LIVE AT THE BOARDWALK (June 15, 2012): BISPORA, JOURNAL, TAUNIS YEAR ONE, SYMBOLIK, AND EXTIRPATE

 Concert Reviews, Free Shit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  16 Responses »
Jun 222012
 

(DemiGodRaven reviews another recent show at The Boardwalk in Sacramento, and again uses the write-up to introduce music from a group of up-and-coming bands who might hook you.)

You know, sometimes the internet has a habit of inflating your sense of how popular you think a band really is. I say this mainly because lately it seems like we’ve become something of a heavy metal echo chamber in which one person says, “Hey! You should check this band out!” and then two more pick up on it, and so on. Surely, that means somebody must’ve picked up on it because everyone is talking about it.

Then you actually go to the show and it occurs to you that, yes, this is still a small local band show. It’s a group of guys busting their asses and slumming it out to try and get someone to pay attention to them, even if the big name on the bill couldn’t make it due to a family emergency (that’s 2 for 2, Fallujah, Sacramento remembers the dates that stand it up) and one of the other death metal bands couldn’t make it, so a smaller group had to step in. It’s a show that maybe fifty to sixty people made it out to, including the other bands.

There was a weird sort of hopeful energy, where no one knew who I was (well, except for the one guy who was playing that night who I played with in a band for about two months…) and they were just excited to have someone interested in what they were doing. It’s probably the most hipster and, ‘Oh you’ve probably never heard of them’ that I’ll ever get to be.

The internet is also amazing because it really does widen a band’s reach. Can you believe we had someone from Australia complaining in the comments for the Soma Ras demo review that they couldn’t go to this specific show? How strange is that? You have bands who have anywhere from 800 to 2000 likes on Facebook playing what should be a hometown show to a small crowd, yet you have people 3,000 miles away mad because they couldn’t see it. Continue reading »

AN EXCLUSIVE NCS PREMIERE: “THE HORRORS OF HOME” BY KARTIKEYA

 Premieres  13 Responses »
Jun 212012
 

At NCS, we follow Moscow’s Kartikeya like hawks, because their music is excellent, because they don’t sound quite like anyone else, and because they don’t stand still. The band are at work on a new album, to be called Samudra, which we understand should be ready for release later this year, and they’ve been teasing their fans about a new single from the album to be released June 22.

Well, it may only be June 21 in the U.S., but it’s June 22 in Russia — and so the song is ready for release now. And to our very happy surprise, we get to premiere it!

The single is called “The Horrors of Home”, and the artwork features the photography of Greg Shanta. The song itself also includes some noteworthy guests, in addition to the members of Kartikeya: NCS favorite Keith Merrow, who contributes a winding, rippling guitar solo, and vocalist Aleksandra Radosavljevic.

“The Horrors of Home” may be the most multi-faceted piece of music that Kartikeya have yet created, combining complex hammering rhythms, passages of ethnically-influenced dreamlike ambience (made even more otherworldly by Aleksandra Radosavljevic’s wordless vocals), a soaring chorus, sections that put me in mind of the dark melodic death metal of bands such as Insomnium, and maybe even a flavor of Devin Townsend and Machina-era Smashing Pumpkins. And the male vocals on the album really provide an array of tones — from bestial death metal howls to blackened shrieks to rousing cleans.

Do listen to this piece of dark, transfixing music right after the jump . . . and then we’ll tell you how to get it for yourself. Continue reading »

GREAT ALBUM – SHAME ABOUT THE ARTWORK

 Eye-Catchers  8 Responses »
Jun 212012
 

(Andy Synn gives us examples of reverse-Eye-Catchers.)

In between reviews (at the moment I have pieces on the new Vintersorg, Gojira, Ihsahn, and De Profundis in gestation) and work on future editions of The Synn Report (for which I have a vague outline of what bands I want to cover, and in what order), I’d like to drop in little columns on bits of metal culture tangentially connected with the music. It’s fun to do, and it gives me a bit of breathing space and a place to clear my head.

Now, while I have a long-running piece on metal lyrics and the art of writing them (and then setting them to music) in the works, I thought for now I’d do a short, irreverent piece on metal artwork.  More precisely, bad metal artwork.

Ok, so clearly I could have filled this entire list with bad black metal artwork… although similarly I could easily have filled it with bad death metal artwork (any number of covers featuring zombies, rape, or zombie rape would do) or bad thrash artwork (robots, tanks, robot-tanks, etc). But I’ve gone for a cross-genre approach to make things a little fairer, and to allow me to fit in some real stinkers.

All these examples have been chosen from my own collection, and I’ve selected a few pieces of artwork that have unfortunately been latched onto otherwise great albums. Not all of them are utterly terrible, but none of them do justice to the music contained within. Continue reading »

ASHENCULT: “BLACK FLAME GNOSIS”

 Album Reviews, Free Shit  31 Responses »
Jun 212012
 

(Credit for all photos in this post: Alyssa Lorenzon.)

 

(Listen up: BadWolf presents his favorite black metal album of 2012 to date.)

2012 has been a great year for metal so far, can we agree on that? Unlike 2011, several strong acts, veteran and green alike,  took initiative in releasing powerful works of doom and death metal. On the other hand, the black end of the spectrum has yet to blow me away (although rumor has it that Hell’s Headbangers‘ summer lineup will slaughter). Dodecahedron deserves a second look, and the new Abigail Williams collected strong accolades, both here and elsewhere, but other than that I’m drawing a blank.

Rather, I was drawing a blank until Doug Moore of InvisibleOranges referred me to Ashencult. The Philadelphia PA 4-piece outfit released their debut album, Black Flame Gnosis, on May 31 through Bandcamp. I’ve listened through twice today, and it’s giving me the fever (aye aye).
 


Continue reading »

THE STORY OF MY NIGHT

 Concert Reviews  16 Responses »
Jun 212012
 

 

(Last night . . . June 20, 2012 . . . Seattle . . .)

Met some old friends and some new ones at The Honey Hole after work (yeah, that’s the name of the place, no lie).  Shot the shit. Had some adult beverages.  Had half a samitch , made on a crusty French roll with sliced steak, goat cheese, peppers, pesto, and some other shit. Awesome.

The new friends urged me to try a soup with a name I can’t pronounce. Had a cup of that. Was made with hot curry, coconut, cream, veggies, chicken, and I don’t know what else. Extra awesome. Had a second cup, with more adult beverages. Told the pretty lady from the kitchen who made it that it gave me an orgasm. May not have actually used the word “orgasm”, but same concept. She brought me a cup of cheese soup with broccoli in it. And people say men can’t have multiple orgasms.

Reluctantly left the Honey Hole before trying the third kind of soup on offer.  Drove with the old friends to Studio Seven. Got there in time to have a beer and a shot before Revocation’s set. Fourth time I’ve heard them, never gets old.

Listened to a couple of songs from the balcony bar while taking pics, then went down to the floor and locked myself in about two feet from the stage in front of David Davidson. Whole band was firing on all cylinders, and then some. Realized again what a fuckin’ wizard Davidson is. Pretty sure I levitated. Pit would start up and then kind of stop, cuz people just couldn’t help but stare. The downside of being so damned brilliant.

Bought a Revocation shirt, so they can eat. Plus the shirt is awful fine. Went outside with the friends to smoke cigarettes and watch the beautiful people in all their black finery. More beer afterward. Then Dying Fetus began to crank it up. Continue reading »

FREE SHIT FROM THE LORD

 Free Shit, Metal News  6 Responses »
Jun 202012
 

“Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

So it says in the Book of Job. I’ve never been quite clear about the being-naked-and-returning-to-my-mother’s-womb part, but I do know the Lord giveth. Witness, this:

Last night in Seattle was the kick-off show of a tour organized by the Southern Lord label (in fact, organized personally by the label’s owner, Greg Anderson), showcasing four of the label’s up-and-coming crushers: Black Breath (Seattle), Martyrdöd (Sweden), Burning Love (Ontario), and Enabler (Milwaukee).

All four of those bands have new albums that have either been released this year or will be coming soon. We’ve run features about two of those bands (which you can find here and here), and I’ve been meaning to write something about Martyrdöd ever since hearing a stream of their new song “Köttberg” when it started streaming at Pitchfork in late April.

At various stops on the tour, this foursome will be joined by the likes of Poison Idea, Noothgrush, Pelican, Power Trip, Wild/Tribe, Dead In the Dirt, and The Secret, almost all of whom we’ve also written about at NCS. So in a nutshell, this tour is going to be one rolling slaughterhouse of hard metal.

And that brings me to the free shit. To celebrate this tour, CVLT Nation, in cooperation with Southern Lord, is hosting a free download of a mixtape consisting of 20 songs — half of them from the bands on this tour and the remaining half from other recent Southern Lord alumni — including tracks from High On Fire, Black Cobra, Wolfbrigade, and a bootleg from Sleep that’s never before been officially released. Continue reading »

NEW KATATONIA: “DEAD LETTERS” FROM DEAD END KINGS

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Jun 202012
 

Following up on 2009’s Night Is the New Day, Sweden’s Katatonia have completed their next studio album, Dead End Kings, which will be released on August 27 (a day later in the U.S.) by the Peaceville label (it’s available for pre-order here). Today, Peaceville and the band released a lyric video for one of the tracks on the new album — “Dead Letters”.

It is an Exception to the Rule here, because . . . clean singing. But ever since my one and only witnessing of Katatonia in a live setting, I’ve had a soft spot for the band’s music (it was quite a show), and so I had to pay attention to this. Glad I did.

The video showcases some of the wonderful artwork by Travis Smith that will appear in the album booklet, and the imagery well-suits both the lyrics and the music. The song is a blending of the heavy and the ethereal, both moody and jolting, dark and meditative. I don’t think fans of Katatonia will be disappointed in what they hear. Check it out following the jump.

In addition, Peaceville has made the song available for free download, in exchange for your email address. To get that, GO HERE. Continue reading »

U CAN HAZ GRINDZ!

 Album Reviews, Free Shit, Phro's Posts  3 Responses »
Jun 202012
 

(It appears Phro has taken the early results of the NCS Reader’s Poll to heart. Not the part about hand jobs or using more polite language. The part about writing more shit for NCS. Below, Phro reviews new releases by Strong Intention (U.S.), Wake (Canada), Dephosphorus (Greece), and Chemical Tomb (UK).)

Hi. It’s morning. I’m pissed about that. Also, I have three things I’d like to shove in your ear hole. Don’t worry, it won’t be a pleasant experience. Least of all for the cockroaches. Probably you’ll have the second worst time of it. Unless you’re one of these girls. Don’t worry, that’s totally safe for work if you work in the vomit porn industry. Or a daycare. Very informative for children. Teaches them the dangers of not listening when Daddy tells not to touch the drugs. (Bad Phro, no touching Daddy’s drugs.) But Phro wants to play!  Phro wants…

Umm…

First up! Strong Intention’s Razorblade Express!
(http://www.facebook.com/STRONGINTENTION)

Daddy…uh…I mean, Islander sent me some albums for review. The first one was the Rumplestiltskin Grinder album from last week. (Great album, isn’t it?) The other two were short grindcore releases. Usually, when I think of grindcore I think of stuff like Wormrot and Circle of Dead Children. Strong Intention wear their hardcore influences a bit more prominently. In fact, like a lot of hardcore, you can actually almost make out the lyrics. I think. Pretty much all I can accurately catch is “Hate this life!” (Which is incredibly apropos this morning.) It sounds as if there’s a screaming, howling, angry wood-chipper fronting the band. (Daddy says not to play with the wood-chipper or he’ll shove my arm in to teach me a lesson.) Continue reading »

STREAM NACHMYSTIUM’S “INSTINCT: DECAY” – LIVE FROM ROADBURN 2012

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Jun 202012
 

(BadWolf found us a real gem to start this Wednesday.)

If you still haven’t checked out Nachtmystium, Chicago’s black metal prodigies, where the hell have you been? Their mix of punky black metal with stoner rock, psychedelia, and industrial elements strikes that perfect balance between great songs and great sounds—their two Black Meddle records garnered serious critical acclaim (from myself and others) for it. But Nachtmysitum’s metamorphosis from Norwegian attack clone into unique entity began on their 2006 album, Instinct: Decay.

If you haven’t heard Instinct: Decay, this is the perfect opportunity. It’s required listening for any serious fan of USBM. If you’re a fan of Blake Judd and Friends’ new material, you can hear the beginning of that sound here. If you thought the Black Meddle albums were wussy metal you should still listen: Instinct: Decay is substantially rawer than either of its successors. Nachtmystium played the album front-to-back at this year’s Roadburn Festival, and some German website I have never heard of is streaming the entire performance as recorded straight from the sound board.

http://3voor12.vpro.nl/luisterpaal/playerpage.program.14484831.html

I imagine you can figure it out easily enough—hit the big triangle that looks like a play symbol. It’s a play symbol. [Editor’s intrusion: or, you can stream it at NCS right after the jump.]

The sound of this recording is pretty great, but that’s to be expected—I have Nachtmstium’s Live at Roadburn LP from early last year, and it’s fantastic. As a matter of fact, Blake’s vocals aside, this recording sounds better than the actual album, which is in pretty dire need of a remaster, already. Continue reading »

HEAVY T.O. AND HEAVY MTL ARE HEAVY

 Metal News  1 Response »
Jun 192012
 

Though we cover metal bands from all over the world, we do tend to be pretty U.S.-centric when it comes to writing about tours and festivals. So in this post I’m going to make a small stab at remedying that by helping spread the word about what look to be two awesome shows this August in that very civilized nation to the north of us. Y’know, that place where I’ll be spending lots of time if Mitt Romney wins in November.

One of the festivals is called HEAVY T.O., and it will take place on August 11-12, 2012, at Downsview Park in Toronto, Canada. Part of the reason why I’m posting about this now is because Gojira are weighing heavy on my mind (see our post from earlier today about the full-album stream of L’Enfant Sauvage) and Gojira will be playing at this festival. But Gojira are only one of (to date) 27 bands who are scheduled to perform.

It really is a pretty stunning line-up, including (to mention some of my favorites) Cannibal Corpse, Kataklysm, Between the Buried and Me, Job For A Cowboy, Deftones, Goatwhore, The Faceless, Exhumed, Fleshgod Apocalypse, and Origin. And that doesn’t include the headliners, Slipknot and System Of A Down, or the reinvigorated, Jesse Leach-fronted Killswitch Engage (who are sounding more and more like a band on the verge of reclaiming past glories).

NCS may have some boots on the ground at this festival, and if all works out, we hope to bring you some show reports in August. The full line-up, plus more info, is after the jump.

But that’s not the only Canadian festival of note in August. On August 10-12, HEAVY MTL will be kicking ass at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal. Continue reading »

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