Metal History Through Fanzines

SEND BACK MY STAMPS!: METAL FANZINE ARCHIVE

SEND BACK MY STAMPS!: METAL FANZINE ARCHIVE

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Script Infernal #1 (Sweden) October, 1994

Script Infernal #1 (Sweden) October, 1994. Editors: “Daniel Rostén and “Timo Ketola”

Ah, Script Infernal. This massive issue was packed with fantastic reading, so I encourage all of you old-school zine enthusiasts to really take your time with it. Put together by none other than Funeral Mist/current Marduk vocalist Daniel Rostén, along with Timo Ketola (later of Dauthus Zine, and other great endeavors), it spans numerous (sub)genres covering bands like Opeth, My Dying Bride, Beheaded, Krabathor, Broken Hope, Necrony, Impaled Nazarene, Rippikoulu, Seance, Rotting Christ, Thergothon, Sigh, Vomitory, Mythos, Marduk, Celestial Season, Chorus of Ruin, Deranged, and many more. The design is vibrant and clever as to be expected, however I have here an “unofficial” copy that seems to have predated the proper Alchemist and Varathron (Pt. 2) interviews, so apologies for that. Not sure if the ‘official’ numbered copies ultimately contained those pages, but they are not found in my copy. So, there is a lot of great material here, dive in, and enjoy. (Thanks to Prince of the Rodeo from Global Domination by the way!)

…until then, we have Maryland Death Fest X here this week, right in my backyard in Baltimore, so let the festivities begin…see you there!?

As always, please click PERMALINK if you wish to see the pages closer, outside of the carousel view

Circle of the Grind #2 (Tokyo, Japan) December, 1992

Circle of the Grind  #2 (Tokyo, Japan) December, 1992. Editors “Narutoshi Sekine” and ” ? “

Nicely printed zine from Japan that was bilingual, featuring both English and Japanese versions of most interviews, with an extensive focus on the Japanese scene at the time. Features interviews/write-ups with Brutal Truth, Ceremonial Oath (pre-In Flames etc.), Benediction,  Eternal (pre-Electric Wizard), Evocation, Gore Beyond Necropsy, Hellchild, Iconoclast, Lobotomy, Maggoty Corpse, Multiplex, Necrotic Mutation, Timeghoul, Transgressor, and more…I like the “demo only’ review section, total underground (the label released CDs are relegated to a number system in the back), and there is also a fun death-grind quiz…inventive, total DIY fun!

As always, please click PERMALINK to view pages up close outside of the carousel view.

Violent Noize #2 (NY, USA) June, 1986

Violent Noize  #2 (NY, USA) June, 1986. Editor: “Borivoj Krgin ”

This zine is notable for being journalist and Blabbermouth.net founder Borivoj Krgin’s zine in the 80′s, and it reflects a biting (yet refreshing), critical writing style (…he did not hold back on his opinions!). It’s also notable that the term “death metal” is widely used in this zine, sort of forwarding the genre name almost as it was being invented. Includes cool demo reviews for bands that would later be signed like Blind Illusion, Holy Terror, Mordred, Assassin, Sepultura, Massacre, Death and Wehrmacht. The historical highlight here is certainly the interview with Chuck Shuldiner, where he talks about preparing to record ‘Scream Bloody Gore” (and a few other things). Also features interviews with Wehrmacht., Aggression, Terminal Death, Sacrifice, and although “Kreator” are listed on the cover, there is just an album review as far as I could tell…

As always, CLICK PERMALINK to view pages up close, outside of the carousel view.

New Zine: Slowly We Rot (ROM)

Slowly We Rot Zine #1 2012

This new zine is out of Romania and features interviews with: AXECUTER, BLASPHERIAN, BLODARV, FUNEBRIA, INFERNAL DEATH, MASTER (2 interviews), MORGUE SUPPLIER, NAETU, NECROPHAGIA and NOKTURNEL, a Rising Demons section, 96 reviews of Old-School Metal releases, a free DIY Compilation CD (19 Extreme Metal bands featured), and free copy of INSETUS ZINE. For info click on the flyer, or email: swrzine@yahoo.com or check out facebook.com/swrzine

Blackthorn #4 (Denmark) 1986

Blackthorn  #4 (Denmark) 1986. Editors: “Esben Sorensen and Henk Leviathan”\

Ahh, Nasty Savage in full Technicolor on the cover! This issue was limited to 2000 copies, and is printed on the “A4″ size standard (I think) in Europe at the time, stapled, with a nice original full-color pic of a young Mille from Kreator on the back (taken live in Copenhagen by a guy named Peter Markham). Highlights for this issue include an insightful Voivod interview right around when “RRROOOAAARRR” came out (coupled with intimate photos taken by Monte Connor, who later would become a dude at Roadrunner Records), features on demo-era Sepultura, Legacy (Testament), Holy Terror, Annihilator, Massacre,  interviews with Canadian tyrants Exciter and Razor, as well as Netherlands’ Thanatos, and a number of reviews on rare and long forgotten underground releases. LASTLY- there is a Megadeth merch order form circa “Killing is My Business…” !

As always, please click PERMALINK” to view pages up close outside of the carousel view.

Chamber of Sorrow Zine #4 (Wisconsin, USA) 1993

Chamber of Sorrow Zine  #4 (Wisconsin, USA) 1993. Editors: “Jason Verhagen and T.J. Rappel”

I was feeling a bit nice this evening after having downed a few Imperial Stouts, so after looking through this long forgotten gem, I was stunned to find a plethora (or should I say inordinate amount) of amazing demo reviews. This issue is simply stacked with page after page of what amounts to a “whos-who” of second generation underground death, black, doom and more. This issue is quite a fun read, just leaf through the reviews and it’s a trip down memory lane, not just for the bands that got ‘big’ after this era, but for the bands that did not. Lots of lost demo glory here. On top of that, there are interviews with Paradise Lost, Liers in Wait, Evocation, Demilich, Throne of Ahaz, Amorphis, Vomitory, God Forsaken, Pitch Shifter, My Dying Bride, Katatonia, and more. Great layout, fantastic original art, and killer vibe.

As always. click PERMALINK to view pages up close outside of the carousel view!!!!

 

Rockcor (Russia) #9, 1995 (in Russian)

Rockcor (Russia) #9, 1995. Editor: ?

This is one of the few older Russian publications I have, so if you can not read it, enjoy the pics. I also checked and it seems this is being published again in some newer, modern form. Either way, interviews and features with Pantera, Darkthrone, Dismember, Deadworld, Dying Fetus, Rage, Mercyful Fate, Necropsychosis, Leukemia, and more.

CLICK PERMALINK TO VIEW PAGES INDIVIDUALLY!

SOD – Sounds of Death (Missouri, USA) #3, Summer 1993

SOD – Sounds of Death (Missouri, USA) #3, Summer 1993. Editor: “David Horn”

Like the issue #2 which I posted up a while back (see archives to the right), this is again sort of ‘in between’ a zine and magazine. David Horn’s eventually long-running Sounds Of Death still remained ambitious, and this time around it is packed with original art contributions from Cannibal Corpse cover artist Vincent Locke. Featuring pro-print, color cover, while keeping the underground feel, this issue also has an interview with Locke, along with Brujeria, Dismember, Cancer (nice tour story from their US tour with Deicide and Demolition Hammer), Venom (with trash talk on good old Raven), Kataklysm, Morbid Angel, and Vader. Lastly, TONS of cool record label ads!!

As always, click PERMALINK to view pages closer outside the carousel view!

Fucker Zine #3 (Poland) 1992 (In Polish)

Fucker Zine #3 (Poland) 1992. Editor: “Maciej Fluder”

We are reflecting again on the Polish scene of the golden years, with another contribution sent over from reader Pawel Wojtowicz. This time it is the “Fucker” zine that had such an impact on him at the time, and it features reviews and interviews with numerous Polish underground bands, along with Hellwitch, Mortuary Drape, Blasphemy, Sinister, Thanatos, Thrash Em All mag, and also one with Ivar Peersen‘s pre-Enslaved (?) band ‘Inoculate Injure from Norway. If you can read Polish, you are again in luck, if not, use your imagination…!

CLICK PERMALINK TO VIEW PAGES CLOSER!

Here are also some additional comments from Adam Stasiak of Necroscope zine):

SBMS!: The Polish scene at the time, in the early days, seemed quite vibrant and alive. From the zines I have seen from there at the time, there were many bands in Poland, who were only known inside of Poland. Was there a sort of thriving underground there during those years that many people outside the country never knew of? Were there a lot of local shows and did any “foreign” tours ever come to Poland in the early days?

“Yes, the Polish scene was quite vibrant and active back in the early 90′s. We had a lot of zines, distributions and bands especially. On the other hand, the activity of those people was focused on the Polish scene only, it’s my impression at least. I mean about bands especially. There were many killers, such as: IMPERATOR, BETRAYER, CHRIST AGONY, PANDEMONIUM, VIOLENT DIRGE, HAZAEL, DAMNATION, ARMAGEDON and many more. believe me, those bands performed music, which deserved bigger attention from foreign scenes, however it never happened. I think because people involved in those bands didn’t know (and did not want to  know) about promotion too much. Their idea was to give material to a label (CARNAGE rec., for example) and then to wait for some foreign, “commercial” success to appear. When it never arrived bands started to split up (ARMAGEDON< BETRAYER) saying some bullshit about their labels, or changing their musical styles (CHRIST AGONY, PANDEMONIUM or HAZAEL). Another matter regarding “foreign attention” -from my viewpoint, this old Polish scene, underground was and is much respected in many various countries, although when it comes to the pure underground and maniacs only… Yes, we had some foreign tours back in the 80/90′s, some big, mainstream and underground festivals. And even if there weren’t so many gigs, shows as it is nowadays, I think we couldn’t complain of the lack of Metal live performances. Actually, almost of all from most important bands from death/thrash metal scene were playing in Poland back in those days! So it wasn’t just a desert on the European map. Concluding, I think Poland had one of the most active scenes in Europe and I can not agree with opinion that it was known inside of Poland only, maniacs interested in the real underground knew very well what the Polish Hell was all about.

Diabolical Noise #3 (Poland) 1990 (in Polish)

Diabolical Noise #3 (Poland) 1990. Editor: Jaroslav “Orion” Szubrycht


A while back I put up issue #6 of this cult zine from Poland. Digging back a bit further now we have issue #3. In Polish, this killer zine went deep into the underground with bands from around the world like Mutilator (Brazil), Phlegethon, Samael, Massacra and Merciless, but also bands from Poland at the time like Enormity, Holy Battalion, Curse Ritual, Exorcist, and Lewiatan.

CLICK PERMALINK TO VIEW PAGES UP CLOSE.

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