Saturday, December 7, 2013

Monolith -- two song preview, mini review

                                                    (Artwork for the new album)




I got this preview CD when they through it out to the crowd at one of their shows. I was excited to see how this new material sounds! So lets get on to the review!

1. The first song "Bring the pit" clocks in at 7:20 It's a pretty fast song it's pretty much comprised of Bay Area type riffing the first thing I thought about was Battery by Metallica. So it's fast and song is good however I have one minor complaint. It's too long of a song for me. Now this is just me I don't like really long songs I think if they would have maybe cut a few pieces off for example the slow chugging part instead of six times it could have been three or something I don't know I personally think the song would have been a bit better. The solos are great though! The drums sound good also! So I'm not totally knocking it because it's not a bad song just not my favorite.

2. This song "Being led blind" clocks in at 5:23. This song really caught my attention from the first part it's kinda mellow but it keeps a good pace. Then you get into this build up part which I thought was really cool. Then you get a mid pace riff and then the drums kick in and then the whole band. There's a bit of Pantera type guitar squeals in the song also. The guitarist and vocalist Kris does a very good job on this song. The drummer Jeremy does some great drumming through out the song also.

Production wise to me it sounds pretty much the same from their old demo  So the productions is good and the songs are overall very good. So keep on the look out for their new album that should be coming out hopefully by next year?  I don't know to tell you the truth but until then just keep waiting.

Infernal Assault -- Natural Selection review

                                           Infernal Assault -- Natural Selection review







Infernal Assault is a thrash metal band out of L.A.  This album just rips from front to end just speed, speed and more speed. It starts off with the song Martial Law is a song that will get you headbanging instantly. If you like to mosh then you can do that to.  The next some Cop Killer has a really cool riff and this one like it's predecessor is just all out speed. One thing I do like is that the riffs aren't Exodus type riffs you heard 1000 times before. Destruction influenced this band a lot from what I can tell. The title track has some really good guitar and bass lines and they change it up a lot more in this song which makes it more memorable in my opinion there is also a really good solo on this song also. I think my favorite song on this album is probably Scum it's just an in your face thrash song and it gets you headbanging every time!

Now onto some other aspects of this album. The vocals are pretty good, the guitar has a good tone to it. The bass at times I can hear it but other times it's really just buried other the other instruments and vocals which is a shame since when I hear the bass it sounds very good. The drums to me seem a bit too loud at times but the drumming itself is good. I think if there was just a bit better production the album would be better. One other very minor complaint I wish Death Head was on this since it's my favorite song by them. But back to production this is their debut so I wasn't expecting some very good production one thing that is prevalent is attitude they don't give a crap what people think there just playing the music how they want to. Lyrically on this from what I can hear it's violence, death, anger oh wait more violence but what do you expect from songs like Martial Law, Insane Asylum, and Cultural Death. This band definitely has potential I'm curious on how the next album is going to sound, that's if they do put out another album. Until then just grab your denim jacket and headbang until you bleed!!!


8/10

Monday, November 25, 2013

Rick Scythe interview on Usurper cassette re-releases and more!



                                            

 Rick Scythe interview on Usurper cassette re-releases and more!








Here's a interview I got with Rick "Rigor" Scythe and he answers my questions on the re-release of the first three Usurper records! I always enjoy reading Rick's answers their always intelligent and interesting. Also other times freaking hilarious. hope you guys enjoy this interview!

 
1. Hey Rick Thank you for doing this interview! Why have you decided to re-release these three records on cassette?

 RS: The offer was actually presented to me last year from Night Bird/Todestrieb Records. I figured that it would be cool to release these albums on cassette after all these years, so I worked out a deal with them. It is not some big label. This is just a short run of 300 copies of each version. It is really just something for the die-hards only, kind of a way to acknowledge the 20th anniversary of Usurper.


 2. What is something you like most about each release?
 
 


      
Diabolosis:  RS: "Diabolosis" I like the rawness of that album. The guitar tone is massive and everything was so fresh back in 1995 when we recorded the album. When I listen to it I remember those days and remember being in the cramped quarters of Eaton Records recording it. I remember the photo shoot and all the good times.

 
 
 
 
 



 
Threshold of the Usurper: RS:  "Threshold..."  I felt like that is when that classic early line-up of Usurper really perfected our sound. It was like Diabolosis, style but better musicianship and even better tones. To me it is the best representation of early Usurper/classic line-up era.


 

 




 

Skeletal Season    RS: "Skeletal Season" was when we really were exploring some new ideas. The first 2 releases were inspired by 80's era black/thrash/death metal. The lyrics were in that vein. By the time I began writing material for Skeletal Season, it was the first time I really came up with lyrical ideas. I was basing lyrics on topics I read about from a perspective no metal bands have before. Odes to Mothman in 1996... no metal band has written a song about Mothman in1996 or earlier... the werewolf tales, the paranormal stuff; all that was pretty original. In 2013 these types of topics are much more common, but in the mid/late 90's this wasn't a popular topic. It was also the first album we actually commissioned original artwork for one of our releases.  We had Juha Vuorma come up with an original oil painting that fit the mood of the album. That was a big deal for us.





3. What is something you wish you could change about each release?

 Diabolosis: RS: Not much I would change,  I suppose if anything just more time and money to record. We had a very tight budget, that's why we had to include 2 songs from the demo on there. Also there are a few minor flubs because we didn't have a lot of times to perfect everything, but that's part of the magic of the sound of that album.

 
Threshold of the Usurper: RS: For this one, if we could go back in time I would have made it a full length album. I would have made "Anno Satanas" an actual track and not a hidden track, which would have brought the song total up to 6 songs. Then I would have just written 2 more songs and made it a full length album. I know later for the re-issue (including the cassette) we did this, but we used 2 songs recorded years later. But other than that, I feel "Threshold.." is a great release.

 

Skeletal Season:  RS: Just some production stuff. Dave Hellstorm insisted on recording his drums a certain way, and we wanted him to record the same way we did Diabolosis and Threshold. But since Dave was older and more experienced we let him record his drums his way... big mistake! That would never happen again! The drums had a weird tone. It worked with the dark mood of that album, but the overall result was kind of muddy sounding. I know we were a little disappointed with certain aspects of the mix, but we made up for it with good songs, good artwork and good presentation.
 
 
 

 
4. On Diabolosis why wasn’t Soulstalker or Visions from the gods included?

 RS: We didn't want to have the entire demo on the first album. Actually like I said earlier, if we had more time and money, we most likely wouldn't of put any of the demo songs on the album. We just didn't have the money to properly record 8 or 9 new songs, so we recorded a few new, and remixed 2 demo songs. Dusk and Deep in the Forest fit better with the other new songs at the time, so we chose those 2 for Diabolosis.

 
5. Could you share any stories about recording these albums?

 
RS: Yes, I could make a book about those sessions. I wish we would have taken pictures or video back then, because those were some magical moments. This guy Brian Eaton had his own record label called Eatin' Records, he put out actual albums and had his own band that he played drums for called North. This was the early mid 90's. This was a time when "metal was dead" in the mainstream. His label was not really metal. Mainly old hard rock bands that shifted their style to more grunge. he also had some guitar wizard artist at the time, some real progressive rock and then his own band  North which was sort of industrial/dream theater style. It was a true independent label.

 He was an excellent producer and excellent musician. He was a fellow "long hair", but not some idiot metal head. Super intelligent guy. He had this small house and he converted one of the bedrooms into a recording studio. This wasn't some Pro Tools/digital computer home studio, it was an actual home studio! Full on reel to reel tapes, giant mixing board... all the stuff you would see in a regular big recording studio, only crammed into this guys bedroom.

 He used a closet as an isolation booth to record vocals and to record the amps. He had this electronic drum kit, all these expensive mics. So we would pile in someone's car, drive out to the west suburbs of Chicago and record bits and pieces at time. Usually only 5 hour sessions 2 or 3 times a week. Then we would eat at Portillos and drive home listening to rough mixes of whatever we recorded.

 I remember Brian never heard stuff like ours. The heaviest shit he heard back then was Metallica. He was blown away with some of the stuff we were doing. He loved the double bass drumming and the meaty guitar tone. But he also had a bit of a chip on his shoulders at times. It was a really interesting relationship with him. He was about 6 or 7 years older than us and was making a living with his studio and label. We would have a lot of laughs, but also a lot of lectures keeping us in line. So when times were going good with him, he would give us free set up time and do a lot of shit off the clock; when times were tight for him, he would charge us for set up time and round things up on the clock.

 He liked us a lot and we loved this guy!  We really looked up to him as like the wise elder, but he also got really annoyed with us from time to time, which made things even funnier. He was a world class ball buster! For example, if we started goofing on Jon, he would jump right in and do an entire routine just busting Jon's balls getting me and General laughing hysterically.

 He used to also get real mad at General and Jon for farting up his studio. He would be like, "hey motherfuckers, I have to live here, knock that shit off". But General and Jon were both non-stop farting machines, they can't stop! Telling those 2 idiots to stop farting just made them go out of their way to fart even more. The toilet at Eaton Records also had this big shit stain in it and he refused to clean it. When we would go in to take a piss, he would always tell us, "Aim for the stain!" So you can see, there was a lot of crass, low-brow humor during those sessions, which balanced out the very heavy moods of the songs.

 One time we were in a serious mix session for Threshold of the Usurper. That album had a lot of complex arrangements and layers, like the title track and "The Dead of Winter" ; it took a lot of concentration to get things right... Well one night we were burning the midnight oil working hard on the mix and General was in the corner farting. Then the General took this recording industry magazine and began wafting his own farts into his own face; smelling it with delight - like how people in coffee commercials look when opening a can of coffee. We've seen him do this a million times, so it was nothing new to us, but Brian was appalled! I remember Brian turned around and had the most disgusted/perplexed look on his face, he said something like, "What the fuck is this slob doing? This guy really enjoys the smell of his own farts". Then general gave him his magazine back and said, "i tried to read this thing, but it stinks".  At that point Brian was finally like, "forget it, I'm done for the night". That's just the way it was recording those albums. A lot of long hours, then we would have to stop. Not like typically how you record an album.

I remember during the Skeletal Season sessions, because Dave Hellstorm wanted to record his drums a certain way. We needed to record the drums and basic tracks at this different studio that Brian Eaton suggested.  It was one of Brian's friends who was a doctor or something. He had a big house on a lot of land and his studio was in a barn. We recorded it there and then we brought it to Brian to mix. Brian was going through some issues in those days. I know he had this girlfriend living there at the time, and for whatever reason his heart wasn't really into recording us anymore. We brought the tracks to him and he was like, "the drums sound like shit. your guitar tone sounds like shit. this recording sounds terrible". We said, "it was your friend who recorded us, what the fuck?" He said, "I told you what drums to use and how to record them and Dave fucked this up! Rick, you should have used this amp and this guitar" blah, blah, blah...
So we mixed at Brian's house and he was not really into it. It was not a fun session like we had in the past. It felt like he was going through the motions a bit. I remember leaving his house, we were downstairs and his girlfriend had obviously moved some of her stuff in his house since the last time we were there. She had this big glass cabinet with all these little figurines on it right by his front door. As we were leaving one night, I lost my balance a little and started tripping backwards. All I could think was I was falling right into this figurine cabinet. I panicked and did like a twist to avoid it and flopped on the ground right next to this cabinet. I missed it, but did this big, elaborate prat fall just to avoid it. At this point Brian looked at us like, "my god what a bunch of idiots".

 But even with all that jack-assery, we really learned a lot from Brian Eaton. The guy was really ahead of his time with his recording techniques and really taught us how to get the tones we were looking for. He taught me about guitar EQ and different ways to get different tones. he really shaped those early Usurper releases.

 
6. Is there any future plants to re-release Skeletal Seasons on CD. Also in the future will there be a re-release cassette wise of Necronemesis, Twilight Dominion, and Cryptobeast.

 
RS: I doubt we will re-issue the CD for Skeletal Season, but you never know. I know Necropolis re-issued it with Threshold of the Usurper. The cover art is terrible and the packaging is lame. As for Necronemesis, Twilight Dominion and Cryptobeast... there would be too much red tape with Earache Records at the moment. (Damn you Earache! --- Metal warfare)

 
Ok thank you for your time and instead of asking for last words I’m going to ask a stupid question. What pastry is better Pie or Cake? (PIE FTW!!)

RS: Definitely pie! Pie kicks cake's ass. I never liked cake that much. It was one of those things you were supposed to like as a kid, but I didn't really care for it. I like Blueberry Pie, Cherry Pie, Pecan Pie, Coconut Cream Pie... all of those kick cake's ass! I don't really like chocolate too much in general, so I would choose pie over cake any day of the week.
 

Rick Scythe

Monday, September 9, 2013

Night Demon interview

 

Night Demon

 
 
 



I saw these guys live and they blew me away and who would have thought that Americans are playing in the N.W.O.B.H.M style. Well these guys are and there pretty damn good. Get there E.P. you will not be disappointed! 


       
1. Thank you guys for taking the time to answer these questions. You guys are going to be entering the studio soon to record your first record. Are you going to re-record some of the songs that are on the E.P? Also, how many new tracks do you have written?

JL:We will be recording 9 brand new songs along with a couple of cover songs just to have.  We will be re-recording some of the material off the E.P.  Not sure yet what will make it on the record.  The E.P. has gotten a lot of exposure so far, so we are treating it as an official release.  My best guess is that you will most likely hear at least one of them on the record.

2.       I was really happy to see you guys live and I really enjoy music that it's more in the roots of the  N.W.O.B.H.M How did you guys get into the N.W.O.B.H.M?

JL:Metallica!  It's true!  Back when we were just kids we were introduced to some of these band through Metallica's cover versions of some of the classic songs.  It's all history from there.  We are still discovering great NWOBHM bands everyday!  The internet has made a lot of this possible.  Say what you want about Metallica, but they really did create the thrash sound and became one of the biggest bands of all time!  If not for their influence, many people would not have been introduced to NWOBHM, or even the Misfits for that matter!
 
3.  How did you guys get booked for the Keep it true festival?

 JL: We got a glowing review on the Strappado blog.  The organizers of Keep It True checked it out and reached out to us immediately!  That's kinda when we knew we needed to take this band to the next level.  So honored to be a part of it.
 
 


 
4.       Do you have any goals or do just go with the flow of things?

JL: We have very specific goals.  We have an entire timeline of what we wanna be doing for the next 2 1/2 years.  People who go with the flow of things get exactly that.  We want to create the flow!  Create our own destiny and set high goals for ourselves.  Our fans are fantastic, and they deserve the best presentation we can give them.





 
 
5.       Are you guys excited to be playing with Raven and Diamond Head?

JL: I have a hard time sleeping at night, because I'm so fucking excited to be playing 3 shows with the bands who pioneered the genre.  This alone is an accomplishment that we never would have dreamed.  There are so many things I would like to say to those guys for years.  Now sharing the bill with them, I'm just going to let the music of Night Demon do the talking.  Our music is directly influenced by them.  It is a show of appreciation for the great music they have given us, and the impact they have left on heavy metal.  We are proud to carry the torch and carry on the tradition they founded.
 
6.       So how has the response been so far to the E.P?

JL: Ridiculously good!  I've read over 40 reviews, and only found one to be negative.  Not everyone will like it, but that is to be expected.  We never thought these songs would leave the garage to be honest.  It was never our intention to have a serious band around this.  It's a real dream come true.  You have to understand, we wrote and recorded that E.P. within a total of 22 hours!  We have been feeling a lot of pressure to deliver a good record after this kind of response.  I'm confident we will not disappoint.  We played a couple new jams last night at the Havok show.  They seemed to go over well.
 
7.       What song do you most enjoy playing live?

JL: Ritual.  We have been opening with it in recent times.  That song seems to have a lot of energy.  Some kinda speed metal parts and a great guitar solo.
 
8.       How do you write a song is it a conscious effort or does it just come out?

 JL: Well both, really.  Most of it comes naturally, but I have sat down to write for this new record with the intent of exactly what type of song I wanna write.  In the past, I've tried to write different styles of music, but always end of creating a cool rock/metal riff naturally.
 
9.   What is the funniest or most metal thing you have seen during a concert?

 JL: I once saw a guy in a wheelchair in the pit with a viking helmet.  He had prosthetic legs that stuck straight out like battering rams!  His buddies were pushing him around fast and violently!  He ended up crashing right into this chick and hurt her pretty bad.  I guess not bad enough, because she refused to leave the show before Anthrax played.  I saw the two of them later in the night looking like they had found true love.  She was even drinking beer out of his viking helmet!!!!  HAHA!!!

10.   What’s your favorite food?

JL: Pizza!!!!!!!!!  We are a metal band!!!!!
 
 
 

https://www.facebook.com/nightdemonband

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Rick Scythe interview



                                                               RICK SCYTHE






Woah this is an honor!! I'm a big fan of  Rick Scythe's music. He has influenced me a ton as a guitarist and to tell you the truth I think is the best interview I have ever gotten!! Rick is a legend in my book so this is just amazing and an honor. Hope you enjoy this interview!! Hail SCYTHE!!!



1. Thank you Rick for taking your time and answering these questions it means a lot. OK how is it recording the new record Subterranean Steel?

RS: Recording went great! We used a small, local studio called Arcane Audio, which is run by our drummers' good friend Dan Klein. For me personally, this is the 11th album I've recorded in my career spanning back to the 80's - not including demos and singles and stuff like that, so at this point I know what I am doing. Our drummer and bassist are much younger - they know what they're doing too, but don't have nearly as much recording experience, so for us as a band it is much more important to have a competent producer/engineer who is easy to work with, and to be in a comfortable setting rather than a big budget studio that doesn't really care about the band and just wants to get you in and out, so this was a good choice.

We started on March 30th 2013 and finished mixing on May 12, 2013.  Our new drummer Joey really killed it! The drums sound monstrous! He laid down a perfect foundation to pour the molten metal on top of. I got my rhythm guitar tracks done all last week, and finished my solos too all within 2 days / 23 hours.  The rhythms are beyond anything I have ever recorded in both tone and performance, and these are definitely the best solos I have ever recorded! Dan's bass sounds as killer as last album, his tone compliments my guitar tone quite well. The vocals sound very good too. Basically it sounds like Beware The Scythe, but bigger, heavier, louder, better quality.

2. Could you tell the readers what the songs on this new album are going to be about?

RS: There are 9 songs on this album. The songs deal a lot more with occult practices of the global elite. It deals with a lot of end time prophecies, rise of the police state and the rise of the New World Order, also stuff like occult science, technology run out of control and other conspiratorial topics... also some songs about the paranormal and the cryptozoological, with of course a blatant homage to all forms of true heavy metal!




3. On Beware the Scythe there was a lot of symbolism within the artwork will there be anything like that with this new record’s artwork?

RS: Yes, there is definitely some symbolism in the artwork. I am very much into art and symbolism. I have studied occult symbolism for for many years and have a few different art degrees, it is something I like a lot. So there will always be some aspects of that in the artwork and presentation. I definitely don't want a pile of zombies or corpses eating each other in the artwork. That shit is so boring, uninspired and uncreative; I want nothing to do with that. To do uninspired cliches like this in 2013 it is for dumb people who have no original ideas. It has nothing to do with our lyrics so I can't see why we would ever do something like that.
Basically we won't release the cover art until late summer. The cover art is AMAZING! Unfucking real how detailed and symbolic this cover is. Basically it depicts aspects from various songs and all the aspects from the title track "Subterranean Steel". It was done by this artist named Damien M. from Canada. He did the vinyl version of "Beware The Scythe" LP, but this time we pushed him even further. It took him from December 2012 until April 2013 to complete this. He did a great job.  It really fits the power and feel of SCYTHE. Very traditional looking, yet very unique to this band. We also have an alternate cover for the European gatefold vinyl painted by long-time Usurper/Scythe artist Juha Vuorma which also kicks ass! Juha out-did himself with this one too!




