Altar Of Plagues - Sol (2008)

Band: Altar Of Plagues

Album: Sol

Year: 2008
Country: Ireland
If you're the kind of person who gives a fuck about the environment, people starving, and those kinds of things fat lazy politicians are causing by sitting on their thrones doing nothing but eating tortured pig pork and expensive chocolate reaped by poor African children, Altar Of Plagues maybe will be something for you. It will maybe also suit you if you're the kind or person who pretends to care about that because it's trendy.
I won't deny that Altar Of Plagues will grow into a trendy band, if they're not already considered as one. Somewhere around 2006 they probably discovered that Wolves In The Throne Room made a huge success with their first full length album of environmental hippie black metal, so they decided to kind of copy them. And add some influences of other successful epic sludge bands such as Neurosis, Isis, etc.
But, Altar Of Plagues is definately not a bad band. This EP is their second release, and naturally it's a bit more dirty and less refined than their last two releases (White Tomb (2009), and Tides(2010)). Therefore my personal opinion is that this isn't their best release, but they found their trademark; modern Black Metal very influenced by Sludge, Doom, and Post-Metal. It's not very trve, if you prefer corpse painted warriors fighting each other with sticks in the woods of Norway, but it will leave you with an impression. And if Sol is the first thing you've heard of Altar Of Plagues, you will expect shitloads from their later releases.

Song(s) you should listen to: With Fire In Our Veins We Drown In Light is the song that includes the most genre crossings on this EP I guess. It starts off with a really catcy post intro, then evolving into an anthem-ish part where two singers sings something that would probably sound cheesy if it was written down. Then the song evolves a tons of times into tons of different parts, which is quite good for a reason, since the song is about 14 minutes long. But sometimes it involves into things that you don't really understand (like at 08.29, it starts off pretty good, but ends in a total disaster).
There are two or three vocalists on this track, and the one who starts to sing at 02.35 will maybe be disliked by some people because it sounds like a young teenage boy in complete desperation. I, on the other hand, thinks these vocals are quite interesting, probably mostly because of the desperation level, but also because it's so not expected.

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Prison Chapel - Total War (2010)

Band: Prison Chapel

Album: Total War

Year: 2010

Country: ?

I found out about this band through Suburban Mayhem Records where a friend of me and MORTENEE just released a debut-tape with his band Hexis (which also is a band you should check out). Absolutely no information about this band was to be found, only that they where going to release a tape limited to 35 copies and a download link to the tape. Curious as I was, I had to check out what this was about. What i got was approximeatly 4 minutes of ear-abusing torturemusic. Gnarly lo-fi punk, black, noise with extremly raw and evil vocals, if you treasure music with good production this is probably your worst nightmare. Get this now before they reach over 100 listeners on Lastfm.

Song(s) you should listen to: Since this album flies by in less than 4 minutes it's not even worth breaking it down tune by tune. If you can't manage to go through this album you're a wimp, and probably more sane than I am.

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Vestiges - The Descent of Man (2010)

Artist: Vestiges

Album: The Descent of Man

Year: 2010

Country: United States

I first heard about this band some months ago from a guy I bought some Fall of Efrafa-records from. After a little bit of smalltalk he then says that he and his band are soon about to release their debut album and that if I like Fall of Efrafa then I might like what they had to offer. That got my attention and I was looking forward to hearing this new mysterious band. During the weeks that past i read about the band on their homepage to see if I could find more information about them. It didn't take long to realize that this was a band that was about more than music and selling records. The record was going to be a storyline describing the creation and downfall of man and the damage we have caused on this earth through industrialization, militarization, theism and so on. Since I'm a sucker for bands that has a story behind their music my expectations was quite high when I finally got a hold of the album, but I did not expect to be blown away the way I did. The record started out with an intro with some distorted noise and a voice which I couldn't interpret. Then, slowly but steady, a guitar sneaks up on me while playing a really cozy melody, then some bass and some drums joined the mellow dance. So far so good. Then suddenly the music smites me down like lightning and the post-metal appocalypse is upon me. I could not believe what I was listening to. This did not sound like a new band whom are just trying out their new wings, it sounded like a band whom has been around and developed for quite some time. The range of different genres that were thrown at me was amazing. One moment I was being cradled by sweet and mellow post-rockish tunes only to be thrown into a hail of speeding Black Metal-riffs and relentless Crust and in the next turn I was being crushed by epic post-hardcore build ups with sing-along parts that stuck inside my brain like glue.

