DARKANE UPDATE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Aug 092011
 

How many Darkane fans do we have in the audience? Well, let’s see, I can count at least two — myself and Israel Flanders, who tipped me to this bit of recent news that I missed. It will actually be fairly significant news to long-time fans of this Swedish band.

Darkane’s debut album, Rusted Angel, issued in 1999, with vocals provided by one Lawrence Mackrory. But by the time the band released their second album, 2001’s Insanity, Mackrory was gone and Andreas Sydow was in. Two more albums followed with Sydow behind the mic, and then 2008 saw the release of the band’s latest album, Demonic Art, with yet another new vocalist, Jens Broman.

Last week, it was announced that Broman has decided to leave, and guess who his replacement is? Yes, Darkane have come full circle, back to Lawrence Mackrory. Since his departure from the band, he has been the vocalist for another Swedish outfit called F.K.U. (for whom he’ll continue to be a member) as well as the vocalist for Scarve (France) since 2009. He will be making his live comeback with Darkane on September 20 in Strasbourg, France at the opening show of the band’s headlining European tour, with support provided by Destinity and Devastating Enemy.

When you’ve been away from a band for roughly 13 years and are about to rejoin them for a big tour, what do you do? Well yes, you fucken rehearse. And as it happens, Darkane have released a video of the new Darkane rehearsing two songs from their discography — “Fading Dimensions” from Layers of Lies (2005) and yes, a throwback to Rusted Angel, “July 1999”. Mackrory has got a versatile voice, which you’ll get a sense of on this video. I presume we’ll get more evidence of that in the near future, since Darkane also reports they’re working on a new album. For now, check out the video after the jump. Darkane’s facebook page is here. Continue reading »

MORS SUBITA PUTS ANOTHER HOLE IN MY HEAD (AND A SMILE ON MY FACE)

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  11 Responses »
Aug 082011
 

We stumbled across a terrific unsigned Finnish band called Mors Subita at the end of May. They had just released an official video for a song called “The Sermon” from their debut album (then unreleased) called Human Waste Compression. I was so damned taken prisoner by the song that I immediately posted about it (here).

Turns out that I wasn’t the only one taken by the music. This morning, Violent Journey Records announced the signing of Mors Subita and an official release date for Human Waste Compression: September 21. I have to admit, it was cool to see words from our earlier post quoted in the Violent Journey release. But I would have been very happy for these dudes anyway.

As icing on all this good pancake, I also discovered that last Friday the band released an official video for a second song from the new album, called “Burden”. I like the song as much, maybe even more, than “The Sermon”. It’s yet another heavy-grooved blast of compulsive rhythms and catchy melody that punched another hole right through my head. It was really fucken tough to resist headbanging, but I was afraid something would come out through the holes if I did.

Check out Mors Subita’s latest sonic missile after the jump, and start counting the days until Sept 21. Suomi perkele! Continue reading »

WE SPONSOR OUR FIRST TOUR! GET EXCITE!

 IQ Subtraction, Metal News  22 Responses »
Aug 072011
 

Here’s the news you’ve all been waiting for . . .

Sponsoring tours is old hat to big-boy metal sites like MetalSucks, but it’s a dream come true for us. We are so fucking proud to announce the first-ever NCS-sponsored nationwide metal tour, which kicks off on September 1 — and man, have we lined up some radical acts for this baby. It’s like a dream line-up for us, headlined by the awesome, penetrating extremity that is Massive Wall of Penis.

Some of these names may not be as familiar to you as MWOP, but trust us, from top to bottom, this bill is as strong as a big, stiff . . . uh . . . thing of stiffness. We’ve got those masters of old-school Swe-death, Thor’s Uterus. We’ve got the dominatrix-fronted grind of Trollcock Fetish. We’ve got the tentacle-metal of Raging Hectocotylus (the actual multi-orifice penetration on stage is not to be missed).

And let’s not forget about the brutal death metal served up by the inimitable Putrid Fugue, who refuse to bathe beginning a month before a tour starts until a month after it ends and eat nothing but cold canned chili on the road. Fans have been known to faint from the stench when these dudes take the stage!

We’ve also got that demented Pink Floyd cover band, Dildo Resin. If you haven’t heard their tech-death take on “Dark Side of the Moon”, you’re in for a fucken treat. And to get these shows off on the right foot, we’ve scored Cephalopodic Sperm Packets as the opening act, with their namesake fluid sound of dank, sticky, Neurosis-style sludge and their projectile fluid canisters to get the moshpit good and lubed up for the remaining acts.

Trust us, this tour will blow your shit away. Check the schedule after the jump to find the tour stop nearest you. Continue reading »

GIANT SQUID

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Aug 052011
 

Our metallic bro BadWolf e-mailed me late yesterday with news that NorCal’s Giant Squid has a new album on the way, with a new song posted for streaming. On the one hand, Giant Squid’s music isn’t my usual kind of thing. If you amalgamated various genre tags that the band itself uses, I think that would be a fair description: post-metal-art-doom-rock-sludge. I also have trouble with Aaron John Gregory’s quirky, high-pitched, occasionally screechy style of clean singing.

On the other hand, the music on the band’s last album (the only one I’ve heard) — The Ichthyologist — was original, unpredictable, and uninhibited, and I can respect that, even if it hasn’t seen many plays on my iPod. Plus, I do like the band’s use of down-tuned sludge-chords in juxtaposition with airier melodies. Plus, there’s that album cover for the new one, Cenotes, which is due for release on October 25 on Translation Loss Records. Fucking great, weird piece of art, also created by Aaron John Gregory. Plus, we’ve already gone off our usual beaten path today with that deathstep thing.

After the jump, you’ll find a player that will stream the first song to be released from Cenotes, “Figura Serpentinata (Pycnopodia sapien)”. The track list for the new album, plus streams of the band’s previous discography can be found at their Bandcamp page or their facebook. Continue reading »

BE STILL MY BEATING HEART: DECAPITATED, DECREPIT BIRTH, AND FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE ON TOUR!

 Metal News  27 Responses »
Aug 032011
 

I just saw the news about a new tour beginning at the end of September, and I was so excited it nearly gave me heart failure. Our friends at MetalSucks are sponsoring the 2011 CARNIVAL IS FOREVER NORTH AMERICAN TOUR, headlined by Decapitated and including Decrepit Birth, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Rings of Saturn, and The Haarp Machine.

For my tastes, that is just a stupendously strong line-up. Though I haven’t yet heard The Haarp Machine, I will now hunt down their music with interest, and as for the rest of the bands, well I’m not going to make reference to boners or cum because that would be inconsistent with my previously expressed opinions on the use of such words in metal writing. I will just say that something wet has happened and I am unable to stand up.

After the jump you can see the schedule. I believe it is a fine schedule, because it includes a stop in Seattle. Continue reading »

BOW DOWN BEFORE THE SOUTHERN LORD AND THE POWER OF THE RIFF

 Metal News  22 Responses »
Aug 022011
 

NCS just received a press release that was an attention-grabber, so we’re wasting no time trying to grab your attention, too. The Southern Lord record label is promoting a series of five West Coast shows later this month involving the label’s artists, and to help promote those events Southern Lord has made a mixtape available for free download.  This is an interesting collection of music that includes bands we know and like and others we’ve been interested in checking out for the first time. Here’s what’s included in the comp:

THE POWER OF THE RIFF 2011 Mix Tape:

01 ALL PIGS MUST DIE “Pulverization”
02 BAPTISTS “Good Parenting”
03 EYEHATEGOD “Jack Ass in the Will of God”
04 MASAKARI “Trapped In The Mold”
05 ALPINIST “Hak Nam”
06 SKIN LIKE IRON “Consequences”
07 EARLY GRAVES “Wraiths”
08 SEVEN SISTERS OF SLEEP “Sundown”
09 PENTAGRAM “Call The Man”
10 BLACK BREATH “Children Of The Horn”
11 PLAGUES “Breathing”
12 HARASSOR “Glory Raped”
13 ACEPHALIX “Interminable Night”
14 BLACK COBRA “Negative Reversal”
15 ÆGES “Roaches”
16 SLAVE “Rise Of Shame”
17 TRAP THEM “Carnage Incarnate”
18 NOOTHGRUSH “Oil Removed”
19 PELICAN “Strung Up From The Sky”
20 WINTER “Eternal Frost”

After the jump, we’ll pass along the download link, plus the current schedule of those Power of the Riff west coast shows. Continue reading »

NEW SONGS AND ART FROM SKELETONWITCH AND ACHREN

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Aug 022011
 

Is that a fucking awesome album cover or what? It’s by Andrei Bouzikov (Municipal Waste, Holy Grail, Cannabis Corpse) and it appears on the forthcoming release by Ohio’s Skeletonwitch, who are themselves awesome. Mr. Bouzikov also contributed the cover art for the band’s 2009 release, Breathing The Fire.

The new Witch album, Forever Abomination, won’t be out until October, but the teasing and the tempting have already begun with the unveiling of a song from the album called “The Infernal Resurrection”, which you can hear after the jump. As for how long you have to wait, here’s the release schedule for the album:

Mainland Europe: October 7
United Kingdom: October 10
North America: October 11
Japan: October 19

Pre-orders for the album are being accepted now, and there are some mighty sweet bundles being offered, which apparently will be limited to the pre-orders and will cease being available once the official release has occurred. More about that after the jump . . . plus we also have a killer new song and album art from a Scottish band we’ve featured at NCS before — Achren. Continue reading »

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE FULL-ALBUM PREVIEWS NOW AVAILABLE; SEE NCS BANNER SUBHEADING

 Metal News  42 Responses »
Jul 252011
 

Let’s see, this makes today’s fifth post, so it will be brief. You can now go to iTunes (at least in the U.S.) and hear 1:30 previews of each song on the new album (Agony) from Fleshgod Apocalypse. Yes, a minute and a half from each track, including the iTunes bonus track called “Heartwork”.

For the world at large, less than two weeks remain before the arrival of the official August 9 album release date. I, on the other hand, am now less than 24 hours away from getting my very own physical copy, because FA is selling these little jewels at their SUMMER SLAUGHTER merch table, and SUMMER SLAUGHTER will be in Seattle tomorrow, and I will be there.

It’s a good thing I am being brief, because brevity prevents me from becoming even more obnoxious.

P.S. For those of you who have been wading through all my many posts today from the beginning, you might be interested to see this comment left by a fan of Blastanus on the band’s Facebook page about our review of the new album: “naulan kantaan, vitun hyvä lätty :)”  Not understanding Finnish, I used Google Translate, which provided this rendition of the comment in English: “nail on the head, fucking good pancake :)”

P.P.S. The chance to write a headline like this doesn’t come around very often, but some lucky bastard at Blabbermouth penned this one a few minutes ago: “MEGADETH’S ELLEFSON: ‘I Miss Physically Being Able To Hold A 12-Inch In My Hand'”. And no, I couldn’t bring myself to watch the accompanying video interview to find out what he was talking about. Laughing too hard.

ART, AND A SONG

 Metal News  6 Responses »
Jul 252011
 

Two new works of album art caught my eye today, and I thought I’d pass them around. Also, a bit earlier  this afternoon a song began streaming from a band about which I’ve been very curious, because it includes ex-In Flames guitarist and band co-founder Jesper Strömblad, plus veterans of many other bands. So we’ll finish off this post by listening to that song from The Resistance. Evil corporate overlords have forced the removal of that Mastodon song we posted earlier today, so we have to replace it with something, right?

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM

The first piece of album art disclosed today is the cover for Celestial Lineage, the fourth album from Washington’s own Wolves in the Throne Room. The album by these American black metal heavyweights will be released on September 13 by Southern Lord Records. The artwork was created by photographic artist Alison Scarpulla. In concept, it joins the album with its two predecessors, Two Hunters and Black Cascade.

Don’t let the natural setting of the cover image fool you, though. Although WITTR’s music is inspired by mystical thought and by the unique natural setting of the Pacific Northwest, I think it’s safe to assume this won’t be the kind of music embraced by your average plaid-shirted tree-hugger. Expect a flood-tide of eviscerating power.

After the jump, we’ve got the track listing as well as tour dates for WITTR, plus a striking Travis Smith album cover for the latest offering from a band called Redemption — plus that song. Continue reading »

TWO NEWS ITEMS ABOUT MESHUGGAH AND ENSLAVED, AND TWO SONGS TO HEAR WHILE YOU MOPE ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE DON’T HAVE ANY NEW MESHUGGAH OR ENSLAVED MUSIC TO ACCOMPANY THE NEWS ITEMS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Jul 252011
 

I have this compulsion to deliver music in our posts. Possibly it derives from a subconscious insecurity about my writing, but at least I tell myself that it’s because this is a music blog, and so there should be music. All the fucking time. This is why we so rarely post about news items that we can’t accompany with the music that’s the subject of the news. But this time, I’m making an exception, because the bands are pretty damned special: Meshuggah and Enslaved.

On the other hand, I can’t get rid of that compulsion, so I’m throwing in some music, too. The songs aren’t from Meshuggah or Enslaved (sigh), but they’re new and they’re good, so there’s that. The first track is from the new album by Cipher System (Sweden), and you can download it for free if you like what you hear. The fetching album cover by Seth Siro Anton (Septic Flesh) is up above. The second song is from another Swedish band, Apostasy.

MESHUGGAH

Guitar World magazine recently conducted an interview with Meshuggah guitarist extraordinaire Fredrik Thordendal. When asked about whether Meshuggah has been working on new music and if he has any new gear he is using, he said, “Yes, we are working on a new album and have been for a long time. I’m so excited about this one. We’ve always tried to change how we write songs to keep it exciting, but on recent albums we’ve also been moving further away from working together as a band. On this album, though, everyone is working together. Every day that we’re in the studio, we’ll play whatever song we’re working on, record a demo version of it to analyze at home, and then come back the next day, talk about it and try to make it better. I think because of this, it’s going to be our best album yet.” (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

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