Music Liberation Union

BLIND IMAGE announced that the show at IIT with VILDHJARTA will be the last show for their guitarist VG Pranav. A post of Facebook read “We are looking in to replacements. This time around, we have decided to take our own time to pick the new guitarist who will fit the band not only as a guitar player but as a permanent band member too.

The band has released an official statement that Ramanan Chandramouli aka Rama will be taking over guitar duties alongside Shri.

BLIND IMAGE’s chief spokes person Kirsh says:
“We are really happy to have Rama on board. He is an amazing guitar player and most important of all, a down to earth guy. I’ve known him for over 6 years now and we’ve been friends for over 6 years now. He was my first choice to try out and it worked like magic. He exhibited great sense of professionalism during his audition. He walked in well prepared and nailed the songs. With his knowledge on different styles of guitar playing I am sure that he will add a new dimension to our music. And he is absolutely easy going and I am glad we have another awesome band mate now. Oh and he just finished his first gig with us the day before at VIT when we supported SUIDAKRA.“

Rama is a graduate from LA Music Academy, before which he was playing guitars for the band SIXTH ELEMENT – a Progressive Rock band from India.

Shri - the chief song write of the band says:

Rama enthuses everything we have ever looked for as both a guitarist and a member of the band. He is more than capable, honest and professional as hell and yet funny in his own way. Although his humour comes at the expense of the rest of us here at BLIND IMAGE many a times. Haha. But jokes aside, Rama is a wonderful addition to the band and we hope to work with him for a long long time to come. So from now on the chandramouli foundation will be handling the guitar section for BLIND IMAGE.

Rama is based out from Bangalore and also teaches guitar at the TAAQ Academy – Bangalore along side Bruce from TAAQ. We managed to extract few words from him on this:

We heard that you are primarily in to Jazz and you studied music in LA. What was your initially reaction when Krish spoke to you about the possibility of playing for BLIND IMAGE?
I wouldnt say I am primarily into Jazz or call myself a Jazz musician. I feel I still have a long way to go before I can call myself a Jazz guitar player. I did my associative arts degree in guitar performance at LA music academy where I was exposed to a lot of Jazz, Contemporary, Funk and Reggae. The last band I played for was a Reggae band which consisted of people I met at the school. So when Krish first approached me with the idea I thought he was kidding as I hadn't played Metal in ages and the only Metal I listened to were bands like Tool, Karnivool etc. So we decided that he send me the songs, I'd take a listen to them and see if I could pull it off. It took quite a bit of effort to get the technical proficiency that the music demanded and i took it up as a challenge to get to where these guys were. I think after a couple of jams its safe to say that I am getting more accustomed to the music and its starting to get a lot more comfortable for me with the genre.

How long you've known these guys? How it all happened?
I met Krishna and the previous guitar player of the band Prashant, 6 years back when I used to live in Chennai and we became really good friends. I did loose touch with him after I left to Los Angeles. I ended up bumping into him at the Metallica concert last year and we got talking about what each of us were doing with our music careers.

How do you feel about joining BLIND IMAGE? Are you looking forward to jump in to the writing process for their upcoming third album by bringing in your own influences?
After getting to know the people in the band, jamming it out and playing a gig with them, I am happy to say I am a part of a musical family again and I am excited to see whats in store in the future for me with them and the band as a whole.

BLIND IMAGE is all set to rock Dubai on 24th February 2012 where they will be headlining the Global Metal Bash Festival.

For more information, visit BLIND IMAGE's FaceBook page.    

CHTHONIC play a style of Black Metal that infuses hints of Death Metal, Folklore etc. But recently they have shifted to a newer and more friendly genre called Oriental Metal, which was portrayed nicely in their MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION album, released in 2009.

The album name TAKASAGO ARMY was taken from a fighting unit in Japanese military during second World War, where all the members were volunteers from Taiwan. The lyrics are a blending with the history of the armies with Taiwanese mythology, which brings about a certain mysticism in the songs. Adding to the flavor, quite a bulk of the lyrics are in Traditional Taiwanese, that inculcates a sense of taste and exoticness into the vocals.

The opener THE ISLAND sounds as if it has come out of a Chinese wartime movie, complete with synths, flutes and an orchestral arrangement in the background. The opening song gives a preview of what to expect next, as the album pumps on further. As the album proceeds with LEGACY OF THE SEDIQ, one can notice the increased prominence of the guitars. The riffs are melodic yet strong and aggressive. The riffs are also often punctuated with pinch of harmonics.

One difference of this album with MIRROR OF RETRIBUTION would be the input of guitar solos in this album. The guitarist Jesse (aka The Infernal) displays his technical prowess with his face ripping solos in songs like SOUTHERN CROSS. The previous album lacked in his solos. Besides the increased presence of the guitars, the usage of new instruments has also been infused. Like the Gu-Zheng, used especially on the band’s first single off the album, TAKAO. They are also well known for the usage of the Er-Hu.

The vocalist Freddy (Aka left face of Maradou) displays a higher range of vocals in this album, often with deep growls and high-pitched shrieks. On TAKAO there is a moment where vocal effects are used.There are also guest vocalists featured on the album, and unlike most metal bands, CHTHONIC has chosen to stick to the vocalists that are more well-known and respected in Taiwanese main-steam music instead, with a surprisingly good effect. Eg: 1. The vocals of Yu Tien on TAKAO provides a nice traditional feel to the song. 2. The soulful vocals of Yia Wen in KAORU emphasizes the emotions felt while remaining relevant to the songs and not feel out of place.

The drummer Dani keeps the spirit of the band energetic and aggressive with his relentless pounding on the drum skin, backed skillfully by the rumbling bass of Doris. The atmosphere of the album is maintained prettily by the usage of synths of CJ, which does not drown any other instrument, a major mistake done by most symphonic bands. The synth is rather used as a background instrument, which gives space for the other two lead instruments ( the guitar and the Er-Hu) to prosper.

CHTHONIC, with their blend of oriental music and raging Black Metal is one of admirability because it works awesomely well. The album TAKASAGO ARMY gives you every element of CHTHONIC. TAKASAGO ARMY sees the growth in the songwriting as well as in the individual instruments on the album.

THE GREAT FIRE, the new album from Orange County, California's BLEEDING THROUGH, can be streamed in its entirety on AOL Music. The CD will be released on 31st January via RISE RECORDS.

Tracklist: The Great Fire
01. March
02. Faith In Fire
03. Goodbye To Death
04. Final Hours
05. Starving Vultures
06. Everything You Love Is Gone
07. Walking Dead
08. Devil And Self Doubt
09. Step Back In Line
10. Trail Of Seclusion
11. Deaf Ears
12. One By One
13. Entrenched
14. Back To Life

BLEEDING THROUGH's last, self-titled CD sold around 3,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 143 on The Billboard 200 chart.

BLEEDING THROUGH's previous effort, DECLARATION (2008), opened with 6,000 units to land at No. 101.

DEVIL'S MESSENGER, the title track from the new album from Riverside, California's THE DEVASTATED, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. Described as a "gross, grimy, Groove Metal masterpiece," the CD will be released on 14th February via CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS.

The brainchild of former IMPENDING DOOM and OBLIGE members, THE DEVASTATED already has two brutal singles available - DEVIL'S MESSENGER and ROOF TOP PANTY DROP. Produced by the bandmembers themselves, Chris Eck and co-produced/mixed by Daniel Castleman (AS I LAY DYING), the music was not written with the intent of impressing anyone except the band members themselves.

"Our state of mind was...let's play what we want to hear," says vocalist Greg Wilburn. "Let's write the heaviest, grooviest and ugliest songs we possibly can, and bring something fresh to this extremely watered down scene. If people 'get it' awesome... If not, fuck 'em."

DEVIL'S MESSENGER features a guest appearance by SUICIDE SILENCE frontman Mitch Lucker in the song SPIT VITRIOL.

Commented Lucker:
"Greg has been a close friend for years. When he reached out to me for the part I was ecstatic! His band is amazing and I can't wait for this record to drop. It's the best shit I've heard in a long fucking time; super original and crushing from start to finish."

Tracklist: Devil's Messenger
01. Drip. Drip.
02. Pseudo Smile Campaign
03. Swallowing Tumors
04. Failure To Thrive
05. Roof Top Panty Drop
06. Devil?s Messenger
07. Spit Vitriol
08. Zombies
09. Bloody Bag Drag
10. Tongue In Cheek
11. Caprice
12. Conductor
13. Hollowed

For more information, visit THE DEVASTATED's FaceBook page. 

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Spanish female-fronted Symphonic Metal band DIABULUS IN MUSICA will release their sophomore album, THE WANDERER, in Europe on 5th March via NAPALM RECORDS.

According to a press release, "With their latest album, the Spanish quintet proves that impressive Symphonic Metal need not hail from Scandinavia. The musicians revolving around vocalist Zuberoa Aznárez have refined the trademark sound first heard on their debut album, SECRETS, and brought their latest work, THE WANDERER, to a whole new level. DIABULUS IN MUSICA unites heavy riffs with sensual melodies and appealing refrains. THE WANDERER is not a mere collection of songs, but rather a passionate and sweeping Symphonic Metal album that will mesmerize from beginning to end."

DIABULUS IN MUSICA previously described the material on THE WANDERER as "full of passion, energetic, yet delicate, and also a big step forward in our music."

Artwork: The Wanderer

Tracklist: The Wanderer
01. A Journey's End (Intro)
02. Ex Nihilio
03. Sceneries Of Hope
04. Blazing A Trail
05. Call From A Rising Memory (Intro)
06. Hidden Reality
07. Shadow Of The Throne
08. Allegory Of Faith, Innocence And Future
09. Sentenced To Life
10. Ohiuka Bihotzetik
11. No Time For Repentance (Lamentatio)
12. The Wanderer

The SCENERIES OF HOPE video can be seen below.

Formed in 2006, DIABULUS IN MUSICA's debut album, SECRETS, came out in May 2010 via METAL BLADE RECORDS. The CD was engineered by Spanish producer Iñaki Llarena and was mixed by former EPICA guitarist Ad Sluijter. It was mastered by Sascha Paeth, Simon Oberender and Michael "Miro" Rodenberg at GATE STUDIOS in Wolfsburg, Germany.

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ORPHANED LAND is a Israeli Doom/Death/Progressive Metal band which spans a musical journey of more than 20 years.
Incorporating "jewish" and "arabic" influences into their lyrical landscaping - the band are the pioneers of the middle-eastern Progressive Metal genre. The striking factor lies in the fact that the band fuses traditional middle-eastern instruments with modern guitars and drums to create a completely different yet melodic sound.The band has a unique stage presence as well. With traditional jewish, muslim and christian attires, the band sends a strong message of religious harmony not just through their costumes but also their lyrical themes.

The band toured India last year and are set to perform again - 5th February at the IIT Guwahati festival and 7th february at the QBA club in New Delhi.On the eve of their return, we caught them between their flights and had a chat!

IMR: ORPHANED LAND has fallen in love with India – a second tour in a year’s span – how does that feel guys?
Matti Svatitzki: It feels really great. We love India, love the atmosphere and love the people. Some of us were in India for travels even before the shows, and we can't wait to get to India for more shows.

IMR: You’ll pleased your fans from India last time as well as added a huge new following – what exciting things can we expect from you’ll this time?
Matti Svatitzki: Last time we really had fun. The shows were amazing, and people were totally into it. I don't know what will happen now, but if you say we have increased our fan base then I hope this is the case. We're as curious as you about these shows and we'll have to wait and see.

IMR: Your recent release (THE NEVER ENDING WAY OF THE ORWARRIOR) was voted as one of the top Progressive Metal albums of 2011 – from an underground band to a ground-breaking band; tell us your journey in brief?
Matti Svatitzki: It'll be hard to sum it up in only a few words, because we exist for over 20 years and have been through a lot. We began as a Death Metal band when we were teenagers, and with the years we adopted the Middle Eastern style and blended it into our music. We recorded 4 full length albums, and performed with them all around the world. There's a lot more to be told, but you can't squeeze a career of 20 years in just a few rows.

IMR: When most of the bands perform leather clad, sporting tattoos, ORPHANED LAND has a unique stage presentation and costumes. Tell us more about it and how it reflects your culture?
Matti Svatitzki: Kobi, our vocalist, usually goes on stage wearing a galaba, which is a traditional Arab outfit. The other band members, we used to go up on stage dressed up as orthodox Jewish people, and orthodox Muslim people. We wore these outfits first of all because it's cool. It's a part of who we are and what our music is about. It is easier for audience who doesn't know us to get connected to our music.

