1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?
Sure! Right now we’re getting everything ready for the release of our album on October 31. That means doing promotion and setting stuff up to make sure the album will also be available through us. After that we will be getting busy with booking shows.

2.You have an album coming out on Halloween, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?
We’ll a couple of words that come to mind are dark, mean, aggressive, spontaneous, ferocious, fast and varied. I think it has that cold, wintery atmosphere and it just sounds evil. There’s a lot going on on the album, fast stuff, slow stuff, dark melodies, occasional acoustic guitars and synths for atmosphere without it becoming slick. The production is pretty raw, you can here some beeps and scratches but we left it like that because we didn’t want a super polished sound. Also we didn’t have a lot of means for the recording because we were unsigned and didn’t have a budget. But I think we got the maximum result out of those minimal means. Benny (other guitar player) did a great job with recording and mixing everything.

3.Your lyrics cover some Occult and Luciferian topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in the dark arts?
I personally don’t study the dark arts or believe in anything but there are aspects of Satanism and the Occult that I’m drawn to. Things like personal freedom, not being a slave of an institution, enjoying silence and solitude and following my own path to become truly self-reliant and free of too many inhibitions. I’ve always been a proponent of individuality and hated the standard format that society wants to put you in because that’s what’s expected. Further I’ve always been interested in darkness in movies, books, drawings and music. I don’t really have an explanation for that. It’s just a cool atmosphere.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Soulemission'?
Michel (our singer) came up with that name. You can interpret it as the soul leaving the body when you die, what a lot of people believe. For me it also stands for how we write the music and what we put into it. It’s just real dark and strong emotions (the soul) put into music.

5.On the new album you have the drummer of Nightbringer and the singer of Shining does quest appearances, can you tell us a little bit more about their performances on the recording?
Yes, the drums were entirely done by Menthor (Enthroned, Nightbringer). Benny knows him well because he did sound for Enthroned on many shows. So Benny asked if he would be interested in laying down the drums for this album and fortunately he did. He recorded his drums at home and just sent the tracks to us. We were blown away with how fast and aggressive he played. Benny also does sound for Shining and just asked if Niklas was interested in doing vocals for the track Seas of Emptiness. Luckily he said yes and we sent the track to him and he recorded the vocals in a studio in Sweden. He absolutely nailed it with his performance. It sounds really sick and disturbing haha. Check it out people!

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 only did 2 shows so far and especially the first one was killer. It was as a support band for Dutch black metal band Carach Angren and the venue was packed. So it couldn’t have begun better. I think our stage show revolves a lot around our singer Michel. He really gives all and demands the attention he deserves from the crowd. I was blown away by his performance. We don’t have any stage props yet but maybe in the future. We stand on stage with a lot of confidence and the drive to prove ourselves.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?
Nothing planned yet but we are signed to a management (Doomstar bookings) so there will certainly be more gigs.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of extreme metal?
I’ve only seen a few reviews so far because the promo’s have just been sent out recently. But so far the reviews are outstanding. We felt that we made a good debut album but it’s always the question if it comes across well. I’m not really familiar with what people listen to these days or what is popular and I don’t care about that. We just play the music we like ourselves. But if people pick it up that’s amazing.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?
I don’t know yet. I’ve written some stuff for new songs but it’s in real early stages. I don’t think we are going to change a lot but we’ll throw in some new elements.

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?
Bands that had an influence are old Metallica, Mercyful Fate, Marduk, Dissection, Emperor, Death, Bathory to name a few. I just like bands that create a dark atmosphere, use dynamics and crossover a few styles and most importantly write good songs.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Beer tasting, watching 80’s horror movies, reading H.P. Lovecraft, walking in forests where there are no other people.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
I want to thank you for your interest in our band and getting us the exposure! Check out our new album Tales of Inevitable Death, out on 31 october through Black Lion Records.

  The  Downspiral  To  Hell  are  a  duo  from  Spain  that  plays  a  very  raw  and  experimental  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Unusual  Methods  To  Dismember  The  Spiritual  Halo"  which  will  be  released  on  Halloween  by  Base  Records.

 Drum  beats  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  electronic  music  sounds  and  spoken  word  samples  can  also he  heard  at  times  and  after  the  intro  the  music  goes  into  a  heavier  and  faster  direction  along  with  some  black  metal  screams,  death  metal  growls  and  blast  beats  while  also  adding  in  melodies.

  Clean  singing  can  be  heard  on  the  recording  at  times  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  fashion  and  they  also  mix  the  synths  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  faster  riffs  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  clean  guitars  on  one  of  the  tracks  and  spoken  word  parts  also  return  on  a  later  song.

  The  Downspiral  To  Hell  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  very  raw  and  grim  style  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  death  metal  along  with  some  experimental  and  avant  garde  elements  to  create  something  very  different,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

  In  my  opinion  The  Downspiral  To  Hell  are  a  very  great  sounding  experimental  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  duo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Snake  Eyes In  Euphoria"  "The  Canvas  Of  Confusion"  "Thoughts  Through  Ethic"  and  "Outside  Emptiness".  8  out  of  10.   

  Nebrus  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a very  hypnotic  and  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  with  a  touch  of  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2016  album  "Extra  Malorvm"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Razed  Soul  Productions.

  Atmospheric  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  and  ritualistic  spoken  word  parts can  also  be  heard  in  the  background  and  after  the  intro  bass  guitars  make  their  presence  known  on  the  recording  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavy,  dark  and  melodic  direction  along  with  some  tortured,  grim  yet  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.

  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  some  tremolo  picking  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  the  guitar  leads  are  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  fashion  and  some  of  the  riffing  and  deeper  vocals  also  brings  in  influences  of  death  metal  and  they  also  bring  in  another  ritualistic  intro  halfway  through  the  recording  before  reverting  back  to  a  heavier  direction and  a  couple  of the  tracks  are  long  and epic  in  length.

  Nebrus  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  dark,  raw  and  hypnotic  while  also  adding  in  atmosphere  with  the  guitars  alone,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  death,  misanthropy  and  anti  Christian  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Nebrus  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw,  hypnotic  and  atmospheric  black  metal  band  with  a  touch  of  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Dismal  Omen"  "Havoc  Emissary"  and  "Death  Parade".  8  out  of  10.
 

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

I’m happy to say that we are quite busy actually. Our latest “WARA!” is about to be out as we speak, in the meantime we are working on releasing our older stuff and of course we are working on new material, which hopefully we’ll start recording sometime in the spring 2017.

2.Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording and also how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

“WARA!” is very special album to us. After 20 years we’ve reunited with our former drummer – Rzeczy. I wanted this album to be continuation of what we were doing in late 90-ties, so mentally it should be released somewhere around 1999. I wanted tracks to be simple but straightforward, with simple arrangements and powerful – yet organic sound. We were lucky to have possibility to work with one of the best polish producers – Haldor Grunberg. That guy is a freaking genius! He understood instantly what I had in mind and shaped the sound in the best possible way! The record differs mostly in our general approach to composing, recording and producing. This time, from the very beginning - we knew exactly where we are heading and we were lucky enough to choose proper paths to get there eventually.

3.The band was broken up for a few years, what was the cause of the split and also the decision to reform?

Actually – now when I look back I don’t really feel we were breaking up at all. But definitely – our, say – working pattern has changed dramatically since I’ve left our hometown around 1998.  First years after that I had no technical possibilities to hold my position in Sauron, but as soon as there was a chance for me to engage back – I did it without any hesitation!  It was not easy though and hence it might seem that our Sauron ceased to exist. For sure – after around 1998 Sauron stopped to play gigs, so the only signs of our activities since that time are records.

4.The lyrics cover a lot of Pagan topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your views on Paganism?

P.W. is responsible for the lyrics and he would surely respond better to that question. To me paganism is very powerful symbol of tradition and freedom that were taken away from us by the Christians. Once you realize how evil and oppressive institution is catholic church – looking for ways of manifesting your resistance is the natural consequence. Most popular choices is either engaging into Satanism or paganism. Of course there are many differences between those two paths, but in general you can say that Satanism (in many variants) to some extend acknowledges Catholic doctrine, existence of jehowah, jesus, etc by standing in direct opposition to those. Paganism on the other hand rejects and ignores everything related to the bible, old/new testament, etc and focuses on its’ own, individual beliefs.

5.I know that the bands name came from the writings of 'Tolkien', how does this name fit in with the music style you play?

It was quite long time ago when our Sauron was being formed. There was a time before internet, cellphones, where access to information was incredibly poorer than it is today. Lord of the Rings is without a question – a masterpiece and when you read it being a teenager it can have enormous impact on your world view, consciousness, taste and even shaping your character. Tolkien’s world is rich enough to provide almost everyone with his favorite race, character, land, etc. And of  course – if it is the dark side that attracts you most – you’ll lean towards Mordor and Sauron ;) Sauron himself represents evil and unquestionable power. It’s hard to imagine better name for a band formed by young guys secretly learning satanic rituals and listening to Venom and Bathory…
Right now we know that there were many guys all over the world sharing exactly the same feelings about Tolkien’s literature and Sauron himself, but –well, we’ve learnt to live with that ;)
The thing is that after so many years both – the band name and logo became the most important band members binding us together and giving us strength and motivation to go on.

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

It’s been quite long time ago since we were playing gigs. I remember I liked it – even though I always had enormous stage fright and unfortunately – I cannot play the guitar when I’m drunk ;) We’ve been playing mostly in our local area with a few gigs in more remote destinations. We were not using any special gear on stage – just a few, plain metalheads making noise – that’s it ;) Actually – recently we’ve found our archival performance from 1995 – you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1DZVC2yjwg

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

No. Not until “WARA!” makes a spectacular success ;)

8.On the new album you had done a 'Bathory' cover, what was the decision behind doing your own version of one of their songs?

‘Enter the Eternal Fire’ is very special Bathory song for us. When we were asking Rzeczy to play with us around 1994 – we gave him this song to suggest what kind of music we want to play. After 20+ years we’ve finally recorded it in exactly the same lineup.

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

So far, so good! “WARA!” receives excellent feedback from all over the world, which is the best reward for us and you cannot imagine better motivation to continue making new tracks. Especially nowadays when everyday tons of bands release tons of brilliant records – to get someones attention for more than 30 seconds is already huge success ;) Not to mention making him listen to your entire material and even enjoy it ;)

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

No. Not at the moment - at least to my knowledge.

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

I used to say that music should be like your food – raw and unprocessed ;) My goal is to achieve with Sauron lively, organic and powerful sound that you can hear for example - on Kvelertak records. My mentor whom I try to follow here is Fenriz. He’s evangelizing about this raw, natural sound for ages and the older I get, the more I learn – the better I understand how damn right he is about that. And music follows that direction. I was never highly-skilled-technical guitar player. I devour my instrument attacking all the strings at once and I can hardly play my riffs exactly the same twice ;)

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

I was always huge fan of great rock bands of the 70-ties. My father was listening to Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Hendrix, The Cream, Jethro Tull, some Black Sabbath, etc when I was a kid. When I’ve discovered metal it was rather lame to like all this hippie crap so I was in denial for some time, but right now I’m old enough to don’t give a fuck about what others are thinking about my musical taste, so – yeah – I’m re-discovering those great records. I do also follow Fenriz and his radio episodes on soundcloud. There is also whole bunch of excellent polish metal bands that I really enjoy. Right now I’m waiting eagerly for the new Furia album. Besides metal – I like to listen to some urban jazz and electronic music classics – like Vangelis.

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

Thank you very much for this opportunity to speak myself up! I hope my answers didn’t bore you to death ;)

  Tyrant's  Blood  are  a  band  from  Vancouver  B.C,  Canada  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  war,  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  album  "Into  The  Kingdom  Of  Graves"  which will  be  re-issued  on  vinyl  in  December  by  Tridroid  Records.

  Atmospheric  soundscapes  along  with  whispers  start  off  the  album  and  they  also  start  evolving  into  more  of  a  demonic  style  before  going  into  a  very  fast  war  metal  direction  that  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  and  the  vocals  also  bring  in  a mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black   metal  screams.

  A  great  amount of  thrash  elements  can  be  heard  in  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  guitar  leads  are  utilized  they  are  done  in  a very  chaotic  war  metal  style  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  clean guitars  are  introduced  on the  instrumental  along  with t he  solo  getting  more  melodic  while the  remaining  tracks  are  heavy  and  use  vocals.

  Tyrants Blood  remained  true  to the  war,  black,  death  and  thrash  metal  mixture  of  their  previous  releases on  this  album,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark and  violent themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Tyrants  Blood  and  if  you  are  a  fan of  war,  black,  death  and  thrash  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Spiral  Sea"  "Conjure  The  Watcher"  "Drowning  In  And  Ocean  Of  Fire"  and  "Into  the  Kingdom  Of  Graves".  8  out  of  10.