RANDOM VIDZ: TURISAS AND KVELERTAK

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Apr 212011
 

Still short on time, I’m just tossing two videos your way because I like both bands and you might be fans, too, in which case you’ll be curious about these two brand new videos.

Shortness of time means no introductions. I’ll simply say that Turisas has released a video for a song called “Stand Up and Fight”, which is good advice, because I’ve tried to fight while lying on my back and it’s not a recipe for success. The song is the title track from the band’s third album. The video isn’t yet in embeddable form, but here is the link where you can see it.

I will also say that Kvelertak has also just released a new video. “Ordsmedar av Rang” is the name of the song, and it comes from the band’s self-titled debut album, which was released June 21, 2010 via Indie Recordings and then released again in North America on March 15 via The End Records, with six bonus tracks included. You can see that video after the jump. Continue reading »

WHO WILL DEFINE THE TEENS?

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Apr 212011
 

(Brutalitopia is a great name for a metal blog. If we’d thought of it first, you might be reading “Brutalitopia” right now. But instead of us, two other dudes thought up the name, and they’ve put together some great content to go along with it, too. Check that site now if you never have before (use this link). Today, in response to our appeal for help, Brutalitopia Jack has contributed the following thought-provoking guest post.)

Historically speaking, trends and styles tend to occur in phases. This is certainly true for music, and putting metal under the microscope is a great test of this theory; NWOBHM was the representative blueprint of heavy music in the late 1970s, thrash was the mid-80s, and death metal reigned right around the time Metallica sold out. As for the current era, there’s little doubt that heavier progressive acts have assumed dominion for the foreseeable future.

The intriguing situation with prog, however, is the labyrinthine absorption of various sounds and styles that so conspicuously distinguishes itself in today’s muddled scene. Listeners and critics alike often refer to groups as dissimilar as Opeth and Mastodon as progressive, and no issue is made of it. Some argue that the label “progressive” should be understood less as a genre and more as a descriptor of approach and stylistic ethos, but that’s a discussion for another day. The fact remains that progressive metal is at the forefront and will be for some time.

The logical and fanatical question then becomes this; as we enter the second decade of the new millennium, will the burgeoning progressive metal frontier yield a Big Four like Thrash once did? The short answer (at least to this guy) is no. And that’s only because we’ll simply never see a collective reaction to such a limited number of bands ever again; the digital age makes it impossible for even 40 bands to hold the attention of the whole metal community. But while we likely won’t be able to point at four groups as the unquestioned, paramount torchbearers of metal in the 2010s at the end of the decade, it’s not a futile enterprise to attempt to identify four that could really break into the forefront in the next several years. Essentially, fuck everything I just said and put on your pretending caps.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

THIS WILL SELL BIG IN THE RED STATES

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Apr 212011
 

Some metal blogs are spending time writing about the latest pronouncements from Sammy Hagar and Duff McKagan, breaking news items such as KK. Downing leaving Judas Priest, and other subjects that induce us to yawn with the kind of gaping mouth-openness that only a serious oxygen deficit can induce.

Here at NCS, we’re dealing with the serious metal shit, like the news that NunFuckRitual has signed with Debemur Morti Productions and is currently working on its debut album. NunFuckRitual, or NUNFUCKRITUAL if you prefer, is a Norwegian concoction consisting of Teloch (Nidingr, Mayhem), Espen T. Hangård (Killl, NoPlaceToHide), Dan Lilker (Nuclear Assault, S.O.D., Anthrax) and Andreas Johnson (Tyrant, The Black).

I recognize Dan Lilker’s name and of course the Nuclear Assault and Mayhem references stand out, too. But, honestly, as curiosity-peaking as all that was, what sealed the deal for us was the band’s name. I mean, honestly, how can you pass by a band name like NUNFUCKRITUAL (I’ve decided I prefer the all-caps version of the name)? You just know the album is headed straight for a Walmart or K-Mart exclusive, with the merch getting the full push by Hot Topic. I’m dyin’ to see the album title.

And what about the music, you may ask? Well, the first words that popped into my head were “pop smash!”  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

NEW MUSIC FROM NORWAY: HELLISH OUTCAST, 66CRUSHER, and TAAKE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Apr 202011
 

I’m still in guerilla mode (or gorilla mode) here at NCS — short on time and only able to burst through the door, throw randomized pieces of music your way, and then vanish, while relying on our other regular contributors and guests to do the real writing. In this post, I’ve got new songs from three Norwegian bands whose music covers a wide swath of the Norwegian metal landscape: Hellish Outcast, 66Crusher, and Taake. We’re even making an exception to the normal rule around here with some clean singing. All this music is righteous, so do check it out.

HELLISH OUTCAST

What do you get when you combine Thebon (Keep of Kalessin‘s vocalist), Mads Lillevedt (a/k/a Alkolust, the drummer for Byfrost), bassist Max Morbid (BREED), and guitarist Martin Legreid (66Crusher)? You get Hellish Outcast. We first came across this band for one of our MISCELLANY posts last July (you can read about that here). At that time, Thebon had just joined the band, and they were working on a debut album. Lacking new music, we focused on a 2008 EP called Raping-Killing-Murder, which we liked a lot.

Hellish Outcast has now finished that full-length — Your God Will Bleed — and Terrorizer has just premiered an official video for the song “Face Forced Down”. My reaction? I think someone left the gates of Hell unlocked and these dudes got out. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

METAL FROM NZ – PART 2

 Steff's Posts  5 Responses »
Apr 202011
 

(Man, time does fly. Last June we featured a guest post from New Zealand metal blogger extraordinaire Steff Metal introducing us to six NZ metal bands. Steff saw my appeal for guest posts a couple of weeks ago and, awesome woman that she is, she responded with today’s feature on still more metal from her beautiful homeland.)

After writing about NZ Metal Bands for NCS, I made a promise to Islander and a few other people that I would share a list of some of my favourite underground New Zealand metal bands. Possibly this was a year ago – times passes, I have steamtrains to drive, mad Scottish pirates to interview, and sheep to perform unspeakable acts upon.

While our more popular metal bands – 8 Foot Sativa, Just One Fix, Tainted, Sinate – etc, bear a striking resemblance to many popular US bands, our metal underground takes inspiration from all over the world. With a population of just 4 million, a young, rugged countryside of jagged cliffs and blackened shores, and an indigenous culture with a history of brutality and cannibalism, it’s no surprise our metal tends toward the brutal side. Continue reading »

BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE: CELESTIAL COMPLETION

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Apr 192011
 

(Today, our UK contributor Andy Synn follows yesterday’s retrospective on Becoming the Archetype with a review of the band’s new album, Celestial Completion.)

Perhaps Becoming The Archetype’s most ambitious album yet begins with the strange, symphonic introduction of “The Resonant Frequency Of Flesh”. Haunting choral voices and a sweeping Danny-Elfman-aping score backed by pounding drums and punchy slabs of guitar, which segues seamlessly into “The Magnetic Sky”, juxtaposing Jason Wisdom‘s familiar, powerful roar with a stunning clean vocal refrain, the first incidence of prominent clean vocals since The Physics Of Fire. The oceanic rise and fall of crushing heaviness and sinuous guitar work showcases the band’s joyous song-writing talents, indulging both their love of metallic force and bright, shining melody.

“Internal Illumination” is perhaps the most purely death metal track the band has done on an album since their Terminate Damnation days, replete with hellishly low gutturals, gripping blast-beat sections and an utterly crushing ending slowdown that drags the listener’s ears through a mire of sludgy riffing and dragging drum fills. It also employs the newly developed blackened screams which are now part of the band’s vocal arsenal, adding further variety to their multi-faceted, expressive vocal arrangements.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

PAIN’S NEW VIDEO: TITS, ASS, AND DRUMKIT MAYHEM

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Apr 182011
 

Less than two weeks ago, we featured a brand new song called “Dirty Woman” from the new album by Pain — a long-running band fronted by Peter Tägtgren, who’s perhaps best known as the vocalist/guitarist for Hypocrisy. The new album, You Only Live Twice, is due for release on June 3.

The song has gotten under our skin big-time. It’s a dirty piece of Southern-style road-house rock with some catchy-as-ebola metal riffs that will make you wanna bang yo fuckin’ head.

Today, Pain released their official video for the same song, and it’s a hoot and a half to watch. Not surprisingly, given the name, lyrics, and style of the song, the video features some nasty pieces of hotness bumping and grinding and swapping spit. But during the interspersed footage of Pain playing the song, watch what the drummer does to his kit. Wonder what kind of burr got under his saddle?

I’m tellin’ you, if this video don’t put a smile on your face, then you’re one cold motherfucker.  Watch after the jump . . . Continue reading »

NEW ARCH ENEMY VIDEO

 Metal News  3 Responses »
Apr 182011
 

Fans of Arch Enemy get a treat today — the band has debuted the first official video for their new album, Khaos Legions, which will be released by Century Media on June 7.

The video is for a song called “Yesterday Is Dead and Gone”, and for now it’s being streamed exclusively in the U.S. at Guitar World (at this location). If you live outside the U.S., you may not be able to view it there — and if not, the band’s press release says you should visit the world map at this link to find out where you can see it.

If you’re a fan of Arch Enemy (as we are), you’ll like this song. If not, it won’t change your mind, because it sounds like . . . Arch Enemy. The video integrates shots of the band playing the song with shots of masked protestors running, waving flags, and protesting . . . something.

That is all.

SAN ANTONIO GOT GAME

 Metal News  5 Responses »
Apr 182011
 

Over the weekend, we ran a guest post from our bro Surgical Brute spotlighting five bands scheduled to appear at the Rites of Darkness 3 festival, which is scheduled to run December 9 -11, 2011 in San Antonio, Texas. We hadn’t heard about this festival before that post, but 41 bands are already scheduled to appear, and it’s one helluva line-up (as you can see at the bottom of Surgical Brute’s post here).

No sooner was the ink dry on that post (figuratively speaking) than we got an e-mail from “Utmu“, another NCS reader/commenter, alerting us to yet another San Antonio festival scheduled for November 18-20 called The Goregrowler’s Ball. We checked the line-up, which Utmu cryptically said might include a few names that would interest us, and . . . holy shit, was he right.

Check out the names of the co-headliners: Suffocation, Aborted, Exhumed. Yeah, that got our attention. But that’s just the start — there are 54 bands confirmed for this festival so far, and the promoters may not be finished yet. The line-up also includes Lair of the Minotaur, Malignancy, Putrid Pile, Noisear, Dreaming Dead, Woods of Ypres, and The Evil Amidst — just to pick out a handful of our favorite names.

San Antonio’s definitely got it goin’ on, metal-wise. Who knew? I dunno, maybe everyone but us. But now we know, and so do you. You can check out the full line-up after the jump. There may be an Alamo-and-River-Walk visit in our future . . . Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 10: BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE

 THE SYNN REPORT  2 Responses »
Apr 182011
 

(Andy Synn is back with another SYNN REPORT. Today, the subject is Becoming the Archetype, and Andy discusses the band’s discography leading up to the newest release, Celestial Completion. Tomorrow we’ll have Andy’s review of that album.)

Becoming The Archetype, the four piece Progressive death metal band from Georgia, have gone through numerous line-up changes in their time, yet still consistently deliver vibrant, distinctive albums of stunning musicianship and complex compositions based around a core of crunching, shredding guitar, intricate, growling bass-lines, subtle yet dominating drums and the terrifying, lion-like roar of front-man Jason Wisdom.

Weaving in and out of this maelstrom of metallic might are the extra (yet never superfluous) elements which serve to add yet another string to the band’s progressive bow. Complex keys, piano and organ, transcendent clean singing, buzzing electronics, all tied together in a convoluted, genre-ambiguous package that at all times bleeds passion and sincerity.

With four albums under their belt so far, the band have carved themselves out a distinctive and instantly recognisable identity, despite the sheer variety of styles and approaches they employ. Terminate Damnation was their original exploration of controlled chaos and violent emotion, The Physics Of Fire” a labyrinthine mosaic of enigmatic musicianship and progressive drive, Dichotomy a cryptic synthesis of the band’s history and renewed aggression, with Celestial Completion a tangled yet profound fusion of old and new influences which opens up new doors for the band’s future.  (more after the jump, including sample songs from each album . . .) Continue reading »

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