IMR: Along with guitars, bass and drums – there are a lot of "eastern folk music" instruments we get to hear on your albums – tell us something more about them.
Matti Svatitzki: These instruments are also a lot about who we are. Middle-Eastern Folk Metal is a style which we are its pioneers, we started making it a long years ago and stayed with it since. We thought about how to bring into our music instruments that are native and from the place we come from, and we use instruments from all around the Middle East, places like Egypt, Turkey, Greece and even more. We use these instruments a lot in our albums, and also, when we can, in our live shows as well.

IMR: Your latest album was mixed by Steven Wilson (PORCUPINE TREE) – how did this collaboration take place?
Matti Svatitzki: Steven is spends a lot of time in Israel since he is working with the local artist Aviv Geffen on their project BLACKFIELD. We got close to Steven during his stays here and got him interested in our music. Steven has worked and produced legendary albums before, and it is a privilege that he is a good friend of ours, and that he's working with us. He also sang one of our songs live in our last DVD and made a perfect 10 cover.

IMR: Your music tries to find the commonality between all the Abrahamic Religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) – how did your culture/country influence you while choosing this theme for your albums?
Matti Svatitzki: Religion is a central issue in the world. Most of the world is religious, so talking about religion from our point of view is a relevant thing. Israel is a place from which Judaism and Christianity came, Jesus was born and died on the cross here, and some cities in Israel are extremely sacred for Muslims too. Places here are so sacred to people, that they are really to fight and die for them, and this is exactly where our music and message fit in. We preach for friendship and kindness between people, for ask people to keep open minds and try to see eye to eye with each other. We have many fans in the Arab world, with whom we have very warm and positive relationship, and
we look at them as our brothers, sure not as enemies.

IMR: ORPHANED LAND is classified as Doom or more commonly Progressive Metal – how would you describe your overall sound?
Matti Svatitzki: I think we have been all over the place. There were times in the past when we were considered a Doom-Death band, and in later times we were considered more Prog-Metal band. It depended on the mood we were in and the music we listened to at home when we wrote the music.

IMR: Your music treads on a religious path – did you guys encounter any hurdles while touring etc?
Matti Svatitzki: Up until now there haven't been any extraordinary events. There were some minor anti-Semite events, some guy waved a small Swastika pendant in my face and said "fuck off", and a few small things like that, but except for a few
assholes everything has been good so far.

IMR: Finally, a message from the band to their fans and budding musicians who are inspired by you guys. Thank You!
Matti Svatitzki: It is great that we have a fan base in India! We really love the place, and it is important for us that people get to know and appreciate what we do. We 4 can't wait to play for you guys soon, see you there!

North-East India's Black Metal spearheads, INSANE PROPHECY are the talk of the town again. Since their formation in the year 2008, they have been constantly in the public eye, be it for their revolutionary lyrics or their line-up changes.

With their debut EP, APOGEE OF AN INQUISITION out, the band is hogging huge amounts of cyberspace as well as claiming their place in every metalhead's playlist. So we caught up with Ifty Sarwar to know more about their journey as a band, how they've been witness to the changing music scenario, their philosophy and their much talked Black Metal lyrical themes.

IMR: Hails Ifty! I know, you guys must be really busy with the release of the band’s debut material, isn't it? But before we proceed, I was just curious to know about the Black Metal Krieg II gig that happened at B69?
Ifty Sarwar: Well playing at Black Metal Krieg II was a cool experience. It was our first gig in Mumbai where we got to share the stage with some of the finest Black Metal acts from India and Sri Lanka. We’ve released our debut gig out there and the response was great.

IMR: We recently did a review for APOGEE OF AN INQUISITION (E.P)- what are your opinion about it and do you think there could have been some more experimentations/improvements, if things would have been done differently?
Ifty Sarwar: First of all, sorry I haven’t checked out your review yet, but all I can say about the EP, in my opinion, is that this EP and each of its tracks reflects the original sound of the band, which we’ve come up with a lot of both, experiments and improvements. Possibly there will be something more different in our future records.

IMR: Okay, so being the founder member of the band, how do you think the sound of INSANE PPROPHECY has evolved through the years?
Ifty Sarwar: The sound of the band has evolved slow and steady throughout the years. We kept working until we’re satisfied with the sound we wanted which gradually evolved from Symphonic Black Metal in its initial days to Blackened Death Metal.

IMR: What is the philosophy of the band INSANE PROPHECY and how does it reflect in your lyrical themes?
Ifty Sarwar: Our philosophy doesn’t gyrate around just one particular thought but it varies. We make conceptual materials, i.e, we take on themes for our compiled works. As for instance, APOGEE OF AN INQUISITION (E.P) was centred on introduction to Satanism and its impacts leading to the rise of the inquisition and extirpation of heresy. Lyrically, this theme is being put in the EP, song-wise. The theme could vary accordingly in our new materials, but will revolve around the same anti-religion foundation.

IMR: A consistent band line-up has always been a major issue for INSANE PROPHECY in the past years. What do you have to say about the current line-up, will the new unit be able to deliver some cult "Black Metal" release to the scene with a longer stability and what does each member bring to the overall sound of the band?
Ifty Sarwar: Well the current line-up is stronger and powerful than the earlier ones, both, in terms of music as well as live act. The band’s original sound have got contributions from all three of us. The Death Metal feel in the sound came with Bikash in the band, and me and Xulfi are responsible for the Black Metal and other progressive stuffs in our sound.

IMR: Tell us about your debut EP, APOGEE OF AN INQUISITION. What impact do you think it will have on the Black Metal scene in India?
Ifty Sarwar: APOGEE OF AN INQUISITION is a full-fledged Blackened Death Metal E.P with a bare force in it. I think it will certainly create some more indulgence of people in the Underground Extreme Metal scene of India, especially the North-East. And as for the Black Metal scene, we’re just a new and promising helping hand in the guild being dominated by a lot of killer Black Metal bands like 1833 AD, COSMIC INFUSION, STARK DENIAL, to name a few.

IMR: How important do you think is a music video to promote a band, any plans?
Ifty Sarwar: Music videos are helpful when you want to convey your message through visual art but right now, no such plans.

IMR: To whatever I've read and listened, I am of the opinion that North-East India being the best place for Rock/Metal music in our country. Do you feel geographical locations spirited your music by any chance?
Ifty Sarwar: Well yes, as we grew up and do live in this part of the country, I can say that the geographical locations spirits every single artists from here which also keeps our enthusiasm alive for the music this part of the country
creates and preserves.

IMR: How has the Metal scene in India developed, compared to when you guys started out, in the year 2008?
Ifty Sarwar: It has developed a lot compared to 2008. Earlier there were less gigs around, most were competitions, there was no such proper PR systems, live music was the only exposure, less media coverages and the ratio of Metal and Rock bands – 1:3 respectively. Nowadays, we’ve bands emerging from nearly every alleys and schools, there are lots of projects, there are bands which are not a live band and so on. The modern wave in the Metal scene is growing in a relentless speed with more experiments and variations, more advanced technical alignments and more media and sponsor's interests.

IMR: Black Metal is not yet so popular in India, whereas "core" and "djent" is quickly catching up. What would you attribute this to?
Ifty Sarwar: Now that is people’s choice of what they want and which music they want to associate themselves to, but as for my viewpoint, may be people want more breakdowns in their likes of music than a sheer force. I think Black Metal is an extreme genre meant for extreme people. (smiles)

IMR: In a religious country like India, do you feel Black Metal has few takers due to its lyrical themes?
Ifty Sarwar: I think its lyrical themes doesn’t matter when it comes to Black Metal fans, which are not less in India, though its a religious country. And there are many who even feel the need for such themes in their music. A religious country like India has so many negative incidents relating to religion which itself is a reason for many takers.

IMR: So this is it, many thanks for taking out time to speak to IMR- if you’ve any further messages for the fans or upcoming Black Metal bands please go ahead. Thank You!
Ifty Sarwar: Well, cheers to all the fans, keep supporting the underground, and upcoming Black Metal bands, stay true. And do give a listen to our EP. Thank You!