Affliction Gate

For whatever reason, France has always been overshadowed in the metal scene. England, Sweden, and of course the USA all have extremely well known bands, many of whom have become giants in their respective genres. But France also has a rich tradition of metal, dating back to the likes of SORTILEGE and STRATTSON, and then on to LOUDBLAST, and finally the French Black Metal Legions. So it’s really no surprise that with the recent revival of the old death metal sound, that France too has a new band playing in that style. I present to you, AFFLICTION GATE, and guitarist Grief.

Was the band formed with a love of early 90s death metal in mind, or was that just what came out of you as you started writing?

Yes, our aim with the creation of AFFLICTION GATE was to play this former traditional death metal sound as we knew it and experienced it in 1991. We are not really newcomers as you can see and I actually formed my first local death metal act back in 1993 -- I once composed the song “Our Evil Legacy” that you can find on our album during my time in this band -- so, to play in the old school vein is not something we chose by chance. It’s rather a matter of circumstances that such a band became concrete and a reality in 2006 only. Late 80’s / early 90’s death metal is the only death metal that matters to us and the quintessence of the genre.

Most of your sound comes from the European scenes. But what about the old Florida scene? Any bands from there in particular that you pull a lot of influence from? ... Acheron, perhaps?

Obviously, we can’t deny the old US Death Metal scene with bands like MASSACRE -- we cover the song “Corpsegrinder” on stage, by the way -- MANTAS / DEATH, MASTER, ACHERON or MORBID ANGEL who all had an impact on us. It’s a real honour to have Vincent Crowley to guest on our debut album, as you can imagine. The early stuffs of all those bands are immortal classics that we worship and pay tribute through our music, as we always clearly state.

To me, Herostratos' vocals also sound somewhat like those of Vince Crowley of Acheron. Do you get that comparison a lot?

Yes, some people pointed out that comparison as well and I can agree that their vocals are sounding quite close sometimes but I think there is a little difference between him and Vincent, though. I would rather see Herostratos’ vocals at a crossroad between LG Petrov, Barney and Vincent, depending of the intonations he can use to give some variations to fit the atmospheres of songs.

He's also very understandable... which was also an old school thing. Was this deliberate?

This is the vocal style that came “naturally” for Herostratos the first time we rehearsed together. AFFLICTION GATE is his very first musical experience, actually. Of course, it’s also the kind of vocals we prefer and that suits better to our music anyway. Powerful and brutal yet still audible unlike some bands that should not bother writing lyrics as their vocals are so ultra deep and low that it becomes so ridiculous. Many say that Herostratos is one of the strongest elements of the AFFLICTION GATE sound and there is no doubt that we are lucky to have such a great vocalist.

What led to the decision to be a 3-piece with a session bassist, session studio guitarist and session live guitarist? Why not have the live member also do the studio work, or have the studio guy play live?

It simply appeared to be impossible to find suitable permanent members with the same motivation and inspirations as us. We had several line-up changes and we got tired of wasting our time so, we instead asked some close friends coming from other local bands to help us on recordings and gigs. However, some line-up updates recently occurred again: Wayne -- our session bassist since the EP-- has left the band because he had to move to another part of France relating to his new job. He was replaced by P.N.G. --who is another long time friend of ours -- since we started again to play live in April. By the way, we finally decided to add our session live lead guitarist as an official member of the band now: Bobby, member of old school thrash metal band HUNGRY JOHNNY -- showed a real involvement, interest and dedication to AFFLICTION GATE, so we came to the conclusion that he was the best for this job more than ever.

Did you re-record or just remix the songs from the debut ep for their inclusion on the Aeon of Nox album? If you re-recorded them, did you change the arrangements at all?

The songs from the EP Severance have been completely re-recorded, of course. Those new versions were captured in real professional studio conditions and sound really much heavier and crushing as ever. The EP was a home made recording with limited equipment but I think the sound / result is quite decent for demo type stuff. Concerning new arrangements compared to former versions, there are no major changed, only few details such as solos which have been re-worked and we added a second one on “Mirror Breakdown”.

None of your songs have lyrics in French? Most of the old heavy metal bands from your country, like KILLERS or SORTILEGE sang in French - in fact I prefer those versions to the English ones!

French lyrics in hard or heavy bands as KILLERS, SORTILEGE, TRUST or ADX sound ok, but it’s not something I’d like to experiment with in AFFLICTION GATE. To be honest, I’m not really fond of “un-English” language in metal in general. I think English is definitely more appropriate, especially for death metal.

Do you feel that the French death metal scene has been overshadowed by that of black metal? Or was the death metal scene in France small to begin with?

The former French Death Metal scene was really active and solid back in the early 90’s with killer leading hordes as AGRESSOR, LOUDBLAST, MASSACRA, NO RETURN, MERCYLESS, SUPURATION, CATACOMB, CRUSHER or MUTILATED / ABYSSALS. Those bands were of a very high quality and they had nothing to envy to international bands. Unfortunately, some of them finally split up while others started to change their musical orientation, sailing away from death metal for the worst. So, everything went down hill or died in 1994… Then, black metal started to get more and more attention and it’s the most popular extreme metal genre in France for over a decade now. The rebirth of death metal happened also in the very late 90’s / early 2000’s through the brutal and technical style which is still strong too here. No wonder that I miss the “good old times”….

