Islander, Author at NO CLEAN SINGING

Islander

SHORT BUT SWEET: KRIEGSZITTERN — “DEMO”

Aug 062015

In June of this year a band from Mülheim, Germany, named Kriegszittern released their first demo via Bandcamp, but I discovered it only after learning more recently that Caligari Records would be releasing it on tape. I now try to check out everything Caligari puts out, because I’ve had such good luck with their selections in the past — and this demo proved to be another winner.

The five songs on the demo rush by in less than 17 minutes, but Kriegszittern make those minutes count. The opening track, which bears the same name as the band, begins slowly and dismally, eventually bolting forward in a gritty sandblast of distorted guitars and pneumatic drums, with a vocalist whose echoing roars and howls sounds like a cross between a deranged wildcat and a demonic executioner. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: GENOCIDE PACT AND CAVEMAN CULT

Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET 15 Responses »

Aug 062015

I got a tip about the two releases featured in this post by NCS contributor KevinP. In this instance, I think he paired these recommendations because the two bands happen to be playing together on August 22 in Orlando, Florida, where Kevin lives (details here about the show). Sometimes he links me to music because he thinks I’ll like it, without commenting whether he likes it or not. I’m okay with that, because after all, it’s my own opinion that counts. And here are my opinions:

GENOCIDE PACT

Genocide Pact are from Washington, D.C. They aren’t a new name for me, but they’re a welcome name — in June of last year I reviewed their 2013 debut demo, which I liked a lot. Thanks to Kevin, I discovered that just a few days ago Baltimore’s A389 Recordings released a Genocide Pact album — or maybe an EP, depending on the length you demand before calling something a full-length — named Forged Through Domination.

Genocide Pact generate a death metal sound that’s titanically heavy, with riffs, bass notes, and drum beats that you can feel from the soles of your feet straight up through your endangered skull. They prefer to stay in mid-paced or slow tempos, all the better to ensure that when they’re chugging or pounding, they can methodically flatten anything and everything in their way (including your cranium). When they do start ripping (and revealing their crust influences), it almost comes as a surprise, and the sheer contrast makes those up-tempo eruptions even more decimating. Continue reading »

SHOW REVIEW: NEUROSIS, BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH, THE BODY — MADISON, WISCONSIN, AUG 2, 2015

Concert Reviews 3 Responses »

Aug 052015

(Guest writer Ben Manzella interviewed Scott Kelly for a feature posted earlier today, and now we bring you his review of the show that followed the interview — performed in Madison, Wisconsin, this past weekend by Neurosis, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, and The Body.)

On this past Sunday, Neurosis played in Madison, Wisconsin, for the first time in about 19 years (from what I could find, at least). The last time they were here was as the opener for Pantera, and now on the cusp of their 30th anniversary as band, they headlined a theater in downtown Madison. This was my third time seeing Neurosis in as many years, but the excitement is always the same; if anything it was more exciting, as I had the opportunity to interview Scott Kelly before the show [published here]. But obviously, a show review is about the music, so let’s get to it. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DORMANT INFERNO

Interviews 1 Response »

Aug 052015

(Our Russian friend Comrade Aleks is back with another interview, this time talking with Sunny Bhambri, the guitarist/bassist for Dormant Inferno, whose song “Deliverance” from their excellent split with Pakistan’s Dionysus we premiered here this spring.)

Some of you already know about this Indian death/doom outfit from infernally hot Mumbai. But as you still think about how to find some time to listen their split-album Beyond Forgotten Shores with Dionysus (Pakistan), the band are already at work over new songs for fans of exotic underground stuff. Sunny Bhambri (guitars, bass) found a few minutes to answer my questions and satisfy our curiosity.

******

Hail Sunny! Some of our readers already saw the news about the split-album of Dormant Inferno and Dionysus, but I think that it would be good to get the story of the band from one of its members. How was it born?

Hey Aleksey! Yes word has been going around about the Beyond Forgotten Shores Dormant Inferno/Dionysus split. Both bands have been premiered on NCS. The idea came about once during an online conversation between myself and Sheraz of Dionysus. We got introduced to Dionysus through our music, as during the time we formed there was no other Indian band playing similar dark doom as us, so we connected well with Dionysus. Both bands have a lot in common, so I’d say it was very natural for us to split an album with Dionysus. Continue reading »

EYE-CATCHERS: DALKHU, CULT OF FIRE, HATE ETERNAL, VAMPIRE, PLANKS

Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 11 Responses »

Aug 052015

Once upon a time I started an irregular feature called “Eye-Catchers” in which I periodically tested the hypothesis that cool album art correlates with cool music. As much as anything else, it was a vehicle for exploring the music of bands I wasn’t familiar with, based solely on the attractiveness of their album or EP covers. There’s still a category link to all those posts on the right side of this page, even though the project has been moribund for quite a while.

This post, though it shares that “Eye-Catchers” title, really isn’t a continuation of the earlier experiment, because I’m already a fan of all the bands whose news and/or new songs are collected below. But the artwork for these new albums is so good that it seemed to be a fitting title. So, here we go….

DALKHU

I originally discovered this two-man Slovenian band in the middle of last month — and that really was an example of the original “Eye-Catchers” experiment. Their second album, Descend… Into Nothingness, features cover art by our beloved Paolo Girardi, and that’s what induced me to explore the music. Having done that (and written about the first advance track from the album here), I immediately became a fan. And so when I learned that Dalkhu released another new song yesterday, I felt confident it was going to be another good one — and so it is. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SCOTT KELLY (NEUROSIS)

Interviews 2 Responses »

Aug 052015

(Ben Manzella had the chance to talk with Scott Kelly of Neurosis before the band’s show on August 2, 2015, in Madison, Wisconsin. Ben’s thoughts about the show will follow in a separate post later today.)

With this show being the third date, how has the start of the tour been?

They both went pretty good; we played Lawrence and Minneapolis. Crowds were good at both shows, people were attentive and into the music; really into it emotionally as well, which is really all we can hope for. The club last night wasn’t exactly what we were hoping for, just not the right vibe; but the people who ran the venue were nice to us.

I know it’s been about 10 years since doing a run like this. Is it similar to how you remember or different in any ways?

Well we’ve done a few runs in Europe, with the locations being closer together. You don’t have to get on a bus and drive 10 hours overnight, unlike you do in the states. We’ve been doing about 30 to 45 shows a year for a while now, so it’s not totally out of our realm; but give it another 10 days or so and we may be pretty pooped considering we’re not taking any days off. Hopefully we’ll survive relatively unscathed physically; mentally it’s always somewhat of a grind, but you know, tour is always easier than real life when you have responsibilities every day. Other than the show and sound check, you really don’t have much on your plate; so, for me, tour is much simpler than everyday life. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: CREEPING — “REVENANT’

Album Reviews, Premieres 2 Responses »

Aug 042015

Steel yourself for a harrowing experience, for we’re about to bring you a full stream of Revenant, the new third album by New Zealand’s Creeping.

This isn’t an idle warning. Making your way through the album is like a brutal descent into a sodden catacombs inhabited by damned and vengeful spirits. The deeper you stagger and stumble into its depths, the farther the light recedes above you, replaced by an ever-increasing sense of implacable menace and wrenching loss. You are about to join the company of phantasms, and Creeping make their terrors your own.

Mostly slow or mid-paced, the songs are often as crushing and remorseless as the most catastrophic doom album you’re likely to find this year. Anchored by titanic, distorted riffs and earthquake drumming, the music is laced with eerie reverberating guitar melodies which enhance the supernatural atmosphere that surrounds the entire album. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DANIEL DROSTE (AHAB)

Interviews 3 Responses »

Aug 042015

(We are pleased to present Grant Skelton’s interview with Ahab’s vocalist/guitarist Daniel Droste.)

I recently had an opportunity to interview Daniel Droste of German nautik doom band Ahab. We talked in detail about the band’s upcoming album The Boats Of The Glen Carrig, the difficulties of band life and touring while holding a full-time job, and whether or not the band has plans for future shows in the US.

Stream the interview below via Soundcloud, presented by Local X Radio (localxradio.com). Thanks to Mona and Claudia at Napalm Records and also to Jon at Freeman Promotions for arranging the interview! Continue reading »

OVERFLOWING STREAMS: ARES KINGDOM, THE ATLAS MOTH, CATTLE DECAPITATION, GOROD, KAUAN, LYCHGATE, NECHOCHWEN, RIVERS OF NIHIL, SAILLE

Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 8 Responses »

Aug 042015

I’ve been distracted by a combination of personal obligations and the demands of my fucking day job. As some of you may have noticed, we didn’t post anything on Sunday, which was only the seventh calendar day in five and a half years when that has happened, and we had only two posts yesterday. So great is the daily flood of metal that even a few days of distraction means that we get very far behind in our attempts to keep up with all the new music. Catching up would be a herculean task, but in this post I’ve made a modest effort to round up some (and only some) of the good new music and video streams that have surfaced since the end of last week.

This collection is incomplete, but it’s still a long playlist of recommendations — presented in alphabetical order by band name, with a rare paucity of words from me about the music. Your thoughts about these sights and sounds will be welcome, as always.

ARES KINGDOM

Roughly two years after the release of their last album, Veneration, Kansas City’s Ares Kingdom are about to drop a new one. The name is The Unburiable Dead, and the CD release is projected for early September on Nuclear War Now!, with LPs to follow. The album cover, which I think is wonderful, is based on a piece by the German artist George Grosz (1893 – 1959) called “The Pit“. When a friend of the band told me about the cover, he included this quote by the artist, who led a fascinating and tumultuous life: Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: INHUMAN — “CONQUERORS OF THE NEW WORLD”

Premieres 2 Responses »

Aug 042015

On August 30, Satanath Records and Sevared Records will jointly release the second album by Costa Rica’s Inhuman. The album’s name is Conquerors of the New World, and today you’ll find out how it begins, as we premiere the title track.

Different bands have different philosophies about how to begin an album. Some prefer to set the stage with an instrumental track, something designed to set the mood or begin building an atmosphere (though as often as not that kind of introduction has little to do with the music that follows it). Not this band. They jam the accelerator to the floor without giving you any time to catch your breath — and you’ll have difficulty finding a moment to breathe before it ends, too. Continue reading »

Older Entries Newer Entries