Islander

AN NCS INTERVIEW: OLHAVA

 Interviews  2 Responses »
Sep 012021
 

 

(Today we have an excellent discussion between two Russians — our interviewer-in-chief Comrade Aleks and Andrey Novozhilov, the principal figure behind Olhava and a participant in Trna as well.)

The number of bands performing atmospheric/post-black metal only grows, and even I, who hardly and rarely deal with bands faster than Ahab, cannot ignore it. A few weeks ago we did an interview with the Russian one-man band Rye / Рожь, and its head Vladimir Frith advised me to check his mates and neighbours Olhava. And so I did.

This band was formed five years ago by Andrey Novozhilov who has played all instruments and performed vocals since then, with the help of Timur Yusupov who joined him as a drummer in 2019. Today they have a contract with the Italian Avantgarde Music (that gives certain quality guaranties by default) and four albums, including the fresh one Frozen Bloom.

This truly atmospheric, almost meditative, music demands a predisposition, but if you ask, everyone needs a break to take a breath of relatively clean air. So that’s it. And recently we had a good conversation with Andrey about Olhava’s background and more. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CAVEMAN CULT — “INSTRUMENTO DE IRA”

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Aug 312021
 

 

You don’t come to the music of Caveman Cult for emotional nuance or involving melodies. No one searching for hope or inspiration will be welcomed with open arms. Even those who seek a catharsis for angst, anguish, or despair will find no therapy here. But if explosive typhoons of fury, violence, and destructive madness are what you’re after, perhaps as a way of getting all that out of your own system without landing in jail, or perhaps as a way of re-fueling for another charge ahead when you feel utterly spent, Caveman Cult have what you need — in spades.

I’ve been following and writing about the music of these Floridians since discovering their debut EP Rituals of Savagery six years ago. I admit that I’ve got a taste for no-holds-barred blackened death metal, and anyone who recoils at that brand of metallic extremity won’t suddenly change their minds upon listening to Caveman Cult‘s forthcoming second album, Blood and Extinction.

But on the other hand, contrary to what some less receptive listeners may think, war metal is not homogenous. There are gradations of quality even within a sub-genre so single-mindedly devoted to rage and ruination, and the grip of Caveman Cult has steadily strengthened over time because they’ve steadily honed their blades, avoiding the listener-numbness that can come from relentless saturation bombing.

Their new album, and their first on the NWN! Productions label, is yet another step up in that progress toward a pinnacle of primal barbarity. It includes the work of a new second guitarist, and was recorded by the band themselves, and we have a further sign of what it holds in store through our premiere of the new album track “Instrumento de Ira“. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: LOTAN — “INTERITUS”

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Aug 312021
 

 

The biblical sea monster Leviathan was pre-figured by the serpent creature Lotan in the Ugaritic cycle of stories about the Canaanite god Ba’al. Lotan is also the name chosen by a new-ish Danish black metal band, whose debut EP Nihil Sacrum was released in January of this year and whose second one, Angelus Pestis, is now set for release on September 3rd by UPRISING! Records.

Lotan may be relatively new to the scene, but its two members are not. Both guitarist/bassist Phillip Kaaber and vocalist Martin Rubini are also bandmates in Vanir (and they are joined in Lotan by live members Lasse Guldbæk (Abscission, Vanir), Christian Haystack (Fall of Pantheon), and Jon Schmidt (Northfall).

Lotan draw their lyrical inspiration from both satanic spiritualism and existential philosophy, and in their music they follow in the path of such bands as Marduk, Taake, and Satyricon.

Last fall we had the pleasure of premiering a song from the band’s first EP, and now we present a lyric video for a track from the new one — a song named “Interitus“. Continue reading »

BEER & LOUDNESS IN LAS VEGAS — THREE DAYS AT PSYCHO FEST (DAY 2)

 Concert Reviews  2 Responses »
Aug 312021
 

 

(Denver-based NCS contributor Gonzo was in Vegas two weekends ago for the 2021 edition of Psycho Fest, and has been sending us some great write-ups of what he witnessed. His journal for Day 1 is here, and this is his report on Day 2.)

Vegas is a devourer of good intentions.

Its only purpose in this existence is to rob you of your sobriety, your bank account, your dignity, and your sanity. It cares nothing for your early-morning lamentations of the bad decisions you made the night before. The endless air-conditioned hallways of cigarette-crusted casinos and overpriced restaurants and tourist traps will be there the next day, waiting for that inevitable moment when you’ve become inebriated enough to shrug and once again say “what the hell, why not.”

The likelihood of you succumbing to this seemingly innocent urge increases with each passing hour on any given point during a weekend in Vegas. I knew from the moment I rose out of bed on day 2 of Psycho Fest that this would be the case, and the day would soon stretch beyond an ordinary festival and into an endurance contest. The schedule of bands we had carefully crafted ahead of time would either prove untenable or test the limits of how hard we could party in one day. Or maybe both.

At around 11 a.m., we left the tranquility of our Excalibur hotel room and sauntered once more into the soulless void. Today’s main attractions? Cannibal Corpse, Poison the Well, Dying Fetus, Cult of Fire, and a whole helluva lot more. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ANTEDILUVIAN — “THE DIVINE PUNISHMENT”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  2 Responses »
Aug 302021
 

 

Antediluvian‘s first album in more than eight years is a hydra-headed black/death monster. More than an hour in length, spread across 11 tracks, The Divine Punishment thematically explores ranging manifestations of carnal deviance and perversion, reveling in manifold forms of sexual blasphemy through sound. And what sounds these are!

The heads of this hydra writhe, changing places in your mind’s eye and also joining together to create visions of ultimate horror and depraved ecstasy. The music has an experimental quality, as if searching for the perfect potion of degradation and desire. Its contortions are unpredictable, its effects multifarious, its overarching impact both nightmarishly unnerving and wickedly seductive.

The album defiantly challenges attempts to describe it in conventional terms, though of course we’ll nevertheless throw caution to the winds and add further impressions. But thankfully we also have a full stream of the album just a few days before its September 1 release by Nuclear War Now! Productions. Continue reading »

BEER & LOUDNESS IN LAS VEGAS – THREE DAYS AT PSYCHO FEST 2021 (DAY 1)

 Concert Reviews  2 Responses »
Aug 302021
 

 

(Our pal Gonzo took in the 2021 edition of Psycho Fest in Las Vegas and returned to Denver fortunately symptom-free, other than what happened to his head over the three days of the fest, and he has provided a synopsis of the experiences, beginning with the following report on Day 1. We expect reports on the next two days as well)

DAY 1

There is no source of frustration quite like being forcibly stuck in an airport for any length of time longer than absolutely necessary.

I was reminded of this grim reality two Fridays ago when my arrival at Denver International Airport coincided with one of the airport’s underground trains catastrophically breaking down. Ensuing damage and delays had forced the airport to close all but one terminal. The scene was absolute chaos – security queues wrapped around entire terminals, people screaming at TSA agents, confusion, madness, panic… one woman ended up in handcuffs after going into a terrifying rage and sobbing. It was looking like the 10:15 a.m. landing at my final destination, Psycho Fest 2021 in Las Vegas, was slowly slipping out of my grasp.

By the grace of Thor, the one terminal that stayed open ended up being the one we were flying out of. The flight was delayed by an hour or two, but we were somehow able to board and land safely and without any further unexpected pandemonium. Vegas would have plenty of that in the days to come anyway. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: DEADSPACE, SVARTULVEN, ASCENDED DEAD, ATOMICIDE, TSALAL, GRAVATUS, RAZÖRSCHRIECK

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK  5 Responses »
Aug 292021
 

 

Time to blacken the christian Sabbath again, as is our want. I decided to be lazy yesterday rather than compile the usual Saturday round-up of new songs and videos, but I did devote some time to browsing blackened metal, including some music that’s been out in the world (but not in my head) for many months, and you’ll find the results below.

I would say there’s a more disturbing and depressive feel to these choices than might usually be the case. I’m not in therapy so I don’t know for sure if this is a reflection of changes in my usually sunny mood, though I wouldn’t be surprised if that were true. It might just be that the first song took me down that path, and everything else simply fell into place.

DEADSPACE (multinational)

We lamented the split-up of Deadspace when that was announced last year, but celebrated their final album, A Portrait of Sacrificial Scars, as the band’s best work of all. Happily, however, Deadspace have reunited, though I somehow overlooked that announcement, first disclosed in March, until yesterday. I also overlooked that in June the band released a video for a new song named “Moksha“. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: DAWN OF SOLACE, OUTER HEAVEN, PATHOLOGY, MORBID MESSIAH, BOURN ULTRA

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Aug 272021
 

 

As I hoped, I had time to compile a second round-up on this Friday… and I have ideas for a third one tomorrow, so do check back. There’s no sandwich this time, unlike the first compilation today, just a severe case of whiplash as you go from the first song into what comes next.

DAWN OF SOLACE (Finland)

It appears that the revival of Dawn of Solace by Tuomas Saukkonen will be a lasting one, because a new album named Flames of Perdition is now set for release on November 12th via the Noble Demon label, and the first item I chose for this collection is a video for its first advance track, “White Noise“.

The emotional power and intensity of the song absolutely floored me. The intensity builds steadily, from its soft and wistful beginning through grim, heavy chords, neck-cracking drums, darting riffs, and the soaring, spine-tingling voice of Mikko Heikkilä (of Kaunis Kuolematon). It reaches a zenith of dark and moving impact via a stunningly beautiful and deeply moving guitar solo by Jukka Salovaara. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: GORILLA WIZARD — “INFINITE WAVE”

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Aug 272021
 

 

Today we again have an opportunity to revisit a band whose music we’ve premiered on a couple of previous occasions — Gorilla Wizard from Long Island, New York.

As we observed when we first encountered their music a couple of years ago, their outward trappings almost dare you not to take them seriously, perhaps most especially the white-bearded, wizard-capped gorilla costume in which guitarist Bertrum (the Gorilla Wizard himself) performs. But as we’ve also cautioned before, you shouldn’t be misled by all that, because although the music definitely is a raucous kick in the head, it’s no joke — and we’ve got further proof of that in the new song we’re premiering today off a forthcoming EP. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: KRISIUN, DOEDSVANGR, SERPENT COLUMN, NERVOCHAOS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Aug 272021
 

 

This round-up is a Brazilian death metal sandwich with some poisonous charred goods inside. I’m anticipating I’ll have time for a second round-up later today, which will be some other kind of tasty but toxic meal.

KRISIUN (Brazil)

Yesterday Century Media released a video for the title track from Krisiun‘s latest album, Scourge Of The Enthroned, which is has been out since September 2018.

This is such a good song — jagged and jolting, weird and wailing, menacing and mad. Moving mainly at turbocharged speed, it gives your skull a hard slugging and your guts a good gouging, blaring and boiling with maniacal ferocity but also packing a pulse-pounding punch and infiltrating bits of eerie melody. The soloing screams, the vocals are savage, and the drumming is lights-out. And it’s a blast to watch these veteran barbarians perform the song. Continue reading »

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