Witching Metal Webzine

Witching Metal Webzine

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Interview: Morbid Insulter

Morbid Insulter interview conducted and contributed by James Goatfukk.


1. Impure invocations! For those
less-informed, could you please enlighten the reader with some information about this vile entity known as MORBID INSULTER and the reason for its existence?

Conjurer: Ave Lucifer! This is C. Conjurer of the damned cult called Morbid Insulter writing. Its bloodstained shrines where crafted in 2004 and the first offering was the “Strike from the grave” demo in released 2005. One year later a promo entitled “From the womb of pestilence” was made and in 2008 the MLP “Thundering Evil” was evoked through I Hate records. We recently also brought forth a new MLP called “Antichrist Blasphemies” also materialized by I Hate. The 4 pillars of this synagoga satanae are:

Expulser – Black mass prayer and holocaust ecstasy

AIDS – Thermonuclear abominations and premature deathrape

P. Penetrator – Infernal deprivation and endless hate crime

Conjurer – Slayer of Hiram and resurrector of Anti-Christ

2. Tell us about the ideological aspect of your music and where you draw inspiration from.

Conjurer: The ideological aspects of the bands are the ones we consider to be what Black and Death Metal always should be about. Namely, Deathworship, Satanic witchcraft and mysticism, the degeneration of all types of morals and laws, and boundless fucking hatred in general. Inspiration comes from personal experiences and our living faith and creed, which is then expressed through the music and lyrics which is mainly inspired by other extreme metal acts, as well as certain authors and poets.

3. With the likes of KARNARIUM, KILL, BESTIAL MOCKERY, IN AETURNUM, CRAFT, NECROVATION, DEMONICAL etc. It's evident that Sweden isn't lacking as far as quality bands, so what is it about a country with such a low crime rate and refined as Sweden that makes it spawn such hellish acts?

Conjurer: First off, I wouldn't say In Aeternum or Demonical are quality bands, rather the opposite, and secondly a quick search on the internet will reveal that Sweden seem to have quite an average crime rate compared to other industrial European countries. I would rather say that the main reason for why Sweden always have had a lot of bands is simply due to that there has been a certain mentality and a environment that has enabled the means to start up bands here. A natural consequence of this will be that some of all these acts want to push things further and break out of the conventional aspects of this kind of music, thus resulting in more extreme bands. Not strange really.

4. For some people extreme Metal is an expression of one's inner being and a way to channel dark energies, and for some it's about making violent fucking noise to terrify worthless faggots; to which one of these 'categories' does MORBID INSULTER relate to more or less?

Conjurer: With no doubt it is the first reason mentioned, although that doesn't say it hinders us from creating insane fucking deathnoise that certainly place us far from most weaklings around. But, if the music and lyrics doesn't stem from ones most sincere and inner life, then I wouldn't call you anything else than a mere liar or poser playing for fun and cheap thrills. Morbid Insulter are NOT, nor ever will be, an act that just care for music only.

5. A lot of people say the underground network such as tape trading is dead and will never come back. Do such opinions have any relevance to you?

Conjurer: I find it rather strange as I just the other month received dubbed tapes with rehearsals and the like from a couple of comrades within the scene. Still, new mediums of interaction (how lousy they ever may be) are here to stay and we would be stupid not to take advantage of the benefits they might offer. I have certainly made many invaluable contacts through the internet, which I doubt I would have attained without it. Never the less, this doesn't say I don't send or receive my fare share of letters from all around the blackest depths of the underground each year.

6. Why do you think it is that the majority of black/death bands from Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia blaspheme against Christianity when Islam is their most prevalent religion? You think it's perhaps got to do with the fact that some of these bands are Buddhists/Muslims?

Conjurer: A spontaneous guess from my side would be that they rather are too influenced by western Black/Death Metal bands that usually address Christian matters in lyrics, than trying to draw inspiration from their own social context. For me Black/Death Metal is Satanic, which is a spiritual path not fixed to any specific religion-cultural system of thought, thus there should be no contextual boundaries concerning the concepts within our music.

7. Let's say some Metal band produces good music, but the members in the band are Muslims, would you still listen to their music even if they didn't promote their beliefs or are you fully against hypocrites as such?

Conjurer: Hah, it's rather obvious which type of answer you are looking for here... Still, if I where to discover a Metal band consisting of Islam extremists promoting immense acts of terror or maybe a group of heretical sufis of let's say the Ovaysiyya order, I would love to hear it, but I doubt that will ever happen haha.

8. People seem to deem gore porn shit as 'brutal' but I have better things to use my mind for than things like that. It's more of a fetish thing than brutal, wouldn't you say?

Conjurer: Who cares? People are retarded and should be killed, simple as that.

9. How do you feel about the fact that MP3 junkies might get hold of your stuff and spread it like aids among their faggot friends?

Conjurer: I haven't actually seen any Morbid Insulter material as mp3 being spread around on the internet, which probably has to do with the fact that we have mostly released exclusively on vinyl. Anyway, it's more or less impossible to make sure our releases only end up in the hands of those actually deserving them, so I find it quite much a waste of energy to ponder about which cunts that might have heard of us or not. As long as at least some records reach a few serious individuals it's worth it I reckon and also hardly think we will lack sales due to this.

10. What bands influenced the sadistic auditory of MORBID INSULTER?

Conjurer: Old South American madness like Sarcofago, old Sepultura, MX, Vulcano and Pentagram. Ancient Black metal like Master's Hammer, Mortuary drape, Bathory,

Blasphemy and Sodom. Possessed, Morbid Angel and Slayer also have there place here. More ”recent” cults such as Necros Christos, Adorior, Grand Belial's Key, Force of Darkness and Nifelheim have maybe meant something to us as well. Also old Heavy metal has always had a certain amount of influence on our sound.

11.Does the members in MORBID INSULTER abuse themselves with any alcohol/chemical substances when the opportunity represents itself?

Conjurer: Not going into details, but yes it happens from time to time...

12. Give me your opinion on the following:

*Funeral Doom- Worship and Evoken comes to mind.

*Black Magick- is a term that usually throughout history has been used to denote an esoteric practice that challenged the normal moral and religious features of the time and place, most often to place the one using the term in opposition to it as to show their own magical practice (which then is thought to be”white”) to be harmless and more noble. Although we can discuss its actual linguistic origin (which probably links it to ancient Egyptian al-kimia) I actually use it in very much the same manner as mentioned above, but in order to distinguish my craft from their white-light arts.

*Paper 'zines- Of course preferred before web-zines.

*Beastiality – Until recently completely legal in SwedBolden.

*Prostitutes – A profession like any other.

13. What do you think about censorship in Metal?

Conjurer: Censorship in what ever manner it might be professed should be criticised and rejected as much as possible. Extreme metal must be EXTREME, not only musically but also ideologically and made visible through action. Yet this is actually seen very seldom, and that might be the reason why I believe that we must reclaim the notion of genuine extremism within our cult, not to advocate free-speech or other crude humanistic values but rather in order to transgress everything that is politically correct, morally accepted and that which has taken the form of a fixed order (spiritual aspects are including).

14. Do you think there is any connection between life and death?

Conjurer: Life and death are interconnected in the sense that they constantly overlap each other to form the constant ongoing process of the cosmos (or samsara as the Indian would call it). This can also in to some extant be understood through the alchemical concepts or formula of solve et coagula, indicating that matter in this spatio-temporal world of causality constantly evolve through a process of dissolvement and stabilization. The concept of ”salvation”, as understood in most elaborate systems of spirituality, can thus be seen as escaping from this constant ”re-accurance” or rather genuinely comprehend it as an illusion.

15. Would you ever consider having an orgasmic threesome with a 300kg fat bitch and another bitch with anorexia?

Conjurer: I'm not going to waste my time talking about my sexual encounters with your mother and daughter in this interview. Fuck off.

16. Thanks for your time! Any last sentiments before we lay this interview to rest? Maybe you can tell us about your expectations/plans for MORBID INSULTER or any other data that might be of interest to our readers. All hail the Dark Lord!

Conjurer: Thanks for letting us spread our filth in your pages. We are for the moment working on material for an upcoming 7” which will be called ”Deathworship”, which will hopefully be finished and released later this year. Other upcoming releases is a compilation CD with both MLPs, which should be out on I Hate records in a near future and the tape version of ”Antichrist Blasphemies” will be out on Crush until Madness quite soon as well.

My final words goes out to all Black/Death Metal madmen, infernal necromancers and sorors of the abominable arts to get in touch through the addresses found below for trades, live-sabbath and witchery.

HEKAS HEKAS ESTE BEBELOI!

/C. Conjurer on the behalf of the saturnian brotherhood known as MORBID INSULTER 2011

AB.

www.myspace.com/morbidinsulter

morbidinsulter@hotmail.com

Morbid Insulter c/o Skogberg

Köldgatan 18

418 32 Gothenburg

SWEDEN

MORBID INSULTER
c/o Skogberg
Köldgatan 18
418 32 Göteborg
SWEDEN

www.myspace.com/morbidinsulter
morbidinsulter@hotmail.com

DÖD ÅT ALLT!




Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Witchrist - The Grand Tormentor

“The Grand Tormentor”, by New Zealand death metal act Witchrist, is an album that I have been waiting for since being obsessed with their debut, “Beheaded Ouroboros” when it came out back in 2010.

“The Grand Tormentor” does not disappoint; it’s absolutely crushing and shrouded in a thick and grainy production that strives to add a certain feeling of oppression to the music. From the opening track to the end of these 50 minutes of utter primeval devastation, you are absorbed in the abysmal depths of totally disgusting and evil death metal.

While this record sounds murky and dark, much in the style of their earlier work, all of the instruments actually come across surprisingly clear, which may be a negative for some listeners, but in my opinion, it actually serves things rather well. The songwriting is rather brilliant, with major variations in track length and tempos, with some songs being short and sharp while others may plod along for nearly 10 minutes. Regardless of the variation; this album still flows well and sounds as if everything was placed where it is for a reason; not just thrown together in hopes of randomly finding some consistency.

Although “The Grand Tormentor” is a pretty long album, I’ve yet to find myself losing interest for even a second throughout its 50 minute run time. This, along with the new Ignivomous, Wrathprayer and Pseudogod albums, is a must own and another one to add to the list of absolutely suffocating and crushing death metal releases of 2012.

Vacant Throne- Fall of the Feathered King Review



Colorado seems like an odd place for metal, it's not really in a central location like Los Angeles, New York, or even Tampa Bay, but sometimes good things come out from the little niches of the Earth. Colorado's power metallers, Vacant Throne, are releasing their debut Fall of the Feathered King later this summer on August 4, 2012. This five-piece band are showing their colors and in full force.

Concept albums are usually hit or miss, usually we leave it up to Rush or Queensryche to do the job. However, I think there are definitely some exceptions. Fall of the Feathered King is a concept album about the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs in the 16th century. Oh, my inner-historian is just giddy about hearing songs of Spanish steel clashing with Aztec, two great civilizations going at it. History aside, the album really does tell the story well.

 Each song seems to have been painstakingly written. The riffs really flow together, making the five-plus minutes songs seem shorter than usual. The solos, brought to you by Josh Mortensen, nice and melodic, little songs in their own right really. They aren't going 200 mph and shredding balls, but they're noodley and melodic which is a bit of a rarity in many power metal bands. Jason Mortensen, the vocalist, really brings the vocals to life. He reminds me of Kiske and a little bit of the guy from Angel Witch (the name escapes me, forgive me!). "Burning Skies" and "Genocide" showcase his vocals, the former has some nice high pitched wailing and the second has good high harmonies.

The instrumentation is also fantastic. They put in Native American-esque flutes on "Harsh Empire", it's a little atonal and drives my ears a little mad, but it's a nifty little touch for the theme. (Spanish guitar would have been nice too). The songs remind of early Jag Panzer with some Helloween thrown in; "Burning Skies" is a good example, as well as "Jaguar Knight". The album is dark and foreboding, and yet it's upbeat and a little on the "epic" side of things. There's a whole slew of tracks that are great. John Yelland from Prog/power metal, Disforia, guests on "Genocide" with a ripping solo.

A really solid album. Definitely worth checking out, especially if you like 80s-style power metal like yours truly. I'm definitely on the waiting list for a second album.

Getchoo sum!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Visigoth- Final Spell EP Review

Greetings fellow metalheads. You're old pal Sean has been slow on the reviews lately. I haven't had any material until I've had some demos and EPs tossed my way.

I've probably said this before, but I'll state it again if I have to: the US metal scene is severely lacking in the epic category. You know, the shit that makes you wanna take a broad sword to your annoying neighbor that complains you play music to loud and then go plant his severed head on a pole as you raid the rest of your neighborhood. Well, friends, those days are coming.

Visigoth are a heavy metal band based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. (I bet the Mormons out there have one hell of a time with these guys. Ha!). They've got an EP out called Final Spell. It's a four-banger that's roughly over 20 minutes long. They're named after one of the barbarian tribes that sacked the Roman Empire, what else ya want?

The album kicks off with a slight echo and then BAM! it hits you with a sledge hammer riff and a high pitched yell. The riffs just gallop out the speakers and the vocal melodies bounce along side of them and intertwine. The songs are the kind that are just formulated for you to sing along with. The solos roll right off the fretboard, lots of shred and melodies. It's a good blend of NWOBHM influences like Iron Maiden and Saxon with the likes of early USPM acts of Griffin.

The production is damned good for an EP. It's a little on the squeaky clean side, but it's not overly done either. And for a four song demo, there's some decent variety within the songs. You've got the galloping songs like "Creature of Desire" and some nice slow, down tempo ones like "Seven Golden Ships." "Final Spell" starts off on a slightly upbeat track, slows down a little bit towards the end with a cool clean bit, and then steadily speeds up into a ripping crescendo. "Seven Golden Ships" has a nice chunky riff that they build off with, with vocal lines that soar right over them - a counter to the driving pumping riff. The last song "Call off the Road" is a good finish for the EP; a really cool Maideny riff with a slight swing in it and a duo harmonized solo. It's like this century's "Running Free." Honestly, it's my favorite song off of this one. I'm saddened that this was only an EP, by the end of it I'm wanting to hear a little bit more.

Getchoo sum!

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Evocation – Evoked From Demonic Depths: The Early Years

After taking a break from listening to Swedish death metal, due to the sheer ridiculous amount of bands that I’ve heard in this style over the last year or so, I decided to pick up Evocation’s recently released compilation a few days ago when I happened across it in a local store. This release compiles Evocation’s two demo tapes from 1992, an unreleased rehearsal recording and a previously unrecorded track from ’92 entitled “Genesis”.

Evocation definitely have always had the “Swedish sound” akin to Dismember, Grave, Entombed and so on, but, they always stood apart from the pack in the way that they incorporated melodic influences that have more in common with the Gothenburg scene than the Sunlight studios crowd, leaving us with a more unique and accessible take on the old-school Swedish death metal sound.

I’m not sure how this was managed way back in ’91, but, Evocation got a really high quality sound on “The Ancient Gate” and the “Promo 1992” demos. When combined together on a release like this (or their previously released self-titled compilation from 2004), the two demos flow really well together, and if the band hadn’t broken up not long after, I think they could have released an absolute belter of an album that would be up there with legendary releases like “Left Hand Path” and “Like an Ever Flowing Stream”. Sadly, the previously unreleased rehearsal demo sort of feels like it was just tacked on the end as a sort of afterthought, with a real raw and sloppy recording job that sounds completely different to the other two demos. However, the versions of the songs on this part still sound good in their own way and give a different insight to songs that you’ve already heard earlier on the comp. “Genesis” would fit in perfectly well with the two demos and it’s great that the band finally recorded it as a bonus track for the compilation.

All in all, this compilation is a killer package, with all of their early demo material (almost an hour worth of music) and a 32 page (!!!) booklet containing background info on the band, all lyrics, a bit of info about each song, liner notes, three live bootleg video enhancements on the CD version, information on the story behind each recording and a lot of photos, any fanatic of the old Swedish underground would be a fool to let this pass them by.

Resurgency – False Enlightenment


Some of you readers may remember my review from way back in December of a killer split between two new death metal bands; Desolator, from Sweden and Greek deathbangers Resurgency. Since then, Desolator haven’t released anything new (to my knowledge), but Resurgency, on the other hand, have recently put out their debut album on Hellthrasher Productions (the same label who did the split).

