INTERVIEWS:
ALGAION "Oimai Algeiou" (Full Moon Productions)
This upcoming record label has showcased some promising black metal in mighty Algaion! After we surpass the lenghty intro, we get to the meat of the disc! Every song starts out fast, typical black metal fare, but it's interesting to note that most songs slow down and the guitar work actually shows some variety and intricacy! The vocals are rather typical of black metal; that screeching style which on this particular disc sounds like a cross between Quorthon of Bathory and that higher pitched style presented by I believe Steve Souza from the first Exodus record Bonded By Blood. The drums are vicious as well, it's amazing to hear the speed at which he plays, most notably on "In Aede Dolorium." The last song "The Last Delusion" portrays some nice female operetta style vocals inlaid with some beautiful keyboarding, and it's a shame they didn't make more use of such an atmosphere. A few problems with the disc; like on the track "Natrices Educati" where there isn't much variety or chord changes on the fast parts, there was good instrumentative writing on "Heosphoros" where they varied the song structure a bit more. Aside from their repetitiveness on some tracks, the guitar notes are quite clear, higher and brighter than most black metal I've heard; though they are not great, they have good songwriting abilities and definitely stand out above most of the what I'll term "B-label" black metal bands.
ANUBIAN LIGHTS "The Eternal Sky" (Hypnotic/Cleopatra Records)
From the eerie opening of the egyptian tomb door to the beautiful flute solo that ends this disc, this is one FANTASTIC voyage into Egyptian style ambient music! Featuring an all star cast of Nik Turner, Del Dettmar, and Simon House (three early members of Hawkwind) and also members of Pressurehed, and many different instruments! Though I didn't detect many saxophone notes, for which Nik is famous, the flute harmonies on "Field of Reeds" were quite beautiful, and at the other end of the spectrum, on "Soul Herder," the flute playing is quite ominous and all encompassing. The greatest thing is how on each and every track there is a distinct Egyptian feeling crafted and harmonized in nearly every song! The drum beats sound more primitive and tribal rather than overtly computer enhanced and more true to the style and sound of early Egyptain mythology. On "Grid Coordinate: Vorp One" there is a very amazing set of guitar riffs being played, kind of a Satriani style but not out of place with the rest of the music, this one has to be heard to be believed! Also, "Anubian Light Destiny," the only track containing any vocals, is very trippy and psychedelic while still retaining an ominous feel to it. Whether fast or slow, beautiful or menacing, this is one very well put together album; though it may not be dance floor material, if you give it a chance you can actually see yourself dancing inside the pyramids!
APPARATUS "Apparatus" (Re-Constriction Records)
Aggressive guitars are the dominant force behind this industrial unit, but they are not as overtly distorted as in most other groups. The vocalist reminds me of a somewhat heavier Nizter Ebb sound able to utilize a slight hardcore yell on some tracks. "Come Alive," "Slave or Payer" and "Baal" were some of my favorite tracks on here, though the vocals sometimes clashed with the instrumentation on a couple of tracks. Many tracks would make good dance floor hits; though the aggression level is not as extreme as say Ministry or Leather Strip, there are moments when the whole group bursts through viciously, but for the most part it's pretty laid back. Check out the humorous sexual ramblings on the track "Cock Panther" and though it may not do much for you music wise you oughtta get a laugh or two out of it! While I didn't like EVERY track on this album, there was enough to keep me interested for awhile.
ARGYLE PARK "Misguided" (R.E.X. Records)
After hearing the track "Misanthrope" on several compilations, most notably "Doom and Gloom: Visions of the Apocalypse" and R.E.X.'s own "Demolition II" sampler, I was wondering when the debut album from this vicious industrial unit was coming out! For those not in the know, the tracks here are quite vicious, distorted thrashy guitars with various harsh mechanical noises thrown into the mix with jackhammer loud pounding drum samples. My only complaint was even though this was mixed by 'Celldweller' who I recognize from the industrial units Brainchild/Circle of Dust, the first few tracks sound similar to the aforementioned bands, especially in the guitar department. The vocals I have to mention are quite vicious, and the guy actually sings on a couple of tracks! Heavy, heavy, heavy! Reminds me of a cross between fast paced Ministry and Circle of Dust/Brainchild/whatever! There's also a couple of strange hidden tracks as well, go get it!
BATHORY "Octagon" (Black Mark Records)
Well, it's true that ol' Quorthon is up and running again with this newest masterpiece "Octagon." From the first note to the last dying fade of distortion on this epic, Quorthon proves once again that he can write killer tunes! It's the same fast paced style that marked some of his other releases, and there are a few acoustic riffs on "Born To Die," but don't worry, it's not in a melodic style! His lead work has shown some vast improvement over the last release, and everything's much heavier, except for his little Kiss cover "Deuce," which is still heavy but you can tell it's NOT typical Bathory style. His vocals are still raw as ever, especially on the track "War Supply," it's amazing that he can belt out such sheer viciousness via the vocal cords and not suffer much permanent damage! The only complaint I had was with the track "Schizianity," his vocals seem to suffer there, and I wasn't all too crazy about hearing the samples. Still a brutal piece of work, Bathory fans may like this one MUCH better than Requiem, though lyric wise there's more emphasis on topics dealing with political, social and religious issues; gone it seems are the typical occultist topics, though I fail to see the point of throwing the "F" word around so much, a la Trent Reznor. It's like every other song! Enjoy kiddies!
CHEMICAL BROTHERS "Exit Planet Dust" (Astralwerks/Caroline)
Yes, this is THE famed Dust Brothers who are famous for their various remixes of some popular songs. Most of the tracks here are very funky, full of bass, and utilizing something not often found in techno these days: distorted guitar! Though it's not overused or even used too often, such tracks as "Three Little Birdie Down Beats" and "Leave Home." have them. Check out the samples from Recoil's "Bloodline" album (the song "The Defector") on "Leave Home." Right now the track "Chemical Beats" is getting lots of play at The Spectrum in Savannah, and it's not hard to see why. Most of these tracks are very dancefloor worthy, "Chemical Beats" in particular has very wacky acid/trance sounds and deep bass hits. "Chico's Groove," however marks a turning point in the album as a bit more mellow than the other tracks, using a slow, funky beat and adding in some outer space trance notes. Even slow it's still danceable! There are some weak spots here, though, like on "Song To The Siren" where the female chants get annoying and overrepetetive and there isn't much instrumentation wise either, but they do make nice use of stop-start rhythm and cool trash can sounding beats! "Playground For a Wedgeless Firm" was weak as well, with the group singing on this one. Overall, though, when they stick to the formula it's very good; danceable, funky, and well written with a little bass to boot!
