Islander, Author at NO CLEAN SINGING

Islander

OUR LIST OF 2015’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 7)

MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015 2 Responses »

Dec 302015

Welcome to the 7th Part of our list of the year’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. To listen to the other songs that have been named to this list so far and to read about the criteria for the list as a whole, go HERE.

So far, our list hasn’t included any thrash, but I’m remedying that deficit today. One song comes from an outstanding album by a group of outstanding and well-known American musicians, and the other comes from a much more obscure but very talented Turkish band.

VHÖL

The first song I’m adding today comes from an album we didn’t manage to review this year. It’s not the first or the last entry of that kind. Try as we might, we often fail to pay proper attention to excellent albums due to lack of time or congenital mental deficiency. And VHÖL’s Deeper Than Sky really is excellent. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MOON CURSE

Interviews 1 Response »

Dec 302015

(Here we have Comrade Aleks’ interview with bassist Rochelle of Milwaukee’s Moon Curse.)

Moon Curse of Milwaukee, Wisconsin are good for all who love hazy psychedelic doom in particular and quality heavy music in general. That power trio have worked fair and stoically since 2011 and the two full-length albums in their discography are a good result. The second crushing wave of their doom practices is named Spirit Remains, and it saw the light of day on November 30th with the help of Kozmik Artifactz Records.

Matt (guitars, vocals) and Keith (drums, Hammond) are busy gentlemen, but I consider myself lucky because lady Rochelle (bass) has found few minutes of her precious time to deliver to us her story of laying the Moon Curse upon listeners. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: THE FIVE HUNDRED — “WINTERS”

Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET 3 Responses »

Dec 302015

(Grant Skelton reviews the new EP by The Five Hundred from Nottingham, England.)

I initially caught wind of Nottingham, England’s The Five Hundred after hearing a demo of the song“Winters.” That track introduced me to the band’s particular brand of aggressive, but melodic metal. It also serves as the title track to The Five Hundred’s new self-released EP. “Winters” was produced by Justin Hill, vocalist of the recently reactivated Sikth.

I don’t consider myself a connoisseur of djent by any means. While I recognize the influence of the djent sound attributed to bands like Sikth and Meshuggah, I am not as familiar with it as I am with other genres. Notwithstanding, here at NCS we don’t like to pigeonhole ourselves by treating genres as immutable. Music is fluid, as are our personal proclivities for what music we do and don’t enjoy. That being said, if you are one who has drawn a proverbial line in the sand regarding anything djent-influenced, I submit The Five Hundred’s Winters EP for your consideration. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2015: WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 DOOM METAL ALBUMS OF 2015

LISTMANIA 2015 13 Responses »

Dec 302015

(This is Part 4 of Wil Cifer’s five-part year-end list. Part 1 focused on “Mainstream” metal, Part 2 on black metal, and Part 3 on death metal.)

This one was the hardest list so far. I need darkness and a sense of loss emoted from my doom. Though there is a far wider range of emotions expressed in the following albums, drugged bliss, anger, and introspective melancholy are a few of the more prominent ones. Some have a dash of death metal to them, others shoe-gaze or blues. Funeral doom is my favorite sub-genre, and there is a fair showing of that. Some bands you might have expected to see here could be popping up on other lists to some extent, as their sound has changed. When it came to ranking my top ten doom metal albums of the year, it came down to which albums I have listened to more and see myself continuing to go back to.

10. Swallow the Sun – “Songs From the North”

In today’s iPod-shuffling and ADD culture, a double album is ambitious, and even becoming an obscure phenomenon as more artists are reluctant even to invest in more than an EP with today’s diminishing record sales. Swallow the Sun took a step in an even bolder direction by putting out a triple album. The three albums offer a wide range of tastes into the varied sub-genres doom touches upon, even mellowing out into a more prog direction. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2015: A YEAR-END LIST FROM JOHAN HULDTGREN

LISTMANIA 2015 1 Response »

Dec 302015

(For the fifth year in a row, I invited my friend Johan Huldtgren of the Swedish black metal band Obitus — whose latest release appears on one of 2014’s Elemental Nightmares splits (here) — to share with us his year-end list. Once again, he agreed. This list previously appeared on Johan’s blog.)

The year is once again coming to a close, and as tradition would dictate I find myself scrambling to get this list together. When looking out at all the other lists published so far, I realize how little new music I’ve managed to listen to over the past year. I find myself with the same excuses as in years past — the fucking day job, travel, and other obligations. I did however manage to scrounge up ten releases I thought worthy of inclusion in an end of year list. Continue reading »

COVERING MOTÖRHEAD

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 19 Responses »

Dec 302015

Like a lot of people, I spent most of my music-listening time yesterday with Motörhead. For the hell of it, I also spent time listening to metal bands covering Motörhead songs. A lot of bands have done that. Out of the many covers I listened to, damned few of them are quite as good as the originals, and at least to my ears, none of them is better.

However, having invested the time hunting for covers that breathed some kind of different life into the classic originals, I decided to put them all here — the good ones and the so-so ones — by these bands: Satyricon, Sepultura, Ringworm (with guest vocals by Barney Greenway), Korpiklaani, Sodom, Machetazo, Avulsed, Overkill, Metallica, Horna, Kvelertak, Warbringer, and Krisiun.

But before I get to those, I’m starting with one that’s definitely a success. It’s a cover of “Orgasmatron” that Integrity released just yesterday on Bandcamp (here). Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2015’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 6)

MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015 6 Responses »

Dec 292015

Here are two more songs that I’m adding to our evolving list of 2015’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. They come from albums that I heard before most people did and then promptly reviewed — which says something about how powerfully they both affected me, given how few reviews I write and how delayed most of them turn out to be. I’ve been delighted to see how often both albums have appeared on year-end metal lists; they richly deserve the acclaim they have been receiving.

(To see the other songs that have been named to this list so far and to read about the criteria for the list as a whole, go HERE.)

MGŁA

I doubt anyone who follows our site on even a semi-regular basis will be surprised or disgruntled to see a song from Exercises In Futility on this list. However, I won’t be surprised if some of you prefer a different song. That’s inevitable, because the album is so loaded with infectious songs. As I wrote in my review: Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2015: A YEAR-END LIST FROM VONLUGHLIO (PART 2)

LISTMANIA 2015 6 Responses »

Dec 292015

(Our old friend from the Dominican Republic Vonlughlio once again brings us his list of the year’s best releases. It’s a Top 50 list, with honorable mentions as well, and this is Part 2, counting down from No. 24 to No. 1. Part 1 can be found here.)

So here is the second part of my favorite albums of this year, and honorable mentions: Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: LATITUDES — “BODY WITHIN A BODY”

Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres 9 Responses »

Dec 292015

As the old year gasps its final fetid breaths, it’s time to start looking ahead to the new one. On January 22 Debemur Morti Productions will bring us the third album by the UK band Latitudes. Entitled Old Sunlight, it will be a good way to help launch 2016. But you won’t have to wait until January to explore the music, because today we bring you the premiere of a new song: “Body Within A Body“.

As you listen to the song, you may be scratching your heads in puzzlement over our site’s name once again, because this is an exception to our “rule” — but one that’s well-deserved. Beneath the high, clean vocals, drifting like wispy clouds, there is a storm breaking in the music. Mammoth riffs and bruising drum beats smash like a deluge, while dissonant, flickering guitar leads flash like lightning. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2015: WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 DEATH METAL ALBUMS OF 2015

LISTMANIA 2015 2 Responses »

Dec 292015

(Here’s Part 3 of Wil Cifer’s five-part year-end list. Parts 1 and 2 can be found here and here.)

While death metal doesn’t get as much air time with me, I am no stranger to the genre, having bought my first death metal album Leprosy in 1988. From there Morbid Angel and Deicide would become my favorite death metal bands, with Incantation, Obituary, Cancer, Nocturnus, and Unleashed picking up the slack. As with all things, the darker the better, so that will factor in as we leave no grave unturned and dig into the best of 2015.

This list is going to touch on every aspect of the genre, sometimes getting so melodic I had to question if they were death metal and then give the album another listen to ease my doubts. There was not one sub-genre or genre that dominated this year. Though I tend to lean more toward the doomier and more blackened side, we still have more traditional, tech, and experimental death metal bands making good showings. So here are my top ten death metal albums, ranked according to which ones got the most rotation on my iPod.

10. Vehemence – “Forward Without Motion”

Certainly could have stood to listen to this one more, but I suppose I’m not always in need of this much shredding mixed in with my death metal. It was a guitar player’s album for sure. The drummer was no slouch either, but the focus is more on the sweep arpeggios. Continue reading »

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