(originally published in Kaleidoscope #9 2010)

Europe has spawned many obscure death metal bands lately. Gone is the most obvious Swedish death metal plagiarism, and the fast and professional approach has never been the most precious thing in the realm of death metal. What is left is a monster of mysticism and mutilation: bands with swampy guitar riffs, tempo changes and, most importantly, a dark aura which is usually connected to black metal.

Germany has Necros Christos, United Kingdom has Grave Miasma, and now from Finland we can present Lantern. This darkened duo includes the multitalented guitarist/drummer Cruciatus, who has shown his talent in many bands like in the now-deceased Cacodaemon, and the more mysterious blood-gurgler Necrophilos. Although Lantern released their debut Virgin Taste of Damnation in 2008 already, it was their latest effort that turned heads like in the movie Exorcist. Doom-scrawls is a black trip to the dungeons of death, thrash and black metal, and it can touch the hearts of Aussie metal maniacs or fans of above-mentioned Grave Miasma – no wonder that a newcomer label from New Zealand called Internecion Productions will release Doom-scrawls again under the name Subterranean Effulgence with a mastering and a more professional layout.

Before this we have time to dig up some bones from Lantern’s graveyard. The first good catch is the band name, which sounds more like a doom band to me, but what got Cruciatus to choose it for his brutal and sinister band?

- First off, I must tell you that I’m quite fond of aesthetics and prefer certain cryptic minimalism in all approach. I dislike overly massive and brutal expressions, you know, I’d go with Mortuary Drape instead of Atomizer, old ‘n cheap horror films instead of splatter movies. Somewhere between my thoughts while taking a walk – I remember the exact moment and location – I came up with the name Lantern and even the primary vision of the logo at the time, heh. I decided to go with that without further hesitating, letting the name live its own life. I had already a few songs in stock, and this doom metal like vibe, like you said, supported what had been written and what I was about to write. So your doom comparison isn’t all wrong. The name makes you think at best, with quite a lot of potential burning within, even combustive nature and occult symbolism.

One idea I have about this name is a man as a lantern – how we all burn inside of us (or something burns inside of us?) and the world sees this flame through the different lenses of this lantern – that we can never see other person purely and without obstacles but everything is changed and embellished in one way or another… Or the flame is the occult force that we all see through our own lenses… Ah, too many different ideas! Comments about them?

- Interesting words. Burning inside, changing constantly, reaching for higher potential (as for fire) surely are elements that apply to all forward-aspiring life-forms. The lantern and man can be also seen as something containing potential, passion that must be restrained properly, illuminating the darkness instead of spreading and torching creations with its wild nature. What keeps the flame convicted is merely a transparent, fragile and thin sheet. Lanterns are also used in dark places exclusively, and with that burning we venture toward the unexplained, surrounded by the lightlessness that frightens and fascinates us, giving face to all the obscurities we later attempt to describe. Life and its mysteries, in my opinion, do not stand full illumination, no matter how science tries to gnaw all the nuts and bolts of existence. There is only small, lantern-like illumination for all of that, with these senses we have been given. Be that flame an occult force, lust to know what is beyond the veil of darkness, what ever you call it, it is something that is strictly bound to what defines humanity itself.

This lantern metaphor can also be seen in the creation process, where you usually try to forward the vision inside of you as pure as possible onwards, but there are always physical, social and mental obstacles… The long way from a feeling/idea to a riff and to a listener is full of stones… How personal is Lantern in the light of this metaphor? Can a listener see into your mind by listening Lantern’s music?

- The metaphors concerning potential I gave in the past section allows us to ramble on: the fire of inspiration is burning in there constantly as the source whence to fetch, yet it needs a bit of guidance to illuminate what it needs to illuminate. I’ve been said to be always on fire, and lantern can be thought as a tool of not only lighting up but ignition as well. The small spark that may be harnessed into further benevolence or demolition may also be reflected my own self. My passion is the key to much innovation but also to many problems, and it takes a steady hand to create proper balance, guiding me through that rocky road. It takes patience and discipline. And as much as there is fire burning in our music, a listener surely can see into my mind, although that long way sure as hell is full of stones. There still is this small thin glass in between that can be called crypticism and poetic approach in my lyrics, something that prevents you from directly touching the fire and just making you fingertips go numb. And I’m sure you can hear clearly the fire twist and dance in our music, when you hear our future time signature and old pattern ravishing songs, haha.

How about these morbid and cryptic lyrics – do they come from your own experiences (transferred to a more lyrical form) or are they more just stories from your own imagination?

- Both, and sometimes a mixture the mentioned elements. Some examples: Manifesting Shambolic Aura from the first demo describes a goodly share of my agenda, emotions toward occultism, my personality and henceforth. It is also kind of a theme song to Lantern and what the band is about deep inside, as the chorus mentions the band name and so forth. Now that I think of it, the same song actually has almost all of the various elements Lantern is about musically… Revert the Living into Death from Subterranean Effulgence (and Doom-scrawls) instead follows one’s return from life to death, progressing toward the finish rather poetically, compiling visions of life and death. That song is also quite charged with personal experiences, as I will explain farther in this interview. Ritual Unearthing on the other hand seems like a very typical graveyard-themed metal song, but there’s a “sublyric” written between the lines, dealing with “unearthing rituals” in another way: the effects of tinkering with grave matters, breaking the thin border with excessive enthusiasm and foolishness et cetera.

- So, although some songs are good to read text over describing most intimate personal experiences, much philosophy, attitude and message may lie included in the lyrics. I also believe that there’s a metaphysical side to aesthetics: some “stories” written by instinct to sound dark and fascinating can end up taking forms that even the song-maker could not imagine. Something unexplained, faceless had after all been behind the fascination that the artist later tried to reconstruct.

It’s obvious to this point that these lyrics differ from typical guts-and-gore death metal approach, that’s for sure. Nowadays many death metal bands have absorbed occult and ritualistic elements to their lyrics: Grave Miasma, Ignivomous and of course Necros Christos. How do these two things – occult and death metal – work together if you compare this mixture to occult and black metal? Or is the form (music style) indifferent, it’s just a shell which the real content (lyrics etc.) chooses?

- I do not think that the style of music is important at all when it comes to dealing with the occult. Styles are like materials, one crafts wood, another forges steel, what suits them best. Death metal, to me, has the most dynamics to work with, having a deep scale of heavy and demonic sounds, seasoning them with a bit of doom metal every now and then, serving me best to put my inner darkness on canvas.

This occult atmosphere is usually considered to be more serious and “true” if you compare it to basic death metal lyrics. The same thing could be said about your previous band, Cacodaemon, which had a more primitive and straightforward approach compared to Lantern musicwise and lyricwise. How would you describe your own personal evolution between these two bands?

- Even though Lantern may sound much more complex than Cacodaemon, I’ve become more straightforward and also aware of what I can do best. My mind is more open, and I’ve certainly developed some pride and relentless attitude toward making art. I dealt with a lot of unbelievable shit, badmouthing, rumours and such in the Cacodaemon years, which only taught me to keep on pushing straight ahead. I have stronger faith in my own works. And when moving from Cacodaemon’s grave to work with Lantern, I gained massive amounts of professionalism: Cacodaemon was always about raw energy, youth’s rage and so forth, even a bit too much sometimes. Although the old days and old songs had a truly dark aura that still fascinates me even more than what I have made in the recent years, it had withered through time due to certain recklessness, suffered from decreased motivation of the group and so forth.

