DARKNESS SHADE RECORDS INTERVIEW May 2012

Darkness Shade Records is an underground record label from the UK, and has released some outstanding Metal artists over the last few years. The owner is also responsible for Orbis, so I spoke to owner/front-man Paul about a few things...

Hi Paul, for those who don't know, can you introduce yourself and tell us what you do? 


Hails, I'm the owner of  Darkness Shade Records, a label that specialises in releasing underground metal bands on cassette format. I also have my own Dark / Drone Ambient project Orbis.

What was it that made you want to start a record label?

I always wanted to start a underground metal label from a very young

age. So when I had money spare to invest into bands and learnt a bit

about the trade. I started in 2008 evolving the idea of DSR. With my

first releases being in the May of 2009 on cassette format.

My main aim was to keep the underground cassette scene alive by

spreading music I love and support on this wonderful format.

Can you tell me a bit about your ventures with your Ambient Black

Metal project Orbis?

This quote sums up my project Orbis in one hit -

"Dark / Drone Ambient hailing from the shores of the UK. Drowned in

pitch black ice cold depressed darkness. Capturing true emotions of a

barren desolate wasteland of a world drowned in darkness. My nightmare

I present in a atmospheric sound-scape giving you the listener an

extraordinary listening experience never heard before. Orbis is not

just samples / re-sampling, but original recordings done with real

gear and professional production."

What has been your favourite release on Darkness Shade Records and why?

I have done many releases on DSR so it's hard to pick out a favourite

one. I'm proud of the releases I have done so far and plan to keep on

going for years to come.

How do you view the Underground Extreme Metal scene in 2012?

The underground scene in 2012 is still alive and pretty strong. Still

loads of bands recording strong albums and many older bands still

active. With many new artists coming into the extreme metal scene it's

still a good scene to be apart of.

Most of the releases on Darkness Shade Records are on cassette tape,

in your opinion is there still a strong customer base for tapes?

Support for cassettes is still about but in much smaller numbers. This

only effects the volume of tapes I get pressed but still enough

support and trading active to keep cassettes alive in 2012.

Witchclan's 'Misanthropist' album was your first CD release, do you

plan on more CD releases in the future?

I might do another couple of pro-CDs in the future on Darkness Shade

Records just see where the future  takes me and what bands come my

way.

What is your main inspiration for when you write and record Orbis material?

My main inspiration is my misanthropist / depressed mindset which I

really want people to feel within my music to create my nightmare

within my songs for people to hear and escape within.

If you had the choice, which band would you most like to release on

Darkness Shade Records?

I'm happy with the current roster of bands I have signed on Darkness

Shade Records, And pleased with the bands I have worked with over the

past couple of years and plan on working with over the coming months /

years.

What UK bands are you into?

Some off the top of my head -

Abwehrschlacht – Bal-Sagoth – Witchclan - Akercocke – Barad-Dur -

Hecate Enthroned - Myrrdin - The Meads of Asphodel - Venom – Acid

Regin – Lawnmower Deth – Xentrix - Black Sister – D.A.M. - Deathwish –

Decimator - Drunken State – Evile - Gama Bomb – Re-Animator – Sabbat –

Skyclad - Blind Fury - Pariah – Satan – Slammer - Tortoise Corpse –

Virus - Cerebral Fix

I've missed out loads but could go on forever the UK has an amazing

past of many hiden gems within the world of Thrash / NWOBHM.

I remember you saying that there might be some Darkness Shade Records

merchandise such as patches available soon, is this still on the

cards?

The patches will be avaliable with the new Orbis album details below -

DSR-EVIL-XIV- Orbis - "The Unquestionable Chapters Of A World Forgotten" Tape 2012 
The logo patches have been done and will be avalibe with the new Orbis album set, details below.
Dark / Drone Ambient hailing from the shores of the UK. Drowned in pitch black ice cold depressed darkness. Capturing true emotions of a barren desolate wasteland of a world drowned in darkness. My nightmare

I present in a atmospheric sound-scape giving you the listener an

extraordinary listening experience never heard before. Orbis is not

just samples / re-sampling, but original recordings done with real

gear and professional production.

The dust partials of ash blow in the wind like a sandstorm all that

was left behind from the destruction of planet earth. Molecules settle

building a new structure of dark grey waterless waste land. All life

disappeared, just nothingness. All that can be heard is the noise that

echo's out drowning you in darkness, my vision I present you!

