Portugal's Black  Mold  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  more  of  a  punk  influenced  form  of  raw  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "The  Inheritance Of  Evil"  which  will  be  released  on  cassette  in  November  by  Hellprod  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  punk  influenced  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  angry  sounding  black  metal  screams  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  first  wave  vibe.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  melody.

  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.  The  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  both  80's  and  90's  era  influences  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  a  good  balance  between  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  all  of  the  music  also  sticking  to  a  heavier  musical  direction.

  On  this  recording  Black  Mold  remain  true  to  the  punk  influenced  style  of  black  metal  that  was  established  on  their  previous  release.  The  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Darkness  and  Atavistic  Nihilism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Black  Mold  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  punk  influenced  black  metal, you  should  check  out  this  cassette.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ascended  Masters"  "Long  Night"  "The  Invisible  Hand"  and  "Ghosts  In  The  Mirror".  8  out  of  10.

Bandcamp | Soundcloud

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

I started the band in february 2020. I had been storing some ideas that didn't fit in my earlier musical projects, which were mostly grindcore and crust, and I wanted to do something with the ideas, basically "riffs". So, to get started I decided to use this maybe 15 years old drum machine I had lying around to make some beats. I asked Stefanator, who I have been playing with in various projects before, to join the band to play the bass. Stefanator agreed, and the drum machine also stayed.

2.Recently you have released a demo, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?

We didn't have any vision of what it should've sounded like, or how we could even approach any specific sound. All we knew it should be really raw and cold, but in an atmospheric way. The songs were quite new when we recorded them, and we were just concentrated to play them right. I also had a new distortion pedal and I hadn't been doing vocals in a loooooong time. But the recording session was really smooth, and our friend Nihilius did a great job recording and mixing it (eternal gratitude!)

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

Flesh prison, the first song on the demo, for example, is about the feeling that this civilization - or society- is so repulsive, that one needs to escape from it, but not by straight death, but something 'spiritual', like self improvement, for example. Crushing the wheel deals with the fact that there's no point in trying to build forever lasting imperium's, because they will always fall, and then rise again, then fall again... The ever-repeating cycle must be broken. But how? In what sense?

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Earthly Form'?

It fits perfectly with the so-called philosophy in our lyrics, and it's a synonym with the first song we made, Flesh prison.

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

I took the picture on one of my hiking trips to a Finnish national park in the spring. It's probably a beaver's nest in a flooded lake. I didn't take the picture for this purpose at first, but later noticed it would make a nice cover.

6.Currrently there are only 2 members in the band, are you open to expanding the line up or do you prefer to remain a duo?

We are not actively looking for new members, but let's say that it's not impossible that we would add a singer, second guitarist or a human drummer to the line up. But it's really great this way too. Maybe if we start doing live shows some day we could use an extra hand on the stage to improve the sound. Or if we simply run out of ideas.

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

We are looking for a label, but we should be more active in it, like sending tapes etc... We will be recording new stuff in the future anyway, and it would be great to have a label to release it, be it in whichever format.

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

The reaction has been really good, at least if you compare the streaming and downloading numbers with the little effort we have put into spreading the demo. We don't have any social media, and I haven't personally been a part of any scene, or known 'the right people', so it's great that people have still found our music.

10.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?

We both have our background in punk, crust and grindcore, and we are still involved in them, but we are into metal too, of course. I can't speak for Stefanator but I have drawn inspiration from all kinds of black metal, from bestial style to melodic atmospheric stuff. I also enjoy death metal a lot, as I enjoy 80's pop music and classical composers, and I'm sure there are influences from those styles too in Earthly Form's music.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

Stefanator spends his time with environmental anthropology and video games. For me it's hiking and books. We both are interested in what's happening (and what already has happened) in this world.

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

Huge thanks & eternal hails for this interview. For those interested, we still have copies of the tape demo left, so just write us at earthlyform@gmail.com to get one for yourself.

  Chateau  Noir  are  a  duo  from  Ukraine  that  plays  a  very  old  school  and  hateful  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2020  album  "Troubadours  Of  Pestilence"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Subterranean  Aftersounds  and  Darker  than  Black  Records.

  A  very  medieval  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  elements  of  folk  music  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  direction  which  also  uses  a great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  while  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era.

  When  synths  are  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  they  also  give  the  songs  more  of  an  atmospheric  feeling.  The  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  one  track  also  bringing  in  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  they  also  bring  in  a  cover  of  Absurd's  "Mourning  Soul" which  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  clear  vocals  as  well  as  some  clean  playing  also  being  added  on the  outro.

  Chateau  Noir  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  French  and  Polish  forms  of  the  genre.  The  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness  and  mysticism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Chateau  Noir  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  black  metal  duo  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dark  Castle  of  Pestilence"  and  "The  Victorious  Flame".  8  out  of  10.

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  ep  between  Sweden's    Draept  and  Vrak  which  was  released  by  Entartete  Muzak  Productions  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Draept  a  duo  who  returns  with  a  raw style  of  occult  black  metal.

  His  side  of  the  split starts  out  with  a  very  fast  and  raw sound  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast beats. Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  which  also  have  their  deep  moments  while  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  90's  influences  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  The  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  drum  beats  being  programmed  as  well  as  some  of  the  riffing  also  adding  in  some  more  modern  influences.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Western  Occultism  themes,

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Draept  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  occult  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  his  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Warfare".

  The  review  of  Vrak's  side  of  the  split  can  be  found  here  which  I  reviewed  a  couple  of  weeks  ago.

https://occultblackmetalzine.blogspot.com/2020/10/vrakself-titled2020-demo-review.html

  In  conclusion    feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  raw  black  metal.  8  out  of  10.

https://entartetemuzakproductions.bandcamp.com/album/draept-vr-k-split-ep

  Wintarnaht  are  a  solo  project  from  Germany  that  plays  an  archaic  form  of  pagan  black  metal and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2020  album  "Hriuwa"  which  will  be  released  on  October  31st  by  Talheim  Records.  

 Rain  and  thunder  sounds  start  off  the album  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  solos  and  leads  a  few  seconds  later.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody.  Clean  pagan  vocals  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  some  growls  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard  on  a  few  songs.

  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  both  old  school  and  modern  influences  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  elements  of doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs. 

The  music  also  has  its  atmospheric  moments  as  well  one  of  the  tracks also  being  an  instrumental  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  small  amount  of  synths  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also be  heard  on  a  few  songs.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  German  and  cover  Paganism,  Nature,  Misanthropy  and  Non  Theistic  Historical  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Wintarnaht are a  very  great  sounding  archaic  pagan  black  metal  solo  project and if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  album. RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hriuwa"  and  "Ir  in  Flamma".  8  out  of  10.

Bandcamp: https://wintarnaht.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/Wintarnaht/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archaic_oath/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrFYkJp4HsfQ6klhx6nv34w/