Sep 282017
 

 

(Todd Manning reviews the new album by the Virginia/North Carolina instrumental metal band Loincloth, which will be released by Southern Lord on September 29.)

During the Death Metal explosion of the early ’90s, there existed an anomaly on Earache’s legendary roster, an incredibly complex and off-kilter Doom Metal act by the name of Confessor. Boasting dramatic, high-pitched vocals and very technical music, Confessor stuck out like a sore thumb in a scene dominated by blast beats and death growls. At the time, most people obsessed over the vocals. But nowadays, the world seems to have come around and considered their debut, Condemned, to be a classic, and in those conversations it’s the music getting equal attention.

After the band broke up for the first time, while in the midst of trying to follow up their debut, bassist Cary Rowells and drummer Steve Shelton went on to form Fly Machine and then subsequently moved on to Loincloth, an instrumental trio in which they are joined by guitarist Tannon Penland. Continue reading »

Sep 272017
 

 

The first press release I saw for the debut album of Australia’s Runespell concluded by describing it as a “mesmerizing maelstrom of alternately grim/gorgeous frequencies”, presenting “flickering refractions of times distant and as yet lived, black metal wielded as weapon, totem, and portal simultaneously”. All those sentiments I’ve quoted are accurate, but the one that rang most true is the characterization of the music as a portal into the past.

In one sense that rings true because the music links arms with the venerated traditions of Scandinavian second-wave black metal, but it’s also true in another sense: The music has a mythic atmosphere, one that casts the mind’s eye back into distant centuries, to times (whether imagined or real) that have spawned sagas of warlike defiance and sacrifice, of bloodshed and bereavement, of heroic striving and irredeemable loss. To make your way through this vividly imagined and beautifully rendered album is to become moved, and enthralled.

And we will now give you a chance to make your own way through the album as we premiere a full stream of Unhallowed Blood Oath in advance of its September 29 release by Iron Bonehead Productions. Continue reading »

Sep 272017
 

 

On the night of 23–24 August 1572 (the eve of the feast of Bartholomew the Apostle), the king of France ordered the killing of a group of French Protestants who had gathered in Paris to attend a royal wedding. The assassinations led to a wave of Catholic mob violence that spread throughout the city and into the countryside, resulting in the deaths of thousands.

The French extreme metal band Saint Barthelemy’s Temple have taken this paroxysm of violence and hatred as the inspiration for their name, and their new twenty-minute EP The Cold Mouth of the Earth will soon be released in October by Atavism Records. Today we bring you a full stream of its three powerful tracks — “De Potentia Saturni“, “To the Baneful Oblivion“, and “The Sword of the Victor“. Continue reading »

Sep 272017
 

 

(This is the second part of a multi-part series by Austin Weber focusing on 2017 releases that we haven’t previously reviewed. Part 3 will follow tomorrow, and further installments are expected next week.)

 

In spite of what the naysayers will tell you, I’m of the opinion that there’s an absolutely ridiculous amount of good metal releases coming out all the time, many of them coming from new groups or independent groups that we’re just now catching onto for the first time.

This lengthy round-up has been in the works for awhile, but I kept adding more and more to the list of what I wanted to cover, and that delayed it until now. The focus here is on releases that dropped in 2017 that haven’t been covered at NCS yet. We’ll run through a boatload of harsh and unorthodox black metal, mountains of mathcore, death metal of all stripes, a few technical grindcore acts, a ton of different prog-metal bands, some sick instrumental metal jams, and a whole lot more. Hopefully you will find something new you enjoy in each installment.

KUUJEOJABENOJUJANOMIASHIKUSHIJA – HHEOALLE

If the name wasn’t a dead give-away, Kuujeojabenojujanomiashikushija are a strange fucking group, but thankfully it’s the good kind of weird. Avant-garde and experimental black/death is the name of the game here, and yet Kuujeojabenojujanomiashikushija’s take on the burgeoning style is fresh and uniquely eerie. At times quite minimalist and subtly psychedelic, the music on HHEOALLE has a distinctly smooth feeling in how it unfurls that I really enjoy.  Continue reading »

Sep 272017
 

 

(Red River Family Fest II took place in Austin, Texas on September 22-23, 2017. The appearance of Krieg on the line-up took Krieg’s frontman Neill Jameson to the event, and he prepared these thoughts about the fest and the bands he saw. Credit for all the great photos accompanying his article goes to NecroBlanca Photography and Design.)

 

If you’ve ever read anything I’ve written or spoken to me you probably have the (correct) opinion that I generally don’t enjoy myself often. It might be the few decades of going to shows and fests or talking to people that have jaded me, but I tend to approach playing a fest as more of a job than a joy. But my experience over the weekend at Red River Family Fest II was surprising enough for me that by the end of the first night I was ready to sit down and write about it, and it wasn’t just the alcohol talking.

This is a recap of everything I experienced over my few days in Austin, Texas. I was able to catch at least a song from most every band with a few exceptions and I really enjoyed what I heard, again with a few exceptions. Continue reading »

Sep 272017
 

 

At the bottom of this post you’ll find the first public streaming of a song from Deus Salutis Meæ (“God of My Salvation”), the new album by Blut Aus Nord. It’s the album’s fifth track and its name is “Apostasis“. It’s a great song by a groundbreaking band, and I wouldn’t blame you in the least if you skipped down and began listening, whether you continue reading what follows or not.

But if you’re curious about why I chose this song, how it fits within the album, and what else the album holds in store — though not in that precise order — read on. Continue reading »

Sep 262017
 

 

PrologueFracturePrototype… the names of the first three albums by the death metal band Insurrection from Gatineau, Québec. And now comes Extraction, the band’s fourth full-length campaign against the human race. What more can they possibly do to us? You’re about to find out.

Today we present “Data Extracted … End Transmission“. Aided by guest vocalist Bruno Bernier (of Obliveon), Insurrection sing of a sensory overload growing out of control, of networks gearing up to invade and enslave. They command: “All report for mental breakdown, sort and file the data to extract….” Continue reading »

Sep 262017
 

 

According to The Font of All Human Knowledge, Fra Dolcino was a 13th-century Italian priest and the leader of a reform movement that opposed the prevailing feudal system as well as the hierarchy of the Catholic church and sought to return it to ideals of humility and poverty, espousing human liberation and equality. In response to attacks by Catholic troops, he and his followers also became fierce guerilla fighters. In 1307 Fra Dolcino was captured and, without trial, tortured and burned at the stake by the Inquisition as a heretic.

His story has become the basis for the new concept album by the Italian death metal band Daemusinem, the name of which is Thy Ungodly Defiance. What we have for you today is a ferocious track from the album called “Golgotha“. Continue reading »

Sep 262017
 

 

“Fierce” and “frigid” are by-words of Nordic black metal, and in their debut album Wintergedanken the German black metal duo Tyakrah have embraced the cold and unforgiving white-outs of winter in forested and craggy northern climes. But their music is also solemn, and also glorious — achieving the kind of reverent and soaring spirit that justifies that well-worn term “epic”.

Wintergedanken will be co-released by the Russian label Satanath Records and the U.S. label Slaughterhouse Records on October 21. It consists of four songs interspersed with three instrumental pieces that begin, end, and divide the album in the middle. Today we present the first track that appears after the opening instrumental, a song called “Gefrorne Tränen“. Continue reading »

Sep 262017
 

 

Alcohol poisoning prevented me from writing about everything I wanted to write about in my last SHADES OF BLACK post two days ago. With that demon temporarily in submission, I’m now able to write about seven more musical demons in a blackened vein (and if you’ve been paying attention, I’ve added a couple of bands to this continuation beyond those I forecast on Sunday).

Regrettably, I’ve had to resort to a tactic I’ve used before. There are four albums or EPs included in this group of seven, but because I don’t have the time to write full reviews I’ve only commented on one track from each of those, but provided streams of the complete releases so you can explore further if I you like the tracks I’ve highlighted.

URARV

Aldrahn (Björn Dencker Gjerde) is a name of historical significance in the annals of Norwegian black metal through his work during the ’90s in Dødheimsgard and Zyklon-B, as well as his contributions to Thorns and more recently The Deathtrip. Urarv (“Ancient Heritage”) is his most recent endeavor, originally conceived in 2003 during his stay in a mental institution and now finally flowering in thorns through a debut album named Aurum (released on September 17 by Svart Records), in which Aldrahn is joined by bassist Sturt and drummer Trish (whose work in Asagraum I’ve written about previously). Continue reading »