Islander, Author at NO CLEAN SINGING

Islander

AN NCS PREMIERE: SHRINE OF INSANABILIS — “RUINA”

Aug 192015

David Glomba’s cover art for the debut album Disciples of the Void by Shrine of Insanabilis puts to the test my pet hypothesis that cool album covers tend to be a sign that cool music lies within — and this cover is definitely wonderful.

For better or worse, there are few other advance clues about the quality of the music in the public domain — other than the fact that the album will be released by W.T.C. Productions (which is certainly another favorable sign). The band’s members are unidentified, the location of the band isn’t widely advertised (though they seem to be from somewhere in Germany), and I’ve been unable to find any previously released recordings of their music.

But you are about to get a very strong clue about the music, because we’re bringing you the premiere of the new album’s second track, “Ruina”. Continue reading »

SWALLOW THE SUN ANNOUNCE “SONGS FROM THE NORTH I, II & III”

Metal News 9 Responses »

Aug 192015

I haven’t taken a poll, but I think most of us here at NCS are long-time fans of Swallow the Sun. And so today’s news about their next album was exciting to see. But I must say that it is also the kind of news that causes some trepidation — because the new album, Songs From the North, is a TRIPLE ALBUM.

It’s due for release in November of this year. For pessimists and cynics, the idea of a triple album will raise the specter of self-indulgence. Only the best single albums are brilliant all the way through; even fewer double albums can make that claim. But three?

With fingers crossed, I present the official statement that appeared on the band’s Facebook page this morning: Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: WARDENCLYFFE

Interviews No Responses »

Aug 192015

(Comrade Aleks interviews Jacob Nordangård of the Swedish band Wardenclyffe.)

Sweden outfit Wardenclyffe were named after one of the most ambitious Nicola Tesla projects, so this doom band moves a bit aside from the main occult direction which was set to the scene by dark gods. Wardenclyffe consists of Ola Blomkvist from doom congregation Griftegard, Micael and Emil of death metal project Terrorama, guitarist of the black metal band Misercordia, Robert Karlsson, and former Doomsday Cult member and the band’s mastermind Jacob Nordangård.

I asked Jacob about Wardenclyffe, their debut record Control All Delete, and other stuff. It must be said that some of the answers were pretty unexpected. So, don’t waste time, and let’s read this interview in the name of Nicola Tesla!

******

Hi Jacob! Van Records released Wardenclyffe’s debut record on the 31st of January. What is the band’s state now?

We are preparing and rehearsing for a recording of the two new songs, “The Omega Point” and “Rockefeller”. Set to be released in December. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: HORSE HEAD — “MISSIONARY”

Premieres 4 Responses »

Aug 182015

Phoenix-based Horse Head came together in 2011, announced their own death in 2013, and have now resurrected themselves from the ashes with renewed purpose. Judging from the implements they’re wielding above, their purpose seems to involve cleaving and carving. But there’s no reason to simply draw inferences based on their culinary weapons of choice, because you can also listen to the song we’re premiering today, the title track to their self-titled debut which will be released in proper form for the first time next month.

The name of the EP and the song is Missionary. The song’s opening riff is a dismal little rocking teaser, but hardly adequate preparation for the steamrolling crushfest that follows it. It’s a heavy beast of a song, with a low end that’s as thick as tree trunks and a mid-section change of course that’s such a huge, lumbering headbanger that you better loosen up your neck muscles before you get there. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: “FROM THE HELLMOUTH”

Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET 2 Responses »

Aug 182015

Back in May of this year we premiered a full stream of the first release by a new label named Redefining Darkness Records — an excellent EP by Vintage Warlords — and today we’re bringing you a full stream of the label’s second release. This one is a self-titled monster by the Cleveland band From the Hellmouth, which is set for release on August 28.

You have to hand it to this group for coming up with a band name that so accurately represents their sound. They also made wise moves in both illustrating the album with the masterful art of Zdzisław Beksiński and also having Alan Cassidy of The Black Dahlia Murder record the drums on this debut EP. Cassidy’s performance is absolutely decimating — a machine-precise, turbocharged, eye-popping percussive demolition project.

But the songs really demanded someone of Cassidy’s skill to complement all of the other head-spinning, utterly savage performances on the EP. The songs generally fly hard and fast, one blast after another of pugilistic riffs mixed with grisly tremolo-picked swarms, segmented by booming grooves that will both get your head moving (and loosen it from your spine). Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: PLANKS — “SHE IS ALONE”

Premieres 8 Responses »

Aug 182015

Hosting this premiere is a bittersweet event for me. On the one hand, the song is by a German trio whose music I’ve greatly enjoyed for many years — and it’s an excellent song. On the other hand, the song appears on what will be the group’s final album. The band is Germany’s Planks, the album is Perished Bodies, and the song is “She Is Alone“.

By some measures the song is not among the heaviest of Plank’s creations. But though it may not be quite as “crushing” as some of their songs (as that adjective is commonly used), it packs an emotional punch that can still stagger you.

The song is distinctive in other respects as well. Vocally, it’s a duet between the band’s Ralph Schmidt and Leonie M. Löllmann, vocalist of the German grind/crust band SVFFER. The song was inspired by another duet, one between Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue on “Where the Wild Roses Grow”, but though you can understand why the one may have inspired the other, “She Is Alone” proves to be more savagely wrenching than spooky. Continue reading »

MYRKUR: “M”

Album Reviews 17 Responses »

Aug 182015

(Andy Synn reviews the debut album by Myrkur.)

Let’s get this out of the way nice and early shall we? Yes, controversy (some groundless, some deserved) has certaintly dogged the name Myrkur since it first appeared on everyone’s radar last year. Barbs were thrown, aspersions were cast… mistakes were made. By both sides.

But honestly, I really don’t care about that. I’m not here to question or criticise anyone’s marketing strategy, nor am I prepared to wade into the sticky mire of “he said/she said” that made up a large amount of the internet’s reaction to the inevitable reveal.

No, all I’m interested in is whether Amalie Bruun, the head and heart and the soul of Myrkur, truly grasps the essence of Black Metal or not, and whether she has the vision and the execution to match her ambition.

Spoiler alert – she does. Continue reading »

MIDNIGHT AND SHITFUCKER — A SPLIT RELEASE

Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET 4 Responses »

Aug 182015

This is one of those extremely rare occasions when I’m writing about a new release without being able to include a stream of any of the music. This leaves you without the vital safety net of your own ears, wholly dependent on my own gibberish as a guide. While I really hate putting you in that position, I really have to froth about this release now. If and when a music stream surfaces, I’ll try to remember to add it. But since my memory is no more reliable than my verbiage, maybe you should just order this tasty little split for yourselves.

The partners in crime on this two-song release are Cleveland’s Midnight and Detroit’s Shitfucker, and it will be discharged by Hells Headbangers on 7″ vinyl on September 4.

MIDNIGHT

Midnight’s track is “Sadist Sodomystic Seducer”, and it’s their first new music since 2014’s stupendous No Mercy For Mayhem. It’s only 2:13 long, but man it’s good. Continue reading »

BOB MALMSTRÖM: “DU KAN LITA PÅ MIG” (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 6 Responses »

Aug 172015

Well, it has been a long time since I last wrote about Bob Malmström on our putrid site. The first time I encountered these Swedish-speaking Finns was back in December 2011 (here) after catching their official music video for a song called “Eliten”, which was a kind of searing, headbanging, thrash/hardcore/punk onslaught, as rendered by a bunch of dudes in suits sipping champagne. The second time was in April 2013 (here) when the subject was a lyric video for the title track from their album Punkens framtid, which rocked so hard it nearly knocked me flat, though I somehow kept my feet despite bouncing around in a solo mosh pit of my own making.

But now I have a new excuse to enliven our site with some Bob Malmström insanity, because they’ve just released a video for a cover of a song called “Du kan lita på mig” (“you can trust me”). The song was the title track to a 1993 album by a Swedish singer/songwriter named Tomas Ledin. After hearing the Bob Malmström version, I listened to the original. It’s a bouncy, catchy, pop-py bit of fluff (as heard by my ears, which are scoured to a bloody mess by a daily dose of extreme metal and can now barely tolerate anything bouncy and poppy). I much prefer what Bob Malmström have done with the song — and not just because the video includes a lot of coke, whiskey, boobs, more coke, and hilarious English subtitles. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: TODESSTOSS — “VERWEHUNG”

Premieres 4 Responses »

Aug 172015

The new seventh album by Germany’s TODESSTOSS is named Hirngemeer, a word you will not find in the dictionary, a kind of jumbled contraction of the German words “Gehirn” (brain) and “Meer” (sea), as if to express the idea of a mind at sea with all moorings lost and no compass to guide it. That turns out to be a fitting title, as you will learn when you hear our premiere of the album’s first track, “Verwehung”, which means “drift”.

The album will be released on September 25 by I, Voidhanger Records, a label with a proven impeccable taste for the unorthodox and the fascinating (and no real regard for genre boundaries). The album is about 75 minutes long, but consists of only three tracks. At more than 28 minutes, “Verwehung” isn’t the longest. And yes, we’re bringing you that song in its complete form, not the kind of edited version that often appears in place of long tracks for fear of overtaxing short attention spans. Continue reading »

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