Interview with ZĀ LÄ THÜ

by Vpower

The band: Zā Lä Thü             

Country: USA

Answers by:  The Awakened One

https://www.facebook.com/zalathu

www.zalathu.com

https://zalathu.bandcamp.com/releases

You are entering the realm of Zā Lä Thü, open your eyes, your ears and your mind, because you will be in front of a band that makes and art of the suggestion and the origanility. A band we strongly recommend for those people always in need of exploring new territories, in musical terms and lyrical terms.

Hi guys, let's talk a little about the beginnings of the band. How was Zā Lä Thü created?

ZĀ LÄ THÜ developed out of a one man band/project that had gone through numerous name changes going back to around 1995. In 2012, I changed the name to  ZĀ LÄ THÜ and recorded a demo called The Ritual of the Abyss, released December 21, 2012. I then posted an advertisement on Craig's list for a vocalist. Katera contacted me around February of 2013. I gave her a copy of The Ritual of The Abyss and we then remixed the  song "We Invoke, We Invoke" with a recording of her singing with the original version. I then made it available at  www.zalathu.com

Since that time she has been handling the vocals for ZĀ LÄ THÜ. Although I continue to write, record and play all instrumentation in ZĀ LÄ THÜ myself; I am always looking for other musicians that would like to participate in the opening of the portal.

What does the band's name mean?

The name ZĀ LÄ THÜ was revealed to me by a trance channeling from a psychic while living in Atlanta during the year of 1995. ZĀ LÄ THÜ is the name of my spirit guardian and guide. " INVOKE OFTEN"

What differences are between your latest demo " 77" and your new work " Zä Lä Thü"?

ZĀ LÄ THÜ - 77+ (7+7)/7 +77=156 was our second demo under the heading of ZĀ LÄ THÜ. The full length that is self-titled as ZĀ LÄ THÜ contains our first 3 demos combined, a total of 10 tracks. Therefore, the full length contains the material from 77+ (7+7)/7 +77=156. Musically speaking, the full length covers a broad array of styles- you can hear aspects of death metal, industrial, punk and even darkwave. The music is very difficult to describe and from song to song the style may change drastically. Change is the only constant in ZĀ LÄ THÜ.

Cool. How was the design and creation process of the album?

When I sit down to create music, I begin with my guitar, a drum machine and a general idea of what I wish to express. As I start writing the music it usually takes on a life of its own, and I try to get out of the way. I will record into a loop station so I can experiment with various polyrhythms and harmonies. After I have written a linear guitar rhythm in conjunction with drums for a complete song, I lay down the drum tracks and the rhythm tracks on a Tascam 24 track recorder. After I record all the instrumentation I will begin working on lyrics and vocal arrangements. I spend more time on this part than  anything else because it does not come natural to me. I will always have a theme or an intention for the song and I will work on lyrics and vocal arrangements with this in mind. Every word is chosen with care because words are power. Katera will help me with this process in capricious degrees. Although I write the majority of the lyrics, Katera pours a great deal of energy into the final product, arrangement and delivery. Once I have completed three songs I usually compile them into a demo/ep. I will do this process twice over and once I have enough material for a full length I will release it. This is my normal process.

In your opinion, which are the stronger points of the band?

I believe that being original and genuine is our greatest strength. We really believe in what we are doing. I also think that the message within our lyrics is very important and I encourage people to transcend their personal demons and awaken to their higher self. We precisely want people to wake up to ultimate reality. We want you to expand your consciousness and to help us charge our songs.

I like very much the album and I think the band has a very original sound, the band mixed Industrial metal with Death, Occult metal.... It makes me think about Coven and Jinx Dawson... the style is very creative and hard to describe...

I agree completely. I think the music is very original and has many different elements mixed into it. However, the end result is in some respects the product of happenstance. We did not go out of our way to create this sound. A lot of our sound is environmental. For example, I live in a very rural area. There are virtually no musicians in my location. The industrial aspect to our sound only exists because I use drum machines. I only use drum machines because I cannot find a drummer. Then the additions of Katera's vocals are certainly unique. When I placed and advertisement looking for a vocalist she was the only person that applied. She was looking for a punk band at the time. The lyrical content is of an occult nature because I am an occultist. So as you can see, in many ways the final product is a twist of fate. Many unforeseen variables have combined to create an unusual sound. In the past I viewed the isolation and lack of local musicians to work with as a negative, but in time I have come to see that it has turned into something positive and has given the music the strength of character. Side note, I am not familiar with those bands you mentioned but I will check them out.

My Favorite Song is Valk - Kree, which is yours?

I am really happy you like Val-Kree, which was a fun song to make. It was my first attempt to mix my sitar with metal. It was a bit of a challenge but I think it turned out pretty good. My favorite song is "To Bind and Purge," in many ways it is a very personal ritual and exorcism to purge negative thought forms within my mind.

What themes do you touch in your lyrics?

The vast majority of our lyrics are based on metaphysical occult philosophy as well as personal rituals and spells to initiate change to occur in conformity with my will. The songs are spells and affirmations. They are thought forms that I wish to see manifest into reality. The lyrical content is very important and personal and absorbs the longest amount of time to write. If you have any questions about any specific songs, I will be happy to talk about them.

How do you see the current scene of the under industrial metal in your country?

I am unaware of any industrial metal scene in the United States. To be honest, I am unaware of modern industrial music in general. I of course like early bands like Godflesh and Ministry, even Laibach and Einstein Neubauten- not to mention that brief moment when ...And Oceans went industrial. Conversely, since the release of " The Ritual of the Abyss" demo we have been categorized as an Industrial band by a lot of people, but I never really thought we were an industrial band. I realize we use drum machines and I used guitar synth on some songs so I guess that has put us in that category but we really do not listen to much industrial music other than the bands I just mentioned. I primarily listen to old school death metal, black metal, early punk and a ton of world music. Katera listens to punk and all kinds of stuff. If there are some really good industrial bands that I should check out, let me know. I love to hear new music.

How can the fan get your album?

You can purchase the digital and physical CD version (digipack) of the full length album ZĀ LÄ THÜ at www.cdbaby.com/cd/zalathu, Amazon.com, and itunes. We will also be releasing our new EP titled "Psychotronic Generator" on May 31, 2016. It will also be available at the above websites and all merchandise can also be purchased directly from ZĀ LÄ THÜ at our official website. www.zalathu.com

What are your future plans?

The first immediate future plan will be the release of Psychotronic Generator on May 31, 2016. This release coincides with the Discordian holiday of Syaday. We encourage everyone to celebrate the 5th day of confusion by altering your consciousness. Hail Eris!

With the completion of the Psychotronic Generator I have begun work on 2 separate projects that will find completion within a future ZĀ LÄ THÜ release. The one project is based around droning acoustic strings and the other is an exercise in anarchism. Last, I intend on trying to re-master all the old material such as Aethyria and make it available on a double CD.

