NEW AGALLOCH: “CELESTIAL EFFIGY”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  28 Responses »
Mar 182014
 

“A galloping acoustic guitar-and-drums introduction? A strutting mid-tempo build? Vocals both growled and hissed? A quick and focused race through black metal? A heroic coda of pirouetting melodies and broad feelings? Indeed…”

Those are the opening words to Grayson Haver Currin’s introduction of “Celestial Effigy”, the first advance track from the next album by Portland’s Agalloch, which Pitchfork premiered this morning. The Serpent & The Sphere is the name of the album and it will be released by Profound Lore on May 13, followed by a May 19 European release by Eisenwald. There may be a 2014 album I’m anticipating more eagerly than this one, but if so I can’t remember what it might be.

The Pitchfork premiere is an exclusive one, so you’ll have to go here to listen. [UPDATE: No, you don’t have to leave us — because the song is now on SoundCloud and I’ve embedded it after the jump.] In addition to those words quoted above, I’d say this about the song: It’s most definitely recognizable as an Agalloch song, with ringing guitars and nimble bass and drum work, a mixture of driving intensity and swirling melodies. But it’s also definitely on the more hard-rocking side of the band’s multi-faceted character — which is just fine. Continue reading »

SHAKE-UPS: COBALT AND ARCH ENEMY

 Metal News  37 Responses »
Mar 182014
 

Phil McSorley — Cobalt

I had to deal with a load of personal shit yesterday, and I do mean a load of shit. For the second time in about six months, my car was broken into on Sunday night while parked in a lot on Seattle’s Capitol Hill. Passenger side window smashed in — again. Laptop and other personal valuables stolen — again. When will I learn? I’d like to come across the motherfucker who did this. Killing would be excessive, but I could live with myself if I permanently crippled him.

And then, after spending a crapload of time trying to figure out how to get my car window replaced (again), changing internet passwords to be safe, and working on replacing everything that was stolen, I somehow managed to load malware into my PC at work — the one I almost never use because I prefer to use my MacBook (the one that was stolen) because shit like that never happens to it. And so I had to surrender that PC to our IT department to figure out how to clean it up, leaving me to sit around with my thumb up my butt.

To sum up, my feeble plans to live some kind of blog life yesterday were basically fucked like a tethered goat. Continue reading »

TELLUSIAN: “COLLISION”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Mar 172014
 

(In this post Austin Weber reviews the debut album by Tellusian from Malmö, Sweden, and we’re also bringing you a full-album stream.)

When Crowpath bit the dust  a few years ago, the metal scene was poorer for that loss. Thankfully a group with former members of Crowpath called Tellusian exists, and it comes as no surprise that they are likewise a highly talented and forward-thinking act. It’s not the same line-up exactly, as only drummer Erik Hall  and vocalist Henrik Ivarsson have carried over from Crowpath. Tellusian’s guitarist John Rönnerblad and bassist  Robert Fuchs round out the band. Together, this foursome bring to the table  a fresh chemistry and style that meshes perfectly with the remnants of Crowpath to create something that flashes hints of their former sound — while simultaneously sounding like a completely different group overall. Really, the biggest similarity is the unique way in which they skillfully draw from so many kinds of metal to create their own recognizable style, which sounds like no one else.

Collision takes shape from a dense re-combination of various styles sewn together in a variety of different ways to create a destructive force that thrives on a counterbalance of melody enhanced by progressive experimentation. The core of Tellusian’s sound lies within technically adept sludge, with their use of off-kilter leads amidst heaving grooves coming across in a way that reminds of both The Ocean and Mastodon. Interspersed throughout their high-quality sludge antics are a smattering of death metal, shards of black and thrash, and grind–inserted in whatever way best suits each song and particular moment, for transition purposes and to build and release tension expertly. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: “SATAN SPEAKS” BY A HILL TO DIE UPON

 Premieres  6 Responses »
Mar 172014
 

We’ve been eagerly awaiting the third album from the titanic blackened death metal entity known as A Hill To Die Upon, and now it’s nearly upon us. Entitled Holy Despair, it’s scheduled for release on April 22 via Bombworks Records. The album follows 2011’s Omens, which Andy Synn praised in this review on our site, and an excellent 2013 single called manden med leen (reviewed here). We’ve had the chance to hear the new album in advance of its release, and it’s really, really good. Today, we’ll give you evidence of its strength by premiering an official lyric video for the song “Satan Speaks”.

As the lyrical text for the song, AHTDU used a poem of the same name by noted British essayist and novelist C.S. Lewis. It appears in a collection of poems named Spirits In Bondage that Lewis wrote as a young man after returning from the horrors of World War I. As Lewis wrote to a friend in 1918, the book is “mainly strung around the idea that I mentioned to you before – that nature is wholly diabolical &
malevolent and that God, if he exists, is outside of and in opposition to the cosmic arrangements.”

As one writer described the bleak message of the poem, “Death, not life, is the victor. The spider catches the fly, creation returns all its creatures to the dust from where they came, even the sun will in the end be ‘consumed’ by maximum entropy.” To the end of Lewis’ poem, AHDTU added their own final couplet: “I am Satan, accuser accursed / Heed not my words, I was not first.” Continue reading »

SHOW REVIEW: BLOOD OF THE WOLF FEST

 Concert Reviews  4 Responses »
Mar 172014
 

(Our long-standing supporter and guest writer Black Shuck turns in this report on the inaugural Blood of the Wolf Fest, which took place in Lexington, Kentucky, on Feb 22, 2014. All photos are by AnnSydney Taylor.)

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of experiencing the dark, mysterious ritual known as the Blood of the Wolf Fest. What’s that, you haven’t heard of it? That’s because this was the first one to ever take place. I’d be very suspicious if you had. (For any reader who had heard about it, take your scrying pool and begone, wizard. We’ll hold no truck with your starry-hatted nonsense here.)

This festival was the brainchild of those Kentuckian warriors of chaos, Tombstalker. Primarily organized by vocalist/guitarist Anton Escobar and bassist Chuck McIntyre, the lineup featured several bands from a group known as the Wolven Brotherhood. The Brotherhood was founded several years ago by Tombstalker and Dawn of Wolves (now Valdrin), when they released their split Cemetery Wolven Ritual (are you sensing a theme here?). The Brotherhood has now expanded to include many other bands from across the country. Presumably their collective subject material has also expanded to cover things that are not wolves, although I hold out hope that I will have a place there once my one-man black metal band, Death to the Three Little Pigs, gets off the ground.

Anyways, on with the fest. Note: All of the excellent photographs that appear here were taken by one AnnSydney Taylor. The festival poster and banner were designed by Lucas Ruggieri. Continue reading »

LIVE: VAMPILLIA AND BAPTISTS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Mar 162014
 

I’m usually in such a hurry to find new music worth saying something about that I rarely make time for videos of entire live sets. But I did that yesterday, not once but twice. In both cases I didn’t really intend to sit through the whole sets, but in both cases I couldn’t tear myself away. These two bands could hardly be more different from each other, but I think both videos are worth your time.

VAMPILLIA

I’ve heard this Japanese band’s name before, most recently in connection with a Japanese tour in June planned by an interesting two-man outfit named Mossenek, which features guitarist Mick Barr (Krallice) and electronic manipulator Chuck Bettis; Vampillia will be along for that ride, together with Nadja. But although the name rang a bell, I had no idea about the music until our supporter Christian Molenaar (whose own Bandcamp page is here) encouraged me to watch the following video.

The performance was filmed at a New York City venue named Pianos on March 9, 2014, by the incomparable (((unartig))). (((unartig))) undoubtedly had his hands full trying to capture everything at this show, what with 8 people on stage and one of them frequently getting down on the floor (and writhing around on it). The performance is incredibly strange and unpredictable — unique, even — and I’m confident it will not be most peoples’ cup of tea, but it includes some rich rewards. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: DEATHWINDS, KHONSU, NIGHTBRINGER, SARCOLYTIC

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK  11 Responses »
Mar 162014
 

Hey there. Happy goddamn Sunday to one and all. Most metal blog proprietors take the weekend off, to rest from their work-week labors and to recover from their binge drinking on Friday night. We’re not smart enough to do that. For the last four-plus years we’ve treated Saturdays and Sundays as just two more opportunities to mess with your earholes. Onward to the messing, with four items I filtered from the effluent of the interhole yesterday, presented in alphabetical order:

DEATHWINDS

I came across this Vancouver band via a Facebook post by Vault of Dried Bones, who will be releasing a cassette EP or album (I’m not sure which) by Deathwinds named Endless Wastelands. The only other thing I know about the band is that their three-person line-up (Nocturnal Black, Filth Destroyer, and Desolator) includes members of Chapel and Radioactive Vomit.

Yesterday Vault of Dried Bones began streaming a song named “Black Tombs’ Spirit” on SoundCloud, but after a little poking around I discovered that both “Black Tombs’ Spirit” and another song (“Death Rule”) are up on Bandcamp as pay-what-you-want downloads. I think I can safely say that I love the shit out of them. Continue reading »

THAT MR. PICKLES IS ONE METAL DOGE!

 Off Topic  19 Responses »
Mar 152014
 

Hey, I’ve been drinking mayonnaise, but I think Mr. Pickles is one metal doge! I think you will, too, even if you’re laying off the mayonnaise.

What?  You don’t know about Mr. Pickles?  Read this description of the new Adult Swim cartoon series, coming this fall:

“In Mr. Pickles, the urban sprawl of modern society pollutes the old-fashioned town where the Goodman family lives with their lovable pet dog, Mr. Pickles, a deviant collie with a secret satanic streak. From creators Will Carsola and Dave Stewart.”

Go ahead, watch the pilot for the series next. Trust your old pal Islander: No matter what else you see today, it will not top this video for sheer undiluted whatthefuckedness. Continue reading »

NEW MOSH MEAT FROM XIBALBA AND SUBURBAN SCUM

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Mar 152014
 

Some people have no use for a mosh pit. They prefer to go to shows and watch and listen and do their own thing in their own space. In my case, I’m too old and too big to mosh very much any more. My cat-like reflexes have dulled to the point of being loris-like, and there’s now a high risk I’d either wind up on my ass or inadvertently send someone else to the ER. But I’m damned sure if I heard either one of these next two songs at a live venue, I wouldn’t be able to resist.

The songs come from a new split by California’s Xibalba and New Jersey’s Suburban Scum. It will be released May 13 by Closed Casket Activities, both digitally and on 12″ vinyl. I liked the fuck out of Xibalba’s 2012 Southern Lord album Hasta La Muerte and have been eager to hear what they came up with for this split. I hadn’t come across Suburban Scum before; their last release was a 2012 EP entitled Hanging By A Thread (on 6131 Records).

Yesterday Closed Casket Activities started streaming one song from the split by each band. Xibalba’s “Death Threat” is heavier than the massed assemblage at your average truck-stop diner. Continue reading »

LISTEN TO TWO NEW TRIPTYKON SONGS: “BREATHING” AND “BOLESKINE HOUSE”

 Metal News  3 Responses »
Mar 142014
 

In early February, Century Media announced that it and Prowling Death Records Ltd. intended to release the second album by Triptykon on April 14 in Europe and April 15 in North America. The title is Melana Chasmata, which according to Century Media means (roughly) “black, deep depressions/valleys”. It will feature nine songs and a playing time of around 67 minutes. The cover art is above, and yes, we have yet another pairing of HR Giger and Triptykon. And now we’re pleased as fuck to bring you a stream of two album tracks: “Breathing” and “Boleskin House”.

“Breathing” is absolutely bruising and massively headbangable (massively). The riffs are titanic, V. Santura turns in a screaming guitar solo, and Tom G Warrior sounds like Tom G Warrior and no other. Of its own accord, this chugfest of a song vaulted right onto our list of candidates for 2014’s most infectious extreme metal songs.

“Boleskin House” comes next, and it’s something else altogether — a slow, rumbling, grinding, bleak behemoth that lumbers and stomps, with a change in vocal style and a fat load of tribal drumming, concrete-scraping bass leads, and psychedelic guitar melody. And still… it’s massively headbangable, too. Continue reading »

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