CYBER-TEC "Cyber-Tec" (Fifth Column/Cyber Tec Records)
One of the first distributed discs from England's Cyber Tec Records is the solo project of Jean-Luc DeMeyer, the voice behind the legendary Front 242. What surprised me most about this disc is the harsh vocal style of Jean-Luc, it reminds me a lot of Abbatoir style X Marks the Pedwalk. Unfortunately, when he decides to sing it doesn't always work out, especially on the second track. There are also no song titles on here, just "Track 1," "Track 2," etc. Tracks 3 and 6 and 7 possess a dark style similar to Leaether Strip, some of these would make good dance floor pieces. There are also some ambient pieces, like track 11, which has beach sounds. Most of what he says in the lyrics involve "letting your body die," but other than that this is a very experimental piece. Track 12 sounds more like upbeat techno but the majority of this disc isn't bad, and not what I expected from the voice behind Front 242. A rather interesting piece, though some of the lyrics needed work.
HAWKWIND "Friends and Relations: The Rarities" (Griffin Records)
Well, though there are only TWO Hawkwind tracks, there are several offerings from people who were involved with Hawkwind in one way or another. The two Hawkwind tracks, "Psychedelia Lives" and "Earth Calling," are nothing outstanding in their own right, mostly instrumental tracks. The rest of the disc is rather bland as well, most of the tracks sound rather unplanned and downright annoying, especially the vocals on "Aimless Flight" by Underground Zero and "Brothel in Rosenstrasse" by Michael Moorcock's Deep Fix. There are a few good tracks, however. Underground Zero's "Rainbow Warrior" is a stunning gem among the rest of the mediocre songs, showcasing some trippy, psychedelic guitars and overall space effects, and Inner City Unit's "I.C.U." sounds kinda like English punk rock! Atom God's "Atom Bomb" starts off like a speed metal tune, which surprised me, and Harvey Bainbridge's "The Changing" sounds like a techno song, though the chorus and vocals get rather repetitive. Most Hawkwind fans will want this for the unreleased tracks, but the rest of the disc isn't worth the effort.
KREATOR "Cause for Conflict" (Noise)
Ah yeah! The speed godz have returned this time with their latest head pounding effort sporting 13 tracks of sheer mayhem! The drumming this time around, while still fast and furious, shows amazing progress, especially on the double bass presented on tracks like "Prevail" and "Lost." The vocals are styled in a different vein this time, you can still hear the trademark voice but it's a bit hardcore tinged these days, coming off at times like Max from Sepultura. The riffing has gotten quite adept as well, check out the electro-acoustic beginnings of "Crisis of Disorder." Lyrically, it's not Flag of Hate or Pleasure to Kill, but it comes off very aggressive, and tracks like "Bomb Threat," " Progressive Proletarians," and "Men Without God" are still vicious. The surprising twist on this disc is "Crisis of Disorder" which, besides the semi acoustics, features a slower number than what Kreator fans are used to! Hoping for a return tour wise to American shores, this should tide true Kreator fans over until they return! By the way, did I mention that the guitar solos blaze away at top speed? Didja already know that? Well, they're all good!
MOTORHEAD "Sacrifice" (CMC International)
It's a good thing that Motorhead still has a home, now on CMC International, a label that BELIEVES in it's legends. And Motorhead is a legend, and on this umpteenth album, There are a surprising amount of heavy, HEAVY thrash riffs, especially on songs like "Over Your Shoulder" and "Dog-Face Boy" (two of my favorites) and check out the interesting piano notes on "Don't Waste Your Time." Lemmy's voice is still virtually the same as you remember on his past akbums, and lots of the songs sound like the Motorhead we all know and love. As I stated earlier, most of his songs sound heavier, even on the slower numbers like "Order/Fade to Black" and "War For War" where the riffs crank out ultra brutal notes for slow pieces, and the solos are still up to par. A couple of songs didn't do much for me, like "Sacrifice" and "Out of the Sun," but his lyrics are what always got to me. Especially the way he talks about love and sex and equates them with death and other 'hard' topics. Motorhead fans like myself will still be pleased at this latest effort, and those of you who haven't checked Lemmy and company out yet, now's a good time to do so!
OPPRESSOR "European Oppression Live + As Blood Flows" (Megalithic Records)
It seems there is hope for the bands on Red Light Records! Megalithic Records has presented to you some grinding death metal from Oppressor. Most of the tracks here were recorded live from the European Summer Underground festival in 1995, and the recording is surprisingly well done for a live gig. It kinda sounds studio-ish to me. The lead riffs are surprisingly intricate, though the majority of the rhythm riffs are repetitive. The vocals are your typical death vox, but the most interesting thing here is the insane cover of Motley Crue's "Looks That Kill!" Yes, I'm not kidding, the guitars even sound like Motley Crue's playing on their "Shout at the Devil" album, and this give you some idea of what their guitarists sound like. Not bad, though some of their stuff sounds like typical speed death. You can hear some of their best instrumentation on tracks like "Devour the Soul" and "Genocide."
OZZY OSBOURNE "Ozzmosis" (CBS/Columbia Records)
Hey, I gotta admit, I've always been a fan of Ozzy. This newest album showcases some surprisingly heavy riffs, especially on "Perry Mason" and "Thunder Underground." Ozzy's voice is still in good form, and it's a great album, he utilizes more of the symphonics that he portrayed in "No More Tears." It's interesting to note Rick Wakeman of Yes on keyboards, and it doesn't take away from the brilliant guitar work of Zakk Wylde. Also, Geezer Butler is laying down the bass tracks as well, and the whole unit works very well together! The slower numbers, like "See You on the Other Side," still retain a heaviness that is Ozzy without sounding lame and wimpy! A powerful album, well written, and showing the whole world that Ozzy Osbourne is back and STILL kickin' ass!
SINISTER "Hate" (Relapse/Nuclear Blast)
Ah, yeah! The eternal darkness rises up again to spit forth a terror ridden release from the boyz in Sinister. Though at first listen it sounds very much like Cannibal Corpse, from the vocals down to the speed riffs and drumming, be forewarned that the disc takes on different approaches! Like on "Art of the Damned," for instance, showcasing suprising intricacy and variety in the riffs and the structure of most songs is more complex than just blasting away at hyperspeed. The only complaints I had with this disc, besides the overuseage of occult and black metal style lyrics, was the blatant speed, speed, speed presented in "Unseen Darkness," and that kinda repeated itself with "To Mega Therion" (no relation to the Frost album of the same name) especially around the rather weak chorus. However, don't let that stand on the way of checking out this brutal, dark masterpiece! I was very amazed at their ability to write slower riffs yet retain the brutality and sheer darkness that is the constant mood of this album!
SISTER MACHINE GUN "Burn" (Wax Trax/TVT Records)
After hearing this album, and their previous release I really don't see what all the hype was concerning this band. This album didn't really spark my interest much at all, it's a rather weak industrial effort that left me rather dissapointed. Only the tracks "Burn" and "Red" impressed me any, "Red" was kinda cool, laid back and mellow, while "Burn," in the same laid back style with rather smooth vocals, is a bit club worthy. "Dispossessed" sounds like a Nine Inch Nails tune via their Pretty Hate Machine album, and though the tune "Snake" has an interesting theme using saxophones, the rest of the track is too weak to pull it off. Some tracks had cool guitar riffs, but the majority of the disc really didn't do anything for me AT ALL. Maybe it's just me, and I've been listening to too much explosive industrial, but those vocals did get annoying on most songs, ESPECIALLY on "Disease."
SPAHN RANCH "The Coiled One" (Cleopatra Records)
THIS Is the follow up record I've been waiting for, and I have not waited in vain! This record is very well written; one of the things I always admired about Spahn Ranch was their unique ability to reflect different moods in their songs. From the thunderous drum machine sounds to the melancholy notes and vocals in the song "Compression Test" there are songs that have plenty of energy, and sounds that are indescribable. I had a chance to see Spahn Ranch live and got to hear several new cuts from here, most of which impressed me immediately. Favorites off of here are "Locusts," "Heretic's Fork," and "Threnody." Currently one of my favorite industrial bands, second to Zero Defects, I now appreciate drum machines as a great tool; the drummer plays the drum machines like a real drum set, using drum sticks and a vicious repertoire instead of just pushing buttons. "Locusts" in particular showcases the vocalists' ability to hit high notes and have great duration and range, while still sounding sinister and brooding in points. A great album, also check out the slow creeping feeling from the track "Threnody."
TUU "All Our Ancestors" (Waveform Records)
Well, first off a warning: this is NOT presented in any traditional format, though it makes for great listening! Mostly tribal style, utilizing some great water drums, which have to be heard to be appreciated. This is the sort of music you'd find on Hearts of Space, Echoes, or other radio syndicated shows. Most tracks here are presented with many different types of instruments, such as Bansurai and Chinese flutes (which are rather melancholy and gloomy at times) clay pots, Tibetan bells, synths, singing bowls, and gongs! There is a wealth of ancient sounds, and even chanting (which was a little distracting to me) on the track "House of the Waters." Experimental clubs might want to try a couple of the tracks out with the beats for slow dance numbers, like "All Our Ancestors" or "Stillpoint in Motion," though some tracks are a bit long. "Triple Gem of Wisdom" is one of the very few songs devoid of any drums whatsoever, and though a bit long and needing more instrumentation wise, contains interesting use of the Chinese flute spread over a desolate synth landscape. Very interesting, different, and those water drums are really cool! The music is very moving and soulful, and I DON'T mean in the Mowtown sense!
VARIOUS ARTISTS "Concept in Dance II: Tribal Science" (Moonshine Music)
I can't tell you how pleased I was when this popped up in my mailbox and I must admit I was severely blown away! The attitude here is still the same trippy, acid trance sounds but this time around the overall mood has gotten faster, more aggressive, and harder edged! It's still pretty uptempo dance floor material, but it has such an aggressive stance that it may cause you to rethink your whole attitude about trance music. Where to start? I dunno, as I liked the whole thing, it's hard to pick favorites, but Psychaos is very interesting, they utilize samples throughout their songs, and Man With No Name (the only artist on this disc that did songs for the first Concept in Dance) has 2 rather vicious cuts. Infinity Project has some rather spaced out trance sounds mixed in with the aggressive, fast paced beats on their cut "Squidgy Atomica." This disc is currently receiving rotation at The Spectrum in Savannah, and I must say that even though the tracks are a little faster than most on the original, it's a great club disc! Do yourself a favor and check it out; whether you like trance is not clearly an issue here, but the overall aggressive and heavy mood may cause you to give it more than a few spins!
VARIOUS ARTISTS "Excursions in Ambience: The 4th Frontier" (Astralwerks)
A good CD full of mellow ambient tracks, well, with a few exceptions. The most amazing thing about this disc is the way most of the artists layer the sounds. Most of the songs presented here are rather laid back, very mellow with very few or no beats. My personal favorite track is "Fay Deau Deau," which reminds me of a very beautiful electronic rendition of classical or Swan Lake style music. "Instrumental Wish" has slow, heavy saxophone dirges laid over a rather repetitive but working sonic landscape. "D.I.A.P.O.W." is probably the strangest track here; the overall mood reflects an ominous emptiness, interlaid with subatomic bass explosion notes and eerie electronic enhanced submarine sonar sounds. The only drawbacks to this disc was the track "Cow," with the overrepetitive radio static distortion, off key beats and guitar notes that didn't fit the mood of the rest of the CD, and "Church Song" was rather basic and uninteresting. The rest of the tracks had interesting twists to the old ambient theme, basically in the way they varied the notes and sounds instead of repeating them for 8 or 9 minutes.
BATHORY. Interview with Quorthon at his home in Sweden.
Bathory. A musical entity of dark creation that needs no introduction, save to mention the unholy abberation of noise that is the brainchild of the mighty Quorthon. We have been recently informed of an unreleased Bathory album, entitled Blood Upon the Ice, and I'll let him fill you in on it: "It was written in a sort of storyline format, like a saga. We recorded the album in sections and it was done rather halfheartedly. It was a decision of the band not to release it, actually. People were still lumping us into that whole Satanic image style that we had thrown upon us from the days of the first two albums, and we sort of compromised with a theme album and kinda touched a little on that 'imagery,' and this is where the album Hammerheart came from. Blood Upon the Ice IS an old album, but we have been adding 50% new vocals and some new guitars and drums to a disc that is 6 or 7 years old. We have had letters from people all over the world asking about this, when we were doing it there was a big change from our old style, but people kept asking us about it and so we finally made the whole thing available."
