Advent of the Sun EP Review

Advent of the Sun are a power-tinged progressive metal group from South Dakota. They've got an EP here that is just about ready to be released I believe. It's only several tracks long, but consider it a really short album. Perfect for those with ADHD!

What I personally like about this EP is that it doesn't bore me to tears. As much as I love some 70s progressive rock, some of the progressive metal bands just don't move me. But the songs are crafted really well and don't leave you hanging dry by the middle. There are heavy parts and then there are slow movements. Besides the clean singing, there are also harsh vocals to break any sort of monotony you would have. The guitars don't just wank off during solos and lead parts, they know when to back off and let the song do its work. Even the keyboards take their time to shine and then back down, adding to atmosphere like in "Exogenesis."

Often progressive groups write really technical songs that don't really go anywhere, I don't think these guys are the case here. The vocal lines grab for attention and chorus are actually pretty hooky. Check out tracks like "Suspend" and "Haunted," they've got some great musicianship and the power metal influence eeks out with the choruses. The riffs are a touch of modern at times and there is a instrumental track that sounds like jazz fusion on steroids, so old schoolers might want to beware. The songs have the ability to really just slam down, then ease off into space for a gentle movement, and then come crashing back down.

If you're looking for a progressive metal band that doesn't show off too damn much with techwankery, then look no further here.  Fans of Dream Theater will like it, and any one that wishes to peer into uncharted territory would like it as well.

The Tower.

 

 

It was back in 1938 that the brothers Erik and August and their friend Viktor migrated south. They left the small village in the northern forests where they grew up for the big city and the university, to study the science of harvesting the earth. On the fields beside the burial mounds in old Uppsala they met Tommie, a Soviet refugee. He showed them his sole possession, a blues vinyl from 5300 BC, suspecting that it would fit their melancholy northern souls. The four sat down in a barn and played a blues jam which lasted until 1945, when the war ended and the post-apocalyptic nuclear winter began.

At that time the group withdrew into the top floor of a nearby tower. Through the window of their tower-room they saw ash and snow falling from a gloomy, violet and crimson sky. Erik wept for the world and August began writing their first actual song, Andromeda. Tommie shuddered but had seen worse. Viktor suggested they should arm themselves.

The four remained in solitude throughout the 50's, an isolation interspersed only by a Zenith tube radio which brought them pop cultural news-pieces aired by American radio stations. They tried to adapt the rockabilly tunes they heard into their own music but were mostly unsuccessful (their innate sense of rhythm being too crooked).

In '59 Tommie--whilst listening to an original rumble on the radio--noted that the snow was beginning to melt. Soon thereafter flowers began to blossom. A marvelous explosion of colors, warmth and fragrances previously unknown! Viktor, seeking to condense these new vibrations into something physical, built both the world's first fuzz and wah-wah pedals. Erik, on the other hand, saw it more fitting to grow a mustache. No one remembers more than glimpses of the years that followed, except that they left the tower, but they all agree that it was a most intoxicating time and that they somehow acquired a more orgiastic bent as musicians during this period.

 

But, alas, in the early 70's each of the four felt a pressing need for a climax, for transcendence and revolt. For a time the band split up: August moved to Detroit, took to street-fighting and began wearing makeup; Viktor moved to Tokyo, where he entered a girls boarding school and started an all-girl noise-rock band; Erik moved to Göteborg and played acoustic music with political lyrics, seeking to inspire a world-wide socialist revolution, while Tommie moved to New York where he focused on the occult and worked as a session musician.

They reunited in '83 and moved back into their tower-room. They remained there until the autumn of 2012 (when rumors of the end of the world enticed them to leave) and they have since then been known to the public as "The Tower".

http://soundcloud.com/the-tower-cult

https://www.facebook.com/thetowercult?ref=stream

Dybbuk Records 

https://www.facebook.com/DybbukRecords

Cadaveric Fumes - Macabre Exaltation

Rising from a grave somewhere in France back in 2011, Cadaveric Fumes play a style of old-school death metal that puts them in a similar category to bands such as Grave Miasma, Funebrarum and Cruciamentum. Whilst not being very original; their mish-mash of different OSDM styles sets them apart from your usual Dismember or Morbid Angel clone bands and breathes a bit of fresh air into the overcrowded "new-OSDM" scene.

