TOURISM: ULCERATE AND INTER ARMA TO EMBARK ON A NORTH AMERICAN TOUR IN MAY

 Metal News  4 Responses »
Feb 042014
 

I was separated from the interhole for most of yesterday and therefore missed a lot of breaking news. While attempting to catch up, one of the first things to catch my eye was the tour flyer you see above, waiting patiently in my in-box like a viper ready to strike. To spell it out, New Zealand’s Ulcerate will embark upon the Vermis North America MMXIV tour beginning in Los Angeles on May 1 and finishing with an appearance at Maryland Deathfest on May 25.

That’s tremendously exciting news, but it gets even better, because Virginia’s Inter Arma will be along for the ride on most of the dates. They will join the tour in Philadelphia on May 9 and continue until the final date  before MDF.

This is Ulcerate’s first appearance in North America since their 2012 appearance at MDF. The entire schedule can be seen after the jump, and I’ve also included album streams for the band’s 2013 album Vermis as well as Inter Arma’s Sky Burial. Both of those albums were among my favorites of 2013. This promises to be one crushing tour. Continue reading »

TOURISM: MASTODON, GOJIRA, AND KVELERTAK

 Metal News  11 Responses »
Feb 032014
 

As if winning the Superb Owl weren’t enough of a prize for the City of Seattle, this morning brought news of yet another prize:  Seattle will be the first date in a US tour that for my money will be a must-see event for 2014. Mastodon will be the headliners, with support from Gojira and Kvelertak.

The only problem with this announcement is that while all the press statements note that the tour begins in Seattle, I haven’t yet seen one that says WHERE in Seattle the show will be played, and Seattle is omitted from the usual list of dates and venues that have been appearing — all of which you can see after the jump. If anyone figures out the location, do let me know.

UPDATE (2/10/14): New dates/venues have now been added to the tour schedule, including that Seattle location. I’ve updated the schedule that appears after the post.

Goddamn, I’m excited for this show… Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: NEW ALBUM TEASERS, A NEW ÆVANGELIST SONG, A NEW DARKANE VIDEO

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Feb 012014
 

Here are some things I spied and heard over the last 24 hours, including a destructive new song and an invigorating new video. But I begin with some teasing photos that appeared in my Facebook news feed. The first one is above, accompanied by these words:

“Legendary Florida Death Metal pioneers Massacre will return with their first studio album effort in almost 20 years! Programmatically entitled Back From Beyond, the album will be released on March 24th in Europe and April 1st in North America.”

Here are some others, with the verbiage that accompanied them. If you don’t recognize the faces, hover your mouse over the images.

“New Album nearly complete! 1.31.14”

Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2013’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS: PART 16

 Metal News, MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2013  5 Responses »
Jan 312014
 

We proudly bring you the 16th Part of our list of the year’s most infectious extreme metal songs. For more details about what this list is all about and how it was compiled, read the introductory post via this link. To see the selections that preceded the two I’m announcing today, click here.

In different ways, both bands we’re featuring today have their tongues in their cheeks — but their music also has the capability to tear yours out and use it for a bookmark.

THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT

I suppose our adoration for TMDC knows no bounds — or so one might think from the volume of words we’ve spilled about their new album, Tetragrammaton. For example, these words by our reviewer Mr. Synn:

“Their music is dark, oppressive, and brutal – but also relentlessly energetic, knowingly pompous, and impressively self-aware…. Right from the start you can tell that this is the sequel to the superfluously awesome Triumvirate. Yet it’s more than just a mere carbon copy or continuation. Everything that album brought to the table is still there – the ostentatious synths, the audacious symphonic pomposity, the back-breaking death metal brutality, the darkly intelligent lyrical themes and vicious vocal hooks – yet twisted and reworked just so to provide a new experience, a newly refined recipe for disaster….  Continue reading »

AGALLOCH RETURNS: PREPARE FOR “THE SERPENT AND THE SPHERE”

 Metal News  11 Responses »
Jan 312014
 

photo by Veleda Thorsson

Mark your calendars: About one hour ago, this statement appeared on Profound Lore’s Facebook page:

“AGALLOCH will release their glorious fifth full-length album The Serpent & The Sphere on May 13th (North America)….  The album was recorded and mixed by legendary producer Billy Anderson, the result being the band’s most enormous sounding album to date.”

That is all.  Is that not enough?

SEEN AND HEARD: WARPSTONE, WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, AND METAL ALBUM COVERS WITH GOOGLY EYES

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  28 Responses »
Jan 292014
 

Due to the demands of my fucking day job, I haven’t had much time to go exploring for new music and news items over the last 24 hours, but on a very quick excursion through the interhole and my NCS in-box I did spy the following three items for your edification and enjoyment.

WARPSTONE

The last time I mentioned the name Warpstone on NCS was in April 2012, in the context of a feature on the painted art of that great Italian madman, Paolo Girardi. One of the pieces I used in that feature was Girardi’s cover for a then-forthcoming album by Warpstone entitled Daemonic Warpfire. At that time, I could find no music from the band available for streaming and I failed to follow up and check out the album when it was released.

This morning I noticed the painting by Paolo Girardi for Warpstone’s forthcoming second album, Into the Phantasmancer Celestial Castle, and it’s simply stunning. To see a larger view of the cover, click the image above. Fantastic.

Warpstone have also put three songs from the new album on Bandcamp for streaming, and I’m including the player for them below, as well as a YouTube clip for one of the new songs. They are genuinely impressive. Continue reading »

FIVE OF MY FAVOURITE… ALBUMS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2014

 Metal News  32 Responses »
Jan 272014
 

(Here’s another installment of Andy Synn’s irregular series devoted to his favorite things that come in fives. Seems like a good occasion to sound off on what you’re looking forward to as well, so please leave Comments.)

Now this is an easy one… and a hard one… to write.

Easy… because there are SO many awesome albums coming out this year to choose from.

Hard… because there are TOO many awesome albums coming out this year to choose from!

Still, here’s a selection of five to whet your appetite. (Note – some nepotism involved) Continue reading »

IT’S OFFICIAL: AT THE GATES WILL RELEASE A NEW ALBUM IN 2014

 Metal News  11 Responses »
Jan 272014
 

We earlier reported a bit of a video tease from seminal melodic death metal band At the Gates which suggested that a new album might be on the way for the first time in almost two decades. And now, it’s official. Here’s a statement from the band; I’ve taken the liberty of highlighting a few passages of particular interest:

“So, here we are almost 24 years since the birth of AT THE GATES, and some 18+ years since our latest album Slaughter Of The Soul. A lot of years have passed and we have embarked on some life-changing reunion tours and shows the last couple of years.

“So, why make a new album you might ask, and why now? Well, what we learned from the last couple of years hanging out and playing shows together, is that we enjoy what we do to the fullest extent. We love playing music together, and we love to hang out as friends. But, as a musician, we constantly write new music. It’s a huge part of our identities.

“We are fully aware that we have made some very drastic statements in interviews as well as the closing words on the DVD about the longevity of AT THE GATES, but things change, situations change and people change. When Anders sent the first song last summer, we had zero expectations of the outcome. We only knew one thing – That it sounded amazing! At the time we weren’t even sure there would be an album, but as things progressed, more songs came into existence, and we knew we were on to something great. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: AGELESS OBLIVION, METSATÖLL, DOMAINS, LIE IN RUINS, CORPSESSED

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  12 Responses »
Jan 242014
 

The creative juices are REALLY flowing out there in metaldom . . . SO much juice . . . So sticky, so pungent . . . You just want to smear it ALL over and massage it into your scalp and make fluffy merengue with it . . . and

Ooops, sorry about that.  Where was I?  Oh yeah, a lot of creative juicing going on. LOTS of new metal songs to be spread around, like. . . well, you know. Here’s just a small smear of what I found this morning (more of what I found over the last 24 hours can be seen and heard here).

AGELESS OBLIVION

In July 2012 our own Andy Synn reviewed the debut album by a band from Hampshire, UK, named Ageless Oblivion. Here’s a relevant excerpt:

“You may not have heard of this band, but doubtless you will be doing so more in the future. With a fresh take on the death metal dynamic, this, their debut album, provides a master class in modern death metal, shot through with unusual progressive impulses. . . . The playing throughout is deft and highly skilled, without veering into territory one could describe (often dismissively) as “tech”. While there is no doubt some complex fretwork going on here, it’s always done in service to the song and as part of an overall pattern of interlocking riffs, woven together seamlessly. Drums clatter and pound with impressive force, eschewing the simple blast-blast-blast approach in favour of punchy, jarring kick patterns and sharp, hammer-blow snare-beats, while the vocals favour a tormented, guttural howl that successfully captures an all-too-human sense of rage and despair, making a rare emotional connection with the listener.” Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: STAM1NA, NOCTEM, BLACK MASK

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  10 Responses »
Jan 242014
 

Collected in this round-up are a few new videos and songs I came across over the last 24 hours that I thought were worth your time. This is the first of a two-part “Seen and Heard”. More recommended new things will appear later today.

STAM1NA

I’m a big fan of Finland’s Stam1na, but despite the fact that I really do enjoy their music, I always finding myself writing about them because of their videos (previous posts collected here). And I write about their videos because they’re so damned funny. And here I am again, writing about yet another Stam1na video — but not for the usual reasons.

This one premiered yesterday (credit to TheMadIsraeli for tipping me to it) and it’s for a song named “Panzerfaust” from their new album SLK (due for release on Feb 7). Man, did I get a surprise. First, the song hits like a blowtorch opened all the way up — a jolting piece of jabbing, hammering, thrashing mayhem with a swirling finger-tapped guitar melody and a stomping martial finish. When choral voices and militaristic chants aren’t being heard, Antti Hyyrynen’s vehement voice is raking like sharpened claws. Continue reading »

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