Saturday, March 16, 2024

Video: Sonneillon live @ Bourbon Room, PORTO (PT), 06/01/2024

Portuguese Black Metal band Sonneillon played live (along with Grievance and Cape Torment), supporting Carpathian Forest, at the Bourbon Room in Porto (PT), last January.

You can now watch the full show of Sonneillon on video, here:




Enjoy!

Also, read more about Sonneillon here:

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Interview: Ischemic (CA)




This time, Lachryma Christi had the chance to interview Ischemic, Blackened Doom Metal band from Canada.
Ischemic are releasing a new album on the 5th April, called Condemned to the Breaking Wheel.
You may find a link for the review for the same after the interview.
Ischemic truly are a force of nature, they are powerful, they are original, and here is your chance (and mine too!) of knowing a bit more about them.


Ischemic is quite a different name, how did you come up with that idea?

Iz gets full credit for this one! Ischemic is a medical term used to describe parts of the body that have been deprived of blood flow and oxygen, and generally means the affected area is withering and dying. 


How would you define the kind of music you play?

We play Death/Doom metal, but our approach is to try and reconcile the different sounds that genre tag tends to encompass. Some death/doom is creepy and brutal - like Asphyx or Runemagick, sometimes it’s gloomy and emotional, like Katatonia or early Swallow the Sun, so we try to make music that encapsulates all those feelings. In the end, people tend to pick out a black metal sound entwined in that end result, so I suppose you could also just say Blackened Death/Doom. 


What are your lyrics usually about? Where do you get the inspiration for them?

In the past our lyrical themes tended to deal with an intermingling of the gloom that comes from struggling with or dying from disease of all kinds, or just death in general. But as time has gone on, themes of hopelessness in the modern world, ancient, supernatural horrors and personal loss have made their way into our music. 




How does the composing work for you? Do you have a standard way of doing things, or it can vary from album to album?

On past albums, I would write a loose structure and the band would jam out/workshop what worked and what didn’t and then add their interpretations to that. On Condemned to the Breaking Wheel, Mrudul and I came up with more fleshed out works and then just added the odd lead or harmonization over what each other did. 


What artists influence you the most?

As a band I’d say there’s varying degrees of mutual love for acts like Hooded Menace, Katatonia, Ahab, later Celtic Frost/Triptykon and Agalloch. Personally, I’ve drawn on those acts as well as Autopsy, Conan, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost and Thergothon.


Ischemic have been around for quite a long time already, over ten years. How would you describe your journey so far? Have you already accomplished what you would have expected?

Long and fun, which I think is rare in the erratic world of the music industry, and the world in general, has become. The world changed a lot right before we started Ischemic and has changed significantly in these past 12 years once or twice as well, so at this point, I’m just happy that I did my part in keeping Metal culture alive in a city that is unapologetically trying to strangle out live music. 




You have a new album coming up next month, Condemned to the Breaking Wheel. How would you describe it? What can your fans and followers expect?

Condemned to the Breaking Wheel will definitely deliver on the Death and the Doom that we aim for, but will be a lot more condensed than the last few albums. The themes and overall vibe of the album tend to lend a lot more to mental imagery of creeping horrors and anguish known since time immemorial and that will be known into the future, as opposed to the gloom specific to the modern world that we used to focus on in the past. 


Do you play live? If yes, how is usually a show of Ischemic? If not, are you planning on doing so?

We do play live. Generally, our shows are an interesting juxtaposition of whirlwind headbanging and moshing madness with Iz in the crowd there with you, as well as creeping, focus-driven passages that elicit nothing more than head bobbing and your gaze. 




What advice would you give to people wanting to start a band right now?

Just some shows with some really cool bands at the moment and debuting the new songs to the public.


Is there anything else you'd like to add to everyone reading this interview?

Persistence is the key, but honestly, try and learn your way around the basics of all instruments you plan to involve in your project, purely for the sake of communication. Have a solid idea when it comes to a song or project that you will defend, but be open to other people’s opinions and desires - they want to have fun too!

-Listen to DEATH.





Find Ischemic here:

Read the review for Condemned to the Breaking Wheel here:










































Monday, March 11, 2024

Review: Vøidwomb's debut album "Spiritual Apotheosis"


Three years after the release of their debut EP, Portuguese Black Metal band Vøidwomb will be releasing their first album Spiritual Apotheosis next month, through Avantgarde Music.

It was when I reached track 3 Black Putrescence that I got into Spiritual Apotheosis. That was the song that made me actually think "wow!", and from then on, the sensation was pretty much the same along the remaining songs, although it gets better and better as you go on.

Spiritual Apotheosis has 9 songs, of a very grave and bassy Black Metal music. It is atmospheric, angry, dark. Well, among those 9 songs, there are track 1 Exordium, track 5 Interludium and the last one, Epilogus. Which are slightly different, as their titles suggest. Although still heavy and thick, they are instrumental. Interludium reminds me of a mass or some sort of religious practice. Especially as the beginning of following track, Vesselvoid also has some elements of the kind. But I could be totally wrong.

Although not massively original, their music is very engaging, intense, powerful, and compelling. As I mentioned above, it gets better as it goes, as if they had chosen the songs from less to more impressive. 

My favourite songs from Spiritual Apotheosis are 6 Vesselvoid and 7 Azoth. Very powerful. But, last track Epilogus is the perfect song to close the album. It is instrumental, and still so bloody emotional, it left me fascinated. I heard it over and over quite a few times, because when I like a song a lot, I listen to it until I can't anymore.

So, what else can I add? Vøidwomb are quite experienced, you can tell by the quality and complexity of the compositions. The band is sort of recent, they have been around since 2019, but you can tell they are well versed in Black Metal music. 

So if this is your thing, keep an eye out for Vøidwomb. Spiritual Apotheosis comes out on the 26th of April.







Sunday, March 10, 2024

Review: Beholder's upcoming album "Dualisme"

Black Metal band from Canada Beholder, will be releasing their second full length Dualisme on the 16th of April. 

Dualisme is absolutely smashing. 8 tracks of demolishing Black Metal, all sung in French, apart from the last one Credo Fractal which is instrumental. And quite spooky too in a way.

So, I haven't heard the previous releases of Beholder, but I can assure you that Dualisme is great. 
If you are a fan of more traditional than not Black Metal music, with its fastness, its nearly extreme aggressiveness, very heavy and full of rage, Dualisme is for you.

There aren't much unexpected turns or twists, it literally is what it is, but Beholder offer a lot of intensity, technically too. It is dark, profound, rough. Not raw, but definitely rough.

Dualisme is energetic, dynamic, vibrating, bringing you a good shot of adrenaline.

I heard this album two times on a row and I almost went through a third round, because it is really good. 

I believe it will depend on your mood too, because it is quite hammering from beginning to end, and one must be in the right mood for such a powerful album. 
But of course, there are also the more melodic and doomy slow passages too, which add an element of grandiosity and specialness to the whole release.

Regardless, it is undeniably a very good release. Professional, technical, clever, with those atonal details that make the difference. There is a lot of passion and experience involved in the making of Dualisme, you can tell. Production is fantastic too, I must add.

My favourite track might be track 2 Dualisme. It is majestic, so bloody heavy and balanced, so assertive.

So if this is your kind of Black Metal music, I'm sure you'll love Dualisme. Even if it is not, give it a go, you won't regret it.











Review: Blestemat's upcoming EP "Poisonous Metal"

Swedish band Blestemat are releasing a new EP called Poisonous Metal on the 22nd of March, via Silent Future Recordings.

Some of the best stuff I have heard his year, so far. 

I found it quite difficult to find information on Blestemat, other than the one sent to me. But Poisonous Metal is their first release. And what a release that is!

Poisonous Metal has 6 tracks or pure Black Metal. It is somewhat traditional, very much on the line of what was being made in the beginning of the 2000s.

All the songs are very intense, obscure and memorable. Very fast and angry most of the times, but with its good dose of melodious bits too. Rebellious Webbed Wings is the perfect example of the healthy and interesting mix and match they do.

So if you're expecting the traditional freezing and piercing riffs, you'll find them. If you're expecting blast beats in full power you'll find them. If you're expecting dragged angry and full of despair vocals, you'll find them. If you're interested in more melodic passages here and there you'll also find them. Poisonous Metal is a gem. It is really very good well balanced, songs stick to your ear. 
And when it ends, you feel sad that it felt so short.

I can't chose a favourite song, they're all stupendous.

This is very much up my alley, I'm sure it will be very much up yours too. There is nothing to point out, there is nothing out of place, it is awesome, ambitious and effective at the same time. I love it and I hope to hear more from Blestemat in the future.




Thursday, March 7, 2024

Review: Summoner's Circle's upcoming album "Cult"

Black Metal band Summoner's Circle from the USA are releasing a new album in May, through Black Lion Records. It is called Cult, and it will be their fourth album. 

Cult is a very entertaining album. It starts with a very fantastical and atmospheric intro Apostle's Dogma. Then the second song Cult of the Dead Son starts with indeed very progressive guitars, that immediately made me wonder if it would be one of those extremely virtuoso musicians albums. It is not. It's a lot better than that.

Cult has definitely progressive elements along the way, specially on the guitars. They are very much technical Death Metal style at times. 

However, although they come described as progressive here and there, I wouldn't call their music progressive. I see it more as melodic and symphonic as a whole. Because of the keyboards and orchestral bits, as well as the choirs, which resemble some of the more recent albums of Dimmu Borgir. It is not all like that thankfully, because again, there are the other elements already mentioned above. Not that being similar to Dimmu Borgir is bad, but being original is even better, and Summoner's Circle still manage to keep their own style of music.

So Cult has 7 tracks, all of them very fast, aggressive balancing with melodic, epic, symphonic and also very technical. Song 5 and 6 not as fast, especially 5 Thirst of the Vulture, which is more of a sad and sentimental song, and I say this in a good way. It ends with an acoustic guitar, piano and strings melody, which brings a break to the listener. 
Song 6 Profit of Death seemed a bit different from the others, as if it belonged to a different release. Still following the same techniques as the others, though.

So if this is your kind of music, 24th of May is the date for you!








News: Exodikon sign with Wormholedeath and are releasing a new album later this month

Blackened Death Metal band Exodikon just signed a deal with Wormholedeath Records, and they will be releasing an album in the 29th of March, called Chaosophilia.

The band comments:

“We are delighted to announce that our second full-length album will be released via WormHoleDeath Records! We couldn’t have asked for a better guide to help us navigate international waters. We are eagerly looking forward to this collaboration and can’t wait to finally unleash our songs of void encapsulated in our album called Chaosophilia.”

Chaosophilia will be the band's second full length.



Tracklist:
Cover_-_EXODIKON_-_Chaosophilia_-_1600_s
01 Intro
02 The Awakening Depth-The Psychics of the Manipulated
03 Life Weight Loss-The Aesthetics of Contempt
04 The Nature of Descent
05 The Lord of Wounds–The Incubation of Pain
06 Uninverse-The Logic of Zeitgeist
07 Collapse-The Semantics of Liberty
08 Imago Dei–The Syntax of Deity
09 Untermensch-The Psychics of Deceivers


You can watch the lyric video for the song The Lord of Wounds–The Incubation of Pain here:





Exodikon Line-up:
Attila István Hekele - Drums
Ferenc Pósfai - Guitar
Gábor Dávid Borhidi - Guitar/vocals
József Pósfai - Bass/vocals

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