Rituals Of The Oak interview

Not so long ago I reviewed  'Come Taste The Doom' by  Australia, NSW based 'Rituals Of The Oak'.  I was put on to this kick ass Doom outfit thanks to an old friend from the print days of Subcide Zine, Jodi Jarrett formally of 'Season Decay Zine'.  Jodi also put me in touch with the  lead vocalist Sabine Hamad-Linfoot, who kindly agreed to answer the following questions.

1)You were born in Beirut, Lebanon and moved to Australia around 2004. My childhood memories of Beirut on the TV news was that it was war zone. In recent years my perception has been of the Israeli invasion of Beirut/1982 Lebanon War as featured on the movie “waltz with bashir”. How accurate is this impression? Does any of this inspire the music and lyrics of Rituals of the Oak? If so how? Are there any tour dates of Lebanon on the cards?

My memories of the civil war will haunt me till the day I kick the bucket. My family went through hell and back. We had several deaths among family and friends. I remember the bombs flying off and landing in front of our building (several times), the underground shelters where we couldn’t even light candles because that’s where we happened to store gas for the whole building, the days we couldn’t leave to buy food or water. Shit was pretty fucked up! And I believe all those crazy memories do pop up in my lyrics at times. They’re a big part of who I am! 

Sabra and Chatila was one of the biggest massacres in the country around that time. It is said to be an act of retaliation for other massacres committed by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) against Lebanese people as well as a consequence of the murder of Lebanon’s president at the time. I wasn’t born then (I was born in 1983) but I heard some accounts from people who were in the camps during the massacres and the stories I heard were absolutely horrific. 

Waltz with Bashir depicts the events pretty accurately. There are no excuses for such acts and those events constitute a stain on the conscience of every Lebanese humanist. It is just shameful what we all did to each other, fighting for Gods who never bother showing up!

2) Please give us a brief rundown of the History and formation of the band. What were your original intentions for it and how have they played out in reality?

The band was formed in 2008 by Shane and Matt. Our former Bass player Nathaniel happened to be playing with both of them in another band and joined Rituals, followed by yours truly! We initially really just wanted to play doom metal. More on the traditional side of the spectrum. We recorded a 2 song demo which scored us a deal with Eyes Like Snow; and so far we have released 2 albums and a split with ELS. 

Today we are opening our minds to all sorts of creative ideas. We are hoping to break a few barriers between genres and write what comes naturally to us. So while we might no longer be strictly a trad doom band, doom is still very essential to all of us. We just fucking love the slow heaviness!

3) Palestine or Israel? Why?

We all acknowledge the horrors the Jewish people experienced over the last couple of millennia, but Israel is now doing to the Palestinians what was done to them by the Nazis. But the bottom line is: At this day and age, why do we need nationalism? We now know better. 

So. Why not have both cultures under one secular roof?

But I guess my thoughts on this issue are too utopic considering the reality of things in the Middle East.   

World Press Photo of the Year 2012 by Paul Hansen. 

The picture shows a group of men carrying the bodies of two dead children through a street in Gaza City. They are being taken to a mosque for the burial ceremony while their father’s body is carried behind on a stretcher. Two-year-old Suhaib Hijazi and his older brother Muhammad were killed when their house was destroyed by an Israeli missile strike. Their mother was put in intensive care. The picture was made on 20 November 2012 in Gaza City, Palestinian Territories.

4) You have recently toured the US on the back of your “Come taste the Doom” album (which we’ll talk about next). How did this come about and how was it? How has it benefited the band? Name a few highlights from your experiences there?.

The US was fucking fun! We were initially meant to play Days of the Doomed in Wisconsin and decided to hit up our contacts over there to organise a few gigs around America and make a mini tour out of the trip over there – which was partly a long awaited holiday for most of us. But unfortunately the festival had to change dates and venues and we were unable to change our flights. So with the help of a few people we know through networking, we organised 8 gigs; we toured for 2 weeks and gallivanted around the country, holidaying, for two more weeks! We met so many mad people on the way and played alongside amazing bands! We had killer fish tacos and smoked legal ganja in San Diego! (Damn I miss those $3 beers!!!!) We met Ron Holzner (former trouble), now in Earthern Grave when we played with them in Aurora, Illinois, home of Wayne’s World! We played a BASEMENT in Appleton, Wisconsin where Tragedy apparently played the year before! 

My memories of the tour are pretty hazy. Chunks of blurred amazing times! Thank technologies for bloody cameras! 

5) Your latest album “Come Taste the Doom” is fairly solid piece of music. How has it been received in the wide world of critics, music buyers, fans and downloaders? How do you view it now that it is nearly a year old?

We have had some solid reviews come back, some favouring the album, a few not so much. But that’s like all other music. It’s all very relative! But personally, I like what we did on that record. So do the boys. And that’s the bottom line! 

6) I note from your facebook posts that your political views seem to be fairly left leaning. As opposed to the more right wing/ conservative views that seems to be common among the Metal fraternity. Could please tell us why you view the world in this way? Why do you think that a majority of people involved with Metal seem to lean to the Right?

The whole left/right stuff makes me cringe. I’m above all a humanist. This means I pro-actively defend human rights. Growing up docking shrapnel might have had something to do with it! But honestly, I think the metal scene is evolving from that image you painted, I mean, check out Halford! Gay and more metal than anyone I know! And as far as Australia goes, no one I know would want Abbott for PM. So. Evolution. It’s where it’s at! 

7) You are married to ‘Rituals’ guitarist Shane Linfoot - which came first, your marrage or the band? How did the first lead to the second? Who wins most of the arguments? How does the dynamic of your marriage work with the music of Rituals of the Oak?

Shane and I were married when I joined Rituals. He knew my voice and recognised the potential in joining forces with me, even though at first we hesitated a bit. But everything seems to work out just fine! I honestly really love his songs and can’t wait to see where we end up musically.

8) You have quite a strong singing voice. Have you had any training? If so what? Who are your vocal influences? 

Nope. No professional training. I just figured out some techniques with the help of Rob Halford, John Arch, Coverdale, Dio and many others! 

9) What’s Next for Rituals of the Oak? Also what direction will your future music be taking?

We are now finalising the songs for our next album. We’ll hopefully start recording in a few months. For now, all we know is that this album is shaping up to be different with the possibility of a cover. And I might just leave it at that! 

10) Any Last comments? (You may wish to mention how people can get hold of your releases and merch) 

Thank you for these very interesting questions! I quite enjoy political ranting!

For anyone interested in our music, visit our page on Blogspot: http://ritualsoftheoak.blogspot.com.au/

We have videos and shit!

Rotten Sound interview

Thanks again to Ami from The Mighty Scoop for hooking up this interview with Keijo Niinimaa, vocalist for Rotten Sound.  Rotten Sound will be playing two New Zealand Shows on April 11th and 12th.  You can find out more about these shows here. If you live in either Wellington or Auckland, keep an eye out for a free special edition of 'Subcide Zine' containing this interview. Copies will be available in all the usual places.  
In the meantime read what Keijo has to say...

1) You are playing in New Zealand for the first time this April. What can the audience expect from your Live performance? 

Well, I was in there last August with Nasum and it was really a huge surprise how similar NZ-crowd was to Finnish people. What to expect? Well, loud and furious grind-core with groove and insanity in front of us by everyone who is brave enough to enter the moshpit. Afterwards we will enjoy some fine alcoholic beverages together and laugh our asses off, because of all the good times. Having Ulcerate to play with us is going to be a huge honour and we’re actually a bit worried about the fact, that they’ll be really hard to follow in front of their home crowd… But we’ll do our best to grind your faces off.

2) Of course this is actually your second visit to New Zealand. In September last year you were here as front mate for the Nasum farewell tour. What are your recollections of that experience. What were some of the high points of that world tour as a whole? 

Yeah, just like I said already… That experience was really short because we spent only 17 hours in your exotic country, but the way we were welcomed to the venue, to the stage and to the afterparties (which we unfortunately could not do because of early flights to Japan the next morning) were simply amazing. Once again, I felt actually more home than in pretty much any other country of the Nasum tour – except for Finland, obviously..

3) A while ago I saw a Rotten Sound T-shirt which featured a picture of the “Boss HM-2 Heavy Metal pedal” with the secret setting on its dials. What does this pedal and setting mean to ‘Rotten Sound”? What will you do when you can no longer find these guitar pedals?

Ahh, well, those are the old settings (everything set to max), nowadays Mika has let off with few knobs… We have tried a lot of different things with our sound, but somehow the HM-2 and the way Mika uses it with his A-tuned guitar (darker than average HM-2 sounds, I think) seems to really work well. But that’s not all, Kristian’s Big Muff bass really adds a lot to it too and actually our bass feels like a 2nd guitar in the overall mix. Lastly, Sami is not using any triggers and tunes his drums quite low, which means that we’re playing grind with aggressive stoner-doom sound.

4) You’re touring on the back of a 8+ minute, 6 track EP titled “Species at War” EP. Could you tell us about that EP and why people should check it out?

It’s pretty much the best sounding release we have done and it shows how we sound today in studio and on stage. It’s almost like one long song. I’m pretty bad at “selling” ourselves, so, I think it’s better for you to go and check-out at least the lyric video for “Salvation”-track to hear how the EP feels.

5) “Species at War” is being touted as a stopgap EP before the follow up to your 2011 Album “Cursed”. Are you able to give any insight as to what to expect from the next album? Are there any titles or indications of musical direction you can tell us about?

We have about 20 new songs, but I haven’t started writing lyrics to them yet… It’s going to be a grind-core album, but probably a bit more diverse again than Cursed or SAW is… Probably we’ll use the rest of this year to write more songs and to pre-produce all of them before we decide which ones will be on the next album. So, it’s way too early at the moment to say anything that concrete.

6) For 2013 you’re embarking on a pretty intense World tour. Could you please tell us why youhave chosen to do this. What are you hoping to do that you haven’t on previous tours?

We didn't have a chance to tour that much last year and there seems to be quite a lot of possibilities for us to play shows now. We also like touring a lot and this somehow fits our 20 year anniversary.

7) Word association time. What do the following things mean to Rotten sound:

- Napalm Death - Influence

- Obscene Extreme – Best party in the world

- War - Wrong

- 99% - Not done

- Veggieburgers – Once a week treat

- Stereo Drinking – Fun as hell

The next 4 questions are from Rotten Sound Fans who were asked to contribute to this interview via the punkas.com forum and Subcide webzine facebook page:

8) What are your thoughts on Scion A/V and corporate involvement in grindcore? [Tim Punkas]

Well, one could think that Toyota corporation is not the coolest companion to work with, but when they help bands to tour and they also made it possible for us to support Carcass back in 2008 by sponsoring us, we are the wrong people to criticize them in any possible way. I also think that Scion is good at bringing cool ecological vehicles to US, where most of the people need a car.

9) Why does the guy on the cover and video for 'Exit' wear a paper bag on his head? It seems pretty impractical, considering a paper bag could just fly off at any time - for instance if he had to make a run from the police - and in any case he kills himself with a shotgun, why did he bother concealing his identity if they're going to find his body and eventually be able to identify it via DNA testing or distinguishing marks if too much of his face is missing? Had he previously committed a crime he had every intention of getting away with or was he suicidal in the first place?. [Logan Muir]

Haha, good thinking in there… The bag represents the way that society and some corporations treat human beings as faceless, expendable resources. This poor fellow has realized, that his only way out from his misery is this “Exit” at his office.

10) Why do most of your song titles only contain one word? [Dan Birrell]

My English is too broken to have longer titles on stage… More seriously: I started to think about song titles a lot more when we did Murderworks album and my process has been pretty straight-forward since that album: I write the lyrics and pick up one word, that describes the song in a best possible way.  I've done a few exceptions over the years, like “Sell Your Soul”, “Western Cancer” and I've even invented fake words like “Corponation”, but otherwise this seems to work pretty well as long as I remember to avoid the words I've already used.

11) What was behind the decision to move from Relapse to Season Of Mist? [Craig Hayes]

We didn't move, we wanted to change our label in Europe. Relapse is still doing the rest of the world and this same setup is going to continue with the next album too. Main reason was that Relapse was lacking distribution and promotion in few major European territories, which have been pretty good for us before when we still were with Spinefarm. But Relapse is doing really great job in North America and they can also keep our releases available for all other places. Season of Mist has been already really impressive with “Species at War”, but I believe that the next full-length will be a lot better way to measure their success over here.

