AN NCS PREMIERE: END — “VIRGA”

 Premieres  3 Responses »
Aug 172016
 

Torrid Husk-End-Swallow Matewan

 

On September 23, 2016, Baltimore’s Grimoire Records will release a split called Swallow Matewan (with Arcane Angels releasing it on vinyl in Europe). It features three tracks each by two black metal bands we’ve praised at this site before — Torrid Husk from West Virginia and End from Greece. One of Torrid Husk’s tracks (“Carminite”) got its debut at Stereogum last week, and today we bring you a track from the End side called, “Virga“.

This year will mark End’s 14th year of life. But although the band have released three full albums in that stretch of years, the last one coming in 2009, we first discovered their music through another split release that turned out to be one of the best albums released last year. Entitled Moerae (and reviewed here by our Norwegian friend Gorger), it included a long track by End named “Atropos”, as well as brilliant offerings by Awe and Vacantfield (the latter band shares two members with End). Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: TORRID HUSK — “CRAWLING MOUNTAIN APOGEE”

 Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  3 Responses »
Sep 022014
 

Next month Grimoire Records will release a split entitled Crawling Mountain Apogee, with new songs from two talented bands — Myopic from Maryland and Torrid Husk from West Virginia. Invisible Oranges recently premiered the Myopic tracks, and today we’re bringing you the two long songs by Torrid Husk that appear on the split.

This isn’t the first time we’ve had the pleasure of premiering a Torrid Husk creation. Last May we premiered an excellent music video for “Cut With Rain”, a song from the band’s last EP, Caesious. Caesious was my first exposure to the band’s music, and as impressive as it was, these two new songs prove that it was no fluke. They mark a further step ahead for a band who are proving themselves to be an emerging bright star in the firmament of melodic black metal from the U.S.

The music is dramatic and dynamic. It storms in a torrent of cascading riffs and blasting drums. It rings with shining guitar melodies and howls in its discordance. It drifts moodily and crashes like a river in flood. The instrumental work is tremendously impressive at every station, and the songs are filled with great vocal variety as well, from clawing shrieks to deep roars to impassioned yells to soaring clean vocals. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: TORRID HUSK — “CUT WITH RAIN”

 Premieres  7 Responses »
May 142014
 

For an unpaid blog created by a small group of people on a part-time basis, I think we do a fair job of covering new releases across a broad spectrum of metal. But more metal is being created today than ever before, and we miss out on a lot of albums, EPs, and splits that deserve attention. Torrid Husk’s Caesious is a prime example.

Caesious is a three-song EP released in February of this year by Grimoire Records, and it was this West Virginia band’s second collection of music, following their 2013 debut album Mingo (yeah, we missed that one, too). It drew very favorable (and well-written) reviews from sites such as Metal Bandcamp and Invisible Oranges, but I still overlooked it. Fortunately, I’ve been given a chance to make amends by premiering the official video for one of the excellent songs on Caesious — “Cut With Rain”.

The video was directed and filmed by Tyler Davis (who is also the vocalist and guitarist for Maryland’s Barbelith) in the woods near Martinsburg, West Virginia, not far from the cabin where Caesious was recorded. It’s a beautiful setting, and the video is beautifully made. Continue reading »