Are there any old French death metal bands that you feel were overlooked? Even LOUDBLAST never got much of a push, at least not here in the US.

LOUDBLAST, AGRESSOR, MASSACRA and MUTILATED have a cult status worldwide, yet it’s mainly in the underground related scene. It’s really a shame that, most of the time, those names are nowadays forgotten or ignored by people and sometimes even in France too... LOUDBLAST recorded their two best albums Disincarnate and Sublime Dementia at Morrisound Studios – the same for NO RETURN with their essential Contamination Rise -- but as far as I remember no French bands toured there back at the time. Maybe, it probably explains why they never got exposed nor really became “big” in the US.

What do you find lacking in today's death metal?

Basically, I’d say hooks, atmosphere, soul... over all the technical & blast beats bullshits around in which the present death metal scene is sadly drowned in!

Do you feel that this "retro death metal" thing going on now is the next trend?

Well, we are witnessing an obvious revival but we can hardly speak about a real trend at the moment, if you want my opinion. It’s still an underground thing and minority. France is the best example of my words. By the way, mainstream labels don’t give a shit about this new wave of old school death metal it seems. Maybe, it will be the next trendy music of the 2010’s, who knows? I guess it won’t be a bad thing if it could wipe out all the fake nature of today’s black metal circus and the ultra boring sound of 2000’s death metal! [laughs]

What's your opinion on the return of some of the early bands that never got big like INTERMENT or NIRVANA 2002? Is there anyone you'd like to see return that has not done so yet? How about a band that should have stayed dead and buried?

If those bands are doing it for a real passion for the old death metal style and days and it’s done as a return to their musical roots as Nicke Andersson did with DEATH BREATH, I think that’s great. On another hand, a band like PESTILENCE re-uniting was really not necessary....

What are the plans for the rest of 2010 and maybe early 2011?

We have started again to compose new stuff and we plan to record a couple of tracks, some covers, and a slightly alternate version of “The Worst is Yet to Come,” respectively for a possible EP, bonus material for the LP version of Aeon of Nox, and a promo compilation for Metal Inquisition Records. We might also work on a collaboration track with Rogga Johansson – of PAGANIZER, BONE GNAWER, ex-EDGE OF SANITY -- as it’s an idea we had in mind for some time now. We could do a video clip for the song “Knights of Scorn” too, but it’s not a priority. Of course, if we have some offers to play more live shows, we will go ahead and do that too.

- Final comments belong to you!

Thank you very much for your support and for giving AFFLICTION GATE the possibility to be a part of Bulldozer Mag.

The Skeletal - The Plague Rituals

The Skeletal
The Plague Rituals
2011 Metal Inquisition Records
It had to happen. Just as Kam Lee partnered up with Rogga Johansson [Paganizer and a dozen other bands], now he's teamed up with Lasse Pyykkö of the semi-legendary Phlegethon and the more recent Hooded Menace. The Skeletal is pure death metal, and draws from early Obituary and Six Feet Under. Wait, don't run away yet because of the mention of SFU. While it didn't take long for that band to turn into complete shit, their debut full length and followup ep are both excellent slabs of death metal. Forsaking the doom and gloom of some of their other recent works in other projects, the members of The Skeletal go for a fast and heavy style with a strong rhythm base. Every track lurches along like an inexorable zombie. Try as you might to get away, you know that the inevitably, you will succumb. For those who think that vocal brutality comes from grunting like a pig or cupping the microphone in order to get a sound that's lower than low, you should take note. Kam is extremely understandable here (as he tends to be), but he throws in a very deranged style that I haven't heard from him before. The end result is far more disturbing, brutal and effective than anything even your above average brutal death metal band has ever conjured up. But that's ok. Fans of modern death metal just won't "get" this album, as they have never understood that simpler can be better. It's not how complex of a song you can create, it's how much feeling you can put into your music. The Skeletal have plenty of feeling. You'll understand that as they slowly dismember and consume you.

War Command - Warlords Supremacy

War Command
Warlords Supremacy
2010 Morbid Moon Records
Not surprisingly, Canada's War Command play thrashing war metal of death. "Warlords Supremacy" features a historical look back at battles and wars of the distant past starting with the Spartans, continuing to Attila the Hun, the vikings and then the conquests of Vlad Tepes. For whatever reason, they then make a huge leap to the 20th Century and focus on World War II. Maybe they'll revisit the past on future albums, because there's a huge gap between the days of sword and shield and modern warfare. The final song, "World War III," is the exception to the historical standpoint, as obviously we haven't had the third World War yet. Or at least it hasn't taken the same form as the other two, as the argument could be made that World War III is being fought now on many fronts, such as Libya, Syria, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt... and let's not forget terrorism and the world economy. Enough about world politics, let's talk about the music. War Command have a sound that comes in somewhere between Blasphemy, Incantation and a whole lot of the Australian underground. For the most part, War Command are a tank. Practically unstoppable, rolling over everything and anything in its path, crushing all of it and grinding whatever's left into dust.

Witchgrave - The Devil's Night

Witchgrave
The Devil's Night
2011 Metal Inquisition Records
Mark down this ep by Sweden's Witchgrave as another release that should have only been on vinyl. Vintage NWOBHM sounds with an occult focus were just never meant for any digital format. I've played the four songs present on this CD once, and now I'm listening to it on my iPod. Doing so makes me feel unclean, and it just feels wrong. While Venom are a good comparison to make and a more than decent reference point, Witchgrave have a lot in common with many of the "unsung" bands from the NWOBHM. Production-wise, this is like Venom. Vocals are like those of Cronos of Venom. But musically, there's a lot more going on here. Think of a more raw sounding version of Blitzkrieg, Holocaust and Tygers of Pan Tang. One could almost be fooled into believing this was an actual lost gem of the NWOBHM. Almost, but not quite. As it is, the four tracks here are done all too soon, and this is one release where you'll be hitting the "play" button over and over again. With luck, that might be enough to hold you over until their debut full-length is out.

Omision - In the Shadow of the Cross

Omision
In the Shadow of the Cross
2011 Chaos Records
"The Sound of Perserverance." If Chuck Schuldiner hadn't used that title for the final Death album, then it would have been perfect for Omision's debut album. Vocalist Heriberto Pérez is the poster-child for perserverance. Omision was formed way back in 1992, saw a lot of lineup changes, got back together many years later, saw more lineup changes, and some demo releases. All of which has now culminated in this album, "In the Shadow of the Cross." That's a lot of hard work, and there's not many who would have stuck with it for all this time. Most of the tracks here are brand new, with only "Your God" and "Beyond the Burning Gates" from the "Utopia of Chaos" demo, and "Seeking the Holy Throne" from the "Pileup in the Morgue" demo being the only songs heard previously. Heriberto wrote everything on this album, with the rest of the band helping with some of the arrangements and little else. He sure seems to know what he's doing too, as he did in fact write songs and not "collections of riffs." Oddly enough, even though I know for a fact that he worships at the altar of Testament, very little if any of their influence can be heard on this album. Vocally, Heriberto is somewhere between Kam Lee and Glen Benton's deeper vocals. None of that high screaming crapola, and not your typical death metal vocals that you hear these days. He's very understandable like most of the old guard were. Bands that have influenced the music here? Well, "Assault in the Vatican" starts off with a riff you'd swear that Terrorizer came up with, and "Your God" is very Monstrosity influenced. I hear a lot of their first album in that track, especially the classic "Ceremonial Void." Guitars here are handled by Roberto Lizárraga, also of Infinitum Obscure. Very different style for him here, but he still put his heart and soul into each note played, especially in the solos. Joel Márquez, formerly of Sadistic Intent and Infinitum Obscure assaults the drums with a lot of passion, moreso than any of these technical drummer types. Hopefully this is not the last we hear of Mexico's Omision, not to be confused with Spain's Omission.

Vanhelgd - Church of Death

Vanhelgd
Church of Death
2011 Nuclear War Now!
Vanhelgd's debut, "Cult of Lazarus" completely blew me away on its release, and I've been waiting for the follow up with great anticipation ever since. Things are a little different this time around though. "Church of Death" has a much thinner production, but that's really the only negative point. They're still old school Swedish as fuck. The band lineup is still intact, with both Jimmy Johansson and Mattias Frisk handling guitars and vocals. Never been much of a fan of the "tradeoff" style, but it does seem to work here. One of those two guys also does his best to sound like Martin van Drunen. To his credit, he comes somewhat close. As far as the songs go, Vanhelgd do move away from the typical Entombed/Dismember sound here, and even add in some keyboards to give a few songs that extra "creepy factor." But we're not talking about Nocturnus here, so they're used very sparingly. I wouldn't say that they surpassed the debut, but I wouldn't say that they didn't surpass it either. No sophomore slump here. Vanhelgd also maintain a bit more of a "classy" sound than some of their contemporaries. "Church of Death" is nowhere near as filthy sounding as the recent released by Intestinal or Repuked. That's ok with me. I like all of those bands, but sometimes it's better to play ugly and not dirty, as is the case here. Big thumbs up from me to the Vanhelgd guys. Keep it up!

Assaulter - Boundless!

Assaulter
Boundless!
2011 Metal Blade Records
Assaulter's debut album, "Salvation Like Destruction" had a really weird production on it that unfortunately took away too much from the music. It was like they forgot the bottom end on the songs while recording. Fortunately, they've fixed quite a bit of that here on "Boundless!" (although the bass could still be a little higher in the mix). This album really shows off just how great of a band they really are. Yes, they're another Australian group mixing thrash, black and death metal together in a bubbling cauldron of metallic chaos. Truth be told, I think I like this album more than the last one from Destroyer 666. Given just how great of a band D666 are (pretty much the standard that all other Aussie bands in this genre are compared to), that's a hell of a compliment. Every track has a very straightforward, driving sound, and the guitar solos (as cliched as it may sound) will melt your face off, or at the very least shred your car doors.