Tool – Fear Inoculum review

Let me start off by stating that I am a regular Tool fan, far from a fanboy. Fear Inoculum is easily the most awaited metal release of this year, if not for the past 5 years. I was not expecting Tool to release an album this year and I thought it was all a joke and that the  band was just trolling us. Soon after a release date came the release of the first single, Fear Inoculum. I was not too impressed with the track after a few listens, it sounded like a sum of the parts of their older songs with better production. 

Read the review on Moshpitnation

Horns Up Podcast: Episode 23

On this week’s epidode, we are join by someone who does not need much of an introduction in the metal sphere, Dan Swano. The conversation covers his life as both musician and a producer/engineer.

Dan shares advice about the metal sound and what is an ideal mix along with stories from Edge of Sanity and even his time in Bloodbath.

Horns Up Podcast: Episode 17

Amogh Symphony are one of the Indian origin acts that are well known in the metal sphere.

Animesh and Peter have an in depth chat about the evolution of Amogh Symphony’s sound from technical metal to avant garde over the past decade, their discography and also latest release IV.

Amogh Symphony mastermind Vishal J Singh spoke to Peter about the origins of the project, 10 years of Abolishing the Obsolete System and much more. Raise those Horns Up and tune in!

Horns Up Podcast: Episode 7

Last week, I attended 3 shows in 4 days (Plini, Devin Townsend Acoustic and Control Alt Delete), don’t remember the last time I did that. Also managed to record 2 new episodes of the podcast, one of which is now online.

In the new episode of Horns up, our guest compared to our previous ones
is on the opposite end of the sound spectrum. We caught up with Australian guitarist Plini just before his gig in Bombay to chat with him about his journey, devoting time to the business side of things, new music, and, life.

Animesh and I discuss Devin Townsend and the experience of an intimate, acoustic gig.

Orchid

Bangalore progressive act Orchid first landed on my radar in 2016 with the release of their self titled EP. I caught them live at Ctrl Alt Delete 10 soon after that and was impressed with their performance. Just over 2 years later, they are back with their debut album Miasma. The album is another juggernaut and builds on the twisted foundation of their EP.

I spoke to the band ahead of the album release about Miasma, the album inspiration and also their upcoming show this weekend in support to The Ocean Collective.

Hi, guys, you are days away from the release of your album Miasma. How does it feel?

We’re absolutely stoked for people to listen to it. We’ve put in a lot of effort to make this record and are very proud of how it sounds. Looking forward to the response from our fans and new listeners as well.

Miasma is a twisted listen. What is the inspiration behind it?

Haha, thank you! We just let the song takes it’s own course while writing it. We let it flow naturally and arrange it the most organic way possible. This may end up sounding ‘experimental’ or ’avant-garde’ as people like to call it. Orchid’s ethos has always been to make music that’s not too common-sounding..

What was the writing and recording process for the album?

Generally, Vinay has rough song structures with the riffs more or less done. The band then jams on the ideas for a while until we feel the song seems concrete enough. Alternatively, some of the music has also been written just out of impromptu drums and guitar jams, which is super fun and intuitive. The vocal lines are written almost simultaneously with the lyrical themes coming in a bit later during the writing process. For ‘Miasma,’ all the instruments were recorded to click tracks and then went into further production. So pretty much industry-standard recording process.

Miasma was mixed by Apurv Agrawal (Pacifist) and mastered by Colin Marston (Behold the Arctopus/Dysrhythmia/Gorguts/Krallice). How was it working with them?

Apurv is a very patient and creative person to work with. He was on board with all of our musical shenanigans/eccentricities and definitely contributed in shaping the sound of the record. Colin was a breeze to work with. Really kind, and absolutely professional. We were shocked at the speed and quality of work he delivered. Couldn’t have asked for a more ideal combination than Apurv and Colin.

Politics is not a common theme among Indian metal releases. What do you feel is the reason behind it?

Yes, ‘Miasma’ more socio-political as opposed to the techno-surrealist themes on the previous release. I guess this the lyrics are just us taking the piss out of a bunch of things and having fun while doing it. ‘Miasma’ covers themes like planned obsolescence of goods by corporations, egocentrism, pervasive influence of gurus/godmen/spiritual nonsense, toxic corporate culture, identity politics, and pseudoscience scams & quackery.

