ZUBROWSKA

 Metal News  No Responses »
May 052010
 

Back in January, we interviewed Mika André, the bass player for one of our favorite French metal bands, Eryn Non Dae. We asked him to recommend some other French bands we might not have heard about, and one of the names he gave us was Zubrowska. At that time we were able to hear a handful of songs Zubrowska had recorded for a forthcoming album.  We really liked what we heard, and wrote about it here.

Yesterday, we got a message from Zubrowska’s talented guitarist Jon Rauzy with some news we want to pass along: The band has now made the entire new album (Zubrowska Are Dead) available for streaming at this location. The album is still not officially released — that will happen in September — but at that same location you can pre-order it now. It will be distributed in the U.S. by Debello Records and in Europe by the band’s own label, Bollocks Records (nice name, huh?).

Those songs we heard in January were sweet — and so are the rest of the songs you can now stream. Some quick impressions follow after the jump, plus one of the songs for you to hear without leaving NCS . . . Continue reading »

PAINTED IN EXILE

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
May 042010
 

Let’s conduct a little survey. Which of the following styles of music do you like?

a) Math metal
b) Metalcore
c) Technical death metal
d) Progressive metal
e) Cool jazz
f)  Rap
g) All of the above

If you picked (g), then have we got a band for you! Long Island’s Painted in Exile self-released a three-song EP last year called Revitalized that includes all those genres — not from song to song, but within each song. Okay, we’re exaggerating a little. Only one of the EP’s songs includes rap, and it’s a brief bit at the start.

We can guess what you’re thinking — that if these dudes are any good, they must be showing off; that this high degree of schizophrenia can’t possibly maintain coherence; that you’d like to see world peace in your lifetime but aren’t hopeful about it.

To which we say: These dudes really are good; they may be showing off a little, but if you got it, flaunt it; the songs do hang together amazingly well; and we’re not putting any money on world peace either (those have got to be the longest odds in Vegas, hands down).

We’d like to have been flies on the wall while Painted in Exile were writing the three songs on this EP. But however they worked out when and how to shift from one style of playing (and singing) to another, Revitalized is a creative fireball of attention-grabbing music.   (more after the jump . . .)

Continue reading »

CORROOSION

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
May 032010
 

My NCS collaborator IntoTheDarkness listens to all sorts of metal, but he’s got a particular weakness for deathcore — and he’s not embarrassed to admit it. There might be a deathcore band somewhere in the world he hasn’t heard yet, but I wouldn’t bet money on it. So when he told me that Italy’s Corroosion (pictured above) was really worth checking out, I couldn’t ignore that.

At the same time, he pushed me to check out a band from Long Island called Painted in Exile, which had been recommended to him by one of the dudes in Long Island’s Ever Forthright (a kick-ass band in their own right).

In both cases, IntoTheDarkness proved to be as reliable as ever. Both bands are worth some attention. Today we’re giving it to Corroosion, and tomorrow, Painted in Exile. (And by the way, these bands sound nothing alike.)

CORROOSION

Yes, we wondered about that name too, and no, it’s not a typo. This band is from Turin, and after releasing EP’s in 2007 and 2008, they put out their first album (on Rising Records) in 2009. Called Punish the Mind, it’s indeed a punisher — but in a good way. Now, if you’re dead set against deathcore, this album isn’t going to convert you. But if you’re a fan of the genre when it’s done right, or you’re still trying to make up your mind, this is a damned fine example of deathcore’s visceral appeal.   (more after the jump, including songs . . .) Continue reading »

OH SHIT!

 IQ Subtraction  2 Responses »
May 022010
 


For those of you out there who don’t read Metal Sucks, or just haven’t gone by that site in the last few days, you may not have seen the following video. Usually, this isn’t the kind of thing we put up here at NCS, but this is just so fucking funny we can’t resist the need to share.

It’s a video ad for a company called Cold Steel that makes swords, and the subject of the ad is the biggest sword they make, called “The Two-Handed Great Sword.” Yep, you read that correctly. It’s an ad for a big fucking sword. And the ad consists of a bunch of mainly pot-bellied dudes hacking the shit out of all sorts of things — pig’s heads and carcasses, a cow head, blocks of ice and concrete, a pair of cowboy boots with meat inside to stiffen em up (?!?), bamboo, you name it. And all the action is set to some generic hard rock and metal instrumentals.

