“THE HEAVIEST CHOLE BHATURE IN THE UNIVERSE”: GOJIRA AND DEMONSTEALER IN THE HEADBANGER’S KITCHEN (AND A BIT OF NEWS ABOUT REPTILIAN DEATH)

 Metal News  1 Response »
Mar 292013
 

It’s been way too long since we checked in with Demonic Resurrection’s frontman Demonstealer. The dude always seems to have about 1,000 things going on at any given time, and I’ll get to one more of his endeavors at the end of this post, but the main draw here at the beginning is his on-line cooking show Headbangers Kitchen and his latest guest from the incomparable Gojira.

If you’re not familiar with Headbanger’s Kitchen, it’s Demonstealer’s outlet for his culinary impulses. And whether you do or don’t discover something you might want to prepare for your own consumption, it’s fun to watch because Demonstealer often lures members of other metal bands into his kitchen in Mumbai, combining interviews with cooking. In the latest (14th) episode, the guest is Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier, who Demonstealer snagged during Gojira’s first visit to India several months ago.  And the dish that Demonstealer whipped up for Joe? The Heaviest Chole Bhature in the Universe!

I’m not an aficionado of Indian food. Hey, I grew up in Central Texas: a plate of Tex-Mex enchiladas smothered in chopped onions and sliced jalapenos or a slab of brisket served on wax paper is my go-to comfort food. So chole bhature was a discovery for me. But the chole seems to be prepared with green chile and onion, so it can’t be bad, can it? Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: IMMOLATION, LIAR IN WAIT, AND PSYCHOTIC PULSE

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Mar 282013
 

There’s a song in this little round-up of new stuff that’s an outlier on this site. To make it go down easier, I’ve sandwiched it in between two slices of festering filthiness. You’re welcome.

IMMOLATION

One week ago Immolation debuted the title track from their forthcoming album Kingdom of Conspiracy, which will be discharged on May 14 by Nuclear Blast. I wrote about it then, praising it as a song that sinks its teeth into your neck but transfixes your attention while you bleed out with shifting dynamics and the effective incorporation of infected melodies in the midst of bludgeoning riffage.

Yesterday the band released a lyric video for the song, and while I would have selfishly preferred a new track, this one can stand being heard again (and again). Here’s the new lyric video for “Kingdom of Conspiracy”: Continue reading »

KEEP OF KALESSIN SCOOPS: NEW VIDEO (“INTROSPECTION”), NEW VOCALIST

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  10 Responses »
Mar 282013
 

(photo credit: Astrid Gjersøe Skåtterød)

Andy Synn, beloved NCS writer and intrepid foreign correspondent, is currently attending the Inferno Festival in Oslo, Norway (damn his eyes). Late yesterday afternoon your humble editor received a message from Andy with a couple of scoops about one of our favorite bands, Keep of Kalessin.

First, Andy reported that KoK had debuted a new song and video — “Introspection” — at Inferno. This explains the meaning of the cryptic countdown that has been going on for the last week at KoK’s Facebook page (more about that in a minute). Andy described it thusly: “Epic song. Epic video. Crushing drum sound. Awesome riffs and melodies.”

Second, Andy relayed that KoK’s vocalist Thebon has parted ways with the band and that the man pictured above — KoK’s guitarist, songwriter, and composer Arnt “Obsidian C” Gronbech — has stepped up to become the new vocalist and frontman. Continue reading »

THE FIRST TASTE OF DARK TRANQUILLITY’S NEW ALBUM: “CONSTRUCT”

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Mar 272013
 

Dark Tranquillity were one of my first loves as a budding fan of extreme music, and you never forget your first loves. And so although I was not as thoroughly bowled over by their last album as I wish I had been, I’ve still been eager to hear their new one. Entitled Construct, it’s due for release via Century Media on May 27 in Europe and May 28 in North America.

In addition to that welcome news, today also brought the first taste of music via an album trailer. In addition to ambient orchestration, the trailer includes a snippet from a new song, and I’m really liking what I hear — because what I hear sounds downright vicious. Increased viciousness from Dark Tranquillity happens to be just what I want.

You’ll also see variant artwork for the different formats of the album, and they all look damned cool to me.

Check out the trailer right after the jump, and feel free to share your thoughts about what you hear and about whether this band still gets your motor running. Continue reading »

TODAY IN THRASH: EVILE AND ESSENCE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Mar 262013
 

While wandering the interhole last night and this morning I came across many items of interest — too many to pack into a single round-up post. So I’ll subdivide my findings and start here, with two discoveries that should interest thrash heads far and wide.

EVILE

You’re looking at the first item above. It’s the recently revealed cover art for Skull, the forthcoming fourth album by the UK’s Evile, which is due for release on May 27 by Earache Records and Century Media. The artist is none other than NCS favorite Eliran Kantor. Like all of his art, this piece snags the attention and pulls it into the details of the work — which are mysterious. Evile explain that the artwork embodies a concept that’s connected to the music . . . but what that is we’ll have to learn later as more details trickle out.

As for the music, Evile drummer Ben Carter is quoted as saying, “Our fans can expect this album to be a return to our thrashier roots, as well as exploring new ground in typical EVILE form.”

And now it’s time for some actual music instead of musical forecasts. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: BELPHEGOR, BLOOD RED THRONE, AND BLACK FUCKING CANCER

 Free Shit, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Mar 232013
 

I’m making a slow start on the blog today. I was putting the finishing touches on a pocket-sized fusion reactor that runs on spit, produces beer as a by-product, and will supply the power (and beer) needs of an entire neighborhood for a century. I’ve been working on the idea for a few days and figured I’d just go ahead and get er done.

Also, I stayed up late last night partying with my co-workers after completing that month-long day-job project I’ve been whining about, and I got obliterated.

Anyways, here are a few things I saw and heard this morning after finishing the reactor and waiting for those skull trolls in my head to stop hammering on shit with lead mallets. I hate skull trolls.

BELPHEGOR

According to a press release I got, Austria’s Belphegor have finished tracking drums, bass, and guitar for their new album, working with producer Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal). That’s the good news. The bad news is that the release of the new album has been pushed back to early 2014. Frontman Helmuth Lehner,  who nearly died last year as a result of complications from a typhus infection he contracted on tour in Brazil, is scheduled to record vocals in June and July, with mixing and mastering to be done in September. Continue reading »

NAPALM DEATH THREATEN DESTRUCTION OF FAMED BRITISH MUSEUM; GIG CANCELED

 Metal News  5 Responses »
Mar 222013
 

I suppose it’s the innate perversity of being an extreme metal fan, but I fuckin’ loved reading the following story, even though it involves the cancellation of a Napalm Death show in London.

As reported by the BBC News (and elsewhere), Napalm Death were scheduled to play a concert on March 22 at the the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It was to be a “one-off experimental collaboration” called “Bustleholme” between the band and artist Keith Harrison.

Harrison, it seems, is a “resident ceramic artist” at the museum. Having no fuckin’ idea what that meant, I did a little research and discovered (here) that Harrison specializes in transforming clay into ceramic in a live setting through the use of industrial and electric electrical power sources.

For the Napalm Death collaboration, Harrison created three “ceramic sound systems” based on the tiles used on buildings in the Bustleholm Mill estate in West Bromwich, where he grew up. As described in press reports, Napalm Death were going to jack into these sound systems and likely destroy them through the output of their music. I would love to have seen that.

Yesterday, however, the V&A Museum canceled the performance, as explained in the following priceless announcement: Continue reading »

NEW IMMOLATION: GET PUMMELED BY “KINGDOM OF CONSPIRACY”

 Metal News  4 Responses »
Mar 212013
 

2013 inches forward, bringing us closer to a host of new albums we’ve been highly anticipating, including the new release by NYDM veterans Immolation. Their forthcoming album is named Kingdom of Conspiracy, and it will be discharged on May 14 by Nuclear Blast.

Today, DECIBEL magazine began streaming the album’s title track at their online site, and man is it merciless. At the outset, the drums go at about 1000 bpm, the guitars grind viciously, and Ross Dolan sounds like a goddamned demon grisly bear. But the song is a lesson in shifting dynamics and the effective incorporation of infected melodies into descending waves of bludgeoning riffage.

There’s a reason why this band are still death metal royalty more than two decades after they began their musical life: they still know how to write songs that sink their teeth into your neck but keep your attention transfixed while you’re bleeding out. Continue reading »

YOUR FAVORITE ONLINE RESOURCES FOR METAL KNOWLEDGE?

 Metal News  75 Responses »
Mar 212013
 

I am really being very subtle with this post, because Subtlety is my middle name. I have to explain what I’m doing, because it’s so subtle that you wouldn’t get it otherwise. You see, Jason Roche over at LA Weekly has posted a list entitled “Our Top Ten Favorite Online Resources For Metal Knowledge”. And NO CLEAN SINGING is on that list.

I wanted to bask in the glow of recognition and wallow in the sweetness of what Jason wrote about our site, but I thought that would come off as self-centered, self-promoting braggadocio. So instead of just writing a boastful post about how wonderful we are, I turned it into a discussion piece by inviting you to share with the world what you, our readers, consider your favorite, go-to online sites for discovering new metal knowledge. Pretty fuckin’ subtle, eh?

To help you organize your own thoughts about which online sites are your favorite resources for metal knowledge, I thought it would be helpful to quote what LA Weekly had to say about one of the sites that undoubtedly will be on all of your lists: Continue reading »

CATCHING UP, WITH HEAVEN SHALL BURN, CHILDREN OF BODOM, AND ALTAR OF PLAGUES

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Mar 202013
 

I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to go home to Seattle tonight after more than 3 weeks of grueling bullshit for my day job. I even had a couple of hours yesterday to start catching up on all the metal I missed while buried in work. Of course, I found a lot of new things. In this post are a few of the more recent discoveries.

HEAVEN SHALL BURN

Yesterday, Germany’s Heaven Shall Burn released  a second song from their forthcoming album Veto. Its name is “Die Stürme Rufen Dich”, which means “the storms call you” (according to Google Translate). It’s venomous, heavy-booted music with catchy melodic hooks and Marcus Bischoff’s distinctive vox spraying acid all over everything. In other words, it’s recognizably Heaven Shall Burn.

If you’re a fan of this band, I think you’ll like the song.  It’s up next. Continue reading »

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