Unsilent  are  a  band  from  Chile  that  plays  a  very  aggressive  and  melodic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Obscure  &  Profane"  which  was  released  by Australis  Records.

 Dark  soundscapes  and  synths  start  off  the  album  along  with  a  brief  use  of  melodic  chants  and  demonic  voices  before  going  into  a  heavier  musical  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.

  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  that  also  get  very  deep  sounding  at  times  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  The  riffs  also  utilize  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  the  guitar solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  when  they  are  utilized.

  The  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  both  old  school  and  modern  influences  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  as  well  a  later  track  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  Islamic  chants  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction,  some  of  the  riffing  also  shows  an  influence  of  thrash  metal.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Black  Magick,  Hell's  Legions,  Evil,  Anti  Christianity,  Chaos  and  Death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Unsilent  are  a  very  great  sounding  aggressive  and  melodic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Black  Spells  Of  Death"  "Manifesto"  "I  Am  Holocaust"  and  "Morbid  Obsessions".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bvOXd1X2vI     

  The  Kingdom  Of  Peace  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  depressive  form  of  black  metal  with  elements  of  doom  metal  and  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2020  album  "Ground  of  hatred"  which  was  released  by  Depressive  Illusions  Records.

  Dark  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  while  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  a  couple  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Elements  of  doom  metal  can  also  be  heard  in  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  while  all  of  the musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  that  also  have  their  moments  along  with  some  influences  of  punk  also  being  added  into  the  mid  tempo  sections  of  the  songs.

  Whispered  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  some  melodies  also  being  added  into  the  guitar  riffing  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  on  some  of  the  tracks.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  and  all  of  the  drum  beats  are  also  programmed,  spoken  word  parts  also  make  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  misanthropy,  nihilism,  social  problems  and  pathology  themes. 

  In  my  opinion  The  Kingdom  Of Peace  are  a  very  great sounding  mixture  of  raw  depressive  black  and  doom  metal  with  some  elements  of  punk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Last  Sip,  Last  Trip"  and  "Lament  I  -  In  The  Trees".  8  out  of  10.

https://thekingdomofpeace.bandcamp.com/album/ground-of-hatred       

  Katavasia  are  a  band  from  Greece  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  that  consists  of  members  from  some  well  known  and  legendary  Greek  bands  that  plays  a  very  old  school  and  occult  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Magnus  Venator"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  Floga.

  A  very  heavy  and  atmospheric  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  mostly  angry  yet  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  music  also  being  very heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  style.

 You  can  also  hear  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  guitar  solos  and  leads  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  Synths  and  ethic  music  sounds  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  one  track  also  introducing  spoken  word  parts  onto  the  album, when  percussion  is  utilized  it  also  gives  the  album  more  of  a  shamanistic  atmosphere,  one  of  the  later  tracks  is  also  an  instrumental  and  the  closing  track  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism,  Satanism,  Magick  and  Sacrilege  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Katavasia  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  old  school  occult  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Daughters  Of  Darkness"  "Chthonic  Oracle"  and  "Babylon  (Sammu-Rawat)".  8  out  of  10.

https://youtu.be/4DoW-P7P8cY

  Langenneet  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  an  occult  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2020  demo  "Aamunkajo".

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  old  school  sound  starts  off  the  demo  along  with  some  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  The  music  also  adds  in  a  decent  amount  of  90's  influences  while  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Ritualistic  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  atmospheric  elements  at  times  as  well  as  both  of  the  tracks  also  adding  in  some  synths.

  Langenmeet  plays  a  style  of  occult  black  metal  that  goes back  to  the  90's  era  of  the  genre.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Finnish  and  cover  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Langenneet  are  a  very  great  sounding  occult  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Hymni  aamunkajolle".  8  out  of  10.

https://langenneet.bandcamp.com/album/aamunkajo  

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
Vintermørke, so far, is one man black metal band from Greece. It was created to host my inner thoughts and demons Being a huge fan of black metal , I felt like I had to contribute in my own way and that’s why I started this project.

