BIG ASS ROUNDUP

 

(Leperkahn continues to pitch in during my round-up hiatus.  Between what I sent him and what he found himself (of which there was quite an overlap), this is a monstrously large collection of recent, recommended goodies.)

Hey all! So a bloody lot of things got put up between when I sent in my last roundup and now, so this is gonna be a long one, since I’m not in the mood to separate them out. Strap in for a wild ride across the metalsphere.

BLUT AUS NORD

A few hours ago a new song named “Clarissima Mundi Lumina” from the new Blut Aus Nord album Memoria Vetusta III — Saturnian Poetry was made available for listening. This follows our own premiere of “Paien” right here. Islander says his review of the album will be posted on Monday, but he says there’s no point in waiting — just go pre-order the album in a special digipack CD edition here or on vinyl here. You can listen to “Clarissima Mundi Lumina” while you’re doing that:

https://www.facebook.com/blutausnord.official
https://www.facebook.com/debemurmorti

 

 

 

 

 

 

RELAPSE SAMPLER

Sometime yesterday morning Relapse Records released a free sampler on Bandcamp entitled Relapse Sampler 2014, which collects 30 songs from 30 really awesome bands, including Obituary, Iron Reagan, Nux Vomica, Mortals, and Indian, just to name but a few. There’s pretty much no downside to grabbing this thing, and it will definitely enrich your life and musical collection. Grab it via the Bandcamp link below.

https://relapsesampler.bandcamp.com/album/relapse-sampler-2014
http://www.relapse.com/
https://www.facebook.com/RelapseRecords

 

 

 

 

 

HARK

I completely missed the first appearance of this UK band’s album, Crystalline, earlier this year, until Amazon MP3 put up one of the tracks for free. To put it succinctly, the band, on that track and on “Scarlet Extremities” (for which the below music video was made), mix stoner rock with a tinge of grunge and general ‘90s-ness for a stew of chunky, juicy awesomeness. In particular, they remind me of what the new Alice in Chains album would sound like if it were played through Orange Amps that got stuffed with weed. Check it out below, and grab Crystalline via Season of Mist if you dig it here.

https://www.facebook.com/Harkband
http://www.harkband.com/
https://harkofficial.bandcamp.com/album/crystalline

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NAPALM DEATH

Looks like grindcore luminaries Napalm Death are finishing up another album. From vocalist Barney Greenway:

“When we say that we’ve been working on the album recording for nearly a year, people might be thinking that this all sounds a bit too extravagant for Grindcore-type behaviour. The full story is though that we’ve been recording it in segments to try and achieve varying types of sonic assault. There is a belief in certain quarters that you can only do so much with our particularly noisy strain of music. We think otherwise, so as well as a few stylistic quirks on the album (that are sometimes happy accidents), generally it’s rawer, perhaps a little looser and of course always dense, nasty and, hopefully, invigorating too. Certainly not more polished – yuk!

“Russ Russell helped us to give lots of people headaches down the years. He doesn’t mind us adopting certain, erm, techniques with studio equipment that most producer-engineers would find somewhat distasteful. So back we went again with Russ to Parlour Studios in the comparatively serene surroundings of Northamptonshire to do damage. There’s possibly some of the fastest and spazziest stuff we’ve ever done and, on the other end of the scale, some of the weirdest, most oppressive and adventurous no-wave-type stuff too.

“Some song titles for you to chew on: ‘Copulating Snakes’, ‘Dear Slum Landlord’ (aired at Roadburn 2014), ‘What is Past Is Prologue’, ‘Stunt Your Growth’. We’re nearly finished – we promise!”

I, for one, shall be awaiting this album with wide eyes and bated breath. I hope you will be too.

https://www.facebook.com/officialnapalmdeath

 

 

 

SYLOSIS

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve heard from UK thrashers Sylosis, after a flurry of activity a few years ago, resulting in two awesome albums, Edge of the Earth and Monolith, coming out in consecutive years. They’ve now announced a new album, entitled Dormant Heart, due out January 12 via Nuclear Blast. Guitarist/vocalist Josh Middleton describes it as “the most pissed-off, aggressive and intense album we’ve done, yet it still retains the epic, progressive and melodic side we’re also known for. It’s a very gloomy and atmospheric album”. Take that as you will.

https://www.facebook.com/Sylosis

 

 

 

 

 

WAYFARER

When I saw the name Wayfarer, I thought I was in for a pirate metal band badly aping Alestorm. Turns out they’re a lot better than that, and not pirate metal at all. These new Prosthetic signees play a sort of melodic, atmospheric, forest-y, yet well-produced black metal that seems like it could have a pretty broad appeal (to me). I’ve listened to this track a couple times, and gotten lost in its lithe melodies and oddly calm atmosphere. If you’re looking for a cool-down from a tough day at school/work/childcare/etc., look no further.

The song is the title track from Wayfarer’s debut album, Children of the Iron Age, due out November 24th on Prosthetic Records.

https://www.facebook.com/wayfarercolorado
https://wayfarercolorado.bandcamp.com/album/children-of-the-iron-age-2

 

 

 

 

 

ZOM

We here at NCS have been eagerly awaiting the first tidbits of Irish chaos-inducers ZOM’s debut album, Flesh Assimilation. That came yesterday via the CVLT Nation premiere of “The Depths”. The song starts off with an almost punky rhythm before descending into vicious, chaotic death metal that seeks to mutilate your face and mind. When looking for a face and/or mind mutilation, this kind of stuff is my go-to; I can’t wait to hear this thing in full. I can only hope that my body is as ready as my mind is.

Look for Flesh Assimilation November 24 via Dark Descent Records in the US. I believe Invictus Productions is handling at least part of Europe for this release as well. To hear the song, click that CVLT Nation link below.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/ZOM/195971213790266?ref=br_tf
https://zom666.bandcamp.com/
http://www.cvltnation.com/exclusive-cvlt-nation-streaming-zom-the-depths-review/

 

 

 

SODB

Last night (I think it was last night?) Islander sent me a link to this Irish band’s June 2013 release, Don Seantalamh a Chuid Féin. Spurred on for my love of most things Irish (half of my family still resides in a port town near Dublin called Dun Laoghaire) and my related fascination with the Gaelic language, I gave this thing a spin. I tend not to be such a fan of lo-fi black metal, but Sodb make it worth my (and your) time by injecting their brand of it with folky, Celtic-y melodies and some absolutely caustic screams. If there was a digital version of this available, I’d totally grab it myself. For those of you better funded, the band still has vinyl copies of Don Seantalamh a Chuid Féin available via the Bandcamp link below (tapes have sold out).

https://intothevoidrecords.bandcamp.com/album/don-seantalamh-a-chuid-f-in

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOEN

This next band may not entirely be in the normal wheelhouse of NCS (they kinda break the fundamental rule), but I couldn’t resist showing this to y’all. Soen are a relatively new band whose claim to fame – at least among metalheads – is that they contain Martin Lopez, drummer of Opeth from My Arms, Your Hearse until Ghost Reveries (my personal favorite era of the band, and the era that contains probably four or five of my top ten albums of all time). They’re on the verge of releasing their sophomore album, Tellurian, on November 3 via Spinefarm Records, and have released a spellbinding new video for a track off of it.

“Tabula Rasa” is my first real introduction to the band (I remember hearing their name bandied about during the release cycle for their debut, but for whatever reason I never got around to checking them out), and to me they come across as a mix of Lopez’s last days in Opeth during the Ghost Reveries cycle and something more progressive rock, both in the ‘70s sense (like Yes), but also with a tinge of Tool to it. It comes off as a really cool mix, and is enhanced by the visually striking video that accompanies it, and leaves you wondering as faces drift in and out of mania.

Check it out below (if the video doesn’t appear for you, use the Universal Music link), and be sure to look out for Tellurian in about a month via Spinefarm. (Side note: I just took a gander at the cover art, and damn, that might be some of the most surreal, yet simultaneously hilarious art I’ve seen in a while).

https://www.facebook.com/SoenMusic?ref=br_tf
http://www.universalmusic.fr/soen/video-clip/soen-Tabula_Rasa/

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER

As part of Record Store Day’s Black Friday shindig, melodeathers (making that a thing) The Black Dahlia Murder will be releasing a 7” entitled Grind ‘Em All, in which they will cover three grindcore tracks – one each by Left For Dead, Sedition, and Gyga. The B side will be etched with, well, something. It’s being put out by the swell dude(s?) at A389 Records. Look out for this one November 28th.

https://www.facebook.com/theblackdahliamurderofficial
https://www.facebook.com/a389recordings

 

 

 

 

AHAMKARA

Per Islander’s recommendation, I decided to check out a song from the UK’s Ahamkara, with only his descriptors of “atmospheric black metal” and “recommended by Panopticon” to go on. According to their Bandcamp the song, “Midwinters Hymn”, was released on March 31 of this year on their album The Embers of the Stars.

As it turns out, Ahamkara mix in quite a bit more, embedding a folky atmosphere not unlike Panopticon or Primordial, while also giving the music an oddly positive, almost happy vibe at times. In a busy day full of great song premieres, this one turned out to one of the best I’ve heard all day. Check it out below, and if you dig it be sure to check out the full album via Bandcamp.

https://www.facebook.com/theembersofthestars
https://theembersofthestars.bandcamp.com/releases