Cryptic Inscriptions Details about the Zine and March 2011 Issue

I like to welcome everyone to the viewing of the first of many issues of "Cryptic Inscriptions".This is a webzine put together by my girlfriend Ashely Carter(Darkerside Girls Photography/Mantis Religosa) and myself Joe Soranaka(Panspermia/Mantis Religosa).The reason we decided to do this was to promote the bands that most people won't touch or bands that most people have no idea about.Were not doing this for profit whatsoever this is just a way for us being able to help out people in the underground music,art or film scene get their name out there.We will be doing CD reviews, interviews, movie reviews, articles and any other form of literary art. If you want us to do a review on your demo, LP, EP or 7 inch hit us up. As far as music goes we will review anything in the Grind, Punk, Noise, Dark Ambient, Horror Punk and Indie scenes.I'll also be posting some of the short stories I'll be writing in the future.Anyone that wants us to review their albums,movies and art pieces contact us @ the following email addresses:

Joe-demogorgrind@hotmail.com

Ashely-ashcar13@hotmail.com


Updates concerning Panspermia,our band Mantis Religosa and Darkerside Girls will be posted here and there.To end this off we would like to thank Masami(Panspermia) for the logo,and we like to thank all the bands that have helped us out with the first issue.

Here's the outline of the first issue enjoy:

March 2011 issue:

Interviews with:Humanity Falls,Boar,Gaels and Phyllomedusa

Reviews of:Custodian’s IV, Humanity Falls Ordaining the Apocalypse, Phyllomedusa’s We are Carnivores and Cannibals LP, and Cellgraft’s Deception Schematic 7 inch

Phyllomedusa "We are Cannibals and Carnivores" Review

Phyllomedusa: We are Cannibals and Carnivores LP

Here is another opus courtesy of Phyllomedusa, one of the many projects of Matt Mansfield aka Big Frog. The thing I like about Matt’s projects is he seems to capture the visual aspect through sound with every band he’s in. As Phyllomedusa is concerned the band’s themes and concepts center on frogs making it quite unique and sets it apart from most gorenoise bands. Now even though this release is noisy, it’s not as noisy as some of his previous releases. Another thing, this is the second release that features real drums, and in my opinion I love drum machines, but nothing quite captures a band like a real drummer. The drumming on this recording has a bit of Foetopsy laced with Brodequin, but the main influence I see on this release is Last Days of Humanity. Not only the drumming, but the guitars, bass and the gurgling pitch shifted vocals all scream LDOH for sure. The stand out tracks on this are “Slaves to the Pyxie”, “Infested with Chacophrys” and “Repulsive Vermin to Some, Ravishing Amphibian to Me”. The release includes two Last Days of Humanity Covers, a King’s X cover entitled “Frogman”, and a Quiet Riot cover!? The release is laden with samples and frog croaks, which makes the anti human, pro amphibian more profound on this release. I see Phyllomedusa making noisier and more chaotic sounding releases as time goes on. This release will leave your ears bleeding and your appreciation for amphibians more prevalent.

Humanity Falls "Ordaining the Apocalypse" Review

Humanity Falls Ordaining the Apocalypse LP

Most experimental music is hit or miss, and a lot of experimental death/grind isn’t really my cup of tea. Having said that I’d have to say I am quite impressed with New York’s Humanity Falls. The band is comprised of members from such notable bands as Animals Killing People, Andromorphus Rexalia, Merciless Mutilation and Psyphoria. Now for being a young band these guys do a good job at not lumping themselves in with most of the shitty bands that seem to dominate the underground scene. The perfect example is their debut full length entitled “Ordaining the Apocalypse”. The album seems to mix elements from bands such as Discordance Axis, Gorguts and Immolation along with its own distinct flare. The albums musical end which is held up by guitarist Ammo Diaz and drummer Ed Bednarek is pretty impressive. Ed’s drumming is super tight and definitely holds the fort down. Even though this album has a lot of blasting on it he does throw in some almost jazz esque drumming especially in the middle of the title track. I have to say the key ingredient on the record which makes it experimental is the guitar work of Ammo Diaz. His guitar riffs have an almost classical/jazz flare to it, and his notable moments on the record are on the tracks: No Room for Ingenuity, Prolonging the Inevitable, The False Enmity, Ordaining the Apocalypse, Immoral Abhorrence. The instrumental guitar track “At the Temple of Everlasting Condemnation” stands out giving the album a dark haunting undertone to it. The vocal assault delivered by Eston Browne is a guttural roar that is complemented by high shrieks almost in the vein of Cryptopsy and Discordance Axis. The lyrics are very anti religious and apocalyptic which best represents the band’s name and title of the album. The band’s cover of “Pattern Blue” from Discordance Axis is also done very well. The one thing that this album suffers from though, is the lack of a bass player. I think with the addition of a bass player it would thicken up the albums sound just a bit, especially on some of the more jazz driven sections on this album. Besides that this album is one of the better new releases that came out in 2010. I definitely recommend checking it out!

Custodian IV Tape Review

Custodian IV Tape

Custodian is the brainchild of mastermind Jon Engman known for his fame in Foetopsy and Brodequin among others. This project is not the usual death/grind you would expect; this is a complete chaotic sound scape of harsh noise. With the use of a few pedals, and a contact microphone, Engman creates a monstrous piece that is by no means elegant what so ever. From start to finish this release is full of high pitched feedback and heavy distortion, filled with emotions of anger, depression and frustration. If I could describe this in a visual sense I say it reminds me of the demise of the crew from the movie “Event Horizon”. Another thing I have to say is that unlike most harsh noise that relies on one distinct sound this release has a lot of different sounds. Making it stand out from most of the bands in the harsh noise scene. Being that it is experimental music this is an acquired taste. You’ll either love it or hate it; personally I love it.

Cellgraft "Deception Schematic" Review

Cellgraft "Deception Schematic"

To be quite honest there hasn’t really been to many local bands I could give two shits about. However, there are a few that have caught my eye “Worlds”, “Shitstorm”, “I’m an Intestine”, “Hail”, “Maruta” and then there is Cellgraft. At first I was a bit apathetic towards the band. I thought they would just come and go like many of the bands around here. They proved me wrong though and each time I’ve seen them live they seem to get better and better. I’m not really here to talk about their live shows, more or less their recent recording Deception Schematic. Now the band themselves are not breaking new ground as far as grind goes, but they do a good job as far as being a grind band. Clocking in at only 7 minutes (typical for most grindcore), don’t expect hour long opuses unless it’s the bands discography. I like this approach though because in my opinion it keeps the listener wanting more and it doesn’t drag out and seem endless. From start to finish the band assaults the listener into submission with fast chaotic blast beats, mixed with dirty sounding riffs, high pitched screams, low growls, noisy feedback, and here and there they throw in some punk esque beats and riffs to change it up. A couple of the tracks that caught my attention were “Asphasia”, “Horizontal Vision” and “To Achieve the Lesser Stone”, and the Assuck cover of “Civilization Comes and Goes” which is done very well. The only thing really wrong with this album is the recording quality itself. Even though it’s better in sound than the bands previous releases it is still somewhat hard to decipher what’s going on. Over all though I recommend checking them out and definitely check out their live shows. Your ears will bleed and you won’t be disappointed. For fans of Assuck, Insect Warfare, and old school Napalm Death you’ll definitely sink your teeth into this.

Interview with Phyllomedusa

Joe:I want to thank you Matt for taking the time to do this interview. Give a brief history of Phyllomedusa, and explain the meaning of the name itself?





Matt aka Big Frog: Let me croak you Goatbeardish for wanting me to do this. Not sure why you would want too, but thank you very much…brief never seems to be in my vocabulary, but a brief history of Phyllomedusa begins around late 2006 to early 2007. I had put out, and was still working on Omphalectoicxanthopsia releases. I think even shit like Enema Bath, Vomit Particle Found During Anal Examination, and Amoebe with Sonny was getting stirred and sloshed too. Around that time there were more porno and gore based noisy projects. I change my mind a lot, and I was tired of gore and porno. I didn’t want to do anything involving humans, even if they were dead fuckers. I wanted to do something really different and either something outer space related, or animal related. Theme projects like Black Putrefaction always caught my fancy and seemed more interesting than just your standard shit. So I started BOTFLY and Crustacea Zoëa Larvae. I did one release with each of those, and still wanted to do more. I did a rhino-based project, more insect-based ones, hippo, and an outer space, alien one that didn’t make it called C747 (Roswell incident month & date), and so on. I picked the bass from that C747 session, and for some reason picked a frog-based project, and that’s how Phyllomedusa came into human-shatter. I guess that’s not brief, but the name is a genus of frogs. I can’t remember why exactly I picked it, but it’s since became my favorite genus of frog. Phyllomeudsa are amazing looking creatures.


Joe:Your other projects are more gore/porn based, and I’ve noticed you’ve recently been concentrating on animal based themes. Is there a particular reason for this?

Big Frog:I guess I basically answered that question in my first response. Besides the fact I was dead tired of gore and porno shit, I wanted something based more on atmosphere and depth. Atmosphere is usually my main goal with my projects, even with the gore and porno ones. But I want to be totally and utterly engulfed!! Animal projects are more appropriate for atmosphere, and surroundings because of their natural habits. Working with the nature sounds creatures a whole different vibe, at least to me it does

Joe:Your releases mainly focus on themes based on frogs, but I’ve noticed the music changes from release to release. Ranging from gore noise to even doom. Do you base the music on the theme of the album or do you just get in a certain mood and decide to create music based on that mood?

Big Frog:That’s another thing I have no fucking clue how it started. The different sounds that is. It fits with the “being totally different thing”. Bands that do the same fucking sound over, and over, and over bore me to slime. Honestly, most of my projects are to satisfy my own needs!! Hahaha There wasn’t a porno project with the violent attitude of Last Days of Humanity, so I made Omphalectoicxanthopsia to penetrate that part in my brain. With Phyllomedusa, it just sort of happened that way. I did the “Eggs of the Monkey Frog” tape, and the next was a split tape with Embryo’s Liquid Lettuce project. I remember for that split I wanted the total opposite of the first tape. I pitched the vocals way higher, and did this shitty, weird guitar with it. It just stuck, and my main goal is for every Phyllomedusa release to have some sort of different sound. Even if it’s subtle as a guitar tuning, (don’t let that fool you into thinking I tune my guitars properly. I HATE standard tunings!!) The only release I based on a theme was “Frogs At Crystal Lake”, but that was only because it was around Halloween, and watching every fucking Friday The 13th got me inspired of frogs sitting around watching Jason slice N dice fuck heads around a camp!!!!


Joe:I know you use to use 7 string guitars and now you’ve recently switched to 8 string guitars. Does this help out as far the noisy, sludgy, slimy guitar tone is concerned? Do you usually rely on a lot of distortion and fuzz pedals as well?

Big Frog:Goatslash, I must admit I do rely on tons of pedals. I NEVER use fake distortion like some bands and projects do with Fruity Loops, Audacity, etc…Ever since I started playing guitar years ago, I’ve been so intrigued with pedals, and the different sounds you can get. It’s taken me days sometimes just to get a certain tone that I am looking for. I just recently got my BOSS FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz in, and it’s going to be abused for extremely slow releases. BOSS stopped making the pedal years ago, and it shows. Electric Wizard uses it, and it just rapes all forms of earvag. 7 and 8 String guitars definitely help with nosier tones. Having those extra low strings increase your bottom so fucking much. Well, that and having it tuned as low as you possibly can help too!!!!

Joe:You recently started playing drums on your releases, and I have to say your playing is really sick. Do you feel like having real drums makes the releases even sicker? Are your future releases going to have real drums or are you going to switch off between the real drums and the drum machine?

Big Frog:Thank you so much for your kind written gurgle, Goat. I really do appreciate that, and I think it depends on what sound you’re going for. I think with real drums, played this way”, it helps for sure. Having the ability to infuse tons of fucking rolls with blasts, constantly adds to that chaotic feel. Start/stop type bands and projects are some of my favorites to listen too. And I think I will continue to mix it up between real drums and machines. For slow shit I will definitely do real drums, but if I want a 200-500 bpm release I will surely bust out the fake battery.



Joe:I like how your noise has an almost destructive chaotic feel to them. The best way to describe it is humanity suffering a painful horrendous death. Is this what you usually aim for when recording a release or do you usually have something else in mind?

Big Frog:Goat you explain it in a form that flatters me too much, because that is what I usually try to do. I want total chaos, and the smothering of human earpussy. When I can make my own ears ring; that usually tells my froggy-sense (not spidey-sense!!) that most human ears will not enjoy it. Honestly though, every time before I start recording something, I think about what it would sound like if amphibians went on a people munching rampage around the world. Having that in audio-form usually gets me going.



Joe:I really dig your artwork on your releases; even though it’s DIY. It looks professional as hell, and you do a good job capturing the theme of the album. Do you feel like the artwork has just as much significance as the music?

Big Frog:You said it the only way I know it, Goatmash. Since the day I started, I’ve always, always, always hated projects that just pick some random fucking picture, and place their logo on top of it. No cropping at all, no enhancing. I fucking hate it. I usually won’t listen to a release if it’s like that. I never take myself seriously, and I never think my art or whatever is better than anyone’s. But I like to try and make the release somewhat “Pro” just to show I am not really fucking around. Amphibians have become very special to me, so I take the time to make sure the release reflects them in a special way. Adding another part to my deranged brain, I like to think that amphibians trust me, and know that I make releases towards them killing humans in grotesque and repulsive fashion. Like the ones I take care of in my own house, or seeing them in a pet store, or zoo/aquarium. When I come in there like “Hey, there’s the guy who enjoys our company, and will protect us!!!” hahahahaha Very strange…I know.






Joe:Your vocal sound and style has a grotesque feel to it,almost in the vein of Last Days of Humanity, Regurgitate, Urine Festival, Rompeprop and Biocyst per say. I’m a fan of both natural and pitch shifted vocals when it comes to grind. Do you feel like the pitch shifter almost gives your noise an even more disgusting feel?

Big Frog:Goathumus, I think most of the few people that know about these ghastly releases know that I am a big fan of anything related to Last Days of Humanity. I love so many nasty bands, but those acts definitely inspire me more. I love so many it seriously would be hard to even name some. I will say the Last Days vocalists are my biggest inspirations though. Every member satisfies me, but as far as vocalists you have Erwin of course, Marc, Boris from Leng Tch’e was insane, Rogier did some backing shit, but guys like Hans Smits and Bart are the masters. I am such a fucking sucker for pitched yells, it’s scary. The pitched scream, to me, is the ultimate form of hate, emotion and despair!! Hans and Bart did it the best. I can only dream, and practice to sound like that one day!!!! Hahahaha I mix it up between natural and pitched for no reason. Just for the different sounds. I hate all those chumlickers who say “pitch shifters are for fags who can’t do it naturally”. So I do naturals sometimes just to give those cuminchers a fuck off. I just hate all drama I guess. Hahahaha forgot the question hahaha, but to answer it, yes I really do believe it adds to the gross and repulsive feel. Especially with screams, and gurgle, it’s fun to change pitches lower and higher though….hmm…ok I’ll stop!!!

Joe:So I’m sure you are aware of Last Days of Humanity reuniting. What are your feelings about that, and what do you think about Marc switching from drums to just vocals? Also whatever happened to the Oxxx/Urine Festival release? Do you think that release will see the light of day?

Big Frog:I surely enjoy the fact of Last Days of Humanity reuniting. Of course I enjoy it!! Maryland Deathfest is about 15-20 mins away from my house, and they’re “supposedly” playing. I know they have a history of cancelling so we’ll see. I’ve been skipping MDF lately, so I might have to go back this year!!! And I think as long as Marc is at any position in that band, it’s good to me. It’s always good, but Marc’s drumming was one of the key elements of Last Days of Humanity. Not even just Putrefaction In Progress. His style of playing and blasting gave them a unique sound. And sadly I am not sure if that release will ever shoot out of the digital womb. We looked for a label for at least 2 years. It was supposed to be an EP, so it was hard finding someone to print such an expensive release. I got tired of searching; I just put the Omphalectoicxanthopsia side up for download.

Joe:I know you put a lot of your releases up for download. You’ve even released tapes and a few mini CDs, but have you actually thought of releasing a 7 inch? If you did would it be a split release or an EP or?

