Dawn  Of  A  Dark  Age  are  a  duo  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  raw,  experimental  and  avant  garde  style  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2015  album  "The  Six  Elements  Vol.  2  Water".

  Water  and  thunder  sounds  start  off  the  album  and  a  few  seconds  later  synths  and  people  noises  are  added  onto  the  recording  which  also  leads  up  to  whispers  and  melodic  vocals  along  with  a  small  amount  of  violins  and  then  heavy  guitars  start  to  make  their  presence  known  onto  the  recording  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  and  deep  death  metal  growls.

      Once  the  album  gets  past  the  intro  the  music  gets  more  structured  and  starts  to  add  in  some  melodic  guitar  solos  while  also  going  even  more  into  a  black  metal  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  more  avant  garde  elements  with  both  saxophones  and  violins  and  a  few  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  music  gets  more  fast  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  bringing  in  blast  beats  and  more  of  a  raw  and  old  school  black  metal  sound  which  they  also  mix  in  with  the  more  experimental  side  of  their  musical  style  and  on  some  of  the  tracks  they  bring  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  one  of  the  songs  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  classical  guitars  and  they  close  the  album  with  an  instrumental  and  outro.  

  Dawn  Of  A  Dark  Age  creates  some  very  original  sounding  music  on  this  recording  taking  a  raw  style  of  black  metal  and  mixing  in  elements  of  folk  music,  avant  garde  and  experimental  which  results  in  songs  that  take  the  black  metal  genre  into  a  different  direction,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Natural  World,  Human  Nature,  Despair,  Hatred  and  Seasons.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Dawn  of  A  Dark  Age  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw,  experimental  and  avant  garde  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Otzuni  (The  Black  City  In  Apulia)"  and  "The  Verrin's  Source  (On  MountField)".  8  out  of  10.     

  Caina  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  post  black  metal  with  elements  of  punk,  hardcore  and  d-beat  and  this  is  a  review  of t heir  album  "Setter  Of  Unseen  Snares"  which  will  be  released  in  2015  by  Broken  Limb  Recordings.

  Spoken  word  samples  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounds  in  the  background  which  leads  up  to  a  heavier  guitar  sound  along  with  a  few  melodic  chants  which  are  also  used  again  on  one  of  the  later  tracks  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  for  more  of  a  raw  post  black  metal  sound  along  with  some  grim  screams  and  you  can  hear  a  lot  of  d-beat  structures  and  melody  in  the  songs.

  At  times  the  music  bring s in  the  energy  of  hardcore  punk  rock  as  well  as  adding  clean  playing  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  in  some  of  the  faster  sections  a  decent  amount  of  blast  bears  are  brought  in  which  also  adds  even  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  sound  to  the  bands  musical  style  an d the  last  track  is  over  15  minutes  in  length  and  shows  a  more  experimental  side  to  the  bands  musical  sound  along  with  some  elements  of  ambient  being  incorporated  into  the  song  along  with  a  heavy  doom  metal  influence  and  clean  singing  vocals.  

  As  the  album   progresses  the  band  starts  bringing  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  distorted  yet  melodic  guitar  leads  being  utilized  at  times  along  with  some  of  the  90's  atmospheric  black  metal  sound  being  added  into  the  song  structures  which  also  makes  the  music  sound  more  dark  and  grim.

  Caina  take s the  raw,  atmospheric  and  post  black  metal  genres  and  adds  in  the  energy  of  d-beat,  hardcore  and  punk  along  with  a  great  amount  of  melody  to  create  a  very  aggressive  and  dark  sounding  recording,  the  production  sound s very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Literary,  Human  Nature  and  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Caina  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw,  atmospheric  post  black  metal  band  with  elements  of  hardcore,  punk  and  d-beat  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "I  Am  The  Flail  Of  The  Lord"  and  "Applicant/Supplicant".  8  out  of  10.
  

  Cowards  are  a  band  from  France  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  sludge  and  hardcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  album  "Rise  To  Infamy"  which  will  be  released  in  2015  by  Throatruiner.

   A  very  heavy  and  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album    along  with  some  high  pitched  screams  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  good  mixture  of  post  hardcore  and  sludge  elements  along  with  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  the  slower  riffing  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  doom  metal  influences  to  the  bands  musical  style.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  on  some  of  the  tracks  the  vocals  bring  in  a  heavy  depressive  black  metal  influence  while  the  faster  parts  and  blast  beats  when  they  are  utilized  also  bring  in  the  raw  side  of  that  same  genre  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  music  starts  bringing  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  samples  being  utilized  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  Cowards  continue  the  sound  they  have  established  on  previous  recordings  taking  raw  and  depressive  black  metal  and  mixing  it  with  sludge  and  post  hardcore  to  create  the  sound  that  is  presented  on  the  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  anger,  misanthropy  and  sarcasm  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Cowards  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Never  To  Shine"
"Birth  Of  The  Sadistic  Sun"  "Anything  But  the  High  Road"  and  'So  Easy".  8  out  of  10.  

    

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the musical project since the recording and release of the ep?

Since the recording and release of Arias Exalted I have been taking some time to begin working on the lyrics for the new full length album. I have also begun recording some demo versions of the new songs while planning out the song structures. Right now I am focusing on getting shirts created, a second pressing of CDs printed, and numerous other things related to the release.

2.Recently you have released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

I would describe it as a cold, powerful blast of music that serves as a standard of what to expect on the full length. While writing the lyrics I was inspired by my own personal beliefs as well as experiences. The music serves as a means to deliver the lyrics, but I wanted it to be memorable. I enjoy classical music and I think that’s one of the reasons why I always end up including melodies in every song.

3.I have seen the band refer to itself as 'transcendental black metal', can you tell us a little bit more about this tag?

Sure. Transcendental in this case would mean “that which goes beyond”. When I came up with the concept for the band, I knew that at the heart it should be a black metal band but I never wanted to limit the style based upon an idea of what constitutes black metal. So I suppose you could say that I am open to including many other musical styles such as death metal, doom, ambient, and so on. I’ve never liked the whole “purist” mentality so I think people may be surprised at some of the elements that will be included on the next album.

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

Well for this album the lyrics were based on feelings of isolation and despair, as well as some focus on the Chaos God Pan. The book PANPARADOX by Vexior 218 was definitely a source of inspiration for the song “Through Immolation Sparked". Even the cover art for the album, created by Robert W. Cook, depicts Pan. He is a central theme to the overall concept of the EP. As for the rest of the album, the songs were partly inspired by nightmares and visions that I have experienced. The new lyrics I am writing are going in another direction and I can see them starting to take the form of an overarching concept.

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

Arthedain is a word that was created by J.R.R. Tolkien and describes one of the three realms of the Dunédain created from the dissolution of the Kingdom of Arnor. It’s residents were described as being fearless and victorious in battle. I thought that is something that applies to everyday life; each day is a battle against something if you’re working to make a change in the world.

6.The band members live in both Germany and United States, what kind of effect does the long distance play in your musical style?

Actually I am also living in Germany at the moment so it makes it a little bit easier. It is still a little difficult for Tobi and me to get together and rehearse though because he has previous obligations with his other bands, Der Weg einer Freiheit and Fuck You And Die. So the process we have now is that I create all of the music and record demo versions of the songs, then Tobi listens to them and writes his parts, and we meet in the studio and record quickly because we already have everything independently rehearsed.

7.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future or do you chose to remain a duo?

I am open to the idea of expanding the lineup, it would just have to be with like-minded people who share the same vision. In the studio, it’s no problem being a duo. In a live environment it would be nearly impossible for us to play all of these songs as a duo. Some bands can really pull it off; Inquisition and Bölzer for example. In our music though it just wouldn’t work.

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

So far the response has been overwhelmingly positive from all over the world. I just took 20 CDs to the post office to mail out today and out of those 20, there were 12 different countries as destinations. That really makes me happy and it serves as a testament that music transcends all borders and barriers.

9.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?

We have received some label interest and I would want to sign with a label, but the timing and conditions would have to be right.

10.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

You can expect a full length album sometime in 2015. As of right now, the writing process is going very quickly but I want to make sure that the music is the best that I can write before we head into the studio. As for musical direction, expect us to venture into even darker territory and include some new elements in the music, perhaps some acoustic passages and longer songs.

11.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?

Some of the bands that have had an influence include Dissection, Type O Negative, Mortiis, Explosions In The Sky, Ulver, St. Vitus, Dark Funeral, and Emperor. Some artists I have been listening to lately are Stortregn, Norot, Lebensnacht, Sólstafir, and the new Wolves In the Throne Room.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

I like to collect rare books and vinyl. I work as a professional photographer covering everything from concerts to fashion to weddings. Apart from those things, I enjoy nature, reading, and writing. I’m currently working on a photo book about the Catacombs of Paris.

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

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has purchased a copy of the CD or digital download so far. It’s really awesome to see people supporting the music. Be on the lookout for big things in 2015. 

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?
We started in the winter of 2011 in Richmond, VA as a 4-piece. We did a small amount of touring through the last couple years and released 3 separate EP’s before our full length with Forcefield Records.

2.Recently you have released a full length album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from your previous ep’s?
-The musical sound on False Light is our attempt to challenge ourselves and move forward from our previous releases. It also sounds different since we have a different singer than all of the other EPs.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?
The negative effects of the exploration of one’s mind and the pure, fucked up reality that is mankind.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Unsacred’/
No response.

5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?
All the generator shows that we have played in Richmond and Asheville, NC. Our stage performance attempts to eliminate all the bullshit associated with live music (long rants, mercy plugging, insincere thanks, etc.). We try to set up, play, and break down as quickly as possible so as to draw the least amount of attention to ourselves.

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

7.The new album was released on Forcefield Records, are you happy with the support they have given the new album?
Yes. Tim has been awesome to work with, he has helped us gain a lot of great connections, and we are very appreciative of him for giving us this opportunity.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal and crust?
We have received mixed reviews, not unlike any other band in any other genre of music.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
We hope to continue to push ourselves as musicians and songwriters.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influenc eon your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
We all come from different musical backgrounds. Most of our heavy influences lie in punk and metal. We believe that you can take inspiration from any form of artistic expression.
Scott (drummer): I’ve been heavily listening to Phillip  Glass’s piano works, The Marked Men, Craft, and Thin Lizzy.
Hunter (bassist): Electric Wizard, Black Sabbath, and Lil Ugly Mane
Miguel (guitarist): Craft, Ravencult, Entombed, Dead In the Dirt.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Psychadelics, BMX, skateboarding, smoking copious amounts of marijuana, and BBQ’n.
12.before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
- We takin’ over 2k15 gon’ be a big one.  *puffs/passes*