INTERVIEW EMINENZ

Mehr oder weniger zufällig bekam ich mit, dass Eminenz ein neues Album namens "Diabolical Warfare" am Start haben, im Dezember 2021 erschien das tolle Werk bereits. (Review siehe HIER).  Ein guter Anlass, mit Gitarrist Heiko ein Interview zu führen.

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Hallo, viele Grüße aus Köln nach Annaberg-Buchholz. Wie sieht es momentan im Eminenz-Lager aus? Nun, einige Monate nach der Veröffentlichung des starken neuen Albums „Diabolical Warfare“, wie fällt da ein erstes Fazit zum Album aus, auch was die Reaktionen von Fans und Presse betrifft?

Ja, momentan läuft es bestens. Das Album ist überraschend gut bei Fans und Fanzines angekommen. Da jedes Bandmitglied andere musikalische Einflüsse hat, mussten wir diese erst einmal unter einen Hut bringen, um nicht ganz den Stil von Eminenz zu verlassen. Dies scheint uns recht gut gelungen zu sein. 

REVIEW EMINENZ "DIABOLICAL WARFARE" (ENG)

Eminenz from Annaberg-Buchholz in Saxony have been active in the underground for ages, since 1989 to be exact. Not least their joint appearance with the then unknown Mayhem (still with Dead as singer, and if I'm not mistaken, announced as "Death Metal from Norway") in Germany also ensured a solidification of their status in black metal circles, especially in retrospect. Funnily enough, the legendary "Live in Leipzig" performance featured Manos, who later changed into a kind of comedy band, and whose part is often attributed to Eminenz. But more about that later in the interview with Eminenz here at Systematic Desensitization Zine. 

REVIEW EMINENZ "DIABOLICAL WARFARE" (GER)

Eminenz aus dem sächsischen Annaberg-Buchholz sind ja nun schon seit Ewigkeiten aktiv im Underground, genau genommen seit dem fernen Jahr 1989. Nicht zuletzt das gemeinsame Auftreten mit den damals noch unbekannten Mayhem (noch mit Dead als Sänger, und wenn ich mich nicht täusche, als "Death Metal from Norway" angekündigt) in Deutschland sorgte auch gerade im Nachhinein für eine Verfestigung ihres Status in Black Metal - Kreisen. Lustigerweise waren bei dem so legendären "Live in Leipzig"-Auftritt die später zu einer Art Comedy-Band verkommenen Manos am Start, deren Part oftmals Eminenz zugeschrieben wird. Dazu aber später mehr im Interview mit Eminenz hier beim Systematic Desensitization Zine. 

INTERVIEW AKERBELTZ

The release of the new strong album "Merciless", which should delight all fans of traditional black metal sounds, was a good occasion for an interview with the Spanish black metal institution Akerbeltz, which has been wreaking its havoc in the Spanish underground since the distant year 1996. I talked to the factotum behind the band, who also plays in Korgüll The Exterminator.

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Hey, how does it feel to finally have the new album out with "Merciless"? What have been the reactions to it so far?

Hell! I´m very pleased that after so many years I could release an album that´s worth to be the logical continuation of the predecessor. The reactions up to now are really positive, especially because with this type of band the promotion comes straight from the reviews of fanzines and the social media as I don’t have the possibility to play live.     

REVIEW AKERBELTZ "MERCILESS"

Spanish black metal institution Akerbeltz from the tourist town of Lloret de Mar, which has been doing its mischief since 1996, released its eighth album via Black Seed Productions these days. The factotum, the man for everything, in this band also wears the pseudonym Akerbeltz and is also active in Körgull the Exterminator, which have far surpassed his main field of activity in terms of fame. Akerbeltz have always been and still are deepest underground, although certainly legions of fans should have at least heard the name Akerbeltz since the explosion of black metal in the 90s.   

INTERVIEW ANDREAS PETTERSON (DE ARMA / NORDVIS / ARMAGEDDA)

"There are powers beyond this mortal life which are stronger than one’s own will – therefore, certain events will come to pass whether you want them to or not."

With their latest EP "Nightcall", Swedish gothic rock band De Arma has got rid of the last remnants that point to the metal background of their two protagonists. I spoke to Andreas Petterson, probably best known for black metal band Armagedda and his work as label owner of Nordvis Produktion, about De Arma's new release, Armaggeda and closeness to nature.

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Hello Andreas, how are you doing at the moment? De Arma's new EP "Nightcall" will be released soon. Tell me something about it, what I immediately notice is the emphasis on gothic rock, the metal parts have disappeared completely. Was that a natural process or were the metal parts supposed to disappear deliberately?

Hi – all good here, thanks. I'd say that "Nightcall" is the result of a natural process, during which we manifested music of a kind we've wanted to play for many years now. After our 2013 debut album "Lost, Alien & Forlorn" we started toying with the idea of writing songs which were more synth-driven, thereby making metal a smaller part of the totality. I think I can say with some confidence that the "Nightcall" EP reflects this approach. Since both of our albums were written in close succession, it feels great to now release music which is fully representative of De Arma of today.   

REVIEW MORTUUS INFRADAEMONI "INMORTUOS SUM"

These days I more or less got to know that Mortuus Infradaemoni have released a new, third album. Honestly, after the two previous albums from 2007 and 2009, I had long suspected the band in the eternal hunting grounds, so I was all the more pleased that the band still exists.

The new album called "Inmortuos sum" is released by Iron Bonehead Productions, after the two predecessors were released by Cold Dimensions, the label of former Lunar Aurora musician Andreas "Whyrd" Bauer. And there we are already at the right keyword, namely Lunar Aurora . The two protagonists behind Mortuus Infradaemoni, Nathaniel and Profanatitas are both ex- members of the legendary Lunar Aurora.   

INTERVIEW DEATHRITE

Deathrite from Leipzig have been a household name in the death metal scene at least since their killer album "Revelation of Chaos". With the stylistic changes of the successor "Nightmares Reign" they then pushed some people in front of the head, many others were thrilled. Now their new EP "Delirium" was released these days, a good reason to interview singer Tony.

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Hello first of all. How are you doing? You just released the new EP "Delirium". How are the reactions to it so far? And how was the release show with Vidargängr and Nocturnal Witch?

Hello Gerald. We are doing well, so far there are only positive reactions to the new material. Release show was great, full house. A meeting of many friends and acquaintances. 

REVIEW MESSE MORTUAIRE "NOCTURNAL DEMONIC VISITATION"

Messe Mortuaire from Lille, France release their first EP "Nocturnal Demonic Visitation" these days via the busy Greek label Repulsive Echo Records. I heard the band name this day for the first time, but hope to hear more soon from this diabolical death metal band, which is composed of three veterans of the French scene.

REVIEW ATRIUM NOCTIS "ATRIUM NOCTIS"

The Cologne dark / black symphonic metallers Atrium Noctis released a new self-titled album a few days ago, on which they have recorded nine new songs from the band's twenty-year history. Even though I am only familiar with the last studio album "Aeterni", sound samples of the older works prove that this is the most mature and professional work of the band to date. The whole thing was produced by Martin Buchwalter at Gernhart Studios in Troisdorf, where Destruction, Tankard and Accuser have already been refined. For the first time, the songs were recorded by three guitarists, and a special circumstance with the recordings was that no drummer was available shortly before the already booked studio date and the band had to record everything on click track. The drummer's recordings were then made afterwards over the otherwise already completely finished recordings.

REZENSION "MORGOTH UNCURSED-THE MORGOTH CHRONICLES"

Gut Ding will Weile haben - fast sieben Jahre nach Erscheinen dieser Morgoth -Bandbiographie habe ich mir diese nun auch zu Gemüte geführt. Der Autor Christian Krumm dürfte dem einen oder anderen schon aufgrund der Werke "Kumpels in Kutten -Heavy Metal im Ruhrgebiet" und "Century Media-Do it yourself: Die Geschichte eine Labels" bekannt sein.

Das knapp 270-seitige Werk ist flüssig geschrieben, ich habe es an einem Nachmittag durchgelesen. Der etwas außergewöhnliche Ausgangspunkt besteht darin, dass der Autor die damaligen aktuellen als auch ehemaligen Bandmitglieder und Personen aus dem Umfeld im Rahmen einer Grillparty im Hause eines Bandmitglieds in Dortmund trifft und letztendlich wohl fast alle relevanten Informationen, außer vorheriger Recherche natürlich, im Rahmen dieses Treffens erhält.

REVIEW "CONFESS"-AUTOBIOGRAPHY BY ROB HALFORD

Now, about one and a half years after its publication, I have read the autobiography of Rob Halford, singer of Judas Priest. I have to say, it's a great autobiography, I read the more than 500 pages almost in one day, Halford really knows how to write both exciting and funny. He begins with his childhood and youth on the council estate in Walsall, a town near Birmingham, and the description of the sobriety and down-to-earthness of the people living there, most of whose working part is in the steelworks. Halford describes how he discovered theatre for himself and then came to his great passion, music. The first steps with Judas Priest, infinitely small recording budgets, journalists who ask the same stupid questions and even think they are interviewing a singer/songwriter called Judith Priest.

REVIEW "NORTH FROM HERE - THE SENTENCED STORY"

I've read quite a few band biographies, but few have been as interesting and touching as "North from here- The Sentenced Story", written by Matti Riekki, published by Svart Records.

I can still remember my first contact with the band's music. In Rock Hard magazine Germany, "North from here", the band's second album, was celebrated, and so I bought it in the Saturn Cologne at Hansaring (which, by the way, at that time in the distant year 1993 was considered - at least officially - the biggest CD selection in the world). I even remember that I also bought Sadist's "Above the light" and "The jilemnice occultist" by the Czechs from Masters Hammer.

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.

INTERVIEW VOMIT SPELL

The name Vomit Spell had been known to me for some time. In fact, I had listened to the demo some time ago, but then lost track of the band again. A mistake, as it now turns out, as the debut album released on FDA Records a few months ago offers great stuff for all fans of dark sounds who know what to do with a dark and intense mixture of death metal and grindcore (read the review of the album HERE) !

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Hey, first tell us something about the band. When was Vomit Spell founded? Did you all know each other before or did you at least partly get to know each other through the band? In which other bands did you play before?

Hi, Markus (guitar) and Jochen (drums) met in 2015 through an ad and first met in a friend's rehearsal room to see if it would fit. The first song was then written and rehearsed in Jochen's gazebo (!!!). Then we rented a room and recruited Philipp (vocals) and Sepp (bass), both buddies. Marco, our second guitarist, joined us shortly before the demo was written. Sepp has left us in the meantime and since then we have been desperately looking for a replacement on bass. Markus used to play in the grindcore band Nyctophobic and since a few years in the crust/metal band Hellknife. Jochen was active in Hafrm, a local hardcore band from Mainz, and the death metal band I am Havoc.

REVIEW VOMIT SPELL "VOMIT SPELL" (ENGLISH)

Vomit Spell from Mainz released their self-titled debut album on FDA Records in October last year, after a first demo was released in 2019. In 2020, this demo was also released officially on CD by FDA Records.

Vomit Spell play a great mixture of death metal and grindcore. I just throw names like Terrorizer, Repulsion, Napalm Death, Carcass or Autopsy into the round. But, to name a band that doesn't belong to this circle of old masters, you can bring the Danes of Undergang into play. So you see, this is not about technique and sophisticated aspects, but Vomit Spell dig deep in the dirt to create these ominous sounds. So on this release, atmosphere and authenticity take centre stage over the course of a good half hour!    

REVIEW VOMIT SPELL "VOMIT SPELL"

Vomit Spell aus Mainz veröffentlichten im Oktober letzten Jahres ihr selbstbetiteltes Debütalbum auf FDA Records, nachdem im Jahr 2019 schon ein erstes Demo veröffentlicht wurde. Dieses gelangte 2020 schlussendlich ebenfalls bei FDA Records nachträglich zu offiziellen Veröffentlichungsehren auf CD.

Vomit Spell spielen eine großartige Mischung aus Death Metal und Grindcore. Ich werfe hier einfach mal Namen wie Terrorizer, Repulsion, Napalm Death, Carcass oder Autopsy in die Runde. Aber, um eine Band zu benennen, die nicht diesem Kreis der alten Meister zugehörig ist, kann man die Dänen von Undergang ins Spiel bringen. Ihr seht also schon, hier geht es nicht um Technik und Schöngeisterei, sondern Vomit Spell wühlen tief im Dreck um diese unheilvollen Klänge zu erschaffen. Auf dieser Veröffentlichung stehen also Atmosphäre und Authentizität im Laufe der guten halben Stunde im Vordergrund!    

