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JESUSMARTYR |
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It’s an open secret that the Leviatan-Magazine staff do their best to maintain journalistic standards of objectivity and fairness. However, there are biased exceptions that undermine the cornerstones of our (amateur) profession, which is the case with Argentina’s Jesus Martyr. Combining the best of Slayer, Machinehead, Sepultura, and Pantera, Jesus Martyr is the most lethal metal concoction brewing in South American metal today. Stretching the biased praise even further, they’re just an awesome, awesome band. More so this year with their new album via Rusty Cage Records, “The Black Waters”. It’s almost a crime they aren’t headlining festivals and packing stadiums. Answering Hail K.’s questions from Europe, where he roadies for a band, guitarist and founding member Martin talks about Thrash Metal, the new album, and why condoms are always brought along on tour ... Read all |
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Argentina |
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Thrash |
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Line-up:
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Bruno - Vocals / Bass
Seba - Guitar
Edu - Drums
Martin - Guitar |
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MAHATMA |
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Sad to say, the rest of humanity have no idea who Mahatma are. This South Korean thrash quartet, whose 2008 sophomore album via Dope Entertainment, “Perseverance,” belongs right up there with the latest from Evile, Destruction, and Exodus, are one of Asia’s most promising bands in the metal fold. Even sadder to say, very few metal bands visit Hail K.’s homeland, the Philippines, that sprawling archipelago below Taiwan. But this didn’t stop Mahatma from co-headlining Summer Slam 8, the country’s biggest yearly rock festival, with US metalcore stalwarts Darkest Hour. Debriefing Hail K. in that historic gig’s aftermath—performed on a stage previously graced by none other than Death Angel last 2007—singer and rhythm guitarist JK, he of the throaty growls and flawless songwriting (Just try “The Road I Must Follow” from the aforementioned “Perseverance” album), talks about malfunctioning amps, 70’s influences, and South Korean metal ... Read all |
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South Korea |
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Thrash |
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Line-up:
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Yoon Jong-Gap (J.K.) - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Seo Jin-Ho - Lead Guitar
Jeong Gyeong-Heon - Bass
Yi Joon-Soon - Drums |
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ORION |
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Pakistan. While not the last country to be connected with the word ‘heavy metal,’ it does rank pretty low in the global scene’s scale. (The last, in Hail K.’s opinion, would be uhm, Afghanistan!) But Taliban insurgents and a messed up political scene aside, there are the dedicated chaps in Orion, a five piece that, as guitarist Hussam puts it, is “spread out all over the world at the moment.” More than just another band interview, the brief conversation that follows offers a glimpse into a side of Pakistani life far-removed from what we see on TV. Oh, and has Hail K. forgotten to mention Orion have an album out? Allow Hussam t ... Read all |
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Country: |
Pakistan |
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Label: |
Independent |
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Genre: |
Thrash |
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Line-up:
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Ameer Hamza - Lead Vocals
Hammad Khan - Harsh Vocals
Hussam Raza - Rhythm Guitar/ Lead Guitar
Waqas Ahmed - Rhythm Guitar/ Lead Guitar
Imaad Manzar - Bass
Bilal Nadeem - Drums |
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UP THE TERROR |
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To some Venezuela is just another country with a questionable president; questionable because to some the idea of an independent country in Latin America is too much to handle, but despite having different opinions and views we can all agree that metal is universal and Up the Terror is the perfect example on how people could best learn about each other through art.
And like many if not all of the bands in this issue this Venezuelan band is reviving thrash metal with their sound, their art and their look; but Up the Terror is special for the simple reason that they are good, they are really good. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what are you playing but how good are you doing it and this ... Read all |
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Venezuela |
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none |
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Genre: |
Thrash |
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Line-up:
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Roberto - Vocals
Leo - Drums
Rafael - Lead guitar
Jean Paul - Rhythm guitar
Gaspar - Bass |
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THE PROFANE |
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Latin America metal scene is know more for their brutality and unrelentless ferocity, sometimes sacrificing rhythm for speed and catchy tunes for insanely evil passages; but there is hope lurking on every corner of our great continent. Bands like Paraguay’s The Profane, whom might not be inventing a new genre, they are certainly expanding the possibilities in which metal is played and presented to our audiences.
Death n` roll is no new concept, actually is pretty old if you count Entombed first efforts on this variation, but the point is that nowadays is hard to find a band in Latin America following their footsteps and venturing on playing metal with firm roots on what started it all, rock n`roll!
David Arriola, one of the founding members and singer of the band was nice enough to sit with us and chat about what is The Profane and what were they thinking when they decided to record their amazing full length debut Chaosbreed ... Read all |
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Paraguay |
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Genre: |
Death n`roll |
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Line-up:
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David Arriola - vocals
Marcelo Arriola - drums
Diego Arriola - bass
Sebastián Centurión - guitar |
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BARABBAS |
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Barabbas are from the Philippines. They play Death Metal. Their guitarists have matching instruments. Read the interview. If they pique your interest, visit them at www.barabbasclan.com and have a taste of their music. ... Read all |
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Country: |
Philippines |
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INDI |
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Genre: |
Death Metal |
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Line-up:
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Jay R: Vocals
Joy: Bass
Ron: Guitars
Jokar: Drums
Ben: Guitars |
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OATH TO VANQUISH |
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After years now of been bombarded by the western media of the “difficulties” the Middle East presents for the “interest” of the west, it is hard to think of that particular region of the world as a place for metal, as a place for arts; and this ideas at least this stupid ideas that I allowed the mainstream media to incubate in my head were destroyed when I started to find a nice, prosperous metal scene in Lebanon.
The Middle East was a cradle for science, literature and arts centuries ago, but due to the recent “events” we have forgotten this, there for the surprise to find young musicians willing to take their craftsmanship to the limits, playing a technical, brutal, precise yet improvised death metal, that seems to sound so natural for Oath to Vanquish.
A long detail interview was answered by Elias Abboud, and interview that not only opened my mind, but made me believe that there are no boundaries for music, no boundaries for metal; so please take your time and read what Mr. Abboud had to tell ... Read all |
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Lebanon |
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Grindethic Records |
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Brutal Death Metal |
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Line-up:
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Carlos Abboud - Vocals, Drums
Cyril Yabroudi - Vocals, Bass
Elias Abboud - Vocals, Guitars |
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RAICES TORCIDAS |
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El Salvador |
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American Line |
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Industrial Death Metal |
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Line-up:
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Drago - Guitars, Vocals
Rafael Pacheco - Guitar
Ciro Rottenbass - Bass
Diego Flamenco - Drums |
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Some bands have a bigger vision, a bigger idea that goes beyond the riffs on an album, one of those bands that haves a concept and an idea is Raices Torcidas (twisted roots in English).
This industrial death metal machine comes back with their new production Digital Metal Flesh, a good title to an intriguing, well planned album that manages to create a unique feeling on every track thanks to the nice industrial hooks placed all over the production.
Raices Torcidas is more than another Central American underground band, their style of death metal is unique, it has that smell of authenticity so missed by many after listening to band after band just trying to be brutal, but forgetting that ingenuity is a big factor when it comes to compose music; so if you are into brutal death metal with a touch of industrial sharp guitars and a nice... Read all |
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THE GRIEF |
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Ecuador |
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Indi |
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Symphonic black/doom metal |
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Line-up:
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Galeas- Vocals
X-ar - Guitar
Sohamel - Bass
X-ri - Drums |
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To dwell in pain, to embrace the darkest moments of our live and learn from it, even enjoy them because live is nothing but a few happy segments in our memory, while pain, while grief lives with us everyday and shapes us into the person full of dreams, ambitions and traumas that we see in the mirror every morning.
The Grief tries and achieves that feeling, to takes us in an inner travel, a painful but masterful trip within ourselves, only to discover that grief that consumes us; yes this Ecuadorian band has a bigger picture in mind, is more than just the music… is the feeling, and even when many will disagree, music itself is a feeling, and the atmospheric doom given to us by this South Americans really haunts every person that pays enough attention to hear what their proposal is all about.
The band came to my attention thanks to their promotion activity, while many Latin bands just sit down and wait for somebody to call them, these guys. .. Read all |
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SYMBOLIC |
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Can a band call the attention of the media and the fans just by releasing a split cd? Sure, that’s exactly what El Salvador’s Symbolic did with “The Artificial Acts of Madness”, a great, clean and talented production created according to one of Symbolic’s members to let the world know of the metal scene in the beautiful Central American country.
“The Artificial Acts of Madness” has a blend of death metal very much like Dismember or early Entombed presented by the great band Dreamlore (this guys are pretty good), and then to complete the mix Symbolic presents a great power/thrash/progressive metal that gets deep down into your skull, not just because you can really head bang to this, but because its complicated and well performed metal; really an eye opener.