In CF's melting pot, you will find a dash of Autopsy, a smidge of Entombed/Dismember/Grave worship (but just a smigde...), a healthy heaping of ancient Finnish death metal and a few sprinklings of Incantation's cavern-crawling darkness. As you can probably gather from the mentioned influences; the instrumental parts range from soulcrushingly slow to mid-paced stomps and even incorporate the occasional blast beat, although the blasts are used sparingly. The bass tends to follow the guitar riffs, for the most part, but presents a very dark tone, which adds a lot of dimension to the atmosphere, as do the tasteful yet scarce synths. The vocals have a decent range, often changing between deep gutterals and high pitched screams within the same song.

The production is deliciously dark and ancient, suffocating the listener whilst still allowing the morbid tunes plenty of room to breathe. "Macabre Exaltation" sounds very professional, especially for a band's first demo. Whilst originally released on tape and limited to 300 copies, "Macabre Exaltation" has recently been repressed on vinyl through Blood Harvest, so there is no excuse for you morbid death fiends to pass this one up.

Vagabond's Band of the Month: Blasphmachine

Band: Blasphmachine
Year of Formation: 2012
Country of Origin: Malaysia
Genre: Death/Black Metal

Formed last year in Kelantan, Malaysia, Blasphmachine play the type of black/death "war" metal that gets my blood flowing every time. Clearly influenced by bands such as Blasphemy, Archgoat, Conqueror, Revenge and the like, Blasphmachine's debut demo is definitely worth picking up if you're a fan of militant black/death.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2y9f5bWSGk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRYlhVBR3cU

Contact: blasphmachine@gmail.com / rimiazarin@yahoo.com

http://blasphmachine.blogspot.com.au/

Saxon- Sacrifice Review

 

Saxon came out with a new album, Sacrifice, just a month or two ago. Do I really need to give out a bio for them? If you don't know who these guys are, you really need to do some homework.

I've never listened to a Saxon album outside of the 80s classics like Wheels of Steel and Denim and Leather, so I wasn't sure what to expect. How many older bands make good music these days? A handful, maybe? For an aging NWOBHM band, it ain't half bad, less than half bad if I dare say so.

The music is heavy and intense, the riffs are powerful and have that old school sound, the lyrics are catchy as STDs, and the solos rip you to pieces. There really isn't much to complain about. The songwriting here on the upside, as the album has little filler. There is all that you'd expect from a Saxon album: a headbanging title track, a metal anthem ("Stand Up and Fight"), motorcycle-riding ("Warriors of the Road"), a "power-ballad" ("Night of the Wolf"), and the trademark mid-tempo stuff ("Wheels of Terror" and "Guardians of the Tomb").

While it may not become a classic or a modern masterpiece, it really is a solid album. More than half the tracks are worth listening to. The production , while modern, doesn't sound pale at all and only amplifies the strength of the songs. There isn't a bad riff on here and Biff's vocals are still holding up. In my opinion, if you have liked the last two Accept records, then you will enjoy this album. The two best tracks on here are the title track and "Guardians of the Tomb," if those don't sell it to you, I don't know what will.

Interview: Dan Nahum

WM: Hey Dan! Let’s start things off with a brief run-down of what you’ve been up to musically in recent times. What bands are you currently in? Do any of these projects have new material coming out, or has anything been released in the last year or so? Etc. etc.

DN: Ave. Fingers in lots of pies; probably best to answer in dot points!

• Bleakwood is my solo project - aggressive and forward-thinking black metal - and has a couple of split 7"s coming out in the next few months, one with Lampades (Aus) through Psychedelic Lotus Records (China) and one with Ekadzati (US) which my label, Tactical Solutions, and Milam Rex (US) are raising the money to press through Kickstarter. I have a live line-up for the project as well which I am honoured to announce will play at the next Evil Invaders. Full-length in 2013 as well I hope!

• The Veil is probably the most disciplined band I am in, we recently played Dublin Doom Days and are in the process of pulling together material for our second album of post-punk-infused dark rock/metal.

• Dead River Runs Dry recently released our first demo of blackened metal which is free online and has been getting some really good feedback. We played at Crowned's Sydney album launch on 30 November, and are pulling together new material for a full-length, which we will put out through The Path Less Traveled Records (US)...

• Azoth and Greed & Rapacity have fairly recent releases and are both gradually pulling together material for full-length albums.

• I've been playing session drums for Ekadzati, which has been really rewarding, and hope to continue my collaboration here.

• Earlier this year some dark ambient material a la Neptune Towers which I was involved with under the banner of Mistsorrow was released as a split with Ein Skopudhr Galdra through Aurora Australis Recordings.

There's some other projects in the pipeline too. So, as you can see, always busy... but never cutting corners on quality.
 

WM: When did you first start playing music? What influenced you to play metal, in particular, as well as dabble in a bit of dark ambient and dark rock? What musical and non-musical influences go in to each of your different projects?

DN: I've been playing drums for almost twenty years, and guitar (questionably!) for more than ten, and from the outset I was attracted to music that was tense or fast or challenging or dark or all of the above. So this created a general direction and template for my musical endeavours - within that, there's a whole lot of room within which I can express myself in an honest and satisfying way. There are so many influences out there, filtered through so many mental states... Bleakwood, for instance, began as a channel for conflict and discord, and the animism/ego tension, inspired by Blake and Spinoza; the intensity of those influences is why it sounds the way it does. Greed & Rapacity began with a very specific idea to examine the twisted wreckage of Jungian archetypes and the existential psychological notion of 'symbolic immortality' through the prism of the rapacious and war-torn contemporary world. And so on.

WM: What differences do you find in working on a solo project as opposed to playing in a band with other people contributing to the creative process? Do you have a preference for how you like to write music?

DN: Working on music on my own is challenging - especially deciding when a composition is complete - but really satisfying, in the sense that once you're done, you have a very direct and uncompromised personal expression. Having said that, in a collaboration, people are bouncing ideas off each other; you can get some very exciting and inspired results from filtering one person's composition through another person's perceptions, ideas, influences... So I'm not sure one is better than the other, although I imagine my bandmates are glad that I exorcise some of my control-freak tendencies working alone.

I tend to write music on guitar, particularly around the relationship/interplay between two guitar lines, which I feel continues to be a neglected cornucopia for writing interesting, intense music. In a lot of metal composition, the second guitar is basically redundant, resulting in dull, linear composition. Most of the Bleakwood music from *Blood & Faith* onwards is built harmonically and melodically around the 'limitless limit' of having two guitars that are simultaneously rhythm and lead. So, they wind around each other; one guitar might start a phrase which the other finishes, there's lots of movement between high and low registers in each guitar line... to demonstrate what I mean, if you listen to this material with one guitar muted, it really sounds very fragmented and incomplete, and then when you bring that guitar back in, it sounds coherent again.

WM: You mentioned above that the next Bleakwood split will be funded by a Kickstarter account. Would you mind telling us a bit about Kickstarter and why you chose to use this method of obtaining funds?

DN: Kickstarter is a website offering a pledge-based system of essentially micro-venture capital. You set up a project, with a minimum limit for pledges. Then people pledge whatever amount they wish, often (and in our case), in return for pre-ordered items. If the minimum limit is reached, the pledgers' credit cards get charged the amount that they pledged, and the money is funneled to the project initiator, minus a fee (which is how Kickstarter make their money).

Basically both myself and Zareen (of Ekadzati/Milam Records) were tired of being seriously out of pocket to put new releases appealing to a limited, though very dedicated, audience out, so this is a way of allowing interested parties to help share the cost of putting the release out at the outset - in return for exclusive items and the sense of having contributed to the manifestation of this release.

(NB: the release has been funded and is now on its way from the pressing plant.)

WM: Tell me a bit about your label, Tactical Solutions. When did you start the label up and what was behind your decision to form your own label? What has the label releases so far? Where can people purchase your releases? Etc. etc.

DN: Tactical Solutions brings two factors together.

The first is my interest in the cutting edge of elite and atmospheric underground music, so we are proud to stock releases by the likes of Famine, Flourishing, and so on.

The second is as a launch pad for recordings of close associates and myself. I promise that anything under the TacSol banner will be interesting material, executed and produced with grit and intelligence.

So far:

TSA001 - Azoth CD demo

TSA002 - Bleakwood/Azoth split 7"

TSA003 - Futility - The View From Here

The latter I am not musically involved with, but am a huge admirer of the emotional honesty and integrity of the band. Definitely see them live if you get the chance, they are demolishing.

TacSol is small and underground, and I plan to keep it small and underground. Your readers can check it out at tacsol.blogspot.com, which has an email address for correspondence and Paypal.

WM: I’ve noticed that you utilize a lot of internet promotion to reach your small but dedicated target audience. Why do you choose to use this method of promotion? What general opinion do you have of online promotion? Do you feel it helps underground labels and bands to find a voice and reach people who may otherwise not have had the opportunity to look in to what these bands and labels have to offer? Do you see any particular disadvantages to online promotion?

DN: Not to put too fine a point on it, it's the longest reach for the smallest outlay. The Nigerian scammer rationale! But you're right, perhaps people who wouldn't have otherwise have come across what we do might be exposed to it. On the other hand, it's easy to overlook internet promo because there is just so much chaff out there - and so much good stuff too, a lot of which is given away. Frankly the very best promotion is playing live and impressing someone that way; the second best is word of mouth.

WM: I’ve also noticed that your (non-CD) releases include a code for a free digital download, why do you choose to include this? Personally, I think it’s great, as it allows the convenience of being able to listen to a vinyl or tape only release on a portable format such as an iPod and as such, may motivate people to listen to it more often. What are your thoughts?

DN: Exactly, it means that the vinyl is for occasions - heck, you can even keep it mint - while enjoying the flexibility of a digital file. Music does, of course, sound best in analog... but we want to give people the best possible product.

WM: We’ve spoken about the projects that you are currently involved in, but I am also interested in what you have done previously. I am aware that you have been playing music for a long time; where did all this begin? What bands have you played with over the years and what varying styles of music did you present via these mediums?

DN: I've been playing extreme metal for well over a decade now. Like most maniacs, I just kept searching for the next thing that would make the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and my musical endeavours more or less followed a similar path - sometimes limiting me or marking time a bit, other times thrusting me into realms that surprised and intimidated me. Bands have come and gone, but the best collaborators I've ever worked with are the ones I'm working with right now.

WM: Could you elaborate a bit more on the ideologies and messages that you present via each of your current projects? You seem like a man who has plenty to say… so let’s hear it!

DN: Different seeds yield different fruit. This is the reason I am involved with, and indeed have initiated multiple concurrent projects - they each exist to express a different thematic and emotional palette.

For instance, Greed & Rapacity was born with a very specific vision of exploring Jungian archetypes as they are distorted and re-emerge in the late modern world; in an era of irregular warfare, environmental degradation, the corruption of godheads. The project only exists because this topic fascinates and inspires us.

Bleakwood is concerned with self-deification - as my solo project, its purpose is in some ways 'aggressive defense' against the entropy and pointlessness with which contemporary mankind is confronted, instead seeking (or discovering, or creating) a blackly animistic spirit that rejects white light duality.

I won't talk about Dead River Runs Dry, The Veil, or Azoth, as they 'belong' to other thematic architects. But there are clearly defined and honest artistic visions behind those projects too.

Ideology though? Not as such. Ideology is philosophy without pragmatism - it is brittle and breaks up upon contact with ambiguity, which is to say the real world. Another way of putting this is that ideology can exist only in fantastic or escapist spaces. But I want the music and lyrics I write to be as visceral and relevant as they can possibly be, and that means groping with the muck of everyday existence to try to extract someone worthy from that, and try to promulgate something worthy back into it.

WM: I would like to thank you for taking the time to answer my questions (and having the patience to deal with the multiple delays involved in completion of this interview!). Have you any final words?
DN: Thanks very much Wayde for your insightful enquiries, and your patience - the delays were certainly not all on your side! And, congratulations on the new addition to your family.

Interview: Midnight

WM: G’day Athenar! Let’s begin by discussing the unholy beginnings of Midnight. I understand the band was formed back in 2003, did it begin as a solo project featuring just yourself or did you have a full line-up back then? What were your reasons behind forming an old-school black/speed metal band? 

Athenar: YEAH IT'S ALWAYS BEEN JUST ME WASTING TIME BY MYSELF. I JUST WANTED TO HEAR SOME MUSIC I'D LIKE TO LISTEN TO. RATHER THAN A BUNCH OF BANDS CLAIMING TO BE INFLUENCED BY VENOM BUT JUST SOUND LIKE CANNIBAL CORPSE OR SOME SHIT.

WM: Aside from the obvious influences of Venom, Hellhammer and Motörhead, what other influences (both musical and non-musical) go into a Midnight song?

 Athenar: A BIG INFLUENCE WOULD BE LIVING IN CLEVELAND WITH NOTHING TO DO, NO REASON TO DRESS COOL, NO REASON TO HANG OUT AT COOL PLACES. THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THAT HERE WHICH IS GOOD. AS FAR AS STUFF I LISTEN TO IT COULD BE ANYTHING, THERE'S TOO MUCH SHIT TO GET INTO, IT COULD BE A REALLY GOOD CAR COMMERCIAL JINGLE TO NAPALM DEATH.

WM: How do you achieve your signature raw and ugly sound in the studio? Are there any tricks to the guitar tones you use or certain production techniques that come in to play?

Athenar: THERE'S NO TRICKERY INVOLVED AS FAR AS I KNOW. I JUST PLAY RAW AND UGLY; I'M NOT A POLISHED PLAYER THAT'S FOR SURE. I DON'T ALOT OF DISTORTION BOXES TO FUCK UP THE SOUND, IT'S ALREADY GONNA SOUND FUCKED UP CUZ I CAN'T PLAY WELL ENOUGH.

WM: Why did you release so many EPs and splits before finally putting out your debut full length, “Satanic Royalty”? What can you tell us about “Satanic Royalty”, for those who haven’t already heard the album?

 Athenar: I NEVER WANTED TO PUT OUT AN LP CUZ USUALLY WHEN A BAND PUTS OUT SINGLES AND EPS BY THE TIME THEY GET TO PUTTING OUT AN LP IT SUCKS HARD. SO MAYBE PEOPLE THINK THE ALBUM SUCKS ASS!

WM: What has the general reception been towards the full length? Personally, I thought it was great!

Athenar: I GUESS IN GENERAL IT'S BEEN PRETTY GOOD ALTHOUGH PAUL STANLEY HASN'T CALLED ME YET TO HELP HIM WRITE ANY SONGS. THANKS FOR GIVING IT A LISTEN.

WM: I understand that you released a split with Toxic Holocaust last year in order to raise money for the Red Cross relief fund for Japan. Could you please tell us a little about this release and how the idea to do something like this for the cause came about?

Athenar: WE JUST GOT BACK FROM A 3 DAY TOUR RIGHT AFTER THAT STUFF WENT ON IN JAPAN SO IT WAS A LITTLE CLOSE. I USUALLY DON'T GIVE TOO MANY SHITS ABOUT BENEFITS, DONATIONS AND CHARITYS BUT IT WAS JUST SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE TOXICAUST BAND AND JAPANESE METALISTS.

WM: Hell’s Headbangers recently released a Midnight compilation entitled “Complete and Total Hell”. What was the motivation behind releasing another compilation and how does this differ from your previous two compilations, “Complete and Total Fucking Midnight” and “Berlin Is Burning”?

Athenar: IT WAS TO MAKE THE SHIT AVAILABLE, YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE KEEP MUSIC OUT OF PRINT, IS IT HARD TO FIND BRITISH STEEL OR ACE OF SPADES? NWN ONLY PUT OUT 1500 OF THE COMPLETE AND TOTAL MIDNIGHT DLP AND 1500 OF THE FAREWELL TO HELL 10". SO THIS IS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T GET ONE OF THOSE. IT'S ALL THE RECORDED OUTPUT UP TO SATANIC ROYALTY:

FUNERAL BELL 12"

WHITE HOT FIRE 7"

UNRELEASED 12"

OUTBREAK OF EVIL COMP TRACK

FAREWELL TO HELL 10"

BERLIN IS BURNING

WM: Speaking of Hell’s Headbangers, how has your experience been in regards to working with them when compared to your old label, Nuclear War Now! Productions?

Athenar: HH HAS BEEN GREAT. THEY LIVE AROUND 30 MINUTES AWAY FROM ME SO IT'S REALLY CONVENIENT. NWN DOES A GREAT JOB AT WHAT HE DOES ALSO.

WM: What is the metal “scene” like in your home town of Cleveland? Are there any bands hailing from that area you would recommend?

Athenar: MOST OF THE GREAT CLEVELAND METAL BANDS THAT I LIKE WERE FROM THE 80'S DESTRUCTOR, BREAKER, BLACK DEATH, KRATOS, MISTREATER, PURGATORY, FALSE HOPE. NEWER METAL FROM AROUND HERE IS NEKROFILTH, A GOOD MIX OF SLAUGHTER, NME AND REPULSION.

WM: It has recently been announced that Midnight will be traveling to Australia next year for the Evil Invaders festival. What are your thoughts on this festival? Have you been to Australia before? What can we Aussies expect from a Midnight performance?

Athenar: NEVER BEEN TO AUSTRALIA, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOWARD TO IT. I CAN HOPEFULLY PICK UP THE REMAING AC/DC AUSSIE PRESSINGS THAT I NEED AND THE TAIPAN 1770 EP, MAYBE THE 2ND AND 3RD BUFFALO LP'S THAT I NEED. KEEP YOUR EXPECTIONS LOW, THAT WAY YOU'LL ENJOY YOURSELF MORE.

WM: What do you think of the Australian underground? Are there any specific bands (new or old) that stand out to you?

Athenar: I'M MORE FAMILIAR WITH THE MORE POPULAR BANDS I GUESS, HOBBS, TAIPAN, ROSE TATTOO, X, FUN THINGS, RAZAR, SLAUGHTER LORD, THE ANGELS, SADISTIK EXEKUTION. I HAD THE RENEGADE LP YEARS AGO BUT TRADED IT FOR THE CROWLEY LP.

WM: Aside from the Australian adventure, do you have any more plans to tour next year? If so; where? Does Midnight play live often?

Athenar: WE'RE DOING SOME EURO GIGS. I GUESS WE DON'T PLAY AS MUCH AS SOME BUT MORE THAN OTHERS. I'M NOT REALLY A BIG FAN OF TOURS. IT'S USUALLY A WASTE OF TIME!

WM: Last but not least; I would like to thank you for taking the time to complete this interview. Any final thoughts?

Athenar: THANKS ALOT FOR TAKING THE TIME TO MAKE THESE QUESTIONS, SORRY I SUCK AT INTERVIEWS!