Thank you very much and congratulations for your great work. If you wish to add something, go ahead.

Thank you so much for this interview, your questions were really great! We really appreciate it. Do not believe what the media tells you to be true. Learn to think critically. Expand your mind by any and all means necessary. Wake up! there is no self, so drop the assemblage point and become the circle! Join us, together we can transform reality! http://www.zalathu.com

Just say no to the Demiurge!

Stormtide – Wrath of an Empire (2016)

1.Wrath of an Empire             

2.As Two Worlds Collide                   

3.Dawnsinger              

4.Conquer the Straits              

5.Sage of Stars                       

6.A Heroes Legacy                

7.Ride to Ruin             

8.Ascension                

9.The Green Duck

Simon Fragiotta - Bass

Jake Pickering  - Drums

Tyson Richens - Guitars

Nic Woodhouse - Guitars

Reuben Stone - Keyboards

Taylor Stirrat – Vocals

Los Stormtide son una banda de Melbourne, creda en 2013 y que tira hacia el metal sinfónico. Este año publican su primer disco completo que es el que comento hoy, anteriormente solo habían editado un ep y un single.

Arrancamos con Wrath of an Empire que tiene un inicio a modo de intro bastante prolongada, en modo sinfónico, y el resto del tema es una continuación de ese inicio, se podría definir como una mezcla en unos Running Wild y unos Sabaton, es decir, ritmos blandos y mucha algarabía.

As Two Worlds Collide es un power metal con aderezos sinfónicos, meten voces sucias también y aceleraciones puntuales a base de blast beats, el problema es que todo suena ya muy visto. Dawnsinger es otro corte con melodías felices a lo Running Wild, solo que con sonido más distorsionado y prestado del death melódico, básicamente por el juego de las voces. Pero a medida que avanzan los temas la sensación que te queda es que al disco le falta pegada y que parece que estos temas los has escuchado ya un millón de veces antes.

Conquer the Straits no me saca del sopor, sinfonía a toneladas pero sin grandes emociones. Sage of Stars empieza con melodías a base de piano y ritmos de riffs sencillos, luego meten melodías superfelices y mucho trabajo de teclados que acaban resultando muy exasperantes, lo mejor las paraditas que meten por medio que nos permiten tomar un poco de oxígeno.

A Heroes Legacy es un tema de más guitarreo y menos presencia de teclados, aunque sigue siendo muy lineal, apenas varían las líneas que nos muestran a lo largo de todo el disco. Ride to Ruin tiene un inicio bastante interesante y lo mejor del tema viene después de la parada, aunque no es suficiente para salvarlo. Ascension sigue en esa línea, otro tema que trata de crear atmósfera, pero es que se vuelven a quedar en el intento, no son malos pero les falta adrenalina y crear sensaciones, el disco es plano cual lenguado.

Y rematamos con The Green Duck, inicio con teclados en rollo oriental y ritmo power disfrrazado de death en las voces, pero sigue sonando igual de hueco y anémico que el resto del trabajo.

En definitiva, un disco muy aburrido, que suena a clon por todos lados, de esos que no te motivan para nuevas escuchas, aunque no están faltos de técnica, en mi opinión les queda todavía bastante por definir su sonido y dotarlo de más personalidad y pegada.

Puntuación: 4/10

Drive She Said - pedal to the metal (2016)

1.Touch

2.Pedal To The Metal

3.In ‘R Blood

4.Said It All

5.Writing On The Wall

6.Rainbows And Hurricanes

7.Love Will Win In The End

8.Rain Of Fire

9.In Your Arms

10.I’m The Nyte

11.Lost In You

12.All I Wanna Do

Lead Vocals: Al Fritsch

Guitars: Al Fritsch with additional guitars by Tommy Denander, Daniel Palmqvist, Jon Bivona, Ray De Tone, Ricky Wheels

Keyboards: Mark Mangold, Al Fritsch

Bass: Ken Sandin, Al Fritsch, Paul St. James, Alessandro Del Vecchio

Drums: Peter Yttergren, Pontus Engborg, Francesco Jovino, Kenny Aronoff

Background Vocals: Goran Edman, Chandler Mogel, Ted Poley, Al Fritsch, Mark Mangold, Kevin Osborne, Randy Jackson, Thomas Vikstrom, Peppy Castro

Vocal Duet on 'In Your Arms': Al and Fiona

Otro disco de los Drive She Said, confieso que lo he escuchado con retraso y a rastras porque a estas alturas de la peli ya no me espero nada de estos, les encantan oir el timbre de la caja registradora, así que no me voy a andar con contemplaciones. El disco no es que sea malo es que es infumable, si lo que te esperas es un disco de rock o un aor hecho con clase y sin bajarse los pantalones. Pero no, el 90% de los temas son pop o pop rock siendo benévolo. Mangold y Fritsch se han vuelto a sacar la billetera.

Empezamos con Touch, inicio blandito a lo Scorpions, Def Leppard, sonido comercial y envasado al vacío, rozando el pop, el solo guitarrero se pilla si tienes el cronómetro en mano, si no tendrás que esperar al siguiente corte, tecladitos y coros por doquier, pero blandos como una esponja, con todo aún guarda un cierto aire rock.

Pedal To The Metal tiene un poco más de ritmo, arranca con los teclados y suena muy a los Van Halen más comerciales aunque inspirados. Lo mejor la voz, los coros no me convencen en este tema, bueno y en casi ninguno, me suenan a los míticos Alvin y las ardillas. Repetición del estribillo hasta la naúsea y paradita floja a lo Kiss. Otro tema para reciclar, y eso que el inicio apuntaba buenas maneras.

In ‘R Blood es una baladita inundada de teclados y ritmos poperos sin medida. Lo único salvable es el solo de guitarra. Parada aor típica y subidita de tono típica. Said It All es un tema a lo Meatloaf, una baladita muy acaramelada y muy teatral, al menos se deja escuchar. Writing On The Wall es el tema más rockero en lo que va de disco, aunque los coros le bajan puntos, con ese empeño en dulcificarlo todo. Al menos instrumentalmente tiene más chicha, solos de teclado al peso y unos aires bastante setenteros en este tema, este debería ser el camino a seguir, pero solo es una gota en el océano de este disco.

Rainbows And Hurricanes nos devuelve a la cruda realidad de este proyecto, un tema a lo Supertramp, teclados y voces impostadas, a tope con la radio. Love Will Win In The End es el otro tema salvable del disco, de hecho el mejor sin duda. Se inicia con unos teclados ambientales y luego entrada de batería con ritmo hard rock, que me recuerda mucho a los añorados TNT. Esto es lo que queremos oir chachos, y nos las divagaciones poperas con las que habéis inundado el disco. Van metiendo minisolos aquí y allá e incluso riffs con groove, luego la parada y un buen solo. Excelente tema, aunque insuficiente para salvar el disco, para eso que hubiesen editado un Ep de dos temas y hubiese quedado mucho mejor la cosa.

Rain Of Fire sigue un desarrollo de hard melódico, no tiene la inspiración del anterior pero es disfrutable. Y hasta aquí se acabó lo bueno, con In Your Arms vuelven a retomar la senda del pop aor, voces femininas y coros de serie televisiva, el tema se me hace sencillamente interminable. I’m The Nyte supera todo lo visto hasta ahora, empieza, y sigue, con un rollo en plan música electrónica discotequera, que incluso hará que mires para tu aparato de cds o mp3 y te preguntes si alguien ha cambiado el disco.

Lost In You sigue en modo pop, sintoniza tu dial de FM las 24 horas de la semana y verás a los DSS dándolo todo por la pasta. Y por fin acabamos la agonía con All I Wanna Do, que tiene un inicio con acústicas que hace presagiar algo diferente, pero acaba siendo una balada totalmente acústica y soporífera, sin mayor interés.

En definitiva, que si te quieres sacar un disco de pop lo puedes hacer, porque esto es pop en un 85%, y el resto aor y con algún momento brillante de rock melódico, porque está claro que los tipos tienen clase, quién lo va a negar. Ahora, con dos temas buenos y uno escuchable y normalito no le puedo dar otra nota que la que se merecen. Por cierto, el título del disco ya tiene guasa...

Puntuación: 2/10

Vulture (by Vulture)

Hall of the Mountain King (by Savatage)

56 castañas le caen el bueno de Jon Oliva (aún es joven, pero debería cuidar ese sobrepeso), gran músico y gran tipo, y grande jajaja. Su contribuición a nuestro amado deporte metalero es incuestionable, sus años dorados con su hermano inolvidables y un legado para la historia. Celebremos el cumple del gran Olvia con uno de mis temas favoritos de los dioses Savatage, Hall of the Mountain King.

Interview with ADX

by Vpower

The Band: ADX

Country: France

https://www.facebook.com/adxbandonline

We don’t have so often the honor to talk to bands with the history and status of French act ADX. They are to the French Metal what Barón Rojo is to the Spanish, Maiden or Judas Priest to the British, Aria to the Russian... This is, they are legends. And they are still producing good melodic Speed Metal, with their classic sound and signature, they are here in Metalbrothers.es (what else?) to talk about their new album and other matters.

  

Hello guys, Adx is one of those bands that everyone identifies with Metal, how do you feel now after so many years in this long travel?

We feel so good today !! A new cd, our new label, a great tour in France and europe is comming for the end of the year........... We are here !!!

We try to be pleased at the most and to give all that one few to our fans. The passion so remains the same as has our debuts, the desire to go up on stage, to go to studio, to drink jars with our fans.

ADX is probably the most international band in France, I suppose you get this recognition when you tour around your country or abroad, right?

Sure !! We played in Gemany, Belgium, Greece, Italie, Canada since 2014. All the audience was so crazy for us everywhere, our first albums are so well know out of france.  

Julien Rousseau (bass) entered the band in 2013 and Nicklaus Bergen (guitar) in 2015, how well have they connected with the original members and how have they contributed to the sound of ADX?

Julien is a great song writer and a great aranger, he enters ADX as a family member, and we know Nicolas for quite a lot of years and we had of to attack the tour of thirty years of our first album "Execution" two weeks only after its arrival last year !!

We just had time to make the presentations!!!!!  He knew already not bad the titles of ADX and adapts itself very fast to the new projects. They both contribute on Non Serviam as a 2/5 of the band, completly !!

That sounds great. Talking about your sound, you have just released a new album, “Non Serviam”, how do you place it in your career and compared to your previous works?

ADX has his own sound, we worked with some different producers during all those years and everytime, we mix our way to play with they directions.

Our sound personality is here everytime, but since 2013, we try to go back to our first years and first albums. ADX is a “Speed Mélodic” style band and Non Serviam is really in touch with this style.

How long did you work in “Non Serviam”?

Since Feb 2015 for the demo and all Feb 2016 at the Sainte Marthe Studio Paris

How was the composition process of “Non Serviam”? We are right if we think that the old members are the guys in charge about it all?

Not really,  sorry !!! We have all compose this album and Julien the bass player has put his creation on many titles (as the last album “Ultimatum” 2014) Nicolas played all the mélodic and solo guitars.

For the lyrics, Phil and Dog (singer and drummer) wrote all the stuff !!

A team effort, I see. I think ADX has always been considered a Speed Metal band, with some heavy/power approach too. For the long time fans of the band this “Non Serviam” are good news because you keep loyal to your sound, right?

Yes, we realised with the time that speed métal is the style we do the best !!

La Mort en face is one of my favorite, it combines great riffing with a load of amazing solos

This song is really cool !! we choosed this one a first single to present Non Serviam to our fans, it represent “the all cd feeling”

We also get some mid tempo songs as L’Irlandaise, where you demonstrate that you can move very well in a variety of structures

We are great fans of tempo changes and rythm breaks since the begining of the band. We are all ok in the band to put surprises on our songs.

What are the lyrics about in this new album?

Always the same weft, the interesting historic facts and some fantastic stories which drew our attention.

Do you have a favorite song in the album and what songs will go into the setlist for the gigs?

We like all the songs of this new cd, we choosed all those ones inside many more during the démo. Everytime we have some reviews or fans messages, we choose the titles that everyone like.

Our fans are our best advisers !!

Talking about gigs, what are your touring plans for this 2016?

We have many festival in France for the end of the year, and will play as headliner in 2017. Our booker work a lot at this time !!!

By the way, although you have an international prestige, you have always sung in French and you keep doing it, no intention to move to the English I guess, right?

Oh no !! We tried this in 1990 with “Weird Visions” for the german label Noise. But the result was not really good for the vocals !!

Let us ask about your experience after so many years rocking, what gigs do you remember as more impressive and what bands you enjoyed sharing the stage with?

All the bands we meet were really cool with us, honestly, we like to share moments as friends on the backstage even if we know nobody !!! With some good bottles it’s easier.

We have a great souvenir in 2009 at the HellFest Festival in France, and the two gigs we had in Canada in 2014.

You were fighting in the 80s already, compared to that time how do you see the metal scene nowadays?

It’s always the same. The metal music is not really recognized in France, it is hard to be able to live on its music here. On the other hand the public is always so faithful and numerous in our concerts. We have more experience for the choices which we make and and we try to give advice to the groups which begin to avoid them the bothers which we have they in our debuts

And finally, you have a loyal legion of fans around the world, what would you tell them about what ADX will offer in future years?

We would like to record some good albums, meet the fans on our gigs, and at first take good time together, in and out of the stage !!!

Cheers for that! Thank you very much for your attention and congratulations for all these years at a great level and for your new album, if you wish to add something….

We wish to return in Spain (like in 2009 at the Battlefield fest in Valencia)  and meet the crazy metal maniacs over here !!

Follow us on our wave page:

https://www.facebook.com/adxbandonline

http://a-d-x.ch/non-serviam/

http://www.adxstore.bigcartel.com/

TMHM – Stage Names (2016)

1.Bad Luck In Belleville

2.Toxic Mix

3.18oz

4.Threadcounts

5.Stage Names

6.Better Half

7.Hodgepodge

8.Good Luck In Gracetown

FireHands

Saucy

Dry Rub

Prime Rib

Esta banda americana, antes conocida como The Man and His Machine, es uno de esos grupos que basan su propuesta en la energía que despliegan y en la ausencia total de complejos, haciendo en cada momento lo que parece que les pide el cuerpo, pero siempre en la vertiente más sucia y corrosiva a este lado del Mississipi. Que nadie busque aquí melodías ni momentos para la lírica porque no los va a encontrar, lo suyo es el caos, la locura desatada y la furia. En agosto publican este que será su sexta entrega, antes tenían eps y demos publicadas, y como ya lo hemos escuchado pues pasamos a comentarlo sin más demora.

Bad Luck In Belleville arranca el disco a golpe de hardcore mezclado con death y buenos acordes melódicos, y comandado por la voz rota y desesperada de su vocalista, sin duda el punto que marca la diferencia con otra bandas, pues tiene una voz poderosa y que transmite locura y energía a partes iguales, con una forma muy particular de interpretar las letras.

Toxic Mix tiene un buen riff de inicio, intenso y con feeling, pero luego cambian el ritmo y nos meten en su avorágine de heavy punk. Todos los temas son cortos y directos a la yugular, no hay tiempo que perder. 18oz es el tema que han escogido como single, death de riffeo repetitivo, oscuro y protestón, para luego dotar al tema de una marcha más, con el delirio en los coros y un groove muy potente.

Threadcounts es un corte de heavy muy chulesco, me recuerdan en ese sentido a los Guns and Roses más macarras, pero por supuesto le dan su estilo punk y la suciedad que impregan toda su música. Stage Names es más veloz, con una mezcla entre rock y thrash, con su paradita a medio camino para arrancar y desatar la locura nuevamente, un tema que en directo tiene que ser una auténtica bomba.

Better Half parece una continuación del anterior corte, mientras que Hodgepodge me recuerda a los queridos Rigor Mortis, un tema de death metal corrosivo y brutal, no se admiten prisioneros. Cerramos el disco con Good Luck In Gracetown, bonito el juego de palabras entre el primer y el último corte, un tema que navega entre unos Motorhead, el punk, el death en las guitarras y las voces desatadas.

En definitiva, escucharse este disco de los TMHM es como meterse un chute de adrenalina, un píldorazo que te sube las pulsaciones, rápido y sin mirar atrás, no hay tiempo para adornos ni para parafernalias, descargarás calorías sí o sí.

Puntuación: 7/10

Ekhymosis – Paz con Cadenas (2016)

1.Intro  00:55

2.Paz con cadenas      

3.Sueños de libertad

4.Mentiras

5.Despertar

6.Retroceder

7.Desolación

8.El eco de nuestros pasos

9.Sed de oro

10.Epidemia de violencia

11.El último día

12.Veneno

13.Desplazado

Andrés García C. - Guitars (lead), Bass

Mauricio Estrada - Drums

Oscar Osorio - Guitars (rhythm)

Felipe Manrique - Guitars (lead)

Luis Duqueiro  - Vocals

Ekhymosis es una banda de Medellín (Colombia) con muchos kilómetros a sus espaldas y con distintas etapas también, musicalmente hablando. Pero lo que nos trae a comentarlos hoy aquí es este buen álbum de thrash y heavy que publicarán en breve, el 29 de julio a través de Codiscos.

Después de la intro, Paz con cadenas es un tema de riff heavy clásico, con un tiempo muy vivo y poderoso, un tema power Usa se podría decir, ritmo a cañón con cambios a medio tiempo y un solo speedico. Un tema de esos que arrasan en directo.

Sueños de libertad cambia el groove por melodías más suaves, un heavy clásico con estribillo melódico y bastante comercial, y un solo de guitarra de los que hacen época. Atención a la actuación de Felipe Manrique que está sembrado a lo largo de todo el álbum. Buen trabajo de la base rítmica.

Mentiras se inicia con un riff malévolo donde muestran su faceta más thrasher, ritmos a lo bay area y solo veloz con sabor Testament. Luego una parada para ralentizar el tema y meter otro solo limpio en progresión, excelso tema. El vocalista no acapara protagonismo en ningún momento, se acopla al sonido de la banda y cumple su función, tiene una ejecución vocal que tira más hacia el heavy que hacia una voz rota o sucia thrasher.

Despertar se inicia con acústicas y es un medio tiempo heavy, incluso rozando lo baladístico por momentos, pero con muy buena ejecución y de estructura muy clásica, para meter de nuevo el momento estelar de cada tema con un solo gourmet. Retroceder vuelve a retormar la senda del thrash y speed metal, insertando cambios de ritmo, además atesora riffs pegadizos, estribillo logrado y punteos marca de la casa, otro buen tema para las alforjas.

Desolación es otro corte con inicio thrasher que luego combinan con ritmos heavys de poderosos riffs, con un vocalista que sigue mostrando su solidez en todo momento. Un corte que ofrece pegada pero también melodía, atención especial al solo fulgurante que vuelve a lanzar el tema. Dan ganas de repetirlo.

El eco de nuestros pasos empieza heavy pero lo van alternando con ritmos speed, muy buen primer solo atmosférico y segundo más en clave power. Mientras que Sed de oro es un tema con un cierto aire a lo Annihilator, sobre todo en el solo.

Epidemia de violencia es un tema heavy pero al que le echo en falta la garra de los anteriores. En cambio, El último día se mueve entre el medio tiempo y la balada y es mucho más entretenido. Los dos últimos cortes del disco tiran hacia la vertiente heavy, pero no muestran la agresividad que predomina a lo largo de todo el disco y que tan bien saben combinar con la melodía.

En definitiva, tenemos un muy álbum de una de las bandas clásicas de la escena colombiana, buena estructura en los temas, buena elaboración y un guitarra solista que es un superclase.

Puntuación: 7,5/10

STRYCTNYNE – Unfinished Business (2016)

1.Blasphemer  

2.Last Rite

3.Kill or Be Killed       

4.Line Them Up          

5.Hammer Down        

6.Reality         

7.Satan's Ride 

8.Thunder Godz

9.Turn the Power On  

10.Witches Hunt         

11.The Power and the Glory

12.Keeper's of the Secret

Samson James - Bass

Jack Hammer   - Drums

Grandma Cyco - Guitars

Siren Scac – Vocals

Estamos ante una banda neoyorkina con muchas muescas en sus revólveres, aunque viendo su discografía uno podría pensar que no es así. Pero esa es la historia más habitual en esto del metal, bandas que ya estaban en los 80 pero que no conseguían sacar disco, se cuentan por cientos. Y estos Stryctnyne encajan en ese perfil, dos demos un recopilatorio y se acabó, hasta este año... Y la verdad es que ha valido la pena la larga espera, porque el disco que se acaban de marcar es de los que te ponen las pilas. Quizás no sean los tipos más virtuosos del mundo desde el pinto de vista instrumental, pero son muy efectivos y consiguen transmitir sensaciones, temas con garra. Además, tienen un cantante que en mi opinión es la pieza clave del grupo, tremendo voceras el tal Scac.

Se trata de una banda de puro heavy metal, aunque también tienen sus ramificaciones hacia el hard rock. Se crearon a mitad de los 80 y se les nota en el poso clásico que despliegan a lo largo de todo el disco. Arrancamos con Blasphemer, es un tema con tirón pero para mi gusto de los menos interesantes del álbum, suena demasiado a los Manowar, medio tiempo y voces potentes, pero le falta personalidad, la que sí desarrollan a lo largo del disco. Lo mejor es el rollo psycho que le meten en momentos puntuales al tema. No me mata pero es un buen arranque.

Last Rite es un tema que se inicia a golpe de bajo y voces rockeras, luego cambian el ritmo hacia un medio tiempo más potente. De nuevo, tengo que hacer mención de la excelente voz del señor Siren Scac, convierte un tema de estructura sencilla en un tema con gancho. Me recuerdan mucho en este corte a los Samson del Before the Storm.

Kill or Be Killed empieza con un riff de hard heavy muy adictivo, secundado por unas excelentes líneas de bajo. Trabajan de manera excelente los coros estos americanos, lejos de los acaramelados de las bandas de hard, son coros de true metal, poderosos y que dan mucha personalidad a los temas. Un gran tema, coronado por un solo con mucho sentimiento y el poderío vocal de Scac, el disco va subiendo en temperatura.

Line Them Up tiene el típico inicio de la banda con el bajo dominando la escena y luego derivan hacia un hard heavy a lo Accept, simple pero pegadizo, con un deje a lo Blaze Bayley, es decir, desbordante de actitud. Eso es lo que hace que los temas de estos tipos huyan de la comercialidad de otras bandas y tengan muchísima más pegada.

Hammer Down hace honor a su nombre y arranca con un agudo de campanillas, heavy de alto octanaje, de rollo true metal. Basan sus temas en ritmos y riffs contundentes, no en la velocidad, así como en la impronta que deja su vocalista y los coros. Un tema que suena añejo, incluso diría que con cierto aire a los Manilla Road de los 80 en ciertos momentos, un tema de esos en que no puedes bajar el puño.

Reality tiene un arranque fulgurante con un riff a los Judas del Defenders, algo más de melodía en este tema, sobre todo en las voces, pero sin perder la actitud. Muy buen solo y final apoteósico con un ritmo oriental. Satan's Ride es un corte más lento y espeso y oscuro, con cierta carga doom, de nuevo nos vuelven a sorprender, porque meten un cambio de ritmo brutal, acompañado de un grito espeluznante, para meter una marcha más al tema. Scac sigue gustándose, saca voces que parecen de terceras personas, un rollo a lo King Diamond, luego ralentizan el tema para meter el solo y el pabellón que se viene abajo. Temazo absoluto.

Habíamos llegado a un climax y toca relajar un poco, así que nos sirven un tema de nuevo de aires Accept, Thunder Godz, un poco de los Manowar también, más comercial y simplón pero que se deja escuchar y disfrutar. Poco dura la calma, porque Turn the Power On es uno de los temas más veloces, heavy a cañón.

En cambio, Witches Hunt es uno de los temas más elaborados del disco, el medio tiempo habitual de la banda pero con muchos matices, un poco de Alice Cooper, otro poco de los Riot y de la etapa heavy de los Metal Church. Buscan siempre el riff directo, pegadizo, y lo mejor es que lo consiguen. El tema acaba con una gran intensidad y con juego de voces muy logrado.

Nos acercamos al final con The Power and the Glory, un tema más rockero, con cabalgadas excepcionales del bajo, un rollo a lo Wasp, con un solo de true metal y un tema que alargan bastante. Y la guinda al pastel la pone el mejor corte de todo el álbum, Keeper's of the Secret. Pedazo de canción, señores. Es un medio tiempo, medio baladístico en sus inicios, de guitarras pesadas y sonido épico. Pero como siempre, toca meter el cambio de ritmo y lo hacen de manera brutal. A eso le añaden una parada con campanas, creando mucha ambientación y cuando pensabas que esto se acababa nuevo arreón y a correr, con un solo y una parte final muy a los Judas Priest.

En definitiva, que estos Stryctnyne han tenido mucho años el producto envejeciendo en la barrica y es normal que les haya salido este caldo tan espectacular. Saben combinar simplicidad con pegada y además tienen actitud y un vocalista como la copa de un pino. El resultado era inevitable.

Puntuación: 8,25/10

Catatonic (by Exumer)

Interview with MISTEYES

The Band: Misteyes

Country: Italy

https://www.facebook.com/misteyesband

http://misteyes.bigcartel.com

Misteyes is an Italian band, it's curious because they are like a big family, seven members, and because their music has seen a constant evolution from their beginnings and they still leave the door open to new influences. Although formed in 2012 they have already many things to tell.

Hello guys, let’s start talking a little about the history of the band. Misteyes was at the beginning a black/death metal band. But you have changed your style recently, how was it?

 Hi! Yes, the project started with a black/death metal sound, even if it already had more melodic influences. The change was quite natural. We were satisfied with the compositions talking about the extreme part of our music, but we wanted also the explore more the melodic and symphonic part of our sound and we could do it only adding a proper keyboard player (before the guitarist Insanus took care also of some keyboard parts) and clean vocals.

So, I guess there is a big difference between your single “Brains in a Vat” (2013) and your new album “Creeping Time, right?

Yes and no. In "Creeping Time" we added many influences (especially gothic and symphonic elements) but without refusing the old extreme sound that is kept also after "Brains In A Vat". Moreover we are a very varied band, with different songs from ballads to heavy songs, so in "Brains In A Vat" we were very limited for the line-up but also because it was only a single. On the contrary, we had all the space we needed to express ourselves with a full-length album like "Creeping Time".

What has been the contribution of new members Hyde (keys) and Ainwen (vocals) to the new approach of Misteyes?

It was really essential. Hyde (a part from being a great keyboard player) is a great musician and helped a lot for the composition and above all for the arrangements of the songs. Ainwen is a very talented singer with a personal timbre, but she is also very good in using many different styles (clean, opera, etc...), so for her it was easy to adapt to the different songs and, at the same time, she always added a touch that then became a real trademark of the band.

Italy is a country with a long tradition in Metal, moreover Italian dealers are reknown for their ability to sell whatever they wish to anyone at any price hahaha. So, in your Metal style what part is more important, the commercial side or the aggressiveness of traditional Metal?

Our music is based on opposites and contrast and even in this particular case, we can say that both sides are part of our music. We surely don't play a very traditional metal, the melodic and "commercial" part of our music is very important. At the same time we surely didn't refuse our black/death origins and you'll find many "more traditional" kind of influences with their aggressiveness still present in our latest works.

Well, talking about your first full-length, “Creeping Time”, how long did you work on it?

It took a lot of time of work. Basically right after the release of "Brains In A Vat" in 2013 we started the composition of the songs but we hadn't a real plan for the future. When Hyde and Ainwen joined the band, we realized that we had a lot of good material, enough for a proper album. So, for all the time in 2014 e 2015 we firstly started working on the songs and the arrangements, then the recordings in the studio and the work was completely finished only at the very end of 2015.

You are no less than seven persons in the band, how difficult is to get an agreement about a song, an album, and to finish it up? Or maybe there is a “tyrant” inside the band hahaha?

Yes, it's true, it's not always easy to get an agreement with seven people in the band. However, the fact that everyone of us has very different ideas and musical tastes and that everyone can express it within our music, we think it's our strong point and that adds a lot of variety and personality to the band.

If you had to choose, which is the most important element in your music: voices, guitars, keyborads, ...? Because you play in many different fields...

It's really impossible to answer this question for our band! There is no a primary element or one that is more important. No element is great enough alone, but it's the collaboration between all them that is the strength for us. We can say that the most important element is the cooperation of the single parts!

One of the things that has surprised me more is your versatility. For example, we get a track as Creeping Time with a clear symphonic style and others as Brains in a Vat or The Prey more in the death metal side

Yes, it's true! We try to have a versatile and varied sound, in order to explore all our influences. We play what we like and we like both brutality and melody, in any case we think we have some trademarks that unite all the songs that make them recognizable. On the other hand, this variety is also due to the fact that this is our first album and we are still searching for our sound, so we explored many possibilities. Now, for the future material, we are working to make the sound more homogenous, without losing our influences and originality.

What are your favorite songs in the album and those more demanded by the fans in your gigs?

 For us it's really difficult to choose within our creations, however there are songs like "The Prey" that we like particularly and we have a lot of fun playing live. On the other hand, during our live shows we saw that the song "Inside The Golden Cage" is really appreciated while other longer songs like "Winter's Judgment" are more suited to be listened on CD.

Talking about gigs, how true are your shows compared to the studio sound? because some of the songs seem not that easy to play live...

 We worked a lot in order to play the song live the more similar possible to the cd. It was not easy, but with the help of some pre-recorded sequences (for some orchestral and choir parts) we are satisfied with the result, having a sound really comparable to the cd with all the arrangements, but without losing the impact and power of the live show.

What are the lyrics about in your album “Creeping Time”?

All our lyrics are mainly about introspective and philosophical considerations about the human nature. In this album most of the lyrics are related to the theme of time and we chose the title "Creeping Time" for this reason.

What bands have influenced your sound more deeply?

 There are many bands that influences us. On the extreme side of our music we can talk about bands like Dark Tranquillity, Death, Cradle Of Filth or Dimmu Borgir, while for the symphonic influences band like Epica, After Forever, Kamelot and Therion. But we have also inspiration from different sub-genres like progressive/avantgarde (Arcturus, Unexpect, ...) or doom (Draconian, Candlemass, Katatonia, Anathema, ...) and we noticed that on many reviews some of our atmospheres are compared to the ones of King Diamond.

A wide range, indeed. Misteyes is a band from the region of Piedmont, so how do you see the Italian scene nowadays?

Well, this is an hard question! We have a great culture especially in the underground scene, with a lot of bands and also some very good ones! But, as we sometimes tell, here there are more metal bands than metalheads! Not many people support the new emerging bands, so we don't have the same possibilities as in other countries. In any case, we are strong and in the years some Italian bands succeeded to obtain international exposure like Lacuna Coil, Rhapsody or, more recently Fleshgod Apocalypse. As we are not having much support from our country, we really invite metalheads abroad to looking for Italian bands, in every sub-genre! There are really talented bands here ready to be discovered!

Do you have any touring plans for this 2016?

No, we have not planned a proper tour for 2016. We are having some single shows to promote our first album in Italy and we hope to bring our music also outside of Italy in 2017!

Finally, how can the fan, from anywhere in the world, get a copy of your new album?

 Sure, if you want a physical copy of the album you can check our webstore (http://misteyes.bigcartel.com ) or simply asking directly to us on our fb page or with an email to misteyes.band@live.com . If you want to download the digital version, you can check this links: Bandcamp: https://misteyes.bandcamp.com/releases

 iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/album/creeping-time/id1089847466

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CI58UOW

CD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/misteyes

 Thank you very much for your time, we wish you a big success!

Thanks to you for this space!

Yossi Sassi Band - roots and roads (2016)

1.Wings

2.Palm Dance

3.Root Out

4.Mr. NoSoul

5.Madame TwoSouls  

6.The Religion of Music

7.Winter

8.Thundercloud

9.Road Less Traveled

10.Rizes kai Dromoi

11.Bird Without a Tree

12.Stronger than Ever 

Sapir Fox - Vocals

Shay Ifrah - Drums

Ben Azar - Guitars (electric)

Yossi Sassi - Guitars (electric, nylon-string, acoustic, 7-strings), Saz, Bouzouki, Chumbush, Oud, Vocals, Keyboards

Roei Fridman   - Percussion

Or Lubianiker  - Bass

Aquí tenemos el tercer larga duración de Yossi Sassi, más conocido por su labor como miembro de los Orphaned Land y que participó en ese enorme disco que es Mabool que catapultó a la fama a los israelís. Este es un proyecto del ex guitarrista de los Orphaned Land, que viene capitaneando desde 2011 y que por tanto empezó mientras todavía era miembro de aquella otra banda. De hecho, en sus discos, como no podía ser de otra forma, vais a encontrar mucho del sentimiento de los Orphaned Land, pero también temas mucho más personales, más intimistas y también más pausados.

El último disco de la Yossi Sassa Band era de 2014 y ya nos había dejado un buen sabor de boca, música con mucha clase. Este es un digno sucesor y posiblemente su mejor disco hasta ahora. Lo que nos vamos a topar son temas con muchos arreglos, muy cuidados en su composición, con muchos instrumentos y con mucho sentimiento. Aviso a navegantes sin brújula, que nadie piense que va a encontrarse con andanadas de death melódico, las hay pero en pequeñas dosis.

Arrancamos el disco con Wings, un tema muy tranquilo a base de acústicas y todos los intrumentos de cuerda que os podéis imaginar, que son propios de esa tierra y cuyo nombre se nos escapa, un tema muy personal, que sirve de prolegómeno del disco, está hecho con mucho gusto y sentirás como si nadaras en las aguas del paraíso.

Palm Dance es un tema instrumental pero ya metiendo distorsión y que recuerda mucho y bien a los años con los Orphaned Land. Root Out es un tema progresvo donde muestran toda la calidad qu atesoran, además del buen gusto compositivo, es un tema que se mueve entre el rock y el heavy progresivo, donde por primera vez aparecen las voces, con algún apunte guitarrero de death melódico. También encontramos el sonido típico oriental que impregna todo el disco y que plasman de manera magnífica.

Mr. NoSoul es un tema breve, a base de acústicas y sonidos arabescos, que deja paso a Madame TwoSouls que nos ofrece a un Yossi gustándose y haciendo punteos sin pausa, insertando acústicas, con un desarrollo a medio tiempo.

The Religion of Music es el tema que desata la tempestad después de la calma de los primeros cortes, distorsión, riffs potentes, voz poderosa y notarás como saltan todos tus resortes, es como una descarga eléctrica después del inicio tan tranquilo del disco, justo la caña que necesitaba el álbum en este momento. Le sigue Winter, para mi el gran temazo del disco, se inicia con un sonido de instrumentos de viento que parece que llaman a la oración, y luego tiene un desarrollo en clave rock progresivo con una clase infinita, repleto de sensibilidad. Posteriormente un solo en rollo bluesy, melodías orientales y vuelta a meter otro solo en este caso minutero, parece que no se acaba nunca, limpio y con reverb para cerrar un corte espléndido.

Apartir de aquí el disco se relaja todavía más, entramos en la fase final del disco, que a mi entender es demasiado tranquilota o relajada, sin perder ni un ápice de clase, que quede claro, pero se echa en falta la inclusión de algún momento de rabia o de furia. Thundercloud es una pieza muy breve y relajada, incluso diría que de aires popero, me recuerda un poco a los Supertramp, un corte bastante supérfluo. Road Less Traveled se inicia con acústicas pero luego meten distorsión, siempre a medio tiempo, repetitivo en el riff y con un cambio de ritmo final bastante interesante.

Rizes kai Dromoi es otro tema muy pero que muy lento, lo mismo que Bird Without a Tree, aunque este es un corte mucho más rico en matices que me recuerda a los interludios intrumentales que suelen meter los Orphaned Land, además tiene un sabor a western ácido de Tarantino realmente interesante.

Y rematamos la faena con Stronger than Ever, que después de unos temas muy calmados le mete un poco adrenalina, tampoco es que sea la caña, pero al menos sube algo las pulsaciones, con un cambio de ritmo al inicio metiendo riff adictivo a lo Opeth..

En definitiva, un disco que desprende calidad, con muchos detalles, de esos que hay que escuchar muchas veces para extraerle todo el jugo y que va ganando con las escuchas, es muy agradecido. Por ponerlo algún pero, la parte final se hace un poco cansina por lo excesivamente lenta que es, pero esto es lo que ofrece la Yossi Sassi Band, calidad y música folk.

Puntuación: 8/10

Inxight - right words (2015)

1.Timeless

2.Old Struggle

3.3000 Suns

4.This Song of Sadness

5.Windup Girl

6.Right Words

7.Where No One Knows the Rain

8.End Point

9.Love and Ashes

AleXighT – Vocals

Fer - Lead Guitar

Juande - Guitar

Sergio - Bass

Maki – Drums

Los Inxight son una banda de Málaga con unos cuantos años en esto y el año pasado editaron este Right Words, que podéis escuchar en las platafomas habituales como Spotify y os paso a comentar. Su estilo va en la dirección de un hard heavy, mayormente, aunque hay variedad en los temas, unos tiran más hacia el heavy y otros son más pausados y hardrockeros.

Se inicia el disco con Timeless, para mi gusto uno de los mejores temas del álbum, tiene un poco de todo, desde aires heavys, groove guitarrero, ritmos a medio tiempo con su parada incluida, ralentización que me ha recordado mucho por su cadencia a los Maiden, con el bajo comandando las operaciones. La salida en aceleración es muy buena y el solo veloz es el colofón perfecto. Un primer corte en el que ya se dejan entrever lo que son en mi opinión los dos puntos fuertes de la banda: un vocalista con una voz y un timbre con personalidad, le da un aire especial a las canciones el señor Alex, y luego la labor del guitarra solista, Fer, realmente buena.

Old Struggle es un tema a media velocidad, de heavy clásico con variaciones en el riff y en los ritmos, un tema con mucho gancho, con un solo de gran feeling. 3000 Suns es un tema del que han editado video y que tiene un inicio a cañón realmente potente, con un rollito de groove y ritmos a lo Symphony X, y a medida que transcurre el tema se van decantando más hacia el hard melódico, con un solo que cumple a la perfección, lo mismo que Alex que está soberbio a lo largo de todo el disco.

This Song of Sadness es un medio tiempo en clave hard heavy pero al que le meten aquí y allá ciertos aires progresivos. Mientras que Windup Girl vuelve a tener un ritmo de esos que ta hacen latir el corazón realmente rápido, con riff demoledor, un heavy que roza el speed, pero intercalando siempre pausas y cambios como hacen en todos los temas. El solo de calidad nunca falla y redondea el que es otro de los grandes temas del disco.

Right Words es uno de los cortes más comerciales, personalmente me gustan más cuando van más al grano y se ponen más heavys, pero tampoco se mueven mal en estas lides más rockeras, un tema a lo Gotthard. Where No One Knows the Rain es un tema similar al anterior, pero con una marcha más, que van metiendo poco a poco, un tema en constante crecimiento, más interesante e intenso.

Nos acercamos al final con End Point, otro de los momentos álgidos del disco, un corte hard heavy con excelentes guitarrazos, buena y elaborada base rítmica y Alex en plan estelar, un vocalista que no conocía y que me ha dejado muy sorprendida, gran control de voz, buen tiembre y mucha personalidad, un líder que se dice. Además, este tema atesora el que para mí es el mejor solo del disco, puro caviar.

Love and Ashes pone la rúbrica final de muy buenas maneras, el riff de inicio es realmente una apisonadora, acompañado de un ritmo muy vivo, aunque luego el tema se ralentiza y se queda en un medio tiempo.

En definitiva, tenemos un buen disco entre manos, de esos que además ganan con las escuchas. Y una banda a seguir, como decía, me gustan más cuando se ponen más heavys que cuando tiran hacia la vertiente hardrockera, el disco ofrece ambas caras, por eso será interesante ver hacia donde enfocan su sonido en futuras entregas.

Puntuación: 7/10

Sacrifice in the ice (by ADX)

Interview with SPELL

by Vpower

The Band: Spell

Country: Canada

https://www.facebook.com/spellspell

http://spellofficial.bandcamp.com/album/full-moon-sessions

Canadian trio Spell has realesed this 2016 a new album, the second in their career, “For None and All”  that brings quality and classicism to a high level. They enroll themselves in a generation of young Canadian bands that do not forget the references from the past but also look ahead with their own style, building day by day the new heavy metal of the 21st century.

Hello guys, Spell is the heir of your previous band Stryker, how much we can find from Stryker in Spell?

Hey, thanks for getting in touch with us. Yes, we were previously called Stryker, and it's the same band, the same three members. Stryker was our first form, we were all very young and wanted to play the 80's style heavy metal that we loved and still love. Since then, we've been playing for many years and have come under the influence of a more diverse array of music – progressive, blues, psychedelic, soul, etc, and we slowly developed our own sound. We decided to change our name to reflect this and allow us to play whatever kind of music we wanted – our sound is still evolving, and we don't plan on writing the same album twice. That being said, we still play some songs that we played during the Stryker days.

However, with Spell it seems you have been more creative or at least you publish more material, one album in 2014 and now your new album “For None and All”

Yes, we changed our name when we decided to take music very seriously and put in the work to release albums and tour, so since the change, we've felt it's been important to work hard and develop and explore our capabilities as musicians. We're not interested in copying what we've already done and we'll keep putting out new records.

Is there some evolution between “The Full Moon Sessions” and “For None and All”?

Yes, I'd say so – there's overlap, but also growth. We're always at the record stores looking for new music that inspires us, and we rehearsed nearly every day for months prior to recording, so we've come a long way. “The Full Moon Sessions” has more of an '80's metal' sound, while “For None and All” we feel is much more original – it's our own creation.

How near is Spell from the NWOBHM sound? Do you consider yourself a revival band or do you mind to be considered as such? Because many young bands don’t like to hear that word...

No, we don't consider ourselves to be a revival or pastiche band at all. Of course we're influenced by bands from the 60's, 70's and 80's, but how could one not be? What kind of musician could ignore the decades of incredible music that came before them? At the same time, we also love many current, contemporary bands and we work very hard to create music that is fresh and original. Our music references our present experience, and is relative to bands presently active. The world is full of so many amazing musical groups right now, we're very happy to be alive and writing music today – we don't wish we were born in another decade.

Some people compares Spell’s heavy metal to compatriots Cauldron...

We're big fans of Cauldron and we all grew up listening to them and Goat Horn, among many others, so of course we've been influenced by them. They're great guys and true heavy metal die hards, but we don't want to copy them. I think that we have a lot of influences that they don't have, and vice versa. I've heard people talking about a 'Canadian sound' though, and perhaps there's a bit of truth to it.

Today’s Canadian scene is very fertile, that’s true. What bands have influenced your heavy metal approach?

Lately we've been really into some bands like Tribulation, Wytch Hazel and Danava, and we love what In Solitude and The Devil's Blood have done. Also, bands like Uncle Acid, Graveyard, Cauldron, and Black Trip are great. Of course, we love lots of older stuff too.

How long did you work in this “For None and All” and how was the composition process?

“For None and All” was a giant undertaking for us. We all moved out to an old farmhouse in the suburbs early in 2015 to create the album. We worked really hard for about eight months, writing songs and rehearsing almost every day. Generally, one of us would come up with an idea on our own, and we're share it and work on it together, each adding our own elements. After we'd finished writing it, we went into Little Red Sounds, the studio in Vancouver where we recorded this album with Felix Fung, our producer. This was not an easy process – we recorded the entire album with live bed tracks and to analogue tape. “For None and All” has no digital editing, autotuning, beatmapping, or any kind of cheating like that. What you hear is exactly how we played it, all together. We took many takes to get it as good as we possibly could, so we're very proud of it.

Almost an handcrafted process, cool. I think a constant in your music is that you sound like a tribute to 80s heavy metal, for example The Sickness unto Death has a great feeling ala Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy

Great, we love those bands.

What is your favourite song in the album and that one that was more difficult to compose?

I can't say that we have a favourite track on the album – it would be wrong to pick specific tracks, the album is a cohesive unit. Though it's not lyrically a 'concept album', it was built as a single piece. We worked to fit each part together. Each song on the album is very meaningful to us in different ways. No song is less important than another. That being said, perhaps Vanitas was the most difficult to compose. It's one of the more progressive ones with many parts, difficult harmonies, and more complex lyrics.

What do the lyrics talk about?

There's quite a bit a diversity in the lyrical themes on this album, but at the same time, we tried to keep it cohesive, in a sense. I like to see an album as a unified piece, rather than a collection of different songs. Some of them are about the most powerful moments in life, things I can't stop thinking about that seem to force themselves into lyrics of their own accord. Others are inspired by books I've read – characters that fascinate me, or questions brought up by powerful thinkers which caused me to question what I've believed. Some of them combine all of these. We discuss longing, despair, mystery, hubris, and vanity. Some of them come in the form of stories, others are written as I experienced them. Read the lyrics in the liner or on our bandcamp if you're curious – I wonder who will get our references?

Spell is a band with a recognition growing day by day, in a very short time in fact, how do you feel about it?

This is great, we couldn't be happier. It's our dream to continue playing music and exploring new sounds, and to tour as much as we possibly can. We have a great deal of energy for this and nothing is more important.

Have you ever played in Europe?

We've never played Europe, but we would die to. We've heard amazing stories about the incredible music scenes and heavy metal/hard rock festivals. It's been our goal since the day we began to play in Europe.

What are your touring plans for this 2016?

Well, 2016 is already half over, and tours take a long time to book, so we're looking mostly to 2017 right now. We plan to tour in Europe, Mexico, the United States, and Canada. If anyone would like to book us, please get in touch.

What are your plans for the future?

We're going to keep doing what we love – exploring new music, writing a new album, and touring as much as we possibly can.

Thank you very much for your attention, if you wish to add something...

Thanks to you! We hope to play in Spain very soon!