But what really makes this such a laff-til-you-pee experience are the occasional enthusiastic sales pitches by the dorkiest-looking meat-bag in the video. You can tell he’s the head honcho because he wears a tie while whacking away at all those objects that are just crying out to be severed.  Now, you might have a hard time figuring out the point of spending money on a big fucking sword, but that’s just because you haven’t heard all the excellent reasons this dude will give you. You’ll never think about home protection products the same way again. And who needs to buy meat at a grocery store? Just buy your own sides of beef and butcher ’em yourself!

You can purchase a Two-Handed Great Sword here for $549.99, plus tax and shipping. Or not.

INFERNAL WRATH

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
May 022010
 

We’ve got so damn much new music to hear, it’s ridiculous (and so much of it is ridiculously good). At the same time, we’re also trying to explore new metal horizons — and in doing that, we continue to discover that extreme metal is truly a burgeoning global phenomenon. A case in point: Metal from India.

Not so long ago we stumbled across a couple of really good bands based in Mumbai called Demonic Resurrection and Bhayanak Maut, and wrote about them here and here. In response to those posts, we received lots of comments and e-mails from NCS readers in India, not only praising those bands but also recommending others. We’re still working our way through those recommendations as time permits — and we definitely need more fucking time!

One name popped up continually in the tips we received — Infernal Wrath — and once we hit that music on the list of bands to check out, it brought us to a full stop. And we went back and listened again. And again. And again.

Their 2009 album Inside of Me is a remarkable blend of musical styles and traditions that’s a real attention-grabber. It’s a serious, meticulously planned and superbly played work that by turns is exotic, beautiful, headbangingly compulsive, and brutally heavy. Trust us on this — it’s definitely worth your time.  (more after the jump, including a song to hear . . .) Continue reading »

OZZFEST 2010

 Metal News  No Responses »
May 012010
 

The line-up, dates, and venues for the 2010 edition of Ozzfest have now been released. I don’t really know why I’m giving space to this announcement, which is still fairly hot off the presses. Maybe because some of you will care about it more than I do. Maybe because it’s nice to anticipate that Goatwhore and Skeletonwitch will pick up some new fans (which they certainly deserve). Other than that, I’m afraid it’s a big yawn for me, tinged with a little nausea.  First, the line-up (as recited in the official press release):

The main stage will feature full sets from Ozzy, Motley Crue and Rob Halford (who last appeared on Ozzfest in 2004 with Judas Priest), performing songs from his solo career along with material from Judas Priest and Fight. DevilDriver and Nonpoint will round out the main stage line-up.

Second stage headliners and six-time Ozzfest veterans Black Label Society will be joined by Drowning Pool, Kingdom of Sorrow, and Goatwhore, Skeletonwitch, Saviours, Kataklysm.

The second stage is far stronger than the first, that’s for sure. DevilDriver puts on a kick-ass live set, but the rest of the performers on Stage 1 look like nothing more than half-baked nostalgia. No question, Ozzy and Priest were hugely influential once upon a time, but Ozzy and Halford aren’t pushing metal in any new directions today, and they certainly don’t have the stage chops they used to have. Nonpoint is completely meh, and Motley Crue? Give me a fucking. Break.

Of course, feel free to telepathically tell me to fuck off if this news makes your day.  Ticket info and the predictably small list of dates and places follow after the jump . . . Continue reading »

MORE 2010 SICKNESS (Part 4)

 Forthcoming Albums, Listmania, Metal News  No Responses »
May 012010
 

We’re now a full four months into 2010, and it’s time for our fourth update to the list of forthcoming new albums we posted on January 1. (See the original list here, the first update here, the second update here, and the third update here.) Below is a list of still more projected new releases that we didn’t know about on January 1 or at the time of our last three updates (or that we’ve found updated information about) — and the new sickness is still spreading in epidemic proportions.

Once again, we’ve cobbled together news blurbs about bands whose past work we’ve liked, or who look interesting for other reasons. Needless to say (but we’ll say it anyway), these are bands that mostly fit the profile of music we cover on this site.