Some VERY surprising myths and revelations about Bathory have been shattered in this interview, things that you may be a bit surprised to hear! Where the whole band has always been shrouded in mysticism and hearsay, the most amazing discovery, according to Quorthon, is: "Only on my solo effort and on Twilight of the Gods did I ever play ALL the instruments myself, despite what press has said, and despite what ever ELSE you have read, like the silly little 'I drink goat's blood and live in a psychotic bat's cave north of Sweden.' I wonder how bats can be Satanic. There were SO many rumours about the band at that time. The whole deal was that there were many members of Bathory that have come and gone. Nearly ALL of the interviews that were done, whether they were in the United States or in Canada, Germany, whatever, had my picture or they talked with me! I mean, let's face it, when people that you work with are more into how their hair looks or how much they have to sweat on stage, it's either 'shape up or get the hell out.' The mysticism and the whole unknown aspect of Bathory was what drew people to it, and it was good promotion for us." Also, Bathory HAS toured, despite words to the contrary, which Quorthon also dispels after many years: "There is an artistic side to the music as well. Basically, I don't really get into concerts; at shows I've been to I usually just stand at the back of the hall with my arms crossed just checking things out. And the artistic process applies to me not just musically as well but there's also a side of ME that applies to the artistic concept. Basically, I hate performing, I know I'm not a good performer BECAUSE of that fact, and in order to be successful at that you have to love the whole touring process. But, in answer to your question, we survived with a minimum amount of touring, and 13 years later we are still here. We really don't think it would be a good idea to do a US tour, simply because the type of tour I would like to do would involve lots of money. We'd have to have the huge drum kits, pyrotechnics, lots of fire and just an all around huge stage show, and besides, it would be very difficult because most of what we did around 86 or 87 was different from our first few albums. We did a few shows way back with Celtic Frost and Destruction in the States and it just didn't work out. They had a big deal over who was going to headline, and it was silly. I get mail from fans in the U.S. and it's really nice to see that many consider us a legend, but some of the fans get a little silly. Bathory really never hit it huge here, I guess mainly due to the 'legendary' status we had, and the fact that most of what YOU knew through interviews just got blown totally out of proportion."
Vocal wise, Quorthon goes through quite an interesting procedure when he does his vocals, basically: "I scream like a madman for about half an hour to get that way. Nowadays bands use harmonizers to affect their vicals, and the problem wuth harmonizers is that you get a one tone vocal, you cannot sing in harmonies or pitch and it's very boring in my opinion. We used harmonized vocals in one song only, on the chorus line of "Possessed" from the album The Return. When that whole thing became a household item within the death/black metal community, we had changed our sound and style so much that there was no use for it anymore as far as we were concerned. But you have to scream like that until you feel the blood taste in your mouth." Surprising to many may be the fact that his voice has not suffered due to this intense, agonizing process, and the rason? Well, it may be obvious once you think about it, but let him tell you in his own words, crystal clear as they are: "I've been fortunate because I don't do concerts and rehearsals in between. I do that session about every 20 months and I sing for probably 2 or 3 days, and 10 days after I do those vocals I cannot sing. That's why during those early years when we did lots of backing vocals we recorded those first. Of course a process like that will shred your vocals in no time, especially if you have to take your act on the road.
Though Bathory may never do a tour either in the U.S. or overseas, it is a band that may stay with us for quite some time. Before wrapping this interview up, I wanted to ask Quorthon about his thoughts on the whole black metal scene today, which he may be indirectly responsible for as far as the sound of bands and just the overall scope of the whole scene today: "I remember it was the beginning of all that stuff in Swedish newspapers a couple of years ago. When I went to Long Beach to do promotion for this album, we were celebrating our 10 year anniversary on record, and it's really a shame that most people weren't even interested in the new album; they were more interested in what I knew on the church burnings and stuff, which was very little. I did ask to be briefed on the whole situation there, and my thoughts are this: What they're doing is mixing Odinism or paganism with anti-Christianity or satanism and extreme politics. All of those extreme views just don't mix, because if you're an Odinist you wouldn't want to accept Satan as an anti-god with all the world's misery, and if you were a Satanist you wouldn't accept Odinism or paganism. So I think what those guys were trying to do was to generalize their distorted minds and be as extreme as possible. As far as that church burning goes I can understand it but I cannot defend it, it's basically an act of defiance against the house of God. But it's completely wrong to prove your movement by burning down a church, all you prove is that you are an asshole. I mean, we don't want to do the same things that the Christian church has been doing for over a thousand years. They are doing it in the name of Satan becuase Satan is the product of the Christian faith. We are living in a society where we have information and good education, and great scientific advances, and these are things that the Christian faith has been trying to oppress for many years. Now that we have all this freedom, people are ruining it by showing their igorance."
Who knows what the future holds for Bathory? Already admitting that he has run out of ideas, and that there's no telling where the next record will come from, or when it will appear, we can be rest assured that when Quorthon resurfaces it will be sudden and swift, and your demise will come when you least expect it!
CUBANATE. Interview with Marc at the Machinery office.
Through their latest release "Antimatter" (and this just in, Cyberia has just been released through the U.S. branch of Machinery Records; though it arrived too late for review this issue, we'll review it next issue. - Ed.) Cubanate has put together some of the harshest industrial sounds backed by the most vicious guitars around! Here to tell us about the group's inception into the world of hard driving industrial is Marc himself, lead vocalist and programmer for the group: "Phil and I started the band at the end of '92. We sent a demo to a U.K. band known as Sheep on Drugs and we were asked to tour with them which is what started the whole ball rolling. Afterwards we signed to Noise Records and put out the single "Body Burn," which got a great reaction from the press. We then toured with Front Line Assembly as well, and we hope to work more with them in the future." Asking also about tours, for a band that's only been around about three years they've had their feet planted rather firmly in the business of touring and making their appearance known, and not just with industrial and techno bands, as Marc is quick to point out: "We are currently headlining on a tour with Ultraviolence which started last night in Boston, and we are working our way west, finishing up in L.A. on the 23rd. Though we've been playing small dates, we are going to do a bigger tour in March that should cover more areas. This is our first U.S. tour, it started out in a tiny little club in Boston, and the crowd response was really good. Over in Europe we have played gigs with metal bands as well. The tough thing is being able to take your music out to any audience. Our music is kinda new and different, we really have no direct audience for our sound. One of the most interesting tours was with a band called Carcass, that tour was really amazing because in most clubs our response was really great but in other clubs we got death threats! I had a knife passed up to me in Ireland, we were told we were gonna get shot. I then slagged off metal heads on Radio One and then the threats really came rolling in. I think that fans were expecting to see another death metal band supporting Carcass, and when we came onstage with synthesizers and drum machines we didn't allow the crowd to hassle us. That was the most extreme set of shows we did. We also did raves which went down very well and then did the tour with Front Line Assembly, which were some of our most amazing shows."