2.So far you have released a demo and have been a part of a couple of collaborations, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style you went for on the recordings?
Indeed, after my demo I preferred to search for other bands to collaborate. It’s been a long time since I was discussing with The Kingdom of Peace for a common collaboration song. As far as the music style is concerned it really depends on what message I want to pass and what story I want to tell. It varies from raw, pure attack black metal to depressive vocals, while sometimes we experiment with some parts like in ¨Shattered Dreams¨ a song from my upcoming collaboration EP with the Italian Mountain Hermit

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with your music?
Most of my lyrics are misanthropic. They refer to self-destruction, misanthropism and depression. A big percent of my lyrics comes from personal experiences, inner thoughts, desires. It really, again, depends on my mood. Out of nowhere, for example, I can get inspiration and write about being alcoholic. Writing lyrics is like a ritual, you never know what you call for, you just grab a pen and a piece of paper and you let it all out.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Vintermorke?
Vintermørke means ¨Black Winter¨. This name describes a situation that everybody more or less has been into. A period, where for no actual reason, you lose your mind, your inner peace, your balance. Black Winter Is a place where you want to hide, where you will find yourself fighting for the never-ending war of finding inner peace. To be honest I didn’t come up with the name. Back in Bulgaria, where I was studying and after attending a superb live of Sørgelig and End of Mankind, a friend and fellow student came up with the name. In the beginning it was supposed to be an 8 members band, making the sound more symphonic and more like opera. After doing several rehearsals, we saw there was no chemistry and mood and we just gave up. All those events happened during 2019. During the Christmas period, of the same year, I decided to write something by my own, and the song ¨Paranøid Symbiosis¨ came.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the demo cover?
To be honest the concept of the artwork of my demo got inspired from the artwork of the split of Psychonaut 4 with Nocturnal Depression. After a few drinks, corpse paint and trying to find the best exposure of light, the demo artwork came. After some editing and playing with black and white effects, the result is the art that you see today. Not a big deal, if you ask me, but at least it’s something.

6.With the exceptions of a couple of collaborations you record everything by yourself, are you open to expanding into a full line up?
Believe me getting a full line up is my primary goal. But its really difficult. All I see is that there’s a huge taboo and prejudgments not only for black metal but also for the extreme music. Don’t forget that I come from a really small town in Greece. From a town that I’m their third black metal band after Oletir and Melan Selas. If it comes, it comes and its really welcome. If not, I will keep doing it on my own. I don’t compromise with my vision, of spreading the antihuman propaganda, to every corner of this world.

7.So far this year you also had a couple of collaborations with 'The Kingdom Of Peace' and 'Mountain Hermit', can you tell us a little bit more about these musical projects?
The collaboration with The Kingdom of Peace started once I got released my demo through depressive illusions records. We were in the same label and I thought that something good would come out of it and indeed I was satisfied with the result. Not after a long time, I searched for another collaboration. I heard Mountain Hermits “Gnostic Isolation¨ on black metal artists YouTube channel and I thought why not? This one turned way better. Except for being just two bands who collaborate we are also good friends. And soon enough you will have news about both bands.

7.On the demo you had done a 'Human Serpent' cover, what was the decision behind doing your own version of one of their songs?
I’m a huge fan of Human Serpent’s music. You know after a while and when you hear the same songs again and again for a long time, then somehow and out of nowhere you are able to play them. That’s what happened with the ¨Vacuity¨ song from Human Serpent. I used to hear this song from the day that It came out till today. I thought I had to pay some attribute to this band for having such impact on both my life and my music.

8.So far you have worked with 'Nailed Nazarene Industries', 'Depressive Illusions Records' and 'Life End Records',do you feel these labels have been very helpful when it comes to getting your music out there heard?
I’m really lucky that I found those labels. They might be small, but they are independent and loyal to the underground. I’m satisfied from all those 3 labels and I wish the best for them.

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?
Believe it or not I don’t really know. From time to time I check in case I have any reviews or any mentions. Don’t forget that I started several months ago. The reaction and the support are proportional to the time that I’m active as a band. So not good or bad.

10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?
I hope and if everything goes as planned. It will be released during the last days of 2020. A way to close this chaotic year with more chaos. From as I saw from the tracks, it will be a 45 min album with both depressive and raw tracks.

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?
My influences are mostly bands from the Greek Black Metal Scene. Bands like Dødsferd, Isolert, Sørgelig and Human Serpent have played a major role on the Vintermørke’s musical identity. Nowadays I still listen to my influences and keeping some ideas

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?   
Thank you very much for the interview. I wish you the best for its continuity.
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