Billy Bob's Blood Drenched Brew have been releasing sick new slams one after the other! Earlier this month they released a rough mix of 2 pummeling new songs titled "Kill Sea Otter" and "The Old Monk's Odyssey." And then last night they released the grinding beast titled "Extra-Terrestrial Bootlegger."
One of the heaviest and most promising metal bands emerging from the UAE. Billy Bob's Blood Drenched Brew play a progressive blend of brutal death metal that's perfectly suited for them; called "Brew Metal."
The band will be supporting German progressive death metal heavyweights Obscura on their upcoming show in Dubai on September 23rd with Bahrain's Smouldering In Forgotten and Lunacyst. You seriously can't miss it! [Click here to visit the event's official page]
Make sure to like Billy Bob's Blood Drenched Brew on Facebook to stay up to date with all things happening with the brew!
Update:
The band just! Uploaded another new song that will chokeslam into a coma! Titled "Timepass Membrane."
[By: iRoar and Karim Tarek]
Progressive death metallers Obscura have been sending waves across the global metal scene with their latest offering titled "Omnivium." The 2nd in a 4 album concept series and the follow-up to 2009's highly successful "Cosmogenesis."
Omnivium is hailed as the band's heaviest, and most sophisticated release to date. Blending their signature sound, with high levels of complexity and layering, creating what the band like to call "the wall of sound."
Since the album's release back in March, Obscura has went on festivals in Europe and North America, and will be heading out on their first Middle East/South East Asia tour in-support of the effort; starting next week.
The band recently confirmed their first ever show in Dubai, UAE on September 23rd with support acts Smouldering In Forgotten, Lunacyst and Billy Bob's Blood Drenched Brew, at Ratsky 3 (Excelsior Creek Hotel). [Ed note: Obscura recently announced Linus Klausenitzer as the band's new bassist. Read the official press release, here]
As media partners for the event. We got a chance to catch up with frontman/mastermind Steffen Kummerer prior to the band's performance to ask him about their latest release, how it differs from it's predecessor, what they look forward to seeing in Dubai, and more!
Here's how it went:
First of all I'd like to thank you for this opportunity. It's a real pleasure to have you on Metality. With Obscura being all over the media lately, I can only imagine how hectic it's been dealing with press, etc.
You are very welcome. The feedback for our latest album, Omnivium, is very positive so we recieve many interviews day by day. But I am glad for the recognition we get from a worldwide audience. At the moment we are preparing our upcoming South East Asia tour and looking forward to play in countries we have never visited before.
You guys released your latest album, and the 2nd in your 4 part album concept series titled "Omnivium." When thinking about the main differences to point out between this release and it's predecessor, what comes to mind?
This concept started with 'Cosmogenesis' while 'Omnivium' is the second effort of the whole idea. While most of the song on 'Cosmogenesis' where written before by the various members upfront they joined the band, 'Omnivium' was a real band release. The three songwriters Christian Muenzner, Hannes Grossmann and myself exchanged ideas, arrangements and single ideas massively to write the best material we can. In the end you can not divide who wrote which part of a song anymore. Every member knew exactly what sound we want to create with this band, the vision was exectly the same. Besides that we made a huge step in the production, there are more different guitar layers than ever to create a certain sound, the 'wall of sound' so to say. Just give a song such as 'Velocity' a listen, you know what I mean.
Critics and fans have been praising the album for it's high technicality and complex structures and layering. Was it a conscious move to focus more on complexity than on hooks this time around?
Well, our aim is to write good and memorable songs in the first case. The technique we bring in is just a tool to get the result and a good arrangement we have in mind. We do not write music to show off and tell everyone that we can play. If you are open minded for different music styles you will find several different influences that come around in the end. To combine those to our own signature sound is the aim every band on this planet has. I will focus on a more diverse mix of complexity and hooks on the next album.
What are some of your influences for this record music-wise? Did you listen to anything out of the ordinare during the writing process?
Everything and nothing inspires during the writing process. I listen to diverse kind of music all the time, not only shred death metal or black metal. I think in feelings, the mood you can create with a certain part and or riff. So in this way even a Portishead album can be inspiring.
OBSCURA's cover artwork has always been top notch, and really brings out a visual image of the music present on each release. And with Omnivium it's no different. Can you tell us about the concept behind the cover? And who came up with the idea?
'Omnivium' is based on the novel 'On the conection between nature and the spirit world' by Friedrich Schelling, a German philosopher. I took this whole novel as the basis of the concept we used to work with on this album, the evolution. The artwork was created by Orion Landau, an artist from North America we worked on all releases with. The whole graphic ideas for this band, merchandise, artworks, layouts, stage setups are based on my vision. Together with Orion we work on each deatail until we have exactly what I had in mind. Also the photos are part of this. Music, photography & artwork as a whole represent 'Omnivium', not only a download from YouTube in bad quality.
The band recently performed at Summer Breeze Festival (Germany) along with acts like Arch Enemy, Decapitated, Hatebreed, Sodom and more. How has the crowd reaction been to the new material? Do you guys have a favorite off the album to perform live yet?
To support 'Omnivium' we played a European & a North American tour so far and on all the shows people are interested how the new song may sound in a live situation. Reactions are very positive so far and during meet & greets after the show we get good feedback for the old and new songs. A very heavy song is 'Ocena Gateways', a pretty slow almost sludgy track off 'Omnivium' that works fine during the shows.
On September 23rd you will be performing for the first time in Dubai, UAE as part of your ongoing tour in-support of 'Omnivium.' What do you look forward to seeing first when you arrive in Dubai? Are you prepared for the heat?
We are glad to get the chance to play for the first time ever in the United Arab Emirates with our band. I love to travel but I never got the chance to visit the country before. All of us are curious about Dubai, not because of the heat, because of the different culture in general. From a view of a Central European visiting Dubai is like leaving to another planet. Everyone is looking forward to this show.
Would you mind telling us about the set-list for the show? Which songs will you be playing off the new album? I know that songs like "Velocity" would be more complicated to perform live as you've mentioned in previous interviews.
That is true, 'Velocity' does have too much layers to perform with two guitars in a live situation. But we will definitely play Septuagint, Vortex Omnivium, Ocean Gateways & Euclidean Elements for you. Also several songs off 'Cosmogenesis' are included to the setlist as well as one or even tw very very old tracks from the beginning of this band. I'd like to show every part of our history to the fans, so they know where we come from and see where we will go to.
Thanks again for doing this. Really appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions. Hope you have a killer good time in Dubai crushing it up! Would you like to add anything?
Thank you very much for your interest and this interview! See you in Dubai soon!
[Catch OBSCURA on September 23rd for the first time live in Dubai! (Presented by Spellbind Records) As part of the band's "Middle East/South East Asia tour" in support of their latest release "Omnivium;" out now via Relapse Records. With support acts SMOULDERING IN FORGOTTEN, LUNACYST, and BILLY BOB'S BLOOD DRENCHED BREW. For more details, visit the event's official page by clicking here!]
Order "Omnivium" via Amazon: CD | Mp3
[By: Karim Tarek]
Hailing from Manama, Bahrain, Smouldering In Forgotten is one of the most brutal, face- pummeling Arabian bands out there. They started off in 2005 as a Black Metal band, released a demo entitled “The Bonfire of the Apocalypse”, followed by their Black Metal debut full-length, “Legions Into Black Flames”, then in 2007, they drifted towards a rather different musical approach on their 2010 gem “I, Devourer”, chiefly delivering Blackened Death Metal tunes that kind of remind me, personally, of Polish Metal gods, Behemoth.
They recently confirmed an appearance in Dubai, UAE; supporting German Technical Death Metal beasts, Obscura, on their highly anticipated gig in Dubai (presented by Spellbind Records) on the 23rd of this month alongside Lunacyst and Billy Bob’s Blood Drenched Brew.
As media partners for the event; we got the chance to catch up with the band amidst their pre-gig hustle and preparations to ask them a few questions about how excited they are about the gig and their future plans.
Here’s how it went:
Before I start, I should thank you all on behalf of Metality for taking the time to do this interview; it’s our pleasure to feature you, hope you’re all doing just fine.
Were doing great! It's our pleasure to do an interview with Metality. We are really proud of you guys promoting the middle eastern scene and doing such a great job! Keep that up!
Let’s start with the very recent stuff, the gig with Obscura, Lunacyst, and Billy Bob’s Blood Drenched Brew; how do you feel about sharing the stage with such a high profile band as Obscura?
Well what do you expect? We are super excited about that and can't wait for the day to come. Not only sharing the stage with such a great band but also enjoying Obscura's show is gonna be a blast!
How did everyone react when you first heard about the prospect of supporting Obscura live? And how are the preparations for the show going?
Hahaha I guess we all got excited and couldn't wait for the official announcement. What makes it even better is playing with our buddies from Lunacyst, which is kinda cool representing Bahrain to the Dubai crowd and showing them what Bahraini metalheads have to offer.
Preparations have been great so far although it was pretty hard during Ramadan and even harder because of work.
Yes, we all have full time jobs and 3 of us are shift workers. Imagine how hard it is to gather up and rehearse.
I’ve been a big fan of SIF for more than a year now and I’ve always had this question in mind; how did you all meet up and form the band, given you’re not in an active country in terms of Metal, a country that has a small scene and only couple of active bands?
That's your answer right there. We live in a small island where everyone knows each other and every metalhead knows every other metalhead. Small gigs and friends of friends I guess that's how we met, all through metal. The interests of certain genres of metal also sort of helped us form the band.
I know Busac and Mardus are the duo that formed the other well-known Bahraini band, Narjahanam; did that ever have an impact on Smouldering In Forgotten?
Narjahanam is actually a solo project by Mardus that he started a year before SIF. The idea in the beginning was to make Narjahanam a full band but not all members agreed with the idea so we decided to just keep Narjahanam and SIF two separate bands. SIF is our main band and Narjahanam is a studio project by members of SIF. Each band has it's own days in the week and this does not have an impact on either bands.
You used to play Black Metal back then in the days of “Legions Into Black Flames”, but you radically digressed to Blackened Death Metal or Black/Death Metal, which is why you remind me of Behemoth by the way; what influenced that change of style?
When we started the band, our aim was to play black metal and we did but later on we decided to ignore the boundaries of black metal and push it further into other genres of metal, adding a wider variety of sounds, which ended up changing our music for the better. We like to call it extreme metal which is in between black, death and thrash metal. Not necessarily blackened death metal. Or you can just simply call it Smouldering In Forgotten.
I hear you’re big fans of Goatwhore, what other bands influence you?
Marduk, Behemoth, Vader, Slayer, Bathory, Meshuggah, Cannibal Corpse, Sepultura, Just to name a few.
Goatwhore on the other hand used to be some sort of an influence on us when we first started. A lot of people think that because of the name "Smouldering in Forgotten" that we consider Goatwhore a big influence on us. We just liked how it sounded on that track "Upon this deathbed of cold fire" on Goatwhore's first album.
Did you start writing for the follow-up to "I, Devourer" yet? When are you planning on releasing a new record?
We did actually but are still in the early steps of writing. Hopefully by next year.
What's your opinion on the current Middle Eastern Metal scene? Do you have any suggestions to help it grow? Also, can you tell us more about the Bahraini scene and whether or not you get enough support there?
We think the middle eastern metal scene is great and is growing big day by day. The only thing we would like to suggest is for metal heads in this region should start listening and supporting local and regional bands as much as their favorite bands from Europe or the states. Buying their albums, attending their shows, wearing the merch to represent these regional bands.
As for the scene in Bahrain, it's very small but also growing. You see more bands and more shows coming up. Not that much of support from the scene but we don't expect much anyways. We know it's a small scene with a small number of metalheads.
What are your favorite bands from the Middle East?
Nervecell (UAE)
Perversion (UAE)
Creative Waste (KSA)
Al Namrood (KSA)
Kaoteon (Lebanon)
Inner Guilt (Lebanon)
Through Sunken Eyes (Bahrain)
Lunacyst (Bahrain)
Motor Militia (Bahrain)
Extinction Imminent (Bahrain)
Punks Not Patriots (Bahrain)
If you were to choose five bands to tour with, who would they be?
Marduk, Behemoth, Slayer, Immortal, Vader.
Thank you very much for your time; it’s been a pleasant opportunity and a great interview to conduct. Hope to have you here again on Metality, and wishing you a killer gig with Obscura, Lunacyst, and Billy Bob’s Blood Drenched Brew! The words are all yours now, if you want to share anything with Metality readers.
Stay tuned for more from SIF. Keep supporting metal and we will see you all in the pits \m/
[Catch SMOULDERING IN FORGOTTEN on September 23rd in Dubai, UAE, when they support German progressive death metal heavyweights OBSCURA as part of the band's current "Middle East/South East Asia tour" in support of their latest release "Omnivium;" out now via Relapse Records. For more details, visit the event's official page by clicking here!]
Genre: Blackened Death Metal
Label: Self-released
Released: March 1st, 2010
Reviewer: Karim Tarek
Not really an Arabic metal enthusiast, I’ve lately bumped into Smouldering In Forgotten’s new album “I, Devourer” by a suggestion from a friend of mine followed by reading an article about the band and their new album on CNN. What I didn’t expect was that the album is really well done with great production and noticeable effort put in.
Smouldering In Forgotten is a three-member band from Manama, Bahrain that was formed in 2005. Featuring Mardus on vocals, Busac on guitars and drum programming and Voidhanger on guitar, bass and backing vocals [Ed note: The band is now a 5 piece band. Including new members Tael - (Guitars/Backing Vocals), and Husam - (Bass)] They have released their debut full-length “Legions Into Black Flames” in 2007 then lately released their stunner “I, Devourer” which does really deserve a stop.
From the first minute of the album it was quite easy to find out that this album is really going to be a thing, unlike many other Arabic bands’ albums. Music is maturely done; riffs are tight, drumming is strong and blasting all along, vocals are fierce enough to keep up with all the mess guitars and percussion are spawning. The album as a whole is fast, violent and strong, yet perfectly tight and rather dark.
"I, Devourer" shows a great Behemoth impact on Smouldering In Forgotten; they blended elements of black metal with their parallels of death metal craftily enough to stay away from any possible criticism regarding how good they played a blackened death metal album. Music on "I, Devourer" is somehow chaotic but still tight, or in other words, tightly chaotic. It converges all the madness, gore, non-groove, anger, chaos, and violence of brutal death metal with all the wisdom, tightness, beauty, darkness, groove, and hopelessness of pure black metal.
To me, choosing to record programmed drums was a perfect decision Smouldering In Forgotten have made; it allowed them to implement their ideas and envisions about percussion on the album perfectly the same as they were on their minds before starting to make any progress and allowed them as well to perfect percussion on the album by the time they started to implement ideas on the drum machine. Therefore, drumming on “I, Devourer” seemed almost perfect to me (except for the disappearance of the China cymbal usage). The all along blasting and chaotic drum lines during “I, Devourer” was remarkable. Frankly, what mostly drew my attention to “I, Devourer” from the first listen was the drumming till I was aware it was programmed drums that is doing all that mess around which was pretty fair.
What is also impressive about ‘I, Devourer’ is that not all the tracks do sound the same as I expected when I first listened to the album; there is a good sense of variation Smouldering In Forgotten are putting on the album. Also a slight touch of progression which distinctively appears on “Unspoken Names”, a track that has beautifully and skillfully turned out from a down-tempo slow blackened death metal track into a fast, thrash metal influenced, angry and mind blasting one. Female vocals and keyboards on “An Elegy (For Tomorrow)” also sustain my point adding a big bit of variation to the album and enhancing it as well. “An Elegy (For Tomorrow)” was a really epic end to the album by the way, being of that type of tracks that are best put in the end of the album.
Overall, ‘I, Devourer’ is an impressive black/death metal album from a promising band that come from a territory that was least expected to give us a good extreme metal band. The album is rich with all what a death/black metaller would ask for; aggressive riffs, groove, chaotic blasting, guitar solos, powerful growling, speed, aggression, viciousness…etc. I would strongly recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a new good underground black/death metal band.
Highlights: An End To All Things, Dread Messiah, I, Devourer.
[Catch SMOULDERING IN FORGOTTEN on September 23rd in Dubai, UAE, when they support German progressive death metal heavyweights OBSCURA as part of the band's current "Middle East/South East Asia tour" in support of their latest release "Omnivium;" out now via Relapse Records. For more details, visit the event's official page by clicking here!]
Extreme metallers SMOULDERING IN FORGOTTEN have been confirmed as the first of 2 opening acts for MELECHESH's upcoming headlining show in Dubai, UAE on April 20th at the 5th anniversary of Holy Noise.
I know Busac and Mardus are the duo that formed the other well-known Bahraini band, Narjahanam; did that ever have an impact on Smouldering In Forgotten?
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