Kaushal is one of the busiest vocalists in the country as he is also a part of Gutslit and Godless. How does he manage between bands?

It’s easier for him to manage Orchid since all of us live in Bangalore. We’ve pretty much managed to jam almost every other week ever since the formation of the band in 2011.

2018 was a great year for metal. What were your favourite albums (metal and non-metal) that were released in the past year?

Vinay: Psycroptic – As the Kingdom Drowns
Kitchensink – Harmless Things
BTBAM – Automata I/II
Esperanza Spalding – 12 Little Spells
Converge – Beautiful Ruin

Kaushal: Mass Grave – Our Due Descent
Tomb Mold – Manor of Infinite Forms
Obliteration – Cenotaph Obscure
Trappist – Ancient Brewing Tactics

Mayur: Fireghost – On the Island
Stop Motion Orchestra – Lightworks
Palm – Rock Island

Rahil: Mammal Hands – Animalia
Robohands – Green
Kamaal Williams – The Return
World Service Project – Serve

What’s currently on your playlist?

Vinay: Steely Dan, Gorguts, Pat Metheny
Kaushal: Vorum, Disgust, Violator, Vektor
Mayur: Major Parkinson, Godley and Creme
Rahil: Cardiacs, Steve Jenkins, Strobes

You are support act to The Ocean Collective at the Unscene: Progworks this weekend. What are you looking forward to?

We’re looking forward playing songs from our album live as well as some new material. We’re also looking forward to watch the Ocean live for the second time. They have some great songwriting and are really good live as well. We’re sure they’ll deliver a spectacular show.

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

Our new full-length album ‘Miasma’ drops on January 10 worldwide on Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify, and a bunch of other digital platforms. We have two singles out which you can check out here: https://www.youtube.com/user/orchidtelevision. We also have t-shirts and CDs for sale here for India (https://www.instamojo.com/maneatingorchid) and here (https://maneatingorchid.bandcamp.com) for worldwide orders.

The Ocean Collective interview

2018 was a great year for metal and one of the reasons was Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic, the 7th album from German progressive band The Ocean Collective. The album came 5 years after their previous album Pelagial. Phanerozoic consists of 2 volumes, the second will be released in 2020. The albums have been described by the band as the missing link between the albums Precambrian and Heliocentric / Anthropocentric.

The Ocean Collective are touring 5 cities across India starting this week, in support of their album. I spoke to guitarist and primary songwriter Robin Staps ahead of the tour about Phanerozoic, Pelagic Records and their expectations from the shows.

Hi Robin, it has been a couple months since the release of Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic. How has the response to the album been?

It’s been absolutely great so far! Fans and journalists seem to love it. We’re surprised by how positive people react to some of the newer songs, even only a few weeks after the album was out people who came out to the shows of our recent European tour seemed to know the new tracks very well. I think the new album “reconsiles” the old The Ocean of “Precambrian” times with the newer The Ocean with Loic Rossetti on vocals (since 2010). The album has a similar vibe as “Precambrian”, but at the same time it features Loic’s vocals. I think it is the album that is closer than any other to representing how I always wanted this band to sound.

The album is the recording debut of bassist Mattias Hägerstrand and drummer Paul Seidel. How did they become a part of the collective?

It’s been organic changes that just happened. 5 years is a long time, and a lot of dispositions of life can change during such a period of time. Luc and Jona, the former guitarist and drummer, had been in the band since 2008, and by the time we released Pelagial, it just didn’t feel right anymore.. not for them, and not for us. Paul Seidel, the new drummer, joined in late 2013, and he is still in the band. He also works for my label Pelagic and it’s hard for me to imagine that there was a time with this band when he was not in it, haha… Mattias, the current bass player, played with me in another band called THE OLD WIND, so we’ve also known for a while. So the only really new guy is David, our new guitar player. The current lineup is the strongest that this band has ever had. We’re all in it for the right reasons, we have grown up and got passed any ego issues and we just really enjoy the privilege that is playing in this band right now… it has never felt as good as now!

