EARACHE AND OSMOSE ON BANDCAMP

 Metal News  17 Responses »
Nov 122012
 

We’ve been singing the praises of Bandcamp since the early days of that platform. In a relatively short time, it has become a vital source for the streaming and distribution of metal, recently expanding its service to become a vehicle for the distribution of merch as well as digital music in a variety of high-quality formats. One sign of Bandcamp’s success is the increasing use of the site by metal labels to stream and distribute albums in their catalogues.

Thanks to MaxR at Metal Bandcamp — which remains THE best way to keep up with the appearance of new metal releases on Bandcamp — we’ve learned that two more labels have recently established Bandcamp beachheads: Earache Records and Osmose Productions.

EARACHE

As far as we’re concerned, this is really big news. Earache Records was founded in the late 80s and was one of the true pioneers in releasing extreme music. Of course, they’re still going strong today, but their back catalogue is like a museum for the history of hardcore and metal.

So far, Earache has added five albums from their catalogue to Bandcamp: Slaughter of the Soul by At the Gates (1995); Five Serpent’s Teeth by Evile (2011); Pressure and Time (Redux) by Rival Sons (2012); Scum (1987) [Full Dynamic Range 2012 Edition] by Napalm Death; and From Enslavement To Obliteration (1988) [Full Dynamic Range 2012 Edition], also by Napalm Death. Continue reading »

RatM RatM

 Album Reviews, Metal News  33 Responses »
Nov 112012
 

(In this post, Phro commemorates the 20th anniversary of Rage Against the Machine’s debut album as only Phro can.)

So, all this talk about Hacktivist has mostly been like water off a horny duck’s back to me, but it has had one interesting effect: reminding me of how great Rage Against the Machine is. Well, apparently, November 3rd was the 20th anniversary of Rage Against the Machine’s debut, self-titled album. As I read this article on Stereogum (I ended up there from a link on The Atlantic because otherwise I would have no fucking clue something called “Stereogum” existed), I realized: holy fuck balls, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to this album. Obviously, like many people, I’ve heard “Killing in the Name” and “Wake Up,” but that’s probably the extent of my knowledge of the album.

“Well, that’s weirder than seeing Willy Wonka fucking a dentist to death with a strap-on made of candy corn,” I thought to myself. Especially considering how damn much I loved Evil Empire, The Battle of Los Angeles, and even their covers albums Renegades. So, I figured, why not review the album with almost completely fresh ears? And that’s what I’ve done. I’m writing this stream of conscious as I’m listening to each track only once.

Enjoy! And be sure to tell me why I’m a total fucking distended asshole in the comments. Continue reading »

BANNED IN SINGAPORE: INQUISITION JOINS “PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON” AND JANET JACKSON

 Metal News  14 Responses »
Nov 092012
 

The excellent Seattle-based black metal band Inquisition was scheduled to perform in Singapore for the first time on November 29 at the True Metal Invasion festival, along with Onslaught, Desecration, Deathhammer, and local bands Skullmania, Lavatory (featured at NCS here), and Balberith.

Unfortunately, it appears that Singapore’s government was not as thrilled about this idea as Singaporean metal fans. Not long ago, the following statement appeared on the Facebook page of Inquisition:

“Attention: Government Media Authorities of Singapore have banned Inquisition from their public appearance at True Metal Invasion Festival that was due on November 29 2012. Essentially Inquisition is banned from Singapore and according to the government, it is due to the band’s themes. We apologize to fans in Asia, this is beyond our control. Inquisition performs classic unholy Black Metal of its truest form and will continue as such.”

I admire Inquisition’s outward stoicism in the face of this terribly disappointing and hurtful news. I worry, however, that they may be weeping inside. So I would just like to tell the band that they can hold their heads high, because they are in good company. Continue reading »

A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT: DEVOURMENT, WEAPON THE FACTORY?, SYSTEM DIVIDE, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, AND CLOAK OF ALTERING

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  17 Responses »
Nov 082012
 

Good morning, good afternoon, good night, wherever you are.  It’s morning for me, three time zones east of where I usually am. I’m pressed for time today because of my day job. I’ll be spending several hours trying to extricate those coke-filled balloons from my ass so I can make my delivery and get back on a plane to Seattle. I got them way to far up in there this time, I’m afraid.

