Metal Bulletin Zine #46 Washington state, U.S. www.metalbulletin.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/pages/The-Metal-Bulletin-paper-zine www.twitter.com/MetalBulletinZn

(three bands from Washington) Grabnebelfürsten (Germany) Brood of Hatred (Tunisia) Septicflesh (Greece)

AlNamrood (Saudi Arabia) Brain Damage (Germany) Hod (U.S.)

Dinner Music for the Gods

www.fuglymaniacs.com (issues online, concert videos, interviews, reviews) history of Metal Bulletin Zine #1-20: (2006-2009): Wisconsin #21-26: (2009-2010): Texas #27(2010)-- now; Washington state

-— -— metal on the radio/internet (Pacific Time) Metal Shop (Seattle, WA): Saturday 11pm-3am KISW 99.9fm www.kisw.com Sweet Nightmares (Houston, TX): Thursday night 9pm-12am KPFT 90.1 fm www.kpft.org Excuse All the Blood (Olympia, WA): Friday night 11pm-1am www.kaosradio.org — This issue begins with three bands from Washington, for those readers interested in local and regional bands. Cerridwen This symphonic band on its Facebook page says that they are putting together the final masters of the EP “Aconitum.” There’s not much information to impart at the moment, but the song “Lanaera” is on YouTube. Not sure if that’s a demo version or not, but it gives a good idea of the style of the band. www.facebook.com/CerridwenMusic Xoth Xoth has released the “Hostile Terraforming” EP. Seattle’s Metal Shop interviewed them recently, too. The EP is worth looking into if you have an interest in black metal from Washington. It’s a free name-your-price release. Xoth is along the lines of traditional black/thrashing metal, and not the “Cascadian” kind. www.facebook.com/beholdxoth www.xoth.bandcamp.com/releases Void Wraith On September 6th black metal Void Wraith played the Highline in Seattle. Metal Archives does not yet have much information, but you can hear and download (free/name your price) the music. Listen to this raw, necro black metal: www.voidwraith666.bandcamp.com/releases -- Grabnebelfürsten (Germany): Pro-Depressiva The sound quality of this black metal appeals to the ear because of the clarity of the sound, in a more traditional way; you can hear the bass guitar; it’s not a demo-like recording, but neither a robotized one. As a result, you can hear very well that the songs are memorable for having real riffs and for attention to the songwriting, with a bit of a melodic-prog feel. The band has recordings that reach back to 1998, but this is the first time that I hear this German-language band. I find the album to have an individual quality, the songs are solid, headbanging and enjoyable. As stated previously, the band is easy on the ears for its balance of the elements in the right place. Investigate if you want to hear melodic/prog–ish black metal with a

relatively clear production and songs that are easy to remember, in this genre. www.grabgewalt.de Brood of Hatred (Tunisia): Skinless Agony Perhaps taking their name from the Suffocation song “Brood of Hatred” from the album “Pierced from Within” (1995), these Tunisians show that sometimes it does not matter whence you band originates. With a bit of expertise, if you want to play “technical-prog death metal,” anything is possible. Brood of Hatred has the blasting and heaviness, as expected. That’s not all they do, though. An important reason for which I have kept coming back to the music is the band’s skill and consistency in adding melody. It’s not cheap, clichéd, sweet melody, either. Brood of Hatred appears as a monolith of cold, unapproachable technicality, but when you listen closely, the smooth prog side starts to show up, and that’s where the bits of melody surface. If you like technical-prog growl metal or if you want to hear how these Tunisians do the metal ways, put your thinking helmet on and give this album a listen. www.broodofhatred.bandcamp.com www.facebook.com/BroodOfHatred.Official Septicfleash (Greece): Titan (Prosthetic Records) Epic heaviness is the motor force of Septicflesh’s “symphonic death metal.” The band has posted videos of the making of this album, in those videos they show the classical musicians that helped on this album creating lush and grandiose metal written for hypothetical movies of ancient wars, heroes and villains. Septicflesh has watched movies like “300,” “Troy,” “Lord of the Rings” and similar films and it’s evident that the band would relish the opportunity to write the music for epic movies of wars. Of course, bands like Rhapsody of Fire and Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody seem to have the same idea with their epic symphonic power metal, but Septicflesh is “epic symphonic death metal,” not exactly a sound and style that many bands do. If you think that it would be interesting to hear a sort of “opposite” of Rhapsody music, Septicflesh is undeniably a good choice. Perhaps “opposite” is not the correct word because it is a heavier version of Rhapsody, so in that sense it is similar. Either way you look at it, the album sounds unique and interesting. I do not have all of the Septicflesh catalogue, although I think both “Revolution DNA” and “Sumerian Daemons” in their own way are very good albums. It’s just that on this new one the band really sounds like they wanted to go all out for a massive and majestic work. Only time will tell how supporters of the band eventually rate this album amongst the other titles, but I think it is top of the line. www.septicflesh.com www.facebook.com/septicfleshband

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AlNamrood (Saudi Arabia) AlNamrood’s first recording, according to Metal Archives, is from 2008. Ever since then AlNamrood has been releasing its black metal, and in 2014 the band has another album, about which Metal Bulletin Zine sent some questions. -- How’s life for your band in 2014 in Saudi Arabia? Generally, life is limited in the country especially for metal music. In fact, the all the support that the band receive is from overseas, whereas, we didn’t receive any support from local bands. Moreover, our decided to keep project strictly private, we don’t want many local people know about it, it can get us in real troubles. So regardless of what city we are in, nobody really knows AlNamrood. The first AlNamrood recording was the EP from 2008. How many years before 2008 had you been playing? We’ve been playing music since 2006, as mentioned we had no connection with any other musician, we self-learned and self-produced our music. All the instruments were bought online, we learned playing through online tutorial videos, so yeah, the internet was a big favor to us. Metal musicians in Saudi Arabia buy instruments online, but when the instruments arrive to your house, do the authorities not say anything? It’s possible, we get our instrument delivered to pick up point NOT to our houses, then get it to our home discreetly, it’s possible if people noticed that might report us to religious police. We don’t know about the local scene as we are not connected with them, but for us, we faced problems with authority, some of us managed to get bailed eventually. Is it a problem for metal bands to have websites? [I have read about a rock band called The Accolade, from Jeddah and they are three women; I have heard the songs on Facebook, too.] Technically, no, however, if the website became known among people and everybody is talking about it, then the government could possibly arrest in the claim of “making a bad influence on Islamic culture.” The internet in Saudi Arabia is monitored and lots of websites are concerned, these are typically: other religious websites (non-Islamic) political, pornography, some forums, philosophy, astrology, etc.

In regard of band, Accolade we are not sure if they exist, but definitely no one can play live shows, arrest can happen immediately, unless if they do it strictly private without authority awareness, however, they are some cases that the police broke into some

private compounds. It is well known that the social media are

monitored in Saudi Arabia, they are several known cases that people got arrested through Facebook because of sharing their opinion about religion or politics. And some metal band got disbanded due to governmental threat to arrest if they don’t shut down their account. The only way to manage this repressing is to be completely anonymous, having nicknames, fake addresses, and never publish any photos or lyrics that can be used a prosecution. Typically, punishment can be radical to those who oppose the Islamic regime, it can vary from prison time, 100 lashes to public execution (beheading). About the album. For the first song, "Estahalat Al Harb," how do you create the main melody: keyboards? We use some physical instruments, such as oud and Durbaka and the others are composed through Middle Eastern keyboard that have realistic Arabian instruments. The keyboard is equipped with variety of Middle Eastern instruments choices, quarter tune settings, effects, Arabian scale guide, etc. The song “Estahalat Al Harbâ”� focal instrument and lead melody was Kanoon (or Qanoon) we use kanoon a lot in our music. What types of drums did you use on "Heen Yadhar Al Ghsaq"? It was Darbuka. This is the main traditional percussion we use in addition to drums. Do you use other string instruments besides guitar? We play Oud, the other stringed instruments are played through keyboard. I wonder if you would explain a little about the themes and matters that you explore with your lyrics? The band focal theme is tyrannical historical themes, we illustrates the era where injustice and religions were taking control over Arabian people’s life, in addition to glorifying tyrannical leaders and kings, bloodshed battles in the name of religion and tribal conflicts to devour each other’s, ideologies of deities (and sometime people) worship and dark matters.

Mainly we try to bring the darkest real-event or literature from the Arabian history, however, we also emphasized on the ignorance era and believe in super natural power or myth of that took over, where it opposed the development of art and science in the area, in fact this is still happening in modern day but through different methodologies. The band name refers to the ancient Babylon king who defied deity, his name is King Nimrod

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(pronounced in Arabic as AlNamrood). I'm curious, what do you think about the Egyptian/Arabian/Middle Eastern melodies of Nile? We highly adore the work of Nile in addition to Melechesh as well. Nile sounds like ancient Egyptian BC culture, not precisely Arabian, I would call It Middle Eastern, they use selective instruments that has dark tune. We read their lyrics carefully, they did an excellent job embodying the pharos literature. They music is way dark, tyrannical descriptive and evil, it’s fitting their brutal concept demonstrably. We wish we could share the stage with Nile one day. Thank you for your time!!! Cheers for your support, we appreciate it. Takes us away from all life commitments and routine. www.alnamrood.com www.facebook.com/alnamroodofficial THE END. Brain Damage (Germany): Born to Lose … Live to Win Brain Damage is the brainchild of former vocalist/ guitarist of 80s thrashers Vendetta (Germany) (on Noise Records) Michael “Micky” Werner. While Vendetta did not reach the level of success of Kreator, Sodom and Destruction, the two albums “Go and Live … Stay and Die” (1987) and “Brain Damage” (1988) are albums that I listen to on a regular basis, and hold in high regard, and would recommend to anyone into 80s thrash. Vendetta is still active today, but without the main figures of Micky and Daxx (also vocals/guitars), and with only the bass player from the old days, Heiner, today’s Vendetta is a different band in sound and vibe, as reviews have pointed out already in the past. In my opinion, this band here Brain Damage carries on very well the values of old Vendetta: thrash that does not forsake melody; social criticism; the Vendetta songwriting vibe; and the familiar vocals. I have been listening to the album a lot and find a good quality recording with memorable songs. Actually, I find the album to be very good. I did not know what to expect, as I don’t know what Micky has been doing. Metal Archives does not list a bunch of activity between 1990, when he left Vendetta, and 2014, when the album was released. It does appear that Brain Damage is something that Micky had been working on for years on his own, and he plays everything on the album, except for the drums. The band started out as a solo project, the band is unsigned and the album is self-produced. I was able to find the album on Amazon and got it there, as it is very reasonably priced. I’m certainly glad that I got the album. Brain Damage is relatively varied between thrash and a bit

more melodic metal, and it shows a serious effort to have good guitar work. This better not be the last thing we hear from Brain Damage! Those into traditional heavy metal and thrash should give this album a chance. It’s about 40 minutes, eight songs; quality, not quantity; no filler. Contact: contact@brain-damage.eu www.facebook.com/braindamagemetal www.brain-damage.eu Hod (U.S.): Book of the Worm (Arctic Music Group) Given that Hod’s last studio album “Serpent” is from 2009, and that it wasn’t always clear that this new one would ever be published, I can tell you that this material sounds carefully crafted and ready for scrutiny. Hod works with riffs that the listener into this style will notice for the quality and effort. You see, the Texas metal veterans are old-minded, experienced when it comes to their black/thrash/death metal. To me, Hod takes Possessed’s spirit of “Seven Churches” and the ire of Thornspawn, for a sound between black/thrash/death, war metal and black metal. Speaking of Possessed, Hod’s first track “When the Ghouls Feed” channels the classic Possessed trait of song intro buildup (as found on “Burning in Hell” or “Holy Hell), but Hod extends the beginning chaos moments, and then unleashes the storm. The band has undoubtedly listened to “Seven Churches” about a million times (notice the guitar tone); add to that the fact that the guitarist Carl Snyder recorded with black metallers Thornspawn from 1997 to 2007 (according to Metal Archives) and you hear Thornspawn’s toxic mix of war and black metal (like “Blood of the Holy, Taint Thy Steel” or “Wrath of War”). The best thing about Hod is the attention to the songwriting. The band’s lyrics and image would lead you to believe that they are low-life alcoholic unemployed stupid-dangerous hobos on probation, in other words, talentless hacks and worthless trainhopping squatter bums, but the Hod-men are devoted to their field. There is no way that the guitars or songs could be this way without an obsession for detail. You don’t just get up in the morning and “write” these songs drunk and watching television, like some sort of one-note core or groove knuckledragging homeboywalkrespect “metal.” Listen to Hod and compare the riffs, general guitar work, vocals and songs with your favorite 2014 albums so far and you’ll notice that Hod has many qualities that reveal a metal intelligence that is hidden behind the band’s image. Let’s not kid around, Hod is skillful metal that comes from years of serious knowledge and a high IQ in metal. www.facebook.com/pages/Hod/118127951554999

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Noble Beast (U.S.): Noble Beast (Tridroid Records) Do you speak power metal? Well, Noble Beast does! Noble Beast is a “Blind Guardian, Jr.” with a vengeance of ice and snow from the land of ten thousand lakes. Hansi Kürsch-like vocals are at the forefront and the band plays early blindguardianesque fast, thrashy/speedy power metal. Ok, I do not have a legal document of confession from the band, but either I like Blind Guardian too much or Noble Beast likes Blind Guardian too much, or both. For this reason, you should hear the singing with your own ears and see if you like it, given the peculiarity of Kürsch-style vocals. As for the music, the band celebrates with fireworks and unicorns the heritage of heavy metal. The band sounds like they have been working for years on coming up with the perfect power metal shredding and melodies. They present a question to you, dear listener: How much do you like power metal? Well, if you are madforcrazy about it, this band from Minnesota, U.S. would like for you to give the music a listen. You will have stories to tell, and they will, too, because it’s you they like, ugga mugga. www.facebook.com/noblebeastband www.tridroid.bandcamp.com traditional heavy metal: Kaine (U.K.); Vestal Claret (U.S.) Kaine (U.K.): The Waystone Bruce Dickinson has at times observed that one difference about Iron Maiden is the way that the band’s guitarists write smooth melodies and riffs, and that this way of composing has nothing to do with being “heavy,” and doing these chugging chords that are obnoxiously loud, impressing in particular the younger listener through tricks of volume and noise. Traditional-conservative heavy metallers Kaine appear to understand Bruce Dickinson’s point perfectly well: metal music is not about how heavy your music is, actually. If you think about it, there are many, many currently famous and successful non-metal rock bands that sound heavier, chunkier and chuggier than heavy metal like Kaine. Metal music as Kaine understands it, is about riffs, melodies, guitar work in general, songwriting, singing and overall talent. Kaine is in no competition to have the heaviest sound. It’s easier to be loud, than make the effort to write riffs and make a coherent song. This is Kaine’s second studio full-length album, according to Metal Archives. Early Maiden seems like an influence here, in the smooth melodies and riffs; you may also detect other New Wave of British Heavy Metal sounds, perhaps Blitzkrieg or Angel Witch; in places, such as the song “The Waystone” the band expands into more proggy territory, with keys and other mellower passages, which again, can be seen as a Steve Harris

influence, through his love of 70s prog. The creative energy of the band is their most positive strength, in my view. If late 70s-early 80s metal interpreted by a younger band looks an appealing proposition, then here’s Kaine. www.facebook.com/kaineband Vestal Claret (U.S.): The Cult of Vestal Claret (Cruz del Sur Music) Traditional heavy metallers Vestal Claret seem like a band that hates it when they hear metal musicians attempt to justify or apologize for metal’s socially unacceptable traits, like when a band says that they have a “positive” message about “believing in yourself,” and make it appear like metal music is some sort of life coach for people who need encouragement or reassuring. No. Vestal Claret is not that way. If metal offends some people’s feelings, religious or social beliefs, well, that’s fine, it’s not for them. Or, if you hate it when you see metal musicians going around saying, “We are not really Satanists or into blasphemy. We are just having fun with some silly images, you know, like you see in the movies. We’re just normal dudes with families, like you.” No. Anyway, what do you care if someone thinks you are a Satanist? You play blasphemous or sick music, so what? Are you asking for people’s approval or what? These songs are about witches, murder, evil and the occult. There is no “positive” message about living your life better, in a more “healthy” way that helps to interact with your classmates or neighbors. This music is mentally deranged traditional-conservative occult-themed heavy/doom metal for those into other cult metal like Manilla Road, Brocas Helm and Cirith Ungol. They don’t sound like those bands, but they are quirky, strange and metal like those bands. www.facebook.com/VestalClaret now, it’s time all sorts of “old school metal” Gluttony (Sweden): Beyond the Veil of Flesh (Vic) Gluttony will be not be issuing any apologies to the ones gathering at street corners to say that bands “need to stop ripping off Entombed and Dismember.” Maybe some people should stop complaining about zombie-gore death metal. Gluttony is going to write old, nasty, unrobotic death metal as if 1988-1990 were the best years in all of human existence. It sounds like a Sunlight Studio production by Tomas Skogberd? Yes. Gluttony wants to show you nothing new, no attempt to be “relevant” with fashions. It’s old death metal. Bang your head. www.facebook.com/gluttonyswe

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Expulsion (Sweden): Certain Corpses Never Decay (Vic Records) Expulsion was a death metal band, active from 1988 until about 1997. This compilation is essentially made up of two 1989 demos, which most certainly sound like 80s death metal, with the cave, primal charm of the “old school”. In my opinion, the great thing about Expulsion is how good this music sounds decades later, especially if you are not very pleased with popular modern metal, from high-tech death to all these forms of core marketed as metal. In other words, only a small number of metal bands nowadays sound this way, like bands on Vic Records, of course, and Dark Descent Records and FDA Rekotz and labels like that. In any case, these old demos are not for the metal masses, as you can imagine. Rather, they are for a small number of people that support this mentality of metal. www.vicrecords.com Those Who Bring the Torture (Sweden): Piling Up (Selfmagegod Records) Rogga Johansson is known for being a relentless factory of classic-style death metal riffs, and Rogga writes music for some 87,000 bands and projects that include half the population of Sweden. Rogga is without a doubt one of the biggest obsessors with golden-age-style death metal, and it shows. This album is simplicity personified, it sounds like one guitar spewing forth classic-inspired riff after riff, and the drumming sounds programmed, but through it all, it is heavy and memorable at the same time. Fun, fun album for those into old-style, DIY death. www.selfmadegod.com Ribspreader (Sweden): Meathymns (Vic Records) Another Rogga Johansson baby is Ribspreader, which is all about niche marketing, finding your audience. I think I own only about 2700 recordings with Rogga, so I have some catching up to do, but hey, now I have 2701. Rogga gives you more of the same old death that he’s always done. I don’t know how he does it. www.facebook.com/pages/Ribspreader/148182408532846 www.vicrecords.com Void Ritual (U.S.): Holodomor (Tridroid Records) The grim, necro black metal of Void Ritual is fast, intense worship of “Transylvanian Hunger” and “Pure Holocaust.” The throat-destroying screaming and tremolo-is-king guitar playing is surprisingly catchy cave art and is the work of one “Daniel Jackson,” the person behind other entities like Ancestral Oath and Daemonus, according to Metal Archives. Even after hearing this three-song EP about a million times, the charm does not wear off, a good sign if you can’t get

enough black metal. (By the way, “Daniel” has told this zine that he does/play everything, except the drumming, which is programmed). www.voidritual.bandcamp.com www.facebook.com/voidritual Omnizide (Sweden): Death Metal Holocaust (Carnal Records) Sophistication and modernity are overrated. Hellhammer and Sarcófago are not. The vocalist sounds like he’s from a primal 80s black metal band like Bathory and the rest of the band attacks their instruments in a way that makes them sound awful, like early Death or Nihilist or early Carcass. Omnizide doesn’t want to hear about the wonders of modern gadgets to improve metal for the hip metal people who need something cool to follow. Go find an open grave and jump in it, Omnizide will say. Dirty and raw metal is the way of Omnizide. www.facebook.com/Omnizide Tormentress (Singapore): Operation Torment (Infernö Records) A concentrated, one-target single-mindedness of purpose in classic thrash defines Tormentress, a band that privileges sharp guitar-centered speed, shredding and a festival of endless riffs. For Tormentress the idea of traditional, classic thrash is not a problem or an issue, but rather a music to be celebrated with pride. You will hear inspiration from 80s Bay Area, of course, and also German bands like Destruction, Tankard and Kreator, this latter band they cover in the form of the old and appropriate song “Tormentor.” End of story: this is thrash for people obsessed with the speed and accuracy of the genre. www.inferno-records.net www.facebook.com/tormentress666 and now for something different … Dinner Music for the Gods Those into virtuoso guitar wizards like Tony MacAlpine and Yngwie Malmsteen would probably like this very talented bunch. It’s melodic, traditional shredder instrumental guitar playing that works with a classic metal sound that is clear to the ear, uptempo, and smooth. At times, it sounds like Joe Satriani getting all proggy and metal and jamming. Serious effort and talent, perfect for the prog audience. www.dinnermusicforthegods.com www.facebook.com/pages/Dinner-Music-for-the-Gods/52634973407 October 12, 2014