IMPERIUM DEKADENZ

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Mar 252010
 

This is turning into Invisible-Oranges-link-week. A couple days ago we wrote here about a post at that site on the “Top 10 Most Overused Words in Metal Journalism.” The list unfortunately included some of our favorite words, including the word “fucking.” So, of course we had to litter our own post with F-bombs, just to make ourselves feel better. And that drew some pretty goddamned funny comments, which also made liberal use of F-words, including an observation from Cosmo Lee that we were all starting to sound like Frank Mullen.

At the same time as I stumbled across that Top 10 post at Invisible Oranges, I also read Cosmo Lee’s review (here) of a new album by a German black-metal band called Imperium Dekadenz. That beautiful review really grabbed me. As we try to do at our site, Cosmo Lee included a track from the album to stream — and the song just floored me. So without delay I bought the album the quickest way I knew how (iTunes) and listened to the whole thing — and I was even more floored.

I thought, there’s a chance some of our readers at NCS might not also follow Invisible Oranges, and this is music I really need to share. So my original plan was just to tell you the album is awesome, point you to Cosmo Lee’s review, make a song available, and quit while I was ahead. That would have been the smart thing to do, because seriously, I didn’t think there was a snowball’s chance in hell I could improve on Cosmo’s review.

But I’m not so smart. It occurred to me that although I couldn’t improve on that review, I could translate it into the kind of verbiage we tend to use here at NCS. You know, language written by and for mentally impaired people. And then I thought, what the fuck, I might as well go all-in and channel Frank Mullen while doing that!  So here goes:  (read on after the jump, if you’re mentally impaired . . .) Continue reading »

LIVE SUFFO

 Metal News  No Responses »
Mar 152010
 

Those brutal tech-death godfathers from Suffocation are playing in Europe now, and some HD video of their show last Friday in Utrecht, Holland, has become available. The audio is decent, and the video — well, it’s HD and it’s great.

You get clear shots of Terrance Hobbs shredding with dreds flying, Derek Boyer playing his bass like he usually does (i.e., with the instrument almost vertical), a few glimpses in the background of Mike Smith hammering the shit out of the kit, Guy Marchais calmly riffing away on the right, and of course Frank the Tank with tongue wagging and hands tomahawk-chopping as he blasts out those brutal vocals.

If you’re a Suffo-addict like we are, this is fun to watch. All that’s missing is video of action in the pit — but we can imagine the mayhem.  Enjoy these videos of “Thrones of Bones” and (after the jump) “Suspended in Tribulation” and “Breeding the Spawn.”

Thrones of Bones

(two more videos after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

ARKAIK

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Feb 282010
 

What have we here? It’s another Par Olofsson album cover! And just a few days after we showcased some other album covers by this prolific Swedish artist (here).

Wonder what’s inside? Hey, whaddaya know!  It’s a CD!  Wonder what it sounds like? (putting CD in music player . . . and listening)

Fuck yeah! (pumping fist in air) This is some sick shit!

(Strike that. This is supposed to be a high-brow extreme metal site, rendering sophisticated musical analysis in literate journalistic prose. Start over.)

The band is called Arkaik. They’re from beautiful Riverside County, California. They’ve shared the stage with the likes of Suffocation, Necrophagist, Dying Fetus, and Decrepit Birth. Their just-released debut album on Unique Leader Records is called Reflections Within Dissonance. And what’s the music like? Fuck yeah! This is some sick shit!

Damn. We gotta do better than that. Let’s use some adjectives besides “sick.” How about: insanely fast, technical, pummeling, rhythmically dynamic. How about some metaphors? Like standing right next to a jet turbine already spooled up to a full roar while an assault squad is blasting at your head with M4s on full auto — in a hurricane. (read more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

AND THE ASS-KICKING BEGINS: DEVILDRIVER, SUFFOCATION, GOATWHORE, THY WILL BE DONE

 Concert Reviews  No Responses »
Jan 132010
 

It’s 2010, and last night two of your NCS Co-Authors made it to our first metal show of the new year as the “Bound By the Road Tour” barreled its way through Seattle. We emerged unscathed (barely) with a few decent photos, which we hope to put up a bit later today, and this report.  [Editor’s note: we’ve now got photos from NCS Author Alexis up in this post for all the bands but DevilDriver.]

In a nutshell, experiencing a night with the likes of Thy Will Be Done, Goatwhore, Suffocation, and DevilDriver was the sonic equivalent of being suspended by your ankles over a blast furnace. It was an intense, blistering, full-bore onslaught by four bands who are superb live musicians and know how to whip a crowd into a frenzy.

And for the cherry on top, we got to see three of the most charismatic frontmen in the business on one bill: Dez Fafara, Frank Mullen, and Ben Falgoust (and J. Costa is no slouch either). What a truly ass-kicking way to start a new year of live metal in the Emerald City! Now, for a few details about each band’s performance (after the jump). Continue reading »

SUFFOCATION

 Metal News  2 Responses »
Jan 092010
 

What more remains to be said about Frank Mullen, the larger-than-life frontman for legendary NY death metal band Suffocation? You might think, not very much. But you’d be wrong.

If you’ve seen Suffocation on stage or even read about their live performances, you know that Mullen constantly talks to the crowd between (and sometimes during) the songs, and his stage banter is just in a different universe from what you usually hear.

Your NCS Co-Authors got the chance to see Suffocation when they hit Seattle in 2009, touring behind the release of the absolutely awesome Blood Oath album. It was one of those experiences that imprinted itself on the brain — a crushing live performance by the band.

And then there was Frank the Tank. Everything we’d heard was right: there’s no one quite like him. Just over-the-top crazy, veering between hysterically funny, scary as shit, and lecturing the crowd about whatever happened to be popping into his head. The dude is clearly very bright, and just vastly entertaining.

So what else is new to be said or seen about Frank Mullen? How about the forthcoming documentary DVD about the band, called Legacy of Violence, which is due for release sometime later this year. In October, Relapse Records released Suffocation’s only official live album, The Close of A Chapter: Live in Quebec City, but in addition to concert footage, the DVD will include lots of interviews and behind-the-scenes shit.

And as of today, you can see a 5-minute excerpt from the DVD that’s just become available.  Based on the excerpt, it looks like the DVD will be some kick-ass entertainment. In the clip, you’ll see lots of people talking about Mullen — including his daughter — and of course you’ll see the man himself acting out. And what comes across from the clip is that all the guys in the band are the kind of dudes you’d really like to hang out with if you had the chance.

Check out the 5-minute video excerpt below:


Legacy of Violence Dvd preview

SUFFOCATION | MySpace Music Videos