Let's speak with Fierce Deity (Stoner/Power Metal, 2020)

This was a love upon first sight. I just watched the video on YouTube and the warrior at the fire instantly woke my interest. 

To my further pleasure the music and further progress of the lyric video spoke from my heart. It felt like being back in my childhood days listening Iron Maiden for the first time. I simply had to know more about who stands behind Fierce Deity. Happily my questions where listened to so here's what I was able to find out...

Heavy Metal Underdogs: Hey! Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions of the Heavy Metal Underdogs blog.
Fierce Deity / Jonathon Barwick: Really appreciate you having me, Jens!

- Where does the inspiration for the warrior at the campfire on the cover come from?
I call him ‘The Traveller’ (or ‘Trav’ for short) and I got inspiration for the images a few years ago when my life was chaotic. I grieved by reading The Witcher and travelling to Japan. Witchers and Samurai share many philosophies that helped me move forward and find peace - well, that and a little LSD.

- Do you practise meditation for yourself?
I started in July 2017. I found a group of Tibetan Buddhists in my city that allowed the public to join in their meditations. I wrote ‘The Path’ after my first session - I got home, picked up my guitar and all those riffs fell into place.

 
- Do you play retro-games? If so: which systems and games/genres do you prefer?
My first console was a SNES but I spent most of my childhood on a Nintendo 64. I don’t prefer any system and I love all genres. My favourite games always seem to be single player adventures - Zelda, Witcher 3, Fallout 3, the Souls games… Also I’m the best in the world at Mario Kart 64.

- What do the japanese letters underneath the band name stand for?
It translates to “INTENSE GOD”. I visited Japan in 2018 - I was blown away by their culture and I haven’t seen life the same way since. It opened my eyes to the big wide world and the possibilities of life. A year later Fierce Deity was born but without a doubt the idea was conceived in Japan.

- Could you imagine converting the one-man project Fierce Deity into a full band if there was a demand for shows?
I sure can but I have a wild imagination! If the music catches a strong wind I’ll put a show together - and I mean “a show”. I have zero desire to do the local grind. I’d rather do something special a few times than do the same mediocre thing over and over again. I like the idea of Lemmy and Motorhead - he had a bunch of awesome people come through his band creating a different sound from his writing over the years.

Keep in touch with Fierce Deity with a subscription on Facebook.

Manach Seherath take us back to first rehearsals with free EP

I love demos! They sound much rougher and direct than polished studio recordings. It's also for me as if I can feel the joy and power a band can have when performing their songs at the rehearsal space.
 
Gladly italian Symphonic Metallers Manach Seherath have decided to let us be the fly on the wall at their rehearsal room.  But they give us even something more special. It's a free EP that holds the recordings of the first rehearsals the band did at all. 

Sneak into the rehearsal room of Manach Seherath, cover (c) by Manach Seherath

 

So if you listen closely now you can re-feel the evolution of tracks like Arti Manthano, Timeless and All in All. Make sure not to miss out this possibility and pick up your free download from the band's homepage.
 

The first post on the Facebook page of the band holds a fast access to all the free downloads the band has on offer. You can also download the first demo of the band as well as the latest full length studio album that came out in 2018.

So if you decide to take the full path of listening you can follow all the steps some of the tracks took over the years.
 
Make sure to follow the band on Facebook or the videoportal YouTube so you won't miss out how the story (hopefully) moves on. 

Another option is using the Manach Seherath app. All the instructions on how to get it are located on the band's homepage.

Let's speak with Memories of a Dead Man (Post Hardcore, 2020)

It was the cover of Memories of a Dead Man's album that quickly lead my attention towards their music. A deer crying out while he is standing in ruins - I never saw something similar before.

 

The music turned out to be balanced. Some very rough songs (Shapeshifter) are to be hard while other tracks stick to a far more melodic side. Let's see what stands behind such a diverse post hardcore formation and the newest release (re) M.A.Z.E.d.

Heavy Metal Underdogs: How did the idea with the deer on the cover come up?
Thierry :The stag has many meanings, especially in the post/hardcore world, and can symbolize the everlasting cycle of life, losing its crown and growing it back up. (re)M.A.Z.E.d is a record made after a long break, a sort of rebirth for a 15 years old band with an history, so the image fits well for the record.
 

Does the new album (re) M.A.Z.E.d follow a concept when it comes to the lyrics?
Thierry :There is no specific theme for the whole album, but some “things” came back naturally one after another, and it kind of binds the record together. Every track is based on introspection, feelings, and social unrests, with a changing point of view, depending on the vocalist or on the track itself. 
 
The songs are mixed to a loud volume. Do you want to express something as well this way (maybe inner pressure) ?
Ben : Indeed to give intensity the mix is strong enough, it sticks to our style for a long time and inner pressure is increased !
And in addition we play hard it would appear  ;) 

 
Is the album linked in any way to it's predecessor V.I.T.R.I.O.L - the cover of both records have a similar style and color with them ?
Thierry :In a way, it is linked, because the band has an history, and the records of yesterday made the sound of today. It was a way for us to express the “back to roots” side we did with (re)M.A.Z.E.d, as well as the coming back of the band, while the line up and styles of vocalist are totally different from the previous record.
 
The new output comes around well balanced. Aggressive tunes and more baladesque material follow one another. Do you prefer to build a certain atmosphere inside the listeners mind?
Thierry :If chaos seems to be a ladder, music is a conduct where feelings can bloom and mindblown the listener, following changing time signatures and different tempi. Every track from the album was thought as a “one shot piece”, where the decor and different actors are set for a quick duration.
 
Do you write the music together as a band or are only certain members involved in the songwriting?
Thierry We write together as a band, each one of us bringing his personal stone to the edifice from his musical influences, under the attentive orchestration of Ben, the band’s oldest member and founder. Some passages of (re)M.A.Z.E.d were discussed together, in order to mix things up more efficiently.  

How do the digipak and jewelcase CD formats offered on Bandcamp differ from each other?

Thierry :The current digipack of (re)M.A.Z.E.d contains a special offer for the first purchasers (including one “stag” t-shirt and a pick of your choice color, depending on the stocks left). 
 
Ben : You can have all merch here :
Bandcamp : https://memoriesofadeadman.bandcamp.com
 
Season of Mist : https://shop.season-of-mist.com/fr/memories-of-a-dead-man-re-m-a-z-e-d-cd-digipak
 
Streaming : https://id.ffm.to/remazed  
 
And Exclusive T shirt  on  Season of Mist 
 
https://shop.season-of-mist.com/merchandising/print-on-demand?display_all=label_layer&label_layer=15331

Melodeath Alliance posts massive supporter thank-you single

Here in Germany a part-lockdown is currently going down. It's said to last for one month. Once again all the venues have been closed. We can only hope that all those affected can survive this time. No one knows how it all with go on further...

I hope the Underdogs can at least help a little bit to skip this hard situation. Recently a massive 14-band Melodeath Alliance united "(...) to create a special single as a thank you to all those supporters, fans, friends, family, people that have been there for all of us artists and supported us in those challenging times.
Without YOU, there’d be no US!
Thank you!" You can see a exact list of the participating bands at this picture.

The Heavy Metal Underdogs is very glad to be included into this circle. The song is a massive force of raw power. At the same time it holds many surprises in it like female vocals, acoustic segments and also some midtempo thrashing. It must have been a lot of work to put this ten minute monster alltogether in remote. Enjoy some great melodeth music.