Such a hard edged style presented on "Antimatter" wasn't really planned for, but it's hard to ignore the obvious thrash/industrial crossover. Marc lets us know that he likes the sound of guitars, and thinks: "Even though we didn't try to formulate it too much, most of what drives us is the big techno scene we have over here in the U.K. I think that aggressive techno and good hard, heavy metal are compatible with one another. Another interesting thing I have noticed is that people who like techno aren't really into metal and vice versa, though the vibe to me is totally similar, especially when it comes to the aggressive end of things. I want people to approach the band with no preconceptions, so I don't like to say 'we are influenced by this band and that band,' I want people to come into this with more of an open mind. And as far as the album is concerned, I didn't plan this sort of thing, it is just one of those wonderful events that just sort of 'happened;' I guess you could say it's rather an organic process." And while on the subject of the album Antimatter, which Marc informs us is a year behind release date wise here in the States, let him fill you in on the writing of songs and related themes: "I write most of the lyrics, and usually I've been talking about how people get screwed over in their relationships with government and society. Unfortunately, I can't always feel sorry for the people when they allow themselves to be exploited by the system, especially if there's something they can do to control it. The same is true in personal relationships, I think people allow themselves to get abused sometimes. Lots of the songs, 'Angel Dust' in particular, talk about those kinds of 'power' relationships. 'Kill or Cure' is kind of the same thing, it's whole deal is that YOU can make your choice: You can let your values be dictated or you can fight and take a stand, which is harder but in the long run is worth it. I don't like to get too deep and philosophical, but I really liked creating these aggressive mosh songs."
Cubanate has been involved with more than just releasing albums and touring, Marc has also been involved in a number of projects, among those which he mentions are video and work with other artists: "We are halfway through our third album, which we tried to finish before we left the states, but we got involved with the Front Line tour so as soon as we get back we are going to finish the album. I am working with Jean-Luc DeMeyer of Front 242 on a project and will return to the States to do some dates at the end of January, probably just a couple of New York dates. That's going to be a nightmare for me, because I have 2 albums to finish in January! We were going to do a video when we were on the last Front Line tour, I believe it was somewhere in Germany, but the bus we were on was held up, so it never got done. We will get one done, but we aren't sure if Noise will do an American one, you need to keep in touch with the label to find out."
The actual recording of the album is an interesting note as well, and the secret, according to Marc, is: "When we are in the studio, most of the lyrics and the music as well are instantaneous. We very rarely do any preproduction or preprogramming. We just get in there and what goes down is recorded. It's very spontaneous, and I'm a big believer in that, simply because once you begin to preplan things too much, then you start to formularize things and some of our best works, like 'Body Burn' for example, and the whole Antimatter album is basically just demos that we did for record companies! At least the UK version is, I'm not sure about the US version. It was better for us to leave them as they were. As far as your version goes, the UK release of Antimatter is a bit different, as it has tracks which are not on yours. We released an EP called Metal which had 'Angeldust,' 'Angeltrance,' and two versions of 'Metal' and the remix of 'Junkie.' When we came to release Antimatter in the States we were so far behind, as we mentioned, that we knew Metal wasn't going to get released so they combined the EP with the album and dropped a couple of the earlier tracks. The songs missing from the original Antimatter (which should be on the U.S. release) are 'Switch,' 'Revolution Time,' and 'Sucker.' The album was pretty long, and I think it was a decision made by the US label. It's quite a long disc actually."
Look out for the return of Cubanate to the States sometimes around the summer when they will bombard us with their explosive brand of industrial thrash! Carry us out Marc: "We'll be back in March, bigger and better, so watch for us, our plan is that we will have a new single out 'Joy' and that is planned for March in the UK, hopefully it'll be out here in the US about the same time."
NAPALM DEATH Interview with Mitch Harris
Quite a potent force in the death metal scene these days, Napalm Death return with a new album Diatribes. Inquiring about all the recent activity the members of Napalm Death conducted with side projects, Mitch relates to us that "we had a lot of free time on our hands. We had a lot of different ideas and influences, and actually we've got enough ideas to do about five different bands! We did Meathook Seed, and other techno style projects I wanted to try. Shane of course had his reasons for doing Blood From the Soul. We did a couple of gigs as Meathook Seed (one was done in Atlanta, which was only the second time the played Meathook live) and the gig in Atlanta was much more responsive than the one in New York, which didn't go over well."
Apart from all this free time, the mini album Greed Killing showcases some surprising twists to a band that has kept a similar style and sound throughout the years. I'll let Mitch tell ya about it: "We wanted to forgo the tradition of 'you know what you're going to get' when you hear a Napalm Death record. We wanted to break some new ground, which we started on the record 'Fear, Emptiness, Despair,' and from there, judging by the reaction of the songs played live and feedback to the album , we knew what we wanted to focus on and developed further from the last record. We got better production this time around, and actually Colin was only used to mix the last record because the first mix turned out really crappy, and it turned out better but the way it was mixed was strange to begin with. There are different vocal approaches even, but it's not like we totally changed on this new effort. Even vocal wise, there's some higher pitched vocals (like in the old days with Lee Dorrian) mixed with Barney's traditional rough throated singing and some stuff that was influenced by a group called The Swans, which is more droney, warped sounding. It's kind of cool, because it bridges the gap of total repetitiveness, and it makes it sound a little different without losing the 'flavor' that is Napalm Death. On this new record, Shane did some vocals on one track 'Cursed to Crawl' and live I do some of the higher screaming. Whatever has been double tracked in the studio I do live, since Barney only has so much air for his vocals."
