"ME"TAL 101 with Grimnacht

GRIMNACHT

HMT: So, I just wanted to start off and say I really love that demo you've put out. Tell me about the name of the band, what is grimnacht and how did you come up with it?

Grimnacht - Lost in the Blizzard of Eternity

G: Thank you very much! I wanted a name that was dark and grim so I figured "grim night" was as good a name as any. The German part comes from my love of their castles and landscapes plus there are a ton of great German bands that have influenced me like Aaskereia, Amystery and so many more.

HMT: When did you start playing music and what were your biggest influences? Have you been in any other bands?

G: I got my first guitar in 1988 and I have been playing ever since. I was first introduced to metal that same year when I met my neighbor Jarl who always had some kind of death metal band he was working with. My biggest influences are: walking around in the woods and listening to great music. I have been in many bands over the years, mainly just trashy garage punk stuff but at the moment I have 3 projects going which are: Skogr (Thorfinn Balor Vocals),  Winterfiend and Grimnacht which are just my personal projects.


 

SKOGR

HMT: You handle all the instruments on this recording. Does having that ability allow you to pinpoint exactly the sound you hear in your own head? Is it easier than translating what you want to other musicians when you can pretty much do it all on your own?

G: Yes, covering all the instruments myself definitely gives me complete control but as far as playing with others, I tend to let them contribute whatever they want as long as they are proud of the final product.

HMT: I find your music to be much more than a standard Black Metal sound. There are a lot of lush rhythms in the music. The music feels more upbeat. What were your goals in making this demo?

G: Thank you for noticing the upbeat sound, I really like it when a band has the guts to throw in a more positive sounding part. I love a mystery because they have that quality with their song "Nailed" it is just so epic and gives the music so much more depth than the usual minor chord progressions that most bands stick to. I do like the darker stuff too though.

HMT: What can we expect next from Grimnacht? Do you plan on playing this live with a band of musicians?

G: I definitely plan to keep putting stuff out whenever time allows and it will always just be me writing and recording by myself.

HMT: Look forward to hearing all of your projects. Thanks for stopping by "ME"TAL 101

G: Thank you very much for your interest

If you would like to learn and hear more about Grimnacht check the official Grimnacht bandcamp site where you can listen to the entire EP. Like always, if you enjoy what you hear, buy the album, t-shirt and support your favorite musicians.

Up next on "ME"TAL 101, we talk with Converge's Kurt Ballou, fresh off producing the highly acclaimed NAILS - ABANDON ALL  LIFE.  Look for it coming to a blog near you!

Bandcamp Round Up 11/22/13

Ahh, Friday. The last day of the work week. The first day of the start of the weekend where you get so drunk you spend your whole check on records at Hells Headbangers only to forget and not realize it until they show up at your door the following Wednesday. The day of Bandcamp Round-Up. Ahh, Friday.

Some great stuff this week so let's get started, shall we?

FEMACOFFIN Demo 2013

I heard about these guys earlier this year and loved it so I'm going to take the time to post about it here. Filthy, Crust Punk inspired Death Metal. Really not much more to say. Let your ears do the talking. I'm sure I'll end up grabbing this one. Oh and one of the things that appealed to me before I even heard the music was the band name. If you went to take a trip down the internet rabbit hole, go ahead and Google it.

POSSESSION His Best Deceit

Iron Bonehead never ceases to amaze me with their ability to find these filthy as fuck bands out of the muck of the scene. They never fail. This demo here is one of the most fully realized demo's I've heard in quite some time. I'm pretty sure these guys have only been a band for about a year and they are ready to do a full length, right here, right now. I expect them to rise up the ranks pretty quickly and wouldn't be surprised to find them on year end lists for the demo and hopefully next year with a full length. Lots of this really reminds me of the venerable SARCOFAGO especially the hair on fire drumming. Essential purchase, at least for me.

FUOCO FATUO 2 EP's In One Tape

Italian Doom with Black Metal elements. Need I say more? Think Sabbathian grooves with Black Metalish vocals and the added element of Mortuary Drape style atmosphere at points. Yeah.

BLACK MAGICIAN The Pursuivant

These guys slipped in a full length under my nose last year that I didn't hear until this year and I was floored. They released a 7" recently and here it is. Check out that Hammond Organ. Check out those gritty vocals and great riffs. Ohhh. Black Magician, you are a band after my little heart, aren't you? Just like Possession, I'm expecting big things from these guys in the future.

Bandcamp Round-Up 11/15/13

Every Friday from here on out I'll be doing a round up of stuff I discovered on Bandcamp every week. New or old it doesn't matter. If you know something up my alley, send me a link and maybe it'll end up on the site. Otherwise, read on and hopefully find some good shit that you can support.

CRYPT LURKER Baneful Magic, Death Worship and Necromancy Rites Archaic

To me this sounds like Sludge as much as it does Death Metal. Fuzzy riffs, ripping vocals and a great atmosphere. This one may actually end up on my year end list somewhere. Listen and buy the vinyl! Don't worry it comes with a digital download card!

 

SPEEDBOOZER Speedboozer

Another one of those Motorhead meets Speed Metal bands like Midnight, Speedwolf, Intoxicated, etc. that I can't seem to get enough of lately. Grab a bottle of whiskey, a cheap box of smokes and take a listen!

CARPE NOCTEM In Terra Profugus

If you enjoy the dissonance of French Black Metallers Deathspell Omega or Blut Aus Nord you'll be sure to like this. This one came out of nowhere and I wouldn't be surprised to see it pop up on a few year end lists. Buy the CD while you can or gran it digitally.

Support Local Music

You never quite know what's lurking around your area. I've come upon quite a few RI/Mass bands lately who are right up my alley. I always thought the scene here was populated by more mainstream metal fare than anything but apparently there's a whole under the underground scene that I wasn't completely aware of and today I'll do a little profile of two of my favorites.

Hailing from Rhode Island, ETERNAL KHAN is a band I ignored for a bit without hearing the music. I heard the name, I saw the album cover and for some reason it screamed DEATHCORE to me, which I'm generally not a fan of. Earlier this year, another metal scribe whom I'm generally on the same page with gave them the thumbs up so I decided to give them a shot. Upon first listen I knew I had stumbled upon a gem. In 2012 my #1 album was FAUSTCOVEN Hellfire and Funeral Bells which combines Black Metal elements with the slow dirge of Doom to brilliant results. On their new EP A Primitive History ETERNAL KHAN, while certainly their own entity, blend the same elements together for similar results.



ETERNAL KHAN has quickly become my favorite local band. I'm looking forward to what they can do on a full length and hoping they create enough noise to get picked up by a decent label like Nuclear War Now! and get some decent distribution.

You can grab their CD at the great Armageddon Shop or listen to the EP and buy it direct from the band at their Bandcamp page.

At the other end of the spectrum is SANGUS LEGIONARIS also from Rhode Island. A Black/Thrash/Crust outfit who has been stealing the show from known bands for a little while now. Their 1st demo Vengeful Brutality is just a raw, uncompromising mix of some of my favorite things. Instead of me fishing for a proper description, it's much better to let the music do the talking.



You can also check out more of SANGUS by purchasing the cassette from Armageddon Shop or at the above Bandcamp.