domingo, 28 de febrero de 2021

AMMYT - INTERVIEW



1. Ammyt was born in 2012, why did you decide to create the band? Why did you choose the name Ammyt and what does it refer to?

There's been a couple bandprojects before Ammyt started happening. We were all in the same rehearsal place which at that time was an old shutdown factory site. Back then the four of us, with our old drummer Andreas, we all shared the love for a little darker music then the one we were playing and so we started Ammyt in late September 2012 (it was a classic, completely shitfaced "ey man let's start a band" kind of situation, hahaha). Ammyt comes from ancient egypt mythology and is the name of a creature-goddess, that devours the souls of the ones who didn't live a truthfull life. Back then it had a meaning to us, but over time as we changed our style and grew up a little (; the name still sounded cool, so why not keep it?


2. In 2016 they released their first album “Between Art and Madness”, an album that perhaps at first was a way of making themselves known with a style that we could define as melodic black but that contained other influences that were not within it. They ended up having all the prominence they should have. How was the writing and recording process for your first album? And what do you think it lacked to get more impact?

 Between Art And Madness was our first full-length release, and it was supposed to be melodic black metal back then. It was a completely different time in our growth-process and I think I can speak for all of us when I say - we're glad that time's over, haha (; But all jokes aside, I don't think, that the album was polished enough. Those are more like demo-songs which should have been worked on longer - so I don't think that Between Art And Madness deserved a better response or anything. Now, that we're in the melodic death metal-genre we're way happier and it feels like we've arrived at a point were we can just freely write whatever comes to mind and we don't have to force some mask onto it. Also that's the reason we're calling our new CD New Perspectives our "debut", because it's way beyond anything we've done before that we decided to better "start from scratch" - so if you want to give us a listen go for New Perspectives or our new single If You Stay (;


3. However, the new album “New Perspectives” is much more concrete and defined than your previous album, emerging in a sound more focused on melodic death. How was the composition and recording process for the new album and how has the sound compared to the previous one?

New Perspectives is also the first album we didn't fully record ourselves. The drumrecordings as well as mixing and mastering happened at Woodshed Studio with V. Santura and we're very happy that it came out the way it did - raw yet still polished in a way - he really does an amazing job!! As I stated above the writing process is way easier than with our old songs - we just have a better musical connection to one another when it comes to the music we now make. That means every song anyone is bringing to the table is a solid basis to work on - there's no disconnect in what anyone likes or not.


4.It is clear a greater weight of melodic death in the sound of the new album, however something that the band seems to be clear about is not wasting any influence within extreme metal, be it melodic black or progressive or heavy sound with clear references to death melodic of the Scandinavian school or to the Dissection band in other facets, how would you describe the sound of the album for those who have not yet heard it? What main influences in terms of bands and sound have been an influence on you when recording the album? 

I have heard before that our new CD has a lot of DISSECTION in it, but honestly I don't really see that as much. I mean it totally makes sense 'cause that's basically the band that brought 3 out of us 4 into metal - so maybe that's a 'handwriting-style' we adopted a little. Our main influence and also our genre is 2000s melodic death metal with bands like Norther, Children of Bodom, In Flames etc. We don't want to reinvent the wheel or anything, we're just trying to revive what was the music we grew up with and love - with our own touch of course. The drums for example are a little more ..dare I say interesting then in the mid 2000s? haha



5. “New Perspectives” contains a conceptual story about the inner struggle of the human being, why did you decide to treat these issues in your music, how did you decide to develop it and in what way is it a representation of your own experiences?

So lyrics are Fabian (our singer) and my job. We wanted to give New Perspectives a story and were thinking a lot about it. The first songs, Phobia, Valkyr and Stranded were done before we even had the idea for that topic. But they were very easy to embed and lead the path we were going lyricwise. Without going into too much detail about who or when let's just say that we all have our struggles and our inner battles we have to fight, so we wrote it for everyone who shares that feeling.


6. A fundamental aspect of the album is the sound of guitars with that melodic death tone that makes an appearance from the beginning. How have these aspects of the guitar sound been worked on and how have they made the recording in the studio? 

Yes, we're very happy with the guitar tone we ended up with. It's the EVH 5150 III with a ENGL 4x12 Pro. Philipp and I recorded the guitars with our modelers that we also use live, but decided that we should send Victor (V. Santura) the EVH amp, so that he can reamp the guitars, and what more can I say - it worked out perfectly. 


7. The figure of  Alexi Laiho at the time of focusing is part of the sound of the album?

Man what can I say.. Alexi Laiho was one of my main influences on playing guitar. It's a shame that such a talented person had to go so early.. concerning the guitar tone on the album Children of Bodom were no influence, but playing- and songwritingwise he/CoB was probably the biggest one.


8. The voices also offer disparate registers, from a lower tone to more acute ones, creating an interesting contrast that I suppose will be aimed at the setting of the conceptual story related to the inner struggles of the human being. How was the composition dealt with? and recording the voices and how is this task shared between Fabian and Daniel?

Honestly the vocals are just the way they are because they sounded the best that way. We went down that path with different voices for different characters, but that never really worked (for us at least). Also I don't sing anymore, so all the vocals are 100% Fabian - he's just the better singer period. So why should I 'help out', when it sounds way better when he's doing it alone? haha (;


9. Adrian Bodensteiner did not participate in the first stage of the band but if he has been present in the last album, how does the incorporation of him take place and what do you think he has contributed to the sound of the band?

Adrian was the drummer of Fabians band before Ammyt started happening and as I said earlier - we were all in the same rehearsal place (door to door) so we naturally became friends over time. There was no integration process needed or anything. He had time, felt like giving it a shot and luckily he liked it. Because he is such an amazing drummer and the fact that he is the one of us with a little different taste in music makes him absolutely indispensable. His drumming style to me is pretty unique and he always writes his drumparts himself. Fabian Philipp or me, we'll write something so that he get's the idea, but what ends up on the album is his decision. At least 9 times out of 10, hahaha.


10. You have always opted for self-publishing of your music, why is this lack of editions by any record label?

Let me put it that way - it wasn't always our decision to self-publish (; But with New Perspectives for the first time we were confident that there would be someone that would work with us on this release. And together with STF Records we made that CD happen and that in a better way than what we would have been capable to do ourselves. 


11. The covid-19 has supposed a hard setback for bands like yours. You usually give concerts, however you have made a video-clip of the song “As Leaves Turn Red”. How did the idea of ​​making this video come about and how was it? the whole process of composing and recording it? Is this a way to maintain a closer contact with your fans and give them something in exchange for not being able to enjoy your concerts?

 We always wanted to produce a music video, but we never had the capacities. But now with our new CD, our first release together with a label, we decided we had to finally make a video. The dudes from Wayward Media in Regensburg in Bavaria were really nice and helpful with that and gave our simple ideas the right scale to make them work properly. As for the pandemic we can't rehearse, that's true, but we still write new song and work on singles without a break, so 'no rest for the wicked' I guess. 



12. Who designed the album cover, what do you intend to represent with it and how do you react with the content of the album?

Our friend Matthias Hieber drew the whole artwork for us - thank you again very much! The color red in the booklet represents the 'other person' in oneself, so the bad thoughts and feelings and the main character over the course of the album realizes that this is not himself but more of a disease. At the end he finally wins over the bad thoughts, and is free again. Matthias got the story and a couple of ideas for what we 'kind of want' from uus - the design is basically all on him, and we're very glad we didn't try that ourselves, haha. No wonder he meanwhile graduated at university in designclass.


13. How were your beginnings in music: first albums you bought, first concerts you attended? What did you do in your lives that made you want to be musicians?

 Okay, so for me the first CD I bought was American Idiot by Green Day. And even though I hated it throughout my teenage years I recently started to listen to it from time to time and I have to say it sounds pretty damn good - Rob Cavallo did an amazing job on that one! For first metal-album it's Manowar's Hail to England, which I got as a present. The mysterious sound and energy really got me, so I asked my friend who got me this CD for more. And then he showed me Dissection and, yeah, that was that, haha. I feel like I have to say that this band, though brilliant musically, we only refer to musically. We do not approve or even think it's okay what the band / Jon Nödtveidt stood for / did.

My first concert was Hans Söllner, who is a german singer-songwriter, famous for smoking weed and critizising the government. 14 year old me obviously thought that was cool, haha (; 

I grew up in a musical family. My grandfather was a teacher for music and my dad played acoustic guitar from time to time. At some point I started playing around on this beautiful '79 Fender which still is my goto acoustic guitar to this day. I never had a teacher - I always felt like that might kill the joy in playing guitar. So I'm all Guitar Pro (;

Unfortunately I can only speak for myself - would be interesting to see the differences here.


14. How do you describe the extreme metal scene in the area where you come from: Weiden?

In a simple word: nonexistent, haha. No but honestly, Weiden is only a 40.000 people town there are a couple metalheads, but most of them know each other. So there's not much 'ground to conquer'. Most of the time we play out of town. Which is totally fine - a little sad, but fine.


15. Which album represents for you the essence of German black metal? And what about melodic death? What latest albums have you bought?

 For german black metal I'd go with Dark Fortress. Their latest release Spectres From The Old World is a really great album - go check that one out if you don't know it already! For german melodic deathmetal I recommend listening to Aspar. They just released their first album Maifrost one song a week, and finally the whole album is out - and it's plain and simple amazing!

The latest album I bought was Magma by Gojira. I know I'm a little late to the party, but man is that awesome. So much raw energy and so well and tightly played. Not much of an insider tip I have there for you, is it? hahaha (;


16. What more immediate future plans do you have for Ammyt in terms of upcoming releases, reissues, concerts, etc?

We thought about giving online-concerts but at the end of the day we're no Steel Panther or anything. It's not that we wouldn't do it, but the (financial) effort probably isn't worth it at this point in our career. We decided to use the time for songwriting and production - releasing singles. At the moment I'm remixing our last single The Evolution Of Lies which we will rerelease in the near future. We also are writing on 2 songs at the same time - we'll see how and when they will be released. But were working on it (; And after that, when we will be able to play live again and probably tour a little, the plan is releasing the "second" full-length. Maybe independently, maybe with a label. That remains to be seen.