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 VERHÄNGNIS (ENGLISH VERSION)

Good things take time  

In October 2020 I discovered more or less by coincident the Bandcamp profile of a band called Verhängnis (the german term for doom or fate), who offered two releases there, a demo and an album. Fascinating, gruff, dragging doomdeath with echoing vocals and expressionistic German lyrics had immediately caught my attention. Associatively, the legendary Australians of Disembowelment came directly to my mind. I wrote to the band to ask if they were interested in an interview and heard nothing for a long time. Then, at the beginning of 2022, I suddenly received a mail out of nowhere that my message must have been hidden deep in the spam folder. Well, almost one and a half years later this interview can take place after all, meanwhile the band also has a second album called "Irrlicht" in their repertoire, which was released in October 2021.

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Hello, please tell us something more about Verhängnis. When exactly and from what occasion followed the formation of Verhängnis?

Hi. First of all, thank you for the invitation to the interview. I'll have to elaborate a bit more. I've been playing in various bands for quite some time and have also been involved in recording technology and music production for a few years now. Together with one of my closest friends, I spontaneously went into the rehearsal room around 2015 and we recorded the demo for our then two-man project Kriegszittern without much prior knowledge, with simple means and a lot of experimentation. Over time, more and more equipment and experience came along and I started working with synthesizers, drum machines and MIDI. Sometime in 2018 I started to combine the two areas and recorded the songs that would later be called "Finsternis" and "Abgrund". I didn't have a fixed idea in which direction it should go and just tried it out. After I tinkered with the two songs every now and then over the next two years, but actually had enough other stuff to do, the pandemic came in 2020 and everything was put on hold for the time being.

INTERVIEW VERHÄNGNIS

Gut Ding will Weile haben  

Im Oktober 2020 entdeckte ich mehr oder weniger zufällig das Bandcamp-Profil einer Band namens Verhängnis, die zwei Veröffentlichungen, ein Demo und ein Album, dort anbot. Faszinierender, grufig-ranziger, schleppender Doomdeath mit hallenden Vocals und expressionistischen deutschen Texten hatte unverzüglich meine Neugier geweckt. Assoziativ kamen mir die legendären Australier von Disembowelment direkt in den Sinn. Ich schrieb die Band an, ob Interesse an einem Interview bestände und hörte erst einmal lange Zeit nichts mehr. Angang 2022 erhielt ich dann plötzlich aus dem Nichts eine Mail, dass meine Nachricht wohl ganz tief im Spamordner versteckt gewesen war. Nun gut, also fast anderthalb Jahre später kann dieses Interview doch noch stattfinden, mittlerweile hat die Band auch ein im Oktober 2021 veröffentlichtes zweites Album namens "Irrlicht" im Repertoire.

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Hallo! Erzähle doch mal bitte etwas mehr zu Verhängnis. Wann genau und aus welchem Anlass heraus folgte die Gründung von Verhängnis?

Hi. Erstmal Danke für die Einladung zum Interview. Da muss ich direkt ein bisschen weiter ausholen. Ich spiele seit längerer Zeit in diversen Bands und beschäftige mich seit einigen Jahren auch mit Aufnahmetechnik und Musikproduktion. Zusammen mit einem meiner engsten Freunde bin ich ungefähr 2015 spontan in den Proberaum gegangen und wir haben ohne große Vorkenntnisse, mit einfachen Mittel und viel Experimentierfreude die Demo für unser damaliges Zwei-Mann-Projekt Kriegszittern aufgenommen. Mit der Zeit kam immer mehr Equipment und Erfahrung dazu und ich hab angefangen mit Synthesizern, Drumcomputern und MIDI zu arbeiten. Irgendwann 2018 hab ich dann angefangen die beiden Bereiche zu verbinden und die Songs aufgenommen, die später einmal Finsternis und Abgrund heißen würden. Ich hatte keine feste Idee in welche Richtung die Sache gehen sollte und hab einfach ausprobiert. Nachdem ich in den nächsten zwei Jahren immer mal wieder an den beiden Songs rumgebastelt hab, aber eigentlich genug anderen Kram zu tun hatte, kam dann 2020 die Pandemie und alles war erstmal auf Eis gelegt.

INTERVIEW WITH KJETIL MANHEIM (ORDER / EX-MAYHEM) PART II

"Euronymous was pissed as hell when I decided to leave, he was really mad."

As announced, here is the second part of the interview with Kjetil Manheim of Order (read part one HERE), in which we talked about his further musical playgrounds in the field of noise music. We also talked about the transfiguration of Norwegian black metal and the film "Lords of chaos", among other things, we talked about his farewell to Mayhem, about the former singer Dead, people's preference for stories and myths, exorcisms as well as Kjetil's love for Berlin.

Did you watch the „Lords of Chaos“- movie and if so, did you like it, didn't you like it? How about the actor who played your role?

Well, first of all, I haven't watched it. I can't see any reason I should see it. It's not a great movie if I understood it right from people, it's not an "Oscar". So, I can't see why I should have watched the movie because it has nothing to do with reality. So far as what I've heard from people who have seen the movie, it has nothing to do with me whatsoever. But of course, they have put it in the context where they got some aspects ot pieces like they have our names, but it has nothing to do with my life. I don't understand why they made that movie.

INTERVIEW WITH KJETIL MANHEIM (ORDER / EX-MAYHEM) PART I

"Being a human is a very lonesome journey."

Here is the promised interview with Kjetil Manheim, the drummer of Order, who released their new strong album "The Gospel" these days. Kjetil had a lot to say, so I divided the interview, which took almost two hours on Skype, into two parts. In the first part you can read what Kjetil has to say about the new album in musical and lyrical terms - we talked about the fragility of human life, buddhism, Aleister Crowley and organized religions, the (im)possibility of life after death but also about Emperor. In the second part we will talk about Kjetil's other musical playgrounds in the field of noise music, but also about the transfiguration of Norwegian black metal and the movie "Lords of chaos". We talked about his departure from Mayhem and former singer Dead as well as Kjetil's fondness for Berlin.

Hi Kjetil, more or less coincidentally, Norwegian weeks are upon me. A few hours ago I did an interview with Mortiis and an interview with Jørn Steen, the maker of "Saga", a movie including a wild mix of black metal, vikings, bikers and zombies, featuring Sarke and also Ted from Darkthrone, is also in the making. Has somehow unplanned so emerged....

Yeah, Maybe this is a coincidence. Or maybe something happens in Norway these days?

Haha, maybe, I don´t know…

Yeah, that movie sounds interesting.

I would say it is something like a horror comedy. Not not to be taken too serious. According to that, I want to ask, did you maybe watch the 30th anniversary Emperor livestream ?

No, I didn’t. I saw that board, which was announcing it, and I thought I was going to watch it, but I haven't yet. So, I have it still in front of me. Did you watch it?

INTERVIEW WITH MORTIIS PART II

"We showed up with the makeup and the masks and there were all these art lovers, it was like a gasp went through the crowd, because we looked like fuckin bums."

So, this is part two of the in-depth interview with Mortiis, the first part can be read HERE. This time we talked about his influence on a whole genre and a lot of other music, artists, bands and projects. It's about ABBA, Björk, Beherit, Ildjarn, Swedish hardcore, Nine Inch Nails, Apoptygma Berzerk, the rating of Mortiis by Barney from Napalm Death and the cover of the "Stargate" album. Furthermore, it is about the payment of musicians by streaming services and the effects of the Corona pandemic. Have fun reading!

Of course, in mainstream terms, you are not so popular, nevertheless, how does it feel to have virtually invented the "dungeon synth" genre and to have inspired thousands of people, myself included (back in the distant 1997), all over the world to start similar projects, sometimes with more or less success? Of course I can only speak for Germany, but at that time incredibly many people from the black metal scene had such a Dungenon Synth -Project at the start, I don't even want to know how many recordings in some cellars or attics live their shadowy existence for decades....

But it's not as easy as it looks, you know?

Yes, of course. 

Oh, I guess that's flattering. If they're inspired by me, that's always nice to hear. It's always cool, I like seeing metal guys starting these projects because it means they have an open mind in music, it means that they don't only listen to one thing and that they do have a broader interest in music in general. It doesn't have to be limited to Cuban music. I mean, you know, if they're into fucking jazz, I think that's cool, too. You know, I used to be kind of a narrow minded guy myself. Like in the very early '90s, it was black metal or nothing. And I just think that sometimes that creates a bit of an asshole. You know, when all you care about is one thing and everything else can go to hell, I just don't like that. That attitude, to me, seems very limited and simple, so I'm glad to see people that want to do something else at the same time. You know, looking at things in a broader light. That's a positive thing to me.  

INTERVIEW WITH MORTIIS PART I

"So maybe it's not a bad thing that they opened graves now just to make sure, that there are no vampires or undead people?"

Here's an interview with Mortiis. Since it was a more than two-hour conversation, I have divided the interview into two parts. I talked with Mortiis, who turned out to be an extremely nice guy, among other things about Emperor, Mayhem and the Norwegian black metal scene, his side projects, Ancient Rites, Moby, historical misconceptions, lack of support from the record company, vampires and opened graves in Romania and children and their excessive occupation with smartphones and digital content.

 

More or less coincidentally, I'm having "Norwegian weeks" here on my blog right now-after this interview I'm doing an interview with Manheim from Order, who was part of Mayhem's legendary "Deathcrush" release, furthermore I have an interview going on with Jørn Steen, the director of the movie "Saga", which features Sarke and Ted from Darkthrone. Did did you hear something about this movie? I think it's not a serious movie, it's more like horror comedy including a wild mix of black metal, bikers, undead people and vikings. 

What was it called? "Saga"? I know there's been made some Norwegian like horror movies about zombies in the snow, up in the mountains and some shit like that. But I think that's a different movie. So I know I haven't seen that one. Okay, I guess I should keep my eye out for it.

And in a few hours I'm doing an interview with Order, more specifically with Kjetil Manheim.

Yes, the band with personal overlaps to Cadaver, right?  

REVIEW ORDER "THE GOSPEL"

Order from Norway are at the start with their now more second album called "The Gospel". The band, which consists of such well-deserved veterans as drummer Manheim (drummed on Mayhem's legendary "Deathcrush" EP), vocalist Messiah (also ex-Mayhem), guitarist Anders Odden (Cadaver, Satyricon) and bassist Stu Manx (ex-Gluecifer), and this name-dropping is in no way necessary regarding the musical quality, however, live up to its members previous musical legacy. Order manage in a very impressive and intense way to mix old black and death metal with faster eruptive parts to a flowing melange, which in contrast to the debut "Lex Amentiae" goes noticeably deeper and also hits the listener where it hurts.

INTERVIEW HALPHAS

Halphas from Hesse play traditional, rough, but still partly atmospheric black metal, which is skillfully manifested on the two albums so far and a previous demo. Reason enough to talk to drummer Tempestas.   

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Hey, how are you doing at the moment? I saw on your Facebook page that you recently played live again at the Barther Metal Open Air. Was that the first gig after the corona-related break? Soon there will be some more I have seen.

Like pretty much all the other bands, the Corona timeout hit us relatively hard. But it was especially frustrating that this time-out started right after our album release. This took the wind out of our sails and it wasn't easy to get out of this hole. But we started right away with some great gigs. The Barther Metal Open Air as well as the Fimbul Festival were a really magical comeback for us. The magic between us and our fans was unbroken again. That makes us very proud.  

REVIEW ORTUS "AUS DER TIEFE" (ENGLISH)

I already reviewed ORTUS from Rhineland-Palatinate with their debut EP called "Where shadows gather" (see HERE.) This was released in 2018, and in an interview I read that at least a part of the band takes a certain critical distance to the EP and sees this first release retrospectively more as the first steps of musical self-discovery. Well, be that as it may, I was thrilled at the time and still find this EP very good. This release was followed in 2019 by the "Forgotten Memories" EP, which was again very convincing.  

REVIEW ORTUS "AUS DER TIEFE"

ORTUS aus Rheinland-Pfalz hatte ich ja bereits mit ihrer Debüt-EP namens "Where shadows gather" besprochen (siehe HIER.) Diese erschien 2018, und in einem Interview las ich, das zumindest ein Teil der Band eine gewisse kritische Distanz zu der EP einnimmt und diese erste Veröffentlichung nun retrospektiv mehr als erste Schritte der musikalischen Selbstfindung sieht. Nun, wie dem auch sei, ich war damals begeistert und finde diese EP auch nach wie vor sehr gut. Nach dieser Veröffentlichung folgte dann 2019 die "Forgotten Memories"-EP, welche erneut sehr überzeugen konnte.  

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.