Free song downloads are good. They are better than simply getting the chance to stream a new song, which requires you to be hooked up to your computer or some other device with a solid net connection. They sound better when you play them back, and you can carry them around with you so you can listen while you’re out and about doing whatever scintillating things you do while out and about, or even when you’re parked on the throne in the midst of an eye-watering bowel evacuation.
Yesterday I discovered three free song downloads from bands we like around here: Hypocrisy (Sweden), Graveworm (Italy), and Immolation (U.S.). The songs? We like them, too. Quite a lot, in fact. And the Immolation offering was a very pleasant surprise — while only one song was promised, the download link provides an entire EP of music, and it happens to be one of the best death metal releases of the year.
HYPOCRISY
On October 21, Nuclear Blast will release a new DVD/CD combo from Hypocrisy called Hell Over Sofia – 20 Years of Chaos and Confusion. The disc will contain film of the band’s February 27, 2010 concert at the Blue Box club in Sofia, Bulgaria — which Hypocrisy called “one of our best shows ever in our history” — as well as a 90-minite documentary about the band’s 20-year history. Yesterday, Nuclear Blast made available for free download (at this location) one of the live performance tracks — “Roswell 47”, from the band’s 1996 album, Abducted.
“Roswell 47” is a blackened-to-a-crisp, mid-paced head-slugger of a song, and this live recording sounds awesome. Bang yo fuckin head:
[audio:https://www.nocleansinging.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/hypocrisy_-_roswell_47_live.mp3|titles=Hypocrisy-Roswell 47 Live]To get the download, you’ll need to provide an e-mail address, which Nuclear Blast will use to send you a download code.
GRAVEWORM
Italy’s Graveworm has recorded a new album called Fragments of Death that Nuclear Blast also  plans to release on October 21. It will be the band’s eighth album, with the first one dating back to 1995. Graveworm is a relatively recent discovery for me. In fact, the first Graveworm song I heard was in April of this year via a comment from NCS reader Death’s Embrace on a post about covers — he recommended Graveworm’s cover of “Losing My Religion” (and yeah, it’s really good).
I’ve been interested in this new album, and got even more interested after seeing the very cool cover art:
According to a press release, “The songs are about the death in its thousand faces, which is also reflected in the album title and cover art. Musically, the album can be seen as a mixture of the best of the last four records, with some old-school roots and definitive darker than its predecessors.” I assume they meant to say “definitely darker”. But perhaps this will be definitively darker. At any rate, I’m expecting darkness.
Yesterday, Nuclear Blast made a song called “See No Future” available for free download at this location (again, an e-mail sign-up is required to get the download code). Yes, this is the same Nuclear Blast that gave us that Hypocrisy song. I like their style.
I also really like this song. It’s a blend of thick, chugging chords and an absolutely sweeping melody in the chorus. No fucken clean singing in this song either. It’s an example of melodic death metal that you’ll have a hard time un-sticking from your head. Check it out:
[audio:https://www.nocleansinging.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/graveworm_-_see_no_future.mp3|titles=Graveworm – See No Future]IMMOLATION
Only two days ago, we published the news that Scion A/V intended to release a new five-song EP by Immolation on October 11. Immolation is death-metal royalty in my book, so that was pretty hot news to me. Then, last night I saw news that the the EP’s title song, “Providence”, was available both for streaming AND for free download.
So, I used the download link and discovered to my surprise that what downloaded was not just the song “Providence”, but the entire EP. I can’t promise the link will still deliver the whole EP, but there’s no harm in trying. To get the download, use this link.
Now, about the EP — it’s fan-fuckin-tastic. No shit. It’s brutal, blackened death metal with heaps of dramatic flair — massive, bleak, daunting, symphonic in places, and completely riveting from start to finish. This EP has vaulted itself into my list of the best death metal releases of the year, Listen to “Illumination”:
[audio:https://www.nocleansinging.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/02-Illumination.mp3|titles=Immolation – Illumination]19 Responses to “CAN WE GET MORE FREE SONG DOWNLOADS? WHY YES WE CAN!”
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I haven’t stopped drooling since Nuclear Blast sent me the email about Hell Over Sofia also being available on Blu Ray.
Such a shame how under appreciated this band is here in the US. In particular I live in Santa Cruz California and Death Metal just isn’t appreciated here at all.
The only Santa Cruz metal band that pops into my head is Band of Orcs. There must be others. And speaking of Hypocrisy, I found a bunch of fan-filmed videos of that live performance in Sofia. Here’s one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mG9eLsKQoI
Band Of Orcs are the only ones who made it out of here because of their Schtick.
Other then that this place is purely Punk and Screamo (which is finally dieing). All of us Metalers (the handful of us that exist here) end up playing shows for little more then each other.
That blows. Maybe there’s too much sunshine there. 🙂
Actually its very foggy here all the time. Its one of the reasons I live here. LOL
You have any specs on the BD version? Quick search on the NB site didn’t turn anything up. Is it just the upconvereted DVD or is it actually full 1080p and with some decent sound?
I looked, and all I found was this, which I don’t think will answer your question:
http://www.nuclearblast.de/en/products/tontraeger/dvd-bluray/bluray-digi-2cd/hypocrisy-hell-over-sofia-20-years-of-chaos.html
Thanks, yeah I’d found a similar page, but equally bereft of any tech specs. Will just have to wait and see.
I was really disappointed in the Graveworm track. It seemed like they went all “Cradle of Filth” on us. I hope the rest of the album doesn’t sound like this.
The Immolation track was interesting. Not sure how I feel about it. I need to listen to it some more.
What put you off about the Graveworm? The chorus melody? (Comparing someone to Cradle of Filth is really harsh, btw.)
The opening is really good. So is the verse. The chorus is just bland. It’s a simple and completely unimaginative. They could have done so much more with it, but it’s like they just gave up and went with the base structure. It’s a solid foundation, but it needs more. I think the thing that irks me the most is that the chorus reminds me of listening to Cradle of Filth. Or horribly done goth pop metal.
I know it’s harsh, but I think that best describes my level of disappointment with this track. If you go back and listen to some of their previous original work, they can and should do much better.
Christ I sound like a douchebag elitist. I hate it when I get like that.
/rant over.
MY GOD THIS NEW IMMOLATION! *bursts into flames*
Were you able to get the whole EP? It’s so solid all the way through.
Quite, and I’ve been pissing everyone in my dorm of with it since.
I like everything I’ve heard in this post. Maybew the Graveworm track isn’t quite like what they’ve done in the past, but it’s not bad. Now, as a longtime Cradle Of Filth fan, I’m not sure what to make of some of the commentary. Yes, they’ve come a distance from their Maidenesque black metal origins, but they are hardly a goth pop metal band. To each his/her own, I guess.
I’m afraid I have to part company with you here. I guess I wouldn’t call Cradle of Filth goth pop metal, but it’s gotten very hard for me to take them or their music seriously.
Fair enough.
I’ve been listening to CoF since Vempire and Dusk… And Her Embrace. Coming along after that, especially if it came after Midian, makes the band a bit harder to get into. The image they project doesn’t help and that Dani has gone from the tortured shrieks and howls of a man being castrated slowly to a more clear delivery has been a turn-off for many, understandably so. Nymphetamine, though a decent album, could be akin to Load (which I thought was a good album, albeit unexpected for Metallica), while Thornography could be seen as the equivalent of St. Anger.
I liked the part when you called Immolation “melodic death metal”.
Actually, I called the Graveworm track melodic death metal, which is the way it sounded to me. I don’t think I’d ever call Immolation that. 🙂