Veligor - Veligor

I would call this Brooklyn based band Veligores sound more like black horror metal then pure black metal
due to their taste of old school horror ambience and melodies that runs right through this debut.

From the first song (also one of the best) when you encounter their "world" you will hear a
kind of wandering harmonic and melodic riffing flowing in and out in search for the perfect
flow...it feels. The drums follow along nicely just as the base. it feels quite nostalgic in a way.

The vocals do a good job in turning up the heat and sounds grim in the right way but sadly they use the singer in like half of the tracks! Beats me why because thats one of the ingredients that makes Veligore a little
spicer so to speak... and it almost sounds like he sings in finnish or something and thats just a good thing for me cuz that gives it an extra brutal edge! Their structures is a bit "cut & paste" which dont always works out in their favor but more then often they do with their specific flavor of epic transilvanian compositions. The production is well balanced and packs some punch but could be a lot more raw but thats just my taste.

With this sound i guess they will get their share of haters as well as lovers which is quite natural, i feel
engaged and entertained when they get things right like in the first four songs. i feel they will evolve
quite a bit from this point onwards because i there is a heart here that lusts for more satanic blood and less
cobweb i think.
I will keep my eye on them as this debut is promising in its own special way.

So if you have a hunger for some nicely smooth flowing darkness try this one out by all means.

Ofdrykkja Interview!

1. When and how were you formed? 

Drabbad: In autumn 2011. I was contacted by Obehag from Apati's page on MySpace, he wanted some help with getting Subutex and pills. Back then, I was - and I still am - living at an institution for the mentally ill, after an incident with Bödeln, and I had lost most contacts. So I couldn't help him, and when I replied his mail, C9H13N (Pessimisten) replied and told me Obehag had recently died. Somehow we started speaking about his band Apati and my old band Lepra, and after some months speaking, we decided to start a band. I contacted my old friend and brother The Associate and told him to join. He's a great musician and we have played together in the past, and known each other since childhood. Pessimisten contacted his old friend Arkomann who also joined, and after a while I also recruited my friend Bödeln who stole a drum-set right away. Me and Pessimisten chose the name Ofdrykkja, and so the band was formed. 

2. What band inspired you to make the kind of music that you do today? 

Drabbad: For me, personally, it's the old Norwegian black metal scene, with bands like Burzum, Ulver, Dödheimsgard, Mysticum and Mayhem. Even if we don't play black metal, this is my source of inspiration. Associate: Me and Drabbad have had our different black metal projects together for the last 15 years. Source of inspiration has always been the depressive black metal you could find during the mid 90's, when we started making music together (for example Burzum and Ved buens). I have broadened my inspiration register along the years, and I'm no longer as bound to a band or genre as before. Instead I'm attracted to and inspired by any dark or sad tones, no matter where they're from. 
Bödeln: For me it's DSBM, a genre I assume we all listen to. But also ambiance and other kinds of black metal. I'm also listening to bands unrelated to DSBM. 

3. How does the creation process look like? 

The Associate: Some kind of melancholic mood tends to help, and is almost necessary for the music not to feel completely forced. I also tend to compose alone with benzodiazepines, sometimes in combination with speed. Benzo makes you really creative. 
Drabbad: For lyrics, it's during the night I get my inspiration and ideas, and I write a few sentences from which I later make lyrics out of. What I write about is kinda dark things such as mental illness, homelessness, drugs, alcohol, misanthropy and hate against society. 
Bödeln: The Associate kind of writes all the music, and the recordings of the drums haven't really been as planned. We are all kinda free to write lyrics. I have rarely had any bad critics about what I've seen or heard. 

4. Describe your sound for those who haven't yet listened to you. 

Drabbad: It's depressive rock music with influences from black metal. The lyrics are poetic and personally I take some inspiration from Grioa when I write. We use speech in some songs and also clean vocals. We've found our own style which we feel comfortable with. The music is kinda easy to listen to, and depressive. 

5. Most bands usually have an annoying fuck who wish to control, in other words a band leader. Do you have a Hitler in the band? 

Drabbad: Hahaha! Pessimisten... yeah, if someone's a Hitler, it's him. He can say a song or a riff just completely sucks. Haha, but we never fight in, we go with democracy. We others thinks it's good he says what he thinks. I prefer that than some ass licker who agrees on everything and lies about what he thinks. We all go along well together, even though we all suffer from different mental illnesses. 
Pessimisten: Haha! I'm definitely our Hitler! I'm really a perfectionist and can't be easy to deal with all the time. But no one has more to say than anyone else in the band, and if we all disagree about something - we'll just vote. We never had any fights. The rest of the band members are really easy to deal with, and we mostly share the same view on things and are satisfied with the music we make. 
Bödeln: I don't think we have any Adolf at all, but I can feel it's sad I haven't been able to contribute much in the creation process. 

6. Tell us a bit about the purpose of your music! 

Drabbad: A part of the purpose is to enlighten people about the dark side of society. The mentally sick addicts who many people don't know. I think I speak for everyone here when I say I turned myself away from society. We aren't normal, we are affected. We do not function socially, and we fail to fit into society. We want to show you the asocial and sometimes depraved reality of ours. Personally, I'm pro suicide and I don't care if people die. 
Bödeln: I find it important to share my view of social exclusion and mental illness, in my lyrics. My purpose has so far been to play drums and contribute with lyrics about the life I live.

7. The video for 'Västerås' is nice and original, how important is the visual aspect for you? 

The Associate: What's important is that what we portray feels honest and right. If it ends up like shit, we can still rely on that we did what felt right for us. Of course everyone wants to public beautiful things, so it's an important aspect. What's difficult is to find your own touch to it, and I can now think that the 'Västerås' video is a bit out of Ofdrykkja's style, yet it has a message I still feel for. My idea to the concept with a stray dog in focus came after a conversation with Drabbad, when he described the situation when he was homeless. I can also relate to this distanced relation to what is seen as normal, but in a whole different level than someone with a home. 
The fact that the video was shot around the worthless ugly concrete which was built during the 60's includes some kind of love-hate relationship. 
Bödeln: Visual parts are good for the listeners. There is an unwritten rule that you can't have pretentious videos within black metal. I think that's sad, because I love videos in which people have put a lot of time and money, as long as there's a message and something mystical about it. 

8. We visited Västerås during a festival and afterwards we were forced to wait for hours before the night bus would arrive, and we don't feel like returning. How do you experience Västerås? You don't seem very happy about the place? 

Pessimisten: Västerås used to be a kinda big industrial town, some decades ago, but most of it has now been shut down, and the town consists of offsprings from the lower working class. There's nothing about this place that would make anyone want to go here. It was once called "powder city", and sure, amphetamine is still consumed a lot here on our grey streets, but quality is something that belongs from the past. These days it's more known as "MDPV city". No one is happy about this place. 

9. Not every city gets a bad nickname like that, but how comes Västerås is called MDPV city? Except the general dissatisfaction. Is it because you consume unusual amounts of MDPV in Västerås, or is the town unusually psychosis inducing compared to other cities you have had personal experience of? 

Pessimisten: Lately it has gotten better, but one or two years ago MDPV was consumed a lot, and it was mixed with amphetamine (you can mix out the amphetamine a lot and just add a tiny bit of MDPV to make it strong again). It really sucks when you expect an amphetamine rush and instead you get a psychosis. 
Bödeln: There are drugs in every city, small or big. I can't tell if there are more drugs in Västerås than in other cities. Here in Hudiksvall/Gävle we have a wide spread addiction of mostly amphetamine, prescribed opiates and benzo. Not much heroin, though. It's easier to see the addiction in smaller towns, than it is in bigger ones.

 10. Which band would you preferably do a split with? 

Drabbad: Ved Buens Ende, while they existed, or todays Virus would have been nice to have a split with. Abyssic hate as well. It would have been a big difference in music styles though. 
Pessimisten: If disbanded bands counts, I would definitely say Woods of Infinity. They have self distance and a humor I like, and they make it fit well together with the dark music they make. Other bands in the scene takes themselves too seriously. 

11. Do you have enough material to release a full length or EP through a label? 

Pessimisten: Yes, actually we do, but we want to make two more songs before we see the album as completed. 
The Associate: We already have contact with a few labels and things are looking bright. 

12. Except a CD release, we would like to see a DVD release with your music videos, and which maybe also could include some exciting bonus material. What are your thought about that? 

The Associate: Yeah, we've had discussions about this matter, and it's not impossible. We do like to express ourselves in different ways and it would absolutely be a possible alternative for us, if there is interest. 
Bödeln: About music videos, there are a lot to put energy on. A lot of spaced ideas I hope to express and talk about with the members. 

13. Thanks for your time, and for doing this interview. Now we're just curious about what will happen next?

 The Associate: I thank you too! What's remaining is the recording of two more songs, and we're working on it right now. 
We are looking forward to release our first album as soon as possible.
 

Werewolf Front - Wolves of the White North

These swedes has made an great debut with their demo "Wolves of the White North".

As you can read earlier here on RAW WAR in their interview this demo somewhat came
into existence by slump, the revelation of creating a wholeness was through the
creations of the Satanic Warmaster cover "The Chant of the Barbarian Wolves ".

And as you then may expect the sound and atmosphere is in that raw finnish coldness
many love (including me of cours), but despite this direct inspiration source they
dont fall into boring copycat worshipping but succeeds in concotting four well
composed songs that exhales lycanthropic fire through out, it is a good mix
of harsh but melodic riffings blends in just right into the icy winds and salty ghastings invigorate the old proud nordic blood.

After hearing this demo i cant really wait for the next release from Werewolf Front!

...as they hinted in their interview they are already working on new stuff...

Black Altar - Suicidal Salvation

With the starting alarming vibe thundering i feel  that this new Black Altar Ep is wearing a new epic black uniform and with an sharped poisoned  & levitated spirit underneath it.

Drums is hard & agitated and gives this new work an underlined awareness of the blood that runs through out "Suicidal Salvation", guitars is also on frontline with dissonance and ready to cut away the bad weeds.
Vocals is harsh & demanding you to realize that this a new "key" to the higher plane that Black Altar has now arrived to.

 I liked much the last album with its more old horror movie atmospheres and fat sound and then with the triple-split with Varathron and Thornspawn  Mr.Shadow showed that he was preparing a new phase....
....and i must say this is his most sophisticated and harrowing (and cleaner) music which leads unavoidable to a bigger craving not this Ep can muster.... but the ride is well worth the time and it should open up more humanoid ears around the world to Black Altars existence.

So yeah i think this is good but at the same time this would have deserved to be a full album but one cant have all in this damn world. hah
Then i dont know what future plans Shadow has for this? Maybe is this a part of something bigger?
Only time will tell.

All in all a solid and blacker release that should be enjoyed by a larger crowd with a hunger of  what i just described here.

 1.     The Sentence          
2.     Suicidal Salvation         
3.     Journey to the Astral Realm - instrumental
4.     Pulse ov the Universe         
5.     666 MegaBeast
        
 (an extra mention goes out to the great cover)

Putrified - Sacrilegious Purification

Take another cut in your eardrum from this Swedish fiend!

With an fitting bleak church organ tune as a mood establisher this Ep begins.
Then straight of the bat the death metal frenzy strikes!
First song sets the standard that also stays constant and firm through out it all with a tasty mix of classic Swedish death metal with some "roll" in it & blackened auras that circulates and intertwines all music and lyrics. I say "Swedish death metal" but it should be underlined that one can hear many other death metal styles also but the Swedish ground is its breeding soil....
 One thing that i liked about the songs is that they a filled to the brim with a lot of neat compositions and don't solely rely much on repeated constructions, nasty bits fly in there and morbid chunks fly out there both in haste and linger!

 Even the emotions vary from somber, ecstatic, desperation and rage.... and it feels like as a whole this creation ask more then confirms something.... like an bleeding "?" carried on the skeletal wings of death metal.

It is both inspirational, engaging and headbanger friendly and the Ep grows well from each listening with the revelations of the many layers of music that lays deeper within....

Putrified has existed for around 3 years and has some albums , Ep´s & demos under its belt but this is my first real swan dive into their stuff so i cant really compare to their older work but i can say with confidence  that this Ep is a good way to start listening to Putrified.

Tracklist:

1.Sacrilegious Purification         
2.Pestilentialis          
3.Sacrificial Death Salvation   
     
4.This Poisoned Chalice (start and the end of this song has a sweet feeling of Slayers"angel of Death" scream  mixed with a smell of a rotten "shout at the devil" from Mötley Crüe !,did not see that coming.that was no critic only a strange compliment.)
      
5.Evocatio         
6.Sacred Putrefaction

Hellthrasher Productions

Werewolf Front Interview!

From Sweden comes a new bloodthirsty beast!

1. Thanks for take time for this interview!

First i must say congrats for the release of your debut demo "Wolves of the White North"!
How has the reception been? Sorry if i flatter you but I must say i liked it much myself.

A: The reception has been quite good so far from my understanding.

O: You don´t have to excuse yourself; it is a pretty generic black metal album.

2. One thing one often wonders when i new band pops up and especially in this kind of bloodthirsty good fashion like this is who is behind this massacre and how & when did this had its start?

A: Our names or who exactly are behind Werewolf Front is something that will remain undisclosed in order to put a larger focus on the music as well as the lyrical content.

O: We (Werewolf Front) are behind Werewolf Front. We began writing this kind of music some weeks ago.

3. In regards of the demo how did the creative process go? Did it take some time constructing it or did it whent from clarity to clarity? And can you describe its lyrical content?

A: Lyrically, we are influenced by the current state of society, the loss of identity and the complete deconstruction of the Western world. The first lyrical ideas were first influenced by the writings of Karl Maria Wiligut as far as metaphors and symbolisms go, but later on, the writings of authors/thinkers such as John Järvenpää, Frithjof Schoun, Guillaume Faye, Oswald Spengler etc. has been of influence as of late.

O: Since I didn´t write any of the lyrics for the demo, I can only explain the musical construction. It began with the idea of recording a cover of a Satanic Warmaster song. After that I recorded some riffs in the same style and it resulted in some more tracks. All written in the span of four days. So, at the same time I wrote the guitars “A” wrote the drums, lyrics and recorded the vocals.

4. In the quest of ones ancestral heritage how complete do you feel your search have been?
Maybe it is a life long study but i get feeling you are at a stable point of knowledge.

A: I don’t think that it’s about ”searching” per say, but considering that most people are more or less sleepwalking through life some methods in order to ”rekindle the voice of the blood” to allow an archaic renaissance to take place, is in order. You can read how many books you like concerning things that touch upon your heritage, history etc., but that does not necessarily mean that you will ”wake up” from egalitarianism, rootlessness and consumerism. 
You will reach a point in life when you will have to either take action one way or another or bury yourself in unnecessary guilt and self-loathing. I’ve always been aware of my culture, history and tradition since it surges from my entire being as I am an extension of my ancestry, something that many people seem not (dare) to care about due to the fear of being socially exiled.

O: I don´t know where to begin on this question. Because I don´t know what answer you seek. I can´t say that I´m on a quest for my Ancestral Heritage, I could say that I´m rather a biological product of my ancestors. I don´t know how complete my search can be since I don’t know what it means to complete the search and what the completion of the search itself is. 
What I know is that I search for some kind of “completion” but whether I should call this my Ancestral Heritage I do not know. I would rather call it something else.

5. So is it correct to say that this first release happened a little out "accident"? Except of doing the SW cover did you have plans in starting this band anyway?
Either way i hope you have thoughts of continue and produce more Werewolf Front music.

A&O: To put it simple, yes, you could say that. However, although our first release was recorded under such a short time, I am still quite pleased with the outcome. 
We have started writing on new material and whilst it is somewhat similar to the first release, we have decided to elaborate both the music and the lyrics so it gives off a more focused impression.

6. I guess that one or both of you have some prior experience in some bands besides this, is there some you like to mention?

A: I have played (and still play these days) in a number of bands throughout the years, but they are of no real importance. It’s been many years since I last performed live and it’s nothing that I really miss in all honesty.

O: Yes. No.

7. Besides the great Satanic Warmaster what other bands do you respect and enjoy?

A: There are quite a couple, but to be perfectly honest, I do not listen to black metal that much these days. As of late I’ve been listening to martial industrial/neofolk bands such as Art Abscons, Atomtrakt, Leidungr, Solstorm and Triarii, just to mention a few. 

O: I pretty much enjoy everything from choral music, such as Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, to modern electronic music like Venetian Snares. But for metal I don´t have that many bands that I really respect and enjoy. There are however some really good bands which I listen to now and then. Skepticism and Portal (AUS) for example.

8. Is there some merchandise coming out from you in the close future maybe?

A: If you by merchandise mean t-shirts, patches etc, then no. 
Sword Productions and Blood and soil productions did however re-release our debut ”Wolves of the white north” not that long ago.

 9. Is there some bands out there that you would like to do a split with?

A&O: We have been discussing the possibility of putting out a split with some other band, but we have no specific “dream band” that we would like to collaborate with.

10. Thanks for your time and good luck with all of your endeavours.

A&O: Thanks.

Misanthropic Art Productions

Here is a recommendation, take your ass into Misanthropic Art Productions for some great and quality BM music and related products! Satan lives also in south Korea it seems. ;)

http://misanthropicart.dothome.co.kr/html/news.html