DEATH, THRASH, BLACK, HEAVY, DOOM AND ROCK METAL ZINE

- REVIEWS, REPORTS, INTERVIEWS - SUPPORT METAL UNDERGROUND

Zobrazují se příspěvky se štítkem#rotfester. Zobrazit všechny příspěvky
Zobrazují se příspěvky se štítkem#rotfester. Zobrazit všechny příspěvky

neděle 5. května 2024

Recenze/review - ROT FESTER - Condone and Condemn (2024)


ROT FESTER - Condone and Condemn
EP 2024, Kvlt und Kaos Productions

for english please scroll down

Občas nevím, jestli jsem ještě živý a nebo jsem se stal dávno stínem. Dolů, do katakomb utíkám čím dál tím častěji. Potřebuji dobrou hudbu ke svému životu. Je mojí krví, mým srdcem, které mě pohání kupředu. Rád stále přehrabuji staré kosti, hledám v archívech nebo se nechám překvapit novými kapelami. Mám již dávno svoje rituály, které jsem od devadesátých let minulého století dovedl k dokonalosti. Pokaždé, když mě něco zaujme, sednu si, zhasnu všechna světla a nechám na sebe hudbu jen tak působit. Potom se rozhodnu, jestli o ní napíšu pár slov.

Je to old school přesně podle mého gusta! To mě napadlo jako první, když se mi dostalo do rukou debutové EP švédských ROT FESTER. Divoké, chladné a temné melodie. Starodávná patina, známá z čerstvě otevřených hrobů. Začal jsem si po čase podupávat nohou do rytmu, kýval jsem se jako starý hrobník. Vše hoří jasným, černým plamenem!


Nářezové pasáže, valivá střední tempa, riffy ostré tak, že se vám zadřou hluboko pod kůži. Vokál nakažený chorobami. Melodie, které v sobě obsahuji chlad a opravdovou, nahrubo nasekanou tmu. Ano, teď už jsem si jistý. Jsem zde správně, na starém pohřebišti. Mezi náhrobky se jmény poctivých kapel, které se staly inspirací pro ROT FESTER. Poslouchat "Condone and Condemn" je jako listovat trouchnivějícími testamenty. Jednou se všichni rozpadneme v prach, ale než se tak stane, budu se k této desce rád vracet. Je totiž po okraj narvaná vším, co mám na tomhle stylu tolik rád. Má v sobě tlak, černou energii, ale třeba i složitě popsatelnou patinu, která se těžko definuje, ale odlišuje špatné skupiny od dobrých. Společná setkání připomínají krásně morbidní momenty, které nastanou pokaždé, když je otevřena Pandořina skříňka. Z reproduktorů ke mě vytéká zkažená krev, hnis a špína, choroby. Vše vytváří na zemi temně rudé krystaly. Chlad se mi pomalu dostává přímo do kostí. Vše je reálné, opravdové a sune se nekompromisně kupředu. Jako nějaký starodávný stroj na zabíjení. Prosévám mezi prsty prach svých předků a přemýšlím, kdy nastane můj čas. Už dnes vím, že si jednou budu muset vzít do záhrobí náklaďák plný oblíbené hudby. ROT FESTER budou patřit mezi vyvolené. Budu jejich nové EP pouštět všem démonům, budeme na ni tančit se zombie. Obsahuje v sobě totiž všechny potřebné ingredience pro to, abych mohl být pohřben zaživa. Občas nevím, jestli jsem ještě živý a nebo jsem se stal dávno stínem. Dolů, do katakomb utíkám čím dál tím častěji. Potřebuji dobrou hudbu ke svému životu. Je mojí krví, mým srdcem, které mě pohání kupředu. Starý, temný a studený death metal pokrytý plesnivými pavučinami! Syrové ozvěny z onoho světa!


Asphyx says:

Sometimes I don't know if I'm still alive or if I became a shadow long ago. Down into the catacombs I run more and more often. I need good music for my life. It's my blood, my heart that drives me forward. I still like to dig through old bones, search the archives or be surprised by new bands. I've long had my rituals, which I've perfected since the 1990s. Every time something catches my attention, I sit down, turn off all the lights and let the music just affect me. Then I decide whether to write a few words about it.

It's old school, just the way I like it! That was the first thing that came to mind when I got my hands on the debut EP of Sweden's ROT FESTER. Wild, cold and dark melodies. An ancient patina, familiar from freshly opened graves. After a while I started to stomp my foot to the beat, swaying like an old grave digger. Everything burns with a bright, black flame!


