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Interviews: Ragnarok, Khonsu, Albatross!

2012 Round Up+ Editor's Picks!


Issue 5 lieceiJlber 2012 Strictly not for sale
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Onslaught off as a hardcore punk band in 1 changed
their style to a punk-influenced thrash metal. The reformation in 2004 saw
the inclusion of new members, with Sounds of Violence being their latest
offering to longtime fans of the band. Bassist Jeff tells us more.
Onslaught was formed all the way back in 1982
as a hardcore punk band before shifting to a
thrash metal sound with the debut, Power from
Hell in 1985. What was the reason behind the
shift in the musical direction for the band?
I guess they started listening to Motorhead!
Haha! To be honest the link between punk and
thrash has always been there, you know? The
same kind of aggression and attitude so for some
bands it was just a logical progression.
The band went on hiatus in 1991, but reformed
again in 2004k, with yourself joining the band in
2006 and playing in the band ever since. How
did the current lineup of the band come about?
because he was the last bassist in the band
before the 'hiatus' and Alan because he had
played with some of the Onslaught guys in other
projects they had going during the break.
When it became clear quite quickly after the
guys got back together and after a few shows
that Jim couldn't commit to the band due to
work issues I was asked to come along to a few
rehearsals and get to know the set. I'd played
with both Nige (Rockett) and Alan in the Power
Junkies, which was one of the bands formed be-
tween Onslaught stints, so that's why I got the
call.
Alan, again due to work reasons, decided to
leave the band and I was recommended to get in
Well originally the guys got back together with touch with a guy called Andy (Rosser-Davies) by
Jim Hinder on Bass and Alan Jordan on guitar, Jim some friends in Swansea we got him down to the
A t
practice room and he nailed it, had about a week
to learn the set before a German tour as far as I
remember? Same sort of thing with Steve, he
decided to leave just before a lengthy European
tour and I got in touch with an old friend of mine
Mic (Hourahan) who was playing drums for ENT
and Desecration at the time and in about ten
days or so he' d got the whole thing down. The
band has never sounded better! There's a real
energy about everything now.
Having already played on 2 full length releases
for the band, Killing Peace and Sounds of Vio-
lence, how was it like working with Nige and Sy,
especially considering Onslaught's status as
one of the pioneering bands of thrash metal as
we know it today?
Well even though I was rehearsing with the band
at the time I didn' t actually play on Killing Peace,
that was Jim. But I did get involved with the art-
work! Haha .... about 95% of the cover and book-
let artwork on that album is mine. My first offi-
cial Onslaught appearance was on the Live Polish
Assault DVD by the way.
Working with Nige and Sy is always a pleasure,
like I said, I'd known Nige from a previous band
and Sy is a total Gentleman so no problems at all .
The band's last release was last year's Sounds
of Violence. The album boasts a rather modern
approach to old school thrash metal, sounding
like a melting pot of classic thrash bands such
as Exodus and Slayer. What are some of the
other bands that have had a large impact on
the writing of Sounds of Violence?
The guys went back and listened to a lot of old
classic thrash and metal albums as well as new
and contemporary metal, not just thrash, just to
hear how bands were getting that massive,
crush your face production! Haha! But it was
always going to have an old school thrash vi be to
it, that was the intention any way.
What was the recording experience like for
you, especially with Nige, Sy and Steve, who are
all part of Onslaught's early history?
It was great, most of the bass parts were put
down in a little studio in South Wales but I did go
to Jacob' s (Hansen) studio in Denmark for a
couple of weeks putting down some backing
vocals and the bass for ' Bomber' as well as fin-
ishing off a few other parts. To be honest the
guys never play up to their 'early history' so I've
never really thought about it. We' re all about
looking forward.
Also, would it be possible to tell us more about
the compositional and conceptualization pro-
cess for Sounds of Violence? Who is the main
songwriter, and how are the songs written in
the band?
Nige and Andy wrote the music for the album, I
got a few lyrics in there and again did the art
work but musically it came down to Nige and
Andy so its best to ask them, when you come to
the show maybe?
The lyrics on Sounds of Violence as usual re-
volve around the themes of war, destruction
and anti-religion. Where was inspiration drawn
from for the lyrical contents this time round,
and with today's world being in constant ten-
sion, were there any particular events that
were significant in the writing of the band's
lyrics?
'Constant tension'? Haha, yea that sounds about
right! The worlds not always, in fact not often, a
great place to be. Other people can sing about
the nice side of life be we're representatives of
the other side and it gets pretty dark. So many
events you could pick on as inspiration, every
other day there' s a report on some atrocity
somewhere so I doubt we' ll ever be short of sub-
ject matter! At the same time though we never
take ourselves too seriously you'd fuck yourself
up if that' s the way you thought all the time!
The album also includes a cover of Motorhead's
Bomber. What was the reason behind the in-
clusion of this cover, and why pick this song in
particular?
Why Bomber? It's a classic track from a classic
British metal band so I couldn' t think of a better
& 2
song to do! I knew Phil (Campbell) and asked if
he would play on it for us, and being such a cool
motherfucker, he said yes and that was that! I
think having Phil playing on it adds a lot of weight
to the track and to be honest it makes me smile
every time I listen to it, very cool!
Would it also be possible to tell us more about
the insignia that is on the album artwork of
Sounds of Violence?
I wanted a simple but powerful image that got
people thinking and summed up the title of the
album too 'Sounds of Violence', a strong album
title needs a strong image to back it up. Through
history the meaning of the symbols on the cover
have been completely corrupted because of
their later negative association, what were once
positive images of strength and protection are
now what they're perceived to be which is pretty
much the exact opposite and that is what I think
has caused some controversy which is good if,
like I said earlier, it gets people to think
The band has recently stated on its Facebook
page that studio time has been booked. How is
the writing and recording process for the new
album progressing so far? When can fans of On-
slaught hear new material from the band?
New album is pretty much written and yes the
studio time is booked and we start recording
really soon. We're hoping to get it out there
sometime in the Spring next year.
The band will be performing at the end of No-
vember in Singapore along Inquisition, Desecra-
tion and Deathhammer. What can fans expect
at the show?
Our first show in Singapore! We are looking to
completely destroy everything! Hahaha! We' ve
got a great set ready, everything that you would
expect, a good mixture of old and new classics, a
fuck ton of energy and we really can't wait. it's
going to be a full on 666% thrash metal extrava-
ganza! We want everyone there involved! Get in
the pit! Looking forward to hanging out and get-
ting to meet as many folks as possible after the
show too, hell yea can't fucking wait! a
Onslaught Essentials
Power from Hell
[1985)
The debut release of
Onslaught, thrash
metal with their punk-
fuelled, d-beat rage,
presenting what would
be one of the definitive
templates for future thrash metal. Includes the
classic tracks Onslaught (Power from Hell) and
Death Metal. Sounds like a fusion of Venom, with
that same evil feel, only sped up infinitely with
the speed of old schol teutonic thrash like De-
struction.
l l i : ~ ~ m ! l m l l The Force
[1986)
Riding on the momen-
tum that they have
gained with Power
from Hell, Onslaught
returns one short year
later with their sopho-
more album, The Force, further polishing the
sound that they have crafted, with the heavy
Venom influences still present in the music. The
songs here are longer and more well-crafted, and
is certainly a mark of the growth of the band as
musicians.
Sounds of Violence
[2011)
Latest release from the
band, featuring the up-
dated lineup. On-
slaught here presents
an extremly modern
sound, as do many clas-
sic, old school bands have and has successfully
proven their versatility, and that they still have
what it takes to thrash the fuck out after more
than 20 years of existence. The band has even in-
cluded a cover of Motorhead's Bomber.
Onslaught plays at True Meta/Invasion on 29th
November at the Singapore Chinese Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, alongside Deathham-
mer, Desecration and more!
Congratulations on the release of the new
album, Malediction. How has response been
for the album?
The response has been great. We' ve had lots of
great reviews and a lot of interest from the
media. All the fans have really taken to "Blood of
Saints" that has been streaming for awhile now,
and we are very happy about the attention
around " Malediction" . Hopefully this album wil l
be the breakthrough that we deserve.
There was a rather significant gap of 6 years be-
tween the release of Blackdoor Miracle and
Collectors of the King. Were there any particu-
lar reasons behind that 6 year gap?
The reason was simply that I had enough of the
lineup change and I needed time off from the
band to focus on other projects. But after a while
when I played with Endezzma I felt that it wasn't
right to put the band asleep. I felt I had to get in
on its feet's again since I didn't feel that I have
reached my goals yet, and I got the spirit back to
continue. I don't regret this at all.
Over the years of Ragnarok's career, the band
has seen numerous shifts in its members, in
particular in the vocals and guitars section.
Malediction sees HansFyrste handling vocals
once more after his stellar work on Collectors of
the King. How did this collaboration come
about back in 2008?
It started up through guitarist Brigge cause they
studied at the same school at the time. Brigge
told me that HansFyrste was a big fan and a cool
guy who really was into the black metal ideol-
ogy. I got interested and let him t ry this. He re-
hearsed well and did two festivals that con-
vinced me that he was the right guy for the
band.
The music on Malediction, while retaining the
aggressive and intense edge that Collectors of
the King has brought in, also sees the band in-
cluding a slightly more melodic. yet markedly
technical edge at the same time especially in
the guitars department. How did the current
sound of the band come about?
This evolution is probably a natural evolution as
guitarist Bolverk has a wide range of inspirations
and also a broad musical experience. He's a big
fan of the albums " In Nomine Satanas" and
" Biackdoor Miracle" and was trying to put
" Malediction" somewhere in between those
two albums. As well as being inspired these he
obviously also brought a fair share of himself to
the music. "Malediction" sounds 100% Ragn-
arok, and the music is still varied as well as un-
compromising while there are melodies as well
as total mayhem
How did Bolverk's inclusion in the band come
about, and how has the inclusion of Bolverk af-
fected the dynamics of the band in terms of
songwriting?
Brigge simply didn' t take the pressure in playing
in a band like Ragnarok and therefore he chose
to come up with a pretty lame excuse and quit
the band after a hard Russian tour. On this tour
Bolverk was the second guitar player and I chose
to hire him as a full member after his excellent
work on the tour. Bolverk gave the band new
spirit and he is a very dedicated guy who doesn't
give up and really has the spirit in him. His music
writing have given the band a lot and you can
hear that on Malediction.
What was the recording process like?
Once again we recorded with Devo of Marduk in
his Endarker studio, but this time around we had
all the material thoroughly rehearsed before we
entered the studio. We even had some songs left
over. The recording process was very efficient
and took us about two weeks. This left Devo with
two weeks to mix the album, and it really shows
in the sound that it's a recording that has been
given a lot of attention. We are very happy with
the sound of Maledicton.
As mentioned, the inclusion of a new guitarist
brings about a different sound each time in the
band's release. Would it be possible to tell us
more about the conceptualization process for
Malediction?
Lyrically Malediction evolves around blasphe-
mous, satanic and ritualistic subjects. One of the
founding ideas is that people should stop being
followers and become leaders instead. Take con-
trol of your own life and your own destiny. Trust
in yourself and think for yourself instead of
adopting the ideas of others as your own.
Musically the songs are inspired from the earlier
work of Ragnarok as well as a million other
sources ranging from traditional metal to ex-
treme and black metal, but also classical music
and film music.
What are some of the largest challenges that are
faced in the writing of Malediction?
As I am the driving force of Ragnarok not much
have changed and on the Malediction album the
lineup was stable. It is me and the guitar player
that always put the songs together and I have the
final word of what is used or not. On this album
we did the same but I gave Bolverk a lot of free-
dom and it turned out really great. I have to say
that the cooperation between me a Bolverk is the
real thing. I also had this with Rym from the early
days and the best and most complete band now
if we choose two guitar players would be RYM
and BOLVERK in this band.
How did the decision to work with Devo on Col-
lectors of the King come about initially, and
what was it like working with him?
Devo knows black metal and he understands
what Ragnarok is all about. He's a great guy as
well as being a wiz in the studio. Devo is a very
dedicated musician and does know what black
metal is about so it was easy to choose him again.
We have also become close friends and work
great together. It was even better to work with
him on this album cause he knows us even
better.
Malediction is also the band's first release under
Agonia Records. How did this come about?
Agonia Records were interested in signing Ragn-
arok for some time and the showed a huge inter-
est in the band. After a good while we came to an
agreement that both parts could accept and we
are very satisfied with being on Agonia. So far
they have worked hard for the band and we see
this relationship as a great platform for both
Agonia and Ragnarok to grow bigger. Agonia has
done great promotion for "Malediction" and we
are going to honour their investment by touring
the world to shreds. a
A s
Asian Spotlight: Albatross
Dubbed "horror metal", India's Albatross has solidified their reputation as a
heavy metal powerhouse. The recent split with American doom band
Vestal Claret displayed a further growth in the band's sound. Mastermind
Dr. Hex gives us an insight to the band.
Albatross was formed back in 2008, playing a
form of heavy metal that has often been
dubbed "horror metal", with the lyrical themes
and musical style of the band. Why the usage
of metal to spread your love of literature?
What first drew me to metal were titles such as
' For whom the bell tolls' and 'Rime of the An-
cient Mariner', and their translation from Uust)
stories into metal classics. With metal, there
was suddenly a soundtrack to a lot of my favou-
rite stories; and I could now envision horses gal-
loping down desolate plains or witches dancing
by a fire with the added assistance of music. It is
unfortunate that the word literature is seen as a
stigma, or a burden, because books have given
me as many hours of entertainment over the
years as music. I chanced upon Abigail by King
Diamond, and realized that music could also be
used as a medium to effectively tell original sto-
ries. And from there (in addition to my love for
everything from Poe to Stephen King), Albatross
unfurled its wings.
The band was eventually completed with the
stabilisation of the band's lineup before the re-
stabilisation of the band's lineup before the re-
cording of the debut EP, Dinner is You. How did
the decision to have a complete band lineup
come about?
It's funny, because back when I' d formed the
band it was always meant to be a fun, on-the-
side kind of project. I' d actually contemplated
doing a one off gig with some friends and Bi-
prorshee back in 2009, as Albatross and ending
it right there. I'd also once considered doing gigs
with a revolving lineup, ie. a different band
every time. Little did I know that one day I'd get
to play on the same stage as Kreator and Wolf
someday! Anyway, halfway through recording
Dinner is You, myself and Raj arshi, our founder
guitarist decided that this was too good a lineup
to let go to waste and decided to take the act
live. We chose a full time lineup, as it was just
easier to manage, and execute better gigs with.
Albatross' first EP, Dinner is You was finally re-
leased in 2010, with Andy LaRocque handling
the mastering process. What was the reason
behind choosing him to master the EP, and
what was it like working with him?
Yet again, I wasn't as ambitious with Albatross
back in 2010, as I am right now. I didn' t know
we'd ever release a second EP, and I used Dinner
is You as an excuse to speak to my ultimate metal
God, Andy LaRocque. I think I'd have been happy
even with a very lacklustre sounding EP back
then; but thankfully he did a fantastic job. King
Diamond has been one of my biggest influences,
and it was only fitting that Andy does the master-
ing on my dream project. There's a line in Among
the Cannibals saying 'Among the Cannibals I am
King', which is in a way, a tribute to King Dia-
mond as well.
Dinner is You is a nice mixture of various metal
styles, from the speed/power metal of In the
Court of Kuru to the almost doom ish Among the
Cannibals. That being the first studio release of
the band, what was the songwriting process
like?
Rajarshi and me pretty much wrote the whole
album beforehand and got Biprorshee, Jimmy
and Jay to play their parts. It was definitely not as
involved as our second EP, The Kissing Flies. We
had no idea of what our sound was at that point,
all we knew is what we didn't want the EP to
sound like back then. Which is we didn't want
any metalcore, djent or modern music elements
creeping in. I had the basic outline for a story
during 'The Dining Table', and developed on it as
more and more riffs started coming in from Ra-
jarshi. The songwriting wasn't very cohesive as
such, but we're all pretty happy with the out-
come I think. Even the current lineup is, hahaha!
There was also a rather heavy focus on the
themes of cannibalism on Dinner is You, from
the album artwork to the lyrics of Among the
Cannibals. What's with the obsession with can-
nibalism, and how did this interest come
about?
To me, lyrics have always been more important
than the music, and music has always been a
medium to express the lyrics in an interesting
manner. I came upon the idea of the Kuru dis-
ease back in 2008 or so, when I read a book
called Cut Throat by Michael Slade. The idea of a
laughing disease which affects cannibals with
equally hilarious and terrifying, and I thought it
was a great pivot for the story to spin upon.
There's a lot of all my favourite classic horror mo-
ments in the EP in addition to this, from Dracula
to Silence of the Lambs.
This year the band released its split with Vestal
Claret, entitled The Kissing Flies. The recording
of The Kissing Flies saw the entrance of new gui-
tarists Vignesh and Hegde, with a different
sound compared to Dinner is You. How was the
songwriting and recording process different this
time compared to that of Dinner is You?
Biprorshee: More than anything else, we are glad
we were able to finally put together a stable line-
up with Vignesh and Nishith (Hedge). Before this,
we had some brief issues with getting two guitar-
ists, who would be able to do justice to our style
of music and also be completely committed after
the departure of our first guitarist, Rajarshi and
then Shrikant. Our former guitarists had left their
respective impressions on the band and we faced
the task of finding appropriate musicians to fill in
the gap. Vignesh and Nishith came in heavily rec-
ommended and with their own set of incredible
talent. To cut a long story short, we were very ex-
cited from the first time we jammed with them
and it has been over a year since they have
helped Albatross head in the very direction, we
had first planned.
The Kissing Flies, of course had to sound a lot dif-
ferent from our previous release because each of
us has moved on and maybe even improved with
our respective styles. We paid attention to every
aspect that goes into new Albatross material and
have tried to be more mature -- from the concept
we put down, a sound that is heavier, polished
yet maintains that old school rawness to better
production and distribution. When we released
Dinner Is You, we were just getting started, there
weren't many people who knew us. This time
around, we knew the audience would be slightly
wider than before and hence that much extra
effort needed to be put in to make the record
sound very Albat ross for the ones who know us
already yet good enough and different for newer
listeners to welcome the band.
11. 7
When it came to recording, we moved to a more
professional studio with Sahil 'The Demon-
stealer' Makhija producing the record at De-
monic Studios, being mixed in Sweden by Wolf's
Niklas Stalvind and eventually mastered by
Vestal Claret's Simon Tuozzoli. Overall, it was a
much more thorough and professional effort.
And we hope to go another step ahead when we
are ready with our next release.
As mentioned, the songs on The Kissing Flies
are different, with songs like the title track and
From Ashes Comes Life even including a some-
what progressive feel on top of the old school
heavy metal that is on the split, at the same
time being somewhat sounding more techni-
cally challenging. Was this an intentional move
by the band, and if so, why?
Nah, it was more organic than that. The riffs and
music were composed in accordance with a
short story I' d written, and we rejected so many
ideas that it's not funny. The progressive aspect
came naturally, because the sudden changes co-
incide with weird going-ons in the story itself. Bi-
prorshee was more emotive, and pushed him-
self to the limit on this album though. I guess the
technicality came from a younger set of guitar
players, who taught the 3 old timers in the band
a lesson or two on how to write new music.
Unlike Dinner is You where the focus was on
cannibalism, the band presents a different
theme this time, though the stench of putrefac-
tion remains strong. Where did you draw inspi-
ration from this time when writing the lyrics for
songs like Uncle Sunny at the Tavern and Kiss-
ing Flies?
Haha, well the inspiration from the story came
from many hours of research on flies on the in-
ternet, as well as a revisit of my classic Lovecraft
and Poe stories. The first line of Kissing Flies is a
direct tribute to Poe's 'The Raven' , and the over-
all vibe of Uncle Sunny At the Tavern has many
parallels with Lovecraft's lnnsmouth. The whole
idea of a town which centres around a man
comes more from weird fiction/fantasy that I' m
into currently like Mieville, M. John Harrison,
Vandermeer and Kelly Link.
Furthermore, there are numerous guest musi-
cians on the split, including Wolf vocalist Niklas
Stalvind. How did his involvement in the split
come about, and why him in particular?
Biprorshee: Riju introduced me to Wolf and I
have been hooked on to their music ever since.
Unabashed pure heavy metal the way we love it.
No trying to get all fancy, progressive and the
works. I, personally am a big fan of clean vocals
and Niklas' work is just how I've grown up listen-
ing to. You sing metal, you don't scream it out.
We had even picked up a song of Wolf's
(Voodoo) and for sometime, it was a regular fea-
ture in our set.
Meanwhile, Riju got in touch with Niklas on
Facebook. Niklas had appreciated our first effort
and when both Riju and I were looking for some-
one to do a guest spot on the split, we unani-
mously agreed to approach our friend in
Sweden. Thankfully, he agreed. I remember the
day when Niklas sent us the first mix of Uncle
Sunny with his parts. Riju was absolutely thrilled
and when I heard, for the first time, Niklas sing-
ing, 'Where there's death, there are flies', I was
blown away and was left wondering, ' I can't fuck-
ing reproduce this live'.
Also, how did this collaboration with Vestal
Claret come about? Does the band that Alba-
tross does splits with affect the songs that are
written for the split?
I'd passed a link to Philip Swanson from Vestal
Claret (and many other bands I love like Briton
Rites, Hour of 13, Seamount) and he was so im-
pressed that he asked us to collaborate with him
on a split EP. And yes, it does. We went for a
more doomy and dark atmosphere for our split
with Vestal Claret; and for our upcoming split
with US based metal band Sinister Realm we' re
going to create a more straightforward heavy
metal record. While still retaining the essential
Albatross elements, it'll be far less progressive
than before. Just loud, brash and headbang-y
like never before.
The band recently released a cover of Judas
Priest's Night Crawler as a tribute to the gods of
heavy metal. What is the reason behind the re-
cording of this cover track?
Biprorshee: We often randomly start jamming
on some old metal classics when we are rehears-
ing. Out of the blue, Vignesh might start playing
the Master of Puppets riff, Jay would follow on
the drums and then the rest of us. So, we have
fun doing this off and on. Sometimes, even in-
clude some classics in our set; just to have fun,
pay a tribute, get the audience more involved.
We were already covering Wolf's Voodoo. Then
we did an Ozzy/Sabbath tribute in Bangalore last
December. And later covered, what is my per-
sonal favourite, Dio's Holy Diver. Each time, we
got some pretty favourable feedback for our
covers and hence, when we decided to fill in the
lull period when there were no gigs or any new
material the band was recording, we thought of
putting out a cover, and why not Priest? They are
what they are. They have and continued to in-
spire millions like us. And from the very begin-
ning, Priest and Maiden have been the two
bands that have inspired Albatross the most. We
randomly jammed on a few Priest songs like
Touch of Evil, Electric Eye, Freewheel Burning,
Night Crawler and some more. Night Crawler
seemed the perfect choice among the rest when
we decided to head to the studio to record that
one Judas Priest song we all loved.
Can fans of Albatross expect to hear more new
material from the band soon?
Biprorshee: Absolutely! Riju and the two guitar-
ists always keep the band on its toes. Riju writing
more stories and the boys going nuts writing
new riffs. We are ready with a new concept and
new songs. And we are looking to begin record-
ing sometime early next year.
The new songs, personally to me as a vocalist
seem a lot more challenging but that is what has
been the entire experience of being the Alba-
tross front man. We are still staying true to our in-
fluences, we have put in elements of raw thrash
and power metal. We keep our fingers crossed.
The metal shall be bloody heavy! A,
Albatros/Vestal Claret
The Kissing Flies/Black
Priest
[2012]
Albatross displays a more polished sound, build-
ing on the foundations that they had on their EP
Diner is You. New guitarists Hegde and Vignesh
display their prowess, with powerful riffs and
leads. Wolf frontman Niklas makes a guest ap-
pearance on the excellent Uncle Sunny at the
Tavern, and Demonic Resurrection' s Sahil pro-
vides the growls, giving the songs a sinister vi be.
Vestal Claret's side is equally remarkable, with a
single, 17 minute track of clasic doom metal.
Black Priest reeks of blasphemy, and brings out
the antichrist in the listener. The constant shift of
pace in the music also brings about a similar shift
in mood, ranging from haunting and somewhat
depressive to just straight on aggression.
News in 5 minutes ...
Norwegian black metal band Svarttjern has
signed to Noiseart Records, and is recroding an
album for an early 2013 release.
Belphegor is currently working on their currently
untitled new album, to be released in March
2013 under Nuclear Blast Records. The album is
being recorded at Mana Recording Studios
under Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel).
Polish death metal band Hate to release its new
album So/arjlesh under Napalm Records in Feb-
ruary 2013.
Impiety has signed to Hellsheadbangers Re-
cords, and will be releasing a new single and full
length album in 2013. A new MCD, entitled The
Impious Crusade is currently in the works, to be
released in early 2013 under HHR.
Black Sabbath will release The Vinyl Collection:
1970-1978 box set on December 12, featuring 9
releases on 12" LP, a 7" single and a 12" x 12"
hard-backed book.
Stratovarius has completed the recording of
their new album, to be released in spring 2013.
Roadrunner Records has announced Mike East-
erlin, previously the head of promotion of the
label as the new general manager, after the de-
parture of president Jonas Nachsin.
Watain has signed to Century Media Records,
and their upcoming album will be released next
year via His Master' Noise in collaboration with
Century Media Records.
Spiritual Beggars have started recording the
follow up to Return to Zero, and is to be released
in spring 2013 via lnsideOut Music.
UK progressive black metallers Fen has set Dust-
walker to be the title of their third full-length
album, set to be released on January 21, 2013
via Code666 Records. The album will be released
in a CD format and a clam box, which will contain
a bonus track and a pendant of the band's logo.
2012 Roundup
Horrendous
The Chills (2012)
[Dark Descent Records]
The Chills was one of the early contenders of the
year, leaving a rather deep impact as one of the
first few releases that I encountered in 2012.
The nice mixture of influences that are present
in Horrendous' debut fullength album from all
over the place, ranging from Swedish death
metal to classic death metal such as Death to
even some slight stoner/doom metal makes this
a nice, balanced record, along with a nice, fresh
sound that many bands have struggled to
achieve. The old school touch also ensures that
those addicted to the roots of metal would be
pleased with this record as well.
Binah
Hallucinating in Resur-
recture (2012)
[Dark Descent Records]
Dark Descent Records proves their ability in pick-
ing out the very best bands in the death metal
underground, and Binah's debut Hallucinating
in Resurrecture certainly proves this easily. A
nice mixture of high octane, death metal on-
slaught and slowr, doom-paced funeral march-
es, Binah's debut presents a wide range of old
schol influences, from Dutch death metal leg-
ends Asphyx to Incantation with that heavy, suf-
focating atmosphere that the band has created
on the album. Little technical flamboyance here,
as the band completely focuses on the atmo-
sphere and the mood that is conjured with the
ambience in the music.
For more top-of lists, head down to http://heavymetaltribune.c.om/
Sigh
In Somniphobia (2012)
[Candlelight Records]
Known best for their weird-fuckery, In Somnip-
hobia is Sigh's ninth full length offering, and
marks the second full length appearance of saxo-
phonist and vocalist Dr. Mikkanibal. The saxo-
phones' presence are markedly increased, and
the black metal side of Sigh' s music are now
almost non-existent. The mixture of the high
pitched vocals of band mastermind Mirai and the
gruff growls of Mikanibal make the listen all the
more interesting, complete with influences from
all over the place, from jazz to neoclassical heavy
metal, making In Somniphobia one of the most
ambitious extreme metal releases in recent
years (apart from their own releases of course).
Galneryus
Angel of Salvation
(2012)
[VAP]
Angel of Salvation is the third full length release
of Japanese neoclassical power metal outfit Gal-
nervus that features new vocalist Masatoshi,
and this is probably the first release under Masa-
toshi that I truly enjoy. The soaring melodies of
guitarist Syu are still present, and his neoclassical
style of shredding are aplenty throughout the
album, with the ones on title track Angel of Sal-
vation being some of the most memorable. The
high energy performance of the band also makes
this album an extremely infectious one. Masa-
toshi proves himself as an extremely capable vo-
calist, not only in terms of his vocal range, but
also in the ability to capture and stir the emo-
tions in the listener at the same time. Definitely
puts Galneryus as one of the best neoclassical
acts out of Japan so far.
Deiphago
Satan Alpha Omega
(2012)
[Hells Headbangers]
Filipino antichrist outfit Deiphago returns this
year with Satan Alpha Omega, the follow up to
their 2009 release. This time boasting new drum-
mer Savnok, the band presents a sound that
leans towards bands like Conqueror and Black
Witchery, and is an aural treat to fans of bestial
war metal. Songs on the album now take a more
proper form, in an organised chaos compared to
the completely chaotic release that was Filipino
Antichrist (which I honestly, didn't really fancy) .
The outro that lasts in excess of 7 minutes is also
one of the highlights of the album, with the noise
leaving a disturbing final mark on the listener
before the album ends.
Kreator
Phanton
(2012)
Antichrist
[Nuclear Blast Records]
With Phantom Antichrist, Teutonic thrash leg-
ends Kreator take a slightly different and more
melodic approach this time, and the introductory
Mars Mantra and From Flood into Fire proves
this. However, the aggressive edge is still re-
tained, with songs like the title track and The
Few, The Proud, The Broken easily resulting in
sore necks. Civilization Collapse stands out as a
rather unique track, what with the tribal percus-
sions that are present. Drummer Ventor is also
one of the main attractions on the album, help-
ing to bring out all the pent up energy that is kept
in the band to the fore.
. 11
Pseudogod
Deathwomb
Catechesis(2012)
[Kvlt]
Crushing, oppressive death metal on Russian
black/death metal band Pseudogod's debut full
length release, Deathwomb Catechesis. Over the
years the band has released numerous splits, EPs
and demos, so here is the first full length reissue,
more than 40 minutes of death metal to ensure
that no one gets out al ive. The vast influences in
the band's writing is evident, ranging from the
old schol death metal of Incantation to the bes-
tial style that Canadian warmongers like Blas-
phemy have created. Apart from the energy of
the riffs and the drumming on the album, the
spacey atmosphere adds to the overall experi-
encce of the album.
Cardiac Necropsy
Shayateen (2012)
[Independent]
Cardiac Necropsy's reputation in the local metal
circle prior to Shayateen has been one of fun and
reckless abandon, but one short year after the
release of their debut full length album, the
band returns with Shayateen, their first studio
foray into technical death metal waters, almost
completely abandoning their previous goregrind
style of playing. Unlike the previous style, the
music on Shayateen is infinitely more serious,
and the band proves that they are not just all fun
and games as the technicality and complexity in
the music proves. The traditional musical ele-
ments that are included on the album with songs
like The Reign of Ad-Dajja/ makes their music
stand out even more, like an Oriental version of
bands like Cryptopsy. Definitely one of the best
local releases of the year.
Edito(s Picks
Paroxsihzem
Paroxsihzem (2012)
[Dark Descent Records]
Canadian black/death metal is more alive than
ever, with Paroxsihzem joining the ranks of
bands like Andtediluvian and Adversarial in pro-
ducing some of the filthiest death metal ever
heard. Despite the self-titled being the band's
debut full length release, it contains re-recorded
versions of the songs that were previously al-
ready available on the band's previous self-titled
demo, breathing in new life to old material.
Spoken samples and the dark, ominous atmo-
sphere that constantly lingers makes things all
the more oppressing and suffocating as well. If
you like bands like Bestial Raids and Antedilu-
vian, this one should not be missed.
Rage Nucleaire
Unrelenting Fucking
Hatred (2012)
[Season of Mist]
Featuring most prominently ex-Cryptopsy vocal-
ist Lord Worm, Rage Nucleaire presents a vastly
different style of music compared to his previ-
ous, classic words with those technical death
metal legends. Rage Nucleaire is essentially a
black metal band, and for the most part of the
album, goes at a breakneck sped as though
speed were of the essence. The urgency that is
created causes a sense of panic in the listener as
well, with especially in the drumming sections.
There are however some melodic and darker,
melancholic moments that bring in a scene of
the destruction caused by war and violence, dis-
playing the band' s flair in songwriting. Lord
Worm also proves his abilities as a vocalist, easily
fitting into the style of the band.
A tz
Maveth
Coils of the Black Earth
(2012)
[Dark Descent Records]
Apart from the Swedish and American death
metal scene, Finnish death metal is also seeing a
strong revival. Featuring 3 members of Crypt-
born, Maveth presents their debut full length re-
lease in the form of Coils of the Black Earth. The
material here sounds like a slightly blackened
version of Cryptborn, and brings in infleunces
from old school Finnish death metal bands like
Abhorrence into the picture. The abrasive guit ar
riffs may remind most of the tonality that Swed-
ish death metal has created, but the songwriting
here is different, and conjures comparisons to
bands like lncantaion, to blackened death metal
bands like Antediluvian.
Manticore
Behold the Ascension
ofthe Execrated (2012)
[Deathgasm Records]
When I was first big into the style of death metal
bands like Archgoat, Manticore was another of
those bands that I thoroughly enjoyed, espe-
cially their 2006 release For Rats and Plague. 6
years on, the band releases the follow up Behold
the Ascension of the Execrated. The production
quality here is much rawer than before, beating
even the band' s debut Bowels of the Holy Anoint
Us in Evil. But the musical style and songwriting
is still evidently Manticore, with rather heavy in-
fluences from Archgoat, though this time the
band has included some slight Swedish-sound-
ing influences as well, expanding the sound that
they have created thus far. The included cover of
Venom's In Nomine Satanas also makes things
interesting, to say the least.
Arbogast
I (2012)
[Nefarious Industries)
Stoner/doom metal is a genre that I just recently
got into, and Arbogast's debut full length I is defi-
nitely a good addition to one' s collection of
stoner metal. Fusing elements of thrash metal
into their rather unique brand of stoner metal,
Arbogast presents a wide variety of sound on a
record that lasts just below SO minutes. Imagine a
band like Church of Misery, fused with the thrash
metal of Bay Area li ke Metallica, with a tinge of
punk attitude and energy. While that isn' t the
best description of the band, one should roughly
get an image of the band's sound. Difficulty to
classify Arbogast is certainly not an isue here as
the music speaks for itself, being one of the most
enjoyable records so far.
Binaash
Binaashkhari (2012)
[Independent)
The appearance of extreme metal in such lands
as Nepal is a mark of the global nature of metal
music in recent times. Apart from Kalodin, Bina-
ash is the second band out of the country that I
encounter, who dub their musical style as "fun
metal" . But beneath that name lies a more seri-
ous, brutal style of death metal, and often the
band sounds like a more grinding version of
bands like Devourment. Of course, calling them-
selves fun metal would not make sense if there is
no element of "fun" in the music, as shown
through the large number of interludes and at
times ridiculous sound samples and transitions
that are on the album, though they could end up
being somewhat irritating sometimes.
. 13
Sounds of the Underground
Featuring members from bands like Keep of Kalessin, Khonsu is the result
of the collaboration between the Grnbech brothers. The band's debut
Anomalia features in addition Thebon on vocals, and is a dark, yet haunt-
ingly futuristic journey. Obsidian C. tells us more.
Khonsu was formed initially as Merah, but soon mation of the band?
changed its name. What is the meaning behind
the band's name?
Greetings! This is Obsidian C. from Keep of Kales-
sin. Apart from being brothers with Steffan, I'm
also the manager and live guitarist of Khonsu. It's
true that Steffen had to change the name be-
cause there was a terrorist attack in France by a
man called Merah. After doing some searching
around and thinking, he chose Khonsu which is
an ancient god of the moon in Egyptology. The
name means "traveler" or "he who travels
across the night sky". I think he chose it because
of the associations with the night, cosmos and
outer space, deadness and desolation, darkness,
and also because of the image of being outside
of and excluded from life (represented by the
earth). The moon has always been associated
with something strange, eerie, and almost
haunting.
What was the original intention behind the for-
Back in 2003, me and Steffen was working on
some songs that were intended for a new proj-
ect, but it wasn't realized. Instead, Steffen went
on to focus on his psychology studies, while i fo-
cused on Keep of Kalessin. We released the Re-
claim EP, and used some of the songs and riffs
which me and Steffen made together. Well,
even though my brother had a lot of work with
his studies, he kept on recording musical ideas in
all kinds of genres on his computer. Over the
years the ideas accumulated, and he finally sat
down to put ideas together into coherent
wholes (songs) a few years back. I guess that is
when Khonsu was born. My brother has always
had an interest in extreme metal, especially the
more atmospheric kind, and the talent for
making atmospheric music. So in my opinion it
was about time he released something.
The band also features Thebon on vocals, com-
pleting the lineup of Khonsu for the recording
A, t4
of Anomalia. How did the inclusion of Thebon
on the album come about?
Thebon was a very natural choice actually. Stef-
fen knew him trough me, and he is a very good
vocalist. Steffen had already imagined the differ-
ent vocal styles in his head, for example clean
singing, growling, screaming, and that low chant-
ing kind of voice that resembles Attila from
Mayhem a bit, so he needed someone who
could do that. Thebon is also from the same city
as Steffen, altough my brother now lives in
Bergen, so the choice wasn't difficult. And
Thebon was happy to do it. They actually re-
corded the vocals in Thebon's living room during
four of five evenings.
On Anomalia, the band presents a rather
unique blend of extreme metal, with influences
from a whole range of extreme music being
spotted on the album, ranging from black metal
to industrial metal to electronic. How did the
current sound of the band come about? Who
were some of the biggest influences for
Khonsu?
My brother is very open minded when it comes
to music, and listens to alot of different genres.
His main interest is actually different kinds of
electronic music, from down-tempo, ambient,
chillout, etc, and I guess he was influenced by
that. I think one can hear the influences for elec-
tronic music on Anomalia, not just the fact that
he uses a lot of synth, but in the way that synth is
used. Steffen got interested in extreme metal
through me when he was in his teens, and lis-
tened a lot to black and death metal when he was
younger. But over the years I think he lost a bit
interest in listening to metal, even though he
makes it himself. So I actually believe it's rather
rarely that he listens to metal, and that's kind of
funny considering the fact that he makes ex-
treme metal music himself. Anyway, the it comes
to music and genres, i think the common de-
nominator is atmosphere. With that I mean that
Steffen is very attracted to atmospheric music,
no matter what the genre is called. He is more at-
tracted to that than to technical brilliance. I know
he loves movie scores and modern classical com-
posers as well. I think my brothers biggest
strength is on creating powerful atmospheres
and moods. When it comes to specific artists, im
not quite sure who is his favorite. I know he loves
a Norwegian ambient artist called "Biosphere"
though. Steffen has also been inspired by alot of
dark sci fi movies, especially "Blade Runner".
With the large range of influences and elements
that are present on Anomalia, what was the
songwriting process behind the album like, spe-
cifically in the recording of the music? Which
was the most difficult song to write and ex-
ecute?
I can't really answer for Steffen on this one, as im
not sure. I know he sits down with his guitar and
synth and just improvises, and then builds on
ideas that he finds captivating. Most of the re-
cording for Anomalia was done in Steffens own
studio, by himself. The main electric guitars were
recorded in Morningstar Studio, and produced by
me. The songs on Anomalia were all difficult to
execute on guitar for their own reason. In terms
of speed and precision for example, I remember
that Inhuman States was pretty demanding for
my brother to play.
The music on Anomalia easily goes from me-
lodic and beautiful to downright haunting and
ugly at times, yet constantly keeping that epic
feel throughout. Would it be possible to tell us
more about the imagery and thoughts going
through your head when writing the songs on
Anomalia?
I totally agree with you on that! It's difficult for
me to answer for Steffen on this issue as well, so
it's mostly speculation. But I know he is very in-
terested in the dark parts of the human psyche,
and I know he has a very creative mind so I guess
he goes to a dark place when he is writing songs
for Khonsu. I guess it's more of an emotional pro-
cess that it's a "thinking" process, when he makes
music. I guess he has to conjure up alot of so
called negative emotions when he is making this
kind of music.
S. Gronbech also displays his versatility on the
album, easily going from extreme metal riffing
to neo-classical inspired leads on the keyboards
and the guitars. With this being the first release
of S, would it be possible to tell us more about
his musical background?
We are so fortunate that we have a father that is
very interested in music, and we have always
had access to his musical instruments and re-
cording equipment from we were very young. So
Steffen started playing on his guitars and also re-
cording music from around the age of 6-7. He
went to formal guitar training from about 8-15
years of age, and also formal keyboard training
for about 5-6 years. But I know he resented prac-
ticing, especially when it was other peoples
music, so in a lot of ways I think he is self taught.
Especially on piano he is self taught. He mostly
improvises and creates own ideas when he
plays. He has no formal education in music
theory.
One thing that particularly struck me was the
imagery that was conjured, not only in the audi-
tory aspects but also in the visual aspects, espe-
cially the album artwork, with the fusion of a
somewhat futuristic, sci-fi imagery and the
morbid. Tell us more about the album artwork,
how it came about and what does it symbolize?
I totally agree with you that it's a fusion of futur-
ism, sci-fi, and the morbid. I think that is one of
Steffens main goals. The album artwork is made
by Adrien Bousson at the Season of Mist graph-
ics department, and he did a really great job. I
know Steffen told him alot about what he
wanted, and the main concept and ideas behind
the music, which Adrien used as a starting point.
There were some email back and forth, but the
end result is great and I know my brother is very
happy with it. The artwork tries to include eerie-
ness, darkness, strangeness, horror elements,
and sci fi elements, among other things.
Like the visual imagery, it also seems that there
is a running theme of death and the human
condition, with songs such as Darker Days
Coming and Inhuman States. Would it be pos-
sible to tell us more about the lyrical concepts
of Anomalia, and what the album title mean?
Khonsu
Anomalia [2012]
(Season of Mist)
movies and literature, mainly those dealing as
you say with the darker aspects of the human
condition. The concept and lyrics is about feeling
estranged, isolated and detached, fearful, horri-
fied, hateful, contemptious, depressed, etc. My
brother is especially inspired by the writer H. P.
Lovecraft and the genre called "cosmic horror of
the unknown". It's not the kind of horror that
plays on gore and brutality, but the kind that
deals with existential dread and the idea that
there is some kind of reality or "truth" to the uni-
verse that is hidden from us, and that would
frighten us out of our minds if we knew about it.
The word Anomalia is latin for "anomaly", which
means something that is strange, abnormal, or
deviating in some way. I think it is a very fitting
name for the album, not just because of the lyri-
cal themes of strangeness, but because the
music itself is unique as well.
The recording of Anomalia involved S. and
Thebon on the instruments and vocals respec-
tively, but the band has a complete lineup
when it comes to live performances. Will there
ever come a day when Khonsu becomes a full-
fledged band, and why or why not?
It's true that we have a complete linup, and we
actually have played live once already. That was
at the infamous Inferno festival in Oslo, earlier
this year. The live lineup is Steffen and me on
guitars, Thebon on vocals, Shandy Mckay from
Absu on bass, and also the famous norwegian
drummer Kenneth Kapstad. Kenneth has played,
and plays, in alot of different band in many
genres, both jazz, metal, etc. I'm not sure if
Khonsu will be a full-fledged band, that remains
to see. But we hope to play at festivals next year.
I dont think we will go on tour, mainly because
we live in different cities and everybody is very
I know that Steffen has been inspired both by busy with their own projects and work. A,
A t&

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