So, in alphabetical order, here’s our list of cut-and-pasted blurbs from various sources since our last update about forthcoming new releases. Look for the bands you like and put reminders on your calendar. Or if you’re old school like us, just get em tattooed someplace you can see without a mirror (because reading stuff backwards is hard).

ABIGAIL WILLIAMS: “Abigail Williams have completed recording of individual performances for their still untitled second full-length. Captured at Conquistador Studios in Cleveland, Ohio, eight new songs were laid down with vocalist/guitarist Ken Sorceron and engineer Cole Martinez controlling the audio takes. The songs are currently being mixed by Peter Tagtgren (Dimmu Borgir, Immortal, Celtic Frost) and are expected to be completed later this month.”

ABYSMAL DAWN: “Los Angeles-based metallers ABYSMAL DAWN will enter Trench Studio in Corona, California in May with producer John Haddad (PHOBIA, INTRONAUT, HIRAX) to begin recording their new album for a tentative fall release via Relapse Records. The follow-up to Programmed To Consume will be mixed by Erik Rutan (HATE ETERNAL, VITAL REMAINS, CANNIBAL CORPSE) at his Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida.”  (the list continues after the jump .  .) Continue reading »

RADIO REMINDER

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Apr 302010
 

If you happen to be reading this post between 10:00 a.m. and noon, Pacific time, today (Friday), show some love to two of your NCS Co-Authors and tune in to their radio program. We can guarantee they will be playing two hours of some sweet extreme metal. 

You will need Winamp, iTunes, XMMS or an mp3 player capable of listening to shoutcast streams to tune in. You can listen by clicking this link. And for future reference, here’s the URL:

http://www.seattleu.edu/ksub/default.aspx?id=26824

So go do it!

EYE-CATCHERS (Part 2)

 Eye-Catchers, Metal News  No Responses »
Apr 302010
 

Today we’re continuing the experiment we began two days ago, to test our hypothesis that at least in the world of extreme metal, cool album cover art usually means there’s something worth hearing in the music. Yeah, we know it’s a ridiculous, illogical hypothesis, but at least in our random experience we think there’s some truth to it. Besides, it’s proven to be an interesting vehicle for checking out some new music.

The test methodology we used is this: We looked at news blurbs on Blabbermouth over a recent 48-hour period about new or forthcoming albums, and every time we saw a cool album cover, we visited the band’s MySpace site and listened to what was available from the album.

In Part 1 of this experiment, we reported on our first two test samples — a forthcoming album from Keep of Kalessin and a recently released album from Trident. So far, our samples confirm the hypothesis. Today, we’re reporting on the results of three more samples, courtesy of Setherial, Trigger the Bloodshed, and Witchery.

The first sample is an album called Ekpyrosis scheduled for release in May on Regain Records by that Swedish band, Setherial. The cover art, by an artist named Bartosz Nalezinski, is pictured at the top of this post. We thought it was kinda cool — a ghoulish metamorphosis of some traditional Christian iconography. But is the music cool?  We have our own opinion … after the jump. (plus the other test results)

Continue reading »

AOSOTH

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Apr 292010
 

We have a pile of new, unheard releases stacked so high on the “Incoming!” table at the NCS Island that it’s in serious danger of collapsing into a heap of digitized rubble. So what are we listening to?

Well, of course, in our usual ass-backwards fashion, we’re listening to, and writing today about, an album by a French black-metal band called Aosoth that came out in December of last year. Why? Because Ashes of Angels is just so fucking raw and nasty that we can’t help but dig the shit out of it.

Of course, cats in heat are also raw and nasty, but that doesn’t mean we like listening to the noise they make. But Aosoth brings more to the cat fight than sharp claws and hair-raising howls.

Every song features a vehement blend of barn-burner blast beats and rapidly whumping double-bass (like a helicopter’s rotors whirling up to speed), high-energy tremolo-picked guitars that sound like a plague of mutant locusts, and serrated shrieking vocals. Those are the primary tools in the tool box. But what Aosoth does with those tools from song to song is unpredictable, and addictive as hell.  (more after the jump, including a song to stream . . .) Continue reading »

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