When the album got to my hands I had this preconceived idea that the production was going to be bad, and that maybe the songs were. .. Read all |
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El Salvador |
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Label: |
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Indi |
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Prog metal/Power metal |
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Line-up:
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Rodrigo Serpas - Vocals
Hector Guzmán - Bass
César Rodas - Drums
Julio Rodas - Guitars
Antonio Mirón - Guitars |
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NEUROSIS INC. |
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With 20 years of existence Neurosis has slowly but firmly climb it’s way through the underground Latin American metal scene, their name represents one of the longest, most active bands in our continent, and their music, well lets just say its thrash metal, pure and simple, as they demonstrate with their latest release “Subversivos Espirituales” an album with both professional sound and primate rage.
It’s funny the way I got to know about Neurosis, almost 10 years ago I was living in Cali, Colombia, when metal began to interest me, so off course I listen to the classics (at least for me) one day after a huge fight with my mother about my hair (I was 16 years old) she went out, and three hours later showed up on my room, to say she was sorry (you know how mothers are, we are assholes to them and they still take care of us) in her hands an album, a copy, a burn cd she just bought on the street across our department it was “Karma” the second full ... Read all |
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Colombia |
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Thrash metal |
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Line-up:
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Diego Melo - Vocals
Gary Otero - Guitar
Jorge Mackenzie - Lead Guitar
Cesar Franco - Bass
Juan David Vèlez - Drums |
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DISMAL GALE |
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There was a time when I though only in Costa Rica you could find some decent metal in Central America, Oh how wrong was I! But thanks to the many Salvadorian bands that have been sending their material my ignorance didn’t last long, one of those albums that I found in the mail was Dismal Serenades.
Dismal Gale is a great mix of melodies, aggressiveness and dark emotions laying underneath a very well elaborate and performed songs, that transports you into a state of erratic depression that is only lifted by the beautiful acoustic guitars and the sweet female vocals display in some of their songs.
It will be hard to label and describe the music of this band; maybe if we say they are a blend of black/death and symphonic elements, we would only be touching the surface of Dismal Gale.
I had the change to get in touch with mastermind Rex Fernandez, and in some ... Read all |
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El Salvador |
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Label: |
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Indi |
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Genre: |
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Melodic black metal |
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Line-up:
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Rex A. Fernandez - Guitars/Vocals/keyboard/ Programing
Iosif Najarro - Drums
Julio Rodas - Bass |
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UNDERTHREAT |
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Maybe Under Threat could be an inspiration to many other Latin bands, or at least a good example of how to make things happen. Leaving their home country Colombia to pursue a dream is something more commendable than staying in the underground for ever; what ever their reasons where to leave their country, the thing is that Under Threat has established a good, solid reference in the United States scene, playing with bands like Destruction, Divine Empire, Fleshgrind, Anal Blast, Kataklysm, Suffocation and Strapping Young Lad, and touring the country with the brutal Monstrosity.
Their latest album Deathmosphere could be best described as an aggressive evolution of melodies, even when Nicolas Bermudez insists that he doesn’t like labels in music, he still describes the band as death/thrash metal with a few drops of progressives. Please enjoy this interview with probably one of Colombia’s favorite metal sons ... Read all |
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Colombia |
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Melodic death metal |
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Line-up:
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David Bermudez - Bass
Nicolas Bermudez - Guitar
Jake Sommer - Guitar
John Perez - Vocals
Alejandro Rojas - Drums |
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KARMA |
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What is it with Brazil and its metal bands; this South American country continues to raise the bar for all Latin bands; first it was Sepultura, Then Angra, and recently Krisiun; maybe what the Brazilian scene was lacking was a good progressive metal band, and now Karma comes in and closes that gap.
Karma is more than just a technical band, these guys try really hard to charge their music with feelings and catchy rhythms that are complemented by the great technicality they all have. The band got closer together when their singer Thiago Bianchi was battling cancer, and they eventually use all those feelings to create a closer more personal album in Leave Now!!!
Karma’s music is technical, emotional, and progressive with out getting pretentious, you can say that they are a progressive band writing music so that a normal human being can understand ... Read all |
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Brasil |
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Progressive Metal |
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Line-up:
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Thiago Bianchi - Vocals
Chico Dehira - Guitar
Felipe Andreoli - Bass
Fabrízio Di Sarno - Keyboard
Marcell Cardoso - Drums |
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GWYDION |
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When the magazine started last year, I wanted underground bands to approach us in order to create an “Aim for” section that will reflect and expose those acts that are fighting for their place inside metal music, and so did Gwydion, this Portuguese band send me an email letting me know of their existence, and short after listening to a few tracks they placed on their web page, I realized that this band deserved the attention the “Aim for” section of Leviatan could gave them.
Gwydion is a Viking/folk Black metal band that has grown a lot since their first demo release back in 1998, they have experimented with different sounds to create a rather unique perspective towards their music. You could say they are still young and their future sound is quite unknown, but what they have accomplished on their demo Augmentation in 2001 is powerful and worthy of your attention, delivering a unique sound that stands out from any other commercial enterprise you could have listen to ... Read all |
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Portugal |
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Indi |
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Viking/black metal |
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Line-up:
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Ricardo Rocha (Morg) - Bass
Ruben Almeida - Vocals
Vitor César - Guitar
Abreu - Drums
Caveirinha - Guitar
Daniel César - Synthesizer |
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HEMNUR |
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Just how important is the attitude in a black metal band? Well apparently is one of its most important ingredients. Hemnur is a black metal project, it’s not a band because is a studio development; two people take care of this raw black metal project, and like pretty much every black metal band their names are Frediablo and Heksblod.
Aiming for an old school spirit and the simplicity only found in raw and primitive black metal sounds, this Norwegians have created a record worthy of the attention from many bands and fans that are just tired of pretentious musicians whose only goals are to show off and not to write fun music.
Frediablo can very well be a poster boy for black metal, not because he paints his face with white mascara, but simply because he writes his music and says to everything… “I don’t fucking care” and that’s the black metal attitude we all love, that defiance and cynical remarks that really make you wonder, Why the fuck is this guy playing music anyway? Well he plays, writesr ... Read all |
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Norway |
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Black metal |
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Line-up:
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Frediablo - Guitar/Bass/Vocals/drums
Heksblod - Synth |
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DOMESTIC WASTE |
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Domestic Waste is one of those bands full of young kids that love to play metal, one of those bands that still dare to dream and that believe in the purity of their work.
A demo tape is not much for some people, but is the beginning of everything, and with their first demo this Poland band gives us a first look at their music and future plans.
There is no doubt that death metal rules in the mind of Domestic Waste, but the kind of death metal that makes you want to heart it again, and again, and again; their music has the great quality to stand out from the rest of the death metal underground pack, it provides anger, speed and technical traces that keep you interested and that helps you remember that you are listening to a new band.
Getting in touch with this band is easy; acquiring their music is easy, so easy that they ... Read all |
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Poland |
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Label: |
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Indi |
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Death metal |
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Line-up:
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Mareczeki - Bass
Banan - Vocals
Szymon - Guitar
Bandaz - Drums
Stachu - Guitar |
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CELESTY |
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Originally known as Celestial upon their formation in 1998 by drummer Jere Luokkamäki this Seinäjoki based Power Metal band signed to the Spanish Arise label to issue their debut 2002 record “Reign of Elements”. As Celestial the band in its formative stages went through numerous personnel but another early inductee included bassist Ari Katajamäki.
During 1999 guitarist Tapani Kangas enrolled just before the band was purged of older members. However, the following year saw an enforced lull in proceedings as both Kangas and Katajamäki were called for their national military service. Luokkamäki hooked up with Mortyfear. Upon their return the band was reconstituted as CELESTY, pulling in second guitarist J.P. Alanen and in the autumn of 2000 booked studio time to cut the demo “Warrior of Ice”.
Keyboardist Juha Mäenpää was welcomed into the fold in time for 2001 ... Read all |
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Finland |
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Epic Power Metal |
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Line-up:
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Ari Katajamäki - Bass
Juha Mäenpää - Keyboard
Tapani Kangas - Guitars
Antti Railio- Vocals
Teemu Koskela - Guitars
Jere Luokkamäki - Drums |
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DARK AGE |
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It seems like such a long hard road, that there are times in which you forget all the things left behind, but that is not completely the case with the Hamburg’s Dark Age, since they are already 10 years old and still on the fight for recognition, sometimes playing in tiny stinky bars, and others playing in venues such as Wacken Open Air.
Dark Age have gained a lot of respect and played single shows and festivals with a lot of bands like Slayer, In Flames, Sodom, Soilwork, Hypocrisy, Mnemic, Primal Fear, Dismember, Heaven Shall Burn, just to name a few.
Their music is charged with intensity and melodic tunes that may confused and amazed some, but is still very basic metal played with passion by this Germans who don’t want their dream of making music go away, and that’s why they come back with new material totally produced and recorded by them in their own studio Eike Studio which owner is their singer Eike Freese.
This is not melodic death metal ... Read all |
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Germany |
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Genre: |
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Melodic death metal |
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Line-up:
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Torsten Eggert - Bass
Martin Reichert - Synthetizer
Eike Freese - Guitars / Vocals
Jörn Schubert - Guitars
André Schumann - Drums |
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