Italian death merchants Into Darkness are a very young band, teetering on the cusp of releasing their very first demo tape via Unholy Domain Records (which Iron Bonehead will then commit to 12” vinyl) but their sound is rooted firmly in the darkest, dankest corners of the past. Vocalist and axe-slinger Giulia Doomed Warrior asserts, “Into Darkness is for fans of death/doom in the late ’80s/early ’90s vein, like Asphyx, my favourite band, Bolt Thrower, Cianide, Coffins, Thorr’s Hammer, Disembowelment, Paradise Lost, Goatlord, Crypt of Kerberos…” and the list continues, as her passion for the most pestilential of death metal’s doomed offerings is made all too apparent. She’s got the chops to back it up, as well, as Into Darkness’ eponymous demo shows with its merciless onslaught of dirty, sewer-dwelling riffs, ragged howls, and searing solos.

“To be honest my first idea was to have a 100 percent female band in the vein of Derketa, Mythic and November Grief, but to find a skilled female drummer was impossible, and we are absolutely satisfied with Anguicious, both as musician and as person,” she explains. “We started to rehearse some riffs in late 2011, but it wasn’t until Anguicious (Mefitic’s drummer) joined us … Read More

When ‘Infernal Blasphemies’, the three track demo (on tape format, obviously), was released in early 2010 on the now defunct Detest Records imprint, it seemed like an elusive project for Michel Jonker, former drummer with Absorbed and Massive Assault, the d-beat war machine from Groningen, Holland. Still, even if he had left his previous band because he was “too busy with other things”, this veteran musician kept on playing music at home “just for fun”. He eventually ended up writing and performing this first raw recording by himself telling Iron Fist; “this was the music I wanted to play. It’s raw, furious, has simple songs structures and an old school vibe. As simple as that!”

But two years later, Entrapment has grown into something much bigger than a simple hobby. So besides gathering a line-up, including members from Massive Assault and God Dethroned, for live duties, Michel has put out ‘Irreligious Abominations’, a compilation of all three demos plus a bunch of live tracks through Godeater Records. He also found time to record Entrapment’s first proper full-length, ‘The Obscurity Within’, on Soulseller, assisted by live member Jeroen Vrielink who played bass and lead guitar on the album. After denying trying to … Read More