Limited edition tape release first 25 come with -

2x Badges - DSR Logo / Orbis Logo + 2x Patches - DSR Logo / Orbis Logo

+ 2x Artwork Postcards + 1x Letter / Signed / Dated with lyrics /

poems + 1x Flyer + 1x Pro Doubled Sided Cover + 1x Pro-Duplicated Tape

with Pro-Stickers both sides + 1x Full Black Case + 5x Tracks of dark

cold drone ambient spanning over 50 minutes long.

Due out next month.

Any last words?

Thanks for the interview.
New releases out next month on DSR -

DSR-EVIL-XIII- Temple of Baphomet "Testament Of The Heretic Priest" Tape 2012
13 tracks from the ToB era 2000 to 2005. 6 classic ToB black metal tracks
and 7 experimental / piano songs - just a little under an hour of demo material.
Lots of unreleased tracks - and the first re-pressing of the originals
in over 8 years.
Marking the 15th anniversary of ToB...

DSR-EVIL-XV- The Stone - "Golet" Tape 2012
Praising the ways of old with modern strength and ineffable
persistence and dedication, The Stone deliver their 6th opus "Golet" -
sophisticated black metal mastery, renewed through 8 chaos invoking
spells; dynamic, heavy and harmonic, yet wickedly indulging,
accompanied by top notch musicianship. A new chapter of European
darkness has begun.

DSR-EVIL-XVI- Njiqahdda - "The Path of Liberation from Birth and

Death" Tape 2012
Limited one off cassette tape limited to 100 copies first 25 come with
pin badge and on special coloured tape! Once sold out this will be
history never to see the light of day again!
The strange dark spirit of Njiqahdda is summoned forth once again for
an epic journey into an ethereal maelstrom of mystic eccentricity.
Njiqahdda easily shatters the bonds of it's former self to present
over 75 minutes of technical, complex, progressive and melodic
Njimajikal art.
This latest spell incorporates multiple guest vocalists and a densely
diverse, technically-proficient instrument performance, delving into
previously undiscovered complex chasms of mind-altering mystery. With
their signature thickly-immersive recording production, Njiqahdda this
time lashes forth with surprising skill and virtuosity to carve
violent vistas of structure out of cosmic chaos using their seemingly
endless well of creative energies. Guest Appearances: Guest vocals :
Syntax A. and
S. Trombatore.

To order just go on the above web site.

Thanks Paul. Be sure to show your support to Darkness Shade Records, the label has some excellent releases so get yourself onto the website here, and be sure to check out Orbis. You can email Darkness Shade Records directly at darknessshaderecords@googlemail.com 

DEATHRAISER INTERVIEW May 2012

Brazil are pretty well known for churning out some of the best Thrash Metal over the years, and Deathraiser are no exception to this. Having released their debut album through Xtreem Music last year, I spoke to the bands drummer William to get the lowdown on Brazil's latest Thrash export...

Hi William, how are you and how are thing with the band?

Hello Matt, is a pleasure to do this interview for you and for everyone who enjoys the Deathraiser. With us everything is great, just rehearsing and touring.

Can you give us a bit of background history on Deathraiser?

Deathraiser began in mid 2006 under the name Mercilless. In 2007 the band recorded their first demo 'Possessed By Thrash', having a great acceptance in the global scene. In 2009 we decided to change to Deathraiser, and released the album 'Violent Aggression' in 2011.

Are you pleased with the reception you have got with your latest album 'Violent Aggression'?

Of course man, we had a great acceptance of the album everywhere with fanzines, magazines, web sites... We were very pleased with this CD, it has brought us many good things and hopefully it will  bring more. Now we can now launch it here in Brazil and hopefully get some good publicity.

How did you come up with the name Deathraiser and what prompted you to change the name from Mercilless?

After we recorded the demo, we saw that there were already several bands with this name, and we were looking for something more aggressive and it was then that we came up with the name Deathraiser. We liked the name, but we were hesitant to use it at the beginning as it was hard to get used to it, but I believe it was a good choice.

Your style has been described as Kreator on amphetamines, how do you feel about this? Are Kreator a big influence for you?

We received several descriptions, but do not see this as a downside. Kreator has always been a great influence to the band, and for us it is a pleasure to be compared to bands that created Thrash Metal as they are part of our influences but I believe we still own one side, and are more characteristic of Brazilian bands like Sepultura, Sarcófago, and Mutilator.

Your style of Thrash Metal is very aggressive and fast, how easy is it for you to play to this level in a live performance?

Haha, it is sometimes tricky because we can get very tired, but the best thing is to show it live because the energy is insane and you get used to it. I confess that at first it was more difficult to maintain, but today we are very familiar with the songs and we want to do always perform better.

Do you listen to other styles of Metal, or are you mainly into Thrash?

I particularly listen to a little of everything. I like various styles and I think the band members also do.  I really enjoy Old School Death Metal, 70's Rock n' Roll, Crossover, Grindcore, Punk Rock, Hardcore, Stoner, Hard n' Heavy and various other things but it is clear that Thrash is always first.

How do you feel about the new wave of Thrash Metal bands? Do you think Thrash is better these days compared to the 80's?

I love this 'new' wave of Thrash Metal, but it will never be like it was in the 80's. The 80's was perfect and there's nothing that can compare to it, but today we have many great bands, and more bands emerging which is good, but of course you will get a lot of bands that appear and then disappear over night. I believe that things must be done with passion and desire, and there must be cooperation not competition.

What is the scene like in Brazil?

Our scene is always on the rise but still has plenty of handicap, in various ways. Many producers who think only about money and lots of people wanting to take advantage, but the underground is very strong in Brazil. I like living in this scene, and we like organizing gigs, our local scene is getting better and better.

Are you guys writing new material, and what can we expect from this new material?

We started writing two new songs, new material that we wanted to be more evolved, with more variations and simple riffs. We are very concerned about the lyrics this time, they will be more critical about the world we live in, with all this misery, corruption and ignorance. We believe it will be a more mature work in every way, to give an example I will say it will be a mix of Sepultura's Arise with 'Extreme Aggression' by Kreator hahaha - do not take me seriously, haha just kidding!

What UK bands are you into?

We believe that the principal is Motorhead, but like some UK bands, in terms of lyrics, Napalm Death, Extreme Noise Terror, and many others.

Do you guys have some cool merchandise available and where can the readers get it from?

 We have plans to make our official merchandise as fast as possible. So far we haven't been able to for lack of money and services from quality businesses, but hopefully this year we will do our shirts and other official merchandise.

What plans do you have for the future?

Hopefully in 2013 we will record the second album. We have plans for several tours in Brazil, South America and Europe now, our plan is to record our first video and play at many places that we can.

Any last words?

I want to thank you Matt, for giving us this opportunity, and everyone who enjoys the Deathraiser. We hope to play in England some day, it would be great to meet you and drink a few beers haha!

Keep the underground spirit! Thrash 'til death.

Thanks for answering the questions, William. Remember to check out Deathraiser and be sure to buy their album which you can get direct from Xtreem Music. You can visit the band on Facebook and Myspace, and you can also follow them on Twitter.

NECROWRETCH INTERVIEW April 2012

Necrowretch are France's latest Death Metal abomination. With two quality demos, a 12" and a new 7" under their belts, the band have recently signed to major Metal label Century Media. I spoke to front man Vlad to find out more...

Hi Vlad, how are things with Necrowretch?

Greetings from beyond! The Necrowretch beast is becoming more and more of a frenzy while the gigs and releases become more bestial than ever.

Congratulations on being signed to Century Media, did this come quite unexpected to you? 

 Yes it was totally unexpected, but I think that we can see it as a proof that Necrowretch is a promising band and is just at its beginning.

Necrowretch seems to have become very popular in the underground in a short space of time. Are you pleased with the way things are progressing? 

Of course I'm glad to see all these good critics with support for the band, but it wasn't planned at all, we're just playing Death Metal the way it has to be.

How did you come to sign to Detest Records? 

I have been in touch with Jerry (Detest Records' administrator) since the beginning of the band. 

He came one day to a gig and was blasted by the bestial performance of the band, quickly after that we made a deal for a mini LP.

How did your first demo 'Rising From Purulence' sell, and did 'Necrollections' also sell well?

 Something like 200 copies for 'Rising From Purulence' and 100 copies of 'Necrollections'. 

A repress of 'Necrollections' (50 copies) was made and afterwards a compilation tape limited to 350 copies of both demos was released called 'Ripping Souls Of Sinners'. 

You did a cover of a Nihilist song on your second demo, how did this come about or was it just something you guys always wanted to do? 

You can easily guess that we are dedicated fans of corrosive Death Metal such as the old Nihilist demos, so it was natural for us to play this song. Furthermore, it was easy to play and very catchy for the end of the gigs.

Who are your favourite older bands? 

Death, Carcass, Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, Bathory....

How would you describe Necrowretch's music? You obviously play old style Death Metal but personally, I also here a slight Black Metal influence especially in the vocals. Would you say this is a fair comment?

 Necrowretch plays 'Putrid Death Metal', which means music dealing with death, the unholy, the cryptic and the beyond! There is no Black Metal inspiration (not intentionally), the vocals are inspired by Dismember's demos, Nihilist, Sadistic Intent...

How has your debut 12" 'Putrefactive Infestation' been selling? Have you had a good response from people?

There was a lot of great reviews and many people discovered us through this Mini LP. That's a good thing because 'Putrefactive Infestation' is much better than the demos material!

How is the French Death Metal scene these days? Are you a fan of the original French gods Agressor, Massacra, Mercyless and Loudblast? 

There are some good bands around, but no real scene... I like the old Massacra and Mutilated material, but it's not my favorite type of Death Metal.

Can we expect a full length album soon? 

Yes... and it will bring you to your doom!

What do you think about the UK Death Metal scene? Are there any bands you like? 

The classics - Carcass, Bolt Thrower, Benediction, Cancer... But also newer bands such as Bonesaw, Grave Miasma, Nethilith...

Necrowretch is a cool name, how did you decide upon it? 

I was looking for something unholy as fuck and my brother came up with this idea: An evil priest possessed by hell who brings death upon the living sinners! That idea led us to the name of Necrowretch!

Detest Records have just released your latest abomination which is a 7" called 'Now You're In Hell'. Will this be the last time you release something on Detest now that you're with Century Media? 

Probably yes, but who knows? Maybe we'll make some special releases through Detest Records in the future...

What can we expect next from Necrowretch? 

Putrid music, death rituals and gruesome sorcery!

Any last words? 

Thanks a lot for your questions and your support to Death Metal! 

PREPARE YOURSELF FOR HORRIBLE DOOM!!!

And thanks to you as well, Vlad. Check out the new Necrowretch official website and be sure to support Necrowretch by ordering their material from Detest Records and keep checking Century Media for updates on forthcoming activities from the band!

DESOULMENT INTERVIEW April 2012

Desoulment are a top quality U.S Death Metal band who have two solid demos under their belt. I caught up with Matt Kruger who spoke to me about the band...

Hi Matt, how are you? What can you tell me about what you've been doing lately?

Not much, haha, we released a new demo song in December and have been

on a break do to personal reasons. We hope to start working on a full length CD soon.

Can you tell me a bit about how Desoulment came to be?

Tom and I have worked together in the past and wanted to do something new and be a bit more committed.

I understand you are currently working on new material for a full length album, how is that coming along so far? 

We have all the material written with the exception of lyrics for one song.

The music that Desoulment play is a brutal blend of traditional sounding Death Metal with some Thrash Metal influences. How easy is it for you to write such original sounding material in a genre which can sometimes be seen as quite limited?

It is easy for us, we like all different genres of Metal and don’t want to limit ourselves in our writing. 

You have released two solidsounding demos to date. Are you happy with the way they turned outand did they get a good response? 

Yeah for the most part. I think a couple songs could have been better but it’s a demo. They will be on

the full length. I think the response has been good to this point.

Who would you say are your main influences as a musician and in Desoulment in general?

Well I can’t speak for Tom on this but me, old school Thrash and Death Metal and just Metal in general, I could list a million bands here. I am just a huge Metal fan.

You wrote a song dedicated to Ed Veter who presents regular videos on You Tube. What was the story behind this?

Ed did a promo video for us. We gave him some stuff for doing it but thought doing this would be a huge honour for him .and for us to do it was an honour for us. Just glad he liked it.

Your lyrics seem to be pretty varied. What's your favourite type of lyrical theme or do you prefer not to keep it to one particular style?

Tom and I both write lyrics so they definitely vary. Some songs Tom writes all the lyrics some songs I write all the lyrics and some we write together.

You have already had a nice amount of merchandise available like different design shirts and even hats. Do you have more plans to release more garments like hoodies in the near future?

I have a very limited t-shirt available at the moment directly through me.

It has some sick angie decay artwork. I am sure we will have more items available in the future.

In your opinion, which country is the best for quality Death Metal, and why?

That’s hard to answer, quality Death Metal comes from a lot of different countries so I don’t think anyone is better than another.

What is the best thing about being in Desoulment?

We started it.

What can we expect next from you?

Hopefully a full length CD and then some live performances.

Any last words?

Thanks for your time and interest in Desoulment.

Thanks Matt. Be sure to check out Desoulment's official website, and also on Facebook and You Tube.

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ENTRAILS INTERVIEW March 2012

The Traditional Death Metal scene is strong, with lots of bands playing in the style of the old days. Entrails are at the forefront Swedish Death Metal, and having recently released their second LP, I spoke to front man Jimmy Lundqvist...

Hi Jimmy, can you give us a bit of background history on Entrails?

Hey Matt! Sure I can give you some short history, the long one is written on Myspace.

Me and some friends started Entrails in the very early 90´s and I think it was in early 1991 we had a complete band doing some Death Metal in my home village in South Sweden. After a few years the other half wanted to move and do other things so in 1994 I decided to close down the band, there was no other option since there was no one else around to take their place.

 During the years we had together, we tried to record some demos but with no money to get us a real sound engineer, the results of the songs were so bad that we kept them for ourselves, sad but true. We really wanted to have some songs released but it was totally impossible to have get it done well and so the years went on...

In around 2007- 2008 I found my old recordings and many more cool things in an old box where I kept all my tapes from the 90´s, and after some time listening I become so nostalgic that I said that "This shit deserves to be released.." and by June 2009 Entrails had put down their feet and risen one more time.

How did you come up with the band name? A few people say that your logo is similar to Entombed, was this intentional or was that just the way it turned out?

Haha, not a few - almost everyone just has to mention it! Well, in the beginning we were seeking a grotesque name and in a library we found the name Entrails, and at the same time we were also searching for an old looking font to use when our drummer at that time found the font that Nihilist, Carnage, Bathory, God Macabre and also Entombed used so we ended up in that font as well. Unfortunatly the first three letters are the same as Entombed´s so the similarities are not hard to miss.

Your two demos were a really cool slice of old school sounding Death Metal. Did they both sell well and were you happy with them?

Yeah they turned out to be pretty good. They become popular very quickly and a french guy had the first one 'Reborn' released on tape, and from that day Entrails grew a bit every day. 

They´re all sold out now i think, and many are asking for re-presses of the CD´s, so maybe later this year we´ll make some more..

I was glad finally have some of my old songs released even though I did used a forbidden tool in a drum machine in remaking them  but I just couldn't find me a drummer at that time.

What do you think about the explosion of old school sounding Death Metal in recent years? Are you proud to be a part of it?

To me its a good thing to be a part of it since I missed it first time. but I think this shit in calling it 'old school' has become too much, I mean every band is now saying they´re playing old school  and to me that's bullshit. For me old school started 1988 and ended 1992, then it progressed and the music became more technical stuff and involved. Today mostly all of the bands play too technical and without any passion from the old style and the simple riffs and to me that's more like brutal/technical/melodic Death Metal and not old school, this is just my own opinion.

You signed to FDA Rekortz for the debut album, did this work out well for you?

Yep, Rico from FDA asked about the first release and if  I am looking back, we are pretty satisfied. I don't know what we´ve missed by signing with him, we could have it re-released on a bigger label the near future which could sell even more, I don't know.

Are you pleased with both your albums and the way they turned out? Is there anything you would have done differently given the chance?

Hmm... yeah I am satisfied I think. There are some things here and there that could be done in another way but we are pleased with the way they turned out.

What do you think of UK Death Metal and are there any bands you particularly admire?

I must say am a terrible listener to music from other countrys but some bands I do know, like Carcass and Bolt Thrower, they were huge inspirations in the 90´s.

What future plans do you have with Entrails?

In 2012 we will release one more album if everything goes as planned and do some major shows at Summer Breeze for an example, and some other places in Germany and Sweden, then only the future can tell what will happen to the band.

22 years ago, did you think that Death Metal would still be around today? Does it surprise you that it has stood the test of time and do you think it will still be around in another 20 years?

At the time I didn't think so but as the style carried on along the years, now I'm not that surprised and I think people liked the past more than the new shit that's around these days.

Death Metal seems to have gone full circle and there are now many new bands playing in the style of the late 80's and early 90's. What do you think about this?

Very cool if they're doing it as it was done back then. There are many bands who are doing this very well and playing the way it used to be with no involvement of new shit.

There are a lot of bands who seem to have made a bit of a come back over the last few years like Autopsy, Massacre, Pestilence and Carcass. Do you think that this shows that Death Metal is stronger than ever?

Yeah I think so, if the good old bands still deliver then the Death Metal will always be strong.

To keep it alive is a must and to have the same passion for the music and not to mix with new shit,  it should sound and play as if it was torn up from the grave!

Any last words?

Keep on buying and support the bands you like, and they will continue to deliver damn good tunes to you.

Hope to see you out there some day banging your head off!

Thanks Jimmy. Make sure you support Entrails by buying their albums, both of which are available from  FDA Rekortz. You can check out the band on Myspace and also Facebook.