1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
Mortuum:
R= First of all, thank you for the interest in our music, and also for the interview. Impiedoso is a black metal band from Jaraguá do Sul, a medium sized town located in the south of Brazil. The band was formed in 1998 and it has been in activity since then. We have changed the line-up several times, but the black metal essence has been with us, the philosophy and the music style are still well preserved, even after the genre had become more popular and sort of modernized into some generic stuff.

2.Recently you have released an album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
Mortuum:
R=This is our first album, our first full-length almost 20 years after assembling the band. Obviously, this is a milestone in the life of all of the members, mainly the ones that founded the horde a couple of decades ago. Most of the songs are 15-20 years old, it means that they were polished for years and years, through countless rehearsals throughout all this timeline, and it has finally came out. "Reign In Darkness" is very oriented to the 90's era, when black metal hadn't been refashioned yet. The music is very versatile. It's fast and slow, straight and complex, plenty of obscure references, sullen melodies and riffs often leaning towards death metal.

3.The band has been around since 1998 and while there has done a few demo's released, the first full length did not come out until this year, can you tell us a little bit more about the long wait?
Mortuum:
R= The black metal scene has always been strong around this region in Brazil, but, even if it's considered a very resourceful area (when it comes to good quality of life), back then there was no place to record a decent full-length album. And frankly, it has never meant a big priority for the band. We only started to think about recording a full length in 2013, when the planning began, and we think the result came out exactly as we wanted! The long wait was really worth it.

4.The band formed from the ashes of 'Imperium Tenebrae', what was the cause of splitting the older band to form a new one?
Nahash:
R= Imperium Tenebrae was the first black metal effort in this region around 1994-5, and it featured the few people who were insane about black metal at the time, and had the willingness to compose songs and perform them. There was a conflict of interests at the time, and the group friendly disbanded, forming two different bands oriented towards two different black metal styles, one of those branches came to be Impiedoso in 1998.

5.The lyrics on the album deal with both Occultism and Satanism, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the black arts?
Azoth:
R=Impiedoso's main objectives has always been the preaching of antichristianity, in all of our lyrics, as well as for our personal lives, even though are atheists that follow no religion, preaching satanism is the perfect affront to christians and christianity. By the other hand, we are fascinated by the brilliance of the black arts, and there are many references about occultism in our lyrics.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Impiedoso'?
Azoth:
R=Impiedoso translates from the portuguese, meaning "merciless" . The mercilessness is a reference to the band as a group of warriors with no mercy against christianity.

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?
Nahash:
R=I think the most remarkable show was one that we played in the city of Curitiba, a city that is around 200 kilometers from our home town, about 14 or 15 years ago. We were playing completely outraged on total fury on the stage, and at some point we looked at the audience and saw hundreds and hundreds of maniacs banging their heads in total sync with our music, just like us on the stage. Their bond with our songs was amazing. It was an insane gig, a night to remember, plenty of moshpits, people screaming and howling, singing the melodies, raising their arms with clenched fists to support the band. It was indeed, something memorable...

8.Do you have any touring or show plans for the new album?
Mortuum:
R=Yes. We're scheduling 5 shows, 4 of them together with the old and classic death metal band Chemical Disaster, a band of great friends that has always supported us.

9.Currently the band is unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Mortuum:
R=It's not something very clear to us yet. We think it would be nice to have a label for a honest partnership with, and also help us with recording costs (everything from recording equipments, mixing, mastering, CD press and promotions came from our own pockets!) and shows. What we're actually concerned about is being pushed to write music we don't like or don't want to perform.

10.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
Mortuum:
R= Impressive! We were aware that our songs were to be valued by die hard black metal fans, but did not expect that many good comments about how we were able to render the 90's era. We're very happy with the results, and mainly for being able to meet some of the personal taste of the people that support the genre we're labeled upon.

11.What is going on with 'Orthostat' these days, a band that shares a couple of the same members?
Mortuum:
R= Orthostat started at the Impiedoso rehearsals, where me (Mortuum, guitars and vocals) and Aldebaran (drums) used to play some of the riffs of old songs of mine for fun. I used to have a death metal band named "Hellfrost" back in 2005 with 7 or 8 own songs. Since we decided to split, I kept the songs I composed to be recorded someday under a new name. And then Orthostat came to be. We're in the process of recording a full length that will be released soon as well.

12.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Mortuum:
R= The band has enough material to record at least another full-length album, with songs more composed 15 to 20 years ago. We also have half a dozen of new songs that will be polished properly before being recorded in a third effort. Impiedoso has it's own characteristic style for a long time and that won't ever change.

13.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?
Mortuum/Nahash:
R=We listen to a lot of old school stuff (as well as some good new stuff that eventually turns up here and there), usually black metal and death metal. Classic stuff like Darkthrone, Master's Hammer, (old) Mayhem, Darkwoods My Betrothed, Songe D'Enfer, Mystifier, Murder Rape, Setherial, Enthroned, Besatt, Desaster, (old) Marduk, Entombed, Morbid Angel, The Chasm, Dead Congregation, Tliltic Tlapoyauak (we highly recommend this project and it's bands), Incantation, Faustcoven, and plenty of other stuff, we could go on forever. We have always been very connected to extreme music, and we still find joy in meeting just for listening to extreme stuff and drinking. At least once a year (for the last 20 years) we drive away from the city and walk deep into the woods, staying there for 2 or 3 days in a row, powered by alcohol and extreme metal. Actually, some of the pictures in the booklet or this album were taken at those meetings, haha!

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Mortuum:
R= It's hard to be a black metal band nowadays, mainly if you're not investing on some commercial elements in your songs, or make them smaller and accessible. We're not against mp3, or internet sharing, streaming or downloads, but music is not what it was back in the late 90's when we used to listen to the small array of albums that we had through K-7 tapes and Vinyl, which were particularly difficult to find. Also, these current days, music has turned into a second role background ambiance, and no one usually cares about what's playing. Metalheads used to listen metal albums as a whole piece, paying proper attention to it. Nowadays we have a high level of access to anything, anywhere, and there are so many bands that it excels the amount of music that one can be able to listen to. Time has become a fucking disease, and most people don't use to take time to listen to new stuff the way it should be listened. Think about it.

But that's how the extreme metal scene grew to become, and we have nothing to do other than keep doing what we like, and remain merciless!

We also would like to thank everyone that took the time to listen to our work, and we hope you enjoy listening to those songs. Thank you.

- Impiedoso,
          jul/27/2017

  Cult  Of  The  Horns  are  a  solo  project  from  France  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  bestial  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2017 album  "Chapter  I.  Dominion"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Symbol  Of  Domination  and  Ira  Militias  Productions.

  Military  style  drum beats  along  with  some  synths  start  off  the  album and  they  also  bring  in  a  very  epic  sounding  atmosphere  along  with  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  war  metal  direction  that  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking.

  Clean  playing  can  be  heard  briefly  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  bestial  death  metal  growls  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very dark  and  melodic  fashion  and  black  metal  screams  are  also  used  at  times and  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  synths  and  spoken  word  parts  also  make  a  brief  return  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction.

 Cult  Of  The  Horns  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  bestial  style  of  black,  death  and  war  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  war, domination,  violence  and  nuclear  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Cult  OF  The  Horns  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  bestial  black/death  and  war  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Mass  Destruction  Supremacy"  "Betrayal"  and  "Eradication".  8  out  of  10.  

  Darkflight are  a  duo  from Bulgaria  that  plays  a  mixture  of  depressive  black  metal  and  atmospheric  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "The  hereafter"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Symbol  Of  Domination  Productions,  Metallic  Media,  and  Black  Plague  Records.

  Melodic  guitar  leads  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  ambient  style  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  awhile  symphonic  elements  and  clean  singing  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful.

  All  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  the  music  incorporates  a  lot  of  depressive  and  atmospheric  black  metal  elements  as  well  as  utilizing  a  great  amount  of  melodic  guitar  leads  and  classical  guitars  along  with  stringed  instruments  are  also  utilized  briefly  and  the  slower  riffing  is  more  rooted  in  doom  metal  and  one  track  also adds  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  direction  and  on  the  last  track  elements  of  shoegaze  and  post  rock  are  added  onto  the  recording.

  Darkflight  plays  a  musical  style  that  mixes  the atmospheric  styles  of  black  and  doom metal  together  with some  symphonic,  depressive,  ambient  and  post  rock  elements  to  create  something  very  original,  the  production  sounds  very  professional while  the  lyrics  cover fantasy  and  darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Darkflight are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  and  depressive  mixture  of  black  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  duo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Expiring  Soul"  and  "Threshold  Of  Death".  8  out  of  10.

  

  Agonia  Black  Vomit  are  a  duo from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  atmospheric  and  satanic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Cosmosatanic  Wisdom"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Symbol  Of  Domination  Productions  and  Murdher  Records.

  Evil  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  section  of  the  music  while  ritualistic  spoken  word  parts  are  also  used  briefly  before  adding  grim  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording  and  the  guitar  riffing  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  along   with  the  music  being  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  down  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  and  when  the  riffs  utilize  tremolo  picking  it  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful sound  to  them  and  the  last  track  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Agonia  Black  Vomit  plays  a  keyboard  style  of  satanic  black  metal  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Blasphemy,  Satanism  and  Anti  Christianity  themes.

  In  my  opinion Agonia  Black  Vomit  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  satanic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  'Departure  From  Delgrade"  "Parallel  Descanding  Visions"  and  "Symphony  Of  Suffering".  8 out  of  10.

  Russia's  solo  project  Astarium  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  that continues  his  symphonic  style  of  occult  black  metal from  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2017  album  "Drum-Ghoul"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Symbol Of  Domination  and  More  Hate  Productions.

  Soundscapes  and  field  recordings  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  leads  and  symphonic  sounding  synths  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  mixes  in  elements  of  ambient  and  after  a  few  minutes  heavy  guitar  riffs  and  drum  beats  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  grim  black  metal vocals.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful sound  to  them  while  all  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  riffs  also  utilize  a  great  amount  of  melody  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  tremolo picking  is  utilized  it  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  Astarium  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  his  symphonic  and  ambient  style  of  occult  black  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Darkness,  Eternity,  Death  and  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Astarium  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  symphonic,  ambient  and  occult  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dread  Asylum"  and  "Pernicious  Elixer".  8  out  of  10.