17. Thank you very much for the time dedicated to Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something for Ammyt fans this is the place. I hope the questions have been to your liking

Hey no problem - I hope that my answers aren't way too long, haha. It became quite a shortstory, hahaha. (Also please forgive me if my english is not that perfect) To our fans we would like to say thank you very much for the support!! And feel free to write us on facebook or instagram if you liked the album or what you didn't like that much etc. Feedback is always welcome - at the end of the day we write the music for you guys as much as we write it for ourselves! Thank you again Black Metal Spirit for having us and have a nice day everyone! (Does anyone remember the video game 'have a n.i.c.e. day'? That was fun!! Guess I'm gonne be playing that tonight, haha) .

Daniel

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RAVENTHORN - INTERVIEW



1. We can say that Raventhorn was born from the ashes of Loud'n'Proud, a band that had a more thrash / speed orientation, when did you decide to switch between the two bands? Why did you choose the name Raventhorn and what did you do? reference?

In the days of Loud’n’Proud we were mostly inspired by different thrash metal bands – from the more popular ones like the Big 4 of thrash metal to the newcomers like Havok and Warbringer. By the time we started composing our “From the Ashes...” EP, I started exploring black metal and got into many obscure and mostly melodic black metal bands, and the love to the genre passed on to Stephen as well. That’s why “From the Ashes...” sounds like a mixture of two, but the black metal influences were very strong. Around that time I discovered Carach Angren, a band that changed our view of music and worked as an impulse for this transition from Loud’n’Proud to Raventhorn. When we started composing and recording “Nightmare in Eden” we realised that the sound of the band has completely changed, and the name “Loud’n’Proud” didn’t fit neither the concept of the band nor its aesthetics. It was hard to choose a new name for the band, but after some time I came up with the word Raventhorn, which perfectly represented what we are. Ravens have been an unspoken symbol of the band even in times of Loud’n’Proud, one of the first versions of the name actually had something to do with ravens. “Raventhorn” has a meaning in our stories as well, it is a part of our fictional universe, but it will be explained on our next albums.


2. Although the trajectory of Loud'n'Proud was not very extensive, if he did edit an album and an EP, what has Raventhorn brought you with respect to Loud'n'Proud?

I feel like Loud’n’Proud was a good foundation for Raventhorn. Back then we didn’t have much experience with songwriting or recording our material, which obviously led to some mistakes in the process, but it was then when we learned how to avoid those mistakes. We gained the necessary experience and released our debut album as Raventhorn on a higher level than Loud’n’Proud’s album and EP. Moreover, the stylistical change between “The Stand” and “From the Ashes...” also paved the way for further experimentation. I would say, if you listen to “From the Ashes...” and “Nightmare in Eden” consequently, you will hear how our influences changed with time.


3. In 2018 they released the first Raventhorn album entitled “Nightmare in Eden”, a first album in which Stephen Morley and Nick Malko had to take care of the entire composition and recording process, what do you remember about the recording of this first album ? Was it a liberation for you and a way of expressing yourself more freely with respect to the past? 

Composing and especially recording “Nightmare in Eden” was definitely not an easy task, as we had to change our workflow completely. Before that we used to compose most of the songs on our rehearsals, but when I moved to Germany, and Stephen moved to England, we had to work from home. It was our first concept album, and we’ve spent countless nights on Skype trying to create an interesting and a unique story. Recording is another aspect that was quite challenging. We already had some experience with writing lyrics, but with recording everything on our own we jumped in at the deep end. We had to learn everything with help of the Internet, which was a lot of work, but it paid off in the end, and it was also a lot of fun discovering all the different things you can do with recording. On the compositional side, as you said, it provided us with some sort of liberty. Under the name Loud’n’Proud we were known as a thrash metal band, but after the change no one had any expectations, so we could do whatever we wanted to do. It allowed us to bring all the crazy ideas we had to life. 


4. You recently released your second album "Shadows of Lonehill", a work from my point of view much more complete and ambitious, how do you think the sound of the band has evolved between these two albums? Is Raventhorn closer to its compositional maturity?

Thank you, I am glad that you think that way! Well, I think that on “Shadows of Lonehill” we went even further with experimental genre combinations. “Shadows of Lonehill” sounds both heavier and softer than “Nightmare in Eden”, on some songs we went to the extremes of both sides. There’s been a slight vocal change as well, on this record we used more of my growls and screams, and Stephen’s vocals got even cleaner than before, which provides you with some sort of a contrast. We also used spoken word much more than before, so that it feels like there is a narrator for our story. Speaking of the instrumentation, our orchestral arrangements got more extensive and more thought-through, you could say, and the song structures are in general more unpredictable, bizarre, and theatrical. As for the compositional maturity, I guess time will tell, but I think that with “Shadows of Lonehill” we were definitely more aware of what we were doing.



5. The sound of “Shadows of Lonehill” is very complete and complex, with different elements, such as symphonic black, melodic and of course, progressive elements of bands like Carach Angren or Opeth, among others, how would you define the sound of the album for those who have not heard it yet? And what about the aforementioned bands and others have been able to influence the sound of the album?

