NOW THIS IS HOW YOU REPRESENT!

 Metal News  12 Responses »
Apr 262012
 

That, my friends, is Happy Metal Guy wearing the NCS Fucking Good Pancake Tour shirt with none other than Frank Motherfucking Mullen and Terrance Motherfucking Hobbs of the almighty Suffocation, and the photo was taken in motherfucking Singapore, no less. And that’s not all — not by a long shot.

After the jump, you’ll see photos of Happy Metal Guy, once again looking just smashing in the old massive wall of penis, with members of Nile and Psycroptic. Yes, HMG collared all of these bands yesterday in advance of  the Diablo Open Air Festival in Singapore, which took place on April 26 (Singapore time). He is covering that festival for Teeth of the Divine, and I understand he’ll be meeting up with Arch Enemy by the time you read this. Of course, I expect he will have the same exemplary culinary taste when he dresses for that meeting. UPDATE: HMG did get a quick meet with a few Arch Enemy members, and there’s a pic of him with awesome drummer Daniel Erlandsson and new guitarist Nick Cordle after the jump.

If you don’t immediately recognize the name “Happy Metal Guy”, that’s the pseudonym he uses when he writes for Angry Metal Guy, but he has other names, including a couple he has used when he contributes posts here at NCS (including the “Keyboard Warrior” interview series). He also writes for a bunch of other sites, too — the dude just plain gets around, y’know? But he made me proud wearing the NCS shirt for his meetings with all those big-name metal bands half a world away from where we run this site. So fucking cool.

Also, very fucking cool that none of these bands had HMG ejected from the premises after they saw that shirt.

More fucking cool pics after the jump . . . Continue reading »

CATCHING UP (Part 1): LANDMINE MARATHON, ENSLAVED, EMPTINESS, KREATOR, ARCH ENEMY

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  34 Responses »
Apr 252012
 

If you’re really perceptive (or you’re one of those people who have no real life outside the confines of the internet), you may have noticed that over the last 10 days or so, I haven’t contributed as much to NCS as I usually do. There are reasons for that, but describing them in detail would be boring. Let’s just say it involved unsuccessful transplant surgery, an inter-species paternity suit, and a rigged auction of antique trepanning implements, and leave it at that.

Anyway, I’m behind on all sorts of things, including current events in the world of metal. I was able to spend a little time today catching up, and I found lots of interesting stuff — a combination of news items and new music. Even after I filtered out items that every attentive metalhead already knows (because those items have already been covered on a dozen other metal sites), what’s left is still too much to cram into one post. So, I’m dividing them between at least two posts, and maybe a third. Here’s the first installment:

LANDMINE MARATHON

The first item is a news item. The news is that Arizona’s Landmine Marathon have recorded a new, self-titled 7″ EP. I like this news (a) because it involves Landmine Marathon, who are awesome, (b) because the cover art (above) is cool, and (c) because I’ve finally made the decision to buy a turntable, so I’ll actually be able to listen to this thing when it comes out. The EP will be released on May 14 and will consist of two songs that were recorded at the same time as the band’s last full-length (Gallows); reportedly, the songs won’t be available anywhere else. You can pre-order the EP at Deep Six Records. I am highly confident that it will be good.

Also, because I haven’t owned a turntable since dinosaurs roamed the Earth, I have no idea what to buy, so please leave a comment if you have any recommendations, because that would make it easier on me than doing actual research. Continue reading »

EX-ISIS MEMBERS AND CHINA MORENO (DEFTONES) TEAM UP TO CREATE “PALMS”

 Metal News  17 Responses »
Apr 252012
 

I just found this press release waiting patiently in my in-box, and although I usually don’t just quote press releases, this certainly seemed newsworthy. So, here it is:

“Apr. 25, 2012 — Meet Palms, a newly formed Los Angeles based quartet featuring three former members of ISIS (Aaron Harris, Clifford Meyer and Jeff Caxide) with Deftones’ vocalist Chino Moreno.

‘Clifford, Jeff and I started Palms a little over a year ago out of a desire to continue making music together after ISIS ended,” explained Harris.  “Chino joined shortly after and our sound took shape from there.  We’ve worked really hard on this first release and are excited for people to hear it.  It’s nice to be back behind the drum kit, and with this line up.”

“Being a huge ISIS fan I’ve always dug the moods these dudes convey with their sound,” added Moreno.   “I am excited to combine my sense of creativity with theirs, and to have fun doing so.”

Palms’ debut album will be issued by ISIS’ former label, Ipecac Recordings, and is slated for a 2012 release with a release date to be announced soon.   The album was recorded and mixed by Harris, and produced by Palms.

Palms is Jeff Caxide (bass/keyboards), Aaron Harris (drums), Clifford Meyer (guitar/keyboards) and Chino Moreno (vocals).”

I haven’t heard any music yet, nor seen any info about the musical direction of this new band, but given the names associated with the project, it’s bound to be interesting. We’ll keep you posted when we find out more.

7 HORNS 7 EYES: “THROES OF ABSOLUTION”

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Apr 252012
 

(TheMadIsraeli reviews the awesome new album by 7 Horns 7 Eyes.)

Here it is folks.  The moment of truth.

For me, the best metal albums always have these qualities: a dignified, almost regal vibe; exceptionally well-composed guitar work; and the ability to convey the gamut of human emotion in its most agonized states.  If an album can bewilder me, evoke emotion in me, and make me feel crushed under its presence while displaying musical virtuosity in all of its glory, it will win me over for life.  It’s these kinds of albums that embody the idea that music can be a journey.

We at NCS have been anticipating this debut album by 7 Horns 7 Eyes like none of you would believe since each respective member here was made aware of its existence.  At the time of writing this, I just finished listening to Throes of Absolution for the fifth time — the fifth time TODAY.  To say I can’t get enough of the punishment is a severe understatement. I’m also enthusiastic about reviewing this audio tome of morose brutality because 7 Horns 7 Eyes are known for being a rather openly Christian band;  A Christian band with the professionalism, compositional breadth, depth, and technical ability that match any of their hottest contemporaries.  Listening to this album has been an invigorating experience, and it’s a pleasure and an honor to review it.  Beyond a shadow of a doubt, it’s a landmark for the legitimacy of mixing Christianity and metal.

I also got my pre-order package at the time of writing this, which further pumped me up for this review and led me to review the album as a whole (and you’ll see what I mean by that).

7 Horns 7 Eyes have been the subject of much classification debate, but I’m personally going to lob 7H7E in with the melodic death doom metal crowd.  There are shades of In Mourning and Daylight Dies that PERMIATE EVERY FIBER of the band’s music.  Don’t be misled by my that statement, though . . . in their approach to the style, 7H7E are undoubtedly unique and recognizable virtually from first note.  Their Christian background also has a tangible influence in the music, as certain musical hallmarks the Christian music of old, as well as heavy classical influences, are evident.  The result is a sound that is quite dark and bleak, but one that communicates light at the end of the tunnel. A lot of elements contribute to this result. Continue reading »

“REIGN IN BLONDE” IS BACK!

 Metal News  8 Responses »
Apr 252012
 

On the right side of every NCS page is a category of links called “Our Inspiration”.  It’s been there since our first post in November 2009. Two sites are listed, because reading those sites really was what inspired me to start NO CLEAN SINGING. One of them was Reign In Blonde.

RiB was started by two women — Julia and Elise.  Eventually, they were joined on a semi-regular basis by a third, “Angela Gossowski”. I read that blog every day, without fail. Julia and Elise were really good writers, they didn’t take themselves (or much of anything else) too seriously, and they had a talent for making any subject entertaining, even when I wouldn’t have found the subject matter itself intrinsically interesting. And Angela was . . . well . . . just riotously out of control all the time. Part of what I aspired to do with NCS was to create the kind of light-hearted, good-humored approach to writing about metal that those three achieved, though I’d never claim my own writing is in their league (they picked me as Mr. April 2010 in their “Panty Raid” series, but only because I kissed their asses so much that I got lip burn).

I’ve been using the past tense so far, because around the beginning of 2011, the RiB posts started to become less frequent, and there hasn’t been a new RiB post at all since March 3 of last year — until today.

Today, Julia announced that she is back and ready to start things up again at RiB (she says Elise isn’t ready to keep up with RiB at the moment, but maybe that will change). She asks for the support of readers to help get the site off the ground again. She asks these questions: “So what do you say? Shall we give this another go?” To me, these are rhetorical questions, because the answer is obvious: Fuck yeah. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: TONY FORESTA (MUNICIPAL WASTE)

 Interviews  2 Responses »
Apr 252012
 

(Yesterday, we posted BadWolf’s review of the March 23 Toledo stop on GWAR’s headlining tour, which also featured Municipal Waste, whose new album The Fatal Feast-Waste in Space was released on April 10 by Nuclear Blast. Before the show, BadWolf caught up with MW’s frontman Tony Foresta and here’s their discussion.)

BW: So this is record number 5. What are your thoughts on Municipal Waste five records in?

Tony: I think we got better. I think the last record was good, there are some hits there, but on this one we definitely jump back up. Some people said it’s the best thing we’ve ever done. As good as our earlier Earache stuff. As long as it’s not shitty I’m stoked. We put more effort into this one than anything else we’ve ever done.

 

BW: There was a video of you guys in the studio with a piano.

Tony: Yeah, that was our buddy Lance, who records the vocals. He had that huge piano so we just recorded a video to confuse the shit out of people, make them think there’s a waste track with a piano.

 

BW: Is there?

Tony: No. Continue reading »

AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE HOPING WE’D SHOW YOU A VIDEO ABOUT JEFFREY DAHMER, CANNIBALISM, AND SIMULATED SKULL-FUCKING, YOUR WISH HAS COME TRUE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Apr 242012
 

I guess I made the title of this post really long so I wouldn’t need to write as much in the body of the post. I guess I also felt that with DGR posting the new videos from Storm Corrosion and Epica, I needed to post something really rancid and disgusting, y’know, to provide balance. I guess the UK’s Flayed Disciple was reading my mind, because this afternoon they served up just the thing.

Phro reviewed this band’s new album Death Hammer for us here. Among other things, he wrote: “They’ve successfully taken the thrash groove riffing and drumming (which I like), gotten rid of the thrash vocals (which annoy the shit out of me), added some modern death metal elements, and got a growler who sounds like he lives in the bottom of a well. Not because he has nowhere else to live, because, fuck you, he likes it closer to hell.”

“Closer to hell” could have been the sub-title for this video. Of course, the song is called “Shrine of Dahmer”. The video includes all those things I mentioned in the post title, plus lots of other nauseating images, which of course made it irresistible. It’s not safe for work, unless you work in a slaughterhouse. Continue reading »

TWO STORM-THEMED VIDEOS FOR THE DAY

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Apr 242012
 

(DemiGodRaven brings us news of two new videos . . .)

The Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) / Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) collab known as Storm Corrosion unleashed the video for their song “Drag Ropes” today. I’ve listened to the whole disc, it’s more dark themed prog. The video is about as odd as anything else Steven Wilson has been connected to lately.
 

Continue reading »

SHOW REPORT: LEGACY OF DISORDER, GHOUL, MUNICIPAL WASTE, GWAR – Mar 23, 2012

 Concert Reviews, Interviews  2 Responses »
Apr 242012
 

(BadWolf provides this report of a show at Headliner’s in Toledo, Ohio, on March 23, 2012, featuring Legacy of Disorder, Ghoul, Municipal Waste, an GWAR.  All photos were taken by Nicholas Vechery.)

Every large metal show in Toledo rolls through Headliners—bands like The Black Dahlia Murder or Between the Buried and Me play the small drive-friendly stage. Bands like GWAR, however, play the big stage, which looks like a whole lot of nothing, just a big concrete floor splaying out in front of a stage with a few industrial beams holding the roof up. In other words, spartan. The place practically begs to be coated in fake blood.

I’ve seen some of the best and worst shows of my life here: one side of the equation, I saw Lamb of God, Trivium, and Machine Head here in 2007 with a little-known band called Gojira opening for them; on the other hand I saw The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus here. (Don’t ask. It’s a shitty story. I punched a 12 year old boy.) I rank this show in the middle of the pack overall—two winners, one check, and one dud.

I arrived before Vechery, Vokillist, and d00shc00gr to interview Municipal Waste. I tried to interview GWAR and failed to penetrate a layer of bureaucracy—yes, such things exist in the world of metal. I accept this failure as an even trade for a rarer sight: a team GWAR staff meeting.

Opinions on the band aside, I have never seen such professionalism backstage. The band’s Tour Manager showed zero-tolerance for bullshit on the part of local staff and the band alike while displaying absolute reverence for the security team. Continue reading »

DEATH GRIPS: “THE MONEY STORE”

 Album Reviews  16 Responses »
Apr 242012
 

(groverXIII reviews the new album by NCS favorites, Death Grips.)

[CLEAN VOCAL WARNING]

[ACTUALLY, RAPPING WARNING]

Now that we’ve got that out of the way… By now, you should have heard of Death Grips. This Sacramento-based experimental rap trio has been mentioned several times by myself and BadWolf, and the aural insanity that is the Exmilitary mixtape has been spread everywhere. (It’s downloadable for free on the Death Grips site, along with several tracks off of this album, and the whole album can be streamed there.) Following the buzz that Exmilitary generated, Death Grips signed with Epic Records (on the condition that they maintained full creative control) and have released the first of two highly-anticipated 2012 albums, The Money Store. And that, my friends, is what brings me here.

Now, if somehow you missed out on Death Grips, they’re a bit hard to describe. They are ostensibly a rap project, but the experimental nature of the group pulls them into completely foreign territory. Let me put it this way… With most of the good rap (read: not the shit that they play on the radio), the MC is an instrument of surgical precision, utilizing intelligent wordplay and a deft delivery the way a master swordsman wields a rapier. Death Grips, on the other hand, are a warhammer being swung recklessly by a berserk, half-mad barbarian tweaking on meth. I initially compared them to the rap equivalent of black metal, but the more I think about it, the less accurate I think that comparison is. No, I would say that Death Grips is more like the rap equivalent of Gorguts, taking a fairly established sound and twisting it into something bizarre and otherworldly. Continue reading »

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