How do you get together members of the collective?

It’s usually people I already now or have worked with in one way or another. For example, Mattias, our bass player… I know him through Tomas Hallbom, former vocalist of Breach, with whom I started andother band called The Old Wind in 2014. Mattias was the bass player of that band. Peter Voigtmann, our new synth guy, used to be our lighting guy and has toured with us since 2013. He knew every song we have played in the past 5 years in and out, every detail of it, and he was playing along to the songs on the lighting desk, like a band member, just one that is not on stage with us. Peter is also an excellent drummer (he plays in a band called Heads. out of Berlin), and he has a solo project called Shrivel, where he explores electronic soundscapes. I’m really into that, and so I asked him to contribute some electronics to our new album… and what started as a vague idea quickly solidified, when he got back to us with awesome, tasty soundscapes and textures, that really added something to the songs. So in the end, he was playing over pretty much every part in every song, and his contribution coloured the guitar tone, and hence influenced the overall sound of the record in a significant way… so it was only natural for us to ask him to join the band.

What was the writing and recording process for Phanerozoic I? Are the arrangements finalized before recording or is there improvisation in the studio? What approach do you prefer?

Everything is finalized before we enter the studio. I wrote most of Phanerozoic by myself in Spain in a house by the sea, where I wrote everything since the -centrics. What was different this time was that we actually rehearsed before recording the record.. we rehearsed for a month straight, every day, and really tested the songs in the room, and fine-tuned details, so that by the time we entered the studio in January, everything was 100% clear and ready to go, and I think you can feel that when you listen to the record, it feels less constructed and more immediate somehow. Pelagial was a studio-album. We never played that record as a band, before we recorded it… we only started rehearsing for the tours after the recording session was done.

We recorded at Sundlaugin studios in Iceland, surrounded by overwhelming nature, and that was the perfect setting for making a bleak and cold sounding record. There was a waterfall right behind the studio, a massive snowstorm raging half of the time and everything just naturally fell into place.

Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) performs vocals on Devonian: Nascent. How did he become a part of the recording?

We’ve been in touch with Jonas already in 2007, before Precambrian was released, and we were discussing a guest appearance with him back then, but it didn’t work out for timing reasons. Last year, we played a one-off show with Katatonia in Romania, and we revisited that idea… this time with more time to do it. Jonas was down, and so I sent him the pre-productions of this track, for which I could very well imagine his voice. He got back to us with vocal demos that were so stunningly awesome that our jaws dropped, and what you hear on the album is very very close to these initial demos. It was a great experience, this collaboration… that type of experience when you don’t have to explain someone what to do, when it just naturally feels like everything is in the right place.

You also run Pelagic Records. How you manage between band and the label?

We’ve been very active with Pelagic in the past 2 years, the label has grown a lot and we now ha have a catalogue of 128 releases… so this is taking up more and more time, and the reason why we could be so active in the last 2 years is because there was less activity with The Ocean… we took some time off after the Pelagial touring cycle, and that made space for Pelagic. I have to balance it. Pelagic Records wouldn’t exist without The Ocean, but the label is becoming more imoportant and more time-consuming. I run it with Paul, who is also the drummer in The Ocean. Luckily, we can work remote, from our laptops, so we can still keep up with things when we’re on tour… Steve and Dennis at home take care of the logistics while Paul and me are on tour.

2018 was a great year for metal. What were you favourite albums (metal and non metal) that were released in the past year?

SCRAPS OF TAPE – The Will To Burn
ANCESTORS – Suspended In Reflections
LOW – Double Negative
FUTURE USSES- The Existential Haunting
SUMAC – Love In Shadow
ABRAHAM– Look Here Comes The Dark
LLNN – Deads

What’s currently on your playlist?

NEROCHE – The Crooked Mile
LOVE SEX MACHINE – Asexual Anger
MARIKA HACKMAN – We Slept At Last
SCHMECKEFUCHS – Bucht der Träumer set / Fusion 2018 set
SPOTLIGHTS – Seismic
LINGUA IGNOTA – All Bitches Die
KIASMOS – Kiasmos
BA§RK PSYCHOSIS – Codename: Dustsucker
BLUENECK – King Nine
DARK SKY – Othona

You have performed around the world. What have been the memorable shows so far?

The ones in far away places off the beaten track of international touring routes. For example, Quito in Ecuador. It was a small bar show but very passionate crowd, and we had lovely hosts that showed us around and welcomed us at their homes. Or Tomsk, Siberia… super intense show. Santiago de Chile was one of my favourite shows. The last time we played NYC at Studio. I would have never expected that we have fans in Siberia that know the lyrics of our songs. We just played a sold out hometown show in Berlin at my favourite venue in town, Lido, that was also a magic night.

Picture by David Robinson

Do you prefer performing at Club shows or on bigger stages?

I definitely prefer small, intimate club shows. There is just usually better, rawer energy and a more intense vibe between band a crowd. That said, we have played some big open air festivals that were super special and rank high in our top 10 of best shows ever played. The 2 times we did Hellfest, Graspop or the first time we played Summer Breeze were some of the best shows we’ve ever played.

You are less than a couple weeks away from your first tour of India. How does it feel?

I’m actually sitting on the plane en route to Kiev and then Delhi, while answering this interview. It feels great! We’re tired from the past few weeks of shipping thousands of The Ocean wooden box sets, and the Christmas shows we have just finished here in Germany… but very happy to have the chance to escape the European winter now, and hang out in India! Loic, David and I are meeting up with our friend Craig Murray in Jodhpur to shoot a video clip for Permian: The Great Dying, before tour start… so that should be cool.

What are you looking forward to at the shows?

I’m super curious how it will be. We’ve only ever been to India once before, we were invited to play a festival in Bangalore but ended up in a shitty situation, didn’t play the festival and only did a last minute club show instead. I have been travelling through Kerala many years ago though, so I have some idea of what India is like. And I love it. We’re looking forward to meet new people and play music and party, and eat epic curry feasts every morning, lunch and afternooN!

What can fans expect from your set?

We are playing a mixed setlist of older and newer material, with a focus on the new album, Phanerozoic… but also some Pelagial, Heliocentric and Precambrian songs.

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

I think you’ve pretty much covered it all, thanks for the exposure and your time!

The tour kicks off on Thursday, 10th January in Delhi. Check the poster below for more details. Buy your Tickets here

Eschatos interview

Eschatos are a progressive metal band from Latvia. The band consists of members of bands like Wagars, Protean, 9Horizon, Pulse of Nebulae and Black Earth Black Sky. Their latest EP MÆRE released in December last year and is engaging listen. It has received much acclaim and was nominated in the Rock and metal category at the Latvian awards, zelta mikrofons (Golden Music Microphone) last month.

I spoke to the band about MÆRE, their change in sound and also managing multiple bands.

Band photo by Lauris Aizupietis

Hi, you recently put out an EP MÆRE. How does it feel now that it has been released?

Kristiāna: It was a long road. We feel excited and pleased with the result and even though the recording has been around for only about a week, we have already received a lot of positive feedback from listeners in our home country Latvia and abroad.

MÆRE is engaging listen despite its lengthy tracks. Do tell us more about the EP.

Kristiāna: Lengthy tracks have always been characteristic to our music. The song, in this case the whole recording, is a story that needs an opening, tension and climax, and sometimes it can take its own course. MÆRE is in a way a very personal work for me. It revolves around different experiences related to sleep paralysis and sleep itself, the everyday death each of us encounter. Some lyrics have been written right before falling asleep or waking up. Sometimes voice recordings did not make any sense, sometimes they sounded like something from Marina Abramović ‘Freeing the memory’. The whole process was an experiment to explore how my mind wonders and where it goes when I sleep.

On Mære, you have moved away from the black metal sound on your previous releases. What has inspired this change in sound?

Edgars: It was partly unintentional, but at the same time it was also a conscious decision, and probably a result of not trying to fit in a specific genre. When a new combination of notes are being laid out on a fretboard, they make me feel something, I can try to make it sound like black metal, but it just doesn’t feel right or necessary anymore. Anyway, black metal is still a huge inspiration.

Marko: I have to add that MÆRE is the first eschatos record with full time keyboard player as part of the band, so I believe this fact alters the writing process. Keys bring in atmosphere adding experimental vibe to the composition.

Mārtiņš: It is essential to remember that the band has gone through a significant lineup change with Jānis leaving and me stepping in. Jānis was a very important member of the band, having composed a significant portion of previously released music, it is only natural that the sound of a band evolves when songwriters change.

The EP was recorded and mixed by Martinš Platais. What do you feel are the pros and con of recording yourself?

Kristiāna: I feel like there are two sides to this coin. We had control over the whole process, which, in this case, suited well for us, but at the same time Mārtiņš had an insane schedule and slept for 3 hours a night for 3 months.

Mārtiņš: It certainly was a very rough year for me. I had to combine working on several musical projects and my day job simultaneously. However, I feel very proud of MÆRE as we managed to accomplish everything we had planned with this release. The whole thing was done in the most organic and analog way. All the sounds and effects heard are from real sources, even with pedals recorded through real amps with next to no studio wizardry. We aimed to merge what eschatos sounds like live with a pristine studio recording. I prefer recording and mixing my own work, as it enables me to achieve the right focus for the music. I am exceptionally grateful to Dan Swanö who brought out the best from my mix, he’s always an absolute pleasure to work with.

You have been quite prolific, putting out 3 releases in 5 years. What is the writing process you follow?

Kristiāna: There is no particular formula. Usually a song evolves step by step. Edgars likes to write at home, same as our drummer Edvards, but working at our rehearsal studio in a live setting also plays an important part.

Edgars: When a specific set of new songs seem like they fit together and create a musical storyline, it is time to record them and put them out.

The band members are also a part of other acts like Wagars, Protean, 9Horizon, Pulse of Nebulae and Black Earth Black Sky. How you manage between multiple bands?

Kristiāna: Most of these projects are semi-active and come together before shows or recordings. eschatos is currently the main focus for most of us.

Mārtiņš: I am involved in a significant amount of musical projects, especially with international studio work, however, eschatos is my primary focus.

What have you been listening to lately (metal and non-metal)? Are there any acts that have inspired you of late?

Kristiāna: Lately there has been a lot of choir music in my playlist – Russian Orthodox choral music, works from Italian renaissance, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Gregorio Allegri next to Kevät / Värimyrsky from Oranssi Pazuzu and Hiss Spun by Chelsea Wolfe.
Edgars: Anything from Sargent House. Seeing Oranssi Pazuzu live was an otherworldly experience.

Marko: I am very excited about the latest Ulver album. Definitely, “Assassination of Julius Caesar” is one of the most noteworthy recordings of 2017 next to Roger Waters’s new masterpiece “Is This the Life We Really Want”. I would also like to mention the latest The Ruins of Beverast album “Exuvia”. All the music you listen to undeniably gives you some kind of inspiration. You collect your most vivid emotional experiences, including those you get while listening to music and unconsciously use them to create something new.

Mārtiņš: I have a very diverse taste in music, ranging from popular music to grindcore. I must point out that the latest releases from Ufomammut, Vulture Industries and Archspire have been very influential to me.

Do share with us bands from Latvia that we should check out.

Kristiāna: Look up Tesa, Soundarcade, Das Sonntags Legion, Saturn’s Husk.

What are your plans for the coming year? Do you have any shows/tour planned?

Kristiāna: We are currently focusing on playing live in Baltics and working on music video for Luminary Eye Against the Sky starring Latvian actor Juris Strenga which will be released next year. eschatos is also doing an appearance in Ghent, Belgium for Shades Of Black’n’Death event on February 17, 2018.

Marko: We are also looking to start working with a record company and we are opened to offers.

Mārtiņš: And play many live shows as possible in 2018, if anyone is interested, let us know!

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

Mārtiņš: The best way to experience eschatos is to see us live, so make an effort and come to one of our shows, you will not regret it.

 

Pulse of Nebulae interview

Pulse of Nebulea are an international progressive death metal band. I first met Hisham and Martins (vocalist and guitarist of the band) when they were part of a band called Samosa Terror in Dubai close to a decade ago.

A couple years ago, Martins linked me to a single from the new band he was working on with Hisham. The track was ‘Elusive Elation’ and I was really impressed by the instrumentation as well as production. They have finally released their self-titled debut album earlier this month. The 8 track album has been described as “Progressive death metal” however you can hear hints of melodic death metal and even power metal. The catchy guitar riffs are well complemented by growled vocals. ‘Triumph of the Sun’ and ‘Drone’ are a couple of my favourite tracks from the album. An impressive debut release, Pulse of Nebulea are a band to keep an eye out for in the future.

I spoke to Hisham and Martins about the album, and their future plans.

 

You have been working on your album for some time now. How does it feel to have it finally released?

MP: It feels absolutely fantastic! So much time and effort was put into writing, producing and recording it, I really thought it was never going to end.

HC: We poured a lot of ourselves into this album. Listening to the final product reminds us why it was done in the first place. Hearing this album is like listening to our thoughts. That, in itself, fills me with immense pride.

Hisham and Martins were part of a band in Dubai. How did Dirk Verbeuren become a part of Pulse of Nebulea?

HC: Yes, we first met and formed a band when we were in high-school in Dubai. Noticing our similar interests we immediately clicked and knew we were going to be working together for a long, long time. Both of us being huge fans of melodic death metal, especially the old school Swedish kind, we naturally have always loved Soilwork. When Martins started looking for potential drummers, Dirk was obviously our first choice.

MP: I got in touch with Dirk through my friend and co-producer Matt Wicklund (Ghost Ship Octavius, ex-Warrel Dane). At first when I reached out to Dirk, I did not get a response for several months, because he was on tour. I also spoke to several other drummers, received many demo recordings, but didn’t quite find the right musical fit. Eventually Dirk replied back and said he really liked the two demos I sent him, which later became the singles we released in 2014, and decided to take part in our project. After we had done the first two demos, we absolutely loved the collaboration and asked Dirk if he would be interested in becoming a member of the band, to which he agreed. As a result, Dirk did more than just record drums for the album, he also took part in arranging the songs and breathing life into them. As a result the whole collaboration turned out far better than expected, I honestly can’t imagine having worked with any other drummer.

Your self-titled album is a killer mix of death metal and progressive metal. Tell us about the album.

MP: Hisham and I have always been fans of progressive metal. For me, personally, Edge of Sanity and Opeth have been huge influences. Musically the album is a mix of all the different kinds of music we like, there is death metal, black metal, groove, orchestral elements, and even power metal, for example, before I added the guitar and keyboard melodies, Triumph of the Sun sounded just like a Manowar song.

HC: Vocally, the aim was to diversify, mixing different genres and vocal styles to create a unique and versatile sound. Also, we aimed to take the listener on a journey to try to experience events and themes which occur constantly around us, but are only subconsciously perceived. With astronomical themes, like Triumph of the Sun, the sun turning into a red giant, and hardships of suffering a man goes through without questioning the reason, like Elusive Elation.

With Hisham in Germany and Martins in Latvia, how did you manage to write and record the album?

MP: Since we already keep in touch on a daily basis, it really wasn’t all that difficult, thanks to modern technology that permits it. We already make an effort to see each other in person two times a year, which gives us time to also work on the songs in person. Hisham and I both have home recording capabilities, so we record on our own, exchange ideas and spend long hours fine-tuning them over Skype.

HC: I record vocals in my basement with a cheap mic and interface, Martins is the one with an actual studio. I took two trips last year, in March and September, to fly to Latvia to do the final vocal recordings for the album. Dirk did all of his parts in LA and sent them to us, as we proceeded with the recording process. Martins handled everything else on his own.

The album has been mastered by Dan Swanö (Unisound). How did that happen?

MP: Mixing this album was quite a serious ordeal for me. Even though I do have a reasonable amount of experience, mixing my own music is always the worst, it never feels done and there is infinite room for improvement. I spent an absolutely insane amount of time mixing this album and was never really quite satisfied with the result. Eventually, I made the decision to take a vacation, an entire month off from the project, when I got back, I sat down and finished it. Turns out that stepping away from something that had become an obsessive habit and clearing my mind, was all I needed. I knew right from the beginning that I wanted the album to be mastered by a name engineer, to give it that extra sparkle on top, so I had contacted three different engineers. Dan replied quite quickly and said that he’s extremely busy and will probably be unavailable until late autumn, but told me to send the mix over anyway, and he will have a look. It didn’t really work out with the other guys, but Dan got back to me in 4 days time with a finished master and the response: “Sounds fucking great I must say. Great mixwork!” That was single best response I could have ever gotten as an up and coming engineer and artist, especially, since Dan is one of our musical idols.

What have you been listening to lately (metal and non-metal)? Are there any acts that have inspired you of late?

HC: During the album writing process artists like Dark Fortress, Cattle Decapitation, Be’lakor, Opeth, Insomnium and Sikth made a serious impact on the different vocal techniques I implemented and experimented with. And lately I’ve been really enjoying the new albums by C.B. Murdoc, Black Crown Initiate, In Mourning and Ihshan.

MP: Well, Hisham already mentioned a lot of artists that I also really enjoyed, but I suppose musically, a lot of the compositions were heavily inspired by orchestral music and scores from films and video games. The longer and more atmospheric songs heavily rely on slow buildups and extensive layering, which is something I learned from composers like John Williams and more contemporary artists like Leprous. Atmosphere is something I believe many artists these days overlook when recording and producing albums, which is something the Black metal artists usually aim for as the single most important element, as opposed to technical proficiency that most modern bands focus on. One of the most life-changing musical experiences that I’ve had in recent years, that made me re-think the importance of composition and structured chaos is Gorguts – Colored Sands, an absolute must listen album to any metal fan who is looking for something out of the ordinary.

What are your interests/hobbies outside music?

HC: I am a full time architecture student, which takes up nearly all of my free time outside of music. As architecture is a creative output, it gives me inspiration for developing new ideas in music and vice versa. When I do get free time, I either spend it watching TV shows, informing myself about history, geography and politics, or I just go outdoors.

MP: Since I work full time in software development, I don’t have a lot of free time either, which is probably why it took three years to get this album done. But I really enjoy drinking craft beers, watching and reading science fiction, space operas, and fantasy.

Is the band going to be a studio project or a live band also? Do you have any plans to perform live soon?

MP: We are currently putting together a line-up for live shows and we will be embarking on a short Baltic regional tour this September. With this we aim to gain experience and build on the momentum in order to play festivals next summer.

HC: The main difficulty is finding a suitable drummer, as Dirk is unable to join us due to his obligations with Megadeth.

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

HC: Thanks for having us! Please, check out our album and videos on YouTube.

MP: Hopefully our fans won’t have to wait 3 more years for the next album.

Both: Jus drein jus daun!

Listen to Pulse of Nebulea below

Eccentric Pendulum

Eccentric Pendulum are a progressive metal band from Bangalore, India. They released the EP ‘Sculptor of Negative Emotions’ in 2009 and the album ‘Winding The Optics’ in 2011. Winners of the Indian leg of the Wacken Metal Battle, the band were the first to represent India at the global metal battle at Wacken Open Air 2011.

I spoke to the band about their new single ‘Resisting Another Equation’ and also their future plans for Transcending Obscurity here

Drowning Melancholy

Drowning Melancholy are a goth/progressive metal band from Jaipur. are a goth/progressive metal band from Jaipur. I met singer Komal and drummer Alvin at the Battle of the bands at IIT Jodhpur in 2013 where they were performing with their sister band Fragile Silence. They put a good show and came 2nd. Since then Fragile Silence has been dormant due to few lineup changes. Komal and Alvin have been working on new material for Drowning Melancholy and have released a video for their track “Defenceless”.

I spoke to frontwoman Komal about the video, being a metal band in Jaipur and also their plans for the coming year for Transcending Obscurity. Read the interview here