I recently traded with Csaba from the Deadly Illness 'zine and he sent me a bunch of cool stuff along with the last three issues of the fanzine. I will state right away that we are not dealing with the traditional content of a metal fanzine and that is for sure. First of all, Csaba only focuses on interviews. Secondly, he is not only interested in musical genres such as death metal, doom metal, sludge, punk and synth, but also in the nightmare worlds of H.P. Lovecraft. The latter really makes the publication very interesting and a bit unique. The current issue is already the seventh in a row, which comes in black and white A5 format with high-quality laser printing on 60 pages. The interviews were conducted with: Jääportit (frostbitten winter synth post-rock from Northern Finland), Daniel Gildark and Grant Cogswell (in relation to the 2007 film Cthulhu), Sun Crow (heavy stoner rock from Seattle), Skeletal Earth (crossover death/thrash from Madison, Alabama), Deaph (crossover of hardcore, punk and metal from Huntsville, Alabama), Black Syrup 'zine (Serbia), Nastrom (doom rock from Serbia), Rato Triste (sludge noise band from Prague, Czech Republic), Betelzeus (sludge/doom metal band from Lahti, Finland), Kohina Records (Finland), Ruinas (grinding death metal from Spain), Ovakner (crust death metal from Spain), Residue (sludge/doom metal from Birmingham, Alabama), Repuked (death metal from Stockholm, Sweden), Hybernoid (industrial/electronic metal from England) and Carnage/Impaler (death metal from England). Most of the interviews are very in-depth and quite informative, and as you may have noticed, some of them are with bands that have broken up a long time ago. I have no problem with that, as these chats have also become very interesting. As far as I can see, these interviews were completed over the course of a year, from December 2020 to December 2021. Pretty good job if you ask me. Let's hope issue 8 comes out soon, because I'm personally looking forward to it! Oh, I almost forgot to mention that everything is written in English and Csaba's English skills are above average. Highly recommended underground reading, so try to get your copy in time!!!

French Nihilistic Holocaust is doing a very good job in the underground scene, I can definitely say that. This is the 16th issue of their small, but all the more meaningful newsletter from October 2023. A total of 8 pages in A5 format, black and white, professionally printed on premium quality glossy paper. There are only 2 interviews, both on 3 pages, with precise and very good questions, plus 2 pages of reviews. The entire content is written in English. The first interview deals with French death metal band Oldskull and their latest material "The Defeat of Humanity" EP (2023). Although the interview touches on many other topics such as the beginnings, the first demo, live activity, influences, musical evolution, other projects, the local scene and the band's future plans. I really enjoyed reading it. The second interview was with the band Prescience from Strasbourg, France. This band plays progressive thrash/death metal and since they only released a demo called "Out of the Grave" in 2019, the interview itself is more about the band's future music and what to expect from them in 2024. It also covers topics related to the band's name, musical approach, influences, lyrical themes, and local scene. Another good read for sure. Then we have 2 pages with reviews of the releases of Putriditium (Finland), Columbarium (Belgium), Simpulmati (Indonesia), Ruined Age (USA), Eternal Perdition (Sweden), Ambulance (Mexico) and Congealed Putrescence (USA). These reviews are well written, you can feel the competence and the underground spirit in them. And if all this did not convince you of the commitment to the underground, then I will tell you that this newsletter is free. In a word, hats off to the editor, keep up the good work!!!

"Swing of the Blade" is the sequel to Brian Slagel's "For The Sake of Heaviness: The History of Metal Blade Records" (2017). This new book is sort of an extension to the first "main" book, with lots of interesting stories/memories about L.A.'s underground life and beyond. It tells the story of how author, label founder and CEO of Metal Blade Records, Brian Slagel, started out as a passionate fan of hard rock and heavy metal music, and how he turned all his dreams into reality and built the stellar label we all know as Metal Blade Records. It's been fantastic to read Brian's evolution from working at Oz Records, trading tapes at Capitol Records swap meets and editor of the New Heavy Metal Revue fanzine to releasing the first Metal Blade record in 1982, the now famous "Metal Massacre" compilation. I especially loved the stories of him finding and signing bands like Armored Saint, Fates Warning, Lizzy Borden, Omen, Witchkiller, Flotsam and Jetsam, Cirith Ungol, Helstar and more in the early 80's. It was also great to see the recognition of the importance of Warner Bros. and Bill Metoyer in the early days. Furthermore, you can also read details about his long and ongoing relationships with Metallica, Armored Saint, King Diamond, Cannibal Corpse, Amon Amarth and other heavyweights. There's a lot of great and intriguing information in there, and given that Brian's label has been around for over 40 years, it deserves all the credit. Unfortunately, as is inevitable these days, there are a few typos, missing punctuation marks and doubling of some words or band names in the same sentence, which aren't that annoying, but it's a shame they weren't filtered out before printing. The paperback book has 181 pages, of which 11 pages are in color and 8 out of 11 pages are full of awesome photos. In addition, the foreword is written by Kerry King, and for a few pages you can immerse yourself in Brian's favorite sport, which is hockey. A great journey into the world of the metal underground from someone who was involved in building and shaping it himself. Needless to say, highly recommended reading!!!

Wow, this book is pretty brilliant and definitely one of the best I've read in a while. Author David E. Gehlke has done a fantastic job collecting and interviewing people involved in over 100 albums recorded by Scott Burns throughout his career. The 474-page hardcover book features a wealth of rare and never-before-seen photos by Tampa music scene photographer Tim Hubbard, highlighted by a glossy 16-page photo section and a foreword by Dan Swanö. It was very fascinating to read how it all started for Scott somewhere around 1981, I mean how he went from running live sound for punk bands to being a full-time assistant engineer at Morrisound Recording in 1983. During Scott's early years at Morrisound, he worked mainly on punk and rock albums, during which he received a masterclass in sound and production under the guidance of Jim and Tom Morris and Rick Miller. But just a few years later, Agent Steel's "Unstoppable Force" album started Scott's metal path, after which his popularity skyrocketed, thanks to which he began to attract heavier and more extreme forms of metal, such as thrash, death metal or grindcore. Of course, he was open to working with other types of bands, which sometimes happened, but somehow fate tied his name and work to death metal. Hence the title of the book "The Scott Burns sessions: A life in death metal 1987–1997". If my memory serves me right, I became aware of Scott Burns and Morrisound Recording in the early 90s. I think Obituary's "Slowly We Rot" and Sepultura's "Beneath the Remains" were the first records where I noticed his name and the incredible sound production coming from Morrisound. And from then on, every time I read his name in an interview or in an article about a certain release, I knew the result would be a quality production. Well, I can't stress enough how happy I am to own a copy of this book, not only because it includes many of my favorite death metal bands and their timeless releases, but mostly because it contains detailed, insightful stories that have rarely been read before. Scott revealed so much invaluable information about his past studio sessions and relationships with the bands and their members that this alone is worth an award. On the other hand, the book has a lot of positive feedback from band members, record label representatives, studio owners and others, which only reinforces the myth of how cool and laidback Scott Burns was and still is. He's a living legend and that's it! In short, if you claim to be a death metal fan, you must read this book, otherwise you are not a death metal fan at all!!!

Obituary is one of those unique Florida death metal bands that formed in the mid-80s as Executioner, later shortened to Xecutioner, and quickly established their own brand of sonic brutality. Just take a look at their first two LPs, "Slowly We Rot" (1989) and "Cause of Death" (1990), which are undisputed classics and have had a great impact not only on death metal fans, but also on new generations of metal bands. Despite this, Obituary faced many obstacles on their way to the top, such as member changes (sometimes due to drug and alcohol problems), bad contracts with record labels, financial problems during and after the tour, etc., but their dedication to music and the unbreakable bond between the Tardy brothers and Peres has always been triumphant and has catapulted Obituary to its well-deserved cult status. Written by David E. Gehlke, this 324-page book is the first fully authorized biography of Obituary. With the exception of the color hardcover, all pages are black and white with high-quality printing. The author built each chapter in a professional manner, enriching them with many in-depth interviews, studio memories, road stories and a great series of photos. The foreword was written by none other than Max Cavalera. Needless to say, I had a great time reading it. This book really conveys stories that were probably hidden from fans during the band's development, but if you read them carefully, you will get a complete picture of how a death metal formation like Obituary survived and developed into one of the most respected metal bands of our time. On the other hand, it is indisputable that their unwavering commitment to their fans is what made them so great. With nearly 40 years of history and 11 LPs, the band is still playing and delivering high-quality Florida death metal around the world. These facts alone make them even bigger and more recognized. So get this book quickly and listen to the band's latest album "Dying of Everything" (2023)!!!