[EDITOR'S NOTE: Today's guest post comes to us from Dan, who apparently is now called The Artist Formerly Known As Dan. Dan is an American temporarily transplanted to Adelaide, Australia. He has a list for you.]

So, I realize it’s cliche to make one of these lists (and maybe a bit premature?), but they’re usually useful for several reasons.  Firstly, it allows me to shamelessly plug the bands I like and push my agenda on you.  Secondly, it allows you to post lists of the records I forgot and tell me why my first list was wrong.  I can then subsequently go back to the records I may have forgotten or never owned in the first place.  Everyone should theoretically win here, since there is always music overlooked or forgotten about throughout the year.  So, let’s begin.

10. The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza – Danza III: The Series of Unfortunate Events

Technical, but so brutal.  A perfect recommendation for someone who listens to too much vanilla-breakdown deathcore (and, for some of you, “too much” implies listening to any deathcore at all).  I highly recommend seeing them in concert; they bring tons of energy.  Yippie-Kay-Yay-Motherfucker.

(more after the jump . . .)

9. Arsis – Starve for the Devil

Hands up if you forgot about this one.  I got a copy back when I saw them on tour with Exodus and Arch Enemy in February and loved it.  Nick Cordle has seamlessly integrated with James Malone and it shows in the guitar work on the album.  The video for “Forced to Rock” is also hilarious.

8. Cloudkicker – Beacons

This guy is awesome.  He doesn’t need a label because he can already do everything he needs to by himself.  And he’s beyond talented.  A must-have if you are into instrumental djent.  Islander wrote a better review (with audio sample) here.

7. As I Lay Dying – The Powerless Rise

Ok, I might get some flak for this one, but hear me out (or…read the rest of this paragraph, whichever makes more sense).  These guys wrote a legitimately well-sorted metalcore record and I’m not afraid to say that I thought this was one of the best albums of 2010. The guitars sound big and the drums give it a rock solid backbone.  But what really makes this album for me is Tim Lambesis.  His vocals have definitely gotten stronger as they’ve put out more records and I would argue that The Powerless Rise is his best performance. [NCS reviewed the album here.]

They also put on a sick live show with tons of energy – a definite winning combination.  If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s an uninspired stage performance, but these guys are phenomenal live.  Try to put aside any qualms you might have with them being Christian or their obvious At-The-Gates influence and just enjoy the sweet sounds:

As I Lay Dying: Beyond Our Suffering

6. The Ocean – Anthropocentric

Ok, even though I haven’t heard the whole album (comes out November 9th), I had to include this band on the list.  They are admittedly one of my all time favorite bands, but the song featured below and this song tell me the whole album will be great.  Additionally, they were recently robbed of all their merch sales while on tour in Europe and they really need financial help right now.  Even if you don’t like them, it’s a shitty thing to get robbed of over $8200.

5. Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier

It’s no The Number of the Beast, but that’s like complaining about free pizza or refusing to eat a steak that costs less than $50.  Sometimes, it’s unfair that their absolute masterpieces are behind them because we’ll inevitably always compare them to their glory days.  But this is new Maiden, and hey, the album is pretty damn catchy.

4. Veil of Maya – [id]

Sumeriancore at its finest.  These guys are truly great artists, and put on a really good live show.  Can’t recommend them enough.  Also, their guitarist samples himself during the live show and loops it so he can then play the other parts – if you want to talk about musical skill, Marc Okubo has it in spades.

3. Daath – Daath

These guys just keep writing quality metal albums.  Last year they released The Concealers, which was sick, and their self-titled release this year does not disappoint.  The drumming is tight and the guitars are incredible.  If you dig them, you should check out the instrumental album the guitarists released, Avalanche of Worms.  Anyway, Daath are friggin’ great and I’m not sure what else to say, other than listen:

2. The Crown – Doomsday King

If you don’t know who The Crown is, go check them out immediately.  No, I’m not going to question your metal fanhood, but this is one of those bands you should definitely know about.  So go listen now.  They are everything that is right with metal today.  Simultaneously, you can read a far better and more in-depth NCS review by Andy Synn at this location.

1. Kvelertak – Kvelertak

You: “Aw man, what the fuck, The Artist Formerly Known as Dan, your number one album isn’t even a metal record!”

Me: “I don’t care, this album fucking rocks.”

Seriously, if you like rock music at all, you’ll like this.  The music is infectiously good, even if I can’t understand the Norwegian singer (who definitely shows some black metal influence in his singing).  The songs are all just so fun.  The music is also exceptionally good for listening to while driving fast.  I challenge you to listen to this music and not enjoy it.

Honorable Mention:

Deftones – Diamond Eyes

After the Burial – In Dreams (comes out November 23rd, so I haven’t heard more than one song, but I’m betting it will be good).

White Wizzard – Over the Top

Conducting From the Grave – Revenants

Iron Thrones – The Wretched Sun

Trap Them – untitled as of yet, and I’m not sure if it’ll actually be out by the end of 2010, but I know it’s going to rip shit apart.

And there it is.  Yes, having an honorable mention column is a cop-out.  Please discuss.

Another month has passed. Summer is waning. It’s still as hot as the ninth circle of Hell in most parts of our country, but here in the Pacific Northwest, the air is already beginning to feel like fall. And because fall in Seattle lasts about one week, winter is already what we’re thinking about, because winter means getting soaked with rain. In the dark.

Where were we? Oh yeah, another month is over. And here at NCS, that means it’s time for another installment of METAL IN THE FORGE, a forge being the old name for a place where a blacksmith heats metal and works it into the shape of something useful. We thought it sounded literary.

Another name for “forge” is “smithy.” As in, “the blacksmith works in a smithy.” But “smithy” doesn’t sound literary, and METAL IN THE SMITHY just sounds fucked up. METAL IN THE FORGE is a little fucked up, too, the more we think about it, but not as fucked up as METAL IN THE SMITHY.

Where were we? Oh yeah, at the end of every month, we update the list of forthcoming new albums we first posted on January 1. (All the other updates can be found via the “Forthcoming Albums” category link on the right side of our pages.) Below is a list of still more projected new releases we didn’t know about at the time of our previous updates, or updated info about some of the previously noted releases.

Once again, we’ve cobbled together news blurbs about bands whose past work we’ve liked, or who look interesting for other reasons. Perhaps needless to say, these are bands that mostly fit the profile of music we cover on this site — the kind that would like to tear your head off.

So, after the jump, in alphabetical order, you’ll find our list of cut-and-pasted items from various sources since our last update about forthcoming new releases. Look for the bands you like and, if you’re really obsessive like we are, put reminders on your calendar.

ALL THAT REMAINS: “Massachusetts metallers ALL THAT REMAINS will release their fifth album,For We Are Many, on October 12 via Prosthetic Records/Razor & Tie. Songtitles set to appear on the CD include include “For We Are Many”,“Waiting”, and the album’s first single, “Hold On”. The follow-up to 2008′s Overcome“ was produced by KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz, who previously helmed ALL THAT REMAINS‘ The Fall of Ideals (2006) and This Darkened Heart (2004) releases.”

ANGRA: “Brazillian metallers ANGRA will release its seventh studio album, Aqua (a Latin word which means “water” in English), in Europe on September 29 and in the U.S. on October 12 via SPV/Steamhammer. A conceptual effort, the follow-up to 2006′s Aurora Consurgens was recorded at Norcal Studios in São Paulo, Brazil.”

AUTOPSY: “U.S. gore legends AUTOPSY will issue the The Tomb Within EP on September 13 through Peaceville Records on CD and 12-inch vinyl, with general release set for September 27. Cover art is supplied by renowned fantasy/horror artist Matt Cavotta.”

BRING ME THE HORIZON: Bring Me the Horizon‘s third album, There Is A Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let’s Keep It A Secret,will be released on the following dates: Oct. 8 – Germany, Austria, Switzerland; Oct. 4 – Rest Of Europe; Oct. 5 – USA; Oct. 6 – Japan; Oct. 8 – Australia.

DAATH: “Atlanta-based quintet DAATH will release its third, self-titled full-length album on October 26 via Century Media Records. Drummer Kevin Talley (ex-CHIMAIRA, DYING FETUS) began laying down his tracks in Atlanta on June 7 with renowned producer Mark Lewis (ALL THAT REMAINS, TRIVIUM, DEVILDRIVER) and co-producer Eyal Levi (guitar) at the helm. Commented guitarist Emil Werstler: ‘The content is EXTREMELY dark, distraught, and completely honest.’”

HAIL OF BULLETS: “HAIL OF BULLETS — the Dutch death metal band featuring GOREFEST drummer Ed Warby, THANATOS guitarists Stephan Gebédi and Paul Baayens, former PESTILENCE/ASPHYX singer Martin Van Drunen and former HOUWITSER bass player Theo van Eekelen — has set On Divine Winds as the title of its second full-length album, due in North America on October 12 via Metal Blade Records (one day earlier internationally).”

INTRONAUT: “Century Media Records has set an October 12 North American release date for Valley Of Smoke, the sophomore album from Southern California’s INTRONAUT. The follow-up to 2008′s Prehistoricisms was once again produced by Josh Newell (JANE’S ADDICTION) and it features a guest appearance by TOOL bassist Justin Chancellor.”

KYLESA: “Kylesa will release Spiral Shadow, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to their breakthrough album Static Tensions, on October 26 via Season of Mist. Recorded at the Jam Room in Columbia, SC earlier this summer, the eleven-track album was once again produced by band member and renowned producer Phillip Cope (Baroness, Withered).”

MIRROR OF DECEPTION: “Germany’s ‘doom metal kings’ MIRROR OF DECEPTION will release their fourth album, A Smouldering Fire, in October/November via via Cyclone Empire.”

MELECHESH: “The cover artwork for The Epigenesis, the forthcoming fifth album from Sumerian thrashing black metallers MELECHESH . . . was created by the U.K.-based renowned occult artist John Coulthart, who had already collaborated with MELECHESH in the past. . . .  The Epigenesis will be released on October 1 via Nuclear Blast Records.”

NEAERA: “German extreme metallers NEAERA will release their fifth album, Forging The Eclipse, on October 22 via Metal Blade Records. The drum tracks for the album were laid down at Stage One Studio with Andy Classen, while the rest of the recording process was overseen by Alexander Dietz. The mixing/mastering was handled by Tue Madsen (HEAVEN SHALL BURN, DARK TRANQUILLITY, MOONSPELL). The artwork for Forging The Eclipse was created by longtime NEAERA collaborator Terje Johnsen (KEEP OF KALESSIN).”

NECRONAUT: “NECRONAUT, the solo project of former DISMEMBER/CARNAGE drummer Fred Estby, will release its self-titled album on October 18 release via Regain Records. The cover artwork for the CD (see below) was designed by Chat Zar, who was reponsible for creating the prosthetic effects for such movies as “The Ring”, “Planet of the Apes” and “Darkman”.”

PASADENA NAPALM DIVISION: “PASADENA NAPALM DIVISION, the new band featuring members of D.R.I., DEAD HORSE and VERBAL ABUSE, will release its debut EP in September via Abyss Records.”

THE RED SHORE: “Australia’s The Red Shore will release their latest album, The Avarice of Man, in Australia on September 3.”

SOLE REMEDY: “‘Wolf In Me’, the new single from the Lahti, Finland progressive-melancholic metal band SOLE REMEDY, can be streamed using the audio player [at this location]. The song comes off the group’s new album, Apoptosis, which will be released on September 27 via Aftermath Music.”

SOUNDGARDEN: “The reunited SOUNDGARDEN will release a retrospective set, Telephantasm, on September 28. The band states, ‘It includes songs from all of our albums and EPs, including ‘Black Rain’, an unreleased track from the ‘Badmotorfinger’ sessions. Plus, we are releasing our first-ever DVD which will include never-before-seen videos, and much more.’”

SYSTEM DIVIDE: “‘The Apex Doctrine’, the new video from SYSTEM DIVIDE — the extreme modern metal act featuring Sven De Caluwé (ABORTED) and Miri Milman (ex-DISTORTED) on vocals, Cole Martinez (ex-YEARS OF FIRE, ANTENORA) and Joseph Spiller (ex-THE BINARY CODE) on guitars, Andrew Lenthe (ANTENORA) on bass, and Mike Heller (MALIGNANCY) on drums — [has been released]. . . . ‘The Apex Doctrine’ comes off SYSTEM DIVIDE‘s full-length debut, The Conscious Sedation, which is scheduled for a September 14 release via Metal Blade Records.”

TETRAFUSION: “Louisiana-based progressive metallers TETRAFUSION have inked a worldwide deal with Nightmare Records. The band’s sophomore effort, Altered State, will be released on October 26. . . .  TETRAFUSION‘s blend of complex, technical metal blended with a highly-intellectual melodic structure offers an eclectic brand of progressive rock and metal along the likes of PORCUPINE TREE, RUSH, DREAM THEATER, CYNIC, TOOL and MUSE.”

ULCERATE: “New Zealand’s Ulcerate are currently in the studio working on their third full-length album and second for Willowtip titled The Destroyers of All. . . .   Ulcerate’s The Destroyers of All will be available in early 2011.”

Fair warning: This will be one extended session of spittle-flecked frothing at the mouth, because we haven’t been this blown away since stumbling into a full-fledged Seattle windstorm last winter. So get the safety glasses on and strap on sanitary masks if you got ‘em.

The subject of our enthusiasm is Nothnegal. They’re a band from The Republic of the Maldives that now includes two non-Maldivian heavyweights — drummer Kevin Talley from Dååth and keyboardist Marco Sneck from those Finnish swamplords Kalmah. They’ve got a four-song EP to their credit called Antidote of Realism and they’ve just signed with Season of Mist for the release of their debut album early next year.

Oh yeah, they’re also playing with Arch Enemy this month and touring Europe in the fall with the likes of Rotting Christ, Samael, and Finntroll.

And we’d wager that most of you have never heard of them. Until earlier this week, we hadn’t either. But this band shows all the seismic signs of an impending Vesuvius-sized eruption onto the scene — and based on the band’s output to date, it would be well-deserved.

If you like technically immaculate, headbangingly compulsive, Scandinavian-style melodic death metal played at autobahn speed, stay with us after the jump. Among other things, we’ll stream all four tracks from that EP and we’ll show you how to download a cut from Nothnegal’s forthcoming debut album.

Long-time readers of NCS will know that we’re drawn to bands from countries that aren’t known for their metal scenes. We know how fucking difficult it is to make a career in an extreme metal band anywhere, but it seems to us that in some places, the hurdles must be even higher than in others.

The Republic of the Maldives must be one of those high-hurdle places. It’s an island nation in the Indian Ocean consisting of over 1,000 islets, about 200 of which are inhabited, spread over 90,000 square kilometers of ocean. The most populous of those islets, Malé (pictured to the right), has only about 100,000 people.

By total population, the country is the smallest in Asia, and with an average ground level of about 5 feet (1.5 metres) above sea level, it’s the lowest-lying country on the planet. According to The Font of All Human Knowledge, the highest point of land in the Maldives is only 7′ 7″ (2.3 metres) above sea level — which makes the islands especially vulnerable to tsunamis, and to anything else that causes the ocean to rise.

Rising ocean levels associated with global warming threaten one day to completely submerge the country. In fact, the current national government has set in motion plans to buy land in India, Sri Lanka, and/or Australia as the site for a new homeland. As President Mohamed Nasheed said, “”We do not want to leave the Maldives, but we also do not want to be climate refugees living in tents for decades.”

We’ve got an old friend who actually managed to visit the Maldives (it’s a serious hike to get there from the U.S.) and came back raving about its beauty and the friendliness of the people. It certainly seems to be an unusual place in many respects — but we would guess it’s not exactly the best launching pad for an extreme metal band.

Somehow, Nothnegal have succeeded in achieving lift-off.

Apparently, the band started off as an Arch Enemy and Children of Bodom cover act, and then started creating their own songs, which resulted in the Antidote of Realism EP. That EP featured Risto Ruuth from Finland’s Eternal Tears of Sorrow doing a guitar solo on “Web of Deceit” and the aforementioned Marco Sneck providing keyboards on the EP’s title track. And it was produced by Anssi Kippo, who has previously worked with Children of Bodom and Norther, among others.

You can hear the influence of all those Finns on the EP, with more than a passing resemblance to Children of Bodom. The songs feature supercharged convulsive riffing, blistering guitar solos, merciless blast beats and double-bass fills, and keyboard melodies that alternately arc over the mayhem of the other instruments and join with them in a dizzying race around the track.

The vocals on the EP add a blackened element to the style by serving up Nordic-style, acid etched viciousness, and the collective result is a powerhouse rampage filled with memorable melodies and deep, rhythmic grooves.

All the technical acrobatics wouldn’t have carried Nothnegal beyond the sinking shores of the Maldives without a talent for harnessing all that technical skill to distinctive songs, but they’ve got that, too. All four songs on Antidote are strong, marred only slightly by abrupt endings on a couple of them, and it’s not all thrash and burn.  There’s an interesting Celtic-influenced folk melody that appears via the keyboards on “Temptress of Shadows” and a repeated refrain of clean singing at the end of “Now I’ve Waken” that’s carried aloft by an anthemic melody that stuck in our heads long after the song ended.

Someone, somewhere, will probably complain that on Antidote, Nothnegal gets carried away with its stylistic homage to Finnish/Swedish MDM, to the point of mimicry. We don’t feel that way, but the band itself may. We saw this on the band’s MySpace blog, commenting on the new album that’s in the works:

We focused mostly on creating a more unique sound which differentiates us more and the result turned out to be almost something completely different from what we had with “Antidote of Realism EP” but we still managed to keep the melodic keyboard elements intact while getting them to sound darker and [more] epic than before.

We have 9 songs completed for the album and they have some really heavy/thrashy/groovy riffs, with Kevin keeping the  drums aggressive and technical while Marco have the keyboards dark and yet melodic. We are very excited about everything and impressed with outcome of the combined effort from our new lineup and the material we are coming up with this time. The songs contain a little bit of everything from thrash metal, groove metal, death metal to black metal and doom so we believe that the material is quite diverse as well. Apart from that, we have also incorporated some atmospheric ambient sounds/noises in the songs which are unique to the Maldivian environment.

We would have been quite happy with more music like what’s on Antidote, but at the same time we’re interested to see how this band continues to grow. We do have a sign of what’s to come — a single from the forthcoming album that’s available for free download from the band’s official web site. It’s called “Absolute Blood Unification”, and it does reveal some changes in the sound, though we’d call them subtle instead of dramatic.

The keyboards are still in evidence and contribute significantly to the song, but they’re less prominent in the mix than on Antidote. There’s still plenty of speed, power, and technical proficiency — and the chorus is just as infectious as the hooks on the EP. Perhaps it has something to do with Kevin Talley’s presence (whose drumwork is as physically jolting as you would expect), but this song reminds us of Dååth — and that ain’t a bad thing at all, in our book.

For comparison purposes, here’s one of the tracks from Antidote of Realism, and then after that you can hear the new song:

Nothnegal: Web of Deceit

And now here’s “Absolute Blood Unification”. If you like what you hear, we’ve put up a link below the player that will allow you to download the song for keeps.

You can download “Absolute Blood Unification” by jumping to this location.

UPDATE: Nothnegal has just created a ReverbNation page, which means we can now grab a widget that should allow you to stream all 4 songs from the EP — which is very cool, because we had a helluva time picking just one for you to hear.  Voila:

TOUR INFO

As we mentioned earlier, Nothnegal is scheduled to support Arch Enemy on their first-ever performance in the Maldives on July 23, and Kevin Tally and Marco Sneck will be performing for the first time in the band’s lineup for that show.

We also mentioned that Nothnegal will be joining a totally ass-kicking European tour this fall with their new label-mates Rotting Christ, Samael, Metsatöll, and Finntroll. If we weren’t so fucking far away, we’d be there in a heartbeat. Here are the tour dates:

26.11.2010 BE – Vosselaar, Biebob
27.11.2010 DE – Essen, Turock
28.11.2010 NL – Leuwaarden, Romein Popodium
29.11.2010 DE – Hamburg, Markthalle
30.11.2010 DE – Braunschweig, Meier Music Hall
01.12.2010 DE – Ludwigsburg, Rockfabrik
02.12.2010 DE – Berlin, K17
03.12.2010 DE – Leipzig, Hellraiser
04.12.2010 DE – Lichtenfels, Metal Meeting
05.12.2010 CZ – Zlin, Masters of Rock Cafe
06.12.2010 HU – Budapest, Wigwam
07.12.2010 SI – Ljubljana, Kino Siska
08.12.2010 IT – Milan, Generali Magazzini
09.12.2010 AT – Wien, Szene
10.12.2010 DE – Munich, Backstage
11.12.2010 AT – Kufstein, Kulturfabrik
12.12.2010 CH – Pratteln, Z7
13.12.2010 FR – Lyon, Ninkasi Kao
14.12.2010 ES – Barcelona, Salamandra
15.12.2010 ES – Madrid, Heineken
16.12.2010 FR – Toulouse, Phare
17.12.2010 FR – Limoges, CC John Lennon
18.12.2010 NL – Eindhoven, Eindhoven Metal Meeting
19.12.2010 DE – Frankfurt, Batschkapp

We’re now five months into 2010, and it’s time for another monthly update to the list of forthcoming new albums we first posted on January 1. (All the other updates can be found via the “Forthcoming Albums” category link on the right side of our pages.)  Below is a list of still more projected new releases we didn’t know about at the time of our previous updates, or updated info about some of the previously noted releases.

Once again, we’ve cobbled together news blurbs about bands whose past work we’ve liked, or who look interesting for other reasons. Needless to say (but we’ll say it anyway), these are bands that mostly fit the profile of music we cover on this site.

So, in alphabetical order, here’s our list of cut-and-pasted blurbs from various sources since our last update about forthcoming new releases. Look for the bands you like and put reminders on your calendar. Or if you’re old school like us, just get ‘em tattooed someplace you can see without a mirror (because reading stuff backwards is hard).

THE ACACIA STRAIN: “Western Massachusetts’ chuggernauts The Acacia Strain, have completed work on their new album, which will be released July 20th in North American and August 2nd in Europe via Prosthetic Records.”

ATHEIST: “Reactivated seminal technical metal pioneers ATHEIST will enter LedBelly studios in Atlanta, Georgia on July 5 to begin recording their long-awaited, as-yet-untitled fourth album. Engineering the session will be Matt Washburn. Additionally, the band has secured the services of one of metal’s most significant talents of the past decade, Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA, DEVILDRIVER), to handle the mixing of what promises to be a modern classic from the pioneers of technical metal. . . . ATHEIST‘s forthcoming album is tentatively scheduled for a late 2010 release and will be followed by a world tour in 2011.”   (more after the jump . . .)

THE AUTUMN OFFERING: “The Autumn Offering is nearing completion of the recording process for their new self-titled album. Vocals are currently being tracked and the effort will be mixed by Pete Rutcho (Bury Your Dead) in June. A September release via Victory Records is planned.”

BONDED BY BLOOD: “‘Blood Spilled Offerings’, a new song from Pomona, California thrashers BONDED BY BLOOD, is available for streaming on the band’s MySpace page. According to a press release, the track is ‘a charging juggernaut of a song that gives a look at the inner workings of the Crong. They are the alien race that have taken control of future Earth in the band’s original sci-fi tale. ‘Blood Spilled Offerings’ comes off BONDED BY BLOOD‘s upcoming sophomore album, Exiled To Earth, which is set 600 years in the future and tells the tale of the Crong, an alien race who were sent to Earth long ago with one goal: global domination. A skilled group of warriors must now face the impossible and overthrow the Crong to take back our planet. Exiled To Earth will be available in North America on August 10 via Earache Records.”

BRUTUS: “Dutch death metallers BRUTUS have inked a deal with Unique Leader Records and Deity Down Records for the release of their sophomore album, Murwgebeukt (Total Loss). Due on July 20 in Europe via Deity Down in collaboration with Alpha Prime Music and Unique Leader Records in the rest of the world, the CD was recorded with drummer Ploegbaas, who took his own life shortly after the sessions were completed. A song from the album, “Lijdensweg” (Living Hell), is available for streaming on the band’s MySpace profile.”

BURDEN OF GRIEF: “German melodic death/thrash metallers BURDEN OF GRIEF will release their new album, Follow The Flames, on July 2 in Europe via Massacre Records. The follow-up to 2007′s Death End Road will contain 10 new songs. The limited-edition version of the CD will include a bonus disc featuring cover versions of eight metal classics. The album was mixed and mastered by Swedish producer/multi-instrumentalist Dan Swanö (EDGE OF SANITY, OPETH, DISSECTION, BLOODBATH). The cover artwork was created by Gustavo Sazes (ARCH ENEMY, SONIC SYNDICATE, GOD FORBID).”

COPROLITH: “Finnish ‘blackened death metallers’ COPROLITH will release their full-length debut, Cold Grief Relief, on June 17 via Violent Journey Records. The CD was recorded at Cut Circle Studio by Roland Nordström and was mixed by Jonas Eriksson at Second Floor Studio.”

DAATH: “Always one determined to abide by no preconceived industry standards and stray far from conventionality are the Atlanta based quintet Daath, who against all odds triumphantly return and enter the studio early next month to begin tracking their highly anticipated third full-length release. The drumming phenom Kevin Talley (ex-Chimaira, Dying Fetus) begins tracking in Atlanta on June 7th with renowned producer Mark Lewis (All That Remains, Trivium, Devildriver) and co-producer Eyal Levi (guitars) at the helm. . . . ‘We’re currently in the final stages of pre-production and begin recording with Mark Lewis on June 7th here in Atlanta. The release is planned for this fall.’”

EQUILIBRIUM: “Verbrannte Erde, a brand new song from German pagan/folk metallers EQUILIBRIUM, is available for streaming on the band’s MySpace page. The track comes off the group’s new album, Rekreatur, which is scheduled for release on June 18 via Nuclear Blast Records.”

GRAVE: “Swedish death metal legends GRAVE will release their new album, Burial Ground, on June 14 via Regain Records.”

HASTE THE DAY: “Indiana-based Christian metalcore band HASTE THE DAY will release its new album, Attack Of The Wolf King, on June 29 via Solid State Records. A brand new song from the album, “Dog Like Vultures”, is available for streaming via the band’s MySpace page.”

HATE: “Polish extreme metallers HATE will enter Hertz Studio in Bialystok, Poland on June 5 to begin recording their new album, Erebos, for a late 2010 release via Listenable Records. Erebos, which comes from ancient Greek and means literally “deep darkness” or shadow, will contain at least nine new songs, which are said to be a fusion of blackened death metal, industrial and ambient sounds, deathcore and heavy metal.”

HELMET: In a recent interview, vocalist/guitarist Page Hamilton of the alternative metal legends HELMET said that the release of the band’s new album (Seeing Eye Dog) “has actually been pushed back to August 24 as we try to finish artwork and finalize the tracks.”

HORNED ALMIGHTY: “Danish black metallers HORNED ALMIGHTY have finished recording their fourth album, Necro Spirituals, for a late 2010 release via Candlelight Records. The effort will once again be mixed and mastered by Jacob Bredahl (LAST MILE, ex-HATESPHERE), who previously worked with the band on last year’s Contaminating The Divine CD.”

IMMORTAL: “Norwegian black metallers IMMORTAL will release a concert DVD, The Seventh Date Of Blashyrkh, this summer via Nuclear Blast. The disc will include professionally filmed video footage of the band’s headlining performance at the 2007 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival, which was held August 2-4, 2007 in Wacken, Germany.”

IN THIS MOMENT: “Century Media Records has set a July 13 U.S. release date for A Star Crossed Wasteland, the third album from Southern California’s IN THIS MOMENT. The CD was recorded at The Wolves Den studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with producer Kevin Churko (OZZY OSBOURNE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH).”

ISIS/MELVINS: “The split 12″ from Isis and Melvins has now been slated for a July 13th release via Hydra Head Records. The split will feature two songs from each band. The Isis tracks are amongst the last recorded output to be released by the band. Both were recorded during sessions for the band’s Wavering Radiant album. Meanwhile, Melvins’ contribution is comprised of two tracks from their latest full-length, The Bride Screamed Murder. However, said tracks have been remixed and reworked.’”

KATAKLYSM: “Canadian death metallers KATAKLYSM have completed the recording process for their new album, Heaven’s Venom, for an August 24 release (one day earlier internationally) via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2008′s Prevail was produced by KATAKLYSM guitarist Jean-Francois Dagenais (MALEVOLENT CREATION, MISERY INDEX) and is currently being mixed by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, MNEMIC, DARK TRANQUILLITY).”

KYLESA: “Between extensive tours of Europe, Kylesa will enter the studio on May 31 to begin recording the follow-up to the critically-acclaimed album Static Tensions. The new album is the band’s debut for Season of Mist Records. The sessions will take place over the month of June at the legendary Jam Room in Columbia, SC with Phillip Cope (Baroness, Withered) at the helm as producer.”

MUSHROOMHEAD: “In a March 2010 interview with the ’Iron City Rocks’ podcast, Jeffrey Nothing revealed that the working title of MUSHROOMHEAD‘s new album is Slaughterhouse Road. The band recently finished mixing the CD for a tentative late August/early September release via Megaforce. Produced by co-founding member and drummer Steve ‘Skinny’ Felton, the album promises to be the band’s ‘most violent- and epic-sounding to date!’”

PRIMORDIAL: In an interview with The Obelisk (here), Primordial frontman Alan ‘Nemtheanga’ Averill disclosed that the Irish black/folk metal band plans to record its next album in June, with a  release projected for September or October 2010.

RAMESSES: “The psychedelic doom trio RAMESSES was spawned in the woodland of Dorset, England in 2003, and has been brutalizing its devoted fanbase ever since . . . . 2010 brings the next slab of raging doom from RAMESSES, in the form of their second mammoth full-length release, Take The Curse, which is set to infect the general public on the 2010 Summer Solstice, June 21. Releasing the album is new label Ritual Productions; the label formed by the band’s management.”

SERENITY DIES: “Melodic thrashers SERENITY DIES will release the Hacksawcracy EP on July 15, 2010. Taking inspiration from the likes of MEGADETH and METALLICA with a uniquely modern twist that emphasizes memorable songwriting, surgically precise riffing, and one hell of a rhythmic punch, the Maldives-based act sprints out of the blocks with refreshing vigor. The EP features guest appearances by Rob Caggiano (ANTHRAX) and Mikko Salovaara (KIUAS) who perform guitar solos on “Psycho Ride” and “Dystopian Law”, respectively.”

SEVERE TORTURE: “Dutch death metallers SEVERE TORTURE will release their fifth full-length album, Slaughtered, on June 29 (one day earlier internationally) via Season of Mist. The CD was recorded at Split Second Sound Studios in Amsterdam with producer Jochem Jacobs.”

SODOM: “The band will enter the studio during the coming months to begin recording its new album for a late 2010 release. Bassist/vocalist Thomas “Angelripper” Such recently stated about the group’s new material, ‘There has never been a SODOM album which is so wide-ranged, as powerful and as typically SODOM as this one.’”

SOTAJUMALA: ““Paratiisin kutsu” (The Call of Paradise), the new video from Finnish metallers SOTAJUMALA [is now available for viewing]. The song comes off the band’s new album Kuolemanpalvelus, which is scheduled for release on June 2 through Cobra Records. The CD was recorded at Studio Audio and Basement Alliance studios in Jyväskylä, Finland while the mastering was handled by Svante Forsbäck at Chartmakers in Helsinki. Kuolemanpalvelus is available for streaming in its entirety for a limited time at the Record Shop X web site.”

SPECIAL DEFECTS: “Meshuggah guitarist Fredrik Thordendal recently began recording material for his second album (the first as Fredrik Thordendal’s Special Defects in 1997). The effort will likely be available later this year. Among those contributing to the album is Soilwork drummer Dirk Verbeuren.”

VINDICATOR: “Midwest thrash maniacs VINDICATOR will release their sophomore album,The Antique Witcheries, on August 10 via Heavy Artillery Records. . . . The Antique Witcheries is described in a press release as ‘a masterpiece of modern thrash metal mayhem sure to please fans of DARK ANGEL, TESTAMENT andEXODUS.’”

WHITECHAPEL: ““Breeding Violence”, a brand new song from Knoxville, Tennessee death metallers WHITECHAPEL, is available for streaming . . . . The track comes off the group’s third album, A New Era Of Corruption, due on June 8 via Metal Blade Records.”

ZOROASTER: “Atlanta, Georgia’s “psych metal” band ZOROASTER has completed work on its sophomore album, Matador, for a July 13 North American release via E1 Music.”

Cerebral Metalhead is a blog we like to visit because it often turns us on to new music we don’t encounter elsewhere and because the album reviews are so well-written. On our latest visit, we read a glowing review of a self-released album called Monolith by an unsigned Atlanta prog-metal band named From Exile. So we quickly got the album, and we gotta agree — this is an amazing piece of work, and we feel compelled to help spread the word.

At its core, From Exile are two very talented guitarists — Eric Guenther and Ben Wetzelberger. On Monolith, they are joined on drums by the ever-awesome Kevin Talley from Daath. And the Daath connection doesn’t stop there. Eyal Levi co-produced the album with Guenther, handled the mixing chores, and provided a guest guitar solo on a song called “In the Faded Silence.” And the Daath connection still doesn’t stop there: Guitarist extraordinaire Emil Werstler added another guest guitar solo on “Apparition.”

Basically, with magnificent help from Talley’s accomplished drumwork, Monolith is a 32-minute treatise on guitar metal. If you found yourself on Pandora with nothing but an electric guitar and you were trying to explain it to one of those blue Na’vi, we imagine the conversation would go something like this: “Yeah, that neural thing you got on the end of your braid is pretty cool, but this thing is a fuckin’ electric guitar, and if you wanna know all the sounds it can make, slot your braid into my iPod and listen to Monolith.” (read more after the jump, and listen to a track . . .)

That may be a slight exaggeration, but only a sight one. The album threads together arena-rock riffs, sublimely beautiful meditations, heavy-as-shit headbanging chuggery, blistering solos, and soaring anthems — among other things. Sometimes one guitar, sometimes two playing in harmony or at counterpoint, this is a work created by people who love the instrument and damn-well know how to use it, and the songs are intelligently constructed to make full use of that knowledge.

A few of the songs include electronically altered vocals, but this is really one long instrumental work, with each song bleeding seamlessly and without pause into the next. As the songs shift in tempo and texture, they evoke a range of feelings and beautiful images. We think of it as the sonic equivalent of those time-lapse films of massive open skies that rapidly display dramatic changes in the weather and the light over the space of a single day. Every time I listen to it, a goofy grin comes over my face. (Correction: a goofier than usual grin.)

Two years in the making, Monolith is quite evidently the product of a shitload of thought, work, and attention to detail. Among other things, the album includes judicious use of various electronic effects, classical acoustic guitar interludes, piano outros, and strings — but nothing happens that isn’t intelligently calculated to contribute meaningfully and effectively to the whole listening experience. And it all works.

It’s evident that we’re completely bowled over by this album. Monolith is the kind of music that appeals to both the right and the left sides of the brain — plus the reptile part that produces convulsive headbanging.

Picking any one song as a sample of the whole is hard, particularly because each one is simply a movement in a well-constructed symphony, but here you go. Have a listen to the first track on Monolith — and if you like what you hear, the whole album is available for immediate download (at a reasonable price) at From Exile’s website.

From Exile: Arrival

P.S.  Attention record label geniuses:  Someone go sign Eric and Ben so they can afford to fill out the line-up for a touring band and come play for us in Seattle.

We’re now almost two months into 2010, and it’s already time for our second update to the list of forthcoming new albums we posted on January 1.  (See the original list here and the first update here.) Below is a list of still more projected new releases that we didn’t know about on January 1 or at the time of our last update about a month ago — and there’s a lot of them.

Once again, we’ve cobbled together news blurbs about bands whose past work we’ve liked, or who look interesting for other reasons. Needless to say (but we’ll say it anyway), these are bands that mostly fit the profile of music we cover on this site.

So, in alphabetical order, here’s our list of cut-and-pasted blurbs from various sources over the last month about forthcoming new releases:

1349: “Prosthetic Records will release the brand new album from Norwegian black metal legends 1349 in North America via an agreement with Indie Recordings. The new CD, which promises ‘a return to the band’s more traditional, raw-yet-technical black metal sound,’ is due on April 13. In support of the yet-to-be-titled record, 1349 will embark on a North American tour in April and May as the support act for CANNIBAL CORPSE (alongside SKELETONWITCH and LECHEROUS NOCTURNE).”

ABACABB: “ABACABB are currently out on the road headlining the Hot Dice On Black Ice Tour featuring Upon A Burning Body!. The tour just hit Texas and will be in California this weekend. Following the tour ABACABB will enter the studio with producer Will Putney at Machine Shop in New Jersey and will have a new album to be released sometime this summer.”

AEON: “Swedish death metallers AEON have set Path Of Fire as the title of their third album, due later in the year via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded in September 2009 at Empire Studio in Östersund, Sweden and was mixed the following month at Mana Recording Studios in St, Petersburg, Florida by Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, MORBID ANGEL, CANNIBAL CORPSE). The mastering was handled by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (CONVERGE, HATEBREED, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN) in New Windsor, New York.”

AMORPHIS: “AMORPHIS will release its first-ever live DVD, Forging The Land Of Thousand Lakes, in early June via Nuclear Blast, in time for the band’s 20th anniversary. The filming took place on November 20, 2009 at Club Teatria in Oulu, Finland, where AMORPHIS was supported by STRATOVARIUS and BEFORE THE DAWN. In addition to the full-length live show, the anniversary DVD will include plenty of bonus material documenting the band’s impressive career.”   (much more after the jump . . . )

ANTERIOR: “Welsh metallers ANTERIOR have announced the addition of drummer James Cook to the group’s ranks. ANTERIOR is planning to enter the studio in early 2010 with producer Scott Atkins (SYLOSIS, ROMEO MUST DIE, MADMAN IS ABSOLUTE) to begin recording the follow-up to 2007′s This Age Of Silence for a late 2010 release via Metal Blade Records.”

ARMA GATHAS: “The eminent metal outfit ARMA GATHAS has just signed an exclusive worldwide deal with Metal Blade Records. The band’s debut, Dead To This World, will be released the 23rd/26th of April in Europe and the 27th of April in North America. Arma Gathas, consisting of former Cataract guitarist Simon Fülleman, ex-Born From Pain singer Ché Snelting, Machinemade God and ex-Cornelius guitarist Marc Niedersberg, ex-Disloyal drummer and talented drum student Max van Winkelhof and Alex Härtel on bass, recorded their debut album Dead To This World in November 2009 at the Barracs Studios together with Sky Hoff as a producer, who worked with Caliban in the past. Mastering was done by the legendary Alan Douches at the West West Side Studio in New York together with Simon in early-December.”

BLACK ANVIL: “New York’s BLACK ANVIL recently entered Mark “The Animal” Mendoza‘s (TWISTED SISTER) studio in Long Island with engineer “General” George Fullan (THE ROLLING STONES, DREAM THEATER) to begin recording its sophomore album. Entitled Triumvirate, the follow-up to Time Insults The Mind will include the tracks “The Evil Of All Roots”, “What Is Life If Not Now!”, “Angels To Dust”, “Ultimate Reality”, “With Transparent Blood” and “Dead and Left”. . . . A late spring release via Relapse Records is expected.”

BLEEDING THROUGH: “Orange County, California’s BLEEDING THROUGH will release its new self-titled album on April 13 via the Portland, Oregon-based independent record label Rise Records. The CD was recorded at Planet Z Studios in Hadley, Massachusetts with producer Chris “Zeuss” Harris, who has previously worked with MUNICIPAL WASTE, AGNOSTIC FRONT and HATEBREED, among others.”

BRAIN DRILL: “In preparation for their recently completed, second full-length album Quantum Catastrophe, Santa Cruz, CA technical death metallers BRAIN DRILL have completely redesigned their MySpace page to feature the cover art created by Par Olofsson(www.parolofsson.se). In addition to the complete overhaul of the band’s page, BRAIN DRILL have also posted the new track “Monumental Failure”. Quantum Catastrophe will be available everywhere on May 11th.”

BURNING THE MASSES: “California metal band BURNING THE MASSES has officially added vocalist Cameron Argon (aka “Big Chocolate”) to their line-up. Argon replaces David Montenegro, who parted ways with the group in December. The group’s new album, Offspring Of Time, will hit stores this summer via Mediaskare Records.”

CANCER BATS: “Canada’s hardcore/metal band CANCER BATS has posted a brand new track titled “Scared To Death” on the group’s MySpace page. The song is taken from CANCER BATS‘s forthcoming album, Bears, Mayors, Scraps and Bones, which will be released in the United States and Canada on April 13. CANCER BATS has also announced that it will issue a digital EP ahead of the album release. The EP will contain “Scared To Death” and the band’s take on the BEASTIE BOYS classic “Sabotage”. It will be available from iTunes as of March 1.”

CAVALERA CONSPIRACY: “Former SEPULTURA members Max (guitar, vocals) and Igor Cavalera (drums) will return to the studio in April 2010 to begin recording the follow-up to CAVALERA CONSPIRACY‘s 2008 debut album, Inflikted. A late 2010 release via Roadrunner Records is expected.”

DAATH: “Atlanta-based extreme metal quintet DAATH has commenced work on the follow-up to last year’s The Concealers for a late 2010 release via Century Media Records. Commented the band: ‘Unpredictability and chaos are two themes defining the times we live in. Everything about DAATH‘s career has been married to these themes. We’ve accepted them as beautiful and have learned to love the ride. Despite the chaos there is one thing that is for certain: we will always be pushing the boundaries of what we do. This fall we will bring you a record you are not expecting to hear from us. This venture will have more to offer than our previous efforts.’”

DARKTHRONE: “The unrelenting Norwegian duo, DARKTHRONE, will welcome a new decade with a new album, to be released on Peaceville Records. Circle The Wagons, a creative feast of metal and punk, will initially be released on vinyl on March 8th, through the Peaceville Records webstore, as an exclusive taster for the legions of metal supporters out there who still care about great music delivered the classic way.  The vinyl will also include a link to download a digital version of the album, which will be available when the regular and special edition CD versions of the album are released on April 6th.”

DEAD BEYOND BURIED: “U.K. death metallers DEAD BEYOND BURIED will release their second album, Inheritors Of Hell, on April 5 through Siege Of Amida Records. The CD was recorded and a produced by the bandmembers themselves and was mastered by Tim Turan (BEHEMOTH, CANNIBAL CORPSE). The cover artwork was designed by Khaosart (MORBID ANGEL).”

DEAD SHAPE FIGURE: “Finnish modern thrash/death-influenced metal band DEAD SHAPE FIGURE will perform material from its recenty completed second album, The Disease Of St. Vitus, for the first time on March 26 at Vernissa in Tikkurila, Finland. . . . The Disease Of St. Vitus is scheduled for release in late April via Dynamic Arts Records.”

DEMON HUNTER: “The World Is A Thorn, the new album from Seattle-based Christian metallers DEMON HUNTER, is scheduled for release on March 9. The band’s fifth album follows the landmark documentary 45 Days, last year’s Live In Nashville collection and a catalog of landmark releases that have made the band one of the most important in the genre.”

EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT: “EMBRYONIC DEVOURMENT have just finished recording their newest full length titled Vivid Interpretations of the Void. The new release will feature 8  songs recorded by engineer Juan Urteaga of Trident Studios. To catch a sneak peek of new music, head to their MySpace where the band has posted 2 of the new tracks – ‘Militarized Reptoids’ and ‘Darken Thy Fluids’.”

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE: “Rome, Italy-based death metal band FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE has completed work on a new EP entitled Mafia at 16th Cellar Studios in the group’s hometown with producer Stefano “Saul” Morabito. The CD will be released on June 8 via Willowtip Records.”

THE FUNERAL PYRE: “California death metal/black metal outfit THE FUNERAL PYRE is currently recording their next album. The group has issued the following update: ‘We have eight songs tracked (drums only) and are shooting for the end of this week to wrap all of the drums up. Then, we’ll start the guitars and proceed from there. I can give you two song titles, one of which we’ve played live, “Vultures” and “Monolith” are two tracks that will be on the record. We’re still mulling over what the name of the record will be.’ The effort is expected to surface this summer via Prosthetic Records.”

GUS DRAX: “22-year-old Greek guitarist Gus Drax (BIOMECHANICAL, PARADOX) has posted two songs — “Kiss Of Life” and “In Loving Memory” — from his upcoming solo album, In Search Of Perfection. The CD will feature guest appearances by keyboardist/guitarist Bob Katsionis (FIREWIND,OUTLOUD) and Steve Smyth (FORBIDDEN, ex-NEVERMORE,TESTAMENT).”

KALMAH: “Finnish metallers KALMAH will film a video for the song “12 Gauge” later this week. The clip will make its online debut in late February/early March. “12 Gauge” is the title track of KALMAH‘s sixth album, which is scheduled for release on March 3 via Spinefarm Records. The CD, which which will be made available in Japan on February 24, was recorded between June and August 2009 at Tico Tico studio in Kemi, Finland and was mastered at the Cutting Room in Sweden.”

KATATONIA: “Swedish masters of melancholy KATATONIA will release a new EP, The Longest Day, on March 15 via Peaceville Records. In addition to the album cut “The Longest Year”, the EP features the previously unreleased song “Sold Heart”, “Day And Then The Shade” (remix), and an alternative version of “Idle Blood”.”

LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR: “Emerging from the caustic burrows of Chicago comes the monolith of metal known as LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR, a sonic ‘fuck you’ to the current trends and sub-genres of metal who carry the torch of metal’s roots (CELTIC FROST, SLAYER, MOTÖRHEAD) with a death breath of fresh air, and spitting gas on the flames. The Greek mythology-inspired carnage continues on LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR‘s upcoming fourth full-length, Evil Power. The CD and digital download will be released on April 13, 2010 on The Grind-House Records.”

LEVY/WERSTLER: “DAATH‘s Eyal Levi and Emil Werstler will unleash their new collaboration, Avalanche Of Worms, on April 20 via Magna Carta Records. Both accomplished guitarists, their interplay allows Levi’s compositional style and Werstler’ virtuosic guitar abilities to compliment each other fully; this unique alchemy prevents this album from being classified under any one genre. ‘We work in metal but the vibe of this is just coming from somewhere else,’ Werstler says. ‘It’s hard to put your finger on what it is. . . . Drummer Sean Reinert (CYNIC, ex-DEATH) proves yet again to be unparalleled in his intensity and musicality.’”

M.A.N.: “M.A.N — the group formed out of the ashes of Sweden’s TRANSPORT LEAGUE (featuring former MNEMIC frontman Tony Jelencovich) — has posted a new song, “Logocide”, on the band’s MySpace page. The track comes off M.A.N‘s third album, Massive Audio Nerve, which will be released on March 26 via the German label Tiefdruck Musik.”

OBLIGE: “OBLIGE is proud to announce the addition of bassist Mike Bodkins (ex-Suicide Silence) and rhythm guitarist Greg Pewthers (ex-Impending Doom).  The band has been extremely busy finishing up their new album, with plans to record and release this year. A pre-production track has been premiered online, and can be found over at www.myspace.com/oblige. In addition, OBLIGE has also respectfully parted ways with former label Stillborn Records.”

THE ORDER OF APOLLYON: “THE ORDER OF APOLLYON, the new black/death metal project featuring current/former members of ABORTED, AKERCOCKE and CRADLE OF FILTH, has inked a three-album deal with Listenable Records. The band’s debut album, The Flesh, is scheduled for release in April.”

OV HELL: “The Underworld Regime, the debut album from OV HELL — the new black metal project featuring DIMMU BORGIR vocalist Shagrath and ex-GORGOROTH bassist King — will be released in North America on April 13 via Prosthetic Records. . . . The Underworld Regime was released in Europe on February 8 via Indie Recordings. The CD was recorded at Earshot Studio and features Shagrath on vocals, King on bass, Frost (SATYRICON) on drums, Ice Dale (ENSLAVED) on guitar and Teloch (NIDINGR, GOD SEED) on guitar.”

