BLOOD AND THUNDER

 Concert Reviews, Metal News  9 Responses »
May 302010
 

Two nights ago, one of my NCS collaborators (Alexis) and I hit Studio Seven in Seattle for Dark Tranquillity‘s headlining We Are the Void Tour. Along with Threat Signal and Mutiny Within, the night also featured an opening performance by a Seattle band called Blood and Thunder. We’ll be posting our review of the entire show tomorrow, but we decided it was time to focus on Blood and Thunder in a way that the typical format of our concert reviews doesn’t really allow.

The two main draws for us at this show were, of course, Dark Tranquillity (who were cosmically awesome) — and the band we’re writing about today. We’d seen them for the first time a month ago when they opened for The Finnish Metal Tour on its Seattle stop (reviewed by us here), and we were super-impressed. Now that we’ve had the chance to see and hear them a second time, we’re even more blown away.

The local Seattle metal scene has a growing number of talented bands that we predict you’ll be hearing a lot more about in the near future, but Blood and Thunder may just be the best un-signed extreme metal band in Seattle.

We spent time talking with some of the guys after their set at Studio Seven. In addition to being superb songwriters and musicians, they’re as nice a bunch of metalheads as you could want to meet, and they were patient enough to pose for some photos outside the venue (like the one above and a few more after the jump). But they’re also dead serious and very intelligent in the way they’re going about trying to make a name for themselves in this overcrowded niche of music. It was an eye-opening conversation for us.

(Continue reading after the jump for our report on that conversation, our review of Blood and Thunder’s set, and a big batch of our barely tolerable concert photos of this band in action . . .) Continue reading »

EYE-CATCHERS (Part 3)

 Album Reviews, Eye-Catchers, Metal News  6 Responses »
May 292010
 

If you’ve been visiting this site regularly, you know that we’re suckers for cool album art. In fact, we’ve been engaged in an experiment, off and on, to test the completely illogical hypothesis that if album art is eye-catching, there’s usually something about the music that’s worthwhile, too. You can see our last test cases here and here.

Today’s example is that mind-bending motherfucker up above. The art is by Kenneth Fairclough, whose MySpace page is at this location. It’s the cover for the first EP of a New York metal band named FXZero.

It seems to be a twist on iconic images of the Madonna and Child, except this conception wasn’t immaculate and Mary don’t look too thrilled about daddy’s visitation, or about the offspring of their not-so-blessed union. Looks like the rest of the world isn’t too happy about the visit either, given the destruction that surrounds this bizarre trio. The beret is a nice touch, too.

This thing is so eye-catchingly strange that it’s worth a closer look. Let’s blow up part of this image. Bigger is better, right?  (after the jump . . . and we’ll get to the music, too) Continue reading »

70,000 TONS OF METAL (Another Update)

 Metal News  5 Responses »
May 272010
 

More than a month has passed since we posted our last update about the 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise, and we figured it was time to check in again.

Since our last update, Exodus, Forbidden, and Testament have signed on. That’s a heavyweight injection of Bay Area thrash into this floating festival (we’ll give you the complete current line-up of 18 bands after the jump). Plus, in related news, the Swedes have gotten in on the act by putting together their own metal cruise (more on that after the jump too).

If you don’t know what this cruise is, we’ll fill you in: The organizers have chartered a cruise ship (Royal Caribbean’s “Majesty of the Seas”) capable of carrying 40 metal bands (which means they’re still targeting 22 more bands to fill out the line-up) and 2,000 fans, departing Miami on January 24, 2011 for a 5-day, 4-night cruise in the Caribbean, including a stop at the Mexican island of Cozumel.

The 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise has got great potential — both good and bad. It could be a truly awesome experience. It could also be a clusterfuck of cosmic proportions. And there’s no way to know which it will be until that cruise ship limps back into port, probably on fire, at the end of the voyage.

We’ve got some thoughts about what could make it orgasmically good, and what could make it suck big-time. But we’d bet the farm that unless Royal Caribbean is run by metalheads (not likely), they have no fucking idea what they’re about to get themselves into, and that increases the risk of suckage.  (more thoughts, and other related stuff, after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

“THRASH AND BURN” TOUR — LINEUP ANNOUNCED

 Metal News  14 Responses »
May 262010
 

If you live in the U.S. and you’re like us, you’ve been keeping your eye out for news about the 2010 North American installment of the THRASH AND BURN TOUR — because previous versions of that tour have been pretty decent.

Well, we’ve got some breaking news. The identity of the bands on the tour have now been announced — and the co-headlining acts are Born of Osiris and Asking Alexandria.  The full line-up comes after the jump, with a few more tidbits of info . . .

[UPDATE: The dates, cities, and venues for this tour have now been released — and we’ve added those after the jump, too . . .] Continue reading »

MUSICA DIABLO

 Album Reviews, Metal News  4 Responses »
May 242010
 

Musica Diablo is a relatively new band based in São Paulo, Brazil, with a self-titled debut album due for release on May 28. Three things grabbed our attention. First, the band’s vocalist is Derrick Green, who’s been the frontman for Sepultura since 1997.  Second, the band describes its music as “extreme fast thrash metal, with with the characteristic Brazilian style and a strong root into the 80’s veteran veterans.” Third, the forthcoming album features a cool cover (above) by Gustavo Sazes, who has also done album art for Arch Enemy, God Forbid, and Old Man’s Child.

That was enough to draw our attention to the music. We’ve been listening, and let’s just say it will kick your ass all the way up to your shoulder-blades. The music is blistering in its intensity and speed and features some cool dueling guitar solos — and Derrick Green’s raspy howls and guttural growls are skull-scrapingly vicious.

Musica Diablo was started by guitarist Andre NM (of Brazilian hardcore band Nitrominds) in early 2008, and the rest of the line-up consists of drummer Edu Nicollini (also of Nitrominds),  second guitarist André Curci (Korzus, Threat), and bassist Ricardo Brigas.  The band’s new album is currently streaming in its entirety at a Brazilian internet site called Radio UOL, which you can find at this location.

But you don’t have to go there just yet, because after the jump, we’ve got a widget that will allow you to listen to five of the album’s 11 songs right here at the NCS site. Seriously, you owe it to yourself to check this shit out.  (more after the jump .  .  .) Continue reading »

CAMERON ARGON – BURNING THE MASSES (UPDATE)

 Interviews, Metal News  10 Responses »
May 212010
 

Back in mid-February, we enthusiastically reported the blessed union of the remarkable Cameron (“Big Chocolate”) Argon and the also-remarkable San Diego death-metal band, Burning the Masses.

The exciting news back then was that Argon was joining BTM as its vocalist, adding his talents not only to the recording of BTM’s next album but also joining the band for an ass-kicking European tour with Suffocation, Annotations of An Autopsy, Nervecell, and Fleshgod Apocalypse. We called it “A Marriage Made in Hell,” because, you know, all involved are hella good.

You can read that extended report, which included an interview with Cam Argon, at this location.

Cam did indeed join BTM, he did indeed track the vocals on the band’s forthcoming release, Offspring of Time (which is scheduled for a July 20 release on Mediaskare Records), and he did indeed front the band on that European tour.

But on May 18, he put up a blog post stating that he would not be performing with BTM on the band’s 3-month, nationwide summer tour — which began the next day. We got in touch with Cam to get more details, and his answers to our questions appear after the jump.

If you’re a fan of Big Chocolate, Burning the Masses, Suicide Silence, Disfiguring the Goddess, or Abominable Putridity, you’ll want to read what he had to say because he touches on all those projects. And if you don’t know what we’re talking about, it’s time you found out!  Oh yeah, Cam also talks about a mysterious new musical collaboration he’s got going on with Mitch Lucker of Suicide Silence (continue after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

GRAVE — NEW SONG UP

 Metal News  No Responses »
May 192010
 

Swedish death-metal legends Grave made an indelible mark on the development of the genre with the 1991 release of their now-classic debut, Into the Grave. After a hiatus in the late 90s, Grave regrouped and starting releasing new albums beginning in 2002 — one about every two years. The last release was 2008’s Dominion VIII.

So, let’s see, that was two years ago.  That must mean it’s time for a new Grave album! And sho nuff, it’s coming out on June 14 via Regain Records. It will be called Burial Ground. It will undoubtedly be awesome.

And today, Grave have posted a track from that album called “Liberation” on their MySpace music player. It whines and grinds and howls and pounds. It’s the classic Grave sound, on speed. Limber up your neck muscles and check out that song at this location.

MORE HOUR OF PENANCE NEWS

 Metal News  1 Response »
May 192010
 

We knew Rome’s Hour of Penance had legions of devoted fans around the world (including us), but we found out the hard way just how devoted they are.

Last week, we reported the bad news about what happened at their show in Alicante, Spain not long ago. In a nutshell, the band’s drummer Mauro Mercurio was unable to play on stage (apparently due to being too fucked up) and had destroyed or damaged property at the venue, resulting in detention by Spanish police. That led Hour of Penance to cancel the remaining dates on their European tour. And then the next day we reported the even more depressing news that vocalist Francesco Paoli had decided to leave the band as a result of the Alicante incident, and we posted his explanation.

Those two posts received an absolute flood of hits from across the interwebz — and it’s still happening a week later. We’re clearly not alone in being depressed over the disintegration of this amazingly good modern death-metal band, whose 2010 album Paradogma has been one of our favorite releases of the year to date. So, at the risk of appearing morbidly fixated on these depressing developments, we’re serving up some additional details today — including the possibility that reports of the band’s death may be premature.

The further details come from another blog entry by Francesco Paoli (whose other band, Fleshgod Apocalypse, has a new album (Mafia) due for release in the U.S. on June 8). In his latest message, Francesco tries to set the record straight with some clarifications. It turns out that he had made the decision to leave Hour of Penance before the incident in Alicante, in part because Mercurio’s college career was interfering with HOP’s ability to schedule live performances and in part because Francesco was finding it increasingly difficult to juggle his roles in two increasingly active bands at the same time.

Of course, Francesco had not planned to leave HOP as abruptly as he did — that was the result of what happened in Spain — but he says his friendship with HOP’s guitarist Giulio Moschini and bassist Silvano Leone remains strong (apparently not so strong with Mercurio), and that he will be “happy to cooperate” with them in the future if they decide to go forward with Hour of Penance.  We’re not sure exactly what that means, but it sounds like a willingness to be part of a re-formed HOP if Moschini and Leone replace Mercurio. He definitely won’t be easy to replace — the dude is an amazing drummer — but HOP may not be dead after all.

After the jump, we’ll show you Francesco’s latest post in its entirety. Continue reading »

SOULFLY STREAMING

 Metal News  2 Responses »
May 182010
 

We haven’t been huge fans of the music produced in the past by Soulfly, the band that Max Cavalera started after leaving Sepultura in 1996. But Soulfly’s new album Omen (due for a May 25 release on Roadrunner) is currently streaming in its entirety, and we’ve been listening.  Rather than try to describe it today, let’s just say it’s sick — and let you hear it for yourselves, for as long as this stream lasts (to get to the music player, which starts playing automatically, move on after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

SOILWORK – NEW SONG UP

 Metal News  No Responses »
May 172010
 

The three of us responsible for this site follow Soilwork like a pack of hungry dogs after a meat wagon. We’re anxious for their new album, The Panic Broadcast (due on July 2 in Europe and on July 13 in America). We’re anxious for their appearance in Seattle on July 27 along with Death Angel, Augury, Mutiny Within, and Swashbuckle.

Basically, we’re just anxious. But to calm our over-charged nerves, Soilwork has just put up a new song from The Panic Broadcast on its MySpace page. It’s called “Two Lives Worth of Reckoning,” and it reminds us why we think Soilwork kicks all kinds of ass — galloping, howling metal infused with an infectious melodic chorus.

The Panic Broadcast is the first album to feature original guitarist, songwriter and producer Peter Wichers since his return to the band in 2008. And man, based on “Two Lives Worth of Reckoning,” he sounds like he’s in fine form.

Go here to stream that track. And check out the album cover above. Created by Bartosz Nalezinski, it kicks all kinds of ass, too.

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