Mixtape 2023 # 3

Back with a new mixtape. This one is inspired by the gigs I caught last month and also plan on catching in the coming months. Also included are picks from albums that I have been listening to the most. 

Update: Post the release of this episode, the Cryptopsy gig in Bangalore scheduled for 25th November was cancelled due to political reasons.

Tracklist

The Riot Peddlers – High Horse. 

Pacifist – The Bridge between us.

KEN mode – These Wires (Void) 

Fange – À La Racine (Privation)

Mercenary – Anthem for the Anxious (Soundtrack To The End of Times)

Orbiter – Silence Breaks (Hollow World)

Rorcal – Early Mourning (Silence)

Svalbard – Defiance from (The Weight Of The Mask) 

Cryptopsy – Flayed the Swine (As Gomorrah Burns)

Bear – Piece or Defeatist  (Vanta) 

Suffocation – Seraphim Enslavement (Hymns From The Apocrypha)

Cobra Spell – SEX (666)

Check out the past Mixtapes

Fistful of Metal # 31

I spoke to Sandesh Shenoy, the boss behind Cyclopean Eye Productions about completing 11 years, the early day of the label and also the plans for the upcoming months. Played a couple of tracks from their upcoming releases from Demonic Compulsion and Bell

Cyclopean Eye on Bandcamp Instamojo

Track list

AEnigmatum – Disenthralled

Genocide Shrines –  Nectars of Tantric Murder

Bell – Cold Wall Radio

Demonic compulsion – Fear the Stench from Spiral of Abhorrence

Edenic Past – Chuck Schuldiner

Carcass – Kelly’s Meat Emmporium

Bandcamp Recommendations – 5th March 2021 #BandcampFriday

First Friday of a new month and it’s Bandcamp Fridays. My picks from February are here

23 tracks covered by Australian heavy metal act Lord in their own style. From Iron Maiden, Judas Priest to even Kylie Minogue and Savage Garden.

Discover the doom metal scene in Russia with over 50 tracks. Looking forward to Part 2.

20 tracks of post-rock from Australia and New Zealand put together by a killer Australian label.

American black metal juggernauts are back with a much darker release.

A viscous mix of extreme metal and avantgarde unlike another I have heard before.

A mix of heavy rock tracks with ballads that showcase versatility of vocalist Sherry Khattak.

Fistful of Metal # 10

Track list
Road rash – Burn out
Screamer – Out of the Dark
Megaton Sword – Born Beneath the Sword
SuidAkrA – Halls of Tales
Coilguns – Manicheans
Formless Master – First Strike
Formless Master – Fatal Impasse
Nile – Long Shadows of Dread
Nox Irae – All is Over
Abigail Williams – Ever so Bold
Chrome Waves – When the sun hits
Jakub Zytecki – Sunflower
November’s Doom – What we Become
Officium Triste – World in Flames

Dirge

Doom metal is one of the underrepresented genres in the Indian metal bands. Dirge are one of the few doom metal acts in the country. Their debut release Ah Puch is inspired by Mayan and Aztec Mythology and channels the New Orleans sludge sound making it one of the most unique albums I’ve heard this year.

I spoke to the band ahead of the release of Ah Puch. Find out more about the album, the inspiration behind it and more.

Read the interview on The Metal Wanderlust

Khemmis

2018 has been a great year for metal in my opinion. There have been quite a few memorable albums in the past 7 months, that will surely make it to my “best of” list at the end of the year.  With 4 months to go, I am sure there will be a few more added to the list. One album that will definitely be there is Khemmis – Desolation, I have listened to the album more than any other this year. The album is a masterpiece that will appeal to fans of doom metal as well as classic heavy metal. I could not resist finding out more about Desolation from the band.

Read the interview on The Metal Wanderlust

Djinn & Miskatonic

Djinn & Miskatonic are a doom metal band from Bangalore, India. Their debut album Forever in the Realm was the first Indian release by Transcending Obscurity. The album received rave reviews from around the world and further strengthened Bangalore reputation as the Doom metal capital of India. Last month, the band released their  sophomore album Even Gods Must Die. The album takes forward the sonic template established on their debut album with a few surprises.

Read my interview with vocalist GK and bassist JP on Unite Asia

The Father of Serpents

The Father of Serpents is a doom metal band from Serbia, the first band from the country to feature on this blog. The band consists of well known figures from the Serbian metal scene and they released their debut album Age of Damnation a couple months ago via Satanath Records.

I spoke to guitarist Loncar about the album, their writing process and more.

 

Most of the band members are also part of The Hell. How and when did you’ll decide to start a new band?

TFOS: Hi, you are right, most members are from The Hell except the drummer Aleksandar Maksimović and Pavle Sovilj who plays the violin and is also a singer.

It all began when a few songs were made for our guitarist’s – Igor Loncar side project. It wasn’t meant to be a band at all, but after a few months a lot of people were very interested and excited about this project, we received the offer to play as a support band for Attic shows in Serbia and also to play on Exit festival in Novi Sad. That was the perfect moment for this project to become a band. In addition to this we were and still are very good friends, and we have similar music taste so it was natural for us to play together once again.

Your music a mix of gothic, death and doom metal. How did you develop your unique sound?

TFOS: That’s probably because of the various mix of the music genres we listen to, there are influences from Pink Floyd to Bolt Thrower in our music! It’s not really unique, or at least we do not feel it that way, we wanted the recycle the 90’s doom/death sound we all were listening at that time.

Your debut release Age of Damnation reminds me of the Peaceville era of doom metal. Tell us a bit more about the album

TFOS: Yes, it has the atmosphere just like the old (gold) era of doom metal. It has 10 songs, almost an hour of music and we are really proud on what we achieved with it. Idea was to record an album that we would listen at home. Today a lot of bands records music just to show their technical skills, or to be cool, have fun on stage (nothing wrong with that), but our main goal was to have an album that is both easy to listen and interesting enough at the same time. To some extend we believe that we managed to do that.

With 6 members in the band, how do you’ll manage the songwriting process? Is there one or two main contributors or everyone contributes equally?

TFOS: There are no rules when we talk about the songwriting. Sometimes one of us makes the whole song and brings it to the rehearsal, sometimes we make it all together, sometimes we just jam and hope it will go in some direction.

The album was recorded at Wave Studio in Belgrade. What was the recording process?

TFOS: We are lucky enough that our guitar player Igor has his own studio , mentioned Wave Studio, so we didn’t have to rush with recording and mixing. We had actually a great fun during the recording, we had the freedom to try everything we wanted. It was recorded in parts during the whole summer of 2016. The last song, for example was made and shaped during the recording process. A lot of people really like the production and so do we! We already heard from people it sounds like 90s doom with modern (good) production!

Do recommend bands from Serbia that the readers should check out.

TFOS: If we talk about doom metal, you should definitely check out ‘Tales Of Dark’ and ‘The Bloody Earth’.

What are your plans for the rest of the year? Are there any shows/tour planned in promotion of the EP?

TFOS: We will have the album promotion in our home town – Belgrade, it will be a gig in the club ‘Elektropionir’ on 2nd of September. Right after that the plan is to visit all nearby countries and cities and to promote our album and music in the best way we can. Also we hope we will record new material soon since we already have some new music for the listeners!

Thanks for answering all my questions. Do you have any final words?

TFOS: Thank you for your interest in our music, and see you all on the road hopefully soon! Doom on!

Listen to Age of Damnation below

Drug Honkey

Drug Honkey are a doom quartet from Chicago. The band play a unique mix of doom and death metal and have released 4 full length albums since forming in 1999.

A couple months ago they released their latest album, Cloak of Skies via Transcending Obscurity Records. I spoke to guitarist Hobbs about the album, guest features and more.

Read the interview on Nine Circles

 

 

Beelzebud

Beelzebud are a doom metal duo from Singapore. They have released a self titled full length album via Cyclopean Eye Productions and a split with powerviolence band Abrasion, both are a must listen for doom fiends.

I spoke to the band about their music, touring in Vietnam and also their plans for the year.  Read my interview  on Nine Circles