AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: COGNIZANCE — “SHADOWGRAPH”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
Dec 132023
 

The rise of Cognizance has been near-meteoric, thanks to the impact of their 2019 debut album Malignant Dominion and especially their second full-length Upheaval in 2021. We spilled our own fair share of words about both of those here, embracing their storming, head-spinning technicality but also appreciating the nuance revealed within their turbocharged yet precise shredding and blasting, and thus their ability to create songs worth dissecting in addition to experiencing the sheer thrill of being overwhelmed.

And speaking of thrills, it has been thrilling news indeed to see that these UK tech-death maestros will have a third album coming our way in January of the impending New Year. Entitled Phantazein, it’s a concept album picked for release by the band’s new label Willowtip Records, and today we’re thrilled to premiere an official video for a new album track named “Shadowgraph“. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): CAVERN — “AMALGAMATION OF ABNORMALITIES”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Dec 132023
 

In this feature we’re premiering a debut demo by Cavern, a band about whom we don’t have much info to share, which is rare. We know that one member who writes the music and performs the instrumentation is in Portugal and the vocalist is in France, and that’s all we can say. But of course we have the music.

The name of the demo, which will be released on Bandcamp through the Primitive Archive label on December 15th, is Amalgamation of Abnormalities. It includes five tracks, and of course we’ll give you our preview of the music in addition to the opportunity to hear them and form your own impressions. Continue reading »

2023 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE GREAT

 LISTMANIA 2023  26 Responses »
Dec 132023
 

(Andy Synn skims off the cream of the crop for your delectation)

So here we are, the top-tier of 2023 (in my opinion, at least, whatever that’s worth).

Now I need to stress, again, that these lists, while certainly extensive (there were well over 200 entries on yesterday’s “Good” list, and another 100-ish here) are in no way comprehensive, and there’s lots of stuff I will have missed out on or just wasn’t feeling enough to want to write about.

But while this means, obviously, that there’s going to be some notable omissions, wouldn’t you prefer it if I continued to use my limited time to focus more on stuff that I really liked and/or stuff that I think deserved more exposure, rather than just covering the exact same artists and albums who just happen to receive lots of attention and coverage elsewhere?

One thing you’ll possibly notice going through this article is an overarching “proggy” vibe running through a lot of the albums I’ve selected for my “Great” list. For whatever reason, 2023 just felt like a year where the more “progressive” side of the genre (and related sub-genres) really came to the fore.

That doesn’t mean, however, that there aren’t just some straightforward killers, crushers, and straight-up face-melters here too. After all, “greatness” comes in many forms, after all, and you don’t need to to try and reinvent the wheel or push the envelope in order to make something great!

Continue reading »

SHOW REVIEW: KATATONIA, GOST, THROWN INTO EXILE — LOS ANGELES, NOV. 30, 2023

 Concert Reviews  1 Response »
Dec 132023
 

(Erstwhile NCS contributor Ben Manzella attended the performances of Katatonia, Gost, and Thrown into Exile at the Echoplex in Los Angeles on November 30, 2023, and he has given us the following concert review along with lots of the photos he made during the show.)

Until last night, it had been six years since my last opportunity to see Katatonia live. I wasn’t sure what to expect with what I saw as a confusing three-band lineup on a Thursday night. Even Jonas of Katatonia mentioned as he greeted the audience that he doesn’t often go to gigs on Thursday nights but he and the band greatly appreciated all of us making time to see them. The collective cheer at the Echoplex made it clear the appreciation was mutual. Continue reading »

2023 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE GOOD

 LISTMANIA 2023  21 Responses »
Dec 122023
 

(Andy Synn continues his annual retrospective with a collection of links and recommendations)

Every year, pretty much without fail, someone – either in the comments here or on social media – gets weirdly mad about List Week.

Either they seem to think that I’m lying (although, why would I?) or, even worse, bragging (again, why?) about the albums/artists I’ve listened to.

Here’s the thing though – this isn’t about me. It’s about providing our readers, many of whom don’t have as much time as do to keep up with everything that’s released each year (and I still miss more than I catch) with a one-stop-shop of links they can bookmark – broken up by category/sub-genre – and listen to if/when they get the chance.

Today’s list, the “Good” list, is the biggest and widest-ranging one of the week, running the gamut from albums which were generally enjoyable, albeit flawed, to albums which only narrowly missed out on my “Great” list, and everything in between.

Obviously it’s in no way comprehensive, so before you start asking “but what about [x]?” remember that a) it’s impossible for any site, let alone any individual writer, to listen to and cover absolutely everything that comes out in any given year, and b) there’s still my list of the “Great” albums, the top-tier of the year, yet to come!

Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): FERAL FORMS — “PREMALIGNANT”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Dec 122023
 

Before the first notes are heard, Feral Forms‘ debut EP Premalignant ought to grab attention quickly among gnarly denizens of the metal underground. There’s the “for fans of” recommendation by the labels who are releasing it: Angelcorpse, Teitanblood, Diocletian, Black Curse.

And then there’s the fact that this Italian quartet features current and former members of The Secret, Grime, Claustrum, and Fierce.

And then there’s that cover art, staring you in the face with those bulging eyes, dissolving face, and strange forehead cavities.

Now that they (and we) have your attention, it’s time to launch the music, though we must say that the EP’s title is either misleading or just plain scary: If this EP’s music is “premalignant”, it’s frightening to think what Feral Forms might do if they decided to channel fully emergent malignancy. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: THE ANSWER LIES IN THE BLACK VOID

 Interviews  No Responses »
Dec 122023
 

(Today we present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Jason Köhnen, one of the two main members of the Hungarian/Dutch “transcendental doom” band The Answer Lies in the Black Void, whose new album was released in October by Burning World Records.)

The Answer Lies In The Black Void is the duo of Martina Horváth (vocals) from Thy Catafalque and Jason Köhnen (all instruments) from Celestial Season, The Lovecraft Sextet, Bong-Ra, and ex-The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble. Their first atmospheric doom metal album Forlorn was released in 2021 and got very enthusiastic feedback.

Horváth and Köhnen have continued their mysterious searches of an avant-garde vision and the result of this work is the second full-length piece Thou Shalt. Inspired by Carl Jung’s “shadow work” this new album was scheduled for release on October 13th via Burning World Records and I caught the band awkwardly right during their tour. That led to a few delays, and the interview turned out to be shorter than I expected. And yet, here is The Answer. Continue reading »

HEALTH: “RAT WARS”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Dec 112023
 

(Here’s Wil Cifer‘s review of the new album by L.A.-based HEALTH, which was released last week by Loma Vista Recordings.)

The industrial trio HEALTH continues to make artistic noise, with a haunting melody as the focal point of even their most confrontational moments. I have been a fan of this project for some time, but this is the first time I have felt compelled to review these guys here. Rat Wars finds the band to be sonically more appropriate. They have always been metal adjacent, but this time, though they might not be flashing devil horns with their foot on the monitor, it is their heaviest work to date.

As I searched for this album online earlier in the week, I found a comment on Reddit that gave me a chuckle as it referred to this album as ‘The Downward Spiral” for people with two monitors. It’s a pretty fair assessment. The band’s full vision unfolds on this album, opening the doors for the larger metal community to embrace them. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: IXIAN — “VINES IN TIME WILL COAT THE GRAY”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Dec 112023
 

Ixian is the prolific solo project of Daniel Shroyer from Athens, Georgia. This year alone Ixian has released two splits, an EP, and four albums. The most recent album, Vines In Time Will Coat The Gray, came out in September, and was co-released by Owlripper Recordings.

Ixian‘s releases move around quite a lot in their stylistic ingredients. Metal-Archives classifies Ixian as “Post-Black Metal”, but that’s probably because they couldn’t think of anything else for music and noise that’s so difficult to pin down.

Some of the conceptual themes of the newest album were captured in the poetry of the title track’s words: Continue reading »

2023 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE DISAPPOINTING

 LISTMANIA 2023  15 Responses »
Dec 112023
 

(It’s time once again for Andy Synn‘s annual List Week here at NCS)

As always, I want to start off this article with a little explanation of the rationale behind it.

In general, as I’m sure you’re aware, it’s our prerogative here to only write about the bands and albums we actually like.

That doesn’t mean, however, that we shy away from providing constructive criticism when we think it’s warranted (at least, I don’t), as loving something doesn’t mean just ignoring its flaws.

And it’s in that spirit that my annual “Disappointing” article is written, not as an attempt to court clicks or controversy, but as a means of expressing the very simple idea that the bands we love aren’t perfect, and sometimes even the best of them stumble or fail to live up to the hype.

That’s not an excuse for people just to start shitting on bands they don’t like – we just tend to delete those sorts of comments without giving them a second thought – it’s more about providing a communal space to express our disappointment that something we were looking forward to didn’t, for whatever reason, measure up to our expectations and/or hopes.

Obviously there’ll be disagreements (I’m pretty sure that one or two of my selections here will upset a few people, though I need to stress again that I’m not trying to upset or provoke anyone, these are just my honest opinions) but I think that, if we can all remain civil, we’ll get through this together.

Continue reading »

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