INTERVIEW BJÖRN KÖPPLER (MALADIE / GOD ENSLAVEMENT / TOMBTHROAT)

„Maladie ist sozusagen die Essenz dessen, was ich immer machen wollte.“

Vor etlichen Jahren veranstaltete ich ein Konzert mit Tombthroat und lernte dabei deren Gitarrist Björn Köppler kennen, der heutzutage seine Kreativität mit der von ihm 2009 gegründeten Band Maladie auslebt. Dieses momentan aus sechs Musikern bestehende Extrem-Metal-Kollektiv ist doch um einiges komplexer und vielschichtiger als der Großteil der nationalen als auch internationalen Death/Black-Metal Bands. Ich sprach mit Björn über Maladie, seine ehemaligen Bands Tombthroat und God Enslavement, über seine Heimatstadt Ludwigshafen sowie über den kathartischen Effekt des Texteschreibens.   

Hallo Björn, wie geht es Dir, gerade auch hinsichtlich der Einschränkungen durch die Corona-Pandemie?

Servus Gerald. Mir geht es eigentlich ganz gut. Zumindest abgesehen von Corona, denn das betrifft natürlich auch mich. Ich betreibe ja eine Videothek und die ist nun seit über einem halben Jahr im Lockdown. Das zehrt natürlich an den Nerven, aber da ja die Impfungen so langsam Fahrt aufnehmen (ich bin diese Woche auch dran), hoffe ich natürlich, dass sich die Lage bald etwas beruhigen wird und ich den Laden endlich wieder öffnen kann.  

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 TRIDENTIFER (ENGLISH)

"Tridentifer doesn't have to be out of the line, I don't want to reinvent death metal!"

Tridentifer from Kaiserslautern, or K-Town as some Americans say, play interesting old school death metal, which on the one hand owes its inspiration to the Swedish grandmasters of the subject like Entombed, Grave and Dismember, on the other hand has found its own little niche through the use of gloomy-scary synthesizer parts and doomy passages. The band has been around for almost ten years now and has released a few albums in that time. Guitarist Marco, who by the way used to be a member of the relatively well known Dark, answered all my questions.

First of all, tell me something about the band. When was the band founded? How did you know each other?

Hello Gerald, Hello Systematic Desensitization Zine! First of all thank you for the interest in our band! Then I'll start with the prehistory:

After my former band Redgrin (of which I was also a founding member and had spent many years) had been very slow, I decided to quit and go my own way.

Tridentifer was founded shortly before, on December 23, 2011 and was supposed to be a side project for my musical ideas, which I was always thwarted before. 

INTERVIEW TRIDENTIFER (DEUTSCH)

"Tridentifer muss nicht aus der Reihe fallen, ich möchte den Death Metal nicht neu erfinden!"

Tridentifer aus Kaiserslautern spielen interessanten Old School Death Metal, der seine Inspiration einerseits den schwedischen Großmeistern des Fachs wie Entombed, Grave und Dismember verdankt, andererseits durch den Einsatz von düster-schaurigen Synthesizer-Parts und doomigen Passagen seine eigene kleine Nische gefunden hat. Die Band gibt es nun auch schon fast zehn Jahre und sie hat es in dieser Zeit auf einige Veröffentlichungen gebracht. Gitarrist Marco, der früher übrigens mal bei den doch relativ bekannten Dark zugange war, stand mir ausführlich Rede und Antwort.

Erzähl doch erst einmal was zur Band. Wann wurde die Band gegründet? Woher kanntet Ihr Euch?

Hallo Gerald, Hallo Systematic Desensitization Zine! Erstmal Danke für das Interesse an unserer Band! Dann leg ich mal los, zur Vorgeschichte:

Nachdem es bei meiner damaligen Band Redgrin (bei der ich auch Gründungsmitglied war und viele Jahr verbracht hatte) doch schon sehr zäh voran ging, hatte ich mich dazu entschlossen auszusteigen und meinen eigenen Weg zu gehen.

Tridentifer wurde jedoch schon kurz davor, am 23.12.2011 gegründet und sollte eigentlich nur als Nebenprojekt für meine musikalischen Ideen dienen, bei denen ich zuvor irgendwie immer ausgebremst wurde.  

INTERVIEW DESASTER (DEUTSCH)

Desaster aus Koblenz sind seit gefühlten Äonen eine Institution im Black und Thrash Metal sowie zumindest jedem halbwegs informierten Underground-Kenner ein Begriff, und das wohl mittlerweile weltweit. Nichtsdestotrotz sind die Bandmitglieder immer auf dem Boden geblieben und-so habe ich und bestimmt viele andere auch den Eindruck-verstehen sich immer noch als enthusiastische Fans, die eben auch Musik machen. Diese überaus bescheidene und grundsympathische Art einer Band, die sich selbst nicht superwichtig nimmt, sollte hier doch nochmal Erwähnung finden, da es leider keine Selbstverständlichkeit ist. Wie viele bestimmt wissen, ist gerade das Musikbusiness das beste Pflaster für Narzissten und Egomanen-in meiner jahrelangen Erfahrung musste ich leider die Erfahrung machen, dass es Bands und Musiker gibt, deren Arroganz auf nur einem Bruchteil des Erfolgs einer Band wie Desaster beruht. Diese überaus sympathische Art spiegelt sich auch in den Aussagen von Gitarristen Markus „Infernal“ Kuschke wieder. Wir sprachen über das bald kommende neue Album „Churches without Saints“, das  sich gerade in der Mache befindliche Buchprojekt über die Band und gruselig-lustige Anekdoten aus den goldenen Black Metal 90ern.

Wie sieht es bei Euch im Moment aus, wie ist die Stimmung ? Viele Gigs mussten ja ausfallen bzw. verschoben werden, wann hofft Ihr wieder spielen zu können ? Und was macht das neue Album, wie weit ist da der Prozess bisher ?

Natürlich sind wir heiß darauf, endlich wieder live spielen zu können! Der letzte Gig war im März des letzten Jahres am 6. März in Schweden! Ich denke, vor Mitte des Jahres wird live wohl nichts passieren. Trotzdem ist die Stimmung gut bei uns. Wir sind ja (zum Glück in der jetzigen Krise) keine professionelle Band, sondern haben alle unsere regulären Jobs, die auch mit ein paar Einschränkungen (Odin musste Kurzarbeit machen, aber das kriegt so´n nordischer Gott auch locker weggesteckt!) mehr oder weniger normal weiter gingen. Leid tun mir da echt alle in der Veranstaltungsbranche, deren Existenzen jetzt bedroht sind, da ist echt jetzt und in der nächsten Zeit Solidarität gefragt. Deshalb: wenn das nächste Desaster-Album im Juni rauskommt, kauft lieber die Alben der Kollegen, die das hauptberuflich machen! Ja, das neue Dingen ist fix und fertig, wird "Churches without saints" heißen. 

INTERVIEW DESASTER (ENGLISH)

Desaster from Koblenz have been an institution in black and thrash metal for ages and are known to at least every halfway informed underground connoisseur, and probably worldwide by now. Nevertheless, the band members have always remained down to earth and-as I and I'm sure many others also have the impression-they still see themselves as enthusiastic fans who also make music. This extremely modest and basically likeable way of a band that doesn't take itself too seriously should be mentioned here again, because unfortunately it's not a matter of course. As many people know, the music business is the best place for narcissists and egomaniacs-in my years of experience, I have unfortunately had to learn that there are bands and musicians whose arrogance is based on only a fraction of the success of a band like Desaster. This extremely likeable nature is also reflected in the statements of guitarist Markus "Infernal" Kuschke. We talked about the upcoming new album "Churches without Saints", the book project about the band that is currently in the making and creepy funny anecdotes from the golden Black Metal 90s.

What is the situation like at the moment, how is the mood? Many gigs had to be cancelled or postponed, when do you hope to play again ? And how is the new album coming along, how far is the process ?

Of course we are really looking forward to playing live again! The last gig was in March last year on the 6th of March in Sweden! I don't think anything will happen live before the middle of the year. Nevertheless, the mood is good. We are not a professional band (fortunately in the current crisis), but we all have our regular jobs, which went on more or less normally with a few restrictions (Odin had to work reduced hours, but a Nordic god like him can easily cope with that). I really feel sorry for everyone in the event industry whose livelihoods are now threatened, solidarity is really needed now and in the near future. Therefore, when the next Desaster album comes out in June, you'd better buy the albums of the colleagues who do this full-time! Yes, the new thing is ready and will be called "Churches without saints". 

INTERVIEW CALL FROM SUBCONSCIOUS

Call From Subconscious were a band from the beautiful Franconian city of Nuremberg, Germany that existed in the period 1990-1997. Post mortem, the recordings of the band that never made it out of demo status are now officially released on a discography CD (and tape) called "Sorrow and avidity" by the Greek label Repulsive Echo Records, more than two decades after the demise of this formation. However, this is completely justified, because even if no technical masterpieces or sound fiddles are to be expected here, the album is more convincing with what really matters, the music and its charisma. So if you like old, melancholic and sometimes extravagant, but never cheesy death and doom metal, you will definitely find what you are looking for here. In addition, the CD convinces with a really beautiful artwork. Listen to the band and buy the CD if you want to acquire a small piece of German metal underground culture. Looking at the photos, you can almost feel the breath of time and nostalgic memories of the golden era of death and doom metal spread. But now read for yourself. I talked to ex-guitarist Stephan, who makes a strong plea for uploading old demo recordings on YouTube before they are forgotten and decay. And: Where is Herbert ?

So after the interviews with Ulcerous Phlegm (read HERE and HERE) and Mangled Torsos (read HERE), this is the third part of the interview series with long faded German underground acts to preserve the past.

Hey, first of all it's nice that your works are officially released on CD after all these years. How does it feel and how did it come about ? By the way, isn´t it nice that a fanzine called "Systematic Desensitization" interviews a band called "Call of  Subconscious"?

Hi. Thanks also to you for your interest. Systematic desensitization works only and exclusively through the call from the subconscious, that's correct. But now to the interview questions, hopefully with full consciousness.

Yes, it is amazing when suddenly, after such a long time, a label takes notice of you and wants to release something. At first you think it's a misunderstanding and ask again if you're really meant. 

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.

INTERVIEW "ROTTING WAYS TO MISERY:THE HISTORY OF FINNISH DEATH METAL"

Towards the end of last year, the great book "Rotting Ways to Misery: the history of Finnish death metal" was published via Cult never dies. The book, named after a demo by Sentenced, impresses with well-researched facts and provides deep insights into Finnish death metal, which - in contrast to its Swedish equivalent - never became so popular. A good reason to talk to the two authors Markus Makkonen and Kim Strömsholm. Both have been members of the scene for many years and are known for bands like Hooded Menace, Sadistik Forest and Nerve Saw (Markus) and for their membership in Festerday, ...And Oceans, O or the black pop / electro formation Black Acid World (Kim). Have fun diving into the obscure depths where the rotten, slimy monstrosity of Finnish death metal originated back then and is still wreaking havoc today.  

Hey, first of all congratulations on this great and interesting book. The first thing I would ask you to do is introduce yourselves. Who of you had the idea for this book? Was there some kind of initial spark? Were you already acquainted or friends before or rather only casually acquainted ? And how long did it take from the first idea to the finished book ? 

Hi, my name is Markus Makkonen, co-author of Rotting Ways to Misery. It can be said that we both had the idea for this kind of a book. Both separately. I personally started planning the blueprint for this book around 2015 and collecting materials for it around 2016. Kim got in contact around 2017 and told he was planning a same type of a literary work himself. We quickly decided that instead of two similar books, we'd rather join forces and release a thorough work together. I knew Kim through his music. Went to see ...And Oceans play already in the 90's, but we really did not talk before we started our conversation about the book. Rotting Ways got started as there were so many stories that needed to be told and nobody was writing them down. It took about five years to plan, execute and finish it.   

INTERVIEW ULCEROUS PHLEGM

"Even my parents still tell me today how nice they all were, and so polite at the breakfast table together at my house." 

I recently discovered on some sites an English version of this interview with Bernd from the legendary Bavarian grinders Ulcerous Phlegm, originally published in German (read here) in November 2017 via Systematic Desensitization Zine. Well, Ulcerous Phlegm were - as can be seen from the numerous cover versions of their most famous track "Consequences"- an internationally known and influential band. So an English version makes all the more sense, which I would not like to withhold from you at this point, of course.

Here is an interview with Bernd, who used to play bass and do vocals for the legendary Bavarian grinders Ulcerous Phlegm, who disbanded in 1993. I'll start the time machine...here you can see Bernd in action, wearing a chic Shelter shirt...

Hey Bernd, let's get started. First of all, I have to say by way of introduction that I - born in 1978 - never really got to know Ulcerous Phlegm during their active time. When you disbanded, I was 15 years old... I came across the name Ulcerous Phlegm from time to time over the decades, but I only really took notice of the band when the discography was released via Power It Up. Did you hear from several people who felt the same way or did the Discography CD/LP rather go to the people who already knew you anyway (although a slimmed down Discography CD had been released before or even two ??)?

Hi! Yes, you are definitely not the only one. Thanks to the discography on Power-It-Up I even got in touch with people who are now just 20 years old and interested in grindcore / death metal of the 80s and early 90s. But that was also a time that was style-defining. Nevertheless, I don't think you should only dig in the past. Musically, every decade has exciting developments to show. 

INTERVIEW AZARATH

Azarath from Poland have been playing great blackened death metal since 1998. Their latest, now seventh work "Saint Desecration", released by Agonia Records, combines the brutality of the earlier works with a subtle sinister atmosphere and technical finesse. A good reason for an interview, in which naturally the Polish conglomerate of church and government does not get off well. The questions were answered by Marcin "Skullripper", the question about Damnation, an awesome, unfortunately long since disbanded Polish death metal band, was answered by Bart.   

Hello, how are you? What is the situation regarding Corona in Poland ?

Hello. We have a completely incompetent government in Poland, no specific plans, just spontaneous actions. So besides Coronavirus we have a lot of bankruptcies, people are losing their jobs and are not provided with adequate assistance from the government. Restrictions are directed to everyone, but not to the church and priests. I am bored and pissed of by that, I don't even want to talk about that more. 

REVIEW IAN CUSHING-DIE TRÄNE DER ZAUERSCHEN

Von Ian Cushing stellte ich ja bereits vor geraumer Zeit "In Ewigkeit" vor, ein Werk, das mir sehr gefiel. (Besprechung hier). Auch nach dieser Veröffentlichung war der niedersächsische Autor nicht passiv, sondern schrieb mit "Die Träne der Zauberschen" nun seinen ersten Roman. Das sehr passende Artwork des Buchcovers stammt wie bereits bei der vorherigen Veröffentlichung von Karmazid.

"Die Träne der Zauberschen" lässt sich nicht einfach in ein bestimmtes Genre einordnen, vielmehr ist es eine Mischung aus Horror und Historienroman. Die Handlung des Romans verläuft auf zwei verschiedenen (Zeit-)Ebenen. Zum einen ein der Gegenwart des sehr ländlich gelegenen Dorfes Pfuhlenbeck, in dem drei mittlerweile in den besten Jahren angekommene Freunde (also Mitdreißiger) mit Ihren Familien ihr mehr oder weniger angenehmes Leben führen. Die andere Ebene deckt sieben Jahre in der Neuzeit, genauer die Jahre 1604 -1611 ab. Dort lebt die Bäckerin Barbara im Dorf Pfüeln ein anfänglich glückliches Leben mit Mann und Tochter, bis sie aufgrund Eifersucht und Neid einer Bekannten der Hexerei beschuldigt wird.  

INTERVIEW SCARABREED

Scarabreed is a relatively new band from Switzerland that plays really good death / black metal. That shouldn't be surprising, since there are old scene veterans here, who already played with earlier, well-known bands. These days the band released their debut album called "Throne of the dark ages", a good reason for an interview.

Hello, I hope you are well, especially in times of the Corona pandemic. Please introduce the band, when did you form, how did it happen, did you know each other before? What did you release before the debut album? In which bands were you active before ?

Scarabreed: Thank you for your interest in Scarabreed and this interview.

Phillip: I have played with Denial and Amputate so far.

Markus: We have all been active in bands before, with Riccardo and Phillip I played in Amputate.

Riccardo: Also Amputate and Denial.

Thomas: I had played with a few bands and also helped out live a lot. I played with Azrael, Sabaism together with Marco from Damnatory and Chris from Sickening Gore, later with Innocent F.F. and 2Black and now you can see where this has brought me.   

INTERVIEW ACCUSER

Accuser from Siegen, Germany (more about the origin later at the end of the interview) recently released another very strong album, once again on Metal Blade, which will make any old or new follower of the band happy again. A good reason to talk to guitarist and singer Frank Thoms. 

Hello Frank, how are you? Have you been spared from Corona ? How has the pandemic affected the band's situation regarding the release of the new album? Are you also afraid that such a release will be lost because you can't promote it live, or do you think that people will concentrate more on good music to listen to at home, because there's not much you can do at the moment anyway?

Hi Gerald, thanks for asking, we are doing well. We and our relatives have been spared so far. The pandemic had no impact in terms of the release, as we were in the studio until the end of February 2020 and it was clear from the start that the album would come out in November. It was a few days after we were in the studio that Corona started. It was a tight thing. No band can promote anything live at the moment. That's why I think that listening habits are changing again and that people are more likely to listen to a complete album at home again instead of individual mp3 files. With a few responses to our new album, I could notice that the listeners were intensively engaged with the material. 

INTERVIEW SLAUGHTERDAY

Slaughterday, the creative duo from Leer in Lower Saxony, Germany, have been delivering high quality old school death metal since 2013. These days their third album called "Ancient Death Triumph" is released, a welcome occasion for a talk with vocalist and drummer Bernd.

Hey, first of all I hope you’re doing well during these unordinary times. Did you have to cancel some of the gigs and / or are some of them postponed to a later date ? Could you play some gigs since the outbreak of corona (or should I better say „outbreak of evil“ ).

Hey Gerald, we are doing well, although the corona situation is really fatiguing these times. Unfortunately, we had to cancel some shows at the end of the year and some festivals got postponed. It feels weird to release an album, knowing that you will not be able to promote it by playing live shows. The postponement of some festivals also put us on hold for the year after next. Until then we will not be the centre of attention anymore so maybe we have to wait for another album release again. Luckily we are not affected jobwise.  

INTERVIEW SOULBURN

Soulburn from the Netherlands released their fourth album called "Noa's D'ark" these days, which should definitely be heard by fans who like Asphyx, Celtic Frost, Pentacle and listeners who like Death / Doom and prefer high quality dark music in general. Apart from that, Soulburn have of course long been a brand in their own right and need no comparison with other bands. Furthermore, l would like to point out that the lyrical concept of the new album perfectly reflects the state of our times, which are characterised by climate catastrophes, pandemics and environmental destruction. But more about this in the interview. Guitarist Eric Daniels answered my questions. 

Hey, how are you doing? How are the reactions concerning the new album?

Hey there, we are doing very well, thank you. The reactions on our new album "Noa’s D’ark" are very overwhelming. People like the new album as much as we do, we see a lot of reponse and it makes us proud and happy to see our fans like our new album very much.  