Some months have passed since the first time I listened to The Descent of Man and it has only grown on me. Two more albums are planned to follow the narrative and I for one can't wait to see how Vestiges will progress from here.

Song(s) you should listen to: If I had to choose one song that stands out from the rest it would probably be IV. It's a solid song that has about everything a good post-metal song should have and to please all the crusties out there you find a really good D-Beat part about 5 minutes into the song. This song also contains the best sing-a-long part of the record at the end, it's impossible to not get swept away in the lyrics and I can only imagine how good that particular part must be live. However this record is supposed to be seen on as a whole rather than individual songs. They all connect and it gives a whole other perspective of the message that Vestiges are trying to give across.

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Stängda Dörrar Interview

Since our last interview with Sönderriket was quite popular, we thought that we had to do more of those. This time we have interviewed a friend of ours who just came out with his first release on his newly started label, called Stängda Dörrar. Hope you enjoy it.

1. How did you first come up with the idea of forming a label?
I've always been into music. Listening, buying, playing in bands, attending shows... You know. But lately I've felt a desire to do something more, and seeing a lot of other people doing this motivated me to simply go for it.

2. You just came out with your first release, a cassette with the Swedish Power Violence-act Femtekolonnare. Tell us a bit how that collaboration came to be and how you think it turned out.
It all started with a conversation after a gig my band had together with them on a one day festival called Russindisco. They mentioned something about maybe releasing a split LP with some Dutch band but that the contact with them wasn't that well and they were not sure if it would even happen. I told them about my plans for the label and offered them to release a tape, they thought it sounded cool, and a couple of months later it was done.
I think it turned out great, but it did take a lot of time to get it done, although it wasn't anything anyone of us could have done to prevent that.

3. How is it to work with your own independent label? Did you ever doubt that you would go through with it?
I don't think I've actually been doing it long enough to give a "real" answer, but so far it's going well and I enjoy doing it. There were no doubts about it really, because I've wanted to do this for quite some time. I just had to get more information about how to start and so on, which was why it didn't happen until now.

4. Have people taken a general interest in your work?
Not really, since I'm kind of new to this shit.

5. Perhaps it's too soon to tell, since you only have one release in your backpack so far, but do you know in what direction you want to take your label? What kind of bands you want to release etc.
I don't really know. I won't release stuff I don't like myself of course, but I don't think I'll stick to a certain genre or so. Some genre might appear more often than others though, since I prefer certain stuff over others etc. But other than that there are no clear directions.

6. The house in your logo has kind of an interesting story. Why don't you tell our readers a little more about that, and why you chose it for your logo?
It's name is Solbacka, but is by most people known as Kartago, and it's located in my hometown Sölvesborg. This house were where most punk/metal/hardcore/etc gigs took place up until 2008, when some retarded politicians decided to close it down because they thought Kartago was the reason for the town youths growing relationship to alcohol. This is of course bullshit, and nowadays the house is empty and used for nothing at all, which sucks. The name Stängda Dörrar is Swedish and means "closed doors", so I thought Kartago would fit really well as a logo.

7. What can we expect from Stängda Dörrar in the future? Are there any plans for an upcoming release at the moment?
I guess you can expect a bunch of tape releases and hopefully some vinyl releases later on as well. Time will tell I guess.

I do have one planned release though and that is a split involving the American band El-Ahrairah. Format not decided, but probably a tape.

8. Any closing words?
Thanks for the interview, foad.

He's charming as always. Make sure to get Femtekolonnare's new tape before it's gone. Limited to 100 copies.

HOMEPAGE

Fall Of Efrafa - Elil (2007)

Band: Fall Of Efrafa
Album: Elil
Year: 2007
Country: United Kingdom
This is one of my all time favourite albums. I've been listening to it pretty much regularly since I discovered Fall Of Efrafa about 3 years ago, and I've never ever for a second got tired of it. And still, after our 3 years together, I can still fall in love with new things or parts I've never noticed before. Elil will forever be the love of my life.
So, what is so special with this album? Frankly, I don't know. It consists of 3 songs, each one being about 20 minutes long. "20 MINUTES?! THAT'S LIKE... FOREVER!" people not used to this post-kind of music will say. But the thing with these songs is that they are so well written that you will never understand how those 20 minutes past by. The general pace of this album is quite slow, but just before you get tired of the slow part, one of these amazing build ups kicks in. Then there's a minute or two of "swing the hand your having your beer in" D-Beat. The anthem-like lyrics will also cause any person to transform into an anti-religous bitter anarchistic freedom fighter.

Song(s) you should listen to: Once you've started to listen to one of the songs, there is no return. You won't be able to skip the track. Therefore I recommend you to listen to the whole album while traveling by train or bus. By the time you get off your ride you will be so inspired by all the genius samples featured on this album. How about:
"People sometimes says "there must be more than just this world, and just this life". But how much more do you want? We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die, because they're never going to be born. The number of people who could be here, in my place, outnumber the sandgrains of Sahara. If you think about all the different ways in which our genes could be provicted, you and I are quite grotesquely lucky to be here. The number of events that had to happen in order for you to exist and in order for me to exist. We are privileged to be alive, and we should make the most of our time on this world."

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Sönderriket Interview

1. From what I've understood, Sönderriket is not just a tool for making music. It seems to have more of a concept to it. What is Sönderriket about?
Well, it's kind of hard to define, but I guess that one could say that Sönderriket is the sum of all my thoughts regarding both the world as we know it and the spiritual world. It is both a place (hence the name), and a state of mind. It manifests itself in our world through my music, my written works and some conceptual art.

2. It's impossible for me to fit Sönderriket into a genre. What genre(s) would you use to describe Sönderriket, and what inspires Sönderriket forward?
I believe that if it wasn't impossible for you to categorize me I would have failed both musically and, well, as a person. But for the sake of being practical I use the genrenames Industrial Metal, Neofolk and Dark Ambient when describing the three already released albums. When it comes to the next record, which is kind of different in all aspects (except for the overall themes) I guess it will fall somewhat close to what some people are calling Blackwave, Blackgaze or Shoegaze Black Metal. But as with every other artist I prefer that people just listen to the music and form their own opinion (except if their opinion is wrong).

3. Though most of the vocals are spoken, the words are well written and flows nicely with the narrator and the music. Is there any lyrical themes for your songs?
That's a tough one to answer. When I wrote the first three albums, they all played their part in what was originally supposed to be a trilogy with the unreleased next album as part I, Etikens Dörr as part II and Rum För Avsked as part III. It was (and still is, except for the broken order) supposed to be a story of personal struggle with weltschmerz, faith, and addiction. Part I represents the lowest version of any human being. The filth and pain. Part II is kind of spiritual, realizing you have to look on higher levels to find something worth fighting for. Part III represents to painfully break away from the past.
And then there's Oktober (slaktmånaden), October, den åttonde månaden. I don't really know how to explain that one. I feel like I didn't write it. It wrote itself. It's the sum of all the thoughts I had, and all the nostalgia I experienced during the month of October 2010. 

4. Your albums have been uploaded to other mp3-blogs and is also available on Spotify. Have you picked up the general thoughts about Sönderriket?
People have been most kind to me, and most people seem to, if not understand, then at least appreciate and respect what I do. And that's all one can hope for really. As with most genres, one makes it hard for himself if he avoids the worst clichés of the genre. Therefore one is bound to meet some obstacles. And my first taste of that came when I realized that there aren't that many blogs that my music fit into, since I work in multiple genres, and not everyone is willing to just write about selected parts of my discography (as you most kindly did). 

5. Your songs combines a lot of different moods and instruments. How is a song of yours created?
In working with the trilogy the process was the same for all parts. I gathered a set of lyrics that describe the feeling I wanted to get across. I then wrote little notes on each one describing what I wanted that particular track to sound like. And then I just went with it. My parts on the first album (guitar, vocals, programming, sampling) was recorded over a period of about three months. I was going to release it with programmed drums at first, but then I met a drummer, and we have been working on the drum parts periodically since then. We are beginning to reach the end of the process, and the album should be finished before the end of spring.
Etikens Dörr was recorded in a period of about a month. The basic idea was creating an atmosphere working with field recordings (from inside a factory where I worked at the time, from a bus stop in the pouring rain, from holding my laptop out the window in a storm etc). And then I composed melodies on acoustic guitar and added to the atmosphere with synthesizers and streched audio.

Rum För Avsked was also recorded in about a month and the idea was aggression and mental exhaustion. I don't really remember the process. Lots of late nights in my kitchen with my guitar and cheap box wine.

Oktober… was different also in this aspect, the basic idea was to create a single track with some sort of industrial Trip-Hop-feeling, but with metal guitars. Once I had the idea ready the music kind of wrote itself. The two ambient tracks kind of describe the feeling I had while recording the first track. I felt like there were several voices in my head at that point, helping me write and record the album. So I decided to ask two people if they wanted to join in on vocal parts, and they did. I think it is an accurate reproduction of the October sounds in my head.

6. Most of the bands making this kind of music are never taking it outside the studio. Will we ever get the privilege to experience Sönderriket live?
I don't think you ever will, I'm afraid. There's many reasons for that, but the main one is that I really don't think it would be a pleasant experience, for anyone. My method of working is the same as when someone creates a painting. Layer upon layer of raw emotion felt just in that moment. Large portions of the recorded music is improvised in the moment, and I could not reproduce it accurately. Also I am just one man, and the amount of non-live elements required in such a performance would just be ridiculous. Then there's the issue of the social anxiety and self-loathing created by such situations.


7. TCBBOF is kind of a provocative blog against religion and such, with a burning church in the header. How is your vision on religion?
This is going to be interesting. I hope you won't ban me from your blog after this. Haha. Religion is something I think about a lot. I do not consider myself part of any religion, but I do however consider myself a spiritual person. I have been interested in christian symbolism for many years, and I suppose that some people (in the anti-religious crowd) could be offended by some things I have written or created in the past. That's more of an esthetic thing than religious though. My faith lies more in the unknown paths of the human psyche and the feelings one may feel while walking in the woods or remembering those who have walked this earth before us. I do not believe that "god" lives in certain buildings, and while churches are often fantastic achievements in the field of architecture they are also often a symbol of oppression.

8. An interview isn't supposed to be a one-man communication. What about if you asked a question for us to answer?
That's a great initiative. I don't think it would be very interesting if I asked you something unpersonal about the blog or so. So, let's see.. I wonder, what do you fear most in the world? (unintentional Twin Peaks quote).

M: That's one hell of a question! I've thought about this, and I don't have any common fears I guess. I'm not afraid to die or watching the world going under. However, I do think a lot of things are uncomfortable, and one thing I do fear to the point where the panic kicks in, is hospitals. I've been to the hospital a couple of times during my childhood (severe dogbites, fractures, scoliosis, and so on). And every single time I have returned home with a somehow traumatic memory. When I was a child I was convinced that they were about to put me down, or lock me in forever. I'm very fond of my freedom you know.
Nowadays I just keep away from hospitals as good as I can. I've had some wound that should have been stitched, and a broken clavicle, but they've healed somewhat okay and I'm fine.

Sönderriket - Oktober (Slaktmånaden), October Den Åttonde Månaden (2010)

Band: Sönderriket
Album: Oktober (Slaktmånaden), October, Den Åttonde Månaden
Year: 2010
Country: Sweden
If you have listened to the other album by Sönderriket uploaded here, you will probably like this album as well. But as seasons change, the mood of this album is on a completely different level. This captures the mood of autumn in Sweden. It's cold and dark, and as you continue listen you will notice that it will get worse. The last track has that almost hopeless atmosphere that the winter gives you. And if that wasn't the point of this creation, then I might as well just go catholic right away.
You will hear great industrial influences here. Monotone beats hammer in the background while the narrators starts to tell us stories, both in Swedish and in the haunting backwards-language of Satan. There's also the typical drone/noise/ambient/whatever you want to call it-vibe going on in the background. Sounds absolutely horrible when you're having some kind of otitis, but this isn't the work of that typical common beauty. This is supposed to be a bit dirty. And though it is repetitive at moments, it's also very experimental, and tries to push new buttons and stretch boundaries all the time.

Song(s) you should listen to: This release does only contain 3 songs, and these 3 songs should be considered as one song in my opinion. It will grow on you that way when have listened to it for a couple of times. And besides, one round is only about 30 minutes. If you can't handle that in one shot, you're a wuss.

BANDCAMP / DOWNLOAD

Skt. Conrad - S/T (2007)

Band: Skt. Conrad
Album: S/T
Year: 2007
Country: Denmark

These danish sweethearts wasn't a very long lived band. They came out with a album, an EP, played some shows in their country, and then LE POUFF, they were gone. I heard about them a year or two ago from a friend who tends to dig up bands from their graves. And nowadays Skt. Conrad seems to be a pretty popular band amongst the skramz kids.
Denmark isn't a country famous for making good music (even though they have some diamonds, and more to come), so I was very surprised when I heard about their origin, and the fact that they wrote some songs in Danish. This album actually starts off very nicely with a song in Danish, and it doesn't sound bad at all! To us Swedes, Danish is normally a kind of a "drunken" and totally hilarious language, but it doesn't sound like this here.
When it comes to the music, it's not something new and bizarre you would have a very hard time to listen to. It's quite the opposite, they are going with the 90's emo thing, so it's pretty simple. They mostly use clean vocals, with some screaming in the chorus. If they had continued to play until today, they probably be a big commercial band.

Song(s) you should listen to: Freezing In November is the typical Skt. Conrad song. It starts out a bit shy, but it will grow into a black and battled teenage angst choir. The biggest reason for listening to this song though, is that the singer sound so sad and heartbroken. You will feel pity for this little boy.

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Skendöd - Vanskapt (2008)

Band: Skendöd

Album: Vanskapt

Year: 2008

Country: Iceland/Sweden

Since it's still winter and cold as hell here in Sweden you get to listen to a lot of DSBM. Kind of like people associate ice-cream with summer, DSBM and winter goes perfectly hand in hand. Skendöd is a collaboration between two persons, one from Iceland and one from Sweden. Though I don't know much about the music-scene from Iceland, Sweden has a very strong tradition with good depressive music, must be the weather. The album "Vanskapt" is the only release so far from these guys and was recorded and released without the help of a label. Now everyone can record and release an album without significant knowledge or skill but very few bands reach out to a greater audience that way. That is were Skendöd excels from the rest, both music-wise and production-wise. These guys sure knows what they're doing. The music is dark as to be expected from this kind of music and both guitars and drums are executed in a excellent way with layered riffs and melodies and very intense drumming. The vocals provided by Swedish Ulf is a little different from many other band due to that instead of using high pitched shrieking he has a lower and rawer register that suits really well with the dark music. I think that these people has really found a great formula for writing cold and atmospheric Black Metal. I mean what could be more dark and cold than the realms of Iceland? Just adding a little touch of the Swedish forest-landscape and you cant go wrong.

Song(s) you should listen to: Tiden Bränner Allt which translated means "Time Burns Everything" is a really good song that shows the range of the skill that Skendöd possesses. Especially when the music suddenly fades and turns into a great performance of string instruments that really sets the mood without being cliché. From there the music builds up and then unleashes in sheer desperation as the music progresses into more and more darker realms. Some blast beats is thrown in as well and who doesn't love some good old blast beat?

MYSPACE/DOWNLOAD

Bongripper - Satan Worshipping Doom (2010)

Band: Bongripper

Album: Satan Worshipping Doom

Year: 2010

Country: United States

Probably the record with the most colourful album-cover we have uploaded on this blog so far. Suits the name of the band and album as well, I can imagine that this is how a LSD-trip to the depths of hell must look like. But if you look at the music this is probably the heaviest and darkest album on this blog as well. Chicago's Bongripper has been around since 2005 and with their latest release they sure make a mark in today's Sludge/Doom-scene and it's easy to see why. Bongripper manages to pull off an entirely instrumental album that sounds both fresh and raw at the same time. Given that they play a genre of music where it takes knowledge and skill to stand out from the rest makes this an impressive effort to say the least. The riffs are refreshing and the build ups is woven into the songs so good that you barely notice them. As the icing on the cake you also get some moments with a clear Black Metal-touch.

To summarize: Satan Worshipping Doom takes you to the middle of a 54 minute long Satanic ritual that will make you bang your head for hours to come.

Song(s) you should listen to: The song conveniently named Satan is by far my favorite song of the record and it's here that you will find those Black Metal-touches I spoke of earlier. After briefly two minutes of build-up to set the mood the song kicks of with a fast and well played Black Metal-riff which then makes a leap into the far borders of Doom-land. About halfway through the song it turns into a groovy session of chugging riffs that gnaws right into you're ears and makes you want to go rampage. This is definitely the song that stands out from the rest but it suits really well and maintains the feeling which is present throughout the whole album.

MYSPACE/DOWNLOAD