1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?

I've spent most of my life playing drums in punk bands in Chicago--currently I'm the drummer in a kind of minimal noise rock project called Luggage (https://luggagechicago.bandcamp.com/). I've had a fascination with black metal for a long time, and always wanted to try my hand at making that king of music. I took inspiration from some of my favorite solo-black metal projects and holed up in the Luggage practice space with my friend Michael Grant who has a lot of experience making solo demos, and just had him mic everything up quickly and with as little fuss as possible, and went for it.

2.So far you have released one ep, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recording?

Some of my favorite black metal recordings are all made by one person, projects like Xasthur, Burzum, and Deadlife. So I tried to channel some of that energy when writing and recording these songs.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored with your music so far?

I by no means consider myself a lyricist, so most of the words to my songs are adapted from comic books and movies I really like.

4.On your song titles you have a period in between each other, do the songs have any secret meaning?

These four songs were more or less recorded as a demo, so the titles are essentially phrases I was using as working titles in their abbreviated form.

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

Annihilus is one of the greatest foes of the Fantastic Four. He's a reptilian alien creature born in the Negative Zone whose only reason for living is to hate and destroy humanity. Pretty freaky dude, I'd say.

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

The cover of the tape available through Corpse Torture Records was designed by the dude who runs the label, Lance.

7.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?

Musical collaboration is one of the things that makes me happiest. Writing and recording with my band is my favorite thing in the world to do. Doing something completely on my own was definitely a huge step outside of my comfort zone, so it was super exciting to challenge myself in that way, and it's been really rewarding so far.

8.I have noticed that there is very little information about the solo project online with no facebook pages and any mentions of the project other than the bandcamp and metal archives page, is it intentional to keep the project from being done on the media pages?

Annihilus might creep onto social media at some point soon, but in its current, infantile phase, I'll just let the music speak for itself.

8.The cassette was released on 'Corpse Torture Records', can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Corpse Torture is a tape label in England that does a whole bunch of hyper-limited runs of extreme metal releases. Lance heard my demo on Bandcamp and asked to release some copies.

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

No one has called me a poser yet, so I'd say so far, so good.

10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?

I already have a good handful of new songs recorded. I'm currently looking for a good home for a second release. The new songs are similar to the first batch: lo-fi, crispy, blown-out. I'd like to one day take a stab at bringing Annihilus to a proper studio...but I also fear going too pro might lose the rawness that is so vital the great black metal.

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?

Like I said earlier, Xasthur, Burzum, and Deadlife are my big three as far as influence for this project. I think Subliminal Genocides by Xasthur is the best black metal record created on American soil. The depth of beauty and epic scope achieved on that record blows my mind every time I hear it. I listen to a lot of black metal in the my day-to-day, but I also love sludge metal, like Melvins and Eyehategod and Yob, and I'm also a pretty serious hip-hop head. This Wu Tang 25th anniversary hype has me jamming 36 Chambers, Liquid Swords, and Only Built for Cuban Linx nonstop lately.

12.Does Satanism and Occultism play any role in your music?

Personally I'm about as atheist as they come, so it's very important to me that I keep my music completely apolitical and areligious.

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

Thanks for listening.

https://annihilus-sounds.bandcamp.com/

  Frostmoon  Eclipse  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  interviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  melodic  and  old  school  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  compilation  album  "The  Legacy  II"  which  was  released  by  Black  Tears  Of  Death.

  Classical  guitars  start  off  the  compilation  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  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  grim  black  metal  screams. 

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  classical  guitars  also  return  on  some  of  the  later  songs  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Most  of  the  music  sticks  to  its  90's  roots  without  following  any  modern  style  without  sounding  out  of  date.  One  track  also  introduces  flutes  onto  the  recording  briefly  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction  and  as  the  compilation  progresses  atmospheric  sounding  synths  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  A  later  song  also  brings  melodic guitar  leads  into  the  music  along  with  one  of  the  later  songs  is  an  instrumental  and  the  compilation  closes  with  one  live  track  and  Emperor  and  Impaled  Nazarene  covers.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death  and  the  negative  aspects  of  life.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  collection  from  Frostmoon  Eclipse  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of melodic  and  old  school  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  compilation.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Of  A  Dead  Universe"  "Newborn  Misery"  "In  The  Vault"  and  "Beyond  the  Great  Vast  Forest".  8  out  of  10.

  

  LSCOD  are  a  solo  project  from  Mexico  that  plays  a  very  depressive  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2019 ep  "Cherophobia".

  A  synth  orientated  intro  starts  off  the  ep  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melancholic  direction.  Vocals  are  mostly  depressive  suicidal  black  metal  screams  along  with  one  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  synths  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  at  times.

  One  of  the  later  tracks  is  also  a  'Lifelover'  cover  while  demonic  growls  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  When  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  dark  and  melodic  style  along  with  some  clean  playing,  clear  vocals  and  spoken  word  parts  also  being  used  briefly  and  as  the  ep   progresses  a  brief  use  of  rain  and  thunder  sounds  can  be  heard  and on  the  closing  track  the  music  speeds  up  briefly  along  with  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  LSCOD  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  depressive  sounding  and  focuses  more  on  atmosphere  than  rawness.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  LSCOD  are  a  very  great  sounding  depressive  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "ROOM"  and  "Sink  In  Dementia".  8  out  of  10.

https://lscod.bandcamp.com/album/cherophobia

 

  

   Violés  Par  Les  Cygnes  are  a  duo  from  France  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  noise  and  dark  ambient  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "I"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  AHPN  Records.

  Harsh  noises  and  power  electronics  start  off  the  album  while  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  A  small  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  can  also  be  heard in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  chaotic  style.

  Elements  of  dark  ambient  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music  while  the  harsh  noise  sounds  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs.  Depressive  screams  and  cries  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  when  tremolo  picking  is  utilized  it  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  When  the  music  finally  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  while  drones  and  field  recordings  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  as  the  album  progresses  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  The  production  sounds  very  dark,  raw  and  lo-fi  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Violés  Par  Les  Cygnes  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  metal,  noise  and  dark  ambient  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out t his  duo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "II"  and  "V".  8  out  of  10. 

  

  Trench  Warfare  are  a  band  from  Austin,  Texas  that  plays  a  mixture  of  war,  bestial  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Hatred  Prayer"  which  will  be  released  in  August  by  Transcending  Obscurity  Records.

  War  sounds  and  synths  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very   fast  war  metal  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  vocals  bring  in  more  of  a  mid  80's  death/thrash  metal  style.

  Black  metal  screams  and  bestial  growls  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  music  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in a  very  chaotic  style.  Dark  sounding  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  some  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  some  of  the  faster  tremolo  picking  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling  and  synths  return  on  the  closing  track  briefly.

     Trench  Warfare  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  war,  bestial  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  occultism,  darkness,  evil,  anti  religion,  death,  destruction,  hatred  and  war  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Trench  Warfare  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of   war,  bestial  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Decimate  Legions"  "Astral  Projection"  "Behead  Muhammad"  and  "Hatred  Prayer".  8  out  of  10.

Official Site

Official Bandcamp