1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?

    After the release of „Czarne Rytualy Otchalni”, we are still rehearsing and doing our own thing. Of course, after the release, there is no rush but we are consequently moving forward. Slowly we are working on sketches of new songs as well as the concept for the new album, which will probably change a few times but the important thing is that we have a lot of ideas. Also, a chance of playing few live shows has appeared, so soon you will probably be able to see Aryman live.
   
2.In May you had released a new album,  how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

    We are very happy with the sound and the album is a consequent step forward. The guitar sound is more vicious than on the previous releases, partially because the new material contains more faster and high played riffs. The sound of the drums is very similar to our last release but very different from the previous ones (it was recorded in different places, on different sets, mixed by different people. The only part which remained the same is the person who played). There was a change of the vocalist, which I hope, is notable: vocals are lower, more varied and more atmospheric compared to our previous releases, in some parts they are even sung. "Czarne Rytualy Otchalni" is not something innovative but it was never our goal (and never will be) to create something new just for the sake of it. Unfortunately, there is a lot of bands which decide to play some weird shit just to stand out. We believe, that while playing in a known "style" you can still create something valuable. "Czarne Rytualy" sounds more like impeccable productions from the 90's then fake old school release from the last few years. Of course, you can here in the music of Aryman influences of the genre, but can you play Black Metal without being inspired by the great ones of the scene? If someone says he can, then, in my opinion, he is lying to himself.
 
  3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores on the new album?
    In the booklet, you can read "True Satanic Black Metal" which should give a suggestion on what the lyrics are about. It should not come as a surprise then, that the lyrics are satanic, antichristian, vicious and full of hate. Maybe they are also a bit more atmospheric and mysterious compared to our previous releases, but what's important, they fit the vision of the music presented on the album.

    4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Aryman'?
    In the Persian mythology, Aryman is the embodiment of evil, god of darkness and the opponent of the god of light, Ahura Mazda. I'm not an expert on religion, but If I'm not mistaken, Aryman is the first historical embodiment of evil (Satan in the primary tradition was only an angel doing the dirty work. Only later he became the embodiment of evil forces and the ruler of demons). This makes Aryman a unique figure. Besides of the fact, that the name represents the character of the music in the right way, it is also short and easy to remember. I also find it surprising, that so far no other band used this name.

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

    So far we didn't play many live shows, but the most successful in my opinion was our performance at the Tyskie Tawerna. Small place, but it was great, good sound and a very positive reaction from the audience. The gig was successful for us, but maybe not so much for the guys from Sekhmet who didn't play that night because of a fight between a few idiots right before they were supposed to play haha. Also, the gig in Gdynia was good. Not only because of the gig itself but because, of the perfect organization. We always try not to limit our performance just to go out on stage in jeans and play the songs. We use corpse paint, leather, rusty nails, bullet belts and also inverted crosses and chains. All these items have a history and are very important to us. We don't buy new and nice bracelets but we use items full of rust, blood, corpse paint leftovers which most of the time lie in the corner of our moldy rehearsal room haha.

    6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

    If everything goes according to plan there will be a chance to see Aryman on a few live performances next year.

    7.The new album was released through both 'Lower Silesian Stronghold' and 'Hass Weg Productions', are you happy with the support both labels have given you so far?

    Yes, releasing it through two labels allowed us to reach more people outside of Poland. Both labels did a very good job. We are happy with the work both Raborym from Lower Silesian Records and Roland from Hass Weg Productions did.

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

    The reception of our music is mostly positive. Sometimes it is valuable to hear the opinion of someone from the outside. It is very difficult to look at your own music in an objective way - especially in the time before releasing the album when you are fresh after the recording session listening to your tracks 50 times per day. The perception is different during rehearsals, different after the raw recording and different after the final version and then it's different for the listener. It's not about changing your style to make people happy, but it can be valuable to hear the opinion from someone from the outside. For example, we very often think, that a certain track is overcomplicated and weird while someone from the outside says, that it is a very traditional black metal song.

    9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

    From what I know, Asmenoth is preparing some live shows with Beleth, Xaos Oblivion released recently an album with Demonic Slaughter and the remaining projects are also finishing work on their material.

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

    Aryman has his own way, Aryman is pure Black Metal so nothing more to add on this subject

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

    Without doubt, one of the ongoing inspiration for us are the classics of the genre starting with the founders like Venom and Celtic Fost, but also the Scandinavian scene from the 90's (Mayhem, Gorgoroth, Darkthrone etc.) Even though within the band we have a very similar music taste, it turns out, that some small differences come out while writing our own material. The challenge is to use those differences in a productive way so that everyone can bring into the band something personal.

