BREAKING BYZANTINE NEWS: A NEW ALBUM IS ON THE WAY (PLUS VINYL)

 Metal News  11 Responses »
Mar 302014
 

For those of you who, like us, were overjoyed at the 2013 comeback of West Virginia’s Byzantine, we bring you more joyous news. We received the following notification yesterday:

“According to Chris Ojeda, frontman for Byzantine, the band has begun writing material for album 5, due out early 2015. Ojeda states, ‘We have been playing some regional shows in support of our last album and, although it’s been a blast, we really need to buckle down and see how we can keep the momentum going from our last record. I was looking to putting out an EP with a few new songs, a few old songs rerecorded and maybe a cover to release this year but the rest of the guys were pushing hard for another full length of new music and they are right.’

“This album will be recorded late summer of this year and will be once again partially funded through Kickstarter. Next week, Byzantine will be releasing a very limited Vinyl release of their last album complete with brand new artwork. Pre-orders are still being taken through www.byzmerch.bigcartel.com.”

Early 2015 is a long way off, but it’s both a relief and an expectant pleasure to learn that Byzantine are forging ahead with another album. Their self-titled comeback was so very strong, and in case you still haven’t discovered it, listen to this: Continue reading »

NEW ALBUM DETAILS: ANATHEMA, GOATWHORE, SEPREVATION

 Metal News  19 Responses »
Mar 282014
 

Here are a few notices sent my way by my NCS colleagues that we agreed were worth mentioning.  They concern forthcoming albums.

ANATHEMA

Following up on their well-received 2012 album Weather Systems, the UK’s Anathema revealed this morning that their new album will be named Distant Satellites and will be released by the Kscope label on June 9. The album art was created by Korean new media artist Sang Jun Too and was based on his “Distant Light” installation. Some of the songs were mixed by Steven Wilson. The band’s announcement also included these words:

“Distant Satellites is the culmination of everything ANATHEMA been working up to so far in our musical path. It contains almost every conceivable element of the heartbeat of Anathema music that it is possible to have. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: LORD MANTIS, INVINCIBLE FORCE, YOUNG AND IN THE WAY, TARTHARIA, ATHANATHEOS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Mar 282014
 

I spent some time last night searching for new music worth recommending. Found quite a lot. Damaged my ear drums in the process, but oh so worth it. (They were so screwed up beforehand that it didn’t really matter. As for you, play this stuff loud enough to cause pain, so I don’t feel lonely in my deafness.)

There’s a lot of music in here — I could easily have spread it across five posts today — but there probably won’t be many other posts on this Friday because I’m on the road again. So, take your sweet time with it.

LORD MANTIS

We already reviewed Death Mask. We’ve heard it all, but most of you haven’t. Some of you will want to run away from it, some of you will eat it up like whatever it is you can’t stop eating even when you know you should. I’m in the latter category — it has made an indelible mark, as deep as all the black tattoos that beautify my limbs. Continue reading »

SÓLSTAFIR ANNOUNCE FIRST-EVER “NORTH AMERICAN” TOUR

 Metal News  9 Responses »
Mar 272014
 

I don’t have the data at my fingertips. It’s possible that we’ve written about some other band more than we’ve written about Iceland’s Sólstafir over the years — but I’d be surprised if that were true. And so it’s a foregone conclusion that I’m posting the following announcement of the band’s first “North American” tour, even though some literary license has been taken with the term “North American”:

Icelandic rock heathens Sólstafir have announced a string of North American tour dates. The band’s first-ever North American trek starts on May 15 in Brooklyn, NY and will continue through the band’s stop at this year’s Maryland Deathfest on May 23. Support on these dates comes from JUNIUS. A full list of confirmed tour dates can be found below.

SOLSTAFIR North American tour dates
5/15 Toronto, ON @ Hard Luck
5/16 Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus Bar
5/17 Philadelphia PA @ Underground Arts
5/18 Boston, MA @ Middle East
5/19 Springfield, VA @ Empire
5/23 Baltimore, MD @ Maryland Deathfest Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: AUTOPSY, LOUDBLAST, BLACK ANVIL, AND ARCHSPIRE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Mar 272014
 

I’ll spare you the why’s and wherefore’s, but your humble editor has fallen behind in monitoring developments in the world of metal.  As a result, the collection of new songs is even more random than usual. Nevertheless, I think all the music is very good, and it’s diverse enough that it should please a range of tastes.

AUTOPSY

Tourniquets, Hacksaws And Graves is the name of the seventh studio excrescence by the mighty Autopsy. Ever since the Wes Benscoter album art and April 21 release date were disclosed by the Peaceville label back in February, I’ve been waiting for a taste of the music, and we finally got it yesterday, with the premiere of “The Howling Dead” at Noisey.

I’m not surprised at how good this song is, but I’m surprised at how wretchedly good it is. That driving beat at the beginning, shrouded in dense distortion, is just killer. So is the thoroughly horrific doom slow-down that follows it. So is the lurching, rocking stomp that comes next. And so on… Chris Reifert’s vocals have never sounded more horrific, the riffs are as putrescent and grisly as they’ve ever been, and the closing guitar solo oozes decay. Fantastic! Continue reading »

RECALCITRANT ROUNDUP: A STORM OF STREAMS

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Mar 262014
 

(Austin Weber brings us another round-up of music and metal news, featuring The Conjuration, D’Arkestra, Divine Realm, Winter of Sin, and Posthumous Blasphemer.)

THE CONJURATION

After a long wait, The Conjuration’s new album, Surreal, has finally emerged—and it’s a gloriously twisted avante-garde beast that lashes out in progressive and schizophrenic fits. This is death metal turned upside down. Corey Jason has proved once again that he doesn’t need a band, only himself. He composed all of it, played all the instruments, did the vocals, and handled the production himself, too.

On Surreal, Corey skillfully pushes the limits of what a one-man death metal act is capable of creating. Most acts of this nature that play death metal are lacking compositionally and all too often create music that is too samey in the songwriting, and too often lacking a vital creative spark. By contrast, Surreal really does sound like the work of multiple people whose different ideas and approaches led to a diverse group of songs. Continue reading »

TOUR UPDATE: ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, LECHEROUS NOCTURNE, PANZERFAUST

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  12 Responses »
Mar 242014
 

NO CLEAN SINGING is proud to sponsor the forthcoming North American tour by Abigail Williams, Lecherous Nocturne, and Panzerfaust. This promises to be a string of nights that metal fans are going to remember, as soon as they dig out of the rubble left in the wake of this onslaught.

Since we originally the announcement of the tour last week, there have been some changes in the schedule, and so in addition to posting the updated tour flyer you see above, we’ve got the revised calendar and list of locales after the jump (this is now current as of April 25).

And because we always like to have music whenever possible at this site, we’re including music videos of one song from each  bands’ latest album. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: THE SLOW DEATH, KHONSU, AETHERIAN, INFINITE DEATH

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Mar 232014
 

I put together one round-up of newly discovered music in today’s first post, but I have more discoveries I want to share with you.

THE SLOW DEATH

The Slow Death is an Australian doom band whom I first wrote about last fall. I paid attention to them at that time because I had learned that they would be joining with the awesome Majestic Downfall in a forthcoming split, to be released by Chaos Records (the cover art is above). Yesterday, the band released a complete version of their contribution to the split for streaming, and it’s mighty good.

“Criticality Incident I” begins slowly, drifting like clouds lit from above by the sun, casting deep shadows but edged by a radiant glow. Shimmering, chiming guitar melodies swirl around the power of stark drumbeats and booming bass notes, and effervescent soloing adds more light to the darkness. The singing varies between soaring clean expressions (Mandy Andresen) and ultra-deep guttural growls (Gregg Williamson). As the song progresses, it accelerates into a hammering drive. It’s a beautiful kind of sorrow. Continue reading »

GAZE UPON THE COVER ART FOR VADER’S NEW ALBUM

 Metal News  8 Responses »
Mar 212014
 

There it is, the cover art for Vader’s next album (their 12th), Tibi Et Igni. My Latin is a little rusty, but I’m pretty sure Tibit Et Igni means “we will hammer the back of your head so hard your eyeballs will be ejected at the speed of sound and then we’ll start on your spine”.

The cover is damned cool. It was created is by veteran artist Joe Petagno, and the album was recorded by the Wieslawski brothers at Hertz Studio in Bialystok, Poland (we already mentioned them earlier today because they recorded Beneath’s new album). The album will be released on May 30 by Nuclear Blast. A two-song single will be released on April 18, both digitally and on 7″ vinyl.

Actually, I just checked, and my Latin is rustier than I thought. Tibit Et Igni apparently means “For You and Fire”. I think this is just another way of saying “we will burn you like dry kindling and scatter your ash to the four winds”. The track list is after the jump for those who are into that kind of thing (the bonus tracks look interesting). Here also is the band’s previously released quote about the new music: Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: OPETH, ARCH ENEMY, THE AGONIST, BLOODBATH

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  34 Responses »
Mar 212014
 

Well, yesterday at NCS didn’t go exactly as I had planned. We did have a couple of excellent song premieres and an interesting play-through video, but my old fucking day job prevented me from pulling together a round-up of new developments in the world of metal — of which there have been many in the last 48 hours. So I’m gathering a few in this post even though the reports aren’t as timely as I would have liked. By coincidence, all the items (but one) involve venerable Swedish bands.

OPETH

Few albums in recent years have generated as much controversial commentary at our site than Opeth’s Heritage. It seems that all we had to do was mention that 2011 album, and conflicting opinions would come out of the woodwork like termites. It has been used as an example of both a band who betrayed their fans and one who felt free to let their artistic impulses dictate their direction rather than commerce. Some thought it was a fine album, others thought it was as dull as dishwater.

Yesterday, we got news about the band’s next album. Via an interview of Opeth’s Mikael Akerfeldt and Fredrik Akesson, Loudwire reported that the 11th studio (not yet titled) has been completed and projected for release in June. Loudwire has heard the album and wrote this: “Opeth’s songwriting is top notch on the album, but once again, the record features no guttural vocals.” Continue reading »

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