Many diehard fans may remember the Strange Fruit Peel Sessions cassette from which over in England got radio play! It's an interesting note as to how Mitch and company got hooked up with this: "What it is basically is John Peel's radio show, on BBC1 and distributed nationwide. It's totally mainstream in the daytime, but at night they have all these obscure programs. John has always been a fan of ours since the 'Scum' record, and he asked us for some sessions. The way it works is you're asked to do a session, and then you go down to the BBC studio in London and set up your stuff, and they get the sound from the other room, and say 'okay, we're ready!' You don't even hear it, so it's kind of a rehearsal, and you just run through your set, then afterwards when it is done recording you overdub the vocals and whatever else. John Peel then plays this on his show and states it as special recordings for listeners. Sometimes these sessions are released to the public, and sometimes it doesn't. Most everything we did for the Peel Sessions was already on vinyl at some point; the difference being that it has more of a raw edge to it." Much has been accomplished by Napalm Death since those early days, and even though they do add distinctive new twists to their music, the idea is still, as Mitch puts it, "grindcore, blast beats, whatever you want to call it. Aside from the fact that there's now a thousand other bands doing grindcore, we feel that it's just not as extreme anymore. Thus arose the need for the side projects, and also the need for incorporating new sounds and styles of music into what we do, just trying to keep everything from becoming stale. If you look at it this way, the average attention span of a person is about a half hour, and if you're going to listen to a record for say 30 minutes, it's got to be something that keeps your interest long after the first few plays. With many different people in the band, we've always got new ideas, and it keeps Napalm Death from sounding too repetitive, however we don't forget the underground, or our roots as in where we came from." Speaking of the underground, I wondered what opinion Mitch had of Jeff Walker and company from Carcass, who you may remember in a past issue had mostly unkind words for those who dwell in the sub region that is totally closed off (with a few exceptions) from the mainstream: "Well, I would never rag on the underground because that's how I got in Napalm Death. It's how you find record deals and how you get your music to people. There's still a lot of people that know what good music is. These people are intelligent, they're not stupid because they know where to go to get their music, they go out of their way to find these bands in the US and overseas. As for Carcass, I was a big fan of theirs, but their new stuff, I'm not too into their direction on their new record, which is totally metal oriented. There is killer guitar work, but it's a far cry from when I was a fan of theirs back when they had the old vocalist. I had a soundboard tape of theirs that to me was the most intense vocalist ever."
Before I close this interview out, I wanted to touch briefly on the success that this band has seen, especially with the release of "Twist the Knife" off the Mortal Kombat soundtrack, and Mitch had this to say: "At one point, Columbia Records was going to release the soundtrack for the movie, and they sent a package of us to the people working on it. I guess they send packages to all the movies trying to get their bands in for some exposure. When we heard about it we thought it would be really cool, but we didn't get our hopes up, as this industry is a business where a lot of things 'almost happen' but never do. We're doing what we do and we do it well, and this is a good vehicle to get our music across to many people as possible. We aren't kissing anyone's ass to do this, but for us it's still wierd because it's like 'Hey, Napalm Death is on a soundtrack that sold over a million copies.' And a lot of the audience is much younger that will be picking up on us too." More audience means a wider acceptance of death metal, the setting was certainly right and the invasion has already begun! Be sure and catch them on tour with Sheer Terror this spring at a town or pit near you!
NOTEWORTHY ITEMS:
Though they are finished up for the year (the last thing they did was the Cybertec project) they have more releases planned for the new year. Besides the continue of Cyber Tec releases into the States, there is a new project called k-Nitrate which is due on January 16th. This project features GR1 and Steve Etheridge from the brutal industrial unit Cubanate. More info on releases as they become available.
Black Mark's U.S. affiliate has plans for four more records, from Respect, Tad Morose, Necrosis and Exoto. Respect is a Biohazard style band, and Exoto is penned as new style death metal.
Moonshine Records has a new publicist to replace Stephanie, who is busy with her own new label. Though the label is untitled as yet, and being kept under wraps for now, it is rumored to be an electro funk style project. The new project will be distributed by Moonshine, and apparently the split brought no ill feelings between the two. Also due out on Moonshine is a History of Techno, planned as a two CD set and described as a cross between Ibiza Afterhours and Speed Limit BPM+ series. The release is planned for January, though everything is still tenative.
Noise Records plans on releasing a record from a band known as Manhole, an L.A. band which is the first U.S. signing from Noise. The band features singer Terry B, a female vocalist with a rough Biohazard style voice. The album is due out by early winter. They also have Count Raven's "Messiah of Confusion," classic doom metal due out February 6th. Kreator will have a best of compilation with a tenative release date of March 19th, and a Machinery/Dynamica compilation called "Suck, Taste, Spit" (for those not in the know, it is the name of a song penned by Machinery artist Oomph!) which features Cubanate, Think About Mutations, and more due out around the beginning of March.
Due to the demise of Sonic Distribution and Massacre records, former publicist Rhonda Saenz has formed her own publicity label, Saenz of the Times. She has 4 projects due out, the most interesting being a new industrial band Suffer, which is fronted by Rob from the industrial band Drown. Also available by the time you read this is good ole' fashioned punk in the form of Humble Gods. The lineup features several members of other punk outfits, like Dag Nasty and their bassist is currently in Mind Over 4, and also Johnny Bravo, who some of you may remember as a special guest on various daytime shows. His biggest claim to fame is being the last person to see John Wayne Gacy alive; the two had a very intense correspondence. Saenz' last outing is a group called Shockhead from San Diego, a Red Hot Chili Peppers/rap crossover style. No release dates as of yet, we'll give ya more info as it becomes available. Many of you may remember the artists that recorded on Sonic/Massacre, like Crematory, Forte, Atrocity, and Hatrix.
Well, I wish I could say I was DIRECTLY responsible, even though I kept bugging Chase about these guys, but a local Savannah band has been signed to Re-Constriction Records! The band in question is called Vault Point Nine, and Chase has informed us that they will have a track upcoming on his next If It Moves compilation series. I have also been told that they are scheduled to do a tour with Apparatus (another Re-Constriction band) which should commence very soon! Their demo is reviewed this issue, and thanks go out to Todd and Gilbert for their help (the band members) in videotaping the Electric Hellfire Club/Spahn Ranch show!
Earache has planned for a new Napalm Death album "Diatribes" to be released in January. Also planned are new Pitch Shifter and Misery Loves Company albums in the coming new year. See our interview with Napalm Death this issue!
Trouble's "Plastic Green Head" FINALLY receives a U.S. distribution through none other than Century Media Records! Set for a January release, the band will also be up for interviews and we hope to do one next issue! Also, new Morgoth and Samael full length releases are due out next year.
Metal Blade Records has informed us of THE TRUTH as to what went down with Chris Barnes from Cannibal Corpse. While it IS true that he is no longer with the band, he WILL be doing Six Feet Under permanently! (The group, not the deed my friends!) Cannibal Corpse has recruited George "Corpsegrinder" from Monstrosity to do the vocals. In other Metal Blade news, Skrew has a new album planned for March, and January 30th will see releases from Crisis, Sacred Reich, and Galactic Cowboys.
There's lots of good things to come from the Silent/Furnace label in 96! First off, releases set for February 6th include "From Here to Tranquility 5," a compilation featuring artists like 23 Degrees, Spice Barons, PgR and others. Then Pounce International, a groove/industrial style band, will release a full length album entitled "Populaze Oracle," and finally, PgR will have a new work out entitled "A Hole of Unknown Depth" around the same time, and if you remmember "The Morning Book of Serpents" also by them then you will know to expect more dark, ambient music! Also, a new signing to Furnace is the band ECM, who were featured on the Mind & Body compilation Internet project. Their first full length release is entitled "Bleichreiz" (the word means intoxicated by industrial or steel!) and is due out late February. On the Silent division, Waveform Transmission will release an album entitled "v1.0 - 1.9" in late February. For those not in the know, Waveform Transmission features none other than Rod Modell, who worked on stage with the group known as Hunting Lodge.
