NUNS IN THE NUDE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  39 Responses »
Mar 102011
 

NUNS, NUDITY, AND BLACK METAL.

Okay, now that I have your attention:

I have the kind of mind that’s made happy by serendipitous connections between random occurrences. Maybe it’s a deep-rooted desire for order in the chaos of life. Or maybe I’m just easily made happy. Either way, within a 24-hour period I discovered two new music videos by two somewhat out-of-phase black metal bands that involved . . . nuns and nudity.

Let’s be clear: I do not fantasize about nude nuns. No way, no how. Not me. I just thought it was an interesting coincidence. Plus, these aren’t your average nuns. And this isn’t your typical black metal either.

The first clip is a new single by our favorite Ukrainian party animals, Semargl. They may not be TRVE, but damn, they know how to get you shakin’ your booty. The second clip is from a New York horde called Imperial Triumphant. The song featured in their blood-drenched video is closer to BM-standard, but it also has some rock-the-fuck-out hooks in it and cello riffing. Granted, it’s challenging to focus on the music when your mind is distracted by what’s happening on-screen, but I liked both songs.

A word of “warning”: I’m not kidding about the nudity. Be careful about who’s peering over your shoulder when you watch these. Continue reading »

MARCH IS METAL MONTH: MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF FREE SHIT!

 Metal News  18 Responses »
Mar 092011
 

I just stumbled across two sampler collections of metal that have become available for free download on Amazon MP3 over the last few days. Unfortunately, these collections are on the U.S. version of Amazon.com, and people outside the U.S. therefore probably can’t do the downloads.  Maybe they will be available on whatever Amazon site, if any, that’s accessible where you are.

SAMPLER 1: Here’s what’s available on the first sampler, which at least US denizens can access here.  (The track list on the second sampler is after the jump.)


Continue reading »

“THAT’S METAL!” – BUT IT’S NOT MUSIC (NO. 31)

 That's Metal -- But It's Not Music  26 Responses »
Mar 092011
 

I’ve noticed that when we run these THAT’S METAL! posts, the traffic on our site goes down. Could it be that I’m not as funny as I think I am?  No, that can’t possibly be the explanation. Lots of people tell me I’m funny. They usually say that when I’m trying to be dead serious. But still.

Could it be that people come here to read about or listen to music instead of non-music idiocy? I guess that’s plausible. Certainly more plausible than me not being funny. So, I’ll probably put up another post today that’s actually about music. And, to hedge my bets, no stupid news stories or tasteless commentary in this post. Instead, at least for today, I’m returning to what we used to do with this series when it first started — let the images and the stories speak for themselves (more or less).

Like that photo up above. It’s not the latest in father-and-daughter black-metal fashion. It’s a photo called “Día de los Muertos” that became a finalist for Smithsonian magazine’s 8th annual photo contest. I thought it was metal, which is what this series is all about — things that are metal but aren’t music. Other photo finalists can be viewed here.

I’ve got  few more random photos to come — and one of the coolest, most amazing videos I’ve seen in ages — but first, the complete awesomeness that is . . . the mudskipper.  (after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

PRIMORDIAL: BLOODIED YET UNBOWED

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Mar 082011
 

In recent weeks we’ve written about two up-and-coming Irish black-metal bands — Wound Upon Wound and Eternal Helcaraxe. But today we have the pleasure of providing for your aural delectation a new track from Primordial — arguably Ireland’s finest black/folk band. The song is called “Bloodied Yet Unbowed”. It’s from their new album Redemption At the Puritan’s Hand, which is scheduled for release on April 26 by Metal Blade. It will be the band’s first album in four years.

Here’s what Primordial’s vocalist Alan “Nemtheanga” Averill has said about the album:

“Expectations, my friends, expectations! Yes, it contains rabble-rousers and hooks and choruses, memorable themes and dynamics but also it has darkness in spades. It has grit, filth and foreboding. Dark sweeping tragedy as always mixed with blood stirring defiance!

“The recording, of course, was booked during what has turned out to be one of the worst winters in living memory in Europe. Leaving Ireland at -15 to travel to a -20 Wales, trudging through feet of snow, slipping on black ice and basically having our bollix frozen off for three weeks left me thinking next time I’m going to record in the Bahamas and fake all this grimness. For good measure, I got what looking back must have been swine flu recording the vocals. In fact, some I can’t remember recording, I was so out of my head on painkillers and energy drinks. Suffering for your art is overrated, believe me.”

That may be so, but if suffering is what it takes to create a song like “Bloodied Yet Unbowed”, then more bands must suffer. (more after the jump . . . including a link to the song) Continue reading »

T.R.A.M.

 Metal News  13 Responses »
Mar 082011
 

I just saw an announcement this morning that riveted my attention. I hadn’t heard any previous buzz about this, and it’s an amazing surprise. There will certainly be tremendous buzz ahead.

The announcement is about a new “supergroup” called T.R.A.M., which I’m guessing is an acronym for the band’s members. Check this out:

Adrian Terrazas (The Mars Volta) on saxophone, flute, bass clarinet and percussion.

Javier Reyes (Animals As Leaders) on guitars.

Tosin Abasi (Animals As Leaders) on guitars.

Eric Moore (Suicidal Tendencies) on drums.

They’ve been signed by Sumerian Records, and their debut album, Lingua Franca, is scheduled for a May release. There’s no music to hear yet, but a new song is supposed to appear soon. The band is supposed to perform their first show ever at SXSW as part of NJ’s WSOU 89.5FM’s showcase on Thursday, March 17th in Austin. I have no idea what this music will be like, or if it will even be metal, but in light of who’s in this band, I will sure as fuck listen to it at the first opportunity. We will keep you updated, and if you want to follow developments on your own, T.R.A.M.’s new Facebook page is here.

THE HUMAN ABSTRACT: DIGITAL VEIL

 Album Reviews  7 Responses »
Mar 082011
 

(Our workaholic contributor Andy Synn checks in for the second day in a row, this time with his review of The Human Abstract‘s new release, which debuts today.)

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING ALBUM CONTAINS LARGE DOSES OF CLEAN SINGING. THOSE WITH A WEAK DISPOSITION SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT TO LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM WITHOUT MEDICAL PERMISSION.

A remarkably divisive band, the career of the collective known as The Human Abstract has had many ups and downs, infuriating their core fan base with various changes in direction, alienating the metal elite with their associations (perceived or real) with many of the more maligned bands and sub-genres of the modern age, and frankly pursuing an altogether contrary and wilfully difficult career path.

Of particular note has been the band’s inconsistent and frequently changing line-up. Since their formation in 2004 the band have accrued a large number of ex-members and existed in a surprising variety of different forms.

The plus side of all this has been that the band have forged a fiercely unique identity within the metal sphere. While they will never be heavy or “legitimate” enough to cross-over with fans of truly heavy death metal influenced bands, they do incorporate some truly abrasive moments of honest to god metallic harshness amongst the neo-classically influenced guitar-work and soaring, prog vocals lines. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

THE AMENTA: V01D

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  59 Responses »
Mar 082011
 

As a general proposition, I can only take industrial metal in small doses, but The Amenta‘s 2008 album n0n was such an extreme, brutal piece of mindfuckery that I couldn’t resist it, and still can’t. The band took elements of black metal and death metal and stewed it in a smoking vat of industrial rhythms and synthesized noise. The result was something cold, vicious, disgusting, nihilistic, raging, hate-fueled — and yet often as catchy as ebola in its rhythmic hooks and small infusions of melody.

Today, The Amenta have returned with an unusual “multi-media release” called V01D. There’s an audio component and a video component. The audio is a 16-track album mastered by Alan Douches consisting of one new song (the title track); six new “electronic experiments”; re-recorded versions of five songs from n0n and the band’s previous album Occasus (2004); and re-mix versions of four of those five previously released songs.

The video component includes professionally filmed and recorded clips of the band performing four songs live in Sydney, Australia, plus one music video for the song “Vermin”.

All of this — the 16-track album and the five videos — have been released as of today, and what’s even more unusual is that despite the obvious effort that went into creating this, The Amenta are making all of it available for free download at www.theamenta.com. In the band’s words, this is their “response to download culture” — which I guess is a way of saying, “our shit will be up on the web in no time anyway, so what the fuck?”

After the jump, we’ve got the disturbing music video for “Vermin” and the new song, which is a surprise, but a very fine one. Continue reading »

ARCH ENEMY: KHAOS LEGIONS

 Eye-Catchers, Metal News  9 Responses »
Mar 072011
 

Arch Enemy revealed the cover art for their next studio release, Khaos Legions. I thought it was so damned cool that I had to stick it up here for all to see.

The artist is Brent Elliott White, who has done covers for the likes of Megadeth and Death Angel, and many others.

The album is due in the late spring or early summer on Century Media and will mark the band’s return to new original songs after the re-recordings album, The Root of All Evil (2009) and the live DVD/CD they released in 2008, Tyrants of the Rising Sun.

Wonder if they’ll perform wearing those masks now? We’d still be able to recognize Angela, don’t you think?

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 7: MYRKSKOG

 Album Reviews, THE SYNN REPORT  3 Responses »
Mar 072011
 

(NCS contributor Andy Synn joins us again with a look back at the music of Myrkskog.)

Hello ladies and gents. This edition of The Synn Report is going to be somewhat shorter than usual as I’ve also been focussing on getting one or two reviews done as well. Not to worry though, the next edition will once again be a lengthy and comprehensive retrospective (truth be told, next week’s band was originally intended to be this week’s band, but their discography is longer and a lot harder to define than this one, so I’ve gone for the easy option this time around!).

Forming in 1993 in Drammen Norway, Myrkskog fuse rampaging death metal brutality with the bleakness of black metal and the harsh clamour of industrial elements into a focussed, unstoppable killing machine. Their first release, Deathmachine, was an intense powerhouse of wall-of-sound industrial noise, blackened melody and death metal power. Second album Superior Massacre saw the band pursuing a more death metal oriented direction (partially due to the departure of guitarist Savant M) which paid tribute to the Floridian death metal sound, albeit still incorporating some darker, black metal tones and underlying, inhuman synths.

The band’s notoriety is partially down to their connection to Zyklon, the post-Emperor project of Samoth and Trym, effectively a continuation of Myrkskog’s musical legacy and featuring both Destruchthor and Secthdamon of Myrkskog. Early guitarist Savant M also went on to form the militant industrial black metal outfit Disiplin after playing his part in the recording of Deathmachine. However, you may or may not be aware of the members’ more high-profile positions in some legendary extreme metal acts, as drummer Secthdamon played bass for Emperor on their recent reunion dates and guitarist Destructhor has served time as a touring guitarist for 1349 and is currently a permanent member of Morbid Angel. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

WHAT WE IMAGINE WENT DOWN AT THE OSLO CENTRAL STATION BURGER KING (AND WOULD WHOEVER TOOK KVELERTAK’S PASSPORTS PLEASE GIVE THEM THE FUCK BACK!)

 IQ Subtraction, Metal News  12 Responses »
Mar 062011
 

A conversation among the members of Kvelertak
Friday night, March 4, 2011
The Burger King, Oslo Central Station
Oslo, Norway

(translated from the Norwegian)

Vidar: “Did you get me the Double Whopper with cheese like I asked?”

Erlend: “Of course dude. You think I’m a fuckin’ moron? Just cuz we’re eatin’ in an American fast-food shithole doesn’t mean I’ve suddenly become as stupid as Americans who eat this kind of food.”

Marvin: “Do we really have time to eat? Shouldn’t we be moving our asses onto the train? I really don’t wanna miss this flight to the U.S. I’m so stoked about this tour!”

Erlend: “Fuckin’ chill, dude. Our flight doesn’t leave for two hours. We got plenty of time. We can carbo-load here at the BK, catch the train to the airport, and be on board with time to spare.”

Kjetil: “I can’t believe we’re about to eat all this shit. Erlend, you do this every time you smoke a bowl. It’s like some kind of special BK blend of weed. You smoke up, and then you make a straight line for the nearest Whopper. Fuck, since we got the Statoil prize, we can afford decent food. Cheap-ass motherfucker.”

Erlend: “Fuck you bro. No way am I gonna sit on that fuckin’ airplane for 9 or 10 hours without gettin’ my smoke on.”

Bjarte: “Erlend, man, you got the passports?”

Erlend: “Of course, I’ve got the fuckin’ passports. You sound like my mom. They’re right here . . . wait . . . fuck! WHERE’S MY FUCKIN’ BACKPACK!!!”  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

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