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

I had the idea of Nulla+ at the end of 2014. The project born in order to connect the 90's black metal minimalistic sounds with the hardcore sounds, using lyrics born by improvisation and inspiration of the moment related to the "Stornelli", a kind of folk poetry grown in the Middle Italy at the end of the Middle Ages/begin of the Reinessance (for those who don't know, Nulla+ is an Italian band). The "Stornelli" are composed of satirical topics with an indefinite numbers of verses in very simple form. Riccardo Mencarelli (drums) was called to help in the construction of "Stornelli Distopici": eleven tracks, eleven sinisters "Stornelli" written and recorded during 2015. Every one of them is inspired by a micro or macro situation, and on whatever trivial there's in the world: to live and to die in this dystopia which is the human being.

2.In May you had released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

I really love hardcore punk and his power to express concepts and also black metal for his bleak gloomy atmospheres. Both of them are often visceral and primitive and their strong influence give me the possibility to communicate, as best as I can, what I had to say. Essentially our debut is a very raw concentrate of this two genres.

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

Currently I write the songs so I wrote down all that I see around me: the human misery that create a real dystopia where we all flourish into the chaos and desperation. The world could be a better place, after all, but we cannot live in a different world where there are no more wars and hunger. This is a fact. But I've tried to be sarcastic and ironic in my songs: this is the reason why I chose my mother tongue so that I could have more possibility to express myself even if this is an obstacle for our success.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Nulla+'?

In English you will say "Nothing More", this is to remark the pessimistic and simplified way that is inside our music. We try to synthesize concepts in music, with no thrills, straight to the point and....Nothing More!

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

We are not a live band for now but we are working on it: we should be ready in autumn.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Work in progress...

7.The album was released through both 'Symbol Of Domination Productions' and 'Metal Throne Productions, are you happy with the support they have given you so far?

It wasn't easy to find someone that could believe in this project. The help we had from both labels, gave us the right rush to go ahead and try to spread our music the more we can, as well as the economic help for the print of CD's. We are DIY philosophy fans, so we are the first who must give to do.

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

Let's say, without shame, that for now there's a very quiet situation but it was expected: our debut album was released on May and, before then, no one knew us. Also, don't forget that we are not a live band. We've had a very good review on CVLT NATION talking about some recent Italian releases and we were very glad to be there. For now is going better that we can imagine and, for this reason, me and Riccardo, decided to transform this homemade project in a live band.

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

I'm sorry but I don't know what to say...Stornelli Distopici was released just 2 months ago, I have all the time to understand where we will go!

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?

Both me and Riccardo listen to all the kind of music. About Stornelli Distopici my influences were Ulver, Darkthrone e Mayhem but also some historical Italian bands from 80's and 90's such as Wretched, Indigesti, Underage e Negazione. Riccardo likes more the thrash metal. Recently I listen to Italian bands: in the past few years there's a lot of good, powerfull stuff (Hungry Like Rakovitz, Loia, Genocidio Chimico, Carnero, Hierophant, Nudist, Naga, Stasis, LVTHN, Viscera///, Hornwood Fell) that deserves to be listen to.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?

I read a lot: Anthropology, Horror literature and Pulp are my preferred reading. I also love movies even if, after the 90's, there's a lot of sh*t. I try to stay healthy...with no results!

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

Thank you for the chance and don't forget to listen to us!

  Ruho  are  a  band  from  Finland  that has  had  their  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  very  raw  and  old  school  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  ep  "Mouth  Of  Extinction"  which  was  released  by  Triumph  Of  Death.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  ep  before  getting  more  distorted  and  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  black  metal  direction  that  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking,  blast  beats  and  high  pitched  screams  as  well  as  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  and  you  can  also b eat  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on the  recording.

  Most  of  the  music  is  rooted  in  the  90's  second  wave  era  of  the  genre  and  clean  playing  also  makes  a  return  in  certain  sections  of t he  recording  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  stick  to  a  very  dark,  raw  and  melodic  style.

  Ruho  creates  another  recording that  remains  true  to  the  raw  and  old  school  Finnish  black  metal  style  of  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  Occultism  and  Anti  Christianity  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Ruho  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  old  school  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Remnants  Of  Wisdom"  and  "Perpetual  End".  8  out  of  10. 

 

  Arma  Christi  are  a  solo  project  from  Poland  that  plays  a  raw  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2016  album  "Egocentric  Oblivion"  which  was  released  by  Wydawnictwo Muzyczne  Psycho.

  Dark  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  and  mix  in  with  the  heavier  guitars  a  few  seconds  later  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  and  after  awhile  the  riffing starts  incorporating  more dark  sounding  melodies  and  the  vocals  are  very  angry  sounding  black  metal  screams.

  A  great  amount  of  death  metal  influences  can be  heard  throughout  the  recording  while  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts  while  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording  and  some  tracks  also  bring  in a   small amount  of  clean  playing  and  some  of  the  faster  riffing  brings  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  and  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  at  times.

  Arma  Christi  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  in  with  a  small  amount  of  atmospheric  synths  to  create  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sounding  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  a  mixture  of  Polish  and  English and  cover  darkness  and  evil  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Arma  Christi  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dies  Irae  II"  "Evil  Transformation"  "Mizanthropia"  and  "Szron".  8  out  of  10.       

  Hissing  are  a  band  from  Seattle,  Washington  that  recently  had  an  ep  reviewed  in  this  zine  and  plays  a mixture  of  black,  death  and  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  another  self  titled  ep  from  them  which  was  released  by  Southern  Lord.

  A  very  fast  and  raw  black  metal  sound  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  soem  beastial  death  metal  growls  while  the  slower  sections  are  very  heavily  influenced  by  doom metal  and  the  riffs  also  bring  in a  great  amount  of  morbid  sounding  melodies  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  elments  of  sludge  and  the  music  is  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats can  be  heard  and  the  songs  also  bring  in a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  songs  also b ring  in  elments  of  war  metal  and  both  of  the  songs  stick  to  a  very  heavy  sound  without  ever  having  a  soft  or  weak  moment.

  Hissing  creates  another  recording  that  mixes  black,  doom  and  death  together  while  also  adding  in  more  bestial  moments  this  time  around, t he  production  sounds  very  dark,  heavy  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  agoraphobia,  urban  decay  and  incarceration.

 In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Hissing  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black, death  and  doom  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  yuo  should c heck  out t his  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Husk".  8  out  of  10.

   

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

Voodus is blackmetal, both musically and in spirit. Even though we have a little bit more "modern" sound than our "heroes from the old" (Bathory, Dissection, Nifelheim, Mayhem, Vulcano, Sodom, Malign, Ofermod, Mercyful Fate, Arckanum, Morbid Angel etc etc), we do pay 100% respect and devotion to the bands and individuals that once invited the dark, sinister spirits for real into the music of this world.

2.Almost a year ago you had released an ep, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

It´s rough! Directly played from our amps and drums directly to the tape. Live. Just like a true demo is meant to be recorded. It was the first recording with Voodus, and just a few days ago we came home from the legendary "Necromorbus Studio" in Stockholm after the recording of our next coming single. That release will not be rough! Tore is a fucking master behind the wheels, and he made us reach new levels with our music! This will be the best release, both musically and by quality, this far. I cant wait to unleash this beast upon the surface of the earth!

3.Your lyrics cover a lot of Occult and Left Hand Path topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the black arts?

Well, as far as i know it´s only me (Tobbe) who is devoted to the occult, or to "Satanism" if you so like, in the band. At least the only one who practice the magic, read, write and explore the dark side in all the ways and angles i can. I can´t speak for the others, but i´m quite sure that they are out there, seeking the truth, or the answers in the dark and consealed labyrinth of the lands beyond the bound!

4.For more than 10 years the band was known as 'Jormundgand', what was the cause of the name change and also the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Voodus'?

Jormundgand had lost it´s mystic sense, i guess. We didn´t get any strength or creative atmosphere from Jormundgand anymore. You can hear it very clear if you listen to the "Visions...." cd. The lack of dark atmosphere and to be honest, good music, good creations is just not there! We have struggled so fucking hard with Jormundgand during the past years with almost no response. And finally we decided to kill Jormundgand. Chop his fucking head off! We (me and Ingo) hooked up with Erik once again and we decided to do music like we did in the early days of Jormundgand. Straight from the hart and from the depths of our souls, just like it should be done.  I met Fredrik at the same time and we wanted him to play in the band as well, and he was right on it! We are now for the first time in 10 years a full band with active members who live for the band and is 100% devoted! That's the main reason why we sound so much better today, as Voodus.

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

With Ofermod and Mephorash, no doubt about it. We did a mini-tour together last year and it was fucking awsome! The atmosfear around the "Holy Trinity Tour" was amazing! It´s very special to hang out with "legends" as Mika Belfegor and Jonas Nebiros. They have some kind of dark and sinister aura that surrounds them. And that force-field of dark currents contaminate everything around them! It´s a very creative and inspiring environment to be a part off!
  I guess that the best gig this far was in Stockholm at that tour, or in Gothenburg the first time we played at Belsepub along with Stormdeath.The crowd was fucking excellent, and the power i felt inside of me during those gigs was something extraordinary!
Our stage performance is nothing unique for the scene. With blood,incense,fire,candles,bones and sculls. But i guess that we stick out from the masses because we are for real. All the items brought to the scene is there for a reason, they are loaded with a strong force. And i think that you as a observer in the audience can feel that It´s not just cosmetics. And i´m pretty fucking sure that a big part of the "scene" do bring all their "cool" stuff up on the stage because they think it is - Yeah, you get the point, Cool...... They have no deeper meaning with it.

6.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

Just a few smaller things. We are searching for good and serious characters, with a true driving spirit to work with. Who can help us to get tours and gigs both in Sweden and in Europe. But we haven´t find anyone who feels right for us yet...

7.Heathen Tribes re-issued your demo on cd, what are your thoughts on the final product?

I think it was a perfect release for a demo. Not to "bling bling" if you know what i mean. And Nicolas and Teo is fantastic to work with so we are very pleased with Heathen Tribes!

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

On a "worldwide underground level" it has been quite good! We have participated in like 100 fanzines (like Slayer Mag etc) from East to West and North to South, and a few more established mags and radio stations as well. So it´s quite good, i guess?

9.Are any of the band members currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

Fredrik has been in a bunch of different bands, and Erik has been in Sadistic Grimness, Grond, Xul and Vornth. I think he still play in Vornth. Me and Ingo put all of our energy on Voodus.

10.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Hopefully in the beginning of 2017. It depends on the studio, labels,money and time etc etc. If you buy our forth-coming single you will get a taste of what to come!

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?
Everything that touch our harts and ignite the fires of the spirit! But i guess that the one band that have had the biggest influence on all of us is - DISSECTION!

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

Listen to Voodus and get drunk. I dont know! I think the questions was very good and covered approximately everything that i wanted to say!
You can listen to Voodus at Spotify or at our bandcamp. If you want us to come and play send me a email at:voodus666@gmail.com
We are cheap, but good ;) Hahaha
Fuck Off!
///TF666