Though things have been rather quiet on the U.S. office of Eye-Q/Harthouse Records, their first domestic signing is a group known as Off and Gone, a Vancouver band that utilizes what I have coined as "stoner trance." According to personnel at the label, their album "Everest" is due around the first week of April and is very structured and organic! Also, the first compilation put out exclusively by the US office is a collection of West Coast artists, and is entitled "First Wave." Also coming out around February 6th is a new album from Alter Ego entitled "Decoding the Hacker Myth," and also a new one from B-Zet entitled "When I See." B-Zet is Stevie Bzet from Astral Pilot, the project that also featured Sven Vath. Finally, around the end of February look out for Planet Jazz's "Flying New World" which melds electro, jazz and a litle bit of trance!
And let's not forget about Cleopatra Records, the label that brought the very succesful tribute album "A Saucerful of Pink" and is receiving very heavy club play as we speak! They have yet another triubte album planned, this one is titled "A Passion of Covers." It's a tribute to the Bauhaus and features such acts as Kill Switch Klik, Faith and the Muses, Exoto, and Hellfire Club (actually the Hellfire Club track is "Bella Lugosi's Dead" and this has already been featured on their EP.) It's set for a February release date. Also in the month of February is Nik Turner's "Live," Psychic TV's "Trip Reset," and David Jay from the Love and Rockets will have a solo album out as well. There are plans for an unreleased Future Sounds of London album entitled "Accelerator" to hit the shelves in March, along with a NEW Die Krupps album entitled "Odyssey of the Mind." Die Krupps, incidentally, will be touring with Front Line Assembly in late spring, and advance rumour on the street says they will be playing somewhere near Savannah!
From the darkest depths of Lakeland, Florida comes some of the most unholy black, death, atmospheric and doom metal ever known to man! Full Moon Productions has a whole slew of releases planned for 1996. First off they have a 2 CD compilation set entitled "Tribute to Hell," no release date yet but so far bands to appear include Swordmaster, Outbreak, Algaion, Marduk, Cultus Sanguine, and Octinomos. They also have future plans for a tribute CD entitled "Slaytanic Slaughter" which is a black metal tribute to the mighty Slayer! Other releases include Black Funeral's "Vampyr - Throne of the Beast," Abruptum's "Vi Sonus Verus Nigrae Malitiaes," Mysticum's "Where The Raven Flies," and Everdark's "Armageddon's Birth" mini CD. They are also re-releasing Algaion's "Oimai Algaiou," Octinomos's "On the Demiurge" with new artwork and three bonus tracks, and Swordmaster's mini CD "On the Demurge" also with new artwork. Be on the lookout for Hades' second CD, Swordmaster's full length, and Cultus Sanguine's full length in '96. They are also responsible for their 'zine called Petrified, which is on it's 4th issue.
Pavement music is having a rough year, after their plans to do licensing from Mascot Records (B-Thong and one other act) fell through, however they are planning on doing a compilation CD of unsigned bands and the project is tenatively titled "What's for Dinner" (Cute title, Tammy!) It will feature some unsigned acts like Pyrexia, Horror of Horrors, Ceremonium and older bands that were dropped from JL America like Deteriorate and Morpheus Descends, and also Gutted will have a track on here as well! Collapsing Lungs has reformed under tha name Lungs and will release "Better Class of Losers" around the end of february. Solitude Aeturnus will hit the studio around March to start work on their newest release, and in the best news of all, Malevolent Creations will release "Joe Black Album" around March or April! Now, according to Tammy at Pavement, this limited edition of 10,000 copies will be individually numbered and is a collector's edition featuring demo material, possibly some cover songs, unreleased stuff and some techno remixes! Also, Internal Bleeding hits the road with Immolation and Six Feet Under starting around March, so be on the lookout for that.
VIDEO REVIEWS:
Note: This is a new column I've devoted to anything released on video, whether official or unofficial. Bootlegs, concert vids, whatever are included! Please see notes at the end of the 'zine in the Editorial Notations section for more info on how to obtain the videos and the criteria for reviewing.
DIAMOND HEAD "From British T.V. 1980" (unofficial)
From one of the best NWOBHM bands in existence comes a great TV performance! The picture quality is clear, though the colors tend to bleed into one another and I suspect this is a result of conversion from PAL to NTSC video format. They do several stunning renditions of familiar and unfamiliar classic, most songs taken from their "Borrowed Time" album which is a bit harder to obtain than their others. Songs include "To Heaven From Hell," "Borrowed Time," "In The Heat of the Night," and they end the show with a stunning "Am I Evil." It's rather funny to see the sort of clothes they wear onstage, and the lead singer sometimes looks like he's overperforming on his vocal delivery. Since it's supposed to be "live" in front of a studio audience, I have heard that most of the instrumentation has been overdubbed due to certain volume restrictions within the building, however, it is a riveting performance and pretty rare as far as that goes. Roughly a half hour long, the sound quality by the way is quite clear and loud and this can be obtained from Bart Kapitzke of Extinction of God Productions.
BLACK SABBATH "Paris, France 1970" (unofficial)
Obviously the result of SEVERAL generations, plus not to mention that with most homemade videos even the further back you go in time, the worse off the picture quality gets; this video is quite watchable even though it's rather fuzzy and also in black and white. A MUST for any true diehard Black Sabbath or Ozzy fan, they peform for over an hour and a half and do several interesting versions of classic we all know and love, and it's interesting to note that on some songs like "War Pigs," there are different lyrics sung onstage, especially on "War Pigs!" Other songs done include "Paranoid," "Black Sabbath," "and Fairies Wear Boots." The sound quality is good, though not great, and this one is obtainable from Bart Kapitzke.
OBITUARY "Brooklyn, NY 12/02/90" (unofficial)
One of my best videos, along with the Sleep and Internal Void show (which I will review later on) this show has some of the best picture quality around, it looks like it was done on a Sony 8 millimeter camcorder. The show itself is rather vicious, Obituary is full of energy and addresses the crowd a bit, there is a rather funny mistake you may catch at the beginning, where the vocalist is singing through the mike at the first song but nothing comes out of the microphone! A few seconds later, though, he is handed a new one and blazes away on such classics from their first two albums like "Body Bag," "Chopped in Half," and the ever classic favorite "Find Thee Arise." From the release date it looks like it was released before their third album The End Complete, but all the old favorites are in there. The sound quality is quite clear and loud, whatever they recorded the sounds through came out very well considering most camcorders have rather poor mikes that have to pick up whatever is thrown at them from speakers which are usually 20 to 50 feet away. A must for the collection! Available from Bart Kapitzke.
