When it comes to death metal, particularly along the more technical end of the spectrum, it’s often tricky to look beyond the complex mechanics to discover where the true genius lies. Balancing the various sophisticated techniques required is a bit like a challenging plate-spinning act, as performers pit complicated rhythm and song structures with timed progressions against high-wire guitar acrobatics and rapid-fire drum-work. And yet, how can you completely let yourself go and unleash that pure, untethered aggression essential to metal while paying the necessary attention to the finer detail?

Portland-based extreme death metal outfit Vitriol are an example of a band who attempt to straddle that contradiction and do it seamlessly, serving up vicious, visceral slabs of death so beautifully b...

Ever since its bleak and bloody inception, the thorny branches of black metal have spread and grown in a tangled plethora of ever more twisted and devillishly inventive directions. One such murky offshoot has sprung up deep in the shadows of Germany’s Black Forest in the shape of eight-member collective Finsterforst, rising like a dark power over the sweeping, pine-carpeted hills, chocolate-box villages and lofty peaks that characterise the region. Inspired by the sublime, natural wonder of these their native climes, the group blend fluttering folk melodies with the harsh, roaring vocals and dusky atmospherics of modern, post black metal to create their unique and inspirational heathen sound. Dark Matter caught up with lead guitarist Simon Schillinger, who also contributes his beautiful co...

As an act forged in the blackly incandescent flames of pure and unadulterated creative instinct, few bands are more lawless and ever-shifting in essence than Belgian black metal mavericks Enthroned. Having recently emerged, phoenix-like, from a host of unexpected mishaps and upheavals that would have pushed lesser bands to breaking point, the year 2019 finds these satanically-inclined aggressors entering a momentous new era of boundless inspiration and productivity. Visionary frontman Nornagest recounts the story so far…

“We’re not necessarily thinking outside of the box so much as keeping out of it altogether,” notes Enthroned main man Nornagest of the mindless genre norms that all too frequently dictate and constrain an artist’s creative potential. Since first joining the band as a second...

When you peel back the mask of civilisation, all that remains is darkness – something brooding black metallers Advent Sorrow are almost too painfully aware of. With a highly original style that balances symphonic, oppressive chords with strangulated, retching vocals and raging riffs that fall as heavy as mourning veils, Advent Sorrow’s stifling streams of sonic suffering capture the emptiness and despair at the heart of the human experience. The result is an unflinching dissection of the internal agonies of the psyche that is both suicide-inducing and unnervingly seductive.  

Having just completed a successful European tour which included a stirring set at Incineration Fest in London, these six Australians’ deeply affecting stage shows are earning them an increasingly avid fanbase that is g...

From the sinewy, pulverising grooves of Fear Factory through to inky lashings of EBM and mind-altering electronica, Matt Hart’s restlessly evolving sound has undergone no small amount of genre-defying progression and adjustment over the expansive course of the past decade. Having recently cemented a strain of intensely dark and visceral music that’s unmistakably his own, the solo talent and DJ explains how this futuristic entity first came to be.

“When I started I really wanted to recreate the music of Fear Factory, but since then it’s certainly evolved into a more synth-based industrial sound,” begins solo artist Matt Hart. With his musical tastes and inclinations anchored firmly in the distortion-drenched aggressive territories of heavy metal, Hart began playing guitar with industrial met...

DunkelNacht are gearing up to take the metal world by storm, and if you haven’t heard whisper of them yet, you soon will. Offering up an exquisitely crafted mix of black and death metal divinely inspired by various classical and avant-garde sources, these purveyors of darkness have a universal appeal, with enough of a savage edge to satisfy hard-nut, hairy head-bangers and plenty of opulent, melodic interludes to indulge more gothic sensibilities. Dark Matter caught up with the gang down in Camden on a starry Valentine’s night, just before they stepped out on stage for the first incredible show of their six-day Empires UK tour.

DunkelNacht are living proof that a melting pot of European cultures and languages can lead to great things (take note before diving off that Brexit cliff, Britain)....

As a genre that’s been relentlessly blamed and belittled, marginalised and misunderstood since the dawn of its notoriously devilish inception, no form of music lends itself to radical and fiercely independent self-expression more instinctively than metal. And with over 30 years spent relentlessly pushing and progressing their crushingly majestic craft to untold heights of brutal, ritualistic brilliance, Rotting Christ certainly know more than a thing or two about creating music on their own fearlessly individualistic terms.   

“It’s funny, around two years ago, I suddenly realised that I’m actually quite an erratic person, looking back on the kind of life and path that I have chosen,” muses Rotting Christ vocalist Sakis Tolis in a calmly measured and reflective manner that seems i...

German metalheads Deathrite are a force to be reckoned with. The band have gone from strength to strength with a fair smattering of albums and EPs, stealthily stealing up on the scene and racking up a modest yet loyal core fan-base. Serving up bone-chilling slabs of tormented death metal with heart-hammering percussion and gritty vocals, Deathrite take listeners to a strange, dark place where dusky doom-laden death reverberates with mutated punk and down and dirty, granular rock. Dark Matter caught up with the band as they completed their sound-check before their London show. Contemplatively sipping bottles of beer, the members have a serious, slightly moody air about them which soon brightens when they have the opportunity to share their passion, whether that’s tearing up the stage or cha...

Sirenia are a goth metal rollercoaster ride of unrelenting energy. A kaleidoscopic, ever-evolving treat of styles and genres, their songs are continually shifting into fresh patterns, one minute soaring to giddying heights of operatic melody and synthetic symphony, the next racing along to hard rock and plunging into unforgiving, raw heavy metal. Over the years the band have honed their curious sound into something undefinable and yet uniquely Sirenia. This is through the pure dedication and determination of the man behind the madness, Norwegian metal-head extraordinaire Morten Veland, who built on his success with Tristania to found Sirenia in 2001. Sirenia are currently on their European tour and Dark Matter caught up with their founding member just before he took to the stage in London.

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"We started out swapping images between the two of is, which is how we usually start considering artwork.  We’re not sure at the time what we’re looking for – maybe an image that we can use wholesale, maybe just things that set a kind of visual tone that we can both get into as somehow connecting with the spirit of the album as a whole. For A New Kind of Horror, obviously one of the most visual inspirations was the first world war theme.  But we have a particular take on it." 

"So we did a lot of research and sent reams of images to one another, discussing them, looking for related works or other things by the same artist or from the same photograph resource, and so on.  And eventually we came to the conclusion that the right piece of artwork would have to have an array of element...