REVIEW GURKKHAS "A LIFE OF SUFFERING"

Gurkkhas are a French death metal band, named after units of Nepalese soldiers in the service of the British Army and the Indian armed forces, who released two albums around the turn of the millennium (more about the current and earlier band history in the interview with the band, read here). The debut album “Engraved in Blood, Flesh and Souls” was released in 2000 by Massacre Records, and just one year later “A life of suffering” was published by the legendary German label Morbid Records, which has long since ceased to exist. Now, out of nowhere, a compilation of the two albums is being released on the French label Great Dane Records, or rather, the complete “A life of suffering” album plus four further selected tracks from the debut album.

INTERVIEW GURKKHAS

"For me, French death metal is made up of three bands: Massacra, Loudblast and Crusher."

Speaking of bands that have been inactive for decades, a few weeks ago I suddenly had the announcement of the reunion of a band in my mailbox that I, like so many others, had long since irrevocably consigned to the eternal hunting grounds of death metal. We're talking about the French Gurkkhas (with one more “k”, named after the Gurkhas, Nepalese soldiers in the service of the British Army and the Indian armed forces, in which they form their own units). They have now released a compilation via Great Dane Records (read the review here), which includes the complete second album as well as parts of the debut, and which I can only warmly recommend to all fans of US-American death metal in particular. I spoke to vocalist Jeff about the two albums released back then at the turn of the millennium as well as about the current and future situation of the band and death metal in France.

REVIEW "INTO EVERLASTING FIRE -THE OFFICIAL HISTORY OF IMMOLATION"

With “Into everlasting fire”, Kevin Stewart-Panko presents the official 450 pages long band biography of Immolation, one of the longest-serving and for many probably one of the best death metal bands on the planet. First of all, it should be mentioned that this work is one of the best, if not the best and most interesting band biography I have read, and I have read quite a few, such as those of Obituary, Paradise Lost, Necromantia, Rotting Christ, Hellhammer / Celtic Frost, Behemoth, Kreator or Tankard to name but a few.

First of all, let me mention my personal connection to the band; the first album I bought was the “Here in After” album (which I remember scoring just 6 out of 10 in the German Rock Hard magazine, but more on that topic later), which I bought during my civilian service in the former German capital Bonn as an adolescenct. A year later, in 1999, I went to Wacken for the first (and last) time and as the author describes, Immolation were supposed to play in Wacken in 1999, but due to visa issues this didn't happen until 2016, 17 years later; the band was also in muddy Wacken in 2023. So unfortunately I've never seen the band live, more on the band's live presence later. 

INTERVIEW MORTEM

"Perhaps it's in our blood!"

Here you can read an interview with the Peruvian underground institution Mortem, who have been haunting the underground since the distant year 1986. Read here what founding member, drummer and vocalist Alvaro Amduscias has to say about the band's beginnings, influences, goals, upcoming gigs and a new Mortem album.

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Hello Alvaro, best regards from the Rhineland in Germany, how are you doing at the moment?

Hi Gerald. Thank you very much for this interview! All good, here in the burning desert of Phoenix, Arizona.

INTERVIEW MANDATORY

"When I personally think back to the last really great death metal records from Germany, whose songs I can always remember, I can only think of Morgoth's "Odium" and the debut album by Crack Up, which was released twelve years ago."

Here is an interview with German old school death metal outfit Mandatory, which I conducted in 2007. Bandleader and guitarist Sascha Beselt talks about the German death metal scene in an interesting way- from a music-historical point of view alone this interview is interesting. The new wave of German death metal bands - names such as Chapel of Disease, Lifeless, Slaughterday, Arroganz, Sulphur Aeon, Wound or Revel in Flesh, many of which were or are still based at the busy label F.D.A. Records - only started a few years later. The album "Adrift Beyond" announced here was finally released in 2010 via the renowned Spanish label Xtreem Music, and in 2012 the band released their previously unreleased debut album "Ripped from the tomb" from 2003. Nothing has happened on Mandatory's Facebook profile since 2015, so the band is probably no longer active, even if there was never an official break-up. Looking back, you might think that Mandatory should perhaps have stayed active with their old-school sound for a few more years in order to gain more attention in the course of the aforementioned revival of more traditional sounds. But be that as it may, enjoy this little trip back in time to an era when most bands were still on Myspace instead of Facebook.

INTERVIEW MACERATION

"I think it was just a different time back then. You ended up in a studio and the result was also somewhat coincidental."

Maceration from Denmark released their debut album in 1992. After many years in which the band went dormant, the extremely strong follow-up "It never ends..." was released in 2022, exactly thirty years later. In September this year, a new album called "Serpent Devourment" will be released, once again via the energetic Danish death metal label Emanzipation Productions. A good reason to talk to founding member Jakob Schultz, who was also part of Invocators line-up on their legendary debut album "Excursion Demise". 

INTERVIEW MORTA SKULD

" 'Dying Remains' was a huge album for us and set the tone, lots of fans really enjoy this record and we are so blessed that it's still a great record and stands the rest of time."

After decades in US death metal, Morta Skuld from Milwaukee are a firm institution in the genre. Now they have delivered an absolute highlight with "Creation Undone", which can also be seen from the numerous enthusiastic reactions from the press and fans. A good reason to talk to the only remaining founding member Dave Gregor.

INTERVIEW UGRA KARMA

"Nepalese regard their mountains as sacred and have a high regard for everything the mountains provide: annual monsoons, fertile rivers and breathtaking beauty."

We in Europe, or more specifically here in Germany, are mostly confronted with bands from Northern or Central Europe, the USA or Australia, even Southern European bands are less on the radar, and South America is also less present. Now I am pleased to present Ugra Karma, a band from Nepal, based at the capital Kathmandu. Read for yourself what vocalist and bassist Sunil, who founded the band in 1999, has to say about death metal, the difficult early days of the band, mountaineering in the Himalayas, the caste system in Nepal and the serial killer Charles Sobhraj.

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REVIEW SICKENING GORE "DESTRUCTIVE REALITY"

This time I would like to present you the only album of the Swiss death metal band Sickening Gore. This band from Zurich, which previously went by the name Reactor, released "Destructive Reality" on Massacre Records in 1993, only to disband a short time later. I still remember a review of a concert in a big German metal magazine, the band played in Zurich as support of Carcass. A review in the then issue of Metal Hammer compared the band stylistically to Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse. This is quite accurate, even if the world class of the compositions of Morbid Angel could not be reached, but which band can claim this? Nevertheless, the band varied on their only album skillfully between high-speed bludgeoning, grindcore influences and dragged parts. 

REVIEW HAMVAK "MAELSTROM OF ABHORRENT INCANTATIONS"

Out of nowhere I heard about Hamvak (Hungarian for ash), a great one-man band from Stuttgart. The factotum behind the music, Dávid Vadkerti-Tóth, now delivered Hamvak's debut album after releasing a three-track demo back in 2017.

Hmavak's debut album, released by Morbid Chapel Records and Rotten Tomb Records, is the best example of what undiscovered gems the underground has in store. The six, mostly overlong tracks that bring the album to a total playing time of 40 minutes, should delight any fan of gloomy and sophisticated blackened death metal. Like the album title, which, by the way, was visually very appropriately implemented by the cover artwork, the listener feels drawn into a veritable maelstrom, from which there is no escape, because the tracks cause a partly captivating-hypnotic effect.

INTERVIEW ABSTRACTYSS

In the depths of the world wide web I came across the Bavarian death metal band Abstractyss, which weaves brutal and technical death metal with atmospheric elements into a coherent whole. Read here what the band from the city of three rivers Passau has to say.

Hello, please tell the readers of Systematic Desensitization Zine something about your band history. A short outline, who, when, where you formed. How exactly did you come up with the band name, which sounds quite unusual at first. An abstract hell so to speak?

INTERVIEW REXUL

Rexul hailing from Gummersbach in the Bergisches Land region, Germany, recently released a strong debut album (read the review HERE )that should convince every fan of sophisticated death metal with its great mixture of brutality and atmosphere.

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Hello, please introduce Rexul in short form. Who are you, when did the band start, how long did it take you to write and record the album? How were the reactions of the press and your environment so far?

We, Benny and Simon, formed Rexul from the ashes of Diabolical Imperium and Eklipsis in September 2018. In the same month we immediately started writing the first riffs and lyrics; it took us 31 months to write the whole record. So far, the reactions from the press have been good to very good. For some listeners the songs are too long or some riffs or melodies are repeated. For us, the songs were perfect at the moment we recorded them, but we don't know any musician who wouldn't change something in the recording or songwriting afterwards.

REVIEW REXUL "EREBUS...VIRTUOSUS...ALPHA" (ENGLISH)

Rexul from Gummersbach in the beautiful Bergisches Land region released their debut album these days (actually two months ago) on FDA Records, probably Germany's most distinguished death metal label. The two band members S. Milizia and B. Oprea were previously (temporary) active with Diabolical Imperium, who released two albums and were active between 1993 and 2015. It's perhaps due to this history that Rexul did not content themselves with a demo or an EP as their first sign of life, but instead came directly to the public's attention with a complete album.  

