Visa issues may have prevented SADISTIC INTENT from desecrating the UK this summer, but being stuck on the other side of the Channel gave guitarist RICK CORTEZ good chance to give Iron Fist’s Jérôme Maréchal a potted history of metal’s most tortured souls

Let’s avoid the boring “can you please introduce us …” and instead tell us the bands that made you wanna start Sadistic Intent? Looking back on those 20 years, would you do anything different? Rick Cortez: “Technically, Sadistic Intent started in 1986 under a different name but we changed it in 1987 when we brought in a new vocalist. Back in those days we were influenced by the more extreme music of that time; bands such as Slayer, Sodom, Venom, Destruction, Celtic Frost, Dark Angel, Mercyful Fate, Bathory, Discharge, Extreme Noise Terror, Death, Terrorizer, Repulsion, Death, Doom, etc. Honestly, I knew back then that our other band members would eventually leave the band within a year or two and I figured that would be the end of Sadistic Intent. All we had in mind was to play backyard party gigs in the LA area, especially because at that time bands like Sadistic Intent were not allowed to play in … Read More

KILLTOWN DEATH FEST 2012 COPENHAGEN UNGDOMSHUSET

The Ungdomshuset (“the youth house) is a squat in the North West of Copenhagen, a stone’s throw away from the city centre; a Scandinavian ‘utopia’ of modern architecture, parks, cyclists and overpriced food and drink. Walking into the main venue of this tiny DIY event is like crossing into a different country; enter a graffiti covered courtyard, filled with a smorgasbord of battle jacket adorned long haired metallers. A wander around reveals why people travel from around the world for this event; food is super cheap, beers and shots are under £2, and at the back a small and dark alleyway is filled with goodies. It was like the ’80s never left, with stalls filled with boxes of vinyl, photocopied fanzines, patches, t-shirts and cassette tape demos.

First band of the day are France’s Ritualization, crossing the tones of early Morbid Angel with Angel Corpse and an awesome sign of things to come over the next 3 days. Fleshless seem a little out of place, even admitting it themselves. Their modern take on brutal death metal with guttural vocals, the antithesis to the old school vibe of the other bands playing over the weekend, but they manage to … Read More

Disgrace’s ‘Debts Of God’ EP, Convulse’s ‘World Without God’, Funebre’s ‘Children Of The Scorn’ and Demigod’s ‘Slumber Of Sullen Eyes’, without knowing it, were albums that shaped the sound of what would later become tagged as the ultimate Finnish death metal sound. Alas this early-’90s scene’s most important players were already rotting six feet under, after only one demo and an EP. Abhorrence‘s short-lived tenure survived the years because over the course of only 13 minutes, their sole self-titled 7” laid down the foundations upon which not only the highly-successful Amorphis was built but a large portion of the Finn-death movement as well.

Over the years, rumours of an official re-release of the band’s scarce recordings were floating around while, in the meantime, their former vocalist Jukka Kolehmainen set to open an official memorial website where one could download for free their two official recordings to counterfeit bootleggers. That is until May this year, when Svart Records finally released their officially-sanctioned 16 track (21 if you fell for the vinyl version) discography ‘Completely Vulgar’, compiling both their EP and demo plus live and rehearsal odds ‘n’ sods. Thus, Jukka Kolehmainen agreed to take us back to those sweet teenagers years when … Read More

Alongside Bolt Thrower, Mythic and Nuclear Death, Derkéta are one of the longest-running and most well-respected female powers in extreme metal, and for good reason. The music created by these four women from Pittsburgh isn’t just dark, it’s downright oppressive: no light, no hope, no compromise. Their pummelling take on death/doom was restricted to a series of demos, an EP, a split and a compilation, but never came to fruition on a proper full-length album. That is, until now. They’ve just self-released their first-ever full-length, a massive slab of cavernous death/doom perfection titled ‘In Death We Meet’ and have already been plotting their next moves. The band parted ways in 1997, so to see them not only return, but to come out swinging, armed with one of the best death metal records of 2012 and a packed schedule of upcoming live gigs, is a wonderful sight indeed. Fifteen years is a hell of a long time to spend away from the metal world, though, so vocalist and guitarist Sharon Bascovsky filled in some gaps for us.

“Well, it’s a bit of a story, but this is the short version. Back in 1997, Don [Of The Dead, vocals/bass] from Nunslaughter had asked Terri … Read More

In fair Sweden is where we set our scene. Two cities, both alike in dignity… you know the story. You’re either Stockholm or you’re Gothenburg, and this isn’t an article about football. Sweden may have taken the crown (no Johan Lindstrand related puns please!) when it came to Europe’s burgeoning death metal scene but the line was drawn depending on if you preferred the melodic thrash of Dark Tranquillity and At The Gates (in the red corner… Gothenburg) or the buzzsaw, Sunlight sound creeping out of the darkness in Stockholm thanks to bands like Entombed, Dismember and Treblinka.

But 45 miles north from the Swedish capital lies a previously untapped pool of death metal nihilism. In a university town of 140,000, Uppsala is the religious capital of Sweden so it’s unsurprising that it gave us early progenitors of Swedeath in Sarcasm and black metal bastards Unpure and later Watain. But the spotlight has turned away from the old guards of the major cities and is glaring on this unassuming hub of metal mania. Invidious, Graveless and Degial have put Uppsala on the death metal map and it’s showing the big boys of Stockholm and Gothenburg that the sounds of the suburbs … Read More

It’s rare to find one-man projects in the death metal scene, especially one as technical as Willowtip’s latest protégé Sophicide. The German lone ranger Adam Lazslo was just 19 when he formed the project, with EP ‘The Art Of Atrocity’ only showcasing half his potential. With Sophicide meaning “murder of wisdom”, it’s clear what the themes are. “It’s about failures of modern society and the misery it brings, value systems that try to impose their ridiculous ideas, like religion and in general things that one should worry about nowadays. [This is] my humble attempt at musically executing these ideas”, explains Adam.

To go solo so young is a brave move; however debut ‘Perdition Of The Sublime’ proves Adam’s technicality and songwriting is close to challenging already credited artists. “I didn’t have fitting band members at that time, so I decided to start on my own.” he says. “I also found it easier to realise my musical ideas without having to make compromises.”

Adam’s influences are prominent throughout – the brutality of Bloodbath, the technicality of fellow countrymen Necrophagist and the even the guitar wankery of Animals As Leaders. ‘Perdition …’ challenges both your brain and brawn and despite the isolation, a live … Read More

While thrash and death metal from California, Florida and New York were pushing the boundaries of extremity in metal, in Kansas City, Missouri three kids were kicking up their own storm and created an album that would influence a new generation of underground game-changers. In the first of our series that looks back at the legacy of albums that changed the face of extreme metal JOHN MINCEMOYER returns to the birth of ‘STILLBIRTH MACHINE’ by ORDER FROM CHAOS.

Stories concerning the early days of the American extreme music scene generally revolve around the then exhilarating sounds originating from the respective coasts. Initially, the West Coast’s speed metal and thrash movement, centring upon the Bay Area, created waves only to be consumed by the uncompromising death metal being churned out on the East Coast.

The United States is a big county. It is roughly 2,900 miles from Tampa, Florida to San Francisco, California and 3,000 miles from New York City to San Francisco (as a counterpoint, it is only 250 miles from Stockholm to Gothenburg, Sweden). Yes, other scenes existed in the US, Texas and the upper Midwest being prime examples, but considering the sheer concentration of bands (and labels) that called the … Read More