AN NCS INTERVIEW: RUNEMAGICK

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Jul 302018
 

 

(Comrade Aleks brings us this new interview with Nicklas Rudolfsson, founder of the Swedish band Runemagick, whose first album in more than a decade was released not long ago by Aftermath Music.)

Runemagick was started as a death metal project named Desiderius in 1990. They chose their current name a few years later, and alongside that developed a more doomy, low-tuned sound. Nicklas Rudolfsson took his time to gather a full lineup, and one by one, the first three albums — The Supreme Force Of Eternity, Enter The Realm Of Death, and ‘Resurrection In Blood — appeared in the 1998, 1999, and 2000, respectively.

Despite a ten-year-long hiatus and other issues, Runemagick is still alive and their eleventh album Evoked From Abysmal Sleep was released by Aftermath Music on the 20th of July. More death, doom, and damnation! I feel it’s the right time to clarify few facts from Runemagick’s history, so here’s Nicklas himself. Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: GIANT OF THE MOUNTAIN

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Jul 282018
 

 

(Andy Synn’s guest in this week’s edition of WAXING LYRICAL is vocalist/guitarist Cody Daniels of the Texas band Giant of the Mountain.)

Texas metalloids Giant of the Mountain have been a band we’ve followed here at NCS for quite some time, and our very own DGR recently reviewed their latest (and probably best) album, Nature’s Wrath, describing it as a complex and creative piece of Prog/Black Metal that “takes on a hypnotic quality as it traverses down the multitude of twisting and winding paths within each song”.

So I thought, why not keep the coverage and momentum going by getting the band’s guitarist/vocalist Cody Daniels to sit down for a few moments and pen us some thoughts on his lyrical process, his love of hooks, and the important contributions of H.P. Lovecraft and Spongebob Squarepants to the band’s conceptual evolution? Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: DVNE

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Jul 212018
 

 

(Lyricist, guitarist, and co-vocalist Dan Barter of the Scottish band Dvne is the subject of this week’s edition of Andy Synn’s Waxing Lyrical series.)

The phenomenal Asheran, by Edinburgh Prog-Metal quartet Dvne, was, without doubt, one of the best, brightest, and most brilliant albums of 2017 (I even said so in my review), and the fact that it didn’t feature in more EOTY lists is perhaps the greatest injustice of the last decade…

All joking aside, it really is a fantastic piece of work, and one which immediately marked the group as one of the major up-and-comers of the UK scene.

So, in the hope of bringing the band’s music to a wider audience, and with the aim of learning more about the in-depth sci-fi concept(s) behind their sound, we’re pleased to publish this detailed feature from the band’s guitarist/co-vocalist Dan Barter for your edification and enjoyment. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DERKÉTA (SHARON BASCOVSKY)

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Jul 172018
 


photo by Shani

 

(We are delighted to present Comrade Aleks‘ extensive interview of Sharon Bascovsky, founder and mainstay of the ground-breaking Pittsburgh death/doom band Derkéta.)

Derkéta was formed in Pittsburgh in 1988 by Sharon Bascovsky (vocals, guitars) and Terri Heggen (drums). Influenced by bands like Sepultura, Death, Massacre, and Bathory on the one hand, and by bands like Black Sabbath and Candlemass on the other, they worked out their own low-tuned and a bit slowed-down death metal, which later transformed into something that was labeled as death/doom metal. Two demos and one EP (1990’s Premature Burial) was all the band recorded before they split up in 1991.

Sharon tried to resurrect Derkéta in 1997, then in 1999… It’s a long story, but finally, the full-length album In Death We Meet was recorded in 2012. Sharon played a few shows with a new lineup, then came a single, Darkness Fades Life in 2014, and then… Actually it wasn’t even clear if Derkéta were still an active band until I wrote Sharon and asked her all the questions I had accumulated through a few years. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: PSILOCYBE LARVAE

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Jul 162018
 

 

(Comrade Aleks brings us this interview of Vitaly Larv, guitarist/vocalist of the Russian band Psilocybe Larvae, who released a new single just last week.)

Psilocybe Larvae was born in the Russian underground about 22 years ago. Mixing black and death/doom metal, they came through their searches to an extreme progressive mix which is hard to define sometimes, but the band tagged it “manic depressive metal”. Their fourth album Labyrinth Of Penumbra was released in 2012, the band’s line-up changed, and who knows what happened during the period since then!

However, Psilocybe Larvae have returned with a new single, “The Fall Of Icarus“, so it’s time to remind our readers about the band and try to sort out what’s been going on. The band’s founder Vitaly Larv (guitars, vocals) takes the floor. Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: HIDEOUS DIVINITY

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Jul 142018
 

 

(In this week’s edition of Andy Synn’s series on the creation of metal lyrics, he elicits thoughts from lyricist/guitarist Enrico Schettino of the Italian death metal band Hideous Divinity.)

If you’re not already familiar with Italian blastmasters Hideous Divinity then stop whatever you’re doing now (which I suppose is reading this column) and head on over to their Bandcamp page straight away and listen to their facemelting third album Adveniens, which our very own DGR described as:

“…an atomic blast that never seems to stop expanding ever-outward from moment one, never losing momentum, and leaving nothing but ash, dust, and mutation in its aftermath.”

And then, once you’re done with that, make sure to come back here and read this new edition of Waxing Lyrical, where the band’s guitarist Enrico Schettino discusses where his lyrics come from, where they’re going, and the method behind the band’s particular brand of metallic madness! Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: SLAVES BC

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Jun 162018
 

 

(Andy Synn brings us another edition of this series devoted to metal lyrics, and his guest this week is Josh Thieler of Pittsburgh-based Slaves BC.)

I hope you’ve all been enjoying this series of columns so far. I certainly have, and it seems like a lot of the writers/vocalists I’ve spoken to have too, and have really appreciated the chance to talk about this particular part of their work.

Today’s edition comes courtesy of Josh Thieler of Slaves BC, who provides us with an insight into his past, his process, and the roles which both faith and suffering have played in his development as a writer (and as a person). Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: ODIUM

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Jun 062018
 

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: NCS Norway-based contributor Karina Noctum had the good fortune of both attending this year’s Inferno Fest in Oslo and interviewing some of the musicians who performed there. The last of those discussions is the one we present today — an interview with guitarist/vocalist Secthdamon of the resurrected Norwegian symphonic black metal band Odium. The band’s 1998 album The Sad Realm of Stars was reissued by Blood Music a few years ago and is still available here.

Odium’s performance at Inferno was their first in 19 years, and a celebration of The Sad Realm’s 20th anniversary. The live line-up consisted of Secthdamon (Emperor, live), Gortheon (Myrkskog), Destructhor (Myrkskog, ex-Morbid Angel), Dominator (Dark Funeral), Righ (Cor Scorpii), and Morindune. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: NORDJEVEL

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Jun 052018
 

 

(We present Karina Noctum’s interview of DzeptiCunt (ex-Ragnarok), bassist for the Norwegian black metal band Nordjevel, who are working on a new album named Necrogenesis which will be released by Osmose Productions and who will be embarking on a European tour with Hate in July, following appearances at Hellfest (France) and Garasjefestivalen (Norway). The interview took place during Inferno Festival 2018.)

 

You released an EP last year. Are you in the process of writing a new album?

Yes indeed, we are close to finishing our second album! We are very excited to see how it will turn out altogether; the songs that are already written are killer!

 

What stage is the album’s creation at now?

The album is in the making as we speak, we have written 6 songs and another 4-5 coming up soon. We haven’t decided which songs will be on the album yet — we’ll see when all songs are recorded. Our designer will be starting on the artwork for the upcoming album these days as well. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DEAD END

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May 282018
 

 

(Comrade Aleks has brought us this wide-ranging interview with Alwin Roes, one of the original members of the resurrected Dutch death-doom band Dead End, who released a first album through Vic Records in 2016. As discussed in the interview they have a new album coming later this year, and many other plans in the works as well.)

Dead End is a relic of a past epoch. The band was formed in 1988 in North Brabant, Netherlands, and was one of those few first bands who explored death-doom metal. They managed to record two demos Tales (1991) and Purity (1992) that lead them to the EP Wartime In Eden (1993), and then Dead End was disbanded.

None expected it, but the band was resurrected in 2014, and their debut full-length Reborn From The Ancient Grave saw the light of day two years after this return. The details of Dead End‘s early years, the reasons to continue spreading death-doom bliss, and future prospects for the band are covered in this interview with Dead End’s original bass-player Alwin Roes. Continue reading »

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