About This Blog

This blog is for unsigned Metal bands and bands on small labels. Whilst setting up my promotions company, I noticed that a lot of sites don't cover demo bands and bands just starting out. Hopefully this small corner of the internet will have redress the balance, ever so slightly


Wednesday, 24 September 2014

Metal Legions

Metal Legions

I’ve never had any real ambition to do a printed magazine, despite having spent almost 10 years running a very busy webzine. But having returned to the scene at the start of this year, after a couple years away (mainly playing computer games) the whole make-up of the industry had changed.

Personally, I’d moved on to digital and was very happy with this medium. But the more I got involved with music again, the more I was amazed at the need for physical releases, be it vinyl, tape or cd.

Having started a label in April, I was also surprised at the number of small blogs and webzines that had adopted an elitist attitude when it came to small (unsigned) bands and also with digital promos.

So this new project is a mixture of everything I’ve done in the past 6 or so months. The core of Metal Legions will be to feature up and coming bands. But I also need to make a saleable product, so there will also be an emphasis on respected bands and artists.

Musically, it’ll be Extreme and Traditional Metal.

There will also be a free cd with each magazine.

Issue 1 will be out either at the start of December or the start of January. It all depends on how quickly I can fill the cd

The magazine will sell for just £2.50 plus postage

Already confirmed for issue 1
Interviews with The Meads of Asphodel, Chiral and Old Corpse Road
Features on Cumbrian Metal and an Indian Scene Report
And “A Year In Metal”, which will look back at a 12 month section of Metal history

There will be lots more confirmed in the coming weeks as I’m waiting on some interview requests to be confirmed

The Free CD
I’ve decided the fairest way is to charge per minute. So it’s £3 per minute and it’ll be rounded up to the nearest ½ minute. So for example, if you have a track that is 3 minutes and 20 seconds, you’ll pay £10.50 for 3 and a half minutes.

Each band will also be sent a copy of the zine and cd. One band has already requested extra copies to sell, so copies at a reduced wholesale rate will also be available. Price all depends on your location and the postage costs

Ad Space
The inside front cover has already been taken, so there’s just the inside back cover and the back cover itself remaining of the original ad spaces. Inside back is £15 for the whole page and the back cover itself is £25

I want to keep the ads to a minimum, but if there is enough interest, I can add 4 extra pages at a cost of £92. So if I get 4 ad requests, the price will be £23 per page, simply because that’s what it’s costing me for the extra pages.

The magazine itself will be a minimum of 40 pages in A5 format.

Reviews
If anyone wants to send in review material for submission, please keep it current for the magazine. There is more flexibility with my blog, but the magazine will be as up-to-date as possible.


Digital promos are very welcome. 

Many thanks for your time
Steve

Sixsixsix Music


Sunday, 21 September 2014

Agonie + Apocryphal

I’ll start this weekends update with a link to a cover version. I’m a big fan of Italian outfit Chiral and here’s their cover of Watain’s Stellarvore




Agonie - Mammon

As a teenager in the 80s, some of my favourite bands were German:  Accept, Warlock and Scorpions. Since then, I’ve not spent a lot of time on the German scene, bar a few bands here and there.

So let’s begin a new venture into discovering more German bands with Agonie, a new Black Metal band from Lower Saxony, which ironically is in the north of the country.

Agonie only formed last year, originally as a one man band. And although they’ve since expanded into a full band, they still have that feel of someone creating music in their bedroom. The production is slightly on the raw side, but this only enhances the icy feel of the music and the pure hatred of the vocals.

Normally bands tend to put their strongest song at the beginning, but I think this demo gets stronger and stronger as it progresses and by the time I got to the finale of the appropriately titled Ende, I was completely won over and also gutted that the demo was over.

I always like to find a band at the very beginning of their (possible) career because it’s a good feeling seeing how they develop. I think with Mammon, they have a very good debut and I hope it’s a solid platform for them to move onto bigger things

This debut is available for a bargain 3 Euros + postage and is released on September 30th and is available for pre-order now.




Apocryphal

Apocryphal are a good old fashioned Death Metal band. No frills, no bullshit, just Death Metal ,with bits of Doom, and deep guttural vocals.

Even before you go and check these guys out, you’ll know exactly what they’ll sound like. And sometimes that’s a really good thing, as you’re not going to be disappointed by someone’s review when they’ve incorrectly described how a band sounds.

Starting with last years Embrace Of Death, which you can download for free via Bandcamp, you get 3 tracks. One at 2 minutes, 1 at 3 minutes and the epic Bane Of Essence, which clocks on at around 6 and a ½ minutes.

The reason I put the running times in, is because on their new album, Ritual Entombment, almost everything is in epic sized chunks, including the colossal 13+ minutes of Swallowed Into Perpetual Madness.

The formula between demo and album is pretty much the same. Maybe with the guitars a little fuzzier and the grooves a little more… well, groovier. The addition of synths, also adds a nice new texture. Whatever improvements they’ve made, it’s still the same old Death Metal, just a bit shinier.

My only criticism is that some of the new tracks are a bit overlong. My attention span started to wane before all three of the longer tracks ended. So maybe clipping everything back to around the six minute mark maybe a better option.

Both releases are available as free downloads from the bands Bandcamp site. So you’ve no excuses for not downloading them.






£1 Non-Profit Cds - Pre Order

These are the cds I’ve been working on the past week or two and now everything is almost ready

Each cd has a professionally printed doubled sided inlay and is housed in a slim cd case. Cds are home burnt CDRs with catalogue number on the cd as shown in the picture.



Each cd is just £1 + postage

Eyes Of The Martyr - India Groove Metal 2 track single
Necrocosm - USA Melodic Death 3 track demo re-issue
Nefarious Dusk - UK Black Metal 2 track single
Slaughter Throne - UK Black Metal 2 track single

If you buy all 4 cds, you get a free Sixsixsix Music sampler + a free badge



Postage prices are as follows (Each cd weighs about 60 grams)
UK
1 CD = £1
2 or 3 CDs = £1.30
4 to 7 CDs = £1.75

Europe
1 CD = £3.40
2 or 3 CDs = £4.00
4 to 7 CDs = £5.50

Rest of World
1 CD = £4.25
2 or 3 CDs = £5.40
4 to 7 CDs = £8.50

Please email me if you'd like to pre-order the cds. The inlays are now being duplicated and should be ready within 2 to 7 days



Thursday, 18 September 2014

Endless Recovery - Mist - Alitor

I‘ve been very pleased with the number of views my blog is now getting, currently bubbling just under 300 views a week. So I will try and write a few more reviews and features each week.

Sixsixsix Music Label News
I should have the 1st batch of non-profit cds ready for next week. Everything is ready to go off for printing later today.

For those of you who haven’t heard about these yet, basically they are going to be cdr singles/demo’s, which will have professionally duplicated sleeves, just a 2 sided inlay and they’ll come in slim cases. Selling price is just £1 + postage.

I have 4 confirmed releases, which should be here at the end of next week. They are
Eyes Of The Martyr - India Groove Metal  2 track single
Necrocosm - USA Melodic Death 3 track demo re-issue
Nefarious Dusk - UK Black Metal 2 track single
Slaughter Throne - UK Black Metal 2 track single

There will be an initial run of 50 cds for each band. And anyone buying 2 or more cds will also receive a free Sixsixsix Music sampler cd. I’ll have postage prices and multi buy options available from tomorrow. Or email me at steve@sixsixsixmusic.com to reserve your copy/copies

And if you’ve not downloaded the free compilation Helvete: Confederacy of Hatred, my account has just been topped up and there’s 200 free copies available again this month





Endless Recovery - Resistant Bangers

Endless Recovery are a Greek band and this is a 2 track 7” single, which proceeds their 2nd album which is due out next year on Witches Brew.

