show with Dio Disciples and about the first ever upcoming UK and Ireland tour 36

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Hey Bryan, it's been about a year since we last spoke. How has life been since we last conversed? Life's been pretty good, it seems its never slow around here. We did a lot of press for 'When Darkness Calls', interviews, radio, reviews, etc. and we have just started our tour to go out and support the record with a tour starting here in the States, then through Europe, UK and back for some US East Coast dates in November. In regards to the Juggernaut that is Reverence, are things going as you'd have expected them to 12 months ago? Well, we'd hoped to have gotten out with a tour last fall but it wasn't to be. So many things get in the way, jobs, family, etc. it can be really difficult to put it all together to make it work, it really takes a lot of dedication and commitment, the amount of work behind the scenes is staggering. You're finally making it over to Europe this month (September) for a few shows, how long have you been planning these shows? Actually some have been planned for probably over a year now and were rescheduled from the tour last fall that didn't take place. Again, it takes a tremendous amount of work to put all the things in place to make touring and albums all happen, fans think this stuff just miraculously happens...if only! But we got it all put together this year, the tour is underway and with the first two shows going it will just pick up steam from here on out. I remember you telling me last year that you guys were intending on coming over to Europe, how have the preparations been for the trip? As everything in life its ups and downs, lots of promises and wishful thinking, finally things start taking shape and offers are confirmed. Honestly its an emotional roller coaster, you just try to not take anything real serious until its in writing, again nothing but work but what else are we gonna do sit home, haha! As for the organising of the Journey, how much were the band involved in sorting out the travel arrangements etc...? Actually most of the band isn't, my wife Tracy who is also the band’s manager carries the majority of the work load, I help out where I can but the band just shows up and plays, must be nice, haha. There of course are others involved too, booking agents, etc. but Tracy represents us and does a great job.

time as part of Reverence? I'm really looking forward to being in England again, its been a few years for us, last time we played London was at the famed Ruskin Arms (known best at the birth place of Iron Maiden) on its Last Weekend before it was shut down. We had an amazing time, hanging out with Bernie Torme and several other notable musician. This time its with Reverence, a totally different band and lineup, playing mostly songs from our new album versus songs from 25-30 years ago so the material is fresh and we're eager to bring it to life for the fans who venture out to see us. You recently performed as support to Dio Disciples and you had the show recorded for a future CD/DVD release, who had the idea for videoing the show? Actually, Todd came up with the whole plan and organised it with the video crew, lighting and recording people. That show being only our second show had a few bumps but I think we all did pretty well given we only had four full band rehearsals. Having just played the show not but 24 hours ago we haven’t yet had time to review any of the audio or video recordings, we leave for Europe tomorrow and won’t be back for a few weeks. I guess we can decide better the usage of the records once we return. The crowd was amazing and singing along, so we’re really hoping we nailed it. I’ve been told the audio and video are really good, I just hope they’re right and it needs little editing. Any ideas on when the performance will be unleashed? No idea, it will of course need to meet some quality standards. If it does, we could release the entire show or just use parts of it as bonus tracks here and there. I would guess even if it turns out as well as we hope it wouldn't see the light of day until early to mid 2014, which isn’t that far away but again we'll just have to wait and see. You planning on doing much video recording during the Euro Tour? Yeah we will be doing some behind the scenes recording and try to capture a few other shows in some fashion, that way if the pro-shot show turns out well we'll have a lot of additional B footage to add with it for a full package.

A lot of people have been eagerly awaiting to hear 'When Darkness Calls' played in Europe, will you be giving a sneak peak of any new material on your setlist? We have started writing for a follow-up record but its still only in I find it difficult to plan a holiday away somewhere let alone a the demo stages, this tour and its planning, rehearsals, etc have tour for a band and crew, how have your past experiences in really been the main focus. We plan to finish writing over the Europe been? winter and get back into the studio in the spring. So to answer Its a thankless job really, the amount of literally countless hours your questions, this tour will concentrate on promoting 'When and hours put into the planning, routing, follow-up, pestering, Darkness Calls' any new material will be coming next year, sorry, reminding, etc. is mind blowing if you sat down and counted it all everyone will just have to wait. out, its basically a full time job. As for past tours, Tracy has What else should the audience expect from your live show? handled the past three tours we did with Tokyo Blade so she's a total pro at al this. There's always more to learn but it gets a bit We’re a higher energy kind of act live, we don’t just stand there so easier once you've done it a few times and of course all of that don’t expect to be bored coming to our show! We'll also adding in effort pays off as those last tours went very well. I don't imagine a few other fun songs from our past bands, so the fans can expect this one will be much different, we're dealing with professionals, so a few older classic gems to pop up. It was a lot of fun digging into it should be a great time for all involved. some of our past bands old material, it'll be a lot of fun to bring them to life again. How excited are you about coming to England for the first

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Aaron Rodriguez of

Interviewed by Stoodge Mc Nulty

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So the bands name Ovids Withering, what's the story behind that? It actually derived from a group of songs we had written. Initially we were going to get them a sort of "title" and we ended up liking it so much, we used it as a name. It refers to the poet, Ovidius, and his life story, pretty much.

Cool. Your next release again comes out on Subliminal Groove Records, how's your relationship been with Justin and the guys over there? Justin is an awesome guy! I actually co-own SGR with Justin, even though I came on later. He started it, and I joined up later. He approached Ovids a while back and I really liked his vision..and thought SGR had great You guys have stated before that you're influenced by potential. Once we got talking and realized we had a lot of Greek Mythology, how much of an impact in your songs the same ideas, we decided a partnership would and lyrics has this had? beneficial..and the rest is history, as they say! Being that Pretty much all the impact, really! Almost every one of our its a Canadian-based label, and we're in Florida, I'm limited songs is derivative of Greek Mythology, as of right now. with what I can do, but its been fun so far! They are not all exact stories (some of them are made up by us, using the universe and characters they used), but Awesome. How are things progressing for the label and there's loads of fun to stuff to read and write about. As other bands on there? you'll find out soon, we plan to create an entire world of Great so far! We've managed to snatch up some great our own mythology with the EP and the our 2nd bands, including one of my favourite bands ever, full-length, so at that point, the Greek influences will only Nemertines. As soon as our partnership became official, I remain with our name. sent Justin some Nemertines, and we both agreed that it was a must have. Other than that, I've been so busy with How's the recording of the new album coming along? Ovid's that I haven't had much time to delve into SGR Great, for the most part. Right after we planned out our more than that, yet! three month process of getting everything done and got a release date, we ended up with a month long tour, and we So it's a safe bet that we'll be hearing alot out of the SGR won round two of the Headbang for the Highway thing, so and OW camps in 2014? we have to head to California for a 2nd time about a week Oh yeah, definitely. Ovid's will be focused more on touring after we get back. So, its not quite as stress-free timewise and spreading the word than anything, as of right now, as we had hoped..haha, but so far so good! anyway. We plan on releasing our EP in 2014, as well as starting throwing things together for the 2nd full length. When is the planned release date and will you be hitting No date on that, though. As far as SGR..Justin and I's goal the road much post it's release? is pretty much just to continue getting and helping The planned release date is November and definitely. We amazing artists with our main focus being on growing as a will actually be on tour when it releases! label! You guys do a very interesting take on Michael Jacksons Thriller, how does this go down live with your audiences? Oh geez. We don't play that one live, since we have so much original content to play every show! But, I imagine if we ever did, it'd be tons of fun. Though, I think if we ever played a cover live, it'd be our Zelda jig.

Describe the bands current sound and has it changed since your last couple of records? Well, we've changed a lot over time, but this will be our first full-length album ever released. So, this is basically us as we stand right now! We aim to paint a picture...tell a story. We want the people who listen to feel the moods that our characters are feeling. Our goal is bring these Yeah tell us about the Zelda track. stories to life, in the most fun, heavy, and epic way I'm a huge Zelda fan (who isn't really?) and I thought it possible. We are even more excited about the full-length, would be cool to take some of my favourite Zelda tunes which will be based on a whole world created by us. Its and turn it into something more big sounding, so I gave it a nerdy, but it will be epic. haha. We love to try to be go. We were on a time crunch, so we didn't get to go as theatrical, dark, and mood-setting. grandiose as we had planned with it, but we were happy with the outcome! Its a fun tune, for sure. Maybe that could be the concept of one of your future releases, Zelda teams up with some Greek Gods to fight off Ganondorf? Yes! It would be an epic tale for sure, but we'd rather not get sued, eh? Besides, all the poor Greek Gods get killed off pretty soon here on our album.

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Metal vids to sink your teeth into There have been soo many great videos popup during the last month but after much debate here are the top 5 music videos currently doing the rounds in the After Dark dungeon. If you have any thoughts about these, feel free to get in touch at afterdark@fbrr2010.com

1 2 3 4 5

Tyr Blood Of Heroes Jungle Rot Carpet Burning Islander New Colors Gacyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Threads Salvation The Vision Bleak The Wood Hag Firebrand After Dark 01

By Chris Nelson This month Chris caught up with Saxophonist Walter Fancourt of Triscapes WHATS THE BEST BAND YOU¹VE EVER SEEN LIVE? Keith Jarrett, Jack Dejohnette, Gary Peacock Trio at Carnegie Hall. ARE YOU AFRAID OF ANYTHING AND WHATS YOUR FEAR? I’m afraid of mayonnaise.

ALBUM BY AN ARTIST SOMEONE WOULD NOT ASSOCIATE YOU WITH, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE? The Crystals, The Ronettes, The Shangri-Las… I love 60’s girl groups WHATS THE MOST UNUSUAL PLACE YOU¹VE EVER HAD SEX? On a R. Kelly pillow while listening to R. Kelly.

IF YOU COULD HOST A DINNER PARTY AND INVITE ANY TWO PEOPLE FROM HISTORY ALIVE FAVOURITE COMEDY TV SHOW OF ALL TIME? OR DEAD WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE? Spongebob Squarepants. R. Kelly and Robocop. INCLUDING YOURSELF IN AN ALL STAR WHATS YOUR FAVOURITE HORROR MOVIE? BAND, DEAD OR ALIVE, PICK THE OTHER Videodrome. MEMBERS YOU WOULD LIKE TO PLAY ALONGSID? PLAYSTATION, X BOX OR Wii, AND HAVE YOU A Tony Williams, Bill Laswell, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan FAVOURITE GAME? and Sun Ra. I don’t know how to use those things, WHATS YOUR FAVOURITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK? WHATS YOUR FAVOURITE TYPE OF FOOD/DISH? Dale’s Pale Ale! Anything from El Mercadito 103, Miers Chapel Rd, Greensboro, NC. WHATS YOUR FUNNIEST TOUR BUS STORY? My time on the road with Reptar was hilarious WHO¹S YOUR FAVOURITE SUPER HERO? period. Powdered Toast Man WHAT WAS THE FIRST GIG YOU EVER WENT WHAT WOULD YOU SAY YOUR CAREER HIGHS TO? AND LOWS HAVE BEEN? I think it was with my friends at some band showcase Sharing the stage with Seun Kuti & Eygpt 80, at my high school during my freshmen year. Metalblades support, all the people I’ve met and played with would be my highs. Nearly getting WHAT SPORT DO ENJOY PLAYING OR attacked by an audience member who was high on WATCHING THE MOST? PCP or some shit, getting a stone thrown through a I love to skateboard but the only sports I can get into window behind the band and another time the fire are Bocce Ball and Croquet! department shutting a gig down. All three happening in the same town on different nights. Those times WHAT ARE YOU UP TO AT THE MOMENT AND sucked. WHATS YOUR PLANS FOR THE NEXT 6 MONTHS? DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS OR UFO¹S AND I am currently at my dad’s house listening to Larry HAVE YOU HAD ANY EXPERIENCES YOU Coryell and about to leave to see my friend’s band CAN SHARE WITH US? play at a club downtown. As far as the next 6 months For sure!!, I cant say I’ve had a unique encounter with go I can guarantee you will see a lot more action one though. coming from Trioscapes. Just trying to keep it busy and on the road! YOUR CHILLING AT HOME AND PUT ON AN

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For any review requests please contact the Firebrand After Dark team on the email address below. afterdak@fbrr2010.com

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Exumer Degraded By Sepsis Label: Comatose Music Released: 15 October 2013 Reviewer: Stoodge McNulty Highlight: Degraded By Sepsis Website: https://www.facebook.com/exumerofficial

Follow up albums can always be difficult but with pounding here replenishes just that. the evidence provided here the Italian Grindcore Opening this short but sweet feast is the sound of Merchants found no trouble from escaping the bellowed weeping and whimpering interjection entanglement a lot of bands face. from what could be a languished and sanguinary This isn't the same line up that featured on the basement of agony and torment before bands debut 2008 album 'Bloodcurling Tool of manifesting into a full on confluence of slaughter Digestion' but it has the same intuition, and butchery. endowment and carnage of its predecessor. With eleven tracks on offer here and with two As a band these men come together as a tight being instrumental preludes acting as a embody full of conviction and credence towards substratum to a World void of bliss and their music but what's primarily salient happiness there is one disgusting story being told throughout the record is Paolo Damato and his on this record. perpetual drumming proficiency. Like anything mordant it needs corrosive matter and the kit

Powerwolf Preachers Of The Night Label: Napalm Records Reviewer: Jon Seymour

Released: 22 July 2013 Highlight: Amen & Attack

Website: http://www.powerwolf.net

There’s obviously no doubt cast by the name of this band as to what you can expect from them. I was actually first introduced to them when I was given their last album Blood Of The Saints to review, and since then I’ve filled my music collection with their back catalogue. Yep I like music of this kind. This album is a collection of power metal anthems, with the subject matter centred round the epic battles, and the religious cynicism that they’re renowned for. Once again, we’re treated to some great songs, ranging from out and out speed, to the slower tracks overlaid with what can only be described as a massive pipe organ. Whatever these guys decide to do, they are very much living by the “go big or go home” philosophy. The songs are colossal, and the choruses even more so. If you don’t find yourself leaping up and throwing your fists in the air, then it’s likely that you’re a zombie and are

completely unaware. Of course there are people that are going to dislike this album, saying that it’s clichéd or predictable, but when music is this good, who cares? It may well be those things, but the quality of the songs and the music, and the lyrical style is enough to keep you coming back for more. Yes of course the band has their own signature sound and style, but that’s why people like them. They haven’t released the same album over and over again, and they know how to write music that you want to join in with. If you’ve not heard of Powerwolf before now, then this album is as good a place as any to start, as it just carries on the band’s tradition. It’s also instantly familiar to those who will have heard of them before, and it’s very much business as usual, but power metal is their business and business is good…. (sorry).

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Angels Of Babylon Thundergod Label: Scarlet Records Reviewer: Lee Walker

Released: 18 June 2013 Highlight: Bullet

Website: https://www.facebook.com/rhinoaobofficial

Finally I have got around to listening to the second release from the mighty Angels of Babylon and all I can say is wow. Right from the offset this album grabs your attention be it with the rapid fire drum pounding, break neck guitar playing or the epic powerhouse vocals as Rhino and co crank it up a notch and blast out tune after tune of pure unadulterated epic power metal pausing only to throw in the occasional stunning guitar solo.

‘Thundergod’, ‘Sondrio’, ‘What Have You Become’, ‘The Enemy’, ‘King Of All Kings’ and ‘Bullet’ ramming this point home while throwing in songs such as ‘Redemption’ and ‘Turning To Stone’ to show softer side to this powerhouse band. Overall ‘Thundergod’ continues the Angels Of Babylon rapid ascent in the ranks of great epic power metal bands and proves that there is still life to the band after that classic debut.

Throughout the album AOB prove why they are one of the most underrated epic power metal bands out there with songs such as

Dark Design Prey For The Future Label: Heaven And Hell Records Released: 10 September 2013 Reviewer: Stoodge McNulty Highlight: Dragonmount Website: https://www.facebook.com/darkdesignband

With so much endowment and finesse presented for an album with nine tracks especially when on this record it's difficult to comprehend the fact you consider how dissolute and toilsome the that this is a debut album, so let me introduce to album is throughout. you Dark Design. There is even a tremendous cover version of the These men hail from the Tar Heel State, North Kansas classic 'Dust in the Wind' as the album Carolina and you can't deny the groups closer and to be bluntly veracious Dark Design acquisition of this as on this release they sure have brilliantly made it into a newfangled anthem sound like they enjoy getting their paws dirty. that's sure to be a crowd pleaser in their live repertoire. Utilising influences from all genial of Thrash and the N.W.O.B.H.M the result is a compounding I haven't seen these guys live yet but I'm pretty piece of Metal mastery, this contains more sure they put on a hell of the show as this album elements of Metal than Iron Man standing with an does prove they have the tracks to support their erection in a crammed scrap yard. rising position on the live pedestal. Rolling in at forty eight minutes isn't a bad return

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The Devil Wears Prada 8:18 Label: Roadrunner Records/Warner Music Released: 16 September 2013 Reviewer: Jon Seymour Highlight: Sailor’s Prayer Website: http://www.tdwpband.com

Now this After Dark magazine is about the side of metal music I wouldn’t normally go out of my way to listen to, being old and set in my ways as I am. That said, if I’m to broaden my horizons, then I should at least give things a chance. This is why I volunteered for this album.

This album is loud, it’s brash, it’s brazen, and it’s basically a full on assault on your eardrums. I guess that’s the intention though. There are enough melodic moments in the music to provide a break in the otherwise relentless pummelling. Subtle is not a word I would use to describe it, that’s for sure.

Now I have heard of this band, having played the singles released from their previous album on my radio show, so I knew roughly what to expect. I also know that there’s a great deal of hype surrounding them, so I figured I’d see what all the fuss was about and listen to a full album.

So for this, my first venture into the darker side of metal, my thoughts are that I think I may explore the music further. The answer to whether I will listen to this album again is a definite maybe. It’s not that I would say no though, as there were some points where I thought it was actually quite good. I think I’d certainly give it a run through if I was really pissed at someone The album starts off with an electronic sounding song, or something, but it’s definitely something I’d need to and the vocals are hard, aggressive, and erm shouty? be in the mood for, and not something I’d put on just to Honestly, I would hardly call the majority of it “singing” listen to. Overall though, it’s not bad. It’s hard to rate it to be fair, because it clearly isn’t. There are some though, as I have absolutely nothing to compare it to, clean vocals on the album, but they are few and far so instead I’m going to have to use it as a benchmark between. There is also some rapping along the way. that all other albums of this genre that I listen to are It’s hard to put this album in any particular category, as measured against…. it contains elements from many different areas of music.

Ferocity The Sovereign Label: Deepsend Records Reviewer: Stoodge McNulty

Released: 3 September 2013 Highlight: No Rest For The Wicked

Website: https://www.facebook.com/Ferocity666

Having recently been embraced by Deepsend Records to release this album I'm sure the people at the label are ecstatic and can rejoice in their judgement of working with the band. If you want blast beats, coarse vocals and an unlimited array or monstrous riffs then these Danes have all of that plus more in their arsenal. When an album begins and concludes with the sound of a solitary gasmask you know there's going to be a musical bloodbath and you better get ready for the oncoming onslaught because

you may be left subsequently unhinged. The nucleus of this album is the track 'Abrupt Desolation' and how it uncloaks the melancholia of this record before the mighty title track explodes right into your face like C4 strapped to a Football. What I appreciate about this record is how it can manipulate your bodily functions without your control. Whilst beholding this vigorous album keep an eye out for some uncontrollable precipitation, wrenching and discomfort.

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Annihilator Feast Label: EMI Reviewer: Jon Seymour

Released: 26 August 2013 Highlight: Fight The World

Website: http://www.annihilatormetal.com

Annihilator are one of those bands that have been around for years, but with constant line up changes, the band never quite settled into getting their own identity. The thing is though, is that they always produce music of the highest quality, mainly thanks to visionary Jeff Waters. They have always been the thinking man’s thrash band, with thought provoking lyrics and intricate music. It’s a lot more than just noise with no purpose.

with different vocalists contributing to the album, there’s a variety among the music. Jeff’s trademark shredding and his ability to write really complex songs which present a degree of technicality are as prominent as ever. You may guess that I’m an admirer of Jeff, and I personally think he’s one of the most underrated guitarists out there, but of course Jeff doesn’t make the band by himself, even if he does remain the main driving force behind it.

So, how about the new album then? For the purposes of this review, I have the deluxe edition, which comes as a two disc bundle, with disc two basically being a compilation of Annihilator’s greatest hits. If Feast is your first venture into the band, then the deluxe edition is worth getting, as disc two contains some cracking songs. For fans of the band that are likely to have all of the albums already, then maybe the deluxe edition would offer nothing more than adding to your collection, but honestly, listening to disc two was a trip back to the past, and every track on it is a belter, so it’s a pleasure to listen to.

The music is top drawer, as you would expect, and once again the lyrics range from political, to apocalyptical, and more besides. The subject matter is really varied. Also included are some strange musical elements that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find on a thrash album. This just serves to add another dimension to the album, and it’s all the richer for it. I won’t spoil the surprises by mentioning them here, you’ll have to listen for your self, but suffice to say, there’s a few curveballs that I was not expecting in the slightest. All in all, Feast is an absolute corker of an album, and one that you should go out and buy at the earliest opportunity.

The new material is instantly recognisable, and

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Nhor Within The Darkness Between The Starlight Label: Prophecy Productions Reviewer: Lee Walker

Released: 30 August 2013 Highlight: Patient Hunter, Patient Night

Website: https://www.facebook.com/nhoruk

As I continue to sort through the gathered masses of releases this month I came upon â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Within The Darkness Between The Starlightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by the enigma that is Nhor.

connoisseurs of the dark, foreboding music scene will truly appreciate and for those people this album is simply put the epitome of excellence.

Released by Prophecy Productions it came as no surprise to me that musically the album was a mixture of deep, dark pulsating music and black metal style vocals, which when combined created an array of unearthly distorted vocals merged seamlessly with superbly crafted dark, gloom ridden, ambiance style sounds creating an almost macabre concept album. With songs averaging around the 11 minute mark in length, this album is one that only true

Argus Beyond The Martyrs Label: Cruz Del Sur Music Released: 7 October 2013 Reviewer: Stoodge Mc Nulty Highlight: The Hands Of Time Are Bleeding Website: http://www.argusmetal.com/home/

From the opening note of this album the influences from the original onslaught of the NWOBHM are clad over this release and are executed to perfection throughout.

euphonious vocals of singer Butch Balich on 'Cowards Path' these tracks briefly take the wayfaring listener into Candlemass territory.

These men from Pennsylvania have talent and This is the bands third full length release and just there's no doubting that, in fact it's the commix of like their self titled debut and their 2011 release their expertise and the power in their music that 'Boldy Stride The Doomed' this is a master class brings about so much continuity in their sound. in twin guitars and fist pumping anthems. It's extremely difficult to choose a stand out track It's not all Maiden worship on offer here though from this collection of eight as the album is so as Argus prove their diversity, mainly with the consistent but I'll go for 'The Hands of Time Are instrumental title track and 'Cowards Path' which Bleeding', with it's interchanging ceaselessness take the record into a doom landscape. and attune vocal delivery this is the linchpin of the record. With slow mercurial riffing and the unbroken

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Covenant Leaving Babylon Label: Metropolis Records Reviewer: Lee Walker

Released: 10 September 2013 Highlight: Prime Movers

Website: http://www.covenant.se/

Having not really heard of Swedish based Covenant I was somewhat apprehensive when I saw the rather plane looking album cover looking ominously at me while I started working through the albums that have popped up for review this month. Opening track ‘Leaving Babylon’ conjures up images of the ‘Reptile House’ e.p era Sisters of Mercy with its mix of electronica and spoken word style lyrics setting the scene for this latest offering from this grandiosely named band.

dark wave sounds leading on your journey to musical enlightenment. As the album continues you feel drawn more into the deliberately understated lyrical side of the band which really comes to the forefront of the album during ‘I Walk Slow’ as its poignant meanings really shine through giving you a deeper insight into the band.

Overall ‘Leaving Babylon’ continues the transition of the traditional early gothic sounds into the 21st ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ continues the Sisters type century whilst creating an album which screams to feel to the album with similarities both lyrically and spawn multiple remixes, and, if like me, you are musically with ‘Floodland’, as you are drawn listening to Covenant for the first time it will deeper into the album with its concept style feel certainly open your eyes up to this underrated enveloping you with its mix of deep ebm and subtle band.

Scalpel Sorrow And Skin Label: Sevared Records Released: 3 September 2013 Reviewer: Stoodge McNulty Highlight: The Woodsman Website: https://www.facebook.com/Scalpelofficial

With the depiction of a bloodied Chainsaw, freshly dredged intestines and a hanging cadaver on the cover it's easily perceivable that this is a one brutal death metal album that is consummate in barbarity and discourtesy. Tracks like 'Gutmulch', ''Mincemaster and 'Sentinels of Flesh' come across resonant to a minefield detonation experiment with Zombies. Adhering to the old school Death Metal sound is what these men from Boston do and they do it extremely well, think of a divested Aborted walking the plank into an ocean of Hydrofluoric Acid and you'll be close.

would have been higher had it not have been for the albums penultimate track and the very inopportune 'The Exterminator, Human Slaw' which is the sound of white noise static for eight full minutes. Unfortunately this takes away from what otherwise would have been a flawless inauguration into the Metal Sphere for this young band. Having recently supported Goreguts and soon to be playing precursor to the mighty Morbid Angel the foreboding of Scalpel going out and destroying that before mentioned Metal Sphere and immodestly ripping it's viscera out sounds highly obtainable.

I have given this release a rating of four which

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Thunderfuck & The Deadly Romantics Sexploitation Label: Self Release Reviewer: Jon Seymour

Released: July 2013 Highlight: Ain’t Too Old To Rock n Roll

Website: http://www.deadlyromantics.com

Ok then, seriously, when a band has a name such as this you immediately think “this must be a joke” right? Well maybe that’s just me, but the name is certainly one that is going to grab attention. Upon pressing play you’re introduced to a sleazy guitar riff as the opening track kicks in. This is way lower than gutter sleaze put it that way. This album sits firmly in the sewers, full of bad language, “fuck you” attitude and enough innuendo to make most people blush. Of course there’s also the more direct approach if you don’t quite grasp the innuendo, and there’s plenty of that too. Is it misogynistic? No not at all. Is it chauvinistic? It would seem so. Put it this way, you definitely wouldn’t want to play this to one of those militant bra-burning feminists unless you were a masochist. The thing is though, this is what the rock n roll attitude used to be all those years ago. I think this album is made with tongue firmly in cheek. It’s not meant to be something that you believe necessarily, but just take it

as it’s meant. Don’t bother listening to this if you’ve got no sense of humour, because you’ll take it much too seriously, and I don’t think that’s the way it’s meant to be taken, or at least I hope not. The main thing is, is that this album is a collection of songs that are just down and dirty fun. After listening to this album, you’ll probably want to shower for a week it’ll make you feel that dirty, but when you come out of the shower, you’ll go right back and listen to it again. It’s infectious, much like an STI. You have a lot of fun while you’re getting infected, but you might not necessarily feel proud about admitting it to your friends. Personally, I just thought it was great. This album made me smile from ear to ear, and some of the lyrics made me laugh out loud. Whether that was the intention of the band, or whether I’m in for the biggest lynching I’ve ever had for saying that remains to be seen. The lyrical content might not be to everyone’s taste, but for those with a dirty mind, or those with a good sense of gutter humour are going to lap this up.

Emblazoned The Living Magisterium EP Label: Deepsend Records Released: 3 September 2013 Reviewer: Stoodge McNulty Highlight: Refuge In Darkness Website: https://www.facebook.com/emblazoned666

The delegates on this record are ex members of Plewa chooses the damaging theology of religion as Jungle Rot, Decrepit Birth, Micawber and Decresent his theorem. which is probably why this 5 track EP is disbursing The track 'Refuge in Darkness' ferments as the of rusticity. pinnacle of this EP and also serves as the penultimate dark overture on this release. Opening track 'Premonition' plays as a cunning prelude before the outbreak of aggression and disorder expeditiously smashes into focus with the second track 'Extinction of Creation'. From here we are assaulted by the unrest of these dusk lusting Milwaukee based Metallars. Yes the corpus of what's on offer here is Black Metal but instead of adhering to lyrics concerning Satan, Hell and infernal damnation Vocalist Jeff

This impressive record concludes with the rupturing 'In Ex Cathedra' which might also leave you salivating for a sequel from these men pretty soon. Although only elapsing for fifteen minutes this serves as a sharp indicator of what the bands intents are and gives a clear outline of the Emblazoned anatomy.

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Headstones Love + Fury Label: FrostByte Media Reviewer: Lee Walker

Released: 23 September 2013 Highlight: Binthiswayforyears

Website: http://www.headstonesband.com

The Headstones originally formed way back in 1987 when they brought their breed of anti-social demeanour to the Canadian musical landscape before eventually imploding in 2003. Reforming in 2010 the Headstones continued where they left off with their mix of angst ridden blues infused punk rock. ‘Love + Fury’ starts where the band left off all those years ago with its infectious mix of punk rock with opening track ‘Change My Ways’ having the old school fuck the world type attitude stamped authoritatively all over it as Hugh Dillon’s raspy Southern accented vocals continue to convey the beer swilling, Hell raising messages of yesteryear as they carve out track

upon track of high intensity old school punk anthems even throwing a punked up cover of Abba’s ‘SOS’ into the mix. Throughout the album you can’t help but get the feeling that monsieur’s Hugh Dillon, Trent Carr, Tim White and Dale Harrison are enjoying this second wind as Headstones and I for one will be interested in seeing what they get up to next.

Abominant Onward To Annihilation Label: Deathgasm Records Released: 6 August 2013 Reviewer: Stoodge Mc Nulty Highlight: Conquerors Of Dust Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Abominant/152430868173200

They are self described as 'Trend Killing Goat Metal' track serve as nourishment to this famished monster of and on hearing this release I can genuinely understand an album. this tag. One flaw I did find on the album however is the track These guys are veterans of the scene in Kentucky and 'Hold Your Ground' and it's not that I don't like it, I this is their tenth (yes 10th) studio release and it is as actually think it's a great tune. The problem is it's an much as an old school album as you'd wish to hear. Exodus-Esque Thrash track on a Death Metal album and instead of having it as the albums swansong or One striking aspect of this album is how much it bonus track they've placed it third from last. bestowals a European Death Metal sound, it even has Unfortunatley this speculative inclusion seems out of an ambrosial cover of Hypocrisys 'Left To Rot' on here. place and leaves the final result of this album being a little mishaped and deformed. This is sure to keep any fan of the genre satisfied as the spine of the record comprimises considerably of Grinding it out on the scene for twenty years and now shivering riffagery, transfixing drums and viscus ripping being in double figures as album releases go you can't vocals. quarrel over the fact that Abominant are a band of deviance and they are one dedicated mutant of Tracks 'We are Coming' 'Battlescarred' and the title nonconformity.

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TBSO Toranga Righteous Retribution Label: Chuffing Hell Records Reviewer: Jon Seymour

Released: 2 September 2013 Highlight: The Ultimate Act Of Betrayal

Website: http://www.toranagauk.com

Whilst roaming around on Facebook, I saw something that grabbed my attention, a new album from Toranaga. Really? For those of you that don’t know, these guys produced (imo) two of the best British thrash albums of the time, namely their debut Bastard Ballads in 1988, which was followed up in 1990 by the stunning God’s Gift. However, this was the old days when label demands were very high, and the band were subsequently dropped from the label due to the album not selling as well as it should. The band then, as far as I know, disappeared into obscurity, never to be heard of again. Well they’re back, with a slightly changed line up, hence the name change to The Bastard Son Of Toranaga.

style. The thing is though, is that it’s not all manic speed. There are slower breaks and intros which give the music a duality, and provide moments of contrast. Of course the slower parts are just the calm before the storm as the music builds in pace and grows to a crescendo of glorious noise. The vocals are a lot harder and rough around the edges than I remember, but they actually add to the overall feel of the music, giving it a jagged sound.

This is very much a statement of intent, and it sounds like the band want to carry on where they left off. As such this is a more than worthy successor to the previous albums, and more to the point, it stands up equally well to the modern take on metal. There are a lot of people who are From the opening track, the sound is going to love this album, and I will confess to unmistakeable, and I’m instantly transported being among them. The songs are gritty, the back more than 20 years to that time when this lyrical content varied, and the production has band were kicking ass and taking names. This is been applied minimally. The result is something not a nostalgic trip down memory lane though, that’s angrier than a Tasmanian Devil with a because this is an album review, so I drag myself hornet’s nest stuck on its ass, and more than back to the present to listen to the album for the probably even more aggressive. Overall, this is music. It comes out kicking and screaming, oh quite simply a great metal album, and it’s most yeah this album means business. The sound is certainly worth crunching guitar, thundering bass lines and mad buying. drumming, and all overlaid with a menacing vocal

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Tyr Valkyria Label: Metal Blade Records Reviewer: Stoodge Mc Nulty

Released: 13 September 2013 Highlight: Another Fallen Brother

Website: https://www.facebook.com/tyrband

Time now for a concept album and this one in question concerns a horny Viking and his quest to find Freyja the goddess of love and ruler of the afterlife land of Folkvangr. If you are not already familar with Tyr and their brand of Faroese Folk Metal then this is a majestic introduction. Opener 'Blood of Heroes' instantaneously puts the listener into the myth laden narrative that persists from the the outset of this record. Tyr aren't like most Folk/Viking Metal bands, you just have to hear tracks like 'Nation' and 'Into the Sky' for affirmation of this. What also detatches Tyr from other Northern European bands is their Nationality, being proud of their heritage they have two songs on this opus 'Grindvisan' and 'Fanar Burtur Brandaljoo' that are in the native language of Faroese.

Onward now and to the final two tracks which are covers of Iron Maidens 'Where Eagles Dare' and Panteras 'Cemetary Gates' which the band furthermore do justice of. To put two cover tracks as the omega of an album does sound like a risk but to be honest you'll not hear better renditions of these two classics and the gamble that Tyr have taken has been a crowning success. For the whole hour that this album plays out it's nothing short of astonishing. It's tuneful, epical and triumphant. Unless we receive and abundance of fascinating albums over the next three months I can say with the utmost certitude that this will be in my 2013 top 10.

Liv Christine from Leaves Eyes features on the track 'The Lay of Our Love' which is the ballad of the album and serves as a nice respite with it's mid paced refinement and splendor. Something else that perserves the glory and prestige of this album is Heri Joensen, his unique talent as a vocalist to powerfully project so much radiance and spirit with his voice whilst keeping his delivery harmonious and constant is something to marvel at and admire.

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Sarke Aruagiant Label: Indie Recordings Released: 20 September 2013 Reviewer: Jon Seymour Highlight: Salvation Website: http://www.facebook.com/sarkeofficial

So this is a strange one. It’s one of those releases that sounded interesting before I listened to it. I thought I’d give it a spin to see what it was like, and all I can say is that its erm, different. It’s grindingly heavy, with riffs dripping with molten lead. All this is overlaid by almost dirge-like vocals that sound so raw that the vocalist must have been drinking cocktails of caustic soda, sand and broken glass.

which is quite infectious in its own way. The lyrical content too is varied, and more to the point, intelligent, so you can actually relate to a lot of them. The thing is though, is once again I’m completely out of my comfort zone, and I have no idea what to compare this to for a benchmark.

It’s certainly not something I would have gone out of the way to listen to had I heard any of it before reading about This makes for some interesting songs, and the album is it, if that makes sense? Having listened to it though, by pretty hard going to begin with. Succumb to it though, the middle of the album, I was hooked and wanted to and it opens up a lot more, and you can understand the listen all the way through. That’s some accomplishment intricate complexity woven into the music. This isn’t an on its own, as far as I’m concerned, although I didn’t all out assault, it’s more of a flank and come at you from dislike it from the beginning. It’s not a particularly fast behind while the artillery keeps you pinned down. It album, so there’s no insane shredding or machine gun reminds me so much of another band, but I can’t quite drumming, it’s just one of those slow and steady albums put my finger on who that is. that just pushes on with sheer brute force, much like a bulldozer. It’s a slow mover, but it’s seriously heavy, and As I mentioned, go beyond the initial heaviness, and will crush or push out of the way pretty much anything you’re exposed to some pretty groove laden music, that crosses its path.

Otargos Apex Terror Label: Listenable Records Reviewer: Lee Walker

Released: 16 September 2013 Highlight: Fallout

Website: http://www.otargos-terror.com/

Continuing though the ever increasing list of albums that have popped up this month I come across the aptly titled ‘Apex Terror’ by French metalers Otargos.

vocals resulting in a sound which is so extreme the Devil himself would be scared to listen to it. As the album unfolds there is little rest from the brutal audio assault, with the occasional instrumental sections providing nerve racking periods of suspense as you nervously await the oncoming barrage of sounds that is fired straight at you with deadly accuracy.

Described simply as being ‘dark extreme metal’ Otargos are certainly that as they head straight for the jugular with a sound which mixes the cold futuristic hardness of the industrial scene with brutal black metal vocals and punishing guitar work resulting in a living, breathing, pulsating mass of With ‘Apex Terror’ Otargos have once again sound enveloping you and dragging you straight to produced another destructive masterpiece Hell as you are pummelled mercilessly with wave continuing the rise of French extreme metal bands. upon wave of rapid fire guitar riffage and unearthly

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Asomvel Knuckle Duster Label: Bad Omen Records Reviewer: Lee Walker

Released: 7 October 2013 Highlight: Stranglehold

Website: https://www.facebook.com/ASOMVEL

Every so often you come across a band that has clearly taken a lot of inspiration for their sound from an existing band and nine times out of ten they get labelled as a tribute act and nothing more is heard from them, but that 1% that aren’t dumped into that category tend to make a huge splash when the light is finally shone upon them. Asomvel are within that 1% ~ quite frankly how I have never heard of these guys before astounds me.

‘Knuckle Duster’ starts off as it means to go on with a mix of pure unadulterated rock and fuckin roll as Asomvel wheel off track upon track upon track of.. well classic Motorhead really. Well when I say ‘classic Motorhead’ I mean the iconic tracks such as the remix of ‘Ace of Spades’, ‘Iron Horse’ or ‘Killed By Death’ and not their more cringe worthy efforts like their cover of ‘Stand By Your Man’ or the dated stuff like ‘Metropolis’ but I digress.

Imagine a version of Motorhead when everything is functioning at 100 % and that is as close as you could possibly get to Asomvel. Listening to these crazy fuckers is like discovering a version of Motorhead that has been sent back in time to bastidise the world using everything that made Motorhead what it is now without the errmmm well ‘B-side’ type songs that they have a habit of producing.

Simply put listening to ‘Knuckle Duster’ is like putting an edited version of a best of Motorhead into your cd player, this album needs to be played loud and proud.

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