Disinterred - Incantation

DISINTERRED - Incantation (DOLOREM Records - CD 2014)

Not so long ago I was demolished with couple of demos, which I have purchased from newly formed Dolorem Records from France. They both were demos of band called Torturerama, which I seriously recommend to all fanatics of classical Swedish styled death metal. And now I have another new release from Dolorem, which I like a lot also! And just as Torturerama, which is from Belgium, Disinterred is also from this country. And another resemblance between both acts would definitely be the music, since Disinterred can also be described as a band, which has been deadly infected by the Swedish virus. And I can again repeat what I have written before: “who cares if it is a Belgian band that plays like old Swedish band, when their music is so damn awesome??”!!! Yes, I don’t give a flying fuck about that whole dispute in which people try to question sense of the existence of such bands. Why would I bother myself with such nonsense when “Incantation” demo reeks with this vile and disgusting stench of old Scandinavian crypts?

“Incantation” brings us five tracks. They’re embraced in great harsh and stinky production straight from Disinterred’s rehearsal room, which is just excellent and fits this music perfectly. It sounds like classic old demos! Surely you’ll love the characteristic guitar tone and great growling of Sven Poets. You’ll love also how Disinterred combines the aggressive tunes with some more melodic stuff, so something what we all deeply love about the Swedish take on the death metal. No originality is needed, if these tunes crush so damn effectively. And despite not being able to bring anything truly exceptional and remarkable to the genre, which is so overcrowded nowadays, I am still very pleased with this demo and surely my verdict can be only one: “if you like such kind of death metal madness played in the Swedish vein, with such newer bands like Entrails and Puteraeon, then these Belgian fanatics are here for you!”. So, listen to these four songs… and a live bonus recording, which is here also! It is impressive as well, because this almost 30 minutes long live devastation sounds also not bad at all and is able to bring the energy and vitality of live performance very well.

So… Yes, very good stuff. This CD is limited to just 100 copies, so make sure you get a copy before they’re all gone! I am surely try to find some more Disinterred stuff now!

Standout track: “Sacrifice”, “The Promise”

Final rate: 80/100

Horror of Naatu - No Hope for No One

HORROR OF NAATU - No Hope for No One (Self released demo CD 2014)

This band came just out of nowhere, suddenly striking with their debut demo. And I was caught in the chaos immediately, I admit that! Horror of Naatu is blasting from Cracow, Poland and it’s a new band formed with August, drummer of such bands as Stillborn, Genius Ultor and Deception, in the line up. He’s handling the drums and the rest of the instruments as well as the vocals are all performed by Hunger, who I am not familiar with I think (!), but who recently joined also Stillborn on bass. Anyway, this duo has just debuted with “No Hope for No One” demo. And I must say that I quite liked it.

I guess the only thing which we can say against Horror of Naatu and their debut recording is that in many ways this is rather typical and almost well familiar, maybe also kind of mediocre death metal. But when every time I say something like that then I also mention that originality has never been a factor of major importance for me, so I am not bothered whether Horror of Naatu sounds innovative or not. More important is if the music kills or not. In case of “No Hope for No One” I can say that it surely is a decent and solid debut demo, but maybe not something what would really break all my bones and make the unstoppable ear bleed. But it is good stuff. A nice production, with heavy, more than a decent sound and some nice, impressive riffs, with tempos mainly fast and blasting like crazy… but there are also songs like “Passus”, which are concentrated on slower motives and more so, here and there Horror of Naatu also uses some more melodic accents. All in all,  “No Hope for No One” delivers a solid and worthy dose of death metal. Nothing majorly unforgettable, nothing what will complete to be the best debut of the year, but good enough to enjoy these cold, winter mornings. I’ve listened to it several times and surely will give more listens later.

Final rate: 69/100

Decaying - One to Conquer

DECAYING - One to Conquer (HELLTHRASHER Productions - CD 2014)

When looking at the whole Hellthrasher Productions roster then I can say that Decaying definitely belongs to my three favourite bands from it (along with Intestinal and Ectovoid). I was truly into all three albums, which those Fins have released so far, with “The Last Days of War” being my undisputable and most preferred choice. What a damn good album it is! Decaying is not offering anything new and unknown to the genre, but solid and damn worthy their music is, enough to crush the bones of every listener. So, I was obviously looking with excitement at all the news coming about the new album from the Finnish death squadron. At first, they released a digital EP, but honestly I never even bothered to check it out… and finally “One to Conquer” has been released last week!

Decaying can easily be placed in the same box, where you can already find bands such as Hail of Bullets and Bolt Thrower, which are all war based, conceptual bands. Their earlier works were mainly dealing with both world wars (“Encirclement” was more about the first of the great wars, “The Last Days of War” more about the second one, events which happened in Europe and Pacific… although it also has a song called “Passchendaele” hehe). Now we have “One to Conquer”, which continues with this war concept, but surprisingly is about Korean and Vietnam wars and even about the Cold War, so something more unusual for metal (but not uncommon, if you remember Sodom or Jungle Rot).

And mentioning Hail of Bullets and Bolt Thrower is not accidental also when we speak about the music of Decaying. Especially the first of these two must have a constant influence of these Finns. It is just similar sort of epic death metal, based on the slower tempos, mournful harmonies, monumental atmosphere, but also filled with a great aggression. It is inevitable that the names of Asphyx and Hail of Bullets will appear in every review then. “One to Conquer”, just like the previous Decaying albums, have a strong similarity, when you think of the song structures, overall atmosphere, some massive, slow riffs, melancholic melodies, which are so often present in basically every song on the album and finally there are some vocals of Matias Nastolin, which sound totally like he was Martin van Drunen’s younger brother if not Martin himself hehe. But please, don’t take that obvious comparison in negative way, because Decaying has a lot to offer in this musical style, more so, there are some songs, which I think are even better than Hail of Bullets’ stuff and finally these guys are simply good at what they do. And they’ve been doing this style ever since the early days of the band (which maybe wasn’t so long ago, as Decaying was formed in 2000, but since then they already released an impressive number of CDs!). and “One to Conquer” is absolutely killer album. It has everything what fans of epic death metal love and I think Decaying is on the right path, continuing what they perfected on the previous album. “One to Conquer” is just as good as “The Last Days of War”, which surely is a great news for fans of the previous CD.

What I especially like about “One to Conquer” is for example how all these songs are so damn memorable. They really stick in your head, have many great characteristic patterns, absolutely killer melodies, which lead the song into that monumental, heroic mood. The whole performance, along with the production value, is close to perfection and I can’t think of much to complain here. But if I was going to point out anything what maybe bothers me about “One to Conquer” then I guess it would the fact that the whole album has been played in basically the same, rather slow, tempo. It doesn’t make the music boring, but surely it becomes slightly monotonous after a while. Of course Decaying plays some great memorable riffs, some good melodies, etc, so they do everything to keep the listener interested, but that sign of monotony does appear in few moments anyway. Interesting is that the better I got to know the album, then the less monotonous it seemed to me, which is good I think. You simply must listen to it carefully. But hey, this is epic death metal, so I suppose that fast death metal would simply not fit to the whole concept or atmosphere of the record, right? All in all I have actually been listening to this album a lot in the past week and still can’t stop, really, it is just a very good death metal record, which maybe won’t be groundbreaking for the whole genre, but certainly is solid and great enough to be enjoyed and collected.

Standout tracks: “Zero Hour”, “One to Conquer”, “The Balance of Power”

Final rate: 85/100

Venenum - Venenum

VENENUM - Venenum (SEPULCHRAL VOICE - LP 2012)

It is an undisputable fact that the German death metal scene has now became stronger than ever before in the past. And all these young wolves have managed to resurrect their scene in great way, after so many years of stagnation and simple dullness (for years I think only Fleshcrawl was really good death metal band from Germania, and behind their backs there few more mediocre bands and loads of shit crawling in the filth, unworthy and forgettable). I am not going to mention all these new band names now, but will focus on two. First is Excoriate - now sadly split up, whose "On Pestilent Winds..." LP was a real bone crusher. I am not sure at which point P.T. from Excoriate (also known from Hellish Crossfire) decided to form a new band, but in 2008 Venenum was born. The line up is completed with the ex-members of some other underground legions, whose names will not tell anything to most of you. Anyway, it is not important who's been playing where. The most major fact here is that Venenum with their debut EP simply slain.

Sepulchral Voice again did a great job, when releasing their LPs. I simply love the artwork, also because it is maybe not so usual for death metal bands, but just like in such bands as Invidious, Degial, Stench and Tribulation, it is rather unique, but fits the atmosphere of their music so perfectly (the slimy green colouring is awesome). I like the artwork, I like its haunting, horror atmosphere... it somehow reminds me some old horror satanic or whatever movies posters, but it just looks good! Morbid and profound!

The music counts most though and Venenum just knows how to catch the attention. Their death metal belongs to those few examples for the new quality within the old sounds. I mean, I mentioned some bands already (Invidious, Degial, Stench and Tribulation), plus I may add also such Ensnared, Vanhlegd, Repugnant, Vorum, Beyond... All these bands create a new sound, but based on some classic, old school patterns. They take a lot of influence from the classic death metal records, but just like in case of Venenum they're mixed with some influence from the 70's rock and heavy music. And it even has a small black metal feeling to it. As weird as it may sound to you, it does have a great sense and simply sounds awesome.

Starting with fantastic, very warm and organic, not digital and non plastic production, which fits so perfectly to such music, then with the ability to create a stunning eerie atmosphere... "Venenum" is death metal, with a great accent placed on haunting melodies and riffs, which are creating this sort of occult, obscure atmosphere, which makes you devour these sounds like in some kind of ritual frenzy. It's not necessarily a music to bang your skull and drink beers to, although you can surely do that as well, but I think it's more about contemplating it, letting its shadow surround you, freeze the blood and create some eerie visions. Yes, I am serious, as much as it sounds cheesy to you, this is how I receive these sounds. Of corpse “Venenum” is also aggressive, it’s a riff based music, with fantastic ghoulish vocals, some speedy parts, but also with a necessary share and worship for the classic Death’s “Scream Bloody Gore”, Autopsy new and old and early Morbid Angel influence.

The whole EP is based upon four killer anthems, which all have some interludes in between, so you can imagine that the whole is almost like a conceptual and very carefully planned and thought work. “Bewitched Craft” and “Lunar Tombfields” are surely my favourite anthems here, but seriously speaking the whole EP makes an enormous impression and is simply killer (OH, these riffs in “Sacrosanct Transcendence”!). For me it’s because of bands like Venenum the whole death metal scene became so interesting and unique again. They make new quality, created something new and fresh, all exciting again. Definitely a worthy recommendation! 

Standout tracks: “Bewitched Craft”, “Lunar Tombfields”

Final rate: 95/100

Sear Bliss - Phantoms

SEAR BLISS - Phantoms (II MOONS - CD 1996)

I don’t know too many Hungarian bands, but among all those, which I do know and remember about Sear Bliss is definitely the best. This one band definitely stands above the rest of their (usually mediocre) scene and is also the only Hungarian act, which I regularly buy and collect, every time they release something new. Why? Well, it is simple – first, they have very original and characteristic style, which makes their music so special. Furthermore, they never putted out a bad album, never shamed themselves with weak and uninteresting record. Sure, some albums I like more, some less, but in total Sear Bliss is very solid and worthy band. And that’s not something common, right? I regularly come back to Sear Bliss CDs, their earlier stuff mainly and just recently I was thinking if / will they release something new? It’s been already three years since their last album “Eternal Recurrence” and seven since “The Arcane Odyssey”. So, maybe it’s time to do something new? And when thinking about it, I went through all Sear Bliss albums, starting with the excellent debut “Phantoms”. And because this record impress me so much every time I listen to it, I also decided to write few words about it, to remind you not only this excellent CD, but also Sear Bliss, who I think are still slightly underrated in the extreme (black) metal scene.

Sear Bliss for me are the masters of atmospheric, monumental black metal. Their music was always characterized by a unique mixture of harshness and obscure black metal, with a lot of atmosphere and melody. Since their early days Sear Bliss had special, exceptional riffs, brilliant arrangements, which make them sound like no other band around… and finally obviously they’re also known for using the trumpets, which add a special flavor and feeling to the music, making it sound even more epic, monumental or whatever you wanna call it. Important is that the results are always very good. And “Phantoms”, released in 1996 by Mascot Records sub-label called II Moons, is definitely among by favourite recordings of Sear Bliss. What an excellent debut it is. What a stunning music, brilliant compositions and everything!

One of the biggest strengths of Sear Bliss and albums like “Phantoms” is the diversity of the material here. More so, Sear Bliss is doing so well with both aggressive and more atmospheric playing, that both styles fit together perfectly, complement each other and are a unity. And the sound of the album can be described as powerful and monumental, aggressive but sometimes almost melancholic and even beautiful hehe although I know this word may freak you out hehe! That diversity can be noticed in almost every song. “Far Above the Trees” is slow, monumental, sorrowful piece, which really evokes that nostalgic feeling, with some heavy riff and dreamy keyboards. This very easily listenable, memorable tune is followed by “Aeons of Desolation”, which basically provides similar patterns, the atmosphere is quite alike, it’s melancholic, nostalgic, the music is again rather slow, but even heavier, when Sear Bliss adds the trumpets and the finish is very symphonic – and how awesome it sounds! Yeah, I love how well the band combines melody with heavy riff and harsh black metal vocals, which by the way have such a strong accent that maybe it will take you a while before you get used to them (tone of the voice is similar to Gehenna’s Sanrabb, but add the accent to it!). Definitely “Aeons of Desolation” is among my favourite tracks on this album. It is a killer anthem, so memorable, so perfectly arranged and performed. But “Phantoms” is built in strange way; it begins with slower, more epic songs and the closer to its end then the more uncompromising and faster the music becomes. Already “1100 Years Ago” will surprise with more uncompromising black metal attack, including some blasting parts (hey, the first line of the lyrics is “Oh Lord, let us fire every church…” hehe!), but obviously it all is also combined with a lot of atmospheric passages, again with some powerful sound of the trumpet, acoustic intermission and great harmonies. But then we have such fine examples for diversity of Sear Bliss music like “As the Bliss Is Burning”, “Beyond the Darkness” and “With Mournful Eyes”, which all are mainly concentrated on fast, blasting black metal, but spiced with some monumental breaks. And trumpets again! And that is really powerful,

So, what about those trumpets? Well, they appear here and there, more as a filler to the riffs, to make it sound even more powerful and monumental and surprisingly it did give the wanted result! I am always really astonished how well it sounds and that they actually fit such music perfectly. And I am sure that if the brass section was replaced by keyboards then the result would not be as good and interesting.

And last thing… the artwork. All these early Sear Bliss releases have awesome pictures painted by Kris Verwimp. “Phantoms” is also really nice one. It presents a white female figure, White Witch, which releases an eagle – which as far as I remember represents a human soul. Another important things showed on the painting are two trees with wooden female figures melted / devoured into these trees. And finally a snake in the roots of the left tree, hiding in its little cave.

So, how I can resume this review? Do I have to really? It is just splendid, 50 minutes of great, almost perfect music, which I could listen to over and over again. I am very impressed and again I can only wonder how the hell is it possible that Sear Bliss and “Phantom” are still so little known and that hard to find? Absolute recommendation. 

Standout tracks: “Aeons of Desolation”, “1100 Years Ago”

Final rate: 90/100

Klabautamann - Der Ort

KLABAUTAMANN - Der Ort (HEAVY HORSES - CD 2005)

First time I had a chance to hear “Der Ort” was when Heavy Horses Records sent over to me a promotional copy of this CD around 2005. I did enjoy the music of Klabautamann quite a bit, I even decided to interview this band, for being slightly different than majority of black metal stuff around and of course also because I simply enjoyed their music. Years have passed… and recently I was listening to Klabautamann’s debut album “Our Journey Through the Woods” quite a lot and really liked it. So, now I decided to give “Der Ort” some listens as well and I can say that it’s good album also, but maybe not quite as good as I remembered hehe!

Saying that I don’t mean it is completely not good or uninteresting album anymore. No, I just feel like I prefer the songs and style from “Our Journey Through the Woods” slightly more. I won’t deny that Klabautamann has made a nice progress between both records. Their music evolved and progressed and yes, “Der Ort” kept some ingredients from the debut intact, but at the same time this album got rid off some aggressive and more pure black metal side of the music and switched them for things, which I may not always be so fond of. Style wise “Der Ort” still has that huge dose of atmospheric, sometimes folky black metal, where the band builds their music upon harsh, distorted riffs, often accompanied by acoustic guitars, all in order to create that great, epic, sometimes also melancholic feeling. Interestingly, if I compared the previous album to such bands like Helhiem, Agalloch, Enslaved, Helrunar, etc, then “Der Ort” may be more original style wise, but with small Agalloch / Wolves In the Throne Room traces still noticeable in few parts (not as strong though as before). And that black metal aspect is good. I like that Klabautamann so easily is able to combine the harshness and aggression with melancholy, melody and also arranges the songs with some additional instruments, etc. There’s a great richness of ideas on the album; you’ll find here some fast black metal mixed with a lot of acoustic guitar parts, next to piano interlude in song titled “Der Ort”. Then the next track “Forlorn Sin” has an acoustic opening with some clean vocals, which truly creates a nice, melancholic atmosphere, reminding me such bands like Agalloch, Forlorn and Borknagar. But there are also quite few songs, which have a stronger accent putted on the harsh, often quite fast riffing – let me only mention “Winternacht” and especially “Waldschrat”. They also create a dark, gloomy atmosphere, also have some melodic parts and several acoustic passages thrown within their structures, but generally seem to be more aggressive and straight forward than the rest of the material. And I must say that I really like this combination of fast, raw riffing and acoustics!

A real surprise and something that hasn’t been done in Klabautamann before comes with “October”. Imagine a doomy, melancholic song with not even a smallest touch of aggression, but with an overwhelming sorrowful atmosphere and all female vocals. It is very unexpected finish of the album. I must also mention “Red Urn”, which is all acoustic, with some clean and whispered vocal parts… again fitting well to the overall atmosphere of “Der Ort”.

Most of these sounds rather different when compared to “Our Journey Through the Woods”, I think. On one side I feel like the music of Klabautamann became more accessible, which means it’s easier to listen to, maybe slightly softer (despite having quite few fast black metal accents). But on the other side, it’s also richer, more carefully arranged and not as simple as the debut. All in all no one can deny that Klabautamann has progressed quite much. Whether their music went in a good direction, I will leave it to you to decide. I have listened both early CDs quite many times in past days and I think I like the debut more. “Der Ort” is also good, but maybe there are just too many fragments, which I didn’t like so much… On the other hand I am now really intrigued how the next two records of Klabautamann sound like, so I will definitely try to find “Merkur” and “The Old Chamber” soon. Very interesting band, all in all. 

Standout tracks: “Der Ort”, “Forlorn Sin”

Final rate: 70/100

Ares Kingdom - Veneration

ARES KINGDOM - Veneration (Nuclear War Now! - LP 2013)

It’s been a while since Ares Kingdom released their last album “Incendiary”. But finally the fans could be relived seeing a new recording with their logo coming out in 2013, titled “Veneration”. But could they? All in all, this is not another full length album in normal meaning of this word, but nothing more but just a cover album. Yeah… I know. It can be a disappointment, really, since there’s no new material of Ares Kingdom in it at all, but just a collection of some covers. And personally I am not a big fan of cover albums… I mean, I like the idea of playing / recording covers, I like to hear a cover as an additional song on the album, but somehow a whole LP filled with just cover songs is not something what I would be happy to hear. It’s just because most of such albums – like these Six Feet Under records called “Graveyard Classics” – were shit. OK, there are some exceptions, for example I quite enjoyed Vader’s “Future of the Past”, but it’s maybe due to a great choice of songs, which Vader played. I also enjoyed such CD like Throneum / Revelation of Doom, but it contains both new songs from each and as well as the covers, so it is a bit different. “Veneration” was a doubtful idea for me, also because when I saw the bands, which Ares Kingdom covered, it turned out that there’s hardly anything what I would know. I didn’t even plan to buy that album at first, but I somehow did get the vinyl, but only because it wasn’t that expensive and I just wanted to get another release of Ares Kingdom in my collection.

And you know what? I am actually very happy that I got “Veneration” in my hands. It turns out that even though Ares Kingdom recorded some totally unknown bands’ covers, the result is fantastic! Yeah! I’m seriously relieved and happy that this album turned out to be so awesome. And who would think that an extreme metal band, which makes a cover album without playing songs of such obvious bands like Celtic Frost, Sodom, Venom, Kreator or Death can still be a winner? Ares Kingdom definitely is! Their choices were completely unpredictable, but despite not being familiar with most of the stuff they recorded I liked it anyway. And it is probably because Ares Kingdom recorded these tunes in their own style, like they were their own songs, adding there that viciousness, aggression, feeling and dark atmosphere, which we all know from the normal Ares Kingdom songs! They’ve been spiced with real ferocious and relentless feeling, so the end result is simply… delicious hehe!

Most of the songs, which have been covered here come from the ancient times of mid 80’s! From these old days bands like Slaughter Lord, Sacrilege, Dokken and Mefisto (Sweden!) were chosen. Damn, you must admit that they’re not so popular choice, especially Mefisto or heavy / rock band Dokken! And from the 90’s there are R.U.Dead? and Nepenthe, plus on top of all there’s a song from Vulpecula. So, I think I only knew two songs from the whole set before hehe! But if you ask me how can Ares Kingdom play something like Dokken in their own, harsh and extreme way, then let me tell you that already in my review of the previous albums like “Return to Dust” I was pointing out that unusual mixture of rough death / thrash metal with some traces of classic heavy metal. So, these old, not always death metal, songs sound naturally similar to the usual Ares Kingdom style! Like that Dokken… you would never guess these songs (“Without Warning / Tooth and Nail”) can be coming originally from so different stylistically band. Ha, I actually listened to all songs, which are covered on “Veneration” in the original versions on you tube to compare them and I can only repeat that great job had been done here. Such Mefisto, who has a strong Hellhammer / Celtic Frost influence on their ancient “Megalomania” demo from 1986… So, why playing a hundredth version of “Circle of the Tyrants” if you can play “Act Dead”, which has similar style and feeling? And then why choosing something from more known bands like Hellbastard or Onslaught, if you can replace it with something completely unknown and unpopular like Sacrilege from “Within the Prophecy” album from 1987? At least it can introduce this band to some listeners. It did to me! Early 90’s death metal? Well, they could have done Poison, but instead did R.U.Dead?, who were also damn great band.

I like that Ares Kingdom chose a song from Nepenthe. Although I am not familiar with their demos (this band was active in early / mid 90’s and released three demos), but it’s a nice comeback to a past for Alex Blume, who played in Nepenthe back in the old days. And of course Chuck Keller had his Vulpecula, whose song “Celestial” has also been covered here on “Veneration”. It’s a nice tribute to their old bands I guess. This way “Veneration” show the roots and influences of Ares Kingdom. All songs have been played in absolutely fantastic way, my favourites here are definitely “Die By Power”, “When Your Heart Turns Black” and “Oblivion”. So, I recommend “Veneration” definitely, don’t get scared away by the fact that it’s a cover album. It is worth having and being played for sure. I like it a lot. 

Standout tracks: “Die By Power”, “When Your Heart Turns Black”, “Oblivion”.

Final rate: 80/100

ColdBlood interview

Here is a great death metal from Brasilia, which crushed my bones with some excellent music on their “Chronology of Satanic Events” album. I got instantly impressed and enjoyed that CD fully. So, I did not think twice but asked MKult about interview. Which is here… and well, maybe I am not so fully happy with some short answers, but at least I can once more recommend ColdBlood! Great band, I tell ya... So, don’t hesitate to support them.

Well, well...Yet another killer Brazilian band! The scene in your country is so damn strong, with so many great bands, but I must say that many of them seem to be criminally underrated. It feels like people mainly know about shitty Sepultura and Krisiun, but the other, more underground bands are often forgotten and don’t get enough support. What is your view on that?

MKult - I believe that through much work, if you are always releasing records and touring, and above all have a good material to present, surely you will have more chances, more exposure in media. Obviously, with Sepultura and Krisiun it was more than that. Sepultura was a world first at the time and Krisiun rescued and placed the extreme metal on another level, wordly talking. But here in Brazil we have other Brazilian bands that are less known, but have more than one work at the highest level leaving not any band out. Perhaps the fact that our cultural reality is less valued than others, impede the bands pursue a more stable career.

Which Brazilian bands from today’s scene you think are the best? Which would you really recommend to me? Also, what about the fanzines? I, for example, like such Escarnium, Impetuous Rage and Poisonous a lot! I can see that most of the Brazilian / South American bands are extreme, violent, very obscure, hailing the old styles… How would you explain that? Is it because of the life conditions there in South America?

MKult - I believe that yes, because I live in that reality with Coldblood. In Latin America it is more difficult to maintain a metal band and maybe this is reflected in the sound that has a most odious and a brutal approach.

I was very, very surprised seeing that ColdBlood is so old band, while I only got to know you thanks to the recent album “Chronology of Satanic Events”… so, I hope you won’t mind if we talk in this interview also about the past! So, you are a band of the Brazilian second generation, while the first one holds the

bands from the 80’s, from the Cogumelo roster. Tell me how was the scene in Brazil back in the early 90’s, when compared to the 80’s? It feels like in 90’s only just few bands like Krisiun and Rebaelliun managed to get the status of the older crews like Sarcofago, Sepultura and Volcano. I bet that without the internet and such stuff, it was damn hard for Brazilian bands to get the decent promotion in Europe and US! And what about the equipment, was it hard for you to get some good gear back then?

MKult - No doubt things were harder for ColdBlood in the early 90’s. I think what has hurt us the most were the two breaks we had, one in 1993-1999 and another from 2001 to 2004. It was only after 2005 that when we started working with the band without stopping. Obviously the current resources enabled us to have a wider spread, making us the most known band around the world.

The band was formed in early 90’s and even did one demo back in 1992. And then you went quiet for many years, doing a second demo in 2000. What happened during these years? Did Coldblood just split up or there was another reason for taking this break? How would you describe the band from “Terror Stench” demo times? Did you manage to get any recognition with this old demo?

MKult - The uncertainty of a promising future with the band, internal problems, family recovery, drugs... All this led to give pauses from the past. We were very young, at the age around 17 and did not have the focus needed to keep the band alive at that time, a shame. But it is our history and it is important that we are active today and focusing 100% on the band and nothing will stop us, except death. I believe that our new album is one evolved cousin of our first demo. Since both have a morbid and gloomy work.

I have noticed that at some point Coldblood was reformed, but without you in the line up and then the second demo “…and It Comes the Winter” was released. Any thoughts about it?

MKult - Despite being one of the founding members of ColdBlood, I could not be present in this release due to another commitment I had at the time with a band called Nocturnal Worshipper (Black Metal) and also my relationship with the other founding members of ColdBlood was not very good, so I thought I better be on my way and wish them luck. I do not hold grudges for that time. Part of the story.

Finally you came back to ColdBlood for the recording of the third demo “Reincarnating a New Black God”. How did it all happen? Did you already have some influence on the songs from this demo?

MKult - We met to talk about the return of the original formation in early 2005, which was an important event for us, because we had not played together since 1993. We left all the problems of the past aside and raise the glass for return of the band. All songs were made exclusively for this demo, so we all had participation in the compositions, arrangements and ideas with letters.

Alan Silva and Vitor Estevez, who were long time members of Coldblood are no longer playing with you, would you mind explaining the reasons for it? I mean, after so many years of companionship there must have been a strong bond between you, but maybe also got tired of each other.

MKult - Yes, we lived great moments with the original lineup, but we all know that you do not fully live from a band, you need to have other means of earning money and support your family. We are in Brazil and here things are more difficult to live from music, which is almost impossible. Today we are good friends and so they help me with something when we need to. The ColdBlood is a great legion.

Finally a debut album “ Under the Blade I Die” was released. Was this album a collection of demo songs or completely new material? What can you say about it, I mean did you manage to get some recognition with it and feedback from the underground worldwide? How happy are you today with this effort, with the songs and this

recording? Are you also happy with the work of Onslaught Records?

MKult - Exactly, for the "Under The Blade I Die" we re-recorded four songs of the third demo and a second demo, the other five songs were written exclusively for the album. With this album we entered the world circuit and obtained a good response. The album was released in Mexico and Brazil, we did a tour through the dissemination of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia and won over fans around the world. I think we did a good campaign. As for Onslaught Records… Much I do not know how they released the material, but we did our part.

Meanwhile “The Other Gods” EP was self released. Why did you come up with the idea to add the demos into this EP? And more so, is this CD still available, as it would be bloody awesome to have it in a collection!

MKult - At the time of this release we were completing 20 years of band, had a new front man and needed to release something new. So we wrote five songs and put the first three demos as a bonus to celebrate this anniversary. That was the idea. I still have some copies, but is already in order.

OK., let’s talk about the new album! The music on “Chronology of Satanic Events” holds a strong influence of bands like Morbid Angel, Monstrosity, Immolation, Deicide, Vader… I wonder if you personally would also point these bands as your main inspiration and if so, then which albums of theirs would be your most important? I mean such Morbid Angel has been changing during the years, up to what we have heard on their last, rather disappointing semi-death metal / semi-industrial album, so I wonder also what was your reaction to this material?

MKult - Obviously we were inspired by bands like Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Deicide, Mercyful Fate, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Dissection, Watain, ColdWorld... These are bands that we take seriously and inspire us every moment such is the greatness of their works. About the new Morbid Angel album I can say that is not my favorite but I like some ideas.

As I mentioned, “Chronology of Satanic Events” is the first stuff of ColdBlood, which I got to know, so maybe you can tell me if and how was the band’s sound and style developing through all these years? I may not be talking about “Terror Stench”, as it was recorded in different era, but the releases from the 00’s, especially “Under the Blade I Die” EP. How do you view “Chronology…” songs when compared to the earlier stuff? Usually bands say it is faster, more technical, better written… hehe, so I guess you will say the same he!?

MKult -  In "Under The Blade I Die" have a more direct and offensive album, wrought in the old school American death metal. In "Satanic Chronology Of Events" we have a more enigmatic epic, more morbid and chaotic approach, but the album keeps our roots in the old school.

The title of new album “Chronology of Satanic Events” sounds quite enigmatic, so maybe we can talk about it and the lyrics a little bit. I mean what events are you writing about? Would these lyrics be a real manifestation of your thoughts and beliefs or rather just more fantasy stories, good for death metal, but nothing serious?

MKult - These events are not related to anything as natural disasters, wars and etc. All lyrics deal with personal events of satanic proportions. There is much subjective things in the lyrics because I'm speaking from my own existence,

experiences before receiving the true Gnosis of Lucifer and all rehabilitation a life without spiritual maturity to this transition. There is also a thing that is grounded in my satanic esoteric study when he was most in the beginning.

Is it kind of a conceptual album, actually? And the order of the songs – does it have any importance?

MKult - No, this album both musically and lyrically is a new mould adopted for the Coldblood, just that. Each track follows an order only maintaining a good sense of music.

It is a question what Satan stands for, to you? Would you call yourself a satanist? And then again, there are as many views of satanism as there are the Satanists. Some will preach the La Vey stuff, some will follow something totally different… What would you say?

MKult - Satan is the bane for most (Hylics), but is also the one who guides orphans born of fire. I'm a Satanist, and I consider myself fortunate, as I was chosen and honour this most dedicated and passionate as possible. In the last few years I have studied and accumulated all the knowledge that is in my power on black and traditions that exalt death and destruction as well as everything that is derived from metaphysical evil .Also there ritualistic practice of which is a topic that I have explored in a very respectful and careful manner since this is a very individual nature.

Brazil just like Poland, is strongly catholic country, so I wonder is it difficult to be in opposition to this religion in there? I mean here in my country priests and fanatical believers, including most of politicians, get involved in every matter of daily life, they want to have an influence on politics, schools, events, just everything… And that sometimes leads also to some sporadic but pitiful collaboration with local authorities to cancel metal shows, which they always call black metal, satanic masses hehe! It is funny, but also pisses off totally. How is it in Brazil?

MKult - There is a legion of such worms here but if any cross our path will suffer the consequences.

In your opinion, is death metal something more than just a brutal music with deep, guttural vocals? I mean, does it have to bring also a specific lyrical content, being dark, about death, often antichristian or even satanic? Same goes for the presentation of the band – OK., it doesn’t has to be as strict as with black metal bands, but surely it cannot look like some pussy or hardcore wimps, right? Looking at Coldblood, I guess you’re pretty much following the traditions!

MKult - Thank you. We will always be a traditional death metal band and never follow a market trend for fame or money. We are Metal as an ideology of life and that's why we're all that time in road. We are proud of our history and we will remain active until our bodies hold.

Brazil is holding a world up just now… but I see there’s a lot of controversy in your country, many Brazilians feel like both the World Cup and the Olympics shouldn’t take place

in the country and the huge amount of money spent on these events should rather go on the social stuff, like schools, hospitals, help of the poor… How do you see this, especially as the citizen of Rio? You know, tourists come and go, they will leave some money, but all that is very short lived, soon you’ll be left with dept and problems what to do with all these modern stadiums, most likely, like it is in South Africa now…

MKult - To tell the truth I do not care much about football. I live in another reality and not usually accompany these events. They really spent much money on this and left health and education once again abandoned.

As a Satanist, do you actually care about all these social topics and problems with your country, with the misery, poverty, politics, corruption, or you’re just careless and stay away from all this shit?

MKult - I prefer to stay away from all this shit!

I guess that one of the places in the world, which I would really want to see is the great Amazonia. This place still holds many places in the jungle, where civilised man didn’t walk, and it has also a beautiful, but dangerous nature. But Amazonia suffers, because of what the men do, industrial influence is bad… I wonder if these ecological topics are often a matter of discussion in your country?

MKult - This subject is very controversial here but corruption does not allow move things forward. Justice is very slow and deforestation is increasing. I was flying by these days and I could see all the Amazon zone.

OK., back to music, shall we? You’ve been also a member of several other bands, Mysteriis being the most important I suppose. Can you tell me something more about all these projects like Mysteriis, Nocturnal Worshipper, Psychoneurosis, Darkaro, Castifas, Metano, Syren, Unearthly? Seems like music is a very important aspect of your life, even though you’re already in your 40’s! Would you say that it is the MOST important thing for you, the essence of life? If so, what being a metalhead mean to you, especially as a person, who started listening and playing this music over 20 years ago!

MKult - I have no doubt that I was born for this. My life in the last 22 years is fully geared for this. I went through several bands, was among the main Black metal bands from my town (Mysteriis, Unearthly, Nocturnal Worshipper and Castifas), and has worked with other not less important as Syren, Methane, Darkaro. Also passed by bands like Sodomizer and Hellkommander and currently working with the staff of Diabolic Force, but my main band is Coldblood and always will. As I said before, when you have the metal as well ideology of life you can go further and still while my health permits me to do it.

What would be the next plans for Coldblood? I mean “Chronology of Satanic Events” is a damn strong album, so it surely deserves a good promotion, support and attention of the maniacs. But there’s a strong competition nowadays, many great bands, many great albums… What is your aim, which you want to achieve with this CD?

MKult - Launched the "Satanic Chronology Of Events" in September 2013 and since that we have conducted two tours in Latin America, dozens of interviews in the four corners of the world, we have taken enough out of our material, we won more fans around the world, I believe we are doing a good campaign for this album.

I can see now that Coldblood is only a two piece, with you and Diego Mercadante in the line up. What happened to the rest of the members? Will you stay as a duo or plan to find some replacement forces? I know you’re planning a small tour with Funerus in

Brazil for the next month!

MKult - Our goal is to have a stable line up but until that happens we prefer to hire other musicians to accompany us on tour. The thing has worked so well this time, but we intend to

stabilize the team. The tour with Funerus and Nervo Chaos has been spectacular, we are learning a lot and gaining new fans. We are living our best moment.

Death metal for all these almost 30 years of existence spawned many killer bands, which recorded a lot of killer albums, demos, EPs. I just love to discover some old unknown bands, whose demos are little known and all of a sudden turn out to be pure wonderful pieces. I’m sure you also like to make such awesome discoveries. So, today I would like to recommend you the demo from great British band called Broken Fear who did a killer demo and even better MCD back in the mid 90’s! Please, check them out and tell me your opinion!

MKult – I could listen to this song "Nuclear Factories Function" and referred me to old school. This is the kind of death metal that I enjoy and certainly this is a band to hear more often. Thanks for the tip.

And I guess that would be all! Sorry, if I troubled you with too many questions hehe, but man is a curious being he! Anything you want to say to finish this interview? Take care, man!

MKult - I would like to thank all those who follow our work and you for this interview in this conceptualized zine, it was a pleasure.