I would say that “Shadows of Lonehill” is an album that will take you through the full emotional spectrum from happiness to melancholy and even anger. Musically you will hear influences of a vast variety of genres, sometimes it will be symphonic death metal, sometimes – jazz and neoclassical music. Music reflects the story told in the album’s lyrics, and its mood will change depending on the events in the story. As you mentioned, there are certain bands that influenced the sound of the record, Carach Angren and Opeth probably being some of the most important ones. Other than that, we took a lot of inspiration from bands like Septicflesh and Fleshgod Apocalypse, as well as non-metal musicians and composers like Nick Cave, Gustav Mahler, Daniel Licht, Hans Zimmer, Steven Wilson, etc. 


6. Another aspect that they take great care of is the lyrics without going any further. "Shadows of Lonehill" contains a conceptual story, what does this story refer to? And why did they decide to treat it?

The story takes place in the Victorian era and tells you about an antihero Seth, who is an assassin in a fictional town of Lonehill. The nobility hires him to get rid of the unwanted people, that’s why he is sometimes called the “royal assassin”. The story begins when the lord-regent visits Seth to send him on a new mission, which later on leads Seth to reveal a secret that he wasn’t supposed to know about. The listener can expect a surrealistic narration about murders, cults, rituals, personal tragedy, and full of unexpected plot twists.  

We came to the decision to start writing concept albums after the release of “From the Ashes...”, it was the time when we discovered Carach Angren, and it was also our first encounter with concept albums in general. We always liked telling stories with our lyrics rather than just discussing a particular subject, and the idea of making a full album where every song is connected by one story seemed extremely intriguing to us. Since then we’ve created a whole fictional universe where everything is connected in a way, and even though this connection is not yet clear between “Nightmare in Eden” and “Shadows of Lonehill”, it will make sense on the future releases.


7. “Shadows of Lonehill” is an album that blows the imagination, so to speak it is a very visual album, as if it were the B.S.O. of a movie, have you ever considered doing the B.S.O. From a movie? How can your music also relate to Poe and the Victorian era?

First of all, thank you! I think that this album feels so visual because of our approach to writing music and, in particular, lyrics. Cinematography is a huge source of inspiration for us, and we tend to try and visualize our stories when writing lyrics as if it was a film. In my opinion, it helps to make the setting of the story more realistic and make it easier for the listener to connect with our characters’ emotions. As for the soundtracks, it is a very spot-on remark from you, as have always wanted to write one for a film. I have recently launched my solo project (Nikita Malko Music), which is exactly that: I release cinematic music that doesn’t fit into Raventhorn’s concept, and it can be anything from ambient to epic orchestral music. I am currently looking for a movie to work on, so if any of the readers need a soundtrack – look no further haha


8. Manca Marin has put her voice on three songs on the album, when did you decide to carry out this collaboration and what do you think she has contributed to the final result of the album?

We’ve been thinking about adding some female vocals for quite a long time when composing the album. Manca Marin is a good friend of ours, and she is also a brilliant vocalist and a musician. She agreed to help us out, and, to be honest, I can’t imagine anyone better for “Shadows of Lonehill”. I think that Manca helped us bring out our vision of the album to the full extent and added this unique colour to those three songs. 


9. Mayhem Project Design has taken care of the album artwork, what do you intend to convey with this cover and how does it relate to the musical content of the album? 

Just like with “Nightmare in Eden” we wanted our cover art to have some elements that would make more sense with the story, it’s always interesting to find those small details and references as a listener. I had a vision of what the cover art could look like, and I described it to Alex from Mayhem Project Design, and the result exceeded all our expectations. It turned our even better than we thought it would, Alex captured the atmosphere of the album perfectly and made it look truly cinematic. 


10. The Russian extreme metal scene currently has a good handful of bands that cover almost all the styles available with two important nuclei in Saint Petersburg and another in Moscow, are you aware from within this scene? And more specifically, what can you tell us about the Moscow scene?

Back when we lived in Moscow those were still our Loud’n’Proud days, so we mostly had experience with Moscow thrash/speed and groove metal scene. To be honest, I discovered most of the Russian extreme metal bands already in Germany, and I was very impressed by what I was missing out on. We’ve got some very interesting bands in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but weirdly enough, most of my favourite ones are actually based around the same people. For example, in Moscow we have Roman Arsafes (who is also our sound engineer) and Demether Grail, and both of them have at least 5 bands each, sometimes they are even in the same ones. Out of the projects that they are involved in I would highly recommend checking out Kartikeya, Grailight and Lunae Ortus. Then there are also people like Vladimir Lehtinen and Sysoev brothers, who are, if I am not mistaken, currently located in St. Petersburg and create some incredible music, too. My favourite project of theirs is Second to Sun, other than that I would recommend Ultar and Grima.

I also have to mention Exile D.C., who are our dear friends since the times of Loud’n’Proud. We have performed with them a lot of times, and they are still putting out great music and excellent shows. I believe they are now working on some new material to follow up their latest album “Phobos”, so definitely check them out.



11. How have you been affected in sales by Covid-19? How have you kept in contact with your fans?

Well, I wouldn’t say that Covid had a negative effect on our sales since we are mostly a digital band: we couldn’t perform even before Covid, because we are a two-man band located in different countries, and at this moment we only have our “Shadows of Lonehill” T-shirts in the merch stock. We are currently working on some new merch, and I hope we will be able to put it out there soon. However, the support from our fans is incredible, we sold more digital copies of “Shadows of Lonehill” in the first weeks after its release than “Nightmare in Eden” in all its existence. We are very greatful for our fans’ support, as it allows us to continue recording music and improving its quality on every new release. 