But although I’m pressed for time, I did have time to make a quick review of my usual sources and have a few things to pass along to you, in no particular order: Devourment are releasing a new album; System Divide are going home; Weapon the Factory? are disrobing; Abigail Williams are reuniting; and Cloak of Altering is killing me.  Details to follow.

DEVOURMENT

I saw that these grand-daddies of brutal slamming death metal will have a new album out next year on the Relapse label. Relapse released a teaser video for the thing. I’m ready. I’m more than ready. Check it out following the jump. Continue reading »

ROUND-UP: BOSSE-DE-NAGE, ZUBROWSKA, OBSCENE ENTITY, HELL MILITIA

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Nov 062012
 

This post is about as lame a post as any post I’ve ever posted, except for the post on Saturday that was actually entitled LAME. (My ankle is now black and blue, but improving, and thank you for asking). To be clear, this post is not lame because the music I’m recommending is lame. Far from it! It’s lame because I don’t have the time or the mental clarity to add much to the recommendations, such as an explanation.

My day job is imposing on me at the moment (and this will continue over the next two days), and to be brutally honest, I’m also experiencing some anxiety over the outcome of state and national elections. Between those two things, this is all I can manage at the moment:

BOSSE-DE-NAGE

A few weeks ago I reviewed a new split release by deafheaven and Bosse-De-Nage. Both of the two songs on the split are long — 10:37 and 9:02, respectively — and I expressed the opinion that together they made up one of the best short releases of 2012. When I wrote the review, only the deafheaven track was available for streaming. Now, so is the Bosse-De-Nage track.

The split will be released by The Flenser Records on November 20, both on vinyl and digitally. The vinyl can be pre-ordered from The Flenser here, and it’s also available at deafheaven’s store at this location. Watch The Flenser Facebook or Bandcamp pages for news about the digital release. The BDN song is streaming at Stereogum as well as on YouTube, and it’s right after the jump. Continue reading »

PICK ONE: HATEBREED OR AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED

 Metal News  5 Responses »
Nov 052012
 

I just wrote that post title in order to get your attention. I can’t really make you pick one. You could pick both, or neither. Actually, I could make you pick, because I know about that thing you did over the weekend that left a trace on your computer, but I’m not a bad guy, so you get a pass.

But here’s the choice:

HATEBREED

Hatebreed have recorded a new studio album, The Divinity Of Purpose, which is now scheduled for release by Razor & Tie on January 29, 2013, in North America and on January 25 in Europe. Of course, it comes out earlier in Europe because Hatebreed are a European band. I’m sorry, what did you say? They’re not a European band? Well then, what the fuck is up with those release dates? I think maybe you need to double-check your facts.

In addition to announcing the release info, Hatebreed also revealed the album’s cover art (above), which was created by one of my favorite artists, Eliran Kantor. I’d like to study this artwork without the Hatebreed logo, and I’m curious about how it relates to the lyrical content of the album, particularly in light of the album’s title.

But I have to say that otherwise I’m having kind of a meh feeling about this news. When Hatebreed were a relatively new band, I thought they were hot shit. I’ve cooled considerably on them since then. Should I be getting more excited about this?  Are you?

Next choice: Continue reading »

CRAWLING, WITH NERGAL, INTRONAUT, AND SULPHUR AEON

 Eye-Catchers, Interviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Nov 032012
 

As explained in today’s earlier post, I’ve had a bit of a setback. I can’t walk very well at the moment. But crawling still works. And as I crawled through the interhole and my e-mail this morning while moaning in pain and feeling like a prize dumbass, I found some news about Nergal (Poland) and Intronaut (U.S.) and new music from Sulphur Aeon (Germany) that made me feel better, at least psychologically if not physically.

NERGAL GETS SOME HIGH LEVEL SUPPORT

I saw a note on the Facebook page of Behemoth’s frontman Nergal that looked interesting. You may have seen (either here or elsewhere) that Nergal’s legal troubles in his native Poland have been revived thanks to a ruling by the Polish Supreme Court that he can be criminally prosecuted for offending people’s religious feelings even if he didn’t intend to do that. This whole mess stems from a 2007 Behemoth performance in which Nergal tore up a Bible on stage.

There are plenty of places in the world where governments repress speech, sometimes violently, but I don’t usually think of Poland that way. So I was surprised when the country’s highest court made it easier, not harder, for people in Poland to be prosecuted for expressing “offensive” thoughts about religion.

What Nergal’s note revealed is that the day after this abysmal court ruling, the European Commission — which is the executive body of the European Union, of which Poland is a member — released a statement in support of Nergal. Citing the European Convention of Human Rights, a treaty that Poland signed which protects freedom of expression, the EC stated: “This right protects not only information or ideas that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter of indifference, but also those that offend, shock or disturb.”

The full article cited by Nergal is here. It’s not clear how the EC’s position or Poland’s treaty obligations will affect the progress of the case against Nergal, but it’s definitely an interesting and encouraging development. Continue reading »

VIDEOGRAPHY: NAPALM DEATH, MALEVOLENCE, AND WEST OF MEMPHIS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Nov 022012
 

When I resort to two posts in one day that do nothing but throw new music videos at you, you can infer that a lot of good videos have come out in a short space of time AND that I’ve been busy at the old fuckin’ day job. Today, both inferences would be correct. And so here I am, following the five-video post from earlier today with a three-video post now. This one includes new ones from Napalm Death (UK), Malevolence (Portugal) — plus a brand new trailer for a feature-length documentary about The West Memphis Three that’s opening in theaters on Christmas Day.

NAPALM DEATH

The new Napalm Death clip is billed as the “Everyday Pox” tour video. It is indeed a tour video of sorts, since it consists of performance footage synced to the recorded music. And it does include the song “Everyday Pox” (including the cool, creepy John Zorn sax solo), which appears on the band’s 2012 monster Utilitarian, but there are actually two songs in the video.

It begins, as the album does, with an instrumental number called “Circumspect”, and I love the combination of these two tracks, the first bleeding into the second. Those two songs are not side-by-side on the album, but maybe they should have been. “Circumspect” is slow, atmospheric, and icy. It’s not the kind of song most people would expect from this band, but it’s not the first time Napalm Death have thrown curve balls into their albums either. “Everyday Pox” also proceeds at a slightly slower pace than the typically explosive Napalm Death grind blast (though there’s certainly plenty of blasting in the song). Pairing them is a match made in hell. Continue reading »

A REMINDER: START SCRIBBLING!!!

 Metal News  23 Responses »
Nov 012012
 

I warned you I would nag, and I don’t lie.  Okay, to be more accurate, I wasn’t lying this time.

Beginning on Monday, November 5, we’re going to start running guest posts here at NCS, as we have around this time of year in the past. The tradition started because yours truly usually takes a vacation in November, and guest posts help us keep NCS from going dark while I’m off lolling around like a walrus on some coastline. This year I’m going nowhere, but we’re doing a series of guest posts anyway, because they’re fun — new voices and new subjects spice things up.

We’ve already received a half-dozen submissions since I issued the invitation a week ago, and I know of three more that are in the works, but we want more.

So, to repeat: If you’ve ever toyed with the idea of writing something for publication at NCS or some other metal blog, now’s a good time to give it a shot. Or maybe you’ve been generous enough to submit guest posts here in the past and might be willing to do it again. Or maybe you’re already writing for another blog and you’re willing to upgrade the content quality at NCS.

Regardless of your situation, we’re interested in what’s on your mind. What you submit can be long or short — whatever you have time to create. It can be a show review, a review of an album or EP that we haven’t yet reviewed, a piece designed to bring a relatively unknown band to a broader audience, thoughts about the scene or about recent news blurbs, something in the vein of our “THAT’S METAL!” posts or one of our other regular features — or anything else that’s related to metal that strikes your fancy. Continue reading »

MITCH LUCKER OF SUICIDE SILENCE PASSES AWAY AT AGE 28

 Metal News  11 Responses »
Nov 012012
 

I just received this press release from Nuclear Blast, which floored me:

It is with great sadness and regret this morning that we have to report that Mitch Lucker, vocalist of SUICIDE SILENCE, passed away a few hours ago due to injuries sustained during a motorcycle accident.

NUCLEAR BLAST would like to offer our condolences to his family, friends, band members and fans worldwide who are affected by this loss.

He left us doing what he loved to do most. He was 28 years old and will be sorely missed.

Fans are encouraged to share their memories, photos of Mitch and condolences on the band’s official Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SuicideSilence

A few more details that I found in a local newspaper report are after the jump. Continue reading »

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