REVIEW REXUL "EREBUS...VIRTUOSUS...ALPHA"

Rexul aus Gummersbach im schönen Bergischen Land veröffentlichten dieser Tage (genau genommen schon vor zwei Monaten) ihr Debütalbum auf FDA Records, Deutschlands wohl profiliertestem Death Metal Label. Die beiden Bandmitglieder S. Milizia und B. Oprea waren vorher schon (zeitweise) bei Diabolical Imperium tätig, die zwei Alben veröffentlichten und zwischen 1993 und 2015 tätig waren. Gerade dieser Vorgeschichte ist vielleicht auch geschuldet, dass sich Rexul erst gar nicht mit einem Demo oder einer EP als erstem Lebenszeichen begnügten, sondern direkt mit einem kompletten Album in den Fokus der Öffentlichkeit treten.  

INTERVIEW INCANTATION

"In death metal there are no rules, it's just about expressing your inner most dark feelings. We have our own vision and at times the masses didn’t always get it. But I think over the last few years more and more death metal fans understand what we are trying to express with our music. It’s like the scene caught up with us."  

Incantation, who have been around since the distant year of 1989, have been a constant gourmet treat for fans of dark, dirty death metal since their debut album "Onward to Golgotha" in 1992. Fortunately, according to the motto "what goes around comes around", the band's qualities seem to be getting around more and more, so that the latest album "Sect of Vile Divinities" can already be considered the biggest commercial success in the band's history.The author of this blog is a die-hard follower of the band, and so the opportunity had finally come to talk to band founder and scene veteran John Mc Entee, who plays guitar and is responsible for the vocals, about various things. The frontman turned out to be a very thoughtful and reflective guy.

Hey, how are you at the moment? I hope you and your families, relatives and friends are healthy! How is it corona-wise with you in Pennsylvania at the moment?

All is good here. I now live in Greensboro, North Carolina for the last few years and it’s totally amazing down here. For me, the lockdown has been ok. I’m kinda a loner so I don’t really like to be around other people unless it’s friends or horror or metal people. For the band, it has been great, we didn’t know what to expect releasing the “Sect of Vile Divinities” album a-mist the pandemic, but it ended up being a major success for us, which was super cool.

I know it’s been a difficult time for almost everyone over this pandemic and I have sadly even lost a few friends due to it. It's just my personality to want to make the best out of any situation. I’m also very fortunate to have an amazing home life and that really makes everything seem great.   

INTERVIEW NOCTURNUS AD

"It either resonates with you or it doesn't !"

While listening to the new excellent Nocturnus AD-album "Paradox" I came to the conclusion that I should do an interview with the band. Nocturnus is a well-known and respected name in the history of extreme metal, also due to the fact that the band had some kind of pioneer role in integrating synthesizers in death metal. So I spoke with mastermind Mike Browning about the new album, his other (previous) bands and projects such as After Death, Acheron, Voodoo Gods and Morbid Angel, occultism and the death of ex-Morbid Angel guitarist Richard Brunelle (R.I.P.), who sadly passed away in the course of this interview.

The new Nocturnus AD-album "Paradox" was released some months ago, how are your thoughts and feelings concerning it afterwards ? Where would you place it in relation to the previous Nocturnus-albums "The key" and "Thresholds"?

The reviews and sales have been way past my expectations! I knew that we would have people that liked it and I was hoping that a few people would say that it is a worthy successor to "The Key", but I never expected for everything the record company made has sold out and in a second pressing already and the reviews are not just good, you can tell by reading the reviews that people are going in great details about the songs, lyrics and how it makes them feel when they listen to it and that it is the perfect followup to "The Key". It's really blowing my mind, but it is hard to judge your own songs because you never know how people will receive it, especially on the internet. 

To me it is the direct continuation of "The Key" lyrically and maybe even musically. "Thresholds" has always been a weird bittersweet album to me because I knew it was the beginning of the end of what I wanted Nocturnus to be when I started the band. I wanted "Thresholds" to be the followup to "The Key"- story and there is not one thing on "Thresholds" that continues from "The Key". It was a good album by itself on its own, but it was nowhere near what I wanted it to convey, so that is why "Paradox" is a real paradox!  

REVIEW DEATHMACE "BLEEDING FRENZY"

Last week I got the debut album called "Bleeding Frenzy" from DEATHMACE. I haven't heard from this band before, but I guess this was a mistake. DEATHMACE from York, England exist since 2009 and play a really great mixture between death and thrash metal.