As for the communication between our fans and us, we are always trying to be as close to our Raven Cult as possible. With help of social media we are reaching out to people, chatting with them in the comments and DMs, and since recently we also have our Discord channel and a WhatsApp group where we can all talk freely about anything on our minds. For the past few months I’ve also tried streaming on both YouTube and Twitch, which I find brilliant as a way to connect with people, because of how close it is to real-life commuication. Quite often there are composing live streams, sometimes I discuss our albums with fans, and sometimes we listen to different music together. In the last year I’ve met so many wonderful people because of social media, I truly believe that Raven Cult is one of the kindest and most open-minded metal communities out there. 


12. How were your beginnings in music: first albums you bought, first concerts you attended? What did you do in your lives that made you want to be musicians?

I started collecting CDs back in school, it actually began when Stephen and I found a small CD shop in Moscow where they sold reissues of different metal and rock albums by Russian labels, so those CDs were much cheaper than the same records issued by the original labels. We went there almost every week, and soon we became friends with the shopkeeper, he would always recommend us some interesting records when we came by. It was actually him who introduced me to Septicflesh, one day he showed me “Codex Omega”, and this is how it all began. On our first visits we were, of course, still thrash metal fans, and we mostly came for stuff like Metallica, Megadeth, Exodus, and so on, so I think our first albums might have been by those bands. As for the concerts, I still remember the first three I went to, and all of them were before I got into metal. The first one was by Robert Plant & the Band of Joy, then I went to see Red Hot Chili Peppers, and then Serj Tankian with an orchestra. The first metal concerts I’ve been to were probably Megadeth, System of a Down, and Metallica. To be honest, I don’t remember how I got the idea of wanting to play guitar, it was in the beginning of school, and for 6 years I learned to play classical guitar with a teacher. However, I lost my interest with time and quit guitar for about a year. Stephen then got his first electric guitar, and I felt like I should get back on track. Both of us then started playing electric guitars, we learned everything on our own with help of the Internet. As I remember, after some time we went to see a local gig, it was a concert by Southern Crown, a band where a friend of mine played guitar. The band doesn’t exist anymore, unfortunately, but back then they were relatively big in Moscow. And I just remember seeing them perform and thinking: “it could be us standing on that stage”. A few weeks later I told Stephen about my idea, and we decided to start looking for the other bandmembers, and this is how it all began. 


13. Despite having been well received by the press, “Shadows of Lonehill” is only available in digital format and self-released, haven't you received any interesting offer to edit it in physical format from any record label?

Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten any record deal from a label yet, but we are thinking about producing “Shadows of Lonehill” in a physical format at some point, it will probably be a CD. We are used to doing things on our own, so the abscence of a label doesn’t bother us too much, but that would, of course, help us if we had one, since it is sometimes hard to finance the band from our own pocket. That is one of the reasons why we haven’t produced any CDs yet: we always strive for better quality of both music and merch, and we would really like to make something better than a jewelcase CD with a 4-page booklet, but it can be quite expensive to produce. 


14. Which album defines for you the essence of black metal? What last albums have you bought?

As controversial as it may sound, I think that Behemoth’s “The Satanist” defines the essence of black metal for me. I know it’s not entirely black metal in its sound, rather blackened death metal, but the black metal genre has become so vast over the years that I think that we should take all of its branches in consideration, as well as band’s aesthetics and ideas. In these regards “The Satanist” is in the forefront for me, its dark and raw energy as well as rebellious spirit is what black metal is in its essence. 

The last 3 albums that I’ve bought were all released last year, and they are quite different stylistically: “Frankensteina Strataemontanus” by Carach Angren, “Through Shaded Woods” by Lunatic Soul, and “Kvitravn” by Wardruna. These are some outstanding records, and I strongly recommend them to everyone who is looking for a refreshing approach to songwriting.


15. What future plans do you have for the band in terms of upcoming releases, reissues, etc.? Do you have a fear of being able to offer a concert?

At this moment we are working on a new cover, as well as a reissue of one song from the Loud’n’Proud era, and both songs will sound like modern-day Raventhorn, so I am really excited about this project. And, as always, we are already thinking about a new album. We have a lot of music recorded, but we still have to create a story for the album, which might be a challenging task, since the next album has to tie both of the previous albums together. I am currently working alone, as Stephen is battling depression, but as soon as he is back, we will start working on the new record. 

We would love to play concerts when the pandemic is over, but it will take a lot of planning to do, because both of us are in different countries, so we have to choose a country (or countries in case of a tour) to perform in, find additional musicians in those countries and plan our time in such a way that we can have at least a couple of rehearsals before the show. But we love playing live, so I am sure that it will happen at some point.


17. Thank you very much for the time dedicated to Black Metal Spirit, if you want to add something for Raventhorn fans this is the place. I hope the questions have been to your liking.

