Ruach  Raah  are  a  band  from  Portugal  that  plays  a  very  raw  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Under  The  Insignia  Of  Baphomet"  which  was  released  by  War  Arts  Productions.

  A  very  fast  and  raw  musical  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  as  well  as  a  great  amount  of  punk  elements  while  the  vocals  are  mostly grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  the  music  also  has  a  lot  of  90's  influences.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with most  of  the  riffing  being  done  on  power  chords  and  the  music  always  avoids  any  melody  or  solos  as  well  as  always  remaining  very  heavy  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts and  movie  samples  can  also  be  heard.

  Ruach  Raah  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  while  also  mixing  in  elements  of  punk,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ruach  Raah  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  cassette.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hang  Humanity  Upside  Down"  "A  Ira  do  Lucifer"  and  "Bodysnatchers".  8  out  of  10.

 

  

  Italy's  Malauriu  have  returned  with  a  new  recording which  continues  their  raw  and  old  school  style  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their 2018  ep  "Morte"  which  was  released  by  Southern  Hell  Records.

  A very  dark,  psychedelic  and  ritualistic  intro  starts  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  direction which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  while  the  vocals  are  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal s creams  along  with  the  music  being  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  on  some  of  the  tracks  as  well  as  the  songs  sounding  like  they  could  of  easily  been  recorded  and  released  more  than  20  years  ago.

  Malauriu  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  their  raw  and  old  school  style  of  black  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Italian  and  cover  Occultism,  Death  and  Human  Misery  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Malauriu  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  old  school  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Revenge  of  The  Shadows".  8  out  of  10.   

    

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?


Schins: The band was born in 2011 in Bergamo. I've founded the band with Umis (2011 – 2017) and Lasgalen (2011 – 2015) and actually I'm the only one from the original line up.



2.Recently you have released your first full length, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the demo and split you had released a few years back?


Schins: Our first full album is totally different from our first demo, we've changed many musicians in these years and this is the result.
In the first years with Lasgalen we've play a melodic black influenced from Dissection, but now we play a classical black metal influenced by Mayhem, Gorgoroth, Darkthrone..


Al Azif: We have composed the album with our two past members Nyhl and Umis, but only me and Schins has recorded all of the tracks.



3.This is your first release in 5 years, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time span?


Schins: We've lost may years for the line up changes.. The album was written from 4 musicians, but only me and Al Azif have recorded it.


4.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects you explore on the new album?


Schins:The album talks about the four knights of the apocalypse. Every lyric was written by Umis except "Inféren", written by Abibial (Imago Mortis), a great expert on the legends of our territory.



5.I know that the band name means 'hell' in Bergamo dialect, how does this name fit in with the musical style you play?


Al Azif: Yeah, our name recall the hell, but we aren't a satanic band, we only want to talk about the evil during the history and inside the legends from the past, It's a name selected cause hell is the archetype of all the evil present in the world, for our society.



6.The artwork on the new album looks like a mysterious medieval battle, can you tell us a little bit more about the art work?


Al Azif: The artwork recall the four knights, and it has been done by my dear friend Enyalios, our next singer.

It's an artwork about the four horsemen War, Death, Famine and Pestilence in a medieval style for graphics and colours.



7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

Al Azif: We rarely play live because of continuous changes. I'm in the band from 3 years and we've go on stage only 2 times in a classical black metal concert.



8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?


Al Azif: No, we aren't intrested to play in a tour, but we want to prepare a release party.



9.A few years back you where a part of a split with 'Wolfpack Legacy', how would you compare your style to theirs?


Schins: We've published the split called “The Last Mass” in 2013 with Wolfpack Legacy, a Greece band now split up.
A band totally different from us, but a good experience with these great guys.

The split was published from Satanic Records, a Mexican label.


10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your newer music by fans of black metal?


Schins: A good feedback from some friends and fans, we're very satisfied about this album.



11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?


Al Azif: I don't know.. Now we're at work with the new singer and the new bassist on the next full album, I hope the next can be good like this!


12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?


Al Azif: Our main influences are Mayhem, the first Watain, Destroyer 666, the first Bathory, Imago Mortis..but we have many influences out from black metal.
I listen principally the 70's Hard Rock, bands like Led Zeppelin, the italian Rock (ivan Graziani, Enzo Jannacci, Gaber..) and, of course, a lot of black metal bands.


13.How would you describe your views on Occultism?


Al Azif: Occultism today is a subject that is too overused, so many speak of this theme and too many are not well informed.

Then there are bands like the Opera IX or Imago Mortis which are worth reading the texts, sometimes taken from historical sources researched and accurate.



14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?


Al Azif: We would to say thanks to our past member Umis for the years in the band and the lyrics and Nyhl for some guitar parts.
Abibial from Imago Mortis for Inféren track, David for the recording sessions and Enyalios for the artwork, and some friends for the support (Mornak and Aren from X Pus, Marco from Necroshine, Asmodeus from Malauriu, Vito and Loris from Khephra).
We're proud of this album, but we are ready to come over with a new line up and some new tracks for the next album.

  Kroda  are  a  band  from  Ukraine  that  plays  a  pagan  form  of  black  metal  with  some  elements  of  folk  music  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  2018  album  "Selbswelt"  which  was  released  by  Purity  Through  Fire.

  A  very  epic  keyboard  intro  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  while the  music  also  gets  very  ritualistic  at  times before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  along  with  a  great  amount  of  melody.

  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  keyboards  also  being  mixed  into  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion.

  Acoustic  guitars  and  folk  instruments  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  while  nature  sounds  can  also  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  as  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  ritualistic  track  and  instrumental  can  also  be  heard  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction.

  Kroda  plays  a  style  of  pagan  black  metal  that is  very  epic  sounding  along  with  a  great  amount  of  folk  music  elements,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  Paganism,  Heathenism  and  Nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Kroda  are  a  very  great  sounding  folk  music  influenced  pagan  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Ritual  At  The  Gates  Of  Eternity"  "Beyond  The  Life  and  Nonexistence"  and  "Like  Some  Snow-White  Marble  Eyes".  8/5  out  of  10.

  

  Autarcie  are  a  duo  from  France  that  plays  a  melodic  and  old  school  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Seqvania"  which  was  released  by  Purity  Through  Fire.

  Nature  sounds  along  with  some  atmospheric  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  musical  direction  while  also  introducing  grim  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  using  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  Melodic  vocals  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  good  portion  of  the  tracks  being  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  also  hear  a great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  as  well  as  the  music  also  bringing  in  a  lot  of  90's  influences  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief use  of  folk  elements  and  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  synths  are  added  onto  the  outro.

  Autarcie  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw,  melodic  and  old  school  sounding  with  some  touches  of  folk  music,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  French  and  cover  nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Autarcie  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  and  melodic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dans  la  chenaie"  "Seqvania"  and  "Terre  brulee".  8  out  of  10.