Wonderbox Metal

Interview with Aktaion

A Melodic Metal release with real bite and attitude? Enter Aktaion’s début album, Throne. It’s an album that makes a mark and will rightfully be giving the band some deserved exposure. It’s time to find out a bit more about the band…

For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!

Francis: We are four individuals from Halmstad, Sweden. A medium sized city in Halmstad, known for being the home of Roxette and Arch Enemy among other things. We are:
Me, Francis Larsson, on guitars and most of the writing and anything production-wise.
Jonas Snäckmark, vocals and some beautiful screaming!
Axel Croné, bass and anything that you need to blow into.
Jonatan Ney, guitars and backing vocals.

Give us a bit of background to Aktaion

Francis: Aktaion as it is today was together under another banner in 2010-2013 where a lot of the playing and writing for Throne took place. With the release of Throne in 2015 we wanted to reform as Aktaion, without much changing except the attitude towards the band and music! This is why you will find us referencing to the “early days” of us in the group playing together before Aktaion was formed.

Where did the name come from?

Francis: While recording vocals for Seven in the current home of Axel we were in the process of finding a name for the band. While warming up I picked up a big book which contained myths and symbols from different cultures and almost at the first page I came across Aktaion and we felt at home right away. Aktaion is the Swedish version of Actaeon, the ancient myth of a hunter who comes across Artemis in the woods, bathing naked. Actaeon is therefore to be turned into a stag by Artemis if he is to speak again. He speaks and is then devoured by his dogs.

What are your influences?

Francis: I find inspiration almost everywhere. I listen a lot to non-metal like Ulver, Swedish Bo Kaspers Orkester. But of course I also listen to some metal, lately a lot of Pantera and Soilwork, which I discovered a couple of months ago. Always in for some Machine Head or Baroness and some Arch Enemy, especially their older records.

Jonas: Zappa, Lamb of god, At the gates, Primus and Gojira.

What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?

Francis: Except all of our new songs, all the time, all day… I listen to the latest Bo Kaspers Orkester. And of course all the classic Christmas songs.

Jonas: Son of Mr. Green Genes – Zappa, great track with a great flow that suits every situation of the day. And Moral in Corrosion – Construcdead, great song with impeccable refrain!

Give us a bit of background to Throne – any particular concepts or ideas you want to discuss?

Francis: As of a unified concept for all the songs on Throne, no! Those songs are truly “old” for us now. I started writing some of them as early as 2010 and the last one was finished by 2012-2013 and finally released in 2015. There is quite a span of time between that. In writing the lyrics I always have some kind of a vision ranging from destruction by nuclear war to critique towards faith in general.

This differs quite radically from our upcoming album where there is a strong concept behind the whole album and I strive to bring a strong connection not only in the music itself but also throughout the lyrics of the whole album.

How do you go about writing your songs?

Francis: Wow this really changed through the years. For Throne the songs were mainly written with the help of Guitar Pro 5. In the recording the guitars a lot of the parts and riffs changed and then with adding the vocals they could change yet again. Very few of the songs were played together as a band and written in the moment. Almost always I would bring complete songs into the rehearsals.

Nowadays I mostly write directly into Pro Tools through the Kemper. With the help of Addictive Drums the songs grow through the movement of the guitars which forms the base of all the songs. With us not doing any rehearsal now our first encounter with the songs are while recording them.

Was it important to you to keep a high-level of aggression on these songs?

Francis: Yes, and yes. In a lot of ways that is a must! Either there is a chorus, an aggressive build up or pure aggression. I always strive to make the riffs and music themselves stand alone in delivering aggression and power, and then the vocals just add to that base I tried to establish.

How did the recording process go?

The recording process of Throne was long. Years. Not because it needed it but because we did not know what we were doing in the beginning. In the early days Jonatan played keyboard in the band. So the first version of Throne (say 2011) was quite different from the finished product you hear now. Then came a long process of trying to make the record sound anything like a record and periods of not even thinking about it. For some reason (quality based) we re-recorded the guitars and bass in 2014 with Jonatan changing to guitar and therefore re-recording most of the keyboards parts with the guitar. I found that the sound the songs needed came through much better without the keyboards in between everything. It got a much rawer sound which the songs really thrive in. Then in the summer of 2015 I came to a point when I though we need to get out of this prison so I got the logo for the album, released it and felt freedom. Then my life opened up again and I and the band realized our music is fun! Which is very much the reason why we are working towards our new album right now!

What’s your favourite song on the album and why?

Francis: Hard to pick one, I have a real love/hate relationship with each and every one of them. Nothing really beats the chorus at the end of The Disease but that special song for me is M.A.D!

Jonas: Thousands, just because it gives everyone a chance to show off the skills and mindset of the band, although I love Prison Walls, Thousands gives so much with its complexity and nuance.

What does the future hold for Aktaion?

Francis: Right now we are deep into writing and recording our next album The Parade Of Nature. We just released our first single of it called ‘Seven’. It is quite a ripper and does not hold anything back, even in some ways go from the classic down-tempo-choruses-trend we heard on Throne. There will be more of that on the album as a whole but this song sets the bar for what Parade is all about.

The Parade Of Nature will be released early 2016 and then we are hitting the road in the last two weeks of March for several dates in Sweden and Finland, together with Finland’s own Coraxo. We are looking into mainland of Europe for June!

Triumvir Foul – Triumvir Foul (Review)

Triumvir Foul are a Death Metal band from the US and this is their début album.

Triumvir Foul’s first release, An Oath of Blood and Fire, was a blistering taste of the band’s Old-School Death Metal, and on this full-length they expand upon this early filthy promise.

It’s cold, it’s evil, and it’s fucking dark; it’s Triumvir Foul. One of the things I enjoy about this band is the aura of malignant darkness that they produce so well. They just seem to bleed malevolence and grim atmosphere. There’s no gimmicks, it’s just filthy, evil, Old-School Death Metal that’s positively rabid in its hunger for your soul.

For a band like this it would be too easy to just stick to the slow tempos and let the morbid atmospheres do the work, but thankfully they don’t take the easy route; they throw in some higher speed parts and some blast beats and yet still, amazingly, manage to sound nasty and sinister.

This is some top quality work from Triumvir Foul. Such a murky, corrupt sound should always be praised and Triumvir Foul have some damn good songs to go along with the vile atmospheres too.

Very highly recommended.

Desecresy – Stoic Death (Review)

This is the fourth album from Finnish Death Metallers Desecresy.

We’ve met Desecresy before with their third album, Chasmic Transcendence.

This is Old-School Death Metal that mainly favours a mid-paced/slow assault, with morbid atmospheres and Doom/Death influences.

If you imagine a band like Bolt Thrower and add a bit of Doom/Death flourishes then you’ll have a good idea of where Desecresy are coming from. It’s a simple and effective formula that sees the band steamroll through these 35 minutes with warlike ease.

The vocals growl raggedly while the music trudges relentlessly onwards. Emotive and sinister leads provide a lot of depth for the tracks. The rhythm guitars focus on providing a murky backdrop for the songs and the drums and bass underpin everything in their own unhurried way. In fact, special note should be made of the bass, as occasionally it takes a more central role than the instrument usually does, and those bits in particular sound niiiiice.

So, with good songwriting Stoic Death is an enjoyable trip into Desecresy’s world. At this stage in their career they obviously know what they’re doing and the songs on Stoic Death are accomplished slabs of deathly darkness.

Devotees of Old-School Death Metal be sure to check this out.

Attan – From Nothing (Review)

Attan are from Norway and play Hardcore/Post-Hardcore. This is their début EP.

Coming across as an unholy mix of bands like Vision of Disorder, Will Haven, Converge and Neurosis, Attan are heavy and intense.

This music is dark and visceral, containing a primal rage and destructive intensity. The songs are passionate exemplars of heaviosity that pay tribute to their influences while making their own way down the ill-lit avenues of dark Hardcore; Continue reading “Attan – From Nothing (Review)”

Standing Ovation – Gravity Beats Nuclear (Review)

This is the second album from Finnish Progressive Metallers Standing Ovation.

At 62 minutes in length and featuring lofty concepts, this has Progressive Metal stamped all over it.

It’s a multifaceted release with plenty of variety of delivery throughout; everything from straight-ahead rockers to slower, more considered ballad-esque types to full-blown 18 minute Progressive workouts. It’s all wrapped up in the band’s own Metal framework, of course, but I like the fact that each song basically has its own character and personality.

There’s clearly a lot of talent and skill on this album; both the musicianship and songwriting are of a very high standard. With plenty of leads and solos, and not just by the guitars, this album has a lot to get your teeth into. This would be nothing without songs though, but thankfully there’s plenty of those.

The singer has a versatile voice that, like the music, is used in a great variety of ways throughout the album. He manages to sing in many different styles, including adding a theatrical or dramatic edge when needed.

The songs drip quite easily onto the palette, and despite the quality musicianship there’s little here to put off prospective listeners, (assuming they like the style in the first place). The mix of Melodic Metal and Progressive Metal is well-judged with the former supplying an immediate hit of catchiness and the latter allowing the band room to explore and add depth to the songs.

The album gives the impression of a vast melodic journey into far-flung worlds with these songs as the guides. It’s a very impressive and enjoyable release and I urge you to check it out.

Good songs, well played. Recommended.

Chronoboros – Dialing up the Cutter (Review)

Chronoboros are from Greece and play Sludge-fuelled Hardcore. This is their début EP.

Chronoboros play a mix of Sludge/Hardcore that shares some features of Alternative Metal and Noise Rock in its sideways approach. It reminds me of the early-to-mid-90s style in some ways, albeit with a modern delivery and a distinct personality all of its own.

