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Interviews By Carlos Rodríguez &
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Assassin |
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Living through some exciting years, and seen how thrash metal is making its way back into the hearts and minds of a brand new generation of thrashers; we see how names from the past are brought back to our attention, names like Assassin and albums like The Upcoming Terror are reviving the genre one more time; albums and sounds...
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Bonded by Blood |
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These kids seem to have made one of 2008’s biggest splashes. Though named after a classic album that has recently been re-recorded (“Let There Be Blood” anyone?) and sporting a sound that harkens back to the golden days of Thrash Metal, Bonded by Blood arrived on the US metal scene fresh from high school and spoiling for a moshpit...
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Deadnight |
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In the darkened heart of the Windy City (that’s Chicago) lies Deadnight and their smoking debut album, ‘Messenger of Death’. With a sound that combines the most ferocious Thrash of the 80’s mixed with the Black Metal these guys adore, Deadnight have a niche almost all to themselves.
For those who have an ear for speed, grimness and a whole...
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Exciter |
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Pretty much every self respected metalhead knows of the release of an album called Kill 'Em All back in 83; what many seem to overlook and this is something that I can only attribute to a serious lack of interest in thrash, was the amazing release by a Canadian band that same year of a magnificent record (and yes I’m using the word magnificent to describe....
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Exodus |
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If there is a legend, a true thrash metal outfit that has just gotten better through the years and managed to achieve something not Metallica with their rock star status or Megadeth with their born again Christian frontman could have ever imagine was to increase their rage, their aggressiveness and their pure hunger for thrash, that legen... |
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Fatallity |
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Yet another Irish group to be featured this month in Leviatan, the truth is, these guys are cousins of Mass Extinction… kidding! Fatality are exactly like the band you’re playing in right now (if you, dear reader, happen to be in a band) except that they have more to their credit at the moment. Specifically an irreverent first album titled ‘Metal As Hell’...
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Forbidden |
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When the names of legends are thrown around by fans, critics and musicians in an effort to maintain those names as important as they were back when their light was shinning bright, one doesn’t really understand how deep those individuals and bands affected the reality in which we live today, and yes perhaps a metal band is not the French revolution... |
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Fueled by Fire |
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With more than just explosive riffs and a proper thrash attitude, California´s Fueled By Fire sounds old school, looks old school and plays like the best old school bands you ever heard during the glorious era of thrash.
Having said that and just to pist off Lou Dobbs, we have to point out that Latinos are crossing into the US of A not only to pick
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Gama Bomb |
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Providing great humor and apparently an incredible dedication for old school video games, Gama Bomb brings that relax, fast and yes very heavy sound to thrash, perhaps their lyrics are not dedicated to Satan or nuclear wars but they are still fun and very easy to relate to if you were born after 1980. The difference between this Irish group of guys and thei....
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Guillotine |
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With more than a decade between albums, metalheads would be hard pressed to place Sweden’s Guillotine. Are they a new band? Is anyone familiar with their music? What was their first record? (That would be 1997’s “Under the Guillotine”, dearie.) Just who the fuck are they!? For everyone’s information, Guillotine are a rare Scandinavian ...
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Hallows Eve |
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Perhaps the name Hallows Eve doesn’t ring many bells when its uttered; maybe only thrash “connoisseurs” can identify and express a clear opinion on what the band has done and what they are all about; but one thing many agreed upon is the importance of their second album Death & Insanity; an album that has been listed in many top thrash records...
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Hatchet |
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Turning heads—and more importantly, ears—this year because of their retrogressive Metal Blade debut “Awaiting Evil,” Hatchet count themselves among the few underground bands today that proudly carry the colors of Thrash Metal.
Too young to have really been part of it but nevertheless upholding a bygone generation’s ethos...
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Head on Collision |
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Sick and tired of the phrase “Thrash Metal revival”? Well, so are the three dudes in Head On Collision. To be brutally honest, they don’t give a flying fuck whether their current material takes part in any new gimmick. Head On Collision is the kind of band whose members have been playing music for so long, they’re oblivious to its repetitiveness...
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Legion of the Damned |
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The idea of just putting out an issue of Leviatan based entirely on thrash metal was born during the writing of this interview, sort of speak thanks to Legion of the Damned we now have more than 20 interviews with only thrash bands. But why was that? It was the simple and honest approach in which LOTD brought back memories of a genre that started...
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Mass Extinction |
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Coming from the land of Leprechauns and Colin Farrel, the guys at Mass Extinction represent the Emerald Isle in today’s current wave of Thrash Metal revivalism.
Having released the well-received EP “Creation’s Undoing” and following it up this year with a debut album, Mass Extinction are dead-set at acing the first chapter of their...
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Merciless Death |
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As their own record label glibly puts it, it’s as if the 90’s never happened. Merciless Death are so true to their roots, considering them a contemporary band would be a stretch. But hey, beneath the beautifully pressed vinyl editions of their albums (the latest is this year’s nostalgic ‘Realm of Terror’) are three pot-smoking dudes ...
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Nocturnal Fear |
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Nocturnal Fear doesn’t give two shits about the underground Thrash revival. These military enthusiasts (an interest blatantly reflected in their music) have been around before it happened, have just released a new album in the midst of it (this year’s “Code of Violence”), and will likely be upsetting their neighbors once Thrash is unfashionable again next year...
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Power |
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If zombies could rule the world maybe we wouldn’t have the mayhem that we face today; and with an economic crisis advancing to every corner of the globe, the notion of corpses taking over the government and big multinational corporations don’t seem like a bad idea at the moment.
Power seems to be one of those bands that not only play....
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Warpath |
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Not all the “new wave” of thrash bands are trying to revive the 80’s; some are just playing good old thrash metal, one of them is British Warpath.
Stripped down of denim jackets and white sneakers, Damnation the debut album of this extremely promising band delivers quite a punch at first listen and it just continues to grow on you as the spins become more...
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Gammacide |
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Despite just having released one record as their short existence has shown, the name Gammacide has always find a way to sneak into every single classic thrash conversation, at first as a rarity that some might consider a one hit wonder but later as a true achievement of a group of kids caught in the middle of the thrash revolution of the 80’s...
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All Interviews By Carlos Rodríguez &
Hail K.
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A Gruesome Find |
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North America is not mention a lot when talking about black metal, and bands like A Gruesome Find makes you wonder why that is?
With a melodic layer that helps drive evil, irrevocable black metal riffs, this Ohio outfit delivered in 2007 one of the finest melodic black metal records I have ever heard; with catchy, memorable and yes one more time EVIL music splattered all over “Of Blood and Nobility” only their third full length, but the most promising...
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Debauchery |
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Gore, blood, naked girls and metal…“groovy”, catchy death metal that is… all of this spells nothing more than DEBAUCHERY!
With a sound that might resemble Six Feet Under, but with a lot more complex and elaborate songs this German band (or it can also be refer to as a meat grinder with a sense of rhythm!) delivers that special death metal that can best be described by one word… and one word only…...
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Grayceon |
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There are times in which been brutal, fast and satanic, just doesn’t cut it…it doesn’t cut it for me and for many other metalheads when it comes to finding an outlet for hidden, unexpressed emotions that we carry but our “most traditional” bands cant help us liberate; and then is when bands like Grayceon come into play, serving as more than a piece of underground music and providing a way for some of more beautiful and somber illusions to emerge....
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Heritech |
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Heritech skirt the edge of several genres to produce epic tales of human demise (wow, that’s REALLY metal!). Take the grim vision of symphonic black metal then paint it with futuristic themes and a lot of research, what you get are albums like their latest, “Prophecy: The Apocalypse Enigma”. Preaching their gospel: vocalist/ keys man Sokaris, guitarist Sage, and programmer Dodd....
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Intruder |
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The truth is, Intruder are no longer around. They were a late 80’s thrash band on the verge of making a name for themselves, then all of a sudden the dream died due to bad management, internal conflict, and the changing musical landscape.
These guys were unfortunate enough to get the life squeezed out of them in the early 90’s when Metal slumped because of grunge. Leaving behind a handful of ...
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Sludge |
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What first caught my eye… or perhaps better put, my ears was Sludge’s single made video “60mm” a song so powerful, so full of rage and death metal perfection that I just had to get their latest album, not an easy task I may add! But finally after listening to “Lava” I discover a deeper, more complex band and sound within Sludge.The band has death, doom, and even...
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The Project Hate |
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There is so much beauty in Jonna Enckell, not just in her face, but in the tender and sweet vocals she provides to The Project Hate, and so much brutality, anger and desire in the vocals of Sandström and guitars by Lord K… a mix like this can only result in intriguing, forceful defiant of what melodic death metal should sound like, if we can even called this band that.... |
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Cryptopsy |
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There is a certain amount of “bravery” when a metal artist decides to really experiment and develop their sound; the brave part comes when we are talking about including clean vocals on a traditional death metal outfit… like Cryptopsy a band that needs no introduction.
The upcoming release of their 2008 work The Unspoken King has raised some questions... |
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Benighted |
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Going deeper into the mind of an insane patient might be a rediscovery of one’s own demons and desires, a trip that might be brutal, wild and depressive if not handle with care; well that’s exactly what you get one Icon is playing loudly on your speakers… so you better be aware that headbanging and moshdiving can go deeper than you though once the music is heavy and there is a true story underlining every lyric line.
French death/grindcore...
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Chingalera |
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It is hard to find artists and musicians with almost impeccable integrity, and I don’t mean moral integrity I mean musical integrity, musicians committed to write and play music that truly comes from an idea an a desire to express and represent what drives them towards music, one of those rare bands is “new comer” Chingalera!
With an outstanding debut album that comes with a DVD depicting the entire process of recording “In The Shadow Of The Black ...
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Torture Garden |
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When the Ford brothers from Liverpool set out to create original music that resides in the murky depths of experimentation, the end result were songs reflecting their ultimate theme: “Our demons may never pardon . . . for Eden was born a Torture Garden.” Fuck yeah.
Oh, they’re also looking for session musicians to do shows with...
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Enslaved |
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A band that needs no introduction is hard to introduce and lacking in imagination and with the need to give you a small example of what Enslaved is I can only refer the “newbies” to two words: black and progressive… many even the guys from Enslaved may disagree with both those words, but I just cant find a quicker way to interpret such an outstanding development of what once was considered Norwegian black metal...
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1349 |
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Like the fury of Satan himself, Hellfire is the new release from the black metalers 1349.
This Norwegian band has proven to the world that their style of approaching black metal is traditional yet they keep evolving into a more refined band, which has managed to maintain all its fury while recording better albums.
1349 is black metal there is no doubt about it, but is black metal played by musicians, not like other ... |
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Abigor |
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Can black metal survive without the corpse paint, without the blasphemy and without the unapologetic, blunt and sometimes rude way of communicating the music to the crowds? According to bands like Abigor, NO, black metal should be offensive, antichristian, rude and crude just like a good beef cut; and this Austrians have stick to that modo for almost 14 years now, never changing their attitude to “please” the media, instead they... |
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Adagio |
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A power metal band with a lot of progressive touches to it, you can say Adagio is a symphonic neo-classical and traditional melodic Metal band, all put into one. Adagio is the creation of talented guitarist Stéphan Forté, right after concluding his studies at CMCN music school; soon after his departure from the school Forté received various invitations from colleagues and record companies to begin his own band, and so did he, with his first production called “Sanctus Ignis”... |
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Aeternus |
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I tried to define what Dark metal is, but like many bands that hate labels I came to the conclusion that a label such as dark metal is more influenced by the fact that the melodies within every track have a more personal, obscure feeling than a certain technique.
Aeternus is one of those bands that proclaims there music as dark, therefore we have slap them with the label dark metal; some can hear a clear mix... |
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Agathodaimon |
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There is no doubt in our minds that the German band Agathodaimon has talent and a very good sense of innovation (even if they can’t admit it), what we didn’t know was that Sathonys (Agathodaimon’s guitar player and cofounder) was such a nice and talkative man.
Agathodaimon is a black metal band that loves to mix different sources of inspiration and sounds, to create a distinctive melody that provides a big array of... |
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Akercocke |
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You can call Akercocke what ever you want, and your interpretation or labeling of the band will hardly be mistaken since the band has never really settle for a "common" sound; so if you'll like you can say they play death, black, atmospheric, progressive and even thrash at some point in their career, like I say it doesn’t really matter, since this British band goes beyond all conventional approaches and fuses all their ideas, feelings and...
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Amon Amarth |
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Not Viking metal, death metal with Viking influences and Viking lyrics; for some it’s the same, but for Johan Hegg and Amon Amarth there is a difference, even though they don’t really bother telling people what to think and say about their band, they just want a chance to be heard and a place to do it.
Amon Amarth has become in recent years on of the most solid metal acts in the world; that because of their hard work, humility and unique approach to their music... |
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Amputated |
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Is this line offensive to you? …“Menstrual Cunt Fart”; well for me is one of the strongest insults I can think off, it’s gross, its inventive and it gives me that little sick feeling that starts in your stomach and ends up as little saliva in your mouth just as you are about to vomit.
You don’t have to like what Amputated writes about, or even pay a lot of attention to the gore drawings on the album art, but this British band demands attention... |
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As I Lay Dying |
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Metalcore has been invading the minds and hearts of many metal heads around the world for quite some time now, yet they find in the more traditional metal fan a little resistance, but there is no doubt that this metalcore phenomenon based mainly in the United States (for the great amount of bands) has managed to unite two worlds, by bringing the metal fans and the hardcore fans closer together.
Formed in early 2001 as a trio, the band decided to... |
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Audiopain |
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For many years, well at least since the explosion in the early 90’s of the now legendary Norwegian black metal scene, Norway has been catalog as the “epicenter” of the best black metal outfits that populate Europe and why not the world; a catalog that you’ll have to forget when you listen to Audiopain… because they play thrash metal, Norwegian thrash metal; but the interesting part or aspect of this band is not just their traditional fast, aggressive old.... |
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Avalanch |
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Spain’s prodigal son Avalanch returns to stage and launches a big offensive around their homeland in search of its biggest fans and a couple of new ones on the way.
With a very thigh schedule thanks to their new tour dedicated to promote the latest album “El Hijo pródigo” and a “Best Of” production soon to be released by the end of this year, Avalanch’s own Alberto Rionda took some time to speak to us about their concert back in July 2005 in San José, Costa Rica... |
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Axenstar |
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Starting like a cover band dedicated to play in the honor of the power metal gods, this band started to grow little by little until the curiosity for discovering their own potential was to big for them to handle, now with their third original released The Inquisition, this Swedish band is ready to take on the world.After a very well received second album Far From Heaven, the band is looking for recognition not just in their homeland but in
Europe
. Magnus Winterwild the singer was kind enough... |
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Azarath |
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Brutal, fast and technical; this is what you get when you give too much free time to a bunch of polish guys with some serious issues with religion and the established authority.
Azarath is a typhoon of satanic death metal, that doesn’t stop to look at the devastation caused to the masses; their music has some black elements but is the death aggression and their well calculated technicality that makes their records both destructive and precise... |
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Battlelore |
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If we could make a list of all the bands that have been strongly influenced by great writers, Battlelore would be on top of that list. Having based their lyrics and wardrobe on the now popular fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien, Battlelore tries in every show and album to takes us in a journey through fantastic lands and characters created by the British author.
Jyri Vahvanen co founder of the band explained to us that he’s more comfortable with the title fantasy metal than... |
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Benedictum |
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At first listen the power emanating from the vocal work in this San Diego based heavy metal band, will take you into a sort of regression, a déjà vu trip that will end with the discovery of one of the few female lead singer that is not only talented, powerful without comparison but just as a freebee one of the most beautiful women in metal.
Veronica Freeman may sound at first as a DIO velvet clone, but as their debut album “Uncreation”... |
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Beseech |
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I wanted to interview this band since our first issue came out back in November 2005, the album Souls Highway left a big impression on me; the melody, the groove, the beauty of Lotta Höglin vocals and the great complement of male vocals performed by Erik Molarin; they all let me to believe that there is something extremely special on Beseech, something not so many people and record companies have begin to understand.
Beseech is not... |
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Bloodbath |
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Bloodbath is more than the secret project of a group of demented scientists; this creature is born and breeds pure death metal, it has also managed to attract names like Mikael Åkerfeldt and Peter Tägtgren to participate on the experiments.
The band is not a regular gathering of musicians that work and reheard together, they live and create from separated places, non the less the band has managed to establish a believable and respectful attitude from fans.Right now... |
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Bolt Thrower |
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When we talk about death metal, there are a lot of bands that come to mind before the British Bolt Thrower, but that doesn’t mean this band is not one of death metal’s best and most loyal exponents. Bolt Thrower has suffered from a lack of attention from the media and many metal fans, but like bass player Jo Bench told us “I’m very grateful that Bolt Thrower have never been the media darlings” she makes this remarks not out of despise but believing that a band should be recognize and... |
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Burial Hordes |
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Remember those old days when people communicated with each other through mail, through physical pen and paper letters, those that you unfold to find someone else hand writing on it? Well the new generations are probably scratching their heads or laughing at the concept, but that was the way our parents use to do it, and now I know what we have lost; there is a feeling of closeness, of personal treatment that we lost...
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Dark Funeral |
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One month ago I was ready to wear my corpse paint and the arm spikes I built myself, but suddenly all my preparation went to hell when in a local forum (www.zonaunderground.com) the promoters of one of the most awaited concert of the year cancelled the show, no Dark Funeral this year, crap!!! Well it appears that there was some sort of misunderstanding between the black metallers and our local promoter, that prevented man | | | |
