DECIBEL’S TOP 25 MOST ANTICIPATED RECORDS OF 2011

 Listmania, Metal News  41 Responses »
Jan 122011
 

I got home from my fucking day job last night and what do you think was waiting in my mailbox — other than more fucking bills?  No, it wasn’t cash from Hong Kong — not yet (see the post below this one). It was the February issue of DECIBEL magazine (the only metal mag worth reading any more).  And what do you think was inside the magazine? Well, lots of stuff, of course, but what immediately caught my eye was the magazine’s list of the Top 25 Most Anticipated Albums of 2011.

We try to keep up with news about forthcoming releases. In fact, we run a monthly list that collects news items about albums headed our way. But the DECIBEL list still included some albums we hadn’t yet heard about. Fuck, we hadn’t even heard of some of these bands. Beyond that, of course, is the question whether the albums on the list belong on the list, and whether other deserving releases were omitted. We’re curious what you think about those issues, so leave us some comments please.

Here’s the DECIBEL list:

TRAP THEM, Darker Handcraft
COFFINS, Fleshland
DIM MAK, TBA
PIG DESTROYER, TBA
KRALLICE, TBA
BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, TBA
PRIMATE, Draw Back A Stump (EP)
AMON, Liar In Wait
SKELETONWITCH, TBA
DECAPITATED, TBA

(the rest of the list follows the jump, plus some names DECIBEL left off their list. . .)

Continue reading »

RICHES FROM HONG KONG AWAIT!

 IQ Subtraction  8 Responses »
Jan 122011
 

Just when I’d given up on the idea that British bureaucrats, orphans, cancer survivors, car crash victims, and apparently long-lost relatives were going to end all money worries by showering me with pre-funded ATM cards, stacks of bundled cash, gold dust, and eye-popping wire transfers, it turns out all I really needed to give up on was a continent. As sources of unearned wealth go, Africa seems to be a fuckin’ zero. (If you’re new here, click the Category link on the right side of this page called IQ SUBTRACTION for previous chapters in this series.)

But Asia! Now, that’s another story — and it’s one that begins today, because I got a new offer. Yes, the dream is alive! I can dust off those moldering plans for the NCS compound — the Lorisarium, the Grolsch vortex fountain, the Cube pool, the robot-operated beer factory, the Fleshgod Apocalypse wing of the NCS palapa — because just a few days ago I got a new lead on money for nothing. I’ve got high hopes for Hong Kong!  I can already see it happening . . . first I’m gonna stack my flow, then I’m gonna stack some mo’, close shop then I do my count . . .

But first things first. Here’s the come-on, followed by my enthusiastic reply:

From: “Mr.Peter Lee”<peterjplee@fastwebmail.it>
Date: January 7, 2011 5:40:47 PM PST
Subject: Response to this letter will be appreciated…
Reply-To: <peterjplee@yahoo.cn>

Good Day To You My Friend.

It is understandable that you might be a little bit apprehensive because you do not know me but I have a lucrative business proposal of mutual interest to share with you. I got your reference in my search for someone who suits my proposed business relationship.  (more after the jump . . .)

Continue reading »

ULCERATE: THE DESTROYERS OF ALL

 Metal News  No Responses »
Jan 112011
 

The forthcoming album from New Zealand’s Ulcerate (their third) has been high on our list of anticipated 2011 releases. It will be called The Destroyers of All, it will be released on January 25 by Willowtip Records, and it’s now available for pre-order here.

The reason for this post is to make you aware (the one or two of you who don’t regularly read MetalSucks) that MS is now featuring an exclusive full-album stream of  The Destroyers of All at this location. I haven’t yet listened to the full stream (chalk it up to something I fondly call “my fucking day job”), but from what I’ve heard so far, it’s a worthy successor to the band’s stunning 2009 album, Everything Is Fire.

One more tidbit on the subject of the new Ulcerate album: The band has made one track from the album — “Dead Oceans” — available for download via its web site. To use a journalistic term of art, it’s good shit.

PRAETORIAN

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  4 Responses »
Jan 112011
 

Out here in the euphemistically named Emerald City (which is just shades of grey right now), we’re on the other side of the continent from Long Island, New York. But we can hear the explosion of metal loud and clear. First, one impressive metal band, then another, then another. Today’s review is about our latest Long Island discovery.

We first came across Praetorian while browsing new music for a MISCELLANY post we put up in early November (here). We liked the one song we heard from the band’s 2010 EP (To Dwell In Darkness) and vowed that we’d listen to the rest of the EP and write a proper review — and then got side-tracked, as often happens around here. Sometimes we get back on track. In this case, it only took two months.

To Dwell In Darkness is an ambitious work of symphonic death metal — especially ambitious for a debut release by a young band — but it’s an auspicious start. The six songs on To Dwell In Darkness are a manifestation of considerable talent, both in the intricate songcraft and in the synchronized execution. If you’re a fan of bands like Keep of Kalessin and Dissection, Praetorian are worth keeping your eyes on.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2010’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS: PART 15

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2010  11 Responses »
Jan 112011
 

Today we reach the end of the line — the last two songs on our MOST INFECTIOUS list. Our list this year was three times as long as our 2009 list, but even so there were lots of other worthy candidates we omitted — including many recommendations we got from lots of you. Truth be told, 2010 was filled with great metal releases. Picking the catchiest songs wasn’t easy, and undoubtedly we fucked it up by leaving off some winners. But hey — we fuck up a lot.

No fucking up today, though. Our last two songs are from two blazingly hot bands who produced smoking hot cauldrons of metal in 2010. We saved them for the finale on purpose because they’re two particular favorites of ours. Both bands are from Italy and when their 2010 releases were recorded, they shared a common member (though no longer). Let’s get to it.

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE

We hope our list included at least a few surprises for you, but this isn’t likely to be one of them. Out of all the bands we could have fantasized about paying to be at our beck and call once we get the jillions of dollars that African philanthropists have promised us, this is the one we picked. (more after the jump, including the songs . . .) Continue reading »

THE FINNS ARE COMING (AGAIN)

 Metal News  14 Responses »
Jan 102011
 

No, we’re not re-starting our seemingly endless series on Finnish metal. This is just a heads-up that the second installment of THE FINNISH METAL TOUR is on the horizon. The first installment last year was one of the best shows we saw in 2010, and the next one is already causing near-sexual forms of arousal here at NCS.

Okay, maybe that was too much information. Let’s just say we’re looking forward to the new tour and leave it at that.

Here’s the arousing line-up: Finntroll, Ensiferum, Barren Earth, and Rotten Sound.

Up above is a video trailer for the tour hosted by keyboardist Kasper Mårtenson (ex-Amorphis) and guitarist Sami Yli-Sirniö (Kreator) of Barren Earth. And in case your eyes cross as you try to read the dates and places as they scroll across the bottom of the video, we’ve got the full schedule after the jump.

Be still my beating . . . heart. Continue reading »

BELPHEGOR: BLOOD MAGICK NECROMANCE

 Album Reviews  8 Responses »
Jan 102011
 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: NCS writer Andy Synn reviews Belphegor’s new album . . .]

Well, the 9th album by the real Austrian death-machine is finally here. Immediate impressions are favourable, I’ll grant you that, but really what does one expect from a band like Belphegor whose past releases have all shared the same blast-frenzy?

For one thing, I’d say the sound is more “blackened” in several ways than either of their previous two releases, the guitar tone a little sharper and less “thick” than previous album Walpurgis Rites, the cutting riffs acting more like a scalpel than a bludgeon this time around. There is also a much more refined use of melody, on almost all of the tracks, that adds a sense of atmosphere.

This approach clearly stems directly from Bondage Goat Zombie and Walpurgis Rites (which could be considered the start of a new chapter for the band), but the overall feeling of the new record is of a far more agile and dangerous beast.

Whilst the “chunkiness” of the previous two records may be mostly absent, the song-writing incorporates far more subtlety and nuance (well, as far as a Blackened-Death metal band with an obsession with Satan and Sado-masochism can be considered subtle and nuanced) and uses many of their own familiar tropes in new and interesting ways. The differences in production and tones also allow a wider emotional palette to be invoked and the whole record feels arguably fresher and more supple.  (continued after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2010’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS: PART 14

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2010  9 Responses »
Jan 102011
 

We’re down to the next-to-last installment in our list of last year’s most infectious metal songs. (Read this for our definition of “most infectious” and click the Category link called MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2010 to see the other listed songs to date). Two more songs today and two more tomorrow, and we’re done.

MISERY INDEX

Heirs To Thievery is another one of 2010’s best albums that we never got around to reviewing, though it appeared on several of our guest contributors’ lists of last year’s noteworthy releases. Johan Huldtgren gave it the No. 6 spot on his list and wrote: “More polished (good), less grindy (bad) than before this, it is still an amazing album.” Andy Synn included it on his list of the year’s “good” albums, explaining: “[A]t times [it] comes across as a good, but slightly less balanced, cousin to the career defining Traitors. Heirs To Thievery is not as strongly tied together as Traitors and lacks some of the gusto that was such a shock to many ears, perhaps exactly because we’d all been effectively spoiled by the superior goods offered up by Traitors.”

Although we agreed with Johan that the album is less grindy and more thrashy death than some of the band’s earlier works, it’s still a mauling dose of aggression with blazing, intricate riffage and over-the-top drum-pummeling. At the same time, despite the turbo-charged rage that screams through every song, the music triggers the need to move (as well as the desire to punch the shit out of something). The best song on the album — “You Lose” — is also one of the most infectious extreme metal songs we heard last year.  (more after the jump, including the music . . .) Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2010’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS: PART 13

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2010  7 Responses »
Jan 092011
 

We’re not superstitious. The fact that this is the 13th installment of our Most Infectious song list means nothing to us. Hotels skip the 13th floor, but only the weak-minded would skip from Part 12 to Part 14 on a list of songs. In fact, just to show how un-superstitious we are, we’re doubling down by including The Cube in this 13th part.

We did make sure our wills were in order before publishing this post. That’s not superstition. That’s just being prudent. Because The Cube is not superstition. Its existence is a documented fact. So is the uncontrollable destruction it causes. But more about that later.

Now, let’s get on with the first song we’re adding to our list — and if you’re new to this series and want to understand what we’re doing, read this and check out the other songs on the list by visiting the Category link on the right of this page called MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2010.

NOCTIFERIA

Noctiferia is a long-running band from The Republic of Slovenia whose 2010 album, Death Culture, we reviewed in July, summing up our reaction with these words: “Noctiferia takes a rock-solid foundation of syncopated death metal, adorns it with everything from industrial to ethnic stylings, and then sets the whole thing on fire in a spirited romp. Noctiferia blazes with speed and fury, but prays at the altar of groove.”  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

“THAT’S METAL!” – BUT IT’S NOT MUSIC (No. 26)

 That's Metal -- But It's Not Music  5 Responses »
Jan 082011
 

Marshawn Lynch.

67 yards from the line of scrimmage for the winning score in the first NFL playoff round.  Six broken tackles. One massive stiff-arm.

Seattle Seahawks:     41
New Orleans Saints:  36

There will be crow. And it will be eaten.

That is all.

Except for the new Hawks theme song:

Autopsy: My Corpse Shall Rise Again

UPDATE: Okay, this is fucking ridiculous: The crowd uproar at Qwest Field that erupted when Lynch made this run was recorded as a seismic tremor — seriously.  Details after the jump. Continue reading »

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