UKBM mastermind Anti of Intra Tenebrae has posted a new track on MySpace. “A Ritual Of Malice” is the new masterpiece, from the upcoming demo To Speak Your Name. Check out the new track at the Intra Tenebrae MySpace page.
Genre: Gothic Rock
Label: Napalm Records
Taking a little bit of mainstream rock elements, adding in some dark textures, and having Lisa Johansson add her gorgeous voice to the album, Johan Ericson has created a wonderful album with Shadowgarden’s Ashen.
The great thing about it is that it doesn’t fulfill all of the bigger cliches of most gothic rock, rather taking a different route to arrive at the same destination: songs full of sadness, broken hearts, and lost love, and dripping with genuine emotions.
This album really reminds me of a less metallic sounding Moonspell, or a male-fronted Lacuna Coil, which is great. Both Moonspell and Lacuna Coil I love, so having another band in the same vein and bringing both sounds together makes me a happy reviewer. At times it even reminds me of Johan’s and Lisa’s main project Draconian, but mostly only in passing. The two bands are very different from each other.
If you’re into the gothic rock sounds that Napalm Records have made a living out of, Shadowgarden’s debut Ashen is definitely up your alley.
7.5 out of 10.
Shadowgarden on MySpace.
So, what is Bamf Studios all about? Give us a little history lesson.
In short [BAMF] Studios is all about the bands and making Portland the place to be for music again. Since our engineer is a musician himself, we like to consider ourselves a hybrid studio, one that offers every consideration to the bands and makes some competitive waves in the business. We started out because our engineer’s band went to a studio and after a quick session, turned out a quick demo. As excited as they were to finally have some “Studio,” made material, they sent it in to KUFO’s Viva La Luna just to have it turned back because of a “Muddy,” low end. After that we got together and decided to do it ourselves since we had most of the necessary equipment. What we turned out was better than we expected, we also learned we had something a lot of people were lacking, an engineer with an amzing ear and a complete knowledge of his equipment and software.
Bamf? As in the late, great Kurt “Nightcrawler” Wagner, Bamf?
As for the name [BAMF] we can neither confirm or deny the influences that may be behind the name, we prefere to leave it up to the customer.
How many clients have you all taken on so far?
So far we have taken on 5 clients with several more in the discussion phase right now.
Do you guys have a preference as far as genres go?
We specialize in Rock/Thrash/Metal however, we can do all varieties. I know mixing it up from time to time makes my engineer happy.
Does Bamf Studios do live recordings?
We haven’t done any real live recordings yet but we ran some test to see if we could and we were successful.
I noticed that you have our review of Excruciator’s demo up in your blog! Fans of ours?
We are a fan of anything that has to do with local music, it means so much to us to see local musicians flourish especially in Portland and since we recorded that Excruciator demo it’s good press for us too.
That’s totally a “yes”… Do either of you have a particular producer in the industry that influences your technique?
I think when it comes to technique whether it be the way we carry out business or the way we record, I would say we are influenced by everyone else out there in the way that we have taken the ideas we like and and learned from the mistakes of others. We don’t try to be super arrogant or claim to be better than everyone else, we are confident in what we produce and we feel its unbeatable at the price we do it for.
Do you guys plan on branching out into other projects with Bamf Studios? Maybe a label or publication?
We have a lot of projects in our future, I think the next one to come is establishing a venue somewhere in Portland. We hope to carry over our innovative methods to that and really shake things up in the way they’re run. That is a major thing that needs to change in Portland becuase I have yet to find a venue that I am completely satisfied with.
Have you ever had any bands come in that you had to turn down on purely a creative difference, or all the bands in Portland as cool as they should be?
Well before we record any band we have an interview with them to learn about them discuss the aim and direction for the project. Since it is our name and reputation we put on the project, if we feel the band needs more time to practice together or maybe we see that they aren’t very stable and might break up in a month or two we would recommend a different plan for them.
Is there anything you’d like to add for the E-MetalSpace/Funeral Rain audience?
Our goal for [BAMF] Studios is to create a one stop shop for all the needs of your band, and through networking and building connections we are in a great position to benefit you. Our studio is on the rise and all I ask is that you rise with us and come in for an interview.
I guess I can start this off with a simple question: What the fuck is up with that name?
Death Justice: G’Day Mate! yeah I came across this ridiculous name in my youth and it’s been around me for decades. So when the time arrived to start up a band in 2001
when I was 18 it was perfect for our ridiculous sound. The name has meaning but I never tell anyone, I let them create their own image in their heads.
