GHOST B.C.: “CIRICE”

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Jun 012015
 

 

Sunday is an odd day to choose for song premieres. But for a band whose rise to prominence has been as meteoric as Ghost B.C.‘s, I guess it doesn’t really matter — word of a new song will spread regardless of it coming out on one of the sleepiest days of the week. And yes, yesterday Ghost B.C. released a new song, named “Cirice“.

The song will appear on the band’s new album Meliora, which is now scheduled for release on August 21 via Loma Vista Recordings. The new song and the new album feature a new front person, anointed Papa Emeritus III and described as the “three-month-younger brother” of the band’s last Papa Emeritus. What’s more, the song comes with its own cover art — and it’s available for free download, here: Continue reading »

DANIEL CAVANAGH — “MEMORY AND MEANING”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Off Topic  4 Responses »
May 222015
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the crowd-funded solo album of Daniel Cavanagh.)

As the old saying goes, “when the cat’s away, the mice will play”. And with both Islander and Badwolf currently semi-AWOL from the site due to attending MDF, it’s definitely time to play…

In that spirit, and as part of my continued quest to drag down the good name of this site, I hereby present to you the entirely clean-sung, all-acoustic, and almost completely un-metal, covers album by Anathema guitarist/co-vocalist Daniel Cavanagh.

Let the games begin! Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: KING HEAVY (LUTHER VELDMARK)

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  4 Responses »
May 192015
 

 

(Comrade Aleks returns to NCS with this interview of Luther Veldmark of the multinational group King Heavy.)

It started for me with Hooded Priest’s album Devils Worship Reckoning — I like good old-school doom metal, and this record had enough catchy riffs to make me wait for new release. This record also is remarkable for me because of the really possessed and expressive vocal lines performed by the band’s frontman Luther Veldmark. The new album isn’t ready yet, but at least I got King Heavy, as Hooded Priest has been keeping silent up to now.

King Heavy is the product of a collaboration between Luther (based in The Netherlands) and three members of the Chilean bands Procession and Mourners Lament. King Heavy recorded the EP Horror Absoluto in 2014, so it’s time to ask that will come next. Luther Weldmark himself is here today!

 

Hail Luther! How are you? How much longer did your beard grow since we talked last time? It was in 2011!

Hello Alex, great hearing from you again. The slower my music the faster time flies!

Since you asked, I suppose my beard is a bit longer than last time, actually I don’t think it’s that extremely long, but yeah right, I don’t go that often to a barber. I do cut my beard on the sides from time to time, that’s about it. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: VANUM, HADIT, DRUZHINA, NIDRA

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
May 122015
 

 

From my wanderings through the interhole and the NCS mailbox yesterday I came across four diverse new songs that grabbed me. So I thought I would put you in their clutches as well.

VANUM

I paused in my wanderings to hear this new song from Vanum based on the disclosure that the band consists of K. Morgan of Ash Borer and M. Rekevics of Fell Voices, Vorde, and Vilkacis. All those bands are quite good in my estimation, and so I was curious to hear what the union of these talents had produced. Profound Lore must have been intrigued, too, because they’re releasing Vanum’s debut album Realm of Sacrifice in June (digital and CD), with vinyl coming later via Psychic Violence. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY — “STARLIGHT OBLIVION”

 Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  6 Responses »
May 062015
 

 

At the very end of last year we had the pleasure of premiering “Hunter of the Celestial Sea”, an advance song from the new album by Australia’s Midnight Odyssey, Shards of Silver Fade, and today we’re equally delighted to bring you another. What you’re about to hear is “Starlight Oblivion“. It will require more than the usual amount of your time for a single song, but the time you invest will be repaid with handsome dividends. And I can pretty much guarantee that you won’t emerge from the experience in the same frame of mind and mood as when you begin the journey.

