DEUS INVICTUS: “STAGED IN AWAITING”

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Oct 162011
 

(TheMadIsraeli returns to Deus Invictus with a review of their most recent album, Staged in Awaiting.)

Featured in a random music post I did fairly recently, Deus Invictus are an Atlanta band I stumbled upon in one of the downloading sprees I go on every so often to see if I strike gold. When I found out they were Christian I was even more intrigued, since I’m a Christian who thinks Christian music SUCKS THE BIG ONE IN SPADES, including most so-called Christian metal. Yes, I know, there is Extol, Mortification, Living Sacrifice; all three of them are excellent and legends in what they’ve done, especially for the more religiously inclined who love metal as much as any non-believer, but we need more bands like those.

Deus Invictus impress me with their combination of Cynic-like experimentation, Pestilence-like songwriting, and Death-like riffing and mood. A rather ambitious debut awaits hearing in Staged In Awaiting (2010), bringing torrential hailstorms of riffs of almost every sort within a progressive death metal framework. You won’t hear many albums this well put-together and well thought-out these days that are this diverse and this jarring.

Opener “Alas, The Anvil” starts out with a jazzy, clean intro that then drops like an atom bomb straight into an assault of Cynic-style dual guitar interplay and counterpoint. The rest of the song, like the rest of the album, is a total blur of awesome. My head is still spinning from it, but I think there was, like, a shitload of tempo changes or something. Lots of distorted-to-clean transitions and uh, tasteful use of sparingly utilized clean vocals, but mostly a pretty set-in-stone death growl with some serious power behind it. There are even some Opeth-ish-like-esque sections on this album that change the mood up nicely. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

KARTIKEYA: MORE NEW SONGS SURFACE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  22 Responses »
Oct 162011
 

In late September, we reported that on October 1, a label called Grailight Productions would be releasing a new limited edition “single” from the amazing Russian ethnic-metal band Kartikeya titled Durga Puja, which would include the amazing artwork of Mstibog once again. Up above is the cover, depicting the ten-handed war goddess Durga. When we made that report, we had one track available for streaming — a sick Kartikeya cover of “Triangular Tattvic Fire” by Melechesh.

In my usual back-assward fashion, I let October 1 come and go, and then more days came and went, and I totally missed the fact that the single is not only out, but also that additional tracks from it have surfaced on the interhole. Thanks to TheMadIsraeli, I’m now better informed. So, what I can now stream for you are two additional songs: The title track from Durga Puja, which is a new original song from the band that was mixed/mastered by producer Logan Mader (Soulfly, Gojira, Divine Heresy, W.A.S.P., DevilDriver, etc.), and a cover of “Arise”, which may be my favorite Sepultura song ever (and is certainly one of TheMadIsraeli’s favorites). If you’d enjoy having all the hair singed off your head, then stay with us past the jump and give these scorched babies a listen.

The new single also includes re-recorded and re-arranged versions of songs from Kartikeya’s first album The Battle Begins, plus a live version of a song called “The Path”. As for how to get a copy of the EP, I’ve searched that Grailight Productions site to which I linked above, and as best I can figure out, you would need to e-mail the label to request a copy — which I’ve now done. The address shown on the site is: demether@yandex.ru

This single is a limited release, so I’m not even sure physical copies are still available, and I haven’t found the single in digital distribution yet. If I get more info, I’ll update this post. Now, do jump past the jump and check this shit out. You’ll be glad you did. Continue reading »

FINNTROLL UNDER THE COVERS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  12 Responses »
Oct 162011
 

A month ago I posted a news item about Finntroll that intrigued me: In conjunction with the launch of a European tour called Heidenfest (which is still going on), they released a “tour edition” of their excellent 2010 album Nifelvind that included covers of three songs that I had a tough time imagining them playing: “Insect” by Oingo Boingo, “Can You Forgive Her?” by The Pet Shop Boys, and “The God That Failed” by Metallica. This last Finntroll cover was previously included in a 20th anniversary tribute to The Black Album that Metal Hammer compiled and released this past summer, but the song included on the tour edition has an alternate ending.

Of course, as a died-in-the-wool Finntroll fan, I had to get this tour edition, (a) because as cool as I wish I were, in reality I’m just an embarrassingly obsessive metal nerd, and (b) because I’m a died-in-the-wool Finntroll fan. It arrived in the mail on Friday. It features new artwork by the band’s guitarist Skrymer (which you can see above) and an extra CD that included those three cover songs. It’s being sold at CMDistro. If you’ve already got Nifelvind, you’d really have to fall into Category (a) or (b) like me to get this, because all you’ll be getting for the money that you don’t already have is the nice new digipack cover art and those three songs.

To help you make up your mind, I’m going to stream all three of the covers after the jump. My favorite is the Metallica cover, maybe because it was a metal song to begin with, but the other two are more appealing than I thought they’d be. As I should have known from listening to Nifelvind and Nattfödd, this band is capable of performing well in a wide variety of musical styles, and as groverXIII pointed out in a comment on the earlier post, I should have been able to imagine the Pet Shop Boys cover from listening to “Hel Vete” on the Trollhammaren EP (2004). Continue reading »

MY NIGHT WITH FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE

 Concert Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  32 Responses »
Oct 152011
 

Last night NCS co-founder Alexis and I went out to Seattle’s Studio Seven and met up there with our friend Travis for a bit of vigorous headbanging. There were massive attractions on the bill, starting with one of our favorite combines of local dudes, Blood and Thunder (whose new album we’ll be reviewing shortly). In talking with them after their set, we learned they’re recording a new song and we got a look at a new piece of artwork that will likely appear on future merch — it’s a huge eye-catcher, and I hope to splash it all over NCS soon.

And then we got the chance to see another Seattle band who I’ve heard good things about — black metallists Funeral Age. Their set was killer and I’ve now got their latest album, which I’m looking forward to ingesting. More likely, it will ingest me.

After that was a surprise — Rings of Saturn from California’s Bay Area. I didn’t know these maniacs were part of this show (they weren’t listed on the Studio Seven web site), but man, I’m glad they were. They’ve now got a new 7-string bass player and a new man-mountain of a drummer, and they delivered a high-energy blast of technical death metal. The calculatingly dead-pan stage banter of their frontman Peter Pawlak was also funny as shit.

And then came the band Alexis and I really were there to see — Fleshgod Apocalypse, who were making their second Seattle appearance of the year, after their all-too-brief set on the SUMMER SLAUGHTER tour stop. We moved up close to the stage for this one and just got completely mind-blown. We weren’t the only ones. The floor crowd was clearly eager for this set and exploded at the same time as the band’s first song exploded. So, in addition to getting mind-blown, we got treated to non-stop body slamming until the set ended. It was fucking spectacular. I didn’t think it was possible for me to become any more enthusiastic about FA than I already was, but yeah, it happened.

And then, we sort of lost the rest of the night’s music, missing out on Decrepit Birth and Decapitated, because we got engrossed in conversation at the tour bus with FA guitarist Cristiano Trionfera, later joined by Francesco Ferrini (keyboards), frontman Tommaso Riccardi, and drummer extraordinaire Francesco Paoli. More about that after the jump, plus another jaw-dropping Francesco Paoli drum-cam video that SickDrummer released yesterday from FA’s performance on October 11 in San Francisco. Continue reading »

BANDS YOU NEED TO HEAR: DEMISERY

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Oct 152011
 

(TheMadIsraeli provides a quick alert about a two-man, old-school death metal project that includes Keith Merrow.)

Keith Merrow has been slowly working his way up the ranks of metal supremacy. You’ll know him for his unique style of instrumental groove metal, and if not… well… get on checking that shit out.

Demisery is Keith’s first venture (that any of us will have heard) into a different style of music, old school death metal. Teaming up with his friend and vocalist Gord Olson, this two-man project is set to take the world by storm with their coming debut Hive Of Mutation”. I’ll let the band’s mission statement speak for itself.

“This collaboration is extremely fun, and the music is in the traditional Death Metal vein. It’s pretty much a blatant tribute to old (and some newer) Death Metal tunes. Fans of bands like Grave, Death, Obituary, Malevolent Creation, Cannibal Corpse, Monstrosity, etc… will find a familiar sound and traditional DM feel. We’re currently in pre-production of our first full-length album at the moment. It’s packed full of blast beats, trem picking, guitar solos and guttural vocals. There’s no core, no prog, no “djent”, this is a 100% Death Metal album.”

Sound good to you? Does to me. Demisery have released two songs thus far called “Thralldom” and “The Enlightener”, included after the jump, as well as a trailer of Keith Merrow recording various chunks of the album. Definitely expect a review of this down the line when it’s out. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: TEXTURES

 Interviews  4 Responses »
Oct 142011
 

(Textures‘ new album Dualism has been making quite an impact. We sure as hell liked it here at NCS, as reflected in TheMadIsraeli’s review. Now TheMadIsraeli follows that up with this interview of the band.)

Hello there! First off, how are you all doing today? I’m honored to even be doing an email interview with you guys, you’ve been one of my favorite bands since Drawing Circles.

Hi! Very good! We just got back from the USA tour these days, so life is turning back to normal again, getting used to the European rhtyhm again, and we’re preparing for the upcoming release shows.

I’m curious to hear from you guys, how does it feel to be on your 4th album now?

It feels natural haha, it’s just what we like to do! Time flies when you are having fun! We are very proud when we look back at all the 4 albums, and if we had to do it again, we would have done it the same way i think.

So you’ve just wrapped up the Frak The Gods tour. In hindsight, how did you enjoy the tour and what were your favorite or favorites of the three other bands on the bill? I know you guys love The Contortionist for example.

Yeah that band has really amazed us, it’s a great live band, and their sound and set was ultra steady, each night! I must say i didn’t know them before this tour, so for me it was a double surprise, just awesome to watch, every night. And great guys as well! Periphery and the Human Abstract are fun to watch too, great musicians!

Continue reading »

HELP A BROTHER OUT

 Uncategorized  30 Responses »
Oct 142011
 


It’s that time of year again, and by that I mean it’s vacation time (almost)! Yes, your humble Nitwit-in-Chief will soon be embarking for sunnier climes, leaving behind the fucking day job and the Seattle dank in search of a little R&R. While I’m gone, my blogging time will be significantly restricted. My wife, Mrs. Nitwit (which I can say because she never reads NCS) remains adamant that when she and I are on vacation, hours spent blogging every day will NOT be tolerated. She can be a scary person when angry and she’s good with a knife, so I don’t plan to push my luck.

I know our regular staff members — Andy, BadWolf, and TheMadIsraeli — will step up their game while I’m gone, and I’m hoping for the same from some of our more or less regular guest writers (Phro and Trollfiend, I’m lookin’ at you). But, as I did last year, I’m also appealing for help from our loyal cadre of NCS readers to help keep the site from going dark while I’m away by sending me guest submissions.

If you’ve ever toyed with the idea of writing something for publication at NCS or some other metal blog, now’s a good time to give it a shot. Or maybe you’re already writing for another blog and you’d like to upgrade the content quality at NCS (good luck with that).  Regardless of your situation, we want your shit! Uh, I meant, we want the eloquence of your written expression! Details after the jump . . . Continue reading »

STOP FUCKIN WIT ME

 Uncategorized  64 Responses »
Oct 142011
 


What I know about rap and crunk music isn’t worth a popcorn fart. It’s not that I think it’s bad, on some objective scale of “blows” to “awesome”. It’s just that, in my current frame of mind, it’s like everything else that isn’t metal: 99% of it is just BORE. ING.

But there are exceptions to every rule, and Lil Jon’s song “Stop Fuckin Wit Me” is one of them. I just heard this yesterday. The only reason I even found out about it is because there’s a metal connection: The song includes samples from Slayer. Some will say this pollutes Slayer, Some will say this pollutes crunk. And some will say this is a crime against all music, and a crime against nature on top of that. But me? I just wanna get in my car, roll the windows down, and blast this shit at random strangers until my speakers plead for mercy, “give em some of my fuckin pain”.

It’s kind of like that Archgoat song we featured yesterday. Sometimes, you just get some irreplaceable pleasure out of annoying the shit out of other people. But beyond that, this song just speaks to me. It gives voice to that small, meek voice that wants to be a lot bigger than it is, the voice that just wants to say, almost every day, to one person or another, who may or may not have it coming to ’em but I’d like to give it to ’em anyway, STOP FUCKIN WIT ME!

Oh yeah, one more thing: Credit to Cormorant for turning me onto this via a FB post, and who would’ve guessed that quite awesome band would be paying attention to this song? It came out years ago, and so some of you may find this to be really old news, but from my perspective if it’s new to me, then it’s just fuckin NEW. (listen after the jump) Continue reading »

LISTEN UP!

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Oct 132011
 

A reminder:

NO CLEAN SINGING was originally launched by three people almost two years ago. My two comrades have sort of fallen by the wayside as time has passed, though on rare occasions one of them surfaces to contribute a post. On this site, he goes by the name IntoTheDarkness. Beginning last month, he became the Metal Director at KSUB, the internet radio station of Seattle University. He’s responsible for the station’s metal playlist and he also personally hosts a two-hour metal show every Thursday night at 10:00 Pacific Time.

There’s not a lot of talking on that show, apart from IntoTheDarkness telling you what you’re going to hear, or have heard, but I can pretty much guarantee that the music will be killer — all extreme metal with no commercials. Now, I know there are 1,000 other ways you can find metal on the web for listening purposes, wholly apart from your own personal collection of music, but this is one way that I can’t help but promote, (a) because I know the dude pretty well (that’s an understatement), and (b) because I respect his taste. So, give this a shot.

To hear the show, you’ll need Winamp, iTunes, XMMS or an mp3 player capable of listening to shoutcast streams on your computer. You can listen by clicking this link. And for future reference, here’s the URL:

http://www.seattleu.edu/ksub/default.aspx?id=66045

And yeah, this is Thursday, so the show will be on in about 30 minutes from now.

A HILL TO DIE UPON

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  55 Responses »
Oct 132011
 

I’ve been meaning to write something about this Illinois band since  NCS reader Austin sent me a link to one of their songs a couple weeks ago. Today seemed like a good day to do it, for reasons I’ll explain later.

Their most recent album, Omens, was released in June of this year and followed their 2009 debut album Infinite Titanic Immortal. The core of the band are two brothers, Adam Cook (guitar, bass, lead vocals) and Michael Cook (drums, backing vox). Even before listening to the music, I was struck by the eye-catching cover art for the two albums. The cover of the debut is above and you can see the cover of Omens after the jump.

The two-headed eagle can mean many things, but among others it connects (in my mind) to the imagery of Polish death-metal heavyweights Behemoth because AHTDU’s music reminds me of that band. So far, I’ve only listened to a handful of songs from the two albums, but from what I’ve heard, the music has a similar imperial weight and obsidian edge. The band deliver heavy, crushing rhythms with a controlled, martial drumbeat; fat, groaning riffs augmented by bursts of rapid-fire, blackened-thrash leads and slithering solo’s; and predatory, lionine vocals. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries