With the likes of Coffins and Abigail flying the Japanese flag in the underground scene, it was only a matter of time until more promising contemporary acts started to get the attention of the West. Darkcorpse’s black metal angst, fuelled by a DIY passion reminiscent of the punk era may have only started a couple of years ago, but the five-piece already have two demos up their sleeves. After playing in other bands and vocalist Kraahl setting up underground zine, the Japan Metal Guide, the band, now made up of Harbinger and Korvus (guitars), Marax (bass) and drummer Skuld, were able to gig around Yokohoma.

“Playing here has been an amazing experience. The sense of community within the scene is really strong and bands really look out for each other,” explains Skuld. “I suppose the only bad part is how expensive shows are here due to the prevailing pay-to-play system. Actually, this system has a seriously crippling effect on the bands, making it difficult for most bands to scrape together enough money for recording and touring.”

Despite this, Darkcorpse’s independent approach has created two misanthropic records, with a third already in the pipeline. “As a band we tend not to mull over … Read More

It’s tough breaking into any scene, but for a fledgling British stoner band, you’ve not just got a rich history of bands that dominate the scene to contend with, you also have to tame those 20 tonne behemoths that they call riffs. Whilst even the most seasoned acts can buckle under the weight, newcomers Throne have taken to it like ducks to water, and they have a very simple method; “We just try to be honest about who we are and write the songs we want to hear,” William Michael admits. Some bands might find it all too easy to ignore those who have come before them, but for Throne it’s about bringing together the new and the old. “It’s like trying to strike a balance between honouring traditions and bringing something new,” the London-based bassist admits. Well, it’s an approach that is working well and 2013 looks set to be a big year as it will see them releasing their as-yet-untitled debut album as well as heading out to Texas for SXSW, “and we’ll have a go at the rest of Europe too, fuck it,” William laughs.

There’s a whole stack of reasons why Throne should be one of your … Read More

We wanted to make plain death metal with some doom influences,” says Chapel Of Disease singer Laurent Teubl matter-of-factly. “We wanted to make the sort of music that we would listen to at home and that only few still do. We missed that old Tampa sound, where death metal was still very close to aggressive thrash and it didn’t have to be clean or technical. [We wanted to] summon the ancient gods of death metal.”

It would seem that Cologne, Germany based death cult Chapel Of Disease are not only using their sound to summon the ancient gods of death metal, but also their moniker, which appears to be a mash-up of Morbid Angel’s “Chapel Of Ghouls” and “Angel Of Disease” – arguably two of the greatest death metal songs ever written.

“I think it isn’t to deny that somehow we threw those two song titles together,” Laurent laughs. “But I think it’s a good band name, since it is nothing complicated. It gets stuck in one’s head easily. ‘Altars Of Madness’ is an all-time favourite for the whole band. It’s an amazing album that easily beats the aggression and madness of many later recorded black metal albums… It simply is and … Read More

Famously previously for being home to the first spinning frame, which we can tenuously link to the mass production of heavy metal t-shirts (okay, so not really) and a thrash cover of the ‘Ghostbusters’ theme Preston has hardly given us much of worth. So no wonder that Alex Varley, bassist of steel warriors Ascalon told us that, “We started as an answer to the lack of proper metal in our area. It really is worrying how neglected the glory era of metal has become outside of the capital.”

Since forming the band with Vince Scott (drums), Chris Marsh (guitars) and Matt Gerrard (vocals, guitars) Preston, however, has acquired a record label, Flash Of The Blade, whose first release was the recent four-way split between Ascalon, Asomvel, Eliminator and fellow Prestonians Wytch Hazel.

A metallic triumph for the North then? All four bands on that limited 12” are mighty indeed. “I find it difficult to describe our sound beyond classic metal,” Alex continues. “I’d like to think we’re quite a ballsy band that have a sound not too different from the best British bands like Saxon and Diamond Head. The band is an important tool to preach our elitism. On a serious note, … Read More

By now, it’s been three years since Tribulation’s breakout LP, ‘The Horror,’ was unleashed, and fans of their sinister death metal odes have been clamouring for more. The album dropped just on the cusp of what would become the recent old school death metal explosion, and immediately stood out from the pack with its sheer power and diabolical intent. Turns out this Swedish mob were just as impatient to record its successor, but, like any good band, were unwilling to sacrifice quality for speed.

“It’s actually been over five years since we recorded the album,” their guitarist, Adam Zaars, reveals from their studio in Arvika. “I wouldn’t say that anything kept us from doing it, it just took that long because of the way we worked on it. When you write songs in an unconventional way, as we did this time, things might take time. We waited for the album to come to us rather than sitting down forcing it out.”

Good things come to those who wait, and it already seems like we’ll be in for a treat come 2013, thanks to Ireland’s mighty Invictus Productions.

“We actually had a lot of labels hover over our heads trying to pull us into … Read More

When a band decides to avoid the Heavy Metal Mad Libs school of thought (i.e. Black, Dark or Death + any other word = instant band name!) and instead throws a curveball like Biipiigwan, it’s safe to assume that there’s a story behind it. “A biipiigwan is a type of flute that Anishinaabe people used as signalling devices in battles a long time ago. The etymology of the word relates to a general term for songbirds and though I didn’t know that at the time. I’m glad I learned that because I got tired of the name a few months after starting,” chuckles Musqwaunquot Rice, who handles guitars and vocals for the Canadian quartet. Rice’s First Nations heritage may have informed Biipiigwan’s christening, but their sound is a furious geographical mélange of Unsane, Black Cobra, Buzzoven and Neurosis, laced with enough acerbic grindcore to land them on stages with Canuck pals Fuck The Facts. Rice’s approximation of their sound keeps it simple.
“Loud, sludgy, a bit abrasive and kind of dark. People tend to hear different styles and influences in our music and most of the time it’s bands and even genres I’ve never heard of. I’m really not that metal, man.” Their … Read More

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

Let’s let Oslo’s grind youngers Gouge have the first words. “We are Gouge, we play music. We listened to Repulsion a lot and formed Gouge because we felt we had to. So Repulsion is a big influence and Dr Shrinker, Autopsy, Nihilist and the Funeral demo.” Gouge arrived on the scene recently with a cast-iron demo that is arguably one of the best ‘grind’ debuts released since the old days. Herman plays drums and Christoffer plays guitars and sings. Their first gig was actually on the mid-September day in 2012 that Iron Fist and Gouge had a chat. The two core members employed Jonas Bye of Mabuse for bass duties for the live show and they don’t plan to play many gigs but a full length album is halfway finished and likely to see the light of day in 2013. Until then they, “will just keep on working, drinking beer and playing music.” They’re a great example of the new generation bringing unshakable energy into the extreme music scene. They naturally employ a fresh approach, which is entirely unprejudiced by modern versions of our music. They only know the greats and use a similar sound to the classics to play new … Read More

Based on their moniker alone, Lord Fist, who formed in 2011 in Mekkali, Finland, were bound to appear in these pages, right? But our main source of motivation to shine the light on them remains their extremely promising old school, NWOBHM-inspired four-track demo ‘Spark For The Night’, released both on CDr and tape and whose logo alone (designed by Possessor who already worked with Armour and Axegressor) will take you back to 1982!

“Lord Fist got started with a friendly jam session,” reveals drummer, Eetu Orbinski. “We were just jamming some riffs and suddenly we had this ‘Chains Of Steel’ tune put together. After all those years of playing extreme metal styles, it just sounded and felt heavier than anything we had done before. When playing this kind of music we enter a whole other level of existence and we’re seriously addicted to it. People have different ways to reach these kind of feelings and for us it’s heavy metal. We actually think that this very song still holds the very finest essence of what Lord Fist is about.”

Like fellow retro-obsessed bands Speedtrap or Evil-Lÿn, Eetu doesn’t deny their eyes are set on the golden era of the genre but according … 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