SLEEP "Talahassee, FL 1/18/94" (unofficial)
There were a few lines through parts of this one, probably a small tape defect but the picture quality and sound quality are on par with that of the Obituary show. Might I add that these are some of the best looking and sounding shows I have ever seen. They go through extremely slow and doomy numbers of tunes from their Holy Mountain album, they play slower live than on their records! Several cuts range from "Dragonaut" to "Inside the Sun," and while I prefer the original songs on disc to those presented here, it's pretty heavy! The shots are mostly closeup, he can't be more than 5 feet from the playing floor (there seems to be no stage) but he's either up close or zooming in. The vocalist is sometimes hard to see as he's on the extreme left of the camera which melds into the darkness of the rest of the club. A rather short set, probably only 20 or 30 minutes, and an okay performance by the band, who I presume did their tour during the stint with Nik Turner's Hawkwind. Check out their video display going on in the background.
EDITORIAL NOTATIONS:
Well, as 1995 draws to a close, it will mark a first for me, as this is the year I got to see my first industrial band live (and White Zombie don't count!) Actually, KMFDM was the band and it surprised me just how big they really are! Touring with the Genitorturers was no easy feat, considering the stage show that Jen and company puts on, but the music was more brutal live than on their albums! The pit as well was extremely violent, and I was glad to be in it! (Though the fighting wasn't cool, there must have been 4 different fights that broke out that night! Thanks to the security that was good about controlling the unnecessary violence and letting us mosh around in peace.) After that it was Nine Inch Nails, and believe me, even though the Lakewood Ampitheater in Atlanta is a big enough place to hold what was a sell out crowd, a seating arena is NO place to see a band like Nine Inch Nails. That kind of energy and aggression belongs in a place where you aren't confined to seating and can properly mosh about and slam in "peace?" The last industrial show I saw this year was Spahn Ranch and Electric Hellfire Club up in South Carolina. (We have videotape footage for those interested.) Thanks go out to the bands there, but I feel that me and my crew were the only people in the place that were familiar with the band's songs! (Let's put it this way, when both bands play the songs that I screamed at them from the audience, WHEN I called for them, I guess they were glad to see someone who followed the band's career!) Anyone that thinks industrial isn't very good live needs to go check out the shows more often, especially in the case of KMFDM and Spahn Ranch; even though their drums are electronic, they are played like real drum sets with drum STICKS!! One thing I WILL say about the shows, though. Security personnel are usually always frowned upon, and usually hassled, but at the KMFDM show a security guard actually got hurt badly trying to save my ass! Yeah, some guy was trying to trip me up as I moshed around, being a jerk, and before he could throw a punch a security member was on him in no time flat! He was finally escorted out, but not after I saw that same security guard limping and hurt obviously pretty bad. After conversing with him I thanked him for looking out for our safety from the idiots that feel they have to cause trouble. And if they do a good job and keep things straight, be sure and let them know they are doing a good job, cause you never can see your back all the time, and they may save you from harm! Another case was when we saw Slayer at the International Ballroom, and my friend was being thrown towards the stage where stood a metal railing all the way down the front row. Well, if not for the security guard that caught my friend before he hit the railing, he might have some broken ribs right about now!
Something else that has been bothering me lately, and this is concerning the issue of "selling out." Many people have given bands like Metallica, Slayer and even Pantera sell out tags simply because their style of music changes, or they do experimental projects, or James Hetfield actually USES his voice for something other than shouting. The way I see it, and this was explained by Craig, a good friend of mine that's been DJ'ing for over 10 years, ANY band who is ON a record label is a sell out. Not in the sense that they suck, but in order to GET that recording contract, they had to make some small sacrifices. Take Vault Point 9 for instance. In order to get their song onto a compilation album, Chase asked them to record the chorus of their song differently. Of course, wanting to be on a label they did so, but isn't THAT sort of a "sell out?" My point is, artists sometimes have to do what they can so their music can get to the people who WANT to hear it. Letting the monetary aspect of the deal go to your head is one thing, but let's also try and remember, not EVERY band that walks into the studio to record their first album has a total idea of how to get the best sound or the right atmosphere. That's why there are such people as Scott Burns in the studio, because they KNOW how to capture the sound that the band supposedly wants. In the case of Metallica, however, all I can say is that James Hetfield has a nice singing voice, so why the hell shouldn't he use it? Sure, their last album had two slow songs on it, but lots of other tracks were still really heavy, so what gives? We'll have to wait and see if their next album (if there ever IS one) holds true to the sell out theme. As for everyone else, as long as they are making music that THEY want to make, it's their prerogative. There are still lots of us in the underground that appreciate the amount of time and effort (not to mention money) that goes into the production of EACH and EVERY album. Look at it from the label's perspective however. They are there to make money. They can't just cut albums for free, if a band doesn't sell then they are dropped. Some labels are a big exception to this but then again they have their own means of support. All I'm saying is there's two sides to every issue, but the BIG side of all this is what goes on with the checkbooks and recording time that no one realizes is an important part of the whole process.
Other than that, it's been really fun doing this every two or three months. I know I have been late with issues in the past, but I am working on the problem, which lately has been lack of interviews. Due to space I'm only able to do about three or four anyway, but I'm working on alternate methods. Remember that this 'zine is all text so that every computer type has no problems reading it. And please, support your local scene if there is one, and remember to check our web site and additional sites so you can hear for yourself all the wonderful music we've been reviewing for you! Also, be sure and check out the latest issue of Metal Maniacs, where a review of our publication is!
A little side note, this concerns our newest feature, reviews of concert videos! The best way to obtain the best possible picture and sound quality, especially if it's on VHS, is to go straight to the source. The reason being, in case you weren't aware, is that the more a tape is copied, the more degradation you get of the picture quality! While I have all of the shows I review, unless you can't get in touch with the people I listed, it's best to get it from them, as my copies are one generation down from theirs. And on that note, if you WANT to do video trading with me, you have my address! Bart Kapitzke, who in addition has an etremely large library of concert videos, also runs a fine fanzine entitled Extinction of God. Get in touch with him at: 1114 North Louise Drive, Anaheim, CA 92805 USA!
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