Loud, heavy, dark, atmospheric, grandiose, occasionally melodic, always epic, Ashen Crown have something for everyone. The extreme/death metal hybrid quintet from the West Midlands, UK have already made their stage presence known having played the likes of Bloodstock Open Air, Hammerfest and Amplified. An electrifying and raw brutal energy full of epic riffs and crushing vocals, Ashen Crown guarantee to open the pit up and get you headbanging with influences from At The Gates, Bolt Thrower, Pantera, Gojira and Slayer.
Vocalist Kieran Scott says of their sound: “if I had to pigeon-hole us; dark, moody, emotive, heavy, melodic just kind of altogether. One thing that we want to do moving forward as well and with stuff we’ve already done with Obsolescence, it’s more kind of like cathartic sort of uplifting, powerful songs, you know? Songs like ‘Right to Rise’ off Obsolescence, that song is, when we play it live, we all absolutely love playing it live. We all feel it and it’s that kind of powerful, grandiose-ness, we want to kind of portray that.”
Check out the interview with Ashen Crown’s vocalist Kieran Scott below. You can also follow the band on their social media sites:
Behemoth are one of the driving forces of the extreme metal scene. Never one to shy away from the epic and the magnificent, the band have consistently released one blinder of a record after another. Even in the face of legalities with the Polish Church, Nergal and co continue to push the boundaries and throw in some surprises in the process. Having just performed at the Bloodstock Festival in August with a firey headlining set and abandoning the traditional forested black metal backdrop for a rooftop skyscraper performance, the band’s 12th studio album Ops Contra Natvram is another worthy addition to an already strong discography.
The record opens with ‘Post-God Nirvana,’ a sinister and ominous introduction incorporating a heavy brass orchestral element with brooding war-like drumming and chanting. It suddenly blasts full speed ahead with ‘Malaria Vvlgata,’ a swift punch to the jugular with thunderous blastbeats and blistering shredding. Although this track is only 2 minutes long altogether, it incorporates everything that Behemoth do best; it’s straight to the point, dense and desecrates in the process. ‘The Deathless Sun‘ is epically atmospheric and aggressive with grand chant-worthy choruses and epic riffage carried by ominous choirs. ‘Ov My Herculean Exile‘ slows the tempo down opening with more atmospheric choirs with an almost anthem-esque feel to it with its steadier rhythm.
‘Neo-Spartacvs‘ is a blackened masterpiece which twists and turns at every angle. With catchy hooks and rhythmic drumming giving way to more blistering blastbeats and soaring solos and back again, this track keeps you hooked. ‘Disinheritance‘ is formidable and continues to drive forward with a barrage of catchy hooks and sheer ferocious aggression. ‘Off To War!‘ was written before the Ukrainian War however the subject matter fits the current state of things in that regard. The track itself is another gloriously blackened work of art with more thunderous drums, epic riffage and Nergal’s ominous growls on the backdrop of unworldly atmospheric choirs.
‘Once Upon A Pale Horse‘ has a slight groove-infused tone to the blackened mid-tempo beat which serves to give the record a bit of a breather before it descends into its conclusion. The penultimate track ‘Thy Becoming Eternal‘ descends into sinister chants and a roaring force of fast paced energy and fevered aggression off-set by the occasional groovy drumbeat and ethereal choirs. The closing track ‘Versvs Christvs‘ is piano-led with Nergal’s evil whispers creating a foreboding tension. This track is one final push which showcases the band’s flawless creativity and experimentation as it incorporates every aspect of the record as a whole and ends in an epically cinematic fashion.
Settling in nicely beside the brilliance that is 2014’s The Satanist and 2018’s I Loved You At Your Darkest, Opvs Contra Natvram has solidified Behemoth‘salready imposing presence within the extreme metal scene. Behemoth have amplified a winning formula from previous years to create a record that is refreshing, dark and one of extreme metal’s strongest releases of the year.
Rating: 9/10
Released By: Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 16th September 2022
For Fans Of: Morbid Angel, Dimmu Borgir, Watain
Favourite Track(s): The Deathless Sun, Off To War!, Once Upon A Pale Horse, Thy Becoming Eternal
This Day In Metal: Thank you for joining us today, Tuomas! For any of our readers who’ve not heard you before, how would you describe the sound of Wolfheart in 2022?
Tuomas Saukkonen: I describe our music as “Winter Metal”, as weird as it sounds. It’s as massive and raw but as beautiful as the Nordic winter. I do really try to make it sound like “Winter Metal” too, it’s not just to have a fancy title for the music style.
TDIM: Do you think winter is a state of mind as well as just a season?
TS: It is, yes. At least, for any Nordic people. The longer the winter is, the more it affects you, in a way. I think that is the reason why there’s so much melancholic music coming out of Finland in general, becuase we are so affected by nature and the winter.
TDIM: Of course. A lot of your lyrics are inspired by Finland itself. Your last album (Wolves of Karelia) was based on more modern history – the Winter War with the Soviet Union – but with the new album (King of the North) you’ve gone back to much, much older history… is that right?
TS: Yes, the whole album is about Finnish and Nordic mythology. It goes as far back as history is known in these regions.
TDIM: What was it that made you want to look back even further into the past?
TS: I am really fascinated by doing a whole concept or theme album, and keeping the writing style from the previous album. But Finnish history itself is very short and the biggest event really is the War and I really didn’t want to do a second album about the same thing. At the same time, I’m very used to spending time with nature, I work outdoors. Nature itself in Finland is very important to me so it was very inspiring and interesting to go back that far in history. The whole mythology is based on different gods and demigods and beliefs and myths that try to explain nature, stuff like the Northern Lights…
TDIM: Do you do a lot of research before writing these albums?
TS: Well, I was already familiar with the main Finnish mythology book, Kalevala. That is actually the foundation of all the lyrics of Amorphis. Tales From A Thousand Lakes, that album, all the lyrics are translations from that book, and that symbol that they have is also the Finnish version of Thor’s Hammer. They are really like the ambassadors of that particular book of Finnish mythology! So I knew that book but I didn’t know all the small stories around it. Kalevala is like a compilation, the author just travelled from village to village to document different stories and beliefs that were told by basically the old Pagans of the village. It’s spoken stories from one generation to another, but there are dozens of stories from each region that didn’t make it into the book. So it’s very scattered, very historic and very valued as a document. I did a lot of research though and was able to find a lot of other stories that have not already been used in any of the albums by Amorphis! [laughs]
TDIM: Ah, that’s cool. You’re almost continuing that tradition of telling those stories orally, from one person to another, through your songs.
