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An Interview With Ben Sollberger of Age Of Disclosure

Good mourning , welcome to MetalheadSpotted Magazine. Lets start with something simple - what do you have for breakfest? :)

Hi there! Normally, I just drink some coffee and have a yogurt or two for breakfast.

Tell us about the band and how it was formed

First I want to mention that Age of Disclosure is not a band, but a project. The beginning of it dates back to spring 2015, when I had the idea to professionally record some of the many songs I'd written in the past ten years. Bass player Adriano Troiano (Distant Past, ex-Emerald) soon joined the project and with his big expertise helped me to plan the recordings. We were then happy to win different gifted vocalists for the project, namely Orlando Skrylls (Skrylls, ex-Draven), Jvo Julmy (Distant Past, Lucid Dreaming, ex-Emerald), Roman Burri (No Reward, ex-Scream your Name), and Syn Schütz (The Hunt, ex-Draven). Last but surely not least, Buddah Craven (Underskin, ex-Acidcell) gave his okay to play the drums on To the Universe.

As the new album, “To the Universe” was released 3 months ago. How can you describe the album and what does make it different from all the others you've made before

As I have mentioned before, Age of Disclosure is a project and not a band – I have made albums with different bands before, but this is my first project effort. I would describe the album as a richly varied collection of songs – not only due to the four different vocalists that can be heard on it: No matter if you look for „good old“-heavy metal songs, tracks with a thrash or a hard rock vibe, a power ballad, or even an instrumental, you’ll find it on To the Universe. In this sense, our debut reflects the diverse musical influences of myself and the other musicians, ranging from bands such as Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche, Metallica, Savatage, Megadeth, Iced Earth, Killswitch Engage, Fates Warning, Alice in Chains, to Kiss or the Scorpions.

Your album was released on "Kunz Soundcorp" and promoted by "GlobMetal Promotions". What can you tell our readers about thouse guys, and why you choose to work with them 

Tek Kunz is the owner of "Kunz Soundcorp" and he is a good friend of mine. We played in different bands together. When I planned the release of To the Universe I asked him if I could publish the album under his label because he is a very reliable guy and he also helped me to choose the songs we recorded for the album. He luckily likes the album very much.  A few weeks after To the Universe was released, I got a message from "GlobMetal Promotions" – they offered me to help me promote the album. Since we have no gigs with Age of Disclosure (which I think is very important if you want your music to be spread) I thought it was a good idea to let "GlobMetal Promotions" help me doing that. Kostya from "GlobMetal Promotions" is a very kind and also reliable guy, so I really enjoy working with him! 


What about the people who download your albums on the Internet? Do you think is it good or bad?

I have a full-time job as a teacher and music is my big hobby, so luckily I don’t have to rely on making money with my music. So I don’t care if people download my music for free. But there are many bands out there who try to live out of their music, and I think that people should actually buy their music.

What your fans should expect from the band in 2018?

With the help of my friend Adriano Troiano, I am currently working on songs for the next album. We have planned to see at the end of this year what we have in the bag and then choose the songs we will be recording in 2018. I would say to the second album will be finished around spring 2019.

Thanks for the interview! Any last words you wanna pass to your fans and our readers?

Yes – we all know that the music market is oversaturated with lots and lots of good music, so I really want to thank all the people who check out Age of Disclosures music! If you like traditional heavy metal (but with a modern sounding / intense production), I think that is not the worst idea ;-).

Album Review :~ Slow - V - Oceans


I enjoy prototypical brooding doom band. When some one tells you about atmospheric funeral doom metal at first a delineation will click automatically in your imaginary such as excruciatingly slowly,pulchritudinous heavy, eschew crushing, bleakest, most hauntingly beautiful, graceful, downtuned, slow motion soundscapes of drifting, floating, dreamlike music, moving in gentle transitions to vaguely shifting perspectives of mood. Feel yourself decay, gaze helplessly, thoughtlessly as the preternaturally odious head over the horizon, blotting out the last scarlet gasps of a moribund sunset, looming over the eerily tranquil and temperate ocean like an antediluvian menhir - massive, silent, mysterious and unspeakable journey, alone in a darkened room, lighting a few candles, unsealed some good wine and settling in for an uninterrupted hour of beauteous funeral doom sound driven by feelings and thus creates immense power and resonate overpowering as it is a purely exquisite voyage of yielding passion. That's probably just me and my definition of depression. While some excellent ,unique band attempting to sell their flavor of the month band to potential listeners, there are some that simply exist outside of pre-existing molds. Some challengers exist, such as Slow, a phenomenal addition to the Funeral doom metal roster. It's difficult to imagine, but "V - Oceans" surpassed than their previous work and moved Slow to the whole new level with their something absolutely new and unimaginably great music level. The geographical shift in the propagation of funeral doom metal has changed drastically over the past three decades. Slow unveiled their fifth full length album entitled “V - Oceans” in the middle of previous month with 55:13 min running time along with morose, forlorn but heavy as fuck doom with more sadness and pathos than you can stand and you will definitely feel oppressed. Mixing funeral doom metal with atmospheric,gloomy vibe was their forte. New album is filled with more unearthly, astounding,critical acclaimed,heavy, claustrophobic misery ,enigmatic melodies.This new album is consist with 5 tracks. Basically Slow was formed in 2007. For those not familiar with this musical entity, Slow is the brainchild and solo project of funeral doom master Deha from Clouds, Imber Luminis, Maladie, Merda Mundi etc. Easily Slow became one of my favorite atmospheric funeral doom metal band with their mystique and epic musical style . now I’m straight diving to the point about this new album .


This new studio efforts whole compositions showcased such power and emotion conveyed throughout the duration. This album embrace of the most beautiful of deaths. Monstrous lead voice rumbles deep in passing observations and recollections of forgotten memories, accompanied by a choir of ghostly angels soothing the sorrow of fading light that signals the end of experience in a world incapable of sustaining its illusionary promise of an ideal state of beauty and truth and a painful realization from which this music sleepily drifts away. This is truly a beautiful, wondrous piece of music , very organic and is constantly in motion along with your feelings, emotion. When I was spinning their latest studio effort for the first time I was overwhelmed, invaded my ears and this album sounds so authentic,mature and truly epic. This is triumphant sophisticated,spine-chilling atmospheric funeral doom metal. Deha himself banishes all our doubts regarding the genre describing the music of "V - Oceans" and putting particular emphasis on the first word and rekindle my endless love  for atmospheric funeral doom metal. I cherish his unsurpassed quality,ability and skill along with tremendous effort portrayed in this album in radiant way with excellent diligence and nailed it. After a multiple listen their debut studio effort  infused me with  their unabating, powerful, overarching, chromatic, multi-layered ,ultra-dense,monolithic, heart wrenching, sorrowful funeral doom metal just  blew me away . Their musical style have a hypnotic effect and especially more atmospheric kind of funeral doom metal but at the same time the soundscape bring on sensations of crushing depression and evoke feelings of desperation making for a very dynamic performance.


This whole album reflects the grand diversity of this album.  A natural synthesis of mournful sounds and disparate styles all combined in one bold, enlightened display of unbound creativity. Easily this whole album hooked me up with it’s vocals filthy, crushing voice and their doom laden, deep,unrelenting, melancholic, sorrowful, distant musical style with marvelous, exquisite piano works and builds layers of melancholy through high reverb along with slow tempo. Their musical style avoid themselves falling into the usual funeral boredom. "V - Oceans" fueled by an immediately convincing, weeping riff and an equally gripping bass line also it flows effortlessly and though the music is pretty dirgey. They manage to shift tempos just at the right moments to keep things rolling along like a grim parade. The kind of music that swells the heart even as it rips with a sorrow and loneliness and music is so emotional you can almost see the individual notes break down and cry. I highly appreciate and embrace this album.

This album is filled with a slew of delicate, whopping, intense, slow but powerful , heavy riffs work .In each track breathtaking, rumbling, filthy, soaring riffs,bass lineups matched in well manner with mournful sounds are rightly used as an additional uncanny harmonic layer laced with dazzling, epic, exquisite piano laden melodies. The album carries with it an aura that is austere, melancholic, bereft of sunlight but one that above all excels at comprehensively nailing the listener into place and fixing his mind on the subject matter. A grand manifestation of melancholy. This album indulge strong songwriting and brilliant musicianship. Vocals howling scream, hoarse , inhuman , deep rasps , deep lung-burning roars, immense,large voice emerged on this album in a well manner and intertwined perfectly with their utterly  spellbinding, obtuse, melodic, doomy, fully blistering, grandiose, sorrowful, distant musical style in a well manner with a lots of atmospheric accompaniment, piano leads  and  embedded perfectly. Overall you will get  sinister, gloomy,desolate,mysterious ambient from this whole album. Some excellent, emotional stuff right here.


Each song have an energy ,fluency and magical quality. Stand out tracks are all of them . I personally cherish Aurore, Tenebres, Deluge, Neant, Mort tracks. Whoa!! did I mention all 5 tracks ?? Yes I'm pretty damn sure about it and all of them are splendid. Album artwork is precise, indelible . The production gives the music a powerful clarity, the atmosphere,drum propulsion and vibrant bass performance producing a non-stop surge of adrenaline. This new album displays their virtuosic performance and versatility with tremendous ability, skill and this one really makes sense and carries real emotions. Deha was always a great riff writer but these are some of his best yet. Always melancholy and somber, they flit between beautiful and crushing and maintain that delicate equipoise across the album’s length. Overall "V - Oceans" is equally wrist slitting with some truly unhappy lead riffs that smother whatever hope you may have squirreled away deep in the crevices of your dark heart. This album is is Spectacular,engrossing ,significant,rich and another terrific atmospheric piece that oozes despair, sadness and solitariness. The production is absolutely impeccable,capable of handling both the massive atmospheric and gargantuan heft. Slow manages to catch that grim atmosphere of Katharsis and the likes of that. After all, every event in our life that has to do with death has a profound effect on us, making us analyze and philosophize about our existence we are, unmistakably, both frightful of and intrigued by it. "V - Oceans" sets your mind alight, rather than your senses. This album sounds so authentic  and a truly remarkable sonic journey from beginning to end . Indeed this album is such an true gem. This is highly recommend to add it in your collection. If you are looking for  something different, epic this pure unadulterated black metal album is perfect. It makes me dream bigger, think harder, envision broader. 

My Rating – 5/5 Review done by – Souvik Basu . Published on 13.08.2017

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