FIVE OF MY FAVOURITE . . . METAL BALLADS

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  18 Responses »
Jul 052013
 

(Andy Synn delivers yet another list of favorite things that come in five’s. And to quote one of the most memorable comments we’ve ever received, almost everything in this list “runs totally contrary to NCS statement”.)

So today’s post was originally going to be a review of an awesome black metal album I’ve had on the backburner for a few months now… but instead I did this. So sue me. I like singing.

Ballad need not be a dirty word in metal. Although I share with you a general distaste for the way in which most mainstream rock/metal bands defecate a steaming pile of melodramatic emotion onto a disc just to prove how “sensitive” they are, I’d say that by now we can spot these sort of box-ticking attempts at cross-over appeal a mile away. You can tell when a band is trying too hard, or when it’s done just because of the “hit factor”.

But what I’m talking about here are the sort of metal ballads that are both organic to their creator’s sound (as opposed to say, how every other tough-guy groove metal band has a generic ballad-y love song “for the ladies” to show that although they’re ‘dangerous tough guys’, they’ve really got a heart of gold…) and also still maintain that sense of power and depth, and often complexity, that has become synonymous with the metal genre.

So, anyway, here’s five of my favourite, artistically rewarding, emotionally affecting, metal ballads. You’ll find that they’re mostly (say 75-85%) clean sung, but I don’t think that should be a bar to the appreciation of a quality song. What’s more each and every one just fits with the sound and identity of the band as a whole. Continue reading »

GHOST’S NEW VIDEO FOR “MONSTRANCE CLOCK”

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Jul 032013
 

To the sound of the monstrance clock
Air is cleansed, assembled flock
Black candles burn all night tonight

As the parish sighs in smoke
Enters lady revealed of cloak
To the haunting sound of the monstrance clock
Singing:

Come together, together as a one
Come together for Lucifer’s son

The music of “Monstrance Clock” sounds so sweet, but really, it isn’t. It isn’t my favorite track on Ghost’s latest album Infestissumam — that would have to be “Year Zero” — but it’s my second favorite, and so I’m quite happy to report that Ghost have released a new video for it. Directed by Rob Semmer, it sets the magnetic music to scenes of the band’s performances at the El Rey in Los Angeles and Webster Hall in New York City. Watch it next… Continue reading »

DAN SWANÖ’s WITHERSCAPE PROJECT RELEASES A NEW LYRIC VIDEO: “DEAD FOR A DAY”

 Exceptions to the Rule  4 Responses »
Jul 032013
 

Back in May we helped spread the word that one of metal’s Renaissance men, Dan Swanö, had created a new project with multi-instrumentalist Ragnar Widerberg named Witherscape and had released a debut single named “Astrid Falls”. Since then we’ve seen the cover art for Witherscape’s first album, The Inheritance, created by the talented Travis Smith, and we’ve learned that the release will be a concept album, telling a story that takes place in a remote village in northern Sweden in the late 1800’s. According to Swanö, “The central character lives in Stockholm and comes from wealth, and upon the death of his family he’s informed by the family lawyer that he has inherited a large estate up north. Having been oblivious to the estate’s existence, he decides to investigate, and once he’s there ‘all kinds of weird shit happens.'”

And now today, via a DECIBEL premiere, Witherscape has brought us a new lyric video for a second track from the album, “Dead For A Day”. Rather than make my usual effort to describe the music, I’ll just let Mr. Swanö do it himself:

“‘Dead For A Day’ is one of those songs that just wrote itself. I was strumming on the acoustic guitar one morning and it just poured out of my fingers. At first, I had no idea what to do with the song since I felt it was perhaps a bit too commercial for Witherscape, but after I played the demo to Ragnar he insisted that it must be on the album! I love how the song moves between the mellow verses à la Crimson I and II to the more brutal, yet melodic chorus, in the tradition of ‘Uncreation’ and ‘Twilight’ through the groovy but ‘undanceable’ 9/8 section that leads to one of Ragnar’s best guitar leads of the album.”

Yes, it has clean singing, but it also includes Swanö’s awesome growls, as well as some wonderful lead and solo guitar work and a hooky melody. Holy hell, I’m really digging this. Listen to it next. The Inheritance will be released by Century Media on August 6 and can be ordered HERE with a t-shirt or HERE without one.

Continue reading »

OLD CORPSE ROAD: “‘TIS WITCHING HOUR…AS SPECTRES WE HAUNT THIS KINGDOM”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  No Responses »
Jul 012013
 

(In this post, Andy Synn reviews the debut album by Old Corpse Road.)

We’ve only mentioned Old Corpse Road in passing before at NCS, but (for various reasons) never got round to giving them their due. I’m hoping to rectify that though, because ’Tis Witching Hour… is a prime example of the lavish creativity and complexity one can find amidst the swirling murk of the UK black metal scene.

Released at the tail-end of last year, the band’s first full-length release is a bombastic, unapologetic display of gothic grandiosity, folk-ish eccentricity, and black metal ferocity.

Instrumentally, every song is performed impeccably, with a life and vitality that’s a far cry from the sterile and over-processed performances that clutter the metal mainstream. Unsurprisingly, the guitars play a central role, transmuting from scalding tremolo runs into shape-shifting, visceral riffage or lachrymose acoustic lamentation. The drums blast and shatter with necromantic vigour, yet are equally capable of restraining themselves when the song calls for it, shadowy rhythms prowling with a predatory patience. All of this is shrouded in a layer of brooding, gothic drama by the ever-present, ostentatious keys, which provide each track with an air of dark, ominous theatricality. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: CRYPT SERMON — “DEMO MMXIII”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Free Shit, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Jun 202013
 

Crypt Sermon are the second doom-oriented band with a new debut release named Demo MMXIII that I’m reviewing today (the first was by Temple of Void). This is a new project, and I know only a small amount of information about them: By snooping around I’ve learned that they are from Philadelphia, the membership apparently includes Steve Jansson (Infiltrator, Grass, Trench Rot), Brooks Wilson (Grass), and James L. (Labyrinthine), among others, and the demo was mastered by Chris Grigg (Woe).

I’ll say up-front that the demo is an Exception To the Rule around here — no howls, growls, guttural vomiting, or hair-raising shrieks on this release. But  the clean vocals — whoever is doing them — are definitely one of this demo’s strengths. The music is strong in many other respects as well.

The three songs are an offering of traditional doom — the kind of music that put me in mind of Candlemass, Saint Vitus, and The Gates of Slumber — but less theatrical than some of the music from the bands I just name-dropped. I will also say up front that I have never been a die-hard fan of any of those bands, yet Crypt Sermon struck a chord, and twanged it really hard. Continue reading »

KYLESA: THE VIOLITIONIST SESSIONS

 Exceptions to the Rule, Free Shit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Jun 132013
 

We’ve mentioned The Violitionist Sessions twice before, but you may have forgotten. In the words of the site’s proprietors: “The Violitionist Sessions are 3 questions and 3 songs with bands from Denton and passing through Denton, Texas. The sessions are all recorded live in a living room with no overdubs and no fancy tricks. The goal is to document a moment in time. This is what happened in Denton, Texas.”

Yesterday, The Violitionist Sessions put up videos of the three songs recently performed in that living room by Savannah’s Kylesa. They also made the live recordings available for free download on Bandcamp. And they also included an interview of the band. The three songs are “To Forget” (Spiral Shadow), “Said and Done” (Static Tensions), and “Hollow Severer” (Time Will Fuse Its Worth). All of that is collected here, though I’m also going to embed the videos after the jump.

As has been true of every recording I’ve heard from The Violitionist Sessions, the sound quality is outstanding, and Kylesa were really hitting it hard in these sessions — tight, tough, trippy, and plenty heavy. I’m not well-versed in Kylesa’s music — hadn’t heard any of these songs before — and it was an eye-opener for me. “To Forget”, in particular, made a big impression when I watched and listened to these videos. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: PARASITE INC., PÕHJAST, DISGRAVED

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Jun 092013
 

Hey motherfuckers (and I mean that in the nicest possible way), I hope all of you have been having a kickass weekend. I know I have. Among other things, I finally got introduced properly to the music of a Seattle band that friends of mine have been raving about forever (more about that in another post). And I also came across a lot of new music and videos that put a stupid grin on my face (and by that I mean “more stupid than usual”). In no particular order, here’s a random selection of things that rocked my world over the last 24 hours.

PARASITE INC.

Thanks to a Facebook post by Madam X (of Angry Metal Guy fame), I heard the song you’re about to hear in the next video (and while I’m thinking about Madam X, I’ll throw in a plug for her recent review of Svart Crown’s new album). The band is Parasite Inc., a German collective whose second album Time Tears Down (mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren) is due for release on August 2 by Good Damn Records. The song is “The Pulse of the Dead”.

Do you want riffs that grab you hard from the first few seconds and capable soloing? Check. Would you enjoy some pneumatic rhythms that punch like jackhammers? You got it. How about vicious vocals that sound like a werewolf on the hunt? Yep, you’ll get those, too. A modern, powerhouse production that will ram holes in your walls? Covered. Continue reading »

TEMPLE OF THIEVES: “SPECIES”

 Exceptions to the Rule  6 Responses »
Jun 082013
 

Never trust a masked woman with a claw hammer. That’s just a bit of wisdom I’m passing on for you to file away. It may come in handy someday.

As I write this, it’s late on a Friday night and I haven’t finished the main thing I wanted to post on Saturday morning. I also don’t really want to get up at the ass-crack of dawn to finish it either. So I’m leaving you this before I go pass out.

It’s a new video by a band named Temple of Thieves. The band includes former Nile members Chief Spyres on bass and John Ehlers on guitar, plus Cryptopsy drummer Flo Mournier. But the music’s not metal. Though this threesome could punch holes through you like a high-machine-gun if they felt like it, they’re delivering hard rock this time — and it’s really catchy, kind of a throwback to some of what I was listening to in the mid- to late-90s.

And vocalist Michael Rock can fuckin’ sing this kind of music. And the video by Max Stewart, Sean Costello, and Sammy Smith is well done, though it’s a non-stop strobe-fest that epileptics would do well to avoid. Continue reading »

BANJO METAL REDUX: ERLING BRONSBERG COVERS GHOST’S “RITUAL”

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Jun 052013
 

Two and a half years ago I wrote a post about “Banjo Metal” that continues to be visited and still leads to the occasional e-mail contact from people interested in the subject (Google “banjo metal” and see what comes up first). That post focused on metal bands who have used the banjo in some of their songs (plus an obligatory item on the magnificent Béla Fleck). Today brought us news of a different type of banjo metal — a banjo cover of a metal song.

Okay, some of you might quarrel with applying the term “metal” to Sweden’s Ghost. Hell, I’ve quarreled with myself about that. But hey, they do sing about Satan!

The cover is of Ghost’s best-known song, “Ritual”, and it’s performed on video by Erling Bronsberg, a skilled banjo player who e-mailed me about the cover last night. He’s based in Örebro, Sweden, and performs with a group called the Black River String Band. He uses “standard sawmill tuning” for this song, which probably means something to banjo players but to me simply sounds cool. His cover is cool, too. He puts a bluegrass spin on the melody without completely losing the song’s familiarity, and the picking is tasty. Check it out: Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: A NEW NINE INCH NAILS ALBUM IS ON THE WAY AND DAN SWANÖ IS BRINGING US WITHERSCAPE

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  11 Responses »
May 292013
 

This post involves breaking news about two iconic figures in the world of heavy music — Trent Reznor and Dan Swanö. The news is that both will have new music coming, and we already have a taste of what Dan Swanö’s new project has been creating, with a song that premiered yesterday.

NINE INCH NAILS

This appeared late yesterday on the Nine Inch Nails Tumblr:

“I’ve been less than honest about what I’ve really been up to lately. For the last year I’ve been secretly working non-stop with Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder on a new, full-length Nine Inch Nails record, which I am happy to say is finished and frankly fucking great. This is the real impetus and motivation behind the decision to assemble a new band and tour again. My forays into film, HTDA and other projects really stimulated me creatively and I decided to focus that energy on taking Nine Inch Nails to a new place. Here we go!”

As we reported back in February, Reznor reformed NIN early this year, bringing King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew, Telefon Tel Aviv’s Josh Eustis, and former NIN touring members Robin Finck, Alessandro Cortini, and Ilan Rubin into the fold for touring purposes. Now it appears they will be making a new album. Hallelujah.  Continue reading »

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