Atlanta,  Georgia's Vimur  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  more  of  a  raw  and  atmospheric  style  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "Transcendental  Violence"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Boris  Records.

  A  very  dark  yet  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  A  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  some  songs  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing.

  The  music  also  has  its  atmospheric  moments  along  with  the  music  also  mixing  in  influences  from  both  the  old  school  and  modern  eras  of  the  genre  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  death  metal  growls  onto  the  recording,  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  briefly and  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  are  also  added  on  the  closing  song.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Death  and  Violence  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Vimur  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  atmospheric  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Aeonic  Upheaval"  "Emanations  From  The  Sun  Beyond"  and  "The  Warrior  Seeds".  8  out  of  10.

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

Nathaniel: Hello, thanks for your interest. I know you want to hear some exciting story now, but unfortunately not much happened. We made some new songs, then corona came...

Profanatitas: … and slowed everything down. But the story goes on and the new songs slay.

2.You have a new album coming out in March, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

N: In my opinion, it's not too different from the old stuff. We just took ourselves more time, that's why the songs sound more mature. Somehow everything sounds 'grown up' and I think it´s more brutal.

P: I wouldn't use the word 'mature' here, but it's definitely our most brutal and profound work. Everything is intensified to the pain threshold.

3. This is also your first release since 2009, can you tell us a little bit more about what has been going on during that time frame?

N: We barricaded ourselves in the rehearsal room and worked on the new album.

P: That process was sometimes faster and sometimes slower; some song fragments existed even before the material for the second album, and those fragments helped finalizing the new songs long after. Curiously, the 'oldest' song on the album was the last one to be completed. The recordings took several years due to various reasons, and what we thought were the finished song structures when recording the drum tracks in fact grew themselves wider and deeper during the recording sessions. Mixing/mastering though also took very long and occasionally caused some negative tension and even frustration at some point, but when looking back I think the album just had to take so long to get finished. Otherwise it wouldn't have been as intense as it is now.

4.You also have some lyrics covering Satanism and Demonic Magick, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the dark arts?

P: Da Deife? We are no 'satanists', we don't believe in any dogmatic limitations. We never mentioned satanism in former interviews, nor did/do we write about such, so where does this assumption come from? My lyrics can't be clearly pinpointed. Exploring inner & outer dimensions and crossing their borders; sanity and insanity, life and death, fiction and non-fiction, dreamlike rapture and festering black slime - the duality of things. When you create something in your mind (or something is created into your mind from outside), fiction becomes reality somewhere in the very moment you think/dream of it.

N: I am fascinated by death and what happens afterwards. What happens when you die, how do you feel? Where will you go to? 'Omne vitae...' for example is about how I might feel if I slowly die alone in the dark. The lyrics to 'Der Todten Tantz' were written during a funeral (really) and are about the journey into eternity. 'Inmortuos sum' is the second part of 'Der Tod' (from our second album 'Imis Avernis'), where death picks me up and shows me the place of my rotting soul.

5.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?

N: Profanatitas is also heavily influenced by H.P.Lovecraft, I'm more concerned with my own thoughts and inner devils that drive me. All in all, we write about 'Liebe, Tod & Teufel' - without love!

P: Yes, Lovecraft can often be a strong accelerator for me. The essence of his writings sometimes helps me shifting my inner borders in one direction or the other. He was a very gifted man, and truly a lost soul.

6.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Mortuus Infradaemoni'?

It literally means 'death among demons', a description that fits to our music perfectly. This is how it should feel like when listening to our songs.

7.Both of the members were a part of 'Lunar Aurora' in the past, a band that has a history going back to the 90's, what are some of the changes you have seen in German black metal in the past 3 decades?

N: You must know, the musical trends don't interest me, I don't know how the German or the worldwide scene has developed either.

P: We had/have contacts to very few respectable bands/individuals. For any 'scene' or whatsoever we really don't care.

8.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

P: The cover artwork and also the back cover were painted with oil on canvas by Chilean artist Rodrigo Pereira Salvatierra. Thank you again for this masterpiece! Generally, the album's title describes it best with few words. Everything is doomed to perish in eternal death – but then, remember: death is also always a gateway to something else. Even if I die, I am not dead. See what it reveals to you personally when watching the painting.

9.Currently there are only 2 members but you have worked with other musicians in the past, are you open to expanding the line-up again or do you prefer to remain a duo?

We started as a two-piece in 2005. Aether was the singer on our first album 'Daemon Qui Fecit Terram' where he did a great job. After that he quit unfortunately due to personal reasons. Since then we are a duo again, sharing the vocal spewings. Sindar from LUNAR AURORA had been recruited as session bassist/vocalist for live gigs. In any case, we will continue as a duo.

10.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

N: Unfortunately we didn't play many gigs, but without any doubt in my mind the best one was in October 2008 at the 'Aurora Infernalis Fest' at Willemeen in Arnhem/Holland. The whole environment and especially the package was right. Most of the fun afterwards... GEHENNA, you are great! Performance? We just play our music. We don't need leather boots or upside down crosses and we don't jump across the stage breathing fire. We let the music be....

P: Personally spoken, I don't like it that much to play live; but when sitting behind the drumkit it then quickly feels like I'm in the rehearsal room and that's when I'm satisfied and can beat the shit out of the drums. No special performance, we just let our music crush your fucking face. Questionable though if we will play live again some day, our last gig was 11 years ago.

11.The new album is going to be released on 'Iron Bonehead Productions', how would you compare working with this label to your previous label 'Cold Dimensions'?

N: There are no differences between them, we make the music and Iron Bonehead does the business, as it was with Cold Dimensions. Cold Dimensions was a small but exquisite label, Iron Bonehead I think has probably more options of promotion etc. But that is not important. Patrick, thanks for your help!

P: The most important thing to us is that the person running the label is standing 100% behind what he's doing and what we are doing. And Patrick is doing this with 111% proffessionality & dedication, so eternal thanx to him!

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

N: Some like us, some hate us. We don't try to please anyone, we make the music that flows out of us. I don't really care if others like our music, we make the music for ourselves. For us, the main reason to release an album is to hold the finished stuff in our hands and we can say: we created it.

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

We try to improve after each album, to step it up a notch in intensity and harshness. A lot of bands try to get technical after one or two brutal albums, then forget about the original brutality, try to sell a lot of albums. They forget about the original idea of Black Metal. If that happens to us (which is impossible though), we'll stop making music.

14.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?

N: Of course you're influenced by everything and everyone, but that's the music we want to make. Whether earlier bands like SLAYER, POSSESSED, then DARKTHRONE, IMMORTAL, BEHEMOTH etc. were a reason for making this music, who knows... I've always listened to heavier music, but I think if a song awakes a feeling in me, whatever kind, it's at least worth listening to. My favourites nowadays: NAZXUL, DARKSPACE, the old norge connection and the good old 80's stuff like "Scream Bloody Gore" or "Misanthropy" (do you still know PROTECTOR?).

P: Everything around you influences you permanently, be it consciously or subconsciously. Generally it always depends on my mood what I can listen to. My main musical obsessions still reside in stuff that kicks you in the balls: be it REVEREND BIZARRE, MOTÖRHEAD, EJECUTOR from Chile, STARGAZER, AUTOPSY, BAAL ZEBUTH. VLAD TEPES/BELKÈTRE not to forget. Early BLACK SABBATH. 'Conan The Barbarian' soundtrack by Poledouris. The list could go on endlessly. And 'Hell Awaits' is definitely the meanest record of all time! This was one of my first Metal-albums, and it's still the darkest. It of course happens that a newly released album or demo crosses my ears and impresses me, but mostly it's stuff from my music collection. From ambient to classical to Hard Rock to the blackest and deadliest of Metal. I'm also a bit narrowminded at times, but nowadays I listen to a lot more different musical styles than 20 years ago. Try listening to 'Heresie' by UNIVERS ZERO, and 'Les morts vont vite' by SHUB NIGGURATH (the French, not the Mexicans – but I like both!). Fascinating anti-music, but performed with real instruments!

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

Thanks for the interview... and stay in hard and black stuff!

www.mortuusinfradaemoni.bandcamp.com

http://soundcloud.com/iron-bonehead-productions/mortuus-infradaemoni-ossuarium-of-the-black-earth

  Belarus's  Downcross  has  returned  with  a  new  album  which  continues  the  satanic  style  of  black  metal  from  their  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  album  "Hexapoda  Triumph"  which  was  released  by  Cavum  Atrum  Rex.

  Ritualistic  soundscapes  and  synths  start  off  the  album  before  introducing  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording  which  also  takes  the  music  into  a  heavier  direction.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  album  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  The  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  old  school  influences  while  also  remaining  very  modern  sounding  at  the  same  time.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  album  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with   a  later  track  is  also  a  synth  orientated  instrumental before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  on  the  remaining  songs,  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  towards  the  end.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Occultism,  Death  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Downcross  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  satanic  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Trumpets  Salute  The  Demise  Of  Death"  "Fist  of  Hubris"  and  "Invariant  Fall  Of  The  Doomed".  8  out  of  10.

Bandcamp: https://downcross.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/downcrossofficial
Metal-Archives: https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Downcross/3540396642

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79VxD19n9HI&feature=youtu.be

  Mistcavern  are  a  band  from  Hungary  that  plays  a  very  raw,  atmospheric,  old  school  and  lo-fi form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2022  ep  "Into  Twilight"  which  will  be  released  in  April  by  Iron  Bonehead  Productions.

  Atmospheric  sounding  synths  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast b eats.  At  times  the  music  also  captures  a  very  lo-fi  atmosphere  while  most  of  the  tracks  are  also  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  vocals  are  mostly high  pitched  black  metal screams.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  by  the  second  wave  and  early  2000's  era.  Elements  of  ambient  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  synths  and  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies.,  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  spoken  word  parts  are  also  added  on  the  closing  track.

  Mistcavern  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  atmospheric,  lo-fi,  raw  and  old  in  the  mid  90's  to  early  2000's  tradition.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  despair  and  nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Mistcavern  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw,  atmospheric,  lo-fi  and  old  school  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Towards  The  Eclipse"  and  "Dissolving  In  Infinite  Despair".  8  out  of  10.

http://soundcloud.com/iron-bonehead-productions/mistcavern-dissolving-in-infinite-despair

www.mistcavern.bandcamp.com      

  Akerbeltz  are  a  solo  project  from  Spain  that  has  been  interviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  an  unholy  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2022  album  "Merciless"  which  will  be  released  on  March  31st  by  BlackSeed  Productions.

  Ritualistic  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  A  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  sounding  black  metal  screams.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  music  also  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era  but  modern  at  the  same  time.

  Melodies  are   also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style  when  they  are  utilized  and  as  the  album  progresses  the  ritualistic  sounds  also  make  a  brief  return  as  well  as  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  bells  and  electronic  elements.  The  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Demonology  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Akerbeltz  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  unholy  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Above  the  Darkness"  "Rejected  From  The  Vortex"  "Litanies  Of  The  Restless"  and  "Zozo  Demon".  8  out  of  10.

https://youtu.be/EAEDT3fWTI0