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ContentAZURE EMOTE 29Chronicles Of AnAging MammalBRISTOL MEYERS SQUIBB 30Easy Listening AggravationCARRIER FLUX 31In WasteCHORONZON 32Psychosis Ex MachinaSTORIESELECTRO METAL SPECIAL 3The Early BeginningsDEKADENZ 8The Beauty And The MachineLAIBACH 12NSK ZagrebDOL AMMAD 13The Kings OfSpace Metal OperaCARRIER FLUX 21Warrior OnThe Edge Of TimeREVIEWSABORYM 24Fire Walk With UsABORYM 25With no Human InterventionABSTRUSE 26TransgressionAUN 27MultigoneCHORONZON 33Panic PandemicCHROME HOOF 35Crush DepthDIABOLOS RISING 36666DIAPSIQUIR 37Virus S.T.N.DøDHEIMSGARD 38666 InternationalDOL AMMAD 39Ocean DynamicsDOL AMMAD 40Star TalesDOL THEETA 41GoddessDOL THEETA 42The Universe ExpandsG.U.T. 44My Only Drug Is MadnessHAVOC UNIT 46H.IV+ (Hoarse Industrial Viremia)KRELL 47Krell Demo

MANES 48How The World CameTo An EndMASTER'S HAMMER 49Mantras - VenkovskyOperettaMARS ON EARTH 50Mars On EarthMYSTICUM 51In The Streams Of InfernoNAMELESS ORCHESTRAL 52PROJECTGott Ist TotOBLIVEON 53Carnivore MothermouthORGAN: 547'' EPPSALM 55Threshold Of PainRAM-ZET 56Pure TherapyRED HARVEST 57Sick Transit Gloria MundiSAMAEL 57EternalSCORN 58Vae SolisSQUIBB VS. SQUIBB 59Squibb Vs. SquibbSTRAPPING YOUNG LAD 60CitySYMPTOMS 61Symptoms That You Are AliveTECHNY-CALL X 62Start The ProcessTHEE MALDOROR 62KOLLECTIVENew Era Viral OrderTHE AMENTA 63OccasusTHE KOVENANT 64SetiTRISTWOOD 65The Delphic DoctrineUNHEALTHY DREAMS 66Doloris CorpusVOLKMAR 68Overture Macabre DemoVOLKMAR 69Blessed SinsZWEIZZ 69The Yawn Of The New AgeImprint 73

ELECTRO METAL SPECIALThe Early BeginningsThe purpose of this article is to convey some sense of the electronic / industrial metal scene’smore potent highlights with respect to the more avant garde or ground breaking bands outthere. It is not meant as a comprehensive picture essay on the various tentacles of this mostrewarding of genres but rather an overview, with examples to offer the newcomer some startingpoints to venture further.ForefathersI could have started with some pre-metal industrial electronica genre-founders (KRAFT-WERK, CAN, the whole krautrock scene, post-punk/new wave etc) but that would be beyondthe scope of this article. So I am starting the overview with output for the 1980’s whenelements of metal are recognizable in the industrial/electronic din.The roots of electro-metal, like most other genres, are not agreed upon and there is an ongoingdebate on what initiated the movement. There are two distinct types to this, with asusual, a few exceptions: Industrial bands who added distorted guitars and metal structures Metal / punk bands who added industrial /electronic elements to their soundA good example is KILLING JOKE. Formed in1979, by their self-titled debut in 1980, they werea potent and unique force to be reckoned with.Angry yet danceable rhythms (the bass and drumlock is unmatched ) with simple but dark distortedchord sequences, all beautifully topped off withone of the first punk utilizations of synthesizersand pseudo-samplers made them a success withthe multitudes sick of traditional punk and hardrock. Add the ranting vehement style of Jaz Colemanand the controversial subject matter and imagery,it is evident that they made a proto-typethat has been copied ad-infinitum. They later incorporateda number of tribal and metal elementsto their sound, while remaining true to their originalvision and still exist (off and on) today.Another early contender was BIG BLACK (led bythe infamous Steve Albini) who used a drum machineand punishing guitar work to achieve a noisy nirvana hitherto unheard of in rock music.Thought their recorded output is meager, it includes such seminal classics as SongsAbout Fucking. Every spastic noise-core outfit and discordant industrial metal blast owesthem a huge debt.A famous name is MINISTRY who started out in 1981-82 as a traditionalsynth-wave band and continued like so till the Twitch LP(1986) when Al Jougersen started incorporating his other influencesinto the music. It became darker, harsher, more aggressiveand increasingly guitar based.. He continued this trend onwards toeventually arrive at the downright industrial thrash of Psalm 69:The Way to Succeed and The Way to Suck Eggs (1992). The lyricalcontent also drastically changed over the years, becoming an outrightpolitical stand against the evils of both the Bushs’ administrations,before quitting for good in 2007.

The BUTTHOLE SURFERS came out with their self-titled EP in 1983. They are definitely thestrangest of the prototypes. Way more avant garde than the rest, they continued this insaneamalgamation of industrial/ electronica, noise-rock and punk well into the 2000’s (receivingeventual semi-mainstream-college crowd acceptance along the way). But their 80’s output isdefinitely their most abrasive and lunatic. And yes, the imagery has always been as sick asthe music.SKINNY PUPPY (formed 1982) are another seminal act that has changed its output over theyears but there is always an element of industrial metal present in the sound. Even whenthe guitars were minimal the sound wasdenser, heavier and more haunting thanmost metal bands (Mind: The PerpetualIntercourse, Cleanse Fold and Manipulate).The later ones added more metal and gothicelements and to date they have neverreleased a bad record. There is a wealth ofweird synths and strange samples on alltheir albums.From their first EP, THE SWANS establishedthemselves as masters of repetitiveugly noise rock. It was one of the few earlycases of a traditionally instrumented rockband sounding more ‘industrial’ than mostelectronic outfits. The pounding drums,fuzzy bass, sludgy yet strangely funkyrhythms and Gira’s monotone baritone allbirthed countless imitators in the years to come. Later they experimented with gothic folkand more traditional rock formats.The second half of the eighties saw the rise ofbands like MY LIFE WITH THE THRILL KILLKULT, bringing the sleazy fun element (and occultimagery!!) back to an increasingly dark and morosescene. Not that their post-apocalyptic lyricalcontent and satanic imagery was any less disturbing,but it had wit and you could groove to thebeats and riffs of I See Good Spirits and I See BadSpirits (1988). They kept morphing, but keepingtheir evil sense of humor and the layers of electronicaintact.At this point it seems necessary to mention theiconic Wax Trax records, who have been responsiblefor the distribution and popularity of a numberof electronic/rock/goth /metal bands whodared to be different. They dominated most of 80’sand 90’s with their roster of cutting edge artists. Sadly their output ventured more and moretowards the club scene in the late 90’s. They are all forgotten now as an Industrial AGMlabel.Other bands who I cannot extrapolate on due to lack of time and space, but can be consideredintegral and influential to the early scene include Cabaret Voltaire, PiL, ControlledBleeding, Throbbing Gristle, KMFDM, Front Line Assembly, Nitzer Ebb or EinsturtzendeNeubauten.The second wave of industrial metal or as some pundits put it: Industrial Metal properlystarted towards the end of the 1980’s and the beginning of the 1990’s. To study the phenomenawe should look at the purveyors of this sound, who developed in isolation from eachother or in parallel.

At this point it would be prudent to mention some genres, which, while being beyond thescope of the article, have had an immense impact on Electro Metal: Darkwave (the productof coldwave, synth pop and gothic rock) became popular in the early 90’s (especially inmainland Europe), finding widespread acceptance amongst dance-clubs and the goth subculture.It also provided a fertile framework for some of the more open-minded metal musiciansto experiment with (limited cold guitar utilization, eerie samples, electro drum machinesand the juxtapositioning of angelic female vocals with harsh or growled male ones).EBM (Electronic Body Music, an amalgamation of Industrial Music with arty synth punk)also subtly but surely found favor with bands looking to expand their repertoire with electronicintelligent and aggressive rhythms.Two names immediately crop up when westart looking into the of 90’s electro metalphenomena: Godflesh and Foetus. GOD-FLESH was Justin Broadrick’s main musicaloutput after his short but classic stintin Napalm Death (with fellow sonic architectG.C. Green). It was the marriage ofsludge guitar tonalities with a sub-heavybass sound and a pounding yet ploddingdrum machine and topped off by Justin’shoarse shouting vocals. It essentially tookthe Swan’s early sound to the next level.From the first recorded outputs it was aforce to be reckoned with (Street Cleaner 1989, Slavestate 1991).The early live performances gave new meaning to the word ‘harsh’.As evolution took its toll, more and more guitar layers were added,and each subsequent release displayed better production values,with a clear drum ‘n’ bass influence in the last two records, aswell as Justin’s attempts of singing (Selfless 1994, Songs of Loveand Hate 1996). The band blossomed in critical acclaim and limitedcommercial success. Numerous remix albums and EP’s keptthe ball rolling. 2002 saw the official and final dissolution of thisseminal band with Justin moving onto more generic post-rockpastures (and a more varied fanbase) with Jesu.On the other hand FOETUS (or connotation thereof), the brainchildof Jim Thirwell started as an experimental rock outfit, with adistinct preference for programmed beats and guitar riffs. Butunlike Godflesh the sound changed drastically over the releases,with Thirwell bringing in guest musicians and a broad array ofinstruments on each release. Between 1981 and 1988 a huge sonicpalette was covered by Thirwell in many guises. In the 1990’s there was a distinct maturingof sound and production (Gash 1995) while remaining experimental industrial metal.The adventurous nature of the music and the controversial subject matter ensured thatFoetus remained very much an underground phenomena and is still highly underrated(Flow 2001 or Love 2005 barely break into anybody’s top ten lists, or even have-heard lists).But if you are looking for a real underground avant-garde warrior this is a great place tostart.MALHAVOC, a Canadian band way ahead of its time started producing Electro/Industrialmetal in the mid-80’s and can be truly called original. They stayed at the fore of the movement'till the early 90’s, when they incorporated much stronger electronic elements intotheir sound and comparatively eased up the aggressive tendencies. They have a number ofreleases and it is recommended to the avant garde metal connoisseurs to check out theirlate 80’s and early 90’s stuff for some amazingly dysfunctional music (and trendsettingthemes such as serial killers, woods, witches and zombies – as concept albums, seriously!!).

Also from Canada, OBLIVEON started out as progressive thrash outfit (From This Day Forward1990, Nemesis 1993) that eventually discovered space (and electronica) as documentedin its early stages on Cybervoid (1995) and sculpted to dark cyber perfection on TechnocarnivoreMothermouth (1999). Another one to search out for.One other notable who took the ball from Godflesh and ran with it, were DEAD WORLD, anunderrated American outfit who produced three original and abrasive records (Collusion1992, The Machine 1993, Thanatos Rising 1996) before fading into obscurity. The sound wasa single-minded pursuit of distorted bass and pounding yet mid-paced drum machines withawkward samples, topped by some classicsludgy death metal riffing and dissonance.FEAR FACTORY started out as a extremelyprecise death/grind outfit with great productionand a distinct lack of guitar wankery (Soulof a New Machine 1992). They single-handedlyinaugurated the new wave of metal, keepingthe music catchy and mosh-able with somesubtle melodic hooks and a tastefully limiteduse of samples and background synths. Initiallyit was the precision of the music as well asthe slight fling with synthesizers that garneredthem the ‘industrial metal’ tag. But it was therelease of the Fear is the Mindkiller EP (remixesfrom the Soul of a New Machine) that cementedtheir position. The slightly more progressiveone two punch of the Demanufacture 1995 (adark cyber concept album of gigantic grooves) and the Remanufacture remixes set (gabbermetal anyone?!) was the absolute pinnacle of the band. After inspiring tons of sub-par nucoreoutfits, the band joined the hordes by refusing to progress an iota further an eventuallybroke up.At this point mention must be made of Psalm 69 byMINISTRY (see part 1 of this article for details)which can be attributed with introducing a newgeneration to the joys of the mixing of thrash riffs,political sampling and blitzkrieg drum machines.MISERY LOVES CO. was a Swedish outfit thatenjoyed limited success during alternative metal’sheydays although being much heavier and darkerthan that lot. Their self titled debut (1994) and thesubsequent EPs are a great mix of aggressive riffingand programmed beats molded into some seriouslyinfectious songwriting.In a less impressive but still widely influential manner NINE INCH NAILS introduced theMTV generation to angst that you could dance to. From the first release it was clear whereNIN’s output was destined for with the artistic culmination of all Reznor’s musical worth inThe Downward Spiral. Since then he has been regurgitating the same song structures withdifferent names.RED HARVEST were already a pretty disturbingoutfit upon their inception, with a soundbest described asdoom metal playedby robots(Nomindsland1992, There isBeauty in the Purityof Sadness 1993).

The Crowbar covering Kraftwerk shtick gradually gave way to a full fledged embracing ofextreme metal and industrial soundscapes resulting in some of the best and most out therealbums the genre has offered to date (Cold Dark Matter 2001, Sick Transit Gloria Mundi2002). Lately though signs of redundancy have begun to appear.STRAPPING YOUNG LAD exploded on the scene with their furious debut (though featuringmetal wise man Devin Townshend and drum god Gene Hoglan) but it was the cyber thrashmasterpiece City (1997) that cemented their position as miles ahead of the scene in sheerferocity and songwriting. Devin has since released a large number of albums under thismonicker and other names that effortlessly bring together industrial, progressive rock, melodicmetal and even dream-rock.There is even a band catering to the more fetish-oriented consumer for this genre. I meanTHE GENITORTURERS who have stuck to their cock-metal gone industrial as envisionedby De Sade formula and eventually even got David Vincent (yes that Vincent!) in their folds,mostly due to his wife(!!) fronting the outfit. It’s an impressive run of albums and ‘interesting’live shows that shows a band finding a formula and adhering to it.The tail end of the decade saw widespread embracing of the industrial/ electronica aestheticby a number of European bands, many of whom had originally broken new ground withblack metal, often to the horror of the ‘troo’ crowd. Each interpreted the influence in aunique manner, often resulting in some of themost twisted sounds to come out of the genre.THE KOVENANT started out as a typical black metal band destined with 2 records straightfor the bargain bins had they not suddenly had a industrial avant-garde revelation on theirthird release (Animatronic 1999). Elements of thrash and electronica found place alongsidethe more extreme metal influences to give birth to a unique cyber sound. S.E.T.I (2003)found them further exploring space and synthesizers while remaining quite catchy. Theirnew album is eagerly awaited by those who enjoy experimental metal worldwide.ABORYM have been terrorizing the extreme metal community since 1999 (Kali Yuga Bizarre),but they really found their own sound with Fire walk With Us (2001), a nearly perfectmix of black metal and industrial elements. The next album (With No Human Intervention2003) continued on a similar sonic path, and Generator (2006) has found them delving furtherinto insanity while still retaining their industrial black metal roots.A band with a rather strange progression,SAMAEL went from a basic satanic cultblack metal phenomena (Worship Him1991, Blood Ritual 1992) to extreme metalsongwriters extraordinaire (Ceremony of

Opposites 1994, Rebellion EP 1995) to one of the leading lights of space metal (Passage1996, Exodus 1998, Eternal 1999, Reign of Light 2004). They have constantly challengedtheir fans with new concepts in cosmic/cyber metal composition, though their classic periodis widely acknowledged to be 1994 – 1999.Some other black metal elite who have incorporated industrial and electronic elements intheir sound (to good or bad effect) include the raging yet cold MAYHEM (Grand Declarationof War 2000) and the mind expanding ULVER (Themes from William Blake’s The Marriage ofHeaven and Hell 1998, Perdition City 2000).It is highly recommended that the interested reader further researches the various bandsmentioned above, as well as digging deeper underground for the more obscure outfits that Ihave not touched. Electro metal has developed immensely as a genre in the last 20 years orso, with many off-shoots. But to further strengthen this most futuristic and forward thinkingof genres, we need to support the original and innovative artists and root out the commercialpop rock masquerading under Electro/Industrial Metal’s banner. So listen and analyzebefore spending your hard earned cash! As a rule of thumb, major record label hype isalmost always wrong.Check the reviews sections for many currently active bands that are continuously morphingthe mold and carrying forward the flag of Electro Metal.NOTE: A third installment of this article covering post 2000 bands of this ilk may or may notappear depending on the planetary alignments in this sub-sector of the space – time continuum.SuleimanDEKADENZThe Beauty And The MachineQuite unnoticed the German [D]ekaden[Z],who are around the underground culturesince 1998, have released their debut album"Elektronoid” last year. The longplayerfeatures electrifying extreme metal withdozens of weird electronic/industrial decorationand an interesting lyrical concept.Over the last decades the work with ingredientsof extreme metal and electronica hasbecome a challenge for musicians, whowant to go a few steps further than thetypical drums+guitar+bass+disgusting vocalsconcept. Symptomatic for most "industrial-metal”releases (beside very few exemptionslike ABORYM’s "With No HumanIntervention”) was their half-hearted realisationand artistic weakness.I have to admit that I don’t see in[D]ekaden[Z] the revolutionaries of any genrenor is their debut a classic, but at leastwith "Mechatronik” and "Vom Untergang”they created two pounding and cold roboter-symphoniesthat made me just wantto grab my digital pen to do an interviewand learn more about their weird cosmos.Singer L.O.S. and machinist "@noize” wereso kind to answer my questions.

polygon: Hello guys, greetingsfrom Latvia. How isgood old Germany doingthese days?@noiZe: Hi there! Can't saywhat's going on here thesedays as we are currently toobusy working on our nextlongplayer to recognise it. Butthings are going very well forus. Thanks for asking.polygon: When I was a teenagerI sometimes used towork in some factories in mycity. I really hated it, but itwas good and fast money.However, in these days I feltwhat "human alienation” wasall about. Being part of themachine, the merciless system of moneyaccumulation. According to yourbiography, "Eletronoid” deals with theconsequences of the technical and digitalrevolutions. What exactly are theoutcomes of the last two decades developmentfor the evolution of humanbeing?@noiZe: That's a good question, as we justinstalled our 750GB divX player, full ofporn in our studio, 5min before. L.O.S.:...and two zombie movies@noiZe: No doubt, the Internet is a hugestep in evolution. When we grew up, therewere only analogue wired telephones, andnow the I-phone in our pocket connectsus to a world-wide collective 24h a day.We've all become small cyborgs. We takewhat the wire gives us.L.O.S.: ..and what if this wire will be cutone day?@noiZe: And of cause Laboga guitar ampsare also a great invention in our century.polygon: Your overall concept, e.g. lyrics,outfits and music, has an obviousconnection to the "Brave New World”.The way how you create your music, byusing sound software, programmeddrums and synthesizers, wouldn’t beable without the rapidly developingtechnical skills of mankind. On onehand you have a critical eye on our today’ssituation, on the other hand youdon’t miss to use present advantages tocreate your own visions. How does thatfit? If there is an alienation of humanbeing that should be criticised,wouldn’t it make more sense just to sitin the woods and smash some acousticdrums to the melodies of a flute?L.O.S.: That's easy to answer as the questionis wrong. We don't criticise the technicalrevolution at all. If it all leads to thedestruction of us, that's the way it has tobe, and that's fine with us. @noiZe: Artshouldn't be critical in my eyes. We arejust painting pictures. Yes of course, ourpaintings are not the nice looking ones.Expressionism 2.0 maybe.polygon: As you may have noticed ourwebpage deals with vanguard art exclusively.Since the launch of avantgardemetal.comthere has been a lively discussionabout what this term reallymeans and how one should define thisstyle (not to speak about its musicalgenesis). My dictionary tells me that"avantgarde” is originally a militaryexpression, which stands for the soldiersin a battle who fight in the veryfirst row and who are supposed to diefirst. Do you feel sometimes like a warriorof the first row and how do youdefine "avantgarde metal” for yourself?@noiZe: I simply don't want to define it.For the warrior in the first row the wholeterrain is undefined. We are not makingmusic to be industrial, avantgarde orwhatever metal. I hate bands who are hidingbehind a genre. Definition leads toroutine and routine means death to theart.L.O.S.: Those who put us into these gen-

es are the listeners. That's OK....you maydo that if you want to, but we are onlymaking music.polygon: Would you consider[D]edaken[Z] to be part of this movement?@noiZe: No, I don’t think we are. Maybe alot of our fans are part of this movementand we like a lot of bands that are putinto this genre (Ram-Zet or Dagoba forexample), but music does not have to bein a special genre to be interesting for meand the most of our fans. Music shouldcreate impressions and play with our feelings.L.O.S.: It just has to feel good. Some feelcomfortable when they receive pain, somewhen they fuck with groups of teenagestudents and some when they are listeningto our music.polygon: As far as I know, you startedas more or less common melody BlackMetal act. What music had an influenceon "Elektronoid”? Do you have any ideawhere this journey might end?@noiZe: Puh...can’t remember anymore.Of course we are influenced by otherbands, feelings, weather, guitar amps,drugs, sex or whatever, but you don'tthink about a why....that's why we makemusic. If you say: "Hey maybe in thissong, you must have been influenced bythis or that?”, I would say:”Yeahh...maybe, but it's not important tome. Important is: There is this song and itsounds good to us, and it makes us feellike we wanted to feel, when we wrote it.”L.O.S.: exactly...polygon: Lets go oncemore back to the digitalrevolution. The Internetoffers a lot ofpossibilities for musicianslike you and me.Platforms such asmp3.com or myspaceprovide a meta-levelbetween artist and fan,where nobody really isdependent on a recorddeal to spread his orher ideas and visions.It's possible to reach alot of people in differentcountries all overthe world. This might beseen as the total freedom of expression.Anyhow, I have very negative feelingsabout music as "User Generated Content”.The value of art is decreasing asit is available at the push of a button.For me one should invest some effort inorder to get music. One should walkout into the city, or at least call a mailorderand wait for something someoneworked hard for with pure devotion. Atleast something should rotate when Ilisten to music and it shouldn’t justexist of bits and bytes.What are your feelings towards the inventionof mp3 and "innovations” likemyspace? As far as I know you publishedyour album before the regularrelease on CD in the Internet. Why didyou do that and what was your experience?Will you continue to first providethe music of [D]ekaden[Z] online?L.O.S.: Yes you are right. I also prefer havingmusic on a real CD with nice jewelcase and booklet, but we have just enteredthe next generation. Most people ofour generation have never seen a gramophone,those of the next generation willmaybe never own a tape. The kids, growingup today are downloading their musicvia itunes on their ipod (we are not sponsoredby apple!!!) or their mobile and nobodyknows what comes next. We won’tchange that. Everything old will die oneday and something new will be created.That's evolution.polygon: When I saw your live appearanceat the Nebelmond-Festival inGermany (with avant-garde godfathersARCTURUS – lucky bastards!) after theconcert some of you guys were sitting

lazy on chairs to enjoy some of theother bands. I remember thinking "Theseguys take their concept very serious”.Is there any esoteric idea behindthe name [D]ekaden[Z]? What does thisword mean to you and how does decadenceinfluence your lifestyle?@noiZe: Decadence does not only influenceour live, but the live of everyone inthis time. It is the headline of our timesomehow. Just think how much moneyyou spent to stay alive and how much youspent to live.polygon: Do you get any inspirationfrom philosophy and/or literature?L.O.S.: You want me to say something likeNietzsche, right? No I'm sorry. Reality isthe cruellest author. Of cause we likephilosophic literature but philosophyteaches to make your own thoughts, notto copy the ideas of other people. This iscalled religion.@noiZe: Would you ask a philosopher if heis inspired by music?polygon: What is the difference listeningto your songs being on angel dustor in a sober condition?@noiZe: Well, "elektronoid” was not writtento be used with angel dust. It waswritten for LSD, but we realized that LSDis no more up to date,maybe we will produceour next longplayer forangel dust too. As limitededition maybe.L.O.S.: Just try it out, youonly need angel dust, soldby your local dealer, and"elektronoid”, sold by us.polygon: What is thereason for being beforedeath's salvation?L.O.S.: We are the oncewho asked this question.It is my job to ask it!!! ;)@noiZe: Maybe the question,maybe there is noreason, but only the factthat we are here.polygon: What is there going on nowadaysin the [D]ekaden[Z]-camp? Are youworking on a new album? Please giveus a short overview about your futureplans.@noiZe: After we just deinstalled some ofour band members, we are now workinghard on our second longplayer. I've mixeddown some previews of our preproductionfor you and the community, and you willthink that "elektronoid” sounds absurdcompared to it.L.O.S.: [D]ekaden[Z] are currently only@noiZe and me, and I really have to saythings are working much better now. Nocompromises any more, no more discussions,the music we make is just whatcomes directly out of our minds. @noiZe isnow playing guitar, and that's why we arewriting our songs with guitars, drums andvocals first. The synths are added later.That has the amazing effect, that we justadd parts to our songs, that are soundinglike the sense of my lyrics, even if they areonly played on guitar. We always tried toachieve this by using synths, in the past.When we now add the synthesizers, theorchestra or the digital drums, everythingsounds so extreme, that you know whatthe song is about, even without vocals.@noiZe: After we have finished song writingand preproduction, we will record thealbum. This will be around spring 2008.We are happy that wegot an endorsementwith Laboga for guitaramps. Also we are lookingforward to have areal drummer for therecordings. We are currentlylooking for musicians(2nd guitars, bass,drums) for live performance.Last words to you!@noiZe. If you can readthis you have reachedthe end of this interview!What comes nextin your life?Polygon

LAIBACHNSK ZagrebLAIBACH LIVE at Tvornica Jedinstvo,Zagreb (Croatia) on November 23rd2007Yes, Laibach finally released a new albumlast year, it was a real twist in the wholestory, just as some expected. Just as usuallythey managed to raise some people'stemper by incorporating the ex-Yugoslavian anthem "Hej Slaveni" ("HeySlavs") into their "Slovania" track. Thisresulted in some minor accusations ofLaibach suffering from yugonostalgia andbeing obsessed by communist ideas, theideology of the same system which accusedthem of being Nazi some twentyyears ago. An interesting history was givento us by this controversial and eccentricalband...and they started touring this year,you might still catch them if you haven't.Some half an hour before the beginning ofLaibach's performance some old yugoslavian(partisan) songs sung in Slovenianwere played, whereas the last song beingplayed was the Croatian anthem (theyusually play the anthem of the countrywhere they are performing on this tour).Of course all the people were quite confused,one half held their hand (occupiedby beer) on their hearts, the other halfwere just standing still not knowing howto react. After this weird gesture the "Volk"crew came on stage and started performing.This was my first Laibach concert (Imissed 3 opportunities up till now), thistime they were touring to promote theirgreat new album named "Volk". Thosewho are informed know that "Volk" dealswith the achievements and meanings ofsome larger and smaller (but not less important)nations of the world. Their performancestarted off with "Germania", thefirst track on their new album. Just asexpected from a known band, they hadtwo video projectors on the stage, enhancingtheir performance by various insertsfrom their music videos or some ratherhypnotizing playing around with their new"V" symbol and flags of various countries.To cut the setlist part short: most of the"Volk" songs were played with the exceptionof "Italia", "Nippon", and "Vaticanae".Now you want a few words about the atmosphere?!The feelings of the concert?![Well it's sometimes very hard to squeezesuch a wide range of emotions on a sheetof paper, as they range from cynicism andsatirical notes on "Anglia" and "America"to some kind of weird euphoriaon tracks like "Espana","Yisra'el" and"Turkiye".Every song/anthem possessesit's own mood, itholds a certain amountenergy which moves ortranquilizes the masses.My personal favorite is"Anglia", a very bass drivenand intense track great forlive performance; I wasenjoying so much I almosthad a self-inflicted trip ;)like the ones people get onvarious dub gigs. A greatsurprise was how thewhole new album doesn'tget stripped off while preformed live, like ithappens to some bands, bit it's ratheradded a new feeling, it somehow seemsmore powerful and energic live. As I mentioned,the first part of the concert wasenhanced by the screening of flags andsymbols of various countries they sangabout, always combined with the "Volk"symbol.In the break between the performancesthe NSK anthem was played and a mes-

sage encouraging people to become a partof NSK were screened. The second partbrought a slight lineup change: thedrummer was missing, their guest on"Volk" Boris Benko, was also gone, but thewell known and loved percussionists Evaand Nataša were ready to handle theirsnares and cymbals, as well as the majorityof the male audience As you might haveguessed they continued with "Tanz mitlaibach", and other hits like "Alle gegenAlle" or "Das Spiel ist aus". From the verybeginning of "Tanz..." to the Laibach medleyaka. Turbo-Volk Mix (by iTurk) thecrowd was dancing, mostly each personfor himself within his half square meter. Iwas only truly disappointed because thesetlist of the second part was mostly takenfrom "WAT”, and all the older songs wereincorporated in the medley. It seems thateveryone who wants to see Laibach live,also wants to hear their track "Opus Dei”,in my case it wasn’t such a huge disaster(eventhough I love the song), as I wasburning to hear "Geburt einer Nation”, butlife is life, and we don’t always get everythingwe want.Laibach is definitely one of those bandswho sounds even more powerful live thanin studio, even if you omitted the videoscreen, the lightshow and the female percussionists,you would be still left one ofthe greatest shows, of one of the mostcontroversial bands to come out of Europeand such a small country as Slovenia.Laibach do not believe in individualismand being original, as they are obviouslyaware of how hard it is to be original thesedays, but the way they interpret certainthemes and motives (anthems, songs)shows a great skill of sending a messageof PEACE or protest wrapped in theirunique style and never failing to find theright context.. Oh…and Laibach isn’t oneof those bands…Laibach….Laibach is Laibach….tumtum tum tu-tuuuumPhotos by Shelley Jambresic -www.metalpics.ch –thanks a lot for permission!Ulv-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------DOL AMMADThe Kings Of Space Metal OperaDid you ever wonder how it would sound ifepic progressive metal unified with exquisitesynthesizers and electro sounds in thevein of 1970ies pioneers like Jean MichelJarre or Vangelis? And instead of a leadsinger there was a whole classical choirperforming the lyrics? Then DOL AMMADdefinitely will become one of your greatestfavourites ever.When I first listened to them one year ago Iwas totally blown to another dimensionsomewhere in the mighty depths of space.DOL AMMAD create unique,innovative music, epiclandscapes of crystallizingsound. At the same timethey manage the legerdemainof writing verycatchy songs with big hitpotential. The 21st centuryof metal has begun now.And DOL AMMAD showhow the future may looklike. So enter the intergalacticspaceship and beamto the planet of ThanasisLightbridge, creative headand visionary of thesemighty towers reaching upto the stars…

Thanasis, you‘ve just returned frommilitary service two months ago. Despitebeing at the army you found yourown label Electronicartmetal Recordsand released your second masterpiece"Ocean Dynamics". How did you managethese musical activities during thiswhole year as a soldier? Was it difficultfor you to promote "Ocean Dynamics"?Has military been an important experiencefor you personally or just a wasteof time? How short is your hair now?The last year has been hard for me, bothwith the problems with our previous recordlabel going bankrupt and with myimminent army duties.I am afraid the military service is still obligatoryhere in Greece andalthough now it lasts 12months (it used to be 3 yearsin my father’s days), it is still adistracting factor in a man’scareer and life, an obstaclethat if you aren’t willing totake your chances by wearinga blonde wig and act gay, youhave to go through the hardway;-PAs an experience it makes youtest yourself under strangesituations, living without yourcomforts, away from your music, sleepingin a room with 60 unknown smelly guys,etc. It basically forces you to respect andappreciate all the tiny things in your everydaylife that you take for granted.Thankfully throughout my service I met alot of new friends and this for me is theonly thing that made this time worthwhile.I hope Greece will start investing moremoney on education and social welfarethan the military.I miss my hair, I was long-haired forabout 10 years and cutting it short afterall this time was a strange experience! Iscare myself every time I look in the mirror;-P Thankfully my hair grows backquickly, it is all over my eyes now already!Through all this craziness of the last 12months I had prepared our second albumwith Dol Ammad and was very anxioushow and what to do to promote it. I supposeforming a personal record label wasalways in the back of my mind since thismusic is so unique and "different”, it requirestotal artistic freedom and an innovativevision that very few labels displaytoday. So once again I chose the hard way,formed "Electronicartmetal Records” andnever looked back! It may be TONS ofmore work to do but it is really worth it. Ihave direct contact with the fans, the distrosand the media and it is a very satisfyingexperience. Due to the limited freetime I had in the army I couldn’t exploremy new label to its full potential, but nowI am back, I am psyched andworking as hard as possibleto expand its capabilities."Ocean Dynamics" is one ofthe most visionary albumsI’ve ever been able to enjoy.On one hand it’s veryinnovative and independent.On the other hand it’sextremely catchy and hasgot a big hit potential. Canyou imagine that ElectronicArt Metal could becomemusic for the masses one day in thefuture? How have the reactions of themedia and fans been so far?Thank you for your kind remarks, I amhonoured that you feel this way about mymusic! It's true that although I try to createsomething really different and experimental,at the same time I don't want toend up with music that is inaudible andwould only serve as an experimental saladin a museum :-P I don't know however ifElectronica Art Metal will ever be musicfor "the masses" but that doesn't reallyconcern me as I rarely seem to agree or

If only I had the time to learn the language…!As for the Kakao, people whoknow me are aware that I drink more milkthan water ;-Pplan to use some new techniques I havecome up with.The sound of "Ocean Dynamics” ismarvellous. Do you have lots of highendtechnique in your studio? Or areyou one of those clever producers whomanage to create excellent sound withsmall and cost-effective technicalmeans? How does your studio looklike?Thanx! I have some high-end equipmentbut they are nothing compared to hugecommercial studios. In my studio I worktogether with my good friend Argy Streamwith whom we share a common passionfor detail and fidelity. We take care ofevery little detail and use various techniquesthat in the end give you a greatresult without having to sell your housejust to buy that special esoteric pre-amp!Having said that, the studio is alwaysexpanding and upgrading and we arenow open to creative bands or musicianswho’d like to use our experience andequipment for their work. I get this requesta lot so I will soon also post photosof the studio in our website.So the next DOL AMMAD album probablywill become a concept album abouta milk planet ;-)?LOL! Great idea! In fact I always look forsomething to honour the great existence ofmilk. Maybe I should write a song like"Calcium” or "Dominion of the Holy Cows”(In 14 parts) ;-PCan you tell us how you manage thewhole recording process? For "Star Tales”you’ve recorded some parts inGermany. For "Ocean Dynamics” didyou do everything in your own studio –recording, mixing and mastering? Hasthe choir been recorded as a whole withsome stereo microphones or each singerseparately?Yes, in "Ocean Dynamics” all the productiontook place in my studio in Thessaloniki,Greece. I used various techniques forthe choir and for this album I think it iseasy to notice that the recording quality isbetter than the debut. I like to record boththe whole and each voice separately (3 to4 people at a time). For the third album IYou are influenced by the great synthesizerpioneers of the 1970ies like JeanMichel Jarre or Vangelis. Do you usesome original analog gear from thosetimes like Arp or Moog? Or do youmostly work with software plugins?What do you think about all the newsoftware emulations of analog gear?I have analog and virtual-analog synthesizerswhich I love! I am not a big fan ofplugins and soft-synths although I do usethem a lot also. I think in the recent yearsthe quality of soft synths has been greatlyimproved but I believe more in the powerof software libraries than just software foranalog emulations. If you’ve grown upwith MIDI and hands on control of a synthesizerI don’t think you’ll ever be fullysatisfied by a plugin and a mouse or evenwith a controller having to map everythingand create scenes etc. Although I do useall the latest technologies and stay up todate with the music tech progress, I witnessthat I tend to go back to simpler andolder techniques the last years. I thinkthat it is easy to lose control with technologyand to miss the whole point of musicmaking.

Yes, that’s absolutely true. Many musiciansare loosing themselves in gearsluttingand drown in the new possibilitiesthat modern technology offersthem. But even if you are using yourgear wisely it can rob you much time.You told me that youhad a computer crashin your studio thatblocked your workfor weeks. Do yousometimes wish tomake music purelywithout having to digbetween countlesscables, plugs, knobsand electronic labyrinths?Maybe like inthe past when composershad a piano,some sheets of paperand then gave thescores to an orchestra?Or like in thefuture when thehead-to-midiconverter(a vision ofTT/Abigor) makesthe music streamdirectly from yourhead out of the loudspeakers?LOL! Head-to-midi?! Iwould prefer Head-to-CD-Factory but we’llhave to start from somewhere ;-P Seriouslythough we as mankind are really in ourvery early baby-steps in technology andhave a lot way to go. Yes, I had an unfortunateand simultaneous crash in 2 of the3 computers in the studio and I had somedifficult 3 weeks trying to save the workand bring back order into chaos. Thankfullynothing was lost except for the timedelay and some thousands nerve-cells inmy brain. It is true that I push these machinesto their extremes but you shouldnever count and rely 100% on them. Ithink back-up and restoration plansshould be top priorities in computer environments.I am not sure if the composersof the past were always fully satisfied bythe way their "tools” performed their music,a "crash” in an orchestra would bemaybe a drunken violinist ;-PI do sometimes wish I could make musicmore easily and every time I play on aclassical piano I am amazed by its purityand natural form. However I am afraid Iam trapped forever in my electronic labyrinthsand there is no turning back now…You also like Mike Oldfield. I think youboth share this peaceful, positive moodin your songs and also the catchy melodies.Did you ever think about experimentingwith folk or classical instrumentslike him? Maybe not for DOLAMMAD, but for other projects?Oh yes, in Dol Theeta! There is a lot ofexperimentation with ethnic instruments,mainly bagpipes, violins, flutes. I love thesound of bagpipes it is the most captivatingfolk instrument in the world. I alsoplan to make a sample library of a greatGreek folk instrument when I have thetime. It is an instrument that few peopleknow in the world and of course there areno libraries for it. I have found a greatplayer of this instrument and when I havetime we will meet in the studio to constructa virtual instrument for it!

Can you tell us more about DOL THEE-TA? You will also play drums for it. Andyour homepage says that it will concentrateon your meditative and atmosphericsides. When can we expectthe debut album? And what can we expect?Yes I also play the drums in Dol Theetaand it is turning out a HUGE album! Ithought it would be an easier pro ductioncompared to Dol Ammad and everyonewas like "ok, now you are 3 people only,this production will be shorter” but thesongs are very lengthy, deep in emotionsand feelings and have tricky orchestrations.I am not even sure what to expect ofthe debut album… Just like with "StarTales” we will start from somewhere to tryto find ourselves through it. The plan forDol Theeta was conceived when I startedinfusing lots of meditative and softer/ambientparts in Dol Ammad anddidn’t feel satisfied with it… I mean I wantDol Ammad to be in one word "EPIC”! So Idecided that electronica-art-metal must beportrayed by more than one band andthus Dol Theeta was born. I am reallyhappy with the result and also very anxiousto see what the final outcome will be.The music is so narcotic, you dive into thesongs and sometimes you dive too deep itgets scary…It is an electrifying inner journeythat defies limits and structures.You are going to do a video clip for it.Can you reveal anything about it?Yes I think I can now reveal the first stepsof the Dol Theeta world. I have decided torelease a single before the full album. Thesingle will be for a song called "Goddess”and it will also include our first ever videoclip! We are currently working on theGraphics for the video with the help of mygreatest friend who is an expert in ComputerProgramming. I am really excited tosee the final result!And did you ever think about creating a"negative twin” of DOL AMMAD with adark and dissonant basic mood? I meanyou already had some dramatic, furiousand dissonant parts on "Ocean Dynamics”.But in general the mood is verypositive and makes you feel good andoptimistic even in dark hours.Of course! It is the third "Dol” in the worldof Electronica – art- metal, a third projectthat will appear in the near future! Therewas an innuendo about it in my messageon our website when I announce DolTheeta but few people noticed it ;-P Anyway,yes I have a VERY darker side whichI can’t wait to express and share with ourfriends. It is when this third "Dol” projectcomes out that our listeners will finallyhave the total picture of my music andunderstand my vision. All I can say now isthat it will be something really extreme,an audio-violence experience that willamaze and shock you!Will this probably go a bit into the directionof "Thalassa Dominion IV”?There are several very dramatic anddissonant parts in this song and alsosome hyperspeed blastbeats?Yes there will be inhuman blastbeats inthis darker project but it will be nothinglike Thalassa Dominion IV, you really haven’theard anything like this before… IfDol Ammad sound unique, then this isages more alien to the ears. It is an audioviolence that scares the hell out of all myfriends when they visit me while I work onthis stuff ;-P Imagine the cruellest grindgoredeath metal band but with an electronicaspeedcore instrumentation! Butthat’s for the future to come… ;)

You seem to be a very spiritual man. Iread somewhere that you are practisingYoga and also have a certain interest intopics like astrology. What do youthink about so called esotericism? Ofcourse you can also choose anotherword for it, since "esotericism” hasbeen misused a lot within the past decades.I am a man that thinks a lot, in every secondof my life my brain is in constantthoughts and ideas and in day-dreamimaginations.I often suffer from insomnia,megalomania and lack of concentrationinto what is known as "real life”. Ialways compare everything that happensto mega-cosmic and micro-cosmic scalesand this can be very tiring sometimes especiallywhen you try to relax. I am veryinterested in Yoga but not so much inastrology. Maybe you confused it withastronomy which is a fascinating science.Regarding esotericism, as in knowledgethat few can grasp and remember, I thinkwe are heading towards ages of esotericismsince the huge clueless masses areundereducated in a world whereknowledge is so freely and easily available.You can see it in all aspects of life, music– art – politics – society. An elite-few in aworld of zombies…With mega-cosmic and micro-cosmicscales to you mean thinking in fatefulanalogies? Like e.g. bears escape fromthe zoo in several American cities andat the same time a bear market arisesat the New York Stock Exchange? Andyou think there may be a secret relationshipbetween those coincidences,an analogical relationship between microsphereand macrosphere?Yes and no at the same time. Even thewords "Yes” and "No” which often carrythe result of a decision can be a microsphereand macrosphere respectively. Mymind drifts helplessly through thoughtslike when I make a cup of coffee at thesame time a supernova blasts a star intoshock waves of energy. This fusion wasthe result of years of the star’s aging underwhich star a centipede on earth isdevouring a rat or a mother scorpion iscarrying its first scorplings on her back.It’s this constant zoom-ins and outsthat go on inside me…I can’t knowif they mean anything or if thereis a secret relationship betweenthem… It would be scary if therewas.Can insomnia be an inspiringstate of mind for you? Do youoften create music while beingsleepless and overtired? Or is itmore a state of mind where youcannot concentrate on propermusical work anymore?Yes I am creative when I am tiredand stressed. But it starts to havean impact on my health, I can’tremember the last time I was relaxedmentally…You said you aren’t a big fan ofsong lyrics. What about books?Do you have any favourite authors?Or do you prefer soundover word in general?Oh no, I love books! My favouriteauthors are Douglas Adams andPhillip Pullman. I just don’t paythat much attention to wordswhen I listen to music. It is a

whole different experience. I do prefer tolisten to music in my free time but I oftentry to steal some time for a good book also.The South Park version of the famousDOL AMMAD band picture is great. Areyou a South Park fan or did you justlike the idea of having a funny caricatureof DOL AMMAD? Which musician’scartoon do you like most? I think DCCooper is portrayed very well.Yes I love South Park! Our good friendNtennis Papakostas had this idea to do aSouth Park version of Dol Ammad usingonline software that someone has created.Ntennis sent me an email asking for mypermission and for some details of themembers! Like who have blue eyes etc! Ithink he did an amazing work and reproductionof the entire band but I can’t stoplaughing with Alex Holzwarth and hisbongos! I also like my lightsaber ;-POkay, Thanasis, thank you a lot for thevery pleasurable conversation. I amsure we’ll talk again soon on yourforthcoming works in 2008. The lastwords belong to you.Thank you Chrystof and the rest of theAGM crew for the amazing support andpure friendship! It was an honour and oneof the best interviews I’ve experienced. Iwould also like to thank all our fellow musictravellers and to ask their patience forthe upcoming Dol Theeta releases. Variousreasons beyond my powers made itimpossible for me to make a 2007 release.What I can promise is that in the firstmonths of 2008 you will be presented witha massive album. A huge music adventureof space melodies and inner emotions thatI am sure you’ll love. To my ears it feelslike the best music I’ve written so far inmy life. I wish you all the best for the NewYear, may you live free and happy andmay you never stop dreaming! Space on!=)Chrystof----------------------------------------------------CARRIER FLUXWarrior On The Edge Of TimeThere are many bands and artists currentlyproclaiming to be the advance guard ofmetal, and many more being heralded assuch by the critics and the fans. But oncepast the hype and upon listening to themusic, few seem deserving of such praise.Everything has been done and done betterbefore it seems. Once in a while a light ofpure artistic vision permeates this quagmire,bringing forth a truly orginal soundand taking metal places it has'nt been before.One such visionary is Jeff aka Carrier Flux,a studio project that embraces diversity,heaviness and darkness in its multifacetedsound. It refuses to be pigeonholed,instead bounding forward into the unknownwith each release. Jeff has unleashed2 killer albums to date and ispresently hard at work on the third one. Iam especially excited beacuase he givesvery few interviews and this a sort ofwww.avantgarde-metal.com exclusive.First of all, kudos on releasing anamazingly original and diverse extrememetal album in In Waste (2002).Though more than 5 years old now, itstill sounds fresh and cutting edge today,the true mark of all great music.How long have you been playing music?What band(s) were you playing in beforeCarrier Flux ? Did you align yourselfwith any particular scene?I've been writing and recording music forabout 16 years. I started by recordingsongs on a four track with a drum machine,and when I was about 16 I joined a

thrash band who I played with for about ayear. A couple years later I also startedplaying in a band called cold colors, a melodicmetal band from Minneapolis. Sometime after that, I performed with and recordeda few albums in a dark ambientgroup called Vedisni. Throughout all ofthis I was slowly working out the ideasthat became Carrier Flux. I never alignedmyself with any particular scene, butwhen Carrier Flux first started evolving, Iwas definitely most influenced by blackmetal.What inspired you to form Carrier Flux? Did the freedom and focus of having a100% solo project have something todo with it?The project first started out as a means toget ideas down on tape, but I found myselffinishing songs and eventually albums;and began to really enjoy the act of concentratingall my energy on making musicwith no distractions. There's always atrade-off when doing everything yourself ofgaining freedom but losing input fromother artists, but I've found that workingon my own is the best way for me to beproductive.What were your thoughts (as best youcan recall) during the recording of theband's debut , Introspective Nighmare(2000) ? Did you acheive the goals youset out to acheive? One can hear thebeginnings of a very original sound,part Death/Black Metal, part gothic /death folk, and part industrial metal.When I was fleshing out the ideas for thatalbum I was listening to a lot of industrialand blackmetal. I really wanted to mix thetwo without compromising the emotionalcontent of either style. I didn't have anyspecific goals, other than to make interestingmusic that conveyed a certain feeling.I'd like to think I achieved those goals.The transition of sound between the firstand second album in terms of productionand composition is astounding. Was2000-2002 a period of major musical progressionfor you?In between the first and second albums, Ijust had a lot more focus on what I wantedto accomplish. I made a few gear purchases,andmade improvements at using what I had.How has your recording set-up changedover the years ? What is your basic rig,in terms of hardware and software?I've very gradually improved my setup bypurchasing equipment when I can affordit. I try to keep things pretty basic as faras gear goes. A couple of decent mics, acouple synths, a good mic preamp, ahardware compressor and EQ, and a goodguitar rig are pretty much all I rely onbesides software. One major improvementI made since the recording of the first twoalbums, was purchasing a Mesa guitaramplifier. I was using a solid-state amppreviously, and I believe the new recordingsI'm working on have a much fullersound, partially as a result of this.When Black Lotus folded up, was it atough period for you?Things had gone sour with Black Lotusbefore they started having problems, sothis really wasn't an issue for me.Seeing that you have offered both youralbums for free download, despite beingavailable on CD, what are yourthoughts on the internet's impact onmusic and the music industry?

Well first off the major labels have to gettheir shit together and work with the Internetinstead of against it. Charging adollar per song on iTunes is ridiculous,and the RIAA suing its consumer baseabsolutely has its head up its ass. Peoplewill pay for music if there is a reasonabledistribution method, and a reasonableprice being charged for the product.As far as the impact that the Internet hashad on music, it's a really tough question.Many lesser-known groups have had aneasier time getting their music out to thefans who want to hear it, and at the sametime many groups have lost money due tomusic piracy. From my perspective musicis art, and shouldn't be made with thepromise of financial reward in the firstplace. The minute the integrity of thegroup is compromised for the sake of sellingmore records, is the moment whereartistic vision and creativity are strangledand destroyed. So in that frame of mind Ialmost see sucking money out of the systemas a good thing. Obviously it would befantastic to make a living off music, butthat's difficult to do without ignoring theartistic aspect of the music. So I havehope that the Internet may inadvertentlyrestore some sense of integrity to modernmusic.Can you give us some details aboutyour distribution deal with CDBaby ?all your songs, who are your biggestinfluences in terms of vocals? Also,which bands inspired you start makingyour own music?My biggest influences on vocals wereprobably early Arcturus and Ved BuensEnde. At the very beginning of my creativeventures back in the early 90s, my influenceswere probably Sepultura, Megadeth,Slayer, and Primus.Having heard the new demo, CarrierFlux again seems to be expanding itssonic palette. Where do you expect tosee your project in 5 -10 years?I really have no plans other than to keepmaking music. I want to keep the projectunique, but not try and force originality atthe cost of writing cohesive music.Are you involved in any other projectsat the moment ?Right now I'm working with a thrashband, and an industrial group. I've alsobeen dabbling with a few different stylesother than those, but carrier flux remainsmy primary focus.Any other cutting edge metal outfitsyou would recommend to our readers ?I do recommend CDBaby to independentartists. They've been easy to deal with andhelp a great deal with online distribution.Basically they sell the CDs you've pressed,and distribute your album to online subscriptionservices, and grant you a veryreasonable Cut of the profits. Ultimately Idefinitely prefer working with a label,however CDBaby is definitely a good option.Will Carrier Flux ever expand into theband format, and is there a possibilityof this metal madness ever being takento stage?I don't like to speak in absolutes, but fornow the plans for the project are only torecord as much music as possible. I mayincorporate other musicians but it will bea while before any sort of live act comes tofruition.Given the excellent variety of vocals on

There are far too many to list, but latelyI've been listening to Skeletonwitch,Defleshed, Genghis Tron, Windir, Evoken,Skepticism, Esoteric, Sonata Arctica, andStrapping Young Ladd. I've been reallygetting into thrash and funeral doom lately.Doom metal seems to be where it's atthese days to avoid commercialism. Bandslike Tyranny, Skepticism, Evoken, andEsoteric have a really legitimate feel tothem; and obviously put their music beforetheir image.SuleimanREVIEWSABORYMFire Walk With UsRelease: 2001Label: Scarlet / SPVAvantgenre: A Gross Mélange Of Satanic IndustrialsoundscapesAnd Disruptive Black MetalDuration: 51:33Origin: ItalyOfficial site: http://www.aborym.net.............................................................................................................................................Rome: Center of the Catholic Church and every track (beside the techno-like "Heredomicile of the pope. This devotional ambienceis not supposed to be the right complex, but the guitar-magicians NysrokIs No God S.T.A.”). Most tracks are quiteplace to deliver a satanic and misanthropicBlack Metal-Band. But maybe it is ex-every second on "Fire Walk With Us”.and Sethlands manage to keep the flow inactly the Holy Ghost who surrounds theItalian metropolis, which gave birth to theblasphemous, and in every sense insurgentcharacter of Aborym. "Fire Walk WithUs” is the second opus of this druginfluencedcartel. In my eyes it representsthe bible of industrialised, modern and (tosatisfy this website) vanguard Black Metal.From the very beginning this album attractsthe attention of the victim. Thecomparatively transparent productioncreates a futuristic and clinical atmosphere.A dominant element of the sound isthe drum machine, which is well programmedand demonstrates the musicaltalent of these Romans. Driven by thedigital drums, the guitars celebrate anecstatic orgy of modern Black Metal inSongs like "Our Sentence” and "TotalBlack” are charged with fast tremolopickingas well as meditative staccato riffsand dramatic, monumental and opera-likeguitar eruptions. You will find no singlearrangement on this record which appearsartificial: The compositions seem to havebeen written millennia ago by a metaphysicalentity and Aborym, in the year 2000,only represents the earthly tool to createwhat ever existed.The prophet of these transcendent visionsis Attila Csihar, notorious for his workwith "the true” Mayhem and legendaryTormentor from Hungary. The collaborationwith Aborym shows his urge to experimentwith different styles of extreme musicand to break through boundaries. His

performance can best be described withtwo words: Sick and alien. Csihar altershis voice quite often and accommodateshis style to the emotional development ofeach song. The listener gets terrorised byhigh-pitched, aggressive Black Metal vokillsas well as with the shamanic and adjuratoryexpression we all know from "DeMysteriis Dom Sathanas"."Fire Walk With Us” represents the perfectmélange of unsettled industrial sounds,dark ambient and Scandinavian influencedBlack Metal. The latter aspect isalso underlined by their felicitous interpretationof "Det Som En Gang Var” byBurzum.Sure the Italians can not be counted asthe inventors of Industrial Black Metal.But compared with their Norwegian colleagues(and role models) Mysticum theytravel farther into the abyss of the humanpsyche. A success which is achieved by ahighly professional attitude and admirablemental power.PolygonABORYMWith No Human InterventionRelease: 20. January 2003Label: Code666Avantgenre: Alienated Black Metal FictionDuration: 64:49Origin: ItalyOfficial site: http://www.myspace.com/aborym666.............................................................................................................................................With their third album "With No Human can be considered as one of the mostIntervention” the Italian Avantgarde Black unique and extreme vocalist in the metalMetal freaks of Aborym rose again from scene. Unlike on "De Mysteriis Domthe deepest abyss of human psychological Sathanas” or "Fire Walk With Us”, thenightmare to show the world once more Hungarian drug addict abandoned hiswhat misanthropic metal art is all about. trademarks and, in a sense, sounds lessAfter the quite interesting, but heavily shamanic. Instead we can experience highunderestimated "Kali-Yuga Bizarre” and pitched Black Metal screams, which canthe follower "Fire Walk With Us”, this albumrepresents their peak.pernatural. It is very refreshing to hearonly be described as matchless and su-Csihar experimenting with his pervertvoice.After a short introduction the chaos ofalien musical dimensions hits the cluelesslistener. From the beginning the title trackshows what the art of Aborym is all about:Fast, disruptive (digital) drums, epic guitarchords, lightspeed solos and ecstaticallydancing synthesisers, which aredrawing never heard collages of sound.The general atmosphere created by thedominating electronic ingredients is veryunfriendly, cold and confusing, but coevalthe music has an appealing effect. Onereason might be Attila Csihar, who onceagain proved on this longplayer, that heThe songwriting first appears quite progressive,abstruse and cryptic. But aftersome time, when the Homo Sapiens gotused to the celestial way of communicating,the tracks develop a logic structure,with which Aborym manage toswitch masterly between the uttermostdifferent human emotions and states ofmind. Regardless if we get attacked bymodern, industrial-rock influenced stakkatoriffing, if we are terrorised by digitalwarfare of the strangest Techno/EBM and

Industrial sounds or if Nysrok demonstrateshis musical skills with his breathtakingguitar-solos: The sound cosmos ofthese Italian guys is always in a crossfireof different influences. Even Black`n Rollis cited ("The Alienation of a BlackenedSoul”). The music is mostly connected tothe old spirit of Black Metal, which wasinvented on Norwegian classics like thementioned "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas”and "Antichrist”.Talking about the production, which tookplace in Temple of Noise Studio in Rome, Imust say that I first had problems gettingused to it. Especially the drumcomputermight discourage the blimpish Black Metalfan. But in the end the sound fits invery well the overall inhuman feeling ofthe music. I must add, that "With No HumanIntervention” although features somenice and emotional moving parts. But everytime these excursions to the brighterside of life appear, they get undermined byone of Csihar’s choleric scream attacks.The lyrics are also quite opaque. It isnearly impossible to find a clear structure,an overall message. Of course you will findthe typical antichristian propaganda. With"Faustian Spirit Of The Earth” (which waswritten by Bård "Faust" Eithun) the bandtries to offer a more religious and philosophicalapproach towards life and humanity."Me(n)tal Striken Terror Action 2”deals with the 9.11 terror attacks, whichis quite unusual for this type of music.After all praise I have to state that "WithNo Human Intervention” has also two defects:First, the booklet doesn’t fit the highstandard of the music. The obligatorynumber of the beast in the logo as well asthe pictures of naked nuns going nudewith the crucifix between their legs reallydoesn’t impress anyone anymore. It seemslike Aborym, by now grown-up men, stillhave a hard time to get rid of the oldfashionedand boring clichés.The second defect for me is the obviousneed of Aborym to adorn with "bignames”. Several times we can read in thebooklet about the co-operation with Faust,Nattefrost (Capathian Forest) and Irrumator(Anaal Nathrakh). Sure this underlinesthe integrity and credibility of this bandwithin the extreme metal scene, but Aborymreally don’t need this type of selfadulation.To come to a conclusion: Aborym havefound their own interpretation to celebratea style of music which was important andinspiring for a whole generation of angrymusicians. Most of them failed to offersomething new, refreshing. However, forme Aborym is the only band which successfullymanaged to combine styles likeTechno, Electronic Body Music and Industrialwith Extreme Black Metal. A vanguardapproach which can’t be honouredenough. At least I tried it.PolygonABSTRUSETransgressionRelease: 2007Label: Self-releasedAvantgenre: Cerebral Death ExperimentsDuration: 32:25Origin: GreeceOfficial site: http://www.abstruseweb.com/.........................................................................................................................................................Transgression is the first release from thisambitious Greek duo, formed back in2002. Veiled and Substant, sharing thevocal, visual and musical duties, states apretty bold mission objective - to fuse extrememetal's eerie darkness, the strangetonal systems of modern art music (serialism,atonal and tone scales et c) and psy-

chedelic visual art, in order to walk downa new musical path. Indeed, pretty ambitiousfor a band's first release, and beforelistening it mostly seemed pretentious andrather silly. But... I was very, very wrong.The music of Abstruse (a synonym of "obscure",it seems) is extremely experimental,though it rarely leaves a metalliccontext. Their claiming of using the disharmonicscales of 20th centuryavantgardist composers is definitely noostentatious bullshit, among the darkmetal riffs (a fair reference should be earlyprogressive death metal) I can hear notonly traces of Schönberg's Twelve-tonetechnique, but a distinct use of it; programmedmelodies intertwine with guitarsweeps, melodies are turned inside out,played in reverse, everything those Germansdid back in the angst ridden 1920's.The dreamy whole tone scales of Debussyadd a misty surreal veil to the chaotic dodecaphony...But still, they never leave themetallic course. Bloody awesome? Indeed!The opener hints both to the crazy electrojazzof Last-Minute Lies-era Fleurety andto the playfulness of the Atrox guitarists.The slightly slower "Ceremonial Torches"brings to mind a dark mix of Karl Sandersmythological solo works and The Residents(!!!). The guitar lines at points resemblethe works of Carl-August Tidemannbefore joining Winds (i.e. Arcturus)...but enough references. Is itstrange? Yes. Great? YES. Few canachieve music as technically stunning asthis, without simultaneously losing myinterest. Very cerebral. I like that.The vocals are pretty strange, deep halfroaredwhispers most of the time. Theprogrammed drums might annoy some,but they merge naturally with the overalltechnological sound; only the blastbeatssounds plastic. What I also like is the visualsaccompanying some of the songs ona DVD. Psychedelic as hell, blurry shots ofnature flowing into each other in manypretty colours (a lot of colour inversionand that kind of stuff). I‘m an ignorantwhen it comes to video art, but I knowwhat I enjoy. This, for example. If you arein any way interested in experimental,groundbreaking or just highly technicalmusic, you want to hear this. This willdefinitely not be the last you’ll hear fromAbstruse.aVoidAUNMultigoneRelease: 2008Label: Crucial BlastAvantgenre: Blight MetalDuration: 57:35Origin: Montreal (CA)Officialsite: http://www.myspace.com/martindumais.............................................................................................................................................From Montreal - Canada - I recently discoverednoise/ambient music should get acquaintedan artist whom I thought everyoneinterested in extreme/experimental and with. Martin Dumais, aka AUN,before turning into the twisted sound wiz-

ard he has become, was also secretly activein Montreal's underground techno,tech house and downtempo scenes, forexample with his band Les Jardiniers (TheGardeners). But back to our business, hislast album Multigone has just been releasedby Crucial Blast, and it definitelyhas something strongly atmospheric goingon, as Dumais is handling guitars, bass,violin and electronics altogether, to createa borderline ambient/metal majestuouspiece of work. The first two tracks Multigoneand Consumed by Flies are massive,heavy, drone-dirge, epic fire brails of alienatedtextures. Both songs might as wellburn your brain and leaves you breathlessand self-consumed. If you ask me, thisdoesn't only bears the mark of an extremenoise take on volcano drone metal, but italso, like on the magickal Steel Skull Plain,investigates through surrealistic and psychedelicdark industrial ambient figures.It's limitless music so to speak or as tobreeze out unclear - whatever linguisticsyou prefer.Surprisingly, next song Stables soundslike backward Stoner rock on ecstasy. Itsvery fluid like, and yet the badass rockingfeeling is all over the place and growingmore and more weirded out. And as thesong is dissolving, Halfmoon Halfchoketakes the next lead and shines through itsshimmering, blazing, fuzzy, slumbering,drony, hypnotizing, blissed-out, foggy andcelestial ambient ascension. Palejoy thenexposes a more beatlord side of AUN, andI must say I'm quite impressed: at somepoint, I was even thinking to myself thatthis was like some kind of Psyche DoomicTrip Hop or something. The guitars soundsaturated, eerily industrial, reminding meof a rusty, bubbling, phosphorescent mire,while the deep bass line groove underneathis perfectly assembled in a way youcan't resist to head nod along the strongatmosphere. Last song Kwelbo Krong goesback to more noise territory covering,which includes many other extraterrestrialinfluences. Add to that a very oppressivequality within the guitar noise riffing andit easily gets both overloaded and meditativeat the same time. Contradictio? Noneat all. Extreme music the way AUN does itbasically crosses, sometimes many, sometimesquite a few dense and highly compactedemotions against each other, to thepoint where it just feels naturally encompassing.From zero to infinity, I might easily saythat Multigone, as an album, conveys andmaximizes the darker spirits of Extrememetal, while actually keeping up with psychedelismin sculpture and avant ambient/noisein texture and genre. With thisalbum, Dumais really captured an organised,organic and otherworldly vision, onlyto let us experience its spectral liveliness.By the way, Multigone is limited to 300copies so in case you would want to experienceit at home, act fast! And for thosewho would enjoy discovering the specificallydrone/ambient side-brother of AUN,way more minimal than what I describedin this review, I suggest you click on therecord's name, if you want to downloadthe free four songs mp3-album FIELD,which was released by Clinical Archives in2007. This hasn't made as much an impacton me as Multigone did, but it's anotherfacet to AUN's unpredictable art.Oliver Side

AZURE EMOTEChronicles Of An Aging MammalRelease: July 7th, 2007Label: Epidemie RecordsAvantgenre: Experimental Electro DeathDuration: 47:08Origin: USAOfficial site: http://www.azureemote.com/................................................................................................................................Again and again, a shocking reminder.Face to face, we've never been blinder.An eight-armed primate, poised as a Hindudeity. Dressed in suit, with a crown ofthorns, an anthropomorphic brute wieldinga skull, a knife, an inverted cross, agun, and justice. The world is slowly beingflooded by a second deluge; fish and birdsroam freely about the ruins and carcass ofmankind. Religious zeal and shallow faithin technology, our end. It is quite clearwhat AZURE EMOTE's feelings towardtheir fellow humanity are. Chronicles OfAn Aging Mammal is the first and so faronly release from this obscure brain childof one Mike Hrubovcak, vocalist of deathmetal monsters like VILE and MON-STROSITY among others, now completedas a trio.A cinematic explosion of apocalyptic metal,brutal grindcore, symphonic death andblack metal, industrial noise and ambience,trip-hop, weird samples; you are aseasily dragged into this chaotic flurry ofnoises and genres as you are thrown outof it, and you will never know what hit youor understand what actually happened.The chaos of an Abigor drenched in trippyelectronica; the sedative melancholy ofoceanic trip-hop metal akin to KorovaKill,or perhaps a coastal Lux Occulta. Thedrummer from RUMPELSTILTSKINGRINDER adds a persuasive layer of, well,brutalized deathgrind. Vocals rangingfrom pig-styled squeals and morbid deathgruntsto the wonderfully soothing yetdissonant jazz and operatic goth of TODESBONDEN's Laurie Ann Haus to reversedchants and samples. Mostly gruntsand growls though. A wooden flute haunting"Cosmic Tear", beautiful as nothingelse. Disturbing synths reminiscent ofearly id Software/Raven FPS. No tracksounds the same. Too many elements tomention, quite often too many to handlein one listening session; rarely have I begunlistening to the opening tubular bellsand actually reached the sampled screamsof Laura Palmer in the harrowing sadnessand mystery of the aptly titled "Dementia"within an hour.On one side, a misanthropic hatred andaloof contempt for a mankind killing itselfand its world - "Clarity Thru Apathy","Complex 25", "Justified End", "Submerged","Misanthropic Disgust". On theother, a saddened melancholy mourningwhat the other side loathes - "CosmicTear", "Procreation Abnegation", "MarchOf Chemical Pessimism", "Dementia". Atornado of scintillating effects and multifacetedemotions. The results of one derangedand overly ambitious bastard,clearly extremely talented and seriouslycreative, with an army of guest musicians- seven heads for seven instruments* -and way too much time in the studio -three years in the making. A masterpieceto some, scrambled ape-shit to others.Take your stance - I sure haven't takenmine. Into strange metal? Then this is foryou.(*Schematics on guest musicians: two vocalists,three drummers, two guitarists, two bassists, onekeyboardist, one flautist, counting members fromtwelve bands. And again, seven musicians. Plus MikeHrubovcak who is responsible for everything, fromcomposition and arrangement to layout and theme toelectronics, instruments and vocals.)aVoid

BRISTOL MEYERS SQUIBBEasy Listening AggravationRelease: 1998-2002Label: Self ReleasedAvantgenre: Experimental Techno MetalDuration: 32:14Origin: FranceOfficial site: http://www.myspace.com/borisdoussy.............................................................................................................................................This is some rocking stuff!! Fast technobeats, aggro-metal, and a distinct moodthat is as influenced by Orbital as it is byScrew. This avoids most clichés native tothe industrial metal genre, by incorporatingelements of world beat as well as jungleto alternately ambient and violent mixof Sonics. I am not kidding when I say thisis some of the most original and invigoratingstuff have heard under the avantgarde metal banner.There is also a pseudo-black metal feel tothe more frantic sections, but again withoutthe clichéd riffing, chord sequences orpatented grim mood. A single song featuresup to six to seven different vocalstyle, and twice as many sample sources,besides the backbone of thrash riffing andtechno drum n bass. I love the carefreeattitude the band projects in their compositions,unrestricted by imagery or concernsof uniformity. This is all over themap. You could be sweating in a club tothis, and the next moment stabbingsomeone to the same rhythm (withoutonce coming close to eyeliner or latexweareven once in the proceedings). I wasgoing to use different songs as examplesto dissect, but as the album progressed Igave up on this endeavour as a lost cause.Sometimes you just have to listen andlearn. The only reason I can think its obscurityis the lack of distribution by theconcerned parties and the sheer honestyof the music. As well as sudden bursts ofhyper techno speed. Think hardcore technoas envisioned by a Ministry/Aborymcover band, with a schizophrenic sampler.Lovely!Anyone remotely claiming to be into anykind of AGM needs this NOW! Really, Ihaven't used these many exclamations ina review ever. My only gripe would be the128 kbs sampling rate of the mp3 whichsimply does not do justice to the denseSonics.Suleiman

CARRIER FLUXIn WasteRelease: 2002Label: Black LotusAvantgenre: Melodic Dark Cyber Metal MadnessDuration: 41:54Origin: USAOfficial site: http://www.carrierflux.com/............................................................................................................................................Absolutely awesome!!! This is some of the believe I have mentioned a trademarkbest new extreme melodic metal I have style when listening to an album for theheard so far. What raises the bar here is first time, but damn if this isn't originalthat along with the more melodic death / and good). The clean vocals are some ofblack metal there is distinct industrial the better ones heard in such an extremeand gothic influence throughout the record.The opener "Rebirth" sums up nicely harsh and brutal as it is atmospheric andband (and believe me this is extreme - it'sthe more immediate (and traditional) aspectsof the band and is strangely catchymature).amidst all its twists. "Ghost in the Machine"continues this trend of moving forphonesand could barely keep myself fromI was listening to this at work with headwardwith all guns blazing. Soundwise it head banging along to this madness. Ais close to a mix of Red Harvest (for need barely contained grin danced on my faceof a better comparison) and melodic as the colossal instrumental "Serpent"death/black (in a few places, quite brutal) rolled over me. And the follow-up punch ofmetal with a sprinkling of mid-era Tiamat. the muscular and angry "Above the CrippledEarth" had my jaw on the floor. ThisI know it looks strange in writing, but wait'till you hear this. When the blasts, layers, song needs immediate hearing. Some ofmelodic guitars and samples come togetherwith the varied vocal attack you will within") is coupled with a vocoder. Thethe most vicious riffing here ("The Enemyknow too. The bizarre interlude "Transition"shows that the band also has com-song they had firmly bored a second ass-synths on this song are nuts! By the lastplete mastery of other-worldly ambience. hole on extreme metal's bloated corpseThe synth-based atmospherics continue in (hear the harmonized melodic vocals over"Lustmord" which morphs into goth-folk the dissonant riffing and the hyperblasts,(ala Death in June / Bauhaus) which has with the great breaks, growls, shrieks,a real dark/sad feeling, and it intensifies electronica et al). As the beautiful folkyas the song builds and builds, leading to outro fades out, you just have to presshyper blast and back.play again.To be honest, this caught me unaware, asI was expecting industrial black metal, nota complete tour of everything great aboutextreme cyber metal. "Martyrs" has moreof a Myrksog vibe, but mixes it up withsome awesome doom. This distincts thetrademark style of Carrier Flux (I cannotAnd you know what, the damn thing isavailable as a free download (high-qualitymp3) at:www.carrierflux.com/Carrier_Flux-In_Waste[2002].zipSuleiman

CHORONZONPsychosis Ex MachinaRelease: 2004Label: Foamin' Sodomy RecordsAvantgenre: Noise Orchestration Of Chaos ThrashDuration: 60:10Origin: USoAOfficial site: http://choronzon333.livejournal.com/That's why I love how Mr. Williams hasn'tsacrified any of the aural rawness aesthet-.............................................................................................................................................In 1998, Samoth's Nocturnal Art Recordsreleased something of a milestone recordthat went by without being noticed at allin the underground circles. Choronzon'sMagog Agog, a mostly industrial-fed postblack-thrash-heavyics which are usually linked with oldschoolmetal. His music, as psychedelicand coloured as it is, has real bite, whichmeans that it's got an authentic aggressiveattitude and a futuro-retro punk-headpsychedelic and archaism. I would say that it is right outnightmarish beast, however, probably of these subtle tensions that his musicalsurprised the few groups of people thatactually had the chance to hear its bizarremalice, to the point where they did like meand followed with great care each of itssubsequent musical steps. Well, six yearslater, P. Emerson Williams launched whatI would call one of the most psychoadvancedand noise-demented metal albumboldness is expressing itself with a rarelywitnessed power. It can bring out thecaveman inside you as much as it canopen up your mind to unknown forms ofmusic. One has to mention the multilayeredshamanic vocal techniques that atevery turn can easily overwhelm your attentionspots. The man is screaming,of the 21st century. I really had to whispering, singing, crooning, deep-write about this album in relation to ourgreat electro metal celebration, because ifyou ask me, this is the real thing!throating, gagging, scratching, breathing,feedbacking, morphing, reciting - often allat the same time! Pretty engulfing, to saythe least.First of all, Choronzon isn't simply addinga couple of electronica elements now andthen on top of a galloping rock metalband, nor does he recharge in expensivestudios his compositions with a typicallyover-produced industrial, polished andclinical sound, as most actual so-calledelectro metal bands are doing. On PsychosisEx Machina, Mr. Williams has foundan ensemble sonore which doesn't allowyou anymore to distinguish the noisy,EVP-fuelled and feedback noise overalldirt from the sometimes out-there majestic,sometimes spooky black angular guitarriffs. Despite all these abstract definitionsthat I'm making up here, Choronzonkicks major ass and is always on the edgeof catchiness, but in an extraterrestrialfashion I should add.Among the album, there are three shortersegments of pure dark ambient music,where it is made clear that this man hasbeen working hard with his alien machinesbefore getting to a musical languageas fluent as this one is. I won't settledown for a track-by-track description,since Psychosis Ex Machina is Mr. Williamsclearly most diverse and genrebendingeffort to me. For example, listeningto The Enchanting Dead, with its earcandymystical far west cowboy metalgroove, is quite a surreal experience Imust confess, and it always makes me feellike I'm surrounded by miles and miles ofdesertic sand dunes, smoking miragesand dead-hot snakes. Asymmetrical RedChamber, however, sounds like it hasbeen generated by a furious, out of controlmachine factory whose irresistible penchantfor dirge rythms and horror metallic

sensory assaults will knock you down.And yet, when you get to OrnamentalCrypto-Anarchy, the fifteen minutes vastlyepic finale, you are first welcomed, at leastfor a few minutes, with some of the mostfelt-through melodic black metal guitarlines you'll ever have the pleasure to hear,only to lay down in the middle part of thesong and let yourself be submerged by amuch-needed evanescent lull, out ofwhich, one by one, millions of massiveambient drone waves slowly build up to agodspeed climax of sheer, enthralling andgrandiloquent post-metal beauty.So if you haven't already, go and get yourselfa copy of this high-quality album,turn up the volume and test the limits ofmetal. I mean, I've been for quite a longtime a fan of electronic music of all kinds,but I've never ever heard something likethat. Also, both the beautiful and veryartistic cover and inside layout have beencompletely painted and organised by P.Emerson Williams himself, only raisingPsychosis Ex Machina to a well-deservedclassic status. Will you ever dare enter hisworld? It's all up to you by now.Oliver SideCHORONZONPanic PandemicRelease: 2005Label: Foamin' Bone ProductionsAvantgenre: Freeform Noise MetalDuration: 02:16:38Origin: USoAOfficial site: http://choronzon333.livejournal.com.............................................................................................................................................Welcome to this Noise And Metal United in and b) listening to this music at all! But atMutual Deconstruction today lesson. Please the same time, this album is so muchhave a seat - there you go, good boys and waving out and just like floating as puregirls. In case you should feel a panic attack,there are only two emergency exit everyone to a) take hallucinogenic sub-acoustic equations that I should invitedoors: one down your ass, the other one stances while this is playing in the stereothrough an explosion of your brain cells. and b) listen very carefully to its subtle,So one could easily argue that Choronzon'sthird full-lenght, Psychosis Exepiphenomenal harmonies.Machina, with all its avant-genre procreationsand intriguing manners of being, piss at you? Well I'm not so sure myselfAm I exagerating? Am I only taking thefully contained, by and in itself, many socalledexperimental bands complete dis-times I gave this record a spin, I seriouslywhat the answer might be. The first fewcographies. And as if this wasn't enough, thought that P. Emerson Williams had lostP. Emerson Williams came back two years his mind, and that after having spent hislater to release his most punishing and golden years deconstructing every metaldisturbing record to date. As a matter of genre known to mankind, he was nowfact, Panic Pandemic is so much violating venturing into pure metal abstractionsyour senses and turning so hard your that didn't retain any substantial link withmusical consciousness into a tiny drop of common sense and reality. In that sense, Ifear, that I should prevent most people somehow conceived this new album as anfrom a) absorbing hallucinogenic substanceswhile this album is in the stereo bye to his worldwide fanbase. Butultimate way for him to wave a final good-let's

stick to the music and not to my fragileimagination. This is in-your-face, explicitlydamaged, disturbed, maniacal, frightening,psycho-schizo twisted and viciouslytortured music, over-expanding itself to apoint where it can get barely bearable.Often I would take my headphones off andsay to myself: this is too much! Forgetabout your usual satanic, bloody misanthropia-inducedblack industrial metalband, because Choronzon makes Aborymlook cheesier than Hammerfall doing aballad with Elton John, to quote MetalCoven. Be prepared - you have been advised.Actually, don't let yourself be fooled by thefirst track on here, Ontological Anarchism,which is kind of a laid-back, weirdlymixed entrancing post-metal and pre-jazztribal introduction. One should considerit, most probably, as a sleeping lull beforethe upcoming natural disasters. Yes, thisalbums sounds like the purest chaos of alltimes. Even more so when Mr. Williams,for example on Human Rites Schizoanalysis,decides to carpet bomb his listenerswith faster-than-light drum programmingmethods, which include multi snares,multi bass drums and multi toms allblast-beating together but on differenttime-signatures, of course supportingsome sort of hard to decipher, immense,monstruous tornado-riff machineries thatno one happens to know how to turn off.And please never forget that when I usethe word "riff" within a choronzonic context,I'm always referring myself to thousandsand thousands of crypto-voices, allkinds of peripherical shimmering noises,industrial landscapes, mesmerising wavefrequencies and ritualistic formulas recitedover and over again in otherwordlyraspy trance states. While on The ProcessOf Conditioning, there even are traces of avoivodian punk approach underneath itall, which was by the way so cool to hear,the song just before it is all about a deconstructedpost-rock monster groove.You never know what's going to be in thenext corner with Mr. Williams.Using less and less colours and blurringeverything unto an oppressive, dark menacingambience, I would go as far as tosay that with Panic Pandemic, Choronzonhas expanded the notion of what metalriffing is supposed to be, and actually didbring it up to an atmo-sphere of abstractionwhere melodies and rythms are eitherpractically non-existent or have been inherentlynoisified to a grandeur unknown.Even compared to his own previous material,this album is more aggressive andalong the lines of a retro punk blackspeedy jazz-thrash on the edges of contemporarynoise music. In other words,once you discover every single instrumentaldetails that were subsumed by theoverall production, it is highly tempting tocompare his compositions to a thick fog orto a group of heavy clouds. Whereas Choronzonis using, as I said, so many elementalfragments of sounds as a startingpoint, he's transforming these into onepulsing, undetermined plasma of energy.Now isn't that what the science of magic isall about?The second part to Panic Pandemic is awell-done and multi-layered hour longambient, noise track, slowly emergingfrom a relatively calm drone to an evergrowingintensity, as once again, tribalpercussions take the lead and sound martialas the Apocalypse itself. You ought tohear this one in order to realise how artisticallytalented and varied is Choronzon,even more so now that ambient experimentationand electronic music in generalhave become the trend of the day in themetal circles; well, here comes a manwho's more than obviously been doing itfor a very long time. As a bonus to thefirst 333 buyers, Mr. Williams offered a100 or more pages book version of thealbum, thus delighting us all with manyexemples of his magnificent paintings andpoetry, which are all linked in some wayor another to the music recorded on PanicPandemic. Get in touch with the man andperhaps there are still some of these gemsleft in his well-hidden cryptic caves. Herecomes a one of a kind album, that's forsure. One can only hope that Choronzonwill soon enough come back even strongerbecause I truly believe that the scene ismore ready today for a comeback than it'sever been. Or is Choronzon forever condemnedto stay out of the scenographicscript? Once again, it's all up to you bynow.Oliver Side

CHROME HOOFCrush DepthRelease: 2010Label: Southern RecordsAvantgenre: Astrodelick Funk MetalDuration: 59:08Origin: USoAOfficial site: http://www.myspace.com/chromehoof................................................................................................................................For this never seen before review, I was The musick proceeds from bass, guitar,joined by the grand, grand, little grandchild synthesizer, percussion, bassoon, saxophone,cello, drum, piano, rhodes, organ,of the late Aleister Crowley, an undergroundmagus and post-mentalist who trumpet, violin, viola and much femalegoes by the name of Sir Julius Henry Crowley.He told me he had been given at birthvocals and sprightliness.the power to, quote, "see through Musick" - Chrome Hoof takes the Post-rock, Elecktrowhatever this means. To tell you the truth, distorted-RIO phat b-ass complex riffingI've known Chrome Hoof since the Pre- and organically heart-crosses it with darkEmptive period, but was never fully able to alien-sympho space Metal.find the right words to describe this OutcastOutfit. They're playing by standards Crush Depth is perhaps, we say, lessthey have invented out of the blue. So Discko-oriented and more psi-Operatick inwhen Sir Julius Henry Crowley offered me lenght than Pre-Emptive False Rapture, itssuch an unprecedented opportunity to get wondrous predecessor.my AGM reviewer's work done with thehelp of Crowleyan magick, don't ask meWhat does that mean? Well, it's catchier,why, I said yes right away. I couldn't resist,so to speak. Therefore while the albumdancier, with more layers of biosphericlasers inside the molecular sounds - andwas playing, Sir Julius Henry Crowleymore uproarious dreams to revel in.visited some other plane or some outerMore like a stupendous, monsterlikechannel of perception of consciousness,struckture - we would say - and yet, soand he came back with these writtendelicately assembled - kick ass and sensuous.words, which he claims to have heard fromworlds beyond. I haven't changed anythingto the originals - the way I got it is the wayThe Funk Groove has subjectively andyou will read it. So like it or not, that's up toobjectively not been left anywhere behind.you, but the value of this review lies elsewhere.Thanks for reading.Leo Smee (from Cathedral and Miasma &the Carousel of Headless Horses) formedChrome Hoof with his drummer bro LeoSmee - and the duo expanded to more orless a dozen performers.En effet, Funk Groove is what contradistinguishesthis Rock/Metal Orchestrafrom most other Rock/Metal bands aliveand dead.They're Funk-y-Cool-y à la Disckothèque -though altered into an Occult Thrashdancing slushpit.

Now and then, seventies Psyche-Prog andKosmisch escapades are also introducedamong the album's Astrodelick concoctions.Of great importance, this experiMetal Ensemblestands not so far away from theteachings of Sun Ra's intergalactic travelingthrough sound.We're reminded of Luke Vibert's MOVEYOUR MIND MOVE YOUR FEET pro-Beatcampaign.By all means, it's broader in scope thanVoodoo Rock/Metal and looking furtherover Elecktro Space Funk - visibly concealedaltogether.Our last words shall be:Vote against Chrome Division.Vote for Chrome Hoof!---------------« Sous mon aisselle droite il y a un caméléon!»--------Oliver SideDIABOLOS RISING666Release: 1994Label: Osmose ProductionsAvantgenre: Ritualistic Industrially-Satanized MetalDuration: 34:42Origin: Greece / FinlandOfficial site: http://none.............................................................................................................................................Released back when Osmose Productions musical and undoubtedly theological mindwas a purveyor of eclectic and well respectedquality underground music, in-quality having the straight forward sim-set. This CD possesses a clinically darkcluding such bands as Pan-Thy-Monium, plicity and production of an industrialRotting Christ, Masters Hammer, Dark album with the aesthetics of, what was atTranquility and many more, this release is the time, the Satanic black metal underground.no exception. It is a cooperation betweenartists of differing locals but of a similar

The musical backbone that makes up DiabolosRising comes from the mind of MagusWampyr Daoloth of Necromantia (andother Greek bands, too numerous to mentionhere). By taking the framework ofdrum and guitar composition from thelikes of Ministry and KMFDM, and thenmixing it with keyboards reminiscent ofsome 80's horror movie, he managed tocreate an album that coalesces the personaeof Black Metal with the precision ofIndustrial quite well. The production isclean and polished with atmosphere providedby the ever-present sound of droningkeyboards which gives it an almostpalpable evil ambiance. There is a somewhatsubtle Mediterranean, or even middleeastern, flavor through many songsand when juxtaposed with the technologicalaspects make it easily adaptable foruse as either a soundtrack to "Bladerunner"or "The Last Temptation of Christ".The vocal delivery is provided by the secondhalf of this electronic project, Finland’sImpaled Nazarene spokesman, MikaLuttinen. Taking into consideration thepractice he had on the industrialized track"Gott ist Tot" off of Impaled Nazarene’srelease "Ugra Karma" it seems only appropriateto have Mika as the voice of thisincarnation. As one might expect the majorityof vocals have that Imp. Naz. toneand forcefulness, with many of them havingadded effects heightening the industrialfeel. Added to that are a handful ofspoken parts which help accentuate theritualistic elements of the music.As for the lyrical content (also written byDaoloth), with a title like "666" one canmake obvious assumptions. Of course notwithout it’s sense of Satanic irony, track 6being literally 6min and 6sec of silence forSatan.Along with a few disparate projects, suchas the Cold Meat Industry releases, this isone of the earliest examples of individualsfrom the Black metal underground delvinginto electronically based music, pre-datingthe exploration of many of their contemporariesby a number of years. Whichmakes this a must for anyone interestedin such Black metal/Industrial amalgamationsand deviations.MvHDIAPSIQUIRVirus S.T.N.Release: 2005Label: NecrocosmAvantgenre: French Crackwhore ElectroBlack MetalOrigin: France.............................................................................................................................................Have you ever wondered how 666 Internationalwould sound, played through aFrench crackpot freaking out on acid?Well, the closest I have ever heard wouldbe Diapsiquir, the perverted brainchild ofArkhon Infaustus guitarist Toxik Harmstanguish of urban decay. At the core of itall, you find black metal, throbbing withthe powers of SATAN (according to Diapsiquir,short for Seringe - Absorption - Torture- Alienation - Nihilisme). Yet it is notSatan in the biblical sense, but the Devil(voice/guitar/bass/computers). This is in its truest form - in the empty eyes ofprobably one of the most wicked, malignantand satanic recordings I have everthe homeless prostitute and the abusedchild, or flowing through the veins andcome across, seeping in the depravity and

eeking in the vomit of the heroinist. Diapsiquirthrives on human filth.Musically, Virus STN is extremely diverse.Very well executed progressive BM at thecore, riddled in samples and programming.The vocals - all in French - are easilydecipherable (if you know the language)yelling and screaming. No traditionalgrowling, but rather a pissed-off shouting,giving the music an air of depraved humanity,unparallelled to my experience.The samples are made up of philosophicalmonologues (also in French - "Dieu? C'estmoi!"), classical music (Russian opera andBeethovens 7th symphony), childrenscreaming (highly unsettling!), gunshots etc. Even the music sounds very French,from the clear piano melodies and theaccordion (!!!) down to the excellent riffing,and the percussion moves from ordinaryblastbeats to programmed triphop anddrum&bass beats. All very strange, in apositively negative way, owing a lot toDHG, yet taking the electro-BM legacymuch further. Unfortunately, Diapsiquirwas discontinued after Virus STN (theirsecond full-length), but the dark madnessis still closer than you think. This is maybenot for everyone, since it does require acertain mind set. But I am addicted to thistimeless venom.aVoidDøDHEIMSGARD666 InternationalRelease: 1999Label: Moonfog ProductionsAvantgenre: Kosmische Techno BlackDuration: 66:06Origin: NorwayOfficialsite: http://www.myspace.com/dodheimsgard.............................................................................................................................................With 666 International, we see Dødheimsgardcreating, of course out of theattractively strange meaning. The musichere is as groovier as it is disordered.famous black metal hole where they camefrom, a whole new way of playing withsounds. Already on their previous EP SatanicArt, we could hear more and moretraces of the upcoming chaos, but nothingwas so certain yet. Whatever happened toguitarist and prime composer Vicotnik,singer and lyricist Aldrahn and their nowOut of all the nine songs, there is for instance"Shiva-Interfere", an almost tenminute’s sick industrial floating opera,where Aldrahn sings some unpleasanttales of mythology and outer space, with auniquely bizarre and angular beauty inhis tragic-comic vocal tones. As he’s justpartners-in-crime between 1997 and about to cry, being all sweetly delicate and1999, there’s an obvious dive into psychedelicadventures within the music theythen put into form, just as there are clearevidences of schizophrenia in the waymany absurd musical details happen tocreate, once placed together, kind of annostalgic, he then explodes into a perverse,sadistic and out-there laughter. Iwould even go as far as to say that there’sa certain "alien” quality to his voice – it issimply out of this world. All of his vocals,in this song, are performed over a mysteriousdesert-riffing style which follows

some sort of a deep, pulsing electronicdrum groove. Quite special, to say theleast! Well the majority of 666 Internationalis performed on the thin bordersnormally placed between sanity and commonsense, in such a way that at first,you always feel a sort of uncertainty, anodd unpleasantness, a real feeling of discordand paranoiac terror. You’re not reallysure if what you hear is supposed to bekick-ass black metal or a horrible mindfuck.Then again, that’s what avant-gardemusic is all about: to first question whathas always been conceived as normal andnatural, and then create a whole new universe.Be very attentive when it comes to all thetextures and the wrappings of the musicalcontent displayed here, because that iswhere Dødheimsgard do shine throughthe most on this album. Ginge from Norwegianelectronic band Subgud had hishands on the final product and its easy tohear why, as there’s a serious attention toa certain atmosphere of sounds, clearlyreminiscent of techno music. I’m not sayingthat form wins over content; quite thecontrary actually, because if it weren’t forVicotnik’s singular guitar twists and howhe builds these up and down in the mostunusual way, along crushing groovy technodrums and all kinds of synthesizersand grand piano, I couldn’t be writingthese words.Every black metal possible experimentationshas been given a try on 666 International,for the better or for the worst, alldepending on how far you can actuallytake it, and it’s as much death, thrash,black and rock metal music here as it isnoise and ambient related there – usuallyat the same time! From pure mayhemblast beat chaos to slick, techno avantgarderock, Vicotnik and his super-heromates cover it all up around here. Comeand discover how sick and perverted excessivelyaggressive attitudes in music canbecome in the right (or wrong) hands. Onlyfor those who can find real pleasuredeep in pure psychosomatic madness anddrug-infused cosmic fantasies.Oliver SideDOL AMMADOcean DynamicsRelease: 30th of August 2006Label: Electronicartmetal RecordsAvantgenre: Electronic Art Metal AquaticSpace OperaDuration: 59:17Origin: GreeceOfficial site: http://www.dolammad.com/.............................................................................................................................................When I looked at the album cover I first lassa Dominion I-IV”. The journey movesfelt like a beaten dog, which then was on into the solar system and "Solarwinds”slowly and carefully nosing the CD until is tied on with fast and fantastic drumsrealising it was a friend and not a foe. which really sound like solar winds. This"Ocean Dynamics” is a continuous conceptstarting in outer space, represented you could distinguish between a stormis musically so amazingly well done, thatby the powerful first four tracks of "Tha-and a wind. The wind here even carries

the cries of dolphins into the atmospherevery softly. Further, continuing from "Descend”,descending to earth into "Lava”where the fire from the sun liquefies slowly,to then finally ending in the ocean (lastthree tracks). Here you can listen to morewater sounds when you were missingthem in the first parts.One has to listen to the entire album todevelop an understanding of the wholeidea musically as well as lyrically, becauseafter several minutes of each song completelynew parts appear in a sudden andmake the album very fluctuating; withplenty of tempi and arrangements, soundsand partly different styles of music, fromFunk-Jazz to extreme Black Metal- likedrums and percussions, mostly somewherein between all these genres in theup-and-mid-tempi.What makes this band unique is the combinationof Metal and 70's electronic musicwith distinctive synthesizer soundssimilar to Jean Michel Jarre and Vangelis.It seems like the marriage of Berlin LoveParade with some Rock Festival. The Metalmusic to some extend reminds me ofLuca Turilli and Rhapsody, certainly becauseof Alex Holzwarth (Drummer ofRhapsody of fire), who seemed to find asylumin this project with his characteristicway of drumming.The second cherry on the top constitutesthe choir of 14 people (seven women andseven men). They represent the operaticbombast throughout the album and also"flow” with DC Cooper (Ex-Royal Hunt) in"Aquatic Majesty”. Therefore, "Ocean Dynamics”is the perfect symbiosis of electronicmusic, operatic music and Metal. Itcan be seen as a complete art work withits wonderful orchestration, lyrics andalso with its amazing cover art work thatwas designed totally coherent.You have to decide whether this is yourcup of ocean dynamics or not. I find it tobe a fantastical album, where ocean meetsuniverse with a lot of atmosphere in between.All my thumbs, including big toesup!Katja HoneywineDOL AMMADStar TalesRelease: November 2004Label: Electronic Art MetalAvantgenre: The Hyperspacial Electronic Metal OperaDuration: 01:01:59Origin: GreeceOfficial site: http://www.dolammad.com.............................................................................................................................................Star Tales... and now I have no idea what you to synchronize your dreams whichto say. On one hand I would love to give should be taken seriously so that the musiccan develop a maximum of efficiency.you a full oversight of what this album ispotentially going to do to you once you hitthe play button but on the other hand, thepossible range of psychedelic journeys itwill take you on by listening to this mightget restrained if I tell you about the placesthat this album took me to.The first track "Dreamport" is the stationwhere you embark for the journey andwhere a commanding yet gentle voice tellsStar Tales is my personal soundtrack tothe places I always wanted to go to andimaginary alien civilizations I wanted tovisit. Of course that is because my fascinationand interest in the origins anddepths of space knows no boundaries andeverything about this album blends inperfectly with what I believe there is be-

yond the frontiers of our solar system andthe Milky Way.How does Thanasis Lightbridge, the mastermindof Dol Ammad, achieve thisthough? Thanasis is a fan of music in thevein of Vangelis. To refresh your memory:Vangelis wrote the soundtrack to 1492with Gérard Depardieu, a movie aboutChristopher Columbus' journey to the newworld and its discovery. Whoever remembersthe main theme song, the choir andepic scale of it will find it easier to get anidea of what Dol Ammad is about althoughthe choir is pretty much the onlycommon ground shared by these two.Thanasis doesn't use too many classicalmusic elements to create his trademarkspacial atmosphere. Actually almost nonelet apart the choir and the horns. Try topicture it like this (metaphorically). Themembers of the choir are standing as thebrightest stars in the nightsky and fill theinstrumental explosion (big bang...) withlife and soul and brings vitality into thesupposedly empty infinitiy of the universe.That is to give you a picture of the musicalconsistency we are dealing here with.Amazingly dense keyboards get theirpunch through distorted guitars, the choiris lifted to a divine level by doubling theirlines with horns and synthesizal frenzy.Whoever expects an orgy in terms of epicmusic is guaranteed to get it. However,Thanasis doesn't always go full scale.Rhapsody's Alex Holzwarth isn't alwaysthere to doublebassdrum the songs to newhighs of grandeur. Thanasis understandswhen it is time for a little break to primarlylet the listener recover but secondlyand most importantly to get more diversityinto the course of the album.The probably biggest strength of this albumis its sheer amazing amount of qualitycomposition and how long it takes toreally learn this album by heart. I listenedto it so many times now and trust me: ittakes forever to really grasp this album.Not really because of its compository complexitybut when you listen to the albumyou are so absorbed by the atmosphere itcreates that in first instance you will listento this over and over again because it'slike a free ticket to your own interstellarparadise, and for me personally, it is aplace I really like to be at as much as possible.And then, someday maybe, you willwant to work your way through this cosmicstorm of musical elements you didn'treally care about before because all thatmattered was the effect. The keyboards,the drums, the guitar, how the choir andthe synths throw the main parts back andforth to each other and how it all explodesin a big acoustic orgasm that gives itslistener an amount of enjoyment thathardly fits into the unpresent frontiers ofour universe...Star Tales comes in a beautiful digipackthat perfectly underlines how colorful anddiverse and way ahead of our time thismusic is. I recommend that you go towww.electronicartmetal.com right nowand order your copy right away... and alsoget Ocean Dynamics while you are at it!That should give you enough ElectronicMetal to chew on for a couple of months.Space on!DavidDOL THEETAGoddessRelease: 2008, AugustLabel: Electronic Art Metal RecordsAvantgenre: Electronic Art MetalDuration: 17:17Origin: GreeceOfficial site: http://www.thanasislightbridge.com.............................................................................................................................................

More than a year ago DOL AMMAD mastermindThanasis Lightbridge proclaimedthe coming of a new galaxy in the universeof electronic art metal. And now finally thelong wait is over! The mysterious "Goddess”DOL THEETA strides down from theheavens in majestic beauty and spreadsher bewitching, narcotic whispers.Thanasis is a masterful composer whomanages in perfection to combine themightiness of metal with the crystallinesoundscapes of electronic music. DOLAMMAD shows the bombastic, epic sidesof this unique mixture, the extrovertedand aloft spheres, the onwards ridingspaceships and shining light-cities in theskies. DOL THEETA instead is the mysterious,phantasmagoric sister of DolAmmad. It’s a mesmerizing maelstromthat draws you down to the grounds, asmile full of riddles and questions. It’s adoor to meditative, intimate and peacefuldreams that can easily turn into unfathomablelabyrinths.The first thing you see when holding theMCD in your hands is the marvellous design.The releases of Thanasis alwaysstand out with splendid surreal-futuristicartwork. And the digi-pack of "Goddess”even brings this one step further.The first song "Goddess” opens withspherical dripping synthie-lines and sparklingarpeggios, the dreamlike, yearning,monalisaic angelvoice of Kortessa and thefurious guitar soli of Dim (both also playin DOL AMMAD), all grounded by heavydrums and guitars. The vocal lines areextremely catchy and bewitching, at thesame time strange and worldless. To evendive deeper into the atmosphere of thissong the psychedelic video-clip of "Goddess"is included to the MCD.The second song "Dream of Doors” is anelectronic deconstruction of "Goddess”,stripping it from any metal elements andmaking a great ambient song out of it.Finally the futuristic marching epos"Deathstars” draws a stronger bridge tothe bombastic worlds of Dol Ammad. Behindthe catchiness of this song hides agreat complexity. The arrangement is fullof subtle details, concerning melodies aswell as sounds. And this song has an incrediblyliquid structure, where one partflows into the other so organically hardlyheard anywhere else before. It’s not just asong, it’s a living being!This masterpiece raises high expectationsfor the forthcoming first full-length albumof DOL THEETA.Checkwww.thanasislightbridge.comto listen to the whole, full, complete MCDwithout any limits! And make shure tosupport this great band and buy this CD!It’s a masterpiece that will bewitch you forhours, days and years!ChrystofDOL THEETAThe Universe ExpandsRelease: 2008, DecemberLabel: Electronic Art Metal RecordsAvantgenre: Electronic Metal PsychedeliaDuration: 57:50Origin: GreeceOfficialsite: http://www.thanasislightbridge.com/index.php.............................................................................................................................................Some months ago the newborn realms of chants: The marvellous debut MCD "Goddess”(read review here) granted a DOL THEETA spelled its first bewitchingfirst

gaze into the new musical universe of DOLAMMAD mastermind Thanasis Lightbridge.While DOL AMMAD is explosionsand explorement, lightspeed and sunstorms,DOL THEETA unfolds the mysterious,phantasmagoric dreamsides of the"Electronic Art Metal” collective."Goddess” already promised a lot, but stillleft one question open: Which of all thosemulti-coloured facets of the MCD unveilthe path of the first full-length album? Isit the catchiness of the titlesong refrain orthe morphic complexity of "Deathstars”?How will all the Trance-Ethno-Electro-Pop-Metal-Psychedelic-Ambient elementsunite in the first 58 minutes epos of DOLTHEETA?"…A Psychedelic Experience…" The voicethat led through the enigmatic whispers ofthe intro speaks its last words. Ultra-fatelectro-bass pumps out of my speakers.But instead of a Techno beat soft, crystallinekeyboards set in to enwind thempeacefully. Finally drums and heavy guitarsjoin in apace mid-tempo. Still thekeyboards spread a narcotic, unreal atmosphere.This is the start into anotherworld. The voyage begins. The opener "SilverAir” is the dream of doors, the entranceto the intraversal multitudes ofDOL THEETA. The spherical angel voicesof Kortessa rise - mysterious, spaced-off,sometimes soft and fragile, sometimesbombastic and overwhelming, always bewitchingand enthralling.The journey leads to very peaceful, tranquilshores like "Nighttime”, furious ridesthrough lunacy (end of "Mud”), smooth,chilly lounge-sounds ("Every Goodbye”)and dramatic bombast like the culminationof "Afterlife Crescendo”. On the popmetalhymn "Something called Tomorrow”Thanasis himself contributes the malevocals, which gives a very harmonic duettogether with Kortessa. His voice sounds abit like the young Ozzy Osborne if he hadever cared a bit about his health. Definitelysomething that I’d be pleased to hearagain on forthcoming releases.While DOL AMMAD shows the metal sideof "Electronic Art Metal”, DOL THEETAstrongly emphasizes its electronic sides.There are a lot of double bass drums andheavy, distorted guitar riffs. But they aremixed discreetly into the background. Thesound is dominated by synthesizers, FXand the spherical vocals of Kortessa. Sothis is a completely new approach to Electro-Metaland creates an unreal, hypnoticatmosphere in which you easily can drownand loose yourself.While DOL AMMAD captures the listenerimmediately with it’s epic hymns, DOLTHEETA has to be explored. The deeperyou dive, the more it reveals its richtreasures. It’s an album that offers younew experiences each time you’re listening.Even after the 65th listening you stillcan discover new facets and details, newmeanings and atmospheres, new riddlesand truths. It’s not just an album – it’s anadventure.DOL THEETA is indeed a real PsychedelicExperience. It can bring you to any placein the universe. Don’t miss this magnificentmindtrip!Chrystof

G.U.T.My Only Drug Is MadnessRelease: 2007Label: Von Jackhelln InhumanAvantgenre: Avant E-Hardcore PartyDuration: 35:42Origin: CosmopoliteOfficial site: http://www.myspace.com/gutmusic.............................................................................................................................................Lately, I've been known to look into the As to proceed, let me start by noting thatmarriage of chemical drugs with musical the album is as old as two years old andavant-gardism. Although I will not paint so varied that I will retrospectively go for amyself in that corner for too long, I can song-by-song crime investigation. A sort ofonly be interested by an artist whose only "behind the scenes" inquiry. Grace underdrug, at least according to his own words, torture. File examined. Anomalies haveis madness. This seems to be the strange been detected.case of Cornelius Von Jackhelln fromSolefald and Sturmgeist fame, whenever Balkanized in Belgrade – Electro hardcoreanthem spitting at the face of imperi-he is turning upside down metal's basicrules in G.U.T., his less known solo project.On his first full-length record, the people asking the "why did you bomb us"alistic war through the anger of innocentresults are admittedly easy-going and far question to those who did it. The screamingvocals are flesh-ripping, the soundsout, sensitive and barbaric, humoristicand dead serious, as the man fuses electronicabeat, hip hop attitude, a strings with fury, this fucking kicks ass. A socialbubbling and beaming, the guitars blazingquartet, hardcore catchiness and weird catharsis to play loud.pop melodies with some unusual metalHome of the Hardcore – Did you everreferences, sometimes in the vocals, sometimesin the riffing itself, sometimes in thewonder if your living town either is noplace for a party or the home of the hardcore?Come find out with this hilarioussongs' "bite" and "kick", sometimes in acover of Darkthrone. This is helped by aretro techno baby ballad classic. Yeah itbombastic production, the quality of thesmells alcohol abuse, has arty rock goingsound making it easier to get into theon, as well as being an invitation to "bringsongs' elements. So what we have here, inthe party to the people". Obviously, Corneliushas a good sense of humour anda way, is a non-metal album which isnonetheless resolutely metal. Sounds familiarenough? I don't think so. To mythe talent to pull it through.knowledge, no one does it exactly the way Transylvanian Hunger – G.U.T. reinventsand revalorizes an old DarkthroneG.U.T. somehow managed to make thismusical mess pleasing for the third ear. top 5 hit from the good ol' nights of 1993,Too pop for the diehard weirdos, too edgy making it suitable for 2009's undergroundfor the pop community - what in the hell dancing clubs and other soirées costuméesd'opera alike. Symphonic, elegant,is this?orchestral, hips-waving electro pop withspicy hints of black metal spirits and mul-

ti toms rhythms. Had Fenriz, NocturnoCulto and Zephyrous gone Norwegian discotheques'icons, this would have beenone of their earliest floor-ripper.Représailles à Versailles – Solefaldesqueneonism of hip hop with much vocal experi-"mentation"from Cornelius, upon hearingwhom I often found myself laughingout loud and feeling playful. Located in abackstreet area, phat bass and oozingdirty grooves meet with orchestral chorusesand broken rapping. Simple and wellcrafted.Why is there a reference to Versailles?I have no idea.First Song Last Chance – Electro interlude,chanting females in awe, emphasison light, beautiful, uplifting. A bit cheesy,not my favourite to be honest.Mastur Bator – A mystical and satiricalode to the God of love, the great commanderMastur Bator. It is difficult to explainwhy but this song feels very realisticwhen you follow the lyrics. I think it is avery representative picture of the youngergenerations we are and will see comingmore and more often. As Cornelius writesit in the lyrics, "look at the sea, at thosewaves of red heat; one million heartspounding lust at every beat; we like itwicked, making love beyond measure;excess in every way, overdose on naughtypleasure". Obviously in good spirits andlove worshipping, von Jackhelln onceagain surprises the listener with his sharpsense of humour and observation.The Beauty & the Bitch – Every nextdoor's guy who's had a few serious relationshipswith women will find in thissong something from their past or presentexperience. Cornelius is a writer and evenfrom the most personal point of views – inthis case, a guy helplessly rambling overwomen – he makes it a universal themeusing catchy pop as a springboard to enhancehis ideas so to speak. The mostaccomplished pop song I've heard fromG.U.T., and a very effective one at that.The sudden guitars at two minutes intothe song are priceless. Come on, sing withme, "I've loved and been loved by thebeauty and the bitch; I could never tell thewoman from the witch".Unconquered Sun – A more cinematicapproach to music, this song is epic andcontemplative right from the start. Thedrum programming is as usual basicthough just enough alive to drive thesong's dynamics into some interestinggalloping. Think brooding, melancholic,sleazy, lurking electro rock accompaniedby an Italian operatic drama edge and notdevoid of something oddly "out there".Solefald fans should enjoy this one, or is itjust me? Classic Cornelius vocals. Hardcoreopera pop.My Only Drug is Madness – Much darkerand meaner, let me quote parts of thistam tam electro orchestra's lyrics to bringyou into the mood:"Music is the way I share what I have seenMy only drug is madness, my bloodstreamis cleanWhy do you need powder to behave like astar?I say like Kurt Cobain, come as you areWe want to be loved, to be worshipped asgodsWe sell our asses to be ridiculed as sodsAn artist should live forgotten abroadAway from TV and the celebrity fraud"Nein Nein Zeppelin – Ending the albumwith industrial beats à la Future Sound ofLondon, dry and aggressive guitar tones,German lyrics and truckloads of buzzingelectronics is a cool and perfect way to saygoodbye to such a circus-like record. Analbum for the freaks, an album for theblinds, an album for the wise. Old-schoolas much as it is new-school. One wouldassume that from his experience with thisalbum, Cornelius will have new and perhapsweirder impulses for the upcomingSolefald.Oliver Side

HAVOC UNITH.IV+ (Hoarse Industrial Viremia)Release: 2008Label: Vendlus RecordsAvantgenre: Machine Butcher MetalDuration: 53:37Origin: FinlandOfficial site: http://www.h-i-v.fi/.............................................................................................................................................…AND OCEANS are dead. Yet, its memberscontinue under the name of HAVOCUNIT. And a change of name is appropriate,for what these creative people deliveron "h.IV+” has nothing to do with …ANDOCEANS at all. Who thought that HAVOCUNIT would continue the kind of discoindustrialmetal they celebrated under theold name on "Cypher” is terribly wrong.Gone are the pleasant, danceable melodiesand beats. The first track "Vermicide”jumps right in your face with really uglyindustrial metal - raw, menacing and evil.A cyber-demonized version of ME-SHUGGAH or a slower, but heavier versionof THE AMENTA – that's what comesto my mind when listening to HAVOCUNIT these days, with a sound directlyfrom the factories of 21st -century-hell. Asthe tracklist implies, HAVOC UNIT's lyricsdeal with the perversions of the last decadesto batter them relentless back in theface of mankind. And battering is theword that describes their music best – Thescreamed vocals, the machine-gun riffingand the stomping of the machine-beatshurt and is definitely not for the faintheartedwho seek beautiful melodies. Forthat matter, even people who seek ANYmelody will be disappointed. "h.IV+” is onebig rhythm-monster with samples, menacingsynths and some slower intermezzi; itis a spirit of wrath; the embodiment of thepits of the human psyche.And for that, I love it. It is cold, aggressiveand inhuman; much like DHG's "SupervillainOutcast”. There is only one downside:it is a little bit unvaried. If you'd play me atrack, I could not say which one it is, onlythat it is on "h.IV+”. And I wouldn't listento it the whole day, for I am one of thesepeople who like a good melody once in awhile. But then there is "Ignoratio Elenchi[Reversed Genesis]” to make up for it,which is, simply put, brilliant. That ismostly due to the voice of SOLEFALD'sCornelius, but not only that, the track hasa dreamy and dark atmosphere whichgives you goosebumps. It might be a bitunfair to say that this (and only this) tracksounds like a SOLEFALD-song (and notonly due to Cornelius' voice), but that'sthe way it is… And there also is "Kristallnacht[From Revolution to Reconstruction]”,a soothing piano piece.All in all, I am positively surprised. No,not really surprised, because I didn't knowwhat to excpect from HAVOC UNIT now inthe first place, only that the name changemust have had SOME impact on the music.It is surely interesting to hear HAVOCUNIT explore regions of acoustic brutalityother than speed, for brutal it is. A perfectsoundtrack for the devil's abbatoir, a mixof rust and blood.Tentakel P.

KRELLKrell DemoRelease: 2006Label: Self ReleasedAvantgenre: Goth Rock And ElectRollDuration: 37:56Origin: SpainOfficial site: http://www.myspace.com/krellianweb.............................................................................................................................................Starting with a clichéd yet still disturbing the way though. Hell, this could have beensample this quickly evolves into the very on one of those Euro Vampire Rock compilations,except when the singer smilesdarkwave/goth influenced opening salvoof "Soul Eater" that quickly morphs into and reveals the grade a grills instead ofthe band's unique goth rock. It has a the pre-requisite fangs. "Out of Your Play"groovy and strangely organic sound despitethe abundance of samples, synths the Cure-ish guitar and synth work. Gohas a more heartfelt sound, mostly due toand the electro drumkit. Maybe it’s the ahead; cry while you dance in your blacksomewhat loose guitar (with a strange latex. "Say Hello Say Goodbye" is themuffled tone, no less), or the early new darkest sounding of the lot, not unlikewave goth vocals. There are even some prime Christian Death doing electro-disco.classic sounding lead squeals towards the Move, corpses, move! Some of the guitarend of the song. This leads us to the gothictrance marriage on the rocks of "Too discordant, but never loose sight of themanipulations are beautifully ugly andReal". These songs have warmth, and a song. This damn CD might as well havereal sleazy feel to them yet still maintainingthe noir tones important to this type of 101'. "Tale of a Common Day" has somebeen titled 'Gothic Electo Rock Hookssound.authentic sounding bluesy opening licks,but quickly moves onto what Danzig'sBlackacidevil should have sounded like,had he some compositional skills and artisticvitality left.The hooks are there, but the cult-ness ofinstrumentation and the elements of realrock n roll so prevalent in the music willkeep this off the charts. I have to get areference out there before I (god forbid)admit it’s original so here it is, Lazy MusicReviewer ref # 535: a darkwave RollingStones covering 80's underground newwave. "III" almost got me dancing, seriously(while a tortured metal part of me wantedto turn this off and check out the latestgrind download). But damn if the sloppysounding traditional leads and the 80'ssynths aren't enjoyable. "Inoculation ofSound" has the heaviest guitartone of the lot but once again in a ThrillKill Cult covering Depeche Mode for theDoberman soundtrack context. Lovely andthoroughly gothic synths and samples allThis begs the question why more of thedarkwave/electro/EBM crowd cannot (orwill not) allow more human elements intotheir sound. There is really is a lot of explorationleft in the club oriented gothicscene, and as Krell amply demonstrates,some emotional rock 'n' roll will only enhancethe beat. So please lay of the Horacioand Blutenegel CD's and give this ashot. Definitely a grower and keeper.Suleiman

MANESHow The World Came To An EndRelease: 2007Label: Candlelight RecordsAvantgenre: Dark TriphiphopDuration: 44:37Origin: NorwayOfficial site: http://www.manes.info.............................................................................................................................................Nobody wants the truth. Imagine a darkcave where water runs down the walls andthe neon light reflects some people doingweird things on weird electric machineryincluding a Commodore 64 (or 128)equiped with a Final Cartridge, digitalSuper 8 projectors and gadgetery likeThe beeps in #5 at ~3:00 are the greatestbeeps I heard in a long time. One of thedreams of a reviewer is that one of hissentences is used by the record companyin an ad for the album, similarly to thoseweird slogans at theend of movie previews,that. Image there's no people but Manes you know the "Remarkable.in their cave. Imagine there were no wars.BoldlyImagine John Lennon posing for Nike anddoing photoshoots in the central park,posing with his exclusive John-Lennon-Ipod (see figure 1) and talking about yoda,yo-yos, generals, generals in wars andwars in general.great. The New YorkTimes." So I will trymy best to find someslogans for this albumthat can be used bytheir label for advertising:Imagine a world full of sounds that wereproduced by Manes exclusivly. Nobodywants the truth. Imagine crossing thestreet, where the street lights inform thepedestrian with spanish children tunesand when a car breaks it sounds like ahammer that is dropped onto a pillow.Imagine a world full of images that wereproduced by Manes exclusivly. Imaginecrossing the street where there are nozebra crossings but real zebras fixed tothe traffic light post, cars that don't looklike cars but srac and drive backwards.Imagine there was no song called'imagine'."This is the 'Srgt. Pepper'of the 21st century.", "Good. Better.Manes.", "This is sex for the ear.", "Iresistible.Without the spelling mistakes.", "Beyondbeyondness.", "If we had 2005 onewould think we had 2007.", "Imagine nobodywants the truth.Jonny Lignano

MASTER'S HAMMERMantras - Venkovsky OperettaRelease: December 2009Label: Self-released Via StormtypeAvantgenre: Black Metal Enjoying Life,Exploring SoundsDuration: 54:17 (cd)Origin: Czech RepublicOfficialsite: http://www.mastershammer.com.........................................................................................................................................................MASTER'S HAMMER, the seminal proto-2nd wave Black Metal (=before Norwegianinfluence overrun the genre), is one ofthose bands that everybody's heard of, butnot that many have listened to. Even fewerare those who seriously enjoy theirsomething. Then nothing happened for 14years, and save a cult following (wearing alot of old-school patches, probably), MAS-TER'S HAMMER were forgotten - perhapsnot forgiven their transgressions againstthe Holiest of Holy, Black Metal.works. And I mean all their works, notonly the hefty, violent Black Metal of theirdemos and their first album, 1990's Ritual.MH are what you would call a cultband, which is why their sudden and unsuspectingreunion in October last yeardidn't send any shock waves throughoutthe Extreme Metal scene (compared to, forexample, the Swiss drama queens withmake-up who, like MH, really enjoyedtheir timpani), though it certainly raised afew enthusiastic eye-brows among themore heavily patched denim jacketsacross the globe.What makes MASTER'S HAMMER so special,historically, was their complete irreverenceto trends and Black Metal conformity.Already in 1989 they were using moreor less symphonic keyboards and thetrademark timpani (they even had a timpanistin the band, incorporating thatpercussive element to the music, live andin studio, not just for the exotic flavour).The seminal "The Jilemnice Occultist"album from 1992 is not as much an album,but as a thoroughly composed BlackMetal operetta, with narrative, recurringthemes. A masterpiece in its own terms.Eat your heart out, Dimmu Borgir. Thesubsequent 1995 album "Slagrý" was asmuch a farewell to as a raised middlefingeragainst anything called metal; itsounds more like Nobuo Uematsu directingLaibach in a Bohemian beer hall. OrAs is detailed in my interview with vocalist,guitarist and main composer FrantaStorm, MH is a very laidback band. Andyou hear that. The thirteen tracks of Mantraswere composed and recorded in about6 months (except the classic "Jáma Pekel",which dates back to the late 80's, hereenhanced by a choir of chirping frogs) -it's clear when you listen to the albumthat it's a spontaneous work; some partssound a bit glued together, perhaps notevery riff adds to the whole in a positivesense, some tracks are easily forgotten.But whatever that slight critique mayweigh in an overall examination of thealbum, it doesn't matter, really. The vinylversion of the album has fewer tracks, andon the CD you can skip a track if you getbored. That's really not Franta&Co's problem,and you hear that. They make musicfor themselves (no labels, everything isself-produced, but honourably professional),they are not trying to make you listen.It's you choice. And I choose to. So whatdo I hear?First of all, the production is heavy andclear. Monster's bass is very chunky, andthe guitars lay like a snowy blanket over afield. To continue that simile, the electronicelements (symphonic and electro), thevocals and the timpani stand out as treesand bushes from the snow on that field.The drums are played on pads, making

the sound a bit more synthetic, but that'sno biggie. Franta's sore screams havedropped in pitch and force (he's got to bein his forties by now), but are as rancorousas ever. The songs, all similar inshape and sound, independent and linedup (unlike Jilemnice Occultist's narrativeshape or Slagrý's unsettling dynamics),retain the core of the immediately distinguishableMASTER'S HAMMER sound.Most songs are based on clear, enchantingmelodies and themes, played on guitarsand organs (Hammond and church); Ithink of them as small roads windingthrough verdant central European valleysand hills - you can see where they aregoing, without many unforeseen surprises,but it is still a great pleasure to followtheir twists and turns. Harsh and beautiful,but without the forcedly histrionicdrama and shallow romanticism you normallyfind in symphonic metal. As MAS-TER'S HAMMER have always been.For a Black Metal band (as they still claimthey are), there is not much traditionalBlack Metallery here to be found; MHsomehow manage to negate the past 18years of Norwegian influence upon thegenre. The riffs are heavy and bludgeoning,but relate more to ordinary rock musicthan Death Metal (but do for the Devil'ssake not think of any recent BM/rockcrossover). Mantras is not modern, nor isit old school. Again, I think of central Europeanforests and fields - like them,MASTER'S HAMMER are timeless.A couple of tracks stand out from thecrowd, like big rocks raised centuries agoin a beech forest (can't seem to leave thosesimiles behind!). "Bodhi" and "GaneshaMantra" are more electronic than metal;the former swathed in sequenced guitarand synthesizer melodies on a loopeddrum rhythm - the synthesizers soundmore like Welle:Erdball than anythingmetallic. The latter of the two is even fartherout, it's basically a seriously cooltechno song with metal guitars, heavy onthe Indian influences in percussion andvocalisation. "Propesko" on the other handis a bluesy ballad, complete with organs,hoarse almost-out-of-tune singing, andechoing guitar licks. But it still soundslike MASTER'S HAMMER - like the mentionedrocks, they form natural parts ofthe whole landscape.With Mantras, MASTER'S HAMMER efficientlyshow that you don't have to try toprove anything, be it how dark and evil,weird and experimental or profound andpoetic you are. They have gone manymiles beyond having to prove anything.For MASTER'S HAMMER, it is about doingwhat you want, what you feel like. Enjoylife, or whatever. It's your problem, ultimately.A very liberating attitude nowadayswhen Extreme Metal has becomemore pretentious than ever. MASTER'SHAMMER is about something else. Aboutgoing fishing perhaps, or spending qualitytime with your friends. And you hear that.Note: If you want to buy this album, Isuggest you try the label link above to buyit directly from the band.aVoidMARS ON EARTHMars On EarthRelease: 2001Label: Red Stream RecordsAvantgenre: Industrial Darkwave Black MetalDuration: 22:37Origin: MarsOfficialsite: http://www.myspace.com/marsonearthmuzik................................................................................................................................

The marching snare and the dramaticsynths are a good start, and the explosionof samples is a fitting culmination to theintro.The first song "Planets" starts off withmore samples, all very sci-fi, but then thebig guitars and double-bass kick in withthe heady synths, and you know its goingto be a heavy ride. The vox are of thedeath/black croaky rasp variety. Justwhen you think you have a handle onthis, in comes another mid-song industrialpiece, and then back to the atonal extrememetal. Then another hyper industro-synthbit and so on. This is strange, tosay the least."Die Stadt Ist Im Krieg" starts off withmore dark strings, bells and timpanibuilding to atonal extreme metal. There isan unearthly anthrophobic quality to it(though the lyrics are beyond me), andelements of Mayhem circa Grand Declarationof War (minus the hyper blasting) andAlastis can be felt in places. The rhythmsare all suitably varied, and the militaristicfeel is present throughout, but coupledwith the strange synths it just soundsplain bizarre."Bleeding Underwater" is again introducedby a now typical Mars on Earth intro butexplodes with a faster more traditionalcyber black metal sound (though still notblast paced). This is predictably broken bya gothic keyboard break to go back to thefull-pedal industrial black metal motif.The song progresses to include somebeautifully juxtaposed instrumentationsand vocals. My only complaint with thisrelease is that it is over too quickly.This MCD is a promising release. Fans ofAGBM are advised to direct their attentionhere.****This album is available for a SPECIALPRICE of 3 $ at RED STREAM!SuleimanMYSTICUMIn The Streams Of InfernoRelease: 1996Label: Full Moon RecordsAvantgenre: Digital Extreme Inferno MetalDuration: 36:35Origin: NorwayOfficial site: http://www.myspace.com/mysticum.............................................................................................................................................If someone would start a competition to guitar-razorblades on "Nattens Madrigal”.point out the most evil and grim Thirdly, these guys support the "Neveravantgarde Black Metal band of all time,Mysticum would be one of the top favouritesto win the price. I mean, these guyswere signed by the mighty father of allNorwegian vampires, Mr. Euronymous,himself, on Deathlike Silence Records.stop the madness”-campaign which supportsthe use (or abuse, as you like) ofhard drugs. Shall I go on? No, I think wecan all agree, regardless how much of thismight be slapstick, "In the Streams of Inferno”is a damn cult release.Who of those wanna-be-evil-worshippersof today is able to claim something justclose to this? Secondly, the sound on theirdebut "In the Streams of Inferno” is evenmore high-pitched and invidious than theBack in 1995 the psychos around vocalistand guitarist Prime Evil were the first tocombine ingredients of harsh, cold andmerciless Industrial (mainly digital drumsand various samples) with the sharp and

ugly sound of True Norwegian Black Metal.If you take in consideration that this isthe one and only official album till today,you get an idea of how intense the materialmust be, as the band was able to influencea whole generation of angryavantgarde-metal musicians just with oneoutput. Soon after, the fruits of this unholymotherhood could be tasted on masterpieceslike "666 International” or "With noHuman Intervention”.Today, more than one decade after therelease, it is hard to analyse this album.With an unemotional and sober approachone has to come to the conclusion, thatthis is crap and not worth one penny. Thesound is rather dilettantish, the electronicdrums are blustering without any kind ofcreativity and the keyboards annoy withtheir common tone and melody themes.On the other hand, and now we leave thespheres of rational reception, the atmosphereon "In the Streams of Inferno” issimply magic. The artistic coolness ofMysticum combined with the rather eviland possessed vocals, spreads a poisonedspirit, which is in these times, where extrememetal has become nothing morethan cheap mental fast food, a welcomerevelation of the sick and poisoned genesisof Norwegian Black Metal. Myticum’s musicshould be hence labelled and evaluatedas a relict of music history. A metalrecord which is old fashioned, musicallyunspectacular and trashy, but in thesame time represents a bridge betweentwo important evolutionary stages of extrememetal.PolygonNAMELESS ORCHESTRALPROJECTGott Ist TotRelease: 2007Label: Epiphora ProductionsAvantgenre: Industrial Black ThrashDuration: 49:51Origin: FranceOfficial site: http://myspace.com/namelessop.............................................................................................................................................Here be goodness ! Though a bit late inreviewing this masterpiece of French metalinsanity, this surely deserves a lot morehype and reviews then it actually got onits release. Though most references to thisoutfit describe it as some form of blackmetal, I found it to be more of industrialthrash release (albeit moody and blackened).It starts out (after a short but apt sample)fast and furious with the relentless andthrashy "Smells like Divine Composition".There are nice interludes with a nice fatbass, and vocals that recall early 90'sthrash. The riffing is a throwback to someclassic Euro-thrash along with more blackmetal oriented styles. There are some nicesamples along the way. "I.N.R.I" continuesthe catchy assault, with a great (and humable) opening riff. The industrial elementsin all tracks are reinforced by the stopstart nature of composition and guitarplaying as well as the various samplesinterspersed through out the album. Thefinal element that firmly places NOP in theindustrial extreme metal genre is the programmeddrumming, that actually adds tothe album's relentless assaulting vibe (insteadof detracting like so many contemporaries).The vocals vary through out,going from the aforementioned thrash tohardcore shouting to black metal-ishscreams often in the same song, makingfor some great variety. The riffing alsoalternates between the industrial black

thrash guitar work of the majority of thetunes and some more death metal influencedtremolo picking and structures("The Problem of Evil", also standing outfor the robo-vocals and the rather melodicemotive outro)."No Religion Know Peace" is short sampleladen atmospheric piece that will hookyou right in and begs repeated listens dueto its brevity. Though at first the songtitles seem typical of the genres, as youdelve into the lyrics they appear wellthought out and rather poignant in places(not to say that the album lacks somebona fide black metal clichés in places,but it all adds to the effect)."Under the Hellspell" is a mid-paced rompthrough Celtic Frost in Ministry's dunebuggy."The Absurd Song" is another midtempotune that shows NOP mutatinghard rock rhythms to their own twistedvision and topping it with black metal andgothic vocals. "DCLXVI" has some greatepic sounding haunting piece. "Still Waiting"again ventures into new ground withsome nice fast and melodic guitar andvocal work. Over the course of the record,I realized these guys are over the metalmap in terms of sound, yet have a senseof song writing that makes it all cohesive.I was rather surprised at the high level ofquality of the recording as well as composition,in a scene that is too saturatedwith half-assed attempts at such sounds.This band is definitely sincere, and extremelytalented. They are recommendedto everyone looking for a new vitamin intheir extreme metal diet. Here's to manymore slices of experimenting metal madnessfrom this outfit. The band's mastermindBen is also organizing a Pink Floydtribute album (??!!) which will surely be atrip in itself.SuleimanOBLIVEONCarnivore MothermouthRelease: 1999Label: Hypnotic RecordsAvantgenre: Industrial Cyber Dark Thrash MetalDuration: 39:26Origin: CanadaOfficial site:http://www.myspace.com/obliveonmusicguitar textures juxtaposed to create an.............................................................................................................................................One of the most underrated extreme metaloutfits of all time, this band's swan-songwas a genre defining work that put mostother bands of this ilk to shame.This, along with Ministry's Psalm 69,SYL's City and Red Harvest's Cold DarkMatter, pretty much is the standard forcyber metal, though being very differentfrom them. Imagine the perfect cyberthrash outfit, forgoing the generic chuggachugga, cheap synth tweaks and basicnu-metallish tendencies of most 'industrial'metal outfits for a maturity bornfrom a more musically proficient background,with layers of intricacy providinga cohesive and dark listening experience.The sound is a mix of cutting-edge heavythrash with plenty of stop-start riffing anddissonant chords (ala Killing Joke)splashed here and there, eerie soundingelectronica (without resorting to clich és)and a mix of extremely powerful gothicvocals and more typical thrashgrowls/rasps. The end result is a uniquesonic signature that deserves to be heard

y any and all fans of 21st century extrememetal. The best thing about thealbum is that all the songs here showprowess to pen addictive and catchy tuneswithout comprising or simplifying thesound one iota.Highlights include "Devil In My Eyes",which will raise your hair ends, the hornworthy"Technicarnivore Motormouth" andas well as the jittering "Such a Quite River",all featuring a cohesive mix of apocalypticdoomy sounding riffery (imagineNeurosis riffs in Cyber Thrash context!!!)and industrial power and grooving metal.By the time "D ésert Incorporel" rolls overyour stunned corpse, it is all over tooquickly you cannot help but move oneundead cybernautic finger to the replaybutton.This basically takes everything from theirlast release "Cybervoid" to perfection. Themagic permeating the entire record's proceedingsis just unbelievable. Honestly, tothis day I still look for a band capable ofcoming close to this sound. I sometimeswonder where they could have taken thisband's concept if they hadn't disbanded attheir prime.SuleimanORGAN:7'' EPRelease: August 2009Label: Duplicate RecordsAvantgenre: Trippy/Glitch Black'n'RollDuration: 12:57Origin: NorwayOfficial site: http://www.myspace.com/organproject.............................................................................................................................................What have we here... 3 tracks -two songs There are no vocals, the music is drivenand an interlude- comprising an EP which by the riff progression and accompaniedtakes 3 seconds less than 13 minutes to by ambience sounds and voice samples, orintroduce the listener in uncharted spaces by the glitches that happen to the sameand back to the real world... or not? Do I riff almost all over the track #3. The productionis kind of strange yet clear andstay there yet? This glitched sonic rainbowmay have made me look at things in anotherway, sometimes more colored, some-didn't even know existed. These tracksbeautiful, sometimes full of things youtimes just glitchy. Anyway the shapes are just make you hear them.more twisted, the colors more vibrant andthe sounds chippier and intermixed afteryou listen to these tracks.As for the metal side of it, Organ: play alight-distortion psychedelic black'n'rollwith double kicks and blastbeats, noises,sampled voices, droney ambiences in amixture never tasted before. The riffs arecolorful and smell like mist and rain on asunny day, seen through the metalframedwindow of a skyscraper factory.Now I will further dissect the 7'' vinyl,making a script track by track:1) Wok WokFrequency modulated riff to confusinghappy start with ambience and talkingvoices and screams Rainbowlike psychedelicchromatic progression Noised abyssicunderwater life riff Chromatic doublebass drums to blastbeat in hallucinogenic

apture Rainbowy painless happy hangoverto confusion and enjoyable disorientationWeirdbiomechanical dancing to frequencymodulation end2) Mandolin Floating in between of theoutskirts of nowhere interlude3) Bossanova Glitch drone start toglitched gloomy atmosphere to same withvarious electro beats and glitchy warpingfills, full of giltches, to ambience to glitchysatisfactory endOrgan: have made an unxpected move forthe avant-garde metal scene with this EP,I think so even after having listened previouslyto their demo 'Apoplexy in six parts',which was already quite surprising; I hopethey develop their personal mark furtherinto a full length album soon. Then wecan have legal and cheaper hallucinosonicdrugs instead of everyday drugs for morethan just 13 minutes.AdryuuPSALMThreshold Of PainRelease: 1997Label: Self ReleasedAvantgenre: Industrial Death MetalDuration: 35:35Origin: FranceOfficial site: http://na.............................................................................................................................................The debut release from this French fourpiece is a forgotten gem of a record. I onlygot my hands on this via an mp3 CD sentto me containing all various projects of acertain Monseuir Boris Doussy.From the first note this is hook laden brutalityall the way. The band claimed Ministryand Godflesh as influences, butsounds more like a mix of The Swans andGrave. The opening title track floored mewith the classic DM riffing, and aptly savagearrangement interspersed with thegothic emotional mid-part. Some dissonantriffing here and there greatly lifts thefinal product above the hordes of 90's DM."Sweet Virtual Picture" has a more cyberthrash feel (Voivod maybe), and thechunky groove makes way for the morebrutal death metal segues. This bandcould have gone places, had they been onthe right label at the right time, as theswirling dissonance/blasts juxtapositionin the song attests. Monseiur Boris couldhave coded this at a higher bit-rate thanthe basic 128 kbps, as it does the alreadymuddy 90's DM demo production no favors(though strangely nostalgic of whatwas easily the golden era of extreme metal)."PerpetualChange - my Desire" continuesthe cyber onslaught. Stop startriffing and those haunting open stringchords make for some great metal. Theyagain battles it out with death metal todevastating effect. All six songs on thisrelease follow the same building blocks:death metal, some Meshugga-ish thrash,Voivod/Killing Joke atmospherics and amaturity in composition. Give this is amodern production and instrument tonesand thus could take any modern contenderto the cyber-death Thrash throne headon.Thankfully it completely manages to avoidthe yawn inducing Fear Factory theatricsso prevalent then and now. "The UnknownSensation" another great and dark riff andthat old Swans groove, as well as chanting

vocals, all of which is shot to hell with the(now expected) barrage of thrashy death.This song features another great sectionriff and best exemplifies all that the bandoffered. All songs here are 6 minutes ormore, but the band keeps things variedand spliced up with enough interestingtwists and turns to warrant repeated listens.The charged closer "The Last Dream"nicely ends this underground classic, amonument to a time when bands knewhow to make vibrant interesting deathmetal.Alas this is also the only thing the bandreleased before members moved on to otherprojects, including the totally insaneBristol Meyers Squibb (reviewed elsewhere).SuleimanRAM-ZETPure TherapyRelease: 2000Label: Spikefarm RecordsAvantgenre: Black Industrial Gothic Nu MetalDuration: 50:24Origin: NorwayOfficial site: http://www.ram-zet.com.............................................................................................................................................Fat rhythmic guitar riffs in the typical Nu The rhythms get complex and winded. TheMetal style, powerful mid-tempo drums, melodies get exotic, sometimes dissonant,guttural vocals, spiced with keyboards sometimes oriental. One of the biggestand elektro sounds – Is this Ram-Mstein? strengths of Ram-Zet are the elaborateNo, it’s the debut-album of Ram-Zet. At arrangements. Driving headbanger riffsthe first listening I got very annoyed. are joined by slow violins and sweet angelAround the year 2000 there have been so voices. Peculiar weird themes melt intomany bands trying to create a very modernmillenium-sound, mixing the popular parts flow into peaceful ambient-scapes.catchy tunes. Dramatic and bombasticRammstein-guitars with futuristic elements.Ram-Zet seemed to be another of it fits perfectly together. Ram-Zet haveEverything is very varied and colorful. Andthose bands with big, modernistic productionand little new ideas. So I immediately Industrial, Gothic-Wave, Alternative andtheir unique style somewhere betweenfell asleep.tons of all kinds of Metal. They are one ofthe very few bands, that are catchy andBut when I woke up I found myself in a commercial, but also avantgardistic andsparkling world. Trivial riffs and fat productionare just the commercial fore-innovative at the same time.ground of "Pure Therapy”. As soon as their Chrystofwinsome rhythms and melodies havecatched your ears they start to mutate.

RED HARVESTSick Transit Gloria MundiRelease: 2002Label: RelapseAvantgenre: Overseas Manufacturing MetalDuration: 63:32Origin: NorwayOfficial site: http://www.redharvest.com.............................................................................................................................................Red Harvest's sixth release, "Sick Transit chines, humans identify with machines"Gloria Mundi," is a punishing piece of conveys the tone, a picture of a worldwork that would just as soon pummel the mired in industrial waste and concretelistener as rock their socks off- it does a ruins, lorded over by blind faith in technology.The band also covers GGFH'slittle of both. Crushingly heavy, insistentlybleak, surprisingly fast on its feet, with a "Dead Men Don't Rape," a pulverizing,strong undercurrent of dystopian futurism,the album plays like the angry ver-slogan. The album is like being crushedhead smashing take on an old feministsion of a 1970s JG Ballard story. Fast, under the weight of the state and capital,razor sharp electro beats pound away undera wall of grinding guitars and snarled old tires. The result is a morass of pleas-under a deluge of discarded plastic andvocals. A few songs, especially the machineage anthem "Godtech," slow things bert Marcuse's "One Dimensional Man"ant ugliness. Recommended reading: Her-down for a bit of epic grandeur. The openingline "In a world controlled by ma-James SloneSAMAELEternalRelease: 1999Label: Century MediaAvantgenre: Industrial Metal Future PopDuration: 47:19Origin: SwitzerlandOfficial site: None.............................................................................................................................................Samael's "Eternal" is remarkably catchy viet Union won the Cold War, a kind offor an industrial metal album, sounding worker state rock n' roll. I'm sure Samaellike disco music from a parallel dimension don't quite see it that way, but with thewhere state socialism worked and the So-utopian lyrics, the synthesizer drenched

choruses, and hammer clanging industrialbeats ("Together" sounds like a totalitariananthem), the music is like somethingyou'd hear over the PA at the end of history.Someone might read this and say "hey,but Laibach already did that!" but not likethis. Where Laibach revel in a certainpomposity and schmaltzy aloofness- Samaelis smooth and catchy, like monolithicdance music. Their actual lyrics offerromantic yearning for an authenticallybetter world instead of Stalinism or nationalism,and the band writes love songs-they sound tough and militaristic but reveala band who are basically nice Swissguys. The album takes the excessivenessof metal and industrial and runs itthrough a dance filter, polishing it off witha big production. Scarily powerful, blissfullyintense, infectiously groovy, andsometimes quite beautiful, "Eternal" is likean collection of love songs from a posthumanworld.James SloneSCORNVae SolisRelease: 1992Label: EaracheAvantgenre: Grind House (get It?)Duration: 1:15Origin: United KingdomOfficial site: http://www.mickharris.net/.............................................................................................................................................Napalm Death, aside from creating thegrind genre, are also noteworthy for havingspawned several important solo projects.The original members fanned out ontheir own, creating unique aural spaces toply their extreme trade. Mick Harris' contributionto this abundant output wasScorn, a project that retained a harshgrind ambiance before jettisoning the violencein favor of haunting dub soundscapes."Vae Solis" is noisy and repetitious in aclassic industrial mode, but retains a popcatchiness, a certain punk groove thatmakes it almost seem musical. There aremoments of near silence scattered likedetritus across the album's total warwasteland, dark ambient moments of nearhorror garnished with creepy samples. Asthe album progresses, the beats becomemore danceable. "On Ice" is as catchy asanything composed by Ministry, warmedover with a programmed synth linestraight out of New Wave."Vae Solis" kicked things off, a brutalhammering attack out of the Killing Jokeplaybook with Harris's pounding industrialgrade beats, buzzsaw guitars sharpenough to cut steel (courtesy JustinBroadrick), and Nick Bullen's pulsatingbass and nauseatingly lethargic vocals.The only thing that could make this albumany sicker would be blastbeats andsquawking free range saxophone- for that,see Painkiller, Mick Harris's delightfullypainful collaboration with John Zorn andBill Laswell.The album hints at a Napalm Death thatmight have been if the band had abandonedpolitical anger for aggressive introspectionand sordid atmospherics. It'sugly, like a bloated corpse in a filthy publicrestroom, but it's absolutely hypnotic,deliriously sick and twisted, and in itsown grimy way, a gem.James Slone

SQUIBB VS. SQUIBBSquibb Vs. SquibbRelease: 2002Label: Self ReleasedAvantgenre: Post Dance Industrial For The People OfThe FutureDuration: 35:42Origin: FranceOfficial site: http://www.myspace.com/borisdoussy.............................................................................................................................................Oh boy, how does one describe Squibb vs.Squibb, Boris Doussy and MathieuMegamont's surreal and oddly cosmopolitantrip into the stellar regions of extrememusic, without name dropping?The music reminds me of 1970s HeavyMetal magazine covers; it sounds like musicyou'd hear emanating from a club inthe dank alleys of the shambling supercities of the future, a little like Foetus orlater-period Ulver, only louder, with droningtribal rhythms overlaid with the beepsand whistles of factory equipment, marinatedin primitive chanting calling outfrom an ancient, long forgotten civilization.Bluesy melody lines appear out ofnowhere, sounding hauntingly rustic inthis hyper-technological context, like acowboy sauntering into a Martian colony.Occasionally, the noise will abate, revealinga dubbed out rhythm gluing it all togetherwith ganja scented soulfulness. AmI making any sense so far?Boris' voice winds through the music likean alien presence, invading every nookand cranny with stoned chants, low tobaccostained singing and bizarre quasiblackmetal growls you might find in amid-1990s Summoning song. Sometimes,he'll employ jazz and blues vocals to gowith the jazz guitar that occasionally popsup, breaking up the industrial machinesounds with something considerably moreswinging.The music's guiding principle seems to betaking disparate music and noises from allover the musical spectrum and layeringthem in a complex web of sounds andthen making it danceable with heavy, syncopatedelectro beats designed to movebooties. And yet, despite the beats, themusic is so heavy, so utterly uncommercial,like dance pop for an aliencivilization.If you want something genuinely strange,monumentally large and yet somehowintensely catchy, something that makesyou feel as though you've stumbled out ofa time machine and into a dance clubcirca 2089, I have an album for you.James Slone

STRAPPING YOUNG LADCityRelease: 1997Label: Century Media RecordsAvantgenre: Industrial Thrash Power MetalDuration: 40 MinutesOrigin: Canada / USAOfficial site: http://www.strappingyounglad.com/It is a winning mix, especially when thebrutality is contrasted by slower, moreatmospheric and intensely emotional sections,where the synths, guitars and vo-.............................................................................................................................................With this one it's hard to know where to cals make a strangely ambient melodicbegin. How about "the heaviest finest angriestslab of cyber metal ever”? This rec-Devin’s trademark. Another ace of themix creating a wall-of-sound that becameord came, conquered and remained on the band is the lyrical contact, which is angrythrone. It pretty much defines what can and direct (to the point of almost beingbe accomplished with the proper amalgamationof extreme metal and industrial ble, thanks to the amazing production jobpunk/hardcore) and clearly understanda-music (along with Ministry and Red Harvest,of course).ing by Daniel of Meshuggah(courtesy of Devin himself, with engineer-fame).Opening with a flooring but short intro in"Velvet Kevorkian” which segues into theface-ripping "All Hail the New Flesh”, therecord quickly and explosively establishesits sound and identity. The song that followsup the intensity another notch is theheadbanging anthem "Oh My FuckingGod”. Thrash (and some Death/Grind)riffage layered with all manners of samplesand synths, backed by the rhythmsection from hell (how can you go wrongwith Gene Hoglan on drums?) races along,all topped off with some of the most originalvocals in metal (Devin Townshend is aphenomena unto himself, going fromtough guy vocals to screeches andscreams to heart wrenching wails andsinging, all in the same song and all suitablyreverbed).All the songs here are killer, catchy andepic at the same time (something which isvery hard to achieve). They flow seamlesslyand the sequence makes perfect sense.As Devin has repeatedly stated in interviews,it is his catharsis and it shows.Many of the themes here are developedfurther on subsequent SYL and DTB releases,but none comes close to the sheerinsanity of this record. The Cop Shoot Copcover is a great choice and brings varietyto the record, while still sounding like aSYL tune.All in all, this is one of the top metal releasesof all time, and still sounds as refreshingand vibrant today as the day itwas released. If you haven’t had thepleasure, pick it up today for a truly cerebralyet vicious metal experience.Suleiman

SYMPTOMSSymptoms That You Are AliveRelease: 2007Label: Self ReleasedAvantgenre: Death-Industrial Dream MetalDuration: 41:43Origin: ItalyOfficial site: http://www.symptoms.altervista.org/The interludes are plain bizarre, goingmuch further than the standard few samplesand beeps, to actually be completeentities in themselves, with totally involv-.............................................................................................................................................It begins beautifully with a strange wisp of ing atmospherics and intricate rhythms ata synth that explodes in a full-bloodied play. There is even a strange gap in themetal harmony, and then the groove locks opener "Dead for 30 Seconds" that I'm stillin. The vocals and riffing place this firmly not sure is intentional.in the extreme metal camp, but it is thedrum machine (which may have benefitedfrom a better kit sound), strange feedbacknoises and those bizarre synths that trulypropel this beyond into something else.This is way ahead of the Obituary meetsMinistry via Killing Joke styling of thedebut. It has a strange atmosphere: obviouslyapocalyptic yet somehow enchanting,kind of like post-black death metalwithout resorting to any of the clichés ofthat much flogged dead horse. Do not getme wrong - the sound is too wholesome tobe black metal. Just the mood is wistful,anthemic and magical in places. Andwhen it's coupled with the more typicaldisjointed death metal riffing and vocals itjust gets unstoppable. Instead of going forthe everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-trickof most modern bands of this ilk, Symptomsstay true to a strong songwritingtradition, while utilizing the avant gardetendencies as hooks to great effect.But the way the dreamy soundscapes areripped apart by brutal death metal guitarsis strange juxtaposition and may even betoo much for some. When it all comes together(the afore mentioned 'hooks' of thesongs) there's just plain jaw-dropping: thechoir-synth-guitar /double bass culminationin "City Lights" or the way the outroof said song leads right into the harmonicintro of the manic, driving "Mental Disorder".You really will drift of to strangeplaces as the album progresses. There isthis truly unique sounding lead (synth orguitar?) that is overlaid over the more traditionalaggro-riffing in a lot of songs thatputs the entire thing into a new perspective.All in all, this is a welcome addition to agrowing army of new cyber-avant bandsthat are pushing the boundaries of metalinto inner and outer space. Do yourself afavour and get it now directly from theband.Suleiman

TECHNY-CALL XStart The ProcessRelease: 2007Label: Self ReleasedAvantgenre: Dark Dance MetalDuration: 16:21Origin: FranceOfficial site: http://www.technycallx.com/.............................................................................................................................................Cruising out of France on the wings of era Samael with a hint of Red Harvest.technology and a cold rage, this is a solid Electro Metal fans should definitely giveeffort from the beginning to the end. By this a try.the second song the style of the band isimmediately recognizable. It is a dark, It is too short even for an EP, and you justaggressive and danceable sound, full of wish there were more songs here. Thereatmosphere and groove. The quality of the are very occasional traces of the cheesinessof Deathstars and Pain. But they arematerial holds up to repeated listens. Thesongs have a definite club friendly feel so sparse that it adds to the vibe. The EPwithout catering to the base denominator. achieves the (desired) effect in that theThat means it reminds you less of goth listener wants more. What wonders willclub scene in a Hollywood flick and more the full length bring? Surely it cannot beof an actual dance floor full of antagonisticcyborgs. Thankfully the riff styling and metal. But if there is someone capable ofan entire CD full of mid-paced dark dancesynth sequences place them firmly in the pulling it off, it is these guys.Euro scene as opposed to the post-NINabominations of America. And the vocals And that is about all I can write based ondo that dark, slightlty distorted almostgrowl,filled out with a gothic baritone.3 songs (and 1 intro).Imagine a mix of darkwave and Exodus SuleimanTHEE MALDORORKOLLECTIVENew Era Viral OrderRelease: 2002Label: Code 666Avantgenre: Robotic Alien MetalDuration: 48:52Origin: ItalyOfficial site: http://www.myspace.com/jailhousedog.............................................................................................................................................These guys have been active more or less orded three demos until they changedsince 1991. Starting with Black Metal underthe name FUNERAL FOG, they rec-several demos and two full-lengththeir name to MALDOROR. They recordedalbums

under that name, until changing theirname again into THEE MALDOROR KOL-LECTIVE. The first album that sprungforth with their new name was "New EraViral Order"; which is what I have gothere, but let us take a quick look into thefuture before coming back to 2001.Only one band can compare with theircareer, at least with the development intheir musical style, and that is- ULVER.From Black Metal, which gets more andmore wrapped up in electronic elements,to Jazz and Trip Hop- and from what Iinterpret from their MySpace-Site, theyare doing some kind of atmosphericsoundtrack right now. Parallels obvious?Oh by the way, they seem to have theirname changed again into T/M/K.Back to the album N.E.V.O.- (it is shorterthat way, maybe that is why they changedtheir name to T/M/K- goes more smoothlyas THEE MALDOROR KOLLECTIVE,right?) Not much unlike their fellow countrymenof ENSOPH, what you will listen tois heavily synthed Black/ Dark Metal withshredding guitars and cold, mechaniceffects. Maybe a reminiscence to their earlierdays, the second Track "HaemorrhageTransmission" features even blastbeats;but the rest of the album is midtempo -massive, stomping beats with the guitarsproviding the aggression. Above all spheric,laser-like synths and the aggressiveshouts of vocalist Kundahli. Think ofT/M/K (there- it IS much easier) as aslower, more dense version of ABORYMalthoughT/M/K are even more into themechanical approach of their music. Thismanifests in occasional beeps, sweeps,robotic speech and almost dance-likesynth melodies as well as samples. Somehowthey manage to avoid the point wherethis would get on my nerves; I have toadmit the omnipresent synth is not exactlymy cup of tea. But, it fits this albumwell, and the interspersed ambient passagesdo their part to make it interestingand diversified.If you are into one of the above mentionedbands, check out T/M/K. I for once haveto be in the right mood to listen to this,but when I am, it rocks. Should youstumble upon another album of T/M/Kwondering what the heck I am writinghere about and why nothing I mentionapplies to what YOU were listening- goahead, go show ULVER's "Nattens Madrigal"to someone, followed by let us say"Blood Inside" and then tell him/her thisis the same band. None of T/M/K's albumsis representative or repetitive, andN.E.V.O. is but a step in their evolution.Tentakel P.THE AMENTAOccasusRelease: 2004Label: Listenable RecordsAvantgenre: Screeching Industrified Death MetalDuration: 41:52Origin: AustraliaOfficial site: http://www.theamenta.com.............................................................................................................................................The first glimpse I got from THE AMENTAwas a promotional photo. Back then Ithought: "fife guys posing for the Dimmu-Borgir-lookalike-contest, so what..." I wasexpecting some kind of this new, trendyevilgothic-industrial bands like Deathstarsand the like. Boy, was I wrong.Luckily, THE AMENTA are lightyears awayfrom this genre, celebrating a mix of highlyskilled technical Death/ Black/ Indus-

trial Metal. Band members recruit fromseveral Death Metal and Grindcore bands;the most renowned of them propablyABORTED from which Diazanon (DaveHaley) on Drums hails.It is difficult to describe THE AMENTA'ssound to anyone not knowing them- becausewhat you will hear here is somethingwhich to my best knowledge has notbeen heard anywhere else before. Searchin vain for catchy melodies, simple songstructuresand the like- what you will findhere is hyperspeed doublebass and extremefast blastbeats as well as Cesium137's growls and screams accompanied byguitars which not so much play melodies,but create eerie, spherical noises.All of this is interrupted by industrialsoundscapes which remind me a bit of theatmosphere in the early Alien-Films. THEAMENTA are sterile, alien, hostile and cold- two bands come to my mind when listeningto them, namely THORNS andZYKLON; combine the cold machinesound of the first with the sreeching, banshee-likeguitarwork from the latter; multiplythat and you reach the soundscapesof THE AMENTA.Only one song could possibly be describedto be in the style of traditional songwriting,which is "Nihil"- a great, double-bassbasedmosh-monster with so much as acatchy melody. The rest of the songs arebest labeled as lightning- fast hymns todestruction. This was not made for humans,or any other organic life. It makesmost of the wannabe-evil-cold Black Metalbands look as if they perform happydance-hymns for birthday parties in comparison.It is brutal, aggressive, dissonantand industrial. If you want easy listening,stay away like hell- this album will disintegrateyour ears. But anyway, as youread this on Avantgarde-Metal you willprobably not expect easy listening... Youhave been warned. I for once await theirsecond album "n0n" which will hopefullybe released this year.I will conclude this with THE AMENTA'sown words:"Extreme music for an age rotting to rags.Do you want traditional? Do you wantsafe? Do you want the sound of a millionbrainless hacks slaving away on thrashsolos learned by rote from guitar magazines?The Amenta is NOT FOR YOU."Tentakel P.THE KOVENANTSetiRelease: 2003Label: Nuclear BlastAvantgenre: Aperitif Rock DigestifDuration: 01:07:29Origin: NorwayOfficial site: http://www.gentechranch.tk/.............................................................................................................................................Today I had a sandwich for lunch. No big #01: Some asian noodel snack that isthing actually, I did not listen to music cooked within 3 minutes.while eating my creation. In case you want #02: Some vanilla ice cream, schocolateto listen to this album I suggest the followingfood for each song. Please note thatcream, a banana and some rasped nuts.some meals need prior preperation beforebeing served. Mahlzeit!

#03: Fruit salad. Add cans of your favouritefruit into a big bowl, add some sugarand off you go.#04: Meat. Put into a a pan with heatedoil. As side dish I suggest some wellcocked rice.#05: Pudding with gumy bears or jellybeans. I recomend some icing sugar ontop.#06: This song is 4:11 which is prettymuch the time Barilla noodles (No. 3) taketo be serveable.#07: Salad. Add vinegar/oil, salt, pepper,some onions/garlic and some dried tomatos.Serve with fresh white bread.#08: Cut meat into small pieces, add seasalt oil and vinegar, let the meat soak inthat soup for 1-2 hours and then cook itshortly on a light flame; serve with smallpotatoes that have been in silverfoil in thestove for at least 30'.#09: Take a big potatoe and fill it withsour cream, garlic, pepper and all kind ofspices (oregano, thyme,...). Use the ovento heat that mofo up.#10: Pre-fabricated ravioli should go wellwith this song.#11: Order a pizza from your local pizzadelivery. Suggestion: a simple Margharitawith Onions.#12: Cook water, add one or two corncobsand let them cook for 4-6 minutes. Servewith butter and salt.Jonny LignanoTRISTWOODThe Delphic DoctrineRelease: 2006Label: Sound Riot RecordsAvantgenre: Industrial Death Black MetalDuration: 42:18Origin: AustriaOfficial site: http://www.tristwood.com.............................................................................................................................................Aaaaah !! Finally!! After reviewing allmanners of insane sound forms that areIt starts with a very short intro and thenits blasts all the way, with a few more similarlyoften at the very edge of metal, here is oneshort synthy intros scatteredassigned to me that is as metal as beer,sacrificed virgins and spiked studs. Thishere is some seriously brutal atmosphericdeath metal. And atmospheric I don’tmean doomy or slow; I mean reeking ofevil darkness. I don’t have a lyric sheet ora CD sleeve even but somehow I wouldn'tbe surprised if the themes were cosmic,satanic, hermetic or plain murderous(even a combination of some/all of theabove).through out.. The riffing and song-writingis straight forward and lightning fast. Thegrowls are done in the classic demonicdeath metal vein (think Massacre, SepticFlesh and mid-period Behemoth)with anoccasional dashing of a more mid-rangedrasp (no ultra high pitched shrieking,than you very much). There is a dark almostcyber sheen to the material, courtesyof the background but ever present synths(which occasionally come forth as per requirement),and the too precise drumming

(is it or is it not a drum machine?), as wellthe perfect production.I know it sounds like a million otherbands, but there is something about thesongs that just stick. The riffing knowswhere to stand out, without going intowankery, and the stuff is catchy. Therewasn't a single part where I thought 'Iwish they hadn't done that' and thatmeans its damn near perfect as a slice ofmetal brutality. For those into the heavierend of the spectrum check this shit out.Hail !!!(Though for the sake of criticism, this isn'tvery Avant Garde at all).SuleimanUNHEALTHY DREAMSDoloris CorpusRelease: 2007Label: SelfreleasedAvantgenre: Synthetic Industrial MayhemDuration: 20 MinOrigin: FranceOfficial site: http://www.unhealthy-dreams.com.............................................................................................................................................Wow!.....no, not "World of warcraft", but a behavior of a person suddenly struck withreal "wow!". Before I write anything about waves of dementia. Just like the instrumentalparts the vocals vary very much,the "Body of pain" (Latin. doloris corpus)one has to be aware that France started from an ofu-khanish style in the beginningto a more high pitched black scream-giving us quite a lot of great and weirdbands (the invisible giants- Deathspell ing style. I am not sure if this is my impressionbut somehow the album tends toOmega, Smohalla, the growing audiblechaos, and some that yet have to be discoveredlike Dreams of the Drowned). Un-closer to it's end. The vicious and nervousget more and more electronical as it ishealthy Dreams is one of the most brutal guitars become more steady, but not softer,don't worry. Electronica and the sam-deities of the fast rising scene. The bandcreates the pain of modern humanity ples used on "Wolves torment" is purelythrough their chaotic music. When you great, the track being filled with distortedtake a look at the cover of "Doloris Corpus"you can expect somekind of a chaoticbeats and raw industrial samples.industrial mania, but when you put it intothe stereo, it will just hit you in the face,you won't see it coming! Why?!The production is very clear, but neverthelessthe audible mayhem is colossal, rangingfrom the bass lines up to every electronicsqueak. The tracks tend to be veryfast, but they are often broken apart bysome pure electronical passages, the secondtrack even features a charming flute.The contrast is interesting as the electronicalparts are sometimes quite calming,while the rest of the music is very fast andnervous, one could compare this with aThe atmosphere of the whole album isvery cold, razor-sharp and solid. This isan example of a great industrial production(or destruction) and mastering, notbeing too loud so one can absorb all of theelements, and not being to noisy as RedHarvest sometimes manages to be. Neverthelessthis is one of the best surprises inthe industrialized sphere of our weird musicthis year. I hope Unhealthy Dreamsshall get all the attention a promisingband like that disserves. Now I recommendthat you get lost in this swirl of painyou can hear on "Corpus Doloris".....getlost.......Ulv

VOLKMAROverture Macabre DemoRelease: 2007Label: Self-ReleasedAvantgenre: Evil RockDuration: 21:52Origin: AustraliaOfficial site: http://www.myspace.com/volkmarsins.............................................................................................................................................A nice short demo that amply demonstratesthis up and coming band's arse-anthemic chorus you may find yourselfbit slower, a bit moodier with an esotericnal. This is an interesting exercise in rockinggloomy metal. There is a cloak ofhumming at the next black mass.darkness over the entire thing, and rather The guitars are simple and straightforwardbut perfect for the rather catchy andthan coming across like the whining andsad caterwauling of typical gothic metal, dark songwriting. When the crunchy noirriffsare complemented with the spookythis sounds threatening. You know, likethose bands from the mid-80's that had synths and the vintage drumkit, it is indeedan enjoyable spin, with the singeran undercurrent of violence in their tautguitar bass drum (and synth) setup. This painting tales of horror, the occult andalso benefits from a sense of history as the morbidity in his rather grim yet melodicband appears to have heard the 90's dark baritone, we have a little gem of modernand black metal boom (Moonspell, Samael,Enslaved), besides the obvious bowsgoth.at the altars of Sisters of Mercy, Bauhausand Fields of Nephilim."Eyes Sewn Shut" begins the assault withdriving backbone and rewards with calmeryet blacker mid-section before returning tothe beat/ riff barrage. "Walk with Me" continuesthe gothic mosh, with a vintagedark chord progression. "Journey Below"shows another side to the band's sound. AIt is only four songs (plus one short horrormovie mood piece at the end) but it getsthe job done. I have heard that the debutalbum proper will have a much betterproduction. If so, Vision Bleak et al shouldget ready for the competition.Suleiman

VOLKMARBlessed SinsRelease: 2008Label: Modern Invasion MusicAvantgenre: Syngoth MetalDuration: 49:22Origin: AustraliaOfficial site: http://www.myspace.com/volkmarsins.............................................................................................................................................First of all, first things first. I am not goingto be comparing this "proper” album withits self-released predecessor, OvertureMacabre (which was a pretty decent releasein its own right), as though theyshare songs, this album’s longer lengthand much clearer production puts it inanother ball park entirely.Imagine, if you will, a more metal versionof classic Bauhaus. Bypass the Moonspellsand Type O’s while you are it. Inessence, this outfit channels the spirit of80’s goth rock (with a hint of cold wave)into 90’s metal (no sub-genres such asblack or death need apply).The opener "Eyes Sewn Shut” is one of theband’s strongest tunes to date, combiningnice thick riffage with great (and nostalgiainducing) songwriting that makes youwant to bang your head in a rather morbidfashion. The vocalist ( and the production)has improved, providing a throatierbaritone to go with the industrial gothicmetal instrumentation. The title trackwastes no time in showing the band's othermore 80's influenced allegiance, keepingit interesting and highly addictive allthe way.Most of the songs keep the pace good, andthe sound testosterone based. "Interludein Hell" breaks the flow with a short andsuitably dark piece leading to more Sistersof Mercy playing metal via "White Heaven"."The Burning" is my favorite track on thealbum,being highly catchy without relyingon the tried formula, having no crunchyguitars yet still managing to be a chragedsong with nice lyrics. Its dark and andmid paced with clear synths but soundsnothing like typical darkwave fare. And itsegues niceley into "Obsessed". Awesome !The band’s sense of dynamics is strong,and takes only the enjoyable bits of stalwartslike Sisters of Mercy and Bauhaus,leaving behind the doodling. The muscularityof the band’s sound changes it frommoping sounding to positively threateningin places. The synths never take top priorityand neither do the samples, only enhancingthe claustrophobic dark atmospherecreated by these morose Australians.This is steadily developing into one myfavorite new gothic metal bands (and oneof the few who justify the tag). Let us observeand see where their dark path leadsto from here.Suleiman

ZWEIZZThe Yawn Of The New AgeRelease: 2007Label: Vendlus RecordsAvantgenre: Noise Fragmentation WeirdnessDuration: Less Than An HourOrigin: NorwayOfficial site: http://www.myspace.com/zweizzmusick(a fragment)and so it was, about a year or two ago, that the aVoid and the Lignano heard this crazy-asselectronoise album from this guy who was in that cool band and in that other almost coolerbut in another way band for a shorter while, and now has a lot of bands everywhere that Idon't think anyone can keep track of not even his mother, and thought "hey, let's co-write areview as crazy-ass as this album!", and some work began. and yeah, it was pretty weird.but as things go, it poured out in the sand as Swedes say. too bad, could've become something.maybe. anyway, we forgot about it, until recently, so I thought I'd go resuscitate thefew shards of a review that are still to be found on my hard-drive. can't tell what is mine andwhat is his. but ahh...again, this is not a review. it could have been. consider it a sketch, a few short impressions.then you ask, why publish it if it's not finished? well, then I ask, why release 'the FrostlandTapes'? one for the completionists, as we revel in self-augmentation. the cat mentioned isnow 20 months old and prefers Peter Gabriel and Sting as every grown-up feline does,though she still kinda fancies tuna. the dog is, as far as you are concerned, still not ownedby anyone.disclaimer: aVoid has not listened to this album for a year and can't even remember if it'sany good or not.disclaimer 2: the images found on aVoid's harddrive have been mashed into the text in ahyper-arbitrary fashion, adding some extra un-provoked "strangeness", which is "fun", forthe sake of your "entertainment".enjoy. or don't. ---------SPAWN OF THE DUDEGAUGEDAWN OF THE NUDEMAGEFAUN OF THE CRUDEWAGELAWN OF THE FOODRAGESHAWM OF THELEWDPAGE

FLAMINGO BEAT NECRO("Anyway, I used to hate Iggy Pop but now that he's so commercial I like him a lot betterthan-"The ax hits him mid-sentence, straight in the face, its thick blade chopping sideways intohis open mouth, shutting him up.)Svein-Egil Hatlevik. HologramMagic Logic. Mr.Dingy Sweet Talker WomanStalker.DÃrdhjeimsgÃ¥rd,FlÃretÿ and Afrodisiack.Glitchin' & cuttin' it up.My kitten dig this. And...and she's named after aTormentor song. Sheclaws and attacks theright speaker during trackVIII et XI. Normally sheprefers old-schoolblack/thrash metal andtuna, but I guess this hasthe same aesthetic valuein the eyes of a 4 monthyoung feline. She says:"54 76ioooooooooo," andwhat else can you say?My dog does not dig this. Asoon as track I starts I realise that I don't have a dog.Trippety-hop in epileptic seizures!More than a hobby.The only difference between 'noise' and 'sound' is the amount of letters used. See, no difference.See no difference.de nifference Zoo("That's a very fine Chardonnay you're drinking. /.../ I want to clean you vagina." -I'm wearinga tuxedo for no apparent reason- "It's a beautiful animal")If my foobar2000 were a needle, it would be called foobar2001."RaevskjÃrt" means either 1a.) "Humped in the butt" or 3ce.) "Driven by a fox". I'm... notsure. (I... am... the... devil... and I am... just... like... you)"Tusch", Substantiv, masskulinum, Standardwortschatz (18. Jhd.): Entlehnung. Ãœbernommenaus Österreich, wo dieses Wort "Schlag, Lärm, Trompeten- und Paukenschall"bedeutet. Letztlich liegt franzÃsisch. touch, altfranzÃsisch. toche "geblasenes Signal,Trompetenzeichen" zugrunde, zu altfranzÃsisch. tochier "berühren", auch "ein Tonwerkzeugspielen, blasen".("Shar-pei?" akthent on thee latht thyllable)Zweizz-mathematics:the + yawn + of + the + new + age = theyawnofthenewage = anegateheftyhenwow = albumsong 1 + song 2 + song x = album y

Zweizz² = Zweizz x Zweizz = Zweixzzsuddenly, horns start growing from your head. or maybe not horns, tentacles perhaps?things. nasty things. that. should. not. be. there. in the first place. suggestive blood and aflurry of... butterflies. from TIBETANSKA PLATÅER UTAN NAMN.KLA AX! VIIRTR! NEIEKN;; RAOVÅ. RAOVÅ. RAOVÅ. RAICVÅ.and an old videogame. 256 colours, at least.ÅÅÅ�"�"�"ÖÖÖÑÑÑunfold the layers of the new age Yawn, press it 2" thick, and throw it into space... now youcan easily reach Jupiter and get stuck in the Lagrangepoint on your way back, withoutturning around. they are that many. and deep.666ANTI-MUSICK for A DIFFERENT AGE no-one has SEEN or is capable of BELIEVINGIN666yet(After finishing a second glass of champagne I move to martinis andafter I've calmed down sufficiently I take a closer look around theroom, but the midgets are still there. "Too much red," I mutter to myself."Why doesn't she put on some Talking Heads for Christ sakes", Icomplain bitterly.)appendix #1.Blacker Than Darknessmusic & lyrics originally by Demonaz Doom Occulta,Abbath Doom Occulta & ArmageddaOut in the black nightIn the cold Northern breezeUnder the red skies

Surrounded by blasphemous windsMidnight passing and the moon is fulfilledSlowly blackening the skyI summon up where the ravens fly highTowards the moons of BlashyrkhDeath rides on black windsEvil enter the skyAngels falls from the heavensWhile the darkness shines throughChariots of the darkest masters arrives on devil wingsHeavens angels surrounded by frostForced into the holocaust frozen cloudsA twisted wind rapes the cloudsMemories of cold days and lightning returnsA foggy fullmoon nightInto darkness rideUnder the horned goatmoonAs dark as black rivers at wintertimeHorned Decembermoon come to meI ride the wings of TormentBlacker than darkness---appendix #2two slightly more realistic, though perhaps not more nor less fair, reviews:http://www.metal-archives.com/review.php?id=144787---somewhat written byLignano&aVoid

Special Print Edition ofAvantgarde Metal Magazine:ELECTRO METAL SPECIAL15th of September 2010Imprint:Chief Editor:Chrystof NiederwieserPDF design and layout & cover artwork:Katja Honeywine van de BarrelWebmaster:Bernd GrünwaldArticles written by:aVoid, Oliver Side, DavidJonny Lignano, James Slone, Polygon,Tentakel P., Suleiman Ali,Ulv, MvH, Katja Honeywine and ChrystofContact:get in contact with the crew membersvisit the “about” section onWWW.AVANTGARDE-METAL.COM