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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INTERVIEW NEKROMANTHEON

Recently I got to know that Nekromantheon release a new album. I like the two predecessors very much, I hereby recommend them again to every lover of thrash metal. The new album "Visions of Trismegistos" takes it up a notch - the band from Kolbotn, Norway never sounded so intense and dark! My questions were answered by Sindre, responsible for bass and backing vocals.

Hey, how are you? What is the situation with the Corona pandemic in Norway at the moment? Has Norway been hit hard, has the economy suffered a lot and have there been harsh cuts in public life such as temporary bans on going out at a certain time or meeting a certain number of people? Here in Germany, the issue has been very politically charged and has also unfortunately divided society somewhat, how is it with you?

Hi. Doing okay. The situation is fucked up, we have been in lockdown for six months, and it’s the second lockdown. The economic situation is terrible, especially for regular people and small businesses who have been affected by the lockdown. I work in the restaurant / bar industry, that have just been thrown overboard by the government. Everything was closed except pharmacies, food-stores etc.  Thanks for nothing. For a long time you were only allowed to have two guests also, but that has chilled out a bit. Looks like we are heading to open up soon, as numbers are much better, and more people are getting vaccinated. Oslo has been hit hardest by the restrictions, which is where I live.  

INTERVIEW THE TROOPS OF DOOM

The Troops of Doom are a new Brazilian band consisting of ex-Sepultura guitarist and bassist Jairo Guedz, who can be heard on the mangy Sepultura early works "Bestial Devastation" and "Morbid Visions". Besides Jairo, the band consists of other deserving scene veterans. The band's first official release, the EP "The rise of heresy", released on Blood Blast Distribution (a sub-label of Nuclear Blast) indulges in the good old raw thrash / death that characterised Sepultura in the early days of their career. Consequently, there are also two Sepultura covers on this EP, namely "Bestial Devastation " and "Troops of Doom". Read the interview with Jairo here.

Hello Jairo, how are you at the moment? What is the Corona pandemic doing in Brazil at the moment?

Hello Gerald, things are kinda crazy over here. People politized this pandemic shit too much and it is far from ok, but we are trying to do our best concerning new music, the band and our next steps. Hope you are fine in Germany.

KONZERTBERICHT SATYRICON / SUICIDAL ANGELS / FIGHT THE FIGHT-TUROCK ESSEN / 25.09.2017

Am Montag, den 25.09. ging's mal wieder zu einem Metalkonzert, diesmal wegen SATYRICON, der legendären Black Metal Formation aus Norwegen. Im Turock in Essen war ich bisher noch nie, und als wir dort einen Parkplatz suchten, standen dort schon mindestens 4 Einsatzfahrzeuge der Polizei. Ich überlegte gerade noch, ob die lokale Essener Polizeiführung es wirklich für nötig hält, ein paar hundert Metalfans wie schwerkriminelle Straftäter überwachen zu lassen, als ich sah, dass im näheren Umfeld wohl eine Art Razzia stattfand. Also hatte das ganze doch einen anderen Grund als die "bösen" Metalfans. Trotzdem wirkte die ganze Szenerie etwas surreal, da zu der Mischung aus Polizisten auf der einen Seite und Metalfans in der Mitte noch eine ganze Menge wohl vornehmlich obdachloser Menschen auf der anderen Seite dazukam, die bei der Suppenküche der sich dort befindlichen Kirche Essen einnahmen.