CD REVIEW: SETHOS (Bandung Black Metal) - Promo CD, by Jack Frost, 4/6/2018.

SETHOS (Bandung Black Metal) - Promo three-track CD (2018).

Track-listing:

1. Defying unworthy deity

2. Helpless and breathlewss

3. Invisible divinity.

Total number of copies: 10.

My copy is number 10 out of 10.

SHORT REVIEW: The band plays in the melodic Black and Roll style of Watain, Antestor, and new Satyricon. Highly recommended - the promo has strong songwriting and crisp modern production; the band's top-class Death Metal-influenced vocals are placed high up in the mix which works very well here. It is certainly quite possible to tell that one musician is a Deep Purple fan as the classic-rock influence can be found in both sound and production. 

BIO: SETHOS is a Black Metal band that formed in March 2017 with Daevas; Maggot; Wawan (Gore Infamous); Faiz (ex-Stigmatuary); and Aep (Bloodgush) as the first lineup. At some point Wawan could not play in the live gigs because of work commitments, and they are being helped by Babay (Moredead, Jarah) as additional live member. They made their first promo Invisible Divinity and only made 24 CD copies. After the release of the promo the band Sethos almost split up, leaving only Daevas and Maggot. Despite only two members remaining, they are still active and are helped by additional musicians for their live performance. In 2018 Sethos will release one single called "Defying Unworthy Deity" that they will share for free on Internet. The band plays in the melodic Black and Roll style of Watain and new Satyricon. Highly recommended [by Jack Frost based on news provided by Maggot of Sethos band, 5 March 2018]. 

Video-clip: 'Defying Unworthy Internal Deity'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjoLj9aTiTg

Website: 
https://www.facebook.com/sethosofficial/

CD REVIEW / VIDEO - VIRTUE (Oxford, England NWOBHM) - We Stand To Fight CD reissue (1985/ 2003)

I remember Oxford being a strange city in the South of England (full of charvs and students paying for chips with cheques – the twats!) I certainly don’t remember it being a hotbed of blazing metal. Perhaps I arrived a little too late, but nonetheless Virtue’s ridiculously short compilation here presents some truly excellent heavy metal. Of course, by ’85 the NWOBHM well had almost dried up but Virtue gave us what has been identified as second generation NWOBHM. They were a young band – I suppose they aren’t any more thirty years can change a lot of things, but never mind that – and certainly they were influenced by Maiden and Priest’s Screaming for Vengeance as opposed to the first wave who primarily had Sabbath, Purple and 70s Priest as their guiding metal lights.

One of the main appeals of NWOBHM is its youthful, high energy nature and its innocence and this is why often bands don’t tend to age as gracefully or even have such a long run in terms of studio albums. Virtue definitely have these two qualities and yet they have that second generation sophistication that sets them apart from, say, the NWOBHM of the earlier 1980s. Somewhat surprisingly, there’s a sense of doom here; a sense that maybe the good days where coming to an end. Just check out the opening to ‘Fool’s Gold’, couldn’t that riff and those ominous tolling bells have fit on a Candlemass album? It’s as if the band knew that England was starting to fade as a metal superpower so they, ahem, stood and fought bravely with true heavy metal fury.

So basically, on what is the possibly the shortest compilation in my collection you get two excellent releases with no mess, no fuss and certainly no filler (isn’t it refreshing to have a compilation without eighteen barely listenable demos tacked on the end?). Which one comes out on top? Well, I couldn’t possibly decide so I’d have to say both! We Stand to Fight might feature the band’s anthem but Fool’s Gold has a classy melodic sheen and a more refined approach… ultimately they were on to a massive winner and it’s just a damn shame that they never managed to make a full-length.

Despite the generally similar formula to this comp – great vocals, great solos, great songs - there’s actually quite a bit of variation in terms of mood. Sometimes it’s verging on epic; ‘We Stand to Fight’ comes across as a fast-paced minature version of an epic and sometimes it has a more playful quality that works just as well on ‘Hideaway’. Either way, it all comes off splendidly and the band just make it such a fun listen with its memorable hooks, over-the-top solos (KK and Glen would be proud – as these young chaps also managed to ride on the wind) and Tudor Sheldon’s rough yet sonorous vocals.

Honestly, this isn’t really the kind of music that needs to be dissected and analysed in great depth. It’s fresh, energetic and gleefully played – as if the band had put together different bits and pieces from their NWOBHM forerunners and added their own dash of magic. Strangely, sometimes Virtue almost sound like a more modern metal band and I don’t mean that in a derogatory way. It’s not like these are clichéd or trite numbers delivered with a sly-winking glance like some more recent bands might ply (a band from 2010 with a name like "Night Witch" doesn't usually fill me with confidence). On the contrary this has that NWOBHM innocence combined with a more technical flair that reminds me of more modern bands; how sometimes they would combine a more heads-down traditional part with a more involved riffing style that’s informed by power metal. Virtue also did this… but they did it before power metal and with all the sincerity and vigour one could ask for. So, to conclude, if you’re going to buy one Virtue release – buy this one, it’s got all of their songs [score 88%]

Full album We Stand To Fight on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7STUe7IIgU

NEWS / VIDEO: SETHOS - "Defying Unworthy Deity", (Bandung Black Metal), 2/3/2018.

NEWS / VIDEO: SETHOS is a Black Metal band that formed in March 2017 with Daevas; Maggot; Wawan (Gore Infamous); Faiz (ex-Stigmatuary); and Aep (Bloodgush) as the first lineup. At some point Wawan could not play in the live gigs because of work commitments, and they are being helped by Babay (Moredead, Jarah) as additional live member. They made their first promo Invisible Divinity and only made 24 CD copies. After the release of the promo the band Sethos almost split up, leaving only Daevas and Maggot. Despite only two members remaining, they are still active and are helped by additional musicians for their live performance. In 2018 Sethos will release one single called "Defying Unworthy Deity" that they will share for free on Internet. The band plays in the melodic Black and Roll style of Watain and new Satyricon. Highly recommended [by Jack Frost based on news provided by Maggot of Sethos band, 5 March 2018] 

Video-clip: 'Defying Unworthy Deity'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjoLj9aTiTg

Website: 
https://www.facebook.com/sethosofficial/

NEWS / VIDEO: CANNIBAL CORPSE announces new 14th studio album "Red Before Black", 7/9/2017

NEWS: New Cannibal Corpse artwork revealed!! 

Release date: 3rd November 2017 on Metal Blade Records

"Red Before Black" track listing:

01. Only One Will Die

02. Red Before Black

03. Code Of The Slashers

04. Shedding My Human Skin

05. Remaimed

06. Firestorm Vengeance

07. Heads Shoveled Off

08. Corpus Delicti

09. Scavenger Consuming Death

10. In The Midst Of Ruin

11. Destroyed Without A Trace

12. Hideous Ichor

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/cannibal-corpse-to-release-red-before-black-album-in-november-track-listing-artwork-unveiled/

Official Video, "Code of the Slashers", released 19 September 2017:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afrGiaxOorc&list=PLVhA0I5tV4RrXGguRjdmCNcpaPsKxYQVt&index=1

TRIBUTE: The Lights Go Down on Upton Park, Tribute to Micky Fitz, The Business, died 1/12/16

Nothing is more English than The Business and pub fish and chips and a pint of beer. This pub is in Greenwich Village, New York City. The CD is from Generation Records (*punk / metal / hardcore).

OI punk began as a genre in the early-1980s when East London bands The Business, Cock Sparrer, Cockney Rejects, and 4-Skins started writing about football casuals culture and their love for West Ham United. These were the days when the football hooligan casuals culture was at its peak with football firms up and down the length of Great Britain causing mayhem and destruction. In the UK you had Millwall Bushwackers, Portsmouth's 6.57 Crew, West Ham United's Inter-City FIrm, Chelsea Headhunters, Hull City Psychos, and many others. In Scotland you had Inter-City Firm (Rangers), Celtic Soccer Crew, Aberdeen Soccer Casuals, Capital City Service (Hibs), Motherwell Saturday Service, Dundee Utility (supporting both Dundee and Dundee United) and even small clubs like Airdrie had their own firms (Section B at Airdrie for example). 

The OI punk bands were the first to connect with and appropriate casuals hooligan culture. Early classic OI songs include: "OI OI OI", "West Side Boys", "War on the Terraces" and "We are the Firm" by Cockney Rejects; "Trouble on the Terraces" and "England Belongs To Me"  by Cock Sparrer; "Saturday's Heroes" and "Harry May" by The Business; and "Chaos" and "Waiting for a Friend" by 4-Skins. OI punk avoided the hardcore shouting style adopted by The Exploited and GBH and others in the 1980s. Instead it kept the melody and clean singing of the original punks Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Damned. OI punk was also important for uniting punk culture and skinhead culture. 

The Business was formed in 1979 by school friends Steven ('Steve') Kent (guitar); Michael Fitzsimons ('Micky Fitz') (vocals); Nicholas ('Nick') Cunningham (drums); and Martin Smith (bass). Even though The Business were from Lewisham, South London they supported West Ham rather than Millwall.

On 1st December 2016 The Business vocalist Micky Fitz passed away from cancer. His cockney East London snarl, sounding so similar to Colin McFaul from Cock Sparrer, and sarcastic politically- and socially-aware lyrics were one of the voices of OI from the early days up until now. He had a good melodic voice too on excellent, more mature work such as "Coventry" and the Welcome to the Real World album (1988). He will be sadly missed. The OI tradition continues through bands such as Booze & Glory; The Skinflicks; Discharger; Evil Conduct; and the excellent Prague band SAINTS'N'SINNERS. Old legends Cockney Rejects showed their continued relevance with the excellent and very moving new single and video-clip "Goodbye Upton Park" released on 11 April 2016 which is about West Ham United's permanent move from Upton Park to the London Olympic Stadium for the 2016-2017 season [by Kieran James, 6 January 2017].

The Business - Studio albums

Title	Year	Label
Suburban Rebels	1983	Secret Records
Saturday's Heroes	1985	Harry May
Welcome To The Real World	1988	Link
Keep The Faith	1994	Century Media
The Truth, The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth	1997	Taang! Records
No Mercy For You	2001	Burning Heart Records

The bUsiness - Singles/EPs

Title	Year	Label	Notes
"Harry May"	1981	Secret	Charted #13
Smash the Discos EP	1982	Secret	Charted #3
"Out of Business"	1983	Secret	(withdrawn)
"Get Out of My House"	1985	Wonderful World
"Drinking and Driving"	1985	Diamond	Charted #27
"Do a Runner"	1988	Link
"Anywhere But Here"	1994	Walzwerk
"Death II Dance"	1996	Taang!
"One Common Voice"	1997	Taang!
"Hell 2 Pay"	2002	TKO Records
Mean Girl EP	2008	Bad Dog
Back In The Day EP	2014	Sailor's Grave

Classic OI tunes (my picks):

1 Cockney Rejects, OI OI OI"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWLU76o5rEI

2 4-Skins "Chaos"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT6kFXbbApE

3 The Business, Saturday's Heroes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHDIpJiVNj0

4 The Business, Saturday's Heroes full album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOVon59IZKk

5 The Business, Coventry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eBeGyMPm2E

New OI Tunes (my picks):

1 Skinflicks, Kings Without a Crown

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxFBoiZZBJA

2 Saints'N'Sinners (Prague) - Skinhead 4 Life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxFBoiZZBJA

3 Booze & Glory - London Skinhead Crew

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY4pZlP6YtE

4 Saints'N'Sinners - Keep Hold

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oenSvM3z-kQ

5 Cockney Rejects - Goodbye Upton Park (11 April 2016)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAsyGA5-a-g

6 Cockney Rejects (live) - I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles, 
Upton Park farewell, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu1YjJORuCI

NEWS / VIDEO: Vocalist Jalon McKinnon releases new song "Nightmare" (Toowoomba, Australia metalcore)

A SLOW DESCENT - metalcore band from Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. Jalon McKinnon (vocalist) is second from left. His new project FOR SARAH'S EYES has a new song out "Nightmare" and a forthcoming EP.

NEWS / VIDEO: Vocalist Jalon McKinnon (DEAD EYES / A SLOW DESCENT) releases new song "Nightmare" (Toowoomba, Australia metalcore). This song is by Jalon's new project band FOR SARAH'S EYES which will be releasing a new six-song EP soon. The song is a powerful mix of angry vocals rising up to a natural crescendo by the end held together and interplaying nicely with some quietish but hypnotic musical backing. Jalon told me that the new EP will have six songs plus one cover song and the planned release date is around November 2016. I first met Jalon when we used to drink together at the Norville Hotel, Toowoomba in early 2012 and late 2013. Rest in Peace to our mutual friend Warren from those days. Best wishes to Jalon for his new project [by Kieran James].

OFFICIAL VIDEO "Nightmare":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTm6CUEQ89c

FOR SARAH'S EYES Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/For-Sarahs-eyes-368120239995579/?pnref=story

Norville Hotel on Russell Street, Toowoomba, Australia looking east.

Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia (population 100,000)

Toowoomba, Australia metalcore vocalist Jalon McKinnon (DEAD EYES / A SLOW DESCENT / FOR SARAH'S EYES)

NEW INTERVIEW: Our first interview with FLESH DIVINE (Jogjakarta Death Metal) (Indonesian)

FLESH DIVINE band - Progressive Death metal with symphonic influences from Jogjakarta.

Members: Nisia - Guitar (Lead); Mega - Guitar (Rytm); Haris - Vokal; Ridha - Drum; Riyan - Bass.

FLESH DIVINE band released its first promo demo on 29 April 2016 limited to 50 copies. Track listing: 1. Unleash the Fire, 2. Circle of Black Thrones.

Kieran James1: Hai, bisakah kamu menceritakan sejarah awal terbentuknya band kalian hingga sekarang?

Flesh Divine band (Jogjakarta)1. Kita berawal dari teman satu sekolah Sekolah Menengah Atas pada tahun 2010, awal mula dibentuk 3 orang, Fagot pada Bass dan Vokal, Nisia pada gitar, dan Ridha pada Drum dan Backing Vokal, beraliran progressive rock dengan nama Second Voice. selama 4 tahun, kami bermusik banyak mengalami perubahan aliran, awal tahun 2014 kami mengajak Ega(adik laki-laki nisia) untuk mengisi gitar 2, pada bulan Maret 2014, bertemu dengan teman lama kami Haris (Ex-Vokal Rosok Besi), sejak itu nama Flesh Divine lahir dengan aliran Death Metal, Flesh Divine memiliki 2 lagu yang berjudul (unleash the fire dan circle of black throne), karena Nisia mempunyai sebuah grup orkestra, kami memasukkan unsur Symphonic ke dalam musik ke 2 lagu itu. 2 tahun berproses, kami menetapkan aliran Band ini menjadi Progressive Sym. Death Metal. Pada 2016 kami rilis demo.

KJ2: Bagaimana respon orang-orang dengan mini album/album/demo band Kamu? 
2. Respon dari orang-orang sangatlah bagus, terutama dari teman-teman komunitas sangat mendukung perilisan demo kami.

KJ3: Band apa yang paling berpengaruh bagi Kalian dalam bermain musik? 
3. Band yang paling berpengaruh adalah Flesh God Apocalypse, Obscura, Necropaghist, Opeth, Rush, Dream Theater. 

KJ4: Apa rencana kedepan kalian bersama band? 
4. Rencana untuk jangka pendek yaitu menyelesaikan album pertama, untuk jangka panjang kami akan tetap terus berkarya untuk masyarakat luas, terutama di Indonesia.

KJ5: Apakah lagu-lagu yang kalian buat menggunakan Bahasa Inggris dan Indonesia. 
5. Lagu-lagu menggunakan bahasa Inggris.

KJ6: Apa yang kalian ceritakan dalam lirik-lirik yang kalian buat? 
6. Konspirasi, Perang, Filosofi. 

KJ7: Mengapa kalian semua suka memainkan musik death-metal? 
7. Bagi kami musik death metal sangat menyenangkan, menantang, emosional, dan apa yang kita pikirkan dapat tersalurkan di musik ini. 

KJ8: Kapan pertama kali kamu menjadi fans band metal? 
8. Kami menyukai musik Death Metal sejak menginjak Sekolah Menengah Atas. 

KJ9: Apa yang Kamu katakan kepada orang-orang yang bertanya mengapa Kamu memainkan musik bergaya barat? 
9. Kami memainkan musik bergaya barat karena sejak Sekolah atas mempelajari musik barat (musik klasik).

KJ10: Apakah para istri dan kekasih para personil kalian mendukung apa yang kalian kerjakan? 
10. Istri/pacar kami mendukung sepenuhnya. 

KJ11: Apakah hal-hal yang terbaik dan terburuk tentang komunitas di kota kalian? 
11. Hal terbaik dari komunitas di kota kami sangat solid, saling membantu dan memberi masukan, hal terburuk belum ada hal yang menurut kami buruk. 

KJ12: Rencana apa yang kalian buat bersama band untuk kedepannya? 
12. Untuk ke depan kami berencana tour Asia. 

KJ13: Di acara apa kalian merasakan, itu stage yang berkesan? 
13. Acara yang paling berkesan dalam acara Never Ending Nightmare (acara komimitas di kota kami) 

KJ14: Ada pesan untuk kawan kawan? 
14. Dengarkan apresiasi Musik Metal Indonesia.

KJ15: OK, terima kasih banyak.
15. Terimakasih.

Official Band Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Flesh-Divine-Official-672350499479975/?fref=ts

Free Song Online:

Circle of Black Thrones (instrumental)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRdjlGg9y68 

Total Annihilation (live)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb9QQRXQnuw