Islander

AN NCS PREMIERE: EGGS OF GOMORRH — “PRAYEGGRH”

 Premieres  4 Responses »
Jan 242019
 

 

Prepare to have your mind blown, because the song we’re about to present really is the kind of extravagantly explosive experience that will leave the most hardened listener pop-eyed, slack-jawed, and wondering “what the hell did I just hear?!?”

“Prayeggrh” is the name of this song, and it’s one of five (plus a bonus cover of an Arkhon Infaustus track) included on Outpregnate, a new MCD by the Swiss black/death metal band Eggs of Gomorrh, which is set for a March 22 release by the extremist French label Krucyator Productions. The outrageous cover artwork by Daniel “Nekronikon” Corcuera is enough to leave most people pop-eyed and slack-jawed, but it still might not be sufficient warning of the sounds that lie within. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: SINMARA, KHNVM, MEGASCAVENGER, TRIUMVIR FOUL, GOATKRAFT

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Jan 242019
 

 

I’m not going to pretend that this selection of five new songs is well-rounded, or that it’s going to appeal to a broad range of tastes. To borrow a pungent phrase from my friend Andy’s Altarage review yesterday, some of it probably qualifies as war crimes under the Geneva Convention. The most deviant extremists among you will probably lap up all of it; others may pick and choose, or just run for the hills.

If you’re in the mood to get your neck wrecked and don’t care how filthy you have to get, or how mentally traumatized, you’ll probably be fine. Probably.

SINMARA

If there’s a pinnacle in this post, before the descent into increasingly horrifying, visceral, and viscera-strewn trauma, it’s this new song by Sinmara, who are certainly one of the brightest beacons in the rich star-field of Icelandic black metal. However, to be clear, this isn’t easy listening, even for those whose brains have been thoroughly marinated in the poisonous broth of metallic hostility. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2018’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 12): ALKALOID, THE OCEAN, MONOLITHE

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2018  6 Responses »
Jan 232019
 

 

On we go into the 12th installment of this list, in which I’ve added three more songs. To check out the previous installments of this expanding list, you’ll find them behind this link, and to learn what this series is all about, go here.

ALKALOID

Well, you had to know there would be an Alkaloid song on this list. We devoted a lot of attention to Liquid Anatomy (and of course so did the rest of metaldom), including Andy’s review of the album and premiere of a song, his subsequent placement of the album on his Critical Top 10 list for all of 2018, and DGR’s positioning of the record at the No. 2 spot on his own year-end Top 50 list, accompanied by an extensive write-up. Continue reading »

ALTARAGE: “THE APPROACHING ROAR”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Jan 232019
 

 

(Here’s Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by the Spanish extremists Altarage, which will be released on January 25 through Season Of Mist (CD/LP/Digital) and Sentient Ruin (cassette tape).)

It’s weird to think that, sometimes, I forget exactly what albums I’ve reviewed or who I’ve written about here at NCS.

I suppose it shouldn’t be that surprising. After all, although I’m not sure exactly how many articles I write each year I know that it’s a lot… and all alongside the steadily growing demands of my day job and my own band(s).

Case in point, it wasn’t until I did a quick search of the site that I was reminded that I actually wrote about Altarage’s second album, the monstrous Endinghent, in late 2017, describing it as:

“…one of the grimmest, most gruesome albums of the year…”

And while it’s a description I still stand by, all the signs and portents suggest that The Approaching Roar is an even grimmer and more gruesome record yet. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: OKKULTIST — “REINVENTING EVIL”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Jan 232019
 

 

The Ides of March is the date set by Alma Mater Records (the label run by Moonspell’s Fernando Ribeiro) for the release of the first album by a quintet of Portuguese extremists who’ve taken the name Okkultist. Entitled Reinventing Evil, it delivers eight onslaughts of rabid death metal brutality, inspired by such progenitors as Master, Abomination, early Morbid Angel, Death, and Dismember — and today it’s our sadistic pleasure to bring you a stream of the album’s title track.

At the front of Okkultist is growler and screamer Beatriz Mariano, surrounded by lead guitarist Leander Sandmeier, rhythm guitarist Moisés Filho, bassist David Justin, and drummer The Lorke. They chose “Reinventing Evil” as the first sign of what the album holds in store because, as Beatriz tells us, “it’s a punch in the face — a small taste of the pain we have ready to bring you!” And yeah, it really is a powerhouse punch in the face. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SORDIDE — “LA PEUR DU NOIR”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Jan 232019
 

 

We have been following the progress of the French black metal band Sordide since discovering and writing about the first preview tracks from their second album, 2016’s Fuir la lumière (escape the light), that appeared in advance of the album’s release. That led to the opportunity for us to host the debut of a complete music stream for that exhilarating record, which became one of this writer’s favorite releases of 2016.

Sordide have now completed work on a third album, the name of which is Hier déjà mort, which will be released on February 15th by Throatruiner Records, WV Sorcerer Productions, and La Harelle. Not long after that, Sordide will embark upon a European tour with the Dutch black metal band Turia, whom we’ve also praised repeatedly at our site. Today we provide further details about all this news, as well as a chance to listen to the opening track from the new album (following a prelude) entitled “La peur du noir“. Continue reading »

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM: “THE END OF CHAOS”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  1 Response »
Jan 232019
 

 

(Wil Cifer reviews the 14th album by Arizona’s Flotsam and Jetsam, which was released on January 18 by AFM Records.)

When it comes to bands I grew up on there is a tightrope balancing act they must brave. One part chasing the dragon to recapture the sound I fell in love with, versus becoming a tired parade of nostalgia.

Even though Flotsam and Jetsam‘s new album sounds like they are picking up where they left off on 1988’s No Place For Disgrac., the production gives this a heavy enough density for jaded eardrums that have grown calloused by higher tolerance for heavy over the years.

As a teen I liked When the Storm Comes Down (1990), but something about the album was a bit off. Looking back, it’s more evident that the production was steering their sound in more of an And Justice For All… direction. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2018’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 11): HORIZON ABLAZE, HOTH, HOUSE OF ATREUS

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2018  3 Responses »
Jan 222019
 

 

I got kind of carried away with my own verbiage in the three premieres I wrote earlier today (I know, shocking isn’t it?), and that plus a visit to the dentist has caused the latest installment of this ongoing list to appear later in the day than I would have preferred. But I’m determined to keep this going as a daily habit until I force myself to stop.

As for today’s installment, you might guess that I organized my collection of song candidates for the list in alphabetical order — and you would be right. I do skip around in making choices, but today I’m solidly embedded in the H’s.

HORIZON ABLAZE

We gave quite a lot of attention to the 2018 album by the Norwegian band Horizon Ablaze, The Weight of a Thousand Suns (which was released last February) — most of it penned by Andy Synn. He introduced our premiere of a song from the album, reviewed the whole record, and then put it on both his list of 2018’s Great Albums and his Personal Top 10 list. NCS scribe TheMadIsraeli also put it on his own year-end list posted at our site, and even I got into the act by covering one of the advance album tracks in an edition of SHADES OF BLACK. So, it’s fair to say that we’re VERY HIGH on this record. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: MALEVOLENT CREATION — “RELEASE THE SOUL”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Jan 222019
 

 

The opportunity to premiere a video for a new song by Malevolent Creation from their 13th album (fittingly named The 13th Beast) seems like the kind of halcyon time that should inspire a dense retrospective, a positioning of the music in the context of more than 30 years of heavy metal creativity by this band. Unfortunately, for me, the task is too daunting. Even attempting to provide an adequate musical biography by way of introduction is a bewildering challenge. So I’m just going to pretend that you don’t know much about this group beyond the song you’re about to hear.

And, having reflected on this approach, I don’t think it’s unfair. We can pay honor to the decades-long achievements of a band such as this one, but if we’re truly honest with ourselves, past glories do not make new music any better than it would be if the band’s name were blacked out. Nostalgia, and respect borne of a group’s ground-breaking contributions, really should not influence how we hear a new song or album. If we are not sheep, then every new honor we might bestow must be earned. Continue reading »

AN NCS DOUBLE PREMIERE: PÁNICO AL MIEDO AND SOL DE SANGRE (TWO TRACKS FROM “LA SENDA DE LA MUERTE”)

 Premieres  6 Responses »
Jan 222019
 

 

It isn’t uncommon for current bands to honor the giants of the past on whose shoulders they stand, and whose music provided both inspiration to their own creativity and vicious joy to their own listening. But the homage that Pánico Al Miedo (Spain) and Sol De Sangre (Colombia) have paid to their own death metal heroes in a new split is still something very special.

La Senda De La Muerte is the name of this new split. It will be released on CD by Germany’s War Anthem Records on January 25th and in a cassette tape edition by Scotland-based Camo Pants Records on March 1st. It includes Sol De Sangre‘s covers of songs by Entombed and Unleashed, and Pánico Al Miedo‘s covers of songs by Pestilence and Death. And while both of these excellent bands have taken significant steps to link these recordings to the era that gave them birth, they’ve also put their own stamp on the music — perhaps most significantly, they’ve reinterpreted the lyrics in Spanish, giving the songs a new kind of vibe and atmosphere. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries