SHADES OF BLACK: HOD, ABOMINOR, VAMPILLIA, NACHTLIEDER

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK  7 Responses »
Aug 172014
 

 

This is a collection of new (or newish) songs I heard yesterday that I wanted to recommend. The music is quite diverse, yet each song contains elements of black metal — hence the “Shade of Black” title. Lots of creativity on display in what you’re about to hear — and a few things that will hit you like a semi-truck with the pedal all the way down.

HOD

San Antonio’s HOD will release their new album Book of the Worm, on September 9 via Arctic Music. The cover art, which I like a lot, was created by Jon Zig. Earlier this week Revolver (Revolver???) premiered a song from the album, and I finally caught up with it — or more accurately, it caught up with me and rode me down into the mud.

The song is “Where Are the Demons”, and the answer is — right here, in this song. It’s one of the best things I believe I’ve ever heard from HOD  — a slashing, galloping, ravaging powerhouse assault, loaded with writhing, head-whipping riffs, frenzied chord progressions, and blistering percussion. It’s a hellish inferno with tremendous surging power, but a very interesting and technically impressive  song at the same time. And the vocals will bring the grizzlies down from the hills.

The album can be pre-ordered here. A previously released track can be heard at this location. And this is where the demons are: Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: WINTERFYLLETH, FALLS OF RAUROS, UNTAMED AND ETERNAL (A BINDRUNE / EIHWAZ COMPILATION)

 Free Shit, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Aug 152014
 

Here are a trio of discoveries I made last night and early this morning that I believe will be worth your time.

WINTERFYLLETH

The next album by Britain’s Winterfylleth, The Divination of Antiquity, will be coming our way via Candlelight on October 7 (October 6 in the UK). I’ve been very eager to hear the new music. The first single from the album, “Whisper of the Elements”, was released on August 5, and this morning a lyric video for the song got its premiere.

The music is beautiful, intensely melodic and atmospheric, more so than anything the band have done before, and the nature-cenric lyrics well suit the dramatic emotional power of the sounds. Listen next… Continue reading »

EYE-CATCHERS: BÖLZER, MORDBRAND, OCCULTATION, KATECHON, EVERGREY

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Aug 152014
 

 

Here are some things I saw yesterday that opened my eyes wide and increased my flow of drool, requiring an early change-out of the trademarked NCS bib I wear at all times. You may increase the size of some of these images by clicking on them.

ITEM ONE

Item One appears at the top of this post. It’s a shirt design created by Manuel Tinnemans (Comaworx) for Switzerland’s Bölzer, based on the song “Steppes”. I guess it’s not enough that Bölzer are making lots of people jealous with their music. Now they get shirts like this made for them. Stunning. Here’s the artwork on a black background:

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/BÖLZER/108657105834227 Continue reading »

A WELCOME UPDATE: AT THE GATES HAVE COMPLETED THEIR NEW ALBUM AND ANNOUNCED ITS RELEASE DATE

 Metal News  2 Responses »
Aug 142014
 

In mid-June we reported that Sweden’s groundbreaking At the Gates had started recording their comeback album, At War With Reality. Today, our e-mail in-box received a further report from the band’s label, Century Media, and it’s welcome news: The recording, mixing, and mastering of the album is now complete and release dates have been established: October 27th in Europe and October 28th in North America.

The press release also included this statement by ATG vocalist Tomas Lindberg:

“We are very excited to finally have finished this new album. An album that we’ve been working on for over a year now. It’s by far the most challenging record that we have made, but it’s an honest album and I think that you will feel that it is faithful to the legacy of AT THE GATES.

“We have, through the process of creating it, been true to ourselves and our art. From hearing the first demos that Anders presented to the band last summer, through the extensive stages of songwriting, pre-production, rehearsals, recording and mixing, we now finally got the finished album in our hands. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: HETROERTZEN, AWAKENING SUN, VIETAH, CVLT NATION GOES JOY DIVISION

 Exceptions to the Rule, Free Shit, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Aug 142014
 

I intended to finish this collection and post it yesterday, making it Part 3 of a big Wednesday round-up of news and new music, but the old fucking day job interfered, and so I’m beginning our Thursday with it. This collection is a bit different from the usual “Seen and Heard” because it includes a couple of items at the end that aren’t new — I’ve just been really drag-ass in bringing them to your attention.

HETROERTZEN

I first came across Hetroertzen last May when I impulsively decided to explore (and write about) some of the releases by an underground Swedish label named Lamech Records. The band are originally from Puerto Varas, Chile, but are now located in Sweden. They have completed recording a fifth full-length album, entitled Ain Soph Aur. It’s currently projected for release on December 6, 2014, in a variety of formats by Lamech Records, Terratur Possessions, and Amor Fati Productions.

In recent days, two songs from the album have been made available for streaming — “Blood Royale” and “The Rose and the Cross”. Both are long pieces, in the seven-and-a-half minute range, and both are very good. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (Part 2): ACCEPT, THE ACACIA STRAIN, BLACK CROWN INITIATE

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  11 Responses »
Aug 132014
 

 

Here’s Part 2 of today’s effort to catch up on news and new music I think are worth your attention. I had planned a third part, but that will have to wait until tomorrow (fucking day job).

ACCEPT

I’ve made no bones about my lukewarm reaction to much of what passes for “traditional” thrash — perhaps primarily because of the genre’s vocal style. But the new song (“Final Journey”) that NPR premiered today from Accept’s 14th album Blind Rage has knocked my socks off, not least because it includes a guitar melody lifted from Edvard Grieg’s “Morning Mood” as an unexpected accent near the song’s end.

But that’s only part of the attraction. The riffs and the solo are absolutely galvanizing, the melody is heart-pumping, and I actually like the vocals by Mark Tornillo as well. Check out the new lyric video next. The album can be ordered here from Nuclear Blast. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (Part 1): BLOODSHOT DAWN, DISENTOMB, PSEUDOGOD, KHTHONIIK CERVIIKS

 Eye-Catchers, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Aug 132014
 

I’ve been remiss in posting round-ups of news and new music lately, and I’ve collected quite a large batch of items worth spreading around. As a consequence, I’ve divided the collection into multiple parts that I’m going to dribble out over the course of the day, because what else am I going to do with all this drool? One thing the four items in this Part 1 have in common: Killer cover art. You’ll see.

BLOODSHOT DAWN

This UK band’s self-titled 2012 album was one of my favorite releases of that year, and I included the song “Godless” in my list of 2012’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. Needless to say, I’ve been eager for the band’s follow-up. They funded its production through a Kickstarter campaign in four days, and yesterday the band revealed a lot more info about it, to wit:

Its name is Demons and it will be released in the UK on October 26. It was was mixed and mastered by Danish engineer Jacob Hansen (Aborted, Amaranthe, Volbeat, Destruction, Epica, Pestilence). It features guest appearances by Sven De Caluwé (Aborted, System Divide), Per Nilsson (Scar Symmetry), Teemu Mäntysaari (Wintersun), Andy James (ex-Sacred Mother Tongue), and Chris Amott (Armageddon, ex-Arch Enemy). And as you can see, it features a gob-smacking album cover by the talented Pär Olofsson (click that sucker to make it bigger). I’ll be waiting, eagerly and drooling, for the first advance track…

https://www.facebook.com/BloodshotDawn Continue reading »

ASTARTE — RIP TRISTESSA

 Metal News, THE SYNN REPORT  6 Responses »
Aug 112014
 

(Andy Synn wrote this remembrance of Tristessa, of the Greek metal band Astarte.)

Sad news my friends. Yesterday I learned that Astarte frontwoman Tristessa (aka Maria Kolokouri) passed away due to complications suffered while fighting off Leukaemia. Not only was her wonderful life tragically cut short, but she also leaves behind a husband and young son… and I cannot begin to imagine what they must be going through. My heart goes out to them for their loss.

I’d been following Maria’s battle via the Astarte Facebook page, and her husband’s occasional updates, and had been hopeful she would be able to pull through, because I have been a huge fan of hers (and of Astarte) for a long time now. Indeed  we’re coming up on the 50th edition of The Synn Report (not even counting special editions) and it was Astarte who I chose to cover for the very first edition, way back in January 2011.

Here’s how I described them back then:

“With a consistently changing line-up, the primarily female band Astarte began life as a purely Black Metal band, albeit one with an ear for a distinctive and dark melody.

“Over the years they have metamorphosed into a more Black/Death hybrid of a band, shedding and recruiting numerous different members along the way, but each time progressing and improving upon their own sound. They have in the past ten years gained a cult following of their own, whilst also gaining the patronage and friendship of some of the larger leading lights of the international Black and Death metal scenes. Guest slots from members of Rotting Christ, Dimmu Borgir, God Dethroned, Arch Enemy and Mayhem have all served to cement them as a band to be taken seriously on the world stage, although their overall lack of exposure (coupled with their inconsistent line-up issues) has yet to provide them with that all-important break-out opportunity.”

In hindsight I think it holds up pretty well. So, in tribute to Tristessa, I’ve asked Islander to reprint the original Synn Report below, in the hope that more people will be drawn in to appreciate the scintillating blackened art of Astarte. Continue reading »

TOURISM: “IN THE MINDS OF EVIL” NORTH AMERICAN TOUR 2014; CARCASS; DTA’S “SWAMP LEPER STOMP ’14”

 Metal News  12 Responses »
Aug 112014
 

Collected in this post you will find news of three U.S. or North American tours. News about the first two is still somewhat incomplete, and I’m a bit late reporting on the third one. All three are enticing.

“IN THE MINDS OF EVIL”

Last month news surfaced about a tour to be headlined by Deicide, named after their most recent album, In the Minds of Evil. Last night Inquisition posted an announcement on their Facebook page about the tour, which was interesting because when the tour was announced last month Marduk was named as one of the support bands, but now it appears that Marduk are out and Inquisition are in. In addition, Abysmal Dawn have been added to the line-up. Here’s the complete list of bands:

DEICIDE
SEPTICFLESH
INQUISITION
ABYSMAL DAWN
CARACH ANGREN

An updated official tour flyer hasn’t been released yet, so I decided to use a photo of an embryo of the short-tailed fruit bat (embryonic stage 19).

Inquisition also included an initial schedule of dates in their FB post, while noting that more dates will be added. Here’s the schedule so far: Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: HORRENDOUS, MONTE PENUMBRA, A BLACK PEOPLE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Aug 092014
 

Happy Saturday. I’m still deep in the heart of Texas with a very unpredictable schedule. Yesterday I didn’t have time to do much listening or any writing, and I’m not sure what I’ll be able to accomplish before flying back to Seattle tomorrow night. But at least I had some time this morning to check out a handful of songs I wanted to hear, and I’ve collected three new ones in this post that I’ve really been digging.

HORRENDOUS

One upon a time our guest writer Kaptain Carbon wrote this about The Chills — the 2012 debut album by the East Coast trio known as Horrendous:

“Horrendous unceremoniously slide into the above-average tier with a knockout death metal record that presents the style with no additives, preservatives, or frilly flavor. This is raw and completely un-distilled death metal extracted from the amber peaks of death metal mountain. Horrendous is the Icelandic yogurt of death metal. What a goddamn weird metaphor. That shit is so expensive. Why does this taste like grass and goats?”

As good as The Chills was, the band’s new album is even better and more multi-faceted. Its name is Ecdysis and it’s scheduled for an October 14 release by Dark Descent. And wow, is that album art fantastic, or what? It was painted by Brian Smith (whose FB page is here). Yesterday, along with the unveiling of the cover, Decibel premiered a song from the album named “Nepenthe”. It’s fantastic, too. Continue reading »

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