Utopia Platafórmica

Holy Figures “New Superstitions”  (New Morality Zine, 2023) When we think of Hardcore our mind goes straight to an image of controlled violence, of sonic revolution, bodies moving, sweat, love, strength, and this sort of anger, this release of energy. And the good thing about music is that this scenario does not need to have a “violent soundtrack”. The whole Emo scene, before it became what became - dropping some tears for what ended up being the Emo Scene - was a full on emotional trainwreck with amazing music. The “boys do not cry” bullshit is all that is wrong with this World, but forget about it. The Emotional Hardcore thing, and the Post-Hardcore thing, both were centered (and still are, of course) on emotions and feelings and releasing the weight that is pushing us down, and Hardcore is a mix of that: violence, emotion, release. And Holy Figure comes into the picture, and holy fuck… Just like most of the music I stumble upon,   Holy Figures popped up on my YouTube playlist,

Kongstyle - “Rampage” (Independent, 2023) “Pissed off Hardcore from the jungles of suburban Atlanta” while this heavy ass guitar riff leads you to the first track, and the vocals remind me of Old School Thrash Metal… which fits quite well. Well, first track is a straight to the jugular attack, leaving you laying on the floor, simple as that. From that point on it is Thrash down your throat. Again, simple as that. I love the groove these guys have. The label Beatdown is there, in the description, and so is the sound. Small details, never overtaking the music, that provide real heaviness and power. That mid-pace, that beating of the drum, the guitar riffs, old sounding, giving you that little taste of when you started with Heavy Metal and those specific riffs. Really nice! But fear not. These lads are Hardcore at heart, and their music is mostly based on Hardcore… with some brush strokes of Beatdown and Thrash, although they do not cross over to the Crossover plain, I guess (which is

Grave Risk - “2 Songs” (Independent, 2023) Rolling through YouTube - xBrutalYouth666x - and I encounter this Powell Peralta cover look-alike. Had to go back and check what the Hell was going on. Aussie lads rocking it out! This is a Crossover band, and I normally do not fall for this gimmick. Hey, nothing against the genre, nor the fans, and even less against the musicians; it’s a Me thing, you know? Well, as the title says, this is a 2 song Demo (can I call it Demo?) that shows a band merging Hardcore Punk with Thrash Metal details. That is the formula for Crossover, mates… what makes this a win is the amount of Hardcore, and the amount of Thrash; Hardcore clearly win, and that is what I was hoping for. The vocals take me straight to the Skate Punk scene, but the good one, not the extremely mellow one. A melodic tone, together with the cool riffs, turns this into a really cool session. The 1st track is, in my modest opinion, much stronger than the 2nd one, more guitar aggressive.

Erstwhile “Steeling of a Soul” (Independent, 2023) Erstwhile is another example of the momentum the USBM scene is going through now. I recall how the USA were hardly mentioned when it came to Black Metal, and in the last few years I have been discovering more and more top-notch bands from the US, which shows the things have been changing. Well, the US always had amazing acts: Judas Iscariot and Leviathan being amongst my favorite, but then we have all the Cascadian scene, and the Raw Black Metal scene, and this and that. In less than 10 years the USBM scene has grown exponentially and provided the World with amazing Black Metal. Erstwhile is another example of the momentum the USBM scene is going through now. I recall getting a message from a mate telling me to check this ASAP; it did take a while to check, but once I did, it stuck. “Barren Land of Grief” is a superb fusion of Black Metal with a frozen and icy atmosphere, melancholic melodies, and this heavy ambient. This is all

No Peace "No bullshit Hardcore, spawned from the Covid-19 lockdowns. Influenced from that early 2000s sound" Thank you for your time, mates. We only began a new year a few days ago, but how has everything been going on that side of the globe? Life has been very busy. I have been neglecting this interview, and I apologise. Work and life commitments have gotten in the way. But not anymore, lets do this! Thank you for having me. First off here is a little intro: my name is Jesse Hurricane Conte, I sing for No Peace; I play guitar in Collapse, and All In; I drum for Stressed. I've been Straight Edge for 14 years. Australia is at an interesting point in time. Our central left leaning government has been elected nationally and in my state, so things are more positive on a political front. Small changes are slowly happening and there's more of an emphasis on health, the environment and renewable energy. See how long this lasts! Let us start off with that oh so cliché

Czarnobog & Immortal Forest “Into the Sarmatian Forest”  (Astral Nightmare Productions, 2022) Wehrgoat is one of those musicians who deserves a bit more praise than what he receives, in my opinion. I take him as a very honest, serious, and competent musician, that keeps on delivering quality Black Metal time and time again. And that is one of the issues with the growing number of Black Metal bands/projects; it reaches a point where you are totally lost and unaware of who is who, and who released what. Nonetheless, he keeps on moving forward. His sound is very well built, again in my opinion. Melodic structures with bits of melancholy. It has some of that German dark and gloomy Black Metal melodies.   This release is no different from what was released previously: 4 tracks, a little over 25 minutes… perfection. He is able to craft these dark moments, yet full of beauty, almost a regulated disruption if you may. As said before, very melancholic, mid-paced melodies, well-conceived

  V I N D A L F Absolutist Contemplation of Darkness Thank you very much for your availability. It is a pleasure to have you on this small publication. 2022 was a busy year with the release of 2 albums. Can we start off by looking into your creative process? 2 albums in one year, 1 musician … how does it work? Salve! First of all thank you very much for the consideration! Well, the truth is that this year was very good for me, the winter was quite hard with the rainy days, which of course for me was a kind of blessing when I started a new creative process.  Sitting in my room listening to the rain and feeling the winter cold was a great inspiration for me to create lyrics for the albums, and then put melody to them. The creative process of both albums was quite interesting, which began their production at the arrival of winter or simply cold days. What I consider a pretty faithful technique to incorporate the darkness and the pure cold. But before you jump back into the present,

Felvum “Fullmoon Mysticism” (Plastic Spells & Out of Season, 2022) In a puzzle of monotony, some pieces push forward, choosing to diverge from the herd. Black Metal is a genre that despite its creative and evolving capacity, sees musicians following the path designed by others, over and over again. Truth be told, the guidelines that were developed in the Past are extremely strong to be let go, and I understand that perfectly, as a music fan; nonetheless, if you choose to do it, try to do it in a way that respects the legacy. And this is my orthodox facet, the side that, in the end, does not want people messing around with Black Metal… if I ever had that power. Nonetheless, it is with pleasure, and I have written this a thousand times, that I see Black Metal musicians being so true to the sounds of old, and emulating that feeling, today. Felvum is an act I have very recently come across. It is no surprise that I pick up on things rather late, but when I do I like to absorb them, und

Uonsket - “Forlatt” (Jems Label, 2022)   I did arrive late to this one… as I normally do with all recent releases. That being said, I quickly jumped into the subject matter and started feeding off the music. In a time and age where Black Metal musicians seem to be stuck in this loophole that insists that you must copy what the mate next to you did, it is always pleasant to see someone step outside the box and gift us this sort of work. First off, the lad deserves all my respect for going for that cover artwork, for not choosing an odd name to hide behind, and for the music, most of all for the music.  The music he puts out is tremendous, in my modest opinion. With a little help from his mates, he developed this 6-song EP that carries so much essence, so much richness, so many layers of melody… his mates: Crying Orc (Kekht Arakh & Felvum) and Wanja Mamykin (Felvum & Mrtva Vod). So, as you can see, he does know who he should surround himself with in order to achieve quality Black

Linger - “Hope you are Finding Sleep…” (2022) With age I have become very picky with the music I listen to, especially when it comes to discovering new bands. There always seems to be missing a piece of two; the vocals, the guitars, the whole atmosphere, something is always out of place, and when this happens, I go back to the records I heard a thousand times before. Absurd. Is it possible that kids forgot how to play and write music? Or maybe I am old and unable to adapt. I am going with the first one, screw you! However, once in a while, we get struck by something that makes us rethink if our approach is the right one. “Hope you are Finding Sleep…” - fucking loved the title, as I have not yet found sleep - “slapped” me in the face 2 days ago, as I came across it while checking a new Portuguese Hardcore Fanzine - Rise Above Fanzine  - and I was immediately left in awe! Mendes, Belo, Fabiana, Gonçalo, and Luís, are LINGER, a Portuguese Post Hardcore band. Given my age, the term Post

Eremus - “Monólogo” (2023) “Ermo. Vazio. Black Metal” (Wilderness. Empty. Black Metal). This is how the duo presents itself to the World. A vague, yet broad description of one’s sound. Generic as it may be, it does “paint” the band’s sound and overall atmosphere perfectly. Slow and heavy, emotional, and melancholic; dragged vocals, minimalistic drums, hypnotizing riffs. The sound draws the listener into foggy nights, into despairing thoughts. Unlike many of today’s Black Metal musicians, the duo - brothers Miguel and Vasco decided to direct their artistry to perfecting their vision of Black Metal, and its adjacent atmospheres. Their sound follows what bands like Inverno Eterno, Ars Diavoli or Acceptus Noctifer did: a dark and claustrophobic vision of Black Metal. Truth be told, Eremus does not reach the level of Darkness of the mentioned bands, but I truly believe that, to reach certain sounds one needs to live its essence, breath from this fountain of inspiration… Long tracks that w