Islander

AN NCS PREMIERE: ABSCONDITUS — “ELEGEÍA (CONFESSION AU CÉNOTAPHE)”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
May 042015
 

 

We’ve come to depend on I, Voidhanger Records as a source of unusually interesting releases, a label that continually forms partnerships with talented bands whose music is far off the usual beaten paths. The label’s latest discovery is a French band named Absconditus, whose debut album Kατάβασις is now scheduled for release on June 8, with eye-catching cover art by UK talent Bethany White. Today we have the pleasure of bringing you a sample of what Absconditus have created, through our premiere of the album’s third track, “Elegeía (Confession au Cénotaphe)“.

I’ve seen the word “ritualistic” used to describe certain kinds of black metal, and I’ve used the word myself, without ever trying to form a clear mental definition of what it means. There are passages in this new song that bring the word to mind — segments of music that are slow, solemn, and surrounded by an aura of initiation and mystery. Those segments are themselves massively heavy, ominous, and dissonant, with a liturgy voiced by what sounds like a demonic beast. But this is only a part of this long song.

The music also includes movements of ravaging ferocity and power, with booming bass lines that shake the earth, the frenzied writhing of riffs and arpeggios that make a virtue of discordance, and a searing guitar solo. The music is unsettling, but brilliantly inventive and thoroughly engrossing. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: UNKURED — “MUTATED EARTH”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
May 042015
 

 

The Ohio triumvirate known as UnKured self-released their second album Mutated Earth in limited distribution last fall, but since then Sliptrick Records signed the band and are giving the album the worldwide release it deserves. Beginning tomorrow, the album will also become available for digital acquisition via Bandcamp. But today — today you will have the chance to hear the album on this very site, in this very post, and discover for yourselves what it has to offer.

And what it has to offer is an invasion from extraterrestrial forces bent on seizing control of the neurons in the pleasure centers of your brain — and burning out all the rest.

You could say that UnKured are a thrash band, but that would be like saying a cheetah is a cat. It’s true, but it doesn’t tell you nearly enough about what’s coming after you. The music is fast as greased lightning and just as electrifying. It’s fueled by a flurry of constantly changing riffs and a pinpoint rhythm section. The technical skill of all the performers is genuinely impressive, and there’s a flesh-scraping howler behind the mic. But that still doesn’t tell you enough. Continue reading »

CONTINUUM: “THE HYPOTHESIS”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
May 042015
 

 

(Austin Weber reviews the new album by Continuum, which is out now on Unique Leader Records.) 

The California death metal scene never ceases to amaze me. What really makes me happy about the music from that region is that much like the Canadian death metal scene, a lot of very talented players are a part of multiple groups, leading to an overall higher quality of material coming from theses areas. And so, for example, we are treated to death metal supergroups such as Continuum, who are composed of: Guitarist/main songwriter Chase Fraser (Decrepit Birth/ex-Son Of Aurelius/ex-Animosity), vocalist Riley McShane (Son Of Aurelius/ex-Inanimate Existence), bass player Nick Willbrand (Eviscerated, ex-Flesh Consumed), guitarist Ivan Munguia (Arkaik, Brain Drill, Deeds of Flesh), and drummer Spencer Edwards (Son Of Aurelius).

In addition, the band’s debut album The Hypothesis includes a guest solo by Matt Sotelo from Decrepit Birth on track 9, “A Surreal Descent”, as well as a sweet guest vocal spot by Anthony Trapani (Severed Savior/Odious Mortem) on the second track, “The Epiphany”. Continue reading »

SHOW REPORT: THE DECIBEL MAGAZINE TOUR (AT THE GATES, CONVERGE, PALLBEARER, VALLENFYRE, THEORIES) — SHOWBOX MARKET, SEATTLE, MARCH 31, 2015

 Concert Reviews  4 Responses »
May 042015
 

 

(BadWolf reviews the Seattle date of the Decibel Magazine 2015 Tour, accompanied by exclusive photos taken by Madison Leiren, except where noted.)

This is the third of four annual Decibel Magazine tours that I’ve reviewed for No Clean Singing (I missed the third installment, featuring Napalm Death headlining, due to Maryland Deathfest. I’m not sorry). At this point in time, the mechanics of the tour itself — the way it interacts with coverage in the magazine, the way that the lineup is formed over time, and the way it is presented artistically — are becoming apparent to me.

Rather than simply assess the show I saw itself, it’s important to discuss these deeper factors, because Decibel Magazine wields a lot of market power in the United States, and the US remains the biggest music market in the world even though metal remains relatively unpopular here. In that respect, however, the tour is operating in an easy middle ground between what I would call respect for profits and respect for the metal zeitgeist. They do that by locking in headliners that already have clout and draw, but aren’t going to pursue metal as a full-time activity, and slotting openers who intend to make a career out of music. At least that’s how it’s worked for the past two years.

It seems as though 2014 was a prototype and 2015 was the first successful rollout of a set Decibel Tour formula. The recipe is as follows: Continue reading »

FATHER SYNN’S METAL CONFESSIONAL

 Mosh Pit  93 Responses »
May 032015
 

 

(Andy Synn, who seems to have become a man of the cloth when we weren’t paying attention, herewith begins a new series…)

Rejoice my brethren and sistren, for today marks the inauguration of a new feature here at NoCleanSinging, that of Father Synn’s Metal Confessional!

For a long time now I have felt your pain brothers and sisters. How you suffer in silence. How you long for absolution. I know of the dark secrets that you keep locked up deep inside, and I step forwards now offering a balm to your soul and a reprieve from your torment.

I ask you to come forth and confess your sins before the congregation. Speak to us of your fears, your hidden longings, and your secret shame… all shall be heard, and all shall be forgiven! Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 2): GOATCRAFT, PLUTONIAN SHORE, KREUZWEG OST, PRIMEVAL MASS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK  6 Responses »
May 032015
 

 

Over the last week I came across a lot of music I thought was worth sharing that could all loosely be labeled “black metal”, so much music that I’ve divided this collection into two parts (Part 1 is here). Part of what interested me in all this music was the diversity of the sounds. In some cases, the main connection to the label “black metal” is simply the spirit I sense in the songs, and in other instances simply the presence of certain musical elements in combination with others that aren’t typically associated with this increasingly amorphous genre.

And so, some of what you’re about to hear in this two-parter may be quite different from what you’re expecting, but I thought it was all very good and I hope you enjoy it.

GOATCRAFT

I haven’t written about this one-man project from lovely San Antonio, Texas, since the spring of last year, when I repeatedly featured tracks from Goatcraft’s last album The Blasphemer — as well as Lonegoat’s answer to this question (which I still find remarkably perceptive and eloquent): “What in your opinion are the essential elements – instrumentally, emotionally and philosophically – that comprise the heart and essence of Metal?” (reprinted at the end of this post). Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 1): COFFIN HAZE, TAPHOS NOMOS, DEVILSPIT, BLOOD CULT

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK  4 Responses »
May 032015
 

 

Over the last week I came across a lot of music I thought was worth sharing that could all loosely be labeled “black metal”, so much music that I’ve divided this collection into two parts. Part of what interested me was the diversity of the sounds. In some cases, the main connection to the label “black metal” is simply the spirit I sense in the songs, and in other instances simply the presence of certain musical elements in combination with others that aren’t typically associated with this increasingly amorphous genre.

And so, what you’re about to hear in this two-parter may be quite different from what you’re expecting — from deathly surf rock to Alcoholic Rural Black Punk Metal to “necroclassical”, and beyond.

COFFIN HAZE

So let’s start with the deathly surf rock. I have no idea who is in Coffin Haze or precisely where they’re located (other than somewhere in the UK) — and believe me, I’ve done some looking. The only reason I discovered them at all is because Caligari Records is going to be releasing their debut demo on tape later this year, and I happened to see a post about it on Caligari’s Facebook page. (In fact, I discovered all of the first three bands featured in this post through Caligari’s Facebook page.) Continue reading »

VIDEOGRAPHY: MISERY INDEX, KING PARROT, HIDEOUS DIVINITY, VATTNET VISKAR, LELAHELL

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
May 022015
 

 

Happy Saturday to all you motherfuckers (and I say that with the greatest affection and respect). A lot of new music videos appeared in the interhole yesterday, and here I’ve collected four of them — plus one somewhat older video that I was tipped to earlier in the week. So grab a big bucket of buttered popcorn, turn down the lights, mute your cell phones, and prepare to be entertained.

MISERY INDEX

The new video for Misery Index is set to the music of “The Harrowing”, which is one of the best songs on one of last year’s best albums, The Killing Gods. The video was made by David Hall (Handshake Inc.), who also directed a previous video for the album for “The Calling” and whose work for other bands we’ve featured here on many occasions.

The new one incorporates film of the band performing on their European tour last summer, new performance footage shot by Jeff Grindstopher, some of the excellent artwork that Gary Ronaldson (Bite Radius Designs) created for the album, and a creepy narrative about a group of Zodiac-style killers. Continue reading »

FULL ALBUM STREAM: KRODA — “GINNUNGAGAP​-​GINNUNGAGALDR​-​GINNUNGAKAOS”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
May 012015
 

 

Within the last hour, the brilliant new album from Ukraine’s Kroda, GinnungaGap-GinnungaGaldr-GinnungaKaos, became available for streaming and download on Bandcamp. Our own Andy Synn reviewed the album two weeks ago, summing it up as  a collection of music that “brims with a vitality and unabashed creative energy that’s simply unmatched”:

“Pulse-raising in its undeniable passion, and surprisingly life-affirming in its boundless energy and vigour, Ginnungagap… is Kroda at their very best, marrying power and pathos, might and majesty, primal fury and grand, storytelling ambition, in a display of absolutely stunning harmony and balance.”

We’re damned happy to now give you a chance to hear the album for yourselves. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: PANZERBASTARD AND RAWHIDE — SONGS FROM “BLACK HEARTS AND WHITE LINES”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
May 012015
 

 

Unholy Anarchy Records and Anvileater Records will soon be releasing a 7″ split by two proven head-wreckers: Boston’s PanzerBastard and Sweden’s Rawhide. Entitled Black Hearts and White Lines, it’s got more energy in its five tracks than a municipal power plant pushed to the edge of a blackout. I was offered the chance to premiere one track of my choosing from each band’s contributions to the split. Picking just one turned out to be hard as hell, because everything on Black Hearts kicks ass — but this is the kind of problem I’d love to have every day of the week.

PANZERBASTARD: “THE GRAND BARGAIN”

PanzerBastard have been cranking out demos, splits, and EPs since 2006, and this new release includes three more explosive blasts of mayhem. The track I picked for this premiere is “The Grand Bargain”. It’s a jolting rampage of punk-fueled metal that shifts into a lower gear before it’s over, hitting a groove that’s guaranteed to get heads moving while hosing you down with a bit of napalm shred at the same time. Hot shit. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries