MOONLOOP

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Mar 242012
 

My fucking day job forced me to be away from my computer most of yesterday. It was like a severing of the umbilical cord between fetal me and the mother web who gives me the sustenance of new metal, except no one slapped me on the ass to get me breathing on my own. This morning I was able to reconnect the umbilical and re-establish blood flow to my brain, although oxygen deprivation may have caused some brain damage. With me, it’s difficult to tell, because I come up with bad metaphors even at the best of times.

Anyway, I started catching up with metal news over the last 24 hours by browsing my Facebook news feed. I stopped when I came to a Listenable Records post about a band called Moonloop. I stopped because they are called Moonloop. How could I not check out music from a band named Moonloop?

It turns out that Moonloop are from Barcelona, Spain, and Listenable signed them last month for release of their second album Deeply From the Earth, which will come out in Europe on May 28 and in the U.S. sometime this summer. I found one of the songs from the album on Soundcloud. It’s called “Strombus”, and I dig it deeply.

Listenable says Moonloop’s music will appeal to fans of Gojira and Opeth. References to Gojira and Opeth in the description of other bands’ music are over-used (I’m certainly guilty of it myself), though in listening to “Strombus”, I can sort of see the connections. The structure of the song, the combining of harsh and clean vocals, and the incorporation of progressive musical elements could call Opeth to mind. And I suppose there’s a certain elephantine stomp in the guitar tuning and chord progression in parts of the song, along with the timbre of vocalist/guitarist Eric Baule’s voice and the environmentally themed lyrical focus, that could explain the Gojira reference. But as I heard other songs from the album, I also thought of Cynic and Obscura.

Regardless of which references might best capture the feel of the music, “Strombus” and the other two songs I found are definitely worth hearing. Continue reading »

FULL ALBUM STREAM: MESHUGGAH’S “KOLOSS”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Mar 242012
 

Meshuggah and Nuclear Blast did a cool thing. They created this massive widget that allows you to stream the entire album and allows people like us to embed it in our web sites. If you hover your mouse over the center of the image, you will see a semi-circle of circles. If you then hover your mouse over each circle, you’ll see a song title and then you can play it. Magic!

You can also read BadWolf’s early review of KOLOSS, which Meshuggah themselves featured on their Facebook page, by going here. KOLOSS was released by Nuclear Blast in Europe yesterday and will be released in North America on Monday.

FULL ALBUM STREAM: ELYSIAN’S “WIRES OF CREATION”

 Album Reviews, Metal News, Premieres  9 Responses »
Mar 232012
 

We’ve premiered individual songs before, but this is a red-letter day at NCS because today we’re premiering a full-album stream. The album is Wires of Creation (scheduled for release on March 26), and the band is Australia’s Elysian.

We first came across Elysian through one of our EYE-CATCHERS experiments — in which we listen to new music based solely on the appeal of the album art (the Wires cover was then, and still is, very cool). At that time, only one song from the album was available for listening (“Mans Design”), and it was a powerhouse piece of music. Now we’ve heard the whole album, and it fulfills the promise of that first song.

Elysian’s metal is both complex and primal, stylistically diverse and intricate in its composition, yet infused with atmospheric melodies and head-busting grooves. Wires of Creation is a dynamic work that both leads the mind down a labyrinthine path and packs a physical punch. It’s progressively minded melodic death metal that brings to mind an imaginary collaboration between Dark Tranquillity and pre-Harvest Opeth, but with other ingredients in the mix as well.

The band was founded by guitarists Gabriel and Nathan Hutchinson, and their interplay — part throw-down duel and part harmonious collaboration — is a large part of what makes the music so engrossing. They jab in a blur of hard punches, they bring the fiery shred, they spin webs of atmospheric melody. Gabriel is also responsible for keyboard additions that enhance the music with beats of electronica and soaring ambience. Continue reading »

THE FBI TRIES TO FUCK WITH US — AGAIN

 IQ Subtraction  21 Responses »
Mar 232012
 

Well, I guess I succeeded in warning the FBI off my ass, so what did the cowardly motherfuckers do? They turned their malignant attention in the direction of poor, defenseless Andy Synn, who isn’t even a U.S. citizen, much less a real person. This called for hard measures, so I gave them hard.  Measures.

First, here is the e-mail addressed to Guv’nor Synn, which he forwarded to me in my mind and which I am quoting verbatim because I could not have made this up, except I am omitting embedded links in the message, because although I love all of you, some of you might try to pretend you are me — or worse yet, Andy — and get the booty for yourselves.

March 19, 2012

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Anti-Terrorist And Monitory Crime Division.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation.
J.Edgar.Hoover Building Washington Dc
Customers Service Hours / Monday To Saturday
Office Hours Monday to Saturday:

Dear Beneficiary,

Series of meetings have been held over the past 7 months with the secretary general of the United Nations Organization. This ended 3 days ago. It is obvious that you have not received your fund which is to the tune of $2,500,000.00 due to past corrupt Governmental Officials who almost held the fund to themselves for their selfish reason and some individuals who have taken advantage of your fund all in an attempt to swindle your fund which has led to so many losses from your end and unnecessary delay in the receipt of your fund. Continue reading »

NEW VIDEOS FROM INSOMNIUM AND PARADISE LOST

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Mar 222012
 

I’m just taking a short break from slaving away at my fucking day job . . . just long enough to tell you that TERRORIZER just premiered brand new videos from Insomnium and Paradise Lost in advance of their UK tour next month, the poster for which you can see above.

The Insomnium video is for “Regain the Fire” from One For Sorrow. The Paradise Lost video is for “Honesty In Death” from their new album Tragic Idol.

To see these videos, go past the jump. I haven’t even seen them yet, so please let me know what you think so that I will know what to think when I watch them during my next momentary break from my fucking day job.

Thank you for your service. Continue reading »

REV. WILL’S RITVAL TOOLKIT, OVT NOW!

 Metal News  17 Responses »
Mar 222012
 

No Stvpid “Delvxe” Or “Limited” Editions!

Not Black Metal, Bvt Pretty Kvlt

What’s vp, yov feeble-minded hvmans? Has everyone been listening to tr00 n’ kvlt black metal? Yov’ve got to be listening to tr00 n’ kvlt black metal, or yov ain’t welkome arovnd here. All ov yov scene kids and -kore kvnts can rvn back to yovr  holy holey friends and bawl like a baby for all Rev. Will cares—ONLY TR00 N’ KVLT BLACK METAL SHALT BE TOVCHED VPON HERE.

By the keratin goodness ov Satan’s goat horns I swear, I shall khristian my anti-kore krvsade “The Lvciferian March Ov Diabolikal Radioaktive Yadabradabra Khristflakkin’ Volkanik Tortvre Ov Blasphemy” and embark on its virgin qvest ov desekration akross the kommercially-driven sovndskape ov the modern metal mvsik indvstry once I prokvre enovgh war fvnds from trvsty warriors ovt there.

I know, many ov yov are bvsy with yovr day jobs as meek data klerks and salesmen, and perhaps even the okkasional rich bvt vseless fat boy who jvst got grovnded by his bvsinessman dad, so I will extend the deadline to the seventh date ov Blvshreck, at exaktly, I repeat, exaktly 9 O’Klokk, 9 minvtes and 9 sekonds dvring daybreak. No more, no less.

Now that I have gotten that ovt ov my pagan system, let’s talk abovt one ov Rev. Will’s most hated phenomena in the realm ov kommercial mvsik—the “delvxe” or “limited” edition that yovr typikal Maiden and Metallika albvms are svre to have. Continue reading »

THE SWEATPANTS MOSH UPDATE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  22 Responses »
Mar 222012
 

(We’re pleased to welcome guest columnist JJ “Shiv” Polachek, the vocalist for both 7 Horns 7 Eyes, whose debut full-length Throes of Absolution will be released on April 24 by Century Media, and Ovid’s Withering, whose debut EP we recently reviewed here. In this first of what we hope will be many posts, Shiv gives us some slamz.)

So I’ve been given an opportunity to stand on a soapbox and deliver a brain dump to you faithful readers of NCS, and I’m gonna utilize it to aware you all of something that the major metal news and media sites always seem to overlook: SICKASS NEW SLAMZ.

I’m not talking about artsy-fartsy stuff like Deeds of Flesh, Disgorge, Blasphemer, or the new Condemned (even though I love all those bands). I’m talking about good old-fashioned, blue-collar, working-class SLAM. Bands that make a conscious decision to not get too out-of-the-box because that would take away from the crushing sickness throughout, and they don’t have time to worry about luxuries and privileges like “counterpoint” and “polyrhythms”. As a direct result of this, they always kick infinite ass 100% of the time. I could wax pretentious like any typical Internet Metal Nerd, but these jams speak for themselves. I’ll still write about them though, I guess, whatever:

PIGHEAD

 

Continue reading »

ANNIVERSARY REVIEWS BY WILLIAM SMITH (ARTIFICIAL BRAIN, BUCKSHOT FACELIFT), PART 2

 Album Reviews, Listmania  6 Responses »
Mar 222012
 

(William Smith is the vocalist for Buckshot Facelift and a Long Island band named Artificial Brain that I wrote about twice early last fall — here and here. He also writes a very entertaining blog called Vitos Squid Stop and Death Metal Museum. I asked him late last year if he would write something for NCS . . . and this is it!  Part 1 of this post appeared here yesterday.)

After reading a lot of people’s best of 2011 lists, I realized I have a lot of catching up to do and am in no position to judge what the best albums of 2011 were. On that note,  I’ve  looked through my collection and dusted off  5 albums each that were recorded or released ten and twenty years ago, respectively.  Some under-rated gems that maybe you overlooked or weren’t around for – either way, they deserve a second go around now that they’ve aged a little and can be seen in the context of history. They have all earned a special place in my collection – here I’ll share with you why.  In the words of Pyrexia – where were you?

CLASS OF 1992 (20 year anniversary)

1.   Viogression – Passage (Progressive International / Tombstone Records)

The few people who may remember this under credited Milwaukee Death Metal band would probably chastise this album for its thin and narrow production and the uneven volume problems that more or less straighten out after the first song. The main problem I found with this cd was that it spanned 13 songs in about an hour and it honestly could have probably been boiled down to 9 songs in 40 minutes.  For those who choose to brave the occasional mastering slipups and have the patience to give Viogression an hour of your life, though, you will not go unrewarded.

Camoflauged within Viogression’s warm, fuzzy brand of Obituary-style doom and gloom was a visionary capacity for atmosphere, depth, and technicality. Those who listen to this album in hindsight may find that, at times, it has more in common with what Canadian bands like Cryptopsy, Kataklysm, and Gorguts would be perfecting over the following decade than with the primitive mid-tempo style popular in the Midwest at the time. Beyond that, it also features a guest vocal appearance by Joe Ptacek, himself (R.I.P.). For what it’s worth, this was a “missing link” album that helped churn the evolution of Death Metal forward and is worth a second listen now that it’s almost as old as some of its members were when they recorded it. Continue reading »

UFOMAMMUT: “EMPIREUM”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Mar 212012
 

February 22, 2012: a day that will forever after be remembered as U-Day.

Okay, well at least I’ll remember it because I was so damned clever in coming up with that post title for a Feb 22 feature about new sounds from bands whose names begin with U.

Okay, I probably won’t remember it either.  In fact, the only reason I remembered it at all is because one of those bands was Italy’s Ufomammut, and today brought us a new Ufomammut track in the form of an official video. The music is called “Empirean”, and it’s the first movement on an album titled Oro: Opus Primum — “primum” because it’s the first of two albums that together will form the Oro saga in 10 movements. Neurot Recordings will release the first one on April 17 and the second in September.

Ufomammut plans to release videos for each track from both albums over the coming months and then collect them in a DVD that will be sold with a limited edition vinyl on the band’s own Supernatural Cat Records.

Now, with those details behind us, let’s move on to “Empirean”. The video, which is embedded here after the jump, originally debuted today on a fascinatingly eclectic metal blog called The Obelisk that I used to read before I sacrificed most of my reading to NCS (and congrats to The Obelisk on landing the debut). “Empirean” is about 14 minutes long, and it’s a disturbing, hypnotic journey. Continue reading »

ANNIVERSARY REVIEWS BY WILLIAM SMITH (ARTIFICIAL BRAIN, BUCKSHOT FACELIFT), PART 1

 Album Reviews, Listmania  5 Responses »
Mar 212012
 

(William Smith is the vocalist for Buckshot Facelift and a Long Island band named Artificial Brain that I wrote about twice early last fall — here and here. He also writes a very entertaining blog called Vitos Squid Stop and Death Metal Museum. I asked him late last year if he would write something for NCS . . . and this is it!  Part 2 of this post will appear tomorrow.)

After reading a lot of people’s best of 2011 lists, I realized I have a lot of catching up to do and am in no position to judge what the best albums of 2011 were. On that note,  I’ve  looked through my collection and dusted off  5 albums each that were recorded or released ten and twenty years ago, respectively.  Some under-rated gems that maybe you overlooked or weren’t around for – either way, they deserve a second go around now that they’ve aged a little and can be seen in the context of history. They have all earned a special place in my collection – here I’ll share with you why.  In the words of Pyrexia – where were you?

CLASS OF 2002 (10 year anniversary)

1.   Genital Grinder – self-titled cd (Adipocere Records)

The cover art is the type of amateurish cartoony obscenity that seemed popular with French bands of the time and depicts exactly what you’d expect from a band named after my favorite Carcass song. The song titles are all over the place between English, French, and acronyms, giving the overall first impression that this is some type of typical loose-knit noisecore operation at best. Instead what you get is airtight “spacey” sounding Death Metal in the Florida tradition, with outstandingly deep and guttural vocals. What makes things interesting is how GG frequently shrug off the atmosphere set by their stoic and relentless metal assaults with low-brow toilet grind humor similar to Viscera or Gut. Definitely for fans of the old Czech band, Hermaphrodit, if anyone remembers them. Continue reading »

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