Wonderbox Metal

Rude – Soul Recall (Review)

Rude are from the US and play Old-School Death Metal through and through. This is their début.

This is the kind of lumbering, rolling Death Metal that’s easy to like and full of good intentions. It’s an instantly familiar style of music and all of the hallmarks are in place for it to be a very welcoming listen.

Death, Autopsy, etc. – the usual reference points. This is not to belittle Rude, but they play a very specific genre of music so if you’re familiar with the greats you know what to expect here, and Rude deliver the goods.

The vocals have an unusual tint to them that sounds as if they’re scraping and tearing the singer’s throat raw on their way out of his mouth. Hopefully this isn’t the case, but you know what they say about suffering for your art…

The band have managed to capture that classic Death Metal sound from yesteryear and exploit this to the full with the crashing, fill-happy drums, prime riffage and widdly bass.

This is 44 minutes of enjoyable music played by people with a love of the genre and who know how to handle the material and do it justice. Have a listen to Soul Recall.

Interview with Narbeleth

Coming from Cuba and about to unleash A Hatred Manifesto, Narbeleth mean business. This is real Black Metal, unforced and ready to rage. I braved the darkness to find out more…

Give us a bit of background to Narbeleth

HAIL! NARBELETH was born back in 2008. At that time I played guitar on my previous band ANCESTOR, but I had many ideas that were out of this band concept, so I decided to create my own project. From the beginning NARBELETH was supposed to be a only a studio band, but two years later I decided to give a concert, and since then I’ve played in some occasions. To the date I’ve released “Dark Primitive Cult” demo, “Diabolus Incarnatus” album, “Hail Black Metal!” Ep, and now is almost out “A Hatred Manifesto”, the 2nd album.

What are your influences?

My influences come from the early Scandinavian Black Metal mainly. BATHROY, DARKTHRONE, ARCKANUM, JUDAS ISCARIOT, early TORMENTOR, LORD BELIAL, are among my main inspirations.

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

These days I’m listening to SKOGEN, SKYFORGER, DEAD TO THIS WORLD, DEMONICAL, NORTHERN PLAGUE, CRAFT, KULT, WARDRUNA… Bands that worth to check out for sure if you haven’t yet!

How do you feel about the wider Black Metal scene?

Yes, the Black Metal scene has become wider in the last years, and that’s good from the point of view of a revival of the essence in bands that create this art based in the early concept of it. Now, what is disgusting is all this trend of new suicidal and depressive Black Metal, and that’s so lame!!!! Black Metal is about strength, about supremacy of the individual and his power to grow up spiritually and become whatever you want, without any boundaries or limits.

Did you have any particular aims when you started to put together A Hatred Manifesto?

Absolutely! First of all, I wanted to get a better sound quality, and that’s one of the reasons this album delayed more than I was predicted; and also I wanted to go a little further with this albums that what I accomplished with the previous releases, and Folter Records gave me this opportunity.

Are you happy with how it turned out?

I am very happy with the general result; with the album itself, in all aspects, and with the release and work by Folter Records.

Tell us about the lyrics and themes running through the release

My lyrics are about Black Metal, about my life, and my vision of the world and how religions lead humanity to a cliff by creating intellectual barriers to people. I write about the freedom and the power every human have inside to be greater every day.

How do you write your songs?

First I compose riffs using the guitar; maybe I do a complete song, maybe I make a riff and then it fits to a previous recorded one… that depends on my inspiration. Then, when I have the whole song I do the drums and finally the lyrics

Did the recording process go smoothly?

Yes, it was slow, but efficiently. I work when I feel inspired and with no pressure so all can flow spontaneously and the most natural. I don’t like to force the creative process.

How do you see your sound/direction developing in the future?

NARBELETH’s sound is what you know already, and that will be the path to follow in the future. Black Metal is the lead, and I will follow it step by step always in NARBELETH.

What’s next for Narbeleth?

Right now I’m preparing to perform at the mighty Under the Black Sun festival next July, so see you all there raising fists and horns in the name of Black Metal. After I return from Europe I will begin to compose for the next album.

HAIL!

Ruins/Usnea – Split (Review)

This split is between German band Ruins and Usnea who are from the US.

Ruins are first with their track Discrimen. It starts with an eerie riff and then builds in the bass and drums with a lumbering gait like some twisted swamp creature stalking its prey. This develops into a very satisfying riff that still manages to sound a little uneasy even while it’s rocking out.

The vocals are dirty and deep, sounding like some balaclava-wearing bruiser who’s only out to hurt you. These change about halfway through to a slightly more emotive sounding semi-clean and the song becomes energised.

Ruins are a curious blending of Crust/Hardcore and Sludge with even a slight hint of Post-Metal in the mix. Either way it makes for an enticing listen and I think I’ll be looking into what else this band has done.

After Ruins we get Usnea with Only the End of the World. Usnea are great band who have released an excellent self-titled début album of Blackened Doom, which I heartily advise everyone to immediately go and get. I was especially interested to hear their half of this split as at just under 6 minutes in length it’s a lot shorter than any of the songs on their album.

Their contribution is slower and more monolithic than that of Ruins; with the song seemingly dragging itself along against the burden of time immemorial.

The chasm-like vocals seem to open wide and swallow the light. They appear like fissures under the foundations of the song and it seems like it would be so easy to fall into the blackness there. Later as the higher vocals come in the massive holes in the world are replaced with piercing shrieks that cause their own no-less fatal puncture wounds.

Usnea don’t disappoint. It may be shorter than their other work but that doesn’t stop them from making the most of the playing time and ramming it chock full with Doom delights.

A highly recommended EP. Two great songs from two great bands. Seek it out.

Incarnated – Try Before Die (Review)

This is Polish Brutal Death Metal band Incarnated’s third album.

Incarnated are all about the pure brutality and the sickening smashing and blasting. They are the kind of band that revel in gore and gruesome, still-living dissections.

This is heavy and fast. The drums show no mercy and the vocals are deeper than a well of blood.

The guitarists play like their life depends on it. Rather unusually for Brutal Death metal of this style they pretty much have the Swedish Death Metal sound to their guitars; all chainsaw sounding but mangled by the non-Swedish styled riffing. It sounds great don’t get me wrong, just a little incongruous at first; like Dismember playing Goregrind/Exhumed/Aborted covers almost. It’s a good way to differentiate themselves from the bloody masses however, and it gets my vote.

The songs are relentless and continuously march forwards propelled by the untiring efforts of the superhuman drummer. Occasional spurts of melody or solos leak out of the mashed up corpse only to be stemmed quickly and efficiently lest the victim expire too soon.

I must say I’m enjoying this. The songs are satisfyingly extreme and they hit that sweet spot reserved for quality Metal only.

If you like Brutal Death Metal then you should eat this up. Open wide.

Voice of Ruin – Morning Wood (Review)

Coming from Switzerland, here we have Voice of Ruin.

A bit of an enigma this band in some ways; from the song titles I was expecting gore/porn-obsessed Death Metal but then the artwork is a bit unusual for that. Couple that with the band’s tendency to dress as farmers it tends to throw you a bit.

When you finally press play the style of music is actually a thoroughly modern Metalcore/Thrash influenced melodic Death Metal. From everything else about this release and the band, it’s quite unexpected.

Imagine Killswitch Engage and Lamb of God getting together to do a more extreme side band, (less commercial cleans, some blast beats, etc.); throw in a few modern Melodic Death Metal influences such as The Black Dahlia Murder and you should be there.

The sound is immense and state-of-the-art, with all of the instruments honed to crushing perfection and all aimed at utterly destroying. It does the music justice.

The songs are well written and have that thoroughly modern melodic crunch to them that will probably have just as many people running away from the band as running to them, such is the divisive nature of this kind of genre for some people.

It’s good though, very good, so don’t let preconceptions put you off discovering a talented band.

Valdrin – Beyond the Forest (Review)

This is the debut release from US Black Metallers Valdrin.

Valdrin play Melodic Black Metal; if you think of Dissection, Old Man’s Child, Dimmu Borgir and Emperor as your starting points you’ll get the right idea.

That’s not to say this is overly symphonic or orchestrated though; Valdrin may tip their toe in that genre of Black metal but they firmly live on the darker, harsher side of the Melodic Black Metal spectrum.

The orchestration and effects they employ are subtler than the more overt side of Dimmu Borgir and even Emperor, and are mere enhancements to the songs rather than the driving force.

The band know how to effortlessly mix aggression and melody, and have a good amount of variety in their compositions for this genre. They even employ a few solos; unusual for Black Metal but a very welcome addition.

The pure-blooded Black Metal vocals work well and complement the darkness of the music.

This is atmospheric Black Metal with none of the pomp and plenty of bite. It’s good to hear a few bands playing this style recently and bringing back the good old days of harsher Black Metal whilst still retaining some melodies and a sense of atmosphere.

Highly enjoyable.

Favourite Track: Beyond the Forest. Epic and empowering.

Interview with Nux Vomica

Nux Vomica’s latest, self-titled, album is one giant mass of quality. No need to say more than that. You should go and get it. So without further ado let’s find out a bit more…

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

I’m Just Dave, vocalist and percussionist. Not familiar with my band? Check us out here:

https://www.facebook.com/nuxvomicaband

Give us a bit of history to Nux Vomica.

We’re a punk band who learned how to play better, so now people call us “extreme metal”, which is appropriate considering how much Mountain Dew some of us drink. We started in Baltimore in about 2003, moved to Portland in 2006, had some lineup changes ending in 2008, and here we are. Our 3rd LP is out now and we have a slew of other releases. For the last year we’ve taken time off to work on other projects, and our guitarist Chris had a baby. This year we hope to get back to jamming and playing shows!

What are your influences?

This is a classic interview question, and in our case it’s so hard to answer. Here’s a very incomplete list of band members’ favourite bands: CRASS, VIOLENT FEMMES, PUBLIC ENEMY, MORNE, BLACK SABBATH, METALLICA, MISFITS, BLIND GUARDIAN, CEE-LO GREEN, DEVO, THE B-52S, PUBLIC ENEMY, DEAD MOON, THE RESIDENTS, LOW, DYSTOPIA, JUCIFER, QUEEN, MACHO MAN RANDY SAVAGE, JAY REATARD, HIS HERO IS GONE, AMEBIX, THE CURE…. I’m just stopping there.

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

THIN LIZZY – Live and Dangerous. Damn good house cleaning music!

What did you want to achieve with your new album?

We wanted to agree on anything. Since that was obviously not gonna happen, we figured we’d cram our songs full of so many ideas that they became almost 12 to 20 minutes long. Then we had to figure out how to put it all on an album that sounded cohesive. 5 years later, it’s out!
Are you happy with how it turned out?

Yes we definitely are. I think all the hard work and time we put into it is very apparent. No part of any song went unscrutinized by us. We got very meticulous about how we wanted everything to sound, and some of us went back in the studio multiple times to re-record parts. In particular the extra percussion was an issue. Trying to do what we do live sounded like a clusterfuck, so we scaled down the extra drumming. I think it turned out great.

What can you tell us about the lyrics?

“Sanity is for the Passive” is about the idea that being labelled “insane” to me means you are reacting correctly to your surroundings in this world. Being labelled “sane” means you have been successfully assimilated into the insanity. “Reeling” is about a guy I knew who almost drank himself to death. People had to break into his house and take him to detox. Empty vodka bottles were littered everywhere. I’m pretty sure he is drinking again these days. “Choked at the Roots” is basically my theory on how people started down the path to being power mad ruiners of everything. Overall this is very dark album lyrically. Read all the lyrics here:

http://punkrockmuppet.blogspot.com/

Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.

Usually one person has an idea of the entire song structure and brings the riffs to practice and we all pick it apart and build on it. We rarely have a plan of the length of a song, we just let it grow and if it starts getting boring we start scrapping parts and re-working others. We spend a good deal of time on transitions between parts. We like to the longer songs to flow well and remain interesting. We try to avoid the typical “this part ends, the guitars bring in the next riff, everyone else joins in” way of writing punk and crust songs. The lyrics for these newer songs were largely written at practice while the band was jamming. That was because the songs started getting too long and complicated to just bring a bunch of lyrics I wrote and fit them in like I used to.

How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?

We have about four new songs, and we were working on more last year before we decided to take a break. The newer batch of songs are more thrashy and shorter than this LP, and people were really into them when we played em live. We also started playing a WAKE UP ON FIRE song that was never recorded. I think once we get back to jamming we’ll see where we’re going beyond that.

What’s next for Nux Vomica?

Practice! We haven’t played in a year. We need to re-learn our songs, shake off the cobwebs and get back to it. I think we’re ready.

Cheers,

Thanks!

Power Trip – Manifest Decimation (Review)

Power Trip are from the US and this is their début album of Crossover Thrash.

This is angry, violent Thrash Metal with a large Crossover influence that recalls the best of Old-School Hardcore, (Cro-Mags, Black Flag, etc).

The sound is huge and the drums sound as if each snare drum hit is a bomb exploding. The vocals are smothered in reverberation and sound as if they were recorded in a cave somewhere.

The songs are angry and buzzing with an energy that just screams, (literally), how passionate they are about their chosen path.

This is music that demands to be let loose in the live environment. Pick a song here and you’ll be able to rip and tear it up in the pit; stomp and smash to the pounding beats. One listen to pretty much any of these songs and you’ll want to get caught in a mosh all over again.

It’s as if the spirit of 80’s Hardcore was being channelled through the lens of gritty Thrash Metal. Power Trip are that lens.

Black Emerald – B.O.D (Review)

Black Emerald are from the UK and play gritty Metal with a Sludge edge.

The band have a Southern Metal/Sludge influence to their sound that adds some extra bite to proceedings. They also give us some solos, which is always welcome.

The sound is rough and raw but allows the spiky riffs to claw their way through. Rather than be held back by the primitive production the band make it work for them; they warp and distort it to their needs until it becomes little more than another sonic weapon in their arsenal.

The vocals are gruffly melodic with some harsher growls thrown into the mix now and again. They are assured and use interesting patterns and melodies. They are also confident enough as a unit to occasionally lay off the vocals for long enough to let the music do the talking and let the guitars lead the way.

There’s three songs here that act as a showcase for the band. Each song is a filthy juggernaut of underground Metal riffs and belligerent anger.

Blood Sport has a strong Sludge influence to the sound and is the audio equivalent of barbed wire.

The title track B.O.D features slightly higher vocals for some parts and has a bouncy, Southern feel to it that gives the track a Rocky edge, albeit one haunting the murkiness.

The final track Figure on a Barb Wire Cross is lumbering Rocker that crosses the previous two tracks to create a mutated rager.

Black Emerald have stumbled on a style that fuses Metal with an aspect of Sludge in such a way that it doesn’t sound done to death; it sounds quite fresh in fact. Hopefully this release will be the first of many, and I look forward to what comes next from this promising band.

Interview with Decembre Noir

Decembre Noir’s début album A Discouraged Believer is a polished Doom/Death Metal release, dripping with raw and bloody emotion. It has that mystery ingredient that lifts a band above the norm into the higher realms. We decided it was important to delve a bit deeper into the background of the album to find out what makes it tick…

Give us a bit of background to Decembre Noir

Hi, I’m Lars, vocalist from Decembre Noir. So I’d like to give you my reply!

We are 5 (nice) guys from East-Germany, from the region round Erfurt, the capital from Thueringia (one of the “states” from Germany). Besides our bandproject our “baby” – almost all of us have a normal life with job and own family.

What are your influences?

Katatonia, Opeth, In Mourning, October Tide, Swallow The Sun, My Dying Bride, Anathema and Paradise Lost! 😉

I characterize the style/sound of the album!

Dark + heavy = Décembre Noir!!! “A Discouraged Believer” is a fucking doom/death monster!

