Saturday, May 9, 2009

Greetings!

Thanks for visiting Thanatopsis.

Thanatopsis zine first existed in 1994 when Wanwarlock & Darkein would like to contribute a zine for the Underground scene. At that time both of us were 15 years old and were living in Kangar, Perlis, Malaysia. We started to listen to metal since the age of 10 with Scorpions, Sabbat (UK), Destruction etc. and knew of the existence of the Underground scene through our mates who later became editors for Upanishad zine.

The 1st issue came of light later in 1994 - it was open-minded, meaning that it catered to all the genres of the Underground - metal, punk, hardcore etc. It featured interviews with local and international bands such as Wombbath (Swe), Dirty Coffin (Mal), Rust Sakaraz (Bru), Immortal (Mal - not Norway!), Vicious Azael (Mal) & others that I forgot. Typed using an Apple II GS computer with cut & paste layout. The response was mild, from memory.

Issue no. 2 came out after 1 1/2 years due to study commitments & lack of computer since the trusty Apple went kaput. Only 3 bands that I remember from this issue: Nakaratul Khaum (Mal), Sluggards (Mal) and Undead (Mal)

Issue 3 was done with better layout and content. It was released in 1998 and was a bit of a rush job due to me furthering my studies. Interviews with Nathias Zine/Prod (Mal), Thy Mystickal East (Bru), Depressive Monsoon Zine (Sin), Seasonal Abyss (Mal), Groinchurn (SA), Hayagriva (Mal) and again, I can't remember the others. This issue had reviews as well. Not particularly keen on doing reviews since it's all subjective.

Since then, I tried to revive Thanatopsis as a newsletter from the UK, but it was getting difficult and no time to do it. I was running a small distro bringing Dark Legions mag from Singapore to Ireland and contributing 2 interviews for them as well. Alas, it was the end Thanatopsis... Meditation upon death...

Fast forward to the present. With the advent of new technology & internet (& blogs of course), I now once again feel the metal flame ignite once again to try resuscitate Thanatopsis once more Also Yahoo is closing Geocities later this year, so I had to preserve the Thanatopsis legacy!

This blog will feature past and future interviews, some reviews and also news about music, metal in particular and out general lives.

Feel free to comment and use the shoutbox. Give feedback - remember, feedback is fuel.

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