AN NCS INTERVIEW: OCTOPLOID

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Sep 202024
 


L-R: Mikko Pietinen (drums, percussion), Olli-Pekka Laine (bass, keyboards, backing vocals), Peter Salonen (guitars) – photo by Päivi Leino

(Below you will find Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Finnish musician Olli-Pekka Laine, with a focus on his band Octoploid‘s July 2024 debut album Beyond the Aeons, but touching upon other topics as well, incuding Amorphis and Barren Earth.)

Olli-Pekka Laine is a multitalented musician. He’s well-known, as he composed half of Amorphis’ legendary albums Tales from The Thousand Lakes (1994) and Elegy (1996), and later he practiced his progressive vision in the “dream-team” band Barren Earth.

The last one tended toward progressive and melodic death-doom metal too, a kind of direction which Olli always choses instinctively. But since Barren Earth is inactive, and Olli writes not too much for Amorphis, he naturally collected a good number of interesting ideas which ended in this solo-project, Octoploid.

Well, we say “solo”, but Octoploid’s lineup includes Olli’s buddy from Mannhai, Mikko Pietinen (drums), Kim Rantala (keyboards), who did an enormous input in Elegy, and young talent Peter Salonen (guitars).

And let’s not forget those honorable guests who took part in the recording of Octoploid’s debut Beyond the Aeons, released by Reigning Phoenix Music in July 2024. A few of Amorphis’ men can be found on this album, as well as Hamferð’s frontman Jón Aldará, Mikko Kotamäki from Swallow the Sun, Mannhai’s Ilkka Laaksomaa, and more. So if you’re ready for “70’s death metal”, let’s not waste any time before getting into this interview. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ODIUM HUMANI GENERIS

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Sep 162024
 

(Today we present a very good interview by our Comrade Aleks with vocalist and guitarist Biały from the Polish black metal band Odium Humani Generis, in company with our premiere of a song from their forthcoming album Międzyczas – which you can find here.)

Odium Humani Generis isn’t a new name in the Polish black metal underground. The band have existed since 2015, and their second album Międzyczas will be released on September 27th via Malignant Voices.

Międzyczas is an evolution of Odium Humani Generis’ sound, which started with their debut album Przeddzień (Cult of Parthenope, 2020) and the following EP Zarzewie (Folter Records, 2022). The band’s name derives from Tacitus’ expression in his work Annales. In it he wrote about emperor Nero blaming the early Christians for the malicious arson in Rome.

“Odium humani generis” literally means “Hatred for the human species/race”, but if you expect totally nihilistic and full-of-hatred raw black metal as the title demands, then you’ll rather be surprised. Międzyczas is quite depressive and melodic black metal, even a bit intricate. I found the album good enough to dig deeper and share with you what I’ve found. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: THEIGNS & THRALLS

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Sep 132024
 

(Here we present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Kevin Ridley, with a main focus on his band Theigns & Thralls and their new album which is set for release on September 20th.)

As UK legendary folk thrash veterans Skyclad don’t hurry to return with new material, the band’s guitarist and vocalist Kevin Ridley works with his folk metal outfit Theigns & Thralls. Their second album The Keep and the Spire is about to be released, and Kevin promises some changes in the band’s sound, as they got rid of almost all acoustic songs, “pushed the boundaries of the band’s sonic palette”, and got a full stable lineup. Or so it seems.

Inspired by ancient poetry, historical novels, and current events, these songs will provide some good food for thought. And the interview with Kevin will help to digest it. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: VENDEL

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Sep 112024
 

(Below you will find Comrade Aleks‘ interview of the Moscow-based epic heavy metal band Vendel, whose debut album was released by Dying Victims Productions on June 14, 2024.)

I learned about the Moscow band Vendel thanks to their cover of Bathory’s immortal killer hymn “Under the Runes”, and then I found out that the guys have a couple of their own tracks with covers of Saint Vitus and Manilla Road. And, perhaps, these references already give a fairly accurate idea of ​​what Vendel offer us on their debut album Out in the Fields: high-quality and lively old-fashioned metal at the junction of heavy (Manilla Road, Iron Maiden) and doom (Bathory, Saint Vitus).

The band was founded in 2015, but its actual lineup was formed in 2017: Alexey Goryachev (vocals), David Kazaryan (guitars), Lasha Khabalov (bass), Sergey Kargalsky (guitars), and Sergey Skorodumov (drums). In their new material, Vendel focus on the old-fashioned heavy metal with references to albums like Hammerheart as well. Despite all the clearly discernible influences, Vendel does not tend to copy anyone, although you’ll hear some familiar turns here and there, things happen.

But first of all, Out in the Fields sounds sincere and charged; the guys are possessed with the spirit of true and epic viking doomy metal. Secondly, there are no bands that would embody this spectrum of musical influences in Russia.

Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DEATH RACER

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Sep 062024
 

(Here is another interview by Comrade Aleks, this time a discussion with drummer Niki Louder from the Austrian band Death Racer.)

Dying Victims Productions released the debut album of Linz-based blackened speed metal band Death Racer in late July, and I reached out to prepare an interview in support of the release. The official press-release for “their long-awaited debut album, From Gravel to Grave” is informative:

“From Gravel to Grave presents Death Racer as an all-pistons-pumping runaway racecar, chassis gleaming but torched black with exhaust underneath, its very construction pushing the outer limits of safety before all the screws fall loose and a fiery wreck ensues. For sure, it’s not difficult to spot the Austrians’ influences, and they wouldn’t have it any other way – they are transparent as they are thorough, to circle back to the earliest point – so therefore, there’s the obligatory “High Speed Metal” of classic Razor as well as the comparable grit & grime of equally old, raw metal like earliest Slayer, Exciter, Bathory, Hungary’s Tormentor, Bulldozer, true-metal Darkthrone, cult NWOBHM, Violent Force, and of course, erudite Teutonic thrash”.

But if you want to learn more, then you can sort out a few more things from the interview below. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DESTRUCTION OF ORION

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Aug 302024
 

(Comrade Aleks has brought us an interview with an unusual creative artist, whose debut album released in late July is a very unusual accomplishment. You’ll find out just how unusual by reading the good discussion below — and of course we hope you’ll immerse yourself in the music too.)

Funeral doom never was popular because of its specific features, like monotony and a quite limited palette of self-expression, but still there are exceptions; there are bands and projects which can offer something new.

Bulgarian Destruction of Orion is one of them. It is the solo project of Tehina Spasova who performs all instruments on her first album Decreasing Brightness. Oh, and she performed all growling vocals on her own too, so that’s notable – a funeral doom band with a lady on vocals. But, moreover, the concept behind Destruction of Orion is worth of mentioning too.

As Tehina states, the project’s name is related to the constellation’s impending doom and at the same time, it’s about a self-destructive personality. All of her songs deal both with the physical process of dying stars and poetic interpretations of inner turmoil and disintegration, something you can easily read between the lines. So let me introduce Tehina and Destruction of Orion through this interview. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: THE ETERNAL

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Aug 292024
 


photo by AJ Savolainen

(We present Comrade Aleks‘ extensive and informative interview of Mark Kelson — co-founder, guitarist, and vocalist of The Eternal, whose new album was released in June by Reigning Phoenix Music.)

The Eternal was born from the remains of one of the first Australian death-doom bands, Cryptal Darkness, and Skinwalker is the seventh full-length in The Eternal’s career. It was released in June by Reigning Phoenix Music, and I need to tell you that since the release of their last album Waiting for the Endless Dawn (2018), the line-up of the band has changed dramatically.

I don’t know how, but The Eternal’s founder Mark Kelson (vocals, guitars) and his bandmate Richie Poate (guitars) lured the rhythm section of Amorphis – Jan Rechberger (drums) and Niklas Etelävuori (bass) – into the lineup. Also the vocalist and keyboardist of Amorphis are listed as guests, and this is, of course, something out of the ordinary!

The doom component of Skinwalker is minimized, and Mark and his comrades play their heavy gothic metal quite briskly, weaving patterns of airy melodies and delivering melancholic vocal parts almost without looking back at their death-doom past. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: STILLBORN

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Aug 262024
 

(The Swedish band Stillborn trace their roots to 1984, and in June of this year, 40 years later, the original lineup brought forth a new album named Netherworlds. That was cause enough for Comrade Aleks to organize the following interview with the band’s vocalist and bassist Kari Hokkanen. Credit for all the accompanying photos goes to Bosse Melin.)

The Swedish gothic doom band Stillborn turns forty this year, and no matter what anyone says about “gothic doom”, classifying every other album of Paradise Lost, Theatre of Tragedy, or My Dying Bride as part of this genre, it was these Swedes who technically discovered it.

It was Stillborn who, in their debut album Necrospirituals (1989), mixed Black Sabbath riffs, without bringing them to the scale of Candlemass, with horror aesthetics and a deep low voice in the style of Fields of the Nephilim and Sisters of Mercy.

Having recorded three notable full-lengths, Stillborn broke up in 1996, and then they were remembered only in connection with Messiah Marcolin’s attempt to return to the scene under the name Colossus, and also thanks to Paradise Lost, who recorded a cover of Stillborn’s hit “Albino Flogged in Black” as a bonus to One Second. Entombed did the same in 2004, and they didn’t hesitate to make a video for the song.

The song turned out to be so influential that Stillborn themselves have now recorded its sequel, “Albino Flogged in Blue.” Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: VOID MOON

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Aug 192024
 

(In June of this year Personal Records released a new album by the Swedish doom metal band Void Moon. Our Comrade Aleks became a fan of it, and that led to the following discussion between him and Void Moon‘s Peter Svensson. As you’ll see, it’s a very good conversation and goes off in lots of interestng directions.)

Peter Svensson (bass, guitar) is involved in about 15 projects and bands, playing both heavy and death metal. Not all of these formations are active, but it is worth keeping in mind the number. In a good half of these bands, he is accompanied by Marcus Rosenqvist (vocals, drums).

It is almost funny, but Marcus has been drumming in Void Moon since 2014, yet his talent as a vocalist was fully discovered only by the third album, The Autumn Throne (2020), so Dreams Inside the Sun is his second full-length as a frontman.

This time, the duo have prepared nine tracks, and I got the impression that this material is lighter and more melodic than what we heard on the previous work. And this is not just a guess: Peter officially stated that he does not want to repeat himself, and promised that the new album will be different, more powerful, and more positive.

Formally operating with the standard techniques of traditional doom metal, relying on dense riffs and a low tuning, Void Moon, without breaking the laws of the genre, take from it what positives they can, and equip Dreams Inside the Sun with a truly positive charge. They are not pioneers, because such bands existed before, but there are not many of them. I invite you to check out this interview with Peter. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DECEASED

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Aug 162024
 


Photo Credit: Thirdxposurephotography

(Looking forward to the impending August 30 release of a new album by Deceased, Comrade Aleks reached out to the band’s co-founder Kingsley “King” Fowley for an interview, and that resulted in a very engaging and wide-ranging discussion, which you can now read below.)

The legendary Deceased returns with a new full-length album, though “return” is a wrong word, because they’ve kept an active pace since 1985 and (almost) never stop. The band’s lineup is pretty steady and the new album Children of the Morgue was recorded by Deceased founder Kingsley “King” Fowley (vocals), Les Snyder (bass) who joined the crew in 1988, Mike Smith (guitars) who’s been in the lineup since 1990, Shane Fuegel (guitars) since 2006, and “youngest” member Amos Rifkin (drums) who had to replace untimely departed Dave “Scarface” Castillo in 2019.

The crew prepared an album full of driving death and thrash metal hits, proving to be damn heavy, alive, and creative despite the band’s respectable age. And we were honoured to interview Kingsley himself, a most friendly and communicative death metal undertaker. Continue reading »

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