SEEN AND HEARD: ULCERATE, TWILIGHT OF THE GODS, CRAVEN IDOL, EVOKEN, CRYPTOPSY

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  19 Responses »
Jul 122013
 

Here’s a collection of items I saw and heard yesterday while surveilling the interhole. The featured bands are Ulcerate (New Zealand), Twilight of the Gods (multinational), Craven Idol (UK), Cryptopsy (Canada), and Evoken (US), .

ULCERATE

The new album from New Zealand’s Ulcerate has been high on our “most anticipated” list for this year, and yesterday finally brought a lot of fresh news. The title of the album is Vermis, it includes 9 tracks, it’s nearly 55 minutes long — and it will be released by Relapse on September 17 in North America (September 13 in Germany and the Benelux countries and September 16 in the rest of the world). Pre-orders for the album and related merch are being fielded at this location. You can see the newly unveiled album cover above.

Yesterday also brought a video teaser for Vermis. It includes just an itty-bitty, teenie-weensie snippet of music, but it was enough to rattle my teeth. I think, just to be safe, I’ll make a dental appointment for the day after I get my hands on this album. The teaser is next. Continue reading »

ELEMENTAL NIGHTMARES: 26 BANDS, 13 SPLITS, ONE MASSIVE PIECE OF ART

 Metal News  6 Responses »
Jul 112013
 

I’m happy as hell to help spread the word about a project I’ve been keeping quiet about since early last fall, the details of which have now finally become public. Its name is Elemental Nightmares and it’s bringing to discriminating metal fans a series of 13 splits on 7″ vinyl (with accompanying digital downloads and with an option to buy only a digital download) featuring 26 up-and-coming bands from around the world — one of whom has yet to be selected.

Each band has contributed an exclusive track, with each split including a pair of them. Each month, subscribers to the series will receive two of the vinyl splits, with three of them shipping in the final month. The artwork for the splits will be parts of a single massive piece of art.

In past posts, we’ve praised many of the 25 bands who have contributed new songs exclusive to this series: Ashencult, Canopy, Dead River Runs Dry, Eternal Helcaraxe, Feared, Hyperial, Kall, Liber Necris, Mondvolland, Oak Pantheon, Obitus, Porta Nigra, Satyros, Septekh, and Wildernessking. The chance to hear new music by bands of this caliber is exciting, and given how good they are, I’m eager to discover music by the bands in the series whose music I don’t yet know. A complete list of the participants in the series appears later in this post.

Three other aspects of this project are important. First, this is an underground endeavor (organized by Dissension Records), which means that the money necessary to finance the project must come from pre-orders.  If the targeted amount is raised through the pre-orders, then the series should begin shipping in late 2013 or early 2014. The Elemental Nightmares web site provides a tracking bar that will let you see the progress of fundraising at any point in time (this project just went “live” yesterday, and as of this writing it’s already reached 13% of the target amount through word of mouth). If the target isn’t reached, then all money will be refunded. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: GRAVE, PELICAN, WRUST, AND SHEOL

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Jul 102013
 

The avalanche of new and noteworthy metallic items that’s been going on all week has continued today. I caught a few of today’s new items in an earlier post, but already there are more. So, another fully loaded round-up follows . . .

GRAVE

More details about the new EP (Morbid Ascent) from Sweden’s Grave surfaced today. First, the release date was announced: August 26. Second, we got the tasty cover art by Costin Chioreanu (above). Third, we learned that Autopsy’s Eric Cutler will be contributing guest vocals on one of the two new songs on the EP — “Venial Sin” (the other one being “Morbid Ascent”). The EP will also include a cover of Satyricon’s “Possessed” as well as a remixed version of “Epos” from Risen From the Tomb and a track from Grave’s 1989 Sexual Mutilation demo (“Reality of Life”). Sounds like a very cool collection.

The EP is going to be released as a 12″ vinyl (in multiple colors) as well as a digital download, and Century Media says both formats will be offered for “a fan-friendly price”. Continue reading »

COOKING: KRALLICE, VJESHITZA, MASTODON, NIGHTINGALE, AND CARNIFEX

 Metal News  10 Responses »
Jul 102013
 

I had the misfortune of being able to spend only an hour total on the internet yesterday between about 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. That made it really difficult to keep up with happenings in the world of metal, especially when so many things happened yesterday (as I later discovered). I mean, hell, even though I did manage to dash off a post about the new Fleshgod Apocalypse song, I couldn’t even listen to it until late last night. I blame my fucking day job.

There’s no realistic way I’m going to catch up, but I’ll at least make a stab at spreading some news I found interesting about some very good bands in the process of cooking up some brand new releases.

KRALLICE AND VJESHITZA

This news item is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, U.S. black metal band Krallice are spending a week in the studio this month recording three songs for a forthcoming split release. According to one of the band’s guitarists, the awesomely talented Colin Marston (also in Gorguts and Dysrhythmia), “all three songs we are recording are shorter than usual for us and perhaps display more diversity. One of the Mick [Barr]-initiated songs is potentially our busiest, ‘progiest’ song yet, whereas his other song is our most restrained and simple piece. My song for this recording is part three of a loose series begun on Diotima—”Litany of Regrets” being part one and “Telluric Rings” being part two. It’s on the dronier, more meditative side, but features very active bass parts. We should end up with a pretty compelling small collection of songs, and then … who knows!?”

Intriguing, no? But the second part of what Colin Marston had to say is equally interesting:

Continue reading »

ONE MORE REASON WE MUST HAVE TELEPORTER TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY: THE INCUBATE FESTIVAL

 Metal News  11 Responses »
Jul 082013
 

I don’t know why I continue reporting on European metal festivals. It’s like a form of self-torture. I know we have a lot of European readers, and I suppose I could justify writing posts like this one as a selfless act of regard for their interests. But as much as I love our European readers, I love myself more, so it still doesn’t quite make sense. I suppose masochism could be another explanation. I’ll have to think more about that possibility as soon as I finish adding the latest switchblade cuts to my arms.

Where was I?  Oh yeah, another European metal festival. Actually, it’s not just metal. The INCUBATE FESTIVAL, which will take place September 16-22, 2013, in Tilburg (The Netherlands) will feature 200 artists performing in more than 20 venues. But the ones I care about are splashed across that flyer you see above — metal bands such as Immortal, Mayhem, Gehenna, Khold, Behexen, Woe, Brutal Truth, Dragged Into Sunlight, and Sonne Adam.

What a ridiculously good line-up. Except for Mayhem, I’ve never seen any of those bands I just listed in a live performance. I wish I could. But Tilburg is too far away and the tech geeks in Seattle still haven’t perfected teleporter technology, and oh pitiful me. If you can go, check out details here: Continue reading »

GRINDING FOR A CURE: VOLUME 2

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Jul 062013
 

I’m going to repeat some of the back story about “Grinding for a Cure” that I described (here) back in February, for those of you who have forgotten and for new readers. It’s a project that started small and has truly exploded. The organizers set up shop and started spreading the word about their mission only in mid-January of this year — and their mission was to raise money to fund research into a cure for Alzheimer’s disease by selling a grindcore compilation. In a surprisingly short amount of time, they assembled a genuinely impressive line-up of bands and released a 100-track Volume I comp, which is still available here. The compilation was assembled by Dorian Rainwater of Noisear, Christine Coz, and Chris Messina of Swamp Gas.

Even as that comp was being released, the organizers had a bunch of other songs already in hand for a follow-up, and more have been coming in since then. Yesterday, they released Volume II for download on Bandcamp. Although they still have 10 more submissions coming their way, Volume II as it now stands includes 90 songs from 90 bands from all over the world. And the music isn’t limited to grind, though that’s the dominant style of music that’s represented. I’m just going to mention the names of some of the bands we’ve written about at NCS (from memory), and even this abbreviated list will give you an indication about the range and quality of the music on offer:

Psudoku, Drug Honkey, Horsebastard, Flourishing, Impetigo, Human Cull, Noisear, Dephosphorus, Phobia, and Sarcolytic. Continue reading »

THE NORTHERN DARKNESS FESTIVAL: AN UPDATE (AND A PLUG)

 Metal News  8 Responses »
Jul 062013
 

In mid-April I discovered (and wrote about) the announcement of an independent UK metal extravaganza called THE NORTHERN DARKNESS FESTIVAL scheduled to occur on December 8, 2013, in the town of Newcastle on Tyne in England. Back then, 10 bands had been scheduled to perform — and it was a truly eye-catching line-up. But the line-up has grown and become even more eye-popping. Check this out (click it to make it bigger):

What did I tell you? Awesome, huh?

Now, here’s the plug part of this post: The festival organizers have reserved one spot in the line-up for an unsigned band, and they’ve been running a contest to determine which band will fill that slot. They invited bands to submit music, and once a week for the last 7 weeks they’ve matched groups of them up against each other for fan voting. Seven semi-finalists have been selected so far, and the Group 8 voting has now begun — and NCS writer Andy Synn’s band Bloodguard is in that group. Continue reading »

TEASERS: KALL, BLACK CAP MINER, BLACKOUT, AND FETO IN FETUS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Jul 062013
 

In this post I’m pulling together new music from four bands that I heard yesterday which made quite an impression. All of them are tracks from forthcoming releases, and all of them succeed in building interest for what’s coming. None of them sounds remotely like the others.

KALL

Over the space of four albums released from 2006 to 2011, Sweden’s Lifelover built a large and intense following, and many people have credited them with being an important influence in the development of depressive black metal as a recognizable sub-genre. However, 2011’s Sjukdom proved to be the band’s last album. In September 2011, Lifelover’s principal songwriter Jonas “B” Bergqvist died of what was reported to be an overdose of prescription medication, and the remaining members decided to end the band.

However, about a year later, word surfaced that three of Lifelover’s former members — vocalist/guitarist “( )” (Kim Carlsson), guitarist “H” (Henrik Huldtgren), and bassplayer Fix — had decided to start a new band. The band’s name is Kall (Swedish for “cold”), and yesterday I discovered that Kall has released a song from a forthcoming EP. The song’s name is “Då, nu – Jag och Du”, which according to Google Translate means “Then, Now — Me and You”. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: GORGUTS, KARTIKEYA

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Jul 052013
 

Happy 5th of July to one and all!  Though often overshadowed by yesterday’s holiday, July 5 is the anniversary of the date in 1775 when the Continental Congress adopted the so-called Olive Branch Petition attempting to convince King George III of the colonies’ affection and loyalty (while appealing for relief from various grievances). King George, of course, rejected the petition and declared the colonies to be in a “state of open and avowed rebellion”. I bet he later wished for a do-over on that decision.

Anyway, while indulging in solemn remembrance of the Olive Branch Petition this morning, as well as the 76th anniversary of the introduction of Spam to the market by Hormel Foods Corporation and the 67th anniversary of the first public sale of the bikini, I found time to observe a couple items of metal interest, which are discussed below.

GORGUTS

Little more than two weeks ago, we finally learned the album title (Colored Sands), track list, and release dates for the first studio album by Gorguts in 12 years — as well as hearing the album’s first single, “Forgotten Arrows”. I think it’s fair to say that the song was greeted by a boisterously enthusiastic reception. Gorguts’ Luc Lemay took notice, and yesterday he recorded a video thank-you to the band’s fans. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: BLACK CAP MINER, EXHUMED, COFFINS, AND TWO AUTHOR & PUNISHER REMIXES

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Jul 022013
 

Here’s a collection of selected items your humble editor witnessed and heard while stumbling around the interhole yesterday. As usual, the stuff is all over the musical map.

BLACK CAP MINER

Black Cap Miner is the side project of West Virginia vocalist/guitarist Chris Ojeda of the mighty Byzantine (whose 2013 release ought to get some kind of award for comeback album of the year). The objective of the project is to get you to headbang like it’s 1988. To be more precise, OJ and friends are recording covers of some old school thrash songs. But not just any songs, and not just any friends. Check out his list of guest performers:

JAMES MALONE (Arsis)
GREG BURGESS (Allegaeon)
TONY ROHRBOUGH (Byzantine)
JAY HANNON (Gizmachi)
KYLE THOMAS (Exhorder, Trouble)
CHRIS POLAND (Megadeth)
CHUCK BILLY (Testament)

I think a robust HOLY SHIT! is in order, don’t you?  I mean, not to take even one little thing away from Chris Ojeda, but that’s a mighty fine group of comrades to assemble for the recording of some thrash. Continue reading »

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