AN NCS PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ULVEGR — “VARGKULT”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Jan 292018
 

 

Today we present the full streaming premiere of Vargkult, the fifth album by the Ukrainian band Ulvegr, in advance of its January 30 release by Ashen Dominion. It follows quickly on the heels of 2017’s Titahion: Kaos Manifest, which we also premiered last April. But this album is a different beast from the last one, a relentless, incinerating assault that never pauses to take prisoners.

For those who may be newcomers to Ulvegr, the band’s two steadfast members are Helg (songwriting, vocals, guitar, bass) and Odalv (drums). Both of them are members of Kzohh, Ygg, and Runes of Dianceht, and Helg is also a member of Khors, while Odalv has also contributed his talents to Twilightfall and Elderblood. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2017’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 15): TAAKE, ULVEGR, SELBST, NOVA, AU CHAMP DES MORTS

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2017  9 Responses »
Jan 282018
 

 

My NCS time has been constricted by other activities this weekend, so I won’t have time to prepare the usual Sunday SHADES OF BLACK column, but to (sort of) make up for that I did decide to focus on black metal in this 15th Part of my Most Infectious Song list. And I also decided to pack five songs into this installment rather than the usual smaller number.

Hope you enjoy these choices, especially because it was so tough for me to pick just one song from each of the albums released by these bands last year. I think they make a pretty damned powerful playlist.

TAAKE

I delivered an impulsive though compact review of Kong Vinter very soon after listening to it for the first time, and proclaimed it one of my favorite albums of 2017. My impression now, two months later, is that it was under-appreciated in the froth of year-end lists, perhaps because it came out so late in the year and was preceded by the release of only one single (“Inntrenger”). Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2017’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 3): ASAGRAUM, ALMYRKVI, ULVEGR, SCHAMMASCH

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2017  5 Responses »
Jan 142018
 

 

There won’t be a SHADES OF BLACK column today. I’ve had a very busy but fun-filled weekend with Ms. Islander, one of her sisters, and my brother-in-law, whooping it up in Las Vegas. Lacking the time to write any more than one post for this Sunday, I felt it would be better not to miss another day on the rollout of this list. I’ll try to do some catching up on new music tomorrow.

But although there won’t be a SHADES OF BLACK column today, I did decide to focus on black metal for this episode of the Most Infectious Song list.

ASAGRAUM

I’ve been a big fan of “Carried By Lucifer’s Wings” since I listened to it the first time before agreeing to premiere the song last August. If you haven’t heard it yet, it’s one of eight tracks on Potestas Magicum Diaboli, the debut album by Asagraum, a band whose line-up (as of the time of this recording) consisted of Dutch guitarist/vocalist Obscura and drummer T. Kolsvart, who is Canadian but lives in Norway. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ULVEGR — “TITAHION: KAOS MANIFEST”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  3 Responses »
Apr 142017
 

 

The new album by the Ukrainian heathen black metal band Ulvegr is multifaceted, but in all its dimensions it comes across as a deeply personal work, crafted and presented with utter conviction and unrelenting intensity, even in its least incendiary passages. The name of the album is Titahion: Kaos Manifest, and today we present its North American premiere in advance of its April 17th release through Ashen Dominion.

This is Ulvegr‘s fourth album since 2011, created by the band’s two steadfast members Helg (songwriting, vocals, guitar, bass) and Odalv (drums), with significant guest contributions by Astargh (lead and rhythm guitars and vocals), Hyozt (keys and samples), and Zhoth (vocals and voices on three tracks, and lyrics on two). For those new to Ulvegr, both Helg and Odalv are members of Kzohh, Ygg, and Runes of Dianceht, and Helg is also a member of Khors while Odalv also contributes his talents to Twilightfall and Elderblood. Continue reading »