Interview – Page 19 – Wonderbox Metal

Interview with De Profundis

Paul Nazarkardeh, (guitarist), was kind enough to answer a few questions about the latest De Profundis stormer Kingdom of the Blind. This is the second interview I’ve done with this exceptional band, the first occurring shortly after their Frequencies EP was released; I think it’s important to support good music wherever and whenever you can, and De Profundis are one of the best Death Metal bands in the UK at the moment. A bold claim? Not if you’ve heard Kingdom of the Blind…

For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself

As the interview title probably suggests – we are De Profundis. We hail from the United Kingdom and play an intricate, mercurial form of death metal, free of gimmickry and bullshit. In truth, the best possible introduction to De Profundis can be found in the first song of our upcoming album Kingdom Of The Blind – Kult of the Orthodox. It introduces us better than I possibly could here.

Give us a bit of background to De Profundis

De Profundis has existed for 10 years, and have evolved and transformed much in that time. Kingdom Of The Blind will be the band’s 4th LP, following on from last year’s Frequencies EP. The band have played in 24 different countries alongside names some familiar names such as Immolation, Marduk, Rotting Christ, Malevolent Creation in 2009 supporting the legendary Iron Maiden in India. Needless to say, the band has kept busy.

De Profundis 4 Where did the band name come from? For me it will always remind me of a Vader album!

Haha – some would say Vader, some might say Abruptum, some might even think of Oscar Wilde. The term translates from the original Latin as ‘From the Depths’.

What are your influences?

Since De Profundis hasn’t always been the same collection of 5 individuals (hell, since I joined on guitars in 2013 in the grand scheme of things I’m pretty new) the collection of influences in our music don’t remain constant. The name Death is often mentioned in reviews, which is pretty justified. Chuck Schuldiner’s work has had a massive influence on me, as it should on any extreme metal artist with a functional pair of ears. Other than that it varies. Personally, when we wrote Kingdom of the Blind I was listening to bands like Carcass, Akercocke and Atheist as well as copious amounts of King Diamond/Mercyful Fate. I’m sure the other members of the band would give very different answers.

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

Well, as I’m writing this I’m listening to Ulver’s Bergtatt. I’m not sure why I find myself listening to so much black metal in the summer months – testament to the farce that is the British summertime I suppose. As far as new releases by bands, that becomes a lot harder. The new Paradise Lost is a great return to form, and I’ve high hopes for the new My Dying Bride. What I’d prefer is for some new music to be recommended to me!

There’s a lot of involved, intricate playing on Kingdom of the Blind, including some quality bass-work. How do you go about writing and arranging your songs?

The beginnings of a song usually come from me or Shoi. We’ll bring some guitar riffs we’ve been playing about with along to rehearsal and start bouncing those ideas off each other. As you can hear, Arran is by no means a typical bass player. Rather than us prearranging lines for him, he works alongside us to come up with bass lines that compliment our playing. Our frontman Craig then handles quality control, which he’s rather good at as he certainly isn’t afraid to tell us if an idea that we’ve been working on sounds like shit – which keeps us instrumentalist musos in place.

De Profundis 3 Do you ever see yourselves writing ever longer and longer songs in the future? I can imagine, potentially, you becoming more and more Progressive in the future.

Way ahead of you – De Profundis have a whole discography worth of longer more drawn out songs. With this album we’ve sought to do quite the opposite – trim the fat and leave only muscle. Earlier De Profundis material is full of longer, slower songs, but that isn’t what this current incarnation of the band represents. Kingdom of The Blind is the first De Profundis album that I feature on, and I can say both as a member of the band and a fan for many years that this streamlining in favour of the acute over the obtuse is part of the reason why Kingdom of the Blind is undisputedly the best De Profundis album to date.

Progressive is an interesting adjective. Although I agree with you, I think it’s a word that is horrendously abused in metal, especially in this day and age. It seems that every ten minutes I hear another flavour of the month band regurgitate the same hackneyed and insipid clichés under the supposed buzz word of “progressive” music, when anyone not sucked in to the paper thin marketing can clearly hear that the far more fitting term would be “regressive”! On the contrary, I think that De Profundis has been a band that have been progressive for the majority of it’s existence and I think that on Kingdom of the Blind this is rather evident, as it also is in the bands previous record The Emptiness Within. That being said, no two De Profundis records are the same – which is an ideal any truly progressive band has. No-one calls the early Morbid Angel records progressive, but at that time there were very few bands who would have the nerve to write anything as unorthodox as God Of Emptiness, and that’s what I consider to be a progressive mindset.

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

I have a few. I’ve a special fondness for Illumination, as it was the first full song I was part of the creative process for. I can’t possibly neglect to mention the sheer ferocity of Kult of the Orthodox or the morbidity of All Consuming, but another favourite of mine is Thrown To The Wolves, with it’s juxtaposition of left-field guitar work with straight up old school death metal aggression.

What does the future hold for De Profundis?

Kingdom Of The Blind is finally set for a release on September the 28th of this year under our new label Wickerman Records. Though we’re looking forward to the release, we don’t like to sit idly by waiting around either. We’re already well into the creative process of album number 5. De Profundis will also be hitting the road shortly after the release of the album with two of death metal’s biggest names, where we intend to help as many people unfortunate enough to not know of us as possible by exposing them to the Kingdom of the Blind.

Interview with To the Pain

US Classic Metal/Thrash band To the Pain’s latest album 7 is a feast of delicious Metal delights, albeit one that’s over far too quickly for my liking! The very amiable Steve kindly answered my questions about the band…

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

Hi those unfamiliar with our band…where have you been? We are To The Pain!!! We are a METAL band from Long Island, New York. We formed in 2012, and just released our 2nd album, “7”. The band is Johnny Intagliata- Vocals, Jimmy Klimatas- Drums, Craig Piano- Rhythm Guitar, Jeremy Lustig- Bass Guitar, and me, Steve Shaver- Lead Guitars. Check us out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ToThePainNY or Twitter at https://twitter.com/ToThePainNY

Give us a bit of background to To the Pain

To The Pain formed in 2012, as a band. Originally it was a recording project of Johnny and Steve. We were just re-recording a few old songs we had written in the 80’s and a few new ones. We decided that we really should get a band together and play some gigs. So we recruited Jimmy and Jeremy, and our original rhythm guitar player Mark Trojanoski. Mark eventually decided to leave the band to follow Janick Gers around the globe to learn the fine art of marching in place, and we got Craig Piano to replace him. Here we are now, making lots of loud noises! (Sometimes even in key!)

Where did the band name come from?

The band name is from the movie The Princess Bride. There is a duel scene in the movie, and instead of battling to the death, they battle To The Pain! Mark thought of the name, and we all thought it was slightly better than any other name we could think of, so we kept it!

What are your influences?

The bands influences are definitely the Big 4 of American Thrash Metal, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, and some other band who’s name escapes me. Also Iron Maiden, King Diamond, Judas Priest, Racer X, and of course Mariah Carey. (Just kidding)

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

Not sure what the other guys are listening to, but I cannot stop listening to the new Lamb of God album. Its brutal, heavy, and I think one of their best. Also the new Symphony X album. They have been playing nonstop in my car. Both great albums, and vastly different.

What’s your favourite song on 7 and why?

Tough question. My fav is probably either “Seven”, or “Is It My Turn To Die”. I was real happy with the solo in “Seven”, and the crazy tapping part in the outro of “Die”. Oh yeah, and there is some decent song in there too. LOL. If you made me choose, I would pick “Seven”. I just like the groove of it, and I like the anger in Johnny’s voice. Although some dope on Deadspin called it the worst song he ever heard because he didn’t like the lyrics. So to that guy, suck it! Actually I feel if people love your stuff, some people are going to hate it too…nobody ever 100% approved of any idea or song.

How do you feel you have progressed between releases?

Well the first album as I said was really just going to be a recording project, so I wasn’t really that concerned with who else was playing on it, or their style of playing, or anything like that. A lot of what Jimmy played on the drums were parts I played on the demos. This album, is way more of a polished band playing the songs. Johnny shook off the rust from his vocal cords, and the rest of the guys in the band really brought it on the second album. I also think we found our groove as far as the style of music we play. On the first album we tinkered with some new school metal ideas and on this album I kind of threw them out the window. We all like the classic stuff, we are good at playing that, so we stuck to it. Not to say there aren’t any newer types of influences, but you can really hear the classic style in our album. I also have always looked at the band song-wise as trying to write like early Van Halen. What I mean by that is Van Halen played all kinds of tunes. There was variety in their music. They just didn’t play 10 versions of “I’m The One”. You had “Ice Cream Man” and “Running With The Devil” along with “On Fire”, etc. We tried to have a vast array of styles, but with that classic feel. There is some Priest inspired playing, but also some Slayer and Anthrax inspired playing. Definitely a lot of Maiden inspiration throughout the guitars on this.

So far both of your releases have been quite short – what’s the deal? MORE THRASH!

LOL. I would love to write a full length album and release it. But the truth is, we just don’t have the time to sit down and write and record the full album. This album has 6 songs, plus an orchestrated intro that I wrote. It very easily could have been 4 songs, as I made the call to add “Is It My Turn To Die” and “Don’t Eat The Eyes” in the 11th hour when Jimmy was doing his drum tracks. Its funny, people say we are a thrash band, but I consider us to just be a metal band. Sure we play some thrash, Heavens Carnage is certainly thrash. But we also play Dio/Maiden inspired metal like Don’t Eat The Eyes. If I had to say what we are, we are a metal band. But if someone wants to call us thrash, or speed, or retroclassicmetalrockwhatevergenreIjustmadeup, that is fine too. Getting back to not recording a full length, because we do all of this ourselves, and I am mixing and recording everything in my house, and not in a studio, its tough to find time to add more songs. But we will try on our next one! I promise!

What does the future hold for To the Pain?

Hopefully the future includes some shows with some established artists…and some bigger and better venues. We do pretty well for a local band drawing folks to shows, and we have some awesome fans that just go bananas at our shows. So we are hoping to grow that fanbase, and move on to bigger and better things…Oh and write longer albums with more songs for you!!!! Thanks for taking the time to interview us, and check out our album! We really do appreciate all the opportunities and the reviews, both good and bad that you folks in the press give us.

Interview with Designs of Chaos

Designs of Chaos’ new EP The Darkest Storm shows once again what a fertile breeding ground the UK is for Metal bands. Let’s find out a bit more about this promising band…

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

We like to think of ourselves as a modern metal band from London, nothing fancy, no technical sub genre to hide behind, just plan and simple metal. Some say technical death metal, we just like to say metal. We play fast, we hit hard and we sing about stuff that has meaning to us, and we enjoy ourselves while we do it.

Give us a bit of history to Designs of Chaos

Designs of Chaos has been around for 7 or 8 years in one form or another, but we’ve only recently become the band we are today. Several members have come and gone, but it wasn’t until Jay joined as our frontman 4 years ago that we’ve felt that we were the band we wanted to be. Jay forced us to play faster and heavier than we had in the past and took us in the direction we always wanted to go. We have come a long way since our humble begins and we try to bring influences from all the members of the band to deliver the package we’ve become.

Designs of Chaos 5 Where did the band name come from?

The name was thought up by a couple of ex-members, they liked the juxtaposition of the order in chaos, they pitched it to us and we liked it, it just kind stuck from then on.

What are your influences?

We have a vast array of influences, each member has quite a different background, Dean is an old school thrash head and loves bands like Exodus, old school Metallica, Sepultura and even more modern bands like Lamb of God. So we get a lot of our fast thrashy roots from his love for that style. Jay has a more modern post hardcore, technical death metal influences which is where his vocal style comes from. All the band has similar bands we all draw from like Lamb of God, Meshuggah and Metallica, so we just throw it all together and see what comes out the other side.

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

The new Lamb of God album is sick, plus the new Between the Buried and Me is really different. Also look out for the new Enabler album that’s pretty awesome as well.

The Darkest Storm has a much more aggressive edge to it than some of your peers – is it important to you to keep this intensity and heaviness in your sound?

That’s what we like, we’re not really into melodic vocals at the moment, we might go down that route one day, but it’s not where we are right now. We enjoy heavy and fast paced song therefore we play that style. When someone brings in a new song or a riff we all have to be feeling it to get it to work, we’re very critical of our own work like that, but we’re all in it together so we all have to like our output or it’s not going to work.

You strike me as a band that would be very good live – what’s the typical Designs of Chaos show like?

We get great feedback from people at our shows, we just give 110% and really try and give people a good performance. Jay especially tries to really engage with everyone in the crowd and get everyone involved, jumping around the stage like the crazy monkey he is, we all go nuts for how ever long we’ve got, it’s exhausting at times but such a rush!

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

It’s fair to say we all have a special place for Darkest Storm in our hearts. For us it’s more than just a song we wrote. It was written and partially recorded right before our close friend and drummer died last year. The lyrics are about having someone there for you during tough times, so we all felt it spoke to us when we lost him, and we all drew strength from each other to get us through, what was our darkest storm.

What are the subjects/themes of the songs on this EP?

I’ve already spoken about darkest storm, but Social Phantom is about how the social media has connected us so much that we know more people than ever before and yet are just as isolated as ever. You watch vicariously as “friends” are out having fun, but they never see you, or they might interact with you online then blank you totally on the street. The social media frenzy of late is really weird and we tried to address that.

Designs of Chaos 4 Give us a bit of information on your songwriting process

I’ve already touched on it really, but generally Dean or JD will bring a riff into the studio and we’ll jam it out, and start to work on the composition, Jay does all the lyrics himself and tends to wait until the song is more or less complete before finalising his lyrics, we all jam through the track as much as possible and really hammer out the dents until it’s a smooth and polished piece.

How did the recording go?

JD is a wicked recording artist, and we did all the recording with him, either in a studio or just at his home. It was the first time we’ve ever recorded in this style as historically we’ve always gone into a studio and recorded everything over the course of a couple of weekends or something so this was a little alien to what we’re used to but it allowed us more time to get everything perfect.

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

Right now we have been focused on getting our last EP out to everyone, so we don’t know how our songs will form next, we’ve got a few things kicking about which we are working on, but nothing solid as of yet. We just want to make good metal songs that we and others enjoy, who knows where that thinking might take us.

What’s next for Designs of Chaos?

We’ve got a few shows lined up in the future and we’re just going to be getting out there and trying to play to as many people as possible. We’re playing Beermageddon in August and we’re all looking forward to that, then we will continue to look for shows around London, and who knows we might even get to do a UK tour in the winter.

Interview with Deathwhite

Deathwhite’s latest EP Solitary Martyr is a professional 25 minutes of polished Melodic Metal. Find out more about them below…

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

We are a trio of musicians spread across the United States, coming together with the sole purpose of creating new music together. We do not play live, so our efforts are limited strictly to the studio.

Give us a bit of history to Deathwhite

We formed in 2012 under the idea to play darker, melodic metal. Given our current locale, it was decided early on that we would not play live, but rather be a studio entity. The approach has worked well thus far. In 2014, we released our first EP, Ethereal, and are following it up with Solitary Martyr.

Where did the band name come from?

Our name is derived from an Omnium Gatherum song, which dates back to their 2003 album, Spirit and August Light. As you are aware, coming up with a proper band name is a difficult task. However, we feel “Deathwhite” is a suitable one, for it doesn’t pigeonhole us, although there is a severe proliferation of bands with the word “death” in their name. We are simply adding to the list.

What are your influences?

Our main influences would be Katatonia, Anathema, My Dying Bride, Alcest, Isis, Junius, and Green Carnation. Surely there are countless more lying beneath the surface, although we try to be a band that doesn’t prominently display its influences on its sleeve.

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

A band of tremendous influence would be the Netherlands An Autumn for Crippled Children. Vocally, we are worlds apart, yet their melodic phrasing, penchant for atmosphere, and memorable nature of their songs is utterly captivating. They cannot be recommended enough.

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

“Suffer Abandonment” is certainly a favourite, although all five songs have their merit. It was released as the EP’s first “single” because it was probably the most immediate. On the vocal-front, it’s probably the best representation of what the band is capable of as well. It was an easy choice to release first.

What are the subjects/themes of the songs on this EP?

The themes range from self-doubt (“Pressure”), frustration with organized religion (“Suffer Abandonment”), the treatment of marginalized people based on their demographics (“Vain”), withstanding the urge to fall in line with the faceless sheep of the world (“Solitary Martyr”) and how people need to do a better job of owning up to the decisions they make in life (“Only Imagined”).

Give us a bit of information on your songwriting process

Because none of us reside in the same city, all songwriting work is done via computer. Files are traded, ideas are exchanged, then we firm the songs up prior to hitting the studio. The band’s previous version often rehearsed in-person, but that’s simply not possible with this lineup. It actually makes the whole process much easier, believe it or not.

How did the recording go?

The recording of Solitary Martyr was about as effortless and enjoyable as one could hope for. Brette Ciammara is a total pro, and is a master at getting strong, professional sounds. Plus, he did plenty of post-production work that enhanced the album. There’s not much more you could ask for in a partner like him.

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

Deathwhite will never undergo a radical change in direction, but we are planning on adding keyboards to our sound. It’s unlikely we will take the bait of having growled/death metal vocals, either. Clean, well-sung vocals are very much the strength of the band, and, it’s a challenge to write for them. The end result, though, is worth it once everything is put together.

What’s next for Deathwhite?

Right now, we are composing songs for a full-length, which should see the light of day in 2016. In addition to that, we will be promoting Solitary Martyr throughout the remainder of the year.

A sincere thanks for your support,

Interview with Expenzer

Expenzer’s début album Kill the Conductor is a no nonsense, no frills Thrash album that hits the spot. Their vocalist Tom gave us some more information on the band…

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

We are Expenzer, a 5-piece Thrash Metal band from Switzerland. We create Metal that is alive and evolving. Formed in 2014 we just released our début album “Kill The Conductor”.