- With Lantern taking its first steps, I tried to get rid of the very negative effects of the mentioned elements, while still being able to see the good old state of mind that made me start composing metal and try to reconstruct that with the present knowhow and willpower. After all, what has once been can never fully disappear, now there’s new kind of raw energy involved.

If we go back to Lantern’s lyrics… You write them but you don’t sing them – another part of Lantern is the growling throat called Necrophilos. Because Lantern is about strong emotions and, as previously said, very personal-sounding feelings, I guess the communion between you two must be very tense and trustful to keep all the energy?

- I and Necrophilos have known each other from our teenage years, and we’ve always shared our quite unobsctructed musical and thought-wise interests. We have spent much time talking about deeper things throughout the years, so he, if someone, is the one I can rely on him with handling even the most personal lyrics. The fact that he’s very enthusiastic about the band improves his output and the strength of my texts overall. He does occasionally come and suggest some own ideas, and we’ve agreed that he can bring his own lyrics and themes to me if he comes up with something good. Hopefully there’ll be even more synergy in the future days of Lantern.

You are also heading to conquer stages in the future, so what new dimensions would this bring to Lantern’s music? What things will be the most important ones in order for you to reach the perfect Lantern atmosphere on stage?

- The live situation, in my opinion, will most likely emphasize the primitive energy in the songs, if we only manage to harness the technical side and are able to concentrate on just playing on instead of trying to remember how the riffs and structures go. That would create the proper flux to the music, making it hypnotic and psyhcedelic at best. Combining that to some visual elements that would be easy to perform would encourage unique atmosphere for sure. Producing extra audio material with lots of stereo effects to be played in between certain tracks would also be quite fascinating and potential for making the experience more unique, but that shall be left into the future to be thought about. However, mastering our instruments considering the difficulty of some song material is the most vital thing, no matter how boring that sounds.

And which instrument will you choose for the live situation and why?

- I myself would have to choose guitar, because that is the instrument I’d most define as my own. And because Ischanius (Cruciatus’ comrade in Cacodaemon and Death Thrashers Kuopio) says so, ha. He told me that although I might be hard to replace on drums, because of my loose, nearly brainless style, I’d still be so much harder to replace on guitar.

Many of your lyrics deal with death – how the human soul travels to the great unknown, and how in some circumstances, like in a dream, one can almost touch these other realms. Maybe I come too close with my next question, but what kind of supernatural experiences have you lived through and how have they affected on you?

- My near-death experience in 2000 is the best answer I can give to you while talking death here. I have sort of been at death’s gates and returned, be it a dream or not, but it bears a strong influence on how I see life and death nowadays. Of course there are a couple of more essential ones, a few strong ones, and some that I can only call morbid or odd nowadays. But you know, those are experiences not to be chattered about, ha…

And what is Lantern’s – and music’s in general – role in these experiences – is it a tool to deal with them or maybe a tool to strengthen and even create them in a ritualistic way? We all know the power of mantras and shamanistic drumming, which can help people to sink into a trance or to concentrate on their inner self and beyond…

- I’d have to go with the latter option: ritual reconstruction of the aura that created the song, finding new aspects by unearthing the occurred. In that ritual the growling demonic vocals, deeply roaring and reverbated guitars, pulsating bass and animalistic drums join to convey the experience to another level, give it new life.

At this point it would be nice to hear your scariest/gloomiest moments with (metal) music – what songs/albums/artists have given you the chills and why?

- The scariest ones surely are concerning the ones from my own pen: the unreleased Inferno sessions from the Cacodaemon days had a few parts that were very strong and could not be listened to with “lower focus”. The “I played this?” vibes hit me quite furiously. On the other hand, some may know that I’ve worked with some rather regular non-heavy music projects. I’ve written some lyrics by the instinct and later come to understand their rather strange symbolism while undergoing certain phases in my life. I can tell you that is really something able to chill you from head to toes, when symbolism unfolds in a very decipherable form.

- From material by others, the first place is taken by Darkthrone’s Natassja In Eternal Sleep; it’s a pretty standard song and a standard album, but the way the riff goes and vocals growl is something that cannot be replicated. Dark art, simple as that. Barathrum’s Infernal is another one that comes to mind: the atmosphere on that album is very powerful compared to wide array of black metal albums. The whole opus just speaks late summer thunderstorms that devour the light from the skies.

And so we have reached the end and we can turn our interest to something of utmost importance – the listeners! If music gives a lot of, er, everything to its creator, what kind of feelings would you like the listener to experience while listening to Lantern?

- It would be ideal that the listener felt like reading a good leather-cover book (aesthetics do matter!) that could captivate them and lure them back to it to discover new elements. It would be ideal that the listener could for a while feel they are elsewhere, in another time or no time at all. It would be ideal that the listener could just take it as it comes, without reservations or restrictions, the way it is made.

Finally the Spring has reached the shores of Finland and my mind is wandering in the next Summer… Festivals, barbeque, sun, warm nights, trips there and back… Also there will be a few issues of Kaleidoscope out sooner or later, so no totally rest for this wicked one. Again this trio is quite varied but hey, something for everyone! Enjoy!

SOKEA PISTE: Välikäsi (Tuska & Ahdistus / Karkia Mistika / Ektro 2013)

Although punk music doesn’t have any rules at least in theory, many bands and even genres play it safe: d-beat bands sound similar, ´82 HC bands follow same patterns and so on. Therefore it’s refreshing to drown your mind into something totally different and even dangerously sounding. I’m speaking of Välikäsi, a second full-length of this Finnish band called Sokea Piste (Blind Spot), which really goes in places: apocalyptic mournings a’la Amebix, screeching and raging noise rock, rolling dark hardcore and even a few silent moments too. This band takes risks and they manage to make it all well: no messiness but not too logical solutions either. The songs can be heavy or hectic, and the “sweating blood” type playing just adds more adrenaline.

- I understand if some bands want to play music that fits a certain genre. But personally I feel myself very anguished when I see that punk music is following a certain formula. I get a feeling that I have to step away of that, just as a “fuck off” statement if nothing else. Influences are another thing, you can’t deny – or be ashamed and hide – them, says guitarist Juhana.

LANTERN: Below (Dark Descent 2013)

Death metal is extreme music (for extreme people), but when you’re trying to reach extremities you can end up being a clown. Think all these “100% blood, guts and gore” bands that loose all that real brutality and extremity along the way. Well, Lantern isn’t one of those bands. Now we are talking about real dark death metal, which takes its listener with a perfect combination of the most evil influences of old black and death metal and insanely genious technicality (think nightmarish spirals and labyrinths, not instrument wankery). Although Below isn’t a long album (“only” 39 minutes) it has so much to chew and swallow – long songs full of primitive blasting, twisted melodies and ghastly atmosphere. No use for namedropping in this case; Lantern has so many things going on that this Finnish band’s light is totally its own. Add eerie, flowing solos of multi-instrumentalist Cruciatus and one of the most personal and convincing vocal torments by Necrophilos, and you have reached the bottom of Hell. In a positive way.

Also Cruciatus met the pits of hell and torture more than twice during the long process of creating Below. The man himself tells us the most challenging tasks:

- The most challenging part of making Below was perfecting it into the seamless, fluent entity it now is. While it’s not an actual concept album, the songs compliment each other in a way that makes Below sound like a single, close to 40 minutes long anthem. I would consider Rites of Descent – with its complex lyrical structure – the toughest compositional nut I had to crack. Although the song is from the mean and catchy end of the album, it ended up supporting a surprisingly big part of the album’s thematic weight. And I cannot skip From the Ruins, when considering plain physical strain. I can still picture myself nailing the drum parts for that song on the final day in studio; tired, just woken up from the concrete floor, literally beating the skins with the famous “don’t play them – attack them!” attitude.

Revenant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awMk7BZuokM

V8: Luchando por el Metal (Umbras Discos & Cintas 1983 / Beat Generation 2012)

With a help of my friends, I have grown an interest to exotic heavy metal – bands from old Yugoslavia, Hungary, Venezuela, doing their own thing, singing their own language… These bands possess honesty which is rare nowadays. V8 is from Argentina and this debut album was released originally in 1983. Now this rarity is available again, and if you want your heavy metal/rock sweaty, aggressive and clumsily sympathetic, I recommend Luchando por el Metal. The enthusiastic drive of V8 leaves you armless, and also they have simple but catchy riffs here and there. And they aren’t afraid of taking little sidesteps either like a bit progressive (with a hint of Black Sabbath) Si Puedes Vencer al Temor shows. Damn, I think these guys aren’t afraid of anything! At least their singer Alberto Zamarbide sounds like that. Listen to the song below, Brigadas Metálicas, and after you have stopped headbanging, order this vinyl somewhere.

Brigadas Metálicas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENc40SGKJ3E

Kaleidoscope #14. This means 20 A4 pages in a well-known rip-and-paste layout.

As said, this time I don’t take care of distributing, so individuals, distros and demons, feel free to harass these henchmen:

TOUR DE GARDE (that side of Atlantic)

NEW ERA PRODUCTIONS (this side of Atlantic)

Prices and contact:

NEW ERA: Five Euros / a piece including postages in Europe, six Euros / a piece including postages outside of Europe (Paypal: neweraproductions.nl@gmail.com)

TOUR DE GARDE: tdghq@t-d-g.net

Trades are also negotiable.

 And the bands…

ANHEDONIST

Although death metal is getting just darker and more sinister nowadays, only few bands have dared to make the same thing with classic death/doom combo. Well, Anhedonist has enough courage and vision to do this, and they really know how to inject that certain blackness into their slow rumblings. Also their lyrics aren’t just stories about the tears of a melancholic vampire but symbolic and hopeless journeys into the mind of a lost man. Therefore I tried something else with this interview and made every question based on Anhedonist’s lyrics. Check out how it went.

Estrangement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvVFnj2MB3I

BEYOND

Beyond… Aargh! More brutality, but this time it’s in the form of primitive death metal which doesn’t make any compromises. If you own this German band’s demo or 7”, you know what to expect, but if you haven’t ever heard about them, why not check the teaser song from their coming album? Here’s the link, then you can die.

A new album track (rough mix): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss95FdULOeU

CONVENT GUILT

Convent Guilt was a quick replacement for this issue and I’m glad I took this chance. No death metal but rocking and grooving heavy metal with an Australian feeling. Tears, sweat and blood (and beer too!), slow epic moments and totally brilliant guitar solo duels. You know you like it.

http://www.aurora-australis.com.au/releases/AAR_009.htm

SUOMI KUOLEE – THE RISE OF FINNISH DEATH METAL

You must be blind and deaf if you haven’t noticed all these new and not so new Finnish death metal bands around the scene. We Finns aren’t just shy losers in the shadows of our brave and extrovert Swedish cousins anymore, but Finland can throw a legion of good death metal bands into the battle anytime. How the hell has this happened? Well, three bands – Corpsessed, Ghastly and Stench Of Decay – and a Dark Descent main man Matt give some ideas and explanations.

TRIBULATION

And then a real treat. Tribulation’s The Formulas of Death is maybe the best death metal album of 2013 so far, and I must say that this interview is one of the best ones I have made. Enough said.

More about this album: http://kaleidoscopemag.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/the-chosen-three-february-2013/

And then digging a few graves…

This was just an idea I haven’t thought, but now it’s visible and happening. Almost all the old issues of Kaleidoscope will be available again, in print. There are some small changes and refining present but otherwise they look as they were, with flaws and all. However, the size of the zine can be different than before, mostly A4 to A5 to save your money. Only issue #7 was left out of this because of its extraordinary layout.

Again, New Era Productions and Tour De Garde will handle orders and possible wholesales. Do what you have to do.

TOUR DE GARDE: tdghq@t-d-g.net

NEW ERA PRODUCTIONS: all five euros each including postages in Europe, or three issues for 12 euros. Six euros / a piece including postages outside of Europe.
Distros can contact for trades and wholesale prices. (Paypal: new.era.productions.nl@gmail.com)

#1 (2005): AGALLOCH, THE GAULT, PEST, VERGE, CONJURATION, TODESSTOSS, MEPHISTO & NUIT NOIRE – 48 pages

#2 (2006): KILL, NOCTURNAL GRAVES, IC REX, THESYRE, IRELAND UNDERGROUND, BONE AWL, MORBOSIDAD & NECROS CHRISTOS – 44 pages

#3(2006): FORGOTTEN WOODS, TOIL, HATEFUL ABANDON, SLIDHR, PRIMAL DAWN & THRALLDOM – 40 pages

#4 (2007): AMESOEURS/ALCEST, CURRENT 93, BLASPHEMOPHAGER, HYPOTHERMIA, ARKHA SVA, GRIPPIUD, RIDE FOR REVENGE, SECRETS OF THE MOON & PRIMORDIAL – 40 pages

#5 (2008): TRELLDOM, DROWNED, INCANTATION, ASH POOL, SOL, RAMESSES, COFFINS, DENOUNCEMENT PYRE, ARVET, PROFETUS, IGNIVOMOUS & EXORCISM – 64 pages

#6 (2008): FOSSBRENNA PRODUCTIONS, THE RUINS OF BEVERAST, EMPIRE OF THARAPHITA, CELESTIAL BLOODSHED, DROWNING THE LIGHT, SATURNIAN MIST, VASSAFOR, DEFUNTOS, LÖNNDOM & MANES – 56 pages

#8 (2010): ALTAR OF PLAGUES, AUSTERE, COLDWORLD, CROOKED NECKS, CRYSTAL DARKNESS, FLEURETY, BLACK MAJESTY, TRIPTYKON, SAROS, ALCEST, IN THE WOODS… & HATEFUL ABANDON – 48 pages

#9 (2010): ARCKANUM, SATANIC WARMASTER, WEAPON, CRIPTA OCULTA, VETALA, AKITSA, TERVAHÄÄT, LANTERN, ANU, DøDSENGEL & BLOOD REVOLT – 60 pages

So it’s easy to pick interviews from this issue for this blog, and the first one is Weapon. Vetis Monarch has showed that his writing pen hasn’t gone dry after From the Devil’s Tomb –Emblems and Revelations (2012) was as challenging and fierce as its predecessor. Somehow I still like more of this more obscure and “vague” atmosphere on From the Devil’s Tomb but still, the fire is burning as high as always. Are you ready for some lefthandpathyoga?