Big Frog:I have thought about releasing in every format I could honestly. I never could seem to find anywhere to buy my own 7 inches. If I release a hard copy, I always buy in bulk of course like with tapes, CDs, whatever. I stopped looking for 7 inches, and tried some digital shit. I put some terrible audio on iTunes, Last.fm, AmazonMP3…shit like that. I’ve always done downloads though, and probably always will. I like to spread the amphibious disease wherever I can, without hassle. It’s never been about money with me. And it shows, there’s no money really to be made with this style of sound. If sickos want to download and listen they can. If they don’t, they fucking don’t!!!!!! I just never take anything seriously. Hahahahaha





Joe:What’s new as far as Phyllo is concerned, and any last words (croaks) for the readers?

Big Frog:Well the next release will be just really fucking odd. It’s really long, boring, and strange. I lost it a few times on some of the tracks. Lots of Cro-Magnon hate, and I tried to create me breaking into a zoo at night, and freeing amphibians. That will be hopping out very soon as well as other releases and splits of course. I’m taking audio courses and music industry courses in my college semester right now, so my knowledge of beating and hurting the mainstream will continue to grow!!!!! Hahahahaha they’re doomed! Ribbit!!

Interview with Fred from Gaels

Joe/Cryptic Inscriptions:Before we get started I like to say thanks Fred for doing this interview. First off give the readers a brief history on Gaels? What does the name Gaels mean? Why did you use this name?

Fred:Gaels was formed back in late 2006 as a combination post rock/ambient solo project. To date Gaels has over 15 different releases ranging from full lengths to EP’s to split releases with other recording projects. The Gaels are typically referred to as the people of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, and I chose the name to reflect my own Irish heritage. Also I just thought it was a really cool name.

Joe:Gaels is an ambient band unlike your other projects (The Leviathans Mandible, Bayi and Gasmask) that are all grind core bands. In your opinion do you think playing other types of music enhances your creativity on writing more original pieces?

Fred:Without a doubt. For myself, playing music from different genres constantly inspires me to create new riffs and song ideas. I can’t tell you how many TLM practices have given me ideas that eventually turn into concrete Gaels songs. The same goes for Bayi, a lot of early Gaels material came from jamming out during Bayi recording sessions and landing on riffs that, while not workable for Bayi, worked great for Gaels. The same things happens in reverse, while I’m working on Gaels tunes I become inspired to write new material for TLM, Bayi or Gas Mask.

Joe:I’ve noticed a lot of your albums have a lot of different landscapes on it. Most of the time depicting winter; is there a particular reason for this?

Fred:Most of the album covers are actually pictures I took during a summer trip to Ireland. I appreciate the stark beauty these photos represent and felt from the beginning that they would go perfect with Gaels, as the mood I am trying to set is one of peace and tranquility with undertones of desolation and melancholy. The fact that they resemble winter is just a coincidence.

Joe:Most of your material is instrumental with the exception of Stupid Girl (featuring Tony DeRosa) on vocals. Was there ever a time where you actually considered getting a vocalist, or wanted more vocal parts on your songs? Why did you decide to put vocals on that one particular song, and what made you decide to use Tony?

Fred:Tony is a friend and we had wanted to collaborate together for a while, so with Stupid Girl we just decided to put our heads together and try to write a song. It was a long time in the works and was as much a personal goal to work with Tony as an artistic one, as he’s a great vocalist and an awesome person. I’ve toyed with the idea of including vocals in more songs and have even gone so far as to play my music for different vocalists I know and have them write some vocals on the spot, but ultimately I feel vocals would distract from the music. I don’t foresee any vocals on future Gaels recordings, although that could change if the circumstances allow for it.

Joe:A lot of ambient doesn’t really use instruments like guitar and drums. They rely mainly on synthesizers and software to create their soundscapes. Do you feel that by having guitars, and drums on your recordings makes it stand apart from other ambient bands?

Fred:Definitely. There’s always been an element of post rock and shoegaze in Gaels’ music; the idea was never to just be an ambient band. I’ve done some ambient only recordings, like the “Atmospheres” full length, but having guitars, bass and drums is vital to the projects overall sound and I couldn’t imagine doing another full length without them.