Give us a bit of history to Expenzer

All members of the band played together in various combinations on projects and have a long history together. I (Tom; Vocals) joined the the four guys (Jeff and Sean: Guitars; Reto: Drums; Lou: Bass) who just played their last gig with their old band Pigskin that existed for about 18 years. They looked for a new singer to restart the band, and it felt right from the beginning. But it was a different thing, so we decided to change the name too. With the focus on all our individual strengths, we created a monster that just tasted its first fresh blood…

Where did the band name come from?

We wanted to call the band Bud Spencer (hehe) … but then we thought it was a bit to lame just to steal a name…. I mean you have to live with that then….but we liked the sound of the words, so we came up with Expenzer. It means nothing, just sounds cool and we are in good company with the EX- at the beginning…

What are your influences?

The spirit of the untamed Thrash Metal. All dudes in the band are very into stuff like The Haunted or Testament, Pantera, Darkane… just bands who took this kind of music and put their stamp on it. We all are not bound to a certain style and there would be so much you could miss if you just focus on a genre, but with Expenzer we want to make music that we are rooted in, that’s our homebase.

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

Oh man…this could fill a double page…I worked for a long time in a CD store and still talk about bands without end… I just check my albums, ah here..

Sadus 2006 Album Out For Blood (A pissed off singer & the coolest bassplayer and a super weird/angry production ).

Anacrusis 1991 Manic Impressions ( Visionary music, still ahead of it’s time.)

Non Human Level 2005 Self titled: ( project of Darkane, Meshuggah and Devin Townsend Band musicians…you get the point)

and some newer cool shit:

Alkaloid 2015 – The Malkuth Grimoire ( Death Metal in the spirit of Gojira, no blinders here.)

Gorod 2012 A Perfect Absolution ( So much music to discover on this; songs, not just riffs.)

Zatokrev 2015 Silk Spiders Underwater ( A Swiss Band, heavy as fuck, Neurosis-like)

And always every Overkill Album….

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

I think our album works the best, as a whole. Each song fulfils its purpose in the order we’ve put it on. We just rehearsed today and “Play for the Deaf”, fourth song on the record, just feels awesome to play live. I look forward to every part of the song, it flows and kicks you in the teeth at the right times. Tomorrow I’ll maybe say the same thing about another song, I love them all…

What are the subjects/themes of the songs on this album?

Most of the time I try to put the music into words. I like Metal Songs who sound like Monster Movie Titles, “A Dying T-Rex”, “Lightspeed Heartbeat” or “The Silence of The Amps”, just come to mind over a certain riff, then I write the lyrics around it. I don’t have a concept or a defined message, I just paint bloody pictures over killer riffs….

Give us a bit of information on your songwriting process.

On “Kill The Conductor” Jeff wrote most of the stuff. 3 Songs came from Sean and 1 from Lou. We all work on songs by ourselves, we can trust each other that no bullshit will come through, and if so we are vocal and open about it. I get the instrumental version of the song and, as mentioned , try to support the riffs and rhythms and give the ugly baby a name….

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

I think you can’t make plans on that. I have a vision for the new stuff, but so have the other four guys in the band. So our goal is to combine the strength of everybody, to create the best we can at that moment in time.

What’s next for Expenzer?

Play gigs as often as we can, record the next album and have fun playing exactly what we want and know what that is.

Interview with Locrian

Locrian’s new album Infinite Dissolution is a highly textured and multi-faceted release that requires repeated spins to really make its wonders known. In an effort to delve deeper into all things Locrian I got in touch with keyboardist/vocalist Terence…

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

I’m Terence and I play keyboards and do vocals in Locrian. I live in Baltimore while the other guys live in Chicago.

Give us a bit of history to Locrian

We started in 2005 as a duo of just Andre on guitar and myself on keyboards and vocals. In 2009 Steven joined on drums and we released “The Crystal World”, we’ve collaborated with Mamiffer, Christoph Heemann and Horseback.

Where did the band name come from?

Andre came up with it, it’s a mode in music theory but it’s also a lost civilization in antiquity.

What are your influences?

It’s really diverse, for the band it’s a lot of progressive rock, noise, German kosmiche music, Industrial and metal – everything from Voivod to Emperor. Personally I would say Einsturzende Neubauten, Skullflower and Brian Eno are big for me.

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

The new Container LP just titled LP is nice. Chaos Echoes “Transient” LP is beautiful I think.

The cover for Infinite Dissolution is pretty special – tell us about this

I am a visual artist and I used to be an art critic and had to review a show that I saw some of David Altmejd’s early work in. I’ve always been enamored with his work and just kept following it as it got bigger and more immersive. Anyway I thought a mirror was kind of this negating surface to compose with mirrors is a way to dissipate an image or presence – it just fit.

Is having a visual aspect to accompany the music an important thing to you?

Absolutely.

Locrian Band 2 What are the subjects/themes of the songs on this album?

The extinction of humanity. By the elements and by our own doing.

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

The whole album is a story you can’t really pick one – just listen through.

Your songs are quite complex and feature many different parts – what’s the creation process like?

Thank you. Our process is very intuitive we use the studio to create and we just want to surprise ourselves and the listeners. I don’t think there is much new under the sun but I hope we can try and get people excited.

How did the recording go?

Great! We recorded at Electrical Audio with Greg Norman in our favorite space, studio B. It was great. I got to use their Mellotron and an EDP Wasp. Just a great time.

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

I’m not sure, we kind of go where we want and where the narratives go.

What’s next for Locrian?

Well we will be playing on the west coast in August 13-22 and are really excited to get there and celebrate our decade of existence in November with some special dates in the Midwest.

Interview with Desolate Pathway

Traditional Doom Metal band Desolate Pathway’s début album Valley of the King is best savoured loud and is a very engaging listen. I was moved to find out more about the band…

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

We are Desolate Pathway. A traditional Doom metal band from England playing some Epic style music and telling a bloody good story.

Give us a bit of history to Desolate Pathway

I started the band originally as home based on my own while I was between tours with Pagan Altar. When the band became less active I decided to bring the project to life and start a real band in 2014.

Where did the band name come from?

Strange one really but I found a lot of bands I grew up on had a 2-word names and thought that worked really well. I wanted something dark, gloomy and sinister-sounding.

What are your influences?

Black Sabbath for the riffs, Manowar for the storytelling and Candlemass for the Epic doom style.

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

The new Sorcerer material is excellent. We have also been compared to these guys so that’s superb.

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

It changes every gig because I see the audience react differently but overall Shadow of the Tormentor. I think that track has like every influence I have in there and I think it’s the only track people can really headbang too.

What are the subjects/themes of the songs on this album?

It’s all a mix up of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. Lots of Epic battles, sword fighting and castles. The whole album is a concept based on a prince trying to reach a castle to take the throne but he and his army encounter lots of supernatural and evil things during their journey. Each track unfolds the story in full so it is recommended to listen in one session.

Give us a bit of information on your songwriting process

I have an idea in mind then I write the guitar work first in demo form then add lyrics to them. After that the other guys do their bit, we rehearse and change things up until we are all happy to record.

How did the recording go?

I did all the guitars in my home studio. This way I have the luxury of time to make it perfect. After that we set ourselves deadlines to practice and complete. It was really a great experience but we have learnt a few things to take on board for the next album.

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

They already have developed. We are now making the guitars more full with double tracking each guitar, more than one harmony in a riff section and more Epic.

What’s next for Desolate Pathway?

We have a single due for release on 31st October.
On the A side we have Kostas Solomidis who is the lead guitarist of Greek band Sorrows Path.
He is playing the 2 solos on a track named ‘Into the Realms of Poseidon’.
After that we are finishing our 2nd album that will be solely based on Greek mythology, so the single beforehand is a foot into the album.
To keep update visit our website at http://www.desolatepathway.com

Interview with Witch of the Waste

Appearing like a violent hurricane of multi-textured chaos out of their native Canada, Witch of the Waste’s latest EP Made of Teeth is a dynamic and savage listen. Guaranteed to perk the interest of anyone who is into challenging and exciting music; I wanted to find out more, so delved into their world of rather amiable extremity…

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

We’re a Canadian band that plays fast, and weird music.

Give us a bit of history to Witch of the Waste

I started this band with a buddy. We found some friends to play in it. We wrote a demo, then wrote an EP. People were kicked out, people left. Unremarkable story really. What matters is that we always found a way to differentiate ourselves from our influences while still staying true to them. People have found it hard to pin us down because of that and we think that’s pretty cool.

Where did the band name come from?

It’s a reference to the Hayao Miyazaki film Howl’s Moving Castle.

What are your influences?

Everything from Converge, Gorguts and Russian Circles to Pink Floyd and Sigur Ros.

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

I’ve been super into the new Modest Mouse record. They have never disappointed me. I would also recommend our friend’s Exits who just released their first full length. It’s fast. Scope it out.

Where do you see yourself fitting in in the international Extreme Metal scene?

We are very much a product of Vancouver. Our scene is very densely packed with bands ranging from crusty metallic hardcore, techy metalcore to stoner doom and everything in between. Crowds here are also super open and down to hear new things which I feel is fairly rare. I think if we start looking at aggressive music with a wider scope I would say Belgium sticks out like a sore thumb. Oathbreaker, Rise and Fall, or Young and in the Way are all bands that we sort of liken ourselves to. It’s hard to pin down a specific genre because I can only think of a handful of bands but I suppose even something like Catharsis fits into that. Sort of Atmospheric Hardcore I guess you could call it. Either way I think we could find ourselves very happy in a place like Belgium. Also: they are wicked into beer.

