I would like to point out here once again a great, unfortunately probably too little noticed album, namely the third Invoker album called "Towards the pantheon of the nameless" released in 2020 by Einheit Produktionen. The band from Saxony-Anhalt presents on this release an absolutely outstanding mixture of death and black metal in the perfect tension between roughness and harshness
Sunday, March 12, 2023
Saturday, March 4, 2023
INTERVIEW HYPNOS
"I never was a real musician. I was a fan of music, who wanted to join a metal band to be close to it, even I didn't play an instrument. I was and still am crazy about music in general, not just metal."
Recently I saw that the Czechs of Hypnos will release a new EP "Deathbirth" towards the end of April. Frontman Bruno, also with Krabathor, can now look back on more than 30 years as an active death metal musician and has experienced quite a bit, which he has also written down in a book. So this was a good moment to talk about the new release as well as to look back on Hypnos and Krabathor in particular and death metal in the Czech Republic in general. And don't miss to see the band at the Munich Dark Easter Metal Meeting on April 08!
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
BERICHT IM KÖLNER STADT-ANZEIGER
Systematic Desensitization Zine im Rhein-Sieg-Anzeiger / Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger
Monday, February 20, 2023
INTERVIEW BLACK MESSIAH
In the vastness of the internet I came across the Chileans of Black Messiah, who play great, atmospheric doom metal, which should really bring tears of joy to the eyes of anyone who can relate to Black Sabbath & Co. Rodrigo, guitarist of the formation from the capital Santiago, answered my questions.
Thursday, February 16, 2023
INTERVIEW FROZEN SOUL
After I had bought the great debut album of the Texans from Frozen Soul a long time ago, I recently saw the band on tour as support of Dying Fetus. Their cool old-school sound, which is an intersection of Bolt Thrower, Massacre and Obituary, was very well received there. A good reason for a little interview with vocalist Chad Green.
Saturday, February 4, 2023
INTERVIEW UNGOD / BAXAXAXA
"Black metal has musical and visual aspects. You can't deny that. But these should complement each other and form a unity."
Ungod and Baxaxaxa are two of the oldest veterans of the German black metal scene, both founded in the early 90s. Baxaxaxa, who were revived a few years ago, inspire many fans of the underground with their somewhat untypical and very own mystical version of black metal. With their debut album "Circle of the seven infernal pacts", Ungod set a milestone in the establishment of black metal in Germany and, after a break, subsequently released two good to outstanding albums. A good reason to ask drummer Condemptor, who is a founding member of both formations, a few questions.
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
REVIEW FALSE MUTATION "UPON THE THRONE OF BAPHOMET"
When I recently stayed in Hattingen for the interview with Defected Decay, Dirk, one part of this duo, pressed a CD of his other musical playground called False Mutation into my hand. This is the 2019 album called "Upon the throne of baphomet". And what can I say? Fans of dark, vicious sounding and brutal death metal who especially love the US style of bands like Deicide, Defaced Creation, Aeon, Immolation or even the German Purgatory, will be thrilled. Dirk seems to run the whole thing more as a lover's affair for friends and acquaintances, but the songs are far too good to be reserved for a select few.
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
INTERVIEW SKOGENS RYMD ART (ALESSIA BRUSCO)
In the vastness of the internet I found the great, atmospheric pictures of Alissa Brusco, who distributes her art under the label "Skogens Rymd Art". But read for yourself what she has to say.
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Hello, please tell the readers of the Systematic Desensitization Zine more about yourself. Who are you, what do you do besides painting, where do you live and so on?
Sunday, December 11, 2022
INTERVIEW SUMERIAN TOMBS
Tell us something about the founding of the band - how long have you been around and what did you release before the debut album? Did you all know each other before? Who took the initiative? And was there a special initial spark for the foundation of Sumerian Tombs? Maybe in the sense that you heard certain records that inspired you or over a few beers you got the idea to do something together that goes in a certain direction?
Thursday, December 8, 2022
REVIEW SECOND COMING "DEATH FUCKING METAL" & "WILL NOT ENTER HEAVENS GATE"
REVIEW MIGHTIEST / FUNERAL PROCESSION "OF DEATHFIRES, A TOMB & NIGHT WITHOUT END"
In september, Ván Records released a split release of two veteran German black metal bands. One is Mightiest from the south of Germany, the fabled dark Black Forest, the other is Funeral Procession from East Frisia in Lower Saxony. Both bands were founded in the mid-90s, both have released only one album each besides various EPs and split releases, Mightiest even needed 22 years until the release of their great debut album SinisTerra. But this doesn't have to mean anything, just think about the cult band Sadistic Intent, who haven't released an album since the distant year 1987 until today. Despite this long history and their first-class music, both bands - probably also due to the lack of album releases - could never reach the level of popularity of similarly started bands like Secrets of the moon or Lunar Aurora.
Friday, October 7, 2022
INTERVIEW DESASTER / HIKING WITH INFERNAL
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
INTERVIEW DESASTER / WANDERN MIT INFERNAL
Saturday, September 17, 2022
REVIEW BLASPHEMATORY "THE LOWER CATACOMBS"
Blasphematory from New Jersey, USA, honoured us a few months ago with their second album called "The lower catacombs" on Nuclear Winter Records. The album title really says it all, because musically the band descends into the deepest maws of hell to present their rancid, dirty death metal, which is always presented with the right groove at the right place. The band, which consists of veterans of the scene - among others, there are personnel overlaps with the also highly recommendable death metallers of Siege Column and the long-established black metal band Abazagorath - knows how to convince the listener during the almost 40 minutes with a brutal mixture of fast parts, gruff, dragged-out parts and a always wonderfully creaking bass. In addition, there are abysmal vocals, what else would fit to this kind of music? So whoever wants to listen to a extremely dark and dirty bastard, consisting of influences from compatriots like Incantation, Funebrarum, Autopsy, Rottrevore, Obituary but also from Finnish bands like Abhorrence, Depravity or Necropsy has to listen to this masterpiece. Highly recommended!
Monday, September 12, 2022
INTERVIEW ABSTRACTYSS
Thursday, September 1, 2022
INTERVIEW TRINITAS
Saturday, August 6, 2022
INTERVIEW MILLE / KREATOR
"Global problems are also difficult to solve at the local level. As long as humanity does not see itself as a world community, it will hardly be possible to carry out rules that effectively counteract climate change."
After I had already conducted an interview with Mille more than five years ago in the run-up to the release of "Gods of violence", the new strong "Hate über alles" album, which this time managed to land at number 2 in the German album charts, offered itself as a good reason to repeat the matter. Since then, a lot has happened in Germany, Europe and globally, just think of the Corona pandemic, the increasingly apparent climate change, the war in Ukraine and also the, at least in the social networks seemingly clearer division of society. I talked about these and other topics with the band leader, who now lives in Berlin.
INTERVIEW MILLE / KREATOR
"Globale Probleme lassen sich auch auf lokaler Ebene nur schwer lösen. Solange sich die Menschheit nicht als Weltgemeinschaft begreift, werden kaum Regeln durchgeführt werden können, die dem Klimawandel effektiv entgegenwirken."
Nachdem ich vor über fünf Jahren im Vorfeld der Veröffentlichung von "Gods of violence" schon einmal ein Interview mit Mille geführt hatte, bot sich das neue starke "Hate über alles" -Album, welches diesmal auf Platz 2 der deutschen Albencharts landen konnte, als guten Grund an, diese Angelegenheit zu wiederholen. Seitdem hat sich vieles in Deutschland, Europa und global getan, man denke nur an die Corona-Pandemie, den immer stärker zu Tage tretenden Klimawandel, der Krieg in der Ukraine und auch die, zumindest in den sozialen Netzwerken scheinbar deutlich werdendere Spaltung der Gesellschaft. Über diese und weitere Themen sprach ich mit dem mittlerweile in Berlin lebenden Bandkopf.
Friday, July 1, 2022
REVIEW PROTECTOR "EXCESSIVE OUTBURST OF DEPRAVITY" (DEUTSCH)
REVIEW PROTECTOR "EXCESSIVE OUTBURST OF DEPRAVITY"
With "Excessive Outburst Of Depravity" Protector, the German-Swedish band around Martin Missy, the only remaining member of the original line-up, releases the fourth album after the reunion in 2011, this time again via High Roller Records. Since the revival of the band, Protector are now fortunately known to a larger number and especially to a new generation of metal fans, yet Protector unfortunately belong to the club of the most underrated metal bands of all time. In a fair world Protector would have the status of a band like Sodom, but well, that's another story...
Thursday, June 23, 2022
INTERVIEW JOAKIM STERNER (NECROPHOBIC / UNHALLOW)
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
REVIEW DEFECTED DECAY "TROOPS OF ABOMINATION"
Defected Decay from Hattingen in the southern Ruhr area were founded in the summer of 2019. After their debut album "Kingdom of Sin", "Troops of Abomination" is the second work of this duo, which is also active with Suffersystem. Before that, they were musically active with Resurrected, a permanent institution in the underground, and Dark Before Dawn.
Monday, June 13, 2022
INTERVIEW MORTUUS INFRADAEMONI
Sunday, June 12, 2022
INTERVIEW MORTUUS INFRADAEMONI (ENGLISH)
"Everything is transient and ends in the last big question, eternal death - but at the same time death is always a door to something different, unknown."
As I said in my review of the new album (see here), Mortuus Infradaemoni are a very special band with a profound musical aura that is really not ordinary or profane (to cross-reference the pseudonym of one of my interview partners). Just like this interview, I thank the band for the open words, the detailed, interesting musical recommendations and the word (monstrosity) of the year, see the question about social media.
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Hello, first of all congratulations on the strong new album "Inmortuos sum". When I saw that you have a new album out, I was surprised, I had long considered Mortuus Infradaemoni as no longer existing, I think it was the same for some others. What happened after the last album "Imis Avernis" from 2009, that a band comes up with a new album after 13 years is not exactly the rule...
Friday, June 10, 2022
REVIEW MEFISTO "PHOSPHORUS"
After disappearing into oblivion for almost three decades after their foundation, Mefisto have released three albums since then. Especially the last album of 2019, "Octagram" (Bathory had an "Octagon" album, Mefisto and Bathory are, so to speak, the primeval soup of Swedish extreme metal) was appealing, as it was a very dark and heavy work.
Thursday, June 9, 2022
INTERVIEW EMINENZ (ENG)
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Hello, many greetings from Cologne to Annaberg-Buchholz. How are things in the Eminenz camp at the moment? Well, a few months after the release of the strong new album "Diabolical Warfare", what is your first conclusion about the album, also regarding the reactions of fans and press?
Yes, it's going very well at the moment. The album has been surprisingly well received by fans and fanzines. Since each band member has different musical influences, we first had to reconcile them so as not to completely abandon the style of Eminenz. We seem to have succeeded quite well.
INTERVIEW EMINENZ
Sunday, May 29, 2022
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.
Monday, May 16, 2022
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.