In my review of the split, I mentioned that Resurgency came across as heavily influenced by Morbid Angel, Sinister and Vader. This still rings true on “False Enlightenment”, however, the band is starting to find their sound now, as one can tell from the re-recorded versions of “Where Despair Dominates”, “Dark Revival” and “Psychosis”, all three of which have seen reasonable improvement here. The band sounds a lot tighter and more energetic then they did on the demo, too.

The production is pretty standard mixing for this type of death metal, but it works well with Resurgency’s particular style and I’ve no real complaints about it. The songs are all well written and varied enough, you can tell that each riff has been carefully selected and placed, the fast, neck snapping sections evenly spread between mid-paced grooves, slower sections and the occasional sweeping melodic passage, so as not to overwhelm the listener with unrelenting brutality.

If you consider yourself a death metal connoisseur, then you should definitely pick this up. Once again Hellthrasher Productions has delivered the goods.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Ahab - The Giant


Ahab. The worlds only 'Nautical Funeral Metal' band are now nothing more then another scratch in the wall of letdowns that I seem to find these days. The Giant is their third full release and naturally following suit with themes of oceanic folklore and myths from ages past.
Now I'm not sure if it was my anticipation of wanting it to be another 'Call of the Wretched Sea' or if it was all the hype generated in the interwebs but I was left with a bad taste. Earlier releases managed to provide an intense and magical atmosphere that they just can't seem to replicate. Everything has changed and not entirely for the better. The clean vocal passages just seem overused, haunting riffs aren't as brooding and drawn out and the art. Oh the art. All previous releases to date have a sense of sorrow and subtle nightmares through the use of watercolors and ancient paintings but 'The Giant' is nothing more than something from a Rob Zombie film clip. It looks like a fucking horrible metalcore piece!

I can imagine you're getting the impression I hate this album. Not true. I'm not angry..just disappointed. There are quite a few redeeming qualities to it which most funeral doomers will agree with. Monster sections of both massive riffs and very emotional slow leads that tend to get the mood going again through clenched fists and gritting teeth.

All in all it's a decent release for modern funeral but it's still leagues away from their earlier seaward ventures. Very clean, very polished and very heavy.


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

The Slow Death – II



 After four years, Sydney based death/funeral/doom metal band The Slow Death has returned with their second full length offering, simply titled “II”. This is a concept album, as was their first (which was based on the Bubonic Plague), focusing on the story of the last humans on Earth, who are forced to slowly die of hunger and exhaustion as they struggle survive in a never-ending desert wasteland.

Their sound can best be described as very slow-paced and depressing death/doom with both female and male vocals, in parts melodic and aggressive in other parts. The female vocals, provided by Mandy Andresen, tend to take the lead with Gregg Williamson’s growls showing up for a few verses in each song (as best evidenced in “To Your Fate”, which is also my favourite song on “II”). Mandy’s vocals take a rather depressing mid-range tone, as oppose to the more angelic and operatic vocals she provided on the first album, while Gregg’s vocals are very evil and sinister sounding. The actual music rarely picks up in pace and definitely lives up to being doom metal without dragging things out and boring the listener, which is great because the album runs for over an hour! The guitars are heavy and crushing, with a tasteful keyboard element to complement the riffs. The drumming, provided by Yonn (Nazxul, Backyard Mortuary, Temple Nightside and more) is pretty much what you would expect from this type of doom, plodding along with the riffs and driving the listener towards the realms of despair.

The production may be too “clean” for some people, but I feel it’s necessary to bring out everything the songs have to offer. A messy and raw recording just would not do at all as far as I’m concerned. Each individual instrumental part and vocal line can be heard with excellent clarity, which allows each band member to shine without favouring any particular instrument in the mix.

I would recommend picking this, and their first, album up if you’re into well-written doom metal that depresses just as much as it crushes.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Vein – Crux Calvaria



Vein is a new three-piece doom metal band featuring two members of Procession and a member of In Solitude which was formed last year. Upon finding out who was in the band, I quickly snapped up a copy of their debut 7”, entitled “Crux Calvaria”.

The music is heavy and epic doom metal in the style of Candlemass, Reverend Bizarre, Solstice and, of course; Procession. Each of the two songs presented on this EP are well written examples of powerful and heavy traditional-minded doom metal, showcasing heavy, catchy and interesting guitar and bass riffs, interesting drum work and some of the most soulful and passionate vocals I’ve ever heard.

Vein is definitely a band to watch out for in the future, they have really impressed me with this 14 minutes 7” EP. Since “Crux Calvaria” is limited to 500 copies, I would suggest you lovers of doom metal get on this ASAP.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Sacred Gate- When Eternity Ends

 Sacred Gate - When Eternity Ends

Germany always seems to pump out some good metal. You've got Accept, Kreator, Helloween, Scorpions, Grave Digger, Sodom, let's face it... there's a slew of good bands from Deutschland and Sacred Gate are no exception. Hailing from the north, these German heavy metallers have released their debut album When Eternity Ends. They bring out their own brand of power-tinged heavy metal in full force.

Traditional heavy metal is one of those genres where you can't go wrong with. Sure, there are several others as well, but the parameters for trad metal can be so easily done that it's so hard to disappoint. You need the powerful riffs, epic vocals, and blazing solos; these guys sure have all of those.

Sacred Gate opens right out with music that pummels you. No frills or cheap thrills. The guitars just chug right along at a mid-paced tempo, very much in the vein of Judas Priest or Accept. The sound is just thick and immense, a nice wall of bass and guitars. There aren't any overly-complicated, technical riffs here, just the bruising meat-and-potatoes riffs that would suit the less eggheaded metal lovers. The riffs lay the foundation for the soaring vocals. The singer's voice has a nice original sound, he doesn't sound like a Halford copy. The singer's range is on the lower end, not quite baritone but sort of in the middle. Although, he does crack out some of those epic high notes that we all love to hear.

There really isn't a bad track on the album, nor are there really epic tracks that really stand out to me. However, that's not to be dismissive as the songs are really solid sounding. The title track and "Realm of Hell" are probably the most solid out of all of them. "Vengeance" has that bouncy one-note riff, giving the album a little more speed. They really take their songwriting cues from the old metal legends, "In the Heart of the Iron Maiden" screams a tribute to Abba- I mean, Iron Maiden.Not a bad thing, but a little bit of originality would be nice if they threw it in there once in a while.

With that being said, I've probably listened to this album several  times all the way through, no track skipping. It's a good album to drive with if you've got a good amount of distance to drive, crack open a few cold ones with your buds, or simply if you're killing digital enemies on your gaming console. If you've got an extra ten bucks and maybe decide to buy a CD for once instead of that weekly dimebag, you wouldn't regret making this one.

No numbers anymore, folks! Read it, go listen, and decide for yourself.

Getchoo sum!

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Hellvetron - Death Scroll of Seven Hells and Its Infernal Majesties



Hellvetron, a black metal band from Texas, seem to have snuck up on everyone; having been around since 2004 but only releasing one demo in 2005 before dropping “Death Scroll of Seven Hells and It's Infernal Majesties” on Hells Headbangers back in April.

Now, when I say Hellvetron are a black metal band, I really mean that in the loosest sense of the word. A more accurate way to describe them would be if you took a band like Teitanblood and forced them to make a record after listening exclusively to doom metal for a few years. Ominous slab-dragging beats plod along beneath a raw and filthy guitar tone which fittingly accentuates the primordial and drawling chord-driven riffs. Front man Alal'Xhaasztur sounds like he is howling out proclamations throughout the very depths of the Seven Hells, preaching to the legions of the damned. Haunting chants and various other subtle effects are used rather generously where they can in order to draw the listener even further into the abysmal depths of horror that Hellvetron spawned from.

“Death Scroll…” is a very short album, clocking in at only 25 minutes, but, surprisingly this works as an advantage, as one often associates this style of music with long, drawn out “compositions” that tend to wear thin on the listener pretty quickly, since not everybody has time to sit down and listen to music for upwards of an hour every time. Hells Headbangers has once again delivered us the goods with this release.