Ghost Cult Keefy caught up with Hamish Glencross of Godthyrmm (ex-Vallenfyre, My Dying Bride, Solstice) to discuss the just-released second album from the band – “Distortions!” It’s out now via Profound Lore! We chatted about the new album, his adjustment to being a frontman, their trilogy of albums, how their friendship with Pallbearer influenced the band, guest appearances, the influence of Metallica and classic metal, and much more!
And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Blank canvas. Blank page. No words. Then came … Poetry. Psalms. Hymns. The power and the glory. OMG – Oh My Godthrymm! This is the one, my good brothers – one for the ages, one for the rampages, the spillages, the courageous.
A band like Novembers Doom could only come from a cold place, where nights are long and bleak and depression stalks you like some winged, fork-tongued creature straight from a Clive Barker novel. And if you’ve ever felt the wind blowing off of Lake Michigan in winter, you’ll know the cold, bleak Chicago from which Novembers Doom hails.Continue reading
Saturday we were up for a great hangover from the amazing day we had at day one of Eindhoven Metal Meeting. This was maybe a bit too much beer for the rest of the year. But still we held our heads high and bravely went to The Effenaar (by bus, there was no way we went by bike). This might be the reason why we were a bit too late, and I missed Distillator and Bodyfarm. But I walked in on this great old school death band named Necros Christos. I wonder how this band would have done on the smaller stage, the large stage really didn’t seem to fit them. The atmosphere they were trying to convince me about didn’t really came through. You can hear that this is a really good band, but it just didn’t come to me. I really want to see this band again sometime soon, but I want to experience them on a smaller stage.
German doomers AHAB definitely gave a great show! You could see that there wasn’t a great doom scene at Eindhoven Metal Meeting, the crowd at the Large Stage was empty if you ask me. Some real doom enthusiasts stayed, and they heard one of the greatest shows I have seen. Damn this is a band of quality. A band with a great atmosphere and we noticed that this band can really drag you out of a severe hangover. And for that we thank them.
I was really siked for Lvcifyre, but this didn’t last. I didn’t enjoy this band at all, the drummer delivered quite a show. However, the frontman said nothing at all and have no contact with the audience at all just doesn’t fit the job. I like black metal and I know the contact mostly isn’t that present, but most vocalists still sing to the audience, this guy didn’t even seem to bother. I do not have to see this band again.
Now we were really up for a party with one of the very last shows of the dutch goregrind band Rompeprop. I have always had this strange relationship with the style. There is nothing more party-mode-setting as a goregrind band. A bunch of friends were standing with me and we were doing the most crazy dance moves, because it is goregrind! We can do sprinklers, the lawn mower, and the hot towel! No one just cares and everyone is as crazy as you are. Just go with the flow and have a great time. A great, no-nonsense band with beach toys as props. Yes, this is my kind of party.
Now we were up for Marduk. This is definitely not the first time I have seen this band performing. But they always give a great performance and never disappoint. The quality this time was better than I have heard before, the riffs were more defined and the drums seemed to be more powerful.
Next up was the exclusive headliner Samael. The sound wasn’t that great, so it was not what I have expected at all. They used drum machine and they tried to play the old songs in the new style. It definitely wasn’t my piece of cake, but still I was intrigued and wanted to stay and watch the show.
After this band we headed for the last after party at Stratumseind. Eindhoven Metal Meeting 2015 was a good edition if you asked me. I met a lot of friends and a lot of new faces. I have noticed there were more foreigners than the years past. This was a plus for the atmosphere of different cultures and styles and that combined to a good festival experience. I am definitely going back next year.
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Eindhoven Metal Meeting: Day 1 Review
WORDS BY KAAT VON DORMALEN
On a remarkably warm December day, we rode to Eindhoven again for the sold out Eindhoven Metal Meeting. With a killer lineup this year, it would have been a shame to miss this event. The line up of EMM has never disappointed me so far.
Last year I was kind of nagging about the fact it felt way to crowded, there is still no place to sit except for the stairs and some places in the smoking area but it really felt less crowded this year! This helped the atmosphere of the festival a lot. Eindhoven Metal Meeting is not an open air festival so you can indulge yourself in the luxury of a hotel and the luxury of descent facilities, which is common in winter, but very welcome after a whole summer festival season behind us. No getting nasty from standing in piss soaked mud this time!
I already was psyched for this festival, one of my favorite bands as headliner (Behemoth), the great atmosphere from the crowd in the south of The Netherlands, a good brand of beer, great afterparties ahead of us and me and a friend even helped an old hag to her car for some karma points. So this year nothing could go wrong at all!
The festival began and we walked in to hear the band Winterfylleth. I heard of this band, but never saw them live before. I can say there is nothing wrong with some good old raging black metal to drink your first festival beers on. The quartets latest opus The Divination of Antiquity definitely left a mark on me when I heard it, and it really came alive on stage. It felt like black metal was meant to sound like this and nothing else.
Next up on the Large stage (which is not only called that way because it is the largest stage, but is also called after one of the sponsors of the festivals) was Aeternus, a band with grandeur and a real attitude if you ask me. Their show was way to short if you ask me. I want more Aeternus, but next time it wouldn’t hurt if the guitars were a bit less sloppy. I loved the low tuned voice which really took me away.
An unexpected highlight was Onslaught, even though I am not really a thrash enthusiast. They were convincing me with a really convincing and energetic front man, which really got me in the mood. A really tight and top-notch show was is definitely the result of band members that really want to go for it and really want to bring us a great show.
A real highlight of the Friday and if you tell me the best band up until now was Conan. I enjoyed it from the start of the show up untill the end. The wall of sound this band creates blew me away. They drag you away into this trance. What a great vibe this band creates. WE WANT MORE CONAN!
In the mean while it was time to grab some food, we weren’t the only ones with this great idea. After waiting a while for my pulled pork sandwich (which wasn’t that special at all) we went back to the District 19 stage (the small stage). There are a lot of bands from Eindhoven playing this year, but Heretic really impressed. Not everyone seemed to like the black punk and roll, but damn this was ment to party on. The enthusiasm from the stage really impressed and even made a few metalheads dancing, yes, dancing, not headlbanging. This was quite an experience I can tell.
Now we were up for the headliner Behemoth, the time schedule for the Large stage wasnt that accurate anymore so they started a bit late, but no worries. They gave away a show like only Behemoth can deliver. Grim, dark, but full with energy. Nergal really wins the Oscar for best stage performer ever! There seemed to be some technical difficulties, but I didn’t hear any and I think everybody was just enjoying the great light show and the performance of this great band. If you have never seen Behemoth, do not miss them. This is a must see band!
Next up was Candlemass, a lot of visitors have already left the building and it really wasn’t as crowded as it was before. Still, the heavy bass and good combination of riffing and incredible vocals was a great experience.
After Candlemass we were up for a good party! Lucky for us the Dynamo had a after party organised with some great cover bands: a GG Allin cover band, an Iron Maiden cover band (that didn’t convince me) and this great glam rock cover band Lipstick`N Bullets with members from the Metal Factory. (yes in the Netherlands we have a school where you can study metal). We were here to party, and this is what we got.
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WORDS BY KAAT VAN DOREMALEN
The older you get, the more you realise that not only is “growing up” more complicated than you think, it sometimes looks like going back. In the mid-late 90s, bands were tripping over themselves to grow out of Metal – dropping the growled vocals, softening the sound and heading in a more self-consciously “mature” direction. Everything that lives, however, changes (apart from Lemmy), and the road ahead sometimes leads backwards.
When Nick Holmes announced last year that he was joining no-frills old school Death Metal revivalists Bloodbath it seemed to some people to have genuinely come out of nowhere, but the signs had been there if you knew where to look. My Dying Bride were very much ahead of the curve, reintroducing their Death Metal elements mere years after ditching them, but the others were catching up slowly – The King Is Blind, Vallenfyre (featuring PL’s own Gregor Mackintosh) and Bloodbath themselves all being formed by “mature” former Death/Doom Metal musicians. By the time that Paradise Lost – who had been steadily moving back to their heavier roots for the last several albums – announced that Holmes would be growling again on The Plague Within (Century Media), it can only have come as a surprise to people who’d stopped paying attention years ago.
That said, it’s important to start by understanding what The Plague Within is, and more importantly what it isn’t. Even in their demo days, Paradise Lost weren’t Morbid Angel, and this album should be best understood as a partial return to their roots. Ignoring the vocals for a second, the sound here is slick and melodic, the focus very much on big riffs and catchy choruses that most call to mind their Icon or Draconian Times (Music For Nations) periods. Songs explore the slower and faster ends of the mid-pace, but never really indulge in either. “Groovy” is a word that isn’t frequently used to describe Paradise Lost – and it certainly doesn’t fit every track on The Plague Within – but there are moments here where they almost attain mid-period Cathedral levels of swing.
Which is not to suggest that the rumours of their return have been overstated, just that they need to be put in context. The guitars are thicker and heavier than they’ve been in a very long time, and that adds a pleasing weight to even the catchiest of tracks. It’s not all catchy grooves, either – ‘Beneath Broken Earth’ captures the sort of forlorn True Doom grief-pride you’re more likely to associate with Warning or Solstice, and ‘Flesh From Bone’ has a genuine old-school Death Metal rumble that I genuinely never thought I’d hear from Paradise Lost again.
The vocals are the most instant point of focus, and they’re largely well done, shifting between mournful clean singing and the audible dry growl Holmes used so well on the recent Bloodbath.
It goes without saying, of course, that it’s not perfect. They’ve chosen to open proceedings with two of the weaker tracks, leaving the stronger ones to the end where the long running time means they’ve lost some of their impact. The vocals don’t always work – some of the clean singing sounds a little flat, and when Holmes isn’t pushing the full-on growl he sometimes settles for an awkward gruff-singing compromise that sits a little awkwardly. ‘Cry Out’ pushes the groovy-fun-party-Doom thing a little too hard and ends up sitting a little awkwardly on the album. Ultimately, however, The Plague Within is the kind of album that will stand or fall on the quality of the song-writing, and though it’s a bit of a mixed bag, overall they’ve done what they need to make it work.
Not a descent into the darkest bowels of harrowing Death-Doom, then, but expecting it to be would be rather silly. What The Plague Within offers is a sincere, heartfelt amalgam of older influences and current songwriting from a band who have always had the courage to follow their own muse where it leads them, even if it seems to lead them back.
7.5/10
RICHIE HR
Sodom has reportedly cancelled their appearance at Maryland Death Fest XIII this weekend due to visa issues. Solstice will be taking their place. A statement was issued in regards to the matter:
SODOM CANCELLING THEIR APPEARANCE AT MDF XIII.
The government approved the visa petition for SODOM, but then failed to send the required documents that would have allowed the band to actually get their visas despite repeated attempts by the MDF and the band to get those documents. The parties have been unable to get any answer from the government as to why the documents were never received by MDF or the band. The band is incredibly frustrated by this and so are we. We take a lot of pride in doing everything in our power to get foreign bands to the states, but it’s really hard for us to swallow when the incompetence of the U.S. government messes this up.
SOLSTICE will be playing instead of Sodom. This will change the schedule for that stage slightly and we’ll update the website with these changes this evening.
SODOM CANCELLING THEIR APPEARANCE AT MDF XIII.The government approved the visa petition for SODOM, but then failed to…
Posted by Maryland Deathfest on Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Dew-Scented will be releasing their new album Intermination on June 30, 2015 via Prosthetic Records, with covers of Repulsion’s “Radiation Sickness” on the album and a bonus cover of Solstice’s “Survival Reaction” appearing on the digital and vinyl editions. Stream “On A Collison Course” below.
