Before Skelethal, there was Infinite Translation a classic sounding thrash band from the north of France whom guitarist Gui Haunting joined in late 2009, right before the recording of ‘Masked Reality’, their second full-length. “I had seen the band live few times but didn’t know them personally before I joined,” he recalls. “Their bass player Jon and I really hit it off although I’ve always been into a more extreme style of metal, whereas he was first and foremost a thrash fan.” Being a former drummer, Jon used Infinite Translation’s rehearsal place to relearn his way around the instrument and in 2012, the two hatched an evil plan to play death metal, the ancient way. “We love playing in both bands but we went to keep things separate: like Infinite Translation was meant play thrash, Skelethal’s raison de vivre is to perform real death metal. We love the atmosphere and vibe from the early scene and even if I’m not old enough to have had the chance to live that period, I think there was a honesty and a dedication then that sadly got lost at some point. Nowadays, there are way too many bands and everything is just a … Read More

Even if they only had their first ever rehearsal back in December 2012, Possession are already making a stir in the underground with their debut demo ‘His Best Deceit’. Pressed initially on tape (at 666 copies of course) and now available on CD courtesy of Invictus Productions, this quartet led by Mestema on vocals are completed by Viriakh (bass), I.Dveikus (guitars) and PzKpfw (drums).

Performing a hybrid of thrash, black and death with shrieking vocals that betrays none of its Belgium roots, Possession are adamant about how “spontaneous” the whole thing has been from day one. “We recorded our demo live in the studio because we didn’t feel like spending hours overdubbing minor sound issues and mistakes,” specifies Mestema. “Instead of that, we thought that the bestiality and the energy of our music were far more important things to capture. We think this example clearly shows the way we see our band: we try to work seriously but we refuse to let some details turn into some exhausting pain in the ass. We wouldn’t call ourselves thrash or even black thrash but still we can understand why some people tend to label us as thrash. At the end of the … Read More

Ominous, anonymous, terrifying and obscure, Germany’s Beyond invoke a schizophrenic whirlwind of the deadliest death metal best described as the bastard spawn of Morbid Angel, Possessed, and (early) Kreator. Joining the Iron Bonehead roster with the ‘Enter Transcendence’ EP in 2012, July’s ‘Fatal Power Of Death’ full-length debut is among the utmost insanely violent extreme metal records unleashed this year.

“Beyond is anything that isn’t part of this world. Beyond feeds upon the blackness to violently humiliate the human psyche,” explains guitarist, vocalist, and mastermind, ‘R’, of his dangerously introspective and otherworldly musical visions. “We’ve been inspired by something that is difficult to explain. Speaking for myself, I’ve been against the grain of normality all my life and I’m way more open to stuff that is ‘weird’ among ordinary people. Paranormal material, mysteries about ancient history etc, this would be the blueprint to any decision that complements art in my life.”

Though, for all the esotericism, it seems there are greater and more determined forces at work: “Moreover, the reason Beyond was created was to determine an icon to start ending the ever-growing lack of quality in modern black/death metal era. If you ignore 99 per cent of all releases that surround … Read More

2013 will go down in history as being the year that death thrash horde Pentagram Chile released their blistering debut, but it will also herald the less high-profile re-release of ‘Profane Cvlt’ – the initial offering from fellow Chilean blasphemers Praise The Flame. Quite the year for this country then, famed for its barbaric output and it’s good to hear fresh-sounding offerings blasting through the mire of tired formulas. Bassist Necroterror sums up their sound: “It’s a band that cultivates merciless and obscure death metal with fast passages of thrash in the vein of the pioneering hordes of the genre. Unquestionable, Possessed, Morbid Angel (Old), Sadistic Intent, Death (Old) among others, are great inspiration for us.” ‘Profane Cvlt’ honours these pioneers in shovel loads; at once notes of Slayer and Possessed ring through the barrage of blastbeats and frantic guitars, but it is the brief hints at melody and obscure twists that make this release all the more memorable.

The foundations upon which PTF build their hellish hymns are firmly rooted in the Chilean tradition, comprising a strong “rhythmic base, with fast drumming and a furiously-played overdriven bass guitar.” No complaints here! Then “a single guitar is added to this base … Read More

As tempting as it was to name every feature in our anniversary issue after Bathory songs, it made sense to title both the Watain feature (‘Wild Hunt’ being an ode to Bathory at their most epic) and this one after the songs of Quorthon. However, we best not call TWILIGHT OF THE GODS, a new band put together by PRIMORDIAL frontman ALAN AVERILL, a Bathory tribute band anymore. They’ve moved on. Get it? The name remains, the story is so very, very different. GUY STRACHAN gets to the bottom of the how a tribute band became a full-on project and gets to grips with his “other” bands while he’s at it

“I tried to explain something the other day to somebody who wasn’t remotely into metal, that when you’re inside the bubble you see what other people find curious about it, and the things that they perceive as clichés, you understand that they are borne of the original blueprint of heavy metal; that you didn’t second-guess yourself. There was a naïve bluster and charm because of the era that it was in, so when some kid in 2013 assumes that everything has to be pastiche and parody and they can’t take … Read More

Like so many others, Kim Kelly discovered superb Swedish black/death practitioners IRKALLIAN ORACLE online and was immediately blown away by the immediate quality and authoritative tone of their demo, and after being name-checked by Bestial Mockery’s Master Motorsag in Iron Fist #6 she tracked them down to find out more. The following Q&A sheds a few beams of light on their dark intentions…

Those behind the project have clearly had plenty of experience in writing and playing music, but choose not to divulge their past efforts, or indeed, any identities at all. It can be difficult for bands to preserve their anonymous status without seeming to resort to gimmickry; Ghost used it to their advantage and Dragged Into Sunlight have their members’ professional lives to consider, but then again, they inhabit a very, very different world from Irkallian Oracle. What is the purpose of your anonymity? “I actually never claimed to be anonymous at all but simply have chosen not to display and discuss such matters publicly as we see no valid point in weltering in our egos and past endeavours when focus should be laid on Irkallian Oracle and nothing else. Paradoxically I would say that our human faces and names actually … Read More

For anyone involved in the underground scene, especially in London, Craven Idol have been impossible to miss. Over the last few years, they’ve been a consistent presence on the live circuit, delivering primitive, atmospheric death thrash. There’s been a marked increase in the quality of their performance over the last few years and they stand on the brink of following up 2010’s ‘Ethereal Altars’ EP with a full-length album. Released on October 15 by the excellent Dark Descent Records, ‘Towards Eschaton’ is a far more varied release than many will have expected with a melodic sensibility that sees the band paying homage to their ’80s inspirations.

Frontman Wrath met Iron Fist in one of Camden Town’s finest boozers to talk through the long road towards the album’s release. “Craven Idol is a brainchild of myself and Scourger, the two guitarists. We met at university and discovered very quickly that we had the same sort of interest in music. We wanted to play old school Sodom, German Poison, and were also big fans of old school heavy metal. The whole Australian black thrash movement was also coming out at the time and we wanted to incorporate all those things and not be too … Read More

25 years in the making, PENTAGRAM CHILE, are finally ready to unleash their debut album, and it’s made the wait all worth while and a true contender for death metal album of the year. OLIVIER ‘ZOLTAR’ BADIN meets ANTON REISENEGGER to find out what took so long…

Anton Reisenegger is a man that loves to defy time. Even if like most of his contemporaries he first picked up a guitar in his early teens, a couple of years later his penpals were riding high the wave of extreme metal and being sent overseas to record with fancy producers while he was struggling just to do gigs in his own country, let alone do an actual album. It was only at the turn of the century, when his now fully grown compadres were starting to drop the ball that he, on the other hand, was finally starting to reap the harvest of what he had sown. And now 44 years old and a family man living in the south of Spain, he’s never been busier. Although Criminal, his main priority in the early 2000s, has been put “on ice” until further notice, he’s been replacing the late Jesse Pintado in the international … Read More

Oakland death dealers Scolex seemingly came out of nowhere with their debut EP, ‘Torn From Beyond’, but they’re far from green. In early 2012, past and current members of Ghoul, Population Reduction, Lycus and Worm Ouroboros found themselves drawn together, helpless against the malevolent forces of destruction to which they’d soon swear fealty. “Catchy, lingering riffs and heavy tones are addictive,” bassist Erika Osterhout admits. “Justin [drummer/vocalist] and I were buddies and always talked about jamming together. He and I played together for almost a year before we recorded ‘Torn From Beyond’. We had a couple songs we wanted solos in and asked Danny Coralles from Autopsy and Abscess if he would be interested in doing some shredding on the record. He came in and knocked out some ripping solos for us. It was amazing! After that we tried out a few guitar players until we found Dylan and Yusef and started playing shows.”

Scolex trawl the dankest, dirtiest sewers of classic knuckle-dragging, doomhauling death metal and slap a nice coating of grime and crust overtop the snarling guitars, mangled d-beats and cavernous roars. In keeping with their DIY roots, the whole thing was self-released, though Osterhout’s not opposed to forming … Read More

Horror-obsessed and death metal maven VANESSA NOCERA has been on our radar these past few years, whether it’s been through her death/doom band WOODEN STAKE, trashing death ghouls HOWLING or simply through running the ghastly Razorback Records. Now with a new splatter platter from SKELETAL SPEKTRE on the loose KIM KELLY caught up with her to find out how she has the time for all these nightmares

When I was a tiny tyke, I remember singing along to my dad’s Hank Jr. tapes and pretending to interview Tina Turner with my little Fisher-Price radio. Not the most auspicious of beginnings for a budding metal journo (though do I remember throwing a few hardballs at my imaginary interview subjects) but then again, we weren’t all ripped from the womb clutching a Massacre album. Some of us, however… “I have audio tapes of me at age three singing made-up songs about monsters named ‘Shitbones’,” multi-instrumentalist and hellacious vocalist Vanessa Nocera laughs, thoroughly shutting down my nature versus nurture argument. “I’ve been singing since I was able to talk. According to my parents, I have always had a crazy imagination and I’ve always been vocal. I took inspiration from all kinds of musicians and … Read More