    12.How would you describe your views on Satanism and Occultism?

    Most importantly, I do not think that the two terms (Satanism and Occultism) are similar. Occultism, mysticism, black magic - however, you call it, are forms of rites and "religious" activities. Satanism for me is a philosophy of self-improvement while Satan is the symbol of freedom and thinking for yourself. Satanism opposes  the worship of made up gods and being a blind follower. Satanism is for me the art of taking conscious decisions, conscious thinking, risk-taking and dynamic changes which are required for the world to evolve. Where would mankind be if we would not have people who are not afraid of thinking for themselves, who are not afraid of opposing established dogmas? Where would mankind be if in the biblical parable man would not reach for the forbidden fruit? We would run naked and primitive in "paradise" unaware of anything. Religion makes life better - this argument is often repeated by people who believe and in some sense they are right - maybe living in this lie is convenient and easy but in my opinion, it is more important to live aware than to live easy. A pig rolling in shit is surely very happy.


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


    BLACK METAL DESTROYED MY LIFE!

  Moontower  are  a  band  from  Poland  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  satanic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their 2016  album  "Darkness...Glory  To  Hatred"  which  will  be  released  in  December  on  cassette  by  War  Productions.

  Atmospheric  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  and  wolf  howls  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  black  metal  direction  that  alo  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  second  wave  style.

  Melodies  can  be  heard  in  some  of  the  riffing  and  synths  also  get  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times  and  the  solos  and  leads  gives  the  songs  a  touch  of  classic  death  metal  while  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  on  one  track  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction.

  Moontower  creates  another  recording t hat  remains  true  to  the  raw  style  of  satanic  black  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while t he  lyrics  cover  satanism,  occultism  and  darkness  themes  along  with  a  couple  of  songs  written  in  Polish.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Moontower  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  satanic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Under  The Black Sun"  and  "Death  To  Enemies".  8  out  of  10.

   
 

  Archaeos  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  plays  an  occult  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep "Forgotten  Art  Of  Sacrifice"  which  will  be  released  on  cassette  in  December  by War  Productions.

  Thunder  and  rain  sounds  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  clean  guitars  a  few  seconds  later and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  black  metal  direction  that also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  as  well  as  some  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  the  music  is  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  at  times  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  folk  instruments  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  fashion and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  melodic  pagan  vocals.

  Archaeos  plays  a  style  of  occult  black  metal t hat  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  and  sounds  very  raw,  melodic  and  epic,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Paganism,  Occultism,  Anti  Christianity  and  Misanthropy  themes.

  In  my opinion  Archaeos  are a  very  great  sounding  pagan/occult  black metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  cassette.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hail  Pan  the  Horned  One"  and  "Hymn  To  the  Nymphs".  8  out  of  10.

   

  Snogg  are a  duo from  Slovenia  that has  been  featured  before in  this  zine  and  plays  an  experimental  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2016  ep  "Qivitoq".

  Sci  fi  sounds  start  off  the  ep  along  with  some  elements  of  noise and  after  awhile  grim  black  metal  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  melodic  riffing  and  death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  and  violins  can  also be  heard  at  times.

  Some  of the  tracks a re  very  long  and  epic in  length  and  the  music  can  also g et  very  experimental at  times  and  when  tremolo  picking  is  utilized  it  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  and while  most  of  the  music  is  either  slow  or  mid  paced  one  of  the  songs  is done  in  more  of  a  fast  and  old  school  style  and  spoken  word  parts  are  added  onto  the  last  track.

  Snogg  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  raw  and  experimental  style  of  black  metal  from  previous  releases, t he  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  sci  fi  orientated  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Snogg  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of experimental black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Alien  Nation"  "In  Death,  Erection!".  8  out  of  10.

 

  Ovnev  are  a  solo  project  from  Spring,  Texas  that  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2016  album  "Cycle  Of  Survival"  which  was  released  by  Naturmacht  Productions.

  Acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  and  they  also  bring  in  a  folk  music  feeling  and  after  awhile  melodic  leads  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  along  with  the  music  going  into  a  heavier  direction  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  the  tremolo  picking  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  nature  sounds  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very powerful  sound  to  them  and  acoustic  guitars  are  also  utilized  on  the  later  tracks  and  all  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  slow  musical  direction  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  whispers.

  Ovnev  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  modern  and  atmospheric  sounding  while  also  mixing  in  touches  of  folk  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  mountains,  forests,  nature,  consciousness,  death  and  despair  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ovnev  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Observatory"  and  "Cycle  Of  Survival".  8  out  of  10.