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.

INTERVIEW NOVEMBER GRIEF

"Our sound was finally developed in a way that pleased us, and we all have very fond memories of it. I can’t believe that at the end of this year it will be 30 years since it’s release…"

November Grief from Montreal, Canada, were founded back in 1993 and have been dormant for more than 20 years. Now that the band has been active again since 2020 with a few new members, it made sense to talk to bassist and singer Stéphanie Masson, who was in Wallonia, Belgium, at the time of the interview.

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Hello Stéphanie, how are you?  I saw you had a gig recently. Did it go to your satisfaction?

Hello Gerald, I am doing very well thank you. Just arrived from Belgium a few days ago and still a bit jet lagged. Yes, we did  show here in Montreal last December 14 and it went very well. It was also our first show at home with our new lead guitarist Rachel, and boy did she deliver the goods that night ! Kudos also go to Simonne and Zack. We had a good flow onstage that evening and the maniacs in the crowd had a good time. 

INTERVIEW DEVISER

"I believe and feel that we have made a second debut with “Evil Summons Evil” and I responsibly declare that the best is yet to come."

The Greek Deviser who have been spreading their musical mischief from the famous Greek scene all over the world since the distant year 1989, have delivered their opus magnum after more than three decades of band history with their 2023 album “Evil summons evil”, released on Hammerheart Records. Anyone who loves aggressive black metal as well as symphonic and melodic-mystical sounds, which are particularly characteristic of the Greek scene, will find a perfect symbiosis of both worlds here. A good reason to talk to founding member Matt Chnaras, singer, guitarist and bassist, about the current album as well as the band's entire history and to take a look into the future. Let's hope we can see the band in Germany in the not too distant future!

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 A HOAGASCHT / ARAN (EX-LUNAR AURORA)

 

A few days ago I saw an announcement on a social network about a band called A Hoagascht. There was an immediate connection to Bavarian black metal band Lunar Aurora latest work, and indeed it turned out to be an announcement of a live performance of this exact album. Aran, founding member of Lunar Aurora and composer of the awesome "Hoagascht" album, is the initiator and main driving force behind this issue and answered my questions.

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Hello Aran, I can still remember buying the Lunar Aurora debut “Weltengänger” shortly after it was released at Saturn record store in Cologne. That was almost 30 years ago. And strangely enough, I also remembered that I ordered the farewell album “Hoagascht” online during a visit to Augsburg in 2012. I've long forgotten how I got hold of the other albums... How quickly time flies - is that something you often realize with some regret?

In many situations in life, I actually tend to look ahead. When it comes to Lunar Aurora, many memories become blurred. Some remain, but many things also become vague. In general, I can answer that by saying that I only regret the fast or slow passage of time in a few situations.

INTERVIEW UDÅD

When I listened to Udåd 's debut album, I was immediately hooked. I hadn't been so enchanted by a piece of music for a long time. This piece of raw, dark, but also partly very melancholic black metal is a reminder of long-forgotten times. During the creation of the album, factotum Thomas Eriksen, known as the protagonist behind Norwegian band Mork, was inspired by the 1989 cult movie “Der Todesking” by Jörg Buttgereit from Berlin, who is well-known in horror film circles. So read what Thomas has to say about the making of Udåd's debut album, among other things...

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Hello Thomas, the Udåd debut is really phenomenal, I haven't been so fascinated by a black metal album for a long time. The album also brings back memories. Tell us, when did it first occur to you to release black metal apart from Mork? And how long did it actually take you to write and record the songs?