Ignominious  are  a  band  from  Hungary  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  melodic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "The  Throne  And  The  Altar"  which  was  released  by  Hidden  Marly  Productions.

  Melodic  guitar  leads  and  riffs  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  powerful  sounding  bass  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  and  when t he  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  music  a  more  raw  feeling  while  the  vocals  are  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.

  A  great  amount  of  90's  second  wave  influences  can  be  heard  throughout  the  recording  along  with  some  Swedish  influences  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  after  awhile  the  vocals  also  start  getting more  grim  and  angry  sounding  and  classical guitars  can  also  be heard  briefly  but  the  main  focus  is  on  a  heavier  style

  Ignominious  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  melodic  in  the  90's  tradition,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  passing  and  Occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Ignominious  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  melodic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Sacrilege"  "The  Throne  And  The  Altar"  and  "

  Mitochondrion  are  a  band  from  Vancouver  B.C,  Canada  that has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  bestial  and  dissonant  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  ep  "Antinumerology"  which  was  re-issued  in  2017  by  Krucyator Productions.

  A  small  amount  of  clean  playing  is  utilized  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  brutal  direction  along  with  a  mixture  of  deep  guttural  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  while  the  riffing  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  dissonant  structures  and  melodies  along  with  whispers  being  used  briefly.

  Most  of  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  add  in  touches  of  doom  metal  while  the  faster  sections  add  in  tremolo  picking,  blast  beats  and  war  metal  elements  along  with  the songs  also  bringing  in  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  chaotic  fashion,

  On  this  recording  Mitochrondrion  remained  true  to  the  dissonant  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  that they  are  known  for,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Apocalypse,  Occultism,  Disease  and  Gnosis  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this was  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Mitochonrion  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  dissonant  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Insummation".  8  out  of  10.    

  Sweden's  solo  project  Grift  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  that  continues  the  atmospheric  style  of  black  metal  from  previous  recordings  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2017  album  "Arvet"  which  will  be  released  in  September  by  Nordvis  Produktion.

  Acoustic  guitar  playing  starts  off  the  album   and  they  also  add  in  a  touch  of  folk  music  along  with  some  stringed  instruments  a  few  seconds  later  and  whispers  are  also  used  briefly  and  after  awhile  tortured  black  metal  vocals  start  to  make  their  presence  known  and  they  also  have  a  very  depressive  and  melancholic  edge  at  times.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  a  more  raw  black  metal  feeling  while t he  solos  and  leads  stick  to  a  more  modern  and  melodic  atmospheric  style  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Acoustic  guitars  and  stringed  instruments  are  used  on  the  other  tracks  as  well  while  a  couple  of  the  songs  are  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  a  brief  use  of  field  recordings,  nature  sounds  and  soundscapes  and  as  the  album  progresses  clean  singing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  most  of  the  songs  also  sound  different  from  each  other  and  one  track  also  brings  in  a  small  amount  of  spoken  word  parts.

  Grift  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  the  atmospheric  style  of  black  metal  that  was  established  on  previous  releases  while  also  mixing  in  a  great amount  of  folk  elements,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Swedish  and  cover  Man's  Insignificance,  and  Death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Grift  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  black  metal  with  a  touch  of  folk,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Flyktfast"  and  "Utdoingsbygd".  8  out  of  10.

  Wrok  are  a band  from  the  Netherlands  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  satanic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "De  Onheilsbode"  which  was  released  by  Heidens  Hart  Records.

  A  very  dark  and  ritualistic  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  adding  in  blast  beats  and  fast  riffs  that  utilize  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  to  get  a  raw  feeling  while  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  style  and  after  awhile  high  pitched  yet  grim  black  metal  screams  start  to  make  their  presence  known.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  Gregorian  chants  can  also  be  heard  in  between all  of  the  tracks  and  the  riffs  are  all  done  on  power  chords  with  no  melodies  or  guitar  leads  ever  being  utilized  and  a  couple of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful sound  to  them  along  with  all  of  the  songs  sticking  to  a  very  heavy  and  raw  musical  direction.

  Wrok  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  goes  back  to  the  primitive  era  of  the  early  90's  second  wave  style,  the  production  sounds  very  dark,  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Dutch  and  cover  death,  Satanism,  sickness,  winter,  and  weapons  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Wrok  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  satanic  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Steerf  Vor  Satan" "Satans  Glorie"  "In  Pijin"  and  "Op  De  Vlerkan  Van  Azazel".  8  out  of  10.
 https://heidenshart.bandcamp.com/album/de-onheilsbode

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

Sure.  Necrolytic Goat Converter is essentially my attempt to examine and exorcise the darkness in my heart through loud and often abrasive music.  It started about two years ago as an attempt to get back into playing guitar by writing and recording a song in the vein of Darkthrone, whom I was obsessed with at the time.  That attempt, though tongue in cheek (it was about curdled milk) opened something up and since then the music has definitely been more personal and inward directed.  Though I defiantly stand by my claim that curdled milk smells like death.

2.       How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?

I usually just describe it as metal; I’ve seen other sites classify it as black metal, death metal, DSBM…after a while the sub-genres and acronyms get to be a bit much.  I try to embed the tunes in a black metal foundation: the guitars and vocals in particular as well as the whole DYI/one-man band esthetic, but really the music is based on everything I’ve been exposed to growing up.  So there’s a fair amount of hair/glam metal to be found in there if you know where to look as well as some of the more obvious influences.

3.       What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with the music?

Curdled milk aside, most of the tracks from a lyrical perspective are autobiographical, even when laced in metaphors or more fantastical language and imagery.  Much of it details my struggles with depression, and the anger and fear that arises from that depression.  Sometimes the light wins – tracks like “Second Skin” deals with refusing to cave to the lies you tell yourself about your worth, but more often than not like “The Dark Within” or “Eternal Winter (The Still)” on the new album it’s about the darker moments when you believe the lies.

4.       What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name ‘Necrolytic Goat Converter'?

It really came about as a joke – I had written “Smell of Death (Curdled Milk)” and reached out to my friends on Facebook to crowd-source the name.  It was agreed goats are pretty black metal, and I needed some reference to death or decay in the name.  At the time I was also working for a large bank that provided financing for cars, so started thinking about metal things in cars like catalytic converters and eventually we got Necrolytic Goat Converter.

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

Just because of the personal nature of the music I prefer Necrolytic Goat Converter to be a solo project, which isn’t to say I don’t reach out to other bands I know for advice and feedback.  I do – a lot.  But the act of writing and recording/performing the music is something I like to remain with me.  As far as collaborating with other musicians, I’m currently in the planning stages for something that will definitely be a group effort, so we’ll see how it goes.

6.       On Halloween you had also released a split with 'Domestikwom', what are your thoughts on the other project that had participated on the recording?

I got to know Jon through the #metalbandcampgiftclub community, and we became friends over our shared interests in music, film, and other geek-related pursuits.  As far as my thoughts on Domestikwom as a musical entity, I was immediately drawn to the similarity in our choices (we’re both very much DIY, solo endeavors) and how easily Jon can adopt different styles and incorporate them into his unique musical vision.  One of the reason we chose to cover each other’s songs on the split was for me to understand his approach to writing and adopting those styles, so I chose the slowest as well as the fastest songs to cover.

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

A little interest, but nothing I was ready to commit to.  I have no illusions about this becoming a full time thing; right now I’m content to just keep writing and getting closer to getting what’s in my head out to the music.  That being said, I’d be stupid and a liar if I said I have no interest in being signed – if the right thing came along then I’d consider it.  I don’t think the music’s there yet, but who knows?

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

It’s been surprisingly well received, or least Google hasn’t turned up any “well this is a piece of shit” reviews yet!  The folks who have connected with it generally seem to get the intent: I’m not trying to go for any kind of traditional black metal sound or vibe, even though the foundation and (I hope) respect is evident.  I think for all the vocal bellyaching about things being “KVLT” or “TRVE” when it comes to black metal the majority of fans of the genre realize and accept the variety of ways the music can be shaped.  If it’s honestly crafted and sincere, people are going to respond, whether or not you’re wearing corpse paint or spiked gauntlets.  And for the records I love bands in corpse paint and spiked gauntlets; I’d just look ridiculous in them.

9.       Are you also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

I have another small project called FirstForgiveness that’s a little more mainstream metal/hardcore focused…it’s really just an outlet for when I’m blocked with Necrolytic Goat Converter or want to try something else.  And as mentioned earlier I’m in the beginning stages of a group thing that we’re hoping to get starting later this year: we’re still working on identifying the overall sound for it – all I can say is it’ll be loud and heavy.

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

My hope is from a musical perspective it’ll get more diverse.  On the new album I tried a few different things, most evident in “The Calamity of Not Knowing” but there are some other smaller things: the ending of “Eternal Winter (The Still)” with the outro, the repeated musical cue in “A Quiet Affirmation” and “Isolated Evolution.”  The name kind of acts as a pigeonhole of sorts, no one wants an 80s ballad coming from a band called Necrolytic Goat Converter (if you do let me know), but the goal is to see where the music can go while still being rooted in something identifiable as black or death 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, everything I’ve ever listened to has had an influence on me whether it’s immediately evident or not.  But specifically for the music released so far probably the two biggest bands for me are Darkthrone and Nachtmystium.  There are shades of Satyricon, Behemoth, Alcest and others peppered throughout, but it’s really a combination of over 40 years of listening and absorbing music.  Currently?  I write for a metal blog called Nine Circles, so it feels like every week is another dozen or so things I’m trying to get my brain wrapped around, but as far as black metal in 2017 goes I’ve been obsessed with the new records from Farsot, Woe, Twilight Fauna, Ragana, and whatever the hell Emptiness have morphed into.

12.   What are some of your non musical interests?

I’m a film nerd from way back.  I grew up watching Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant and John Wayne with my father in the 70s, and then became truly obsessed in college after taking a slew of film courses.  Same thing with books, particularly science fiction and fantasy, though I haven’t had any desire to incorporate that into the music, although there are references to Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen series in the song “Throne of Cold.”  I’ll leave that stuff to bands like Caladan Brood, who are awesome.

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

Just thanks the opportunity to talk about the band!