The Veil's Edge Zine

L: So would you like to tell our readers a bit about Awful Noise?

LF: Awful Noise is a deathgrind band from South East Queensland. We first came to light in 2017 when we announced ourselves as a band and a direct support for the Irish band, Abaddon Incarnate.

 After a few more gigs we decided to record the tracks for our debut split alongside Germany's Ignite the Massacre. After that the band continued to write songs and perform both locally and interstate.

 Unfortunately in 2018 our original bassist/backing vocalist Brady Irwin stepped down due to relocating to Victoria and the band would be a 3 piece for a long duration of time. In 2019 we hit the studio to record our album with a support tour alongside US powerviolence trio Savage.

 Towards the end of 2019, Pete Robertson decided to step down as drummer while also new bassist Robert Needham had come in and with session drummer (Ben of Kaerulean) the band wrote and recorded 2 tracks during the covid epidemic. These tracks would go onto the "Segregation" split with Grimentity from Belarus and Mendacity from Canada.

 Awful Noise has a full lineup now and is working on dropping the album with plans to record newer material and get back on stage to blast n grind!

L: How would you describe your sound with your full line up and new material?

LF:  Same motivations just taking on a somewhat different approach. New songs will be thoroughly dissected before being displayed to a live audience and put under a microscope before we hit the studio. Always staying grind as fuck though.

L: You've toured with some incredible bands- do you have a particular experience that stands out for yourself?  

LF: Abaddon Incarnate was huge personally for me just because I've been a fan since I was a teenager and "Dark Crusade" is a personal favourite grind album for me. Savage from Seattle was a heap of fun and those dudes rock.

L: Do you have any plans in regards to your live performances? 

LF: People always seemed to love our live performances but we can guarantee that the new lineup is going to crush all expectations.

L: I'm excited to see you live!  What are your influences?  

LF:Pig Destroyer,  Napalm Death, Rotten Sound, Cephalic Carnage, Antigama and Nasum etc. 

L: What started you on the path to metal?  

LF: When I was around 11/12 I would watch Dragon Ball Z and one of the movies had a sound track that featured songs from Drowning Pool and Deftones. That was the start and I would gradually integrate towards heavier music. 

L: Is there a particular musician that stood out to you and influenced your playing? 

LF: As a bass player I was always inspired by Steve Harris of Iron Maiden who has always been the driving force for his band. Alex Webster from Cannibal Corpse has also been a huge influence on me growing up.

Vocal wise I love what Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation presents, next level vocalist.

L:Are there any really memorable moments in Awful Noise that have stood out to you personally?  

LF:I would say the first two Ungrateful Dead Festivals that myself and Ewan Lambert (Facegrinder) ran in Brisbane and Perth, just the best way to have gigs really.

L: So apart from the Ungrateful Dead Festivals, have you been involved in planning other gigs?  

LF:Yeah I've actually run a heap of gigs both for AN and for other occasions. I ran the Abaddon Incarnate show, the 2 Savage/AN shows and a few other locals held to help touring interstate acts. Another gig we played that I feel needs mention was when we supported Organectomy from New Zealand, fuck those guys are heavy! 

L: Do you have any other bands that you'd like to recommend to our readers? 

LF:There's a heap and I know we'll miss a bunch but I'll give a shout out to 12 Gauge Rampage, Carnal Viscera, Death Plague, Writhing, The Absolution Sequence, Blindfolded and Led to the Woods(New Zealand), Xenobiotic, Disparo, Klak(Timor Leste) and of course our split brothers - Grimentity and Mendacity! 

L:Thankyou for sharing some great music with us!  Do you have any final words for our readers?  

LF:Jump on our bandcamp and give the latest album single "Synchronized Drowning" a blast, you can also find our live performances and lyric videos up on YouTube. Thanks Sarah and grind on! 

L: Thankyou so much for your time and being interviewed for the Veils Edge Zine! Its been a pleasure as always!

Hi Dam! 

Thankyou for taking the time to be interviewed for The Veils Edge Zine!

 L: I understand that you are the vocalist of Death Plague- how would you describe your sound?

 DK: This will probably be the hardest question to answer. I personally don’t like to stick to just one genre and we as band members have all grown up with different influences. I would like to think that we boarder the “extreme” metal genre however we are not as fast, we are very heavy but with groove elements and then we also bring in melodies and solos, just try to play what we enjoy and give the fans as much variety as we can.  

So in saying that, we have elements of black, death, thrash, but also progressive rock structures thrown into the mix. There is something for everyone.

L: Are there any new Death Plague material in progress at the moment? 

DK: Absolutely, so anyone who has been watching the socials would have seen a couple of teasers go up recently of our 2nd EP that will be coming out shortly. We have named the EP “The Panoramic Bloodscape”, it was engineered and produced by Adam Merker in his studio AndersDebeerz. Absolutely loved working with Adam, his passion and his skills are awesome but also he welcomes you like family, he is just an all round awesome guy to know and he really cares about his craft.  

What i can say about this EP particularly is it’s darker, heavier and a lot more thought about in the way the tracks are structured. Lyrical content has taken a more meaningful path due to certain issues that i felt had to be expressed.  

This EP i think has really hit many home truths for Death Plague, but also the members personally and the fans (Rats) of Death Plague will also find a fair few home truths in it as well. We didn’t want to produce music that we were not happy with and we wanted to do right by the fans, so all up the process of recording it took roughly 6 months for 4 tracks worth but the end result is a really personal driven approach and i think people will appreciate the songs more because so much effort and hours went into this. There is a fair bit of definition in the lyrical content aswell that I will clarify but for now we are very excited to have this come out.

L: Sounds excellent- I’m excited to review your new material as well! Do you find yourself and Death Plague working constantly to create new material? 

DK: Almost everyday, the cogs keep turning, finding new ways to create and new ways to challenge ourselves.  At the start the band didn’t really have to much direction and we just played for the fun and love of it. 

However nowadays it’s more exciting looking at how we can find ways to impact the fans and be their for them but also have them trying to guess what we are going to do next. I like to keep an element of surprise with the song writing and be a bit odd ball.. must drive the other members crazy but they are enjoying it.

L: Would you like to tell us about your projects that you have going currently? 

DK: I think at the moment I’m pretty bulked down with this release coming, I have a fair bit going on and the wheels just keep turning. Each day I’m finding less and less time to be able to do everything I want to accomplish, the other members have already been writing more new material which is incredible.

 I’m under the impression that its more heavier then what we just recorded and more technical.  So I’m keen to get in and start figuring out these new songs that are coming up.

L: So what got you started on this path with Death Plague and how did you form as a band? 

DK Well I was in a black metal project called chemical cascades back years and years ago, things were on pretty shaky ground and it was always on and off, then one day, still have no idea about what happened as it was pretty quiet between everyone, we just ended up spliting ways. It took me a couple of years to build back up mentally.. that band destroyed me and I didn’t know what to do or what I felt about music.. so a few years passed and I decided I was going to buy a guitar, just a second hand one, budget was like 70 bucks and I got this horrible black Yamaha, anyway, it did the job... so I called a mate of mine who played drums and we got together for a jam, grunge was the tone and we were rocking.

 Had a few songs under the belt, but it just wasn’t feeling right.. so my friend said he knew this guitarist, Denim was his name. He came into the studio and I was blown away.. I felt really fucking terrible compared to him, so I let him take the lead and I just fit where I could.. then we found another guitarist called steve, absolutely love this bloke, great guitarist and a good mate, unfortunately he isn’t with us now, but I do hope nothing but the best for him and I would do anything for that dude, such a great soul.

 Then I shifted to bass and vocals. Then things where getting heavy, really heavy, I cam to the conclusion that I couldn’t do bass and vocals for live shows, i then enlisted a good friend of mine from chemical cascades days to give me a hand with live shows on bass, lindon, what a cool fucking dude he is, he knows just about anyone and every band there is to know, he jumped on board and to my surprise he actually liked it considering he was busy with his grindcore band Awful Noise, he even joined us in our original parasitic homicide music video. 

Then eventually we found a fully dedicated bass player called Chris who absolutely scared the shit out of me with his playing abilities, he can play, very well. Then we got a different drummer, lewie stepped in and he smacks those skins, holy shit, everytime he plays, after a jam or a gig, just look at the floor, wood chips everywhere... ha.. so yea, that’s how we formed and as we grew we became heavier and more defined as a style and as Death Plague.  

Its been a monster from the start, it has kicked our arses massively but that monster is us but it now controls us.  

L: Through your personal struggles- I have noticed that yourself and Death Plague have started quite the movement. I’d first of all like to let you know that we stand with you. Would you like to go into this?   

DK: During the 6 months of tracking The Panoramic Bloodscape , myself personally has been tackling an ongoing legal battle. This legal battle has been to do with family law. During that time I have been to about 4 hearings and its been a non stop battle to fight and stand up for myself. Then the person I am also thought about other people who could possibly be in the same situation. Without going into to much detail because it is still an ongoing battle, I was, let’s just say, really screwed over. 

Unfortunately if you don’t have access to the money then you kind of just need to put up with how it plays out.  I wasn’t going to do that, I’ve been fighting tooth and nail through all of this and i couldn’t let it rest to have a judgement pushed on me without the full facts. So I have been sitting in silence and looking at the bigger picture.  There are people out there with these battles happening, they have no funding and they have no one to turn to and its just a bad state of decay to be in. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, extended families, they all suffer from the unfair system thats in place in the family law act, especially in the domestic violence act as well. 

 Some of the issues is the ongoing financial hardship we suffer from the lawyers, then the profiteering from state governments and federal agencies, the whole thing is set up with a real nasty agenda. Then you have the very one-sided gender inequality that shouldn’t be allowed and you have the ongoing labelling stigma that goes with it all. I

 feel there has to be change and we as the people must be taking a stand against the system and the government to fight for our children so they don’t need to grow up in this system. I was a product of the system and now I’m being treated as a contributor and criminal in the eyes of the system. But this has been happening for years... so we now as Death Plague and myself are pushing awareness of all these issues and are trying the change the Bloodscape so to speak. 

I am placing myself as the voice for those who can’t fight and every win a get its a win across the board for our fans and for our future. 

L: I just want to let you know I’m so proud of you for taking such a stance to protect our children and vulnerable people legally, it shows such a strength of conviction. So what ways are Death Plague working to push the awareness?  

DK: Thankyou so much for supporting us with this. The issue is we can’t continue to neglect change and leave these issues for our children to have to deal with, at some stage someone needs to make a stand and I’m seeing no one being a voice or doing anything about it, its frustrating that the alienation we suffer from society and community about these issues is still going on. when we should be displaying a unity against what the real issues are. Its not uncommon, its out there in society and the stigma behind it is unjustifiable.

 It fuelled my rage and disgust so much so that I thought what can I do? How do I make a stand?. I started looking at my lyrical content and thought here is a great opportunity to use the exposure I have in the music scene and also the platforms I have at my disposal, no one is being part of a solution or making noise about it, so I decided that all the lyrical content in The Panoramic Bloodscape is about the mission Death Plague is taking on thats against the courts and against the government . 

 I approached Death Plague members and asked them, we had a discussion about it and the outcome was more then I thought it would be, let’s donate to ABF (Australian Brotherhood of Fathers) the proceeds we make for 1 year from band merchandise sales, ticket sales and when its released EP sales. The ABF are there, not for profit and trying to change the Australian legislation inside false claim domestic violence and the family law act. I don’t see how we can let this slip off the radar, they are fighting for all, mothers, fathers, kids, extended family, everyone. My self being dragged through the family law act and domestic violence act has made me realise how inhumane Australia is with this legislation. 

The ABF are trying to show that both sides are equal and we should have equal opportunities and basic fundamental human rights when it comes to making a judgement on someone. They also make it aware with their #21fathers that 21 fathers a week statistically die from suicide due to these ongoing issues. Same with #notyourright bringing awareness that using false claims of domestic violence should not be allowed, also no one has a right to have this power against someone who could be innocent, there are so many men out there that have these orders that stops them from seeing their kids and stops the kids from seeing their father and they can’t fight it because they don’t have the resources, it isn’t because they were all guilty, yes some are but some just can’t afford to have their side heard. 

Same with women, some can’t get out of situations because funds are being used up for false claims, and yes, some women can be just as equally dangerous towards men by use of manipulation and mental abuse.  Why does the system allow this? Both sides are victims and both sides are as equally damaging. And yet the kids are being dragged through it and shown how gender rules are different . So we want to back this cause and I think everyone should. In today’s modern world we shouldn’t just be voting for one section of equality, it should be equality across the board and better yet, shouldn’t even have to vote for equality its a basic human right. Why is it that gender even plays a part in today’s judgements? 

Modern society is rejecting gender identity and gender rules , why is that not reflected in the legislation? For example, there are no men’s legal services but yet there is free women’s legal services funded by the state and federal governments. It just automatically makes you aware of the gender differences. However, unfortunately, everything i just spoke of is just the face of the issue, the reason why the family law and domestic violence acts are set up this way is actually not to protect, its about whats more financially beneficial for the government.  

Their agenda is to make sure they keep the genders separated by the legislation as it creates financial motivators for false domestic violence claims which then creates the volatile family disputes.  This is why we need to support this organisation, we need to make a stand, we are all blinded by the fake facade of an agenda that profits and benefits from families being torn apart. 

So, in saying this, we hope that people supporting us are also supporting the war, people can buy merchandise and know that their purchase has gone to a great cause (and that they got a wicked cool shirt or EP or a great show) or if people wanna help other ways then maybe sign up to the ABF or donate straight to them or if you don’t have funds then just spread the word, talk about it in the community, do your part to help have this changed.  

Let people know that Death Plague is for them, we understand their pain and that we feel it together.

L: I’m very much looking forward to catching up down the track in another interview to see what yourself and Death Plague are up to! Do you have any final thoughts you’d like to share with our readers? 

DK: The Panoramic Bloodscape will be out shortly, we have new merch out soon and we also have a tour planning in the works for the Australian east coast, make sure you catch us when we are near your area.  Push for whats right, help and support Death Plague so we can help and support others who are in need, jump on the ABF and give them a like, see what they are doing and see if you can help at all.

 We are all in this together and together we will change this Bloodscape that is plaguing us all. Also I just want to thank you folks at The Veils Edge for reaching out and asking myself for an interview, legends. 

L:Thankyou so much for your time and agreeing to be interviewed for The Veils Edge Zine!

The Veils Edge Zine Interviews Chelsea from “Valkyries Unchained”   Lilith: So, you have recently started Valkyrie Unchained- would you like to tell us a bit about your company please? 

Chelsea : Yes of course! Valkyrie Unchained is a promotion company looking to manage gigs bi-monthly at least! Currently Brisbane based but want to expand nationally and with even bigger dreams internationally and band management in the future!

 Lilith: I heard you had an excellent response to your first gig- would you like to tell our readers a bit about what you did?

 Chelsea: Yes! I have decided to support our beautiful and talented ladies in the scene and put together a show with our lovely female vocalists and the bands that came with them (Sunset Junkies, Torizon, In Eyes, BLED OUT and Terror Parade) In honour of this I've decided to donate 25% of the ticket proceedings to the National Breast Cancer Foundation! 

Lilith: That's so inspirational and adds a great philanthropic aspect to Valkyrie Unchained! Is there any reason why you picked the Breast Cancer Foundation? 

Chelsea: The NBCF is probably the foundation that has affected me the most in a positive way. I know a lot of women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and that foundation helped them so much 🖤 

Lilith: That's great to hear! Are you planning on doing this for future events?  

Chelsea: I’m planning on keeping charity donations in the future, the foundations will vary! 

Lilith: You spoke earlier about what you'd like to expand into with your dreams. Would you like to share an insight about the future of Valkyrie Unchained with our readers? 

Chelsea:  I have plans on putting on gigs in other states through contacts I have acquired over years being in the metal scene! I just love expanding the scene, promoting the lovely bands and getting them the recognition they all deserve.

 Lilith: It's so exciting to hear someone speak with such passion and conviction about expanding the scene. How long have you been part of the scene and what are some of the things you love most about it?  Chelsea: I have been a part of the scene for nearly 7 years, starting when I was 14 years old and attending local gigs that weren't 18+. I love the atmosphere that the scene has always provided, everyone is very nice and its always a good time seeing everyone connect, party, headbang and crowd surf! 

Lilith: That's awesome to hear!  So what inspired you to start Valkyrie Unchained? 

Chelsea: I have always wanted to promote and organise gigs, I got the push from when I started my job at The Mansfield Tavern. We have an amazing Rockarina room with a massive stage and capacity room. They were looking at putting more metal gigs on there so that really gave me the push I needed!

 Lilith: It's great when your workplace is so supportive! I understand you're also an Admin of Metal Music Discovery Australia- would you like to explain what that is to our readers? 

Chelsea: I guess being admin of that group is just working on the progression, engaging with the members, making interactive posts and hosting events for the metalheads of Australia to attend! 

Lilith:  I've seen you hosting some excellent events there including a family BBQ- how did that come to be an MMDA event? 

Chelsea: Well it started with the Orphan Christmas, local metalheads that didn't have family plans for Christmas surrounded by a different type of family. Kind of sparked the Metalheads BBQ to have a family friendly event where people can bring their kids! 

Lilith: That's great and so good to hear MMDA is fostering such a community spirit for the scene. Do you have any other upcoming plans apart from your gig through Valkyrie Unchained?

Chelsea: At the moment, that is the one I'm focusing all my energy into but Valkyrie Unchained is definitely going to stick!

 Lilith: I'm so happy to hear you're so passionate!  So what musicians really got you into metal? 

Chelsea: When I was younger I was always into the core side of metal! And also heavily into Slipknot. I was never raised on metal - first metalhead in my family. The scene has really expanded my metal knowledge and interests.

 Lilith: That's great! What drew you to metal initially? 

Chelsea: One of my friends at school always played hard rock and metal and I was hooked instantly, as I've grown, so has the expansion of my taste in metal.

 Lilith: What  sub-genres do you enjoy now?  

Chelsea: My favourite sub-genre will definitely be thrash! The fast pace of the instrumentals are amazing!  Quite like black metal and death metal as well 🖤 Lilith: Excellent! Any final words for our readers? Chelsea: Please support our scene, go give Valkyrie Unchained a like on Facebook for any upcoming gigs, events and more! 🖤🖤

 Lilith: Thankyou so much for your time today Chelsea- it's been an absolute pleasure.  Thankyou for being The Veils Edge Zines first interview of the year! 

Chelsea: Thankyou for having me Lilith! It's a pleasure! 🖤🖤🤘

APOPHIS AND AIDIAN CIBICH MUSIC INTERVIEW. 

Good Morning Aidan!  I recently had the pleasure of reviewing "Echoes of Eternity" by your melodic death metal project Apophis  - would you mind telling me what inspired you and influenced you to create "Echoes of Eternity"? 

Good morning. The inspiration and influences for the latest album are quite varied. The inspiration was to create an album (like with the first two) which could tell a story using metal, with instrumental music without the use of vocals, that would still carry a listener on a journey from start to finish, in the same way that a movie score carries a movie. Musically, the influences came from a lot of outside metal places, such classical music for a lot of the arrangements and jazz for the solos. 

You've recently changed your Apophis page to Aidan Cibich Musician to include all of your projects- including some projects that are quite a different step away from your Apophis material, what prompted you to explore different avenues musically? 

 Changing the name from Apophis back to being under my own name after releasing the 3rd album was done for a few reasons. Firstly- the 3rd Apophis finishes the trilogy album idea I started with the first one, it comes full circle and finishes that story and musical arc which is for lack of better or a term, is Apophis. The next and main reason for the change, it’s a pure and natural progression musically, deciding to move further away from just playing metal and bringing in more of my influences into the music. It felt like the right time to make that change and decide to finally start using my name instead of a “band” name and branching out into more guitar melody driven music that has more to say then what I could say with only being called Apophis- sort of in the way of my heroes Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.

 I've noticed that apart from Apophis, you also have quite a few projects in your name- would you mind telling us about them?  Gladly. The main project that I was apart of up until late last year was a black metal band called Tanin’iver, which I did two full length albums and a single with over the course of last year. I left Tanin’iver on good terms. Full disclosure and honesty about my leaving of Tanin’iver and also a bit of changing Apophis to being under my own name- is also because I no longer feel like I can express myself through extreme metal in the way I want to. I still love those albums, and proud of everything I have done, but as musician who is always pushing myself to create, explore and expand my sound, I have felt the limits of only stating in one genre, even if I lose fans by being honest and by in away leaving extreme metal to go down a whole different path musically- it’s a risk and gamble I am willing to take as  those who are closest to me know how diverse my taste in music actually is. One thing I don’t mind answering in questions is being as truthful as possible, even if it upsets people or I lose fans, one of the reasons why I’m leaving metal and doing more melody driven music is also because I’m sick of being in a scene where it feels like people can’t take constructive criticism. For instance,  I come from studying jazz first, way before I started playing metal (metal was the last thing I got into) . In my training, you are always under criticism- it helps you get better, grow as a musician and learn. Where as in metal, esp guitar wise, I’ve found lately, it feels like you have to tip toe around it to not hurt peoples feelings about their playing and I’m over that. If you ask me what I think, I will tell you- because the way I was taught  was each and every note you played was under the microscope, and I did 100’s of jazz gigs where I failed and succeeded but would still get constructive criticism about my playing. Did I go home crying or defending my playing? No, I never looked to argue with my teachers- they only wanted to push my playing and growth as a musician, and it was the best experience I could have ever had as a musician. So much more then being in the metal scene, where I personally feel like you can never say anything bad and if you do-there’s always an excuse, or argument. And they call jazz musicians weak! 

So are there any other avenues as an artist you can see yourself exploring in the future? 

 I can see myself further developing more jazz/fusion ideas in my music and bringing in more genres and theory/modal ideas as well. There are no limits to my music, and each year I see a progression and slight natural changes happening. I look at artists like Miles Davis, whom changed like the seasons. For better or worse, change happens and I welcome the change.   

I'm really excited to see what direction you go in as well  With Apophis- what inspired you to do an instrumental melodic death metal release?  

The inspiration to do melodic death metal came from liking bands like at the gates and dark tranquility, and deciding to go instrumental was pretty simple, I’m terrible at vocals so decide I’ll just go instrumental. 

So what inspired you to follow the path of extreme metal? 

 It really was, it helped me to also keep my ear open to other genres because you learn and pick up ideas from different places that you can use for your own music and helps to create your own style. I always loved metal as much as jazz growing up, my dad showed me bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica at an early age (first thing he ever showed me was the sex pistols haha, still love them) but I didn’t really get into the more extreme stuff till late high school. I grew up in a small town called Port Lincoln on the west coast of South Australia and pre YouTube days, you didn’t really find that much extreme metal unless a friend was into it. I started following the path of playing more extreme metal which became what my first 3 solo albums, because I loved the riffs and I could always hear that epic movie score sound in it.          

 What's a constant quality that you look for consistently throughout genres?

That’s a pretty difficult question and it’s not so much of looking for quality. It depends on the genre as well, but the biggest things I look for are a sense of timing, melody, something original that stands out. These days I rarely listen to metal, apart from Maiden, and more classic stuff like that. I’m more listening to old jazz records and guitar solo music that has more to say to my ears that is. 

How would you describe it and your influences in it so our readers have an idea about your new direction? 

After spending some time going back to basics with my playing, working on stuff like music theory, phrasing and also more importantly listening to albums that made me want to be a musician in the first place, it has all led to what I've decided will be my next album, and quite possibly the most fun and fulfilling album I have yet to do. This next album, which is already written and in demo form at the moment, captures everything I love about music, bringing together everything I love, from the raw energy and excitement from punk (The Misfits and Sex Pistols) the power of old school metal (Iron Maiden and old Metallica), the song writing and thrill of classic dirty rock bands (Kiss and Guns and Roses) to my love of different guitar solo approaches ranging from blues, rock, a bit of jazz and 80's shred. No release date as of yet, as I am going back to uni to study music production, I intend to use what I learn and use it to make this album the best it can be. 

Do you have any final thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? 

It’s been an absolute pleasure indeed. Thank you so very much for taking the time to interview me. And I don’t think I have anything else to say, I think I’ve said everything in all the answers to the questions. 

Thankyou so much for your time- It’s genuinely been an absolute pleasure and I look forward to seeing your new material!

Hi :-) Just kicking off the interview quickly :-) You've released "Impostomb" recently- would you like to tell me what influences you and what inspired you to create your EP?  Horror,the feeling of un-ease, anxiety, dread and a healthy dose of musical influences that inevitably ingrain in ones psyche.

 So what musical influences helped inspire you with Orbyssmal?  

Artists that are true to what they do and bend for no-one and no trends.  Namely Portal, Impetuous Ritual and Vomitor. 

When you talk about the horror influence in Orbyssmal- which films or aspects have influenced your music? 

 Horror being my favourite movie genre it seeps through. Halloween, Evil Dead, Hellraiser, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari are some of the top picks for me. It more shows itself in my music as a feeling. A build up of suspense with no resolve for example.

 So what initially drove you to pursue extreme metal?  

Wanting to push boundaries and offer something a little different to the stale, shall I say it, 'scene'. Most just sound like one another. What drove me to it though is me. It's my own outlet I can just do as I please. That is immensely satisfying. Freedom of creation. 

Are there any other projects that you are particularly proud of besides Orbyssmal?  

Yes but I'm totally anonymous in them 😉 apart from that I am involved in a 5 way split release with some really killer bands that should be out soon. 

I can't wait to hear your split :-) Do you have any more plans in the future for Orbyssmal? 

 To just keep doing what i do on my own terms. I'm always writing and the ideas never stop so expect a lot more to come. 

Do you have any other creative pursuits beside Orbyssmal you'd like to share with the readers? 

Not overly. All my creative energy is funneled into Orbyssmal. 

How did you find that Orbyssmal was recieved on an international level? 

All reviews seem to be in favour of what I'm doing. Have recieved nothing but good feedback 

That's excellent news- congrstulations :-) How about your local scene? 

Seem to have more interest abroad to be honest. That's totally fine with me. That is the case with most Australian extreme metal, bigger overseas than in their own country. 

I have actually noticed that. Is there any particular style of music that you enjoy outside of our Australian scene? 

 I have an extremely varied taste. Apart from metal I'm a huge fan of jazz. I like anything eclectic and different. Originality goes a long way. 

I have noticed that you have recently released an excellent black metal split with quite diverse black metal artists- What does Orbyssmal have in store for the future? 

I have a complete album ready to roll, 2 songs are included in said split. So I'm waiting until that has had its time to shine, then i will release my next full length 😀

 It’s been a pleasure to interview you and I really look forward to your releases coming up- Thankyou so much for your time!

Hi Andrew! Mazikeen is a self-described “blackened melodic death metal” project in 2013- would you like to give our readers an insight into how Mazikeen started off?  

I have been playing guitar and wanting to produce music since I was a kid but had mainly spent my time as a bedroom guitarist and never really stayed living in the one spot long enough to get a band happening. Between 2008-2010 I started thinking seriously about recording my own album but didn’t take the steps to get the gear and knowledge I needed to do it until 2013. Seeing a friend Chris Meyers/Aberation Nexus produce his own music gave me a lot of incentive. He was a big help in the early stages of the project also.

 I had the pleasure of reviewing your previous material quite a few years back- do you feel you have developed musically since then?  

Since the EP, I have further developed my skills in writing and tried to broaden my style as well as writing a lot of the synths myself; but the biggest developments since the EP would be getting Lord Marco on drums, as well as long-time friend Kris Marchant to do the Guitar Solos on all the original tracks of the Solace Album.   

So how did you come across Lord Marco? 

 To be honest I can’t remember exactly. I think someone on Facebook shared one of his posts and it all went from there. 

How long have yourself and Kris been friends and have you worked on any projects prior to Mazikeen together? 

 We have been friends since our early teens in Ballarat.  There where times when things where in the early stages of being a project with Kris and I, but Crazy BS life stuff never allowed me to do anything much.  Kris has been involved in several projects including Hakxwhore and is currently writing music for Devolved among other projects. 

Would you mind sharing a few of your influences? 

My favourite Black Metal band has always been Dissection and would be the biggest influence on my music. Many other bands would have played a part also.  We did 4 covers which are released on the CD, these were recorded and released digitally during the writing and production of the Solace album. These seemed to upset some reviewers, while others suggested we had taken our influences from these bands; but the truth is, apart from the Dissection cover which I have known most of the riffs since the 90s, the other tracks were all learnt, recorded, and released in a very short time in attempt to retain interest in the project. When we had finished producing the 52 min album there was space to put these tracks at the end as bonus tracks.   

So what do you personally find so appealing about black metal and what drew you to Disscetion? 

 When I first heard Dissection I had heard a lot of Black metal and did enjoy listening to some of it although my preference was for Death metal with bands like Bolt Thrower Carcass Deicide etc. Back In the early 90s Albums where bought based on Magazine writeups word of mouth and often Just a CD picked out from the Extreme Metal section in the Record stores based on the Cover. These where often swapped later if people didn’t like the album.  I was at a house frequented by Extreme Metal musicians in Ballarat around 94 and a guy showed up with A Dissection CD The Somberlain. He didn’t  like It and was looking to Sell it for Cash or for Pot.  I cant remember what I had to give him for the CD but As soon as it was played I was totally blown away and had to have it.  For some stupid reason for a long time I didn’t accept Dissection as a Black Metal Band. I think I felt that Black Metal could not be that good but still at that time I had not given BM much of a chance.  Then when the Storm album was released and I got a copy of that I loved it even more than the first album.  Nights Blood was just mind blowing. A fellow guitarist did most of the work figuring out the Guitar Riffs for that track and others and we spent a lot of time perfecting the playing.  The Style Kind of Stuck to me from then and never went away.

 I have noticed you recently completed a cover of “I am the 

Black Wizards” by Emperor- fantastic job by the way! Do you have any plans to do any more covers? 

“I am the Black Wizards” was another cover we have done, and one that was learnt on the spot. I had always loved the song, and someone had shown me how to play the opening riff many years ago, the rest I learnt as I recorded it.  With recording guitars Just because Fuckit………I put a SM57 mic on a  5 watt blackstar practice amp in the bathtub with a Metalzone in the loop to record it which seemed to work quite well. I’ve recently recorded guitars for a Puritania cover which was originally for another project but will release it as a cover with Mazikeen. I’m currently doing the synths for it. Also, there’s an original which was late to make it on to the solace release that will be released this year.  

 I have to say that sounds like a really creative set up for your gear! What’s the strangest way you’ve managed to set up your gear for recording in the past?  I did a lot of experimenting with Guitar Tones Plucking styles  and Recording in the early years of the project to try and create my own sound. .   I had a few different mics and a heap of different Speakers and Cabs including some stuff I customized. Different pickups and different mic types and positions but really the Miced  Practice Amp in the bathtub with a metalzone was probably the most out there thing I did for guitar tone.  Something no ones ever picked up on with the full album release is the first track is actually done with a miced practice Amp and all the rest of the songs where DI recorded and reamped by EOL studios.  That was not intentionally done for any reason it just happened that way.  The EP recording was done with a Customised Vader Cab that had  mods to have the 2 bottom speakers sealed and the two top speakers open backed.  Also the two top speakers where changed to governor’s.  An off centre SM57 on a bottom speaker(very standard) and another SM57 Mic stuck into the open back of the Cab. And almost into the back of the Governor Speaker which added a lot of Depth and a growl.  The Valvestate Amp also had alot of mods.   The other thing that was a little off the traditional way of BM Recording is I use a Large Scale 6 string Baritone with very heavy tight strings and Thick Sharp Gravity Picks and I attack the guitar with as much aggression as the strings allow.  This gives the guitar an Agonizing Tone. 

 Congratulations on releasing “The Solace of Death”- how would you personally describe this release? 

I set out to create an album with as much fury as possible without it being ugly or difficult for a fan of extreme metal to listen too.  I think I did a reasonable job of this and proud of the work that everyone involved has done 

Do you have any musical directions in the future you are planning on taking Mazikeens listeners in?  

Beyond another cover release and an original that will possibly have a film clip to go with it there is not a lot as far as future planning goes apart from talk so far.  I am currently working with a local drummer on a cover and a few originals that are more in line with Straya style DM.  I hope to find a local crazy vocalist who can play a bit of bass so we can have a 3 piece outfit. 

That sounds awesome- do you have anyone in particular in mind that you’re thinking of working with for vocals at this point? 

  Ash Meadows for Drums but no one is lined up for vocals as yet. 

So are there any plans for any Mazikeen live performances after all the restrictions have lifted? 

Ive always hoped to do Mazikeen shows. 

Thanks again for your time and thankyou so much for being interviewed for Morgue Rot, Andrew- I can’t wait to see what you do in the future with Mazikeen and your upcoming projects.