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DAWN
- The Dawning Of A New Age
By Christopher Bruni
Even though we are so accustomed to the wave of overflowing death/black
metal bands coming out of Sweden, the scene should be broken into
certain sects which are slowly being formulated. There are the obvious
bands that incorporate their melodies using Dissection and At The
Gates as their blueprints to creating music; then you have the even
more extreme wave where bands like Marduk and Dark Funeral journey
to bring this world into utter darkness. Now you have this massive
retro movement heralded by bands like Bewitched, and the throng
of acts that Necropolis Records is signing that just live for the
old school -- treasures such as Guillotine, Nifelheim, The Ancient's
Rebirth, Deathwitch, and the soon-to-be-released Witchery.
Enter Dawn, a band that stands out from all this confusion. Their
previous MCD, Sorgh Pa Svarte Vingar Flogh (Sorrow Fell On Black
Wings) was just a sign of things to come as people anticipated their
upcoming full length, entitled Slaughtersun (Crown Of Triarchy).
This is an album that will redefine the Swedish death/black metal
scene. Upset by the events that befell Dissection (you know it's
a long story)? Well look no further -- Dawn have single-handedly
usurped the throne. Vocalist Henke Forss, who is resting from his
daily two-hour workout at the gym, tries to make something out of
all this.
"I don't know really," begins Henke, who seems lost for words at
my statement in the previous paragraph, yet flattered. "You can
hope that but I really don't think so. We do our own thing of death
metal really... I feel that the scene has taken a step back actually.
I thought that there used to be a lot of bands hanging around --
nowadays you just hear about bands like Marduk, Dissection, and
Dark Funeral, but I don't know about the smaller bands."
Throughout their seven-year career Dawn's hard work has definitely
paid off. Formed between the autumn and winter season of 1991, they
released their first demo -- simply called Demo 1 -- in the winter
of 1992. Later they released their Apparition Demo, which was then
released as a 7" called The Eternal Forest. They entered Unisound
studios to create their debut album, Naer Solen Gar Niber for Evogher
(When The Sun Fades/Sets Forever), which got a good response. But
the musical growth of the band is quite stimulating. Slaughtersun...
is like a totally different album.
"I think that we progressed immensely," reflects Henke. "But we've
been around since '91, so that should come very natural anyways.
But there are other bands that go on and play the same stuff that
they always played over and over again, and I don't see that happening
with Dawn. We progress. We try not to do the same thing with every
album."
You must be a fan of ten-minute epic songs that hover throughout
the entire album, right?
"No not really," confesses Henke. "The songs just became longer
and longer with every album, and we didn't intend to do ten-minute
songs -- it's just the way they came out. And when I listen to the
album I don't get the 'feeling' that the songs are very long. They
just are."
The songs on Slaughtersun... possess that flowing continuity that
doesn't make the listening experience a painful exercise. It is
the addicting repetitive motifs that give the tracks character.
Musical perfectionists to say the least.
"Well Frederic Soderberg does mostly all the music. He just sits
at home and does riffs and puts them together. Frederic is definitely
a perfectionist, especially in the studio. Like he spent three to
four days putting down his guitar tracks, and Andreas Fullmestad
spent about one-and-a-half days."
The atmosphere that emanates from the album also throws you for
a loop. The key was to combine swift dark melodies and amalgamate
them aggressively with speed.
"Combining melodies and harmonies with speed creates a certain atmosphere,
a more chaotic and hostile atmosphere. Combining great melodies
(I wouldn't say beautiful) with fast drumming and intense riffing
makes it such a hostile atmosphere. It's pretty much about feeling
and combining a lot of different elements with a feeling of aggression."
The aggression is well documented within the lyrical content of
the band where Henke gets to instrumentally unleash his pent up
aggression -- through his feelings and emotions and most importantly,
his hatred -- towards certain groups in an ass-backwards society
upon which he walks.
"The lyrics are pretty genocidal and hateful in that kind of way.
Slaughtersun... could be sort of a word game for a nuclear explosion,
like a big blast of light, and usually the topics of the lyrics
come from depressions, anger, and aggression. My lyrics are more
suicidal and show aggression towards certain people... my hatred
is pretty much directed towards society and people around me. People
that you see every day, like low life people that bother me. I used
to feel myself as an outcast a few years ago, but not that much
anymore. I feel that people who don't understand you and people
who can't accept you should just fuck off. There are a lot of people
who just look down upon you, on who you are."
With hopes to play Milwaukee and tour the States to experience new
endeavors, it is quite clear that the sun has set and Dawn have
risen.
FALKENBACH - A Return to an Unforgotten Age...
By Adam Wasylyk
Extending my thoughts on Falkenbach's ...Magni Blandinn
Ok Megintiri... album review from last issue, the greatest advantage
to being a writer for a zine is to receive music that you otherwise
would never have the chance to hear. For me, this is one of those
bands. An amalgamation of black metal and Viking rock, Falkenbach
play the kind of music that breathes life into a genre polluted
with doppelgangers and trend followers. Mesmerizing keyboards, black
metal snarls, driving guitars and rock beats; while Vikings serve
as the imagery and ideologies behind it all. Having recorded their
debut ...En Their Medh Riki Fara... for No Colours, the band signed
to Napalm Records in Austria and released ...Magni Blandinn Ok Megintiri...,
an album full of majestic and grandiose passages but as an album
went relatively unnoticed on this side of the Atlantic.
Sole creator and musician Vratyas Vakyas enlightened me on several
inquiries of mine about Falkenbach and what he's currently working
on concerning the band.
"The whole thing began in '89, I think, when I decided to record
my first songs and lyrics" began Vakyas on how Falkenbach got started
and whether the Viking imagery was the initial inspiration for its
creation. "Back then I searched for a new kind of sacrifice for
the Goddesses & Gods, besides blood, life etc. I also wanted to
give something direct from my heart and soul, a donation made of
art, emotion and yearning. So you could say not the Viking period
itself inspired me, but the Goddesses & Gods who ruled that age
on Midgaard, and who will rule forever!"
Getting into detail about Falkenbach's prior releases, Vakyas enumerated
"All in all I've done seven tapes so far, all in a strictly limited
edition; furthermore, a tape called Promo '95 and the debut CD ...En
Their Medh Riki Fara..." As to how the band have progressed over
the years, he wrote "The earlier stuff is mainly folkloristic music
with percussion, acoustic guitar and clean vocals -- but during
the years also drums, distorted guitars and keyboards became more
and more important. Every recording differs a bit from its predecessors
due to the fact more instruments were added to the songs, and my
musical kills grew a bit too."
As to what happened with No Colours and the subsequent leap onto
Napalm Records, Vakyas explained, "No Colours did a good job for
Falkenbach, but this step simply had to be done as I don't want
any stagnation with Falkenbach ever! Napalm offered a deal about
one year after the debut album was released, and after some changes
in the offered contract I signed to Napalm."
Vakyas also went on to explain his role in Falkenbach, which could
be called a one-man project but wasn't necessarily designed to be
just that. "Since the very first days, I've been the only musician
involved in Falkenbach, not even session musicians were used for
the recordings. Maybe this will change for the third CD, as I'm
looking for a session drummer and flutist, too. By the way, it's
not that I don't want any people to be involved, but as a matter
of fact it's quite hard to find musicians who are both skilled in
playing their instruments and good characters, who fit 100% into
the concept of Falkenbach. Trust me, it's hard to find worthy people!"
During my initial listens to ...Magni Blandinn Ok Megintiri... I
made a mental note that comparisons could be drawn towards Bathory's
Viking-era material along with his last (and also brilliant) effort,
Blood on Ice. I thought at the very least the bands compared musically,
as both Blood on Ice and Magni... dealt with Viking imagery at a
rock beat pace. In Vakyas' mind, he doesn't see any existing similarities
between his brainchild and Bathory. "In my opinion there are not
too many similarities between Bathory and Falkenbach, not music
or lyric wise. I used to play this kind of music from the very beginning,
so I can't say any bands or musicians influenced Falkenbach anyway.
The only band I know playing a bit similar music [to us] is Vargas."
I then ask if Vakyas could go into some detail and explain the meanings
behind the lyrics of Falkenbach. "Most of the lyrics are about Asatru
-- the religion of Germanic and north-European tribes -- and Vartan,
a mixture between science, art and philosophy -- which is based
on Asatru. Viking themes are the way to describe them, as lyrics
of Falkenbach are usually written with metaphors. Every character,
every symbol used has a deeper meaning, so mental power is needed
to understand those lyrics and the message they convey, but superficially
will only lead to misunderstandings."
I'm quite confident that pretentious/egocentric black metal bands
or musicians (which counts probably most bands in that genre) will
find Falkenbach "untrue" because of its lack of speed or absence
of Satanic references. Vakyas could care less. "I don't care if
other bands like or hate this music! Falkenbach is an honest project
with true intentions and goals, and at least in my opinion everybody
is free to do what they want! I don't give a damn fuck about trendsetters'
opinions."
Vakyas affirms that new material has been written and hints at to
what the curious should expect. "At the moment around 20 minutes
of new material does exist, but it's not recorded yet. None should
expect any "stylebreak," but as always the new songs are one step
further in the right direction. I can say the new material contains
clean vocals, flutes, powerful guitars and drums, acoustic guitars,
ancient percussion etc. but most of all the arrangements are much
improved! I can promise this new release will be far better than
both of its predecessors! It's a fact that my main intention isn't
to be successful, or to be popular but to be relevant!"
PUNGENT STENCH - The Musical Assassins Retire
By Christopher Bruni
From death metal to gothic metal to black metal,
and all the way to power metal, the Nuclear Blast catalogue now
encompasses practically every type of metal within its spectrum.
Just look at bands from Dissection and Hypocrisy, to Evereve and
Covenant, all the way to In Flames, Hammerfall, and Primal Fear.
But let's take a trip down memory lane -- you know, around the year
1990 or so -- when bands like Disharmonic Orchestra, Righteous Pigs,
Abomination, Defecation and a very young Benediction, defined the
label as a pure death grind staple. Before Dismember, before Therion,
before Hypocrisy, there were three depraved and perverted hombres
from Austria: Schirenc (El Cochino), Wank (Mr. Stench), and Perkowski
(Pitbull Jack). They called themselves Pungent Stench, and they
played a key role in laying the groundwork for making Nuclear Blast
a powerhouse label. They could have influenced a plethora of the
death grind bands today -- yet their name rarely comes up in conversation.
They were one of the first to incorporate their style of ultra death
grind with a splash of groove and deathly pornographic lyrics. These
days, bands like this are one-a-penny -- but back then, Pungent
Stench did it with style.
Now, the musical assassins have called it a day, and to celebrate
their illustrious career Nuclear Blast has released an essential
collection of sorts, with rare shit, demo shit, and sick shit --
but essential shit. In an e(xxx)clusive interview, Mr. Stench endeavored
to enlighten me and put Pungent Stench's career in perspective.
*Pretty soon your face will be my seat, but before you die you will
dance to pungent beat*
"The intention of the band was to shock, to disturb, to ENTERTAIN
in a different way. To non-conform!!!! It was always great to see/hear
the different reactions and to have problems. I am not an easy guy
and this is reflecting the whole concept. And to be over-the-top
is a way to be different too. To be honest and to be rude, I shit
on norms, society, behavior, I AM A TRUE PUNK! I am definitely more
punk than many so-called punks. Got it?
*Watching that stupid chick, sucking that dead mans dick, makes
me really hard*
"No, we never had experiences with women's rights movements actually.
At least nothing compared to what you guys have over there in North
America. But we did have problems with censorship, especially in
Germany. We had problems with confiscation in England and Australia,
but we really had heavy problems only in Germany. They are very
sensible but also very stupid. Freedom of speech is necessary for
every form of art. But we did all this because we knew we might
have problems and sometimes we hoped to get problems! Only through
knowledge of these organizations and people we knew we succeeded.
Fight against censorship!!!"
*She has to suck your dick when I screw her in doggy style*
"Well, pornography is a pretty negative word -- or at least is mostly
meant negative. I love sex, I love pornography. Not because I'm
a sexist -- I like it because it's natural, it's healthy and probably
the best and nicest thing on this goddamn earth. To create, produce
and also act [in] pornography isn't bad. It's a business, and mostly
done to exploit somebody somehow, but it depends very much on for
what reason and how it is done. It also always depends [on] how
you see it, how you consume it. Yes, I am obsessed with pornographic
thoughts -- I just feel very comfortable with it, it excites me
and makes me hot too. So what is wrong with [that]? And for Pungent...
we showed more [of] the dirty world, the bizarre world of sex."
*I hate the way you walk, I hate the way you speak, your sight makes
me sick and you act very weak*
"What is extreme music for me? If you are talking about all that
metal stuff -- well it's kind of boring to be honest. Too many bands
doing the same [thing]. Nothing spectacular or new coming out; all
these fucking hybrids like gothic metal, what a shitty direction!
Both styles just don't fit together; industrial metal, whatever
that is? The black metal scene is running [itself] more and more
dead, just too many shitty bands around. The same [will happen]
with the formerly big death metal scene. Soon nobody will care about
it -- no more sales, no more shows, just a little scene interested
in [it]. But I believe that there are revivals for all kinds of
styles after some time. I myself listen to a lot of different music
nowadays; metal just a little bit. Hail to Abscess -- best band
in the States! [what a truly sick mind this guy has!! - ed]
*Ashes to ashes, dust to dust*
"Well, at the end of '94, beginning of '95, when we toured the States,
we just didn't feel comfortable together anymore. There were a lot
of personal problems and we just didn't have the fun anymore we
had all those years. So when we came home after this tour we just
started a long break and out of this break we never started again.
So it wasn't a decision one day to stop. We just didn't continue
anymore, and personally I think it was the best decision. On the
other side, it was a bitter decision because we had a new CD almost
ready to record, and the success of the band was definitely there
and the sales went bigger and bigger. But whatever, it was the right
decision at the right time.
*Listen to me I have a story to tell*
"I have two projects at the moment, one called Spine the other called
ON/OFF. Spine is more in the heavy direction, ON/OFF is totally
electronic and weird. With both bands I released CD's, but still
looking for a decent deal. Both got nothing to do with Pungent...
El Cochino started his new band, Mudbreed, where he only plays guitars
(sounds more hardcore). Pitbull Jack stopped doing music. Don't
really know what he is doing."
*Viva la muerte, that's my motherfucking principle*
"Just wanna thank all supporters out there for their help, for coming
to our shows, for buying shit and for making all possible what we
experienced over those eight years. It was a great time, and I hope
people had a great time too, listening to our records or visiting
our shows. Keep up the metal spirit, fight against censorship, live
your own life and -- VIVA LA MUERTE!!!!!"
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