TS: Yeah! There are stories that aren’t documented in any actual books. Some of the stories are just like a few verses of a poem that was told in a certain region of the Karelian area of Finland, for example. So there was a lot of room for imagination. There are hundreds of years of stories, so I was trying to figure out what was the core of the story was when it was told the first time, before it started to grow bigger each time it was told.
TDIM: So do you come up with these concepts and lyrics first and then write the music? What’s your songwriting process?
TS: It’s completely the opposite! I always need to have the music first. What I have in my mind is the album concept almost like a movie poster. All the songs I write start as kind of like a soundtrack for that image. That comes first. Then I have to write the songs. I usually have the song recorded as a final version before I even start working with the lyrics. Most of the lyrics, I usually write near to the vocal recording time, because I really need to feel the song and be able to tell the story. Now, it is a little bit different because the lyrics came from the mythology – there was like some kind of basic idea. But when I write more personal lyrics, it doesn’t make any sense for me to write anything down first. It just feels completely ridiculous and pointless to write lines that are not connected to anything if there’s no music to write on top of.
TDIM: That makes sense – and I guess you feel it more intensely when you do it like that. It’s still new.
TS: Yes!
TDIM: Sowhile you’ve always had a more melodic element to your sound – with acoustic passages, clean vocals, all that stuff – the new album feels to me a lot more melodic than anything you’ve done before with Wolfheart. For one, would you agree? [laughs] And if you do, was it intentional to make it more melodic?
TS: Oh, I definitely agree. It was a very clear plan. The plan was in my head already when we were finishing the previous album. I was writing about war and had a very clear and precise history-based theme that would steer the songwriting. It’s hard to write beautiful music about war. So I knew that the new album had to move more towards nature, towards the Nordic inheritance and history, and the music had to move more in the direction of our debut album, Winterborn.
But also, Vagelis (Karzis, ex-Rotting Christ), our guitar player also came to the band when we had already completed the previous album so his role was only playing the solos. But now there is more time to put the whole band in the right places. Having reviewed his range as a vocalist, I was able to write music knowing that this part is going to be for Lauri (Silvonen), our bass player, this part is gonna be for Vagelis, and that gives us a totally approach when it comes to melodies. When I only did Lauri and myself, I needed to look at the melodies differently. Of course, the melodies come from the guitars and keyboards and stuff but having two different clean vocalists providing the melodies gives me basically two new instruments. Human voice carries melodies differently to any instrument. You write a strong melody for vocals and that will overpower any other instrument. The same melody becomes stronger.
TDIM: Yeah, Vagelis, in particular has got such a huge voice. His clean vocals on this album are amazing.
TS: Yeah, it fits for the size of the guy! [laughs]
TDIM: [laughs] It’s really interesting actually that you’ve written the songs around their abilities. You’ve also got a couple of really prestigious guests on this too, with Jesse Leach (Killswitch Engage) and Karl Sanders (Nile). How did they get involved?
TS: That’s two completely kind of stories… [laughs] Jesse Leach, to me, is just a really cool story that will remain a super-cool story until the end of my career. I was and still am a huge fan of his vocals. His vocal work on the Killswitch Engage album Alive Or Just Breathing had a huge impact on me when I was learning my vocal style. It wasn’t about trying to copy his, but the primal and the raw sound, the certain chaos in his voice, was the impact. Last October, we were mixing the album already and I got a message from this one Russian fan on Instagram. He was sending me a link to Jesse’s Instagram stories. There was a story about his girlfriend moving to the States and it had one of our songs, called Valkyrie, in the background.
At first, I thought it’s an accident, he just wanted to have any song that has that title, because that was the theme of the post. I had no connections with Jesse, I’d never met him, we don’t share management or labels or anything that would connect us. But I had to write a comment on the story, so I said “nice choice of song!” I didn’t really expect any reply but I got one in minutes, with Jesse telling me he’d been a fan of Wolfheart for years, his music had been introduced to him by one of his friends and they regularly listen to Wolfheart. Then he was asking how things were going with the band, and is something happening and I told him we were in the studio and we started talking about music and he was telling me about Wolfheart, as a style, is the thing he would most like to do as a vocalist. So my reaction was, of course, “okay! Let’s get it done!” [laughs]
Like, this is the easiest timing for that ever. One thing that I didn’t tell Jesse was that I didn’t have the song… I told him that he’d be donating vocals to this black metal kind of song, I promised to send him the demo in a few days but I didn’t have the song. So I wrote the demo in two days! But it boosted the excitement of the album so much. In the last minute of mixing to be able to add one extra song that has one of my idols on it… that’s gonna lift the bar for the next album! [laughs] Something extraordinarily cool needs to happen with the next album recording to top this one.
TDIM: [laughs] Damn! I really hope it does!
TS: The Karl thing was completely different, Cold Flame, where he’s doing his part. The lyrics are very grim, all about the mythology of the creation of the Northern Lights. There are different variations depending on which region the story was told, it was either a giant well splashing water in the sky with different colours or it was a fox with a burning tail, but the most grim version was that, if you were killed by violence and you went to the northern version of the underworld, you were bleeding there eternally and the blood was colouring the sky. The Northern Lights were the blood of the murdered people in the underworld.
TDIM: That’s so Karl.
TS: Exactly! He’s very into Egyptian mythology and this kind of stuff anyway and the song is very heavy too. I tried to do the vocals myself but I couldn’t get that monster kind of sound. It’s just not a thing that I do. We share a lot of connections with Nile. Vagelis is a really good friend a the drummer and we shared the same sound engineer on some of our tours so it was super easy to contact Karl and ask and he did very good monster growling. It was perfect, exactly what we needed. What I really like about it is that I knew that because he’s so into history and mythology, he’d appreciate the topic It wouldn’t just be a guy doing a vocal.
