This  is  a  review  of  a  4  way  split  ep  between  Sri  Lanka's  Serpents  Athirst,  Genocide  Shrines  and  New  Zealand's  Trepanation  and  Heresiarch  called  "Scorn  Coalescence"  which  will  be  released  in  July  by  Cyclopean  Eye  Productions  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Serpents  Athirst  a  band  that  plays  a  violent  and  satanic  form  of  black  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  sound  along  with  a  small  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  that  also  add  in  a  touch  of  death  metal.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  song  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  The  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Theistic  Satanism  and  Violence.

  In  my  opinion  Serpents  Athirst  are  a  very  great  sounding  violent  and  satanic  black  metal  band  with  a  touch  of  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  their  song.

  Next  up  is  Genocide  Shrines  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of   black  and  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  fast  and  brutal sound  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  bring  in mostly  death  emtal along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.   The  song  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  also  adds  in  some  mid  tempo  sections,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Tantra/Spiritual  Warfare, Ravana,  Death  and  Warfare  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Genocide  Shrines  are  a  very  great  sounding  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  song. 

  Next  up  is  Trepanation  a  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  war  metal  and  grindcore.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  slow  sound  which  also  uses  a  decent  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies.  Vocals are  mostly  bestial  growls  along  with  some  black  emtal  screams   and  when  the  music  speeds  up  it  mixes  the  rawest  and  most  brutal  elements  of  war  metal  and  grindcore  together,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover   apocalypse,  darkness  and  death  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Trepanation  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  war  metal  and  grindcore  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.

  Closing  the  split  is  Heresiarch  who  return  with  their  mixture  of  war,  black  and  death  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  dark  and  heavy  sound  along  with  some  bestial  death  metal  growls  a  few  seconds  later.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  song  more  of  a  raw  feeling  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  chaotic  style, black  metal  screams  can  also be  heard  at  times.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  death  and  war  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  track  from  Heresiarch  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  their  side  of  the  split. 

  in  conclusion  I  think  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  war,  black  and  death  emtal.

  https://www.facebook.com/serpents.athirst
https://www.facebook.com/genocideshrines
https://www.facebook.com/trepanation666
https://www.facebook.com/heresiarchcult                  

  Hoofstomper  are  a  band  from  Lithuania  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  metal,  psychobilly,  dark  surf  and  country  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  ep  "Chapter  1"  which  was  released  by  Black  Mourning  Productions.

  A  very  dark,  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  ep  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  elements  of  rockabilly  and  surf  music.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  music  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  spoken  word  parts  and  the  acoustic  guitars  bring  in  influences  from  country  music.

  Clean  singing  vocals  are  also  utilized  at  times  along  with  some  grim  black  metal  screams  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  as  well  as  the  songs  also  bringing  in a   great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  When  keyboards  are  used  briefly  they  also  give  the  music  more  of  a  psychedelic  feeling  while  one  track  also  introduces  melodic  guitar  leads  onto  the  recording  and  all  of  the  tracks  sound  different  from  each  other.  The  production  sounds  very  dark,  raw  and  lo-fi  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  about  a  character  known  as  the  'Hoofstomper'  with  some  themes  about  fear, loss,  disappointment,  metamorphosis  and  acceptance. 

  In  my  opinion  Hoofstomper  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black  emtal,  psychobilly,  dark  surf  and  country  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Introducing  HoofStomper  (Threshold)"  and  "Mother  (Realization  And  Acceptance)".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/hoofstomper/
https://www.instagram.com/hoofstomper/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCll25EbxsaXfrBOrHIBBvEg   

  

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

I started Somalgia as a homage to 90's black metal.  It is a one man project and my influences include the classics such as Obtained Enslavement, Limbonic Art & Falkenbach to newer greats like Sühnopfer, Ungfell & Grift.


2.So far you have been a part of a split, how would you describe the musical style you went for on the recording?

For the split with Peasant both bands released one heavy track and one soft track each.  My heavy track, Veil Of Perceptual Illusion, was a Wolves In The Throne Room-esque song with a Hammond organ and Burzum style screeches throughout.  The lyrics were about being born into the current slave system we are all apart of and escaping from that.  A mix of 'The Matrix' & Plato's 'Allegory Of The Cave'.

The second song 'Wander Stars Moving Across A Celestial Sphere' was a layered synth track which was my homage to Burzum's 'Tomhet'. 


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

Some of the topics I write about include secret societies, suppressed knowledge, dystopian / real world parallels, hidden human history, ancient / modern control systems, present day totalitarian / oligarchical regimes (the UK for example) and brainwashing of the collective consciousness...


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

Somalgia is a nod to Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World'.  The medication they take in that book to cope with life is called 'Soma', it keeps them numb to the world and blind to the truth.  'Algia' is derived from the Greek algos meaning "pain".  So using the prefix 'Soma' and the suffix 'algia' we get Somalgia. 

To me, this is the sickness one would get when awakening from the conditioning we face in our current system.  It is a dystopian illness that one would get realizing most of what we believe to be truth is a lie.  When you realize the whole world is corrupt to its core, rotten and inverted you are left with feelings of emptiness, disconnection and alienation.  That is Somalgia.


5.Has the band done any live shows or is this strictly a studio project?

For now this is strictly a studio project while the first album is being finalized.  Possibly one day if I can find a drummer fast enough.


6.Other then the release being on bandcamp there is very little information to be found on the musical project online with no metal archives or facebook page, can you tell us a little bit more about it?

I will be releasing music through the Repose Records website only and will never have any social media.  I believe social media to be a scourge on humanity and a plague that should be eradicated.  I will not subject any followers of mine to visit facebook, twitter etc.  With each copy of future releases I will be including essays of selected authors on subjects close to my lyrical content - the first one being Dean Henderson's essay 'Electronic Feudalism Is Hive Mind Production'.


7.Recently you where a part of a split with 'Peasant', what are your thoughts on the other musical project that had participated on the recording?

I co-wrote both of the Peasant songs on this split with my good friend Plague.  Peasant is very high paced and erratic and I would say perfect for fans of Deathspell Omega & Ungfell.  Plague is a self taught guitarist from years of listening to Plebian Grandstand, Deathspell etc so the riffs he comes up with are very demented but always seem to sound so cohesive and harmonic.  Perfect for black metal in my opinion.  He brings the riffs and I lay a lead on top of it, so we're a good team.


8.The split was released on 'Repose Records' can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Repose Records is my own label that currently has 3 releases to it's name.  I wanted to start a label that focused on black metal, dungeon synth and anything avant-garde and tenebrous that caught my ear.  The fourth release, due out later this year, will be the second album from a fantastic project hailing from Switzerland.  I won't say anymore at this point except on my first listen I described it as sounding like 'being sucked into a black hole and ending up in a mental asylum - chasmic black metal'.


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

The reception has been positive so far.  My goal for the rest of the year is continue to release more music so people can start to get a real picture of what Somalgia is about.


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

The next Somalgia release will be a full length entitled 'Inverted World'.  I already have the backbone of the album completed so hopefully sometimes next year it will be ready.  The artwork has been done by Gareth Mansfield and it will be mixed & mastered by Dan Abela.

Musically, I can see Somalgia following the current state of the world in it's death spiral and getting darker and darker as time goes on.


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?

I am a big fan of what the Helvetic Underground Comittee in Switzerland are doing.  Their roster contains some of the most pioneering black metal out there at the moment, Ungfell, Dakhma, DVT, Kvelgeyst etc.  Naas Alcameth is is doing great things with his projects Akhlys, Aoratos, Nightbringer & Bestia Arcana.  A few other notable bands i'm currently spinning on my record player are Peste Noire, Tomhet, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult, Darkspace, Paysage D'Hiver, ColdWorld, Lifelover, Sühnopfer, Falls Of Rauros & Obsequiae.  I post a weekly Spotify playlist through the Repose Records Instagram if anyone would like to see what else i'm listening to.


12.Does Paganism or Occultism play any role in your music?

No, I purposefully avoid religious references.  My goal with Somalgia isn't to attack Christianity or promote paganism.  My goal is to awaken and enlighten people to the current control system that has been in place for the last 6-8000 years.  This is why the essays I send with each release will be so important.


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

1.Resist 5G & the incoming smart system.
2.Abolish the Federal Reserve banking cartel. 
3.Somalgia - Inverted World coming soon...
Thank you,
Orakul.

  Trest  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  an  occult  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Ordalium"  which  will  be  released  on  cassette  in  July  by  Caligari  Records.

  Avant  garde  style  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  ritualistic  spoken  word  parts  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  while  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  style.  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  dark  sounding  melodies  as  well  as  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  the  recording.

  A  couple  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  one  track  also  bringing  in  a  brief  use  of  classic  horror  movie  samples  involving  witches.  At  times  the  music  also  incorporates  more  modern  black  metal  elements,  all  of  the  tracks  on  the  second  side  of  the  cassette  are  the  same  songs  as  the  first  side  but  done  in  more  of  a  harsher  and  primitive  style.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  witches,  Malleus  Maleficarum  and  the  last  people  sentenced  for  Magick  and  Witchcraft  in  Europe.

  In  my  opinion  Trest  are  a  very great  sounding  occult  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  cassette.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Debarez (Ordeal  Version)"  "Gesche  (Ordeal  Version)"  and  "Zdunk  (Pyre  Version)".  8  out  of  10.

 https://caligarirecords.bandcamp.com/album/ordalium 

 
  This  is  a  review  of  a 3 way split  with  Singapor'es  Nuurisk,  Luna  Azure  and  Welkin  called  "Tri-Necromantic  Black  Mass"  which  was  self  released  in  2019  and  we  are  going  to  start  off  the  review  with  Nuurisk  a  duo  that  plays  an  atmospheric  depressive  form  of  black  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  oriental  style  instruments  along  with  some  synths  also  being  utilized  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  black  metal  can  be  heard.

  When  tremolo  picking  is  utilized  it  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  Throughout  their  side  of  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  the  vocals  getting  more  depressive,  all  of  the  musical  instruments  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  depressive  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Nuurisk  is  a  very  great  sounding  depressive  black  metal  duo  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Initiation  Part  one:  Garden  Ov  The  Damned".

  Next  up  is  Luna  Azure  a  band  that  plays  an  experimental  form  of  black  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  raw  tremolo  picking  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams.  When  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a  very  distorted  yet  melodic  style  and  the y also  mix  in  experimental  elements  into  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.  Throughout  their  side  of  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Eastern  Occultism,  Dimensional  Travel and  Misanthropy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Luna  Azure  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  experimental  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of   this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Devoured  Moon".

  Closing  the  split  is  Welkin  a  solo  project  that  plays  a  very  raw  form  of  black  metal.

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  fast,  raw  and  lo-fi  sound  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  along  with  the  music  being  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  style.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  his  side  of  the  recording.

      One  of  the  tracks  is  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  second  track  also  shows  the  music  adding  in  more  mid  tempo  sections  but  still  utilizing  a  good  amount  of  fast  riffing,  melodic  guitar  leads  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  philosophy  and  misanthropy  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Welkin  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  old  school  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  his  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Gate  of  The  Astral  Forest".

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

https://welkin.bandcamp.com/releases  
https://nuurisk.bandcamp.com/