(originally published in Kaleidoscope #9 2010)

From the welfare funland of Canada to the deprived streets of Bangladesh and back, the main man of Weapon, Vetis Monarch, has faced the both sides of this twisted world. Same time he has built his own belief system, where Kali and Lucifer walk side by side to the dark enlightenment. From the Devil’s Tomb, Weapon’s new full-length, is another step on this road, and it can be seen a great example of a symbiosis of tradition and new wisdom –musicwise, lyrically and ideologically. Like these journeys through the barren wastelands and faceless utopias would have swept away the shackles and the door to the inner sanctum of self-expression has been found.

 So last year we were blessed with Weapon’s debut Drakonian Paradigm, which was a result of a long incubation… Maybe a good start is to give Vetis Monarch an opportunity to compare Drakonian Paradigm and From the Devil’s Tomb: how does this new album differ from your debut in your own words?

- Perhaps the biggest difference is that we are more focused as a band; that comes from having a lineup that is on the same page both spiritually and musically. Releases prior to Drakonian Paradigm had a little bit of everything, but Drakonian Paradigm itself was primarily focused on atmosphere above all else. On From the Devil’s Tomb we have shifted our attention towards pummeling brutality more than ever before.

Maybe this is the reason that From the Devil’s Tomb sounds more dynamic – I don’t mean that it is more straightforward or simpler, but somehow the whole musical flow is stronger and more natural, like the last obstacles have been removed from the way of the fiery stream… Comments?

- I would say it IS more straightforward; the album flows really well and it is seamless in its development. We are all getting better as songwriters and starting to understand our ‘own sound’, so the cohesiveness of the band’s chemistry is coming through tenfold.

I guess that one reason for this is the progress as a band which has four different individuals who know each other better now – especially your guitar work and The Disciple’s drumming flow together seamlessly and fluently. How would you describe Weapon’s growth as a band?

- The current incarnation of Weapon – Vetis Monarch, Apostle VIII, Kha Tumos and The Disciple – is the one that has lasted the longest. And that’s saying something, considering that both A.VIII. and K.T. have only played on one album, T.D. has played on two, and the band has been around for almost eight years!

- Since T.D. and I enlisted Apostle VIII and Kha Tumos the band has truly come together. I think we have grown more in the last one and half years alone than the last six years. As I explained in the first question, it really is a matter of everyone being on the same page and sharing the same vision.

And when we talk about From the Devil’s Tomb as an album, what kind of a whole are we dealing with? At least LEFTHANDPATHYOGA is a definite interlude and a calm moment between the storms, but how would you portray the first and last half of this album, for example the role of quite epic finale, Towards the Uncreated?

- This album presents a fine balance of very fast, blast-beat oriented, riff based attacks, and mid-paced, wrist cutting numbers. The Weapon sense of catchiness and melody is ever-present. LEFTHANDPATHYOGA, in my opinion, is what brings the whole thing together – as you said, a calm between the storms. Towards The Uncreated is the obvious closer – not for the lyrics alone, but for its climactic ending from a purely musical standpoint.

The usual comment is that the debut is always the best one: the band is usually full of energy and ideas, and when this all is bursting out, the result is something unique. However, the second album is described as a hard one, but sometimes the band’s vision is sharper on the second album. Well, in one interview you mentioned that Drakonian Paradigm “describes the beginning and the end of Weapon”, but what does From the Devil’s Tomb describe?

- From The Devil’s Tomb should be absorbed as the logical continuation of Drakonian Paradigm. We are further exploring the Satanic paradigm, the world of mystery and adversity, of strife and reward – as above, so below. This is just the next logical phase of our paradigm.

- But I don’t subscribe to the ‘first release is the best’ school of thought; Reign in Blood, Under The Sign…, Persecution Mania and Master of Puppets are some obvious examples bands releasing some of their strongest work after the debut.

I would see the trail of releases as a trail of progression for a band and individuals – every album is a step towards enlightenment and self-examination, be it something new and different musically every time or just same as other releases… How do you see the role and importance of Weapon releases for you as a musician, a magician and an individual? 

- My persona can be divided into two parts – Satanist and musician. With every Weapon release I am developing my SELF. The two are so intertwined at this point that it’s only a matter of time that my SELF is the culmination of these two elements. This is not a weekend / hobby band and neither am I a weekend Satanist. Everything in my life – from short-term goals to long-term plans – is dependent on the functionality of Weapon. The deeper I delve into this, the more I have to improve myself as a Satanist and a musician. Stagnation and regression are not part of the Left Hand Path.

But it’s true that this journey never ends – we are never complete and we are always collecting pieces and finding new territories from the worlds and from ourselves. And this journey is made in many different levels. One of these levels for you seems to be this mystic lefthandpathyoga… Could you open this term a bit for us – does it include both spiritual and physical sides like ordinary yoga? “Your body is your temple” kinda way?

- LEFTHANDPATHYOGA is my work on Satanism from a global standpoint, if you will. My one true god has been around since the beginning of it all, and His stamp – sometimes profound, often subtle – can be found in every corner of the globe. LHPY is a doctrine where I analyze different satanic traditions, and apply them to the development of my mind and body. The application is done in the way that yoga works – in the form of bhakti. That is as clear as I can be regarding something that is quite personal.

Your new album is entitled From the Devil’s Tomb. This interesting name plays games with death and reincarnation in my mind, but what kind of meanings does it have for you? What is coming from the devil’s tomb?

- We are! The mongrels, criminals, degenerates, outlaws, outcasts, sociopaths perverts, terrorists, radicals and fanatics – all of us who embrace the predatory instinct. All who take their murder weapon from the Devil.

The devil is usually understood as an embodiment of all evil in Christian world, but same time it is only one form and name for the entity which is present in many religions and belief systems. And we can’t forget a viewpoint where the devil is a dark side of a man – a side which is usually denied but is still very important to achieve the total harmony inside of us. But of course what does interest us most is your view – what does the devil mean to you?

- A combination of enlightenment and adversity; Satan is Lucifer is the Devil. Many other names can be anointed to Lord of Evil. Point being, ‘it’ is a force and ‘it’ is physical reality – the embodiment of power, knowledge, chaos and revolution, not limited by the duality of Western thought; shapeless yet concrete, mystical but manifest.

The devil is a personification, like angels or demons in general. But do you take them as more realistic characters, not just symbols of evil, good etc.? And how about music, can it be a ritualistic tool or door to get contact with these spirits?

- Absolutely it goes much further than mere symbolism. I believe in the existence of actual daemons – the Qliphoth – and the seals and sigils associated with them are of great benefit in the pursuit of gnosis. Music can be the ultimate ritualistic gateway; music has the power to take you to that grotesque, carven portal that leads to the world beyond.  Music as bhakti can do that!

One important theme for this issue of Kaleidoscope is cultural awareness; the question about the importance to understand your own cultural roots and their role in your life. I think that with your life story you could be a right person to say a word or two about this topic. But first could you tell something about your life between Canada and Bangladesh and how have these two cultures affected to you?

- These are two very different places we are talking about here. Canada: developed, vast, wealthy, cold and ‘tolerant’, Bangladesh: poor, small, densely populated, hot and ‘conservative’.

- I do believe that Bangladesh still has some it’s own culture left – I won’t go into detail as to what those cultural traits are (you can Google that), but for one of the most populated regions on this shithole of a planet, there is still something of a ‘Bengali culture’. Does Canada even have its own culture? I don’t see how it could, since the foundation of this whole continent are immigrants from every corner of the world who are more interested in bringing their own customs across the border than to adapting to whatever has already been established.

- It is important to know where one comes from, and to have an awareness of the country one resides in. Aside from that, my interest in borders and heritage is quite non-existent.