TDIM: Yeah, that’s exactly his kind of topic. He loves blood and he loves history – the bloodier and the older, the better! It’s a great song too, I really like Cold Flame. Ancestor (the song with Jesse Leach) as well. Damn, that goes hard. Such a huge anthem. Although actually I think my favourite song on the album is Knell.
TS: Yeah?
TDIM: Yeah. It gives me a real Iron Maiden vibe with the twin guitar harmonies and that kind of slow galloping rhythm. [laughs] I dunno. I just love it. It’s really good.
TS: [laughs] I didn’t see that coming. I do appreciate the Iron Maiden reference. I’ve never been a fan myself but I think it’s only a good thing to get the comparison. I’ve heard so many different comparisons and a lot of people have completely different favourite songs on the album so, like, if that’s your favourite because it sounds like Iron Maiden, that’s only a good thing. Also, the album is very varied, but it is genuinely one of my favourite tracks too. It’s definitely going to be in the setlist.
TDIM: Great stuff. That’s perfect for my next question too, about playing live. Obviously you’ve not been playing much during the pandemic but I believe you’ve done a couple of festival dates now?
TS: Yeah, we were lucky . We played two festivals in both pandemic summers, in 2020 and 2021. In August they lifted the restrictions here and there were some festivals. So every year we got to play just two gigs [laughs] but we haven’t done much in the way of touring lately…
TDIM: You’re starting a tour at the end of September tho? Excited? [laughs]
TS: I am very, very much excited. Like, even more excited because, while I was really sad to hear My Dying Bride weren’t able to join us, they replaced them with Insomnium. We go way back with Insominum. With my previous band Before The Dawn, both of us had our first albums out at the same time, we had tours together than we booked together here in Finland so we have such a long history. To be able to tour with them again, it’s gonna be great.
TDIM: Yeah! I hope you can make it to the U.K. at some point… maybe… but I guess that’s still pretty difficult because of all of our… problems…
TS: Yeah, nothing became easy during the last few years. I thought maybe with the pandemic over it’d be easier but now with Russia and Ukraine, that’s not easy for Finland either. It’s going to be a very fucked up winter coming for the whole of Europe. Then you’ve got Brexit and the visa situation. Even a small visit to the U.K. doesn’t make any sense now. The gasoline prices on top of the visas…
TDIM: Yeah, it sucks…
TS: We’ve done one tour in the U.K. that was more than just a gig in London. We should play there a lot more but… it’s not in my hands.
TDIM: Maybe next year someone will sort it out and you’ll get here.
TS: Well, I just saw you’ve got a new Prime Minister…
TDIM: [laughs in British]
TS: Well, maybe soon something will change for the better. You’ve had a downfall for the past 3 years…
TDIM: At least 3, yeah… but hey, maybe you’re right. Maybe something will turn around soon. I certainly hope so! Anyway, since you just mentioned one of your old bands… what’s going on with your other projects? I know you’ve got Dawn Of Solace back again and I keep hearing rumours online about some kind of mystery project… [laughs]
TS: Well… what’s going to happen is my oldest band, Before The Dawn, we’ve been doing these on and off special gigs since we buried the band in 2012… we released one new song two years ago, a vinyl release… and a lot of things have been happening behind the curtains and… now there is going to be a new single from Before The Dawn! Released tomorrow! [Note: This interview was conducted on the 6th September 2022 – Downhearted, the new single was released on the 7th!]
TDIM: Wow!
TS: Yeah, we’ll introduce the new line-up and reveal our future plans, including a new album that I’ve already started recording. We’re actually making a full comeback.
TDIM: That’s awesome, I’m really glad to hear that.
TS: There’s big changes. I’m calling the whole thing Before The Dawn 4.0 because we have had 3 different line-ups. There was the first one with Panu on clean vocals, then there was the middle part with Lars, then the last album with only growling and that was the passage to Wolfheart… so this is the fourth version. There will be surprises for people.
TDIM: Ah, man. That’s cool. Before The Dawn were great. Speaking of things from the past, obviously this site is called This Day In Metal, we love to look back at metal history. We’re super nostalgic people. So I’m curious about your metal history. Do you remember the first time you ever heard heavy metal music and how it made you feel?
TS: Yes, I do. I remember really well. I don’t remember exactly when but I remember the moment. I think I was maybe six or seven years old. I was living in a very small village on the eastern border of Finland, there was no radio or music magazines, nothing I could actually get my hands on, but there was this one show on TV that showed like music videos. Normally just the basic mainstream stuff but in one of the shows, they had Over The Hills And Far Away from Gary Moore. The music there, the Irish vibe in the melodies. I remember how amazed I was by the video, with the violin and the guys on the bedrock and I was like “wow”. That was the first time that I heard actual rock and metal music.
It needs to be mentioned also, it was a very small village with nothing happening but there was one death metal band in the village and the singer just happened to be my neighbour! He gave me the first demo that they made and that was the first album where I heard growling vocals. I didn’t even know what death metal was but that made a huge impact. It was actually a really good demo, it still is, and some of my favourite vocals. It was one of the first bands that got a record deal outside of Finland, but they just didn’t have the kind of management that could make things happen. Actually, the drummer of the band is now the manager of Nightwish!
TDIM: Ah, wow. I guess he got better at managing.
TS: If you talk to him ever, you can ask him about the band. He’s not very amused when I ask him about it. [laughs] But those are my two very defining moments. Seeing the music videos of that age was important. There was one friend of mine who had MTV, the American version, and he was giving me old tapes of Headbanger’s Ball. So there was a lot of music I discovered through watching music videos rather than listening to albums. I think, early on, I already developed close connections with the visual side.
TDIM: Yeah, because of course you direct all your own music videos too, right?
TS: Yes, I really enjoy the whole process. Doing the pre-production, seeking out the locations which will fit the music. We’ve travelled to Iceland and Norway and Lapland and it gives a completely different level to the music, to be able to produce the visual image. I think it’s those few things in my childhood had a lot of impact, when I look back now.
TDIM: That all makes so much sense. I can see a direct connection from that Gary Moore video to so much of what you do. Even though it’s completely different, I can still see that influence really clearly, now you’ve said it. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us today and hopefully we can talk again soon when the new Before The Dawn comes out.
