SHARKBASTARDTERRORCULT Interview #1: Fornication

As some of you may know (although most of you probably don't), earlier this year I was going to collaborate on a printed 'zine with the guys from Gorphyryac. Unfortunately due to money issues, this 'zine has not been printed, and it has been decided that the interviews done (not by me, by the way) for the first issue aren't as relevant now as they were at the time, so it would be unfair to charge money for them, so instead, I will be posting them on here for your reading pleasure. Up first is Canadian black/speed metal maniacs Fornication...




SBTC:
Thanks for taking the times to do this sickos, for those who have never heard you how would you describe your sound?

Fornication:
First wave black metal... black thrash. Rotten, unholy, fast, evil relentless metal.

SBTC:
I see you enjoy candle-lit alcoholic sewer rituals. How did these ventures into subterranean filth begin?

Fornication:
When I was about 13 me and my friends stumbled upon the entrance to the sewers in this forest around here. We never really went far in them before, never brought the lights or anything, since its pitch black, but we always went back and fucked around the entrance. Eventually we traveled through them, after about 20 minutes of walking you find a giant room, which is where the sewer rituals began. Many fucked up times in there! The depths of the underground, blacker then night! Acoustics sound wicked down there, I have recorded a few things down there.

SBTC:
What do you think of the Calgary metal scene?

Fornication:
75% pure garabage, 25% real music. Good bands from here like The Cadavor Dog, Gatekrashor, Ominosity, Epi-Demic, Martial Law... thats about it. My other band is deathrash - Savage Streets. The Edmonton scene is pretty good as well.

SBTC:
Has Fornication performed outside Calgary? Any plans on touring?

Fornication:
Just around the Province. No plans to tour now, around September we are playing live for Barbatos on a west coast USA tour, so that’s enough for this year, unless something comes up.

SBTC:
How did your split with the legendary Japanese sleaze/thrash group ABIGAIL come to be?

Fornication:
I did a trade with Yasuyuki of our demo "Hell Metal" for some of his stuff. Then we just talked about doing a split.

SBTC:
Are there any plans for a Fornication full length record in the works?

Fornication:
Only demos/eps/splits for a while is my plan. But you never know. As of now, there are no plans at all.

SBTC:
There are a handful of other Fornications (obviously false) out there, what sets you apart from these hacks?

Fornication:
The act of Fornication can be Blasphemous, Unholy, Primitive, filthy, rabid, dirty... which is our sound.

SBTC:
Have you ever encountered trouble for your perverse lyrics, imagery etc in your native land?

Fornication:
No. Well I went to this radio station a few years ago when we just started, and our drunk/high antics made them cut us off, said some fucked up shit, fought in the radio room and ruined all their equipment. It was indeed fucked.

SBTC:
What are your top 5 favorite records of all time?

Fornication:
Venom - Black Metal
Bathory s/t
GISM - MAN
Sarcofago - INRI
Inquisition - can’t even pick one...
Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance....
Can't just pick 5... these are just my classic favorites, I always have a different album I’m going most nuts for... lately lots of Force of Darkness and Bestial Mockery.

SBTC:
What are your thoughts on Sharks?

Fornication:
Fuckers are scary, just like the ocean. Deep ocean shit is so fucked.

SBTC:
If you were to get drunk and lay waste to a crowd with any active band, who would it be?

Fornication:
Lots. My rage is at its max for shitty bands when I'm drunk.

SBTC:
Thanks again! Any parting words?

Fornication:
Worship the darkness, drink, fight, fuck and do drugs till you cant do more! Thanks for the support!

Prosanctus Inferi – Red Streams of Flesh

Prosanctus Inferi have been around since 2005, but I didn’t expect to hear anything new from these ripping black metal bastards following the suicide of their drummer Antichristus in 2009 and the post-humorous release of their debut album “Pandemonic Ululations of Vesperic Palpitations” in 2010, but main man Jake Kohn has soldiered on with new drummer Jeremy Spears and put together a killer follow-up EP entitled “Red Streams of Flesh” on Nuclear War Now! Productions.

This EP is so straightforward it’s almost ridiculous, but that’s the beauty of it. Fast paced tremolo riffs, evil as fuck vocals that bring to mind Paul Ledney’s work on Profanatica’s full lengths and songs that are always running along at full speed. Fans of intense bestial bands such as Archgoat, Revenge, Blasphemy, Angelcorpse and (very) early Morbid Angel will love this; anyone else will probably hate it, but fuck those guys.

The production is filthy as ever yet weirdly accessible and fits the music immensely. Running at 19 minutes, the listener doesn’t have time to get bored and will just find them self lost among the primitive brutality. “Red Streams of Flesh” doesn’t differ much at all from their previous efforts, but I do personally consider it an overall improvement to their most recent release.

4/5.

Insinnerator- Stalagmite of Ice

Insinnerator are a lil’ ol’ three-piece thrash band from Texas.  They’ve finally released their debut album, having released only EPs and demos previously, and DAMN, it’s an ass-kicker!

The first track just cuts right in. There’s no fancy-shmancy introduction music, it just goes off with a riff that socks you right in the jaw and spits on you as you go down. There are riffs abound, very tasty riffs I might add. I think the riffs really make this album; they leave you shitting your insides out like your mother’s chili. Gary Holt and Kerry King would wet themselves in jealousy. Lots of good circle-pitting riffs and plenty of ones to go nutty and mosh your brains out with.

 There are quite a few  Araya-screams, although at times they’re grating to the ears, like in “Rites of Execution”, and others they fit in perfectly such as “Face the Insinnerator”. The vocals at times are usually speed talking garbles of words with a slight sneer; it’s a lot cleaner than what you could expect as they aren’t very gruff. Think Hetfield meets Baloff.

The tracks flow very smoothly one after another, probably to keep your attention as they pummel you through your speakers. It’s pretty much an album of thrash metal blitzkrieg. There is a 7 minute track, but the music has the dynamics to keep your attention. Musicianship seems to be emphasized on this record. However, it’s not to the point of being a proggy-egghead band, but they really know how to construct a well-written tune. I haven’t heard such well composed tunes from a thrash band in a long time. Besides the great riffs, the solos are tasteful and aren’t rope-pissing guitar wank fests. The drummer keeps in the pocket while adding fills to spice up the song, with very little jackhammer blast-beats, too.

Overall, this is one solid debut. If the riffs don’t start making your neck moving and groovin’ then you might as well be dead. It’s not for those that are brand-new to thrash as the vocals wouldn’t be appealing to fresh ears. Whilst they didn’t set any new standards in thrash, nor do I think they were aiming to, it certainly is just good, “classic” thrash metal. They don’t rehash anything or sing about pizza, beer, and bongs. I would definitely say these guys stand apart from the rest of the New Wave of Thrash; if they can keep it together they can easily become the cream of the crop in a few years. If a zombie apocalypse were to commence soon, I would definitely recommend you to pop this in your music player and get crackin’!

4/5

Introducing a New Member of the Cast

Hello fellow metalheads!

It's Sean here, Ambrosius to those from Thrash Unlimited. I've finally started to do some reviews. I'm collaborating with Wayde's webzine here, I'll be throwing in a few reviews from time to time. I'm new, but  I hope you take the time to open your eyes and enjoy!

Short and Sweet 7” and Splits from 2011 that flew under my radar...

There have been some really cool split and 7” releases put out this year that I’ve only recently become aware of and since your average split or 7” is generally short and to the point, I’ve decided to compile a few short and to the point reviews in one post for convenience and a bit of fun. Please, feel free to let me know if I’ve missed anything else that should be checked out in the comments section of this post…

Deiphago – XCIII



First up is anti-Christ Filipino war metal maniacs Deiphago and their 7” EP “XCIII” which dropped back in February but I was unaware of until just last week. On display here are a brief 41 second intro track and two tracks of blistering chaotic war metal that sounds like Bestial Warlust taking a vacation in the Philippines. Lots of blastbeats, crazy riffs, undecipherable vocals and lo-fi production are what you can expect from these guys, and honestly; I would never expect anything else from them. Both songs are killer and this is a very worthy purchase for your bestial vinyl collection.

3.5/5 Good stuff, but I’m not quite convinced it lives up to their latest full length.

Morbosidad/Witchrist



A split between my favourite Mexican band and my favourite New Zealand band? How did I miss this one when it dropped back in September?!

The two Morbosidad tracks are exactly what I’ve generally come to expect from this Mexican horde: straightforward bestial black/grind that’s fun as hell and doesn’t muck around with silly gimmicks or blatantly ripping off Blasphemy or Conqueror.

The Witchrist songs are just as good as everything we heard on their excellent full length “Beheaded Ouroboros” but a bit more on the straightforward death metal side. It’s a lot more stripped down than the full length was, but it fits in well on a split with a band like Morbosidad who stick to the whole “no bullshit, just metal” attitude and it’s nice to hear them doing something like this after releasing such a dense and crushing full length. The second song, simply entitled “II” is the longest on the split and takes the cake as the best track.

5/5 both bands are at the top of their game and this split is proof of how relevant each of these underground hordes are.

Cruciamentum/Vasaeleth – Eroding Chaos unto Ascendant Flesh



Time for a change of pace and some crawling mid-paced Incantation worship of the highest order. Here we have two of the most solid up-and-coming young death metal acts doing the whole “ancient dark death metal” thing. Cruciamentum from the UK and Vasaeleth from the states.
A
nyone who has heard either band will have a bit of an idea what to expect here; from Vasaeleth, it’s all about distortion soaked thick doom laden occult death metal. This track is a bit weak compared to some of their material but still a very solid track either way and I’ve got no complaints about it. The Cruciamentum song is a bit cleaner than what they have put out so far but still dark and heavy as ever. The biggest change on Cruciamentum’s part is the vocals, which now resemble more of a Bolt Thrower influenced mid-low range growl that sits comfortably higher in the mix than on previous efforts.

This split isn’t exactly gonna make waves among the underground crowd but it’s a solid release with two good tracks and my only real complaint is that it left me drooling for more from each band.
4/5

Grave Upheaval/Encoffination



Keeping with the trench of ancient and dark sounding death metal, we come to a split between two incredible bands; Australia’s Grave Upheaval and Encoffination from America. I’m telling you right now kids, this split is not for the faint of heart…

Both bands deliver a unique brand of ritualistic occult death metal that crawls along at a snails pace and suffocates the listener under their intense musical weight. Each of the two songs on this split reek of filthy blasphemous crushing terror. This is one for the true death metal diehards only.

4/5 A bit pricey and painfully short, but absolutely crushing. One of the heaviest releases I’ve ever heard.

Cerekloth – Halo of Syringes



This dropped back in July and I had no idea until I unexpectedly came across it while browsing Hells Headbangers not long ago. Denmark’s Cerekloth really impressed me a couple of years back with their debut EP “Pandemonium Prayers” so it goes without saying that I purchased “Halo of Syringes” instantly when I found it.

“Halo of Syringes” is a MASSIVE departure from the early Deicide worship the band conjured on their earlier release, which is a good thing indeed. The band have undergone a complete change in direction, one filled with dissonant and eerie riffs played at lumbering paces, sinister cackling vocals that reek of the manic Attila Csihar in the midst of a heroin bender, well thought out drum patterns and an overall aching sordid vibe. And that’s just the first track! The second song “Shattered Hourglass” is a rerecording of a track from the earlier EP and it still reeks of Deicide worship but now the song actually fits the band and doesn’t sound like a generic death metal filler (so in other words, it doesn’t sound completely like a Deicide song anymore). The outro track is a very clean and soothing instrumental track when compared to the other two tunes, think of an early Katatonia interlude and you get the idea.

5/5 These guys have progressed a ton and truly caught my attention with this release. I’m eagerly awaiting more.

Masada - Suffer Mental Decay

Masada are a pretty new (formed in 2008) death metal band from the US featuring members of Immolation, Gorephobia and Grand Belial’s Key among others. Judging by the bands that Masada’s members have previously played in, obviously you should not let yourself be fooled by the logo and album art into thinking this is just another generic throwback thrash metal album… Masada play pure and unique old-school death metal without compromise.

Most of the demo crawls along at a creeping mid-pace, but at times they pick up into furious speeds. The production here is excellent for a demo, every instrument can be heard but there is still an eerie sense of murkiness lurking in the mix. Catchy bass lines and varied unique drum patterns are used to create a sense of technicality not unlike Finnish legends Demilich.

Not much more can be said about this 2 song, 6 minute demo except that it’s a killer slab of OSDM drenched in a dark and moody atmosphere that leaves you wanting more. I, for one, will be eagerly awaiting more from these guys.

4/5

Resurgency/Desolator Split

What we have here is an untitled split featuring two demos from two killer up and coming death metal bands. Side one is a Greek band called Resurgency who feature members of Necrovorus and Stagnate and this is their first demo entitled “Dark Revival”. Side two is the second demo of Swedish band Desolator entitled “Mass Human Pyre”. I’m not going to compare the two bands and say one is better than the other, because that would be fucking stupid when both sides are of such high quality. What I am going to do, however, is discuss why this split is an excellent homage to all the things that make old-school death metal great and hopefully convince you, the reader, to check out these two bands.



Side 1. Resurgency – Dark Revival

It seems these Greek fellows are influenced from just about every OSDM scene there is, and to my ear they most resemble the sound of early Vader, Sinister and Morbid Angel. So you can pretty much guess the kind of riffage and tone Resurgency delivers. This side of the split has a better production job than the Desolator side although the bass is pretty vague and often drowned out by the guitars and vocals. The best of these 4 songs would have to be the opener “Where Despair Dominates” in my opinion. All 4 tracks are stellar and leave you hungry for more Resurgency.

Side 2. Desolator – Mass Human Pyre

Now for Desolator, who bring forth a filthy Swedish death metal assault. Chainsaw guitars, d-beats and an all-around grittiness is the order of the day here. The intro track “Conjuration of the Watcher” gives off a distinctively medieval feel with it’s chanting and cries of “Arise! Arise! Arise!” leading into the opening riff of “Mass Human Pyre” which really gives the feel of some foul beast arising from the depths of the earth. This side is raw old-school Swedeath, nothing more, nothing less. And it’s fucking brilliant.

In a nutshell; neither of these bands are trying to do anything new or grab your attention using wanky show off tactics. They simply conjure up the old death metal spirits and do a damn good job of it. This is everything I could ever want from a death metal split.

5/5