Thank you for inviting us to the interview and thank you to everyone who took their time to read it! Our new album “Shadows of Lonehill” is out on all the streaming platforms, so if you haven’t listened to it yet, definitely check it out, I think you might like it! And feel free to let us know what you think of it!


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SOUL DISSOLUTION

 


Origen: Bélgica.

Formados: 2012

Estilo: Atmosférico post-black metal

Temática: Anhelo, apatía y depresión

Enlaces: Bandcampdeezerfacebookinstagram y spotify

Miembros:

  • Acharan Voces
  • Jabawock Letras y instrumentos
  • Threnos Batería
Discografía:

  • Cold Rays and Grey Waves Demo 2014
  • Pale Distant Light CD 2016  
  • Stardust CD 2018
  • Nowhere EP 2018
  • Winter Contemplations EP 2020
  • CD 2022
WINTER CONTEMPLATIONS (2020)
El último Ep de los belgas contiene dos extensos temas de black de corte atmosférico, de largos desarrollos, muy emotivos y capaces de dibujar paisajes de soledad y frustración. Los temas arrancan con unos pasajes de guitarra limpia, muy intimista en donde la soledad se hacen del todo presente, cuando el tema cobra mayor velocidad e irrumpen las guitarras estas se presentan con riffs que nos traen registros próximos a sonidos clásicos, pero las capas se van superponiendo y elementos más melódicos hacen su aparición completando un sonido que se sustenta en esta dualidad perfectamente engranada que da como resultado una propuesta repleta de sufrimiento. Los desarrollos de los temas son amplios y acertados cambios de ritmo hacen acto de presencia para llevar el tema a terrenos que a veces se adentran por elementos cercanos al post-metal que aún así no pierden en ningún momento la atmosfera tan bien creada desde el inicio. Las voces optan por un estilo crudo y agresivo que desprende desesperación y rabia a partes iguales, mucha veces sin una presencia muy fuerte, dejando que la música fluya libre y cobre mayor protagonismo. La batería completa la propuesta, correcta en las partes más lentas, contundente cuando el tema comienza a evolucionar y muy potente cuando la velocidad así lo requiere. En definitiva, dos temas del black atmosférico que logran como pocos trasmitir sensaciones de desesperación y rabia. (8,2).




1. La Dernière Tempête 10:54
  A storm is raging
Snow is piling up
Outside this cabin
Surrounded by the woods

The walls are shaking
And windows rattling
Tremors not reaching
The long frozen heart

Abstract paintings - Just patterns in mold
Lavish carpets - Rotting seeds of my hopes
Trapped inside - not by the storm
Gazing only at this deadly flask

Trapped inside - not by the storm
Gazing only into this deadly glass

Distilled memories
Sweet fragrance of what could have been
Shrouded within,
The present remains unseen

La Dernière Tempête...

The storm is passing by over my head
And flying at its side the souls of the dead
Their inviting chants sing to my ear
Soon I will be gone far from here
2. Where the Clouds Stand Still... 13:10   
Amid these fields of snow
Under wide open skies
It's as if time had stopped
While an eternity had passed

A shade devoid of life
A ghost deprived of death
Immersed within this land
Where all the clouds are standing still

Where the clouds stand still...
And linger...

And storms no longer raging
No blizzard blowing through the forest pines
A cabin buried in a distant past
And lying there, one empty glass

And all those torrents raging in my head
Their dry beds overflow with emptiness
A haven with no solace to be found
And standing there, the shadow of a man
  24:04








sábado, 27 de febrero de 2021

MALADIE

 


Origen: Alemania, Ludwigshafen.

Formados: 2009

Estilo: Black vanguardista y progresivo

Temática: Existencia, experiencias personales y filosofía

Enlaces: Bandcampdeezerfacebook y spotify

Miembros:

  • Alex Spalvieri Guitarra
  • Alexander Wenz Voces
  • Björn Köppler Bajo, batería, cello, flauta guitarra, órgano, percusión, piano y teclados
  • Déhà Cello, piano, teclados y voces
  • Hauke Peters Saxofón
  • Mark Walther Guitarra


Discografía:

  • ...Plague Within... CD 2012  
  • ...Still... CD 2015
  • ...Symptoms... EP 2016  
  • ...of Harm and Salvation... CD 2018
  • ...Symptoms II... EP 2019  
  • ...the Grand Aversion... CD 2020
  • …Symptoms III… EP 2021  
  • The Sick Is Dead - Long Live the Sick CD 2021
  • Wound of Gods CD 2022
  • For We Are the Plague CD 2023
...THE GRAND AVERSION (2020)
Cuarto larga duración para los germanos en sus poco más de de diez años de carrera, en una banda que durante mucho tiempo se situó como referente dentro del black progresivo en álbumes enormes que tuvieron su punto álgido en "...Still..." (2015). A partir de aquí Maladie ha querido llevar su sonido a terrenos más experimentales y vanguardistas como ocurría en su anterior "...of Harm and Salvation..." (2018), aspectos que se han asentado en el presente "...the Grand Aversion...". El sonido de Maladie siempre va estar sustentado en en el metal progresivo con mayor o menor protagonismo pero siempre de forma reconocible, actuando en este nuevo álbum con mayor peso en cuanto a un estilo clásico, más alejado si cabe de un sonido black propiamente dicho. El elemento más distintivo de este nuevo trabajo reside en el acercamiento más descarado que han hecho no ya sólo a la parte experimental del metal sino también al querer adentrarse en el vanguardismo. La extensión del álbum permite que este fluya con desarrollos extensos que muchas veces sorprenden al oyente con la inclusión de algunas disonancias que llaman la atención en el fluir de su música, dejándonos un tanto descolocados por lo rompedores que resultan en medio de tanto equilibrio. El otro punto a tener en cuenta de este álbum como mencionabas anteriormente es la inclusión de partes de saxofón en casi todos lo temas que nos traen esas parte más vanguardistas a su música que rompe un tanto con los tintes más épicos de la primera etapa de la banda. Voces potentes que podríamos situar en una faceta death melódica y algunos tintes industriales completan un álbum que a pesar de ser extenso se tiene que degustar completo, incluso para darle la dimensión que merece debería de ser enfrentado a su primer trabajo "...Plague Within..." (2009). (7,7)



1. Obtestatio 08:00  
2. Distentio 06:48  
3. Odium 02:35  
4. Detractatio 07:16  
5. Source Doloris 05:27  
6. Fastidium 01:47  
7. Lux et Umbra 06:48  
8. Murmur 04:16  
9. Seditio 02:39  
10. Aequamentum 04:46  
11. Corona 06:08  
12. Non Omnis Moriar 01:23  
13. Rex Vulnere 05:03  
14. Anastasis 07:12  
  01:10:08









viernes, 26 de febrero de 2021

DARZAMAT

 


Origen: Polonia, Katowice

Formados: 1995

Estilo: Black sinfónico, gótico

Temática: Brujería, fantasía, filosofía, magia, poesía oscura, recuerdos y teoría del caos.

Enlaces: BandcampDarzamatfacebookinstagramspotifytwitter y youtube

Miembros: 

  • Chris Guitarra
  • Flauros Programaciones y voces
  • Jacek Gut Batería
  • Markus Bajo
  • Nera   Voces
Discografía:

  • In the Flames of Black Art CD 1996
  • In the Opium of Black Veil EP 1999  
  • Oniriad CD 2003
  • Seven Golden Fires Recopilatorio 2004  
  • SemiDevilish CD 2004
  • Transkarpatia CD 2005
  • Live Profanity (Visiting the Graves of Heretics) Video 2007
  • Solfernus' Path CD 2009  
  • A Philosopher at the End of the Universe Single 2020  
  • The Great Blaze Single 2020  
  • A Philosopher at the End of the Universe CD 2020

A PHILOSOPHER AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE (2020)
Once años después de su último lanzamiento los polacos regresan con un nuevo álbum que poco tiene que ver con lo expuesto en su anterior "Solfernus' Path". Este nuevo "A Philosopher at the End of the Universe" es un álbum con un sonido más maduro y atmosférico que se sustenta en elementos más cercanos a lo gótico y al dark metal, abandonando un tanto los influencias más propias del black sinfónico.  Si que es cierto que la primera parte del álbum prodría responder a un estilo como el black sinfónico, fruto de la inclusión de algún doble bombo, presencia testimonial de teclados y una atmósfera oscura que se ve respaldada por un ritmo un punto más elevado. Hay que mencionar que un aspecto del todo muy importante a lo hora de describir este álbum es del las voces de Nera, presentes en la primera parte del álbum en una facete dual con las de Flauros, que sin llegar a ser innovadoras si que cumplen un cometido de dualidad entre la oscuridad y la melancolía. El álbum a medida que avanza va ganando presencia atmosféricas, góticas y ambientales, como podemos apreciar en la parte central del mismo donde protagonismo de Nera se hace más patente, erigiendo su voz en un aspecto central de la música y abandonando estilos más extremos para hacer acto de presencia elementos del metal melódico sin más o el gótico. Hay buenos riffs en algunas secciones, como recuerdos de antaño, y con ellos se cierran el álbum en un tema como "The Kaleidoscope of Retreat" donde se encuentra de manera más experimental el equilibrio entre lo extremo y lo más accesible como si este tema fuera a marcar el devenir de los próximos pasos de la banda. (7,7).



TuneCore
MVD Entertainment Group


1. Reminiscence 01:21  
2. A Philosopher at the End of the Universe 04:28  
Like a hawk, I swoop down on your countenance
Like a shadow I immolate your soul
Like knowledge I cloud your mind
Like a priest I make you harden your heart

A philosopher at the end of the universe
A crown of spearheads on my head
Human! King of all kings!