TS: Well, the new album is planned to come out in early June so yeah, let’s talk next Spring!
Brazilian extreme death metal band Krisiun are one of those bands who prove that consistency is key. They have repeatedly produced stellar records spanning their 3 decade tenure since their formation in 1990. Arguably one of the most influential bands to emerge from Brazil, they have shared the stage with Belphegor, Vader, Incantation and Rotting Christ, guaranteeing a storm of aggression and extreme heavy metal whenever they play. Kirsiun have returned with Mortem Solis; the follow up to 2018’s Scourge Of The Enthroned and their 12th studio album to date.
The record opener ‘Sworn Enemies‘ bursts in to frantic intensity with thunderous drumming, brutal gutturals and fevered guitar work with a slight tinge of melody. The way this record bursts in to life from the get-go brilliantly sets the tone for the rest of the record. ‘Serpent Messiah‘ is a cacophony of unhinged aggression, blasting through with more thunderous war-like drumming and harsh vocals. The guitars are chaotic yet groove-tinged, showcasing the band’s technical prowess.
‘Swords Into Flesh‘ continues the onslaught of the previous two tracks infused with epic riffage, Slayer-esque guitar squeals and catchy hooks. ‘Necronomical‘ brings the momentum down to a catchy, yet sinister mid-tempo, bass-lead march. It changes the pace to keep the record fresh as it approaches its mid-way point but still maintains its imposing presence. ‘Tomb of the Nameless‘ is one of the more technical tracks on the record with its intricate guitar work. The momentum has surged on compared to the previous track .
‘Dawn Sun Carnage (Intro)‘ is a short instrumental spanning 1 minute and 33 seconds long. It’s cinematic, foreboding and sets a menacing theme blending perfectly in to ‘Temple Of The Abattoir.’ There is a heavy Slayer influence to this track with its ominous opener and imposing shredding. With catchy riffs and frantic drums, the record batters on and doesn’t lose its momentum.
‘War Blood Hammer’ in a word, is massive. Insane blast-beats, a rumbling, heavy bassline and frantic shredding, this track flows in chaotic ferocity interspersed with savage vocals. The penultimate track ‘As Angels Burn’ is nothing short of crushing. Despite coming to the end of the record, the momentum doesn’t wane and, if anything, is a sharp, final shock to the jugular. The record closer ‘Worm God‘ is a dark finale, with a slightly slower and more ominous pace from the onset but increases momentum again throughout. It’s a grinding offering giving the record one final brutal push.
Krisiun have never stagnated despite their vast discography. Combining extreme death metal with catchy hooks and technically melodic elements, Mortem Solis proves that the band have honed a well concocted formula throughout their career that doesn’t show any signs of diminishing.
Rating: 8/10
Released By: Nuclear Blast
Release Date: 29th July 2022
For Fans Of: Slayer, Morbid Angel, Sepultura
Favourite Tracks: Necronomical, Temple Of The Abattoir
Since the early 90s, Karl Sanders has channelled the spirits of ancient Egypt and turned their words into blistering death metal with Nile. With 30 years of universally acclaimed, intensely heavy material under their scarab belts, Nile have earned their place in the metal pantheon, but their mastermind also has another sonic identity. This week sees the release of Saurian Apocalypse, the final album in Sanders’s solo trilogy that began all the way back in 2004 with Saurian Meditation and explores the ritualistic powers of ancient instruments. It’s heavy in a whole different way.
With the sound of bone drums and Anubis sistrums ringing in our ears, This Day In Metal sat down with Sanders for a coffee and a chat about the Saurian trilogy, the upcoming Nile album, classic metal and, uh… how to kill a man with your bare hands…
This Day In Metal: So for the benefit of anyone who’s not heard your solo material, how would you describe the sound of Karl Sanders in 2022?
Karl Sanders: I’d call it… acoustic… exotic… kind of meditative… cinematic… dark… Yeah, these are good adjectives!
TDIM: These are good adjectives. I mean, it’s very different to what you do with Nile but when you sit down to write the songs, is the creative process more or less the same?
KS: It’s radically different. With Nile, it’s all based in history and middle east mythology, ancient religion. With the Saurian stuff, it comes from mystery books and science-fiction. The whole place of origin is different and the intent is different too. With Nile, it’s death metal, so it’s forceful, it’s violent, it’s meant to overwhelm and crush the listener! With the Saurian stuff, it kind of moves your brain into a hypnotic trance, that’s how it works its evil. [makes snake gesture] Yeeeeah… It’s insidious, like an evil lurking serpent worming its way into your consciousness…
TDIM: That’s exactly what I want when I sit down and listen to a record. Evil serpents in my brain. So how do you go about constructing hypnotic tracks like these, just building them from nothing?
KS: Well, you know, I always try to say to myself “alright, I’m not going to stick to a formula”. I think if you’re too rigid in your formula, you end up with results that narrowly conform to that rigid formula. So I try my best not to let the process be constrained. If I get an idea, I just think “ooh!” Mostly with this record, I pick up the guitar or the baglama and just start playing and hit the record button.
TDIM: The old ways are the best ways…
KS: If I hear something I like, then I’ll start working with it and I’ll start building. But there’s a lot that just gets thrown away. When people hear the record, they don’t hear all the stuff that got thrown out. They only hear the stuff where I went “well, that could be fun!”
TDIM: You’ve got a lot of guest musicians on this album who weave their way in and out of the whole tapestry. Was that all done remotely or did they come and jam with you?
KS: Normally, in the past, I’d have people come over and do it here. But the pandemic this time necessitated to a lot of the guest work being remote. Which really bothered me. The singer, Mike Breazeale, he’s living down in Florida now, so part of the process is usually just me and him hanging out and trying a million different wacky things to come up with some unique shit. But this time we didn’t have this luxury, he recorded his parts remotely, which I think was not ideal but not every situation is gonna be ideal. Sometimes in life you gotta work with whatever you are given and just do something. What else am I gonna do? Cry? [laughs]
TDIM: [laughs] Yeah, I mean, these songs lend themselves to that kind of ritualistic feel, which I can imagine is easier if you’re together in one place, but at the same time, there’s such a different vibe on this album to the previous two. I think it’s a really good one and maybe working differently is part of what helped to achieve that vibe?
KS: I really believe in that, yeah. If you change up how you’re doing something, it’ll naturally lead to some measurable amount of difference in the end result. Even if it’s just as simple as “hey, let’s go in the other room! It sounded better in there! Let’s go in there!”
TDIM: [laughs] Yeah. So, as you said just now, there’s a lot in the Saurian albums that’s inspired by classic science-fiction and fantasy. What is it that drew you to these genres in the first place?
KS: Well, my dad, who also got me started as a history buff, he had an incredible library. He loved science-fiction, he loved historical fiction. His library set me on the path of doing the thing with Nile and ancient Egypt but there was a whole lotta stuff like Frank Herbert and Robert Howard and Lovecraft in there too. If I wanted to name on and on and on, we could be here all day [laughs]. My brother got most of the library when my dad passed away. I got to take the stuff I really, really wanted but my brother got most of it.
TDIM: I hope you got all the ancient Egypt books at least!
KS: Oh yeah.
TDIM: You earned those! Although, you know, there’s a little bit of Lovecraft in Nile with Nephren-Ka and such. Can you ever see the two projects colliding in, like, some kind of epic crossover project? Gods vs Gods?
KS: Well, they’re already mixed up right here in this space in between these two bones [taps his skull]. I’m doing my best to define them into listenable projects. If you put too much Saurian in to your Nile, then it’s not Nile any more, it’s not death metal. If you got a bunch of ambient stuff in some metal, at some point it’s not metal any more, or it’s not as much metal anyway. Is that fair to the audience?
TDIM: Yeah, I guess not. I like the idea of keeping it pure so everyone gets what they want. So you’ve got a bunch of exotic instruments on all your albums, Nile and Saurian and I’m curious. I dunno where you go to buy, like, an Anubis Sistrum, but do you have any weird stories about getting one from a mystical bazaar or some shadowy desert nomad?
KS: [laughs] You can find online shops that sell world instruments. These days, it’s pretty easy. Although back when I started, it would only be like when I was in New York, Seattle or Montreal that I’d pick up cool stuff, or London…
TDIM: You never bought a bone flute off an ancient monk then?
KS: [just laughs… then laughs again…]
TDIM: That’ll be a no, then…
KS: Well, the Tibetan monks came through here years ago and they had their own merch table and they did have all kinds of stuff for sale there. They had a great merch table, right! As far as musical groups, touring around, they got the best merch table, an incredible merch table, I wish all merch tables were as cool as the Tibetan guys.
TDIM: I like that. What do you reckon to the idea of some Nile bone flutes for sale at the merch table? Can you make it happen?
KS: I try! Every time, we start talking about it, like, “what are we taking out to sell on tour this time?” and I always have some wacky ideas but they always get shot down, like “no, that’s not practical…” [laughs]
TDIM: You never know, you’ve got a new record deal, new record coming out… could happen this time! Speaking of weird wacky ideas, there have been a couple of animated videos on YouTube for the new Saurian tracks, which are super cool. Do you have a lot of input into those visuals?
KS: Well… they asked me, they said “okay, what are these songs about?”… so I told ’em! I wrote it out for them in a big long email, like “this song is about blahblahblahblahblahblah and here’s my suggestion” so they kinda took that and made this artistic interpretation of whatever the fuck it was I was talking about. [laughs] Y’know, often when you’re talking about film or video, the words that you say and the words that people hear don’t necessarily exactly intersect but I think that’s okay, that’s alright, because it’s an entirely different way of looking at the music. As soon as you add someone else’s creative interpretation in there, you go some place that you might not have gone otherwise.
TDIM: Yeah, I read your description of The Evil Inherent In Us All that was inspired by, like, what, a north African exorcism that you attended? I guess that’s a pretty intense and personal thing – it must be weird seeing that interpreted by someone else.
KS: Ah, no, it wasn’t an exorcism, like an exorcism exorcism. It was a performance of north African exorcism music.
TDIM: Ahhhh. Sorry. So there was no one possessed who actually, like, needed exorcising, it was just for the sake of playing it.
KS: Exactly. Nader Sadek when he was pitching it to us, he said like “it’s not like in the Exorcist movies, not like that at all”. It’s like people who make music all night onstage in different combinations and the purpose of the music is to fill the room with so much positive spiritual energy that negative spirits give up and go away! They’re like “hey, okay, we’re not wanted here, we’re leaving!” [chuckles] And man, you can feel that positive energy, flowing from the people in the audience, flowing from the musicians, it’s a tangible musical spirit that they’re conjuring to life. And it’s so positive. You’re happy, you’re happy to be alive.
TDIM: That sounds incredible.
KS: It is!
TDIM: That leads me to the next question perfectly actually… Have you ever considered doing the Saurian thing live?
KS: My manager said this to me just yesterday. He said “Karl, if it keeps goin’ this well, you may have to take this out on tour” and I went “dude, do you realise the budget we’re gonna need to play this music live?” [laughs, rubs his temples for a long period of time] I’m rubbing my temples because, man, maybe Hans Zimmer can do this but… I dunno if you’ve ever seen Hans Zimmer live?
TDIM: I haven’t but I know the kind of thing he does.
KS: It’s incredible what he does. If you give me a Hans Zimmer size budget then yeah! Of course we can do it.
TDIM: How many people do you think you’d need onstage?
KS: A dozen?
TDIM: Wow. Okay. Well, good luck with the Hans Zimmer budget! Of course, something you can play live is Nile. In fact, you’re touring soon. Like, real soon?
KS: Yeah, we’re just home right now, writing.
TDIM: Yeah, I read you’ve got about 10 songs ready for the new album?
KS: Ah, now there’s 11! On the board! [points to the board]
TDIM: Woah, 11! A This Day In Metal exclusive, one extra song has been completed!
KS: We’ve got maybe 3 more to come and then we’ll start recording in October.
TDIM: I know you’ve been teaching guitar and learning a lot from your students in terms of different styles. Is there anything that you’ve picked up that’s gonna be a real shock when we hear it?
KS: Hmm. I would say that the spirit of what we’re doing hasn’t changed but our understanding of the artform… well, give us two years at home to do nothing but record shit, and what are we gonna do with that time? Some of this stuff will just totally rip your face off. Say, have you ever seen monkeys rip the face off another monkey or a person?
TDIM: [laughs] I’ve not had the pleasure, no.
KS: Monkeys, chimpanzees, baboons, they have five times the hand strength of humans. They can literally take their paw and rip your face off. Which does happen to be in one of the songs!
TDIM: Nice, another exclusive reveal!
KS: [laughs] But I digress. That is what we’re going to do to listeners. We’re going to literally rip the faces off people and throw monkey feces. That’s what we’re gonna do. [laughs]
TDIM: [laughs] I couldn’t ask for anything more. So… uh… very silly question now. What’s your favourite hieroglyph?
KS: Favourite hieroglyph? [long pause] I don’t know, man. That’s like saying “what’s your favourite letter of the alphabet?”
KS: Oh, that’s like overhand knife form. You can block an overhead knife strike if you do this. [makes “X stance, demonstrates knife block]
TDIM: See, I’m right. X is awesome. It’s defensive, it’s brutal. Then you’ve got X certificate movies. They’re always the best ones…
KS: Hey, if you do a choke on someone’s gi, you reach with this one… [moves arm, encourages TDIM to do the same]
TDIM: Umm… [moves arm awkwardly]
KS: …and grab with this one… [moves other arm] that’s how you choke someone with their own gi! [laughs] You can’t really do it with a t-shirt, it doesn’t work as good with a t-shirt.
TDIM: Of course. But with a gi, it’s… [makes “X” gesture]
KS: Yeah. Or a jacket! Someone’s wearin’ a jacket, you can do it with a jacket.
TDIM: Well, that question went in a direction I wasn’t expecting but hey. I’ll take that answer!
KS: I think violence absolutely belongs in metal interviews. Just like in video games. Violence belongs in video games. Not necessarily so much in real life. If we can get some of those violent tendencies out through video games, we could be happier people.
TDIM: Yeah, video games, movies, metal… it’s all catharsis. Which brings me on to a question I often ask, since This Day In Metal likes to look back at things… what was your first ever metal show?
KS: Black Sabbath, 1981. Heaven and Hell tour came through our town, Greenboro Auditorium, that was the first metal metal show. Like, we had lots of shows, hard rock concerts, but this was metal metal. Iron Maiden also came through, right around the Number of the Beast. That was great. Then Judas Priest…
TDIM: Wow, I mean, that’s a great start. What a fantastic time for metal.
KS: Duuuuude. Duuuuude. I will never forget Screaming For Vengeance, being there, just like “oh my Gooood…”
TDIM: Yeah… My first metal metal concert was Maiden, on the Seventh Son tour a few years after you, and that was amazing. Literally changed my life.
KS: Well, Ozzy came through too and I got to see Randy Rhoads playing at the Omni in Atlanta, just like 3 nights before he died. We were waaaaay up, waaaaaaay up in the stands and I remember me and Larry Gore drove down and it was a Wednesday night and we were seniors in high school. We drove all the way to Atlanta which was, like, just unthinkable on a school night. Atlanta’s two and a half hours away and for high school kids that was something. But we saw Ozzy and we were like… man… Randy Rhoads. Incredible talent. Sometimes it’s easy to let time whitewash the memory of transcendental experience but seeing Randy Rhoads was one of those life changing experiences for young guitar players like us. I thought “this is what’s possible”. Even moreso than when I saw Van Halen. I mean, of course, Eddie Van Halen, duh, but…
TDIM: It’s a different kind of playing…
KS: Yeah, the power Randy Rhoads had. The power, the passion he commanded, and he was just a little skinny guy. I mean pffft, you could snap him like a twig but his musical soul was so powerful. Like Dio. He was a short little guy too, but oh my God, he’s a giant of a man. He’s Godlike in his person. Hugely inspiring.
TDIM: Yeah, I saw Dio just once and I’m so glad I got that chance. Like you say, his soul is incredible and there’s so much power when you hear him sing. There was no one like him, really.
KS: His presence in a room too. I was lucky enough to meet him a couple of times and the kind of person that he was, it was mindblowing. The way he treated people was exemplary. He could make every single person feel like they were a person who was appreciated and respected and I still carry the memory of that with me everywhere. He was a guy who was a Godlike talent, so successful, but was such a good person, such a strong example of how to treat other human beings. Wow.
TDIM: I think that really comes through in his lyrics too. There’s so much compassion in his lyrics, it was quite unusual in metal at the time. And yeah, he clearly had a great heart.
KS: Yeah. Wow.
TDIM: Well, on the topic of 80s metal, and Dio, obviously all these bands used to have a mascot. Dio had Murray, Maiden had Eddie, Megadeth had Vic, etc. If Nile had started in the early 80s, not the early 90s, and you’d had a mascot, what do you think that mascot would’ve looked like?
KS: Oh! I know exactly. It would’ve been an eight-foot-tall Anubis in black and gold, and I’m still thinkin’ about doin’ it! I want two giant statues on either side of the drumkit, eight-foot-tall Anubis statues. Mmm, yeah. That’s what I want.
TDIM: That’d be awesome. Okay, so last question. On This Day In Metal, we always like to drop in little trivia facts whenever we post about an album, but the commenters say our “Did You Know?” bits are too obvious. Can you tell us something about Karl Sanders that no one else knows?
KS: Okay, here’s one. I still take guitar lessons. I’m 59 and I still take guitar lessons.
TDIM: Woah. YOU take guitar lessons? What’s your teacher like? In my head, he’d have to be like some kind of ancient Chinese dude who plays with four hands…?
KS: [laughs] Kind of the equivalent! It’s Rusty Cooley. I’ve been friends with him for years now and I’ve had so many incredible guitar lessons from him, but he is definitely like a Bruce Lee kinda guy! And you don’t wanna get in the ring with Bruce Lee… No matter how good you are, if you step in the ring with Bruce Lee, more than likely… [imitates explosion noise]
TDIM: Well, that’s a great fact, thanks. You still have guitar lessons from the Bruce Lee of guitar! Thanks so much for your time today and good luck with the tour and the new album!
If adrenaline fuelled Technical Melodic Death Metal sounds like your cup of tea, look no further than the debut EP ‘Coagulating Mirth‘ from The Atrophic. The duo hail from Raleigh in North Carolina and their project was created and honed throughout the pandemic lockdowns of 2021.
Featuring frontman Sean Irizarry and guitarist Kyle Kuffermann, they “joined forces to create a sound that ensnares the feeling of impending calamity; inspired by the threat of societal collapse.”
The opening title track creates a dramatic and cinematic scene with it’s use of classic orchestral elements before launching straight in to a face ripping howl and technically insane riffage. Incorporating inspiration from the Gothenburg sound with it’s soaring solos and brutal blast-beats, the track takes an unexpected turn where it slows to a Rivers of Nihil style pace with a melodic/classic dual guitar and whispered vocals before descending in to feral chaos once more. ‘Misery’s Grip‘ continues in the same vein with blistering blast-beats, ferocious vocals and lightning riffage. This track doesn’t slow down and continues to soar with face-melting solos and ferocity.
‘Vessels For The Oligarchs‘ is a thunderous beast focusing on the double-kick drum with epically twisting solos and riffs maintaining the earlier ferocity but also creating an atmospheric undertone. The closing track ‘Horrid Mortal Tendrils‘ opens with a softer, melancholic guitar tone, lulling you in before erupting for the last time. The final dual guitar solos are magnificent and the drumming is every bit as thunderous as they were at the beginning of the EP before fading out with a sombre piano lead finale.
At 4 tracks long spanning a total of 19 minutes, The Atrophic set out to create a project heavily focused on epic riffage and soaring solos designed to bury themselves in your brain. The EP is addictive and enticing whilst also mired in brutality. As far as debut EPs go, this one has stormed straight out the gate and forged a blistering presence in the Melodic Death Metal scene.
Rating: 8/10
Released By: Self-Released
Release Date: 8th July 2022
For Fans Of: Allaegeon, Rivers of Nihil, The Black Dahlia Murder
Black Metal is a mysterious beast. More than any other metal subgenre, it walks a fine line between clinging devotedly to its traditions and continually breaking new ground. The best Black Metal sounds older than time itself but like nothing you’ve heard before, and capturing that spark is harder than it seems. In a modern Black Metal market that feels both overfed yet malnourished, Hulder offers something different.
Her raw self-released demo tape Ascending The Raven Stone (2018) caused an stir in the underground, but it was 2021’s full-length Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry that established Hulder as a major force. With musical and thematic depth rarely heard in a Black Metal debut album since the 90s, Godslastering showcases an artist in rapid development, with ideas exploding like fireworks from every track.
This Day In Metal caught up with Hulder before the release of her new mini-LP The Eternal Fanfare, to discuss her current mindset, music and more…
Photo credit: Liana Rakijian
A lot has changed from your early demos to the deeper and denser sound on the upcoming MLP, The Eternal Fanfare. How would you describe the music of Hulder in 2022, for newcomers?
The music that the MLP contains is an extension of the earlier material, I feel. As my knowledge of recording techniques and interest in writing grows, so too will the music created. I will maintain that the material within past as well as current releases is Dark Medieval Black Metal. The term seems to encapsulate the idea well.
Your last album, Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry revolved lyrically around the inhabitants of a mythical realm, into which you channelled more universal, emotional themes. Is there a concept for The Eternal Fanfare?
Unlike the first album, The Eternal Fanfare is a series of disjointed ideas. As many will see when the MLP is readily available, the themes traverse different landscapes. The descent into “hell”, understanding one’s place within this natural realm, and the embrace/acceptance of evil is essentially where the new record stemmed.
What was your recording setup like for The Eternal Fanfare?
Since the writing/recording process for Godslastering felt pretty seamless, I decided to continue with it for the MLP. The entire process began at my home after a few ideas had come to fruition. I tracked all of the rough ideas for each song on my own and then went with Necreon to The Underworld Studio where he and CK tracked my vision on the drums. As some will note, the relationship with these two has been long standing as CK has mixed every proper release thus far and Necreon has handled the majority of session drumming since the Embraced… EP. Once the drums had been laid down, I took the rough tracks back home and put all of the finishing touches on the record before the final mixing session. This record was my first collaboration with 20 Buck Spin as well as Amy Dragon (mastering engineer). I can say that I am quite pleased with the outcome.
You’ve mentioned ritual as being a huge part of your own creative process (and indeed lifestyle). Is there any particular ritual you would suggest for listening to your new music for the first time, in order enrich the experience?
The music held within each release is an outlet of my own ritualistic creative process. For each listener, the take-away will be different and so too will be their process of embracing and/or understanding intent held within.
I feel like Black Metal should inhabit a certain “otherness” that sets it apart from not just other artists and music but, arguably, from the physical world itself. Hulder certainly does that. From where do you channel this “otherness”?
I find that to be an interesting take on the nature of Black Metal. For me, it has served as a means to express my own experiences whilst finding my own way back to the natural world as much as possible. Instead of finding an escape from the physical world, my intention is to draw the metaphysical and physical together as one. This, I believe, is how we are meant to experience our surroundings. In this way, it does not serve as an escape but rather a grounding.
You’ve said previously that there’s a melancholic and nostalgic aspects to Hulder. “Looking back” is a strong force in pop culture at the moment, with so much music, cinema, TV, etc, taking influence from and referencing the pop culture previous decades. Do you think there’s a difference between this kind of (arguably empty) “retro” style and a deeper form of nostalgia? And, if so, what do you think is the true value of nostalgia?
This is nothing new in the realm of pop culture. There has always been a roughly 20 year cycle in media and art that displays each generation’s longing for that which they were brought up amidst but may not have been quite cognizant of. This, I feel, is a more superficial nostalgia. There is nothing wrong with this longing as we are all only human but my idea of true nostalgia is a yearning for that which you have never personally experienced. Our ancestors lived through unspeakable hardships, in many cases and modern existence is only a few short generations from a time when mankind relied heavily upon instinct and knowledge of their surroundings. We now live in a world that is intent upon snuffing out that which has made us human. Maybe true nostalgia is the real self calling to be set free.
Do you ever find it difficult to reconcile your immersion in tradition and lost worlds, with a degree of reliance on technology to record and distribute your music?
I do see the juxtaposition between my interests and the means by which one must adhere to in order to distribute art in the modern day. It is an inevitable part of the creative process if any level of exposure is to be achieved. My initial vision was to simply record a demo tape and see where it went and the interest that it garnered was not expected. While I could have denounced all further record label inquiries, magazine coverage or the like, the thought seemed a bit absurd.
Photo credit: Hulder
Hulder, to me, feels like such solitary and reflective music, I was surprised when you started recently performing your first shows with a full band. I watched a fan-shot video of the L.A. show and was amazed by how well it translated to the live setting. Was it difficult to transition from a private, studio-based project to a full performance act? How did you go about it?
Performing live was always something that I planned from the inception of Hulder. With that in mind, I intend to keep the creation process a solitary endeavor. When the initial process of recruiting a live band began, I was fortunate enough to have CK and Necreon on board. CK engineered the Godslastering album and happens to be a well-versed drummer. Necreon was hired on as a session drummer on the album but came into the live fold as bassist. We have had a revolving door of live guitarists, given the small number of performances that there have been as of yet. The current lineup is nowhere near set in stone and I imagine that I will be accompanied by many more down the road.
You’ll be embarking on an extensive US tour soon, the Awakening of Lithian Divinity tour. What do you have planned for this show? Is there a concept behind it?
There is no concept behind the tour, itself. The goal is to translate the studio recordings into a live setting and ensure that things are ironed out. As this is just the beginning of Hulder’s live performances, I am just now getting a feel for things on the road and am looking to further that aspect of Hulder as a whole.
You created an imaginary civilisation for your last album, which makes me wonder… Do you have any interest in role-playing games?
I do not have any active interest in role playing games of any kind.
What have you been listening to lately?
A few albums that have been in steady rotation have been: Blacken The Angel by Agathodaimon, In Battle’s self titled album, Blot Mine’s Porphyrogenisis, Enya’s The Celts and, lastly, Die Verbannten Kinder Evas’s self-same debut.
Finally, at This Day In Metal, we like to add a Did You Know? fact about the artists on our social media posts. Quite often we’re told the facts aren’t interesting/obscure enough… so can you tell us something about Hulder that no one else knows?
I despise doing interviews. With that said, I do appreciate your questions having been well thought out.
This is the first interview of my new mini-series for This Day In Metal, where I will be focusing on extreme metal drummers.
Last week (Friday the 6th May) I had the pleasure of nerding out about being a drummer, with the amazingly talented and dedicated drummer Jeff Saltzman. At the age of 27, he’s already mastered the art of extreme metal drumming and continues to perfect his technique and evolve his drumming style.
Photo credit: Tom Couture (IG: @tomcouture)
We spoke about how he started playing drums, the 3 bands he’s currently a part of, his opinion on the ever-controversial snare drum tone on Metallica’s St. Anger album and more! Check out the full interview below…
Immutable; adjective: “unchanging over time or unable to be changed”
The fact that Meshuggah have named their 9th studio album ‘Immutable‘ is somewhat of an oxymoron; if the band has demonstrated anything over their almost 35 year tenure, it’s that they have consistently pushed the boundaries and evolved their sound, albeit maintaining the core of their foundations.
Meshuggah are continuing to pave the way with their aggressively groovy and technically progressive djent metal proving nigh-on impossible to keep up with. ‘Immutable‘ consists of 13 tracks at just over an hour long and packs an abrasively dense punch.
The record opens with ‘Broken Cog,’ an unexpectantly slower build-up with repetitive drumming and a drawn-out guitar riff accompanied by Jens Kidman’s menacing whispers. It isn’t until the latter part of the track that Kidman’s signature growl really kicks things off. This track proves to be a dramatic entrance and sets the theme for the rest of the record.
Next up we have ‘The Abysmal Eye,’ ‘Light The Shortening Fuse’ and ‘Phantoms‘; each technically complex and showcasing the band’s flawless musicianship and prowess. With crunching riffs and thunderous blast beats, these tracks are vibrant in energy and deafening in aggression. ‘Ligature Marks’ changes the tone with it’s eerie synthesizers breaking the pace of the technicality.
‘Immutable’ consists of 3 separate instrumentals. The sprawling ‘They Move Below‘ stands out the most by demonstrating the band’s ability to slow their progression right down to a more hauntingly ambient sound before descending in to thunderous drumming and a modern twist to the classic Meshuggah riffage.
Meshuggah are titans of the technical/djent metal world and are masters of their craft. Technically complex with impossible guitar riffage and a thunderous rhythm section, the band continue to run rings around those who have followed them. Where they go from here is a mystery but rest assured, it’s easy to say they will continue to set a precedent and then nuke that in to orbit with each and every record. I vibed with this record and give it 8/10.
ReleasedBy: Atomic Fire
ReleaseDate: 1st April 2022
ForFansOf: Mastodon, Gojira
FavouriteTrack(s): The Abysmal Eye, Phantoms, Ligature Marks
Extreme metal with groovy metalcore undertones and in your face modern thrash brought together under the umbrella of a mutual love for Slayer. Sounds up your street? Then you need to check these guys out.
Scottish quintet Deceased Society have drawn inspiration from across the metal spectrum to present their latest track ‘Storm Wolf;’ a barrage of brutally insane vocals, lightning fast riffage, heavy basslines and thunderous drumming yet with a very personal meaning. This track grabs you by the jugular and doesn’t let go from the get go. If this doesn’t get you moving, nothing will.
All 5 members of the band are very seasoned musicians in their own right having been in the music scene for a number of years. But collectively they are a very young band and currently have more material in the works which will make it’s way to the public sphere very soon. My advice is to give them a follow and keep an ear out. It’s clear that they are very passionate about what they do and are set to make quite the impact. You can check out my interview with the band below; strap in though as it’s a chatty one. Give them a follow on their social media accounts:
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Next week’s “This Day in Metal” podcast guest is the beautiful and amazing “Carrie Stevens”
