Nigra  Mors  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  very  raw  form  of  occult  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2014  ep  which  was  released  by  Lupus  Niger.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  a  slow,  dark  and  heavy  sound  along  with  all  of   the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  before  going  into  a  more  dark  black  metal  direction  as  well  as  adding  in  fast  parts  that  have  a  thrash  feeling  to  them  along  with  grim  vocals  which  also  have  a  ritualistic  edge  to  them.

  As  the  ep  moves  on  old  school  underground  metal  solos  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  blast  beats  and  they  bring  this  unholy  assault  to  other  songs  as  well  along  with  some  early  90s  style  black  metal  melodies  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  the  vocals  utilizing  a  more  depressive  tone  at  times  and  at  other  times  you  can  hear  some  deep  demonic  growls.

  With  this  ep  Nigra  Mors  take  the  old  school  occult  black  metla  sound  and  add  in  a  small  amount  of  underground  thrash  influences  and  create  a  sound  that  is  very  dark  and  raw  along  with  a  good  amount  of  fast  parts  and  unholy  aggression.

  Song  lyrics  are  written  in  Italian  and  cover  occult  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.  

  In  my  opinion  Nigra  Mors  are  a  very  great  sounding  dark  and  raw  occult  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Mater  Lacrimarum".  8  out  of  10.

  This  is  a  review  of  a  joint  album  between  U.S.A's  Sunn 0))  and  Norway's  Ulver  who  teamed  up  together  to  create  an  experimental  sounding  album  with  the  recording  being  released  by  Southern  lord  in  2014  and  called  "Terrestials".

  The  album  starts  out  with  experimental  sounding  drones  and  noises  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  elements  of  ambient  are  added  onto  the  recording  as  well  as  saxophones  which  leads  up  to  drums  5  minutes  later  as  well  as  a  more  doom  metal  orientated  sound  which  brings  in  the  introduction  of  bass  guitars.

  As  the  album  progresses  the  music  gets  a  lot  more  darker,  experimental  and  heavy  and  you  can  also  hear  synths  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  traces  of  psychedelia  and  after  awhile  a  brief  use  of  clean  and  acoustic  guitars  make  their  way  onto  the  album  and  on  the  last  song  there  is  a  brief  use  of  melodic  clean  singing  vocals  being  utilized.

  On  this  album  Sunn  0))  and  Ulver  team  up  to  create  a  more  experimental  drone  and  while  Ulver  started  out  as  black  metal  and  Sunn  0)))  experimented  with  it  in  the  past  there  are  no  traces  of  that  genre  on  this  recording  but  it  still  has  a  very  dark  and  ritualistic  sound  to it.

  Song  lyrics  are  mostly  absent  from  this  album  with  the  music  being  mostly  instrumental  but  the  short  amount  they  have  cover  poetic  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful  and  professional  sound  with  all  3  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  joint  effort  between  Sunn  0))  and  Ulver  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  experimental,  dark  ambient  and  drone,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Western  Horn".  8  out  of  10.      

  Den  Saakaldte  are  a  band  from  Norway  that  plays  a  very  experimental  and  depressive from  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2008  demo  "morke  Og  Depresjon"  which  was  re-issued  on  limited  edition  cassette  by  Bylec  Tum  in  2014.

  The  ep  starts  out  with  ambient  sounding  synths,  drones   and  experimental  sounds  and  after  the  intro the  music  goes  into  a  more  experimental  black  metal  direction  along  with  saxophones  and  then  it  goes  more  into  a  more  straight  forward  and  old  school  direction and  brings  in  grim  screams  and  vocals.

  As  the  demo  progresses  more  fast  parts,  melody  and  depressive  elements  are  brought  into  the  music  as  well  as  some  clean  parts  and  melodic  vocals  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  well  as  retaining  the  experimental  and  avant  garde  parts  and  on  other  songs  you  can  also hear  a  small  amount  of  death  metal  growls.  

  After  awhile  acoustic  guitars  are  brought  into  the  music  along  with  melodic  guitar  leads  and  on  every  song  they  bring  in  a  different  sound  as  well  as  having  an  instrumental  which  continues  the  ambient  sounds  of  the  intro  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  classical  music  feeling  and  then  the  demo  goes back  into  a  heavier  yet  still  experimental  direction  

  On  this  demo  Den  Saalkaldte  show  a  great  amount  of  diversity  and  they  take  influences  from  the  traditional,  melodic  and  depressive  forms  of  black  metal  and  mix  them  in  win  avant  garde  and  experimental  elements  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.

  Song  lyrics  are  written  in  Norwegian  and  cover  depressive  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  dark,  raw  and  heavy  sound  along  with  the  bass  guitars  being  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  last  2  songs  are  bonus  tracks,  one  being  a  2006  demo  track  and  the  other  a  live  track  from  2009.

  In  my  opinion  Den  Saakaldte  are  a  very  great  sounding  experimental,  depressive  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  cassette.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Drikke  Ens  Skal"  "Ode"  and  "Mesias".  8/5  out  of  10.  

First of all our whole collective would like to thank you for your interest in our band.

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?
In the time that we should be taking a break, we decided to take own steps in promoting the new album in any way we can. For now we keep all communication channels open and keep ourselves busy.
Last few rehearsals we were working on new stuff for 2015. For now we are busy with assisting our label with all the needed preparations for the release of “Power Through Unity”.



2.You have a new album coming out early this year, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction that you have taken with the new recording and also how does it differ from your previous demo?
We wanted to take the demo a few steps further towards a more defined sound that is dominated by low depressive tones, yet still very pronounced. Our EP “Holodomor” is more in the direction of “early” work of THE COMMITTEE stretching back to 2007. The full album tends to be more uniform with the lyrics and the story of the whole album. There's more black metal influences that dominate the palette. This was not intentional, but came as a result of combination of different factors to create a unity of music and feeling. We all have different musical influences which we try to combine and experiment with. What came out of our collaboration seems to be black metal for the most part.


3.I have read that this band started out as a solo project, what was the decision behind forming a full line up?
It happened by accident. Our drummer heard the raw unfinished pieces one day and took interest in the whole project. He found it to be worthy of his time and saw a future in it. After that moment it only took a short time before our guitarist and bass player joined the ranks. You can say that they were a bit intrigued by the strange concept. Now however, they play very specific roles inside the band. Our full album could not have been written without them. I could never achieve this kind of music on my own. The different input from our members is what makes our music come to life.






4.The lyrics cover Occultism, History and Conspiracy Theories, can you tell us a little bit more about your interests in these topics?
Strangely enough it's not only my interest. All of the 4 members take interest in these topics.
Because I don't follow the modern media, I like reading and researching strange bizarre things and events. Being blessed with the opportunity to see life in the West and in the East, I can assure you that we are never told the whole story about what happens around us. Only the top of the ice berg is visible. I don't like the word: conspiracy theory. I think in “pragmatic” terms. If we can put our moral judgement and emotions aside, we can see that the whole time there are conflicts of interest happening parallel to life's events. I feel that nothing is happening by accident. I like to educate myself to read between the lines and to see who benefits from those big nasty events that could have been “conspired” against us all. People are not stupid. They know that those empty and loud words like “freedom” and “democracy” are not fooling anyone anymore. I'm very happy to see that our fans understand us.
I like history too. And I'm simply amazed by how many times it repeats itself. The new album for example is an “alternative” view of history where opposing sides reconcile their difference because they see who benefits from their mutual slaughter.



5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'The Committee'?
The Committee is a group of people who handle their affairs as one unit. Without a hunger for fame and yearning for good life. Only the music and the message is important. The Committee is us and it's our fans. It's amorphous, liquid and adaptive. It has no central structure and no rigid rules and systems. It is something that every one of our fans can see in themselves. I see the name not as an institution, but as one unit.
 



6.The band members all come from different countries, how do you get together to create and write music together?
We all live in one country for the moment. 2 of our members have roots in different countries. And other 2 are actually born in different countries. This is not as uncommon as it might seem. Underground black metal scene is quite diverse and many nationalities are ever present during shows and festivals. It was almost unavoidable to end up with the team we have now.


7.You have a show scheduled for a festival in Germany this year, is this going to be your first show or has the band done any live shows in the past?
The German show on the UNDER THE BLACK SUN festival is our first ever live performance. This show is arranged by FOLTER RECORDS. We are simply amazed by this fact. Right now negotiations are conducted in order to organise a release show in Belgium to announce our new album. We are very honoured to play in the country that we visit many times every year to see our favourite bands. For the gig in Germany I am learning to speak German for easier communication with our fans.



8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?
Simply put; We were blown away by the amount of positive feedback! We were not prepared for this at all. It toppled on us like an wave. Up to this day I cannot thank our fans enough for spreading the word of THE COMMITTEE. We keep our channels of communication open at all times and the news and feedback is pouring in every day. We put our fans above everything and their words have kept us going to do even more. It was due to their request, that we decided to play live.


9.Where do you see the band heading into music wise during the future?
For now we are brainstorming for the new full length album due in 2015 and will be concentrating more on live shows. We have planned 2 full albums ahead and will be delivering on our promise.  It's hard to say how we will be accepted as a live band, but our predictions are positive. My goal is to have this conversation again after a few years and evaluate how everything has evolved. For now we will be working hard to spread our music and surprise our fans with new concepts and future releases.



10.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
The strangest thing is that ALL of our 4 members have their own genres that they like. It ranges from Old Skool Black and Death metal to heavy metal and even old skool 70's rock. We like to get back to the roots of metal sometimes and hear the pioneers from the past.
Right now I'm quite obsessed by Winterfylleth, Mgla, Urgehal and Tsjuder. However I like to sneak a few albums of Black Sabbath and W.A.S.P to the rehearsals once in a while.


11.Do you have any non musical interests?
Yes off course. For now my interests are:  learning new languages, traveling, nature exploration,  applied psychology and sociology, reading, writing and fine cuisine. Our members off course have their separate passions that they pursue daily.


12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Once again I would like to thank you for this interview and especially want to thank the German ( and world wide ) metal fans who believe in us and support us.  It’s been a very interesting development.