My morgenstern is called freedom
In shards of stained glass I read the false past
I kindle the torch of knowledge tonight
I am the end, the light and the dark

I am the flame
I burn and hurt your eyes
I am a lone wolf
The enemy of the meek
I am the firebrand
The mark on a leather-bound book

Exultant I look forward to the coming of dawn
Which has everything and remains alone
Arrows are shot into the darkness
The night illuminates with stars

Blinded by the cosmic light
I do not seek redemption
I’m here to kindle desires
And show you that fear is a handful of ash
3. Running in the Dark 04:31
   I take upon my shoulders the weight of the world
Blood and ugliness, bitterness and pain
Death, mourning, sadness and deep shadow
Still the world is hard to accept

I cast away the body, the seat of pain and doubt
My gaze does not fall on the lifeless
My touch shall not heal the lost and the blind
I shall make torpid earth wake to primeval chaos

Charmed by dark beauty
I free nightly spirits from the abyss
I still remain a part of the only mystery
Kindling desires in souls gone astray

I am liberty, the Devil's own work
An iris of fire, an oracle mad
The flame I carry and you follow
Dances to the wingbeat of my black arts

If but a drop of what I feel
Flew up in the sky
Wings would lift infinity
And the universe would burn like a torch

Run, run, running in the Dark
4. Thoughts to Weigh on Farewell Day 04:17
My gaze falls cool on you, with no emotions I cannot see the sparkle in your eye I want to tell you more than my lips allow I will regret not keeping you with me, But now you must go on alone I can't believe you'll never tell me Of things I had no time to ask about Of how imperfect we all are Every single star must fall There are words, undeniable There are deeds, irreversible There are thoughts, unforgettable Shorter days, longer nights I caress my moonlit visions It is winter, still this lovely tree decides to bloom Clouds they carry rain, so don't look back Forever night The wind-lashed tree It's the secret of life This is the horizon of your fears I'm closer than you think 
5. The Tearful Game 05:26
  What’s behind the mask should stay concealed

Look at the stars
One of these long cold nights
Look how hard they shine
Hide if you can still can!
If you choose to open these doors
Do so with utmost care

In the name of everlasting wounds
In the name of endless pain
In the name of lustful dreams
In the name of a silent god
My sacrifice…

You do not understand
But you must believe
Look at the stars
One of these long cold nights
Look how hard they shine

If you choose to open these doors…
Secrets are meant to stay hidden

Ice covers memories and emotions
I have entered the secret room
You can start praying
The tearful game is over

Days without love or glory
Forgive me and think me not mad
In darkness everything feels the same
Sticky shadows upon shadows
The lying game is over
6. The Sleeping Prophet 03:54
 The icon of Man on the monument of the world I am
Mors rules the land on the other side of darkness
The serpent is arisen in my breast
I curse and feel when God deserts me

I am the dissonant chord
The rasp in the heavenly symphony
How I deride the Scriptures
How I despise the tombs of the mighty

To beg the world for a single tear is useless
I’d rather make a pact with the Devil
Instead of bowing my head in contrition
I shall fly up to Heaven and order God to kneel

Adore my sinful lust
Adore my restless onyx heart
Adore my boldness and my pride
Volcano swollen with a thousand streaks of lava

From black stars which pierce infinity
I watch the twilight of the gods
All angels will fall
All sacrum will lose divinity

When heavens turn to darkness
7. Clouds, Clouds, Darkening All 04:39
   The raven has eclipsed the sun
Brewing storm covers the skies
Despair goes from grey to black
Horizon drowns in darkness
As frothing waves rage and roar

Mournful choirs whisper
Flooded by sorrow I am ruined
Pain in the eternity of passing
Through grudging mist I ramble
Bitterness and gloom have overcome me

A single word that stabbed me hard
Face whitened by its frosty gaze
Forgotten shadows stretch their arms
In a funeral conduct

Sworn into silence, phantoms glide by
Thrown on its back, the past has died
Death whispered the only verse it knows
And scattered everything
He will remain
Forever silent
His mouth was shut before he tasted life
A cruel hand snatched his time away
Clock strikes stroke eleven in his hour

He closed his eyes
Before he saw the world
Thick silence cradled him to sleep
Everything gone in a moment
Clouds, clouds, darkening all
8. The Great Blaze 04:15
  You kindled desire in me
Dirty and reckless
I followed you down a very narrow lane
Rough walls grazed my arms

A fire suddenly started behind me
I was cut off
No way to turn back anymore
Flames pushed me on to you
Charring all hope in my heart

Coils of smoke take my breath away
Acrid smell strings my throat
The world grows distant and dark
Again I am all alone
Just like I was before

In flame I shall be purified
In flame I shall exult
I’d rather let them consume me
Than feel my insides turn to stone

I touch the dancing red
The pain is merely a whisper
On tips of flames I rise
Right into the sublime

Blaze, blaze, the great blaze

And once this is over
Once the great blaze
Within and without is spent
Once I explode and passion is no more
I shall become scattered
Into memories and star dust
9. The Kaleidoscope of Retreat 05:44
   Give me some silence so that I can touch
The undisturbed lucidity of the air
I feel my pulse in my sleep, through dreams that hide within

I open to the images which lazily float in
Each generation has a story to tell
Stripped of our dream we sit down on clouds
And vanish together with the setting sun

Fading among the letters written to the past
We wander and weave our nights together with mornings,
Thoughts strain to hear the voice of life unfulfilled

The drama of evenings and nights when the we only dream of leaving
Deep in the shadow the fear of the invisible appears,
Silence arrives next and sits between us
Once again light crumbles in our hands
Misfortune makes stronger memories than bliss

Space crushes us down, grabs us and chokes us
Sweet dream of satisfaction haunts us no more
We awake full of fears that all we built
Soon will fall apart again

But the song never dies with the man
Absorbing light we become light ourselves
  38:35