SEEN AND HEARD: DEAFHEAVEN, NECROCURSE, CREST OF DARKNESS, AND DEATH I AM

Here’s a round-up of things that caught my eyes and ears today. Eventually, they will let go and I will be able to see and hear again. The first thing is a news item about a band I like a lot. The other three items involve deviant musical filth of the supremely headbangable variety, which of course I also like a lot.

DEAFHEAVEN

I admit it: I’m intensely devoted to the music of San Francisco’s Deafheaven. The last time I wrote about them was in this review of their superb recent split with Bosse-de-Nage.  Today I received a press release stating that they have reserved studio time in January for the recording of their second full-length album, which will be entitled Sunbather and is projected for a Spring 2013 release by Deathwish Inc. They’re sticking with the same engineer (Jack Shirley) who worked with them on the debut album, Roads To Judah.

I was intrigued, though made nervous, by the included quote from Deafheaven vocalist George Clarke: “While the new material is more developed, we’ve strayed from what was previously a more melancholic approach. The black metal aspect to our music is prevalent in the new material, but I don’t think it’s necessarily the focus this time around.”  Lead guitarist Kerry McCoy continued, “There are a lot of harsh, dark vibes on Sunbather, but don’t be surprised at how lush and rock-driven, even pop-driven certain aspects will be.”

It’s pointless to begin forming impressions about music you haven’t heard, but I repeat: The term “pop-driven” makes me nervous. To calm my nerves, I decided to get filthy.

NECROCURSE

Necrocurse crawled from the cesspools of Uddevalla and Ljungskile, Sweden, in 2004 and proceeded to make life uglier than they found it. They’ve signed a deal with the reliable Pulverised Records, which now plans to release their debut album Grip of the Dead in the first quarter of 2013.

Yesterday Pulverised began fouling up the interweb with a song-stream for one of the album’s new tracks, “Rotten In the Dark”. I knew from the first 5 seconds that I would like it, because of those groaning, gruesome chords. I liked it even more when all the blasting and shrieking began. Sickness oozes from all the pores of the music, which incorporates tremolo-picked malevolence and acidic, blackened vocal malignancy ,in addition to filthy chord distortion.

In 2011, Necrocurse unleashed a  7″ EP entitled Insane Curse Of Morbidity via Aftermath Music. I’m including a YouTube clip of that steaming pile of filth right after the new track. I don’t know which screams more horribly in that song, the vocalist or the guitar solo. Also, eviscerating gut-riffage and severe neck sprain.

http://www.facebook.com/necrocurse
 

 

 

CREST OF DARKNESS

Crest of Darkness are a Norwegian black metal band who’ve apparently been active on the scene since the mid-90s, with five studio albums to their credit. Their sixth album, In the Presence of Death, is now due for release by My Kingdom Music on February 11, 2013.

I hadn’t heard of the band before seeing this news, and decided to check out an official music video for a song called “Druj Nasu” from their last album, Give Us the Power To Do Your Evil (2007).

The song is a rampaging, riff-heavy, hard-rockin’ blend of black- and death metal that wants to beat you senseless and send your shriveled, whimpering soul straight to Hel. The video is draped in shadows, but I think that’s probably a good thing, based on the worms and the blood I can see through the gloom. I half-expected Nosferatu to leap for my throat before the thing ended.

Foul and formidable, “Druj Nasu” definitely hit my sweet spot, so I also listened to another track from the last album, which is on SoundCloud — “Your Demons”. It confirms what I suspected from “Druj Nasu”: these fuckers have sold their souls to Satan for black riff magic.  Rock the fuck out to these babies.

http://www.facebook.com/crestofdarknessofficial
 

 

DEATH I AM

In June I came across a two-song demo named Nanite Swarm by a predominantly Japanese band (guitarist Shogo Tsuruda and bassist Yusuke Ito) that includes a U.S. singer (Jacob Wilcox). Their name is Death I Am. I wrote about them and their demo in a post you can find here.

Today they released a lyric video for a new song by the name of “Pound of Flesh”. To be brutally honest, I don’t need the lyrics, but I thought the visual effects were cool. And the song? It’s a clawing, ripping, retching, skin-flaying mass of Cannibal Corpse-ian overdrive. Nice.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Death-I-Am/107580735937884