So can you say that you even have your own culture, or does this become unimportant – maybe spiritual and Satanic belief and rituals have replaced it?

- At this point in my life things like culture and background are very uninteresting to me, except from a musical and religious standpoint. I am not some humanitarian, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that there are people of high intelligence and intellect from all ethnic backgrounds, just as there are morons and idiots from all places. When it comes to social interactions of any sort I’m interested in the merit of the individual, not his/her people.

As you already hinted, you have seen places and people who live under the laws of very strict belief systems and religions. But can we say that this kind of a pressure can also create the strongest opposition? For example a black metal band in Iraq must be very strong in their belief while it’s easy to play black metal and shout – usually hollow – Satanic statements here in Finland…

- I don’t think it’s fair to generalize that just because a band is from Iraq or Bahrain or whatever, they must be 100% genuine in their conviction. Yes, logic does suggest that individuals who grow up around immense hostility and conflict will walk the talk, but this is a musical subculture we are talking about… a very watered down, mutilated and trendy musical sub-culture. Finnish or Iraqi, British or Chilean, Canadian or Bengali – my blade will be merciless and vehement upon ALL.

For me Weapon mixes different cultures and ways of evil together – like this Kali / Jesus duo on the cover of From the Devil’s Tomb – so it makes me think that maybe nationalities aren’t the most important element after all; maybe we can find the common ground from our spiritual point of view – for example Satanism as a new connecting factor?

- That’s the principle tenet of LHPY – Satanism as the ultimate connecting factor, connecting the dots and reaping the rewards.

- Weapon isn’t here as some wake-up call to some “patch-vested, bullet-belted infernal, satanic horde” or other such nonsense. We find that sort of mentality plebian at worst and juvenile at best. Crowley’s words are very applicable here – DO WHAT THOU WILT. Satan’s fire, nation, empire – is something that has to dwell inside of you, the SELF. All else is irrelevant. Jai Bhairava!

The grip of winter has started finally to fade away, and although as a true servant of black and death and doom I should curse all this light and warmness, I can’t do anything else than just caress this coming spring. Great things are happening in a Kaleidoscope camp, and the posts in this blog will have a totally new meaning soon. You will see.

This month’s cocktail is quite interesting: it’s balancing on the edge of cold and warm, Nordic and exotic, so be open-minded.

CULTES DES GHOULES: Henbane (Under the Sign of Garazel 2013)

Somehow I hadn’t paid attention to Cultes Des Ghoules before this – this is just one of those situations that you know the band but don’t bother to check them out. Luckily I changed my mind, because this Polish act proves to be a unique band – and their latest album Henbane is one of the highlights of the early 2013.

But where does lie the charm of Henbane? I guess the trick is the way how Cultes Des Ghoules combines old and new. As one of the song titles say, this is ‘Vintage Black Magic’ so you get lots of Celtic Frost, Tormentor and Mayhem but same time you get long songs with different shifts and changes. Simple caveman riffs are interrupted by twisted guitar attacks, and the vocals – one of the strongest elements on this album – differ from chanting mumbles to screams from a grave. There is something similar with Negative Plane, and surprise surprise – Nameless Void, a guitarist/vocalist of this US occult metal group, is lending his talent on Henbane. By these powers, Cultes Des Ghoules creates five stunning songs. My personal favourite is maybe Festival of Devotion, which is one of the best metal songs I have heard for a long time – from thrashing Mayhem tributes to blast frenzies and limping grooves, everything works… and the song is almost nine minutes long!

Another element which is very powerful in Henbane is horror – be it horror stories, horror movies, pure occult mysteries or tales of myths, this album dives deep into the darkness and weaves a web of fear. And what is the best part, this element isn’t just a random frosting but can be heard in music too. Check the tormenting downbeat/guitar wailing end of The Passion of a Sorceress or the lurking atmosphere of Vintage Black Magic for example – if that’s not horror, I don’t know what horror is.

A heavy black horror metal album. Sounds an extravagant description, but that’s how it goes. Okay, a bit dull and tiring sometimes, but as I said, still one of the surprises and dark highlights of 2013.

Festival of Devotion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lM7_y9QHuQ

SACRAMENTUM: Far Away from the Sun (Adipocere 1996 / Century Media 2013) 

Ah, the memories of the mid nineties… Nuclear Blast catalogs and feverish searching for every band which had Dissection, In Flames or Dark Tranquillity references. Well, during those times I introduced myself to many good bands like Dawn but also stuck my hand in shit (anybody remember a band called Embracing for example?). I guess Sacramentum was too aggressive and ‘evil’ to me back then but now I have a second chance with this Swedish (of course they’re Swedish!) band, when Century Media re-releases their debut album (remastered by Dan Swanö, who else?) with nice liner notes by the band.

What you get is genially fast and dynamic melodic black/death metal which is so full of melodies that you almost taste sugar in your mouth. Luckily Far Away from the Sun isn’t a light album – the raspy vocals of Nisse Karlén, blasting drums of Nicklas Rudolfsson and a general dark aura take care of it. If you think of the structure of this album and also the songs themselves, Sacramentum plays a bit safe – the songs are quite similar compared to each other, and you get those trademark elements like a monumental epic (Beyond All Horizons, a simply brilliant song!). But same time this trio brings everything on the edge, pushing every note and every pace to the max, so it’s impossible to resist the charm of Far Away from the Sun.

Buy this, even the price (12 euros) isn’t an excuse in this case.

And if you’re still unsure, I’ll give the stage to my colleague in Serpentscope, Antti Korpinen of The Serpent Bearer magazine. As an expert of the music like Sacramentum, he’s ready to explain what makes Sacramentum a noteworthy melodic black/death metal band. And if the stars had been in a right position, would Sacramentum have been the next Dissection?

- I probably don’t have a softer spot than the one I have for mid-90s Swedish melodic black metal. Of course I mean bands like Vinterland, Swordmaster, Mörk Gryning, Setherial, Dawn, Vergelmer, Midvinter, Ancient Wisdom and – yes! – Sacramentum. At their best, these bands are just the pure amalgamation of fire and ice – intense and cold, freezing and aflame. And there are other bands, although many of them are the ones you use once and then destroy. Even when you look at the names I mentioned, without doubt their candles burnt bright but not very long. Alas, that’s what happened to Sacramentum as well. While Far Away from the Sun could be considered exceptional – if not original or unique, per se – their second and third albums were real letdowns.

- So I think that answers the second part of your question. The band had the financial backing of Century Media, so I think the stars actually were aligned for Sacramentum, and the only thing missing was a really good second and/or third album. Then again, we’re yet to see a band that fills Dissection’s boots. As far as I’m concerned, Dissection died with their fuckin’ boots on (Reinkaos reigns!) anyway. At any rate, for me, Far Away from the Sun is among the top three releases in that school (not counting Dissection albums) with Vinterland’s sole full-length and Mörk Gryning’s Tusen År Har Gått. So if you’re not Dan Swanö who still laments that Edge of Sanity didn’t make it as big as In Flames, you won’t care about Sacramentum never making it to the big league. Whatever unmet commercial potential Sacramentum might’ve had 17 years ago is meaningless, whereas the artistic accomplishment that is Far Away from the Sun still stands tall.

Sacramentum in Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sacramentum.death.metal

Beyond All Horizons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjSKWrq2hGc

GOAT: World Music (Rocket 2012)

A band called Goat. A song called Goatlord. What is happening here? Well, very strange things I must say. Take a bunch of musical outcasts from Korpilombolo (Northern Sweden), give them strings, percussions, maracas, shamanistic outfits and a record deal, and you get World Music. This nicely packed album represents its name very well – spices from African, Indian and Scandinavian world music are mixed in a big bowl with the seventies’ psych rock, and the result is interesting. Songs are like improvised pieces of musical rituals, full of hysteric female chanting, screeching guitars, repetitive rhythms, ethnic tempos and those maracas. Also the lo-fi soundscape takes your thoughts to some cheap African music compilations – but this time music is actually good. It’s hard to describe Goat completely, check yourselves and see what happens.

http://goatsweden.blogspot.fi/

(originally published in Serpentscope #1 2009)

Eventhe twisted have their own twisted ones. Now that Deströyer 666 is – well-earnedly – on the lips of every true metal fan, Australia still possesses some hidden jewels that expand the identifiable Aussie black/thrash/metal sound even further. As you can guess, Cauldron Black Ram is one of those gems with their brutal yet somewhat atmospheric death metal. However, these goat worshippers have gained their status by one steady album, Skulduggery, which came out in 2004. After that there’s only been one thing – silence. And before that – more silence, because this band has its roots deep in the soil of the year 1996. Let’s give guitar strangler and vocal assaulter Alim a chance to tell us more about the origins of Cauldron Black Ram:

- I formed Cauldron Black Ram with Arathorn of (the Australian) Nocturnal in 1996. Raw, ancient, heavy, ugly… Enough talk about your girlfriend anyway. When Cauldron Black Ram was begun, the guitar was tuned higher, but then later it was muddied with other members’ filthy footprints. Nothing has been compromised in what we have molded so far. What do you think?

Well, the uncompromised attitude is maybe one of the key elements for this deadly trio. The main elements in their music are plain and traditional but still this hellish noise has a rather unique character. You almost get the feeling that these guys must be either geniuses or just brutally simple to get this to work. So, despite your attitude, what is your secret?

- We love so much metal music, those influences fight like demons in order to be heard in our song, it comes out distorted and twisted. There’s also a conscious attempt to forge on, not just reiterate that which has been done – usually better – in the past.

While you listen to Skulduggery, you are dragged to very dark places, like to a stone age of metal music, where playing is harsh and simple but still it crushes your ears and brains. But being brutal doesn’t always mean that your music skills are low, and so in Cauldron Black Ram’s case you can hear that the recording studio was filled with skilled musicians when this album was burned to a tape. However, Alim doesn’t see that being a good or a bad musician is a straight way to a success/failure:

- It’s all about feel; the soul that artists imbue their work. Virtuoso musicians write great music, so do those relatively shit musicians. I’m sure we’ve all heard bad musicians write poor, soulless crap, and highly trained musicians write an aural fag parade. Many ‘educated’ musicians spend so much time becoming ‘educated’, they never learn how to write songs. Many ‘shit’ musicians don’t have the skill to play what they hear in their heads.

- And for us? Well, maybe we aim to balance both, heh.

Like many Australian metal musicians, the members of Cauldron Black Ram also have some connections to other – quite different – bands like Portal and Mournful Congregation. How do you find the balance between these other bands and genres on artistic and practical levels?

- Careful time management is the key. The music differs vastly on most counts so there is little bleed between them. None of us are in Portal though. In fact no-one is in Portal.

HIT-MEN OF DEATH

If I already drew a historical comparison to cavemen, Cauldron Black Ram also has another historical connection, namely that with pirates. Yeah. Pirates. Take a look at the cover art of Skulduggery, read some of their lyrics or listen to the hazy, rum-filled tones of their music, there is more than one parrot buried in the band’s themes. However Alim doesn’t fully understand these alignments and tells that the lyrical world of Cauldron Black Ram is much wider.

- It was strange we were dubbed pirate metal, when the only song that could be ascribed that title is the drum/vocal solo Black Douglass. There’s no pride in it. We’re already moving into different territory. The third album is the second part of the concept album, and it goes underground.

- The depravity and barbarism of older times are a focus of our lyrical efforts, and it is inherent in the music too. It was a natural course to steer into the concepts of Freemasonry, Piracy, Zealotry and Black Magic. The debut Skulduggery, well, the art is the art. The word ‘skulduggery’ encapsulated the feel of the album, and the art suited the title.

As you can imagine, there will be no fiddly-diddly pirate drinking song melodies lurking in the new songs. Rather, it’s going to be more focused and darker themes, like Alim himself puts it when talking about the band’s coming material.

- The darkness of those pirate days will be made clearer on our next album. Hollywood has tarnished the legends of piracy. Many pirates were hit-men. Paid to wipe out and rob ancient civilizations of wealth and wisdom that would threaten the burgeoning church-states. Do you see modern day pirates singing, swashbuckling, drinking rum & ale until they vomit down their own pants? No, they are callous survivors.

- On the next album we have used a group of pirates to pivot a story that begins with slaughter and ends in demoncy.

The pirate theme and also some of your lyrics have many historical shades, so are you interested in real happenings and characters or is this more just a fictional work of art?

- The violence and bigotry of yesteryear are always fascinating. But best leave that to the masters… Arghoslent! For research and inspiration this history becomes valuable, but then I don’t hold the truth of recorded history in high regard.

Besides some history-oriented dark legends, the lyrics take also a more mystical approach: sometimes they are full-figured visions of death, where all senses are at work in songs like Corpsebreath with lines like “The well gone corpse disguises as man enriched / Wearing trinkets of garlic / Bearing rose petals underskin”. Alim says that he digs up these tales about “human-demons, vampires or those who would drain your will” from the borders of reality:

- The stories often consume conscious thought in a tirade of unspent fantasy, or lurk on the periphery of sleep. You know those small moments spent between the deep of slumber and awakening?

If we blur things a bit more, even the border between life and death isn’t as clear as we tend to think: someone could say that death metal bands are the living ones singing about the dead ones, but is there a connection between the realms of life and death in Cauldron Black Ram’s opinion? And are the living ones and the dead ones so different after all?

- I don’t know. When I pass on, perform a séance. Consecrate a basalt altar with the organs of a hot bitch in heat (preferably human). My wraith-hand will spell the secret of life and death in the cloying blood for you, the bassist envisions somewhat humorously but then gets more serious: – Maybe there is no real difference, the only definition is in the way we die and the way we live.

So is death more a physical or spiritual event to you? Our bodies stop breathing and start to rot, but does the bigger change maybe happen in our minds…?

- I don’t understand why it must be a choice of one or the other. Sure our corpses feed the earth like every other animal, but there’s always an element of being that we don’t have all the answers for yet. There is obviously a process that occurs when our hearts are caught in the ice-cold claw and the splendour of life drifts to an enveloping dark. Maybe we can never know? If we did know the truth of that passing, then maybe we would crave it. Death, bereft of fear, is probably bliss.

The second short issue, black metal and more.

ASYMMETRY (the first and the last interview)

SLÆGT

TOLLUND MEN

VENEROR

WITHER

20 pages, A4, small font, black and white, rip-and-paste layout.

Price 3,5 euros / a piece + postages. Labels can ask for wholesale prices and possible trades. Tour De Garde will handle the printing and distribution for North America so please contact them in this case.