What’s your favourite song on your new EP and why?

My favorite is They Haunt Minds. I feel like we were really able to nail our aesthetic and package it in something quick and terrifying. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to accomplish.

What are the subjects/themes of the songs on this EP?

I don’t feel like giving away much because I do feel it’s important to allow our work to remain ambiguous and let the listener have their own relationship with the songs and lyrics. If they feel it means one thing and I say it means another than that dissonance can be harmful. Besides, what do I know? I only wrote it. So without spoiling anything I can say that it’s a discussion of loss using imagery lifted from ghost stories and horror movies. There is probably also some True Detective in there. It’s really hard to have consumed True Detective and not be influenced by it haha.

Give us a bit of information on your songwriting process.

This line up is very different from the one this band started with. Songwriting used to be like pulling teeth. It’s very collaborative now. A song can stem from a guitar hook, a riff, a bassline or even just a feeling. It’s been extremely productive.

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

Made of Teeth was an exercise in boiling down our sound to a base aesthetic. I think we want to keep going in that direction but write with a wider variation of tempos and volumes. Fast songs faster and slow songs slower. Loud songs louder and quiet songs quieter. We want to expand on what sorts of songs we write.

What’s next for Witch of the Waste?

We are planning to tour Western Canada and the West Coast of the United states as well as writing for our next release. We’re actually the busiest we have ever been and it’s been really awesome.

Interview with Ilsa

Ilsa are one of the best Sludge Metal bands out there. After the electrifying Intoxicantations and now their crushing new album The Felon’s Claw, I’ve been privileged to fire some questions at their drummer, Joshy…

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

Ilsa is comprised of five people: Orion is the vocalist, Joshy (me) plays drums, Tim plays guitar, Brendan also plays guitar, and Sharad plays bass guitar.

Give us a bit of history to Ilsa

We formed in early 2008 after the guitar player in our former band tried to punch somebody on the other side of a window that happened to be closed. After that, due to a lack of connected tendons in his arm he couldn’t play guitar, and we started Ilsa as a way to take up time while he recuperated. Obviously Ilsa ended up being the main band for us after that.

What are your influences?

Musically I’d say our influences are Bolt Thrower, Amebix, Asphyx, Townes Van Zandt, Dead Moon, Morbid Angel, Burning Witch, The Plasmatics, Thin Lizzy, a bunch of other stuff.

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

At this very moment I am listening to Pink Floyd, I would recommend them very highly. Other stuff I’ve been into lately would be Alan Parsons project, Primitive Man, Forn, honestly I listen to a bunch of really lame shit like Air Supply and Chicago and things like that. I’ve really been into Eddie Hazel lately, I think he’s a really underrated guitarist. Oh and the Saga demos from Iron Age are amazing!

What did you want to achieve with your new album?

I wanted to make the heaviest most thought provoking yet lunkheaded album ever recorded.

How do you go about writing the songs?

Generally I write songs in my basement and record them on my computer, then bring them to practice and show everybody and we go from there. Or somebody will bring some riffs to practice and we’ll work with them and build them there. I personally write much better when I’m by myself in my little dungeon

What can you tell us about the lyrics?

Well Orion would be the best at explaining the lyrics, but I can say that one goal that he has always had was to think of our songs as spells and our concerts as rituals. I don’t personally believe in mystical or supernatural powers, but I think that if words were capable of any tangible power like you would find in a ritualistic setting then it would be the veracity behind them that produced it. In that sense, I feel like our songs would have more power than you would find at any church.

What is your favourite song on the album and why?

I think my favorite is Buried In the Bedrock and Concrete of Our Cities, because I think it’s the most successful in my attempts to make a song that has memorable, heavy, and simple riffs.

What do you feel the main differences are between Intoxicantations and The Felon’s Claw – how have you changed between the two releases?

I don’t think there’s a ton different between the two, except I think this one is more focused. I think we were able to approach the idea of making music that is as stripped down as we could make it while still retaining a certain amount of brutality and heaviness in a way that we hadn’t been able to before.

Are you happy with how the album turned out?

I’m very happy with it. It’s my favorite album yet. Of course there are always things you wish you could have changed or tweaked in retrospect, but there are way fewer of those things on this album than any before it.

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

Like I mentioned before, the goal for me is to make songs that are as simple and basic as they can be without being boring. I think there are few things that sound as good as a heavy guitar with a solid, driving beat behind it to bang your head to. That’s really all I’m personally trying to do with Ilsa. The other guys may have different goals, but so far whatever our individual ideas are they seem to all be reachable by the same approach, so that’s good.

What’s next for Ilsa?

We’ve got a couple of splits coming out, one with the awesome Japanese death/doom band Coffins, and one with the Hardcore/D-beat band Greta. There’s another split that could possibly happen, but it’s too early to talk about at this point. If it does work out, it could possibly be the heaviest split ever released! We’ve got a few local shows coming up, and we will be playing at Don’t Call it a Fest in Detroit this year with Eyehategod, In Cold Blood, Noisem, and a bunch of others.

Interview with Neck of the Woods

Neck of the Woods’ début EP is an exciting blend of Progressive Metal and Hardcore fury, one that’s really made itself felt around these parts. I was eager to find out more about this compelling new band…

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

Dave: Neck of the Woods is a five piece metal progressive metal band from Vancouver, BC. Myself and Travis Hein on guitars, Jeff Radomsky on vocals, Jason Puder on bass and Jeff Brown on the drums.

Give us a bit of history to Neck of the Woods

Dave: Jeff Drums and I starting jamming back in 2012 after my old band split up. I had one song ready to go and that got the ball rolling. We found the other guys, mostly through Craigslist, and the plan was the keep the band on the down low until we were ready to play our first show. We released a two song demo in 2013 and made our live debut January 2014 ready to go. Just a couple months later we were chosen to represent Vancouver in the Waken Metal Battle Finals in Toronto. We didn’t make it all the way to Germany but we had opening gigs for The Faceless, Havok and Wrecthed shortly after we returned. Hit the studio in October 2014 and here we are now with our debut EP!

Where did the band name come from?

Jeff vocals: When we were picking a name we wanted something that wouldn’t pigeon hole us as a metal band, something that looked good in type and was easy to remember. ‘Neck of the woods’ was something I remembered my dad saying all the time as a child, it fit our criteria and goes along thematically with the art and design I wanted to do while hosting a kind of pacific north west feel to it. We’re all happy to be playing under the name.

What are your influences?

Dave: There are a couple key bands we all really enjoy. Between the Buried and Me, Gojira, Every Time I Die, Opeth, Misery Signals, Converge…

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

Dave: I’ve been listening to a lot of Cloudkicker lately. The album Beacons especially. Instrumental stuff, really cool grooves and riffs. If we’re hanging out having beers we’ll toss on From Parts Unknown, the latest Every Time I Die album.

Neck of the Woods Band Your début EP contains a number of different influences, where do you think you fit in the wider Metal scene?

Dave: Wherever we land really. We naturally end up writing in the ‘progressive’ style. Regular use of odd time signatures and cool transitions, quieter clean parts to help with the build ups… but our singer Jeff has more of a hardcore sound so it’s a cool blend. We really don’t limit ourselves when it comes to the style of riffs we write, so you never know!

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

Dave: Right now, I Know Where I’ll Bury you. Which is strange because there are no guitar solos on it haha. We ended up choosing that tune to release as the single from the EP, and now kids are going off when we play it live! We’ve been closing our set with it as of late and you can’t help but throw down the whole time. Feels good man.

What are the subjects/themes of the songs on this EP?

Jeff vocals: Self awareness and personal growth are the two main things that all 6 songs branch from. The EP touches on faulty leaders, close friends, family grievances and the quarrels of endorsements.

Give us a bit of information on your songwriting process.

Dave: Travis and I are always riffing, but only certain ones will make the cut. One of us will show up with a decent chunk of a song started… the first couple riffs or the general feel/groove and then we build from there. Play it a couple times, see if we need to extend/shorten certain parts. Usually we’re just hashing it out in the jam space, but lately we’ve started recording riffs and sending them to each other just to help things along.

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

Dave: Hard to say, and that’s the best part. The EP has a pretty good mix of longer prog tunes, and short riffy bangers. I can see that being a consistent thing with us. Actually the new song we are playing has more of a Opeth groove going on. We had a chance to play it at the EP release show and it was really well received. At the same time we’re working on a new thrasher tune that has some Revocation style stuff happening… so we aren’t slowing down just yet!

What’s next for Neck of the Woods?

Dave: We’re got Calgary Metalfest in June and Armstrong Metalfest in July, as well as an all ages gig and another local show in between so we will be busy. Hopefully hit the road again in September to support the EP, and keep on the riffs so we’ve got enough for a full length next year! Make sure to check out the album stream at https://neckofthewoods.bandcamp.com/album/neck-of-the-woods

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