Rock – Page 28 – Wonderbox Metal

Interview with Agatus

The Eternalist by Agatus is a very distinctive album. In today’s over-saturated musical climate, that description alone should hopefully be enough to pique your interest. It’s a very more-ish album too; once you’ve devoured its contents once, you want to do so again. The songs are positively infectious, and the way it switches from black metal to classic rock to heavy metal without skipping a beat…well, it’s a joyous thing to hear.

So without further preamble, let’s dive into this interview and find out why Agatus are such an individual creation…

Introduce us to Agatus!

The band was formed in Athens, Greece during the early 90s and we made our first introduction to the scene with our demo A Night of the Dark Ages (1993) a release well received and leading to the recording of our debut album ‘The Dawn of Martyrdom (1996) that was recorded the in 1994, the same year the band moved to Australia. Continue reading “Interview with Agatus”

Order of the Emperor – Behold (Review)

Order of the Emperor are a hard rock band from The Netherlands, this is their debut album.

Influenced by old-school groovy hard rock, this is 41 minutes of rock bliss for fans of the old-school style delivered with a modern sheen. Continue reading “Order of the Emperor – Behold (Review)”

Interview with Khaldera

Alteration is the latest EP by Swiss post-metallers Khaldera. It’s a short, sweeping collection of instrumental music that uses texture and colour well to create the moods that the band want. It’s a slow-burner, one that demands repeated listens as it slowly, inevitably reveals its secrets to the keen listener.

The music unfolds in such a way that there seems to be more to it than a mere 18 minutes, bit no; soon enough it’s gone, and you’re left wanting more.

It’s time to delve a bit deeper…

Give us a bit of background to Khaldera

We’re three Swiss Shamans born deep below the earth’s crust, wandering through the dark woods, finding our way into space.

What are your influences?

Of course we are somehow influenced by our own “music consumption”, but we don’t orientate ourselves on any other bands in terms of crafting our songs. There are a couple of influential artists, although they’re not necessarily recognisable if you listen to us. At the time when Sven and Fabio started the band, the hypnotic sound of Minsk‘s great “The Ritual Fires of Abandonment”, as well as their live performances ignited a certain energy to go beyond what they have done up to this point. In general we appreciate bands who are able to transform themselves and musically grow over the time. Continue reading “Interview with Khaldera”

Russian Circles – Guidance (Review)

Russian Circles are an instrumental post-rock/metal band from the US. This is their sixth album.

Russian Circles are a band who have produced some thoroughly enjoyable albums over the years, ones that I regularly return to. Instrumental bands like this frequently leave me cold, as I all-too-often feel that something is missing Continue reading “Russian Circles – Guidance (Review)”

Dead Ficus – Rise or Fall (Review)

Dead Ficus are a Metal band from France and this is their debut album.

Dead Ficus play a form of melodic metal/rock that features harsh vocals and some nice keyboard accompaniment.

The singer has quite a nasty bark to him, which juxtaposes nicely against the music which is melodic and atmospheric. I was actually expecting clean vocals from this band, for some reason, so I like his voice all the more for Continue reading “Dead Ficus – Rise or Fall (Review)”

Shadow Hunters – A V A T A R (Review)

Shadow Hunters are a Norwegian rock band and this is their debut album.

Describing themselves as “modern energetic sci-fi rock”, I couldn’t come up with a better description so am quite happy to run with that.

The music is bright and full of sterling melodies and uplifting atmospheres. Continue reading “Shadow Hunters – A V A T A R (Review)”

Thundering Herd – Backyard Junkyard (Review)

This is the début album from this US Southern/stoner metal band.

This is a riotous, rocking collection of tracks that offer high energy hooks and a filthy disposition.

Barkyard Junkyard is full of hard rocking tunes with plenty of swagger Continue reading “Thundering Herd – Backyard Junkyard (Review)”

Omega Monolith – Fungus (Review)

This is the latest album by Greek Doom Rockers Omega Monolith.

Omega Monolith fuse Doom and Heavy/Progressive Rock together to create three sprawling tracks that constitute Fungus. At 43 minutes in length, their musical vision gets a thorough exploration and no avenue for drawn-out claustrophobia is left out.

Fungus is born out of Continue reading “Omega Monolith – Fungus (Review)”

Tothem – Gemini (Review)

This is the second album from Tothem, an Italian gothic/heavy metal band.

This is the band’s follow up to their début album Beyond the Sea, which was a polished collection of gothic metal tracks.

As with their first release; no matter how enticing the female vocals are, Tothem still remember that they’re first and foremost a metal band. This means that the music is just as important as the singing, and the guitars are present and correct as they should be.

Continue reading “Tothem – Gemini (Review)”

Goddess – The Withering (Review)

Goddess are a Norwegian progressive Doom rock band, and this is their début EP.

Originally appearing in 2014, this is a re-released, remixed, remastered and expanded version. As this is my first exposure to Goddess, I can only assume these changes have improved The Withering, as it is quite an impressive release.

This is one song Continue reading “Goddess – The Withering (Review)”