The song is more than 18 minutes long, one of eight in a double-album release that includes more than 2 hours and 20 minutes of music. It fully merits the adjective “immersive”. It’s a sweeping celestial voyage of shimmering ambient sounds, galvanizing rhythms, melodies that tug at the heart, and an array of vocal expressions that are all mesmerizing. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: TEMPEL, POTERGEIST, EARTHSIDE

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
May 042015
 

 

We’ve had a very busy day at our site, but I didn’t want to sign off on this May the Fourth (be with you) without recommending three new songs, two of which come with videos. Two of these are also instrumental tracks and the third involves a lot of clean singing — and so you know I really like them, because these kinds of songs tend to be rarities around here. I hope you enjoy them, too.

TEMPEL

Tempel’s new album The Moon Lit Our Path has been very high on my list of eagerly anticipated 2015 albums, in light of how very much I enjoyed their debut album On the Steps of the Temple. I got even more excited when I saw the album’s cover art by Lucas Ruggieri. And I have to say that, somehow, I’m now even more excited after listening to today’s premiere of a song named “Carvings In The Door”. Continue reading »

CHELSEA WOLFE: “IRON MOON”

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Apr 282015
 

 

Oh what the hell, even though it’s well past the time when we usually stop posting, I think you should listen to this new Chelsea Wolfe song, the name of which is “Iron Moon“.

My NCS comrade BadWolf told me about the song; there was a lot of heat coming off him when he did.  He has talked my ear off (actually, both of them) about Chelsea Wolfe over the last year or two. He lusts after her music (and I think her as well) with the fervor of a true zealot.

I do understand the attraction(s), but I have a pretty simple, one-track mind when it comes to music. In general, if it’s not incinerating (and “Iron Moon” isn’t that), it needs to be very heavy or very terrifying. “Iron Moon” gets pretty close to both of those comfort zones. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SAMAVAYO (BEHRANG ALAVI)

 Exceptions to the Rule, Interviews  No Responses »
Apr 202015
 

 

(Comrade Aleks interviews Behrang Alavi, the Iranian-born vocalist/guitarist for Germany’s Samavayo — and of course we have music for you to hear as well.)

Samavayo is the band for those who like stoner music and don’t fear experiments. If you want to know how stoner sounds with progressive, alternative, and Middle Eastern roots, then this band is for you.

Samavayo was born in Berlin somewhere around 2000, and different elements have prevailed in their music in different periods and on different records, but after all of that, the band have found their golden mean. I do think that their last work stands a bit apart from other albums – it’s a vinyl split release by Samavayo and the Russian band The Grand Astoria. We had a talk with Behrang Alavi (vocals, guitars) about this record and some other things. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: EREB ALTOR, LUCIFER’S CHILD, WHISKEY RITUAL

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Apr 172015
 


Ereb Altor

I’m on the road again, for pleasure not business this time, reconnecting with family in Texas and going to a school reunion. So, we won’t have many posts today because I’ll be out and about instead of hunched over my computer.

Before I disappear, I wanted to give you a few new songs to hear that I sifted from the effluent of the interhole and the rat’s nest of our in-box this morning. The new Slayer song isn’t one of them. I assume anyone who is still a fan of the band has already discovered it on their own. It seems like a better use of time to highlight things you might miss.

EREB ALTOR

Sweden’s Ereb Altor have a new album (their fifth) named Nattramn that’s due for an April 24 release on the Cyclone Empire label. The cover art (after the jump) was created by Gustavo Sazes of Abstrata Design. I haven’t managed to listen to the whole album yet, but I do recommend the song that premiered today, by the name of “Midsommarblot”. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: ZATOKREV, CRIMSON SWAN, HAMFERÐ, DEATHBLOW, KHROMA

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Mar 212015
 

 

I’m about to enter the home stretch of the out-of-town project for my paying job that has been severely constricting my blog time. Four or five more days, and I’ll be done. Those remaining days are going to leave me with even less time to blog than I’ve had since the project started three weeks ago, so this morning I decided to carve out some time for one last round-up of new music before running the final gauntlet.

ZATOKREV

I discovered the Swiss band Zatokrev through their 2012 album The Bat, the Wheel and a Long Road to Nowhere, which turned out to be one of my favorite albums of that year. Their fourth album, Silk Spiders Underwater… is now finished and scheduled for released on April 13 by Candlelight Records. It is reported to be the first of a two-part conception and features artwork by Maks Loriot. Continue reading »

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