Cutting passages, rolling mid-tempos, riffs so sharp that they burrow deep under your skin. Disease-infected vocals. Melodies that contain coldness and real, rough-hewn darkness. Yes, now I'm sure. I'm right here, in the old burial ground. Among the tombstones with the names of the honest bands that inspired ROT FESTER. Listening to "Condone and Condemn" is like leafing through a decaying will. Someday we'll all crumble into dust, but until that happens, I'll love coming back to this record. Because it's packed to the brim with everything I love about this style. It's got pressure, black energy, and maybe even a patina that's hard to define, but it separates the bad bands from the good. Getting together is reminiscent of the beautifully morbid moments that occur every time Pandora's Box is opened. From the loudspeakers, corrupted blood, pus and filth, diseases flow towards me. All forming dark red crystals on the ground. The cold is slowly getting right into my bones. Everything is real, true and moving forward uncompromisingly. Like some ancient killing machine. I sift the dust of my ancestors through my fingers, wondering when my time will come. I already know that one day I'll have to take a truckload of my favorite music to the grave. ROT FESTER will be among the chosen few. I'll be playing their new EP to all the demons, we'll be dancing with zombies to it. It has all the ingredients I need to be buried alive. Sometimes I don't know if I'm still alive or if I've become a shadow. I'm running down into the catacombs more and more often. I need good music for my life. It's my blood, my heart that drives me forward. Old, dark and cold death metal covered in moldy cobwebs! Raw echoes from the other world!



tracklist:
01. Absit Omen 
02. This Means War 
03. Feed The Monster Inside 
04. Death Metal Crusade 
05. Their Doom Is Your Boon 
06. Condone And Condemn

Line-up:
Daniel Tjernberg – Vocals, keyboard on #1
Michael Lang – All instruments

Guest appearances:
Henke Frost – Guitar solos
Mikael Tjernberg – Keyboard on #1

Additional information:
Cover artwork by Azmi Talib
Logotype by Jonathan S. Harris
Recorded 2023 – 2024
Music by Michael Lang,
except #1 by Daniel & Mikael Tjernberg
Lyrics by Daniel & Mikael Tjernberg
Produced by Rot Fester
Mastered by Dan Swanö

A few questions - interview with death metal band from Sweden - ROT FESTER.



A few questions - interview with death metal band from Sweden - ROT FESTER.

Answered Daniel Tjernberg, vocalist in Rot Fester, thank you!

Ave, can you introduce your band to our readers? – When was it founded and what style of music do you play etc.?

Daniel T: Rot Fester is a newly formed project, as recently as last year! We bumped into each other one day and then everything went at breakneck speed. The intention right from the beginning was that this will be a death metal project, in true old school style.

Where and under what conditions were you recording the new album? Who was in charge of sound, production and mastering?

Daniel T: Michael Lang is the name of the man who writes the music for the band, and he has recorded all the music down on the Swedish west coast. After that I took over and recorded vocals in Goatman Studios, central Sweden. We brought in a great guitar soloist—Henke Frost—at the end, and then Dan Swanö (Unisound) mastered it.


How many copies were released and which medium was used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?

Daniel T: The album was released mainly in digital channels, but also in a pretty limited CD and cassette box editions.

Who is the author of the lyrics and how were they created and about what do the lyrics deal with?

Daniel T: I manage the writing of the lyrics together with my weapon bearer and brother Mikael. Themes and inspiration for the lyrics can come from anywhere and can often deal with human nature, horror, faith, and hope.

Who created the logo of the band, and who took care of the graphics and the website? What about you and social networks? Do you consider these things important?

Daniel T: That's really important both today and yesterday, I think: Album covers and logotypes and graphic stuff and stuff like that. It is your face, in a way; the first thing a potential listener will see. The same thing with social platforms, where you have to be represented today to communicate with your audience. The logo is made by Jonathan Harris. Overall I handle those kinda parts that you asked about, in a DIY manner.


Which label did you choose for releasing your album and why this label? Are you satisfied by how your label represents you and takes care about you?

Daniel T: We sent our demo around to a small number of record labels and Chris, who's the manager at Kvlt und Kaos Productions, got in touch shortly after and was happy to publish us. I know him from before and he is a nice guy who cares about the underground scene.

Which bands do you idolise and where do you get your inspiration?

Daniel T: As for inspiration and role models for Rot Fester and hard rock of this style (death metal), I grew up with bands such as Unleashed, Edge of Sanity, Bolt Thrower and the like.

Did you send your record to some Labels - which are the labels? How was the response?

Daniel T: We chose to send out the demo to a limited number of record labels, most of them on the medium/large scale such as Peaceville, Hammerheart… Some we never heard from again, and some wrote and thanked you and patted you on the head. You can imagine that today's labels are quite overwhelmed by a lot of bands sending in their demos. You know, sometimes you get the feeling that every other neighbor has his own band.


How many gigs have you played? Which type of gigs do you prefer, whether it's (clubs or festivals) and which of your performances would you consider as the best?

Daniel T: Rot Fester is very newly started and today we function mostly as a studio band. But everyone involved in the band plays with other bands and is meritorious in that way. Should a lucrative offer appear for a metal festival or the like, we might make it happen!

What about your plans for the future? What do you want to achieve with the band?

Daniel T: We want to keep making songs and carry the death metal banner further into the 21st century! Old-school death never went away, but always laid brooding in the deep caverns.


How and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide some contact information?

Daniel T: Just look for us on Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube.

Thanx for the interview.

TWITTER