Jul 192017
 

 

I had a great weekend, thanks for asking. I devoted it to visits by out-of-town family and a two-day picnic, and NCS took a distant back seat, which is why there was no weekend round-up and no SHADES OF BLACK column. We avoided going dark only though the valiant efforts of Andy Synn and DGR.

Predictably, I now have a big list of new songs and videos to share around, too many for one post. We’ll start with offerings from five bands, and I’ll have at least one and probably two more round-ups this week. Might get one more done today, but maybe not. A meteor strike could decimate my home, the chime on a dryer could alert me that it’s time to get the clothes out, I might feel like chasing a passing car, the lorises might commence war games again. The crystal ball is cloudy.

KERES

The new Keres EP (released July 12th) is an exception to the (admittedly porous) rule in our site’s title, but it’s a slam-dunk exception: Justin Helvete’s voice is a truly remarkable instrument. And everything else about these three songs is also remarkable. Continue reading »

Mar 102017
 

 

I meant to finish this post and launch it yesterday, but as you may have noticed, we had a flood of premieres (all of them worth checking out if you haven’t), and time ran out. So I’m not quite as fast in turning you onto these things as I’d like, and with the delay I’ve accumulated even more good things that I’ll need to throw at you this weekend.

OF WOLVES

To begin, I have a piece of news that perked me right up, from a fondly remembered band whom I haven’t had an excuse to write about in a few years. They are Of Wolves, and they are of wolves. Continue reading »

Aug 212015
 

Black Breath-Slaves Beyond Death

 

I’m still trying to catch up on recommending new music I discovered earlier this week. I unloaded a bunch yesterday, I have more today, and I’m hoping to pull together some more this weekend (although I’m leaving town today for a short vacation, and that may interfere with my blog compulsions).

BLACK BREATH

As I reported when I first found out, Seattle’s Black Breath have a new record coming from Southern Lord on September 25. It’s their third, with the title Slaves Beyond Death. Kurt Ballou recorded the album, Brad Boatright mastered it, and Paolo Girardi painted the cover art — and that’s some good help to have.

I thought it would be tough for Black Breath to top their great last album, Sentenced To Life, but based on the title track that premiered at Noisey yesterday I think they just might. Continue reading »