                                                                    1/2 photo's Rick Sent me

4. What gear are you using to record this album?

RS: I am using a lot of the same gear I used for past Usurper recordings. I used my USA handcrafted custom Iron Bird as well as my Takamine 12 string acoustic guitar (same one I used on songs like, "Blood Passion" and "The Dead of Winter"). I always have recorded 4 rhythm tracks for every album since  the 90's. It just simply helps to create the sound of a full stack cranked at full volume rather than if you just do 1 or 2 tracks. The whole idea of recording an album is to get the most accurate representation of how the band sounds live... ironically if you try to track everything live it sounds much smaller, so you have to do things this way to create a big sound, to replicate the sound of being in the room with the band playing at full volume and getting pummeled by a wall of sound.
I used Celestion speaker cabs and a blend of 2 amp tones... again to get the feel of the full spectrum of the amp sound waves crashing through your body and against the walls; such as how you would hear my stack in our rehearsal room or concert hall. I used my Randall Head for the main tones along with an array of other pedal and blended amp tones. Also used a Marshall JCM 800 for the lead tones because you simply can't beat the classic metal guitar solo sound with any other amp. Basically my sound on this album is a combination of the "Threshold of the Usurper" guitar tone combined with the "Cryptobeast" guitar tone. It has the dirty, ultra heavy voicing of the "Threshold of the Usurper" tone combined with the precision tightness and aggressiveness of the "Cryptobeast" guitar tone. Sort of like the "Beware The Scythe" guitar tone, just magnified and sharpened!

5. How do you think your playing has style has changed or evolved over the years? And what motivates you to continue playing this music?

RS: I think everything has been a natural progression. When I was really young I learned by simply watching more experienced guys play and learned from them. I never took any formal electric guitar lessons, so I really just listened a lot. I was never one of these kids who thought I had all the answers... because of this attitude, it has helped me develop an "ear" for my guitar tone. I really over analyzed different guitar tones on different albums throughout the years and tried to capture certain elements of all these tones that I liked.
Nowadays I am just motivated because I love playing loud, heavy music. If there is any drama in the band, or if it becomes a task I will find a way to eliminate the problem or just quit all together. I won't waste my time playing with people who have different agendas or who want to cause drama. Life is too short and I am too old, luckily that hasn't been a problem. In the past (in Usurper), I was much more "goal" oriented.. I still have goals now, but these days I am more "satisfaction" oriented.

 As far as being a guitar player, I think now I am much more aware of music theory - not only how the notes on the guitar relate to each other but also how the guitar notes relate to the other instruments and the entire other parts of the album. You will hear it on this album especially. The solos and leads are both schooled in theory, yet have plenty of chaotic feel and mood. I have some very fast solos like on the song "The Grunting Dead" as well as very melodic, moody solos such as the solo on the song "Thunderhammer". So it was just fining a balanced approach this time around.


                                                                          2/2

... And what motivates you to continue playing this music?

Getting back to motivation... It is weird, in 2009 I went through a lot of shit in my personal life, I got divorced, my Dad died, other family members died, I had no band and things looked bleak. I kind of felt like it was time to retire - like I completed everything I needed to and it was time to move on. I remember Usurper was getting some offers for some pretty cool shows and fests overseas and for countries we never played before. Because of this resurgence in interest in Usurper, I thought it would be a great time to bury the hatchet and do things right again... certain members were all for it, yet certain members  indirectly told me to fuck off. Kind of made me think even more about retiring. Sure, we had a falling out when the band broke up, but we were best friends since high school and earlier. We traveled the world together and hung out together every day for years. So when I got this cold response when I reached out with some solid offers,  I basically felt like certain people turned their back on me and spit in my face. I just felt like I should probably just get out of the industry all together.
Then I remember talking to people I really respect and admire. Good friends who were there throughout my career; people who believed in me and who didn't want to see me retire. People like Stan Koson [Scythe Manager / R.I.P. Records], Neil Kernon [producer],  amongst other fans and friends who supported the band over the years reached out to me on a personal level, not just as the guy from Usurper, but as friends and supporters and told me that I should continue. That meant a lot! Usurper wasn't some huge metal band. We were a small, but very viable force in the underground. We always had a small, but very loyal die-hard fan base worldwide; so our fans - the ones who are obsessed with Usurper musically and lyrically - they are the ones that I write for, these are the people I feel obligated to create quality music for - they also motivated me to continue.
Now I feel like I have had a renaissance! I am writing and playing the best songs of my career. Besides the stuff on the new album, I have 13 songs either complete or near complete or in segments for future use. 4 songs are specifically songs for Usurper, (if I ever do another Usurper record). The rest are songs, parts of songs, lyrics and ideas for future Scythe songs. I like to write and record stuff all the time and keep journals and notes for everything. Songs will always evolve and change until I record them. I'm also in a band again with guys who like to contribute and enhance ideas, so this makes things sound even better.




6. You play B.C rich exclusively what put’s that guitar above every other one? 

RS: I've played many different guitars over the years. I have 11  guitars currently in my collection. In 1997 myself and Jon Necromancer got an endorsement deal with BC Rich. We both got an opportunity to have them build guitars for us from their USA custom shop and nothing compares to a USA hand crafted BC Rich. Obviously the most metal shapes on the planet, but also the quality and tone can't be beat for heavy metal. I have been armed with my Ironbird and other quality BC Rich axes on countless stages in 17 countries! There is a huge difference between handcrafted USA Custom Shop versions and the Guitar Center imports. But no matter what, BC Rich is the ultimate guitar company!






7. Beware the Scythe is a great record from front to back. Every song is completely headbangable and it's just an awesome record. The vocals also kick major ass!! It's just a pure metal assault! A metal fist in your face. How do you hope to top Beware the Scythe?

RS: Thank you! I feel this new album is a natural progression. These are simply the next 9 songs that were written so it is not some drastic departure or stylistic change. If people liked "Beware The Scythe" I can't see how they won't like "Subterranean Steel". The biggest changes are that we have a new drummer, but he kicks total ass, and the production is even bigger and more aggressive. The songs are still all 100% headbangable, fistbangable metal anthems! Songs you can sing a long with and bang together with your real metal warriors friends! It is no pretentious bullshit. It is no preaching. It is no wankery. These are all iron fisted hymns - a soundtrack to Armageddon if you will!


8. In your song Tyrannical Stronghold you talk about the new world order. Sometimes I think maybe both the Democrats and Republican parties are all playing for us for some bigger agenda. As you know there’s Skull and Bones, Freemasons etc.. Do you ever think there all in cahoots with each other? What’s your opinion on that?

RS: Yes. 100% right about that Nathan. People just need to discover the truth about these families that rule the world. Just observe and recognize the Illuminati Bloodlines of these families. They are all related some way. They are all puppets of the Globalist banker elite. They are simply different heads upon the Beast of the Apocalypse. Read any end time prophecy and you will see how evil and corrupt things are. They control everything. Every news channel, every Hollywood movie, every television show, every hit song on the radio and it is all to enslave and dumb down the masses... and they have people right where they want them; arguing about being a Republican or Democrat.
People don't even know their rights anymore. People are called "traitors" for questioning things?  I love the USA, the USA that our Founding Fathers fought for. It is not a hate crime to hurt someone's feelings.This is America, we can say whatever the fuck we want!

Also Chemtrails... people thought I was a conspiracy nut back in the late 90's. If you don't believe me, just look up in the sky you idiots? Do you seriously think it's just a natural jet plane contrail? Contrails don't hover there for hours and spread out into giant chemical clouds. If so then why didn't this happen in the 60's, 70's, 80's and early 90's. I remember arguing about this on the tour bus in 1998 with Jon Necromancer.

To anyone who doesn't believe this, just use logic and common sense. Just like watching a tower that doesn't get hit by anything collapse perfectly into it's footstep while people like Larry Silverstein makes millions and millions of dollars because of it... just use basic high school knowledge of physics and common sense and you will discover things are not what they seem.
We have a song called "Beyond The Nothwoods" it is about false flag attacks throughout history. Also "Nights of Terror" about the rise of the Police State and Eco-Fascism.  Also the song "Thunder Hammer" about Tesla's Earthquake Machine and HAARP weather warfare. "Monarch" which is about MK Ultra and Mind Control Programs... this is all 100% true. So we definitely touch on political topics, but they are written in a metal way; from a perspective where they just paint a scenario. The lyrics can be cryptic and vague at times with multiple interpretations. The lyrics are non-linear stories that create something like a small little horror movie. They metaphorically symbolize battles between the barbarians and the tyrants, the struggle between the wicked and the righteous... people can make up their own minds or just headbang along to a metal anthem. But for the few that know the truth, these words mean something more than just a metal anthem.
But Heavy Metal has always been about this. Read Manowar's lyrics or Celtic Frost for example. Many songs are about the struggle of man against the elite tyrants. It is about not taking shit and rebelling against authority. I don't understand this huge PC agenda in the metal community these days. Real Metal is against the establishment. Real metal is very un-PC! Now there are a bunch of brainwashed fools in the metal scene who don't have true metal ethics.

9. On the song Talon’s of Steel it talks about the Bohemian Grove “ Cremation of Care” Ceremony, Also the Owl in inner cover is related to Bohemian Grove. How did you first hear about Bohemian Grove? Also why do you think such important people meet at this place?

RS: I remember hearing about this back in the late 90's. I read some books and articles about this, yet people thought this was just  a wild fantasy of a conspiracy nut. They would say things like, "how can global elite, politicians, law makers, CEO's of corporations, meet and do a mock sacrifice to a giant owl named Molach? How could it be true that these people really worship ancient gods and draw their power to enslave the masses? How can it be true that all these elite powerful men engage in all these base activities?"... then Alex Jones exposed this by infiltrating and putting out the DVD, "The Dark Secrets of Bohemian Grove" and it is all there for everyone to see. Now people just shrug and still don't believe it. It's 100% true. There are people of authority that use occult powers to manipulate the masses of people who are clueless.

10. Could you list some books/authors that give you inspiration for your lyrics?   

RS: I have 2 huge bookshelves at home with all sorts of books on the paranormal, conspiracies, UFO's, the occult, Tesla technology, cryptozoology, time travel, the unexplained, ancient and medieval art, Renaissance art, giants, end time prophecies, mind control, New World Order, etc... all true books, not many novels.
For "Subterranean Steel" I was influenced heavily by Alex Constantine, Steve Quayle, Troy Taylor, Jim Marrs, Zecharia Sitchin and Cathy O'Brien. I am fascinated now with  how cryptozoology, ancient religions, ancient bloodlines and modern occult practices of politicians are all related. Everything is related if you connect the dots.





11. In the early years of your career you were in the band The Dead Youth and Usurper was originally the side project why did you switch gears to Usurper? One day do you think any Death Youth albums will be re-released?

RS: Yeah I'm 42 and have been playing in bands since 1986. My first band was this band called Armageddon from 1986-1987, actually parts of the song "Soulstalker" from the first Usurper demo were from an Armageddon song. After that I joined Dead Youth, which was a lot of fun. I was in high school and there were a lot of different members throughout the years so a lot of the influences changed, but I got my first experience playing shows. Basically I got really dissatisfied with that band after the CD's came out. I didn't really like the lyrics or production and just had some different things I wanted to explore in the early 90's. There are too many bootlegs and illegal uploads, which I am 100% against, I won't support it and get offended when "true fans" promote this shit. I may release a DVD though... I own all the rights.
I started Usurper in 1992. Usurper was a band I started from the ground floor, where it was all my vision along with our vocalists' vision. Back in those days, bands like Venom, Celtic Frost, Possessed, Sodom were looked upon as dinosaurs - yet we were HUGE fans of these bands since we were like 14, 15 years old. It wasn't the thing kids in the scene liked. They all wanted death metal like the stuff that was coming out of Florida. That stuff was cool, but it was being so over done that I really didn't feel inspired by it. I felt like the death metal stuff was good, but the old stuff was so much better.
Usurper felt like it was paying homage to these great bands that were slowly being forgotten. People can deny it all they want, but I lived in this period of time. I saw this attitude first hand, and I can honestly say Usurper was a big reason why people began to re-discover bands like Celtic Frost, Venom, etc... People would come to our shows, hear us play and say, "I thought you guys were just a black metal band, but this is really different" then we would list our influences in interviews and a few years later there were more and more bands playing this style and more and more people wearing Celtic Frost and Venom shirts. More people discovered Celtic Frost because of Usurper than anyone would like to admit.

People can deny it all they want but Usurper never gets the credit for this stuff. I was there first hand in the early to mid 90's, I saw it happen. I saw people who never heard of these bands until Usurper, who later get totally into these bands. But I sound like the guy who saw a UFO or Sasquatch... I know what I experienced, no one believes me and I know I sound insane, but it's true.



12. Back in the day a lot of people always saw Usurper as a Celtic Frost clone. When I listen to your first record you can hear the Celtic Frost influence but it was still in your own style. This is going to sound fanboyish (maybe I am a fanboy) but your riffs are just awesome whether it be Usurper, Nightshade, The Dead Youth or Scythe your riffs are always good. It’s kinda ironic how later bands would copy a certain band’s sound totally and then they would get praised for it. What’s your opinion on that?

RS: Any band I've done I think I have a signature guitar style. I am a very heavy handed guitar player and I like a certain tone. I don't care if it's even something experimental, such as what I did with Nightshade, you can still hear my riffs. Yes once again, when Usurper started we were crucified for being Celtic Frost clones... yet we were merely influenced by Frost; anyone who actually was a fan of Frost would realize there are way more differences than similarities... but of course we got put down and shit-talked for this.

Which is funny because look at all the bands that EXACTLY rip off Carcass, or Morbid Angel, or Black Sabbath or Cradle of Filth or Mayhem. Or nowadays that EXACTLY rip off bay area bands like Exodus... yet these clone bands get praised while Usurper got shit on. That's alright though, we have always had a few small handful of fans who understand what Usurper stood for. Everyone else can kiss my ass!
That's why for me, Usurper die-hard fans are my favorite... they actually "get it", when someone actually understands what Usurper was all about is the ultimate for me! These are the people that help keep me influenced to carry on with Scythe! These are the people I am always glad to correspond with and I always have time for! That was the band that I feel best represents my creative vision and the united vision of all the guys I was in a band with... I am proudly carrying on that tradition with Scythe! But who knows, there might be a new Usurper release down the road, even if none of the old guys want to do it, I still might do this because I still have Usurper songs that were never recorded, ones that I don't want to do with Scythe. To me Usurper and Scythe are like how Mercyful Fate and King Diamond are connected... both are from the same roots, both have similar aspects, both have a similar attitude and similar sound, yet there are distinct differences too. Scythe and Usurper will be forever linked.






13. I saw a picture on the Usurper Facebook page and it shows an outtake for the video for “Embrace of the Dead” I couldn't find it on youtube. Was that video ever released to the public?   

RS: HA! HA! That would have been a kick ass video. We were filming it at this old cemetery called, "Bachelor's Grove" (which was loosely what the song was influenced by). Necropolis Records paid for a film crew and we had this great vision. There was this one scene where I had one of my dad's old sport coats and shirt and tie and I was to be buried in the ground and break out (hand first) like an undead corpse like from a Fulci movie, complete with tripe, fake blood, blue "Romero style" zombie make-up...

Unfortunately we didn't have a permit to film, the cops shut down the shoot and we never heard from the film crew again. Necropolis was out $1,000 and my dad was missing a sport coat. HA! HA! I think I have a picture of me wearing that, if I can find it I will send it to you. It might be on our old myspace page?





14. Are There any tour dates planned for this year?

RS: Yes we have some plans, but we will have to see how things go because nothing is set in stone. We just finished recording "Subterranean Steel". Then we will take the summer off to take care of some personal things. "Subterranean Steel" will be released September 2013 on R.I.P. Records [USA] and Primitive Reaction [Europe]. We are planning some US shows in the fall of 2013, definitely doing a show in Chicago with Sabbat [Japan]. We would like to get out to the East Coast and West Coast too, but too early to tell if/when that will happen. Other than that we will see how things go.

15. Last question if you could write a song with a musician dead or alive who would it be?

RS: I feel I already have with King Diamond in 1999 for the title track of the NECRONEMESIS album! He actually sang my lyrics to my melody, which was an honor beyond words for me, but he also added his own personal touch, so in a way it already happened! Who else could top that? Perhaps Ted Nugent?

Well thank you very much for your time Rick!! Do you have any last words or Death Grunts whatever you prefer to say to the fans?

RS: Uggggh-ahhh!  HEYYYY!



You can also check out a brief interview I did with Rick in 2012  http://wwwtotalmetal.blogspot.com/2012/07/rick-scythe-interview-scythe-usurper.html


www.scythe.us
www.facebook.com/scythe.chicago
www.restinpeacerecords.us


Metalwarfare FB
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Metal-Warfare/251114111649604?ref=hl





Monday, April 29, 2013

My partial Troll of a Black Metal band.

OK This band is called Black Feast. I pretended to be a fan of them. Their music to my ears sucks!! I don't like it at all!! I know these questions aren't hilarious but there answers are! I purposely didn't ask "true" questions. Also to other bands I don't usually do anything like this but I was bored and wanted to mess with a Black Metal band.


                                                             Very evil!  always makes me laugh



1. How did you come up with the name Black Feast?

BF: Our epitaph script is the perfect one that descript our festive
desecrations, our fire of vengeance at it's evilmost.
Deathspawned Brutal Profanating cemetery lullabies of sabbath.  (Yes, and the satanic darkness will destroy us all!  Were so "kvlt.)

2. How did you get into metal?

BF: Why should i reminisce my wasted childhood?? (not my fault you wasted it.)

3. What song are you most proud of that you have written?

BF: Nocturnal Soul of Black Oath have written our most material till
now, i come with riff parts sometimes and lyrics.
Most cruel one that i write lately was the upcoming demo track hymn
called; "Funeral in Heaven".   (A hymn really?? Oh gosh...)

4. When did you get signed to Nuclear War Now productions?

BF: We signed to NWN prods sometime at last year's 2011 ending era. For
first LP and demo comp.12" deal.

5. When you record a demo how do that do you record it live or do you
do each instrument seperate?

BF: Well all our past recordings were recorded instrumentaly live with
analog 4 tracker, but thesedays we record in Black Metal Coven
studios. We still keep recordings with 4 tracker in our hecatomb from time to time. (That's the only "true" way.. A Black Metal Coven that's hilarious!! Also I guess you have you have to sacrifice a ton of cattle in your hecatomb are you part time butchers?)


6. If you could go on a world tour with one band what band would it be?

BF: We are not Iron Maiden. We want to have nocturnal feast with hordes
as Infernal Curse, Necroccultus, Black Witchery, Impurity,
Hierophant's Descent.  (OK I have to admit I shouldn't have put "world tour" that was an accident but these answer's always make me laugh.


7. Ok this is my last question it's kinda of a dumb question but i'll
ask anyways. How do you guys get the awesome looking bullet belts and
those spikes?

BF: From your grave.  (My grave has some badass stuff then.)

Any last words for the fans or shoutouts? Ok well thank you for your
time keep it metal \m/


BF: Stop the cybernet activity. Why don't you do a REAL zine instead of
this shitty web-blog?   (Hmm if my blog was so shitty you could have just turned me down on the interview in the first place. Funny thing I guess I scared them off by asking un kvlt questions because on the Metal archives they took there email off. I guess I'm not "true" enough... Oh well, who cares!)

All Black Hearted souls write to:

c/o Black Feast
Mestarintie 10
49400 Hamina
Finland


Also later on we exchanged a few emails and he said that I didn't know anything about metal. Whatever!! I just thought I share this so a few people can get a laugh from this.

Trololo to black feast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTSA_sWGM44



Here's my review of their Worship of Darkness Demo..



Ok I have heard bands like Blasphemy, Bestial Warlust, and Beherit some people might define them as "War Metal". Well, I heard this whole demo and I thought to myself ? "what was this band thinking when they were recording?' Ok, let's start with the review.

 Vocals: Ok, for one It sounds like someone is close to puking into the Microphone and making panting noses that's mixed in with some death growls hear and there. Even at times it seem's like he's blowing into the Microphone it just sounds really bad. So my rating of the vocals is a 1/4

Bass: Is there even a Bassist?? You can't hear the Bass at all it's pretty much non-existant they shouldn't even say there's a Bassist at all because it add's nothing at all to their sound. 0/4

Guitars: The Guitars is what gave this demo a big boost. I have to admit I did like the Guitar riffs they have a great tone to them but it's nothing really orginally it's just Black Metal if the music was better overal and if the production was better l could have enjoyed it more. 2/4

Drums: The Drums at time's slow down. So it isn't just all Blast beats the whole time. However it sounds like the Guitar and Drum intertwine together to make really fast noise that's all it really is. 0/4

Production: Ok I know Black Metal is supposed to have bad production but this is just horrible. It's very bad the Drums and Guitars just sound like noise and you can't even hear the Bass. 0/4

The only song I did like was "Cemetery Profanation". If you see this demo and your thinking about buying it don't waste your money on this garbage. I did hear some songs from their split with Impurity and that sounded OK but even with that I don't think you should buy it. I really hope this band dosen't take themselves seriously especially with names like "Demonomancer of the Rising Curse of Witchery" but they have released several demo's so it dosen't seem they will be stopping anytime soon, sadly.. A word of advice since you guys want to stay underground you should only release an E.P and then fade into existance that's the most kvlt thing to do.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Cobra Interview


                                                                   COBRA








Here's my interview with Nito (Guitarist) of Cobra. Cobra hails from Peru and these guys are Heavy Metal Maniacs till death!!



1. Hails! Thanks for taking your time to answer my questions. OK so my first question is how did Cobra form?

Hails maniac! Nito here. Cobra was formed in 2005. Initially the band was conformed by Pochuck (drums) and I (guitars), we are friends from many years and we always had the idea of making a band together to play heavy metal. Augusto (bass) arrived shortly after. In 2006, and after several unstable lineups, Harry (vocals) and Andrés (guitars) joined the band. The first two years served to forge Cobra solid foundation in their identity and commitment with heavy metal. So in 2007 we released “Demo II: The Highland Warrior”, Pochuck returned to the band and consolidates the actual line up, we entered to the underground circuit and started to play with extreme metal bands such as Anal Vomit, Necropsya, Evil Damn and others, and we started our long relationship with the Peruvian label Austral Holocaust Prods.

2. Most bands in the Underground are usually extreme metal why do you think there has been a resurgence of Traditional Heavy Metal?

Heavy metal can be as strong as any other extreme genre, but for various reasons has been distanced from the aggressiveness which characterized it in the beginning. As we understand in Cobra, metal is about breaking your neck with heavy and violent guitar riffs and not to show how good musician you are or other reason that can take you to sacrifice aggressiveness in your music. I think this is a recovery of the style for so much shit that happened.

3. 2011 you released your first album Lethal Strike do you expect to put anything out this year?

We are concluding the recordings of our second full length album. Also there are going to be other releases in parallel. We hope giving you more details when appropriate.

4. Cobra lyrically overall don’t seem to touch on politics and social stuff where do you find inspiration for your lyrics?

We've done it in few songs. I don’t know how it will be in the future, but for now most of all we write about rock and roll, fights, violence, persecutions, etc. We try to always have roughness in our lyrics.





5. For the readers can you give us a description of your live show?

We are a band made for playing live! We always give 200% and always need to be in action. We can’t stand watching our instruments, we always go out to play with the slogan of win the respect of the headbangers, we have the duty to inject them energy. Sometimes we leave aside the perfection in the execution of the instrument, but you do it better over time. The main idea is to go and die on stage!

6. Do you have any tours planned? (I know it’s out of your reach right now but if you ever do a Southern California show we have a lot of maniac’s in L.A)

We have plans to go on tour here in South America later this year. The idea is always to go further. Europe, North America and Asia are goals to achieve and we really hope to be there. Organize a tour is difficult for us because our reality doesn't allows us to dedicate 100% to music, as we have jobs to maintain and that stuff. However, we are always looking forward to go on tour to achieve our goals as a band.

7. Since you have a song called Blessed by beer I have to ask what’s your favorite beer?

Sincerely any beer that can be drink will be my favorite at that moment. But if I could choose it would be Cuzqueña or Pilsen from here in Perú.

8. What's your opinion on band's like Enforcer and Armour?

I like more Enforcer than Armour, but I think also that the Swedes haven’t reach to capture the violence of their first songs when Olof was responsible for all instruments. However, the situation is very understandable, we have achieved that neither. It’s very difficult to have that exact balance between a good sound and roughness once you enter to the recording studio and record professionally inexperienced. About the bands that have come out recently, you can find everything. It’s inevitable that this revival wave of heavy metal becomes a trend and brings also things with no value at all. I've seen bands with really lousy songs, that because they wear spandex, shirts of classic bands, use walkmans, ataris and in general, force the retro image of the 70s and 80s, they achieve considerable popularity.

Thank for your time!! Do you have any last venom to spew at the readers?

Thanks to all the maniacs for reading these lines, we hope to be someday in your town to rock out in a concert. This year we are releasing our second strike so be prepared!


http://www.facebook.com/CobraPeruHeavyMetal?fref=ts


my fb page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Metal-Warfare/251114111649604?ref=hl


Scythe -- Beware the Scythe review








  Rick Scythe x-Usurper, x- Nightshade, x- Death Youth is in my opinion one the best Metal guitarist ever!
 What you get from this album is literally a fist in the face. It's Extreme Metal at it's finest. Scythe hailing from Chicago is causing devastation. Scythe's metal onslaught show's no sign of stopping!!

This album is one of those albums that kids in a decade will go back and find this and they will be transported into the metal time machine to old school extreme metal at it's finest.  The first song Iron Witch will rip your face off!! The vocals on this song are sort of "growled" but unlike Cannibal Corpse you can understand what he's saying. The song Beware The Scythe is has an old school black metal feel to it, the vocals on this song for some reason remind me of Nifelheim. There's also a bit of 70's hard rock influence which was cool to hear. Tyrannical Stronghold is one of the heaviest track very reminiscent to old Usurper. Tunguska Death Ray is a re-worked song from Rick's old band Nightshade. The instrument's on this album are all killer there really is no flaw. The production is raw yet the instrument's are heard quite well.