Combining elements of bands such as Fudge Tunnel, Association Area, Kowloon Walled City, No Anchor, Helmet, The Dillinger Escape Plan and a plethora of others, this is an interesting and enjoyable release that shows that a band can be inventive while still having the capacity to rock out hard.

The music is complex and involved. It has a lot of depth and layers to it meaning that although these songs are quite short they make a good impression. Heavy sections compete for space with less-conventional parts and there’s a lot of good ideas on this EP that are barely explored before the band hop off once again on another exploratory trip into their unusual world.

The vocals combine harsher screams with more unusual semi-spoken vocalisations. It works a treat and is thankfully the right side of quirky.

There’s a lot of talent and promise on this release. It’s only 15 minutes long, so what excuse do you have for not checking it out?

That’s what I thought.

Voros – Diseased Deity (Review)

Voros are a Death Metal band from Australia and this is their début album.

If heavy Death Metal with good riffs and pacing is your thing then look no further. Voros feature a thorough approach to Death Metal that sees them take the Classic style and infuse it with a modern energy.

Believe it or not, but Diseased Deity covers a lot of bases; Death, Thrash, Progressive, Technical and Modern Metal are all thrown into the blender and feed into this Death Metal feast.

The vocals are savage shouts full of anger and hatred which seem to lash out of the music like diseased barbs. The singer has a touch of the Meshuggah about him, giving his voice a different edge to that of the normal Death Metal vocalist.

The songs are well-written and see the band showing off what they do, whether it’s riff-hungry, mid-paced Thrashing, faster complexity or blasting destruction.

I like the combination of older and modern influences that give this a feel of Lamb of God and Gojira conspiring together to cover Morbid Angel, Death and Immolation tracks. It’s a really good way to approach this album; modern fire with tried-and-tested Old-School steel. On Diseased Deity it all comes together perfectly and the songs are an interesting, varied and engaging vision of what the band want to achieve.

The various influences work together very well to produce an album that takes from several different styles, with the band having enough skill and talent to make it all their own. Diseased Deity is very impressive and these songs have both immediate appeal and longevity of delivery.

This is a great find. I recommend you get hold of this immediately.

Ripping Death – Tales of the Ripper (Review)

This is the début release from Ripping Death, an Old-School Death Metal band.

A mere 13 minutes in length, this release is the first calling card for their thoroughly morbid take on Old-School Death Metal.

Here we have three original tracks and a Cianide cover. The music has a resolutely 80s feel and the songs are simple, catchy and full of vigour.

Fast riffs and furious solos fly out over pounding, warm-sounding drums and a singer that sounds like he has been unearthed from some long-lost crypt.

There’s something very satisfying about this kind of music. It’s an authentic take on an earlier version of the genre, focusing on a time when songs were more important than speed and feeling was valued higher than technicality. Ripping Death succeed very well in achieving what they set out to do with Tales of the Ripper, and this a ripping, (ahem), collection of songs that are chock full of riotous, catchy hooks and distinctly morbid atmospheres.

Yes, we’ll have some more of this, please.

Affliction Gate – Dying Alone (Review)

This is the latest EP from French Death Metal band Affliction Gate.

This is strong, slick Death Metal with a good sound and plenty of nice riffs.

The singer sounds like he’s moving rocks around in his throat; there’s no issues in this department.

Meaty riffs and headbanging grooves feature strongly, as do the darkened melodies that seem to roll along with the double bass drums. Solos are included too, which are always nice to hear, and along with the lead-work the tracks on Dying Alone are given an emotive edge to go along with the brutality.

Affliction Gate have released a short-but-strong EP that is full of that timeless brand of Death Metal; it’s hard to ever get tired of the style and the band play it with ease and skill. It features elements from many different eras of Death Metal in its roiling make-up, but ultimately a band like this is mainly concerned with the songs themselves and how they hammer themselves into your brain.

A recommended listen.

Novallo – Novallo II (Review)

Novallo are a Progressive Metal band from the US. This is their second EP.

Well, there’s a lot going on here. At only 22 minutes long this features more creativity and ideas than most albums three times the length. This is Experimental Metal featuring elements of the Progressive style as well as Jazz, Funk, Djent and Electronica influences.

This EP is a like a bright, shiny beacon of exciting and interesting music. It’s like the proverbial breath of fresh air. Of course, it won’t be for everyone, (but then again what is?), but these groovy and imaginative tunes certainly can’t be accused of lacking ambition or flair.

The singer’s voice is smooth and slinky, fitting in with the ultra-modern delivery of the music with ease. He’s like a Rock version of Jamiroquai.

Try to imagine a Djent base mixed in with a Progressive edge, Electronica melodies and added Jazz/Funk. Periphery meets Incubus meets Jamiroquai? It’s not far off.

The music is like an unusual version of a Pop hit, only with added guitars. It’s quite rare these days to hear a band doing something so completely their own, but Novallo are doing this more than most others.

Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to freak out to music that doesn’t care what you call it, but just wants you to feel the groove and move.

A hit, to be sure.