AN NCS INTERVIEW: ENDEZZMA

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Feb 182021
 

 

(In January of this year Dark Essence Records released the highly anticipated third album by the Norwegian black metal band Endezzma, and in this new interview Karina Noctum spoke with the band’s vocalist M. Shax about the production, themes, and artwork of the album.)

This interview with Shax, the vocalist of the Norwegian Black Metal band Endezzma is focused on their latest album, The Archer, Fjord and The Thunder, released back on January 21st. This release is definitely worth checking out if you are fond of the Norwegian BM style as it includes lots of sonic goodies.

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How long did it take for you to write The Archer, Fjord and the Thunder?

We started working on the new album as soon we released The Arcane Abyss. I guess it took two years in the making.  It was an intricate and intense process since this album, sound-wise, is the most multi-layered one we have done. Continue reading »

A LIST OF MOST ANTICIPATED 2021 RELEASES (BY KARINA NOCTUM)

 About Your Authors, Metal News  4 Responses »
Feb 042021
 

 

(Our Norway-based contributor Karina Noctum compiled this list of forthcoming 2021 releases that she’s eagerly awaiting, with streams of advance tracks for many of them.)

2021 has just started and the news of upcoming releases by several bands I really like has been substantial. It has become one of the few highlights amidst these almost post-apocalyptic times with virus mutations running wild. I’m compiling a list of albums or EPs I look forward so I won’t forget anything since it’s already a lot, luckily. I would like to share this list here.

 

Nekromantheon – Visions of Trimegistos

Nekromantheon and Obliteration, two of the best bands Oslo has to offer (and with shared members between them). Thrash & Death the old school way, skillfully played and bringing awesome riffs. After listening to Nekromantheon’s single “The Visions of Trismegistos” from their next album, I already want more! Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: AZARATH

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Feb 012021
 

 

(Here is Karina Noctum‘s interview with vocalist Skullripper of Poland’s Azarath, whose latest (and seventh) album was released on November 27, 2020, by Agonia Records.)

I remember that as a teenager I started listening to Behemoth and I liked Inferno’s drumming so much that I wanted to see what else he had made. I was pretty happy when I found Azarath. with all its rawness, brutality, and intensity. I like it more than Behemoth, actually, and I love the fact they have their own distinct sound. The band became one of my favorites from Poland together with Trauma, Hate, old Decapitated, Lost Soul, and Vader, of course.

The Polish scene has such quality, especially when it comes to Death Metal, that it is one of my favorite musical realms. My first interview with Azarath was distributed in print at Hole in the Sky and that was a long time ago. I’m pretty thankful they still keep playing and releasing albums and that I get to interview them again. This time around I asked about their new album Saint Desecration, in which the band play a technical, aggressive, and pretty fast Death Metal. I really hope to catch a live show in the future as they are absolutely crushing and the sound is super-powerful live. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SETH VAN DE LOO (CTHULUMINATI, VOODOO GODS, EXTREME COLD WINTER, CALIGARI, ex-SEVERE TORTURE)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Jan 052021
 

 

(As part of her continuing interview series with metal drummers, Karina Noctum has brought us the following excellent discussion with Dutch drummer and vocalist Seth van de Loo, who was a member of Severe Torture for 20 years and is currently active in a diverse group of bands consisting of Cthuluminati, Voodoo Gods, Extreme Cold Winter, and Caligari.)

 

Many thanks for granting me the interview. I have been following the dramatic situation when it comes to the surgery you had. What happened? How are you feeling nowadays?

I feel great actually, thank you. Two years ago I had an accident when coming home from work on my bicycle. A guy was right in front of me on the wrong side of the track and we crashed at full speed. It was a head against head crash so I broke my skull and there were fragments of bone they had to peel off my brain. I got lucky ’cause normally these fragments puncture the brain and do lots of damage. I had two surgeries and they were 100% — well there are a few titanium plates in there but that’s it. I had and have no pain at all ’cause the nerve was cut in half. More luck for me there. It took a long time for the second operation so I had to struggle through a year with only about 30% of my energy. Things could have been a lot worse. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2020: A YEAR-END LIST FROM KARINA NOCTUM

 LISTMANIA 2020  3 Responses »
Dec 312020
 

 

(Below our Norway-based contributor Karina Noctum presents her own year-end list of 2020 favorites.)

2020 was awful. I retreated for several weeks to the mountains to escape from everything and took with me some of the releases in this list. The music helps me a lot to cope. I also went more thrash and old school this time because that gives me happiness and it works as therapy through these plague-ridden dark times. So this list of the best is actually more like a survival kit: Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: NEXION

 Interviews  1 Response »
Oct 282020
 


photo by Void Revelations

(Our Norway-based interviewer Karina Noctum brings us this discussion with Joshua Hróðgeir Rood, vocalist of the extreme metal band Nexion, whose debut album Seven Oracles was released by Avantgarde Music in June of this year.)

Nexion hail from Iceland, a country which has been in the metal spotlight for a while now. Earlier this year they released their first album which is recommended for people who appreciate a mix of Black and Death Metal with an eerie feeling to it.

I got to interview Joshua Hróðgeir Rood, the vocalist, who moved to Norway recently from Iceland. I found out more about their latest album Seven Oracles, including the lyrical themes and vocal approach, and of course thoughts about Black Metal and Norway. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: KEVIN KVÅLE

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Oct 122020
 

 

(Norway-based contributor Karina Noctum brings us this interview with drummer Kevin Kvåle, whose career includes performances with Gaahls Wyrd, Horizon Ablaze, and Svartelder, among other groups.)

I’ve been following Kevin Kvåle’s musical career for many years now. I remember when I got Horizon Ablaze‘s Dødsverk and since I like Pantheon I a lot, I knew it was going to be good before even listening to it. The music’s variety, technicality, and progression, without sacrificing the dark and cold Norwegian sound, appealed a lot to me.

I remember I met Kevin years ago in Bergen at a festival — Oh! the golden days of old when I took live shows for granted — and got to congratulate him upon hearing he was going to play together with Gaahl. I was not surprised — he was a natural choice. I enjoyed many of the live shows both in Norway and abroad and became a fan, so I was pretty happy when Gaahls Wyrd won the Spellemannprisen (the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy). For all the aforementioned reasons I included him in my list of drummer interviews. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MANES

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Sep 222020
 

 

(We present Karina Noctum‘s interview with Torstein Parelius of the Norwegian band Manes.)

Manes is a Norwegian band that started in the early ’90s as a Black Metal act, but developed a pretty distinct sound and found their niche in the avant-garde scene. In this interview we talk with Torstein Parelius about the band’s beginnings, their latest album Slow Motion Death Sequence, their latest single “Young Skeleton“, and future plans.

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What were you aiming at in the very beginning when you started?

When the band started in 1992 or so, I wasn’t a part of the formation. Before that, Tor-Helge Cern was in the band Atrox which he co-founded back in 1988. I do believe he had an urge to create something darker and grimmer than the death/doom that Atrox played at the time – without compromise. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: TRYM TORSON (EMPEROR)

 Interviews  5 Responses »
May 112020
 

 

(Continuing with her ongoing series of interviews with metal drummers, this time Karina Noctum spoke with Trym Torson, who of course is the drummer for Emperor, and formerly for Enslaved and Zyklon, among other groups.)

 

Enslaved played Frost in its entirety in Bergen in 2018. It was a pretty special show with artificial snow and all that, really good. I don’t recall seeing you there. Why weren’t you a part of it?

Ivar told me to stay the fuck away and not ruin the evening! No, I’m just joking, I was never invited, so I never went… Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: JANNE JALOMA (NIGHT CROWNED, DARK FUNERAL)

 Interviews  1 Response »
Apr 162020
 

 

(In this new installment of Karina Noctum‘s interview series devoted to metal drummers she talked with Janne Jaloma, the drummer of Night Crowned (whose 2020 debut album is out now on the Noble Demon label), Dark Funeral, and Despite.)

In the summer of 2019 I went to a festival called Gamrocken in the middle of nowhere in Sweden. That festival is sadly no more. The 2019 version had an awesome line-up and some unknown bands to me. Out of those bands the one that I liked the most was Night Crowned. I eagerly waited months for their new album Impius Viam to come out, because it’s not like there are lots of bands at that technical level appearing all the time, and the fact they are from Gothenburg was a huge plus, because that scene is just awesome.

I love it when the Swedes play extreme Death Metal. You have acts like The Forsaken, Dimension Zero, Spawn of Possession, Soreption, Hypocrisy, to name a few. So I was really happy to have found Night Crowned to add to that list, and besides, their style is blackened — something that I truly appreciate.

So I had to interview their drummer, Janne Jaloma, who plays in Dark Funeral as well. His drumming is fast, neat, and he doesn’t withhold anything on his latest album. Continue reading »

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