Joe:What instruments have you all used on the recordings old and new? Have you used anything off the wall on the recordings?

Fred:I’ve used a variety of guitars and basses throughout my time with Gaels, the names and model types escape me at the moment. I have also made extensive use of a microKORG for the more ambient pieces. I can’t say I’ve used any off the wall instruments, though I would love to experiment more in the future with acoustic guitars and other stringed instruments.

Joe:I know you record, produce, mix and master everything yourself. I have to say for DIY it’s pretty impressive. What do you use as far as recording equipment is concerned? How long does it usually take to record an opus?

Fred:Thank you, I try my best! For recording everything is done in Cool Edit Pro 2.0 and occasionally AcidPro for mixing and mastering purposes. For drums I use a program called Acoustica Beatcraft as well as FL Studio 4. I line my guitars and bass directly into my computer using the Line 6 Toneport Gearbox. It usually takes about a week to record a new song but I’ve been known to spend several weeks working on one or two songs because I’m such a goddamn perfectionist. I use a lot of layering in my music and getting everything mixed right can be a long and arduous process.

Joe:What actually inspires you to write music for Gaels? Are the songs and albums based on certain personal experiences in your life, are they fictional based concepts you conceived, or are they certain emotions you have at the time that you need to express through music?

Fred:All of the above man, hahaha. I like to draw on real experiences and emotions because I feel those shine through the music and really hit the listener in a meaningful way. At the same time it is a lot of fun to create a fictitious situation and explore where the story takes you. A great example of the latter is the song Iconoclast from the album “Winter Days”, a song that wasn’t about anything in particular except my interpretation of what large, slow moving objects would sound like in musical form. I had a lot of fun writing that song and to date it’s one of the most popular songs among my fans.


Joe:Instrumental music can sometimes almost speak more to a listener than a song with words. It can almost harbor a certain feeling or emotion to the person listening. What’s your opinion on this, and what kind of feeling or emotion does Gaels portray as a band?

Fred:I couldn’t agree with you more. Instrumental music, in my opinion, is more powerful in conveying emotions than music with vocals simply because, unless you are an excellent lyricist, the words lock the song into place with no ability on the part of the listener to interpret the music as they hear it. To put it another way, music with lyrics is like a painting in a museum; they are framed in, structured and only as open to interpretation and introspection as the creator allows them to be. Instrumental music is like a landscape, open and free, and the listener is able to get lost in the music and apply whatever emotion or interpretation they want. That is more interesting to me than listening to a song where some singer tells you how to feel.

As far as Gaels goes, I try to convey a wide range of emotions in my music. Happiness, sadness, hope, triumph, loss, regrets, these are all common themes in Gaels’ music. It depends on what mood I am in when I write a song, and what mood the listener is in when he or she presses play.

Joe:Did you ever consider doing this live, and out of all the recordings you’ve done which one can you say you’ve been the proudest of?

Fred:There is no way this could ever be done live. I would need at least 5-6 different musicians to cover all of the layering and soundscapes I use and to find that many musicians get them all in one room at the same time and recreate these songs would just be too complicated and time consuming. As far as which recording I am most proud of I would have to say the next full length “A Dying Planet Under a Blue Sun” is my best batch of recordings to date. It has been a long and heavy rock to push over the hill and it’s almost ready, so hopefully in a few months others will be able to listen and hear why I am so proud of this record.





Joe: What’s new as far as Gaels is concerned? Any last words to the readers?

Fred:Well, like I mentioned before I am almost done with a new full length, which I am very excited about. It should be done in the next couple of months barring any kind of distraction from “real” life. I’m also doing a split CD with a project called The Eaters of the Dead, which is a solo project of Travis, vocalist for TLM and my best friend. I am also extremely excited about that; I’ve heard TEOTD’s tracks and they are VERY good. There’s also a noise EP on the back burner, however it’s such a departure from everything Gaels has done before that I am not sure if I am going to release it. That’s basically it, I just want to thank all of the people who have supported this project, all the people who have downloaded and listened to my music and especially Joe for doing this interview. It’s been a real honor.