AN NCS INTERVIEW: ANIL CARRIER (TOWERS OF FLESH)

 Interviews  No Responses »
Sep 082014
 

 

(NCS contributor KevinP interviews the ubiquitous Anil Carrier, pictured above right in the line-up of Britain’s Towers of Flesh. He is also a member of Binah, Exsequor, Necrotize, Purify the Horror, The Solemn Curse, and Theoktony — though we don’t claim that’s a complete list.)

 

K:  I always joke how you are in like 532 bands, so I find it more than ironic we are talking TOWERS OF FLESH today while you are recording the new THEOKTONY.  How do you find the time for all these projects?

A:  Generally it’s very difficult and time consuming. You have to sacrifice a lot to do this on the level that I do.  But as time goes on it definitely becomes worthwhile.

My role in each band differs.  I may play all instruments and compose everything on a record or I might just jump in for the drums and leave the rest to others.

 

K:  Do you ever feel burnt out or the need to just get away from it all with so many projects?

A:  It can sometimes be very tiresome. But I have always been driven to build a body of work and although I wouldn’t say that it’s a selfish need it’s definitely something that drives me to carry on.  I have periods where I don’t write music and other times when I can’t stop, so I wouldn’t say I ever get burnt out. Continue reading »

TOWERS OF FLESH: “VEILED CONCEPTION” AND “ANTITHETICAL CONJURATION”

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Jul 302014
 

 

Towers of Flesh are a UK-based blackened death metal band whose members consist of drummer/guitarist Anil Carrier (Binah, Theoktony, Necrotize, Purify the Horror, and more), guitarist/bassist Tom Hinksman (Hellsworn, Necrotize, Theoktony), and vocalist Jack Welch (Funeral Throne). They released a 2010 debut album through Dissected Records named The Perpetual Paradox, and yesterday I saw an announcement that they’ve now signed with Candlelight Records for release of their second album Antithetical Conjurations.

Less than an hour ago the band launched a YouTube stream of the new album’s first advance track, “Veiled Conception”, which you’ll be able to hear at the end of this post — and hear it you should. It begins like an electrified hornet swarm driven into a fury by the sound of machine guns, and then begins to boom and stomp, grind and dissect, jackhammer and jab, swirl and swarm, all the while enshrouding itself with an eerie, alien guitar melody and the hoarse howls of some equally otherworldly creature.

Not long after hearing the song, I discovered that Candlelight has established a Bandcamp page for the album where a second song can also be streamed. That one is the title track, which immediately precedes “Veiled Conception” in the running order. It’s an introductory instrumental piece marked by tumbling drums and a grim, bleak melody that functions as a fitting prelude to the menacing atmospherics of “Veiled Conception”. I’m including a stream of that track below as well. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: TOWERS OF FLESH, I EXIST, PUTREFACT, ALTAR OF BETELGEUZE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Nov 212013
 

Yesterday I came across new music from four bands with whom I hadn’t previously crossed paths. I really liked what I heard and hope you will, too. Part of what makes this quartet so appealing is that none of them sounds like any of the others, and together they give us another reminder about the amazing diversity of metal as an art form.

TOWERS OF FLESH

Towers of Flesh are a three-man band from the UK who released their debut album in 2010 (The Perpetual Paradox). All three of the band members (Anil Carrier, Tom Hinksman, and Jack Welch) have been active in other projects, but they have now managed to complete a new album entitled Antithetical Conjurations, which is projected for release in early 2014. It’s adorned by an eye-catching cover panting by Aisha Louisa Al-Sadie (edited by Bryan Hancox).

Yesterday the band released a sampler of music from the new album. I didn’t know what to expect, since I hadn’t heard their first album, but man, the sampler sounds excellent — a blend of of melodic black metal and death metal elements with dark, reverberating guitar melodies that are attention-grabbing even after only a few seconds, and plenty of low-end thunder. Continue reading »