12) Thank you for your time. Any last comments?

See you at the shows!

Review: Vassafor - Obsidian Codex

Special thanks to Scourge Witchfvkker of Exordium Mors and Axiom of the Elite NZMetal 'Zine for stepping up to the plate and writing the following review while I'm still to obtain my copy of this album.  Let hope I can convince him to contribute more....  Chris Rigby.

Like a lumbering leviathan reawakened from an eternity of slumber, set free from its icy chains from chasms deep and mysterious - Vassafor rears its ugly head to crush once more. Forgiving the obvious Lovecraftian tones of this article, it is simply the imagery that Vassafor's debut full-length 'Obsidian Codex' gives; the image of a gargantuan beast hauled upwards through torturous depths, up from the sewers of the world and into the torturous light - only to swallow it whole in it's own monstrous and ugly darkness. In short, this is one of the darkest, unsettling and evillest records I have ever heard and I'll explain why.

As I mentioned before, this record has a very uncomfortable, unsettling feeling to it. To evoke Lovecraft again, it's as if there's something not quite right, something abhorrently 'against nature' yet something altogether ancient like Lovecraft's 'Old Ones'. There are some bizarre riffs which form haunting melodies that for all intents and purposes, are being summoned by VK's possessed mind. I also note that the man behind 'Ritual Noise' project Vanargandr works behind the scenes on the record, which supplements VK's vision of bizarre, uncomfortable-ness. Yet with this uncomfortable-ness, also comes a sense of triumphant-ness as I previously stated the darkness swallowing the light in defiant glee.

The music itself, as always with Vassafor, is highly creative and you can tell that VK has put a lot of time and effort into perfecting each composition, each part of a song with careful and meticulous care to his highest standard. The riffs ooze with black filthy sludge and they leave their dirty imprint on you for days long after. Interesting too is you can hear VK's influences permeate throughout the tracks yet rather than being a mere imitator, he has surpassed the originators of the style. For instance some tracks have a strong 'Beherit - Drawing Down the Moon' theme which I know can be trendy for 'Bestial' bands to do these days. The exception with Vassafor is that it captures that atmosphere completely - and outdoes it.  With the doomier parts (which by the way are prevalent throughout and if you are not a fan of Funeral Doom then this may not be for you) you will hear elements of Thergothon, Skepticism and Bethlehem. On other tracks (particularly on Makutu - Condemned to Deepest Depths) you hear elements of the ritual-invoking and melodic riffage of Inquisition, early Rotting Christ, Varathron and Zemial. Obsidian Codex outdoes its masters and raises the benchmark for Evil Metal. Period.

More on the overall structure of the songs though. I mentioned that there are Funeral Doom-esque parts to the songs; these seem to melt and dissolve into rabid fast or mid-paced parts and then back into doomier territory but without sounding confused or lost. The structure of the songs sound very natural and purposeful - again a credit to VK's meticulous high standard of song-writing. You may also notice that a few of the songs have been recorded previously on other demo or promo releases. These songs have been almost being given a new visioning and although they sounded great on their previous releases - they have been given new 'life' on this record and really complement the album as a whole.

The production on the album complements the music perfectly. The vocals are just buried under the guitar, creating an effect of hidden menace underlying the music. It also, however channels the music and provides a dark current, seething underneath. The bass is bludgeoning and very present on the record - making an escape from traditional Black Metal records and more in-line with the Bestial Metal of the current years. The drums are restrained in the mix but I suspect this is purposeful as the drums are only there to provide the relevant artillery and retain the barbaric beat. BP (from fellow New Zealand feral Death/Grind band Malevolence) does a great job at this and his work is to be commended. 

I'd like to comment on the lyrics but unfortunately VK has not included the lyrics for this release. Judging by his past releases and the care/judgement he puts into the music itself; I expect nothing short of the darkest thoughts penned since Jon Nodveit. I would like to point out for readers that are not from New Zealand or not familiar with the Maori (indigenous people of New Zealand) language. Makutu is the Maori word for a curse, spell or bewitchment which also demonstrates VK's homage to New Zealand and its barbaric past. Furthermore on this track in particular, no guitars were used but two basses. I had the pleasure of witnessing this track live when Vassafor opened for Inquisition in 2012, and I have to say unfortunately the album track does not do it justice. It was an absolute crushing wall of noise that suffice to say, if you get the chance to see Vassafor live - pray they play that song and pray you have the good fortune that you have the best earplugs and are furthest from the speakers when they play it. You will not survive the onslaught of noise otherwise.

Lastly, the only negative I can pull from this full-length is the artwork. I get that it's meant to be a sludgey, filthy, demonic creation, pulled from the depths of humanity but I do not think the artwork was as effective or as striking as the music therein contains. Regardless, if artwork is stopping you from listening to an album then you should probably kill yourself.

My final words on the album would be despite its length (it's a Double LP with an approximate hour and a half running time), it's a mesmerising album that pulls you in and you forget that time exists. The production is very analog so if you are listening to a download of this then you will miss the full experience of this album. Get the vinyl - it will serve you better.

People were right about the end of the world being in 2012 except they had the date wrong. It was December the 6th, 2012 when the Obsidian Codex was released. Buy this record now.

Praise Satan - Hail Vassafor!

666 stars out of 5.

Meth Drinker interview + Open Tomb split review

A few words from Sam Thurston of Wellington's filthiest sludge merchants METH DRINKER!

1- The music and name of Meth Drinker creates a mental image of the band being a bunch of filthy, derelict, glue sniffing, methylated spirits drinking drop kicks. How close is this to the truth? Who would you actually describe yourselves personally (not musically)?

Picture a scummy flat in Newtown that hasn't seen a vacuum cleaner in 15 years. There is assorted crap strewn everywhere, used plates with dried crusted floor all over the floor. The occupants are unconscious... occasionally coming out of their drugged out methylated spirits haze to start jamming on the various instruments set up around the room. Nah seriously we're some of the most cleanest, tidiest civilized people Lance knows.

Lance - "sam, tony and james are probably the most cleanest/tidiest/civilized people that i know of "

2- You released your Self titled on Vinyl and CD in early 2011 through AlwaysNeverFun Records to what seemed like a huge underground response internationally.This included a rave review in Terrorizer magazine and my review on Subcide Webzine has attracted more than double the amount of hits of any other article I've posted. What do think has attributed to this level of attention being paid to Meth Drinker?

We just tried to write music that we wanted to hear and didn't think there were all that many bands these days doing sludge that wasn't 10 minute long self-indulgent wanky boring shit. Trying to write nasty shit as heavy as possible. So we're not surprised that other people may be into it.

Meth Drinker s/t album reissue cover

3 -Still on the subject of the debut s/t Album. It’s been re-released for Europe by Raw Birth Records. How did this come about? For those that missed the original release how can they get this version? Why should people get the album?

We were compared to Bottom Feeder from Denmark on a blog review and one of the members co-runs Raw Birth Records so they liked us and wanted to repress the 12" and got in contact. So we're stoked about that and they're gunna help out large with a Europe tour in May next year. People can get the album off Raw Birth Records blog. Why should people get the record...? Why not? 

4) Going back to the first question, you say that your music doesn't reflect the members of Meth Drinker as people. Yet it's (your music)  up there with some of the most dark, sick and twisted sludge there is.  Where exactly do you draw your creative inspiration from for these dark musical and lyrical themes?

We never said our music doesn't reflect us personally but it's not hard to draw influence from the ongoing pain and suffering endured in this world.

5 - You own and run “AlwaysNeverFun Records” (and Zine?) that released the Meth Drinker debut. Tell us abit about the label,it’s focus, what it’s released and going to release. How can people check out your catalogue and make orders? Additionally, Tony does a blog and label called Drug Violence. What can you tell us about these?

I just started Always Never Fun to release records on my own terms and there were no labels in NZ I wanted to be on. I've released mostly our own shit with the exceptions of a 12" NZ comp and the Electric Mayhem /Numbskull split cause they're good cunts. Tony started Drug violence to make local NZ demos available to local friends but there has been subsequent international interest.

6 - You have just released a split album coming out with Hamilton band ‘Open Tomb’. How did this come about? What can we expect from it? Musically how does it compare to the debut? How can it be obtained?

We're friends with the old cunts from Open Tomb so it was natural to do a split with them. It was originally gunna be a Gawj / Drug Problem 12" but both bands broke up. Musically, it's more of the same. It's available for not much longer stunsmas@yahoo.co.nz and opentomb666@gmail.com 

Note: See the end of this article for a review of this release

Open Tomb split cover art

7- Meth Drinker members are also involved in a number of other bands including Scab, Shortlived, Influence, Rogernomix, Invertebrate, Drug Problem and Baboon King. Could you please give a brief description of each band including styles, which members are involved, current status and any links or releases that readers can check out.

Too many bands to go into. Just search them and you can easily figure it out or check drugviolence.blogspot.com

8 - You’ve made a pretty unsettling music video for the song ‘731’ off of the Open Tomb split. Who put this together and where did the footage come from? What was the intent of it?

We got the footage from Doctors of Death (Killer in a White Coat). It's basically about the history of humans testing on humans. 

9- You played a gig a short while ago at ‘Strathmore Gun Placement’. What was that all about?

There is a lack of decent AA venues in Wellington and we got sick of playing at the shitty bars so we decided to release the 12" in a bunker on generator power. Keeping it punk as fuck. DIY. There will be more generator shows in Wellington to come so stayed tuned. Illegal shows are the best shows.

10 - What is next for Meth Drinker? Any last comments?

The future for Meth Drinker is a European tour in May/June of 2013. The first two weeks are with US sludge band Graves at Sea and then one week with Danish Grind band Dead Instrument. Then we head to Ireland to play three shows over there. Hopefully coinciding with the tour will be another repress of the s/t 12" on Raw Birth Records(Denmark) a new 7" on crucificados records (Germany)and Raw Birth records, a split 12" with UK sludge band Moloch on crucificados records and Feast of Tentacles (UK) and we're also working on something new which may or may not be ready by then too, we'll see. For info on the tour dates with Graves at Sea checkhttp://killtownbookings.com/?page_id=6 and for the rest of the tour details will be posted on http://alwaysneverfunrecords.wordpress.com/

Meth Drinker/Open Tomb split 12” (Alwaysneverfun/United Blasphemy Music)

This split vinyl 12” contains two tones of filthy sludge doom. One ‘Open Tomb’, a dark grey sewage silt with streaks of darker grey effluent. The other, ‘Meth Drinker’, a disgusting dark green bile with curdles of brighter green pus. Both are improvements, particularly in the area of songwriting, from each band’s previous recordings.

First we get three Meth Drinker tunes. ‘Dehumanize’ continues in the vein of the dirty sludge we heard on the s/t album. ‘Beyond The Grate’ starts moving into new territory with creeping climbing riffs, rising into an aggressive peak which includes samples of suffering, torture and insanity. Both of these songs seem to build up toward the ultra disturbing, and most musically diverse, epic that is ‘731’. Despite the lack of visuals from the music video, I still find the level of unease in ‘731’ to be up there with a rare few things I’ve ever heard in recorded music. Those include the ‘Khanate ‘Things Viral’’ album and the first time I heard ‘Altar of Sacrifice’ while listening to ‘Slayer - Reign In Blood’ aged fifteen in the dark through walkman headphones. A quick Google search shows that the theme of this song is based around the WWII Japanese biological warfare and human testing ‘Unit 731’. I think Meth Drinker have succeeded in capturing the horror of that place accurately. 

The two song ‘Open Tomb’ contribution (‘Off with his Hands’ and ‘Hostile Womb’) for some reason reminds me of the atmosphere that is projected the first ‘Grief’ album ‘Dismal’ (The really good album they did in ‘93 before all their albums started to sound exactly the same and kind of boring) i.e. a kind of grind sludge that is engaging rather than a wash that plays as droning background music. My observation over the past 20+ years of bands with Sean Carmichael (and associated musicians) in them is that they seem to last a couple of years, start getting really good and then end before they get a chance to develop into something really awesome. Therefore I’m going to be an optimist here and hope that they stick with Open Tomb and see where it goes. In the meantime I can tell you that the material on this split is some of the best and most engaging music I’ve heard from the Sean Carmichael collective in the last almost quarter century....... Jesus we’re a bunch of fuckin’ old cunts! 