01: Declaration Of Intent
02: On A Collision Course
03: Scars Of Creation
04: Affect Gravity
05: Means To An End
06: Ode To Extinction
07: Demon Seed
08: Power Surge
09: Ruptured Perpetually
10: Living Lies
11: Atavistic
12: Reborn
13: Radiation Sickness (Repulsion cover)
14: Those Who Will Not See (digital/vinyl bonus track)
15: Survival Reaction (Solstice cover) (digital/vinyl bonus track)
Photo Credit: Matt Weikel
Die Choking has completed the recording sessions of their debut recording, III, which is due out later in 2015 with Will Yip (Lauryn Hill, Circa Survive, Blacklisted, Cop Problem) at Studio 4 in Conshohocken, PA. Vinyl will be released via Earsplit’s label The Compound. Stream a brief video teaser below.
The band has confirmed upcoming tour dates.
Apr 25: Ortleibs – Philadelphia, PA (w/ Starkweather, Darkside NYC, Edgewise, Dysphoria)
May 01: Bremen Cafe – Milwaukee, WI (w/ No Brainer)
May 02: No Tomorrow Fest – Appleton, WI (w/ MDC, Hemdale, Solstice, Sick/Tired, Tenement, Cloud Rat, Deathwish, more)
May 03: Spunk Manor – Indianapolis, IN (w/ Cloud Rat, Sick/Tired)
May 14: Lucky 13 – Brooklyn, NY (w/ Scowl, Mary Todd)
May 15: Whitney House – Hartford, CT (w/ Fantasy Panther, Empty Vessels)
May 16: House Show – Worcester, MA (w/ Fantasy Panther)
May 17: Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia (w/ Drones For Queens, Omotai, Mary Todd, Night Raids)
Jun 15: O’Brien’s Pub – Boston, MA (w/ Connoisseur, Ratstab, Eaten, Shroud)
Die Choking on Facebook
Die Choking on Bandcamp
The Compound Records on Facebook
The Compound on Bandcamp
Philadelphia thrash grinders Die Choking have booked a string of Northeastern US dates, aside from a number of other upcoming live dates which are posted below.
Mar 26: Main Manor – New Castle, DE (w/ Artificial Brain, Traitor, Wojtek, Vicious Embrace)
Mar 27: Ottobar – Baltimore, MD (w/ Artificial Brain, Mother Brain, Kreig, Occult 45 – all ages)
Mar 28: The Shop – Pittsburgh, PA (w/ Artificial Brain, Dendritic Arbor, Meth Quarry – all ages)
Mar 29: The Meatlocker – Monclair, NJ (all ages w/ Artificial Brain, Organ Dealer, Sunrot)
Apr 25: Ortleibs – Philadelphia, PA (w/ Starkweather, Darkside NYC, Edgewise, Dysphoria)
May 01: Bremen Cafe – Milwaukee, WI (w/ No Brainer)
May 02: No Tomorrow Fest – Appleton, WI (w/ MDC, Hemdale, Solstice, Sick/Tired, Tenement, Cloud Rat, Deathwish, more)
May 03: Spunk Manor – Indianapolis, IN (w/ Cloud Rat, Sick/Tired)
May 14: Lucky 13 – Brooklyn, NY (w/ Fantasy Panther, Scowl)
May 15: TBA – New England
May 16: TBA – New England
Die Choking will enter Studio 4 in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania with Will Yip (Lauryn Hill, Circa Survive, Blacklisted, Cop Problem) April 1st to lay down thirteen tracks for their debut LP. With an unyielding and uncompromising style of thrash-gone-grind speedfreak hardcore, Die Choking’s already frighteningly unhinged attack will be witnessed with even greater magnitude on the as-yet-unnamed LP, with even faster BPM-rates and more complicated arrangements employed in the design work of the songs.
Watch band drummer Josh Cohen playing in the studio below.
Watch their music video for “Tonsil” below.
Die Choking on Facebook
Die Choking on Bandcamp
The Compound Records on Facebook
The Compound Records Official Site
Earsplit Distro Official Site
The Compound Records on Bandcamp