Islander

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DEAD TALKS

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Dec 042023
 


photo by Markus Lohi

(Today we present a very friendly and engaging interview by Comrade Aleks with vocalist/lyricist Antti Γ…strΓΆm from the powerhouse Finnish death metal band Dead Talks, whose debut album was released in August by Apostasy Records.)

There were two bands among others in Lohja, Finland: the melodic death metal one Funeral Jacket, which was active in the late ’90s, and its death metal heir Corpse Molester Cult, which existed from 2005 to 2019. Both bands weren’t very active, but their members remained friends until today, and almost the entire lineup of Dead Talks consists of these guys who have known each other for two decades and more.

They are Joni Laakso (bass), Henkka Γ…kerlund (drums), Tomi Joutsen (guitars), Timo Vainio (guitars), Jukka Veiksola (guitars), and Antti Γ…strΓΆm (vocals). Yes, you’re right, there are three guitarists in Dead Talks and one of them is the vocalist of Finnish metal legend Amorphis.

However, Dead Talks is an independent unit, and they’re damn good at providing old-school death metal at full capacity. Apostasy Records released their album Veneration of the Dead on August 18th, and if you missed it, then here’s your chance to make up leeway. Antti Γ…strΓΆm talks for the Dead tonight. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: KRVNA — “WHAT GREAT LENGTHS”

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Dec 042023
 

We are very happy today to revisit the daunting visionary music of the Australian black metal band Krvna, although the band’s creations have been anything but happy, and indeed so emotionally harrowing and so wholly engulfing in their power that they take the breath away.

The occasion for our revisiting of Krvna today is the planned January 10 release by a trio of labels of the project’s new half-hour EP The Rythmus of Death Eternal. It includes three extravagant new original songs, plus covers of songs by Abigor and Viking-era Bathory, and we have the premiere of one of the monumental new songs today — “What Great Lengths“. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: EITRIN, FUINΓ„EHOT

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK  No Responses »
Dec 032023
 

You know the old saying about situations when your eyes are bigger than your stomach? When you take on more food than you can possibly finish? That’s kind of my situation, musically, today.

Yesterday’s two-part roundup, which spilled over into today, was a big platter of delectables. What I still had sitting on the platter this morning (all the well-charred food) was just too much to get through, despite my appetite for it and the “clean your plate” philosophy with which my family raised me. Stacked on top of the two-part roundup, it probably would have been too much for you as well.

But, at the risk of an exploding gut, here are a few more servings.

EITRIN (France)

Who could possibly leave untouched a feast prepared by Vindsval (Blut Aus Nord), Marion (MΓΌtterlein), and Dehn Sora (Throane) in celebration of Debemur Morti Productions‘ 20th anniversary? Not I. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY (PART 2): HAUL, JAWLESS, AFRA

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Dec 032023
 

Promises to keep.

Yesterday in Part 1 of this roundup I said there would be a Part 2 and that it would include “three bands from the same archipelagic country, all of which fall into the big-surprise category”. And so, a day late, here’s Part 2. (There will still be a Shades of Black column later on today.)

As hinted yesterday, all three bands are from Indonesia. All three were new to my ears and all are very good, albeit in very different ways stylistically. Hence, the surprises, and my decision to include these three bands together in their own segment.

HAUL (Indonesia)

More than a decade after their first release and seven years after their last one, Haul returned this year with a new EP named Adamar. Transylvanian Recordings released it digitally and on tape on December 1st (I found out that Disaster Records also released it on CD last March).

Having heard nothing of Haul‘s previous releases, I gave it a listen because of Transylvanian‘s enthusiastic recommendation. Here’s part of that enthusiasm: Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY (PART 1): SVRM, MALIST, DEPARTURE CHANDELIER, VERGEL, EBOLA, THE STROYMACHINE, THE LORD AND MARTHE

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Dec 022023
 

Yesterday I managed to crawl through the 300-400 Bandcamp alerts and e-mails that hit our in-box during the 24 hours of Bandcamp Friday, plus social media messages from a few of the people whose recommendations I pay attention to. I even managed to very quickly skim through e-mails from the day before.

Doing that, I saved a shitload of links, and then barely scratched the surface of them in listening. There were some big surprises in that pile, some from bands I knew about and even bigger ones from names I’d never heard of. I picked some to pass along to you today. I’ve saved some others for the Sunday column, which I hope I’ll get to.

I had so many picks for today that I decided to divide them into two parts. The second part includes three bands from the same archipelagic country, all of which fall into the big-surprise category. I haven’t yet written part 2, and because the hour is late, it will probably come tomorrow. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: WITCHGΓ–AT — “REJECTED BY THE DEMIURGE”

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Dec 012023
 

Composed of four members with extensive resumes in extreme metal, the Salvadorean band WitchgΓΆat made their advent with the 2018 demo Umbra Regit and then soon followed that with their 2019 debut album Egregors of the Black Faith.

Now, on the other side of lockdown times, they’re returning with a second full-length of black/thrashing mayhem. Entitled Altars of Necromancy, it’s set for release on the last day of this year by Morbid Skull Records (El Salvador) and Deathrockersorrow Records (U.S.). To help spread the word, today we’re revealing a lyric video for the song “Rejected by the Demiurge“. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: MUSIC IN LOW FREQUENCIES — “THIS CORPSE”

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Dec 012023
 

Today we’re presenting one of the most intense, most wholly absorbing, and most uncomfortable audio-visual experiences we’ve encountered this year. The song itself is overpowering, and shattering. The video magnifies that experience, like turning up the dial on electrodes in your spine that are already delivering tremendous voltage.

The song is “This Corpse“, and it’s one of seven on a new album named Catharsis by the Portuguese trio Music in Low Frequencies. It will be released on December 8th by Raging Planet Records. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2023: AN INVITATION FOR READERS’ LISTS OF THE YEAR’S BEST METAL

 LISTMANIA 2023  86 Responses »
Dec 012023
 

Today we are entering the final month of 2023, and that begins the final countdown to the end of the year. In the world of metal, this month we’ll also start seeing more and more lists of the year’s best releases.

Back in 2009, when this site was just a few days old, I wrote a post about year-end lists and why people bother with them. The best reason still seems to be this: Reading someone else’s list of the albums they thought were best is a good way to discover music you missed and might like.

We don’t do an β€œofficial” NCS year-end list of best albums. However, we publish the picks of each of our regular staff writers as well as a group of invited guests, in addition to lists that we re-post from a few print zines and β€œbig platform” online sites.

Every year we also invite our readers to share their lists and we’re doing that again right here, right now.

If you’ve been pondering what you’ve heard this year and have made your own list of the albums, EPs, or splits released in 2023 that you think are the best of what you’ve heard, we invite you to share it with everyone in the Comments section to this post. And if you haven’t made a list yet but want to, there’s still plenty of time (read below). Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ABYSSAL TOMB — “BURIED”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Nov 302023
 

We’re ghoulishly happy to help spread the word today about a new Australian death metal band, Abyssal Tomb, and their debut 5-track demo Buried, which will officially be released tomorrow.

Though the band is new, the members aren’t newcomers. The lineup consists of songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Stuart Callinan from Galaxy and Sylvan Awe (whose fantastic new album we premiered here just yesterday), lyricist/vocalist Rohan Buntine (Battlegrave), and drummer Tim Wright (Munitions / Blunt Shovel).

They describe their aspirations simply and directly — to “celebrate death metal in one of its early forms, honouring bands such as Obituary, Morta Skuld and early Six Feet Under“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SOLBRUD — “SJΓ†LESKRIG”

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Nov 302023
 

The number 4 is a recurring theme in the new album by the Danish black metal band Solbrud, which is set for release in February by Vendetta Records. It is the band’s fourth album, and thus its title is IIII. In addition, the band has 4 members, and for the new album they altered their usual compositional process by having each member individually compose music and write lyrics for one vinyl side each (though the full band performs all the songs) — and yes, the new album consists of 4 vinyl sides.

Moreover, the 4 classical elements of Wind, Water, Earth and Fire are vital parts of the album’s universe, and each member’s compositions thus constitute one element each.

One song from the album (“TΓ₯ge“) has debuted so far, and today we’re presenting a second one, an instrumental piece named “SjΓ¦leskrig“. Continue reading »

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