Get it if you still can. Beg for a re-press if you can’t.

Witchrist Interview

After over a year of trying to nail this down, I can finally present to you the following in-depth interview with Shawn/Abomination and Alex/Occultorture "Bad News Brown" on the subject of all things WITCHRIST!

1) The latest Witchrist album 'The Grand Tormentor' has been heavily influenced by the eastern myth known as The Ramayana or Ramakien. Can you please give us a break down of how you have represented this story in the music and Lyrics of the album? For example what songs represent what parts of the Ramayana and how?

The majority of the tracks on the album relate to the ancient tale and also the murals contained at Wat Phra Kaew. Once again this is Witchrist's interpretation of the epic and the lyrics have been released with the album for this purpose.

Examples of murals contained at Wat Phra Kaew

2) On both 'The Grand Tormentor' and your previous album 'Beheaded Ouroboros ' a dark Hindu theme has featured in the art work, lyrics and even Sanskrit translations of the lyrics. Why have you chosen this theme? Is it something that Witchrist will continue with?

Having members of Asian hertiage does play some part in this decision, yes this will continue.

3) I'm aware that you have been working on new material. Could you please give some indications of what lyrical and musical directions this is headed in? Perhaps some titles if they exist yet? I'm interested to find out what other parts of eastern mythology you might be covering.

New material is currently being completed for the Antediluvian split 7" and perhaps another EP. The lyrical concepts are of a similar direction as the song "The Grand Tormentor" - ie. centred around a number of deities and their infliction of doom upon mankind. We will explore sources in the Puranas and certain sects of Buddhism to compile our most sinister material to date. No titles can be revealed as of yet as we are awaiting the finalisation of the material. 

Note: While no description of the new music was given in this answer, I was given the privilege of hearing an untitled work in progress 6 minute track. What I can tell you is that it sounded like a more developed and epic version of the music music on 'The Grand Tormentor'. If this track is anything to go by, future Witchrist will top the current material and be something to get excited about.

4) Despite the eastern themes, the music of Witchrist is generally rooted in western death metal using traditional instruments. Although it was briefly touched on with the intro of "Adoration Of Black Messiah" on the 'Headless Oroborus' album, Have you considered utitlising eastern instruments, rhythms and or/melodies in the music of Witchrist? If not why? If so how and when will we hear it?

That is our way of presenting Witchrist, we use our own weapons and what we have ingrained in us. I listen to a select amount of Indian music and there is a depth to it which goes beyond simply playing an instrument and scale, you could describe this as Occult. Attempting to add these melodies to metal can result in mediocrity if not done correctly or without proper thought. We will use segments of Eastern music sparingly and with relation to that which is contained in the song. 

5) One last question on the eastern occult theme. Obviously you have spent time researching the darker side of side of eastern religions. Have you at any time been a practitioner of any of these? for inspiration or otherwise? If so please elaborate.

I was raised in a traditional Hindu household, however as I grew older I was on a different path and stepped away from the more mainstream thought of Hinduism. Though the theory is a strong base for Witchrist I believe the traditional practices are best left to certain groups who follow the religion as a cultural aspect of society. The music of Witchrist will always be our ritual of darkness.

6) Witchrist is part of a group of bands self labeled as ‘Doom cult’. It currently only involves yourselves and Diocletian, but has included Vassafor and Sinistrous Diabolus. How did the 'Doom Cult' concept come about and why? What defines a ‘Doom Cult’ band? Are there likely to be any new edition to it’s fold in the future? If so who/what?

If you listen to Diocletian and Witchrist you have a glimpse at what Doom Cult is. We don't take applications.

7) That leads into a technical question about the 'Doom Cult' sound. Through frequenting the same rehearsal studio that both Witchrist and Diocletian use, I've noticed that between both bands you have a sizable collection of old NZ made 'Holden' amps. Why is that you have chosen to use these? What is it that they do that other Amplifiers don't? Are there any specific models of 'Holden' that you use? Why? Is there any other musical equipment (strings, speakers, pedals, guitars, drums etc) that is important to your sound? If so what and why?

The death tone achieved through these Holden valves are key factors in our choice, it is characteristic of Witchrist's sound. Both me and Occultorture have been using Holden in rehearsal for a long time, they are indestructible and noisy. Ultimately, the attitude dictates the direction of which the equipment is used.

8) Your recent video for 'Wasteland of Thataka' shows the band performing with images of skulls, smoke and a mysterious masked figure. After some brief research I have learned that 'Thataka' (Tatakā or Taraka (ताड़का) or Tadaka) is a 'Crow Demoness' in the Ramayana. She was cursed the loss of her beautiful physique and transformed hideous demonic creatures with a cruel, cannibalistic nature (Rakshasas). Thataka then inhabited a forest near the river Ganges that became known as the 'Forest of Thataka'. There she terrorized the people, devouring anyone who dared to set foot in that forest. After reading the lyrics to the song, my assumption is that the video symbolises 'Thataka' as the masked figure, her reign in the forest or 'wasteland' being depicted in the smoke and darkness, with the skull representing her many victims. How close am I?

Though the concept of the track may have a foundation with the Tataka demoness, the video and music should transcend thought. Therefore, the exact meaning behind the video is not easily described in words and it is best for the audience to interpret it on their own accord like you have done.

9) Witchrist and Doom Cult seem to have become quite a self sufficient working machine. Alex does all your artwork (Read a short interview with him on this subject at the end of this article), Cam does all the mixing, mastering and I believe soon the engineering of your recordings, Brendan directed your video and (as I understand) does all the managerial stuff and you run your own distro label 'Goat Gear' where among other things, your releases are available in NZ. Is there anything I've missed out? Was this something that was intended or has it come about naturally over time? What else would you take control of if you had the opportunity? Why?

Yes you could say we are organized chaos. As for expansion... Why not? This is only the beginning. 

As you have mentioned we all contribute certain characteristics to the Cult, I still believe it is essential to place the individual aside for the bigger picture, greater purpose. in the case of Doom Cult our intentions are to invest in what we truly believe is worthy of our time and energy. 

10) Witchrist have an interesting stage aesthetic consisting of minimal lighting, smoke, covered faces and hoods. What mood or feeling are you intending to evoke with this? What was the original inspiration of the the hoods? Is their anything that you'd like to add to your stage presentation that you haven't yet, or would if their were no parameters restricting you? If so what?

We embody the spirit of our music, its a permanent mindset and our intensity does not waiver in anything we do. We do not NEED to have particular clothing in order to do this.. if we discover the hoods are unsuitable we will discard them.... The music should be the ultimate component of the RITUAL. Though at the same time bands with weak stage presence only degregate themselves., perhaps this means they should not be creating that type of music.

11) Thanks Shawn for an enlightening interview into the world of Witchrist. Is there anything else you'd like to say in closing? Perhaps a plug for 'Goat Gear' if you want?

Beware...

Doom Cult /// www.doomcult.net

Goat Gear /// www.goatgear.net

Osmose Productions /// www.osmoseproductions.com/

I chose to ask Alex/Occultorture "Bad News Brown" the following questions so as to get a first hand insight into Witchrist cover art, but also to explore his art as a whole.  Continue reading...

1) Could you please give us a brief rundown on how you started out as an artist, leading up to becoming the well known underground metal cover artist you are now? What were some of your key influences that lead to you developing the unique style you have now?

I've been drawing since I can remember, but never studied art formally. Only after studying graphic design did I realize that a 9-5 job wasn't for me. I followed my own path and somehow arrived where I am now.

Influences are infinite, but the seed for it all was seeing stippling for the first time (probably on a Metallica or Napalm Death record) and thinking it was such a painstakingly detailed technique, more extreme than simple hatching. I had to learn how to do it. Other than this I don't think much about having a particular style.

2) Obviously being a member of Witchrist, the band gets to be in the privileged position of having lots of highly detailed, quality internal and external album art. What research have you done into the eastern and hindu imagery that adorns Witchrist album covers? How long did it take you to complete all of the art work for “The Grand Tormentor” and particularly “Beheaded Ouroboros”? What techniques and tools do you use in your art?

Each album would've taken somewhere between 6 and 12 months each whilst also working on commissions. I read several important 'eastern' texts in research for the art but really only really took base concepts to make my/our own. Traditional depictions were perverted and combined with other ideas related or otherwise. As mentioned above stippling is the main technique, although more line work and black ink washes have come into play as of late. 

3) You recently traveled to the US to take part in an art exhibition “Invocation I”. Which along with your self featured the work of AntiChrist Kramer and a number of other Metal cover artists. How did it come about? Tell us about how it went and what the highlights were. What did you gain from it?

Invocation was my first exhibition as well as my first time visiting the States so it was an all round amazing experience. Eternal gratitude to Rick/DB Think Tank. It was a great insight in Hollywood and connectivity of it all. I met a lot of great people, saw a lot of great art and ate a lot of great food, but it was still just a taste. I'll be back.

4) What are your favorite pieces of your own artwork? Ultimately where would you like to go with your art long term? 

I aim to work on bigger and more diverse projects in terms of size, audience and medium. It doesn't matter if it involves metal or even music at all, as long as I'm able to create. And as for favourites it's hard to say but the Mitochondrion art is up there as well as The Grand Tormentor. I see every new drawing as a step forward mind you and 2013 will hold the biggest steps yet.

5) What should people do if they would like to get you to do art work for them? Any last comments?

Don't go looking for snakes, you might find them;

alexander.brownn@gmail.com

http://www.badnewsbrown.blogspot.co.nz/

www.facebook.com/bnb888

Alex has these available for sale.  Email him if interested.

2012 International Roundup part 2 - Sanguinary Misanthropia, WaterWays, Sons of Alpha Centauri, Hotel Wrecking City Traders and Bonehunter

This is the last of the 2012 round ups. The longer I’ve worked on them the more I’ve realised could be included. But I’ve got to stop somewhere and I’m sure those other releases will find their place around here at the appropriate time...

Sanguinary Misanthropia - Loathe Over Will ( Supremacy Through Intolerance)

At the time of writing, I will be getting to see these guys play tomorrow  tonight at “APOCRYPHAL CONGREGATION OF RITUAL DEATH” where I’m expecting to be pulverized by an impressive performance of intense dark and rhythmic Black Metal. But I’ll talk more about that later.

‘Loathe over Will’ is a slow but rewarding grower of an album. It’s full of interesting percussion, rhythmic changes and subtle melodies both in the music and vocals. This, of course is all flavoured with aggressive energy and dark hatred of everything. The title track, ‘Bellum ad Internecionem’ and opening tune ‘Revelations 16:4 - 6 (Ritual Opening)’ are particular stand out tracks for me. Both of which reflect the previous description very well. 

The thing I believe could make ‘Loathe Over Will’ a better listen however, is neither to do with the bands performance nor song writing ability. In fact both of those things are brilliant. It’s actually in the production, which is oddly also solid. It’s something in the production that I can’t quite put my finger on. I think it’s either that the guitars are slightly too dominant in the mix and don’t allow the drums and vocals to breathe as much as they should, or it’s because the recording has been pushed slightly too hot during the mastering process, resulting in the music’s natural dynamics being flattened. It may even be a combination of both or neither of those things. Whatever it is, it makes the album a more arduous listen than it really should be, and I say that knowing that this music isn’t supposed to be easy to listen to. This is where I can tell though, through repetitive listens, that none of this will be a problem live. In fact I know that this is where the music of Sanguinary Misanthropia will shine! Perhaps they could sort this out for the vinyl release, which “Loathe Over Will” is destined for.

WaterWays / Sons of Alpha Centauri / Hotel Wrecking City Traders - 3 way Split (Bro Fidelity)

I want this record! It’s a work of art. I mean look at the cover(s) and of course I’ll now tell you about the music contained within. (Which by the way, isn’t what you’d normally expect to be reviewed here but for some reason seems to belong all the same) It’s also the first time I've reviewed a digital promo copy. More of which I know are to come. 

American release

WaterWays, from Southern Calafornia, play gothic guitar pop in the vein of ‘Fields of the Nephilim’, but with almost celtic styled female vocal and a Portishead smoothness. Of the 4 songs here all are varied, dark and beautiful in their own right. Check out ‘The Blacksmith’:

European release

Sons of Alpha Centauri, from the UK, provide a single eight and a half minute track ‘27’. ‘27’ leads on perfectly from WaterWays, with it’s clean guitar opening which ebbs and flows through a journey of different rhythms, riffs and in and out of distorted highs and clean lows. 

‘27’ is the first of two remaining instrumental songs on the album, the second being from ‘Hotel Wrecking City Traders’.

Australian release

Hotel Wrecking City Traders, from Melbourne, continue on the path where ‘27’ finished and ‘WaterWays’ started with 'Pulmo Victus'. 'Pulmo Victus' which sees acoustic guitars, reverbed and delayed strings floating on top of their sub ten minute journey across a mist of looped guitar fuzz. It’s the Noisy climax of the album and the perfect closer.

Both ‘Sons of Alpha Centauri’ and ‘Hotel Wrecking City Traders’ do exactly what that shitty over hyped emperor's new clothing excuse for a band ‘Earth’ don’t. They create lively and interesting guitar driven instrumental rock which transports your mind to another place, and not boring half paced country/blues songs that really should have vocals but don’t. ‘Earth’ should really take a lesson from these guys or split up immediately! By the way I fucking hate ‘Earth’ if you didn’t pick up on that. 

This is the album you put on, on a warm Sunday afternoon, while you’re sitting out in the back yard and recovering from a hangover caused by the excesses of a Sanguinary Misanthropia gig you attended the night before. It goes well with a strong coffee, fruit juice or perhaps the hair of the dog that bit you. Definitely not pot though, that shit makes me insanely paranoid and want to curl up into the fetal position. 

Bonehunter - Turn up the Evil (Hell’s Vomit) 

“Turn up the Evil” by Finland’s ‘Bonehunter’ is the second release on New Zealand underground Metal label “Hell’s Vomit”. ‘Bonehunter’are self described ‘Street Metal Punk’. In my mind however, the best way to describe “Bonehunter - Turn up the Evil” is to get you to imagine what a Bathory EP would have sounded like if Quathorn had written and recorded six sexually suggestive/crass songs (seven if you include the intro) in the style of this:

Yes ‘Turn up the Evil’ is a fun 15 Minutes of catchy, dirty, rockin black metal. If that sounds like your thing you won’t go wrong with adding it to your collection. 

A suggestion for improvement on this release would be for the tracks to be widened and more bass to be brought out in the mastering. Something I noticed upon first listening was that after the attention grabbing (and dynamic sounding) occult porno intro of “Summoning...” The music seems to shrink down in contrast. Just a minor gripe though.

For fans of the aforementioned, Atomizer, Gospel of the Horns, Venom, Midnight and recent Darkthrone.

2012 International Roundup part 1 - Swans

This is a long overdue way of me making up for the live review I never wrote after I witnessed Swans play live in Auckland way back on 6 March 2011. I’m not sure why I didn’t review it at the time. It was truly one of the most impressive and sonically intense live performances I’ve ever seen. Probably only matched by seeing Thorr’s Hammer at Supersonic in 09. Maybe it was general procrastination (most likely), all the bad shit going on back then (Mathew Hall had just been murdered and the Christchurch earthquake had both happened in the last month) or maybe I was put off by the rushed and almost flippant answers Michael Gira gave to the email interview  I had sent him (which was arranged via the local promoter). He did apologise for that in the accompanying email (due to the fact he had limited time to answer it while on tour) though and lets face it he’s a total GC in person. I got to meet him briefly after the show and whenever you order anything by Swans (or one of his other projects) from his label, Young God Records, he always signs the releases and even writes notes like “Thank you for your support” on the outside packaging. 

Anyway, here is a rundown of that show by way of reviews of the two Swans albums that were released in 2012.

The version I got

Swans - Live - We Rose From Your Bed With The Sun In Our Head
2xCD (Young God Records)

I got the pre ordered limited edition of 1000 hand printed, coloured and signed version with bonus demo songs for ‘The Seer’. It was sold (out in less than half a day) by pre-order directly from the Young God Records website in order to raise the funds to record ‘The Seer’ studio album. But because the general version is the one that’s readily available I’ll focus on the live tracks that are contained on both versions in this review*.

The version you'll get

Like my live experience ‘We Rose From Your Bed With The Sun In Our Head’ opens with a 23 minute track, which after a slow building 10 minute feedback drone intro, crashes down into a crushing rendition of ‘No words No thoughts’, the opening song from the ‘My father will guide me up a rope to the sky’ album. This sets the tone for further alternate versions of songs from that and other albums throughout. And they really are different. For example here is the “My father will guide me up a rope to the sky” version of ‘Eden Prision’: 

This is the version they played at the Powerstation, in Auckland. Which is close to the version which appears as the second to last track on ‘We Rose...”

Completely fucking different!!!

Second track is a stabbing percussive version of ‘Jim’. Once again it’s quite a variation to the mellower almost folk studio version.

Next, finishing off the first disk are three adaptations of early Swans songs. The first being ‘Beautiful Child’ originally from the 1987 ‘Children of God’ album. Unlike the original grandiose orchestral version, this one is made to sound like it’s an old wringer washing machine with throat cancer, that has been turned on to full so as to hypnotize you and draw you into it. This is followed by ‘Your Property’ from ‘Cop’ which is a mellow version that builds up in intensity throughout. Again it’s very different to the original metallic monolith of sound that it came from.

Orginal version:

Current live version:

Lastly we have “Sex God Sex” from ‘Children of God’. Surprisingly this is the most loyal adaptation on ‘We Rose..’ as it’s very close to it’s studio version.

Disc 2 opens with a 30+ minute version of ‘I crawled’ with a differently structured ‘The Seer’ as it’s Intro. But more about that in the next review. That’s followed by the version of ‘Eden Prison’ discussed earlier. The album closer is another tune from ‘The Seer’ - ‘93 Ave. B.Blues’, a strange unstructured but building composition of instrument noises which finishes with Michael Gira performing a solo vocal only version of “Little Mouth” from “My father...”

Whilst being practically the same set as the live show I saw, and despite it being a highly satisfying recommended listen, one thing that the album doesn’t capture (and most likely never could capture), is the enveloping intensity and dynamics of being in the same room as all six Swans. Hammering out their art with the intensity of a blacksmith bashing out his life’s masterwork against an Anvil.

 

Swans - The Seer - 2xCD (Young God Records)

The highly anticipated album that had been hinted at throughout the ‘My father will guide me up a Rope’ tour and it’s succeeding live album. Lets take a ride through it.....

‘The Seer’ opens with the beautifully grandiose and melodic ‘Lunacy’. One of my 3 favourite songs on the album. It builds gently with it’s repetitive title chant (chorus /choir backing vocals by Al and Mimi from Low). As it unfolds, subtle tensions are introduced in the form of discordant notes and chords. The chant then seems to become a scream, but cleverly, it’s only given a more direct delivery which creates the illusion of it being more. At this point the song breaks into it’s darker second section, with a haunting repetitive chant of “Your childhood is over”. 

“Mother of the World” plays with repetitive, almost annoying rhythms at the beginning before breaking into the main body of the song “In and out and in and out...” A good track but probably my least favourite on the album. 

“The wolf” a short 90 second folk ballad which sits nicely as an interlude before the imminent epic onslaught that’s about to happen. The only thing giving any indication of which, is the strangely placed bed of Pink noise that cuts in halfway through.

Forth is the title track, a 32 minute growing soundscape of layers and rhythms that twist and turn taking you on a voyage to places unknown and unexpected. Whereas the live version on “We rose from your bed..” culminated in a reinterpretation of “I crawled” this version is structured differently to the live album and contains new and entirely different sections. It builds up to the rather odd composition of which I assume is “The Seer” itself. What is “The Seer” exactly? Is it the mysterious Mad Hatter cat-dog creature that appears in the album cover art? Whatever it is, it comes back in the next song. 

“The Seer Returns” which would be the next in my 3 favourite tunes on the album. It’s an upbeat number with strange almost eastern harmonies and twisted poetic lyrics about a greasy beast in a field of sticky black mud. It’s almost like Lewis Carroll is being channeled through nightmare musical instruments from Wonderland. This interestingly is the first of two songs to feature Jarboe on backing vocals. Interesting in the fact that not so long ago (i.e. read my interview with Gira), Michael Gira was saying he had no interest in working with her again, and Jarboe herself had posted on facebook that she didn’t believe the new line up was the Swans without her. I’m not sure, but I think there might have been a change in feelings between the parties once she witnessed the new Swans live.

‘93 Ave. B blues’ is an unstructured droning discordant attack on the emotions, by way of creating an uneasy atmosphere which then leads into the acoustic ‘The Daughter Brings the Water’. This has a subtle underlying bed of what sounds like someone going insane screaming.

Disc one ends.

Disk two opens with the other of my 3 favourites, the beautiful female vocal (by Karen O) folk tune ‘Song for a Warrior’. This could be considered the odd tune, yet it seems to shine like a beacon of hope in the insane darkness that is ‘The Seer’. I’m sure if Gira were to make a video and promote this as a single to commercial radio (or whatever the fuck it is the mainstream music industry does these days), it would be a massive hit. I’m also certain that this is some sort of commentary or anti-War anthem aimed at the current conflict in the Middle East. The closing chorus of “Send them home” definitely points that way. But what the fuck do I know.

‘Avatar’ starts off with an industrial grating noise which is then layered by a chorus of church bells. The band kicks in with a pulsating rhythm which as you guessed it, builds in intensity before dropping back to the core of the song “Your life is in my hands....”

‘A piece of the Sky’, a 19 minute track, opens with what sounds like a fire burning and then cuts to the second contribution from Jarboe, a looped section of whaling. Other sound loops begin to layer themselves upon this, developing quite an interesting texture, until the point it starts to create an uneasy stomach churning mood. This all turns out to be a long intro, as when the final song section of “A Piece of the Sky” kicks in, becoming quite a beautiful melodic number. Creating a sense of relief, much like what happens in the earlier transition from 

‘93 Ave. B blues’ to ‘The Daughter Brings The Water’. I’d actually have to add this as my 4th favourite tune on ‘The Seer’. 

The final 23 minute closer ‘The Apostate’ is much like the title track in that it builds and builds until breaking into the core of the song, a driven pulsating hypnotic bass line. This gradually fades into almost nothing, when you get hit by an aggressive barrage of percussion and screaming before an abrupt stop. Then it’s over.

The Seer is a magical dark and mysterious journey, woven by the magician that Is Michael Gira and his incredibly talented band of Swans. It captures elements from each part of the Swans history, from the early monolithic grinding slabs of distortion to the mid era folk albums and then takes it to new uncharted places. Not only that, but it does all those things on a new level. A master work so to speak. If there is a theme here it would have to be around dark slow building tensions releasing into beauty and light . Reviewers aren’t exaggerating when they say that this is the album that Gira has been working toward throughout his 30 years of SWANS. That’s definitely what this is.

Conclusion, In order to get a fully rounded feel of the ‘Swans’ experience, you should listen to Swans studio albums to hear how the music was intended (at that particular point in time). You should listen to the live albums to hear how those songs, along with older ones, are reproduced and sometimes developed further. Also so that you can hear developing new music being performed prior to it’s studio recording. Lastly you should take any and every opportunity you can to see them live so that you can experience the full enveloping sonic experience that you can’t get from either live or studio recordings.

* - I will say one thing regarding the extra demo tracks, all performed Solo acoustic by Gira. They give you an insight into the skeletons of SWANS music and where they evolve from to their final form or forms. It’s definitely another factor that is worth exploring if solo acoustic folk music is of your liking. If you are interested in exploring this side of his music I recommend checking out “The Milk of Michael Gira” which features solo originals, demo versions of songs from ‘My Father...’ and acoustic versions of ‘Angels of the Light’ tunes.