 Something you won't hear on a lot of metal records you hear today is memorability. Rick is a great songwriter even though these song's are more toward the extreme metal side of things every song sticks in your head. Lyrically this band also is very unique there's a song about Nephilim (ancient giants), new world order, occult, conspiracies, and the weirdest one was about Bohemian Grove "Cremation of Care" ceremony. To me at least these lyrics are very interesting

When you listen to this album remember you will suffer from neck pains after. Unlike all these "new" bands trying to play like the old school bands. Rick is from the old school and he is one of the many musician's who laid the blueprint for all these new bands. YOU MUST BEWARE ... BEWARE THE SCYTHE!!

10/10


Sunday, March 10, 2013

Ravn Furfjord interview Frosthardr, InnerSiege, Dödsmarsch

                   
                                                           


 This is my interview I did with Ravn of Frothardr, InnerSiege, Dödsmarsch, x-Antestor, x- A Hill to die upon. This is a really great interview very informative and alot of info I haven't read before. I'm very happy to have gotten this interview I haven't seen any recent interview's from Ravn or Frosthardr I was really nervous to ask for and interview I thought what the heck he can only say no. As you can see he didn't I hope you enjoy the interview! One of my favorite part's was when he gave alot of information on the history of Frosthardr really awesome!


1. Is there a band or album that got you into Black Metal


Ravn: 1. I started digging metal back in the late 80's and some hard rock. I became a big fan of Motorhead when a friend gave me the Overkill album on a cassette tape. Before that I listened to some Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, but my interest in harder rock started with Motorhead. Metallica gave out Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets, and that got me into the thrash metal. When it comes to Black Metal, there was a local radio show playing Darkthrone, Mayhem and Burzum amongst others, and I totally got into the sound of Darkthrone, so I guess that answers your question. I would say that I got my pleasant surprise the first time I heard Horde, which was the first "Christian" Black Metal I ever heard. I know Horde calls it Un-black metal...but I don't Ha haha!


2. Dodsmarch is a new band of yours when can we expect new material from you guys and can you reveal the line up of the band?

Ravn: Dodsmarsch is a unknown chapter, no one knows when anything will happen. We have recorded quite a few new songs, and will work on new material as the time and possibilities allow us, but we have plans to continue until we have an album ready. As for line up...who knows...well I am a part of it as you already figured out ha haha!








3. Frosthardr is amazing band could you give us some history on the band? And do you have any plans to record anything new?

Ravn:  Thank you, I really appreciate that. Frosthardr was an idea or if you will a calling I got in January of 1997. In March of the same year I had gathered some friends (amongst them Dr. E, which still is our guitar player) and started jamming some pretty folk based black metal. Dr. E did the vocals and I played bass back then but switched to guitar and vocals and Dr. E to guitar in 2000 . We had a hard time keeping a steady line up and by the time we got our present line up it was 2002 when Ozol (bass) and Savn (drums) joined us. We released "Necrodisaster2002" which was recorded in 2001 with Savn on drums, Dr. E on guitars, and I did vocals, bass and guitars.
We started playing shows around and after a while we headed outside Norway, like our first show outside Norway was in 2003 playing in London at Destruction fest.In 2004 we released "Makteslos". A 5 track EP, and we went on a small tour to Switzerland and the Czech Republic with our good friends of Drottnar. Following year we played with Slechtvalk on their "At the dawn of war tour". In 2006 we went on a small tour again in the Czech Republic and Switzerland but this time with our friends of Inevitable End. In 2007 we released the "Varg" EP. And by now you're probably bored to death with our history. We also went outside Europe, and played at the Cornerstone Festival that year. In the spring of 2008 I moved to the US, and the band is not actively playing anymore, except for whenever I go to Europe or the guys come to the US. We have a full-length album recorded, but no release date is set yet.

4. What’s your opinion on people calling your bands Unblack Metal? Do you categorize it just under Black Metal? I personally consider your music Black Metal because the music come’s first then the lyrics because it would be ridiculous in my opinion if you had a Power Metal band for example singing satanic lyrics and that got put under “Black Metal”.

Ravn: I have yet to hear a Uhheavy metal, or a Unthrash metal, or an absolutely not a tall rock'n roll band HA HA HA! I really don't care at all what people decide to call their music, but, when ever I play black metal ( this I say because I do play in more than just black metal bands, like for instance Innersiege, which is Power Metal), then I am playing black metal! So yes I totally agree with you on that!

5. You were a member for Antestor for a bit were you just a live musicians and why did you leave?

Ravn: I did play live with Antestor from 2002 and out 2004. Good times! Due to transportation issues (I lived quite a drive away from them) I had to leave the band. I did never record anything with them, and I was in London with Frosthardr during the time the bass was recorded. They also wanted to have their old bass player on that album, which I totally respect!

6. From what I have read at least Norway is supposed to be one of the happiest countries why do you think such grim music come’s from there?

Ravn: I do find happiness in grim music....and grimness in happy music...and the general opinion about a nation does not necessarily go for all of us. I honestly don't know what to answer on that question HAHAHA! We all have our ups and downs no matter what the general opinion is I guess. And if sadness and misery has to do with all of black metal, then I'm one depressed guy...*wiping the smile and laughter of my face in a desperate try to look grim* ha ha! Nah we're not a bunch of emo's is probably what I am trying to say.


7.  Your Power Metal band Inner Siege is also really good. How did you form the band? Is there a possible U.S tour in the works?

Ravn: Thanks again! Innersiege was actually formed a while before I joined. I was asked if I wanted to help them out, just days after I left A Hill To Die Upon. I decided to help them out for live shows, but enjoyed it so much that when they asked me to be their permanent bass player I said yeah! We're going to Switzerland to play at the Elements of Rock this coming week, and that's going to be fun! We're not going on any tours yet, but are doing some shows here and there. We're keeping our Facebook page and Twitter up to date on our shows all the time! I know we will be playing in Chicago at the Ragnarokkr fest, and in Nebraska at Skull fest this year. Add us!

8. Last question when you have played live has there been time’s when secular bands won’t play with you because of your faith?

Ravn:  That has not happened yet as far as I know. People has been pretty cool about it, and it's not like we shove the Bible down their throat so it's all good, we usually not calling ourselves a Christian band, but rather a metal band. The messages we have is from our perspective as Christians. Just like a mechanic is usually a mechanic and a painter is a painter Christian or not. We're musicians with a personal faith!  HAHAHA!

Thank you very much for your time Ravn I wish you the best. Do you have any last words for the fans?

Ravn: Also take your time to check out my one man, no budget project WarHorse!Thank you, and God Bless!