Avantgarde-Metal.com

2008-07-13

Dear Gentlewomen and Gentlemen!

This week we celebrate the 1st BIRTHDAY OF AGM.COM. We’d like to use this special opportunity to say a big thank you to all our readers across the world. In more than 300 articles our experiMetal experts have been restless to discover the weirdest and most surprising artists for you. And more will come in the future. To push our efforts always further and further we’d like to know your opinion: What can be improved on our site? What acts are you still missing here? Click on the link to enter the Freak Zone and to tell us your thoughts.

As a birthday present we have a special print edition about the early pioneering AVANT-GARDE METAL CLASSICS (1987 – 2000) for you, containing 69 pages full of sparkling highlights. And James wrote an essay about the ongoing experiment of the AVANT-GARDE METAL HISTORY.

Never stop the Freak Show…

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2008-07-06

After a long armistice, the story section of Your Favourite Webzine is kicked alive by Suleiman, in his short but tasty interview with Austrian psychological extreme metal duo F.P.G.S.

Among the reviews today, aVoid wakes up screaming to the abysmal noises of LESMENTOR, whereas Tentakel P. is a little disappointed by the semi-all star project TRINACRIA.
Straying Beyond, Jobst studies the cinematic empty canvas of DER BLUTHARSCH and Olivier does his best to fathom the non-Euclidan grooves and plain weirdness of the latest album from ERIC COPELAND.

In other news: Are you looking for a party? Are you in Zagreb the next few weeks?
On 15 July, our colleague Ulv is DJing an AVANTGARDE METAL PARTY, check this out!

Until next time... STAY WEIRD!

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2008-06-29

Yesterday was a day of exalted pleasure and tragic bereavement at the same time: Two of the very best music magazines that ever touched the metal scene came out in one compilation: the MøRKESKYE #12 / SOUNDS UNDER THE SURFACE #5 split edition of Thor Wanzek. It’s a travel to the Mount Olympus of avant-garde metal and features profound interviews with heroes like MANES, ULVER, ARCTURUS, BERGRAVEN, <CODE>, NEGURA BUNGET or … our Mr. aVoid.

This is the very last, the ultimate, the final issue ever of MøRKESKYE. 13 years after the first edition finally it will be buried in the skies. So don’t hesitate and download this mindtrip to the weirdest sides of metal for free on SOUNDSURFACE.COM.

This week we gaze beyond the border on some promising new acts: Oliviér introduces the monumental bass soundscapes of YETI RAIN and aVoid finally wordified the epic prog of NASCENT. Finally Jobst makes your heads bang with the British freaks of AKERCOCKE.

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2008-06-22

The competition for THE HORN is over. Is it avant-garde or not? Well, most of you denied or even didn’t care. But some of you listened closer and found the magic moments of uniqueness. It’s difficult to discover these in THE HORN’s internet samples. But it definitely can be unearthed when listening to the full CD.
The most original answer came from our writer Olivier. Enjoy it HERE . Congratulations, Olivier, for winning the CD! It will soon spread the curse of the pharaoh in your post box.

This week we have some more reviews. Tentakel P. found a very vividly way to explain us the avantgardeness of KEEP OF KALESSIN. Suleiman got electrified by the new album of VOLKMAR. And finally Monsignore Lignano brings back in mind one of the most wicked crimes in whole METAL HISTORY.

Flower the avant-gardeners…

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2008-06-15

The great Master is back. Chrystof fought his wakefulness last night and gave THE HORN a chance to reach his fastidious ears.

Luckily this band got fished out the big "not avant-garde drawer" with the question: Is this avant-garde? We think this should be discussed by our FORUM USERS . So shoo, shoo, have a listen and report please.
The one with the best answer wins the CD!

Nofar, back from her trip to Poland poetically wrapped up DORNENREICH's "Hexenwind" and tells us what dreams are made of.

And in Beyond the Border Jonny uses secret Google Map features and zooms in the "interesting window" of BURZUM 's "Svarte Dauen".

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2008-06-08

It's a bit quiet here; seems the summer heat has taken its toll on the poor AgM staff. But Suleiman keeps the flame burning, reviewing the NAMELESS ORCHESTRAL PROJECT's debut album. Olivier Côte too is still on his march beyond the borders, here with BAD DIANA's "The lights are on but no-one's home".

And here's an uncaring cat for all of you.

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2008-06-01

CARRIER FLUX is an obscure one-man project from the United States who, despite not releasing anything these past five years, are well worth the attention of all explorers of the dark and mysterious sides of metal. Suleiman had himself a short, but noteworthy, conversation.

Keeping to the theme of obscurity, Jegger has returned with a review of the anonymous Norwegians THE KONSORTIUMs' untitled debut demo. The future of Norwegian ground-breaking black metal? You decide...

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2008-05-25

Riding on top of the waves of new, ultra-complex Death Metal are Italy's ILLOGICIST, perfecting their brutality with a tasteful sense of flowing and psychotic melodies. They recently released their second full-length, whereupon Martin decided to have a chat with the band leader Luca Minieri.

Said Martin has also reviewed the gloomy progmetal of DARK SUNS' third album Grave Human Genuine, and Tentakel P set his teeth into the dark industrial swansong of V:28.

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2008-05-18

The craziest voice in all of metal? Formerly the vocalist who put ATROX on the map of Avantgarde metal, currently in TACTILE GEMMA, Monika Edvardsen is a personality (and, of course, voice) out of the ordinary. Martin Cermak found her out and had himself a conversation with her.

The British power trio GUAPO recently released their eighth album, Elixirs, and Olivier did not take too long to delve into the mysteries of their oppositional zeuhl rock...

Out of money (or the reach of mail-orders), hungry for new and strange metal music, and trying to keep yourself from the dark side? Look no further! Our own Suleiman has begun collecting the weirdest and most genre-bending metal, spread freely across the Internet by the musicians themselves. All for free, and all legal - go ahead, indulge yourself in some new sounds, at Metal Madness (www.burzukh.webs.com)!

(disclaimer: AgM.com does not support any sort of piracy, modern nor 17th century. support the musicians; if they want your money, they deserve it - if they don't want it, go ahead.)

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2008-05-11

This Sunday we have an interview with one of Greece's longest running extreme metal institutions: SEPTICFLESH, who recently returned after five years silence with the album Communion; melancholic and furious orchestral black/death metal in abundance. Martin Cermak has spoken to guitarists Christos Antoniou and Sotiris Vayenas.

On the review side, we have the following:
Suleiman continues his wanderings through the exotic world of THANATOSCHIZO's avantgardist gothic metal, and Olivier dives into the dark ambient drones of AETHENOR's second album Betimes Black Cloudmasses - this time with Kriss G. onboard!

A fine Whitsunday Pentecost to you all... keep it strange.

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2008-05-04

Five months have passed since the publication of the first issue, and now it is time again for the second issue of the AVANTGARDE-METAL MAGAZINE. Over 100 pages worth of interviews, reviews and articles in a fine looking PDF for you to print and read in the forest, on the bus, in the bed, wherever! This is our way of thanking YOU for your supporting our descent into everything weird and wonderful and mostly guitar-driven (...and the crew's collective thanks goes out to Katja, who is responsible for assembling this fine product).

For the more obsessive of you who've already read everything that can be read in the PDF: Mr. Slone brandishes his sword with the late Quorthon and indulges in BATHORY's Blood On Ice, whereas Mr. Côte falls into a smooth oblivion with the untitled drones of WILLIAM BASINSKI & RICHARD CHARTIER.

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2008-04-27

In celebration of the coming Walpurgisnacht, we at Avantgarde-Metal.com give to you a mighty heap of texts:

The German fellows ISLAND have recently re-released their two EPs under the name of Orakel, reviewed here by Tentakel P. Said Tentacle found it so awesome that he just had to dive into the Teutonic forests to find the lair of Christian and Florian and interrogate them.

Walking through another part of the vast woods of Germany, Polygon stumbled across a colleague of ours: Thor Wanzek, the legendary editor of Mørkeskye and Sound Under The Surface, fanzines feasting on the fringes of metal music, just like yours truly. Read what he has to say about trolls, extreme music esoterica, and what we are actually dealing with at AgM.com...

And on the review front...
James Slone has set his teeth into the latest evisceration of Eire's finest:
PRIMORDIAL's To The Nameless Dead and SEPTICFLESH's Communion.
If you crave some classical, but far from traditional doom metal, look no further:
Suleiman gives you THANATOSCHIZO's InsomniousNightLift.

Now you go out into the Sun and have a nice week, all of you.

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2008-04-20

Alright... We bring unto you a fine set of reviews on this beautiful April Sunday:

Ulv returns to the mystical mythological nature, dancing in circles with the primordial water-dragon known in Norse culture as Jörmundgand, as invoked by his countryman JOHANN WOLFGANG POZOJ's eclectic music. The picture is the gate to the Birth of Pozoj...

Revon thoroughly invades and analyses the second release of them crazy French Canadians UNEXPECT, whereas Suleiman gets down & dirty in the tormented abysses of F.P.G.S.

If you're wondering whatever happened to those disco-dancing fellows in ...AND OCEANS, look no further. They died and were resurrected as HAVOC UNIT, whose first full-length is currently violating the ears of Tentakel P. No fun at all.

And yeah, Lignano painfully exerts himself trying to truly capture and describe the volatile spirit of FANTOMAS' "The Director's Cut" right here.

Finally, here's to the Avant-garde Creator of Life, for hiding away his most wondrous works in the true WaterHells...

Let the Sabbath now begin!

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2008-04-13

Here comes an article with the attempt to shed some light on one of the most vibrant and original metal the planet has ever seen. For ease of discussion, a wide spectrum of bands and sounds have been grouped under the umbrella term of Technical-Progressive Death Metal, whereas in reality there is no single genre that can cater to the variety of the bands mentioned here. Suleiman touches on a number of bands that helped to shape the trends and sounds of the metal scene as a whole and thus affected the tech-death phenomena as well.

Suleiman also wrote a delicious poem about BRAIN DRILL and ORIGIN
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And aVoid is making Tantra on MESHUGGAH's "ObZen" this week!

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2008-04-06

"2 Unlimited" was not only a Dutch Eurodance act quite famous in the 90's. It is also the title of an album from PIN-UP WENT DOWN, a new French duo that surprised Revon as hell!

Cosmic Dark Metal Epic comes from SEPTIC FLESH with their 2008-release "Communion". Suleiman compares them to a good wine that becomes better with age…

"Starfire Burning On The Ice-Veiled Throne Of Ultima Thule" was Mr. Slone's first foray into the pulp fantasy universe of BAL-SAGOTH.

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Our new writer from the underground "Mang Tsze” not only looks at KOROVA's ”A Kiss In The Charnel Fields", but also describes the days before the internet, the days of real underground music developed in Austria late 80's – early 90's.

In Beyond the Border Oliver Côté and Jonny Lignano frolic with DOWNLOAD's "FiXer” and FOO FIGHTER's "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace".

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2008-03-30

Whilst on the interweb, one finds all sorts of different things. Jonny found a super duper cool band homepage called WWW.NOIDZ.NET, which offers two promo tracks to the casual 5-seconds-attention-span surfer.

Ulv shows you the way of cooking the best dish in the world: the soup a la TO-MERA .

Hellenistic Alien Esoterica, or just SEPTIC FLESH with "The Ophidian Wheel” is brought to you by James Slone.

BETHLEHEM's Masterpiece "Sardonischer Untergang Im Zeichen Irreligiöser Darbietung" has been reviewed by Polygon.

And last but not least, a fresh new project from Circle and Pharaoh Overlord's mastermind Jussi Lehtisalo with KRYPT AXERIPPER's "Mechanical Witch”, by Olivier Côté…

Enjoy with coffee and cake!

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2008-03-23

The interrogation of the Anglo-Saxon kings of glorious battle magic and the malevolently sublime...BAL-SAGOTH Interview PART II brought to you by aVoid!
A Post Dance Industrial For The People Of The Future comes from James with SQUIBB VS. SQUIBB .
Doomintroll In Wonderland or just "AARNI” with its "Bathos" has been described by Jobst.
Oliver Côté has another Beyond the Border article uploaded for you: the unpredictable ZWEIZZ

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2008-03-16

There is bombast, and then there is bombast. Epic, majestic, call it whatever - many try, most fail. From the British Isles comes BAL-SAGOTH , for a decade and a half over and over again setting even higher standards in narrative conceptuality and the aforementioned adjectives. "Too many trumpets". "Sounds like a comic book". The taunts have been many, yet none that may touch these infamous warrior kings. You may worship them, you may detest them, but one truth is constant - over their 15 years of existence, they have trodden their own singular path, fearlessly looking forward into the unknown, granting blissful wonders to those who dare to follow.
aVoid searched for illumination and conjured up a spiritual connection to the ultimate driving force behind Bal-Sagoth…

Two new reviews are comming from James and Tentakel P. They carefully listened to SOLARIS' "Out of Reach" and STAR OF ASHs "Iter. Viator." for you.

Oliver Côté presents MIDI MILIZ/EXTRAWELT with their space crashing trance piece "Crsh” in Beyond the Border.

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2008-03-09

This Sunday update is especially dedicated to our fascinating AVANTGARDE-METAL-CREW. Without them this webpage would not exist nor succeed. But luckily it does! In the past eight months our busy bees from all different angles of the world took their time to collect material, conduct interviews, put together tons of reviews, stories and articles for you to read and enjoy. We hope that you were able to explore many great bands and hidden treasures for a kind of music, that still deserves more attention and praise. Therefore we also try to reach non-english speakers who used to skip english classes during school – or just those of you who might be interested in how one review looks like written in 9 different languages… Have fun with SUNNO))) & BORIS' "Altar"!

Have a look at another cool review about CELESTIAL SEASON's "Solar Lovers" written by James Slone.
In Beyond the Border, waiting for you: EXTRAWELT with "DistTheme”, reviewed by Oliver Côté...

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2008-03-02

The young Swedish blood Diablo Swing Orchestra is one of the bands that cannot sink into average. If you hear them once, you either like them or hate them, but you cannot mess them with anything other. Of course, what else can you expect from the people who are able to combine elegantly such genres as swing, tango or flamenco with metal and opera?

When listening to the songs on their debut album "Butcher's Ballroom", nothing is sure nor guaranteed, so you must be ready and alerted every minute...
...by Martin Cermak

New Reviews:
HAVOHEJ with "Black Perversion / The Black Mist / Man And Jinn" by aVoid
SKINDEEP PLETHORA's "Angst" by Jonny Lignano

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2008-02-24

THE AXIS OF PERDITION are one of the weirdest formations that ever crawled out from the underworld. They absorbed different shapes of extreme music (be it black metal, dark ambient or industrial), processed and transformed it into their own original, non-human, excessive sound for apocalypse. It penetrates into the marrow of your bones and brings an instant anxiety. You need to live and survive this experience...

aVoid gives you an insight of WORMED' "Planisphaerium".
Tentakel P. looked at SIGHS' "Hail Horror Hail".

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2008-02-17

Bands like this bring the light, search for the paths and push the boundaries of what is possible in extreme music. EPHEL DUATH do this with nobleness, intelligence, significant aesthetics and sense for every form of art...

The band’s leader, main composer and guitarist Davide Tiso is as always very reflective and sensitive, what gives his art significant touches and impulsions.
Interview by Martin Cermak

Trident has reviewed ARCTURUS' "The Sham Mirrors”, and Jonny Lignano scientifically explains the Physics and Chemistry of OPETH's "Ghost Reveries”.

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2008-02-10

It's been a long time since we all heard of Bjørn Dencker aka ALDRAHN or BIKJA, whose passionate invocations from DHG, OLD MAN'S CHILD, DIMMU BORGIR, ZYKLON-B to THORNS and THE DEATHTRIP still feel as fresh, edgy and open-minded as they were back then and now are. This is why Olivier had to contact the man and take a chance to enter his present-day world views...

Tentakel. P. gives you a description of the Carpathian Wolves Tour 2008 featuring FARSOT, NEGURA BUNGET and THE VISION BLEAK.

Reviews today: SATANOCHIO by Suleiman, THE GAULT by aVoid, AGALLOCH by Trident and SLOUGH FEG by Jonny Lignano.

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2008-02-03

After the tricky album "The Focusing Blur", Swedish mastermind VINTERSORG came with its follower "Solens Rotter". Being maybe a more acceptable material for a larger circle of listeners. The recording offers enough uncommon and clever moments, in the same time we can hear a bit of creative modulation and calming. The traditional approaches and roots of Scandinavian art are mixed with black metal atmosphere in one hand and progressive feeling on the other. All in all, Andreas Hedlund aka Vintersorg still has a fancy to release pleasant stuff. Martin has talked with him about his remarkable and sophisticated way of seeing and cognition of our world, projected into his art...

Our new crew member C.L. Edwards from California provides us two great reviews of OPETH and MESHUGGAH.

Suleiman comes along with two reviews of VOLKMAR and UMBAH and Polygon reviewed TIAMAT for you.

In Beyond the Border two reviews from Jonny Lignano and Ulv are ready to be read: MIRANDA SEX GARDEN and NIRVANA.

Bernd our webmaster improved the ”about” section. Now you can view all band profiles, reviews and stories of each member by one mouse click. Enjoy!

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2008-01-27

CONTROL HUMAN DELETE is a fresh blood of the avant-garde extreme scene. Their extravagant combination of the contemporary technical post-black/death metal with industrial apocalypse is musically very impressive. Not less interesting is the knot of ideas behind (or in the base) of the whole project. The band is a monstrous monolith or organism living on its own and offering a lot of inspiration and stimulation to think and listen. Martin has a talk about the freezing, raw, but beautifully aberrant album "Terminal World Perspective” and about all the perspectives that can be seen in the world of CHD with the speculative and reflective singer and lyricist Void...

This week Bernd adds NEGURA BUNGET to the bands section. Tentakel P. presents SOLEFALD, Revon shows us the world of ANUBI, Trident examines ASGAROTH, Suleiman headbangs for MONSTERWORKS, and scary Lignano analyses the cover of NUCLEAR SIMPHONY.

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2008-01-20

There is a big bang of young European bands that are a kind of answer to the Isis/Neurosis style on one hand, The Dillinger Escape Plan discursiveness on the other, also a bit linked to Meshuggah’s unique path, but of course developing their very own way.

The multifaceted art collective THE OCEAN from German capital city Berlin is among the most promising of these acts. Their new concept "Precambrian / Hadean / Archaean" became an important musical event of the 2007/2008 break. Reason enough to talk with Robin Staps, the thoughtful leader of this multimember collective.

The interview with THE OCEAN was led by Martin Cermak, whom we cordially welcome to our crew today!

Jobst sinks deep into the majestic soundscapes of ELEND. Revon starts carnival with DARTH VEGAS. aVoid heads back to the last millennium for ENTITY.
Tentakel P. discovers the great hidden treasure PICA FIERCE. And Suleiman returns with ACHENAR and a glance beyond the noise border of CERVIX.

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2008-01-13

New Jersey's DÄLEK have been marketed as the "sound of the urban apocalypse," and for once the hype matches the content. A hiphop outfit that channels both disparate musical forms (political hip hop, industrial, shoegaze, metal, grind noise, kraut, and jazz) and the old spirits of forgotten history, especially the fragmented and lost history of African America, Dälek meld violent, angry dissonance with a sad, elegiac dirge. When the bombast and discord finally falter, all that is left is a lingering sigh of resignation. James dedicates a story to the work of this outstanding band.

Revon heads for an extensive dance into the DOG FASHION DISCO. Ulv discovers the Croatian pearl EMPHASIS. Jonny Lignano reviews the legendary first album of DEVIL DOLL, a record of which just one single piece has been pressed. And Polygon steps beyond the border for DESIDERII MARGINIS.

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2008-01-06

Florida – sunglasses, palm trees, bikini girls and … technical death metal. These are the associations many of us may carry in their head. When the debut of AGHORA came out in the year 2000, they immediately were crowned as Miami’s new stars of progressive metal. This definitely has been influenced by the fact that famous musicians of bands like Death and Cynic were involved. Seven years and one brilliant album later guitarist Santiago Dobles and his gifted gang of musicians show that they deserve their excellent reputation also without famous names.

Much has been written about the music and technical skills of AGHORA. But when Trident talked to Santiago Dobles he wanted to explore the philosophy behind this exceptional music. And so the interview became a profound course in Eastern Alchemy – yoga, reiki, qi gong…and finally a detailed description of how Santiago uses his crown chakra to transfer energies to the listeners of Aghora’s music.

Today you also can enjoy the long awaited second part of Ulv’s talk with Markus Stock, mastermind of exquisite, innovative bands like EMPYRIUM and THE VISION BLEAK. This is one of the rare and precious moments that Markus opens the huge hidden world behind his artistic works and let’s you see a little part of the man behind the thousand masks.

MvH digs out one of the first electro black metal albums of the mid 1990ies – the unholy DIABOLOS RISING. Tentakel P. observes the latest album of VINTERSORG. And Monsignor Lignano designs some movie scenes for VOIVOD.

Behold the Invisible…

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2007-12-30

Ulf Theodor Schwadorf aka F. F. Yugoth aka MARKUS STOCK is a man with thousand faces, a hyper-creative nebula that can transmogrify into any artistic form. With the legendary band EMPYRIUM he brought an excessive use of acoustic instruments into Metal and had a huge impact on the development of Folk Metal. With projects like SUN OF THE SLEEPLESS and NACHTMAHR he mixes Black Metal with Ambient and Opera. With mighty NOEKK he creates epic monuments of 70ies inspired Prog Rock. And with the famous THE VISION BLEAK he founded a new conceptual subgenre called Horror Metal.
Apart from that he’s a gifted multi-instrumentalist and an excellent producer. In his KLANGSCHMIEDE STUDIO E he produced innovative bands like Dornenreich, Bethlehem or KorovaKill.

Within the last weeks THE VISION BLEAK toured through Europe with Therion. So Ulv catched Markus on the road for an intensive talk about the man behind the thousand faces. Enjoy the first part of this interview here!

Another man who confuses you regularly with his thousand faces is our most scary writer Jonny Lignano. Many readers asked us to reveal more about this mysterious enfant terrible. So today we have a Sylvester surprise for you: Jonny Lignano interviews JONNY LIGNANO. And he reviews another album of OPETH. Finally Suleiman presents a hidden treasure from France: PSALM.

Unleash the Rockets…

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2007-12-23

Today we have a big Christmas present for you: The 1st print edition of the AVANTGARDE METAL MAGAZINE. On 125 pages you can find all interviews published so far and reviews of the most recommendable albums of 2007. This is our way to Thank You, our dear readers, for your stunning resonance. More than 45.000 visitors show that the metal revolution has already begun! I’d also like to thank the dedicated crew of agm.com who enthusiastically wrote more than 200 articles within the last couple of months to present you the most innovative bands metal music can provide. And we’d like to thank Katja who has spent countless hours to design the whole print version.

Some weeks ago we asked you to send us your favourite avant-garde metal albums of 2007. Today we present you the final results. Here are YOUR TOP 10 AVANT-GARDE METAL ALBUMS OF 2007. You also can find a retrospection on the nearly passed year there, written by Jobst. Thanks a lot to everybody who participated in this election and congratulations to the winners!

Did you ever wonder how it would sound if epic progressive metal unified with exquisite synthesizers and electro sounds in the vein of 1970ies pioneers like Jean Michel Jarre or Vangelis? And instead of a lead singer there was a whole classical choir performing the lyrics? Then DOL AMMAD definitely will become one of your greatest favourites ever. The 21st century of metal has begun now. And DOL AMMAD show how the future may look like. Chrystof enters the intergalactic spaceship for a transmission with mastermind Thanasis Lightbridge.

new reviews: SIGH (Tentakel P.), FURZE (aVoid),
MAYHEM (MvH), CHORONZON (Olivier), ETERNAL DEFORMITY (Ulv) and Jonny Lignano’s special Christmas review of UNHOLY

Happy Jul to everybody, and…
Never stop the Freak Show…

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2007-12-16

Explorers of the mysterious and of the supernatural, Austrian tone travellers KOROVAKILL are known for their idiosyncratic sound. Ever since 1994, they have released three mind-bending albums. Call them dreaming spacemen, neo-baroque thrash orchestras, astro-oceanic divers from unknown worlds and dimensions. Whatever, they're basically here to expand your sensory systems.
Several years have passed since their last album WaterHells. Will "the mightiest avalanche of the alps" ever strike again? Olivier enters the Echoworld for an exclusive in-depth talk with KK mastermind Christof.

This week we review some fresh new albums: aVoid introduces the new masterpiece of French avant-garde metal newcomers SMOHALLA. Olivier dives into the latest releases of ULVER and BLUT AUS NORD.

Finally we cordially welcome new crew member MvH, who debuts with a review of AGALLOCH.

Embrace the Nebulas...

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2007-12-09

This Sunday comes a huge wired metal box full of new articles, dedicated once more to the electronic sides of avant-garde metal.
Suleiman presents the second part of his story about the origins of ELECTRO METAL. Today he delves into the 1990ies and early Industrial Metal. In addition, he unearths some hidden treasures of electronic experiMetal: the exquisite Techno Metal of BRISTOL MEYERS SQUIBB, the dark Dance Metal of TECHNY-CAL X (both from France) and Spanish ElectRollers KRELL.

Polygon drives back from Latvia into the mid 1990ies to review one of the earliest pieces of electronic Black Metal – Norwegian wackos MYSTICUM. And he interviews the German Elektro Black Metal cyborgs DEKADENZ. Enjoy his talk with the two remaining core members @noiZe and L.O.S. about the pleasures of technical evolution, Expressionism 2.0 and the truth about the purpose of their studio…

Jegger travelled to the Roman Empire for an interview with Italian Industrial Deathers IMPURE DOMAIN. Vocalist Angy Impure reveals his thoughts on nihilism, apocalypticism and musical extremism.

More reviews about avantgardish Electro Metal: ...AND OCEANS (Tentakel P.), CHORONZON (Olivier) and CURSE OF THE GOLDEN VAMPIRES (Lignano).

Finally Ulv honors one of the most important pioneers of Epic Industrial with a live report: the Slovenian heroes LAIBACH.
He describes an impressive concert that took place in Zagreb two weeks ago. Everybody who has ever seen LAIBACH live knows how powerful and monumental their performances are. Reawaken this mighty deployment of musical art.

Let's get electrified…

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2007-12-02

This week we bring you the second part of the interview with Austrian Black Metal re-inventors ABIGOR. Read more about the concept of their forthcoming album, their past with Napalm Records, further projects and the Hell Lab studio of TT.

Trident dives deep into the work of jazz metalists AGHORA and reviews their albums ”Aghora” and ”Formless”. aVoid discovers the French black proggers AVERSE. And last but not least the infamous Jonny Lignano dedicates one of his controversial reviews to OPETH. A discussion about his strange articles can be found in the FREAK ZONE. Your feedback and opinion are warmly welcome there.

For the end of this year we are planning a special about what happened in avant-garde metal in 2007. For this we'd like to know your TOP 5 ALBUMS of 2007. Please send them to us via myspace message or to our email. If you don't have five top albums you also can send just your top 3 for example.

We're looking forward to hear what impressed you most this year!

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2007-11-25

Half a year ago one of the most revolutionary metal albums ever erupted into the scene: Fractal Possession is the surprising comeback of Austrian black metal pioneers ABIGOR. Though still deep-rooted in true black metal this masterpiece is far more avantgardistic than most releases under the banner of avant-garde metal. While other outriders of metal seek experimentation in blendings with other genres, ABIGOR manage the legerdemain of giving a boost of innovation to black metal by crystallizing its very essence. Their music is far beyond any norm and still black metal in its purest form.
If you think that metal in the 21st century is nothing else than an eclectic repetition of the 1990ies then you have to hear Fractal Possession. Your view on music won’t be the same anymore. ABIGOR core members TT and PK gave deep insights into their work to Tentakel P. and Chrystof. Read the first part of this interview here.

This week aVoid reviews one of the very first albums ever labelled as avant-garde metal: the groundbreaking classic "Into the Pandemonium” of CELTIC FROST. Revon introduces a weird experimental one-man-band from Japan - KADENZZA. And beyond the border we find BURZUM (Lignano) and BJÖRK (Tentakel P.).

Your music won’t be the same anymore…

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2007-11-18

In the mid 1990ies, just as black metal was going to become the next big thing, there were a couple of bands that tried to break out from the narrow conventions of that genre. In these days the term "avant-garde metal” came up to give asylum to all those mavericks who tried to transport the deep atmosphere of black metal with new, innovative means.

One of the very first pioneers of that time was the Norwegian duoFLEURETY. They only released two albums: Min Tid Skal Komme (1995) and Department of Apocalyptic Affairs (2000). Nowadays both belong to the very top of all-time avant-garde metal classics. A long time has passed since their last signs of life. So Olivier talked to Svein Egil Hatlevik (today also known as ZWEIZZ) for a distant, but deep view into the essence of this great band.

New reviews: UNEXPECT (revon) and SWARRRM (Suleiman).

Avoid the average aesthetics…

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2007-11-11

Today at 11:11 carnival begins in most parts of Europe. So what could fit better than three weird inconnus dressed up like mummies from World War II? SATANOCHIO is definitely one of the strangest and most mysterious bands of the entire metal scene. But what breeds behind those masks? Suleiman visited them in their secret moldering crypt and talked with mastermind Satanochio about sheep and the revolted human, about the tristesse of Romania, about the towers of sarcasm and about toothlessly grinning farmers who spill milk over cow faeces.
And if you want more Satanochio go to Jonny Lignano’s review of their DVD Dark Visions from the Fog.

Apart from that we are exploring once more the electronic sides of avant-garde metal: James continues his quest through the experimental knurls of former Napalm Death members and presents SCORN of Mick Harris. Suleiman shows SYMPTOMS of Italian cybersomniomania. Ulv revels in UNHEALTHY DREAMS from France and rides beyond the border on BLUE DEERS.

In Somnis veritas…

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2007-11-04

Did you ever imagine that your brain was a tree sprawling entropically into all directions until everything turned infrared and ultraviolet? Then you were probably listening to the Greek duo ABSTRUSE. Somewhere between psychedelic, prog and math metal they build their surrealistic worlds of tones and sounds. aVoid talked to Substant, the cerebral forest behind Abstruse.

This week our webmaster Bernd has improved the BANDS section. Now you can always find the latest additions on top. Bernd is also debuting with some splendid articles today. He added biographies of RED HARVEST and OXIPLEGATZ and also a review of Alf Svensson's 1990ies pioneering album Worlds and Worlds.
James crept deep into two releases of UK doomsters JESU - Conqueror and Silver – presenting the romantic sides of Napalm Death founding member Justin Broadrick. Jobst travelled through the doomy soundscapes of VOID OF SILENCE. Suleiman listened to Austrian hidden treasures BUG. And Mr. Tentakel P. did some channelling with the wicked angels of ENOCHIAN CRESCENT.

Special Link: SOUNDS UNDER THE SURFACE is a superb online magazine written by truly dedicated top journalists from Germany. Though Thor and Marcel are rooted in the Metal scene since many years, this mag knows no genre borders and features lots of exquisite bands from all directions. Sounds Under The Surface is published as a free PDF. So you can print it out and enjoy reading it on paper. Yesterday the second issue was released, focusing on "woods, krauts & sprouts”. This magazine is a must for all lovers of pure and deep music.

Unmask the Surface…

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2007-10-28

In ancient times metal was quite simple: drums, distorted guitars, bass and a raging vocalist - that was all a metal warrior needed to be happy twenty years ago. Something like keyboards in metal wasn't just exotic. It was a hostile attack of untrue posers. Nowadays the use of synthesizers and electronic sounds has become quite accepted even by old-school headbangers. New popular styles like industrial or gothic metal have developed out of this combination. And former pioneers have become mainstream.

Also in avant-garde metal the use of electro sounds is all around. Suleiman has dived deep into history and has written an article about the early beginnings of electro metal. And he has discovered some great newcomers of electronic metal: the alien sci-fi war tunes of MARS ON EARTH, the hyperspeed cyber metal explosions of TRISTWOOD and the dark electro melodies of CARRIER FLUX (incl. link to free download). Polygon enters the biggest black hole of the universe to explore the wicked techno robots ABORYM. And Trident rises up to the brightest energy fields of bombastic DOL AMMAD - a great band from Greece with whom we'll have an interview soon. Space On!

Let's get electrified...

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2007-10-21

Last week we introduced some very promising acts from the experimental underground to you. Due to your very positive feedback our scouts went out into the black spots of the metal map once more and came back with full bags:

Suleiman visited the darkest depths of Romania and discovered peculiar beings called SATANOCHIO. He continued his journey to the mountains of Austria and found the dissonance thrashers TURN OUT rioting there. Ulv travelled to Pakistan with some mouse clicks to download for free a masterpiece of obscurity: BURZUKH’s album "Orion”. After a little break our most scary writer Jonny Lignano returned from his brain caves. In his laboratory he discovered a way to make any album sound more avant-garde. This process is called "avantgardization" and has been tested with an early demo of KLABAUTAMANN. Finally James went back into a time when even THE 3RD AND THE MORTAL were hidden treasures.

Special Link: The Blind Janitor is an Israeli online magazine dedicated to all kinds of alternative music from pop to electro to 70ies prog to extreme metal. If you know Hebrew you definitely should check out this fine site by Nofar and her friends.

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2007-10-14

This Sunday we’d like to introduce some hidden treasures to you: promising bands from the underground that have released their works as self-produced demos or via small labels. Especially for music beyond the norm it’s often very difficult to get contracts with renowned record companies. Still there are some great pearls to discover among them. So thanks a lot to all those bands who sent us promos and copies of their albums. We’ll give our best to support you!

And these are the hidden treasures for today: aVoid discovers ABSTRUSE, a duo from Greece that creates bizarre cerebral landscapes with its peculiar music and video art. The major album of THY CATAFALQUE from Hungary as well as their band biography are presented by revon. Other great newcomers are the hyperspeed cyber metallurgists of TRISTWOOD from Tyrol/Austria. And finally Suleiman introduces a demo by ORBETH, cosmic heavy metal from the UK and the latest album of Indonesian avant-garde metal oldcomers KEKAL.

Furthermore you can find Tentakel P.’s review of ENSLAVED and two avant-garde masterpieces from beyond the border: the pioneering "Piper at the Gates of Dawn” of PINK FLOYD (Suleiman) and the Russian Ompa Rock Roulette of KAIZER’S ORCHESTRA, reviewed by Ulv.

Unearth the hidden Treasures…

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2007-10-07

Today we proudly present an interview with one of the most original cult persons of extreme metal – Jürgen Bartsch, mastermind of German Dark Metal pioneers BETHLEHEM.

Since the early 1990ies Bethlehem have gone their very own way far beyond the ordinary metal clichés. Over the years their sound and philosophy have developed into a whole new subgenre of metal: Dark Metal. Bethlehem are legendary for their very idiosyncratic kind of self-presentation and especially for the highly symbolic and enigmatic lyrics and concepts of Mister Bartsch.

Katja Honeywine van de Barrel talked to this charming outlaw who always leaves some riddles in your head. Check out this pleasure of an interview somewhere between morbidity and irony.

Dictius Me Spectare…

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2007-09-30

One month ago revon introduced a great band from Hungary to us: GIRE. Just some days later the band announced their split up. At their very last concert revon did an interview with keyboarder and poet Tamás about the past, present and future of these engaged musicians.

This week is full of exquisite avant-garde: Jonny Lignano made a hex code out of ABERRANT VASCULA. Enjoy 50 mb full of beautiful data. Suleiman dives into the cyber metal of OBLIVEON and the gothesque FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM. Polygon flashes back to the debut of COVENANT, later known as THE KOVENANT. James pulls another fine album of Norwegians BEYOND DAWN out of his stovepipe hat. Ulv explores the remixed ARCTURUS. aVoid introduces PROJECT: FAILING FLESH to us. And Tentakel P. writes a movie plot about DIABOLICAL MASQUERADE.

Special Link: "Recreating organization: organizing work and the work of organizing as ethico-aesthetic practice” is a research project at the University of Innsbruck. It explores modes of organizing work in creative fields like theatre, music and architecture.

Disclose new Worlds…

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2007-09-23

Today we cordially welcome two new writers: Trident explores the work of epic woodland metallers AGALLOCH. Ulv dives back into the 1970ies to retrieve some elektro-kraut for beyond the border: TANGERINE DREAM.

Most times avant-garde and mainstream are antitheses. But there are a few artists who manage to gain huge success with very experimental and idiosyncratic creations. Tentakel P. makes a flashback to the 1994 album Wildhoney from TIAMAT. Though sounding different to everything else back then Wildhoney managed to enthuse the masses and set new standards in metal. Another fine example are the bands and projects of ex Faith No More singer Mike Patton. One of his most popular creations is presented by James this week: the formidable MR. BUNGLE.

And there’s still more stuff to discover: James digs out one of the most obscure death metal based bands from the early 1990ies – Dan Swanö’s PAN-THY-MONIUM. And he introduces a very promising act from Berlin to us - THE OCEAN. Last but not least inspector Lignano detects the secret code behind KOROVAKILL’s concept album WaterHells.

Across all Frontiers…

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2007-09-16

Sometimes the real heroes of avant-garde metal are hiding deep within the labyrinths of the internet. Without caring at all about publicity they create weird masterpieces far beyond any norm. This week we’d like to dedicate a special to one of those great artists: UMBAH from the UK. With UMBAH ex Necrosanct Cal Scott already has released 10 exquisite albums, highly experimental and highly enthralling. His bizarre soundscapes seem to come from another world. Still UMBAH are totally unknown even within the small avant-garde metal scene. Suleiman discovered them somewhere in the online mazes. He did a tight interview with Cal and also presents another UMBAH album this week. And the very best: You can download all their albums for free at the UMBAH webpage!

This week our treasure chest is full of great stuff: aVoid reviews the debut of the promising avant-garde metal newcomers LE GRAND GUIGNOL from Luxembourg. Nofar dives deep into the death trips of BERGRAVEN. Tentakel P. presents one of the agm top albums of 2007 - DODHEIMSGARD. And Suleiman discovers the hidden treasures of UMBAH and BLACK ALBATROSS.

In the bands section there are new articles about DISHARMONIC ORCHESTRA, KAYO DOT, DEATHSPELL OMEGA and BRACHIALILLUMINATOR. And Jonny Lignano enriches the new section beyond the border with a review of THE BEATLES.

Discover the Hidden…

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2007-09-09

Two months ago Avantgarde-Metal.com has gone online. The reactions have been stunning so far. More than 10.000 visitors exceeded our best expectations. Therefore we’d like to send a big thanks to all our readers and supporters, to all the engaged bands and labels who sent us their works and to all the people who shared their thoughts with us via email or THE FREAK ZONE. A very special thanks goes to everybody who posted our link in their news, especially to Thanasis from mighty DOL AMMAD and Marcel and Thor from LEGACY MAGAZINE!

Today the last missing section finally opens its gates: BEYOND THE BORDER. This section will take a look beyond the borders of avant-garde metal. You will find articles about avantgardistic non-metal there as well as other weird and surprising stuff. Adequately James starts this area with a review of BEYOND DAWN. Once dedicated to very experimental extreme metal this band finally ended beyond the borders of metal and present some atmospheric Electropop on their album "Frysh”. Jonny Lignano delves into the Kayo Dot side-project TARTAR LAMB and discovers some Manowar in the ps-game GOD OF WAR.

Of course we also have some fine avant-garde metal today: In the bands section you can find KOROVA / KOROVAKILL and RAM-ZET. Tentakel P. dives into …AND OCEANS. Suleiman discovers a hidden treasure of really deranged Psycho Grindmetal - UMBAH, an insane project of ex Necrosanct Cal Scott. And James presents the latest album of quixotic avant-garde metal heroes SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM.

Enter the weird Sides of Metal…

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2007-09-02

The BANDS-Section has been largely improved. Now there are direct links to all band articles on avantgarde-metal.com. New additions: BERGRAVEN, GIRE and STRAPPING YOUNG LAD.

This sunday we’d like to welcome our new writer Suleiman. He is debuting with reviews of STRAPPING YOUNG LAD and ORIGIN. James digs out two masterpieces of 1990ies experiMetal: Alf Svensson’s futuristic solo-band OXIPLEGATZ and neo-ancient folk proggers STILLE VOLK. In addition he leads us to the industrial megacities of RED HARVEST. Jonny Lignano designs some national flags for the songs of LIFELOVER. And aVoid gives insights into the latest album of Norwegians LENGSEL.

Dive into the other Worlds...

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2007-08-26

The BANDS-Section is opened now! A big thanks goes to Katja for making the start. More bands and infos will follow soon...

Last Monday aVoid has been at the Malmöfestivalen to watch weird performances of MAYHEM and THE LOCUST. He also interviewed Jeff from the great Indonesian avant-garde metal pioneers KEKAL. Another freaky band you definitely should check out are BRACHIALILLUMINATOR from Vienna. Jonny Lignano has done an interview with Mr. Bozkovich per telegram…

This week we warmly welcome revon to our crew. His first review presents a real hidden treasure of art metal - GIRE from Hungary. Herr Tentakel P. sharpened his pen-knive to give a vital description of one of the most experimental albums of our Austrian friends ABIGOR. And Jonny Lignano tries to get you horny with a delicate review of CARNIVAL IN COAL.

Taste it with your Ears!

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2007-08-19

Two weeks ago we had an interview with ANGIZIA. Due to your very positive feedback James has written an appreciation of ANGIZIA, giving a thorough view into the work of these great artists.

Nofar introduces the latest output of operatic avantgarde metal fellows ABERRANT VASCULAR from Finland. Tentakel P. reviews Robotic Metal Aliens THEE MALDOROR KOLLECTIVE. Jonny Lignano writes a letter to the Merriam-Webster Inc. about VOIVOD and craves for a t-shirt of KAYO DOT. And aVoid presents KEKAL's first trip into avant-garde metal and the re-edition of MESHUGGAH's masterpiece "Nothing".

Enjoy the Madness!

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2007-08-13

This week the summer slump has hit us severely. Many writers enjoyed their holidays. Others have been so extremely bored that they nearly reviewed their socks and the chairs they sat on. So today our update is slightly different. You could call it a Jonny Lignano special. He provides weird reviews of SIGH, ELEND and CALLISTO. And the summer heat made him also review a CD-Holder that he bought in Paris some time ago...

For our more serious friends we bring an interview with one of the most promising young progressive / avant-garde metal acts of the scandinavian scene - ANSUR. And Tentakel P. has reviewed the latest work of THE AMENTA.

Beyond Beyondness...

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2007-08-05

There are just very few bands who are able to create whole new worlds beyond this world. ANGIZIA from Austria definitely belong to them. Nofar has interviewed Michael Haas, the passionate head and heart of this fancy avant-garde theatre music collective. If even most avant-garde metal is not autonomous enough for you this is a must to check out!

Today our new writer Tentakel P. is debuting with a review of Japanese avant-garde metal veterans SIGH. Opposites attract - so aVoid explores the light, hopeful soundscapes of KEKAL from Indonesia and the utter darkness of DEATHSPELL OMEGA. Jonny Lignano travels back to the 1980ies and digs out an early work of metal pioneers VOIVOD. He also presents the Swedish strangers LIFELOVER. James has done a second review of the avant-garde metal milestone "La Masquerade Infernale" of ARCTURUS and a smart analysis of THE KOVENANT. And last but not least Olivier followed the echoworld caravans into another dimension to dive into KOROVA's "Dead like an Angel".

Welcome to the Fevers...

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2007-07-29

The long wait is over. The second part of Olivier's interview with VICOTNIK (DHG, VED BUENS ENDE...) is online now. Enjoy this deep trip into a weird man's mind.

This week James presents three innovative masterpieces of the 1990ies: CYNIC, SAMAEL and IN THE WOODS... The Norwegian all-star project AGE OF SILENCE is analyzed by aVoid.
And today we also publish the very first review that Mr. Lignano has ever written for avantgarde-metal.com - THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN. Last but not least he discovers a great band from Vienna for us - the mighty freak heads BRACHIALILLUMINATOR

Explore the Strangeness!

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2007-07-22

What is avant-garde metal? Can it be defined? Should it be defined at all? At the moment there is an intensive discussion going on about that in the Freak Zone. What is your opinion about avant-garde metal? We'd like to invite you to share your thoughts with us and to join the discussion.

This Sunday our pearl divers have discovered more sparkling gems for you. aVoid reports from the gig of MESHUGGAH at the Peace & Love Festival in Sweden. A sunburnt Jegger enjoys himself at a hot beach in Sicily and sends us his interview with Austr-Aliens THE AMENTA.

Of course we also have lots of new reviews: Madame Honeywine presents the lighting stars of unique electronica art metal - DOL AMMAD. Nofar gives a profound description of mighty EMPEROR’s final chapter. James continues his journey through the avant-garde metal classics of FLEURETY, SOLEFALD and BAL-SAGOTH. Another classic of ARCTURUS is presented by aVoid. Polygon reviews Italians most brutal ABORYM. Finally Jonny Lignano commits his love for MANES. Maybe one day he will cook for them one of the meals that he designed for each song of THE KOVENANT's album "Seti"...

Always push the Avant-garde further!

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2007-07-15

One week ago Avantgarde-Metal.com has opened. Obviously the time has been more than ripe for a webpage dedicated exclusively to the weird and experimental sides of metal. All your fantastic comments and emails have shown that. We are very pleased that so many of you appreciate our work and give us great support! So thanks a lot to all our readers and especially to those who sent us emails, posted in the freak zone and signed our guestbook at myspace. A very special thanks goes to all the people who helped to spread the news via bulletins and postings in news sections and forums. It’s great to see that so many people are pushing the spirit of avant-garde metal always further!

This Sunday we have a lot of new articles: aVoid reviews one of the most important classics of AgM, the masterpiece "Written in Waters” of VED BUENS ENDE. Two other pioneers of 1990ies metal avant-garde are reviewed by James: SOLEFALD and FLEURETY. Polygon writes about the album that completed the work of mighty avant-garde metal dinosaurs ARCTURUS. Lady Honeywine showcases a hidden treasure of 1990ies theatre art metal: the Austrian weirdos ANGIZIA. Olivier presents the crazy noise artists HELLA.
And last but not least Mister Lignano deconstructs the works of IN THE WOODS and French aliens ARYOS. He invents movie scenes for each song of "Omnio” and shows up some strange relationships between the audio visualisation of "Le Paroxysme” and the shape of a Tyrolean mountain.

Never stop the Freak Show!

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2007-07-08

Weirdos and freaks, scientists and philosophers, libertines and mavericks of metal music, welcome to your new website!

Metal seems to be a very traditional kind of rebellion. When you browse through magazines, visit concerts or listen to albums you often cannot even say in which decade you are. But this is just the picture of metal that is drawn by major labels and the mass media. Beyond the walls of mainstream there is a sparkling realm of courageous bands and artists that break with trends and old fashions. This site is dedicated exclusively to those pioneers and outriders that keep metal alive by reinventing it.

Every Sunday we will update this site to present treasures of avant-garde metal. Anyway avantgarde-metal.com can only remain fresh and vivid if you take part. Therefore we'd like to encourage you to use our forum and send us emails excessively. All new impulses and ideas are warmly welcome. And of course we will be pleased if you sign our guestbook on myspace.

Let's get surprised!

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