Nebiros  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  raw  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "VII"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Folter  Records.

  A  very  atmospheric  sounding  synth  starts  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  is  utilized  before  going  into  more  of  a  black  metal  direction  along  with  some  grim  screams  and  melodic  guitar  leads  that  are  also  brought  in  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  and  the  atmospheric  and  clean  parts  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  side  at  times.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  at  times  and   they  also  give  the  music  more  of  a  ritualistic  feeling  and  the songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  with  the  faster  sections  utilizing  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  displaying  more  of  a  raw  side  of  black  metal  and  some  of  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  touch  of  death  metal  at  times  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  later  songs  also  bring in  a  touch  of  old school  thrash  and  modern  metal.

 Nebiros  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  the  old  school  style  of  90's  black  metal  but  also  mixes  in  a  lot  of  atmospheric  elements  and  a  more  modern  style  to  create  some  very  dark  and  heavy  music,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Polish  and  cover  Satanism, Sex,  Blasphemy  and  Anti  Christian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Nebiros  are  a  very  great  sounding  satanic  black  metal  band  and  if  you are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Zakon  Czarny"  "Galaxis"  "Staruch"  and  "Legion".  8  out  of  10.

  Stilla  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Ensamhetens Andar"  which  is  getting  the  vinyl  version  released  in  2015  by  Eisenwald.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum beats  and  grim  black  metal  vocals  a  few  seconds  later  and  after  a  few  seconds  the  music  starts  going  into  more  of  a  heavy  and  melodic  direction  which  also  leads  up  to  the  music  going  into  more  of  an  atmospheric  style  and  all  of  the  musical instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound to  them.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  the  music  starts  bringing  in  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  along  with  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  keyboards  gives  the  songs  more  of  an  epic  feeling  and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  lso  hear  eleemnts  of  progressive  music  in  some  parts  of  the  songs.

  Classical  guitars  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  singing  while  some  of  the  certain  leads  also  bring  in  a  more  melodic  and  modern  style  of  black  metal  an  as the  album  progresses spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  at  times.

  Stilla creates  a  black  metal  album  that  is  very  diverse  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  melodic,  atmospheric  and  progressive  elements  into  the  songs  while  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  raw  aggression,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Swedish  and  cover  nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Stilla  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ensamhetens Andar"  "Hjarta  av  sten"  and  "Skuggornas  Dop".  8  out  of  10. 

  Skogen  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  an  epic  and  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "I  Doden"  which  is  getting  the  vinyl  version  from  Eisenwald  in  2015.

  Classical  guitars  which  also  return  on  and  offf  in  other  songs  start  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  gets  heavier and  darker  along  with  more  of  a  black  metal  style  along  with  some  grim  screams  a  few  seconds  later  and  clean  singing  vocals  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  after  awhile  melodic  guitar  leads  start  becoming  an  important  part  of  the  recording.

  A  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  pagan  black  metal  feeling  at  times  and  the  songs  also  mix  in  a  great  amount  of  atmospheric  elements  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  it  brings  in  a  very  raw  and  90's  influenced  style  and  also  mixes  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  there  are  also  a  couple  of  instrumental  tracks  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.   

  Skogen  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  melodic,  atmospheric  and  epic  sounding  and  also  adds in  a  touch  of  folk  and  progressive  music a t  times,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Swedish  and  cover  nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Skogen  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "I  Doden" "Solarvore"  "Midvintergraven"  and  "Sleep".  8  out  of  10.

  

 

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

Since the release of the last album and the live album, we have really just been taking some time off.  Last year was pretty intense for us so taking some time to take stock was a good idea.  We have recently started rehearsing for our last show which is coming up in a couple of weeks time so that has been our focus recently.

2.In February you had released a full length, how would you describe the musical that is presented on that recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Mut was a radical departure for us musically and one that was really necessary for us as a group of musicians.  It was really refreshing to be able to throw out the rule book we had written for ourselves and approach writing a music with a long empty road in front of us.  I like to think that the album doesn't sit in a convenient set of boundaries that would enable it to be summed up in a terms of standard genres.  I would say that it is code stripped down and laid bare.

3.Originally the band played more of a black metal style not know plays progressive/post rock,  what was the decision  behind going into that musical direction?

The change was necessary to keep us excited to make music.  It was a brand new set of challenges which made the whole experience very liberating and rewarding so I would say the reason for the stylistic change was mainly due to our own selfishness.  It certainly wasn't done in order to win new fans.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

The lyrics this time round were really just reflections on the imagery the music generated in the vocalist's mind.  Call it painting with words.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Code'?

Code means whatever you want it to mean.

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

Personal favourite gigs for me would be the Augur Nox release show in London, and the Paris and Brno shows from our Resplendent Grotesque tour.  We just go out there and play from the heart.  No theatrics, no elaborate stage sets....just us, our instruments and our music.

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

Our last show for the foreseable future will be in London on 3rd July.  After that.....nothing.

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

I don't think the promotion of the album has been wide enough to make much of a dent outside of metal.  The only real gauge I have is from the people that follow us on our Facebook site and on balance I would say the reaction has been positive.  A lot of people seemed to appreciate what we were trying to do and have enjoyed the album so that is always refreshing.  Of course not everyone is on board and that is fine too.  We are all individuals and thankfully we don't all think the same.

9.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

Personally, I am involved with Indesinence (new album out very soon), Binah (new material next year) and Blutvial (new album being worked on now but I don't know when it will be finished).  Wacian and Syhr are both involved in their band Alternative Carpark and the other guys have things on the go too.

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

I honestly don't know.  We will just see what happens when the time comes to write again.  That is the great aspect of being where we are now is that we don't feel constrained by genre any more.  Once again....the long empty road is ahead of us.

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?

We purposely don't listen to music for inspiration when writing.  Of course there will be some subconscious effect but we certainly don't think "let's try and sound like someone from band x or this genre y".  We are very inward looking when it comes to writing and that is the most rewarding way I find to approach it.

Personally I listen to a wide range of music from black metal to jazz to folk to prog and many other avenues.  Nothing is off limits.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Outside of work and music, there doesn't end up being a lot of time for other interests, although I do always love watching a good movie.


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


Thanks for taking the time to ask us these questions.  Good luck with your endeavours and for your readers, keep up to date with what we are doing at www.facebook.com/codeblackmetal.  Hails

  Old  Graves  are  a  solo  project  from  British  Columbia,  Canada  that  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  with  elements  of  doom  and  folk  music and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  ep  "This  Ruin  Beneath  Snowfall"  which  will  be  released  on  June  28th  by  Naturmacht  Productions.

  Acoustic guitar  playing  starts  off  the  ep  giving  the  music  a  folk  music  feeling  and  after  the  intro  the  music  gets  heavier  and  goes  for  more  of  an  atmospheric  black  metal  sound  along  with  some grim  screams  and  melodic  post  metal  style  guitar  leads  that  also  become  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording  and  they  also  mix  in  the  folk  elements  in  the  heavier  parts.

  When  the  music  speeds  a  bit  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  are  utilized  and  a  good  portion  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  slower  sections  of  the  music  are  heavily  influenced  by  doom  metal  and  the  songs  also  have  a  progressive  feeling  at  times  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  singing  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts

  Old  Graves  plays  a  style  of  atmospheric  black  metal  that  is  in  the  more  modern  direction  and  also  mixes  in  elements  of  post  rock,  folk  and  doom  metal  into  his  style  to  make  the  songs  more  diverse,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  melancholy,  nature  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Old  Graves  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  black  metal  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dawn  Treader" and  "This  Ruin  Beneath  Snowfall".  8  out  of  10.