SABBAT - Mexicarmageddon Memories (2018)

 

At the Stone of the Sun: Destroying the Toluca Habitation

Encyclopaedia Metallum gives an incredible amount of live recordings by these Japanese devils from Kuwana. Even I have got several such performances, „Mexicarmageddon Memories” is a special one to me. Well, you shouldn't be surprised as the name of this blog says it all – looking at the front cover with Gezol against Stone of the Sun (Piedra del Sol in Spanish), being one of the most representative treasures of Mexica culture, it's obvious I cannot miss this release. It has been released in July of 2018 by Mexican Satanic Records as strictly limited to 500 hand-numbered copies edition (mine is 482). Sabbat prepared eleven tracks and clocking in almost 61 minutes devastated every single part of my auditory meatus. It's been captured absolutely live on September, 25^th, 2005 in Mexican Toluca. As for sound realization I am knocked down by absolute rawness: as given its live recording unmerciless nature, this title shows the real essence of the band's performance. And when unpolished and ear bleeding sound may not be attractive to the rest, it is grist to the mill for all faithfull band believers.

Sabbat as a trio in the line-up: Gezol (vocals and bass), Temis (guitars) and Zorugelion (drums) brings nothing but a sonic destruction. Songs have been taken from the various not only full-lengths bathed in diabolical atmosphere with aggressive riffs, pounding drums and Gezol's blackish shrieks and growls. Yep, the style here is reminescent of Bathory, Venom and Sarcofago touch, that's nothing new since the very beginning of the band formed in 1983 as Evil. And that is always great to hear such standout tracks like „Mion's Hill”, „Evil Nations” or „Charisma”. Summarizing this short piece: one hour of true barbarous metal and raw energy with blacking thrashing madness. It's a pity I have never seen them alive.

75/100

- Tlacaxipehualiztli

(written in May, 2025)

WORSHIP HIM 6 (2021)

 

Spring 2021, 126/A4, xeroxed, Polish, interviews: GOATSPELL, OMNIZIDE, KILL, CTHULHUSS, HAUNTED CENOTAPH, UNPURE RECORDS, GALLOWER, BARBARIAN, MORBID SACRIFICE, FÖRGJORD, BLOODTHIRST, IMPURE DECLARATION, IMAGO MORTIS.

Worship Him's sixth issue doesn't bring many changes. As a matter of fact it's just a continuation of what I have experienced in the previous attacks straight from the dephts of Polish underground. For sure the hempen cord that holds the pages tight is blatantly obvious and this is absolutely unique thing. Robert, the editor did here a titanic work providing thirteen interviews (some of them are really extensive), a bucketload of reviews, a few articles and gig reports – all on 126 pages! Believe me, it's quite challenging task to scrape through this fanzine, it's a massive monster. It has been done using old school cut'n'paste method with no free space left and quite small font being an optic nerve serious enemy. But giving it over a dozen hours of reading there is nothing to complain about (but I found some spelling mistakes and typos), what's more, this issue becomes one of the greatest Polish fanzines I have read in last decade. As for the content itself, the reading goes smoothly, absolutely curiously, there's a neatness across the pages. Surely I can feel the editor's yearslong experience and metal dedication.

Amongst these 13 inties, I cannot indicate a lame one. Yep, definitely not, but maybe Italian Morbid Sacrifice misfits to the rest due to its short and sometimes laconic answers? However their answer why the line-up consists of four musicians and there are only three of them on the band's picture really made me laugh – the drummer hadn't got the time to go for a photography shoot. From the other side, during Kill intie, Robert had some answering problems but it came to a small success eventually. The interviews are really well prepared, with no coincidence detected, in some cases he knows the interlocutor (Unpure Records), submitting approximately 25 questions not only on musical (metal) themes but also on... everything that matters: geopolitics, economic conditions, social relations. The inviolable rule is asking about the legends or dark mystrious tales that come from answerer's dwelling place. And in many cases I got really fascinating stories!

As for the interviews, Förgjord is the real jewel in the crown. The Finnish black metallers I have never known about strike my sight organ with twelve and a half pages hellspawn: it's comprehensive and exhaustive, it's interesting and gripping. Valgrinder, the mastermind of the project, is an intelligent man and whole intie can be read with bated breath. The band to be checked out definitely in the nearest future. What else on the roster? Two Italian crews Barbarian and Imago Mortis – in the fumes of metal, history and art they deliver another exiting piece of reading. That's the stuff I desire most. And another bands I knew nothing about them. The Polish underground is represented by the unholy five: Cthulhuss and Haunted Cenotaph (both drowned in literary heritage of H. P. Lovecraft), Gallower (the youngsters worshipping old school thrashing black madness), Bloodthirst (friendly chat done by Wodzu from Eternal Death zine) and Impure Declaration (Bies, the vocalist, coming from my city, told an interesting story about one lake...). The last one I want to write is mentioned earlier with Marcin from Unpure Records – welcome to the cassette dimension as they both are true freaks of this format.

Reviews. I know there are zines without it, but WH is not such a zine! They are major part here featuring 256 musical and 21 paper units. Yes, it impresses a lot! They are divided on cd, tape, promo stuff and vinyl sections which I consider a good idea. They are all written a clear way, not rarely with childlike fire and enthusiasm, many times with poetical complexion. Fully informative, some of them are kept in a shorter way, some of them are much longer, there's no rule for that. Band's names range – from the deepest abyss of the underground to the more 'known' ones like Darkthrone, Incantation or Desaster (their reviewed fifth „Angelwhore” album is first editor's meeting with these German devils). From the amount of reviews four of them have been written by Waldek (Morbid Chapel Records) being a part of The Crypt of Demonic Filths (only demos from the ancient times, for example, Amorphis first demo „Disment of Soul” from 1991), and the WH is closed by the longest piece in the family: a return album „Natas Liah” by Hell-Born written by another editor's guest. Whew, what else on the table, I've got five rather long gig reports and three of them coming from abroad (Death in Hell from Porvoo, Finland, 2019 and Scandinavia Deathfest from Stockholm, 2019 by Marcin / Unpure Records, Finnfest from London, 2020, Furia / Licho Southern Europe touring and one Polish gig from Poznań: Vader / Marduk / Ragehammer, 2020). The whole is completed by two short articles about Unlord and Giants Dwarfs and Black Holes (playing heavy psychedelic rock), and two interesting texts by Mówca Wiecowy. And that's all I guess in this issue. To sum it up, I'm really, really impressed by this work Robert did. Ah, I almost forgot, let me bring some another names: Moloch Letalis, Hell-Born, Goathrone, Mirror of the Void, Mordhell, Throneum, Zmora. It's not the table of contents of Worship Him 7 to be released in future. No, I'm just giving some of bands Robert (as Diabolizer with his killing drum kit) is involved in. Could you tell how he manages to find spare time for all his activities? Amazing! Any way, a total recommended underground lecture. Ha, and one more, during writing the review, I was listening to the newest offer of Towards Hellfire „Inquisitors of Blasphemy” released on February this year. Guess who is the drummer?

vobi_wrz@interia.pl

9,4/10

-Tlacaxipehualiztli

(written in April, 2025)

DIABOLIC FORCE 9 (1987)

 

April 1987, 20/A5, xeroxed, Polish, limited.

No, unfortunately it's not an original. It's a reprint coming from „Zine'tegrowani” book released last year. „Diabolic Force” became one of the first zines that emerged from the abyss of Polish underground. This reviewed issue number 9 called „Obłęd” („Insanity” in English) marks... yes, lack of interviews. But let me cite these band names: KREATOR, GENEZA AGRESJI, CELTIC FROST, POSSESSED, DESEXULT, DEATHROW. Yep, exactly, no interview is given here, only some short bios about the line-ups, albums, and lyrics. There are over a dozen pictures (with Possessed in the middle), some news, music chart („Pleasure to Kill” as a leader!), lyric translations to Polish („Circle of the Tyrants” and „March to Die”), crossword puzzle done by Mariusz Kmiołek and we come to the last page with Voivod's „Rrröööaaarrr” cover art.

Created by using a typewriter, of course, it's not a surprise at the time. These were the beginnings, the eighties in communism you know, but it has got its own youthful charm, faith and passion. All for the best music in the whole wide world. Even if it's just a relic of the yore, I can only imagine a moment of pulling this treasure out of my post box! Well now, everything is different, but as the chart from this issue gives the first place, the ominous sounds of „Choir of the Damned” are filling the air. It's time to thrash!

-Tlacaxipehualiztli

(written in April, 2025)

ZINE'TEGROWANI (2024)

 

After three years of being completely inactive in writing anything, here's something new and really fresh. This time it's not a musical thing, it's not even a zine. Yep, it's a first book here entitled „Zine'tegrowani” written in Polish by Wojciech Lis. Details: 188 pages, hardcover, glossy paper, provided by Monomaniax Productions in December of 2024. So what's inside? Well, no surprise detected, as the author continues his archeological journey that started many, many years ago: we're drowning into Polish zine reality of the eighties last century. Yes, I admit, even if I know him well from the zine past (his NNCh was a splendid time machine!) and some tape tradings we did, I lost a contact with Wojtek's work after the booksy debut called „Jaskinia hałasu” (2012) written with Tomasz Godlewski. Now, this newest piece of history looks really daintly: after some words of introduction, the first interview attacks with a diabolic force. Yep, exactly, it's a chat with Przemysław Nowaczyk and his „Diabolic Force” child which was one of the first zines from Polish underground (March, 1986), and as a bonus two issues of this zine are enclosed. Then we've got sequentially interviews with Sebastian Chosiński (collaborator of „Diabolic Force”), Mariusz Kmiołek („Thrash'em All” zine / magazine), Wojciech Kajtoch (professor of Jagiellonian University), Janusz Merz („Heavy Metal Attack” fanzine), Cezary Żuchowski (collaborator and supporter of „Heavy Metal Attack”), Marcin Wawrzyńczak („Eternal Torment” zine), Mateusz Warszycki („Metalstorm” zine), Szymon Krause („Thrash Hordies” zine), Piotr Piasecki („Infernal Death” zine), Jarosław Szubrycht („Diabolic Noise” zine), Krzysztof Golec (Slashing Death band's promoter), Dariusz Robert Gowieńczyk („Siege of Power” zine), Tomasz Ryłko (journalist), Piotr Czepiel („Suck My Dick” zine), Tomasz Krajewski („Holocaust” zine), Janusz Guć („Purgatory” zine), Janusz Grycel („Mayhemic Slaughter” zine), Wojciech Witkowski („Beermacht Noise” zine) and Rafał Sosin („Death Metal” zine). Indeed, an upper crust of the scene!

And believe me, the breath of past years is all-pervading: scans, flyers, archival pictures (some of them have been used for the first time), press cuttings – something great for such an archeology freak like me. As for the interviews, Wojtek provides it with almost the same questions, sometimes the answers are short, maybe a bit laconic, sometimes long or very long, fully interesting, For sure there're two chats that stand out from the crowd. The first one is with Wojciech Kajtoch, maybe less zine content inside, but it's been given in more global aspect – a real testimony of the dark past I'd say. The latter with Tomasz Ryłko on twenty-one pages brings many complex answers: sport (not only football), society, film, radio (I remember his insane radio broadcast recorded on tapes by my friend, hail Bart!), movies, label, cassettes – all in metal dimension, yes, it's a highlight here! However its ending isn't optimistic at all due his view on our present days: it's intimidatingly true...

Nicely and smoothly it goes. But there is a blot on the landscape as it contains a dozen of typos, especially when the first letter of a sentence is missed. And some Wojtek's questions haven't got a typewriter font (good idea, by the way!) and text becomes to merge together with the answers. What's more, there's wrong title of one of his book on the back cover. These small trips don't colour my final opinion on this release. It's a superb stuff to read, the author knows all the angles. For sure this book is not for metal maniacs only, but for all interested in PRL times. Hope it will be translated into English soon.

9/10

- Tlacaxipehualiztli

(written in March, 2025)