NecroHammer: Bloody DJ and his crazy ideas.
How exactly is the metal scene in your neck of the woods… er, arid climate… desert area… place? (Sorry all of my knowledge of Australia stems from a project I did in third grade about the Sulfur Crested Cockatoo.)
DJ: Ahah we just had a massive hail storm of death here, gotta go get the dinghy out!
The scene in general is alright, heaps of bands especially death & black metal bands. Isn’t much thrash or heavy metal around just a handful of interesting bands like Stormbane, Vulgar, Forgery, Maniaxe, Demons Gate, Doomed Beast, Wurm, Johnny Touch, Dire Fate, The Wizar’d & Trench Hell. The best bands at the moment here for me are Vomitor, Demons Gate, Cauldron Black Ram & Nocturnal Graves. The live aspect of the scene is where it’s lacking. It’s very boring, predictable and down right pathetic at times. It’s just the same bloody bands playing over and over again and kissing each other’s arses. Most of the venues have their heads up their arse as well so that doesn’t help. Plus the sugar on top, it feels like a lot of the bangers here like to be told what to listen to rather then hunt for the steel themselves.
NH: We live in working class suburban area of Melbourne, metal scene is boring. Everyone wants to be a trendy little poof fucker. “Four wheels scare the cockatoos, from Kintore East to Yuendemu. The western desert lives and breathes, in Forty-Five degreeeeees.”
Do you plan on staying a trio for good, or do you think a possible rhythm guitarist would be beneficial?
DJ: In the early days we tried all the possible line ups, we even had 3 guitarists one stage in 2002! Ahaha, too many wallys to deal with. A trio works best for us.
NH: John Tapson is gonna join the band soon either on Tamborine or Triangle.
I noticed that there is a HUGE difference in production quality in The Demon Chamber over Inside The Cistern. What’s the deal? Better equipment? More time to devote?
DJ: Inside the cistern demo was recorded on a simple setup, very cheap. For The Demon Chamber EP we used better equipment and more time spent on the mixing by yours truly. We like it raw, heavy and ugly so doing it ourselves gives us complete control over hell. Our next EP, we’ll head into a studio for only the second time ever, haha. Hopefully it works out a ripper.
NH: We have limited equipment to work with. DJ puts a lot of time and effort into getting the right sound we are looking for.
Who would you say your biggest influences are?
DJ: Ahah, ahh there’s so much, I like thrash and heavy metal the most for about 15 years now. My favourtie heavy bands are Black Sabbath, Destruction, Judas Priest, Venom and Vomitor. Also bands like Black Virgin, Renegade, Blacktask, Razor, Agent Steel, Raven, Anvil Chorus, Black Hole, Ritual (UK) and hundreds more, etc… Outside of the heavy madness i like stuff like Hawkwind, CCR, The Bottleshop Quartet, Frank Zappa, Goanna, Political Asylum, The Police, etc… I listen to heaps of stuff very wide range, I turn my back on modern sound shit and don’t waste my time with a lot of the black/death bands.
Death Angel: I tend to listen to a variety of bands myself, some similar to DJ’s old school preferences and others more ‘modern metal’ style and a few punk/hardcore bands, etc… Each DDD song has many different ideas from different bands, which I guess makes up my particular style. However, I always try to add my own original touch when there’s room for me to do so, other times I just have to stick to something pretty standard to match the music. I find DJ’s riffs to be challenging at the best of times, so that in itself is a huge influence as it forces me to think outside of the square which has really shaped my playing style.
NH: Black Sabbath for inventing evil music, Destruction for perfecting Thrash Metal!
Where do you get your lyrical inspiration from?
DJ: A lot of it just comes from the current arsehole world around us and the dickheads we have to put up with in life. Heaps of pearlier cult movies like Phantasm, Southern Comfort, Mad Max, Predator, First Blood, Escape from NY, etc… Ripper books about facts, mysteries and the past. Porn movies and mags to see how pathetic people are for pleasure, etc… Artworks, paintings, & nude female models etc. 60′s and 70′s muscle cars, etc… it’s an endless list for inspirations.
Denim or leather? Studs or patches? Foster’s or Pabst?
DJ: I’ll take denim and leather mate, haha. I was born with denim and leather flowing through my veins and I don’t take short cuts on it, hahaha! Yeah we wear all that stuff all the time and drink when the conditions are right!
DA: All are good! As for drinks neither of those, I enjoy different brews and a fine scotch when I can find a moment.
NH: Bundaberg Rum, best drop on the planet.
How often do you get requests for cassettes?
DJ: Ahhh I’ll say quite regularly. We’ve probably still sold more CDs I reckon, but traded more tapes. We’ve got around 700 demo CDs and tapes in circulation.
DA: Mainly from distros in trading etc, but we seem to sell pretty well cassettes wise at our local record store. Probably as it’s more assessable I guess. Most people have cassette players attached to their stereos… or to their cars if your car’s old enough like mine, haha!
Are your band monikers self-reflective or do they just sound really cool?
DJ: A bit of both, suits the music. Just like the old steel lords before us. Using real names is boring.
DA: I wouldn’t know if it’s that reflective; it got given to me haha. However certainly more ‘cool sounding’ then my normal name, so I can’t complain.
NH: I’ve got a dick shaped like a hammer and made out of steel!
Do you have any zany-assed stories about a live show gone wrong or something of that nature?
DJ: Our last gig we did back in August 09 was a disgrace. In a shit town, a crowd full of “jump da fuck up,” caravan trash and loser idiots who wouldn’t even know shit from shoe polish. When we started playing the look on their faces was priceless, they waiting for some jump the fuck up shit or even some Pantera crap I think ahha. So we had around 80 stunned woofters staring at us going “what the hell?” None of them would of heard Destruction, Sodom or even Kreator before ahhaha. They are hated us! It was classickkkkk! Haha! Bloody stupid gits.
DA: Yeah, August 09 was the worst in terms of crowd reaction. Hmmm 2nd show the stage light was so shity, aha.. it was either be in total darkness or be blinded by a foglight pretty much. Also I had to stop mid song.. my arm just locked up with the worst cramp ever! No time to warm up and it was particularly cold that night which made it worse. The rest of the set was a struggle, but by the end we did okay. The crowd enjoyed it and we had fun butchering our own songs! It was like 1984 Sodom all over again! Haha!
NH: First gig, 45 degrees Celsuis, the hottest day in Melbourne on record. No air conditioner inside pub. Power blackouts, caught at trains tracks Boomgate for half an hour. HOTTER THAN HELL!!!
Is there anything you’d like to add for the E-MetalSpace/Funeral Rain audience?
DJ: Cheers for the interview mate, Head bangers make contact to get our releases and merch. Our EP “The Demon Chamber” was just unleashed a couple of months ago, (Review to come soon. I promise! – Typhon) Contact us to get a copy diabolical_demon_director@hotmail.com And tarts remember buy the music first then buy the merch, not buy the merch then decide to download the music. You know it makes sense!
DA: Cheers for the interview, it’s much appreciated. For the audience, I just wanna say; check out more underground bands through local distros etc… It’ll be worth your while!
NH: Thanks mate, C.C.R rules!
Genre: Doom, Drone
Label: Conspiracy Records
A band name never fit so well with the music they produce. After listening to Ausserwelt for about ten minutes, I felt like I was trapped in a pitch black sub basement of some abandoned saw mill for at least a year. Needless to say with my state of depression brought on by Year Of No Light, I didn’t actually want to finish listening to Ausserwelt.
The next day, I gave Ausserwelt another shot. And yet again, it brought me down with it’s heavy droning doom. I guess it goes without saying that this is one powerful piece of metal! I know that music in most if it’s forms can affect the people who listen to it, but Year Of No Light must of discovered some sort of top-secret endorphin draining frequency or something.
As for my actual feelings towards the album go, I’m a bit mixed. Yes, it’s as I said, powerful. And I’m no stranger to droning, depressing doom (thought it isn‘t one of my favorite genres). But there’s something about Ausserwelt that’s just a little… off. And not like a “trendy” or “ultra protools” off. More like an, “I’ve heard this before almost exactly but I couldn’t tell you where from” sort of way. Ausserwelt isn’t bad by any means, it’s just a little reminiscent/familiar for the wrong reasons. For me at least.
Overall: Year Of No Light built a flip switch in your emotional core, called it Ausserwelt and decided to dick with it until you need to come back to it like a drug crazy homeless person, scrambling to score another hit of depressing droningness. Just don’t expect anything ground breaking and you’ll do just fine.
7/10
Year Of No Light On MySpace
