THE PREMIERE OF A NEW AMIENSUS SONG AND AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF AN AMIENSUS-WARSEID TOUR

 Metal News, Premieres  7 Responses »
May 152015
 

 

We’ve been following Minnesota’s Amiensus very closely, from their excellent 2013 debut album Restoration (reviewed here), to their split that same year with Oak Pantheon, entitled Gathering (reviewed here), to the release of their cover of Forefather’s “Wolfhead’s Tree” last fall, which we had the privilege of premiering (here). And now we’re delighted to bring you a stream of the first advance track from the band’s new album Ascension — plus we’re announcing an NCS-sponsored Amiensus tour with Wisconsin’s Warseid. First, the music…

AMIENSUS: “WHAT WORDS CREATE”

The new Amiensus song is “What Words Create”, the third track in order on Ascension. It’s a dynamic, multifaceted song — dramatic, atmospheric, sweepingly melodic, and also charged with hard-driving energy. And it gets stuck in your head very quickly. Continue reading »

THE THRILL IS GONE

 Metal News  7 Responses »
May 152015
 

 

From the obituary in The New York Times, May 15, 2015:

B. B. King, whose world-weary voice and wailing guitar lifted him from the cotton fields of Mississippi to a global stage and the apex of American blues, died Thursday in Las Vegas, The Associated Press reported. He was 89.

His death was reported to The A.P. by his attorney, Brent Bryson.

Mr. King married country blues to big-city rhythms and created a sound instantly recognizable to millions: a stinging guitar with a shimmering vibrato, notes that coiled and leapt like an animal, and a voice that groaned and bent with the weight of lust, longing and lost love. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: HIDEOUS DIVINITY, COFFINS, TEMPLE OF DAGON

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
May 142015
 

Hey there. I thought I’d quickly throw a few new things your way that I found earlier today. Then I have to go do something that actually pays my bills. Regrettably, on some days there seems to be a limit to how much unvarnished fucking off I can do at my job.

HIDEOUS DIVINITY

There’s a new play-through video for one of the best songs on Hideous Divinity’s latest album, Cobre Verde. The song is “The Alonest of the Alone”, and though you may be expecting a guitar or drum video, because most people seem to find more sex appeal in those things than a play-through on the humble bass, this is A BASS VIDEO. Continue reading »

HIGH ON FIRE: NEW ALBUM, NEW SONG, NEW TOUR

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
May 122015
 

Lots of news about High On Fire and new HoF music today.

First, we received a reminder that the band’s new album, Luminiferous, will be released on June 16 via eOne Music. It was recorded at Salem, Massachusetts’ GodCity Studios with producer Kurt Ballou. You can see the artwork above,

Second, the group premiered a new song from the album named “The Black Plot” via Rolling Stone — and I’ll have a bit more to say about it in a minute.

Third, the band announced a headlining U.S. tour that begins on July 30 in San Diego and finishes in New Orleans on August 23. Along for the ride will be Pallbearer, Lucifer, and Venomous Maximus. Here are the dates: Continue reading »

AN NCS-SPONSORED TOUR: MOBILE DEATHCAMP AND CARNIVORA

 Metal News  5 Responses »
May 082015
 

 

About ten days ago we announced details about a tour that we’re helping to sponsor, headlined by West Virginia’s Byzantine with support from Toledo, Ohio’s Mobile Deathcamp. And now we can tell you that when the Byzantine tour reaches its conclusion, Mobile Deathcamp will join forces with Carnivora from Massachusetts, to continue on a cross-country rampage.

As previously announced, Mobile Deathcamp’s tour with Byzantine will begin on June 12 in Elmhurst, NY, and continues through a date in Asheville, NC, on June 27. And then on July 1, the Mobile Deathcamp-Carnivora onslaught will begin in Indianapolis and continue through August 9 in Danville, Kentucky, with stops in a total of 18 states. To get all the details, click on the flyer above to view an enlarged image — or check the alternate flyer just after the jump. Continue reading »

A KATAKLYSM UPDATE: “OF GHOSTS AND GODS” IS COMING — WITH TEN VIDEOS TOO

 Metal News  2 Responses »
Apr 292015
 

 

Here’s a bit of fairly hot-off-the-press news from Canada’s Kataklysm:  First, they’ve announced that their twelfth studio album Of Ghosts and Gods will be released on July 31 (via Nuclear Blast Records).

Second, as you can see, they’ve disclosed the cover art, which was created by an artist called artist Surtsey. I like it. (According to the band, the background shows an ancient incantation written in Aramaic.)

And third, they’ve announced that there will be music videos created for every one of the album’s ten songs, with each video crafted to reflect the concept behind the music. Continue reading »

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT: BYZANTINE ARE HITTING THE ROAD AGAIN!

 Metal News  4 Responses »
Apr 272015
 

 

We’re stoked to help spread the news that West Virginia’s Byzantine are hitting the road again on a new NCS-sponsored tour that will bring their unique brand of heavy metal to lucky fans up and down the East Coast in June. Joining the band for this new rampage will be some speed merchants from Toledo, Ohio — Mobile Deathcamp.

Long-time readers of our site will be quite familiar with Byzantine because we’ve been writing about them virtually non-stop since the day in January 2012 when they officially announced their resurrection after splitting up in 2008.  But at this point it would be tough to find any metalheads with good taste who don’t know about Byzantine. Their new album To Release Is To Resolve is one of 2015’s true highlights, and now lots of people are going to get the chance to hear the music live — along with choice cuts from throughout the band’s discography.

We asked frontman Chris “OJ” Ojeda for his thoughts about this new tour, and here’s what he told us: Continue reading »

KING GIANT, HOWLS OF EBB, BARBELITH

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Apr 242015
 

 

I know, I said that after two more round-ups today, following three yesterday, that I’d take a break and do something else. But man, I just continue to see an hear things that I feel compelled to foist upon you. So, one more collection… but without the “Seen and Heard” title, because that’s been worked to death over the last 24 hours.

KING GIANT

I’ve really been eagerly awaiting the new album by Virginia’s King Giant. We’re all big fans of the band around here and we’ve made no secret of that over the years. And although I haven’t yet heard all of the new album (Black Ocean Waves), the song they just premiered via a lyric video is strong evidence that they’re about to deliver another winner. Continue reading »

ST. LOUIS: FISTER, THE LION’S DAUGHTER, BLACK FAST

 Metal News  6 Responses »
Apr 232015
 

 

I wasn’t planning to post anything else today, but then I read something that I enjoyed and thought was worth recommending to you. It’s a long article by Ryan Wasoba in Riverfront Times of St. Louis about the city’s metal scene, with a focus on three metal bands in particular: Fister, The Lion’s Daughter, and Black Fast. I’m a fan of all three bands, and that has something to do with why I enjoyed it, but there’s more.

The article is built on interesting stories about each band’s music and their experiences getting to where they are now — Fister’s new album IV (which consists of a single 44-minute song) is due for release in a matter of days, and The Lion’s Daughter and Black Fast have signed to prominent labels (Season of Mist, and eOne) for the release of their next albums. Those stories include anecdotes from Black Fast’s recording sessions with Erik Rutan that are kind of amazing as well as amusing. But all the stories are interesting. Continue reading »

DIVE INTO THESE FULL STREAMS: BELL WITCH AND DRUDKH

 Metal News  3 Responses »
Apr 212015
 

 

Just a couple of quick notes before I sign off for today:

BELL WITCH

I’ve already said my piece (here) about Four Phantoms, the new album by Seattle’s Bell Witch. In a nutshell:

Four Phantoms will dismantle your defenses, reduce your bulwarks against the bad days to a pool of molten slag, leave your vulnerabilities exposed, and touch those raw places you try to hide. How it can do this and yet leave you feeling transcendent is a wondrous mystery. Continue reading »

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