Our sound in the main has become some stronger and the structures of the songs who already has been available have changed to become much more better. More Death and Black metal elements and many melodies gave the songs their final outfit. Last but not least the classical influence from the cello. In private we all listen to different music and so it was used a little bit from all our musical tastes. The good combination is doing his work!

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

Haha, Katatonia’s “Brave Murder Day” ! I LOVE this album! Every song on this record is a Doom-Metal-Diamond! My favorite song on this album is “Brave” !!! Fucking great!!! I love it!!!

What did you want to achieve with your new album?

We want to have a solid mainstay in the metal-scene! 😉

We would like to play on the bigger festivals in summertime, lovely, but unfortunately for that year we haven’t got any acceptances. We hope it is possible next year because it must be a very special experience to play stages like With Full Force, Summer Breeze, Partysan, Hellfest or In Flammen!

Are you happy with how it turned out?

Absolutely!!! We are full of proud and very happy about our first album!!! We love this record!!!

What can you tell us about the lyrics?

So to speak we have a basic concept in our album „A discouraged believer“. You can speak about the classical main idea who you can find inside the album. Nevertheless every song is standing for itself.

It tells about the journey of a young man who is trying to find every day the meaning in his life and way. It seems he has reached a deadlock, only he is looking at the obstacles in his weekday, the typical problems which become more and more and can overtax someone and no idea how to change something, because he is get stuck somehow… So like in “Thorns”.

Our protagonist is searching for that, what we call “God”, but can’t find “Him” or any answers. That’s why he is discouraged, cause he has understood, that he can’t get any help from a “greater power” and he has to go his life way and find the meaning behind that all alone.

For instance in “Stowaway” is the theme suicide to see a chance for a new begin in life (But to forestall any critical readers or regarding this potential concerned or endangered people: Don’t panic, nobody from us will incite anybody for do that!!! Please do not misunderstand!). Much more is the thought what is standing behind that song, bother things who weigh heavily upon our mind to leave behind, finish with them and try to orientate to another direction respectively to find a better way to arrange the life.

On following song “Resurrection” the name is program It reflects the start in a new life.

For myself the album is one of my most personal things, what I have written yet in my life. Have putted lots of time and heart-blood in that album. So many people has fought in life with similar piled up problems, whether in job, relationship, family…and already we all were standing for the question, who is the meaning of all and finally comes to the result if you want life better you have to make a personal breakout and has to change by yourself a lot!

Decembre Noir Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.

Already the songs before sounded really good and varied, but of course because of the teamwork with Ali they became much better! For us all that was an unbelievable experience! We have worked with diverse guest singers and musicians. For example one of my best friends Tele (guitar player of the German Pagan/Black metal band “Hangatyr”), who gave us some clean vocals for the songs “Decembre noir” and “Resurrection”. Alis girlfriend Katharina, who is singing with me in “Escape to the sun” a duet. Not to forget our lady on the cello, Nicole, who has shown her talent by the Darkwave band “Other Day”. Just that records with the Cello have been very interesting, for Ali too, because for him it was the first time to working with such an very nice sounded instrument. Mix a cello in your music and you will get an unbelievable atmosphere. We have experimented with Synthisounds too. You can be exciting about really great moments.

At least we are happy about the result of our job!

Well, we had a very special time and a lot of fun during recording and have to say we grew as musicians and band! We were much more glad, when Eike O. Freese (Dark Age) offered us to mix and master our album together with Ali in Hamburg! On that place a great “Thank you” to both and we hope we can mix and master our next album with Ali and Eike again!
How do you see your position in the wider Doom/Death Metal musical framework/genre?

We are a tiny star on the big metal-heaven! But we want to grow! Latest with the next album! 😉

What’s next for Decembre Noir?

Looking for gigs…Well till then we will use the free time to work on next songs. We have lots of ideas and material. Guess we will start again in autumn – with pleasure!

So you will hear from us – enjoy our album and stay heavy and dark!!!

Regards from Lars!!!

Thanks!