Devil's Horns Zine

  Svalbard's Liam Phelan as interviewed by Mark J.  An absolutely brilliant band and touring in May. If you missed out on this UK band's stunning release last year, The Weight of the Mask just stop whatever you are doing and listen to this breathtaking album ASAP. This record is everything from post-hardcore, melodic metal, black metal, D-Beat and then some. Phenomenal videos, splendid artwork and sincere lyrics match the deeply emotive and aggressive extreme music that is memorable as hell. Late last year I spoke to Serena of the band shortly after the album was released and now I chatted with Liam as the debut Australian tour was announced for May 2024. Serena hinted this tour was in the process of being booked, so as always, this band delivers on their promises. This will be one of the finest tours to hit our shores this year, plus special local legends RUN are supporting each date on this tour.  I chatted with Liam about: -the excellent The Weight of the Mask al...

  Chaos, Kayaking and a Quartered Camaraderie, A Russian Circles Gig Review (10.2.2024):  By M H Thomson & Mark J. (Myles) Recently I and my esteemed colleague Mark J. had the pleasure of attending Max Watts in Melbourne to bear witness to Russian Circles latest venture and what a fucking gig. A gig comprised solely of instrumental acts is not something one gets the opportunity to see every day and I must admit I was a tad sceptical going in but I’ll tell you what, I didn’t miss the vocals one bit. The four distinct and interesting prog rock/prog metal groups that gathered on stage that day made for a monster of a lineup. Here are our (mine and Marek’s) thoughts on the night's proceedings: Bear the Mammoth: We got there early doors and the stage backline looked like something from the 1970s i.e. it was basically just an equipment dump; a litany of amplifiers two deep, Bear the Mammoths gear in front with Russian Circles gear setup behind. They kicked off proceedings with a...

  Grimdark Prophecies By Fury-X album review by Mark J. FFO: Old school Crust/death metal. To say this release has me pissing my pants with joy is a total understatement. Anyone who knows me is aware that whilst I am far from a musical gatekeeper, I will quickly tell you who the true gods of music are. In case you are unaware, it's Bolt Thrower, Napalm Death, Concrete Sox, Amebix, Doom, Heresy, Extreme Noise Terror, Sore Throat to name a few.  This sits heavily in my fave era of UK punk/grind/extreme metal around mid to late '80s that influenced so many genres and bands and for me is unparalleled in so many aspects. Fury-X from Melbourne/Naarm is labelled as Anarcho Stenchcore and live they have always destroyed your eardrums whilst playing so efficiently. So be damn excited about a truly brilliant release. First up look at that classic artwork on the cover-designed by the glorious Kator the mighty-and you can see the strong Bolt Thrower and Warhammer links to this amazing ban...

  Album review: All This Filth- Tomorrow Will Be Better? By Mark J. FFO: Crushing Industrial/Groove Metal.  Yes, indeed the album you have or should have been on the edge of your seat to hear. The new album from ALL THIS FILTH, the Perth juggernauts sits between a few genres but clearly has a unique and captivating sound. Prepare to be floored listeners! It is well worth looking at this band's bio/history and previous catalogue because it paints an inspiring tale Bio: To the uninitiated, All This Filth is a Metal band from Perth, Western Australia. They blend many different Metal and heavy subgenres including Groove, Thrash, Hardcore, Death, Industrial, and even hints of Sludge and Nu-Metal to create a unique blend of aggressive fury. Strongly influenced by bands such as Fear Factory, Chimaira and Sepultura, the essence of what metal really means is expressed sonically through the crushing riffs, solid drums and ballsy bass, while being dynamically shaped with electronic keys ...

  Mushroom Giant interview pre-Russian Circles tour this week. FFO: Splendid Prog Post-Rock/Metal. The Russian Circles Australian tour is in full swing and pretty much has amazing support acts for every NZ and Australian leg, but the last gig (this Sat in Melbourne) is the fiery peak with support from Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, Mushroom Giant & Bear The Mammoth. That is one hell of a night we here at the zine are frankly wetting our fucking pants over.  I was lucky enough to grab a quick, but stellar interview with Craig from the spacey-proggy-psychedelic post-rock/metal demigods Mushroom Giant. Enjoy and catch any gigs of this amazing tour asap and support the Australian bands post-tour. Interview with Craig( bass) from Mushroom Giant. Greetings, first thanks for providing me with so much incredible music, particularly last year’s fantastic In a Forest album, how is everything going? Craig: Thanks Mark. We’re doing well. It’s been a wonderful 12 months for us. Play...

  Doomsday Still Bleeds Red by Encierro. Reviewed by Mark J. FFO: Uncompromising and savage Neo-crust. Naarm/Melbourne has a long history of producing savage and classic crust punk bands. Encierro is an unhinged beast of a band, that is very much in the Neo/Emo-crust style with clear throwbacks to Fall of Efrafa, Tragedy, Arboricidio, Habak, Alpinist, Ekkaia as well as Nausea and Antischism. The melodic edge at least guitar-wise adds that significant edge that separates it from generic crust/D-beat. This is one epic and ferocious release.  Doomsday Still Bleeds Red is this band's debut and is confrontational and political as punk bands should be. Jaws of Winter is the vicious opener that begins solidly melodic and gives no sense of the underlying aggression that is about to be unleashed on the listener. We adore the tempo and brutal harmonics slice through and the acerbic vocals in that classic crust/d-beat manner. Next up is The End which comes out guns blazing from the fir...