Islander

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: FROSTHELM — “SILENT AND DARK, THE EVERLASTING SKY”

 Premieres  3 Responses »
May 202015
 

 

There are many good things to be said about music videos which follow the release of an album that spawned them. Among other things, they bring to light music you might have overlooked or, in the case of the Frosthelm video we’re about to premiere, they can remind you of how dumb you were not to pay more attention to the album in the weeks leading up to its release. And by “you”, I mean “me”.

Frosthelm’s debut album The Endless Winter, which was released in March of this year, is absolutely excellent — a seamless blend of black metal and thrash that runs like a mega-sized electric dynamo and is almost as addictive as caffeine. You feel that urge to go back to it repeatedly, and thankfully the songs continue to deliver a biting surge of adrenaline even after multiple listens. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 1): ZATOKREV, AMESTIGON, KNIFE OF MELQART, VAHÉVAHIAN

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK  3 Responses »
May 202015
 

 

I’ve accumulated an assortment of fine new songs and videos, some of which have black metal genes in their DNA. But there are other ingredients encoded within the genomes of each band, and the resulting musical expressions display considerable variety. There are enough tracks that I want to recommend that I’ve dividing this post into two parts. The second will come later today.

ZATOKREV

I suppose few listeners would apply the term “black metal” or even “blackened” to Zatokrev, and Zatokrev actually “refuse the void” in the lyrics of this first song rather than embrace it. But I’m including them in this collection anyway, because they are so damned good and because a heavy darkness emanates from their sound.

The Zatokrev song featured here is “Bleeding Island”. It comes from their new album Silk Spiders Underwater…, which was released on April 13 by Candlelight Records, and it’s the focus of the new music video you’re about to see. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DEUS OTIOSUS — “SIS MORTUUS MONDO”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
May 192015
 

 

I’ve been following the Danish band Deus Otiosus since 2011, when I first discovered (and wrote about) their 2010 debut album Murderer. Since then the band have released two more albums, 2012’s Godless and last year’s Rise. The band have begun work on their fourth album, which is projected for release in 2016, but in the meantime they’re releasing a special EP on May 26 via Germany’s Godeater Records. Entitled Sis Mortuus Mondo, the EP consists of two new songs, one of which is a preview of the next album and the other of which is exclusive to the EP. And today we give you the chance to hear both songs in advance of the EP’s release.

“Greater Horror”, the album preview track, is a giant hornet swarm of riffs driven by deeply grooved bass-and-drum thunder, a fusion of adrenaline-pumping thrash and carnivorous death metal malevolence. There’s a lot of fleet-fingered guitar and bass flash in this head-wrecker, including some incendiary soloing. It romps and then it staggers and then it jams the pedal to the floor again just in case it hasn’t already succeeded in tearing your head off. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: KING HEAVY (LUTHER VELDMARK)

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  4 Responses »
May 192015
 

 

(Comrade Aleks returns to NCS with this interview of Luther Veldmark of the multinational group King Heavy.)

It started for me with Hooded Priest’s album Devils Worship Reckoning — I like good old-school doom metal, and this record had enough catchy riffs to make me wait for new release. This record also is remarkable for me because of the really possessed and expressive vocal lines performed by the band’s frontman Luther Veldmark. The new album isn’t ready yet, but at least I got King Heavy, as Hooded Priest has been keeping silent up to now.

King Heavy is the product of a collaboration between Luther (based in The Netherlands) and three members of the Chilean bands Procession and Mourners Lament. King Heavy recorded the EP Horror Absoluto in 2014, so it’s time to ask that will come next. Luther Weldmark himself is here today!

 

Hail Luther! How are you? How much longer did your beard grow since we talked last time? It was in 2011!

Hello Alex, great hearing from you again. The slower my music the faster time flies!

Since you asked, I suppose my beard is a bit longer than last time, actually I don’t think it’s that extremely long, but yeah right, I don’t go that often to a barber. I do cut my beard on the sides from time to time, that’s about it. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CARNIVORA — “A VISION IN RED”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
May 192015
 

 

One thing leads to another. On April 27 we announced our sponsorship of a tour by West Virginia’s Byzantine with Mobile Deathcamp from Ohio. That led to our May 8 announcement of a follow-on tour by Mobile Deathcamp with support from Massachusetts-based Carnivora. And that led to what you’re about to hear — our premiere of a Carnivora song named “A Vision In Red” from their new EP The Vision.

The Vision is a four-track offering that follows the band’s 2013 full-length debut, Eternal, and “A Vision In Red” is the EP’s opening song. The song blends together riffs that alternately swarm and jab, a flurry of pugilistic drum strikes, and a couple of flickering, spiraling guitar solos that really light up the song like a Roman candle — not to mention a nimble, thrumming bass line and some bleeding-edge vocal excretions. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: VALBORG — “SULPHUR VITRIOL ANGEL”

 Premieres  3 Responses »
May 192015
 

 

Valborg definitely march to the beat of their own drummer, and perhaps nothing could more clearly prove that point than the new song and video we are premiering today. The music is “Sulphur Vitriol Angel” and it comes from the band’s new album Romantik, which has just become available digitally and is due for release next month on vinyl via Temple of Torturous.

I recommend that you listen to the song at least twice — once while watching the video and once without watching. The video was created by German artist Soheyl Nassary, who also made a video for another Valborg song,  “Under the Cross”. As the band explain: Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: VORTEX OF END — “GOATPHALANX”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
May 192015
 

 

The French black metal band Vortex of End made their full-length debut in 2007 with In Satan and Plutonium We Trust, and they are now following that up with a second album entitled FVLGVR.LVX.TERROR, to be issued by Deadlight Entertainment. Today we provide a poisonous taste of the new album via our premiere of a track called “Goatphalanx“.

It would be tempting for me to sum up the song as a lethal strafing run of black metal warfare, because it does indeed include its fair share of slashing riffs, furiously blasting drums, and booming bass notes, together with enraged, tyrannical howls. But that would be an oversimplified description, because there’s more to the song than a goat-phalanx assault — which is a big reason why it’s so good. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: ÄRA KRÂ AND NECROBLATION

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  11 Responses »
May 182015
 

 

I’ve got a fairly large collection of new songs that I want to recommend, but I unfortunately don’t have the time to write about all of them now. Rather than just throw up my hands and surrender, I decided I’ll at least mention two of them now. To be more accurate, I’m recommending one and Grant Skelton is recommending the second. Me first…

ÄRA KRÂ

Almost exactly four years have passed since I last wrote about Berlin’s Ära Krâ, reviewing their powerful debut album Ferne Tage, and then interviewing the band not long after that. Until yesterday they hadn’t released anything new since then, but yesterday they did — a song named “Strang und Schwert”. It’s the first release from a forthcoming self-titled EP, and I sure like it. It begins in intense fashion, a black metal flash flood of basting drums and swarming riffs with howling hardcore-styled vocals. And then it changes dramatically… Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: “SCORCHED” BY SCORCHED

 Premieres  3 Responses »
May 182015
 

 

Next Monday Unspeakable Axe Records will begin shipping the debut self-titled demo of Delaware death metal band Scorched, and in advance of the release we’re bringing you a music stream of the entire album — which is available for digital download as of today.

Scorched consists of four full-length songs along with a brief intro track and two atmospheric interludes. On those four songs, the band more than live up to their name, delivering a scorching conflagration of feral death metal with style. The music has an old-school tone and viciousness and mixes full-throttle rampaging (with elements of crust/punk in the mix) with slower, staggering, doom-saturated lurches. There’s a skull-crushing rhythm section at work, along with riffs that thrash, chug, and eviscerate with equal potency. Continue reading »

DARK RITUALS OF DOOM — PART I

 Mosh Pit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
May 182015
 

 

(In this first part of a mammoth two-part essay, our Russian contributor Comrade Aleks explores a variety of spiritual rituals and their connections to doom metal.)

All right now! Tonight we’re summoned for a divine cause!

Mankind started the basis of society since its  primordial childhood. Many old and good traditions have been lost to the ages, yet ritualistic aspects and traditions were set very deeply in the turns of our brains. Certain traditions and ceremonies have been transformed into religious acts or became social rituals during our evolution, but most of them remain alive in modern days. Something took the form of the Christian Eucharist, something else developed into the form of the Easter Rabbit or the bacchanalia of a metal gig. These rites have provided new trappings to the symbolism at their core, but some people still seriously follow and perform its archaic elements. Let us take a look at which forms of religious rituals live their new life in the sermons of modern priests of the doom cult.

This text is a reworked, renewed, extended, and a bit rude translation of an article that I wrote for a Russian e-zine (here), but I and some of the bands who were discussed thought it would be a good idea to have an English version as well. Of course, it’s not really as much of a scientific or anthropological work as it could be, but if there’s someone who’s ready to make a proper investigation then let me know — I have an idea or two.

Here I’ve used some of my past interviews or just asked some bands straight question about their vision of certain rituals.

Don’t take it too seriously! And don’t try to perform it at home!

And as I’ve mentioned above — tonight we’re summoned for a divine cause! Continue reading »

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