We’re getting awfully damned close to November (when we will turn 3 years old!), and November usually begins three traditions here at NCS that together take us on out to the end of the year and into the beginning of the next one.
The first is my long annual vacation, which cuts down on my blogging time and therefore leads me to beg for guest submissions so that our small cadre of regular writers don’t have to pick up the load all by themselves. The second, which usually begins by early December, is our series of year-end lists for best albums and short recordings. And the third is the daily rollout of my choices for the Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs of the year.
This year, unfortunately, I won’t be having a long vacation, or much of any vacation. A combination of family and work demands means I won’t be able to get away from Seattle in November like I usually do. BUT I’m going to solicit guest posts anyway. I’ve really enjoyed all the guest submissions we’ve gotten in previous years since starting this tradition, and I don’t see any reason to stop now just because I may not need them as desperately as I have in the past.
Besides, even though I won’t be fucking off someplace warm and sunny with beautiful clouds and turquoise water, your submissions WILL allow me to fuck off right here in Seattle, and that’s a plus.
So here’s the deal: If you’ve ever toyed with the idea of writing something for publication at NCS or some other metal blog, now’s a good time to give it a shot. Or maybe you’ve been generous enough to submit guest posts here in the past and might be willing to do it again. Or maybe you’re already writing for another blog and you’re willing to upgrade the content quality at NCS (good luck with that).
Regardless of your situation, we want your writing! Details after the jump . . .
What you submit can be long or short — whatever you have time to create. It can be a show review, an album review, a piece designed to bring a relatively unknown band to a broader audience, thoughts about the scene or about recent news blurbs, something in the vein of our “THAT’S METAL!” posts or one of our other regular features — or anything else that’s related to metal that strikes your fancy.
I’ll start posting guest pieces on November 5 and continue running them through November 20, or until I run out of material. You can send them to me any time from now through November 20.
Here are a few other things you need to know:
1. Send your submissions as some kind of document or text-file attachment to an e-mail, addressed to islander@nocleansinging.com. You can also paste the text into the body of the e-mail.
2. In your e-mail, tell me what name you want to use as your by-line (i.e., your real name, if you don’t care about trashing your personal reputation, or a nom de plume).
3. If you want to include a graphic or embedded video or a link to another web page, be sure to include web links in your text so I can embed them in the post. As you probably know, we like to include music in just about everything we publish here, so this is encouraged.
4. Though not necessary, it will save e a step if you include links to any graphics you want included with your post (such as album covers). If you don’t, it’s not the end of the world — I’ll hunt down graphics myself, though there’s a risk that a pic of my genitals will be illustrating your post.
5. We do have certain standards here at NCS. Granted, they’re pretty fucking low, but still, I have to reserve some small amount of discretion on the final publication decision. It’s either that, or I have to let the lorises decide what goes up on the site, and I don’t think they’re quite ready for that. Plus, I don’t trust the fuckers any farther than I can throw them.
6. Don’t expect payment. Think of your compensation as the warm, fuzzy feeling you will get from helping out a bro in need.
7. Don’t worry too much about showing your ass, because I’ll fix typo’s and and any ungrammaticalnessness that I see. And if your ass happens to look like this, showing it would be a plus:
So, don’t let me down. Write something!
P.S. I know my metalheads: long-range planning is not one of our strong suits. So, I’ll remind you about this again before November 5. And by “remind”, I mean “nag”.
70 Responses to “HELP A BROTHER OUT?”
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I am going to write a review for the new Hacktivist EP.
I am Dead Serious.
YES!!!
Will it be as pointless and unnecessary… as the band’s sound itself?
Im sure it will have 230% more negative stangry buttmad humorless metal nerd comments.
And possibly 15% more blackness. Give or take.
BRING IT!
is it out yet?
Not yet — scheduled for Nov 12.
It’s also not going to be very good. I simply don’t hold out much hope for mixing two of the most creatively bankrupt sub-genres of metal together.
I don’t consider myself an AIMN (Angry Internet Metal Nerd) really, I just have my reasons for thinking the style was played out before it was even played.
OK, time for me to move my lazy ass and finish the piece on LA-R I promised you ages ago.
Having monitored Metal Bandcamp for a while, I don’t think laziness is your problem. 🙂
Tried to come up with a top-5 albums of the year in my head. Realised I can’t even come up with 5 metal albums that came out this year, jeez. Ah well, last year I picked up Woods of Ypres from the top-lists, so can’t wait for this year’s!
I actually know someone who buys almost no metal until the end of the year. He then spends a ton of time reading year-end lists and then buys albums based on that — and basically listens to them the rest of the next year.
Hey that’s not a bad idea.
Are you talking about me? Cuz that sounds a lot like me.
It’s not a bad strategy, especially if you’re short on funds and are willing to defer gratification.
Yeah, I’m good at waiting for music. Funny thing, I haven’t really given a serious listen to most of the stuff I acquired last year.
How about the top 10 best power metal songs about dragons of the year? I’ll have a tough time whittling that list down.
Do your best. If you could get it down to one, I think that would be ideal.
http://dirthog.bandcamp.com/
Do a column on unsigned bands!
That there Dirthog is some tasty shit!
Dat. Ass.
Your missing one more thing for the fall…NCS t-shirt promo round 2?
Haven’t forgotten . . . just dragging my ASS.
I was looking at my NCS shirt yesterday and wondering about the same, damn thing.
Not sure it’s worth an entire post, but Immanifest are working on their new release (which they claim to be out in 2012). Until now, there are only a few minutes worth of their songs, but I like them a lot.
For your convenience, I have a small public playlist on YT of their songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX2ZLbK54ac&list=PLUZF-Kr_bCxS8O6NG77YcHn7DAtjUZS_M
Interesting! I haven’t found anything recent about the status of work on the album, though I see they released an EP in 2009.
Do you remember that you wanted to do a Review of Griseus by Aquilus? I think that was a couple of months ago and it still hasn’t happened. Damn, someone should do it before everyone starts to make their best-of-lists because I’m sure it would then appear on most of them.
Gawd, I feel so lame. And I appreciate the nudge, because I MUST write about it.
I’m downloading the album now, but there’s a Dec 2011 release date on their Bandcamp site. Are we a year too late for a “Best of” list?
It was digitally released then, but the album as a physical CD was released at the end of May this year, so you can count it to 2012 as well.
Is it that time of year again already?
Okay I’ll help..its been far too long since Ive bestowed my elite metal knowledge on the rest of you anyway
Excellent. I feel smarter already.
Then my mission is complete
Wait . . . don’t stop now. My IQ has only gone up from 45 to 50.
Are photo essays of various animal penises cool?
I really wasn’t expecting something that sophisticated from you, but sure.
Awesome! Now I just need to find that scalpel and some chlorform!
I think this is how Ted Bundy started out.
I always knew I’d end p n Married With Children…
End up on…
Damn phone.
Um, I believe you’re thinking of Al Bundy. Was he a serial killer too?
Ted….Al…who can tell ’em apart? All white people look the same to me.
I am totally color blind when it comes to race. Everyone looks the same to me.
That’s because you have no head, but too much ass.
Please don’t talk about my ass. It makes me pucker up..
I KNEW I WASN’T THE ONLY ONE
You spelled “typos” wrong.
I was practicing showing my ass.
And by the way, I’m willing to pay you to write something for us, as long as you take pig fetuses in lieu of money.
I’d love to write for you! Is it okay for me to post stuff I’ve already posted on my personal blog?
I’ve done that a few times in the past (eg, some pieces from Mike Yost), so it’s not verboten.
Already generating my list for this year. Slowly realizing how un-metal and soft I’ve become… :O
Also brainstorming some thought/discussion provoking posts as well.
I’m glad you’re doing that. It would be great to get some opinion/thought pieces from people, in addition to ones that focus on particular bands or releases.
Hey man! .. was thinking of writing up an article on some cool unsigned indian bands, that i’d want you guys to check.
Please do — that would be welcome.
awesome!
Now if only I could get off my ass (unlike Max who thinks he’s on his ass) to do stuff blog-related. Just. So. Apathetic.
Start short. Narrow subject (something like a quick introduction to a band you like who we’ve neglected around here, and maybe who has been neglected in general), a few paragraphs, no self-imposed pressure. If it’s stressful, of course, then it’s not worth doing.
Yeah, occasionally I find a really cool band and like them enough to really write something that shows how awesome they are like that Wolfhead review I wrote.
Islander gives bad advice. You need to be ambitious! I recommend snorting some coke, going to Denny’s, shooting a waitress or waiter in the knee with the Glock all NCS writers carry, and then writing 10,000 words on napkins with your own blood removed from your body via menu papercuts. That’s how everyone else does it.
You obviously didn’t get the memo. We’ve kneecapped all the wait staff at Denny’s and are moving to Applebee’s for a fresh set of knees.
What the…man, you need to get better fucking messengers. Goddamn slow ass lorises are fucking up!
I may have to get the carrier pigeon squadon back in operation.
Applebee’s?…what, was Walmarts cafeteria too upscale or something?
The wait staff at Applebee’s move slower. Doesn’t take as many bullets to bring them down. That Glock ammo is expensive.
Considering how expensive you say Glock ammunition is,wouldn’t it be more practical to use stabbing weapons?
…Say, pencils? Cheap & re-usable. And it’s easier to draw blood from yourself using a pencil than papercuts from a menu.
I like the way you think, because Glock ammo doesn’t grow on trees, unlike pencil wood.
I found the part where I shoot someone in the knee funny. But I’m poor and have to buy Christmas presents, I don’t think I could afford the coke… also, snorting something doesn’t sound pleasant.
I was thinking about a review of The Levitation Hex’s album. Possibly something about Byzantine too but I have a vague memory that Andy Synn had already covered them?
A Levitation Hex review would be great. They definitely deserve the attention. And here’s what we’ve written about Byzantine to date:
https://www.nocleansinging.com/tag/byzantine/