Islander

BIOMORPHIC ENGULFMENT — “INCUBATION IN THE PARALLEL DIMENSION”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Mar 042021
 

 

(This is Vonlughlios‘ review of the new album by the Thai brutal death metal band Biomorphic Engulfment, which will be released on March 31 by Show No Mercy Records, with cover art by Paolo Girardi.)

We are into March and so far there have been some great BDM releases. I am excited to see what the upcoming months have in store for the genre. But I know about one of them already — the debut album by Thailand’s Biomorphic Engulfment, Incubation in the Parallel Dimension, which is set to be released by Show No Mercy Records on March 31st.

The project was born in 2015 under the name Parasitic Infestation until they changed it in 2017 to their current banner. They released the following year a one-song demo called “Pestilent Microparasitic Domination” that at the time I did not get the chance to listen to (which I now regret). Continue reading »

SULLEN: “NODUS TOLLENS, ACT I: OBLIVION”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  No Responses »
Mar 032021
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by the Portuguese band Sullen, which will be released on March 5th.)

Despite our site’s somewhat controversial (and, let’s face it, slightly inaccurate) name, there are definitely some of those among our regular readers who actively look forward to the times when we recommend something that falls more on the melodic, harmonious, side of the Metal spectrum.

Recent years have seen us singing (no pun intended) the praises of bands such as Arctic Sleep and Ecclesia, Klone and Close the Hatch, Astronoid and Sinistro, and it was just a few short month ago that I declared the new Protest the Hero album to be one of the very best records of 2020.

All of which, I suppose, is my way of saying that while we don’t go to the clean-singing well that often, when we do it’s because we think it’s something you’ll really like.

Something like the brand new album from Portuguese prog-metallers Sullen. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: STONE HEALER — “WHENCE SHALL I”

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Mar 032021
 

 

We are surrounded these days by so much new music, perhaps in part an unforeseen by-product of lockdown days and an abundance of pandemic-provoked anxieties. Much of it is very good, even when the artists aren’t pushing boundaries, or maybe only nudging them a bit, like an elbow bump.

But every now and then we hear something that really makes us sit up straight and take notice, something that pulls together different stylistic ingredients in unexpected ways that shove through boundaries. And when that’s done by people who are unusually gifted instrumental performers but who also bring undeniable emotional power to their song-writing, well then it’s almost like a lightning strike through the top of your head.

And that brings us to North Carolina-based Stone Healer, whose new album Conquistador is all of those things and more. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: ABSCESSION — “RAT KING CRAWL”

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Mar 032021
 

 

It is time to hail our ever-present companions the rats, who have become even more visible and aggressive during the pandemic lockdowns, when both public human presences and their refuse have diminished. As one report noted, “Rats are coming out of hiding. They’re taking to the streets in broad daylight and invading homes in a desperate search for food.”

And so the timing seems perfect for us to present Abscession‘s lyric video for their song “Rat King Crawl”, which is off their forthcoming second album, Rot of Ages (coming later this spring via Transcending Obscurity Records). And what better way to exalt the rats — and their hunger for human flesh — than through an electrifying dose of ravaging Swedish death metal. Continue reading »

SARIN: “YOU CAN’T GO BACK”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Mar 032021
 

 

(Here’s Gonzo’s review of the new album by the Toronto-based band Sarin, which is out now on Prosthetic Records.)

If you want to consider the future of “post-metal” as a genre, you won’t have to look very far to find the trailblazers showing us the way.

You could look as far back as the mid-’90s, when Neurosis began their transformation from sludgy hardcore into a subgenre-defining behemoth.

You could look at the glory days of ISIS circa 2005, when Aaron Turner and co. dished out slabs of ethereal heaviness that defied explanation.

And now, you can look at bands like Toronto-based Sarin, whose nasty, emotive brand of sonic vitriol is poised to bring post-metal into the present – with a vengeance. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): REQUIEM FOR OBLIVION — “HINDSIGHT 2020”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Mar 022021
 

 

Almost four years have passed since we last heard from Requiem For Oblivion, who make their home in Erie PA. Their last album back then, Burning Nation, was a head-spinning fusion of technical and progressive death metal that was multi-faceted, unpredictable, and electrifying. And now the band is returning… and some things have changed.

Requiem For Oblivion have marked their return with a new EP named Hindsight 2020 that will be released on March 5th, and which you’ll be able to hear for yourselves through our premiere of a full stream. Trying to sum it up as a challenge, but here’s a stab at it:

The music is mechanistic and merciless in its destructiveness but also freakish and twisted in its bizarre and surprising contortions — a display of cold machine power dialed up to titanic levels but operating within a state of untreatable psychosis. The grooves are so massive and punishing that they’ll tempt you to ruin your neck, but everything else about the music (and, to be honest, even the grooves themselves) will keep you (and your sanity) off-balance, to the point that by the end you may be asking, “What the fuck just happened?” You’ll wonder where you’ve been and how the hell you’ll find your way get back to where you started. Continue reading »

BÆST: “NECRO SAPIENS”

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Mar 022021
 

 

(Andy Synn wrote the following review of the new album by the Danish band Bæst, which will be released on March 5th by Century Media.)

Despite my many years writing, reviewing, and prognosticating about Metal – whether for NCS or Terrorizer or whoever – I still don’t really understand how the hype machine works.

Why does one band get big and another, doing the exact same thing (sometimes even better) not?

What makes one particular style of music suddenly explode in popularity while others seem destined to linger in obscurity?

And what, pray tell, does it take to get your voice heard over the deafening hype hurricane?

You see, ever since they released their first album (2018’s Danse Macabre) I’ve been practically yelling from the literal rooftops about how great Bæst are – easily the equal of your Blood Incantations, your Tomb Molds, or whoever else you might want to mention – and I’ve only gotten louder since they released the even better Venenum in 2019.

So, with the imminent release of the group’s third album, I think it’s high time people came round to the fact that Bæst are simply one of the all-round best bands in Death Metal. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): SACRILEGIOUS CROWN — “PLENILUNIUM CULT”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  7 Responses »
Mar 022021
 

 

Raw black metal is a tiny and obscure niche within the greater world of extreme metal, but one with fervently devoted adherents among both performers and listeners. But as small as the niche is, the music within it isn’t all the same thing, any more than it is in other micro and macro metal realms. Some creators, for example, create abrasive and unpleasant assaults on the eardrums, relishing the antagonisms unleashed by such mutilating lo-fi attacks. Others follow different paths, and one of those is the intensely atmospheric one followed by the Italian one-man band Sacrilegious Crown.

Active since 2015, with three demos and two full-lengths in the catalogue, Sacrilegious Crown is about to release a new EP named Plenilunium Cult via Xenoglossy Productions, and we have a full stream of its remarkably chilling sensations for you today in advance of that March 5th release. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: REVULSION

 Interviews  No Responses »
Mar 022021
 

 

(Not long ago we published Aleksha McLoughlin‘s review of the excellent self-titled debut album by the Finnish death metal band Revulsion, which was released on February 5th by Transcending Obscurity Records, and Aleksha has now followed that up with a live recorded interview of Revulsion members Atte Karppinen (drummer) and Tuomas Alatalo (bassist), a transcription of which you’ll find below.)

 

What was it like signing up to Transcending Obscurity Records? They have some great bands on their label, like Gaera and De Profundis.

It was exciting, of course; our first signing and immediately to an international label. We obviously had heard about them through Sepulchral Curse and Sadistik Forest, we know the guys from that band. So we already had friends who had signed up with them. It was quite a clear choice in that sense because we already had an idea of what they could do and what kind of connections to the industry they had, how we could get our music out there.

We were surprised how quickly Transcending Obscurity Records responded to our questions about the signing. Yeah, it didn’t take long for him to reply. He was like, “Let’s get this album out there, let’s get you guys some visibility”. Because it’s obvious today, in this kind of competitive environment, with a lot of bands, labels and everything like that, it’s hard to get your voice out there and get your band seen and stand out. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: UNFLESH — “HOLOCAUST OF STARS”

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Mar 012021
 

 

Two years after releasing their debut album Savior, the New Hampshire extremists Unflesh are returning with a new album and a revised line-up. Entitled Inhumation, the new album, which is set for release on April 2nd, is the work of founding vocalist/guitarist Ryan Beevers (ex-Solium Fatalis) along with two new members: bassist Orion Hubbard (ex-Excrecor) and drummer Jeff Saltzman (Aversed, Allegaeon (live), Continuum (live), ex-Solium Fatalis).

In ways that match the album’s conceptual inspirations (more on that later), the music also reflects a more immersive and indeed atmospheric take on the band’s brand of death metal, which draws into play ingredients of black metal as well as eye-popping technicality.

To help introduce the album, what we have for you today is the premiere of one of the album’s most exhilarating tracks, “Holocaust of Stars“. Continue reading »

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