BEYOND GRACE: “MONSTROUS”

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  14 Responses »
Feb 252014
 

I have a pain in my butt, the kind that Preparation H will not ameliorate: The old fucking fay job is impinging on my precious blog time. This is the main reason why we have a grand total of only two posts today, this being the second one.  It will continue to have its way with me over the next couple of days, so NCS content may continue to be scarce and my butt will continue to hurt. My NCS comrades are also being diverted by such distractions as sleeping late, cleaning their rooms, and evading creditors. One of them is also currently on tour in the UK with one of his bands.

The one who is on tour is Mr. Andy Synn, the band in question is Beyond Grace (formerly known as Bloodguard), and the tour in progress is headlined by The Monolith Deathcult, with additional support from Talanas and an appetizing assortment of other bands at each venue. Details about that are available here.

But the main point of this post, other than advising of my hurting butt and reminding you about that tour, is to alert you to the fact that Beyond Grace have just released their debut, three-song EP, the name of which is Monstrous. Continue reading »

WHIP: “DIGITUS IMPUDICUS”

 Album Reviews  19 Responses »
Feb 252014
 

I’m writing about this album for five reasons.

FIRST:  This Norwegian band’s name is Whip. Not too long ago I wrote a post about the importance of band names. I included the opinion that the best metal band names are generally one-word names — though it sometimes seems that all the really good ones have been taken. And then I found out about Whip. That’s a fuckin’ great one-word name.

SECOND: The album is named Digitus Impudicus. Not being a Latin scholar, I ran that name through a Google search and discovered (via The Font of All Human Knowledge) that it means the “shameless, indecent or offensive finger” — you know, the middle one sticking straight up. I had no idea that giving someone the finger is a practice that dated back to ancient times, but so it is. That’s a fuckin’ great name for a metal album.

THIRD: This album was released by Polypus Records, which turns out to be an artist-owned label (started by Whip’s vocalist/guitarist Jens “Sturt” Johansen and some friends) that’s affiliated with an association of 11 bands named Bjølsebubben Kulturforening; the bands share rehearsal space and a common recording studio located in an old factory building in Oslo. As Sturt explained in an interview, the decision was made “that we have to take control of our music as the music business is out drunk-cruising between icebergs.” Continue reading »

NEW MUSIC FROM ENTHRONED AND DEUS OTIOSUS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Feb 242014
 

I thought about saving the two songs in this post until our next round-up of new music, but I’m too excited to wait.

ENTHRONED

A scant six days ago I received the news in my e-mail inbox that Agonia Records will be releasing the 10th studio album by Belgium’s Enthroned on April 15. The title is Sovereigns, and it’s now available for pre-order at this location. I wrote about that news even though I had no music to share, because hell… it’s Enthroned!

Now I have new music to share. “Of Feathers and Flames” is the song’s name. It’s both a blitzkrieg assault of feral power and a stomping death march, both a ravaging storm and a swirling fog of funereally bleak melody, both a merciless battlefield fusillade and a dismal downpour of staggering hammer blows. After being stunned by 2012’s Obsidium I had very high hopes for Sovereigns. Sounds like expectations will be met. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 44: MARCHE FUNÈBRE

 THE SYNN REPORT  6 Responses »
Feb 242014
 

photo by Wout Muyldermans

(Andy Synn delivers the 44th installment in this series, reviewing the discography of Belgium’s Marche Funèbre.)

Recommended for fans of: My Dying Bride, Eye of Solitude, (early) Paradise Lost

Doom – any form of doom, from groaning cadaverous crawl to crushing melodic melancholia – isn’t really a genre I’ve touched on all that much in The Synn Report. Oh sure, there’ve been a couple of bands that flirt with doomy atmospherics and haunting ambience, but (as far as I can recall) no one who’s really been a full on Doom Metal act.

Well it’s time to change that.

Hailing from Antwerp, Belgium, Marche Funèbre deal in a form of downcast, depressive Death/Doom which shifts seamlessly between a funereal march and a thunderous death metal gallop, accented by frail threads of plaintive clean vocals and searing flashes of majestic lead guitar.

Desolate and depressive, ominous and oppressive, their often lengthy, drawn out songs are simultaneously draining and invigorating – at times they hit with instant impact, at others they build slowly and insidiously, insinuating themselves into the darkest corners of your mind. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: INSOMNIUM, DOOM’S DAY, VANHELGA, VAMPIRE, TARDIVE DYSKINESIA

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  14 Responses »
Feb 242014
 

Happy fucking Monday. Blech, it really hurt to write that. Here are some recommended tunes and videos I heard and saw over the last 24 hours, most of them on a day that wasn’t a fucking Monday.

INSOMNIUM

This first item falls into the category of breaking news:  Century Media has just announced details about the new album from Finland’s Insomnium, along with a teaser of the music. The album’s title is Shadows of the Dying Sun, and the cover art is at the top of this post. It will be released on April 29 in North America and April 28 in Europe.

The teaser is brief — 1:23 of new music. It consists of chiming guitars against a backdrop of ghostly ambience. It feels like the lead-in to some monstrous doomy riffs — but that could just be wishful thinking on my part. More wishful thinking: I would like to have this album today instead of two months from now. Undoubtedly advance tracks will be released. Undoubtedly we will have them here as quickly as we see them.

Check out the teaser next. Continue reading »

DOGMA: “UNDER DOGMA”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  2 Responses »
Feb 242014
 

(We welcome this guest review by one our Italian readers whose name is Pietro.)

The thing with Folk has been excellently summarized by Jon Voight, in an episode of Ray Donovan when he puts a gun to Rosanna Arquette’s head and screams: “Am I authentic enough for you, fucking tourist?”. Folk today comes too often in super glossy, ultra-cool, mega-polished coffe-table editions. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Most of the time, it’s just too domesticated. Airport souvenirs. We’re all fucking tourists. But sometimes, as is the case with Armenian progressive metal band Dogma, Folk can be just an incredibly pleasant surprise.

In 2008 I was travelling through Armenia, and while strolling along the green parks of Yerevan, the capital city, a gig poster took my attention. I was late for the gig, but the visual style was intriguing, so much so that I took a photo (above) and, once back home, began some investigating.

I found out that the band had come together only months before, and they had a blog. A few weeks later I was the proud owner (probably the only one in Italy) of Dogma’s sophomore release, Ethnic Methnic, a highly accomplished piece of work, cleverly alternating metal stompers and acoustic ballads. Contemporary music infused with traditional melodies, dominated by the incredible vocal talents of Zara Gevorgyan. Continue reading »

AN ELEMENTAL NIGHTMARES SPLIT: PORTA NIGRA, MEMBARIS, ASHENCULT, AND VUYVR

 Album Reviews, Metal News, SHORT BUT SWEET  6 Responses »
Feb 242014
 

I’ve been following the progress of the Elemental Nightmares project since before it became public, writing about it for the first time in July 2013. It began as an effort to raise money for a subscription series of 13 splits on 7″ vinyl (with digital download options) featuring one exclusive song each by 26 up-and-coming bands from around the world. As the project evolved, the format has changed:

Last Friday, Elemental Nightmares announced that instead of releasing 13 splits with 2 songs per side, they will release 7 splits on 10″ vinyl, with each split containing four songs instead of two. And, because of the new format, there will be 28 bands instead of 26. In addition, as previously announced, Elemental Nightmares is offering the splits for sale on an individual basis, as well as subscriptions to the series as a whole, and the digital-only option is still available.

But the best news is the announcement that the project will happen. To see the names of the original 26 bands and for more info about purchase options, go here. The two new bands will be announced soon.

And finally, Friday also brought the premiere (by Invisible Oranges) of four songs that will appear on the fourth installment of the series, and it’s a damned strong way to start off: The bands are Porta Nigra (Germany), Membaris (Germany), Ashencult (Philadelphia), and Vuyvr (Switzerland). Continue reading »

I WISH YOU WERE…

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  13 Responses »
Feb 232014
 

Like all human beings (at least the ones who are alive), I have a temper. I try to keep it in check. Most of the time I succeed. I try not to inflict harm or wish harm on anyone, no matter how big a diseased dick they might be. Most of the time I succeed. Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself, and sometimes losing your temper is the most effective way of dealing with a problem. But for unimportant annoyances, that’s generally the wrong answer.

Over the years I’ve learned lots of techniques for letting pointless bullshit roll off me. Deep breaths help. Walking away helps. Sometimes returning bullshit with kindness can be disarming.

But sometimes my head is thinking… I wish you had explosive diarrhea… I wish you were being butt-raped by an anteater… I wish you had to live with someone like you… I wish you were dead….

But as of today I have learned a new mental technique for dealing with bullshit that doesn’t involve wishing harm on whatever jerk is stoking my temper. It’s a new kind of wish… and it allows me to play some music on the site, which we haven’t done at all this weekend. We really can’t let the weekend end without some metal. So, allow me to present Cycle Sluts From Hell and their 1991 hit… Continue reading »

“THAT’S METAL!” — BUT IT’S NOT MUSIC (NO. 86)

 That's Metal -- But It's Not Music  20 Responses »
Feb 232014
 

It’s been about six weeks since the last time I assembled one of these THAT’S METAL! posts, so the list of potential items I keep as I see things around the interhole has grown to gargantuan proportions. Because I’ve waited so long to prepare a new installment, this will be a jumbo edition, with 10 items. If you’re new to this series, I collect images, videos, and occasional news items that I think are metal, even though they’re not musical.

ITEM ONE

The first item begins with the image at the top of this post. It’s a photograph of flesh yielding to the pressure of grasping hands. But it’s not real flesh and those aren’t human hands. It’s a detail of a sculpture carved in marble.

The artist was only 23 years old when he completed the sculpture. His name was Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and he created the sculpture between 1621 and 1622 in Rome, where it is still located today. Its name is “The Rape of Proserpina” and it depicts the abduction of Proserpina by Pluto, the god of the underworld.  The statue also includes Pluto’s three-headed dog Cerberus. Phenomenal. You can see more photos below. Continue reading »

CREATIVITY VS CONSISTENCY: THE STRUGGLE FOR IDENTITY

 Mosh Pit  7 Responses »
Feb 232014
 

(Andy Synn shares some thoughts about bands who change their sound over time, with two contrasting examples.)

Here’s something I’ve noticed, and I don’t doubt you will have, too. Pretty much anytime a reviewer (or a commenter) sees fit to question a band for changing their style – whether it’s a legitimate question or not is almost irrelevant – someone’s panties get in a bunch and they feel the need to hit back with an accusation that:

“You guys just want everything to sound the same! I applaud this band for changing and progressing! You just want everything to sound like Cannibal Corpse, etc, etc…”

What’s interesting about this is that – whether consciously or not – it’s reframing the terms of the argument, not addressing the original issue. It’s cleverly saying that anyone who questions a band’s decision to change its sound is clearly closed-minded and of limited intelligence. And while that’s probably true of a certain percentage of the metal community, it still doesn’t say anything about the band in question. Continue reading »

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