Islander, Author at NO CLEAN SINGING

Islander

MY EXCUSE: CALIFORNIA DEATHFEST MMXV

Oct 102015

Don’t worry, I was just walking past that place last night with some friends rather than actually being escorted inside by some of Oakland’s finest. But it’s true that I’m in Oakland, attending the inaugural installment of California Deathfest, and so far it’s been a good time. It’s also the reason we won’t have much content on the site this weekend.

Yesterday, I rendezvoused with my NCS comrades DGR and BadWolf around mid-afternoon in Oakland. We took a stroll around Jack London Square on the waterfront under glorious blue skies, and then parked ourselves for a late lunch (where we were joined by a couple of other metalheads) and what became 2-3 hours of drinking. Willpower is not our strong suit. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: AEON APHELION (ALEX KOUTSIS)

Interviews 5 Responses »

Oct 092015

(Comrade Aleks presents this interview with guitarist/vocalist Alex Koutsis of the Greek doom band Aeon Aphelion.)

Born ten years ago, Aeon Aphelion has had a lot of line-up changes and only one full-length album, Visions of Burning Ages (2013), and of course I did this interview with the band’s guitarist and vocalist Alex Koutsis because I like this record.

Aeon Aphelion started as death doom band, and though they play now in a more traditional way, you can feel that old school vibe in their songs still. They have a powerful approach, good riffs, proper angry vocal lines, and a bunch of catchy melodies on the album. Trust my words or check Visions of Burning Ages and trust your ears. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BLACK GRAIL — “LA CIUDADELA DE SHIVA”

Premieres 7 Responses »

Oct 092015

The Chilean band Black Grail have recorded a debut album named Misticismo Regrisivo. It will be released by Tyrannus Records on November 2, 2015. At the end of this post you can hear a song we’re premiering named “La Ciudadela de Shiva”. I thought of two ways to introduce it.

First way: You’re about to hear a sonic atrocity, a savage demonic manifestation intent on bring about ruination and degradation. Foul and sulfurous, it’s a “procreation of sounds worthy of a psychiatric center” in the midst of an arson attack, vividly conveying the furious agonies of inmates consumed by flame while hellish entities howl in ecstasy at all the fresh death. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: GRAVE RITUAL — “TYRANT’S HAMMER”

Premieres 8 Responses »

Oct 092015

Originally from Montgomery, Alabama, and now ensconced in the Big Easy, Grave Ritual rapidly made a name for themselves, first with their 2009 demo and then even more dramatically with their 2010 debut album Euphoric Hymns From the Altar of Death. They proved their ability to inject remarkably vitality into a classic style of primal old-school death metal that many might have thought had run its course.

It has been a long wait for the band’s next album, but it’s now nearly upon us, coming down like a black, ravenous raptor and set to spread its claws on October 30 via Dark Descent Records. Bearing the title Morbid Throne and emblazoned with cover art by the mighty Daniel Desecrator, we predict it’s going to be welcomed with open arms despite the punishment it’s going to inflict.

One song from the album (“Adversary Crown”) made its brutal debut last month, and today we bring you a second one: “Tyrant’s Hammer“. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: SOFY MAJOR — “WE SEE FIRE”

Premieres 2 Responses »

Oct 092015

Regardless of your political ideals, and even if you have none, I think we can agree that the reputation of most politicians — probably worldwide — is just slightly above that of child molesters and below that of pond scum. Yeah, pond scum is pretty slimy, but at least it’s innocent and it contributes useful oxygen to the atmosphere.

So, politicians are easy targets, but that doesn’t make skewering them any less fun — especially when the skewering is as hilarious as it is in the video from Sofy Major that we’re helping premiere today — all of which consists of film footage of actual events.

And that’s all I’m going to say about the video — you just have to see it for yourselves. But I do have a few words for you about the music, even if it’s in serious danger of being eclipsed by what you see on the screen. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: WILDERNESSKING — “WITH ARMS LIKE WANDS”

Premieres 4 Responses »

Oct 092015

We’ve closely followed the upward trajectory of South Africa’s Wildernessking since 2012, spilling many words over everything they have released, from their 2012 debut album The Writing of Gods In the Sand, to their two EPs (…and the Night Swept Us Away and The Devil Within), to their track on one of the Elemental Nightmares splits (“Kings”), to the song “Soundless Longing” (included on a split released early this year by Secret Ceremonies). Now the band have completed work on their second full-length — Mystical Future — and today we’re honored to bring you the first full song from the album: “With Arms Like Wands“.

Beginning with their debut album, Wildernessking have demonstrated a talent for achieving an inventive balance between light and darkness, between moving, atmospheric passages and bursts of intense ferocity, between complex progressive tendencies and hook-filled melodies. And over the course of the shorter releases that followed The Writing of Gods…, they’ve also demonstrated growth and increased maturity in their song-writing, though their debut was so damned good that finding room for improvement might have seemed like looking for a needle in a haystack.

“With Arms Like Wands” is yet another example of the band’s skill at integrating different styles of music within a framework of black metal — and it’s also as intense and intensely moving as anything they’ve done to date. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: WILT — “ILLUSION OF HOPE”

Premieres 5 Responses »

Oct 082015

2015 may be the best year yet for releases by Bindrune Recordings. In addition to stellar offerings from Panopticon, Alda, Infera Bruo, and Nechochwen, on October 30 the label also plans to release the debut full-length by Wilt from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Entitled Moving Monoliths, it will be adorned by gatefold cover art created by the fantastic Nick Keller from New Zealand.

The band previously released a tantalizing teaser of excerpts from the album, but now we bring you more than mere moments of music. We’re very pleased to host the album’s first mammoth track — “Illusion of Hope”. Like all four of the songs on Moving Monoliths, it’s a long piece of music, but it’s a prodigious work in more ways than simply its unusual length. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: WOUDLOPER — SELF-TITLED EP

Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET 2 Responses »

Oct 082015

We rarely turn back in time for the metal releases we review at this site, instead spending most of our time focusing on what’s coming in the future. And when I recently began listening to Woudloper’s self-titled demo (which seems to have been originally self-released about a year ago, and then was distributed on cassette by the Dutch label Breathe Plastic Records earlier this year), I didn’t mean to write a review. I thought perhaps I would include a mention of it in one of our Shades of Black round-ups. But this small obsidian gem is so good that I thought it deserved a stand-alone feature.

The band is the solo project of a Dutch musician named Erik B., and this demo consists of two long songs, denominated only by number. If you’re interested in a genre description, the music crosses boundaries, fusing together elements of atmospheric black metal, sludgy doom, and post-metal. It’s staggeringly heavy and manages to be both mesmerizing and frightening. Continue reading »

FIVE OF MY FAVOURITE… SATYRICON SONGS

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 20 Responses »

Oct 082015

(Andy Synn presents yet another list of his favorite things that come in fives.)

With the recent news that Satyricon frontman Satyr has been diagnosed with a (hopefully benign) brain tumour, I felt now was as good a time as any to wax poetic about my love for the band, and pick out five of my favourite tracks from across their back catalogue.

Once again I’ve tried to stay away from the obvious choices, so you won’t find any mention of “Hvite Krists død” or “Mother North” here, and likewise you’ll also note a distinct absence of the big singles like “Fuel For Hatred” and “K.I.N.G.”.

Still, it’s a testament to the band’s longevity and songwriting prowess that it’s just as easy to pick out any number of other songs that hit the same heights, from across the length and breadth of their creative catalogue, as it is to focus in on their most famous numbers. Continue reading »

GODLESS ANGEL INTERVIEWS FERNANDA LIRA OF NERVOSA

Interviews 5 Responses »

Oct 082015

(Our friend Derek Neibarger (Godless Angel) interviews Fernanda Lira of the Brazilian band Nervosa.)

A short while ago I wrote a post in which I praised the Brazilian thrash/death trio, Nervosa. Fernanda Lira, Prika Amaral, and Pitchu Ferraz have been bringing their awesome brand of metal to the masses since 2010. Their first full length album, Victim of Yourself, was released in 2014 through Napalm Records, and the band has been on the road ever since.

I was hooked from the first moment I heard “Masked Betrayer” off of their debut EP, Time of Death. Simply put, Nervosa is a hundred different kinds of badass. So I was extremely excited when I was granted an interview with bassist/vocalist Fernanda. As you’ll soon see, she’s extremely cool, passionate, and a true metal warrior. A huge thank you to Mona Muliski for making this possible! Continue reading »

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