Sexmag - Sex Metal (Dying Victims Productions 2021)

Przesłuchałem ogromną ilość płyt z oldschoolowym metalem, które powstały w ostatnich latach, płyt, które cofają nas w czasie do lat 80., które hołdują dawnemu brzmieniu i estetyce. Były takie, które oceniałem bardzo wysoko za to, jak potrafiły wczuć się w tamten czas w metalowej muzyce, jak autentycznie czuć było w tym graniu pasję i zrozumienie granej sztuki. Myślałem, że już raczej nic mnie nie zaskoczy w tego typu "odświeżaniu", że kolejne materiały będą najwyżej tak samo dobre, a tu niespodzianka niesamowita. Po pierwsze, Sexmag od razu kojarzy się z Katem. Aczkolwiek nie znajdziecie tu grania w stylu, jaki Kat zaprezentował na "Oddechu Wymarłych Światów". Tutaj mamy odniesienie do legendarnego "666/Metal & Hell", zarówno muzycznie, jaki i tekstowo ("Nałożnice Hrabiny" w pewnych momentach autentycznie przypomniały mi "Wyrocznię"). Sexmag poszedł w ślady tego, jak Kat brzmiał właśnie na debiucie. Same kompozycje też mają podobny feeling. Kapitalna podróż w przeszłość. I to nie wszystko, o nie! Do tej, i tak już zacnej inspiracji, zespół dorzucił stare dobre Destruction z czasów "Sentence of Death" oraz "Infernal Overkill" - czyli najlepszych materiałów tej niemieckiej formacji. Jak usłyszycie pewne zagrywki gitarowe, sposób grania, jakie pojawiają się na "Sex Metal", riffy, to zgodzicie się ze mną z pewnością. Jak tego słuchałem, to po prostu nie mogłem uwierzyć, że znalazł się zespół, który jeszcze był w stanie mnie w tej black/thrashowej materii zachwycić i prześcignąć w moim rankingu takie płyty, jak chociażby debiut Cruel Force. Na koniec chce jeszcze dodać, że bardzo byłem ciekaw, co na nowej płycie (po 7 latach przerwy) zaprezentuje Nocturnal, który gra w stylu podobnym do Sexmag, i powiem szczerze, nasi krajanie zgasili ich cały pełniak swoją EPką niczym peta. Ten zespól zawojuje scenę, to pewne jak śmierć i podatki! Słuchać!!!

https://www.dying-victims.de/

English translation:

I listened to a huge number of oldschool metal records that were recorded in recent years, records that take us back in time to the 80s, which pay tribut to the old sound and aesthetics. There were those that I appreciated very highly for how they were able to feel into that time in metal music, how true passion and understanding of the performed art was part in this music. I thought that nothing would surprise me in this type of "refreshing", that the next materials will be no more than just as good at most, and here the surprise is amazing. First, Sexmag is immediately associated with Kat. However, you will not find stuff in the style that Kat presented on "Oddech Wymarłych Światów". Here we have a reference to the legendary "666/Metal & Hell", both musically and lyrically ("Nałożnice Hrabiny" at some point genuinely reminded me of "Wyrocznia"). Sexmag followed the footsteps of Kat in case of sound on their debut. The compositions themselves also have a similar feeling. A great journey into the past. And that's not all, oh no! To this, already noble inspiration, the band added good old Destruction from the times of "Sentence of Death" and "Infernal Overkill" - the best materials of this German formation. When you hear some guitar parts and way of palying that appear on "Sex Metal", riffs, you will agree with me for sure. When I listened to it, I simply couldn't believe that there was a band that could still delight me in this black/thrash matter and surpass in my ranking such albums as the debut of Cruel Force. Finally, I would like to add that I was very curious what Nocturnal will present on the new album (after a 7-year break), the band that plays in a style similar to Sexmag, and to be honest, our Polish group put out their full-length album with this EP like a tab-end. This band is going to take the scene, it's sure like death and taxes! Check it out!!!

30 Years of "Bloodchilling Tales" - Interview with Paul Johansson from Sorcery

 

1.Hi there Paul! This year you celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sorcery’s debut album – „Bloodchilling Tales”. It’ already a classic title in the history of Swedish death metal. How do you feel being one of the originators of the death metal scene in Sweden and do you look at this album after all these years?

Hi Przemysław! Of course I’m proud of what we have done. Our album meant a lot for some fans and maybe we have inspired some other band to create music. I’m so thankful for what people has done for us - being interested in our music, creating our band merch, records and other stuff. 

2. Let’s get back to the demos period. Your music back then, just like Merciless, was more close to the extreme thrash metal inspired by bands like Kreator. Were the any other bands that had that serious impact or you? What was the moment when you said to yourself – “yeah, we are staring our own band”?

When I and Ola first met and talked about music it was about who is the best guitarist. Iommi or Blackmore. I can’t remember if we have sorted that out yet- anyhow it led us into a deep friendship. I played Mercyful Fate for Ola on a school journey -83’, and we decided to start to play together. We started a band that we called “Acid queen”. It was like a heavy metal band but with an urge to go faster and more brutal-  but we come from a very small town and there was not a bunch of guys who want to play metal. But in the summer of 86’ we did meet a guy from a village nearby - Patrik Johansson (who had the biggest drumkit we had ever seen and, he could play on it too) and his cousin Fredrik Nygren and that’s how Sorcery was found. It was many German thrash bands that inspired me also ones like Sarcófago and Bathory. 

3.After the demos the time had come for the debut LP. How long did it take for you to create the material and record it? Do you have any memories from the studio and the recording session? The album sounds original despite being recorded at Sunlight studio which has its characteristic vibe.

I think “Lucifers legion” is the oldest song on the album and that is from 87’. So it was song from 87-90’. If I remember correct, we were at the studio for 5 days. We had to sleep on the floor in a weaving workshop which was next to the studio. We were young without money - but damn, it was fun. I was trying to play drums back then and I had a real hard time with the kit. It was D-drum kit combine with an acoustic so it was messy. Sound was leaking in the headphones and so on. We didn’t use Hm-2 pedal but I can’t remember what pedals they used and we were in a hurry so I think that made a big part for the sound.

4. “Bloodchilling Tales” was released only on vinyl back in the days. Why there was no other format available? How was it with looking for the label and finally signing with Underground Records for this release?

Cds where new to the world and expensive to print I guess. UGR was a small company with little resources so he couldn’t do it, or so I think. We didn’t have a bunch of deals to choose from so we took the first, haha.

5. The cover art of the debut LP is more in the vein of a heavy/power metal record, that’s the first impression. Its aesthetics refers more to stuff such as Blind Guardian for example, than to a pure death metal record. What is the story behind it, how was the author and how to you bring this art idea to life?

The title “Bloodchilling Tales” made us think of a creepy evil wizard reading from book. Every song from the album is a bloodchilling tale of evil and death. That was our toughts anyway. Then the artist, which I don’t know the name of interpreted our words and painted the cover as he thought we meant. It was not that we screamed with joy when we saw the cover but it had to be that way. There was no possibility then to change it.

6. What’s very unique about “Bloodchilling Tales” is the useage of keyboards in the background here and there. They fuel the sinister, evil atmosphere of the record, provides the climate that no other record from Sweden had at that time, as far as I’m concerned of course. Who came up with this idea? 

I think I have to take the responsibility for that. We used keyboards on our demos too. Creating intros, and I was very into combining metal and keyboards just as you say - to create an atmosphere. The others had to stop me many times.

7. I think you had and still have one of the best logos in death metal. Was it created by someone from the band? Where there any other projects of the logo you considered using or it was just a perfect much right from the start?

Yes, it was Fredrik Nygren, one of the guitarists who drew it. He had done some other before but he was working on new ones all the time and finally we were very pleased with one we have for over 30 years now. I think he drew logos for other bands to but I can’t remember which.

8. The album was released in 1991, so the same year as many classics of Swedish death metal. What was the response on your material and what are your reflections on that special year in Swedish metal history. How do you recall being part of it nowadays?

When we had recorded the album we lay back and waited for something. I don’t know for what, but we were lazy and a little bit naive I think, so nothing happened-  at least as we thought. But we did something for a few people which I know now, but not then. I did meet a guy who said: “It’s because of you I started to play music”, for example, and we are nowadays seen as a cult band for some people. I can say that we had a chance to work with a big management company, but a guy from the band was drunk on a gig and behaved like an idiot, and just on that evening they checked us up, so you know what happened. Anyway, with no CDs, only 1000 copies of our record and with no distribution we didn’t have a real chance.

9. Early 90s and late 80s was a period of massive tape trading around the world with Sweden in almost in a centre. I will not be wrong saying you participated in that as well. Do you still have the stuff you got those days in your collections, are you still after collecting metal stuff? How it was back then and how it looks now in your case?

I was not a big trader, I got music from my close friends. I didn’t have pals all over the world. Yes, I have boxes of cassettes in my hidings and some original demo tapes form our big Swedish bands like Mefisto, Agony, Morbid and so on. I remember a band called Deathlord, I think they were from Australia, that had a big impact on me. Hmmm, I had forgot about that band. I think I have to go down in the cellar and try to find their record.

10. Starting with the end of the 90s, already after Sorcery disbanded for several upcoming years, “Bloodchilling Tales” was re-released several times on CD, LP and even cassette (starting with No Colours Records and ending with Xtreem). Which of the reissue you like most, which you willrecommend to the people who are new to Sorcery or those who had only the 1^st press vinyl? Could you tell something more about the one with changed title – “Legacy of Blood”?

I would go for “Legacy of blood”. A great cover and you will have the 7” Rivers of the dead on it too. We change cover just to be sure that nothing could be hold at us and Xtreem in case of legal issues. That’s all.

11. Just to end with something special. Once I was going through your thanks list on the album there was something like this: “The Swedish custom service for being fooled (helpful and understanding) twice”. Can you uncover what happened here? Seems like some sort of a funny story.

Well the story behind the custom service being fooled twice was that when the first pressings of the “Rivers of the Dead” EP arrived from France, they were stuck in the hands of the custom. They thought that we somehow had imported a large amount of records to sell without paying tax for it. We came up with some other story for them and they finally let the EP’s through. Some months later the same thing happened again when the second pressing arrived. We told them the same thing again and for the second time they bought our bullshit and let the EP’s through and we never had to pay any import tax at all.

I can tell a funny history about when Ola and I met at my home and I wanted him to sing. I didn’t have a microphone but I had some headphones that were broke. They worked as a microphone, so when Ola was growling to them it sounded in my stereo. And I had a little Casio keyboard with a drums in it. If you pressed the button it played a drumbeat salsa or whatever. It had some rocks beat too, so I turned the bpm (beats per minute) to max, plugged in my guitar and we started to make a song out of it. We had to start with something.

https://www.facebook.com/sorcerydeathmetal

http://sorcery.se/

Interview by: Przemysław Bukowski

Huoripukki - Ikuinen Kamppailu (Fallen Temple 2021)

Pierwszy pełny album fińskiego Huoripukki zapowiadany był na koniec lata tego roku, jednak premiera przeciągnęła się do jesieni. Zdziwiło mnie gdy w booklecie do płyty wyczytałem, ze została nagrana jeszcze w 2019 - trochę czekała na wydanie. Niemniej wyczekiwane "Ikuinen Kamppailu" wreszcie do mnie trafiło i zabieram się do podzielenia się z wami wrażeniami. Pierwsze, co dało się odczuć podczas słuchania płyty, to progres brzmieniowy i więcej czystego, niemal niczym nie zmąconego death metalu. Blackowe domieszki są już daleko w tle. Miejscami riffy i rytm na płycie oscylują wokół bardzo nośnych, prawie (zaznaczam - prawie!) heavy metalowych patentów, jakie można było usłyszeć na płytach Dismember, aby za chwilę przejść w barbarzyńską nawałnicę. Połączenie chwytliwości i brutalności na "Ikuinen Kamppailu" dało bardzo fajny efekt, płyta nie jest tendencyjna i wciąga w ten swój oldschoolowy klimat. Może Huoripukki nie jest jakoś bardzo płodne wydawniczo jeżeli chodzi o pełne materiały, ale to, co słyszałem na demówkach i EPkach powstających od roku 2008, było zawsze wysokiej jakości death/black metalem. I tak jest i teraz, a nawet lepiej. Zespół miał czas wyrobić swój styl, brzmienie i uraczył nas naprawdę bardzo dobrym materiałem, także zostałem tu muzycznie zaspokojony z nawiązką. Wniosek jest jeden - fińska scena death metalu, wciąż ma się dobrze! Zespołowi Huoripukki życzę częstszego wydawania pełniaków i tak dobrych jak ten pierwszy.

https://www.facebook.com/Huoripukki

https://huoripukki.bandcamp.com/ 

https://shop.fallentemple.pl/

 

 English translation:

The first full-length album of Finnish Huoripukki was announced for the end of this summer, but the premiere lasted until autumn. I was surprised when I read in the album's booklet that it was recorded in 2019 - the album waited a bit for release. Nevertheless, the long-awaited "Ikuinen Kamppailu" finally arrived and I'm going to share my impressions with you. The first thing you could feel while listening to the album was the sound progress and more clean, almost uninterrupted death metal. Black metal elements are already far in the background. In some places the riffs and rhythm on the album oscillate around very strong, almost heavy metal patents (I repeat - almost!), which could be heard on Dismember albums, only to go into a barbaric storm in a moment. The combination of catchiness and brutality on "Ikuinen Kamppailu" gave a very nice effect, the album is not biased and draws you into its oldschool atmosphere. Maybe Huoripukki isn't very prolific in terms of full material, but what I heard on demos and EPs starting from 2008 was always high quality death/black metal. And it is so now, and even better. The band had time to develop their style and sound and treated us with really good material, so I was musically satisfied here, with a vengeance. There is only one conclusion - the Finnish death metal scene is still doing well! I wish Huoripukki more frequent releases and as good as this first one.

 

Rotten Age - Oblicze Zła (Black Death Production/Werewolf Promotion 2021)

Coś z wartych uwagi nowości z podziemia. Z trzecim albumem atakuje Rotten Age. Po raz kolejny dostajemy dawkę bluźnierczego black metalu z polskimi tekstami, który gna w mroczną otchłań. Nie kombinuje, nie odkrywa koła, a serwuje czysty i bezpośredni muzyczny cios. Coś w sam raz dla fanów takich hord, jak Infernal War, The Devil's Sermon, Moontower, Black Altar czy starszych płyt Besatt. Wymieniać można by długo, ale myślę, że już dobrze wiecie czego się tu spodziewać. Zespół konsekwentnie rzeźbi swoje diabelskie rzemiosło i każda płyta jest tylko lepsza, potężniejsza. Na nasze głowy spadają kanonady blastów (Krzysztof Klingbein za garami - wiadomo, że będzie dobrze!), ale płyta potrafi również zwolnić i zaserwować nam nieco klimatu. Na uwagę zasługują również same wokale, bo mimo prędkości, za jaką muszą nadgnić, są wyraźne i precyzyjne. Ogromny szacun, bo tutaj została wykonana tytaniczna praca. Gitary natomiast pełne są charakteru, mamy sporo ciekawych riffów, które budują litą ścianę dźwięku, co bardzo kojarzy mi się z tym, z czego znany jest Dark Funeral. Tutaj konstrukcja jest bardzo podobna do tego, co możemy usłyszeć na chociażby "The Secrets of the Black Arts" i jestem przekonany, że ten album mógł być jedną z inspiracji podczas tworzenia "Obliczy Zła". I tak, to właśnie gitary wspomagane perkusją napędzają ten materiał. To pokaz znakomitego black metalowego rzemiosła, które szczerze mogę polecić.

http://bdprod.pl/

https://werewolf-webshop.pl/

https://www.facebook.com/rottenage

English translation:

Something worth noting from the underground news. Rotten Age attacks with their third album. Once again we get a dose of blasphemous black metal with Polish lyrics, which is rushing into the dark abyss. The band doesn't play around, reinvent the wheel, but serves a clean and direct musical punch. Something perfect for fans of such hordes as Infernal War, The Devil's Sermon, Moontower, Black Altar or older Besatt stuff. It could make a list longer, but I think you already know what to expect here. The band consistently carves their devilish craft and each record is only better, more powerful. Cannonades of blasts fall on our heads (Krzysztof Klingbein behind drums - you know it will be something good!), but the material can also slow down and give us some atmosphere. The vocals themselves are also noteworthy, because despite the speed at which they must catch up, they are clear and precise. Huge respect, because here a titanic job has been done. The guitars are full of character, we have a lot of interesting riffs that build a solid wall of sound, which I associate with what Dark Funeral is known for. Here, the construction is very similar to what we can experience on, for example, "The Secrets of the Black Arts" and I am convinced that this album could be one of the inspirations when creating "Oblicza Zła". And yes, it is the guitars supported by drums that drive this material. This is a show of excellent black metal craftsmanship that I can honestly recommend.

A blast from the past! - interview with Anders Brorsson (Ablaze My Sorrow)

1. Hi there, Anders! Thanks for your time to recall a bit from the band’s history. Ablaze my Sorrow is not that well known round the world but for sure among Swedish death metal enthusiasts. Please tell me how it all started with the band, what pushed you to play and join the scene and why you have chosen such name for it?

We started Ablaze My Sorrow during 1993, for a couple of weeks the band was named Mournful but we changed that prior to the recording of our first demo. We all knew each other since before and had been playing in other bands together before forming Ablaze My Sorrow. It was our original drummer Fredrik Wenzel that came up with the band name which means something like “make me mourn”. 

2. It seems to me that your demo materials were closer to black metal, then to death. Even your very early pictures are supporting this. Do you have the same opinion? What bands inspired you back then. Will it be lie to say that Dissection made a huge impact on you? 

Our first demo “For Beareavement we cried” was heavily influenced by the early works of Katatonia amongst others. When Fredrik left the band and Alex joined in 1994 our influences changed into something more in the line of At The Gates, Eucharist and Dissection. Bands that still to this date are our main influence. 

3. Years 1994-1996, so the demo and debut period were already the days when the most famous Swedish death metal has been released and all the movement started by Merciless and Nihilist/Entombed was already gone at some point. How do you managed to find a place for your band with “If Emotions Still Burn”? What was the response for the album?

I don’t know how or if we ever found a place for our band. We did what we wanted to do and No Fashion Records sent us a deal which we signed. There have never been any plans or strategies with the band. We write songs, record them and release them. The response concerning “If Emotions Still Burn” was really good and it sold well. I don’t have the numbers but I remember a list with the best-selling albums at the time that was sent to us from House of Kicks (distributor) at the time. 

4. “If Emotions Still Burn” consists of elements of death, black and even a little of gothic metal, it’s melodic and very unexceptional, a real jewel of Swedish Metal that deserves far more attention back in the days. Could you share some memories connected with its creation and cooperation with No Fashion Records? As you know opinions on the label remained very bad. 

We were between 17 and 20 years old when we recorded the debut album in 1995. It was the first time ever in a “real” studio and we had no idea what we were supposed to do. It was during the summer and we had a great time.  

The artwork for “If Emotions Still Burn” was created by Necrolord, if I’m not wrong. Why you have chosen his work for the debut, were there any other possible artwork you consider using? How do you recall the work with Mr. Wåhlin?

Well, Necrolord was and still is one the absolutely best painters out there in my opinion. He was our first choice so nothing else was discussed. He has created some amazing covers and it’s an honor to have his artwork as a cover for our debut. 

5. “The Plague” was a serious step forward and a step in a different sound and attempt to the compositions. Previous influences seemed to develop with an addition of thrash metal catchiness. The album seems less extreme when compared to the debut, more into stuff that we were able to find among albums of Finnish Sentenced or your colleagues from Cemetary. What influenced that changes and how you recall this material after all those years? It’s a great piece of melodic death metal.

I guess that “Slaughter of The Soul” might have something to do with this, it’s one hell of an album. As everyone else we are big fans of bands like Slayer, Kreator and Testament but I really think that At The Gates was a just as big part of this development. It’s interesting that you mention Sentenced, a band that since their debut has had a huge impact on Ablaze My Sorrow, even though it’s not always that easy to notice. I think that those influences are easier to hear on our more recent material. They are one of my absolute favorite bands, albums such as “Crimson”, “Down”, “Frozen” and “Amok” gets their fair share of listening every week.

6. I have asked about the art put on the cover of the debut, I must also ask about “The Plague” in this case. I don’t exactly like it to be honest and always wonder what was behind the concept of it. Could you uncover some facts?

I can’t remember that we did more than send him the lyrics for “Plague of mine” when it comes to that cover. We leave it at that.

7. Back in the 90s you were probably in contact with a lot of bands sharing letters, tapes, records and so on. Could you tell with which bands you had the best contact and stay in touch to this day? Do you still collect records?

Yes, there were lots of letters written and lots of demos bought and sold. At that time everything went slow and you had to wait for weeks to receive the music you wanted to get hold of. There were no youtube or spotify where you could pre-listen to bands before you bought it. This means I own tons of crappy demos and records, but it sure was exiting times. You were in contact with so many great bands and other people within the scene.

8. Now something connected with playing live. Do you remember any gig from the 90s that is is still left in your memory? Whim whom did you play and what makes this memories so special?

I remember a gig in our hometown Falkenberg, I think it was in 1992. The bands that played were Dissection, At The Gates, Eucharist and a local band called Afterlife. That gig made a huge impact and could be considered as a big part of the startup of Ablaze My Sorrow. A couple of years later we played a show in our hometown together with At The Gates, probably 1995/1996 somewhere or something like that.

9. There were two logos of the band, one created by Thoth from The Ancients Rebirth and the one you started to use with the debut. Who created the second one and why you have decided to change it? 

We used the first logo until we released “If Emotions Still Burn”. We needed a more fitting logo for the cover art so Necrolord created the “new” one when he painted the album cover. We have used that one since then. 

10. Finally, are there any plans considering the reissues of the old albums or demo materials? I think they deserve a second youth.

I really do agree with you here. Unfortunately, it’s not we who own the rights for those recordings. If someone wants to re-release they’ll have to make a deal with MNW.

11. This is the place when we can end. Thanks a lot for this short interview and an opportunity to talk about the old days of the band and your classic records!

All things come to an end. Thank you for the support and cheers to everyone reading this. Hope to see you if we come to your town.

Interview by: Przemysław Bukowski