INTERVIEW DETEST

Detest from Denmark are one of the longest running still active death metal acts in this country. Back in 1994 Detest released their debut album "Dorval" a hidden underground jewel that contains a brilliant mix of death and doom metal. The band disbanded in 1996 and reunited in 2013 and released a new EP called "A moment of love" in 2019. I spoke with guitarist John, the only remaining founding member.

Hello, how are you? When will you be able to play live again, what is the situation regarding Covid-19 in Denmark in general and in your area in particular?  

I am fine and everything is as it should be, we have played two concerts (but it is for an audience that has to sit down). It's a very strange thing, people have to wear masks on their faces when they walk around.

Please introduce the current band members. I think you (John) are the last remaining founding member, aren't you? If you look at the metal archives, there were a lot of line-up changes, what were the
reasons for that ?

Yes, I am the only one left, Simon S. (bass / vocals) Danni H. (drums) and Andreas W. (guitar). All kinds of strange reasons, but as long as Detest is alive, it's fine with me. But it's obviously a bit shitty that a newcomer has to learn it over and over again.  

REVIEW SLAUGHTERDAY "ANCIENT DEATH TRIUMPH"

Slaughterday from Lower Saxony, Germany, will soon release their third album called "Ancient Death Triumph" on FDA Records. And, as you might expect, it's again a very good album, which perfectly sums up the band's previous trademarks and strengths, i.e. dirty, rancid death metal, but which never goes off into the dull.

INTERVIEW ANCIENT GATE

Here's an interview with Ancient Gate from Argentina, a very interesting band that is deeply rooted in 90ies black metal. Their music contains the perfect mix between rawness, melody, and some subtle symphonic elements. Besides the fact that band leader Ildrac strongly recommends not to visit his country, he has a lot interesting things to tell...

How are you ? What about the situation concerning Covid-19 in Argentina actually ?

Greetings! Here’s Ildrac, from Ancient Gate, listening to some Diamanda Galás while answering your questions. First of all, thanks to your zine for this oportunity and to everyone reading this interview. Regarding this Covid matter, here in Argentina we are still under quarantine. It has extended from March up until now (November). The situation sucks of course. I have even been diagnosed with covid in September (I’m ok now) so you can say that I am more than fed up with this whole situation. I don’t really know how other countries in the world are dealing with this virus, but here it is tearing the economy apart. A lot of people lost their jobs because of the restrictions imposed by the government. And (from a musician’s point of view) it has affected a lot of bands, not being able to rehearse and release stuff. So a cure can’t come soon enough.

INTERVIEW CHRISTIAN KRIEGER (CHAPEL OF DISEASE)

This time I spoke with Christian from Chapel of Disease about the metal scene in Cologne and surroundings, past and present. Being the same age, I remember some things in almost the same way as Christian. By the way, because of his answers I think I found the perfect name for an old school death metal band: Massive Rat Infestation, haha. 

Hey, please tell us who you are: age, your musical socialization, your local origin, and your previous bands and all other relevant stuff you want to share.

Hey Gerald, yes, like you said, I've been playing bass for Chapel Of Disease for over ten years now and so far there's no end in sight. Before that I was active for many years with Grabnebelfürsten, who were able to make a name for themselves nationwide, which the band name was probably not completely innocent of, haha (Indeed, I remember people who weren't into metal in general talking about the band  just because of that spectacular band name). My first "real" band after various school projects was a punk band in the nineties, with which I had enough for at least two or three gigs in local youth centres. In the meantime I am 42 years old and have been musically active for more than 25 years.

I grew up in a small village of 100 souls near Gummersbach, about 40 kilometres east of Cologne. My musical socialization was probably the classic school of metal, starting in 1990 with AC/DC and then quickly moving on via speed and thrash to death and black metal, although I would still call the latter two my musical home. Even though I now have an extremely wide range of musical tastes, even outside of metal, it always feels a bit like coming home with every new good DM/BM record. With mum it still tastes best, haha! 

REVIEW BOVARY "MES RACINES DANS LE DESERT"

Maybe France is not the first country which comes to mind while speaking about Black Metal, nevertheless well known and / or outstanding bands such as Mütiilation, Antaeus, Osculum Infame or Gorgon, Vlad Tepes (and other "Les Légions Noires"-bands) are or were based there. By the way, there is an very interesting documentation called "Bleu Blanc Satan" about French black metal  including deeper insights in the minds of some of the protagonists.

Bovary from France are often labelled as Depressive Black Metal or "DSBM" ("Depressive suicidal black metal"). Let me go back a bit further, to be honest I never was very attracted by the subgenre called Depressive Black metal or bands labelling themselves using the acronym "DSBM". Yes, I like some records by Shining and sometimes I listen to Wigrid (which surprisingly came back from the dead and released a third full length last year), but in general I was relatively bored by the always same mixture of slowly or mid-tempo orientated  black metal combined with pictures and covers of knives cutting into own flesh or people who hung themselves etc. Often "DSBM" was used to cover up the lack of musical abilities and ideas of the bands concerned. 

INTERVIEW PURGATORY

Purgatory from Saxony, Germany deliver high class death metal since the distant year 1993. Their latest output "Omega Void Tribvnal" is a mighty record who combines brutal death metal with atmosphere, call it a masterpiece. Reason enough to talk with guitarist René.

Hey, first of all, how are you doing in general and in particaluar during Covid-19 times ? I have seen that the next live appearances and festival gigs you wanted to do were cancelled or postponed due to Corona, unfortunately meanwhile normal condition concerning live appearances. When do you hope to play live again ? How did it happen to realize (the now postponed) gig in Turkey ? 

Hey, thanks for asking! Overall, I'm fine. Of course, the whole current Covid-19 situation is extremely annoying, but this just can't be changed. Still, I miss all the shows and festivals a lot. I have no idea when it will return to normal for this. The planned show in Istanbul was organized by Mezar Organization & Bookings and will hopefully take place in 2021.

Purgatory now exist since 27 years. First of all it is noticeable, that Purgatory had not very much line-up changes aside the bass position. What do you think are the reasons for this ? A clear distribution of roles or / and a good comradeship within the band ? Did you remeber some low points, where maybe motivation was gone for continuing with the band ?

Yes, this band has been around for a damn long time and there have been ups and downs that have made it difficult to motivate yourself over and over again. I can't really tell you why we have kept up with the times with relatively few line-up changes, but good comradeship and especially the fire for the music certainly plays a big role! Somehow we obviously managed to do it again and again, because we're still there! And as long as the fire and the will to create extreme music burns within us, we will go on doing what we love. 

REVIEW CELESTIAL SANCTUARY "MASS EXTINCTION"

So, here we go with another release from Brutal Cave Productions, this time a 2-track demo by Celestial Sanctuary (named after a Bolt Thrower-song from "The IVth Crusade) from Cambridge, England.

REVIEW ATAUDES "MERECEMOS LA EXTINCTION"

First of all, let me say that I'm very glad that I was asked by Brutal Cave Productions, a real cool  underground label / distro from Portugal, for doing a review for this album. I've never heard before from Ataudes, a death metal band from Buenos Aires, Argentina before, but if this never had happened I would have missed this hell of a record.

INTERVIEW ENTHRONED

Enthroned are one of the big continuities in the world wide black metal scene. Since 1993 this belgian horde delivers great pieces of more or less agressive and traditional black metal. Their newest output "Cold black suns", also the debut for their new label Season of Mist, shows dome deviations from this path, which means that Enthroned added some new elements to their sound and yet, or perhaps exactly for this reason, it's still 100% black metal. Reason enough to talk with Nornagest, longest running band member, part of Enthroned almost since the beginning.

Hey, first of all, how are you ? Did you remained spared from COVID-19 ? How ist the situation in Belgium concerning this virus and how does it affect the band’s situation in general and concerning cancelled and/ or postponed gigs ?

The Plague did not only sneaked into the health of thousands but also and mostly within the music scene and public events, so everyone within the scene is basically affected in one way or another. We did loose a huge amount of opportunities, shows and even rehearsing as a whole is basically impossible as Menthor lives on the other side of the North Sea, as you know, some trips are simply not allowed. We are mostly doing what is possible regarding the situation… On my side, I took this as an opportunity to write the whole of the lyrics of the next Enthroned release and we are working each one on our sides on the musical support. Now, on a personal note, everyone in the band is healthy and none of us has been affected by the virus in that manner. In Belgium, some areas are considered “code red” like the town and province of Antwerp, but the rest of the country is safe in a manner of speaking. We hope the situation will slowly come back to normal as soon as possible, I cannot wait to go back on the road to be honest. 

REVIEW DEATHMACE "COFFIN' MAGGOTS"

Almost exactly two years ago I reviewed Deathmace's debut album named "Bleeding Frenzy" (look here for the review) which convinced me very much with its powerful mixture between death and thrash metal.

REVIEW HYEMS "ANATOMIE DES SCHEITERNS"

German black metal outfit Hyems released their new album called "Anatomie des Scheiterns" (which means "anatomy of failure") on May 1st via MDD Records. I really was looking forward to the new record, because the predecessor "Devianz-dem Menschen ein Wolf" (which means "deviance-man is a wolf to man" aka homo homini lupus-you see, these German guys prefer using their native language for their lyrics, but more on that later), released in 2015, is a really great record which received too little attention. The band exists since 2000 and released after some demos three full-lengths and two EPs in all, including the new record.  

INTERVIEW CENTRATE

Some weeks ago I found more or less by chance this band called Centrate in the depths of the world wide web. Their logo reminded me of Slayer, so the musical direction wasn't difficult to guess. 

Hey, first of all please introduce the band to the readers of Systematic Desensitization Zine. Who are you, when did you found the band and so on…

Hey, we are an underground Thrash Metal band from Dillenburg (Hessen), Germany and we founded the band in 2010.

We are: Niki – Vocals, Marcel – Bass, Tobi – Guitar, Jonas - Guitar and me, Manu –Drums. Jonas left the band a few weeks ago, but he will join us for the next few live shows.  

INTERVIEW YOTH IRIA

The release of YOTH IRIA's first release (review here) was the perfect reason to talk to one of the legends of the world wide metal scene, namely Jim Mutilator, mostly known for his work with the mighty Rotting Christ and Varathron. By the way, allow me to note that I remember reading my first Rotting Christ-interview in Italian extreme metal Magazine Grind Zone (which published a German edition for a short period) back in 1995. So, 25 years later I myself conduct an interview with Jim, so circles are closing once more.   

First of all I hope you are doing well in this unordinary times. How‘s the situation in Greece concerning the corona-virus ? How does it affect peoples daily life ? What about today's economical situation after the beginning of the financial crisis in 2010 ? Is there a lot of fear, that Corona will throw the Greek economy back to earlier state again ?

At the moment I'm back at my village sided in the Pindos mountains and I keep myself as isolated as I really can. At least the situation in Greece is quite under control compared to other European countries. Very few people have died and all of them were aged over 70, but of course all the people have the right to live the longest. Of course the daily life has been totally different as there are limits on all activities and you can go out only for specific reasons like buying foods, medicines, gas....
The economical situation is still bad and I think after this unexpected pandemic the economy will go even worse. 

REVIEW HOR "EXITIUM"

After the great return of some legendary Greek black metal musicians with YOTH IRIA, this review is about another Greek black metal band called HOR. To be honest, I haven't heard the name of this band before Vangelis, the label manager from Sanit Mils Records contacted me and introduced this band to me. If this hadn't happened, this really astonishing band would have passed me and maybe I would never have taken notice of their masterpiece called "Exitium". HOR was founded in 2017 by two musicians which use the pseudonyms Ophion and Throne and "Exitium" is their first official release.