AN NCS PREMIERE: AS THE WORLD DIES — “THE TEMPEST”

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Feb 042022
 

 

A glance at the line-up of As the World Dies, which includes members of Memoriam, Massacre, and Pemphigoid, creates high expectations very quickly, as do comparative references in the promotional press to the likes of Bolt Thrower and Grave, as well as other legendary bands in the pantheon of UK death metal. But their debut album Agonist, which will be released by Transcending Obscurity on March 25th, makes clear that they have their own distinctive approach despite the presence of these well-known influences.

Yes, the music is crushing, like a bulldozer or a battering ram, and compellingly ferocious, but while As the World Dies are formidably capable of inflicting brute-force physical trauma, they’re equally skilled at effectively evoking dire and distressing moods, and simultaneously casting unearthly spells. The song we’re premiering today — “The Tempest” — is a prime example of these talents. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: VÉHÉMENCE — “AU BLASON BRÛLÉ”

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Feb 042022
 

The second album by the French medieval black metal band Véhémence, 2019’s Par le Sang Versé, was a stunner. It was one of the most thoroughly entrancing and gloriously vibrant metal albums this writer had heard in years, regardless of sub-genre. It embraced ancient folk traditions and hurled them forward into the modern age, but without letting go of the intense devotion to the centuries-old well-springs of inspiration that gave birth to the record. I thought it would be impossible not to be moved in some significant degree by the fervency of its music, and likely that most listeners would simply be swept aloft and carried away, as I was.

How would Véhémence even equal, much less exceed, such a rare and marvelously multi-faceted achievement? In about one month everyone will find out whether they have done so, because on March 8th Antiq Records will release a new Véhémence album named Ordalies. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: PESTILENGTH — “TAMM”

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Feb 032022
 

 

We were late in discovering the ruinous and mind-boggling talents of Pestilength from the Basque Country of Spain, having overlooked the slew of EPs and singles with which they began their career, but their 2020 debut album Eilatik changed all that. It was so eye-opening, as was the band’s Apore Flesh EP and their split with Mexico’s Reverence to Paroxysm, both of which were also released in 2020, that we’ve been hungry for the next album — and now we have it.

This new eight-song record is named Basom Gryphos, and it will be released on March 7th in a variety of formats by Nuclear Winter Records in collaboration with Sentient Ruin and Goat Throne, accompanied by the chilling cover art of Namurian Visions that’s emblazoned at the top of this post.

One track from Basom Gryphos has already emerged, and today we present another, the name of which is “Tamm“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: RITUAL NECROMANCY — “ENTER THE DEPTHS (CODA)”

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Feb 032022
 

 

On February 25th Everlasting Spew will release a split between two monstrously formidable death metal bands, Brazil’s Fossilization and Oregon-based Ritual Necromancy. One of Fossilization‘s two tracks on the split has already been revealed, and today we present an excerpt from Ritual Necromancy‘s long single song, “Enter the Depths“.

It’s likely that most of our visitors are already well aware of Ritual Necromancy‘s blood-congealing and exhilarating powers. With a well-experienced line-up that includes members of Rites of Thy Degringolade, Ascended Dead, Bloodsoaked, Decrepisy, Lord Gore, and more, the band have released two albums (2011’s Oath of the Abyss and 2018’s Disinterred Horror) and an EP (2014’s Void Manifest), which have propelled them into tours of Europe as well as the U.S. This new split is another timely demonstration of their hideous talents. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): THEOMACHIA — “THE THEOSOPHIST”

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Feb 022022
 

We are pleased to introduce you to an unusual black metal project from Rome. Born from the mind of instrumentalist/vocalist F.M., who is joined in the project by lyricist and visual artist I.G.Tataru, Theomachia crafts an idiosyncratic and mercurial style of music defined as “gnostic black metal”. As revealed through a debut EP named The Theosophist, it draws inspiration from such prominent Norwegian bands as Emperor and Ulver (as well as Sisters of Mercy), but undeniably marches to the beat of its own mad and mysterious drummer.

In its lyrical themes, The Theosophist poetically visits vast and daunting questions, building upon elements of Greek philosophy that range from Socrates to Neoplatonism. In its sounds, which change constantly within each of the EP’s three songs, it is both ceremonial and violent, haunting and harrowing, dismal and dazzling. It juxtaposes sharp and riveting contrasts, in the vocals as well as the instrumentation and melodies. The music is head-spinning and unsettling, and exerts a strange but strong grip on a listener’s attention.

On February 4th The Theosophist will be released on cassette tape by Xenoglossy Productions and on CD by Onism Productions, but you can explore it in full today through our premiere. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: LES CHANTS DU HASARD — “LES MILLIERS D’UNE FOIS”

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Feb 022022
 

 

Today we return to the spine-tingling musical world of Les Chants du Hasard, a world of imagination and extreme emotion that is simultaneously enthralling and frightening, seemingly connected to milieu of centuries past but may never have existed at all except in dreams — submersive and astonishing dreams that are both seductive and shuddering, haunting and breathtaking, daunting and fierce, and much more.

This solo project of Hazard has so far produced three albums that combine neoclassical bombast, gothic opera, and a blackened metal spirit, presented with lyrics that are astonishingly absorbing. The first two, Livre Premier (2017) and Livre Second (2019), were released by the distinctive I, Voidhanger Productions. The third, Livre Troisième, was self-released in the spring of last year.

From among the eight movements on that most recent album Les Chants du Hasard chose the fifth one — “Les Milliers D’une Fois” — to become the subject of a music video that we’re privileged to premiere today. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: FALL OF STASIS — “BAAL ARISE”

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Feb 012022
 

The Montreal band Fall Of Stasis originally formed in 2014 with the intention of creating original music that couldn’t be defined by a specific genre, and in that they surely succeeded, as abundantly demonstrated by their forthcoming debut album The Chronophagist which will be released on February 25th.

We’re told that all the band members bring different influences to the table, and that all of them had creative input into every song, resulting in considerable variation from track to track and a melding of styles that include death metal, black metal, prog, and folk metal.

Such an eclectic approach has its obvious benefits in terms of attracting and maintaining the interest of listeners, but it also means that a single song premiere isn’t likely to provide a completely representative snapshot of the 50-minute album as a whole. Nevertheless, a single song premiere is what we have for you today, and although it’s a compact offering, it still gives you vibrant hints of the band’s eclectic creativity. The name of the song is “Baal Arise” and it’s presented through a demonic lyric video. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DISFUNERAL — “ETERNAL”

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Feb 012022
 

Those French metal dudes up there look like they’re having fun, don’t they? But how are they having fun with their music?

You would have some idea if you caught their self-titled 2017 debut EP, which was a wild, slaughtering romp of d-beat-infused old school death metal, packed with heavyweight chainsawing riffs, neck-smacking drumwork, insane vocals, and soloing that was both berserk and psychedelic, but with a songwriting dynamism that also dragged the music into ghastly graveyard gruesomeness.

Redefining Darkness Records did catch that EP, and became obsessed with it (having finally heard it, we can understand why), to the point that the label had to sign Disfuneral for the release of their debut album Blood Red Tentacle on April 15th of this year. The EP really was tremendously good, and the song we’re premiering from the album today is a bright sign that the new album will be too. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: IDOL OF FEAR — “CHEIROTONIA”

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Jan 312022
 

 

The Canadian band Idol of Fear took their name from a quote in Ingmar Bergman’s 1957 movie Det Sjunde Inseglet (The Seventh Seal): “We must make an idol of our fear and that idol we shall call God.” They recorded a three-song demo in 2013, and followed that with two full-lengths, All Sights Affixed, Ablaze (2014) and Grave Aperture (2018). On March 11th, they will add to those with a third album via their own Somnolence Productions label. Its name is Trespasser.

The band believe it is their most powerful and cohesive album to date, and they anticipate that listeners will hear a clear progression from their previous work — and might be taken aback. They expect that it will come out of nowhere for many.

In addition to helping spread the word about the impending advent of this new full-length, we’re also providing a tangible sign of what it holds in story for listeners, through our premiere of a lyric video for a song called “Cheirotonia“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ULTRA SILVAM — “FÖRINTELSENS ANDEVÄSEN DEL II”

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Jan 312022
 

 

Seemingly out of nowhere, Ultra Silvam‘s 2019 debut album (The Spearwound Salvation) exploded my head and those of many other listeners like a drone strike on an ammunition depot. I immediately became an enthusiastic fan and ultimately put one of the album tracks on our list of 2019’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs (here).

And so it’s been a thrill to discover that these bloody-minded Swedes are returning with a follow-up full-length, which will be released in February on a multitude of formats by Shadow Records (distributed and marketed by Regain Records). Its name is The Sanctity of Death, and it’s even more dynamic and stylistically multi-faceted than its predecessor, but no less explosive, electrifying, or virally contagious. As a nova-like sign of all that, we give you the premiere stream of a delirious song with a mouthful of a title: “Förintelsens andeväsen del II: Den deicidala transsubstantiationens mysterium“. Continue reading »

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