Islander

SEEN AND HEARD: IN LIEU OF ISLANDER… AGAIN (PT. I)

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  13 Responses »
Mar 132015
 

 

(Having heard of my job-related inability to assemble round-ups of new music for the last week (and the next one), Austin Weber has graciously stepped up to fill the void… and then I didn’t even have time to post his first installment in a timely manner. The delay is my fault, but even late, it’s still very much worth reading.  There’s a lot of good music in here.)

Our esteemed leader, and general in our revolt against metal mediocrity, Islander, has slipped into the shadows once again. Sometimes when his job flogs him too much he doesn’t have any spare time to flog his ears and spread that beating around to the fine folks who read our daily crazed musings here at NCS. So, once again, I’ve decided to cautiously fill in and ensure that killer new music from across the metal spectrum graces your ears. All death threats, grumblings, or perceptive complaints can be sent to my email: arewebd@yahoo.com. Lots to cover so let’s dive right in.

Vermörd

Vermörd are a Maryland-based blackened death metal band who are new to me, and one Islander had meant to write about before his current work debacle denied him the chance to do so. As such, I figured I’d include them in this post, and also because he told me to check them out under the theory that I might like music. And right he was. Continue reading »

MELECHESH: “ENKI”

 Album Reviews  11 Responses »
Mar 132015
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by Melechesh.)

I realise I may be in the minority about this, but as much as I enjoyed The Epigenesis I still felt like there was something missing in the final package. Though it certainly broke new ground in terms of adding an even more progressive, expressive edge to the band’s sound, to my mind it lacked a certain fire, a certain ferocity, when compared with their previous releases.

However it’s now been five long years since the release of The Epigenesis, five years which the band have spent (metaphorically) wandering in the wilderness, losing long-serving members and regaining old allies, perfecting and purifying themselves once more, engaged in a penitent pilgrimage which has led, ultimately, to the creation of perhaps their finest album yet. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: APOPHYS — “MISCREANTS”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Mar 122015
 

 

This is a song made especially for you, and you know that because the name of the song is “Miscreants”.

It comes from an album entitled Prime Incursion by the Dutch band Apophys, an album soon to be released by Metal Blade that we’ve been eagerly awaiting since first learning that it was in the works, our eagerness only magnified by the interview we did with the band’s vocalist Kevin Quilligan earlier this year (and yes, we’re mentioning that because we think you should read it).

As for the song, you will enjoy “Miscreants” even if you’re not convinced that it was named for you. The pummeling begins immediately with a phalanx of hammering riffs that seem dedicated to pounding you into the ground like a nail driven through wood, and the start-stop jackhammering doesn’t stop. The music is a ticket straight to headbang city, but that’s not all it is. Continue reading »

AETHERIAN: “TALES OF OUR TIMES”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Mar 122015
 

 

(DGR reviews the debut EP by Aetherian from Athens, Greece.)

Oftentimes, when a writer disappears for an extended length of time, the writer will usually return to the fold — because really, the muse is always calling, siren song being strangled from her (because really, we have to METAL around here) — with tail tucked between the legs, bevy of excuses in hand (most pretty valid), ‘aw shucks’ look on the face, and full of apologies, ready to be welcomed back with grand plans and a ton of material to work with.

I can’t do that this time. I disappeared because work kicked my ass. It’s been a well-known fact that NCS is a labor of love and it is our passion (and that of many others) that keeps the site running. We happen to be in a very blessed position where we don’t have to worry about ad-buys and traffic, and therefore we can sort of freely write about what strikes us. But our amateur status also opens up the scenario in which actual real life takes over, and for about a month and a half I was the aforementioned single digit that was being smashed into dust on Napalm Death’s Apex Predator. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: THEORIES — “BURNT CONCRETE”

 Premieres  5 Responses »
Mar 112015
 

 

On March 24 Metal Blade Records will release the debut album of Seattle’s Theories. It’s an event that makes me very happy, in part for reasons that may not mean much to most people who hear the album. For one, I know all of the people in the band, some better than others, and they’re the kind of people who make you happy for their success (getting signed by a label like Metal Blade would certainly qualify as success in most people’s books). For another, I’ve seen the band perform live, everywhere from Seattle to Maryland Deathfest XII to Denver Black Sky II, and they seem to be even more perfectly destructive each time I see them.

So, with that said, you can imagine how fucking delighted I am that we’re premiering the lyric video for a song called “Burnt Concrete” off Theories’ debut album Regression. It’s the opening track and it starts off the festivities with a full-bore blast of grindcore fury. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: INFESTING SWARM — “DER LAUF DER ZEIT”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Mar 112015
 

 

Infesting Swarm are a German band formed in 2007. Their first demo, released in 2011, delved into the depths of blackened death metal, but their their debut Desolation Road, which will be released through Art Of Propaganda on March 30, reflects musical change of course. In this post you’ll have the chance to sample what the new album holds in store as we premiere the album’s sixth track, “Der Lauf der Zeit”.

The song is a long one, in excess of nine minutes, and it makes full use of the time. The music employs the racing, ripping ravages of a black metal assault, with raking tremolo riffs, blasting drum beats, and flesh-rending howls. But it’s also a deeply atmospheric piece, with big moving waves of bleak melody that bring down heavy clouds of sorrow verging on despair, parted by piercing rays of light. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ÖXXÖ XÖÖX — “ÄBŸM”

 Premieres  12 Responses »
Mar 112015
 

 

Öxxö Xööx are a French band whose members are Laurent Lunoir (music, lead vocals, visual design), Rïcïnn (Laure Le Prunenec) (vocals, live bass), and Isarnos (Thomas Jacquelin) (drums), with studio engineering by Igorrr (Gautier Serre) of the band Whourkr. I first came across them in 2011 in one of my irregular MISCELLANY excursions and wrote about their unique debut album Rëvëürt. On May 26, Finland’s Blood Music label, which seems to have a knack for signing bands whose music is well off the usual beaten paths, will be releasing the second Öxxö Xööx album, Nämïdäë. In this post we’re premiering the seventh track from the album — “Äbÿm” — and I predict you haven’t heard anything like it, unless perhaps you’ve heard Rëvëürt.

Some things haven’t changed since that first release: The band still have an affection for umlauts. The band are still speaking their own language (their name is a binary representation of the number 69 [in binary code, 0110=6 and 1001=9], which (among other things) relates to flipping life on its head, to turn bleakness into light). They still have an extravagant talent for combining visual with musical art (as you’ll soon see), and their music is still avant-garde, with a capital A and a capital G. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: VELD — “WORLD IN OBSCURE”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
Mar 102015
 

 

I have a theory that cool album art tends to correlate with cool music. It’s not always true, of course, but I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been drawn to the sound of a new album through the artwork on its cover. When I saw the cover that you’re now looking at — which was created for the new album by the Polish/Belarusian band Veld — I was powerless too resist the urge to explore the music. And that turned out to be a very good call.

The album’s name is Daemonic: The Art of Dantalion and it will be released next month by Lacerated Enemy Records. In this post we have the pleasure of premiering for you a lyric video for a song from the album named “World In Obscure”. If you enjoy storming, tyrannical death metal that’s as bludgeoning as it is blisteringly fast, and as alien and exotic as it is physically jolting, this is one you don’t want to miss. Continue reading »

WATCHTOWER: “RADIANT MOON”

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Mar 102015
 

 

(Grant Skelton reviews the new EP by Watchtower.)

I don’t know what’s gotten into the water in Melbourne, Australia. But it must be some kind of alchemical elixir because that city is producing some exceptional doom metal of late. Watchtower, along with labelmates Horsehunter and the psyche-doom-ic blues of Child, are just a few patrons of the Melbourne doom scene. (Side note: both of those other bands are definitely worth your time).

According to this interview with Doomed & Stoned, Watchtower’s name comes from an experience that frontman Nico Guijt had with a few Jehovah’s Witnesses. Nico was introduced to the Witnesses’ magazine, called Watchtower. In the interview, Nico christens the band with that name. Continue reading »

PREPARE FOR THE ADVENT OF “MISSING”: AN INTERVIEW WITH JEFF WILSON

 Interviews, Metal News  6 Responses »
Mar 092015
 

photo by Samantha Marble

Yesterday, while on a short work break, I took a quick scan through my Facebook news feed and quickly discovered an invitation to a new Facebook page for a band named Missing. And when I saw who was in the band I got bug-eyed with excitement:

Charlie Fell (Abigail Williams, ex-Lord Mantis)
Fade Kainer (Statiqbloom, Theologian, Batillus)
Sanford Parker (Corrections House, ex-Nachtmystium)
Ken Sorceron (Abigail Williams, ex-Lord Mantis)
Jef Whitehead (Leviathan, Lurker of Chalice)
Jeff Wilson (Wolvhammer, Chrome Waves, Abigail Williams)

An official announcement about the band was released today, about a half hour ago. But yesterday, before the news became official, I reached out to Jeff Wilson and persuaded him to answer a few questions about this new project and what it holds in store. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries