Devil's Horns Zine

Overpower-One Mind, One Prison Ep review by Mark Jenkins. Originality in hardcore is exceptionally thin on the ground in Australia. You definitely have exceptions with the likes of Mindsnare, Extortion, and Rort etc; but generally, it's boring clone city. SO THANK FUCK FOR THE BRUTAL BEAUTY THAT IS OVERPOWER. This Ep has been a long time coming from initial concept to finally hitting your ears. But the wait is over and you will receive the rewards. Overpower has been kicking hard since 2014 and despite a few lineup changes, has pushed through all barriers; personal and musically. No one individual makes up one band, but their singer Mikey is what sets them apart from the flock. First off, he really sings from the heart and both his stage presence and lyrics are straight-up no bullshit insights into the struggles he and many people have and are experiencing. Overpower are talking mental health, alienation and daily pressures that grind us down. But in a very honest and of...

Interview with Away, drummer and graphic artist from the metal gods, Voivod. The writer always feels so lucky to interview both peers and straight up legends, but this one is special as Voivod are like no other in the best possible way. Never boring and that perfect mix of progressive thrash with a punk attitude and going on fantastic tangents you'd never expect. Here's the awesome chat with Away and this January 2019, you would be insane to miss one of the best bands in the last 30 years touring our continent. Voivod- The Wake album review This is Voivod’s 14 th album and to be honest one of their best ever. It easily sits next to the greatness of Dimension Hatross and Nothingface. The Wake is 8 solid and well-composed tracks with the perfect mix of prog meets thrash with both a punk and psychedelic vibe. Quite simply, no one could predict 35 years in, such a stellar album could be released; like seriously besides Judas Priest’s latest just try and na...

 Fake News is an incredible band from the Gold Coast playing exceptional melodic hardcore/punk rock with a definite tip towards the very best of both Epitaph/Fat Wreck Chords, but done with their own creative style. Devil's Horns had the lucky chance to interview this classic band. Enjoy!. 1-Could give me a brief history of your band, the band name and what releases you have? We got together in about October 2017 via a Facebook post looking for members to start a 90s style punk rock band. The name came not long after. I thought it was just dumb enough to work as a band name, but apparently so has about half a dozen other bands around the world. We released a single called NO WALLS in early January and our first ep EWWWW! on August 8th via set the fire records. Both are available on our Bandcamp and Ewww! It is available pretty much everywhere you stream music. 2- What drew you to hardcore/punk/metal (etc) and what is it such a rewarding and sustaining genre...

Maniacal-Life Is A Dark Chain of Events album review by Mark Jenkins. Sometimes you wonder why some bands never cross your radar; is it because they never got the right press and coverage or because they were simply too average in a sea of similar bands. Well, this band is far from average and they should be on your metal radar asap. Maniacal hail from Port Pirie, South Australia and they are the master of dark, yet groove based Death Thrash. To describe them I would say the best parts of Pantera/Lamb of God meets Nile/Cannibal Corpse/Morbid Angel. Yes, that diverse, but remarkably original and catchy as hell. The musicianship and sheer skill evident is amazing. The riffs cut like a chainsaw to your ear on a summers night. The album with exceptionally well put together tracks like Release the Demons, I Am My Own God and Drive My Madness really driving home the pure aggression of this release. And the mastering by Jens Bogren, masterful metal whiz of Sweden has you flo...

Last week just prior to when their glorious 7th album dropped I had the chance to chat to drumming legend and all round top man Dave Haley regarding all things Psycroptic, the new album and his love of heavy music and "the riff" as he so beautifully described as being the driver of the band. Passionate and informative chat as expected, enjoy. As The Kingdom Drowns - Psycroptic reviewed by Mark Jenkins. This abrasive release is Psycroptic’s seventh beast of an album and easily one of their best. It excels in its cataclysmic aggression yet progression from their other releases. This band knows what works well live and hence is their most dynamic album.  Production was really bold and even though Joe Haley remains at the helm yet again, both the band or the producer really dug deep for this sonic masterpiece. It’s more grim, yet melodic.; dark but well balanced and it’s really a spectuclar feat as an entire album. We Were the Keepers grabs you by the th...

I have to state the obvious, but what a scorcher of a lineup. On paper, you think it would be strange given Bell Witch is like a soundtrack to your post psychosis, whereas Conan is your anger building and unleashing. Bell Witch for the uninitiated is the ripper of a two-piece doom metal band that is amazingly creative and deep in their tone and atmosphere generated. What they presented was a searing cut down version of the brilliant Mirror Reaper album. And it was delivered with dark finesse, half of their set was very brooding and creepy and the second building into a much more grotesque beast. Not only was it amazing to witness the sounds from a bass guitar almost played classically and adeptly heavy as hell. And the drummer's vocals, seriously as heavy as any top-tier death metal vocalist. Beautiful and eloquently presented doom was replace by the cannon roar of the immense sludge warfare of Conan. They completed slayed and I think Bell Witch complimented the deep heavines...

Amenra moves far beyond boring stereotypical genres because they are both exceptionally original and extremely challenging. And that's exactly how music should be; equally gripping and based on unrelenting emotion. I had the honor to interview Colin H. van Eeckhout and sheer passion and devotion flow through his every response as I had expected. This will only be surpassed by seeing Amenra live as part of their current Australian debut tour. I encourage you to take the time to listen to their gripping and essential albums. Everything from their artwork, videos, and lyrics are works of a true artist and are crafted for effect and no effort is wasted. Enjoy this interview. It's beyond essential reading my friends.  First off, thank you for the great chance to chat to one of not only one of my personal favorite all time bands, but the opportunity to flush out the essence of one of the most creative musical acts in current existence. For my own experience Amen...