PATHOLOGY: “Recently signed to Victory Records, San Diego ’s PATHOLOGY will enter Doubletime Studios today to record their label debut. The band feels very comfortable there with producer/engineer Jeff Forrest, having worked together on the group’s previous recordings. Doubletime has been going for 20 years and has a great and diverse client list including As I Lay Dying, Atreyu and Bleeding Through. Upon completion of the tracks, the album will be mixed in March by Hate Eternal guitarist Erik Rutan at his Mana Studios (Cannibal Corpse, Vital Remains) for an anticipated early summer release.”

PURIFIED IN BLOOD: “Norwegian metallers PURIFIED IN BLOOD have set Under Black Skies as the title of their sophomore full-length album, tentatively due this spring. The CD was mixed in Seattle, Washington mixing with Matt Bayles (MASTODON, ISIS, BOTCH).”

SLUMBER: “Swedish melodic doom/death metallers SLUMBER have finished recording the instrumental parts for their new album, entitled Resonance, at Panic Room Studios in Skara, Sweden for a tentative late spring release.”

SOLUTION .45: “Swedish/Finnish progressive metal “supergroup” SOLUTION .45, which features in its ranks former SCAR SYMMETRY vocalist Christian Älvestam and Jani Stefanovic (MISERATION, ESSENCE OF SORROW), will release its debut album, entitled For Aeons Past, on April 9 in Europe via AFM Records.”

SOREPTION: “Swedish death metallers SOREPTION have had their album release date for Deterioration Of Minds pushed back to March 10. To offset the delay, two new clips from the album are up for prelistening on their MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/soreption. More clips from the album will be posted closer to the release.”  (Yeah, we already included these dudes in one of the earlier “forthcoming” lists, but we’re so hot for the full-length we thought we’d include this update here — bummer though it is.)

SUFFOKATE: “SUFFOKATE will release its new album, “No Mercy, No Forgiveness”, on February 23 via Mediaskare Records. . . . SUFFOKATE has amassed a rabid and extremely loyal following since releasing the band’s self-financed debut in 2004. Since then, the group has refined its lineup and sound to an amalgamation of angst-ridden hardcore, fused with a Bay Area thrash backbone.”

SHINING: “SHINING has completed work on its seventh album, “Shining VII – Född Förlorare” (English translation: “Born Loser”), for a March/April release via Indie Recordings. . . . According to vocalist Niklas “Kvarforth” Olsson, “Shining VII – Född Förlorare” will see SHINING ‘tak[ing] a deep dive into the darkest of all musical genres you could imagine.’”

THE SWORD: “THE SWORD entered the studio earlier in the month [February] with producer Matt Bayles (MASTODON, ISIS, MINUS THE BEAR) to begin recording its third album for a late 2010 release via Kemado Records.”

THULCANDRA: “THULCANDRA — the reactivated German black/death metal band featuring members of OBSCURA, DARK FORTRESS and HELFAHRT — has tapped Kristian Wåhlin (a.k.a. Necrolord; AT THE GATES, DISSECTION, EDGE OF SANITY, EMPEROR, DARK FUNERAL, SACRAMENTUM) to create the artwork for the group’s new album, Fallen Angels Dominion. The CD was recorded at Woodshed Studios with producers V. Santura and Steffen Kummerer for a 2010 release via Napalm Records.”

TRIDENT: “TRIDENT, the Swedish death metal band formed by guitarist Johan Norman (DISSECTION, SOULREAPER), will release its long-awaited debut album, World Destruction, on March 22 via Regain Records. The CD was recorded at Andy La Rocque‘s (KING DIAMOND) Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden. . . . Three songs from the CD — “Slaves To Anguish”, “World Destruction”and “Jaws Of Satan” — are available for streaming on the group’sMySpace page.”

WORLD UNDER BLOOD: “WORLD UNDER BLOOD, the melodic death metal side project featuring CKY guitarist/vocalist Deron Miller alongside Tim Yeung (DIVINE HERESY, VITAL REMAINS, HATE ETERNAL) on drums, Risha Eryavec (DECREPIT BIRTH) on bass, and Luke Jaeger on guitar, is continuing work on its debut album, “Tactical”, for a tentative July release via Nuclear Blast Records.”

We didn’t start this blog site until Nov 23 last year.  So when metal bands were releasing albums earlier in 2009, we weren’t around to publicly flap our gums about them. We’ve been trying to make up for lost time by occasionally writing about bands whose 2009 releases really made an impression on us.

Today we’re writing about a band from Toulouse, France called Eryn Non Dae, and their striking 2009 full-length debut, Hydra Lernaïa — an album unlike anything else we heard last year and one of our favorites.

The band was also kind enough to participate in an interview by e-mail, and we’ll run that in Part 2 of this post tomorrow. We tried to come up with some unusual questions, and what we got back was consistent with the music these dudes create.  They didn’t just dash off the first thoughts that popped into their heads — they took their time, and their answers are thoughtful, intelligent, thought-provoking and far from run of the mill. Definitely come back here tomorrow and check it out.

In the meantime, if you’re not familiar with the band, allow us to introduce you to them and to the unique album they dropped on an unsuspecting world last year. (continue reading after the jump . . .)

Originally formed in 2001 under the name “END,” Eryn Non Dae subsequently changed vocalists, recorded an EP in 2005 called Never Ending Whirl of Confusion, and released Hydra Lernaïa last summer.  Before that release, the band signed to Metal Blade records and changed their name to Eryn Non Dae, while hanging on to the acronym END (which we’ll also use here).

Hydra Lernaïa is an ambitious, dark, densely layered, often violent undertaking. It explores nine destructive emotions that human beings try to control or eliminate but that, like the many heads of the mythical hydra, persist in coming back. Driven by that concept, the band sought to make the album a single, integrated listening experience, instead of just a collection of unconnected songs — and they succeeded. While each song can be heard standing alone, interesting things happen emotionally when you listen to the album straight through.

END’s sound on Hydra Lernaïa reflects the acknowledged influence of Meshuggah in the complexity of the drumwork, the math-metal rhythmic complexity and tempo shifting, and the staccato bursts of heavy chugging in the riffs. But the music has a less controlled, more chaotic, more emotional feel to it than we get from much of Meshuggah’s repertoire. Alternating between brutal headbanging heaviness and shrieking turbulent intricacy, the music has a very experimental, discordant, anarchic vibe. It’s dense, intense, grim, sharply angled, and often surreal.

Mathieu Nogues‘s vocals are reminiscent of the kind of higher-range hardcore vocals you’ll find in Converge, but include spoken-word interludes, chanting, and electronically altered passages — all geared toward combining with the instrumental work to create a particular mood or emotional impact, whether it be rage, fear, despair, or resignation.

Most of the songs are fast and furious, but even the real pummeling blasters include unexpected, slower instrumental interludes or concluding passages that bring a pronounced prog-metal or doom flavor to the banquet. “Lam Tsol Oua” is a purely instrumental piece that begins with bleak ambient noise and evolves into a moody, synthesizer-driven melody, while the concluding song, “Pure,” is a discordant, mid-tempo, experimental piece that clocks in at over 10 minutes in length and displays little of the tempo-shifting so much in evidence elsewhere on the album. It’s more a series of variations on an a drone-oriented apocalyptic theme.

Hydra Lernaïa is an adventure in the unexpected. It’s obviously the product of considerable thought, extensive work, and a high level of technical proficiency in the playing — nothing less could have succeeded in realizing on such an ambitious game-plan. This is dark math metal with brains as well as brawn, and emotional power as well as rigorous complexity. And in that sense, Hydra Lernaïa achieves a kind of “balance,” but it is “balance” at its most extreme.

Not long ago we read a superb piece posted by Daath‘s Eyal Levi on the Metal Sucks site. Among other things, he said this:

“The more I go on the more I appreciate and respect bands that play real music, whether or not I listen to them. . . . Most people in bands completely underestimate the audience. They think that they need to dumb down their sound to make it suitable for mass consumption. . . . Seems like people forget that this is metal, not pop or mainstream radio rock. . . . You can do whatever you want in music, just be great and honest with it and at it, and the audience will come. True artistry wins. . . . I’m hoping this means that we’re transitioning into an era in metal where bands that have real, challenging, fearless music to offer are taking the cake.”

When he wrote this, Eyal could have been talking about Eryn Non Dae. Hydra Lernaïa is “real, challenging, fearless” music. We’re anxious to see what these dudes do next.

Before you go, check out this artistic video of END’s “The Decline and the Fall.”  Its swirling colors and flashes of disturbing images suit the music quite well. And be sure to come back to NCS tomorrow for our interview with END in Part 2 of this feature. You’ll find some interesting info about where END has been, where it’s going, the band’s creative process, and even some interesting recommendations for other metal being produced in France.

VIDEO “The decline and the fall” !!!!

Eryn Non Dae. New WEBSHOP!!! | MySpace Music Videos

This past weekend we finished dribbling out our list of the Ten Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs of 2010. Here’s the final line-up:

1.  Asphyx: Sorbutics

2.  Mastodon: Crack the Skye

3.  Amorphis: Silver Bride

4. Goatwhore: Apocalyptic Havoc

5.  August Burns Red: Meridian

6.  Pelican: Ephemeral

7.  Scale the Summit: Age of the Tide

8.  Daath: Wilting On the Vine

9.  Molotov Solution: The Harbinger

10. Revocation: Dismantling the Dictator

Yes, the list is finished — and for your listening pleasure, we’ve added a playlist of the listed songs to our MySpace page – with one slight alteration:  we couldn’t find Scale the Summit‘s “Age of the Tide” on MySpace, so our playlist includes another of our favorites tracks off Carving Desert Canyons.  

Even though we finished the list, your NCS Co-Authors had some infectious favorites that didn’t survive our final negotiations – but they just missed by a nose. So we’re going to roll those out later this week. It’s the next best thing to just reneging on our commitment to make this a list of the Top Ten and instead renaming it the Top Fourteen.

Here at NCS, we’ve been putting a different spin on year-end listmania. Ours isn’t a list of the best metal full-lengths of the year. It’s not even necessarily our list of the best individual extreme metal songs of the year. What we decided to do was create a list of the most infectious extreme metal songs we’ve heard this year. We’re talking about songs that produce involuntary physical movement and worm their way into your brain to such an extent you can’t get ‘em out (and wouldn’t want to).

We haven’t ranked our list from #10 to #1 because that would be too much fucking work (and your co-Authors would still be arguing about it this time next year). In addition, when we started naming our entries on this site, we hadn’t yet figured out the whole list. So, we’ve been dribbling them out one at a time, in no particular order.

Of course, only after naming the first 9 entries did it dawn on us that we only had one spot left. If only our tiny brains hadn’t been hard-wired with the decimal system we could have made this “The Fourteen Most Infection Extreme Metal Songs of 2009.” But you reap what you sow. With only one spot left, and still lots of songs on our collection of candidates, picking #10 proved to be especially vexing for your Authors. But now it’s done.

Our list heretofore:

1. Asphyx: Sorbutics

2. Mastodon: Crack the Skye

3. Amorphis: Silver Bride

4. Goatwhore: Apocalyptic Havoc

5. August Burns Red: Meridian

6. Pelican: Ephemeral

7. Scale the Summit: Age of the Tide

8. Daath:  Wilting On the Vine

9.  Molotov Solution:  The Harbinger

And to see our tenth and final entry on the list, continue reading after the jump.

We started this list with a band that’s been around, more or less, for two decades (Asphyx). So it’s fitting that our final entry is a group of young dudes who made their first really big splash in the metal pond here in 2009. Actually, “splash” is a real understatement — it was more like a tidal wave.

Revocation‘s September release Existence Is Futile has garnered the kind of critical notice and acclaim most bands can only dream about. Existence has appeared on an astonishing number of “Best of 2009″ lists and has drawn high praise from lots of seasoned, discriminating observers of the metal scene. To pick one example (because he’s one of our favorites), Cosmo Lee wrote “they could be the next great metal band”:

“They have songs, not just a sound. Their songs are identifiable within seconds. They have memorable riffs and rhythms. Their chops have soul. David Davidson’s solos are amazing tightrope walks of speed, hooks, and bluesy swagger. The last metal guitarist to do that was Dimebag Darrell.”

Being critically acclaimed wasn’t a qualifying criterion for our Most Infectious list. Bands like Cobalt, Coalesce, and Converge (the three C’s) deservedly received lots of critical adulation, but their 2009 albums weren’t exactly what you’d call infectious (or at least we wouldn’t apply that adjective). But Revocation is a band that both merits the discriminating artistic praise it’s received and produces the kind of infectious tunage that we were looking for — the kind of songs that stuck in our heads and brought us back for repeat listening.

Like Daath, Revocation is a band that resists genre classification, and its sound varies almost song by song — but it is the sound of Revocation. The death and thrash influences are evident, but the songs on Existence are distinctively different and original. And apart from the superior songcraft that makes the album so memorable, it’s filled with displays of jaw-dropping technical virtuosity. As other critics have rightly said, these dudes play as if they were hitting the peak of their career after a decade of refinement instead of near its starting line. Revocation is ambitious, brash, and bound for great things. We are super-stoked to see them when they play Seattle (with The Binary Code and Hypno5e) in late January.

Existence is filled with sonic gems, but we could only pick one to finish off our Most Infectious List, and it’s “Dismantle the Dictator.” By a happy coincidence, the band just released a video of that very song.  Check it out:

Here at NCS, we’re putting a different spin on year-end listmania. Ours isn’t a list of the best metal full-lengths of the year. It’s not even necessarily our list of the best individual extreme metal songs of the year. Ours is a list of the most infectious extreme metal songs we’ve heard this year. We’re talking about songs that produce involuntary physical movement and worm their way into your brain to such an extent you can’t get ‘em out (and wouldn’t want to).

We’re not ranking our list from #10 to #1 because that would be too much fucking work (and your co-Authors would still be arguing about it this time next year). So, our list is in no particular order. We’re also dribbling the songs out one at a time because your lazy Authors are still debating what belongs in the remaining slots. (Yes, still.) Our list heretofore:

1.  Asphyx:  Sorbutics

2.  Mastodon:  Crack the Skye

3.  Amorphis:  Silver Bride

4.  Goatwhore: Apocalyptic Havoc

5.  August Burns Red:  Meridian

6.  Pelican:  Ephemeral

7.  Scale the Summit: Age of the Tide

And to see our eighth entry on the list, continue reading after the jump.

Our last two entries to the Most Infectious list were a pair of progressive-metal instrumentals played by two bands with amazing technical chops. Today’s entry is also from a group of dudes with top-shelf technical skills, but with a very different sound.

Someone is going to have to come up with a new sub-genre category for Daath. None of the existing labels really fit to a tee. Their 2009 release, The Concealers, is recognizably death metal, but though it’s heavy as shit, it’s groove-oriented, packed with pyrotechnical guitar work from Eyal Levi and Emil Werstler, melodic in just the right places, and feverishly infectious from start to finish. Sean Z’s scorching vocals and the instrumental work of Levi, Werstler, drummer Kevin Talley, and bassist Jeremy Creamer are completely integrated into achieving a well-planned design for each song.  As we said, very heavy, but very catchy from beginning to end.  Daath is on the road to defining a unique sound that is distinctively its own. Daath Metal? Daathcore? Whatever the label, it’s death metal you gotta move to.

There’s nothing bland on The Concealers — every song is distinctive, and every track is capable of worming its way into your brain and making a home there. But there’s one song we come back to again and again. It’s probably not the best, most fully realized song on the album — but shit, is it catchy!

“Wilting On the Vine” establishes itself with an epic riff, plays around with variations on that riff (augmented by Sean Z’s syncopated vocals), then drops into a lower gear to launch a shredtastic guitar solo by Werstler, which accelerates back up to the original tempo where the earlier infectious riff makes a triumphant return. Unadulterated, headbanging fun. (And speaking of guitar god Emil Werstler, if you didn’t catch the series of jaw-dropping videos posted last month by Metal Sucks, definitely watch them here.)

There you have it. The eighth entry on our Most Infectious list is “Wilting On the Vine” by Daath. Have a listen:

Wilting on the Vine

And as a bonus, here’s some vid of Daath performing “Wilting on the Vine” in Paris two months ago. The audio is not the best (listen to the audio stream above to really hear the song), but the video quality is decent and it’s fun to watch the guys rip into this song: