INFOS : webzine@femmemetalwebzine.net

Webzine dedicated to the metal band fronted by girls. We also like ambient,darkwave,rock & electronic music.

Femme Metal Webzine
posted 3 months ago

While we wait to REVIEW her latest album “The Underliving” we propose you the debut album “Ancient Shadows – The Ghost and the Fairy” by Spanish Dark Ethereal Ambient artist (she’s also a gothic illustrator) Priscilla Hernandez. A true deal if you love fairy-ish and magic atmospheres - just read a few lines from Luisa’s review : “Her sweet vocals play on electronic and piano soundscapes, creating a relaxing, chilling atmosphere. Some melancholia may appear here and there as in “Ancient Shadow” or “I Steal the Leaves” which is my personal favorite on the album”. Do you fancy some ambient music? Check this TOP REVIEW (rated 90 OUT OF 100) in the link below 

(via Priscilla Hernandez – “Ancient Shadows – The Ghost and the Fairy” (2006) « Femme Metal Webzine)

posted 3 months ago

Dear fans and followers, I’m proud to pay homage to one of the rarest TRUE artist that lately I’ve discovered (thanks to my dear editor Luisa) and enjoyed a lot. I haven’t the right words to define her musical offer but I can tell you is that UK singer-songwriter Phildel with this few songs she will able to mesmerize you with her poetry and imaginery. This EP is only an appetizer of her upcoming album “Disappearance of the Girl” due on 11 March 2013 via Decca Records UK. Do you love alternative acts and true, dedicated artist? Please check Phildel’s reviews in the following link

(via Phildel – EP (2013) « Femme Metal Webzine)

posted 9 months ago

Interview by Miriam C.


This time I’ve sit down with miss Autumn for drink  a (virtual) tea, jokes aside, I have had the honour to speak with the last eclectic genious of our century. Ok, sound tacky and not true but it’s really what I think and you know that I always try to be sincere with you all, dear readers. Eclectic because she’s the true tightrope walker of the arts, she can switch from music to writing a glimpse of an eye. Genious, sorry but I really need to explain why? Now prefere sitting in the corner and leave to her the word. For such person you have only to learn to fight and never surrender. Emilie is a true life’s inspiration.

Hi Emilie first of all thanks so much for accepting this interview, I’m really honoured. I hope everything is going will with your American tour!

Hello, it’s my absolute pleasure to sit down for tea with you today.

I’m gonna starting, before all, asking your about your book (that’s already at 3rd edition, congratulations!) “The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls” that finally is out (again) to buy on your official shop, what details can you share about its genesis and the plot?

Thank you very much, that’s very kind! Yes, the book continues to do very well and I am so grateful that so many people find this a story worth reading and making a part of their lives. It’s truly incredible to me, since it is released independently and is only available in one place – my shop website (www.asylumemporium.com). For those who don’t already know the story, this book is my autobiography of my time spent imprisoned in a mental hospital, but nothing is exactly what it seems, and the story quickly becomes a sort of fantasy, time travel, adventure, mystery novel that is actually quite a lot of fun to read. It is this story that’s behind everything I do, from the music to the stage show, and this book has become the “Harry Potter” to the Plague Rats (the name for my audience) — the bible of this whole Asylum world that my art and life takes place within.

Emilie, your musical training lies in the classical music. How are you able to merge your classical side with the “industrial” one?

Once one stops thinking of music as being divided up into individual categories, each appealing to only one individual audience and begins thinking of it as just being a collection of sounds that blend well to accomplish an emotional purpose and tell a story, then it all becomes so much easier. Throughout the history of art, the way any new art form has evolved is that somebody put together things that traditionally didn’t fit and simply made them fit until they seemed natural.

Despite being an artist, performer, writer - you’re also a fashion designer. Congratulations for your dresses, I really love them. From where you take your inspiration and you never thought to create a dressing line for debut in such fashion events like Milan, Paris & New York?

Thank you so much for the compliment! The inspiration behind all of our costumes on stage is really quite simple, in that, just like the music, it’s a blend of the old and the new, and then some fun fantasy bits that don’t belong in any particular period but the imagination. Now that we have entered into a new era of performance with the “Fight Like A Girl” album and tour, I’m enjoying the new tribal elements, the warrior elements, the mohawk hairstyles and the bits of armor I am working today to incorporate. I’ve been sewing the new costumes before talking to you, and will get right back to work at it afterwards.

Now let’s pass again into the musical side, on 2010 thru Twitter you have unleashed the title of your forthcoming album “Fight Like a Girl”. It’s really a strong title, what you can unveil about its creation?

The title of the album is meant to inspire a very strong reaction, and it does so because, even in this modern day in 2012, the phrase “you fight like a girl” is still used as an insult to boys, and to ridicule girls, and for absolutely no logical reason other than the misogyny that still infects our globally patriarchal culture. So, to those who are evolved and honor the feminine and are aware of her innate power, the title will immediately seems like a very positive thing, while to others who were taught that to do anything “like a girl” was a bad thing, the title will be more challenging, but this too is good. Art is about changing the way people think – not making people comfortable with what they already think.

I got really impressed by the statement that you have released for the PRs about F.L.A.G that says : “This record is my soundtrack. Of course, there’s an overriding story arc. It’s a social critique of the mental healthcare system spanning from the 19th century all the way up to the present, as well as the inequality women still face worldwide, whether they’re crazy or not. I’m drawing upon my own personal experience as a notoriously bi-polar person who has been committed and lived to tell the tale. Hopefully, my story will give strength to those who need it, and raise a little awareness.” - Did you have done some historic research for write down your lyrics? Also I would like to now if do you have a personal heroine that inspired you. Or you consider yourself the only and ultimate inspiration?

My great passion is history, and so, because it is what I love, I’ve done a whole lifetime of historical research, and will continue to do so, because it is what I study constantly. I certainly wouldn’t feel I had any right to speak about things like gender issues or the treatment of mental illness if I hadn’t the historical knowledge to back it up, and, also, it is by looking at the past that we discover how we became who we are and see where we can go in the future. There are so many strong women throughout history that I thank and am inspired by, from ancient rulers to early feminists, but I am even more inspired simply by the women I know, those around me, especially my Bloody Crumpets, Veronica, Contessa and Captain Maggots. These three ladies are the strongest, bravest, most talented and inwardly beautiful women I have ever known, and they inspire me every day.

Reading here and there I’ve knowledged that a Broadway musical taken from your “The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls” book is taking life. Have you any details that you can share?

I am very happy to be able to finally announce that Darren Lynn Bousman has officially accepted the role of director of the musical, so, between him and myself, this will definitely be a musical like no one has ever seen.

Also you have managed to put up your own imprint, how’s it to be the enterpreneur of yourself? And why going solo? I mean your were onto Trisol, one of the best industrial label that I know. No more faith in the record companies?

Ha, yes! Definitely no more faith in record companies. None. I’ve been burned too many times, and have been stolen from, and have lost too much money that could have gone into my show or my work. All of my music and books from this point on will be under the label of The Asylum Emporium.

What you can tell me about Darren Lynn Bousman and Terrance Zdunich’s upcoming project “Devil’s Carnival”. How you got in touch with the creators of the show and how happened to get involved into this project too?

They got in touch with me, actually. About a year and a half ago, I was on tour, and Melissa, my excellent manager, was contacted by Darren about this project. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know about Darren and Terrance, I hadn’t seen the “Saw” films (even though I do have some songs on their soundtracks), and I hadn’t yet seen “REPO! The Genetic Opera”, so I didn’t know what to think, but something about the very passionate way Darren talked about this project made me curious to know more. I very quickly became close friends with both Terrance and Darren, and, before I knew it, I was a part of this carnival family, and acting and singing in this magical, amazing film project with so many other wonderful actors and performers. I’m very proud to be a part of this film, and the best part is that we are soon going to begin filming for Episode 2!

The majority of people that listen music recognize that classical music as an elitist music. From your own side, do you think that with your music are you helping to “unhinge” such prejudice?

I really do feel that way, and I’m so glad and grateful to be in the position to encourage people, especially young people, to feel differently about something I hold so dearly. But the magical thing is that I don’t really have to do anything other than make the music I make and let people come up with their own descriptions of it, or put it in their own categories. Those that enjoy my music, either the songs with vocals as well as classical elements, or simply my classical violin recordings, like it because they like it. And they often find that they love classical music, and even end up learning classical instruments, like the violin, because they want to celebrate and be a part of that kind of music and the joy it gives. But it’s a very honest, non-judgmental approach. I’m not telling people they should like any particular thing, and so, when they do, it is very sincere, and they don’t even know that they “aren’t supposed to” like it.

What will be the difference between the “The Door Tour” and the upcoming “The Fight Like a Girl Fall Tour”, what will change in matter of dresses, scenography and set list? Also all your female companions like Veronica Varlow & Co. are confirmed for the shows?

Yes, Naughty Veronica, The Blessed Contessa and Captain Maggots will all be joining me onstage. They are such a beloved part of this show to our audiences that I think there would be a riot of some sort if they weren’t there! As I said before regarding the new costumes, we are definitely incorporating more of a tribal warrior element into both our look and performance, even the choreography. This next chapter is all about the war for freedom that takes place within the Asylum and the journey that we go from victim to victor. We want to take our audience on that journey with us.

What your next projects? - Including that fact that you have a lot on your plate, talking about the Broadway show, the film, a new book (a bird says me, right?) and new album to promote - what willbe your priorities here?

At this moment, the tour is the priority, but after that, my next two years will be spent mainly on the composition and creation of the Broadway musical based on the “Asylum…” book. It is an epic project that will take so much, but I think it will also be my greatest offering, and so I am willing to give it everything I have.

Emilie, thanks really so much to spend your time for checkout this humble questions that I’ve proposed to you, I hoped you have had fun replying in it. Feel free to greet our readers and your Plague Rats as you want. Thanks again!

Miriam, thank you so very much for your time and your great questions! And to all my dear Plague Rats, raise your paws and bare your claws, because we’re coming for you and it’s time to fight!

Links

MySpace * Facebook * Twitter * Site

posted 9 months ago

Gig Review & Photos by Erwin van Dijk


Epica has released their new album and this evening is more or less the release party. And because Epica is sponsored by Jägermeister the first 200 visitors will get an Epic USB stick full of exclusive, rare and previously unreleased Epica stuff. Also, the band will play the entire “Design Your Universe” album at this gig. Like Kamelot and Megadeth last year the venue was indeed sold out and this resulted once again in a queue from the doors of the Paradiso to the Leidseplein (Leiden Square) The last time for me at the Paradiso was for CHIC and Jello Biafra. Jello Biafra is the legendary singer of the Dead Kennedys and CHIC is a funk/disco/rock band from the seventies. Two cool bands but the opposite of Epica so to say. This was the second time for Epica at the Paradiso. The first time was supposed to be released on DVD but all we got was a book: “The Road to Paradiso”. This was years ago and the band has grown since then. Kingfisher Sky is a nice band who had the honour to be the opener tonight. Every band in Holland will sell thesouls to the devil to do a Paradiso gig so this was for Kingfisher Sky the opportunity of a life time. The Paradiso might be one of the most prestigious venues in the Netherlands, it does not have the biggest stage and with seven band members and your own drum kit and keyboards next to all the gear Epica uses the stage was very cramped. But Kingfisher Sky managed to squeeze six songs in the little time they had. Kingfisher Sky had barely 30 minutes. To save the Polar bears there was no light on stage - good for environment but not for us. But there were no budget cuts concerning the use of smoke machines and this gave the gig a mysterious feeling which suited the music. Kingfisher did a good gig but personally I would not be in their shoes this night. Epica is way out of their league and even a band like Within Temptation should be worried right now with this new incarnation of Epica. In short, Kingfisher Sky is an ‘art house movie’ while Epica is popcorn entertainment for the masses.

Maaike, who plays the cello said about this gig: “Supporting Epica in a Sold Out Paradiso really was one of the best things happening in 2009, we had a blast and in our opinion it was over far too soon. Thanks Epica and Epica Fans”. From the first notes it was clear that this gig would contain the usual ingredients: smoke pillars, firework, flamethrowers, etc - enough to start World War III Visually it was a very entertaining show to see but, more important, the songs from Epica’s latest album are strong enough to keep their own against all that visual violence. Not many bands dare to play their entire album live (and if they do, like Iron Maiden, there is a lot of critic and / or negative response) but Epica got away with it. And Medusa, who the true Epica fans will remember from the 2008 autumn gigs, says : “We had a great time, it was very crowded and hot, but of course we added some heath as well :)”. Medusa would also show up at Metal Female Voices Fest, together with Floor Jansen. Like Jello Biafra a month earlier Mark did a crowd surf but while Jello did the full round from stage to bar and back again Mark vanished somewhere midway into the crowd. And the Jägermeister girls also had a small appearance on stage with an air pressure cannon designed to shoot t shirts into the audience. Funny enough a lot of those shirts ended up on stage again. Poor marksmanship I guess. A word about the album: Like the latest Leaves’Eyes I would say it is a save buy for the fans. It has all the ingredients for an Epica album and the fresh blood from the God Dethroned boys makes it more metal. Epica did not reinvent themselves with this album. They took the best parts of their music and improved them even more. And, if I am really honest, this gig was better than the one at Metal Female Voices Fest.

Links

Epica : MySpace * ReverbNation * Facebook * Twitter * Site

Kingfisher Sky : MySpace * Facebook * Twitter Site

posted 9 months ago

Interview by Robin Stryker


Femme Metal chats with Edera, vocalist and lyricst for Italian metal/rock band Domina Noctis, about their sophomore release “Second Rose”. Read on to learn what the moon, Cher, poetry and a love of contradictions have in common.

Hi Edera, please tell us about the newest release from Domina Noctis, “Second Rose”.

I would define “Second Rose” a melodic rock album a twist of electronic sound and some metal grooves. For us, this album is a sum of all our influences, from dark/pop/rock music of the 80’s and early 90’s, to metal; we’re definitely inspired by Paradise Lost and Katatonia just to name a few.

The ten-track album includes covers of two iconic songs, “Because the Night” (Patti Smith - 1978) and “Bang Bang” (Cher - 1966). Why record covers, and why these particular songs?

We love to find some covers that fit to our sound. Covers are an incredible source of inspiration and we always learn a lot more about music every time we play a cover. We all in the band are huge listeners of music of any kind! That’s why our covers are from different scenes and years.

Which songs have the most personal meaning for you?

“Exile” is definitely the song that moves me everytime I listen to it! It’s a song about those times in life when you’re feeling fragile, like you need to heal some wounds, so you need to be alone and you feel comfortable like that, but you also need a lot of patience from the people you love, to gather some force inside and the be born again. It’s a message of hope.

How has Domina Noctis’s music evolved in the three years since releasing your first full-length album, “Nocturnalight”?

When we recorded “Nocturnalight” the songs included in the album were sounding “old” yet for us because the whole recording/mixing process lasted 1 year and of course the style and sound of a band evolves in 1 year. Recordings are a true “gym” for a band and for each member. You learn a lot, and hopefully, you improve. So, during the promotion of “Nocturnalight” we were still playing live some of the songs that have been included in “Second Rose”, as we couldn’t wait to have a feedback about them. “Second Rose” is a rock album, we focused on the structure of the songs and on the arrangements, with the precious help of our producer Cristiano Santini from Black Fading (our label). We wanted the songs to sound solid yet full of emotion, rock and melodic, dark yet full of light too, because we are like that, we have both sides.

Can we expect a third album? If so, where are you in the process of writing and recording it?

We started to write new stuff during the recordings of “Second Rose”, we’re now working a lot on the new songs and we love them!

Please introduce the other four members of Domina Noctis.

Asher plays guitar and composes most of the music; Azog plays bass; Ruyen plays synth & piano; Niko plays drums.

Are you or any of your bandmates involved with other bands or side-projects?

Asher plays drums in Forgotten Tomb and in Whiskey Ritual and Azog often plays as a live sessionist for Whiskey Ritual; Niko plays drums in the band Noctiluca. Ruyen is currently working on some compositions and he’s planning to record a promo cd very soon for his new side project. And about me, I’m working on an acoustic live set project along with Azog and Ruyen, way too soon to say more anyway.

In addition to being a musician, you are also a photographer and graphic artist. Have you been able to use your talents as a visual artist with Domina Noctis?

Well I guess I have the bad habit of doing too many things! I love to “move” through different art “levels”… I’ve been creating the artwork of all our CDs, band merchandise and band logo too. I like to express the same concept through music and through visual arts too, and I had the chance to do so during the creation of “Second Rose” CD layout, digitally working on a self-portrait I took some years ago.

References to the moon appear in the band’s former name -The Moontower- and current name (Latin for the moon), the title of your first album, song lyrics and your artwork. Does the moon have special significance for you?

We feel very attracted by the moon, a sacred symbol that reminds of feminine, poetry, night… I think we’re definitely “moon worshipers”!

