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THE SYNN REPORT, PART 52: THE FLIGHT OF SLEIPNIR

 Exceptions to the Rule, THE SYNN REPORT  5 Responses »
Nov 112014
 

(In this 52nd edition of THE SYNN REPORT, Andy Synn reviews the album-length discography to date of Colorado’s The Flight of Sleipnir, whose forthcoming fifth album will be reviewed in a subsequent post.)

Recommended for fans of: Agalloch, Moonsorrow, The Gates of Slumber

Forgive me oh readers, for I have not Synned…

That’s right. The entire month of October went by without a single edition of The Synn Report to please your eyes and ears with a taste of new and/or under-appreciated music. And for that I must apologise. Between work, travel, and some crazy nights out… I just haven’t had chance to sit down and set metaphorical pen to paper. Until now.

The Flight of Sleipnir is the brainchild of  two individuals, David Csiscely (Drums, Vocals, Guitars) and Clayton Cushman (Guitars, Vocals, Bass, Keyboards), two men joined together by a clear and passionate love of heavy metal, heartfelt melody, and heroic Norse folklore.

With four albums to their name – and a fifth, V., soon to be released (expect the review for that by the end of the week – the pair have certainly managed to craft themselves a distinctive sound over the years, whose earth-shaking, doomy power and sombre, progressive inclinations incorporate binding threads of folk-inflected melody and slithering strands of blackened fury.

Whole segments of their material aren’t strictly metallic at all, comprising lengthy acoustic passages and folkish murmurations, where smooth chords ripple and plucked strings sing out clear notes of melody and harmony. Yet when these guys do go heavy they do so with some serious conviction, their brawny riffage and booming drums providing the backing for a characterful mix of ravaged, throaty roars and stirring, cleanly-sung harmonies. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SPECTRAL LORE — “QUIVERING” (AND A REVIEW OF “THE QUIVERING LIGHTS”)

 Album Reviews, Premieres  5 Responses »
Nov 102014
 

On January 20, 2015, Bindrune and Eihwaz Recordings will release an unusual and unusually good split LP by a group of very talented composers and musicians — P.H. and U.K. of Germany’s Nachtreich and Ayloss of Spectral Lore from Greece — under the title The Quivering Lights. Today we bring you the premiere of one of the Spectral Lore tracks, “Quivering”.

The split is unusual because it is a genuine collaboration between the two bands rather than a mere compilation of independent recordings by each one. Each band recorded three songs, but the tracks are interwoven, with Nachtreich’s “Light” opening the album followed by the Spectral Lore song we’re premiering today. Two more Nachtreich tracks then follow (an instrumental piece named “Greyness”, and “Ghost Light”), followed by the last two Spectral Lore tracks (“Vanishing” and a final instrumental work, “Reflection”). Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DEVOURING STAR — “DECAYED SON OF EARTH”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
Nov 102014
 

 

(In this post we’re helping to premiere a new song by Finland’s Devouring Star from their debut album, due for release by Daemon Worship Productions.  Austin Weber provides the introduction.)

Very recently here at NCS, I wrote about a Finnish black metal group called Devouring Star in my Recalcitrant Roundup series. Now that a small bit of time has passed, the band have found a label to call home — Daemon Worship Productions. In addition, through DWP they are on the cusp of releasing to the world a new five-song album, Through Lung And Heart. We and two other sites are giving you a first glimpse at this latest misanthropic offering through our premiere of one of the new songs — “Decayed Son of Earth”.

While Devouring Star may be said to generate a musical aura similar to that of Deathspell Omega, they do a lot to set themselves apart from mere hero worship. While most black metal hints at evil or masquerades as such, Devouring Star is the real, uglier-than-sin deal, with “Decayed Son Of Earth” serving as a carnal carnival of cataclysmic rage whose disgusting majesty cannot be ignored. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: HIDEOUS DIVINITY, CANCER BATS, MORS PRINCIPIUM EST, JONATHAN ATHON, AND WAYNE STATIC

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Nov 102014
 

A collection of things, good and bad, most of which I noticed over the last 24 hours:

HIDEOUS DIVINITY

We’ve written about every one of the advance tracks that have premiered from the new album Cobra Verde by Italy’s Hideous Divinity — in fact, we helped premiere one of those ourselves. The reasons we’ve devoted so much space to the music is that it so successfully combines explosive violence, trauma-inducing groove, and memorable strains of melody within well-structured songs.

It’s superbly performed, obliterating death metal that’s not only exhilarating to hear the first time through but also delivers the same level of adrenaline rush on subsequent listens. And there’s not a single soft spot in the whole album. Now the entire album is available for listening, so you don’t have to take anyone else’s word for its strengths. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: BOG OAK, ORDER OF THELEMA, CHANNEL THE ANIMAL

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  7 Responses »
Nov 092014
 

 

Following up on an earlier trio of reviews this morning, I have another threesome in this post, focusing on three more new EPs (all of them debut offerings) that I’ve been enjoying and hope you’ll enjoy, too.

BOG OAK

Bog Oak are a relatively new band from the vicinity of Sacramento, California, whose debut EP A Treatise On Resurrection And The Afterlife will be released by Svart Records later this month — and it’s a winning combination of ingredients: huge fuzz-bombed riffs and gravelly bass lines, pavement-splitting drumbeats, seductive melodies, and an interesting (and potent) vocal tandem. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: HE WHOSE OX IS GORED, MUTTER, 7.5 TONNES OF BEARD

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Nov 092014
 

 

I’ve collected here three reviews of three new EPs that I’ve really been enjoying.

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED 

Not knowing what to expect, I saw Seattle’s He Whose Ox Is Gored perform live earlier this year, for the first time but not the last, and was hooked hard by the energy of their live set and the interesting mix of musical elements in their highly addictive songs. Their debut EP Rumors has recently been released by Bleeding Light Records as a digital download, with a vinyl 7” coming soon.

The bookends of the EP, “Void Assault” and “Rumors”, are hard-rocking affairs driven by swirling, swarming guitar melodies with a wonderfully fuzzy tone and a sludgy, bottom-feeding low end. There’s some interesting rhythmic interplay between the drum and bass, and a contrasting layer of psychedelic beauty shimmers over the top, thanks to Lisa Ungo’s synth-generated ambient sounds and the soaring, ethereal quality of her voice. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: STEALING AXION — “AEONS”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Nov 082014
 

 

(TheMadIsraeli provides the following introduction to our full-album streaming premiere of the new album by Stealing Axion from Tacoma, Washington.)

You may all remember I gave Stealing Axion’s debut Moments high praise (here) back in 2012. Their combination of djent, death metal, and progressive songwriting aspirations really hit a resonant note with me, to the point where Moments still gets a good amount of play time in my music listening. Now, we at NCS have the exclusive honor of streaming the band’s new album Aeons. A review from me will be coming later down the line.

Is Aeons better than Moments? That is hard to say. While the combination of djent/death metal/progressive elements is still there, Aeons see’s the band taking a much more atmospheric, and in a lot of ways (dare I say) doomy approach to the music. If you really want an answer to the question of Is it better?, I’d tell you it’s equally good in it’s own right — and that’s saying a lot. Continue reading »

JUST BEFORE DAWN: “THE AFTERMATH”

 Album Reviews  7 Responses »
Nov 082014
 

Anders Biazzi has two things going for him: He can write death metal riffs that are pure gold, and he’s friends with a bunch of monster vocalists and soloing guitar demons. I don’t mean to suggest that he doesn’t have other good qualities, though for all I know he sacrifices virgins every night at the altar of the death metal gods. Actually, the more I listen to Biazzi’s band Just Before Dawn, the more I think that’s exactly what he does.

Just Before Dawn’s new album is The Aftermath, and it’s unusually good. I use the word “unusually” in an effort to be precise. And this is what I mean:

I’m willing to acknowledge, at least when I’m sober, that some people don’t feel the primal attraction of that distinctive strain of extreme music known as Swedish death metal or the tank battalion attack of Bolt Thrower. I’m also willing (when sober) to respect the opinions of fans who to this day are satisfied continuing to re-play their enshrined collection of death metal albums from the late 80s and early 90s because they don’t see the point in devoting time to anything that’s unlikely to improve the original template. Sometimes I think I’m too respectful. Continue reading »

A SMORGASBORD OF DEATHLY DELIGHTS: EMETH, ABYSMAL DAWN, JOB FOR A COWBOY

 Album Reviews  8 Responses »
Nov 072014
 

 

(Andy Synn delivers three reviews for three very strong new albums — with accompanying full-album streams.)

Let me level with you. At the start of 2014 I was convinced that this was going to be Black Metal’s year. There have been so many frankly awesome albums from across the kvlt-spectrum, from the Post- to the Progressive to the Necro, that, in truth, I just didn’t see how Death Metal was going to keep up.

But as the months have ticked by I’ve seen a slow and steady resurgence from the DM crowd. From the progressive wizardry of bands like Allegaeon and Beyond Creation to the shameless brutality of Aborted and Beneath… from the old-school ugliness of Cannibal Corpse and Vader, to the megaton grooves of modern legends like Misery Index and Decapitated… it’s been an incredible fight back… and that’s without even mentioning the wealth of underground and underappreciated deathsters toiling away in relative obscurity!

Now, since I’ve been so busy over the last couple of months, there’s been a number of recent releases I’ve simply not had the chance to celebrate properly. Which upsets me. On a deep and fundamental level. And this simply will not stand.

So, to compensate, here’s three albums, arranged in order of release and all available to stream right now, that have been making the tail-end of 2014 a darker, deathlier place for me! Continue reading »

WRATH OF A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD: HOW SOCIAL MEDIA HAS HELPED (AND HURT) METAL MUSIC

 Uncategorized  12 Responses »
Nov 072014
 

 

(We welcome guest writer Grant Skelton who delivers this opinion piece on the impact of social media on metal.)

When I was about 6 years old, I can distinctly remember seeing Pantera’s music video for “Cemetery Gates” late one night on MTV. At the time, it was unlike anything I had heard. It was beautiful balladry and at the same time auditory madness. And I had to hear it again. And again.

In the 80’s and 90’s, you knew a band had “made it” when you saw their music video on MTV. It was MTV or bust. There was no other option. Many a metalhead during this period would stay up into the wee hours of the morning, VHS tape primed and ready, to record their favorite band’s brand new video. If you didn’t, you might not see it again for another week… or maybe not at all.

You couldn’t pull your phone out of your pocket, swipe the screen, and open your YouTube app. You couldn’t Google it. You just had to sit and languish for seven more days while all of your friends at school gave accolades to the video that you were too lame to see. If you were lucky, one of your friends might lend you the VHS tape that they had recorded. Hopefully they remembered to put down their beer long enough use the tracking knob. Continue reading »

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