ALSO THESE ZINES ARE AVAILABLE:

SERPENTSCOPE #2 (Death Strike, Abhorrence, Degial, Pustulation, Razor of Occam…) 3 euros

KALEIDOSCOPE #11 part Jupiter (Choir of Young Believers, Hexvessel, Joose Keskitalo, Pyhä Kuolema, Tenhi) 3 euros

KALEIDOSCOPE #11 part Mars (Agatus, Barbarian, Innsmouth, Vordr, Wulkana) 3 euros

KALEIDOSCOPE #12 (Dolentia, Reveal, Malefices, Uncreationist, Year Of The Goat) 3 euros

kaleidoscopezine(a)luukku.com

ASYMMETRY

What do you get when you put one old American black metal artist and one young Finnish black metal artist, both deep into occult mysteries and melancholy, to the same rehearsal room? Well, it’s Asymmetry, a perfect combination of harshness and sadness. Asymmetry’s second demo Ashes to Wood was one of the strongest demo tapes last year, and I had a great honour to make this first and the last interview with the band.

My review of Ashes to Wood: http://kaleidoscopemag.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/the-chosen-three-february-2012/

SLÆGT

This Danish one man band is one of those bands which I hope getting better and better in the future. Slægt has released only one demo tape and a split with White Medal so far, but these releases have already proved that this band knows how to make primitive old school blackness with great hooks. Be forewarned.

My review of the 7″ with White Medal: http://kaleidoscopemag.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/the-chosen-three-january-2013/

TOLLUND MEN

Romantic out-sider dirge pop? Or just bleak synthwave? Well, be the description this or that, Tollund Men is miles away from Hurts. Or even Depeche Mode. This band is so lo-fi and so depressed that listening to their music is a painful task as itself – in a positive way. And if you get pimples from non-metal stuff, remember that Tollund Men made their own version of LIK’s superb Hate to Be Human on their cover album.

My review of The Door 7″: http://kaleidoscopemag.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/the-chosen-three-september-2012/

VENEROR

Veneror took me by surprise. I didn’t have any foreknowledge about this Italian trio but when I put their debut album Percussimus Foedus cum Morte to my player, I instantly knew that I have a gem in my hands. The band is pure nostalgia: taking their influences from Vinterland, Sacramentum and other mid-nineties’ melodic black metal bands, Veneror manages to make dramatic, intense and catchy music. And that’s not all – this interview shows that the main man Lashtal doesn’t just play tricks with Latin phrases and occult references.

WITHER

I really looked forward Wither’s debut album Necropolis, and this album has proved to be a real grower. Full of black metal, doom metal, melancholy, lightness, disturbing oppression and wailing melodies, Necropolis is an album which needs time to reveal its deepest secrets.

My review of Necropolis: http://kaleidoscopemag.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/the-chosen-three-december-2012/

Another slow month in the blog kingdom… Well, that just means that the realm of printed ones has been in action, and therefore the next issue of Kaleidoscope – ominous number thirteen – will be out for grabs soon… Before you get manna for your eyes, spoil your ears with these three releases. Black, death and beyond!

CAVERNE: Des Tréfonds du Haut Bois (Résilience 2012)

National Socialism has been a very visible theme in black metal for a long time but then we have bands who praise their own culture and heritage through more subtle and more poetic ways. It’s hard to describe the line between these two, but I think it’s more about the feeling and the description. Anyhow, Caverne is more national romantic than national socialistic, and you hear it from these wailing riffs and acoustic interludes – no hate but more distant gazes over a fatherland. This French band reminds me of another French gem, Sombre Chemin, although Caverne is a bit more dynamic. The songs tend to be long but the riffs keep their intensity through simplicity – there is a good doze of Absurd and Burzum in the cauldron I think. This demo tape doesn’t battle with originality; it takes its enemies down with intense atmosphere and good songs which make Des Tréfonds… a good, solid release.

TRIBULATION: The Formulas of Death (Invictus 2013)

Holy death! I knew that Tribulation’s debut The Horror was a good death/thrash album in a Swedish way but this second full-length (and now we really can talk about a full-length – this is over an hour of music!) kicks everything to the next level. Yes, there are shades of Swedish death metal traditions lying somewhere but otherwise The Formulas of Death is the master of its own. Heavy metal riffs, rocking solos, ghastly atmosphere and a few black metal moments go hand in hand through the gate of horror, and although the songs are long and full of details, somehow Tribulation keeps everything in order and going. Now when I think of it, this is purely Swedish – the talent, the sounds and the attitude – but no copycats, no way. I’m ready to lift Tribulation to the same group with Enforcer, Repugnant and Portrait, so goddamn catchy and simply brilliant this album is. I could go every song in detail, but it would take too much time. Just believe me, this is an album you want to hear. Miracles must happen if The Formulas of Death isn’t one of those albums in my “top five of 2013” list.

http://www.tribulation.se/

SINK: The Holy Testament 2 (Svart 2013)

Sink ripped big holes to my safety net with the first part of The Holy Testament in 2011: this beast of black metal, drone, doom, ambient and what-else was preaching with such an intensity and a wall of sound, that I had to abandon old gods and take Sink into my heart. And with this second part, it seems that my faith is just getting stronger.

The Holy Testament 2 is partly clearer and partly more obscure than its predecessor: Joy of Life is an ultimate hit song for nihilistic parties with its Swans-like stomp and repetitive vocal lines, but when you flip the vinyl over, you find dark drone tunnels (a lengthy song called Dominion mainly) that crush your skull with their oppressive feeling. Songs are flowing from one to another and the whole album becomes a great tower of hypnotic pulses and otherworldly/unearthly sounds. Sink purifies through filth and drags you down to reach the heavens, and as I mentioned in my review of The Holy Testament 1, it’s very hard to describe all this process.

The Holy Testament 2 isn’t for everyone, but who get this, will become true believers.

Joy of Life video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX9vAOp0Kw0

The next issues of Kaleidoscope will be short ones: five bands and five interviews, made in a well-known Kaleidoscope style. This issue – #12 – will be the first one, and others will follow, sooner or later.

Bands:

DOLENTIA

MALEFICES

REVEAL

UNCREATIONIST

YEAR OF THE GOAT

24 pages, size A4, black and white, rip-and-paste layout.

Price three euros / a piece + postages. Labels can ask for wholesale prices and possible trades.

kaleidoscopezine@luukku.com

DOLENTIA

The first thing that shake my world in Dolentia’s Sob a Égide das Sombras album was the first track, instrumental called Chamamento: “What? Did I put an Urfaust record to my player?” This opener has that same ritualistic stomp what these demonic Dutchmen use, but this album is about many other things, and more. Raw and ghoulish black metal gets tangled with almost post-rock-influenced guitar wailings, and the whole album reeks of old corpses, old ruins and old memories. “Under the aegis of shadows”, says Google Translator when I type the album name to it. Sob a Égide das Sombras is a ghastly album, but through this interview I understood that it’s not just about ancient ghost stories but more concrete things in Portuguese culture and history.

Epic instrumentality from Sob…: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTSvOGhnQt8

MALÉFICES

Québecois black metal isn’t a so rare and unexpected term what you could imagine anymore. Bands like Akitsa and the label Les Productions Hérétiques have made their own share that this province in Canada and black metal go well together – and why not, they both are dealing with being an outcast, as Serpenoire of Maléfices says in this interview. Musically Maléfices is combining his Canadian roots to Scandinavian and French legacy of black metal and including lots of atmosphere in the mix. Two demos out, Maléfices has proved that it’s the band you should keep your eye on. Read the first words of these cruel rites from this very fist interview.

A track from Rites Crvels demo: http://versetsnoirs.com/samples/MALEFICES_-_Rites_Crvels_-_Sample_1.mp3

REVEAL

Is it possible to praise Reveal even more? One of the best “original traditional” death metal bands, Reveal made its way to my personal top five of 2012. Well, the band itself says that Nocturne of Eyes and Teeth is a black metal and hard rock album, so I just advice to buy this album, be it death metal, black metal or something else. This interview was published in Terrorizer originally (not by me) but I decided to give it a new life in Kaleidoscope. Reveal deserves it.

The heart-chilling closener of Nocturne of Eyes and Teeth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi89QrPugp0

UNCREATIONIST

“We have very versatile musical backgrounds, but one common denominator is the love for music that is either filthy or obscure (or both!), be it Beherit, Unholy, Autopsy, Winter or something not at all in the metal field such as German Oak, Present or Heldon”, says VV in the interview made for Metal Ireland (http://www.metalireland.com/2012/12/12/uncreationist-interview/ ). So like Reveal, also Uncreationist is hard to categorize – “blackened doom death”, they call their creations. This Finnish trio has only one demo out but there was so much to swallow – music, lyrics about ouroboroses and the end of the world, the general bleak-as-hell atmosphere – so there weren’t any difficulties to make a lengthy interview with the band.

Need a demo? -> uncreationist.true@gmail.com

YEAR OF THE GOAT

I guess this interview has become more current now when the news about The Devil’s Blood’s retirement has reached everyone. The seriousness and honesty of this ‘retro occult rock’ wave have always been unstable in the eyes of critics but in my opinion it’s just a genre among other genres – some bands rule, some bands don’t. Year Of The Goat rules, and although their debut album Angels’ Necropolis didn’t fulfill all my expectations, it is still a solid rock album, with occult or without it. I had a nice chat with the guitarist Per Brodesson.

Spirits of Fire music video: http://youtu.be/uXc34X68scM

So, a new year and old tricks (but a new angle to our backyard!). Again, there will be these “The Chosen Three” lists once in a month, and this year’s opener is concentrating on Scandinavian black metal. And why not, winter is holding its grip tightly here in Finland and these three releases have backed my mood perfectly. I hope they do the same to you.

VEMOD: Venter på Stormene (Terratur 2012)

Here’s the album I have waited for a long time. Vemod’s part in Vemod/Klage 7” (2011) was a nice taster, as was Vinterilden demo from the same year. But the real waiting started when the band published the title track of this album some months ago: a meandering journey of hypnotic and freezing black metal and ethereal ambient, which kept its atmosphere and power through 13 minutes. This track is still maybe the best work from this Norwegian duo.

But this doesn’t mean that three other tracks of Venter på Stormene would be weak. In general I have to say that this album is same time very natural and very ambitious. The perfect dialogue between cold and stabbing metal mantras and dreamy synth parts is one thing, but Vemod also shows that it can nail an interesting ambient song (Altets Song) without any lack of passion. Also the closure, Å Stige Blant Stejerner, doesn’t play safe its fuzzy sound and repetitive nature – ambient turns to metal, metal turns to ambient, until there aren’t any real borders, just a general feeling of this impassioned music.

All this will be transformed to a live experience, when Vemod will seize the stage at Nidrosian Black Mass IV festival in February. J.E. Åsli, who is in charge of string instruments, explains how this transformation will happen.

- To enter this new dimension as a band and a musical entity demands a new focus and a new way of thinking and planning. We are leaving the “safety” of the recording room and the known framework of the release, which has been our only way of communicating until now. We do, of course, have to adapt and appropriate our material into the live setting. Slight rearrangements will occur. We are doing our very best to carry the atmospheric elements with us in the transition. There is also a lot of ideas concerning the visual appearance, although we will keep it quite basic at first, and then perhaps expand and integrate more of these ideas at a later point, as experience is gained and we have a more concrete feel about the whole thing.

- Furthermore, we are of course rehearsing with a full band, something we haven’t really done before. However, our live band is composed by four solid individuals with a considerable live experience to their own. Through our union something new and very interesting is born, in the context of Vemod. I have a great feeling. We are working on a few more dates for 2013, Prague Death Mass and Beyond The Gates being already confirmed.

- Most important of all is the mental preparation. It is a matter of focusing all our energy towards a common goal. In this sense, the process can be compared to the creation and recording of an album after all. In the end, what matters the most is the amount of passion and constructive power we feed into the thing. In that regard, I have the utmost faith. Let it unfold.

http://vemod.bandcamp.com/

GRIFTESKYMFNING: Likpsalm (Ancient Records / Mordgrimm Records 2012)

It’s hard to take this as a demo. The length is one thing – 11 songs and 58 minutes – and now, when this has been released again in a nice double vinyl format, it feels even more a professional album. But the biggest and most important thing is the music. Grifteskymfning (don’t make me type this under the influence) has released an actual album in 2009 (Djävulens boning), but this “demo” wipes it away. Sir N., also known from brilliant Dödfödd, has a magic touch.

You could label Likpsalm as  just ‘Scandinavian black metal’, but the biggest comparison for me is old Emperor and its dreamlike darkness and bursting atmosphere. Songs have their own tricks and turns, but also lots of repetitive melodies which create images of a wide night sky. Also the quiet moments hit hard like in Djävulsandar och Helvetesgastar, but mostly Likpsalm is humming through billowy and comprehensive soundscape. There aren’t no synths in Likpsalm (albeit the intro), only layers of screeching and humming guitars, weaving its icebound webs on the rumbling drum patterns. Only clear flaws are the vocals which drown too much into the background, and the fact that Grifteskymfning could have used more those mellow backwaters in their songs. But if you’re after something genius, atmospheric, dark and still dynamic, here’s an album for you.

http://ancientrecords.se/-/grifteskymfning/

SLÆGT / WHITE MEDAL: Split 7” (Legion Blotan Records 2012)

Sorry White Medal, I like you too, but Slægt steals the show here. After strikingly raw demo this Danish one man act creates Lysets Død, an epic 7-minute song, which starts like an aggressive old school piece of black metal but then settles down to crawling, almost sad funeral march. Both parts are in a fine balance, and the emotional charge is so strong in Slægt’s music that it freezes your soul. Although Scandinavian black metal has its own legendary albums and songs, Lysets Død proves that this flame is still rising high. I hope great things from Slægt in the future.

And good news to us all who weren’t fast enough with Slægt’s aggressive and effective four song debut demo: always honest and always quality label from Canada, Tour De Garde, is going to re-release this burst of pure cold energy in a 7″ format soon! This is how O.T. of Tour De Garde describes his love affair with Slægt:

- I discovered Slægt after buying their demo cassette from an underground distribution a few months ago. As soon as I pressed play on my cassette deck, I understood that this wasn’t just another demo. This one was going to be a highlight. I played that cassette over and over and wasn’t able to stop because the songs were mesmerizing. Needless to say, once I discovered that Slægt had new material out, I did what had to be done. I managed to get it in my hands as soon as possible. Again, Slægt managed to pull it off and composed an incredible song of black netal magic, achieving to reach the cult northern sound of the mid-nineties without sounding like just another copy-cat. In fact, Slægt have a totally distinct sound of its own. I never knew a proper Dannish sound per se, perhaps Slægt is the definition of it.

Slægt in Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/slaegten?feature=watch