Front  are  a  band  from  Finland  that  plays  a  mixture  of  war,  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  ep  "Antichrist  Militia"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Iron  Bonehead  Productions.

  A  very  apocalyptic  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  chaotic  style.

  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  bestial  growls  while  elements  of  war  metal  are  also  added  into  the  faster  sections  of  the  music.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  music  also  being  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  the  music  also  having  some  influences  of  thrash  metal, back  up  shouts  are  also  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  and  as  the  ep  progresses  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  and  war  samples  can  be  heard  briefly.  The  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Satanism,  Luciferianism,  Anti  Christianity,  War,  Conquest  and  Death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Front  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  war,  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Antichrist  Militia"  and  "Machinegun  Blasphemy".  8  out  of  10.

http://soundcloud.com/iron-bonehead-productions/front-antichrist-militia/s-1Nr3I

  Thecodontion  are  a  duo  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  prehistoric  mixture  of  war,  black  and  death  metal  with  some  elements  of  grindcore  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  album  "Supercontinent"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  I,  Voidhanger  Records.

  A  very  powerful  bass  guitar  sound  starts  off  the  album  and  is  also  used  as  a  lead  instrument,  When  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  war  metal  elements.

  Vocals  also  bring  in  a  mixture  of  grim  black  metal  screams  and    bestial  death  metal  growls  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  Atmospheric  elements  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Some  of  the  tracks  also  add  in  session  work  from  members  of  Seventh  Genocide  and  Urdan  along  with  some  songs  also  capturing  the  raw  aggression  of  grindcore.  Melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording   as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  also  being  instrumentals,  some  of  the  drumming  also  captures  a  very  tribal  and  shamanistic  atmosphere  and  at  times  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  sounding  and  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  The  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics are  a  concept  album  based  upon  the  various  stages  of  Earth's  continental  drift  phase.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Thecondontin  that  shows  the  band  taking  their  prehistoric  mixture  of  war,  black  and  death  metal  into  more  of  an  atmospheric  direction  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Vaalbara"  "Nuna"  and  "Pangaea".  8  out  of  10.

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  Sanctifying  Ritual  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  bestial  mixture  of  war,  black,  death,  thrash  and  speed  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  album  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Iron  Bonehad  Productions.

  A  very  heavy  and  old  school  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  music  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking,  blast  beats  and  war  metal  elements  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  Vocals  are  mostly  blackened  metal  screams  and  dark  sounding  melodies  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  riffing.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  chaotic  style  while the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  80's  and  90's  but  modern  at  the  same  time.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  bestial  growls  also  being  utilized  at  times.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  some  elements  of  thrash  and  speed  metal  also  being  utilized at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  classical  guitars  can  be  heard  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  gore,  death  and  evil  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Sanctifying  Ritual  are  a  very  great  sounding  bestial  mixture  of  war,  black,  death,  thrash  and  speed  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "(Tales  of  The)Sinister  Appearances"  "Obsessed  By  Gore"  "Throne  Of  Evil  Atrocity"  and  "Abominable  Death  Rebels".  8/5  out  of  10.

https://soundcloud.com/iron-bonehead-productions/sanctifying-ritual-into-obscure-abyss/s-rdt71 

  Zwiespalt  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  very  raw,  melancholic  and  old  school  form  of  black  metal  with  some  elements  of  punk  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2020  album  "Ambivalenz".

  A  very  fast  and  raw  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Most  of  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  melody  at  times  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.

  At  times  the  music  also  captures  the  raw  energy  of  punk  rock  while  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  melancholic  sounding  along  with  all  of  the  music  sticking  to  a  heavier  direction  and  a  lot  of  the  songs  sound  like  they  could  of  easily  been  recorded  and  released  more  than  20  years  ago  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  melodic  guitar  leads  can  also  be  heard

  Zwiespalt  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  and  old  school  in  the  90's  tradition  as  well  as  adding  in  some  melancholic  touches  and  elements  of  punk  rock  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  German  and  cover  the  eternal  struggle  of  man  along  with  some  inspirations  from  the  writings  of  Nietzsche  and  other  philosophers. 

  In  my  opinion  Zwiespalt  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw,  old  school,  melancholic  and  punk  influenced  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Schneid"  "Gram"  and  "Wiederkehr".  8  out  of  10.

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

Well, we we have 3 members:
Me, Dantallion - guitar/vocals
Surtr - bass
Inferis - drums
We very ambitious and hard-working band because we started in June 2019 and we already have self-released demo, we know a lot of covers,we sent our record abroad and also we are one of the few black metal bands in our city. Currently we are discussing future projects like gigs with other local bands, new recordings and merchandise. Right now we are working on the idea to make CD copies of our demo since there are people out there who are ready to buy it and deserve to own it, we even found a local store that agrees to sell them! The owner is our friend and he strongly supports the local scene which is awesome! Our main goal is to create something original and interesting, we are mixing different lyrical themes and our songs contain fast and aggressive tones and solos mixed with slow parts! After all our future projects are done we will record our first album, but take you time! We are going to release new stuff only if it`s the best we could make and it have to be original, to be our own style! Originality for us is really important!

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

At the beginning we played only covers! We did not have a bassist too so it was a duo project! In September we decided to record something and this is how "Demonized" was born! It gained the respect of the local metal community and our friends really supported what we were doing! When I came home after it was posted on Youtube and listened to it I felt like it is the type of music I want to write even tho I totally hated the lyrics! When Surtr joined the band in the end of October we started working on the demo I experimented a lot with the melodies and the lyrics and I am glad I did it because we found our style this way! It is made of fast evil tremolo riffs with some slow melodies and in the future I will write more death metal stuff! Expect many surprises!

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

The lyrics I write must fit the music! Of course, black metal goes on the best with satanic themes but as I said we want to be original and creative so I am mixing satanism with stuff like murder, gore, paranormal activity and scary stories! Horror movie themes! I mean all of them are really similar because they are considered unholy, evil and most people find them creepy!

4.The band name has 2 meanings, Satanic Tormentors Recreating Abuse Hell and also means 'fear'in Bulgarian, how does this name fit in with the musical style that you play?

It shows the two sides of the band - Satanic Tormentors shows our side as a satanic band and strah (fear) shows our side as a band that worships scary stuff - demons, ghosts, curses. You can perfectly see it in the lyrics of "Evil spirit from the mirror" - it tells the story of a normal person who decides to summon Bloody Mary and she murders him, casts a spell to his soul and he is thrown to the lake of fire in hell. I guess you see what I am talking about!

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

In fact it was made before the band existed. Like a year and two months ago! I met a girl with almost the same musical taste as mine on the social media and it seemed like she is into drawing. She was really good at it too! So I asked her to throw a creepy forest with an evil shadow on it that represents death so I could use it one day when I start a band and record something! After we finished our demo somewhere in the end of November Inferis wondered what should he use as a cover - he engineered, mixed and uploaded all our songs so he had to choose a picture! I showed him the drawing and he liked it, Surtr did too and we officially decided to use it. We of course informed the girl and she was really excited of course! She promoted us in her country - Czech Republic and we are still in contact. We remain friends!

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We have played on stage only once! On 16 February at Rock Bar Fans and it was brutal! Great emotion, great audience, great place, great memories! We had plans to play again in May but coronavirus fucked all our plans! Anyways we have played in front of other people a lot of times because we often invite friends (and girls of course haha) to our rehearsals. It is awesome to see them headbanging to our music for sure but our dream is to play abroad one day. Somewhere in Western Europe or Scandinavia! It will probably happen but after our first album is finally fact and many local shows we will perform.


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

Yes, we received interest from the guy who owns a local label/fanzine called Terozin. I contacted him in January because I needed the lyrics of an old Bulgarian band he worked with called Оберън we wanted to make a cover of and sent him our demo in return! He liked it a lot and we are still corresponding! He is interested in helping us with the promotion of the band, making merchandise and releasing our own cassettes and vinyls. He also will probably help us with our album!



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

Well for now I haven`t send the demo to a lot of countries - only Poland, Norway, Sweden, Czech Republic and maybe USA. Most of the people enjoy our music, as I said there are also people interested in buying our CD we will release in the future. Most of our friends also support us, they play in local bands too so we support each other. We have to deal with a lot of hate too especially from some angry weirdos who are trying to look edgy and funny but in fact they are just a bunch of jealous cowards! We prefer giving our attention to our fans instead of to jerks! One Polish guy once messaged me that he may come to Bulgaria for one of our next performances because he loves our music!

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

Maybe well known along the Bulgarian metal fans and the worldwide black metal community but this will probably happen after our album is out!

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?

Blackened death metal and Norwegian black! Those are the two genres that influenced the band the most and our style of playing! Bands like Sadistik Exekution and Possessed, they are awesome! We also do have some classical heavy metal influences.Currently I am listening mostly to death metal, black metal, thrash and heavy metal, exactly the styles I am listening to all the time.

11.Does Satanism or Occultism play any role in your music?

Of course! It makes our music more evil and extreme but we are more interested in writing gory and creepy horror stuff!

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

Thanks for the interview and the great questions! It was a pleasure for me and my bandmates.


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