1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
The band formed when the two members of the band worked together in a previous project. We were dissatisfied, that band ceased to be and Ereskigal was born.

2.In May you had released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
A cacophony of savage, antinomian Black Metal.

3.The band has been around since 2012 but waited until 2017 to release any music, can you tell us a little bit more about the first 5 years?
The first year or so of the band was hampered by many line up changes and so was spent writing mostly. We played a single show and then went on hiatus. Myself and Azott decided the time was now right to resurrect it.


4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
All of the songs are in one way or another based in anti-cosmic occultism. Some are corruptions of rituals I’ve used before, others are narrative explorations of humanity’s place in the cosmos and what lies beyond it. A reasonable starting point for research would be Gullveigarbok by Vexior, Book IV by Crowley or the Book of Sitra Achra by N.A-A.218. Those who know, will know. It matters not.


5. I know that the band was named after a Mesopotamian goddess, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topic?
We chose the name because Ereskigal is a goddess associated with the underworld and more importantly with law-making and self sovereignty. We didn’t want to set out to make music like another band, the point of the project was to explore the darkness we want to create and set our own law. To create music as vicious, murderous and unyielding as we choose.

6.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you open to expanding the line up or do you prefer to remain a duo?
We’re in the process of creating a new live line-up, and still writing material as a duo. Time, as always, will tell.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?
Ereskigal has been beset with issues in this area since our inception. We’ve had offers for shows in 2017 in various places, but unfortunately none have yet come to fruition.

8.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
Somewhere dark.

9.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?
Nightbringer, Acherontas, Misthyrming, Dissection, Svartidaudi, 1349 and Pseudogod were all large shared influences whilst writing ‘Sojourn’. Beyond that, we listen to an eclectic range of things. Both of us and the current live members are active in other bands in the UK underground but some leading lights who we do not share members with are Abduction, Wolvencrown, Trivax, Qrixkuor and Funeral Throne, to name a few.

10.How would you describe your views on Occultism?
Study is a lens to use understanding, or destroying, the many facets of reality. Read a book.

11.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Rejoice, everything ends.

  Wakboth  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  raw  mixture  of  black  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  ep  "Endless  Graves"  which  will  be  released  in  the  autumn  by  Breath  Of  Pestilence.

  A  very  fast  and  raw  sound  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  music  is  also  rooted  in  the  90's  second  wave  Finnish  style  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  A  great  amount  of  punk  and  thrash  metal  influences  can  be  heard  in  the  bands  musical  style  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  also  remain  very  true  to  an  old  school  style  and  they close  the  ep  with  a  cover  of  G.G  Allin's  "You  Hate  Me  And  I  Hate  You".

  Wakboth  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  old  school  while  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  thrash  metal  influences,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  desecration,  Satanism  and  war  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Wakboth  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  mixture  of  black  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Endless  Graves"  and  "The  Witches  Maw".  8  out  of  10.

  Terrorkult  are  a  band  from Virginia  that  plays  a  very  raw  form  of  black  metal    and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Crush  The  Pious"  which  was  re-issued  in  2017  by  Barbarian  Wrath.

  A  very  heavy  guitar  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  small  amount  of  melody  also  being  utilized  at  times  while  elements  of  death  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  riffing  and  after  awhile  grim  black  metal  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  bringing  in  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats.

  When  tremolo  picking   is  utilized  it  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  along  with  the  music  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  early  90's  while  thrash  influences  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  music  always  remains  very  heavy  without  ever  using  any  solos  or  leads  and  the  last  track  is  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Terrorkult  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  goes  back  to  the  early  90's  U.S  style  of  the  genre  while  also  adding  in  touches  of  death  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  with  a  demo  quality  while  the  lyrics  cover  blasphemy  and  annihilation  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Terrorkult  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  old  school  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Terror  Rises  Once  More  To  Dominate"  "Goatwar"  "Merciless  Slaughter"  and  "The  Bearded  Hustlers".  8  out  of  10.
 

  

  Onirism  are  a  solo  project  from  France  that  plays  an  ambient  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2017  ep  "SUN"  which  will  be  released  on  September  23rd  by  Naturmacht  Productions.

  Ambient  style  synths  start  off  the  ep  along  with  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  and  they  also  give  the  music  more  of  an  atmospheric  feeling  while most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  ambient  elements  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  on  some  tracks  the  music  also  incorporates  electronic  music  elements  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  instrumentals.

  Onirism  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  dark  ambient  and  mixes  it  with  atmospheric  black  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics cover  lucid  dreaming  themes.

  In  my  opinion Onirism  are  a  very  great  sounding  ambient  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "To  The  Unknown"  and  "Sun".  8  out  of  10.
 

  Nocturne  are  a  band  from  Austria  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic form  of  occult  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "The  Burning  Silence"  which  will  be  released  in  December  by  Talheim  Records.

  Acoustic  playing  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  fast  and  melodic  direction  while  the  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  along  with  the  music  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  Swedish  style  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams.

  When  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  keyboards  are  utilized  they  give  the  songs  more  of  an  atmospheric  feeling.

  Whispers  and  melodic  singing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  some  songs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken word  parts  and  on  some  tracks  the  keyboards  bring  in  the  atmosphere  of  a  classic  horror  movie  and  as  the  album  progresses  death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording,  one  of  the  songs  is  an  instrumental  and  they  close  the  album  with  a  cover  of  Ultravox's  "Lament".

  Nocturne  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  melodic  style  of  occult  black  metal  from  their  previous  release,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Nocturne  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  occult  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Descent"  "Hubris  Virtue"  and  "Ascent".  8/5  out  of  10.