Islander

KEVINP’S ALBUMS OF THE MONTH (JANUARY 2015)

 Listmania, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  13 Responses »
Feb 022015
 

 

(KevinP inaugurates a new feature in which he runs down his list of the best releases from the preceding month.)

Welcome to my feature on the best releases of each month.  I’m calling this “Albums of the Month”, but demo’s, EP’s, splits, etc., are also viable candidates, as long as the material is good enough.  Ideally this will be posted during the last week of the month we are discussing, but this time life got in the way for yours truly and our beloved CEO.

Anyways, please feel free to share you comments, thoughts and favorite releases in the comments section below.

5.  Mindful of Pripyat – …and Deeper, I Drown in Doom (EP)

For being around such a short period of time (formed in 2014), it’s quite stunning how professional and tight the sound is from this Italian trio.  Think Terrorizer and early Carcass with absolute razor precision backed by a solid production.  Continue reading »

RECALCITRANT ROUND-UP: IN LIEU OF ISLANDER (PART 1)

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Feb 022015
 

 

(Austin Weber steps up with a fill-in round-up…)

In lieu of a “Seen and Heard” from Islander, since he is swamped, I’ll cover a bunch of different-sounding bands, ranging from post-grind to anti-grim to electro-gypsy and smegma-core. Everything the body needs and then some. I’ve been a bit behind, so some of this news/releases is more recent than others. Part two with a class of equally different-sounding bands will be posted tomorrow.

The Heads Are Zeros/Neck First split

I’ve been meaning to cover this gem of a split for some time, and now that time has finally come. The Heads Are Zeros are a first-rate, ruthlessly intense grind act from Baltimore whom I covered here last year with their album, All The Men I Love Are Dead, a grind album that I put on my year-end list and felt was one of the rare grind acts you hear who truly have their own identity and unique songwriting abilities within this style. Continue reading »

GET TO THE POINT: ASTROUS (AENAON) ANNOUNCES NEW GREEK SUPERGROUP — KATAVASIA — AND WE BRING YOU A SONG PREMIERE

 Interviews, Metal News, Premieres  3 Responses »
Feb 022015
 

 

(KevinP brings us another edition of his short-interview series, “Get To The Point”, and he talks with Astrous, vocalist of the Greek black metal band Aenaon. But this time the interview includes both a news scoop about the new Greek supergroup Katavasia and the world premiere of a new Katavasia song.)

K:  So what’s the big news you want to share with all of us today?

A:  I feel great to announce a new alliance in the Greek Black Metal circles which is called KATAVASIA. This new project consists of well-known musicians and guest appearances, aimed to produce the unique sound and spirit of the early Greek black metal era.

 

K:  Can you tell us who is responsible for this alliance? Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: TARDIVE DYSKINESIA, LORD DYING, THE WILL OF A MILLION, INNER SANCTUM

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Feb 012015
 

 

I took a break from my work this morning to take a quick look for new music that might be interesting, and I found some songs that I thought were worth recommending. I still don’t have much time to myself, so once again I’m not able to write quite as much about the music as I normally do. I realize it won’t sound as good without me explaining why it sounds good, but somehow, you will have to make do.

TARDIVE DYSKINESIA

The Greek band Tardive Dyskinesia, who I’ve been following for a very long time, just released a new single named “The Electric Sun“, and it comes with a video. It’s one of 10 songs the band are developing for a new album that they’re projecting for release at the end of this year. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 54: MARTYR

 THE SYNN REPORT  5 Responses »
Jan 312015
 

(In this latest edition of The Synn Report, Andy Synn reviews the discography of Martyr from Québec.)

Recommended for fans of: Death, Obscura, Psycroptic

It occurred to me just recently that the last three editions of The Synn Report have all had something in common, despite each covering very different bands. Each one, you see, tended towards the more mid-paced, or slower, end of the speed-scale, with a focus more on doomy, grimy grooves, over sheer velocity.

So, it seemed time to make an abrupt left-turn, flip the script, and spin the dial 180 to hit you with the fretboard mangling dynamism of Tech-Death lords Martyr.

Formed in 1994, and releasing their first album in 1997 (and, unfortunately currently “On Hold” since 2012), the Canadian quartet were one of the earliest seminal acts in the burgeoning sub-sub-genre of “Technical” Death Metal, standing proudly alongside such legendary luminaries as Pestilence, Atheist and Gorguts with their mix of intricate rhythms, angular aggression, and extravagant fretboard fireworks. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: NIGHTRAGE, DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT, HELLRIPPER, MUCK

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Jan 312015
 

Happy Saturday to all of you. It is not a happy Saturday for yours truly. I am still mired in day-job hell, or more accurately, day-and-night-job hell. Fortunately, other people have been stepping up and providing content for our site, but until I make it to the end of my work project next weekend we’ll still be a bit light on NCS content.

I continue to be way behind in checking out new songs and videos, but I did spot a few this morning that I thought were worth sharing. Because I’ve got to get my nose back to the grindstone, I’m once again just going to throw the music at you with minimal commentary. Continue reading »

UNDERDOGS IN THE UNDERGROUND: ARA – “DEVOURER OF WORLDS”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Jan 302015
 

 

(Austin Weber wrote this review.)

It’s been awhile since I came out with anything labeled under my “Underdogs” series here at NCS, but some recent events have influenced its return — mainly that Islander is stuck in work hell, and this site needs content damnit! But more specifically, it needs what we do best: coverage of music that few others do.

So, the plan is for me to do one of these a day (on weekdays) to help out, and also to give me a chance to write about more of the bands I keep finding online. Some may be shorter than this, but all will cover exceptional bands you need to hear from various metal subgenres.

The first target in the resurgency of this series will be Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based technical death metal omni-wizards Ara. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: GRIMOIRE — “L’AORASIE DE SPECTRES RÊVEURS”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  4 Responses »
Jan 302015
 

We bring you a review and the premiere of L’aorasie des specters rêveurs, a four-track EP by the a one-man atmospheric black metal band from Québec known as Grimoire.  The EP is being released by the German label Eisenwald and it follows Grimoire’s 2011 debut album À la lumière des cendres.

The one man behind Grimoire is Fiel, who is also a member of other Quebecois black metal bands — Forteresse, Csejthe, and Ephemer. With this EP he has created an enthralling union of the the harsh and the sublime, a captivating work that is effectively atmospheric and emotionally gripping. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (OR WHAT I WOULD HAVE SEEN AND HEARD IF I COULD HAVE)

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  21 Responses »
Jan 292015
 

Artist’s rendering of my life at the moment.

The old fucking day job has been railing me from behind so vigorously that I can’t sit down. I’m still stuck on the east coast of these United States, mired in one of those day-and-night projects that periodically consumes me like a school of piranha on a bloated cow carcass. On the plus side, the threatened snowpocalypse from earlier this week never arrived where I am. On the minus side, I’ll remain mired in work for the next 8 days.

I’ve barely had time to post what other people write this week. The “Most Infectious Song” list has gone into hibernation, and the “Seen and Heard” column has become virtually non-existent. I’ve collected links to new music I’d like to hear, but have had no time to actually listen to it. So all I’m doing in this post is embedding some of those new songs. I don’t know what they sound like. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT — “REIGN OF HELL”

 Premieres  9 Responses »
Jan 292015
 

 

We’ve made no secret of our fondness for The Monolith Deathcult. It may go too far to say that everything they touch turns to gold — it would be more accurate to say that everything they touch turns to rubble and bone splinters. But when it comes to metal, destruction IS gold, isn’t it?

Given the quality and success of the band’s last album, 2013’s Tetragrammaton, we thought maybe they had retired to the Riviera, rolling in cash, bathing in champagne, and passing their days in the endless consumption of fine cigars and premium caviar. But it turns out they have actually torn themselves away from the delights of the flesh and recorded some music, of which we have the privilege of bringing you a first taste.

On March 24, Season of Mist will release a new TMDC EP entitled Bloodcults, and a few paragraphs from now you’ll be able to hear one of the songs on the EP, a hellish track named “Reign of Hell”. Continue reading »

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