Islander

AN NCS INTERVIEW: YAKOR

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May 152024
 

(We present Comrade Aleks‘ interview of Vadim Baev, guitarist from the Russian doom/death metal band Yakor (Яkорь).)

Onega is a town in the northwest of Russia, situated not far away from the White Sea. And Yakor / Якорь (translated as “the anchor”) is probably the only doom metal band in this entire region. The band was formed in 2016 with the following lineup: Vadim Baev (guitar), Vitaly Rudy (guitar), Sergei Belov (vocals, bass), Sergei Kostin (drums). Evgeniy Zhuravsky from the Trawler band took the second guitarist’s position when Vitaly left, but that’s not the point of this interview. It’s just that from the very beginning, Yakor was strongly inspired by the melodic doom influenced KYPCK, and these men didn’t hide this influence.

However, with the release of the third album under the ambiguous name Russkaya gotika / Russian Gothic (and that’s not about gothic metal or whatever) through Soundage Productions, the rules of the game seriously changed, and the band’s individuality looks clearer and sharper.

This short interview with Vadim Baev will answer some questions that arose while listening to the new songs. Continue reading »

RIVERS OF NIHIL: “CRIMINALS”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
May 152024
 

(We present DGR‘s review of a new EP by Pennsylvania-based Rivers of Nihil, which is out now on Metal Blade Records.)

Strangely enough, writing about Rivers Of Nihil‘s newest EP Criminals feels like a little bit of a ‘gimme’. The three songs on Criminals – none of which is a cover of the titular Katatonia song – were all ostensibly recorded during the same experimental session for the band, one which saw the newly restructured lineup of the group getting together to see just what they could do and where they might be headed post-The Work.

They were then slowly drip-fed to listeners over the course of a little under a year, so listeners will have an immediate familiarity with prog-rock minded “The Sub-Orbital Blues” and the slightly more recent stomper in “Hellbirds”, which means the big draw for most people will be the unveiling of “Criminals” as a song, as well as the ability to take in all three in one go, providing an intriguing glimpse at Rivers Of Nihil‘s current headspace and lyrical inspirations, as well as peek through a smudged lense of where their future paths may take them. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): COROZA — “AS WITHIN”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
May 152024
 

None of us here were formally trained as “music critics,” or even as “music writers.” It’s always been a case of learning by doing. One thing we’ve learned is that it’s usually best to begin a review in a way that grabs attention quickly and/or places the record in some broader context before diving into details.

With that in mind, let’s begin by saying that the Irish band Coroza‘s new album As Within sounds heavier than granite, hits harder than sledgehammers; burns like the immolation of sanity; and seems laced with the kind of psychotropics that trigger seductive but frightening visions.

Or, to place it in genre context, it’s a changing amalgam of sludge, stoner-doom, post-metal, and psychedelia that’s capable of swallowing a listener whole like some leviathan of old.

Details to follow…. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ALTAR OF GORE — “LITANIES OF THE UNCEASING AGONIES”

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May 142024
 

Musical sensibilities and affinities vary, even among people like the denizens of this site for whom extreme metal is their bread and butter.

Depending on the time of day and the frame of mood, you might want to become engrossed in elaborate melodies, or have your brain twisted into knots by high-speed intricacy, or become scorched by malignant blackened conflagrations, or have your soul pulled into a chasm of gloom and despair.

But every now and then there’s a visceral need to just be bludgeoned senseless and viciously butchered in the most primitive, ruthless, and electrifying way possible. At those times, Altar of Gore‘s new album Litanies Of The Unceasing Agonies will be there to feed that need. Continue reading »

OBSCURITIES – VOLUME V: BLACK METAL IN BLOOM

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
May 142024
 

(We present another one of Dan Barkasi‘s monthly collections of reviews and recommended music, taking stock of 8 records that saw release in April 2024.)

April is in the rear view, but my allergies sure aren’t. Ah, yes, the time of year in Florida when the “winter” time of perfect temperatures has transitioned to sweltering heat and pollen so thick that it will layer upon vehicles left outside. It’d sure be nice to breathe out of my nose again. Don’t get me started about the fucking lovebugs. Nothing like a ton of awesome new tunes to rattle oneself back into the groove.

Maryland Deathfest is also coming up very fast, and while we have tickets for all of the days this year, it’s questionable if we’ll be able to make it. Hopefully the stars align and it happens – just look at that loaded lineup. Bands like Dismember, Fossilization, Altars, Sodom, Crypt Sermon, Ahab, Esoteric, Spectral Voice, Spirit Possession, Imperialist, Severe Torture… well, you get the idea. Here’s to hoping we see a few of you fine folks there! If you can attend, do yourself a favor and make it happen. One of the best fests on this side of the globe.

While I’m sure that the (hopefully) three of you left came to hear me drone on about my problems like our pal George, let us get to the music. It was the most difficult month thus far to narrow my choices down to eight, with a few that were especially painful to cut. But, it’s my column, so the hell with it – Draugnim’s Verum Malum and Fierce Diety’s A Terrible Fate both represent dramatically different genres and characteristics, but each is executed with extreme proficiency, which should earn at least a spin. Now, onto the rest of this month’s selections. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: WOUNDED FUNERAL — “THE WRECKING OF THE CRYPTS”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
May 132024
 

On May 25th, through the collaboration of Satanath Records (Georgia), Australis Records (Chile), and Futhark Records (Canada), the Canadian black metal band Wounded Funeral will release their third album, Skaalp. It is described as a musical recital of stories based on dark legends of the First Nations: “Expressing rage, hatred, psychological distress, combat… The typical emblem of the project revolves around the world of the great Wendigo.”

As a vivid sign of what they album brings us, today we’re premiering the fifth song in the album’s running order, a track called “The Wrecking Of The Crypts“. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): HENRY KANE — “CIRCLE OF PAIN”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
May 132024
 

Over the course of a quarter-century career the Swedish musician and vocalist Jonny Pettersson has been involved in an enormous number of bands and personal projects — 30 of them by the count at Metal-Archives, including Wombbath, Heads for the Dead, Just Before Dawn, Berzerker Legion, and Ashcloud. But of all of them, Henry Kane seems to have become the vehicle most adaptable to Pettersson‘s changing inspirations and interests.

That opinion is based on observing the evolutions that have occurred across Henry Kane‘s three albums so far, and the fact that it’s a solo project in which Pettersson writes everything and performs everything. Indeed, he started the project to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of his first demo, naming it for the soul-devouring supernatural antagonist in the Poltergeist film series.

In contemplating a genre label for Henry Kane‘s debut album Den förstörda människans rike, you might consider crusty death/grind, or deathly grind/crust, or grinding death/crust, infused with horror and tuned to maximum slaughtering insanity. If anything, the second album Age of the Idiot was an even more ruinous sonic wrecking machine but also more variable, with a greater number of musical twists and turns.

The new Henry Kane album Circle of Pain (coming out on May 17th via Selfmadegod Records) twists even more from the project’s deathly crust and grind roots. As Jonny Pettersson has told us in advance of today’s album premiere:

“The best thing about Henry Kane for me, is that there are no boundaries to adhere to. So, with this album, I wanted to take what I have done on the previous albums and push the sound even further, and then wrap it all up in blastbeats, anger, and hate.” Continue reading »

ROTTING CHRIST: “PRO XRISTOU”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
May 102024
 

(We present DGR‘s review of Pro Xristou, a new album by the Greek legends Rotting Christ that will be released by Season of Mist on May 24th.)

If you’ve been following Rotting Christ for some time now you’re likely well aware the in spite of some decent-sized gaps in time between albums the group are notoriously prolific; always with a song on hand for a small EP, the occasional one-off, sometimes even a book. They are a font of music, and one glance at an overall collected works reveals just how much has been created by the group over the course of a decades-spanning career.

Much of this is due to project mainman Sakis Tolis – the voice and guitar of the group – who has been one of, if not the, primary songwriter of the Greek black metal heathens for most of its existence. Since the release of 2010’s AEALO, Sakis has shown that he knows his way around a melodic and folk-leaning guitar riff. It had long been a part of Rotting Christ‘s sound and often is referenced as being part of a particular ‘era’ of the band – imagine having a group that has eras – but they really came to the forefront on AEALO, an album whereby Rotting Christ not only defined a sound but also became defined by it. Continue reading »

HOLY GRINDER: “10 DESECRATIONS”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
May 092024
 

(We present Christopher Luedtke‘s review of a new release from the Canadian noise grinders Holy Grinder, which is set for release tomorrow.)

The fourth full-length from Toronto, Ontario’s Holy Grinder is an ugly, mangled, heavy, spattering of noise, grind, sludge, and chaos packed into thirteen minutes. Though one lucky person is gonna get all that on cassette in a vat of piss. See their Instagram for further details, but that’s beside the point for the rest of us.

Holy Grinder has been at it for the better part of eight years and has a fair few releases under their belts since their 2016 inception. They have done splits with the likes of Christian Lovers, Agathocles, Sete Star Sept, Fetus Deletus, and more in addition to singles. Now almost four years to the day after Divine Extinction, the band is unleashing their latest full-length, 10 Desecrations. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: IMPERATUS (PART 2)

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May 082024
 

(Today we present the second part of an interview by Hanoi-based NCS contributor Vizzah Harri with Nguyễn Tấn Đạt, aka Nattsvärd, from the Vietnamese black metal band Imperatus. You can find Part 1 of the interview here, and Harri‘s review of the debut Imperatus album At the Mercy of the Wind here.)

This is the second instalment of an interview with Nattsvärd from Imperatus. Part 1 focused on their origins, inspiration for their sound, as well as the technical facets of recording, whereas Part 2 focuses more on lyrics, writing/composition, as well as some thoughts on the scene and what the future holds.

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You used a quote from Anthony Burgess — “When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man.” Which reminded me a lot of the Avenged Sevenfold song Bat Country (I was today years old when I realized this is a quote from none other than Dr. Seuss haha): “He who makes a beast out of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man”. Together with the cover art and the sound clips, what was the feel you were going for conceptually?

Great insight and connection! I will never shy away from the fact that Avenged Sevenfold was my gateway band to metal music haha. And the said quotes do share a resemblance. Continue reading »

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