SEEN AND HEARD: SUNBURSTER, THE SLOW DEATH, THANATOS, BARING TEETH, THE CRINN

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Oct 212014
 

 

I got carried away with a lot of rifftastic death metal malignancy in yesterday’s round-up’s, so I thought I’d move in more varied directions today. The following new and newish songs are among those I found in my trawling through the interhole yesterday, after siphoning off the effluent that would sicken you, plus one find by my comrade in arms Austin Weber. Prepare for brain spasms and spinal trauma.

SUNBURSTER

I enjoyed the hell out of this Philadelphia band’s last release, the 2013 EP SolarBipolar (reviewed here). Just to give you a flavor of my reaction to it (and because if I don’t quote myself, who will?), here’s an excerpt from my review:

This is the kind of music that will give your neck muscles a real workout while dosing you with a narcotic addictiveness that will pull you back for another hit, and another. I know. I have plenty of other things to do, but I’ve been jamming this little three-song smasher over and over again. Continue reading »

DEATH RITUALS: NECROMUTILATOR, CRETIN, NO MORE ROOM IN HELL, DEMONIC MANIFESTATION

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Oct 202014
 

As mentioned earlier today, I spent a chunk of time yesterday listening to new songs and found many to recommend. By happenstance, most of them were various flavors of death metal, so I altered the usual “Seen and Heard” title of these round-ups. And because I found so much new music I wanted to commend to your earholes, I divided it into two parts. Part One is here.

NECROMUTILATOR

Necromutilator are a three-man band from Mantua, Italy, whose existence I discovered by browsing the Facebook page of Elektroplasma Musik, who will be distributing the band’s debut album on Terror From Hell Records. The debut album is entitled Eucharistic Mutilations, and the one song from it I’ve found so far on the web is “Fuck With Darkness”. Continue reading »

THE DECIBEL TOUR 2015: AT THE GATES, CONVERGE, VALLENFYRE, AND MORE

 Metal News  4 Responses »
Oct 202014
 

According to reports here and here, the 2015 edition of THE DECIBEL TOUR will include At the Gates, Converge, and Vallenfyre, plus one more band yet to be announced. This news was apparently divulged by Richard Christy on Saturday night on stage during the “Decibel Takes Manhattan” show, which featured Amon Amarth, Sabaton, and Vallenfyre.

I haven’t seen any more information than what is reported above, but this is exciting news. I’ll now have my fingers crossed, except for those rare occasions when I need those fingers for something else, that this thing will stop in Seattle.

That is all.

UPDATE: The tour schedule has now been announced. Here it is (I can un-cross my fingers): Continue reading »

DEATH RITUALS (Part 1): SKELETHAL, MASACRE, NIHIL KAOS, ASSUMPTION

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Oct 202014
 

 

I plowed through a lot of new songs yesterday and found a lot to like. Most of it happened to be death metal, though not quite all. So I decided to skip the “Seen and Heard” title for this round-up in favor of a more descriptive lead-in. Also, I found so much to recommend that I’ve divided the round-up into two parts. The second one will come a bit later today.

SKELETHAL

I loved this French band’s previous 2014 EP Deathmanicvs Revelation with an unholy love. I have little reason to doubt that I will experience similarly unnatural attractions to their new one, Interstellar Knowledge of the Purple Entity. Apart from my intense desire to obtain more knowledge about The Purple Entity (!), the advance song that became available for listening this weekend is like an aphrodisiac for the ears. Continue reading »

EYE-CATCHERS: HATE, BEHEMOTH, ARCHGOAT

 Eye-Catchers, Metal News  5 Responses »
Oct 172014
 

 

Here are a few items that caught my eye over the last 24 hours, partly because of the artwork, but in some cases also because of the accompanying news.

HATE

I’m going to put Hate in front of Behemoth for a change.

Thanks to a tip from Andy Synn I saw the announcement from earlier today by Poland’s Hate that they will be releasing a new album named Crusade: Zero on January 15, 2015, via Napalm Records. As usual, the album was recorded and mixed at Hertz Studio with the Wieslawski Brothers. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: ANAAL NATHRAKH, BEYOND CREATION, DEMONIC RESURRECTION, HATE ETERNAL, MALEVOLENT CREATION, NUCLEAR PERVERSION

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Oct 152014
 

 

As I write this I am sitting on an airplane at about 40,000 feet somewhere over the Rocky Mountains. I am having to fly across the country because of my fucking day job, and once I get where I’m going, I will have to fucking work — pretty much day and night until I make it back to Seattle on Saturday night.

I tell you this not to pique your curiosity — because I can’t tell you what I’m doing, or I could, but would then have to kill you — but as an explanation of why there will be some scarcity in our posts between now and Sunday. Also, the “Seen and Heard” title is only half true:

The wi-fi on this plane isn’t good enough to let me stream music, so I actually haven’t heard anything — other than the guy sitting next to me snorting his phlegm every 10 minutes, the dude in front of me snoring, and the dull roar of the engines. Also, I have to fucking work on the plane beginning pretty damned soon.

Well, enough of my whining. Here are some things I’ve seen in my scampering through the inter hole this morning, and some things I would like to hear when I have the chance. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: BLOODBATH, DARK FORTRESS, GHOST BRIGADE, KAUAN, ODYSSEY, SCHAMMASCH, VARATHRON

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  12 Responses »
Oct 142014
 

 

Here’s a rather large selection of new songs and videos released in the last few days that I decided were worth your time — and who better than me to decide how you should spend your time?  Exactly.

I’ve arranged these offerings in alphabetical order by band name. It’s quite a varied selection, so I’m hoping everyone will find something to like.

BLOODBATH

We’re now two songs into the ramp-up for one of the most highly anticipated extreme metal releases of the year — Grand Morbid Funeral, the first album by Bloodbath since 2008. The second song, “Famine of God’s Word”, was revealed yesterday through a lyric video. I’m of two minds about the song.

On the one hand, the instrumental music is just downright vicious — a brutally heavy, galloping, squalling, skin-flaying, gut-punching romp, with an eerie lead guitar melody that floats through the song like a phantasm. Continue reading »

TOURISM: MAYHEM AND WATAIN WILL BE ASSAULTING NORTH AMERICA

 Metal News  8 Responses »
Oct 132014
 

 

Today Norway’s Mayhem and Sweden’s Watain announced that they will be mounting a co-headlining North American tour together this winter. Named Black Metal Warfare, the tour will also include support from the Canadian black/death band Revenge.

Mayhem are touring in support of their new album, Esoteric Warfare, while Watain are touring in support of their most recent full-length, The Wild Hunt. I really enjoyed the live performances of both bands the last time they separately ventured to our shores, and I have high hopes for this tour. I’m also very interested to see Revenge.

The full schedule appears right after the jump (it neglects the South and Southwest, among other regions): Continue reading »

VOMIT METAL: DEATH VOMIT (CHILE), WÖMIT ANGEL, DEATH VOMIT (INDONESIA), RADIOACTIVE VOMIT

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Oct 132014
 

 

I’ve had vomit on my mind, and not for the usual reason after a weekend. This time it’s because I happened to notice that I had promos for three new albums by bands with the word “vomit” in their names, and at about the same time as I figured that out, I heard a new song from yet another vomit band on Facebook that I liked. It’s definitely not a distinct genre, this vomit metal. As you’ll see, vomit comes in all kinds of different chunks.

And although I’m joking around about vomit, some of the most fun I’ve had all year with my clothes on has come from listening to the music featured in this post. I do hope you’ll devote your time to it.

DEATH VOMIT (CHILE)

You may have noticed from the headline of this post that it includes two bands named Death Vomit. This first one is from Chile, and their debut album Gutted By Horrors was released this past July by Xtreem Music. I wrote about the first advance track from the album last June, but idiot that I am, I never listened to the whole album until Kunal Choksi reminded me of its existence via a recent e-mail.

I’m so glad I finally paid attention, because Gutted By Horrors punches a whole shitload of my buttons — it’s a supremely well-executed assault of ancient death metal lethality, like a strain of plague bacterium that has begun virulently festering after being unearthed from a crypt and exposed to air once again. Continue reading »

DECKARD CAIN’S MALADIES OF THE EAR!

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Oct 122014
 

(Our friend and fellow blogger deckard cain re-joins us with a fresh set of musical recommendations.)

Greetings!

While Diablo constantly devises plans, doomed to fail of course, to conquer the world and the rest of the world lets out a collective sigh, I sit here thinking. Thinking about penning down yet another scroll on the most infectious maladies of the ear, and lo, here we are!

“Stay awhile and listen.”

1.  DESERTED FEAR

OSDM with an extremely glossy finish, courtesy of Dan Swanö.

I’ve written about these guys from Germany before; in fact it was on my best of 2012 list here on NCS. What probably separates them from the old guard is their knack for using grooves that are more reminiscent of modern metal. One could say that they’ve got one foot each in the past and the present. This German trio’s got a new LP out titled Kingdom of Worms via FDA Rekotz. Stream their first single below. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries