Koldbrann Shrin:e

Plus! Label SpotJig.ht: Dark D:escent Rec.ords

Issue 8 March 2013 Strictly not for sale
T!}tabp jr-Neta[ mnhunt
Norway's Koldbrann this year releases their third full length album, Vertigo,
after more than 6 years, and the band once more surprises fans with their
expanded sound, despite still remaining undeniably Norwegian in their
roots. We talk to Mannevond and Kvass to learn more.
Koldbrann was formed back in 2001, and this
year marks the 12th year of the band's exis-
tence. What was it that made you decide to
form the band back in 2001?
Mannevond: Hails, and thanks for the interest! I
founded KOLDBRANN in Dram men, as a raw and
cold Black Metal band, very much influenced by
the Norwegian style of the early nineties. In 2001
there were not many others doing it like that, at
least not in Norway, and I was sick of the sym-
phonic and plastic shit that dominated the genre.
We have expanded our expression since those
days, now drawing inspiration from a wider
range of influences, but the cold and the raw are
still important aspects of the KOLDBRANN
From 2007 onwards, you were also part of Urge-
hal. handling bass duties for the band. How did
that come about back in 2007, and what is your
status with the band at the moment?
Mannevond: I had been in touch with Enzifer for
a couple of years, when he contacted me saying
they were looking for a new bass player. Being a
fanatic of their work I grabbed the chance of ap-
plying myself, and luckily they took me on. We
got together in 2006, started rehearsing and it
worked out perfectly. It's a fucking brilliant gang,
URGEHAL and Hl!)nefoss Militsen, and it really
was an honor for me to be a part of this band.
The live energy of this satanic warmachine was
truly unique. Unfortunatly I had to make the de-
sound, and our music is still in the tradition of cision to leave URGEHAL in 2011. I simply didn't
Norwegian Black Metal. get enough time to focus on KOLDBRANN. I can't
A t
say that I didn't regret it, but at the time it was
needed.
KOLDBRANN have been close to URGEHAL since
we first shared stage in 2004, and ever since that
night our joint forces have had so many unique
and memorable experiences together. 'Vertigo'
is dedicated to the memory ofTROND 'TRONDR
NEFAS' BRATHEN (1977-2012). Your riffs shall
continue to tremble the planet Tell us, and reso-
nate the bowels of cosmos, for eternity.
One thing about Koldbrann has been the rather
long gaps that the band has between full length
releases, 3 years between Nekrotisk lnkvisition
and Moribund, and another 7 years before this
year's release of Vertigo. What are the reasons
behind such long gaps between releases?
Kvass: I believe that about 3 years is the normal
time needed to create and release a full-blooded
album with a distinct identity and a lot of killer
songs. Typically, there is first a process of devel-
oping new ideas, which is more of a personal
phase where you seek for inspiration in your sur-
roundings, and create a lot of riffs and lyrics.
Then there is a phase where the whole band de-
velops your ideas further, until it emerges a
sense of an overall theme or "ideology" for the
album. Then you have the recording process,
and lastly the marketing process, which may also
require several months.
It took a couple of more years more than we had
expected to get "Vertigo" out there. In the years
2006-2009 we had toured quite a lot while at the
same time doing one mini-album "Stigma - Pa
Kant Med Livet'' and a 7" single entitled "Russian
Vodka". There were some tension in the band at
this point which eventually lead to some line-up
changes, and the rest of us felt that a change in
the musical expression was necessary for the
band to persist. After we had recruited two new
members, drummer Folkedal and guitar Voidar,
we basically started the creative process from
scratch. The joy of making music had started to
return, and we created a lot of songs throughout
2010 and into 2011, and finalized the album in
2012. Then there were some additional months
needed to seal our new deal with Season Of
Mist, and "Vertigo" was finally out in January
2013. It is with a great sense of satisfaction and
relief that the album is now finally out.
Last year the band finally released a preview of
Vertigo in the form of the Totalt Sjelelig Ban-
kerott single, and one thing that caught our
eyes was the new band logo that was also un-
veiled, with a more martial feel to the new
logo. What was the reason behind the change
of the band logo, and what is the significance of
the new band logo with regards to the band's
music and artistic direction?
Mannevond: We wanted to mark a new era for
KOLDBRANN, starting with 'Vertigo' . As Kvass
was onto in the previous question; we kind of
drew a line for ourselves, starting over again
after the line-up changes in 2009, and we
wanted this to reflect in our visual expression, as
well. As for the actual logo we wanted it to stand
out from your typical Black Metal logo, and it
was important for us to have it strict and au-
thoritarian. The logo was made by our close
partners Trine+ Kim, and it fits perfectly with our
new visual look.
Vertigo was finally released in late January
under Season of Mist. How has response been
for the album so far, and is the band satisfied
with the results of Vertigo?
Kvass: The response has been really good so far.
For example, Europe's biggest metal magazine,
Metal Hammer Germany, gave the album 6 out
of 7 points. And Norway's biggest heavy metal
magazine awarded it the album of the month,
from a total of 137 reviewed albums that month.
There has also been a lot of good feedback from
North America and all of Europe.
Personally we are very satisfied with the album.
We have taken the time to chisel the songs out
according to our musical vision, and even if it
sounds very cliche when I say it, it definitely feels
like our most accomplished work to date.
Unlike the cold and morbid artworks on previ-
ous releases, Vertigo has a rather unique art-
work that has a somewhat modern vibe. Could
you tell us more about the album artwork, and
the concepts behind it?
Mannevond: As I was onto a couple of questions
back, we wanted the artwork to reflect a new be-
ginning and a new era for KOLDBRANN. I am
really tired with all of these bands always doing
what is expected from them, according to the
"rules" of the genre. Fuck that. We wanted the
cover to stand out as something fresh, just as we
feel the album does. As for the concept we
wanted it oppressive and gloomy, with strict
lines and an authoritarian feel to it. We gave the
assignment to our trusted friends Trine + Kim,
whom we have also worked with before. They
have a unique style and are well known for their
avant-garde artwork for bands like MAYHEM,
DDHEIMSGARD and VIRUS. This time we gave
them more free hands, letting them loose to do
exactly what they are good at, and we are
utmost satisfied with the result. They have cre-
ated a visual expression perfect for the feeling of
our Vertigo.
With the band's lyrics on all releases being sung
in your native Norwegian language, would it be
possible to tell us more about the concepts that
are on Vertigo? Has there been any shift in the
concepts of Vertigo from previous releases?
Kvass: Traditionally, we've had mostly Norwe-
gian lyrics, but on "Vertigo", it is about half in
Norwegian and half in English. There are some
over-arching lyrical themes for the album which
are closely related to the title of the album itself.
Vertigo is a condition where you feel that the
world is spinning around in an uncontrollable
manner. Our take on it, is that "Vertigo" repre-
sents the invisible forces in your life that weigh
you down, and make you weaker. In the world
today, that may be things like oppressive ideolo-
gies and thought systems, or the ever present
fear of death, who always triumphs in the end.
The lyrics deal with these forces, and how the
mind may react to them in various ways. For in-
stance, "lntroVertigo" describe a somewhat pes-
simistic outcome and have very gloomy and
claustrophobic lyrics. "Totalt Sjelelig Bankerott"
and "Stolichnaya Smert" have a nihilistic solu-
tion, and are figuratively about showing your
middle finger to life when there is nothing left to
lose. Songs like "Phantom Kosmonaut" and
"Goat Lodge" is about turning your back to the
world and seek places of extreme solitude.
I am the main lyrics writer on all albums, and the
lyrical styles are not very different between the
albums. But I would say that the lyrics for "Ver-
tigo" are perhaps more personal, more hopeless
and darker, whereas earlier lyrics were more
often dealing with philosophical and anti-
religious themes. But that is of course only my in-
terpretation, feel free to give them your own in-
terpretation, we will make the lyrics available
online, with English translations. Stay updated on
www.facebook.com/koldbrannofficial
The music on Vertigo again sees the band
expand its sound. While being undeniably
Norwegian-based, the music on Vertigo seems
to incorporate a larger variety of influences, in-
cluding a higher presence of lead guitars, and a
rather black/punk feel at times reminding one
of Urgehal. Was this shift in sound a conscious
move? How did the current sound of the band
come about?
Kvass: We have always had a fair share of groove
in our songs, but I think that the groove element
has been refined on the new album, and is more
prominent than ever. The comparison with
URGEHAL is in that respect very appropriate,
given the geographical closeness of where the
bands formed, and the fact that we got very well
along with them, so there was a kind of musical
kinship there.
But yes, we have expanded the expression as
well. You grow as a musician and as a person, and
after a while you grow tired of doing the same
thing over again, and that's why we have opened
up for exploring new musical territories. This
time around, we have explored longer, droning
passages on some songs. And we have explored
some more progressive structures, like on the
song "Inertia Corridors". For some of the songs,
we have also added layers of analogue synthesiz-
ers from the 1960s and 1970s, such as mellotron,
Salina String Ensemble and mini moog, to get a
bigger feel of atmosphere on these songs. For
this, we got help from our talented friend Lars
Fredrik Frislie of bands like IN LINGUA
MORTUA, WOBBLER and ANGST SKVADRON.
With the current musical style on Vertigo, what
was the songwriting process like? Was it any
different from the writing of previous release
especially with the inclusion of Folkedal and
Voidar since Moribund?
Kvass: Earlier, the songs would be made by
either Mannevond or myself. We would typically
bring riffs for a whole song to the rehearsal
space, and after adding drums and, the songs
would often end up like that, without larger
changes. During the creative process of "Ver-
tigo", we have applied different techniques for
building up the songs. We have spent more time
on jamming on new material in the rehearsal
space, to get a sense of the feeling in the
moment. For some songs, we have made pre-
productions on the computer and experimented
with different layers of instruments to see what
works and what doesn't. Drummer Folkedal and
guitarist Voidar have also been heavily involved
in the creative part. In addition to being a drum-
mer, Folkedal is also a skilled guitarist, which
makes it easier to exchange ideas on the string
arrangements. Their personal tastes have also
influenced the songs. Voidar has introduced
some more droning, doomy parts of his to the
songs. Folkedal has a musical background that
includes progressive rock, so he has introduced
more progressive elements, like on the afore-
mentioned song "Inertia Corridors".
One thing that caught my ears as well were the
ambient interludes on the album. What are the
significance behind these interludes in the
grand scheme of Vertigo?
Kvass: These interludes were made by BLITZ-
KRIEG BABY, which is an alias for the multi-
faceted artist Kim S1ve, who also designed the
cover art. He made these in dialogue with us,
and we put them in places on the album where
we felt some breathing space between songs
were needed. The soundscapes of the interludes
also form a natural link between the songs
before and after. For example, "Sans Soleil"
meaning sunless, links together the songs "I
Eklipsens Skimmer" and "Inertia Corridors",
which deal with different aspects of sunlessness.
The first song describes an apocalyptic kind of
eclipse, while the last describes a "sunset" in a
more psychological way.
In the promotional efforts of Vertigo, a music
video for Totalt Sjelelig Bankerott was released,
featuring footage of the band in the studio.
What was the recording process like for the
video?
Mannevond: Yeah, we have had discussions
before, whether to make a music video or not.
Metal videos tend to be not so good, to put it
like that. But we felt that the time was right
now. We had a very fitting song and we had de-
veloped an idea and a concept for it that could
actually work. We managed to get Rune Mi-
chaelsen aka Effektor to shoot and edit it for us,
and I can mention that he has also made excel-
lent videos for ANGST SKVADRON and ENDEZ-
ZMA. We were also lucky to have the busy Mr.
Erlend Hjelvik in from KVELERTAK, who does
the guest vocals on this song, joining us for the
video. We shot the whole thing in one day, at
our rehearsal place and a local venue in Oslo. It
was very 'do it yourself'. A lot of work but it was
definitely worth it. We are very satisfied with
the outcome, and the value of having a good
video online can't be measured. Check it out at
YouTube:
http://www. youtube.com/watch ?v=l y8ESHXZX
Zg
Apart from the physical releases that are under
Season of Mist, Vertigo is also now available on
iTunes. What is your take on digital releases?
Mannevond: I have to say that it is disappointing
to see that fewer people are into buying the
physical releases. We are, like most bands, put-
ting a lot of work into the physical product, in
terms of artwork and packaging, presenting
lyrics and images to accompany the music. Not
to mention the sound quality; you work hard to
make your record sound the best way possible,
and in the end it ends up on the Internet as a
crappy mp3-file. But I don't really want to com-
plain about this shit, there's not much to do than
to accept the development and make the best
out of it. On the positive side it's obviously a lot
easier to find and to check out new music, and
with just a few clicks your songs are available for
whomever. There's no doubt that bands gain a
lot new followers and listeners from all over, be-
cause of this, and if it makes a few of ours to
come to our concerts, or buy the LP, then we are
satisfied.
Norway is a country that has been known for its
black metal exports, with some of the most
classic black metal coming out from the region.
What is your take on Norwegian black metal
now compared to the 90s? Are there any no-
table young black metal bands that one should
take note of?
Mannevond: Lately there has been a lot of focus
on the so-called Nidrosian-scene in Norway, and
bands related to it. I have to say that whole thing
is a bit overrated, but there are indeed excep-
tions. For my own part I am looking forward to
hear the new works of MYSTICUM and THORNS,
that is if they ever get it done. Not to mention
the final U RGEHAL album. ORCUSTUS, FAUSTCO-
VEN and FURZE are other bands keeping the
spirit alive. The old are the oldest, as we say in
Norway.
With the release of Vertigo, what are the plans
that are in place for Koldbrann?
Mannevond: We have always been a live band,
so we are eager to get out and perform our new
material. We have a few festivals booked in
Europe; Hellfest in France and Under the Black
Sun in Germany, among others. We are also
working on possible tours, and we really hope to
make it to places outside of Europe as well. Sin-
gapore and South East Asia would have been
something!
We have come to the last question of the inter-
view. The final words are yours!
Mannevond: Massive hails for the support! Be
sure to check out 'Vertigo', and stalk our activi-
ties on facebook.com/koldbrannofficial
Sounds of the Underground: Desolate Shrine
With a unique lineup of 2 vocalist .
produces some of the most crushi old school Finnish death metal with
their sophomore The Sanctum of Human Darkness. We talk to LL to find out
more.
The band was formed back in 2010, and last
year released its sophomore full length album,
The Sanctum of Human Darkness. Before we
move on with the interview proper, would it be
possible to give us a background of the band?
What was it that led to the formation of the
band back in 2010?
I think it all started from my frustration towards
death metal or metal in general. I didn' t find it
interesting anymore (thought there might have
been lots of interesting releases that time - I just
didn' t care) and I had been thinking about a con-
cept of very dark and doomy death metal for a
while. I had been in touch with R.S and thought
about mutual band or project and I asked him to
join me with this yet unnamed project. When it
was time to take it forward I contacted several
people including M.L. whom I've known for a
while and knew that he is excellent at writing
lyrics and he agreed to help us out. He asked if
he could also do vocals. At the time, I didn't
know that he was also a vocalist (as he is also,
like R.S. and me, a drummer) so it came as a sur-
prise. We agreed and every piece fell to its place
before we started recording Tenebrous Towers.
One of the things that make the band stand out
from the rest of the other old school death
metal worshippers is the unique format that
the band takes, with LL handling all instrumen-
tal aspects of the music and RS and ML han-
dling vocals. What was it that resulted in this
current lineup?
It's a result of few things. First of alii wanted to
play drums, naturally, as I am a drummer. Also I
didn' t quite see any sense of someone re-record
the guitars and bass as I've already done that
while composing the songs. And the most selfish
reason is that I didn' t want anyone to mess this
thing I've had in my mind. It would be a pain in
the ass to teach all the parts to someone else to
play them like they should be played. Why
wouldn' t I play the instruments myself as I have
the strongest vision and I have the ability to
make it happen ? There' s no need to go to re-
hearsal place to, well, rehearse and to this other
time consuming bullshit. Now I'm free to write,
play and records anything I want anytime I want
without worrying about other people' s sched-
ules.
The results of such a lineup is indeed rather ob-
vious, with the usage of 2 vocalists helping to
convey the band's message on The Sanctum of
Human Darkness in a more monstrous, and
powerful manner. What was the recoding pro-
cess like for the album, and how are the vocal
duties distributed between RS and ML?
The recording of instruments is quite boring
thing to write about. I press record and play the
instruments and that's about it. The magical part
about it is when the takes gives me chills. The
vocal recordings are much more interesting ses-
sions. We have a loose guideline and ideas what
to do but basically we gather and start to record.
Most of the time I have a different idea that R.S
has in mind and M.L. again has a different vision.
So it's not improvising but kind of trying out dif-
ferent kind of ideas and arrangements and get-
ting inspired by each other's input. I' ve had an
idea in my head how the vocals could be ar-
ranged in a song and every single time we' ve
done something much better. There are some
parts that are certainly a "R.S" or "M.L" parts but
80% of the time when we decide to mix thing up
- not do the expected - we end up something
completely different and certainly better ... partly
improvisation, partly feeling the music and lyrics
and always exceeding the expectations. Each
time we leave the studio feeling that the song
became much more that we thought it would be
we have been succeeded.
Also, what was the songwriting and conceptual-
izing process like for The Sanctum of Human
Darkness? Was the music or lyrics written first?
Some lyrics were written before, some after.
After the first album it's been clearer what we
want to accomplish with this band musically and
conceptually, so there have been no problems
fitting the already written lyrics to songs. There
are no conflicting factors as all the songs are basi-
cally really dark or even darker; therefore, it's
kind of impossible to have unfitting lyrics to
songs. The big picture became clear quite early.
After two, three songs and we knew where we
going and what to do next. That made the whole
(song) writing process much easier because there
were no place for guessing or experimenting. The
mood or soul of the album was already taking
shape and it just needed to be "made flesh". I
now know even better where I want us to be so
songwriting has become even more effortless. I
know instantly what fit's Desolate Shrine and
what does not.
The music on The Sanctum of Human Darkness,
apart from being crushing as fuck, also has some
rather desolate/depressive aspects, most evi-
dent on the haunting and dark melodies that
lurk beneath the otherwise crushing music.
What were the visions of the band when writing
the music for the album, at the same time so
crushing and haunting?
The short answer is: it's a combination of those
things I personally love about music. I've dwelled
in the darker side of metal and music in general
for a long, long time and those are the elements
that have made the greatest and lasting impres-
sion for me. What I find most death metal is lack-
ing is the atmosphere. There might be some ex-
cellent and crushing riffs here and there but it
grows old after a while. There should be a ... soul
-an sense of something bigger- not just a collec-
tion of good riffs and groovy parts that you can
head bang while drinking beer. The way I see it
the music/lyrics/artwork should take you some-
where else - a different place. It should FEEL
magical and make you forget about what notes
the guitars are playing and what equipment were
used and so on. The Sanctum of Human Darkness
should feel suffocating and otherworldly experi-
ence instead of collection of songs. This is also
the reason why some songs has similiar themes-
to glue the whole album together.
The album also contained the
instrumental/ambient Old Man's Visit in the
middle of the onslaught. While this ties in with
the rest of the album in reinforcing the sense of
unease on the album, what was the reason
behind the inclusion of the track on the album,
and is there any significance behind the track?
It's the second beginning of the album or the end
of the first part. It was meant to give a small
break for the listeners ears but it turned out
really disturbing. So the "break" gives no sense
of relief but instead, as you stated, makes you
even more uneasy. It became the single most
obvious "fuck you - SUFFER" moment of the
album. I still hate to listen to that track and that's
why I love it!
With the band's name and album title, the
darkness that the band emanates is rather ob-
vious. Where does the band draw inspiration
when writing the lyrics on The Sanctum of
Human Darkness, and where does the band
draw so much negativity from?
When you observe the world we live in it should
be obvious where the negativity comes from.
But, the thing is that there is TOTAL negativity
towards everything but it's not our thing. There
is a great strength to be found within the lyrics
that draws from darkness and that is what sets
us apart from kind of a nihilistic anti-everything
attitude. We all have madness, chaos and dark-
ness within ourselves that most people want to
diminish to a minimum. It's up to a person
whether to dwell in "negativity" or to harness it
for something more powerful. It might be a
weapon- a loaded gun in unstable hands - but
also it might be the greatest source of power.
Most of the greatest achievements are made
under an influence of something bigger that just
"being a normal person doing normal stuff'.
There is passion and dedication needed when
the big things are taking shape. When a person is
driven - possessed - there is no place for hesita-
tion or weakness.
While the classic old school Finnish death metal
sound is pretty clear, the material on The Sanc-
tum of Human Darkness at times bring in a
slightly blackened edge as well. Does the band
take any reference from other influences, and if
so, what are some of the strongest musical in-
fluences on the band?
We do take influence from other bands but ind-
erictly. Tenebrous Towers were more influenced
by Swedish Deathmetal but The Sanctum is
stripped from this influence apart from guitar
tone. I' d say that we are strongly influenced by
darker metal music in general in many forms. I
like to find more "moods" rather than riffs from
other music. While writing music I rarely listen to
anything else. Instead I go over structures and
riffs all the time. That kind of leaves no space for
other music. That makes it difficult to answer
questions like "What are the best releases of
2012" as I honestly haven' t listened to that
much music last year. I have no idea. Death
metal, black metal, doom metal, Ambient and
soundtrack -stuff are the main influences
anyway. That being said I must clarify that by
death metal I don' t mean any technical wankery
-"death" metal.
One other thing that was rather interesting are
the formats of the songs titles on the album, all
taking a title - subtitle format. Are there any
reasons behind this, and if so, what were they?
ML: Every title and subtitle holds a connection
to each other. At some sections the 'opening
title' reflects a visualization towards a certain
mental state, 'a soul link', (e.g. 'Demon Heart:
The Desolate One') while the 'subtitle' helps you
drown deeper into the realms of your darker
side, your 'shadow-self' for further working.
Somewhere the first title, on the other hand,
serves as a conception towards a metaphorical
ritual tool and/or a place the ritual(s) to be held
(e.g. 'Funeral Chamber: Sacred Ceremonial Light'
and/or 'Lair of Wolf & 1000 Lions: Nine Forgot-
ten Names') while the following title describes
the outcome of that specific Work.
Apart from handling of the instruments, the
artwork was also handled by LL. What are the
visions that you intend to portray and dissemi-
nate with the haunting album artwork? How
was it conceptualised?
There are few main sources of inspiration of art-
work. The lyrics, the overall mood of the album
and some other more abstract things like
dreams and visions I've had. All the images por-
tray something meaningful for the band and the
concept. For example the painting with hooded
figures is quite multidimensional : it represents
the band - ghosts that conjured the music and
lyrics. Also there has been a vision, a dream- I'm
not completely sure about which one it is - of fig-
ures standing in front of me, looking at me. It's
still to this day uncertain what and why this
vision has occurred multiple times but it's always
the same. Hooded figures standing still, watch-
ing, all the pieces have story behind it. There' s a
triangle: art, lyrics and music that lives f rom each
other and none of them are apart of each other.
The Sanctum of Human Darkness was mastered
by DL, who is also of Cruciamentum. With
things like the artwork already handled by the
band, what was it that made the band decide to
have DL handle the mastering?
Dan mastered the first album, Tenebrous
Towers, and it felt natural to give the new album
for him to master again. It's a matter of perspec-
tive: when I'm doing most of the recording and
mixing it's good to have someone "outsider" to
listen to the end result and have and do some-
thing with it. Different set of equipment and
ears helps out a lot as it's easy to become deaf to
your own material and production. At first the
artwork was supposed to be done by someone
else as it's an gigantic, time consuming and
stressful effort but at the end I kind of acciden-
tally started to work with the artwork.
With such massive music on record, it would
certainly be a hell of an experience for Desolate
Shrine's material to be performed live, but it
seems that the band has not performed live
before. Are there plans for the band to one day
perform live?
Because of the line-up it's impossible to play live
right now but there has been some talk with few
people from other death metal bands that
would like to help us out with that. I'm not
saying that we will NEVER play live but it will not
anytime soon. It might happen or it might not.
It's good to know that there are excellent musi-
cians ready to help out and volunteer to play
with Desolate Shrine if needed.
Tenebrous Towers was released in 2011, and
The Sanctum of Human Darkness was released
late last year. Does this mean that fans of the
band will get to hear new material from Deso-
late Shrine anytime soon?
LL: The third album is on works as the final touch-
es to "The Sanctum of Human Darkness" were
done about half a year before the release. We' ve
had time to have a break and slowly start to build
new riffs and ideas. There is quite a lot new songs
ready as I would have thought and because of
that I'll probably (try to) concentrate on other
projects for a while. It's too early to talk about
new album or release but I' ll just say everything is
going better than expected. There have been no
difficulties to write new material at all. Still we
have no idea what will become of this material - a
full -length, EP or split. We shall see.
Desolate Shrine
The Sanctum of Human
Darkness (2012)
[Dark Descent Records]
The old school Finnish
death metal revival
meant that fans of
metal can now rejoice, with
bands like Vorum and Desolate Shrine following
the traditions of legends such as Convulse and
Depravity. The Sanctum of Human Darkness is
Desolate Shrine' s sophomore full length release,
quickly following up their 2011 debut Tenebrous
Towers. While the Swedish death metal influ-
ences from bands like Nihilist and Entombed are
still pretty obvious with the loud and gritty guitar
tone, what is here is much more developed as
the band's music envelopes one in total, suffo-
cating darkness. The unique lineup of 2 vocalist
and 1 instrumentalist mean that the vocal attack
on The Sanctum of Human Darkness is all the
more vicious, resulting in a sound that is massive
as fuck. The slight moments of black metal that
are littered throughout the album even brings
about some comparisons to Swedish black metal
such as Marduk. It is albums such as The Sanc-
tum of Human Darkness that prove that the old
school is not only alive, but is thriving and here to
stay and crush any non-believers.
The Sanctum of Human Darkness is
now out on Dark Descent Records
A 9
Devoid was one of the first personal favourites early in my discovery of
Indian extreme metal. This year the band finally releases a brand new EP,
The Invasion after the excellent A God's Lie. We talk to Arun to learn more.
The band's new EP, The Invasion was finally re-
leased 3 years after the release of your debut,
A God's Lie. Between the releases, what has
the band been up to?
Post "A God's Lie" release, we were busy playing
shows for sometime before I started working at
UTV as an Asst. Sound Engineer. Work took
most of my time and hence we could not gig as
much as before giving way to a long lull period.
Although, during this time, we could write ideas
down and pass it around so the next time we
met at a jam session, we had something to work
on. This went on and off for a while and we were
able to write songs that made it to the EP.
The Invasion was finally released in early Feb-
ruary, and has gotten pretty positive feedback.
Is the band satisfied with the response that the
release has elicited and the material on the EP
in general?
Yes we are very happy and pretty overwhelmed
to be honest. The response we got had far ex-
makes a band' s morale stronger. It feels good to
be noticed, let alone appreciated. Although, as a
band, we are hoping to fine tune this sound fur-
ther.
Unlike the mostly unrelated lyrical themes on A
God's Lie, The Invasion is concept release. Tell
us more about the underlying concept behind
The Invasion. How did the band decide to make
this a concept release?
The idea of a flowing story intrigued me I guess.
Chapters in the form of songs which were
themed around the central idea seemed pretty
interesting to try out. We never thought it would
actually turn out like this. I guess we have low-
ered expectations of ourselves. Glad to know
that a lot of people are reacting well to it.
Was it any different when laying down the con-
cept or themes before the writing of the EP
commenced compared to A God's Lie? How did
the interest in aliens come about?
ceeded what we were hoping for. This definitely Compared to "A God's Lie" this was different in
& to
the sense that I was consciously trying to write a
continual story. The concept to the story was
that our idea of the universe is not as benevolent
as we thought out to be. That guardians can be
executioners. We wouldn't stop by an anthill to
surprise them with gifts of wisdom and love and
so wouldn't a species that have the understand-
ing beyond our own. To them we will be the ants
and to us them, Gods. Stringing the story to-
gether was definitely a struggle but strangely
enough it kind of fell into place.
One other thing that caught my attention was
the growth in the musicality of the band, with
The Invasion seeing the band take a more brutal
approach. How did the current musical style of
the band come about, and was this a conscious
move?
There was a gradual shift in the style with the
line-up changes. We were experimenting with
more technicalities and the occasional brutality.
With each experiment we were stepping ever
slightly outside of the sound of the first album. I
think it is a step in the evolution of the sound of
Devoid and we aren't there yet.
There is also a marked increase in complexity in
the musical style on The Invasion. How different
was the songwriting process this time com-
pared to when writing A God's Lie?
The biggest difference this time around was that
ideas came and melted in the jam sessions. We
could take a few ideas, spend a few hours and
stitch together a section which would later again
be examined and further tweaked. I think we got
a little more organic with each member contrib-
uting to each song in our own ways.
What was the most challenging part in the
entire process from the conception of the ideas
of the EP to the final production of the EP?
When juggling between writing lyrics to riffs to
sections to recording and producing, things can
get out of hand pretty easily. But I personally
think the recording to producing this in the time
span we gave ourselves was perhaps the most
challenging part of the EP. The Grand Design was
one of the most challenging songs to write,
record and perform. It seems pretty harmless but
trust me, this was a nightmare. Things were left
to the last day and I am surprised we pulled it off.
The artwork of The Invasion is stunning as hell
as well. Tell us more about the artwork.
The artwork is designed by Gaurav Basu who is a
well-known personality in the scene when it
comes to sketches and designs. From the
moment we saw his work, we knew he is the guy
for the next release. The level of detail in his
work, as is evident, is astounding. And with a con-
cept like this we needed someone to capture
very miniscule details. The artwork revolves
around the lyrics but Mr. Basu had his own per-
ception of the concept which he wanted to incor-
porate and hence, it's a hybrid between our lyrics
and his perception. This artwork visually depicts
domination. When one kind invades the other, it
threatens its very existence. The basic idea is of
being overpowered and the manipulation of
forces and dimensions that are beyond our con-
trol such as 'time'. The main concept revolves
around a time sphere which showcases a couple
of pyramids and an obelisk. The architectural ele-
ments are purely symbolic of the human civiliza-
tion. The entire unit is shown upon a backdrop of
infinite space and an upside down pendulum in-
dicating that it is the end of time. Thus the overall
situation seems all the more terrifying as the
sphere is about to be destroyed and will be lost in
the vastness of space.
There was one thing that bugged me somewhat
though; the drum tone and the overall produc-
tion of the release. Was this done intentionally,
and if so, what were the reasons behind this?
As a band we're always experimenting and try to
find the sound that perfectly reflects what we're
trying to deliver. The production on the album is
very near to what we had in mind but obviously,
it can never be perfect. 'A God's Lie' had an old
school vi be to it but this release has shed a lot of
those old school elements. Hence, we felt the
need for a different, more processed sound. The
drum tone really enhances the whole mix and
hence after a lot of trial and error, we stuck to the
A n
present tone.
Does The Invasion mark the beginning of the
journey that Devoid is embarking on, and will
future releases of Devoid see the band con-
tinue to take similar steps in writing music, i.e.
conceptually and musically?
Yes, it most definitely does. Like we said earlier,
we are still perfecting our sound. We're still
pushing ourselves to write with newer ideas and
get all of our material in place for a full length
album. The full length album is intended to be an
extension of The Invasion.
Finally, what are the near future plans of the
band? Can fans expect to hear a continuation of
The Invasion any time soon?
Since we just released the EP, we haven't yet de-
cided when our next full length will be out. But
we have already started writing for it. What is
going to come out pretty soon is a music video
for the 4th track on the EP 'The Bramha
Weapon'. We're really psyched about it!
News in 5 minutes
Long running Swedish death metal band Vomi-
tory has announced its disbanding by the end of
2013 after 24 years.
Swedish melodic death metallers Dark Tranquil-
ity has parted ways with bassist Daniel Antons-
son.
UK thrashers Onslaught has begun work on the
follow up to 2011's Sounds of Violence, to be re-
leased in September.
Victory Records will re-issue Jungle Rot's 1996
album, Skin The Living, newly mixed and remas-
tered.
Ne Obliviscaris has signed to Season of Mist. The
band is currently writing the follow up to Portal
of I, to be recorded in late 2013.
Satyricon has begun works on their new album,
tentatively set to be released in September.
Devoid
The Invasion (2013)
[Independent]
So despite the disap-
pointment I felt back
when the band first un-
veiled a preview for the
works in progress, Devoid finally dropped the
follow up to their excellent debut album, A
God's Lie. The Invasion sees the band attempt-
ing a concept release, along with an enchanting
exploration of the invasion (as the album title
implies) of aliens on human civilisation. But that
isn't the point here. For the extreme metal
freak, what is important here is the growth as
musicians and as a band that Devoid has dis-
played on The Invasion. More complex, more
technical, and more brutal, yet not losing any of
the speed that the band presented on A God's
Lie. Arun's vocals are also much harsher, ensur-
ing that the material on The Invasion are as
brutal as possible. The only thing that bugged
me constantly was the tone of the drums, but
with such kickass stuuff, this can be overlooked.
Upcoming Releases
1/3: Saxon- Sacrifice
5/3: Vreid- Welcome Farewell
15/3: Gamma Ray- Master of Confusion EP
19/3: Jungle Rot- Terror Regime
22/3: Finntroll- Blodsvept
22/3: Hypocrisy- End of Disclosure
25/3: Iron Maiden- Maiden England '88 DVD
29/3: Toxic Holocaust- From The Ashes Of
Nuclear Destruction
9/4: Ghost- lnfestissumam
16/4: Aosoth- IV: Arrow in Heart
16/4: Spiritual Beggars- Earth Blues
19/4: Jag Panzer- Historical Battles- The Early
Years
26/4: Masterplan- Novum lnitium
29/4: Cathedral- The Last Spire
29/4: Sodom- Epitome ofTorture
10/5: Arckanum- Fenris Kindir
10/5: Chaostar- Anomima
13/5: Entrails- Raging Death
14/5: Immolation- Kingdom of Conspiracy
14/5: The Monolith Deathcult- Tetragramma-
ton
Label Spotlight: Dark Dscent Records
Dark Descent Records has over the years become a powerhouse in un-
earthing some of the best underground death metal releases. We talk to
label-owner Matt to learn more.
Dark Descent Records was founded back in
2009, with the label's focus being on most
forms of old school death metal. What was it
that compelled you to start a label back then,
and also, why the particular focus on death
metal?
The initial intent wasn't to start a label but to
help out a friend. He was having a hard time
finding a label for his sophomore album despite
some praise for the first album and some eager
listeners to check out the follow-up. Death
metal just seemed right for the label and while
we don't just strictly cater to death metal, it
does make up a large portion of the label's
roster.
of the death metal genres?
You know, I really hate the term "old school." To
me this is death metal. We have quite a varied
lineup playing different styles from Anguish to
Adversarial to Mitochondrion to Horrendous.
I am often quite surprised at how fast the label
has grown in stature but it's also rewarding be-
cause a lot of hard work goes into the label
behind the scenes (I' m doing this interview on a
Sunday morning when most are sleeping).
I wouldn't say I am surprised at the positive
feedback but I do feel vindicated. It's great to
know that there are so many out there that
enjoy the label's releases as it leaves me with
The label has over the past few years garnered some sort of semblance that there is hope yet
quite a reputation for putting out killer releases and we all don't have to suffer from through the
from all forms of underground old school death latest "diddly diddly doo'' death metal band or
metal. Does such generally positive feedback the terrible stuff that larger labels like to push on
on DDR's releases surprise you, and did you people as metal. Those who do their homework
expect the label to hit such levels of recogni- are rewarded. As far as being a leader in the
tion? How does it feel to have a label at this day death metal genre, all of that goes to the bands
and age to be recognized as one of the leaders who work so hard in providing the label top
A tl
quality material for me to stamp my imprint on.
Dark Descent is a vessel.
Apart from new death metal releases, DDR has
also reissued quite a number of underground
classics, such as the Toxaemia Buried to Rise
compilation, and more recently the long-await-
ed Timeghoul compilation. How did the deci-
sion to reissue these albums come about, in
particular the Timeghoul discography?
Yes, there have been quite a few compilations
from Uncanny, Toxaemia, Abhoth to Timeghoul,
Depravity, Cianide, Death Strike and more.
There are more in the works including Fulmina-
tion and Morgue.
Some of these came about due to my work with
the excellent vinyl only label, The Crypt. We
have worked on several projects together with
the Toxaemia compilation being the first. We
worked separately at first, but I was able to
speak to Pontus from Toxaemia about the idea
of releasing the compilation on CD. Ted from
The Crypt had al ready secured a deal to do the
vinyl version but after my often lengthy discus-
sions with Pontus, we decided to offer two ver-
sions of the compilation with a version of the
songs which had been remixed/remastered and
an untouched version. Additionally, I had the
idea to re-purpose the "Buried to Rot" artwork
from one of the band's early 90s demos and re-
title it " Buried to Rise" . After speaking with
Pontus on this matter and explaining to him why
this was a good idea, we agreed on this plan. Ted
from The Crypt emailed me and asked me how I
did it. I wasn' t aware that Ted had been speaking
to Pontus for quite a while about using old art-
work for the cover art as Pontus had different
ideas to start. Needless to say, Ted and I retain a
very close working relationship on projects and it
has helped me move forward and secure new
ones.
The Timeghoul project was a different beast en-
tirely. We were actually working separately on
this and when Ted told me he was working on
Timeghoul, I told him I was too .. . seems we were
talking with different parties. Since many mem-
bers of the band have been involved, we' ve had
to get them all on the same page which took
quite some time and this project has been a good
two years in the making before the release of the
CD. Finally the vinyl will be out soon and it has
been extremely well accepted by those who
know.
With DDR being one of the go-to underground
labels when it comes to solid, crushing death
metal, I'm pretty sure you get drowned in
demos most of the time. What does it take for a
death metal band to be signed onto the label?
Also, what are some of the most interesting
promo packages that you have received from
bands (music-wise and otherwise)?
Yeah, I get quite a few submissions. I don't think
there has been a day that has gone by in the last
year where I didn' t get at least one email submis-
sion. Most days I get 5 or more. I get a few physi-
cal mailings too and I'm more inclined to listen to
these than demos submitted electronically. I feel
these people have taken the time to send me
their material, so I listen to it all. Email submis-
sions are a bit different because sometimes I can
tell if a band doesn' t fit the label or if the band is
even familiar with the label and just heard about
the name. As far as what it takes to get signed
there are a lot of factors involved. Timing, sched-
ule and of course sound plays a huge part in
whether I will consider working with a band. First
and foremost, I have to like the sound .. . if I don' t
then I have a hard time putting my stamp on it
and promoting it as a Dark Descent release.
As mentioned, DDR is a label that currently spe-
cializes in death metal, but we have also noticed
quite a number of bands from other genres,
such as doom metal band Anguish who released
their Through the Archdemon's Head on CD and
LP on the label. When it comes to bands of other
genres, what do you look out for? Will fans of
the label see the label expand its roster to in-
clude more bands of other sub-genres in time to
come?
I don' t look at it as an expansion but rather the
label evolving. I never touted Dark Descent as a
death metal label. If a band happens to grab my
attention, like Anguish or Thantifaxath, then I will
A, t4
consider them. We will be releasing a full-length
from the UK band Craven Idol this year and they
aren't a death metal band. Fitting in with the
label's aesthetic is more important than sticking
to a genre as good music extends past boundar-
ies.
One standard question that is always asked to
label-owners: with the rise of internet and the
ease of access to illegal downloads, what are
your views on illegal downloads? While most
mainstream genres and labels feel the impact
of illegal downloads, do you think it has im-
pacted underground labels, especially those
dealing with extreme metal?
Of course it has impacted labels and under-
ground labels for that matter. While I generally
don't concern myself with illegal downloads, I do
recognize that more and more are using this as a
form to listen to an album for free. Some will go
on to buy a physical product but more times
than not, these people aren't interested in vinyl
and CD. This, of course, is disheartening because
these people think the magic music fairy will
continue to deliver new music to them. These
people have this sense of entitlement like it is
their right to hear music that labels and bands
have sacrificed to provide. I don't generally
worry about these leeches as I like to concen-
trate my efforts on those that do support the
artists and label. Thankfully, there are still a lot
of maniacs out there that prize spinning a record
or CD and I hope they continue.
It seems that the label is in heavy preference of
physical releases, with the label's BandCamp
page hosting streams of the label's releases,
without the usual purchase option seen on
most other band's pages that I have been to.
Related to the previous question, with the rise
of technology and services like iTunes, how do
you view digital releases? Will DDR releases
ever see digital versions being sold to fans who
prefer digital versions of music?
Well, the lack of updates is more a product of
time constraints for me rather than anything
else. The Band Camp page will be updated
shortly. Since Dark Descent Records doesn't
have any hipster interns we sometimes have to
prioritize tasks and this one, while important,
was overshadowed by others. Needless to say,
within the next couple weeks a lot more titles
will be added along with more info regarding re-
leases. We already provide digital options
through iTunes and the like of a lot of our re-
leases.
There are many people out there who have at-
tempted to set up record labels but ultimately
failed after a couple of releases, and many
others that fear the risks involved. What is the
secret to being able to keep going on so strong-
ly, and what have some of the main difficulties
been in handling DDR?
Yes, everything is risky but with risk comes
reward. I have had to stick my neck out several
times with some very anxious moments but
things have worked out great. I think the key to
continuing is progress ... never rest on your ac-
complishments and I think we have done a good
job with this.
One of the main difficulties is just making sure
everything is done. Like I mentioned before,
we're not some big label with a number of
people/interns working here but I have some
great people who provide assistance to me in-
cluding my graphics guys like Eric Musall. Eric
has been there with me since the beginning and
without his help, I would be stuck! Additionally I
have had several who have helped me with the
distro with VJS (Nightbringer and Goreaphobia)
being the latest. I make VJS move all the heavy
boxes around in the storage area.
Apart from COs, DDR also releases selected re-
cords on LP. As a label, do you think that there
is a resurgence in record collecting, especially
for new releases? How do you decide which re-
leases are to get the vinyl treatment?
Vinyl is quite a costly task. I do think there is a
growth in the vinyl collecting market but I'm not
sure it's as big as people make it out to be. Step
away from the internet and most people still
think vinyl is a long-lost treasure. I'd love to re-
lease everything we do on vinyl but it's just not
feasible. That being said, most releases that the
label has done have seen a vinyl treatment,
whether it's by Dark Descent or some other
more than willing label.
I believe most labels have that one record that
helps to propel the label into cult status, for ex-
ample, for Pulverised Records it was Amon
Amarth's Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds
EP. What was the one album that did so for
DDR?
Yeah, this is tough because I don' t know when
we reached "cult" status but I'm sure you will get
different answers depending on who you speak
with. I'd probably say the Timeghoul compila-
tion definitely played a big part in this but I also
go back to stuff like the Death Strike material
and even earlier releases. I really bel ieve that
since day one we have garnered attention with
releases like the Burial Invocation EP and
Adversarial ' s material.
Being obvious a fan of old school death metal
yourself, what are some of your personal fa-
vourite releases? What are some records that
have been getting constant spins on your turn-
table?
I am constantly listening to music but I spend a
lot of my time listening to masters from bands
and becoming familiar with material which we
release. Stuff that I listen to often comes from
bands li ke Bolt Thrower, early Morbid Angel and
more. While I'm working away on the distro,
anything will be played from Judas Priest, Black
Sabbath to Dead Congregation, Grave Miasma
and more. The other day I was caught in a mas-
sive dense web by Charon's full-length.
With this being just the start of the year, DDR
has already presented an impressive
(American) release in the form of Vorum's Poi-
soned Void, and the announcement of Krypts'
Unending Degradation. What does 2013 hold
for DDR?
Quite a lot, actually. This week I am expecting
Maveth and Desolate Shrine 2LPs to arrive along
with the new Eternal Solstice/Pentacle double
7". New full-length assaults from Lantern and Im-
precation are imminent as well as a brand new 7"
from Mitochondrion. The new Swallowed album
is getting closer and we'll also have the sopho-
more full-length from Lvcifyre. Thantifaxath is
finishing up their debut full-length and Corps-
essed is working diligently on theirs too.
Goreaphobia's Vile Beast...compilation will be re-
leased on vinyl and we have debut full-lengths
from Ghoulgotha, Dire Omen and Craven Idol.
We will also have new material from Adversarial.
There are a lot of other things in the works too. I
think 2013 will be even better than 2012.
Thank you once again for taking your time to
answer our questions! We wish you and DDR all
the best in upcoming endeavours!
Thanks for the opportunity! I appreciate the sup-
port you have extended and I thank all the others
out there that have helped propagate that label's
name! As long as you are out there, we will con-
tinue.
Editor's DDR Picks:
Too many kickass releases from Dark Descent Re-
cords over the past few years, but here are a few
of our recent personal favourites:
1. Vorum - Poisoned Void: Crushing old school
Finnish death metal. Co-release with Woodcut
Records.
2. Desolate Shrine - Sanctum of Human Dark-
ness: Another Finnish old schol death metal re-
lease. Read our feature in this issue!
3. Anhedonist - Netherwards: dark, heavy
death/doom metal complete with a crushing at-
mosphere.
4. Heresiarch - Hammer of Intransigence: some
of the finest war metal out of New Zealand. Co-
release with Satanic Skinhead Propaganda.
5. Paroxsihzem - Paroxsihzem: Canadian
black/death metal in the veins of Antediluvian
and Adversarial
A t&