I’m sitting on the fence a bit with this one. I love the quickfire riffing, which is just old school Metal. In fact everything about this screams the 80s, including the Speed Metal/Thrash Metal overtones and gang-shout vocals. The reason I’m sitting on the fence is that I’m not a big fan of the vocals, which go from a deep growl to a high pitch scream at the speed of catching your cock in a zipper. (Which I did once on a train while I was touring Europe)

So, I completely love the music, but the vocals, which aren’t bad, just not to my taste, leave me feeling a little deflated. Just like the accident with my zip.




Mist

Mist were a Slovenian all female Doom band. I say were, as they’ve just added a male guitar player as one of the band members is either pregnant, or has just had a baby

So now it’s mainly ladies, with one heavily outnumbered guy.

The band are giving away their 2 track demo from last year via Bandcamp, so it would be rude not to give them a plug here.

And before you give them a listen, forget about any preconceptions that this might sound like the rest of the female fronted Retro/Occult bands doing the rounds right now. These ladies are a lot heavier than the rest.

This is classic, ponderous Doom in the vein of Pentagram and Black Sabbath, and free from any retro gimmicks or psychedelia. There’s shedloads of melody, but without any compromise. This is heavy as hell, but you can still nod your head along with the faultless rhythms.

Of the 2 tracks, The Living Dead is a real highlight and a nice way to whet your appetite for their forthcoming EP




Alitor - Eternal Depression

Alitor are from Serbia. A country who have provided me with a lot of listening pleasure the past few months. Most of the Serbian bands I’ve discovered recently have been either Black Metal, or have Black Metal influences in their sound. And every single one of them has been superb.

Alitor keep the quality ratio at its zenith, but their music is Bay Area Thrash, without a sniff of Satan to be found anywhere near any of the 8 songs on this album.

Upon hearing this album, it’s hard to believe that it’s their debut and they’ve only been around for about 3 years, with just an EP to their name. Alitor sound like an experienced band on the top of their game. Everything about Eternal Depression screams quality.

This is heads down, fist banging Thrash. With clear, powerful vocals. I suppose like a cartoon free version of Anthrax, or a more polished take on what Exodus do. The only real difference between Alitor and the bands I’ve mentioned is that Alitor don’t have the big choruses. But they more than make up for this with musicianship. Everything sounds just about perfect.

I’ve been impressed with the bands I’ve heard from Witches Brew so far. Someone at the label obviously has a very good ear. And Alitor are a very good addition to their roster.


Sunday, 14 September 2014

Metallo Italiano




Gory Blister - The Fifth Fury
23 years in and Gory Blister are only on album number 5. These Italian Deathsters are not the most prolific band on Planet Metal.

They’re not a heavy as I expected either. With a name like Gory Blister, I was bracing myself for a full-on assault. But instead the Death Metal on offer is infinitely more melodic than I was expecting, mainly down to the wonderfully tuneful lead guitars.

The intensity levels are cranked up occasionally, especially on the technical barrage of track two, Thresholds. But even then, there are a few melodic interludes to temper the mood.

This album falls slap bang in the middle of Technical, Melodic and (almost) Brutal Death. The arrangements of the songs are very good, with slower and faster passages generating plenty of atmosphere. Again, it’s the guitars of Raff that stand out, for me.

Overall, this is a good album from band that can obviously create well-crafted songs. From a personal point of view, I think they need a few more hooks to make the songs more memorable, but that’s just a minor quibble.






Al Ard
Football is often referred to as “a game of 2 halves”. This 3 track demo, from Italian Industrial crew Al Ard, falls into a very similar category as all 3 tracks could have been recorded by 3 different bands. So in this case, a demo of 3 thirds.

Opening number, Pillar.Past.Present, starts off with a keyboard sound that hints at a barrage of Industrial/EBM beats, before hurtling headlong into glorious Black Metal. Hovering around the mid-paced and symphonic forms of the genre, its sound is punctuated with a few Industrial beats, but it follows a blackened path for the majority of the song.

For a Hint of Divinity starts off sounding like it could be a Cradle Of Filth cover, before quickly introducing some bass heavy beats and a plethora of Industrial flavours and samples. I listen to a lot of EBM, so this isn’t a problem for me at all.

Strange Old Practice I isn’t so much a song, but a collection of samples, spoken word passages and a groovy bit of Drum N Bass. It’s ok, but it doesn’t really have the power of the first two numbers.
Maybe something more similar to the other numbers would have been a better finale.

But at least Al Ard are doing something different than the norm. As their name indicates, there is an Arabic influence that can be heard throughout the demo. As can various influences from their Sicilian homeland.

So bags of potential, but they need to reign in the experimentation, just a little.



And while we are on the subject of Italian bands, I have some news from my label which fits in very nicely with todays’ update

Chiral Vs HaatE 
As a big fan of Chiral's brand of Black Metal, I'm very pleased to be finally working with the Italian maestro.

Sixsixsix Music will release a special download album that will feature both Chiral and fellow Italian project HaatE

HaatE will provide 3 slices of Dark Ambient, whilst Chiral will unleash a new 20 minutes epic entitled Everblack Fields of Nightside.

The album will be available via iTunes, Amazon, Spotify etc... in the Autumn.

More details soon 

Sixsixsix Music

Wednesday, 10 September 2014

A Tainted Society - Open Source/Skull Incision Split EP


A Tainted Society - Open Source​/​Skull Incision Split EP

I fucked this review up completely earlier as I got the bands mixed up. Now I know who recorded what, it’s time for take 2 of the review

Open Source start with a strange plinky plonky intro before, we are greeted with howling wind and a tolling bell, before a musical jewellery box sound segues into a slow beat. The atmosphere continues to build and just when you are expecting a huge explosion, it plateaus and stays on the same steady beat.

The sound quality and the atmospherics are spot on, but some vocals, even a few screams, wouldn’t go amiss, just to enhance the music.

Skull Incision’s contribution is the colossal 9 minutes 30 second finale of Our Film Jumped Out The Window. Which is the only real song on here.

As with Open Source’s music, the feel is still of oppression and droning ambience, but this time you get tortured Black Metal vocals before a thundering bass rips through the air and the dirge drives forward with ferocious pulsating beats. Something akin to being pulverised by a room full of lunatics, all brandishing sledgehammers and with a willingness to smash your brains in for fun.

This certainly isn’t a pleasant listen, and it’s not meant to be one. So, if you’re looking for some fucked up ambience, you know where to look


Nox Aeternum - In Girum Imus Nocte Et Consumimur Igni


Nox Aeternum - In Girum Imus Nocte Et Consumimur Igni

Fuck me, that’s a mouthful of a title. And as I’ve not studied Latin for approximately 33 and a bit years, Google told me it translates roughly as “we go round and round in the night and are consumed by fire”. That sounds like arsonists wet dream.

Anyway, I like this opus from Nox Aeternum, a (one man) band I’ve been following for a while now.
It’s nice to see Andrew (Hart) broaden his range as he’s included many different flavours to the Blackened core. Riffs that hint at Voivod type weirdness, some Gregorian chanting, a bit of majestic Satyricon at the beginning, just subtle changes that I’m noticing in the make-up of Nox Aeternum’s sound for the first time.

Andrew has obviously become a bit bolder with his arrangements and his song writing in general.  And although most of it’s probably down to a natural progression, there is a more mature feel to this album. Especially with the small acoustic interludes and other more structured changes.

The manic vocals on 1692 Andover are also a standout moment on the album, and the samples on Salvation and Rebirth elevate the song towards greatness. For what it is, a low budget, recorded at home one man band album, the results are superb.

I guess I would call this Black Metal if someone held a gun to head, shit I’d call it anything they wanted if the gun was loaded. But there’s such a diversity to the album that all of the various parts spread this album right across the spectrum of Extreme Metal. So fans of Death Metal should enjoy this album as much as those that like their Metal just a little darker.

I’m sure Andrew is proud of this album and so he should be. This is a very good platform to start making some decent progress in the underground.


Monday, 8 September 2014

Crowd Funding

Crowd Funding
Doing a crowd funding type campaign is the modern way of getting ahead for many projects and businesses.

I’ve considered doing one myself. But sometimes the charges are a bit of the steep side from the companies hosting your pledge

So here’s my own DIY fund raiser. All payments are to be made via Paypal, so you are all protected by Paypal’s guarantees

So far I’ve released 2 cds, Skiddaw and Baalberith and there are 2 more in the pipeline for later this month, HaatE and Toxoid. Tapes are also being planned for 3 of the releases.

After that there will be 3 non-profit singles/demo’s all costing just £1 + postage
But to make these, I’ve got to pay for professionally duplicated inlays + I have to get the cd cases and the cds themselves, as well as a cd burner

Christmas Cards are next on the agenda, with Black Metal and various Metal related themes being created. All cards will professionally made on luxury 350 gsm card and will measure 105mm x 105mm.

Also due for release is a digital compilation featuring 16 underground bands from the UK. After that, it’ll be one for Indian bands. Luckily these projects cost virtually nothing to produce, mainly just my time.

And that takes us up to the end of the year. With just the debut album from Swedish Melodic Death Metal band Unfolded planned for the New Year, so far.

To get all of this done in the next few weeks won’t cost a crazy amount, so I’m only looking to raise around the £250 mark.

So if you’re interested in helping out, here’s how you can do it:



Bandcamp:
There are various releases in the Sixsixsix Music Bandcamp store. Prices range from £1 to £4 or you can pay whatever you like https://sixsixsixmusic.bandcamp.com/

Skiddaw cds
The bands EP is available for £4 postage paid in the UK

Baalberith cds
Their new album, Apparition Of Skulls is out now, priced at just £6 including postage

Skiddaw + Baalberith
Buy 1 of each cd for just £8: Saving £2 on the normal price



Advance Orders

HaatE
The forthcoming MCD will be available later in the month. 3 tracks of Dark Ambience from Italy, clocking in at about 34 minutes
Will come in a slim case – advance copies just £4

Toxoid
Black Metal from India. This 6 track cd will set you back just £6.66 and you’ll get a free badge with it as well



CDR Singles and Demo’s
So far I have lined up a 2 track single by UK Black Metal band Nefarious Dusk and Necrocosm, a Melodic Death band from the USA, with a re-issue of their 3 track demo
The 3rd release will be announced very soon
If you buy all 3, the cost is just £4.50 in the UK and you will also receive a free cd single from Unfolded

And if anyone is feeling particularly generous, you can buy all of the cds for £25 (UK) and you’ll receive them all in one package with some free Metal related goodies

Anyone wanting any cds from overseas, here’s a rough guide to postage prices from the UK
Europe 1 cd costs £3.20, but to send 2 cds is only about £3.70
Rest of World 1 cd = about £4, but to send 2 cds is only about £5
Email me if you’d like an exact price on anything


Christmas Cards
This will be ready sometime in late October, plenty of time before Christmas
You can buy a pack of 10 cards in the UK for just £6.66 and there will be 5 different designs to choose from. The standard pack will include 2 of each design, but you can choose whichever ones you want.

Please direct all emails to steve@sixsixsixmusic.com or contact me via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sixsixsixmusic/1405099836423721

Many thanks for your time

Cheers

Steve

Sixsixsix Music

Thursday, 4 September 2014

New Blood

No real intro tonight as I have very little time. But here's 3 reviews to keep the ball rolling.

I'll have an update in the next few days about the latest happenings with Sixsixsix Music. And you can always keep an eye on the latest goings on via Facebook as I post there most days
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sixsixsixmusic/1405099836423721


Estuarine
I’m going to start this weeks reviews, completely out of my comfort zone.

Estuarine are a one man project out of Tampa, Florida, who have relocated to beautiful Sweden. Musically, this wouldn’t normally be a beautiful prospect for me as its technical, twist and turn, get jazzy at times and a blur of notes followed by serenity. The sort of shit I normally hate. But this is simply brilliant.

The time changes blend together perfectly, the technical showing off at how good you are bits, leave me in awe at how good they are. There’s no self indulgent wank going on here. It’s a technically gifted musician making (good) music.

Style wise, there’s a whole lot going on. Death, Shoegaze, Grind, Jazzy bits, quiet bits, loud bits, bits of Black Metal… all the different kind of bits you can name. As it’s now a Swedish band, I guess calling it a Smörgåsbord of Metal would be an appropriate description.

I guess this will appeal to those that like this style already. But if you are broadminded, give this one a shot as well. You might be pleasantly surprised

https://estuarinemetal.bandcamp.com/




Morthus
Discovering new bands can be like meeting people for the first time. Sometimes you get on fine, sometimes you hate them and other times, well, you’re just blown away on your first meeting.

The latter is what happened to me when I found Morthus on YouTube. Style wise, this is so compatible with my tastes, it’s not true.

A quick rewind and we’ll make the introductions first. Morthus are from Poland and my new best friend is an EP called The Abyss.

This is a blend of majestic Black Metal with Deathly vocals and small interludes into twin guitar Traditional Metal. Imagine Amon Amarth incorporating a Black Metal style into their music, with a few elements of real Heavy Metal, via the guitars and a bit of background vocals. 

You mix all of these styles up and Morthus have just nailed it.

I’m gutted that there’s only 3 tracks on offer, as I’d love to hear more,  but the quality is so good, I can’t really complain (that much). For my own personal taste, this is just about perfect

This is why I spend hours trawling the underground, listening to 100’s of bands every month, just to find gems like this.





Valafar
I don’t think the music industry will ever fully recover from the change it’s going through right now. Until everyone starts paying for music again, it’s kind of fucked.

Doing a kickstart campaign is something I’ve thought about for my label. It’s something that I’d like to do, if I could think of a perfect business plan. Or something better than, “I’d like to release a cd a month for the next year”.

And this leads nicely on to West Yorkshire mob, Valafar

They’re looking to finance an EP and have a funding campaign going on here:

It’s an ambitious project, as they want to reach £1500 to do the job properly, with decent production etc… and possibly a vinyl version

So before you all run off and donate loads of money (we can dream) it’s best to check out their last release to see if it’s any good.

For £2 you can get their last EP, Ritual Of The Diabolical, from Bandcamp

It’s an extremely potent mix of Doom, Death, and a bit of Thrash and a few traces of Viking Metal. And it delivers a battering ram sized clout to your senses.

It’s rock fucking solid Extreme Metal. And it’s good enough for me to want to see what these boys can do in the future. And I’ll definitely offer them support by means of (free) publicity and whatever else I can do to further their cause.

It would be too cheesy of me to end this review with some crap like “the future of Extreme metal in the UK” or similar type platitudes. So I’m going off to buy their demo, even though I’ve been playing the bugger all day on Bandcamp. So please go off and do the same.  Even if it’s just for £2, go and support our up and coming bands. They deserve all the support they can get.


Wednesday, 3 September 2014

Deep Underground : United Kingdom



Sixsixsix Music is putting together a series of Underground Metal download compilations.
Sandy from The Killchain blog will also be involved with the compilations

The title of the series will be Deep Underground, and the first one, will be Deep Underground: United Kingdom.

This is open to all UK Metal bands that have yet to release an album via a record label.
This compilation is being created for the purpose of promoting unsigned bands and mainly those that have just started out or are in the lower echelons of the underground

We only cover extreme forms of the genre – Black, Death, Doom etc… plus Traditional Heavy Metal. So no Metalcore or Hardcore etc…

The download compilation will consist of 16 tracks and there will be a 20 page PDF Booklet/Magazine to go with it, featuring an interview with each band.

The album will be sold via Bandcamp with a selling price of just £2.

If we sell 50 copies of the download album, one of the bands, selected at random, will receive 25 cds of their demo, professionally duplicated. Each cd will come in a slim case with a 2 page booklet

If 50 more copies are sold, another band will receive 25 cds and so it continues with every 50 sales.

Any bands that are interested, please send an email and direct us to your music online. Please do not send any music files as attachments.

Cheers
Steve

Sixsixsix Music


The Killchain