ANOTHER DEATH IN THE FAMILY

 Metal News  2 Responses »
Sep 122011
 

I’m pretty sure I first discovered Sweden’s Lifelover via a comment on this site by Johan Huldtgren (Obitus) and then through his inclusion of the band’s 2007 album Erotik on a “Best of the Decade” list he compiled and allowed us to post as a guest contrbution here. This morning, NCS writer BadWolf e-mailed me about the news that on the night of the 9th September, Jonas Bergqvist a.k.a. ‘B’, the founding member, main composer, and guitarist of Lifelover, died unexpectedly. The cause of his death is still unclear and has yet to be established.

The band’s label, Prophecy, released this statement:  “The message of Jonas’s passing came as a surprise to the Prophecy team. Hence, we lack the appropriate words for this tragic event. To us, Jonas wasn’t just a very creative artist, but also a pleasant and enthusiastic person. It is for certain that we won’t be the only ones missing his character, his passion, and his unique musical language. In the face of this tragic loss, we would very much like to extend our heartfelt condolence towards Jonas’s family, his friends, and the remaining musicians of Lifelover.”

Shit happens, musicians die, and I don’t do a very good job of noting on this site when it happens. But I’ve grown to really appreciate this band’s music, and so I thought this was worth a mention. After the jump, a few Lifelover songs, the legacy that Jonas Bergqvist has left behind. Continue reading »

ANUBIS GATE: ALBUM STREAM

 Metal News  44 Responses »
Sep 102011
 

(TheMadIsraeli was virtually breathless in his desire to have this news posted without delay. Not wanting to deprive him of breath, I complied quickly.)

Anubis Gate is the shit.  This Danish, now-4-piece, progressive power-metal band is streaming their new self-titled album IN FULL and I highly recommend you check it out.  Heavy, low-tuned grooves; lush, beautiful, melodic and acoustic passages; powerful face-stomping riffs; all with soaring vocals imbued with real emotion.  Jacob Hansen of Invocator is no longer on the mic (though still at the mixing board), but bassist Henrik Fevre has a SUPERB voice.  Expect a review of this when I get the chance.

You can stream the album at Metal Insider here.

GHOST WILL MISS THE ENSLAVED NORTH-AM TOUR

 Metal News  10 Responses »
Sep 102011
 

For me, Enslaved’s 20th Anniversary North American tour with Ghost and Alcest is one of the high spots of this fall. Enslaved is very high on my list of bands to see who I’ve never seen before, and Ghost and Alcest are also bands whose music I like quite a bit and would love to see in the flesh. I suspect lots of you have been excited about this tour, too.

However, as I was checking my Facebook news stream this morning I saw this cryptic post by Enslaved on their wall: “We’re working on a replacement and will of course keep you posted. Still – we’re looking forward to celebrating our 20th anniversary with you! Working on the setlist… Suggestions?” At first I thought maybe someone in Enslaved had left the band. And then I saw this post on Ghost’s Facebook wall, which appeared in my news stream:

“Due to some last minute complications with our visas, we have been forced to cancel our North American tour. We are sorry towards the other bands on the tour, Enslaved and Alcest. And we are most of all tremendously sorry towards all of our fans. This is truly beyond our control and we are making everything within our (His) powers to be able to come back to the US as soon as possible and perform for all of you.

Our most malicious of wishes,
/A Nameless Ghoul”

What sucky news. Yet it seems things like this happen on a weekly basis — European bands being denied visas by the U.S. government, screwing up long-planned tours. I haven’t investigated why this happens so often, or why in particular it happened to Ghost. Maybe I will. Or maybe I’ll just mope. Perhaps there’s a silver lining to this cloud — the addition of a replacement for Ghost who will be an even more awesome addition to the line-up? Check the tour dates after the jump. Continue reading »

IN THE NEWS AND IN YOUR EARS: BLACK TUSK, GODSIC, THE CROWN, DREAMING DEAD, AND AMON AMARTH

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Sep 102011
 

Yesterday my fucking day job actually demanded that I work instead of blog. Amazingly harsh that they actually expected me to do something I’m being paid to do. How fucking medieval! The result is that this round-up of news and new music is appearing a day later than it should have. Like hemorroids and lung cancer, these things happen.

Despite a waning of some of the excitement that comes with being first and fast out of the shute, and instead being late and resigning yourself to watching the buttholes of all the other horses that got the jump on you, I’m forging ahead anyway, waiting for that massive kick around the last turn that will leave the buttholes in the dust.

BLACK TUSK

Yeah, the black fucking tusk, with the John Dyer Baizley cover (above) for their new album, Set the Dial. This Savannah band’s 2010 album, Taste the Sin, was one we liked and wrote about last year (here), so we’ve been waiting for a taste of the newness, which we got yesterday. It’s a new song called “Bring Me Darkness”, which coincidentally is my order of choice at the bars I frequent. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

IN THE NEWS AND IN YOUR EARS: KRISIUN, FINNTROLL, AND HOUR OF PENANCE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  11 Responses »
Sep 082011
 

I doubt I’ll be able to continue doing this on a regular basis, but for the third day in a row, here’s a round-up of news I saw and music I heard today that I thought were worth sharing.

KRISIUN

It’s been three years since Krisiun released Southern Storm, and that’s far too long to wait for another slab of death metal bestiality from these Brazilian kings of the genre. Today’s wonderful news is that Krisiun will be releasing their eighth studio album, The Great Execution, on October 31 in Europe and November 1 in North America via Century Media Records.

A press release explains that the album “musically expands Krisiun’s trademark high-speed death metal violence with a heavily increased amount of diversity ranging from extreme tempo variations over distinct rhythm patterns to clean guitars and even Flamenco parts!” In addition, “Krisiun only used analog gear and instruments this time to avoid the compressed sound that so many musicians produce today. This wise decision resulted in a more organic sound, with the songs on The Great Execution possessing both warmth and rawness, which are so often lost through digital production. The low end is deeper, with drums that pound instead of bounce and guitar tones that sear rather than hiss.”

That just sounds fuckin’ peachy, don’t it? And what about that album art up above, by by Japanese artist Toshihiro Egawa (Suicide Silence, Heaven Shall Burn, Devourment, Dying Fetus)? Metal As Fuck.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

IN THE NEWS AND IN YOUR EARS: THY CATAFALQUE, HYPOCRISY, AGALLOCH, AND RYE WOLVES

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Sep 072011
 

Here’s another daily round-up of news and new music that I noticed today. All of these items perked me right up, so I thought I’d share them.

THY CATAFALQUE

Compared to other metal blogs, we’re late to the Thy Catafalque party, but we’re making up for lost time because the unique music of this Hungarian band has been a cool discovery (you can see our first post about them here).  We knew that the band had recently signed with the dependable Season of Mist label, but this morning we got a message from Tamás Kátai with further details.

Specifically, the band seems to have finished 60 minutes worth of new music (10 songs) that will be released on November 11 in Europe and on January 10, 2012 in North America. It will be entitled Rengeteg, and you can see the cover art up above, which is the result of a collaboration between Tamás and Portuguese photographer Ruy Luz. The art seems connected to the meaning of the album’s title, which is an obsolete Hungarian word referring to a vast, trackless forest. We’ll be all ears when this album becomes available for listening.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

THE METAL SUCKFEST: ANOTHER UPDATE

 Metal News  4 Responses »
Sep 072011
 

Yes, we are pimping the MetalSucks-sponsored METAL SUCKFEST again. When another metal blog succeeds in pulling off something this good, we will pimp the shit out of that, too.

Seriously, get a load of the almost-fully-revealed lineup for this show, which will be held in New York City on November 4 and 5. There are still 4 bands yet to be announced, and I’m already blown away by who’s appearing. There’s tremendous variety in the metal that will be on display, and the announced bands include some of my current favorites in the world of metal, including Today is the Day, Howl, Black Tusk, Magrudergrind, Obscura, The Red Chord, and Scale the Summit — and I don’t mean to imply that the others are only tolerable.

I have to make special mention of A Life Once Lost. There was a time, back when metalcore was a thing, when I would go for days without listening to anything but A Life Once Lost, and I’m usually the sort of listener that constantly flits from one band to the next when I’m in listening mode. I was massively disappointed when it appeared ALOL had broken up, and super-happy when I found out last year that they were back and working on new music. The latest word is that a new album will be coming in 2012 — the first since 2007’s Iron Gag. I would dearly love to see them at the SUCKFEST. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

NCS T-SHIRT UPDATE

 IQ Subtraction, Metal News  11 Responses »
Sep 062011
 

Let’s see now, it was August 7 when we decided to give away NCS t-shirts featuring the eye-catching Dan Arena poster for our fictitious FUCKING GOOD PANCAKE TOUR. Once we had that idea, we jumped on it faster than the crack of a bullwhip, speedier than a bullet fired from a high-powered rifle, so fast that if we’d been flying we’d have created a sonic boom.

Okay, maybe that’s exaggerating just a bit. We actually moved on the idea more like this:

But, we’ve actually made real progress. (more after the  jump . . .) Continue reading »

ABSU PREMIERES A NEW SONG

 Metal News  4 Responses »
Sep 062011
 

Last Thursday, we published BadWolf’s review of Abzu, the next album from Absu. Judging from our internet stats on BadWolf’s post, a lot of people seem to be anxiously awaiting this album, and very interested in hearing what it has to offer. Well, now you can have your first taste of Abzu.

Pitchfork Media, whose audience is somewhat bigger than our own, sort of in the way that Goliath is somewhat bigger than Bambi, was selected to premiere “Abraxas Connexus”, and that song is now streaming RIGHT HERE.

The song is also now available for download via iTunes as a single at this location.

That is all.

CSR COMP

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Sep 032011
 

Clean State Records is a label based in Australia that focuses on independent artists. To help promote new artists and their music and to help fund CSR’s own activities, the label periodically releases compilation albums, and the latest (G Force: Stick It To the Man) became available yesterday. What attracted me to this comp was the presence of a track from Reclusive Forest Council, which is one of the many music projects of Ray Heberer, a talented young musician from Taiwan who’s a friend of this site and who we’ve featured here before.

I suppose like most comps, this one is a mixed bag, at least for my tastes. It includes some melodic metalcore, some latter-day nu-metal, and some deathcore that didn’t do much for me, but the majority of the tracks were interesting and showed an impressive array of budding talent.

At the top of the list of songs worth having is the one from Reclusive Forest Council, “Romanticized Reality”. It’s an instrumental track that’s full-to-bursting with stylistic variety — pneumatic power chords, epic keyboard ambience, guitar solos that move from soulful to shred in the blink of an eye, a jazzy Mellotron-ish outro, and more. It’s almost like a medley of the different kinds of music that Ray has been exploring, and it showcases some of what he’s capable of doing. Good stuff that stands up to repeat listening.

Running down the list of other songs on the comp that I like, the next one is from another band we’ve featured here — Kakuna Vs Metapod. The song is “Slurry Dogs”, which happens to be the one we included in our original post about the band. To crib from what I wrote about it then: “It’s got mean-as-fuck drumming, automatic-weapon-style riffing, electronica, little bursts of catchy melody, about four different vocal styles, blasts of sonic mayhem — and bass drops.” There was a big novelty factor at work when I first heard it, but the song is still tons of fun to hear. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

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