The phrase, “I love my contradictions”, is intriguing. What does it mean?

I know it may seem just a contradiction itself! Okay, maybe it’s just insane, or maybe not, but anyway I believe that sometimes we should learn to love ourselves as we are, in our complexity, trying to understand that we’re made of many shades, white, black, and many tones of grey. It’s such a revelation when we finally are able to accept these apparent contradictions, only when we’re able to say “I have white parts and black parts and grey parts because that’s what I am, that’s human” and then we start to love those different parts.

If I understand correctly, you write the lyrics for all the songs and Asher writes the music. How does this collaborative songwriting process work? Lyrics first and then music, or vice versa?

Usually, Asher composes some riffs, he tells about his ideas and all together we have a session in the rehearsal room. During this session I try to sing whatever it comes to my mind, and write down a draft of the lyrics. Then, as soon as the melody takes shape, I work more specifically on the concept, to make melody and words fit together. Then we always work together on the song structure and on the arrangements. I have to say that in some of our latest compositions we tried to work in the opposite way: I’ve been singing a melody, and after the guys worked on the arrangement of the song.

Asher and you have been musical partners since Domina Noctis began a decade ago, yet your musical influences (and perhaps even taste) seem worlds apart. Does this ever create conflict, or does it make life more interesting?

Asher and I have different yet similar taste as music listeners, for instance there is a lot of music that we both love, yet sometimes for different reasons. As composers we are really lucky because we both have a precise idea about how our songs have to sound like, and this idea has been evolving through the past 10 years, but I can say it has been a co-evolution for sure, because we rarely “argue” about songs! We always try to make the song to sound in a way that pleases both of us.

Congratulations on having your poems published in the anthology, “Carmen Nocturna”. In what ways are writing lyrics and poetry similar or different?

Thank you! I had the chance to gather some of my poems in this little book “Carmen Nocturna” and I was really happy about that. I really love “minimal” poetry, I usually write really short poems. Writing lyrics and writing poems are two really different things to me. When I write lyrics, I always write words and melodies together. It’s very hard to tell what I feel inside, but it’s like specific words in my mind need a melody, and the melody needs some specific words, and suddenly they find each other fitting. I love this mysterious process.

Many years ago, you said that Domina Noctis probably would not perform songs in Italian. Now that you’ve written poems in Italian and been a guest vocalist on In Tormentata Quiete’s new album, has your opinion changed?

My collaboration with In Tormentata Quiete has been a beautiful, inspiring and really interesting experience for me: to sing in Italian was a new challenge and the songs were really beautiful. Still, I’m not convinced about writing my own lyrics in Italian, I’m not sure that our language would fit to the sound of Domina Noctis. Anyway, maybe we’re going to make some experiments. Who knows?

How did your collaborations with In Tormentata Quiete, Kalevala and Dark Princess come about?

I’ve got in touch with Antonio Ricco, composer of In Tormentata Quiete, many years ago via email, and we traded our demo CDs. After a long time, we got in touch again and he asked me to sing some songs in their album. I was really happy to have the chance to make this collaboration, I love to try and express myself in different ways, and as I said it was a great experience. Kalevala is a folk metal band from our city, the band members are all friends of ours and I had the chance to play with them as a guest in some acoustic set concerts. I love their sound and folk music in general, and I hope to have the chance to sing again in the future with the band. About Dark Princess, after the reprint of “Nocturnalight” in Russia, we got in touch with the label of this band and they asked us to have a mini tour with them in Russia. It was a great experience for all of us, it was really great.

Italy is home to many exciting new female-fronted bands from every subgenre of metal — Elegy of Madness, Exilia, Winter Haze, Lunacy Box and Raving Season, to name just a few. Has the metal scene changed for the better? Do you think female musicians face different challenges than all-male bands?

Good bands are so many and female fronted are more! Sure, there are many challenges that a female fronted band have to face, like defying the commonplaces, like easy comparisons to famous female fronted bands, and for what concerns Domina Noctis, trying to break the cliché that female vocals + distorted guitar is gothic metal. I can’t stand this pointless reasoning, but anyway there’s a lot of people who don’t care about this stuff, and we’re glad to have those people as followers!

We’ve talked a lot about Domina Noctis and other artistic pursuits. What is your favourite way to just kick back and relax?

When I need some relax, I often watch a movie along with my boyfriend Ruyen, on the couch! I love cooking too, I find it really relaxing (when I’m not in a hurry)!

Thank you taking the time to chat with us today. Any last words for your fans?

We’re focused on the composition process right now and we’d like to make some prerecordings as soon as possible to work better on the arrangements of the songs. Anything more than this will be appreciated!

What are Domina Noctis’s plans for 2010?

Thank you very much Robin for this nice chatting, I’d like to invite all our followers to join our newsletter on www.dominanoctis.it and to take a look to the following links (please add us to your friends list!). Thank you for the support! Horns up! Stay free!

Links

MySpace * Facebook * Twitter * Site

posted 11 months ago

 

 Interview by Robin Stryker


As Halloween creeps closer on stealthy black-cat feet, my musical taste shifts gears towards darker fare, and you can’t get much darker than “A New Dawn…”, the sophomore album by German doom blues/dark rock band, Reactive Black. It’s like a triple-shot of espresso… dark and delicious but the bitter after-taste lingers. Femme Metal caught up with Sassy Skeleton and Rotten, the masterminds behind Reactive Black for a shockingly candid discussion about their music and their views on politics and religion. Read on, if you dare.

Hello Sassy and Rotten and welcome to Femme Metal webzine! We are looking forward to learning all about your band, Reactive Black.
Sassy/Rotten: Hey Robin! Thank you for your welcome! 

If you don’t mind doing a little memory test, let’s go back in time.Would you tell us about the first time you met and your first impressions of each other?
Sassy: The first time that we met was in Rotten’s recording-studio, where we later did the rehearsals for a coming tour through Eastern Europe with a band I was involved as guest musicians. I don’t know exactly when it was, someday in spring 2005 or so… He opened the door and welcomed me with the words: “Hey, welcome! Want a beer?”. This sounded VERY cool to me and was quite different from people I made music with before. So, what should I say…from the beginning there was no real distance between us, like in other bands before.You know, sometimes it’s hard to be a woman…;-)

Rotten: LOL…I remember that day, Sassy went to the studio by her motorbike. My first impression of her was that she was self confident between a horde of “fucked up” musicians, LOL…what else should I say to her, than: “beer?” ;-) Sassy was different than other female singers with all of her behaviour, not like a chick or whatever… The first time hearing her voice was impressive for me, because it was remarkable.
Sassy: >smile<…Rotten was very directly with his way, he was not colouring something …. and later, when we have been already on tour, I understood, Rotten was also a guest musician like me, too. We never talked about being a guest musician, so we couldn’t know this about each other, strange. But then, one day, right in the middle of the Carpathian Mountains….

Rotten: Transylvania…spooky….
Sassy: Yes indeed…;-) spooky…..Right there, we talked about music itself, our influences, our idols, our way of life etc….and found out, this was close to each other. So we decided to write some songs together after finishing the tour, which went really great by the way. So, back in Germany, we worked at the beginning on ideas via e-mail over more than 300 km and sporadically meeting.This was not very satisfying. Later Rotten moved to Hamburg and since this time, working together is much easier…;-)

You both were in bands before forming Reactive Black. When you first met, what projects were you involved in?

Sassy: There were some projects and former bands where I’ve been involved in as a singer, mostly in Gothic Metal bands, sometimes with German lyrics ;-) These formations represented often the style of a “beauty and beast” image — but over the years, I found out, this kind of singing was not my way, I’m no dark princess or opera singer. This role is definitely too feminine for me, I cannot identify myself with this. So I decided to find or build up a project where I could express myself more than before with my kind of vocal timbre. Before I did the guest musician thing, I was part of another gothic music project which was more experimental and electronic.I was more able to bring in my darkened voice or my kind of singing, but…..how things go, there have been the so called personal differences, lol, etc…another reason for going on tour, to get new influences is always better than standing still. Then I met Rotten, we built up Reactive Black, and well…the rest is fucking history.. ;-)
Rotten: Nearly the same here…many bands and several outputs…from old days Punk bands, via Power and Glory Metal, Oi to Black and Death Metal…but sometimes there are people in the music biz and musicians…it’s surely unbelievable…I can’t tell what I felt about them and what I felt in some bands…so shorten it up and say, I was MORE than unhappy in some of these bands, especially in the Goth Genre. Words like “hey, that’s not goth enough” and so on or just like in the Metal section “hey, that’s too dark” and this shit… Hey, come on…this is what I feel…no need to categorise or limit myself! I am how I am..not more, no less. ;-) Over the years, I learned to play the instruments for my needs on my own in order to make myself not depend to others… Ok, some instruments I do not play very well, lol, but I play them in this way, that I could let out, what I feel….sorry, now, what WE feel, LOL!!! This dependence was also the reason for me to get the skills of audio engineering etc to build up my own commercial recording studio, so that I can work however and whenever I wanted to work.So far, so good…;-) 

Considering that the two of you have essentially been the band for most of its history, what is your relationship like?
Sassy: What?! We love and hate each other quite a lot, lol! We can only work together under influence of a lot of spirits or psychoactive substances, hahaha ;-) Okay, stop joking, there was equality since we started with the project and we felt more and more like a band fitting together.

Rotten: I think, I can say, that we have respect for each other. Honesty, reliability, teamwork, that’s what it’s all about…
If you had to describe Reactive Black in five words, which would you choose?

Rotten: One word will describe all of Reactive Black’s aspects for me: BLACK!!!
Sassy: Polarising, different, emotional, darker, BLACK!!! 

I’ll go out on a limb and guess that you were not born with the names Sassy Skeleton and Rotten. Where did your nicknames come from?

Sassy: Well, Sassy is a short form or a nickname of Saskia. But we have already noticed that the term “sassy” is also a synonym for “cheeky” or “impudent”….. It is not like that, I would not be impudent in my behaviour ;-)  but it has nothing to do that, I am a “sassy skeleton” -– just a simple clarification…but the surname “Skeleton” is rather self-explanatory but it has a special meaning for me, for sure. The “skeleton” or better to say, the “bones” have always had a deeper meaning in different cultures or for some people for their own rituals to get in touch with the mystic or dark side. So I always played with this kind of statement and the English meaning too…
Rotten: In my childhood they called me Rotten, because of The Sex Pistols Johnny Rotten, it was simply a joke on names, but an honour to me…finally as a fan of the Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious was the reason for me to start playing bass guitar ;-) Puh, a long time ago…but today it is more that my name describes how I see the world…;-)  

Congratulations on releasing your second full-length album, “A New Dawn…” ! What vision did you have for this album and in which ways is it different than Reactive Black’s 2007 release, “Upcoming Evil”?
Sassy: We wanted to work out much more the musical elements that really represent us. We wanted the songs to come more directly without losing their emotions or without losing the catchiness. And sometimes it was much more about giving answers to our own questions or finding out something about ourselves ;-) We wanted to combine our aggression more with our own unique melancholic atmosphere, created by the keyboards and also with my voice. This record should more deepen the body of thoughts which already appeared on “Upcoming Evil” …. For myself, sometimes it was quite a hard time to get through, LOL, I was suffering a lot ;-), not least in cause of the outer circumstances. It was important for me to bring in more emotional feelings with the vocals….not to leave our path which we went on since the first album, and support much more our kind of dark style…. We are no happy people, so we show it on this record how we think about life and about the world outside but in the end I was glad to express my sadness, disappointments and hate on this album. So, what should I say, I think “A New Dawn…” has a special dark vibe, a sinister atmosphere…when you hear through the whole record and you are alone, you will get a bitter “aftertaste”….What I like to say is that there is no good feeling left, like a happy end …. ;-)

Rotten: The vision behind this records? Hmmmm..at least to free our minds!!! LOL!? But..uh, hard to say… for me, “A New Dawn…” grabs on some of the feelings we already started on our first record “Upcoming Evil” but we put it together with more electronic elements, without letting them take over the song. But I think these electronical influences are now definitely an elemental piece for our kind of sound and songs too. It was my wish to make the songs a little bit harder and more in the face without losing their brittleness of feelings the songs are about…and without following the cliché. So, we described our points of hate, with more aggression, our points of views and our views of the world we live in and we do not like very much…;-) and of course again we send out questions to those stupid steam followers without an own opinion or point of view…caring about nothing more than a well filled fridge. I cannot describe with words what I feel about those people…but I must say…the record describes the feelings we had during the time we did it, and yes, sometimes it was hard to get through because of the things that happened. 

Reading between the lines, it seems that the process of finishing your new album was a longer process than expected with some painful set-backs along the way.What happened?
Rotten: Damn shure!! Sometimes it was hard…the loss of good friends, even the coming and going of false friends, dramaturgies inside of my family and even the death of beloved friends during this time was hard for me. So these changes put sometimes our work on the records nearly down to zero…but then, like ever in life, we have to reflect who we are and what we wanted. We decided to reset ourselves, think about who we are, what we can do and decided to hit the way what WE considered as correctly. So, “A New Dawn…” is a very emotional thing for us.

Sassy: Sometimes it was very frustrating, thus a hard fight…against time and against unexpected circumstances…. Unfortunately we also had bad experiences with some musicians — but they were like….let’s say more than a very bad joke — shit, but sometimes you recognize things when it is already too late.You lose so much time with this bullshit, too ;-) Damn, no time to lament, sometimes, losing means winning! You never know why things sometimes happen like that…..some things you will get to know only in the end ;-) …..the end your only friend, like Morrison liked to say, lol, shows. 
Reactive Black’s lyrics explore dark themes and some rather unpleasant aspects of humanity. Are there particular issues that make you just shake your heads at the self-destructive tendencies of mankind?

Rotten: For me, it is more than just shaking my head…I have some days where I am looking out for another reason NOT to press the red button to reset the whole world without having any backup …I think humanity itself is just a mistake of gods.It is a bad virus. What did I say? Of the gods, fuck, I do not believe in any god, by the way…Religion is a very evil thing to humanity. I prefer darkness, silence and loneliness in my life. I give a fuck for what people expect me to do..I live my own life and this must not be the one of any other. So, let’s be a little bit elevated…I love the night, when everything is silent and everything is much more intensive… I am no child of the night but I like the moonlight more than the sun, coldness more than heat… So I always do not like places with many people, as well as busses or subways and so on.. I am really thinking of moving to the top of cold and freezy Norway….LOL…. I can say…some days I really hate the world….and, fuck, I feel it is like a world full of Zombies…caring about nothing more than making money or bearing down on people….so please, no more words about this…;-)
Sassy: Jep, sometimes Rotten is not able to go out and get some fresh blood, muhuhaaahaaa ;-) So, it is on me to go out for a hunt, lol. Seriously, I don’t like masses of people too and I don’t like the “rush hours” you are involved in daily…when the night begins, everything is more patient, there’s no trouble around. I can concentrate myself on the creative work. We are a kind of “night breeders”, lol. That’s right, it’s so beautiful when the moon is full and everything is quiet ;-) I’m happy to live not directly in the city of Hamburg, it’s more the “suburbia” and I be surrounded by a nature reserve. You will go crazy when you are always stuck in the crowd. Like Rotten said before, religion really sucks… like Christianity or the Islam, or Judaism or whatever….this is an instrument which lets the people be stupid to put pressure on them. The believers are forced to kill each other in the name of god — they don’t questioned it! What the fuck!?

Rotten: We do not help them to kill each other…muhuhaaa …stupid people…
Sassy: LOL…But anyway, politics sucks too, especially here in Germany but also in the rest of the world. So much corruption, megalomania, greed and exploitation. The people are always fucked by the government, which tries to persuade that we still live in a democracy and that we all have the same rights and blah blah blah ….they told us that globalization is a perfect way to be united…it’s only valuable for the big concerns and lobby groups to get much more influence in politics and society (but, what they don’t really say, is that the people lose their employment because everything is getting more and more in price dumping!)…..I hate that everything changes into stereotype masses. When you have idealistic visions ;-) and no commercial intentions then you are declared as a “crank” or “dreamer”… 

I was interested to read that the track “Taste of Paradise” was inspired by the French poet, Charles Baudelaire. Was your inspiration “The Litanies of Satan” from his Les Fleurs du Mal volume? Why does Baudelaire’s poetry appeal to you?
Sassy: Jep, I was inspired by Baudelaire’s litanies verses, they really suits me ;-) It’s because Satan is often a misunderstood character, not only in the bible, which is for me definitely NOT the book of books……he is still responsible for every kind of dark theme, for the misbehavior of mankind, for every kind of pain and so on. Let’s say, Baudelaire moved Satan and his character over into a “positive” light ;-) he described and honoured his “qualities” and did not declares them as “evil failures” like all the representatives of religion groups did before and still do. What is Satan or Lucifer…in the real meaning of the name he is the bringer of the light…so it means wisdom, placing questions as well…What’s wrong about to say “something’s going wrong here ?!” Or to put inconvenient themes into a question….When you say what you don’t like or don’t have respect for someone or something….you are a troublemaker, a “grumbler” in the view of the society…that comes along to Satan, he disagrees to “divine regulation” and therefore he was cast off by “god”. By the way, I don’t believe in that what they call “god” …For me, Baudelaire’s works/poems are offensive and provoking, they deal with unsuitable themes and social criticism, it’s about his sufferance of the world he was living in, and I think he reflects himself and his depressed soul. He represents the dark aspects of human existence. For me, I think, he was a rebel and he has chosen the way to be a writer, this was his tool to fight against the social conventions at that time.It was not a kind of worship Satan, to speak out the lyrics of the song “taste of paradise” like a sacral speech, but absolutely some kind of tribute to Satan…until now, some reviewers weren’t able to understand that the lyrics at the end of the song are spoken in reverse. They noticed it as a bad “rap” thing or something like that….I think they don’t even get it ;-)

Our thanks for donating a song to Femme Metal Records compilation, “Beauty and Brutality”. Why did you choose “Thoughts” as the song to introduce listeners to Reactive Black?
Sassy: I think this song represents our sense for darkness and melancholy. “Thoughts” is floating, has a catchy tune and has a lasting effect. The lyric deals with the expression of internal emptiness…to feel as an alien, as somewhat very strange in the midst of the society.

Saskia, in addition to being a musician, you are also a photographer and free-lance artist. Can you tell us about combining all those talents together to create the music video for “Doom”, the final track on the new album?

Sassy: Yes, that’s right. I studied  Illustration and Design here in Hamburg and after my graduation, I have lived and worked as a free-lance artist. I express myself not only by voice and by lyrics but also in a creative way in form of photographs and collages (as well as painted and drawn pictures) … it’s always some kind of dark style. I keep myself busy with dark and mystic themes, also with mythological ones and try to put them into a form by visual instruments… I really prefer to underline our statements and lyrics by art and design. I did the artwork of both booklets of our albums “Upcoming Evil” and “A New Dawn…” and I’m also responsible for the design on our website, let’s say the art direction of Reactive Black. It’s important for me and for Rotten, as well that we make the decisions and the concepts for the visual stuff of Reactive Black. So, I had the first ideas of our videoclip “Doom” — I had some aspects in my mind like the pictures with the coffin and the “dead and alive” painting on my face. Rotten and me put our ideas together ‘cause we wanted to express our morbid and dark style here in this clip too and not only in the music. You cannot divide these things, music and visual arts belong together. It’s always important for us that a video tells a story and does not show a simple or boring uniform band performance like thousands of other videos…so Rotten wrote the whole videoscript and we started with a few friends to set our visions into scene.  
Rotten, one of my favourites is the spoken-language track “Fading Away”, which is completely different than anything else that Reactive Black has done.What were you going for with this song?

Rotten: Yes, it is different.This song is a statement about Sassy’s and my life. Some days we feel like aliens on a very strange planet…so why don’t put a song into a strange and different form…I think with this instrumentation, the words on “Fading Away” have the place they already need. And thank you Sassy, you did a great job on this!!!
Sassy: I like the timbre of my voice…I tried to express it by my emotions and inner feelings although I didn’t write the lyrics of “Fading Away” but as Rotten said before, I feel in the same way about the world and the place I live in, sometimes I feel like an alien too….at least this song is a very intimate thing for us… 

You had been searching for musicians to round out the line-up for live performances. Have you found everyone you need to start performing live shows?
Rotten: There are several things that make it very hard…first of all…Hamburg is definitely NOT the place where we want to live, ‘til we are old…and is NOT the best place for goth musicians or dark rock musicians as well. This town is full of Power Metal Heads, Emos etc…but we need a musician, who is black inside and feels the music in a way we do…and lets our music grow, not stagnate. But finally we found N:H:S: for the job on the live guitar. I think, he feels the songs and the music, in a way like we do and we he has still the same influences. But also for the future, Sassy and myself will continue being the heads of Reactive Black, so a little bit different than other bands, but I think that’s no problem.

What is the current music or club-scene like in Germany?
Sassy: That’s a bad thing. It’s so frustrating when you see that most of the underground bands are playing in front of a handful of people because the clubs didn’t care to promote the events before or let the bands start playing so damned early in the evening that there is unfortunately no audience at all.We had this case two weeks ago…there was a concert with 4 bands (3 of them came from Finland) on a Saturday “night” at the Reeperbahn here in Hamburg, that’s the best day for an event like this — BUT…the first band started at 7 p.m. and the last at about 10 p.m. The room was cleared at 10:30 p.m.There were a big crowd outside of the club but nothing was going on INSIDE the club. It was more important for the club owner that the “club party” with techno or mainstream shit started right on time at 11 p.m. than to let the bands playing longer…that was a really a bad joke…

Rotten: Yes it is a bad thing…many smaller but very attractive clubs have died in the last couple of years, not to say this walked over the years. Many of today’s club owners are not experts in having a club, it is more a thing about making quick money…so they think they would do a favour for the bands to let them play live…but sometimes you have to rent the club for a lot of money…So many bands are surely not able to play live because of this costs.Today it is also common to pay for going on tour with a more established band…as well some German magazines go over, maybe because of the disastrous financial condition, to let the bands pay to for a review in their magazines…that’s fucking bullshit, isn’t it? So in a few years there will be only a handful of big festivals with the same old and sucked out bands…a very nice vision…argl! 
Thank you so much for talking with us today. Do you have any final words for your fans at Femme Metal? 

Sassy: That’s right.Thanks so much for doing the interview. So we are really pleased that we got the chance to talk to you guys at Femme Metal. Keep up the good work on supporting outstanding female fronted goth metal bands. ;-)
Rotten: Thanks you for this interview and the chance to being part of the compilation.

Rotten/Sassy: One thing left to say for our friends, thanks for reading and: STAY BLACK AND BE YOURSELF!   

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posted 1 year ago

Label : GB Sounds

Review by Tony Cannella

Mallory Switch is the oddly named band out of Italy. Their new debut full-length release is simply titled, “Mallory” and among the 10-tracks and 46-minutes worth of music featured, the band display their style of electronic beats and sounds, some rap and industrialized hard rock music, all coming together under the banner Mallory Switch. The opening track “Business Television” brings the listener into Mallory Switch’s electro-world. That is followed by the bouncy, straight-forward song with the blunt title, “You Made My Shitlist” (this is my new favorite song title, ever!). The song alternates between being aggressive and techno influenced and is one of the more memorable tracks included here. “Dirt” keeps the momentum going, with an aggressive marching riff that just pounds away all the way through. Next track, “The Last Man on Earth” really stands out, thanks to the beat that is kept. This song also features a contribution from New York City based rap artist Beans (from the group Antipop Consortium). It is an interesting collaboration and one that works great. Audrey Lynch is the vocalist and guitarist for this trio and her vocal style has an infectious charm to it that goes along great with the music that is being performed. Other favorites include: “No Evil”, “Brand New World”, “Flow” and the final track “Mother Earth”, which is followed by 3-minutes of silence and then the dreaded unnamed, surprise bonus track. While not your typical metal release, “Mallory” still features some pretty memorable moments and Mallory Switch are a band that brings something a little bit different to the table. “Mallory” is a CD that mixes different influences, styles and ingredients. It’s all a pretty potent combination. I will admit that this is not what I would normally listen to on a regular basis but the songs on “Mallory” had me interested all the way through and it is just another example of how metal can expand horizons.

Rating - 80/100

Tracklist

  1. Business Television
  2. You Made My Shitlist
  3. Dirt
  4. The Last Man on Earth
  5. No Evil
  6. Brand New World
  7. Flow
  8. Evolution Machine
  9. Mumbling My Time
  10. Mother Earth

Line Up

  • Audrey Lynch - Vocals and Guitars
  • Zach Maier - Bass, Synth, Piano
  • Kid Lynch - Drums, Samples, Programming, Background Vocals

Links

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posted 1 year ago

Label : Savage Prod/Season of Mist

Review by Tony Cannella

This compilation is put out by the French web zine Des Filles et des Riffs and issued by the label Season of Mist. Featuring 34-songs and bands and over 2-hours worth of music spread out over 2-discs “Des et des Riffs” is packed to capacity and this is only volume 1. If you love female fronted metal, than this comprehensive compilation is well worth exploring. The main style that is put on display throughout this very thorough compilation is Symphonic and Epic type of metal bands. There is so much quality music to sift through on this comp and it would be a monumental task to go through each track song-by-song. The opener is one of the more familiar numbers, “Resign to Surrender” by Dutch metal legends Epica gets the ball rolling. Kells is next with very strong “Avant Que Tu”. Mixed in amongst the Symphonic metal bands are Pin-Up Went Down, Adrana and Diablo Swing Orchestra who provides a change of pace with their unique quirkiness. November 7 is a band that I have not been familiar with and their track “Parasite” turned out to be one of my favorites. Soulmaker (“A Vide”) and To-Mera (“Mesmerized”) are two excellent bands that are represented. Some other lesser known bands like Dharma, Pythia, E-Nora, The Veil and Ozge Ozkan are quite impressive as well. Some of the highlights that can be found on disc 2 are: Dama, “Rainy Roads”, Wildpath “Dark Mass”, The Birthday Massacre “Looking Glass”, Ellyose “Theogyne” and Factory of Dreams check in with “Slow Motion World”. In short, “Des Filles et des Riffs, Vol. 1” is nirvana for any female fronted metal fan. With so much great music made available to us it is quite difficult to stay on top of everything, so it is compilations such as these that provide a great service to metal fans. Mixed in with bands that you might be familiar with are other promising bands which you may not have heard before that also might be worth exploring. In that respect, “Des Filles et des Riffs, Vol. 1” is a resounding success.

Rating - 90/100

Tracklist

CD 1

  1. Resign to Surrender – Epica
  2. Avant Que Tu – Kells
  3. Essence of I – Pin-Up Went Down
  4. Nouvelle Ere – Interria
  5. Closest To – Dharma
  6. Try – The Outburst
  7. A Vide – Soulmaker
  8. Bulimiarexia – Eths
  9. Crystal Eyes – L’endevi
  10. Tristan – Pythia
  11. Midnight Falls – E-Nora
  12. Mesmerized – To-Mera
  13. Labyrinth – The Veil
  14. Parasite – November 7
  15. Jerusalem – Atmosfairy
  16. So Alone – Iridyum
  17. My Cold One – Ozge Ozkan

CD 2

  1. Flesh Drug – Lezwieliza
  2. A Love Like Mine – Ardor
  3. Rainy Roads – Dama
  4. Dark Mass – Wildpath
  5. Theater of Pain – Auspex
  6. Secret Gathering – Adrana
  7. A Tap Dancer’s Dilemma – Diablo Swing Orchestra
  8. What A Waste – Fluxious
  9. Save Me – Process
  10. Disarmed – Alight
  11. Looking Glass – The Birthday Massacre
  12. Theogyne – Ellyose
  13. Slow Motion World – Factory of Dreams
  14. Gimme Your Gun – Akentra
  15. Blowin’ The Wind – Bel O Kan
  16. Elderberry and Lavender – Lyriel
  17. Theatre of Life – Weeping Silence

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