WAXING LYRICAL: CONJURER

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Mar 172018
 

 

(Andy Synn continues our new regular Saturday series in which he discusses metal lyrics with bands whose music you should also get to know if you don’t already.)

 

Having recently dropped one of the most vital and visceral albums of 2018 so far, an album which I fully expect to make an appearance on numerous “Best of…” lists come the end of the year, Conjurer are currently riding a wave of popularity and critical acclaim which seems unlikely to die out any time soon.

So now seemed like the perfect time to grab hold of the band’s guitarist/vocalist Dan Nightingale and get him to spill the beans about his writing process, inspirations, and all that jazz. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: JONNY PETTERSSON ON LYRICS

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Mar 162018
 


Photo by Mattias Nilsson/Madcap Piktures

(Not long ago Andy Synn launched a regular Saturday series at our site called Waxing Lyrical, devoted to discussions with metal musicians about the lyrics of their songs and the process of creating them. That inspired Norway-based NCS contributor Karina Noctum to pose similar questions to Swedish musician Johnny Pettersson, and you’ll find his answers below, following Karina’s introduction.)

 

Musician Jonny Pettersson from Sweden has been prominently featured here on NCS with many of his bands. He is pretty active and some of his most-known bands are Syn:drom and Wombbath. Other projects of his are Just Before Dawn, Ashcloud, Gods Forsaken, Henry Kane, and Ursinne, to name a few.

With such a vast discography this article will focus primarily on his Swedish DM band Wombbath, whose latest release was a split with Germany’s Obscure Infinity called Upward On A Thousand Lies (Wombbath’s side was premiered here), but with attention also given to Henry Kane, which soundwise is in the same vein but tending more toward grind, and last but not least to Gods Forsaken, a DM project with a mix of mid- and fast-paced parts. It is definitely recommended for fans of Bloodbath, Dismember, and old At the Gates. An interview about Gods Forsaken conducted by Decibel Magazine can be found here. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: THE CRAWLING (ANDY CLARKE)

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Mar 162018
 

 

(Comrade Aleks brings us this interview with Andy Clarke of The Crawling from Northern Ireland.)

 

Lisburn-based death/doom outfit The Crawling have been philosophizing on the themes of depression and misery since 2014, yet their debut full-length record Anatomy Of Loss, released by Grindscene Records in 2017, sounds like a full-scale anger-management course. Seven songs with an ideal total running time of 45 minutes will draw you in to an aggressive and bitter mid-paced death/doom nightmare. The Crawling are pretty melodic, but these melodies are razor-sharp and effective as a knife; besides that, the lyrics are quiet realistic. There’s not anything unnecessary on this album.

Do The Crawling have something new? I’ve asked Andy Clarke (guitars, vocals) about it, and thanks to him for the time he spent answering this. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: AURA NOIR (APOLLYON)

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Mar 152018
 

 

(Our Norway-based correspondent Karina Noctum brings us this interview of Apollyon from the Norwegian black/thrash band Aura Noir, whose new album Aura Noire will be released on April 27th through Indie Recordings.)

 

How do you innovate and keep your sound current while dealing with an old-school sound?

We are just doing what feels natural to us. Also we are mixing ourselves this time to be sure it doesn’t sound too flashy.

 

I attended the Party.San gig last year and there were some sound problems. Besides technical problems, how do those kind of incidents affect the mood while you’re playing live? Do you need to be in a particular mindset to perform your best?

We have a different sound on stage than the sound you hear in the crowd. So it can sound shit to us but good to you or the other way around. For us it is more inspiring to have a good sound on stage obviously. If we cannot hear what we are playing it will of course affect our performance and maybe we will look less confident/inspired. It’s a never-ending worry of course, and can become less worrying by bringing your own soundguy/stage monitor guy… loads of crew. But of course all this costs money so mostly we just use the local crew/sound people. Some of them are good.. .some are not. And some misunderstand how we want to sound. The dream would be to be able to be your own sound technician every night, but that is physically difficult. Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: IN VAIN

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Mar 102018
 


Photo by Jørn Veberg

 

(Andy Synn continues our new regular Saturday series in which he discusses metal lyrics with bands whose music you should also get to know if you don’t already.)

 

For the second edition of “Waxing Lyrical” (and with a quick aside to say thank you to everyone who said kind things about the inaugural column last weekend) I’m speaking to Johnar Håland from Norwegian Prog-Metal sensations In Vain, whose new album was released at the end of January. Continue reading »

WAXING LYRICAL: A HILL TO DIE UPON

 Interviews, WAXING LYRICAL  2 Responses »
Mar 032018
 

 

(This post marks the beginning of what we expect will become a regular Saturday column at NCS, penned by Andy Synn.)

Today sees the debut of a brand new column here at NCS, one which I hope will end up being an ongoing feature, designed to bring some attention to one of the most underappreciated aspects of the metallic arts… the lyrics.

Every Saturday from now until… well, until I run out of options (or impetus)… I plan to publish a new entry of this column, which will provide a different band/writer a chance to talk about the inspirations and process behind their lyrics, as well as some insight into selected songs of their choosing.

So, without further ado, I present the very first edition of Waxing Lyrical, featuring Michael Cook of A Hill To Die Upon! Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: UNCOFFINED (KAT SHEVIL)

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Feb 202018
 

 

(In this new interview Comrade Aleks brings us an extensive discussion with Kat Shevil (ex-Blessed Realm), the vocalist/drummer of the British death-doom band Uncoffined.)

 

Uncoffined was raised on the ruins of the traditional doom metal outfit Blessed Realm in 2011. Blessed Realm existed as Tears from 1993 ’til 1994 and then the band acted under its blessed name ’til 2002. It was split without even a full-length album in its discography, but in July 2017 At War With False Noise released Doomography 1993-2002, a collection of demos and unreleased tracks.

Besides that, three ex-Blessed Realm members — Kat Shevil (drums, vocals), Gory Sugden (bass), and Jonny Rot (guitars) created the horror-movie-influenced satanic death-doom metal outfit Uncoffined together with guitarist G.Hall. Well, how much of death is in their doom? Do they still hold on to the traditions? Kat knows better, let’s give her the floor. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SAR ISATUM

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Feb 142018
 

 

(Last November the Colorado black metal band Sar Isatum released their excellent debut album Shurpu, an album from which we premiered a song that shares the name of the band, with an introduction to the premiere by our Norwegian ally Gorger. Today we have an interview of the band by another Norway-based ally, Karina Noctum.)

 

First things first, the band’s name. The only fact I retrieved when I searched for Sar Isatum was some connection to a Babylonian incantation. So what’s behind the name?

The name was taken from Sumerian dialect and it means Lord of fire. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DAMNATION’S HAMMER (TIM PRESTON)

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Jan 152018
 

 

(Comrade Aleks brings u this interview of Tim Preston, guitarist/vocalist of the UK band Damnation’s Hammer.)

 

Damnation’s Hammer is a strange beast. They’re usually tagged as “death doom”, but despite this label this UK project is strongly influenced by the late Celtic Frost sound. As the band’s founder Tim explains, “The vision of the band has always been to create dark, doom-laden metal incorporating surreal atmospherics”.

Tim Preston (guitars, vocals) has been in the underground scene since the early ’90s, so he knows for sure a few things about how to play dark and heavy, and the band’s second album Unseen Planets, Deadly Spheres was recorded with a new, though experienced, lineup.

And yet despite the new blood in the veins of Damnation’s Hammer, the sound of this album is very close to the debut record, Disciples Of The Hex. What new things did Tim and his crew incorporate into the band’s sound? Let’s ask Tim. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: SHADOWMASTER

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Jan 092018
 

 

(Here’s Comrade Aleks’ interview with guitarist Micke of the Swedish sludge/doom band Shadowmaster, whose debut album was released last year.)

 

Shadowmaster is a Swedish power-trio: Cedermark (bass, vocals), Jumbo (drums), and Micke (guitars). All three played under the title Desert Crone since 2014, but a year ago they changed the name and soon released a self-titled full-length. The dudes perform cogent, forceful, and damned fierce and gloomy sludge-doom.

The material has a really strong delivery, and it’s absolutely heavy and well-produced. Heavy as hell, if you wish! Seeing Red Records gave the album the shape of a CD on December 22nd, 2017, so we had a talk about Shadowmaster and its stuff with Micke. Continue reading »

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