Updates - interviews
Interviews
Neptunian Maximalism
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When I first stumbled upon Neptunian Maximalism's Éons debut on the I, Voidhanger Bandcamp back in early May, I knew I was in for something intense. The album hadn't even been released in full yet, but just judging by the magnificent artwork depicting a wrathful Buddha as well as the imposing track list and list of personnel, my gut told me something highly potent and multidimensional lurked within. This initial hypothesis proved correct when I got ahold of a promo for Éons a few weeks later, subsequently being floored by Neptunian Maximalism's peculiar but irresistible fusion of drone doom, jazz, folk, and psychedelia. While not "metal" by the standard definition, the music of Éons nevertheless gave off a distinct feeling of gravity and immersion akin to metal, bearing shades of similarity to favorites of mine such as Sunn O))), Pylar, and Dark Buddha Rising while somehow not sounding overly close to either. Read more ›› |
Interviews
Incantation
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I couldn't imagine the shape that death metal would be in today if it wasn't for Incantation. Every caverncore muddy doom-infused death metal band can trace at least part of their lineage to the atomic bomb that was "Onwards To Golgotha". Though I haven't been as excited for their new material, it still gets the attention of my ear whenever it comes around. So I wanted to know what it was like from the man behind the riffs: John McEntee. Steve Von Till interview, and so, like a new season of television, we're picking up right where we last left Radu as if no time had elapsed whatsoever. The first several minutes were spent connecting and discussing logistics and I didn't bother transcribing them, but you can fill the space by listening to some Incantation, I guess.] Read more ›› |
Interviews
Steve Von Till
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Main article photo by James Rexroad Neurosis is one of the greatest metal bands of all time, there's no way around that. Being around for so long and still managing to innovate their sound and keep a DIY attitude is a feat in itself. However that approach to music isn't relegated solely to their main band output, but also to anything from their side-project Tribes Of Neurot to solo projects of different members. Here we have guitarist/vocalist Steve Von Till, whose other projects like Harvestman and his solo output I've had in rotation lately (actually I was streaming them so I doubt anything was really rotating that visibly). We got a hold of the man to tell us about the creative process, both in terms of music and text, as well as how Bob Dylan is punk. Read more ›› |
Interviews
Primitive Man
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I have been a big fan of the music of Ethan McCarthy, and most specifically Primitive Man, for quite some time now. First discovering the fearsome trio and their visceral brand of extreme sludge metal in 2013 with their Scorn debut, I was quickly dragged under the murky depths of vile, doomy waters with them and never bothered to come up for air. The group's lumbering, hateful take on sludge was something that, at the time, was virtually unmatched for me anywhere else in the spectrum, and very much still is. Scorn became an album I would return to regularly when in need of angry, cathartic music. The seething misanthropy and nihilism oozing from it as well as future Primitive Man material, tortured and suffocating as it is, would come to serve as something of a strange coping mechanism for me over the years: a constant reminder that I'm not the only individual out there incredibly dissatisfied with the human condition, or the only one who feels that the only way to stay afloat in it without suffering some sort of breakdown is via the creation of art. Read more ›› |
Interviews
Ahab
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Some time ago, Ahab returned to port to find that the streets were empty, everything was closed, and nobody was packing the pubs to hear tales of the high seas because everything sucks now. Fortunately, like any good funeral doom band, Ahab know that when the world is drenched in never-ending misery, there's only one thing to do: wallow, and wallow good. Thus the release of Live Prey, a crushing set of classics recorded before the Dark Times, and thus my opportunity to ping drummer Cornelius Althammer with inane questions, for which I thank him. Read more ›› |