Exceptions to the Rule Archives - Page 46 of 76

BORKNAGAR: “WINTER THRICE”

Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule 21 Responses »

Jan 062016

(Andy Synn reviews the new tenth studio album by Borknagar.)

Show of hands, how many of you have heard of Theseus’ paradox? A few of you? Good to know.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, it refers to questions of identity and continuity, and whether an object can be considered to be the same entity even after all its component parts have been steadily replaced over time, piece by piece.

Now, obviously, there are some parallels here with how bands work. I can tick off a number of names in my head of some of my favourite bands who no longer have any original members left and yet are still, in some ephemeral fashion, the same band.

Prog-Metal overlords Borknagar, of course, have something of an advantage in this area in that their existence has always been anchored (to stretch the nautical metaphor a little further) by the presence of mastermind Øystein G. Brun, but it only takes a quick glance at the Membership Timeline on the band’s Wikipedia page to see how many different members and line-ups the group have gone through over the years, while somehow still retaining the same creative drive and overarching musical identity that first brought the band together.

So perhaps it’s fitting that the line-up featured on Winter Thrice represents perhaps more distinct incarnations of the band at one time than ever before… reaching right back to their earliest days, while still forging boldly, progressively forward. 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 »

OUR LIST OF 2015’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 5)

Exceptions to the Rule, MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015 9 Responses »

Dec 282015

Welcome to Part 5 of our list of Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs for this year, as selected by me and only me from the massive list of candidates received from numerous sources, as well as my own notes haphazardly created as the year rolled along. To learn about the selection criteria and to discover the songs that have already been named to the list, go HERE.

For each of the first four installments in this series I included three songs, grouped together because they seemed to go well together. And I’ve done the same thing with this installment, though beginning tomorrow I plan to drop down to two songs per post.

ALTARS OF GRIEF

In June we had the pleasure of premiering for you a fantastic track named “In Dying Light” by the Canadian band Altars of Grief. It appeared on a split release entitled Of Ash and Dying Light that also included excellent tracks by the band Nachtterror. I’ve been a huge fan of the song ever since and never had any doubt about including it on this list. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2015’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 1)

Exceptions to the Rule, MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015 9 Responses »

Dec 242015

And so it begins, the last piece of our year-end LISTMANIA extravaganza: For the seventh year in a row, I present my list of the year’s “most infectious extreme metal songs”. As I’ve done in the past, my goal is to roll out this list gradually, with one installment per day (including weekends and holidays) until I’m finished, and usually with two songs in each installment. This is a goal, not a promise, because life is too damned unpredictable.

I will add that, as in most other years, I’m starting the rollout before actually finishing the list. Because it’s a work in progress, I don’t know how long it will be. My goal (not a promise) is to finish it before the end of January. To be clear, this is an unranked list; there’s no rhyme or reason to the order in which I’m announcing the songs.

To get a running start, I’m including three songs instead of two in each of the first five installments of the series, and these groupings aren’t random; they may not make sense to anyone but me, but I have my reasons for putting them together as I have.

Okay, let’s get started — and if you don’t know what I mean by “most infectious songs”, go HERE for an explanation. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2015: JOHAN’S LIST OF 2015’S BEST NON-METAL SONGS

Exceptions to the Rule, LISTMANIA 2015 6 Responses »

Dec 232015

(I am actually posting two year-end lists from two long-time Swedish supporters of the site, both of whom are named Johan. Having seen both lists, I can tell you that both are very interesting — and dramatically un-alike. This Johan uses the name “Johan” in his comments, and his list is not metal, but the descriptions are so interesting that even I was seduced into listening… and came away very pleasantly surprised.)

As I’m sure many metalheads do, I too have tastes and urges that I have to roam outside of the realms of metal to satisfy. I have found that with increasing age my attention span (or maybe just the amount of time I can spend listening to music per day) has shrunk, meaning that I often tend to latch on to songs rather than albums, and since metal is my first and foremost love, other genres tend to end up more on the periphery.

That said, the non-metal songs that I do latch on to, I usually hug to death like some demented Swedish octopus. In other words, the songs I am about to recommend below all come with the very highest of praise from me. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: REBEL WIZARD, SHRAPNEL STORM, THE BODY, OCEANS OF SLUMBER

Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET 13 Responses »

Dec 122015

That post title is a little misleading. I’m writing this (somewhat hurriedly) on a Friday afternoon, because the place of employment for my fucking day job is having its annual holiday party tonight, and the odds are I will get fucked up and be in a world of hurt on Saturday morning — because (obviously) I have all the self-control of a three-year-old.

So, this is a selection of new music that I heard and liked on a Friday, presented for your eyes and ears on a Saturday. As you will no doubt expect by now, no two songs sound remotely alike.

REBEL WIZARD

“Rebel Wizard” is the name of a solo project by the Australian musician Nekrasov, whose work under that name is probably better known in certain circles than Rebel Wizard (and whose most recent release I reviewed here last month). The first Rebel Wizard recording that I heard (and reviewed here) was an EP released in July named Negative Wizard Metal. Just yesterday another EP was released on Bandcamp, this one entitled Invocation of the Miserable Ones. It has many of the attributes that made me like the last EP so much. For example: Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SUNDAY: WAFT, ELFSGEDROCH, CRUST, SLOTH KING, DEAFEST, HIGH INQUISITOR WOE

Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 10 Responses »

Dec 062015

I’m going to try to spend time today working on a few reviews I’ve been meaning to write for weeks, but of course I must also make time to risk stroke and/or heart failure by watching the Seahawks take on the Vikings in the wasteland of Minnesota. If the site goes dead tomorrow, you’ll know I didn’t survive the game without a trip to intensive care (or at all). But I do have a few songs I’d like to recommend before indulging in those other activities.

One thing I should mention before I get started: Some of these songs come from entire EPs or albums that have already been released and are deserving of complete reviews, even short ones. But I fear I won’t be able to manage that, so I’m only writing about individual songs and hoping that you’ll dig deeper on your own if you like what you hear.

WAFT

The first song comes from an album I’ve been enjoying for longer than any other release collected in this round-up — so it comes first. The name of the album is Chronolith and it was released via Bandcamp in August by a South Carolina band named Waft. Waft‘s Bandcamp page includes this comment: “Written over the course of four years. Recorded live over two days”. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SEER — “ANTIBODY”

Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres 4 Responses »

Dec 042015

In the spring of this year I came across an extremely impressive debut EP by a band from Vancouver, British Columbia, named Seer. Entitled Vol. 1, it was self-released by the band late last year and consisted of two songs, “Glimmervoid” and “Hive Mind”. By the time I encountered the music (and praised it here), the Art of Propaganda label had announced that it had signed Seer for the release of a full-length debut that would include not only Vol. 1 but also four new songs under the name Vol. 2. Now we know that Art of Propaganda will release Vol. 1 & 2 on January 22, and we’re pleased to bring you the premiere of a song from Vol. 2 named “Antibody“.

I confess that one of the reasons I was first drawn to Seer’s music was the fact that they live in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by the same combination of mountains, evergreen forests, rivers, lakes, and ocean that surround my own home base of Seattle, albeit about 150 miles further north. Like many bands in this region, the spectacular natural setting has influenced their music — along with an interest in fantasy, sic-fi, and the occult. And so while music reflects in certain ways the distinctive Cascadian atmosphere of this region, the band’s lyrical focus ventures beyond the bounds of what we see around us. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 66: “OBSCURE SPHINX”

Exceptions to the Rule, THE SYNN REPORT 5 Responses »

Nov 302015

(In this edition of THE SYNN REPORT, Andy Synn reviews the discography of Poland’s Obscure Sphinx.)

Recommended for fans of: Cult of Luna, Tool, Triptykon

Polish Post-Prog-Doomsters Obscure Sphynx are one of those bands who you just can’t believe aren’t so much bigger than they are. Both their albums (particularly 2013’s utterly phenomenal Void Mother, which is easily up there with my all-time favourite albums) could serve as a masterclass in how to craft songs melding mood and emotion, rage and clarity, captivating song-writing and focused metallic heaviness – and both have similarly been underrated and underappreciated by the metal-loving public at large.

Well no more! It’s time to sit up and take notice, it’s time to give the devil his due… it’s time… for this band to reap the just rewards for the brilliant music that they’ve sown! Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SCIENTIST — “THE LIGHTHOUSE”

Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres 8 Responses »

Nov 232015

The experimental, Chicago-based metal band Scientist have recorded a follow-up to their self-titled debut album. This new album includes more vocals than the debut (contributed in part by some notable guests), but that doesn’t mean the music is any more conventional. It simply adds more dimensions to music that is still fascinatingly difficult to pin down.

The album’s title is 10100II00101, and it’s scheduled for digital and CD release on December 11 (with vinyl coming later from Hell Comes Home). For those who haven’t yet encountered Scientist, it’s the collaborative vehicle of these talented musicians: guitarist, vocalist, and founder Eric Plonka (Yakuza), guitarist/vocalist Patrick Auclair (Taken By The Sun), drummer Justin Cape (Taken By The Sun), and bassist Mathew Milligan (Making Ghosts).

I’ll also mention up-front the names of the guest vocalists: Stavros Giannopoulos (The Atlas Moth), Andre Almaraz (Pale Horseman), Anthony Cwan (Without Waves), and James Clayton Bowman. Aw hell, I might as well mention a few more notable names who are associated with this unpronounceable new album: Continue reading »

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