Technical death metal perfection. That’s pretty much all that need be said about Kardashev‘s brilliant new release Peripety. From the moment that you lay eyes on the minimalistic album art until the final notes of album closer “Lux” leave you jaw agape, this album takes you on a journey through ethereal beauty and Earth-shaking brutality. The musicianship is astounding and inventive. Even in the moments of calm in the eye of this storm, Kardashev never let you forget that this record is HEAVY in nearly every conceivable sense of the word. Stream below the full album while you’re reading through the review.

Kardashev is a Tempe-based band and Peripety is their first full-length offering. Their 2013 EP Excipio, released on Subliminal Groove Records, was nothing short of a masterful display of technical death metal musicianship. Peripety ups the ante to dizzying heights. Peripety edges other death metal releases from 2015 due to it’s sheer inventiveness. Furthermore, I believe that it has actually accomplished the task of ranking right up there with the best overall metal album of the year.

This is where I usually list the highlights of the record. In this case, the entire record is the highlight. DO NOT miss this album if you are a fan of technical death metal and insanely great musicianship.

Get Peripety from Bandcamp.

My obsessive hunger for more music has brought me again to Mexico, this time to a band called Anima Tempo, whose new album, which will be discussed here, I received in the latest Prog Sphere Promotions package.

Anima Tempo, was born in 2009, after long-time friends Dante Granados (guitars, synths), Gian Granados (vocals, guitars), and Pedro Vera (bass) decided to form a band where they will pour out all their creativity. After two demo records, in January 2016 Anima Tempo released their full-length debut titled “Caged In Memories.” Consisting of seven songs, the album represents the group’s take on the progressive metal genre, completed with elements from death metal, symphonic music and djent.

Musically, “Caged In Memories” is rooted in 90’s prog metal, with heavy riffing, intense drumming and vocals that range from cleans to growls and all the way back. Besides the aforementioned prog metal structure, the band does not fear to explore further, embracing term ‘eclectic.’ As it’s notable that the majority of progressive metal bands were or are influenced by Dream Theater, Anima Tempo’s closest description, by my ears, would be blending aforementioned prog metal veterans with Opeth, Between The Buried And Me, Kamelot and Hans Zimmer-inspired soundtracks. The raw energy splutters from every single tone and seeminlgy, the band does not care too much to tame it, but rather let it grease the speakers.

Anima Tempo succeeded to avoid a prejudical approach the majority of bands of the similar genre orientation have implied in their music. You might find this album “hard” for your ears, but to break that image, I may conclude that during the album’s running time you don’t feel any kind of pressure from that side. This album floats easily on its way. The Mexican and international scenes are certainly stronger by having another band under its wings.

Buy “Caged In Memories” by Anima Tempo on Bandcamp.

The second album of an Italian prog metal band calling themselves Fake Heroes, ‘Clouds’ is nothing, if not incredibly diverse. Taking the sounds of classic progressive metal and a great many other styles, and compiling them in an 11-song trek of music, this is quite an ambitious project, especially coming after an average debut. However, despite proving that the band is evidently very adventurous, the end result is an album that is very good in the way it turns out, making for an inconsistently enjoyable piece of work.

Led onward by the vocals of singer Manuel Gatta (whose voice is oddly reminiscent of TesseracT’s Daniel Tompkins), the music cycles through everything from classic progressive metal, to djent, ambient, to even a number that could have been on ‘In Utero’. Overall, while I understand that the band is testing the grounds quite a bit with this one, it does feel incredibly tight, and the songs as a result have very big flow to them.

The songwriting is excellent here, very consistent, ranging from excellent (especially towards the second half of the album) to memorable. On top of the album feeling a bit too long for its own good, the album’s structure is in a state of great condition, and Fake Heroes deliver a very good impression with “Clouds.”

Support Fake Heroes here.

One of the more unique acts to come from the underground in recent years, Wolfram from Serbia have finally released a debut album after teasing us with an EP in 2013. Music Of The Heathen is a clash of apocalyptic walls of noise and ethereal passages that, I believe, the band has become known for in their native Serbia.

Mixing ambient sounds and raw power this release is both a thing of beauty and a tale of urgency and survival. Opening track, On This Side of The Line, opens with a clean guitar voicing followed with the series of atmospheric doom riffs, and wonderfully accompanying vocals of Aleksandar Apic. Building up a crescendo of static noise, the song breaks before dropping into second track Music Of The Heathen. This continues in the same way as the opening tune, with greasy riffs that evolve around another run of voicing and spluttering chorus. Babel shifts from the guitar driven sound towards more ambient, synthesised vibe in the first part of the track, along with a line “People always hear what they want to hear.”

The album tracks also contain a number of guest vocalists what gives the feeling of diversity throughout the album. A Different Kind of Sleep, which features Dunja Dacic Dojo, is the strongest vocal performance on the album. Dunja’s voice is markedly both powerful and fragile, layered to counter pose the beautiful melodies and forceful high notes created with her voice.

Utilising synthesisers, bowed guitars, layering electronic tracks with a backing of crashing drums, Wolfram have created a sound which is hard to define. Blending the stringed influences of Sigur Rós with the heavier post-rock of Russian Circles, the band boast the talent to become the breakthrough Sigur Rós were in the 2000s.

Music Of The Heathen is a bold debut by a band that is look to push the boundaries of how we experience music. While we didn’t get to review the visual side to the physical release, this release does not disappoint.

Follow Wolfram on Facebook.

Verona prog metallers Fatal Destiny are about to launch an album titled “Palindromia” via Andromeda Relix. In the interview below, they tell us about the upcoming release.

Hey guys. How are you doing?

Niko, Andrea, Filippo, Riccardo: Hi! We’re doing great! We’d like to thank you for the opportunity you gave us to talk about our project in this interview.

You recorded “Palindromia” back in April. How do you feel about the release?

Filippo: The recording sessions of “Palindromia” have been completed in April; in January the official release of the album “Palindromia” will be managed by our record label Andromeda Relix. The album will be available worldwide both in digital format and CD. We’re also planning to make an official announcement on our internet channels by which we’ll provide further information.

We’re amazed and thrilled! We’re really proud of our product, everything is going really fine, definitely better than we thought.

How much of a challenge was it to work on the album?

Andrea: Of course I can say I’m really proud because each of us took the album as a challenge and tried to contribute by deepening all the technical and melodic aspects of composition.

How is the prog metal scene in Verona these days?

Filippo: As far as I know there are no substantial news in this particular scene even if all sorts of band perform live despite the fact that there are only few club.

What is your opinion about the new wave of metal bands?

Riccardo: I think that we’re in a great musical turmoil and that now more than ever there are highly technical musicians, however It seems to me that sometimes there’s a general lack of personality.

Nowadays metal bands tend to follow a trend sacrificing their hallmarks, maybe because they believe this is what audience calls for.

Can you tell me something about your influences?

Andrea: Personally I really love Michele Luppi’s vocals (Whitesnake/David Coverdale). I’m lucky because I know him and also because he’s my personal vocal coach. I do like many other singers such as Bruce Dickinson, Sebastian Bach, Roberto Tiranti, Miles Kennedy, Freddie Mercury.

Riccardo: This is a difficult question. I do not have any specific influences, let’s say I’m always trying to learn and take the best of great music. If we only consider guitar players I’d say that Marty Friedman, John Petrucci and Paul Gilbert are my favourites. Not to mention Joe Satriani, Zakk Wylde, James Hetfield, Marc Tremonti, Richie Sambora and Joe Bonamassa. It’s difficult to list them all!!

What are you listening to these days?

Filippo: Mostly I’m listening to our new album Palindromia (night and day!), not to mention Christmas Carols that bother everybody in this period.

Your five favourite records of all time?

Riccardo: I’m always looking for new music. I’m not interested in following every single album released by all great Rock and Metal bands that made the history of the genre because I think it might be damaging and discriminating towards emerging groups. Of course I’m listening to Fatal Destiny’s album Palindromia in loop. If you don’t have it, make sure you’ve got your own copy because it kicks ass!

Niko: There are lots of album I carry in my heart, I shall mention a few but there are many others:

Led Zeppelin “IV”
Beatles, all
Iron Maiden “The number of the beast”
Rush “2112”
Black Sabbath “Paranoid”

Can you tell me a little bit more about the gear you used to record “Palindromia ”?

Niko: I think it takes a great deal of work to record a good album especially when it comes to preproduction and arrangement. We put our heart in every single track we recorded so that everybody could perceive not only what we studied but also all the emotions we experienced in those days. We really did enjoy the magic of recording and I believe everyone will feel it!

Besides the release of the album, are there any other plans for the future?

Andrea: Sure! We have got a lot on our plate right now. The single of the album Palindromia, “Leave me here”, will shortly be released and we’re also planning on making a second video clip. And last but not least we are pleased to inform you that during the summer the band will move to UK to test Modern Prog Metal appeal in one of the most important nations of musical business’s world.

Any words for the potential new fans?

Niko: I’d like to thank all our fans and all the people that will listen to our first album Palindromia. I wish I could hug every single person that helps and supports us.

Our present and future fans must comprehend that we have always put our heart in our music and that is because we are emotional and passionate folks!!

We’re the kind of musicians who need to tell their stories in order to open the eyes and actually live. I know for sure that our fans will always find the truth in everything that we do.

Follow Fatal Destiny on Facebook here.

Hey guys. How are you doing?

Good, thank you for asking.

You released “I Must Have Missed It” back in November. How do you feel about the release?

Great! We held a release show on November 14th at The Bog in Scranton Pa and had a great time, with a good turnout.

How much of a challenge was it to work on the album?

It was kind of a personal challenge to make everything as precise as we could, and to choose songs that all fit together well. We also had some technical challenges during he recording process, which gave us some trouble, but overall we had a lot of fun and are already looking forward to creating our next album.

How is the prog/psych scene these days in Pennsylvania?

It’s actually doing very well. Just in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area we see many bands and venues working together to create and showcase original music.

What is your opinion about the new wave of prog bands?

We are admittedly a bit out of the loop, we feel like, with a lot of new bands. But, we are often surprised by the talent and originality, we see at shows.

Can you tell me something about your influences?

We have been influenced, over the years, by so many different artists, from the classics like The Beatles, and Zeppelin, to more local acts like And The Money Notes, and The Teeth. We think all these influences probably inadvertently show themselves through what we create.

What are you listening to these days?

Most recently we have been listening to The Extraordinaires, Father John Misty, The Eastbound and Down sound track, and The Bitter Tears to name a few.

Your five favourite records of all time?

That is a really hard question, but off the top of our heads, we’ll just say. Dark Side Of The Moon / Pink Floyd, You’re My Lover Now / The Teeth, Jam Tarts In The Jake House / The Bitter Tears, The White Album / The Beatles, Electric Lady Land / Jimi Hendrix.

Can you tell me a little bit more about the gear you used to record “I Must Have Missed It”?

We used Logic Pro 8, which we ran on an iMac, with a few condenser mics and an interface in a small studio space we built ourselves.

Besides the release of the album, are there any other plans for the future?

Of course! We’ll always be playing, recording and practicing as long as we live!

Any words for the potential new fans?

Check us out! We love every single one of our fans!

 

Follow Family Animals on Facebook here.

Australian progsters For Millennia have come up with a debut EP “Where The Ocean Ends” last July. The group from Adelaide shows a huge potential and talent on the release, and it will be really interesting to see what they come up next with. Guitarist Oliver Green introduces us to the For Millennia world.

What does the band name stand for?

It took us quite a while to decide on a band name with which we were all completely happy. We had some interesting names in the beginning, from ‘Pariah’, to ‘Silhouettes’, to ‘Redivider’, but we didn’t feel as though these adequately reflected the intentions or personality of the band and its music. ‘For Millennia’ came to fruition shortly before we began recording our first demo. Literally, it is a representative term for ‘thousand years’ or a ‘very long period of time’. It was a rare occasion in which all of us completely agreed and how we felt it could apply to what we had written and what we wanted to do in the future enabled it to stick right from that day forward. The name was also unique and had not been taken by any artist, meaning that we would be an easy band to find and contact without confusion; always a bonus!

Where did For Millennia take its roots from?

For Millennia took its roots, and came to be, from various reaches of the Adelaide Hardcore, Rock and Metal scene. Rory and Oliver knew each other through connections between their past bands and were both interested in creating a metalcore band with progressive metal influences. Oliver and Henk met each other the night before the band’s very first practise and Dominic joined the band shortly after. We interacted extremely well as both people and musicians right from the start and have continued to ever since. We knew what our goals for the future were and continued to work towards them collectively to the present day.

How would you describe the sound of For Millennia?

We like to think that we have a pretty diverse sound which appeals to different musical tastes and preferences. We have a number of fans who are into completely different styles of music and this really owes itself to the fact that we’ve played shows with many bands of different genres; from prog metal to grunge, metalcore to post-rock, heavy metal to jazz-fusion and everything in between. We take large influence from contemporary rock and metal from the 2000’s era, as well as progressive rock and metal, and even some elements of metal/hardcore and combine it into a sound which we are happy to call our own.

Tell us about your debut EP “Where the Ocean Ends.”

We believe that ‘Where The Ocean Ends’ really displays what we’ve got to offer as both individuals with different musical backgrounds and as a band of musicians. It conveys our varied stylistic approaches to writing. Each song has its own personality and we wanted each song on the release to sound like it ‘belonged’ with its counterparts. An overarching theme of the EP is of resolution, accepting the darkness which comes with the light and understanding that the good will always prevail over the bad.

How did the creative process for “Where the Ocean Ends” go?

We didn’t really adhere to a specific creative process when developing ‘Where The Ocean Ends’ as we’re a band that tends to take our time when writing material; we’re always willing to wait a little longer to write new music if it means the end result will be better. The majority of the songs on the EP came to fruition rather spontaneously through jamming with one another, but others were built from ideas that some of us had created on our own which were then brought into a full band scenario. ‘Ocean’ is a good example of this, as the foundation for the entire song, the bass component, was written by Dom prior to even joining the band and when he brought it before us we all added our individual touch to it and made it our own. We wanted to make sure the EP began and ended on a similar note, which influenced our writing of the first and last tracks ‘Freedom In Death’ and ‘Solace In Silence’ respectively. Both songs are based around a watershed experience Henk had and we believed that the use of this ‘recurring theme’ concept assisted in enabling us create a narrative for the EP.

Where do you draw your inspirations from? How does the song writing process for For Millennia go?

We tend to take inspiration from our personal favourite artists and seek to combine different stylistic approaches in a way which sounds fluid and appealing. Most of what we have written has been a result of full-band jamming and working with each others’ ideas in the moment, and we plan to continue to do this as it enables each of us to feel as though we’ve contributed equally to the song writing process rather than just playing along to one particular member’s ideas. That being said, we sometimes feel the need to mix it up and bring ideas to the table to see how they work for everyone and if they can be developed into something which suits our stylistic aims.

Which bands or musicians influenced your work at the most?

One artist that has influenced that band as a whole has been Caligula’s Horse. We played a show with them in January 2015 and since then have followed them closely, attending all of their shows here in Adelaide and seeking to attain a similar level of professionalism and maturity when it comes to musicianship and band interaction, both on and off stage. Individually, we each have different musical tastes and preferences. Henk is influenced by early 2000’s rock and Nu Metal bands such as 30 Seconds to Mars, Oliver is into more groovy and progressive stuff like Tesseract and Dom and Rory are into more contemporary and melodic death metal bands like Mutiny Within, In Flames and Darkest Hour.

Being a young band, what are your expectations from the scene?

We approach being in the band by trying not to expect anything really, as for the most part, a lot of success is based on building friendships with other bands and supporting the scene. The scene is not going to be kind to you if you expect to get everything without giving anything, so we look to support other bands as much as we can and hope that they will return the favour at some point; that’s how all bands grow. Most of the people we’ve met within the local prog scene have been very supportive of what we’re doing and it’s likely because they’ve been where we are at some point and know how tricky it can be to do things like release a debut EP or put on your own show.

As a band coming from Australia, do you find yourselves being “far” from what happens on the global progressive metal scene?

Yes and no, but only to certain degrees really. Social media makes it fairly easy to find out about and keep up to date with new and popular bands coming through the ranks in the European and North American scenes. We’ve all been to shows in the last year or so that have had some fantastic bands come across from all over the world. Even still, Australia has its fair share of outstanding prog bands that are breaking into the global prog scene and doing really well overseas at the moment. If we keep at it, who knows? If we’re incredibly lucky, maybe we’ll find ourselves eventually becoming a part of the global prog community.

What does the future hold for For Millennia?

We’re starting 2016 off by releasing a brand new single called ‘Final Taste of Bliss’ which we believe is a real step up from what we’ve written in the past. We’re launching the single on January 22nd at our first headline show with some local metal bands. We are also currently in the planning stages of shooting our first music video, which will be in support of this new song, and will likely be released shortly after. We’re also looking to write and record a new release later on in the year and we’ve already come up with some pretty interesting conceptual ideas for it. We aim to establish more friendships within our local scene and play some interstate shows for the first time. Finally, we’d like to focus on improving as musicians and as a band in order to reach the goals we have had since we began.

Stay tuned for more For Millennia news via the band’s Facebook page.

Guitarist and composer Dan Logoluso is in the studio, readying his solo album “Back From a Journey.” In the meantime, Dan had some spare time to talk with Progarchy about the release and other topics.

Hey Dan. How are you doing?

Hi Folks, I’m fine thank you. I wish you and all readers a great musical 2016!

You are currently preparing an album titled “Back From A Journey.” How do you feel about the release?

I’m excited and relaxed at the same time. I feel that this album has given me a whole new energy, sort of a musical rebirth, which is definitely a very good feeling. I do look forward to the album release but i want to work slowly, step by step in order to do all the best i can. This solo album is the first of my career under my Name, i want to center the target!

How much of a challenge was it to work on the album?

I have been working very hard for the past 14 months. During this period i have dedicated many hours composing, finding the right ideas, colors and mood. I have listened a thousand times to all of the songs, in my car, at home and even walking on the road. I had to fight with those bad days when you don’t seems to have any sort of inspiration and the album seems motionless. Other days, the writing seems to fly free and now, finally the writing is done. Now i can concentrate on the production and promotion of the album. I’m taking care of all steps meticulously, it’s hard but i hope to see the results very soon.

How is the prog scene these days in Milan?

There are several prog bands in Milan and near the city. A lot of good musicians and most are really prepared, the scene is certainly active and very interesting too!

What is your opinion about the new wave of prog bands?

The prog music, as all music genres, is always in evolution. I think that the new prog bands are working very well in many aspects, such as the sound, technique and precision, but i have difficultty finding great songs like there were in the past. It seems like the real sense of music has desappeared, the art of music must be to open your heart to the audience not to simply show your skills.

Can you tell me something about your influences?

I have grown with classic Metal groups like Iron maiden, Metallica, Pantera, Megadeth. Through the years I have listened to virtuoso artists like Steve Vai , Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons, John Petrucci and Dream Theater, Angra, Symphony-x, Mr Big, Extreme, but also classic rock like Kiss, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix or Jazz artist like Bireli Lagrene, John Scotfield, Wes Mongomery, Charlie Parker or Flamenco guitarists like Paco De Lucia, Manuel Granado, El Camaron. Thanks to my parents, when i was young, i also listened to a lot of Italian bands and artists like Pooh, Adriano Celentano, Lucio Battisti, I nomadi , Formula 3, Mina and others.

What are you listening to these days?

At the moment, after several months of listening “Back from a Journey”, i’m listening to radio music. Not only metal or rock but also commercial music, both to relax and to assimilate new melodic ideas or different ways of songwriting.

Your five favourite records of all time?

1. Alien Love Secret (Steve Vai)
2. Images and Words (Dream Theater)
3. Rust in Peace (Megadeth)
4. Porno Graffiti (Extreme)
5. Ear X-Tacy (Andy Timmons)

Can you tell me a little bit more about the gear you use to record “Back From A Journey”?

I will certainly use my main guitar, the Esp Horizon Fr II and my Amp Blackstar Series ONE 100. I have been using them since 2010, they highlight my music approach and help me to sound natural, thinking only to the music.

Besides the release of the album, are there any other plans for the future?

At moment i’m focusing only on the release, but at the same time i’m planning a videoclip and a tour to promote the album in Italy and in other countries.

Any words for the potential new fans?

If you are searching for an emotional, dynamic, virtuoso and melodic music you must listen to “Back from a Journey”, soon my music will go down into your heart!

Follow Dan Logoluso on Facebook for future updates.

Pennsylvania based experimental trio, Orion Tango released their debut album in 2015. Titled after the band, the recording comprised of five songs sends you on an adventurous sonic journey. Guitarist and composer Tim Motzer tells us what was it like working on the album, but he also talks about inspiration, gear, and more.

How did the creative process go for Orion Tango?

The creative process went very well. Orion Tango is an improvising power trio. Bassist Barry Meehan, drummer Jeremy Carlstedt, and I have been working together in various formations and projects for years, and that is our forte. We create in the moment. So we don’t know what we are going to play, or what will happen. The thing about Orion Tango is the improvisational aspect. It’s something i’ve personally been delving deeply into for years with 1k Recordings projects like Instant Takemitsu (with Dino JA Deane), Goldbug (with Theo Travis), Base3, and in my solo work as well as with my scores and collaborations in modern dance. It’s a very profound thing, because the reward of this process, is what you will find by doing it. It’s not always a good feeling doing it, but ‘the moment’ is what it is about, and what you are left with is ‘the result’— this music. It’s a realtime compositional process, but we are letting the music unfold and, as musicians, helping it along or sonically sculpting it in a way. We all add and subtract ourselves dynamically as the music moves forward. This process is almost like being in a trance—deeply inside the music—with the deepest intent for expressing and riding the muse with Jeremy and Barry. Many people that have heard the record, think it was composed or at least arranged, but that is how it actually went down.  Barry calls what we do “a calling of the spirits’. As Orion Tango continues performing and recording, the exciting aspect is where we will go, and what music will occur.  It is wide open.

What does “Orion Tango” (album) musically represents in terms of achievement(s) of your careers?

It’s a piece of the puzzle in all our musical lives. It represents a part of a number of projects that we are involved in. For us, it is the uniqueness of the  constellation of this trio—friends and great players—that want to create together at this level, and play a bunch of shows. It stretches us and we evolve because of this project.

What’s Orion Tango up to these days?

The debut album is out at 1krecordings.com. We just played on WXPN’s The Key Sessions, which was an amazing time. They have a beautiful studio there, and in addition to recording, we had live visuals by Jen Cleary to inspire the improvisations as well as added stimuli for the studio audience. The entire evening was filmed on multiple cameras, so I’d expect that to air soon, perhaps in February 2016. We may even have an audio release from that session. It was such an inspired intimate evening of spellbinding music. One where we start from zero really, and, in this case, it was a five note Japanese scale, that Barry only learned minutes before we started! Sometimes it feels like an aircraft rolling down the runway, and at some point without knowing, we are in the air. A fan described our music that night as ‘symphonies’. Fun stuff! Orion Tango’s next show is in Baltimore at the 8×10 on 1/28 along with Julie Slick’s new band EchoTest and Out of the Beardspace. Meanwhile, more booking is happening.

Where do you draw your inspiration from? How do you go about channeling it?

Inspiration can come from almost anywhere, and at anytime. Sometimes, it’s hard to get started, so we search for the spark. It could come from reading an interview, or listening to a record, or just playing. Anything could bring it on. I am inspired by painters, dancers, nature, music, reading and on and on. I think in terms of channeling, or finding the zone, it’s just about being yourself, and finding the music by doing it. It’s a process, and by doing it, something is bound to happen.

Which bands influence your sound?

It’s a hard call. I think we sound like us when we play. I hear us. It’s a unique blend of players with different backgrounds. We are not trying to sound like anyone else. Our sound palette is guitar, bass, pedals, amps, and drums. So it’s what we do with our instruments that matter. We’ve all listened to an enormous amount of music across our lives, and it’s all in there. It is a ridiculous list of luminaries, so hard to even try to name everyone! For me, Jimi Hendrix was a key early influence; many incredible jazz artists including Miles Davis and all who worked with him; ECM artists; electronic artists; Pink Floyd, Brian Eno, and Robert Fripp among many many others!

Have you performed live with Orion Tango before? How do people react on your music?

The thrilling thing to me is that people really seem to love what we do. It’s a process and a way of playing that is fresh and new to people. We aren’t trying to cop a genre or anything really, but just be in the moment and let this music happen. I think people enjoy seeing the process of making this music in a live setting.

Where do you see OT in the future?

I’d like to see us playing cool venues, art spaces, festivals, touring as much as we can. That’s my personal goal.

What have you been listening to lately?

As of late, a lot of jazz— ECM stuff, Keith Jarrett, Terje Rypdal, Eberhard Weber; John Coltrane, King Crimson 2015 tour box, Frode Gjerstad Trio, Gong, Henry Cow, Ryiuichi Sakamoto, Sidsel Endresen among lots of other records. It is an ongoing thing.

What are your all-time favourite records?

There are so many, it would be the longest list of all time!  Here’s a few that come to mind, I have left many out. It’s such a difficult question to answer.

Pink Floyd – Meddle
Jimi Hendrix – Band of Gypsies
Terje Rypdal – Descendre
Eberhard Weber – The Colours of Chloe
Mahavishnu Orchestra – Apocalypse
King Crimson – Starless and Bible Black; Lizard; Discipline
Keith Jarrett – Dark Interval
Curtis Mayfield – Superfly
David Sylvian – Dead Bees on a Cake
John Lee Hooker – The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker
a smattering of classical recordings by
Bach, Messiaen, Bartok, Stockhausen, Terry Riley, Nancarrow…

Steve Reich – Music For 18 Musicians
Muddy Waters – After The Rain; Electric Mud
Ali Farka Toure
Brian Eno – Another Green World
Beatles – White Album
James Brown – There It Is
Steve Hillage – Motivation Radio
David Bowie – Low
Wes Montgomery – California Dreaming
Jon Hassel – 4th World
Stevie Wonder – Innervisions
Fela Kuti – Shuffering and Shmiling
SuperSilent – 7

Is there anything you want to add?

We really appreciate your support, please download, or purchase our new record, Orion Tango, at 1krecordings.bandcamp.com. While you are there, check out the other eclectic 1k releases. You can also find lots of info on Orion Tango at the label site, 1krecordings.com. Thanks!

Orion Tango’s self-titled debut album is out now via 1k Recordings. Buy it here.

Swiss metalcore quintet Henriette B are working on the follow-up to their 2014 album “Red Dawn of Humanity,” which is expected to be released in early 2016. Let’s find out what can we expect from the new material in the interview below.

What made you go for the name Henriette B?

It refers to a Norwegian actress, Henriette Bruusgaard who acted in a horror movie called “Manhunt”. We saw the movie in 2009, a couple of months before we started the band. We enjoyed the movie and the actress, so we decided to keep the name for our new project.

How do you usually describe your music?

We usually describe our music using the words metalcore or melodic metalcore. If you’re not used to these styles, it’s a blend of extreme music coupled with a lot of melody and rythmic parts.

What is your writing process like?

Our writing process starts with a first draft of a song produced by Vincent (guitar). This first draft contains, guitars, bass and drums. Then Thierry (guitar), Fabien (bass) and Vincent review the chords, we all give our inputs and ideas. When this is done, Fabio (drums) rewrites the drumming with his own style and ideas. When the song is done, we start to play it together and Ian (voice) starts to write the lyrics. We work with Guitar Pro, it allows us to do a lot of work by our own at home. It means that the first time we play a song in rehearsal, everybody knows his part and we just have to put the whole together.

Who or what is your inspiration, if you have any?

We all are huge music fans, so we’re listening to a lot of music in any style. But from the beginning of the band (2009) we were highly influenced by August Burns Red and Parkway Drive. Lately we were amazed by the last Texas In July’s album, “Bloodwork”. The work on the guitars and the drumming are awesome.

What is your favourite song on “Red Dawn of Humanity”?

Enslave Our Future. This song has the better balance between melody, extreme parts and rythmic parts. We always have fun playing this song live and besides, we recorded a music video for this song (you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/DgzYSGi3xi8) and the audience knows it and reacts to the intro’s sample.

You are working on new music. What makes it different?

We invested much more time in the pre-production phase to improve the harmonies and the drumming. Furthermore, we took some time to add some keyboards and effects to improve the finished product. So I think the audience will still recognize our style but will, hopefully, enjoy our new way of creating music.

What should music lovers expect from the next album?

Our music is pretty straight forward, so if you like heavy and fast music, you will enjoy it! However, if you listen to the songs carefully, you can enjoy a more complex riff’s structure and subtle harmonies.

What kind of emotions would you like your audience to feel when they listen to your music?

Even if we have a mix of heavy rythmic and melodic parts we don’t have a precise emotion to give to the audience. However we want our music to enter into every listner’s body and make them headbang, even a little bit! It’s more to give the audience a good feeling which makes them want to move than an emotion.

Which do you like most, life in the studio or on tour?

Definitely on tour. We really appreciate being in studio because you always learn a lot. We work since 2013 with the same sound engineer for the recording process (Raphael Crivelli) and he gave us a lot of useful inputs and feedbacks to improve our instruments. But you can’t compare that to what you feel on stage. Moreover, on tour you always meet new people, whether it is the band you’re sharing the stage with or the audience.

Pick your 3 favourite albums that you would take on a desert island with you.

Messengers from August Burns Red, Sempiternal from Bring Me The Horizon and finally When Legends Become Dust from Conducting From The Grave.

Stay tuned for more Henriette B news via the band’s Facebook page.