Gabestok  are  a  duo  from  Denmark  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording plays  black  metal  with  elements  of  70's  horror,  garage  and  traditional  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  album  "Én gang rådden, altid rådden"  which  was  released  by  Strange  Aeons  Records.

  A  very  hard  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  keyboards  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  elements  of  garage,  punk  and  traditional  metal.  King  Diamond  style  clean  vocals  can  also be  heard  briefly  but  keeping  the  main  focus  on  grim  black  metal  screams.

  The  music  also  mixes  in  a  lot  of  70's  and  80's  influences  in  with  a  more  modern  style  while  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  keyboards  also  giving  the  songs  the  atmosphere  of  a  classic  horror  movie.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  couple  of  the  tracks  also  being  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  also  remaining  true  to  an  old  school  style,  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  regular  clean  vocals  can  also  be  heard,  when  tremolo  picking  is  finally  utilized  it  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  The  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Danish  and  cover  negativity,  pessimism  and  nihilism  themes. 

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Gabestok  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black  metal  with  elements  of  70's  horror,  garage  and  traditional  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Træk  stikket"  "På  gravens  rand"  and  "Tågens  melodi".  8  out  of  10.

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?

Greetings, OCCULT BLACK METAL zine! After the release of our fourth album, we are currently handling the distribution of the album in tape format and some limited merchandise. At the same time, We're also waiting for AGGREZZOR Prod (Indonesia) for our new Battle Armour to be produce. Plans for the next album already in discussion too so let's wait and see how the end result will be...

2.A few months back you had released a new album, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

Aye, it's definitely different from the last album in many aspects. One thing for sure that our battle hymns this time is more versatile than the previous. If you notice that the songwriting on our last album is very direct or in-your-face black metal assault whilst the new ones incorporated different elements of Death and Thrash metal without losing the essence of aggression and brutality. The overall sound production is also way much better this time compared to the last album. It's much more balanced and polished as well. So, We are very satisfied with the end product. 

3.A lot of your lyrics focus more on war and Anti Christianity themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your hatred for Christianity and your interest in war?

Personally, Christianity is nothing but hypocrisy, lies and deceit! How can a religion that preaches about love, peace, salvation and forgiveness when their "book of god" consists of contradictions, absurdities, incest, pornography and massacre?? It's fucked up!

And not only we that have this hatred. In fact, if you read the inlay of my album, you will noticed that I've included quotes about Christianity by known individuals.

My interest in war began when I was studying about World War 1 & 2 during my formative years. After that, i started my research starting from war in ancient times to modern times. And me being an infantry soldier, its strengthen my beliefs...

4.You also have some lyrics that cover Satanic and Luciferian themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the dark arts?

My interest in the dark arts began at the same time I took interest in learning the falsehood of Christianity. I began hunting around anything I could lay hands on.  Books like Necronomicon, Satanic Bible, Tarot cards, Book of Shadows, Witchcrafts, Demonology, Eastern and ancient mysticism and even folklore and mythology. Some of these are very hard to find as some stores did not carry it during that period of time.

5.The band has been around since 1998 but other than a few demo's, live recordings and splits you have only released 2 full length, can you tell us a little bit more about it?

Actually, we have 2 unreleased full length albums. The first one was recorded in 2009 and the second was in 2011. There are plans to release them one day but as of now, we can't say for now when will that be. Maybe it will get release, maybe it will not. All latest news and information will have updated at our Hell Fortress...

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

The cover artwork is an original concept of mine. It perfectly conveyed the direction and musical direction of the album. It's just speaks volumes of pure aggression and unforgiving brutality.

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

That's going to difficult as each venue has it's own energy but I were choose, I would say the one we annihilated at Sarawak, Malaysia on 2015 entitled Borneo Metalism Spirit. The support were insane during our set and the energy that was given were simply indescribable! Totally unexpected!

8.The band has been around for more than 20 years, what is it that motivates you to keep going after a couple of decade's?

There are many factors that motivated me to attack forward to be honest. But I believe the most strongest of all is my passion for the extreme music. Without this passion, Abvulabashy would not existed at all.

9.Recently 'Corrupted Flesh and Goatlordth Records have released your album on vinyl and cassette format, can you tell us a little bit more about these labels?

We must admit that we were  skeptical about both labels as they were fairly new and it's only recently that we get to know about their existence. And being ripped off by labels numerous times makes us more wary to take a step further. However, after interacting and doing research on them, we found them to be a reliable and trustworthy. So we have no qualms regarding the collaboration of the album to be release in tape and vinyl format. And so far things are going smoothly for both of us and that's a very good sign.

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

We very proud to say that the response given both local and international were very encouraging! We were surprised by the outcome honestly. This is also the first time we established a digital release for those who prefer soft copies of the album. It neither in our plans nor our intention to this but we aware that there's a lot of fans of extreme metal music out there that prefer digital format too. So we would to cater to their preference as well. 

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

The future is definitely uncertain for all of us but one thing for sure, we will continue to make quality music. We will never stop! It's in our blood it is our passion and it will never die!

11.What are you currently listening to nowadays?

I'm currently listening more to Asian metal bands as many of them are releasing new materials and also re-releasing old as well. So it's interesting to hear bands that I might have missed out back in the days. Also not forgetting all of our band influences as well. 

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

Highest salutations to OCCULT BLACK METAL zine for having this blackened interview with us! It's been years since our last so we really honoured! We also like to take this opportunity to hail all the maniaks of O. B. M for taking their time to read this. Hellhailz to CORRUPTED FLESH and GOATLORDTH Recs for the immense support and the most important of all, the demonic supporters worldwide that bought our album, either physical or digital format! You fucking rule! Keep supporting extreme musick and keep the Back Flame alive! Ave!

https://corruptedfleshrecords.bandcamp.com/album/atomik-triumphator-elite

  Exaversum  are  a  solo  project  form  Mexico  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  brutal  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2021  album  "To  Live  And  Die  With"  which  was  released  by  Marwolaeth  Records.

  Dark  riffing  starts  off  the  album  before  mixing  in  with  a  heavier  direction  while  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  Vocals  are  mostly  done  in  a  very  deep  yet  grim  black  metal  style  while  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  influences but  mixing  it  with  a  modern  brutality.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  more  of  a  dark  yet  melodic  direction  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  melodies  at  times.

Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  of  the  riffing  also  showing  some  death  metal  influences  as  well  as  a  later  track  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts,  one  of  the  songs  is  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing.  The  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Darkness,  Death  and  Chaos  themes.   

  In  opinion  Exaversum  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  brutal  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Mortals  Fall"  "Icarus  Falling  Again"  and  "When  the  Chaos  Awakes".  8  out  of  10.

https://marwolaethrecords.bandcamp.com/album/to-live-and-die-with   

  Eiza  are  a  solo  project  from  Germany  that  plays  a  raw  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2021  demo  "Gefangen  in  Mauem"  which  was  released  by  Wolfmond  Production.

  A  horror  movie  orientated  intro  starts  off  the  demo  along  with  some  synths,   rain  and  thunder  sounds  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams.

 Demonic  growls  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  raw  yet  chaotic  style.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  some  of  the  faster  sections  also  adding  in  a  touch  of  war  metal  as  well  as  the  songs  only  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  slow  or  mid  tempo  sections,  a  small  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  riffing  and  as  the  demo  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  samples  are  also  utilized. 

  Eiza  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  chaotic  sounding.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  German  and  cover  darkness,  immortality  and  pain  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Eiza  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Gefangen  in  Mauem"  and  "Der  Tod".  8  out  of  10.

Wolfmond Production @ Bandcamp

  Hepatomancy  are  a  duo  form  Italy  that  plays  a  very  fast,  raw,  brutal  and  minimalist  form  of  satanic  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2021  ep  "De  Tyrannide  Daemonum"  which  was  released  by  Narbentafe  Produktionen.

  Murder  samples  and  ritualistic  soundscapes  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  very  fast,  raw  and  brutal  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  dark  sounding  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing.  All  of  the  music  avoids  the  use  of  guitar  solos  and  leads  to  focus  more  on  the  brutality  along  with  all  of  the  songs  sticking  to  a  heavier  direction.

  Hepatomancy  plays  a  style  of  satanic  black  metal that  is  very  raw,  fast,  minimalist  and  brutal  sounding.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Lycanthropy,  Darkness  and  Blasphemy  themes.

   In  my  opinion  Hepatomancy  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw,  brutal,  fast  an  minimalist  satanic  black  metal  duo  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDE D TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Into  The  Chthonic  Bothros"  and  "Necroblasphemous  Goat  Orgy".  8  out  of  10.