DECAPITATED UPDATE

 Metal News  28 Responses »
May 112011
 

Decapitated have released the album artwork for their fifth studio album and Nuclear Blast debut, Carnival Is Forever.  The album will be released in Poland and  North America on July 12th and in the rest of Europe on July 15.

Now, here at NCS, we think Decapitated is the shit. This new album is on our most-anticipated list for 2011. But, to be brutally honest (which of course is the only kind of honest we know how to be), this album cover is lame. Really, what is this supposed to be? That mask looks like something out of a Disney movie. I’m sorry, this is not metal — and it is a huge fall-off from the awesome cover that Seth Siro Anton (Septic Flesh) did for the last album (which we’ll remind you about after the jump.)

These comments about the cover from guitarist and founding member Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka are revealing, and touchingly honest:

“Very intriguing and quite strange for a metal album but surely staying in memory.  A vital thing is that it’s a photo. We did not want any computer graphics this time or anything artificial or plastic.  The same regards the production of the album. We had actually been thinking about getting a painting for the cover but unfortunately we couldn’t do it. Maybe next time.”

The album title is a bit strange, too. More on what that’s supposed to mean, after the jump . . . Continue reading »

WHAT DO THESE NAMES HAVE IN COMMON: BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, JOB FOR A COWBOY, BEHEMOTH, BARN BURNER, SISTER, FALCONER, GENTLEMANS PISTOLS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  11 Responses »
May 112011
 

Give up? The answer is: They’re all bands who are signed to Metal Blade, they all have new releases on the horizon, and they all have new songs that Metal Blade has packaged together in a digital stream emanating from SoundCloud.

Here’s the line-up of music:

Black Dahlia Murder: “Moonlight Equilibirum” (album: Ritual)
Job For A Cowboy: “Misery Reformatory” (album: Gloom)
Behemoth: “Slaves Shall Serve” (album: Abyssus Abyssum Invocat)
Barn Burner: “Keg Stand and Deliver” (album: Bangers II: Scum of the Earth)
Sister: “Hated” (album: Hated)
Faloner: “Svarta Ankan” (album: Armod)
Gentlemans Pistols: “I Wouldn’t Let You” (album: At Her Majesty’s Pleasure)

All of these albums are scheduled for release on June 7, except the first and last ones, which will be released June 21.

There is good news and bad news here. The good news is that we can listen to these 7 songs right here, right now. The bad news is that these are the only songs from the albums that we’ll be able to hear, because the Rapture is coming on May 21.  (more after the jump . . . including breaking news about the end of the world) Continue reading »

THE INTERBEING

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
May 112011
 

(We’re pleased to introduce our newest NCS contributor, Israel Flanders, formerly of THE METAL REGISTER. Israel’s metal interests generally align with our own, but we also expect he’ll be providing content on some metal genres (such as djent) that have gotten fairly short-shrift around here. And now, Israel’s first NCS post . . .)

Do you remember the days when Mnemic used to be good? When Michael Bøgballe used to be their vocalist and they knew how to throw down sick-ass polyrhythmic grooves? So do I, and I’d hoped I’d find a band who’d be able to re-channel that vibe again. We’re going to talk about a band today called The Interbeing, and their debut album Edge Of The Obscure, which was released May 2nd of this year.

As you’ll no doubt come to slowly find out, I am a huge fan of ANYTHING that Jacob Hansen has produced (vocalist of legendary Danish thrashers Invocator), and this is no exception. What we have here is slightly mathy groove-metal with harsh, biting vocals and hints of melody, as well as some cyber/industrial tinges and overhangs. If you ever wanted to hear a combination of Mnemic and Sybreed, this would certainly be the band for you.

The album opens up with the ambient, mood-setting instrumental “Elusive Atmosphere”, which slowly ushers you into a very simplistic techno loop. You can feel the buildup coming, and once it hits, you get your balls fucking rocked by the brutal opener, “Pulse Within The Paradox”, and you know instantly, once the slightly polyrhythmic groove starts, that you are in for a ride.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

BRUTALIZE ME! (NEW SLAMS FROM ABOMINABLE PUTRIDITY)

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  40 Responses »
May 102011
 

Fuck. We just made a u-turn on our musical road — right into the path of an 18-wheeler semi-truck going about 80 mph. Cruising along, listening again to that excellent From Exiles cover EP (see this post), and then we saw that Moscow’s Abominable Putridity put up two new tracks on YouTube yesterday. Paused the From Exile, punched “play” on the first AP track — and got flattened. Pancaked. Road kill. Now just a nasty smear of guts and mangled tissue on the pavement. Fuck.

Do you know Abominable Putridity? We first found out about them early last year when we did a feature on Cameron “Big Chocolate” Argon (Disfiguring the Goddess, etc.), who played some live shows with the band in Russia and recorded some vocals for them, too. Their debut album, In the End of Human Existence (2007), is a crushing behemoth of brutal death-metal loaded with Devourment-style slamming riffage. But, shit, that was roughly four years ago.

It appears the long wait for new Abominable Putridity is just about over. The band signed to the Brutal Bands label last year, and it appears recording and production work on the next album is done. It will be called The Anomalies of Artificial Origin. It will feature awesome album art by Par Olofsson (we did a screen-grab of one of those YouTube clips to feature at the top of this post and blew it up, but we really want to see a high-resolution image of this thing).

As for the vocals, we’ve been snooping around forums and message boards and found some comments from the band’s guitarist Sergey indicating that Matti Way (Cinerary, Liturgy, ex-Disgorge, ex-Pathology) has done the lead vocals for all the tracks, and that guest backing vocals have been provided on different songs by Angel Ochoa (Condemned, Cephalotripsy), Corey Athos (Deeds of Flesh, Flesh Consumed), and one other (so far unidentified).

As for the new songs, there are two of them, and they don’t mess around. Wantonly destructive fuckers, but with irresistible groove. Go past the jump and listen — that is, if you’re in the mood to be pummeled about the head and shoulders and left to bleed out. Continue reading »

FROM EXILE NAILS NINE INCH NAILS

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  16 Responses »
May 102011
 

Wasn’t so long ago that we had a pair of posts about cover songs (Andy’s special Synn Report on covers and my musings about the pros and cons of covers, prompted by Anachronaeon‘s cover of Iron Maiden). We followed that in short order with news of an awesome-looking cover album by Dying Fetus (here). Seems to be the season for covers, because late yesterday we got word about an EP by Atlanta’s From Exile that we’ve been waiting for, which is devoted to covers of four songs by Nine Inch Nails. It’s called Just Like You Imagined and it’s now available for free download in mp3 or FLAC. We wasted no time listening last night.

So, let’s first review what we discussed in those previous posts and in the accompanying comments about covers: (1) they fail more often than they succeed; (2) there’s no terribly good reason to listen to a cover if it’s just a re-tread of the original, except perhaps for a novelty factor when the normal musical styles of the original and the cover band are poles apart; and (3) the best covers turn the original songs into something new and different, re-sculpting them into new works that stand on their own through variation of the original — but without completely losing connection with the source.

All four of From Exile’s covers succeed, in spades. In both subtle and dramatic ways, depending on the song, they’ve creatively re-shaped the NIN songs, producing music that’s more guitar-driven and more metal. They’ve preserved the spirit of the originals, yet succeeded in adding something of their own, and the results are wonderfully appealing. After the jump, we’ll explore the changes in a bit more detail and juxtapose the originals and the covers for your listening pleasure. Continue reading »

MORE NEW SONGS: REVOCATION AND TOMBS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
May 092011
 

The next album from Boston’s Revocation has been on our get-without-fail list since about the beginning of the year. We now have a release date from Relapse Records — August 16 — and the pre-order packages are now up for sale.

We also now have the album title (Chaos of Forms) and the album cover, which is awesome. And last, but not least, only a few hours ago Revocation posted a track from the album (the first to see the light of day) called “Cradle Robber” on their Facebook band-page. It’s a helluva song. Once again, Revocation makes thrash come vibrantly alive — the music is not only fast and wild, but in both off-tempo and full-speed passages, David Davidson’s technical guitar pyrotechnics make your head spin. The drumming on this track is insane, too.

Now, flip your mind upside down for this next one.  New York’s Tombs also has a new album on the way, also on Relapse. Titled Path of Totality, it will land on June 7 in North America, and it’s another one we’ve been anticipating eagerly. Two songs from that album have already premiered — “Silent World”, which debuted on NPR, and “Vermillion”, which launched at BrooklynVegan.com. Today, a third one — “To Cross the Land” — premiered on Stereogum.com.  We’ve got more to say about those songs, plus the new Revocation track, after the jump. Continue reading »

ANOTHER ARCH ENEMY SONG

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  10 Responses »
May 092011
 

It’s safe (and easy) to say that everyone who has listened to Arch Enemy falls into one of three camps: (1) you like everything the band does; (2) you like nothing the band does; (3) you liked the earlier albums, but have been meh about the more recent ones. We will soon have a new Arch Enemy release from Century Media. Khaos Legions will debut on May 30 in Europe and June 7 in North America. So far, two songs have been made publicly available.

The first — “Yesterday Is Dead and Gone” — was released as a video and premiered by Guitar World.  We wrote about that one here. The second, “Blood-Stained Cross”, has been exclusively streaming at MetalSucks since last Friday. I finally listened to that track and felt it was worth a post, because although many of you are also MetalSucks readers, I know some of you aren’t.

MetalSucks introduced the song by proclaiming that Khaos Legions “may very well be the legendary melodeath outfit’s finest hour since 2001′s Wages of Sin.” I certainly can’t agree or disagree with that comment yet since I’ve only heard two songs, but I will say this: Although I thought “Yesterday Is Dead and Gone” was okay (and only okay), “Blood-Stained Cross” is wonderful, and if the rest of the album is in league with it, I’l be agreeing with that MetalSucks assessment.

The song has a dark, vicious edge that does indeed recall Wages of Sin, with a great melodic guitar lead — and Angela Gossow’s vocals on this song may be the best effort from her I think I’ve yet heard. Yes, it’s still a very melodic song, but it’s also morose and seething and musically varied. I’m liking it a lot. If you’re in Category (1) or (3), as described above, you should definitely go to MetalSucks today (using this link) and listen to “Blood-Stained Cross.”

METALITY – THE COMPILATION [VOL. 2]

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  26 Responses »
May 092011
 

NO CLEAN SINGING is proud to announce the release of METALITY’s second compilation of music from the Middle East. If you don’t already know, METALITY is a great metal blog that covers music from around the world, but with a unique emphasis on metal bands from the Middle East and North Africa. That blog has turned us on to lots of great music in the past. Through an effort so gargantuan as to make us exhausted just thinking about it, METALITY has now assembled a compilation of music from more than FIFTY bands — including bands we’ve previously written about here at NCS — and it’s now available for free download.

If you scrutinize that flyer up above, you’ll see our name as a co-sponsor of the release. In fact, we’re the sole North American co-sponsor of this comp. One perq of being a co-sponsor is that we got an advance listen to all the tracks on this compilation. What it doesn’t mean is that we’re sworn to rave about all the music regardless of what we honestly think about it. So, we’re going to give you our honest opinion about this comp: It’s amazing.

The download files (two of them) for this album are big — and not just because they include more than 50 songs. The download also includes a separate file of album art for each band plus a file of links to the web pages or social media sites for each of them. You could be forgiven if you needed something more than the word “free” to invest the hard-drive space on this beast. So, after the jump, we’re going to do three things:

We’re going to provide more detailed observations about the music on this compilation so you’ll have a better idea what you’re getting into; we’re going to feature five of our favorite tracks; and (courtesy of METALITY), we’ll give you an embedded music player that will allow you to stream each song or put the whole album on continuous play. And of course, we’ll give you the link for the download if you like what you hear.

There are some real gems on this comp — we think it’s worth your time to stay with us after the jump and investigate this further.  Continue reading »

NEW GOJIRA SONG!

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  20 Responses »
May 082011
 

We have been anticipating The Devin Townsend Project’s new album Deconstruction for quite some time, but have been positively slobbering over the prospect since we found out the identities of the guests who will appear on the album (see the line-up, matched with the track list, here). Among those guests are Joe Duplantier, the vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the almighty Gojira, and Paul Masvidal, the vocalist and guitarist for Cynic. Both of them join DT and his bandmates on a song called “Sumeria”.

The modern musical world being what it is, Deconstruction has already leaked, which is a shame. And from leakage of the album to download sites, of course it will be a short step before the songs start to appear on YouTube for streaming. One already has. Guess which one.

Initially, “Sumeria” appeared as a track recorded off a broadcast by a Finnish radio station, with subpar sound quality and sounds of the DJ talking at the end. But now, some asshole has put the actual album track up for streaming, with album-quality sound (well, at least mp3 quality). So, of course, we completely ignored that, in protest of the leakage of what is likely to be an album-of-the-year candidate from one of the most creative metal artists working. That protest lasted about 60 seconds.

Having registered our protest by waiting 60 seconds, we listened to the song, and it’s stunning — a massive, complex, heavy, beautiful, many-layered creation that will take many listens before the contributions of all the parts become clear. But there is no mistaking Joe Duplantier’s contribution — there are passages in the song when those lumbering, instantly recognizable Gojira riffs begin to stomp and Duplantier’s instantly recognizable voice begins to proclaim the verses. Not that Devin Townsend stands in anyone’s shadow, but if you’ve been pining for a new Gojira song, there’s one lurking inside “Sumeria”.  And even though we really do think it’s a shame that this album has leaked, as responsible journalists reporting the news as it happens, we’re embedding that YouTube clip of “Sumeria” right after the jump. Continue reading »

INGESTED

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  18 Responses »
May 082011
 

We fucking loved Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering, the 2009 debut from Manchester, England’s Ingested. We raved about it here. That was a long time ago. Time passes, and one of two things usually happens. You read the depressing news that a band you liked has split up, or eventually you read that, lo and behold, there’s a new album on the way.

In the case of Ingested, the news we just saw is of the latter, happy variety: There is indeed a new album — entitled The Surreption — scheduled for release on June 6 by Siege of Amida. Within the last few days, the band has displayed the eye-catching cover art you see above — created by Colin Marks, who has created similarly arresting artwork for Whitechapel, Suicide Silence, All Shall Perish, and many others, in addition to Ingested’s first album. It’s not exactly an uplifting image, but neither is Ingested’s music.

In addition to the album art, we have more details about the album. For example, it was recorded at Studio 6 Swindon with Stu Mckay and Cherrywood Studios Bristol with Rob Purnell, Jonny Burgen and Dave Purnell (Trigger the Bloodshed), and it was mixed in L.A. by Mick Kenney (Anaal Nathrakh, Bleeding Through). Yeah, so far so good. Also, the album will feature guest appearances by Alex Erian (Despised Icon) and Mathew Jones (Martyr Defiled).

On top of all that, Ingested has recently released the first song from The Surreption. It’s called “Castigation and Rebirth”.  (stay with us after the jump to hear that song . . .) Continue reading »

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