AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: SOL SISTERE — “NOTHOFAGUS”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Jul 292021
 

 

Today we’re sharing the premiere of a lyric video for “Nothofagus“, a new song from the eagerly awaited third album by the Chilean atmospheric black metal band Sol Sistere. The album, which shares the band’s name, will be released on October 15th by the Cult of Parthenope label.

As you will discover, the music is stunning, though this should come as no surprise to those who have already experienced the band’s past works. It was inspired, the group tell us, by “the unique connection with nature that is generated in the ancestral forests of austral Patagonia”. The song describes, as they say, “the constant exploration of consciousness in the context of life among these primeval forests. It is also an ode to the millenary trees of the southernmost part of the planet that preceded us and will most likely outlive us”. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: WINDFAERER — “ASTRAL TEARS”

 Premieres  2 Responses »
Jul 282021
 

 

We’ve been following the momentous progress of the New Jersey black/folk metal band Windfaerer since early days, sprinkling our coverage (which began almost exactly nine years ago) with music premieres and increasingly elaborate and enthusiastic reviews of their accomplishments. It was thus a tremendous thrill to discover that Avantgarde Music would be releasing their new album, Breaths of Endless Dawns, and a no-brainer for us to accept the opportunity to premiere the new album’s first single — “Astral Tears“.

The band’s last album, 2018’s Alma, was (as we wrote) “a work of grand ambition and true passion, the band persistently driving themselves to unabashedly tug at the listener’s heartstrings and also to send the heart soaring and the mind spinning toward mythic heights.” The music was multifaceted, richly patterned, emotionally intense, and thoroughly immersive, creating moods that were dark and depressive, wrenchingly anguished, and vibrantly defiant. The songs become almost heart-stopping in their grandeur and explosive power, though every sensation of triumph was still edged with melancholy, as if modulated by the remembrance of loss.

Many of those same qualities are again on display in this new record, but the experience is, if anything, even more rich in its textures and moods, even more enthralling (and wrenching), and perhaps even more immense in its sheer unbridled power. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: HEADSHRINKER — “SUFFOCATING TOMB”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  1 Response »
Jul 282021
 

 

(Nathan Ferreira provides this introduction to our premiere of another track off the debut album by Headshrinker, with additional insights into the album as a whole.)

I had been sleeping on the promo materials for Callous Indifference waiting for me in my mailbox, not fully compelled to listen. The album art is subtle and understated, the band logo a plain font, and the “OSDM meets Death/Doom with mathy dissonance” descriptor used in the email title was kinda intriguing but also not unheard of either.

That they feature Havok’s drummer doesn’t move the needle for me (I’m not too familiar with them, and as such don’t know Pete Webber’s style), and I wasn’t acquainted with Polyptych, the more progressive black metal styled group the other three members previously played in. Because of the volume of promotional materials I sift through to find the golden riff nuggets, my brain can become fried by similar descriptors across emails, and Callous Indifference just happened to have surface aesthetics that got lost in the shuffle.

But then, head honcho Islander gave a premiere of “The Burn of Indifference”, first Headshrinker song released to the public. That article was just the push I needed to dive into this band further, and I am very thankful I did. (I was a fan and reader of this site well before I contributed to it, after all). Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BONEHUNTER — “PARASITE EVE”

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Jul 282021
 

 

Finland’s Bonehunter just keep getting better and better, continually evolving in astute ways and zeroing in on an identity that’s now unmistakable and completely self-assured. Especially through their new album Dark Blood Reincarnation System, they’ve positioned themselves as preeminent purveyors of blackened-speed-metal-punk, indisputably maniacal and savagely lustful but also skilled in crafting songs that are immediately addictive.

As is so often true, even for music of such fire-storming extremity and riotous depravity, the quality of the music is rooted in the songwriting, and not just in the presence of riffs galore but in the dynamism of the music across the album and the head-hooking and blood-pumping nature of all the ingredients. We’ve got a prime example of this in “Parasite Eve“, the song were premiering today in advance of the album release by Hells Headbangers on August 20. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MODERN RITES — “BLACK WOLF”

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Jul 272021
 

 

The day may come when we no longer need to identify musicians in metal (or in other artistic genres) as women or men, as black or white, as queer or straight, but simply as performers, whose creative talents will speak for themselves, for better or for worse. But that day is still far away. And so we will note that one of the two people in Modern Rites is a young American black man, Jonny Warren (who is also behind the experimental metal band Kuyashii).

But we make that observation not only because black performers are still a rarity in metal but also because Warren’s personal experience is at the heart of “Black Wolf“, the song we’re premiering today from Modern Rites‘ debut album Monuments in advance of its August 27 release by Debemur Morti Productions. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DAWN OF A DARK AGE — “GORGES – TRAP – AMBUSH”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Jul 272021
 

 

Vittorio Sabelli and his changing coterie of comrades in Dawn of A Dark Age are fully capable of donning their blackened armor, brandishing their swords and scythes, and going on the attack — and it’s thrilling when they do. But many heavy metal bands can do that. Very few are capable of surrounding those electrifying charges, as this band does, with such a rich and distinctive sonic pageant of other experiences, and none that we know of make the clarinet such a vital part of the pageantry.

I was late to the theater of Dawn of A Dark Age, having been oblivious until the 2020 album La Tavola Osca, which I reviewed and premiered here last July. But that record was one of those extraordinary musical adventures that makes one a fan for life. It arrived after Sabelli’s completion of a multi-album opus called The Six Elements, and it began a new thematic cycle. Now we have the second installment in the cycle.

This new album, which will be released by Antiq Records on September 24th, is named Le Forche Caudine, and it’s another remarkable achievement. It consists of two “Acts”, two very long compositions that succeed in transporting the listener to a very different age, in a very different world than we know now. Today we present an excerpt from Act I that’s absolutely exhilarating. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MOON ORACLE — “THE HUNTRESS AND THE HUNTED”

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Jul 262021
 

 

We are told that the Finnish band Moon Oracle was first formed by Sûrya-Ishtara and U after spending years searching for their own sound with previous bands, and that they then asked Harald Mentor to fill the role of vocalist, knowing his abilities from such acts as Ride for Revenge, Incriminated, and Uskonrauha, among many others.

What they’ve accomplished together is the creation of a 26-minute debut record entitled Muse of the Nightside, presenting music that’s equally informed by archaic black metal and eldritch doom. It is a strange and twisted experience, capable of invoking dread and fear but simultaneously proving to be charismatic in its own ghastly and primeval way — as you shall learn for yourselves through our premiere today of the record’s opening track, “The Huntress and the Hunted“, in advance of the full release on August 18th by Signal Rex and Bestial Burst. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: LUCIFER’S FALL — “TRIDENT STEEL”

 Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  No Responses »
Jul 262021
 

 

Active since 2013, the Australian doom band Lucifer’s Fall follow in the footsteps of the greats, of Witchfinder General and Saint Vitus, of Pentagram and Reverend Bizarre. And they’re resuming their march with a new third album that’s set for release on August 8th by Sun & Moon Records. Its name is III – From the Deep, and today we bring you a video for the new record’s opening track, the epic “Trident Steel“.

This song alone demonstrates the variations that Lucifer’s Fall bring into their sounds, and the supernatural inspirations of both their lyrics and their music, while remaining true to the traditions of classic doom and heavy metal. And yes, it’s an exception to our porous rule about singing — for good reason. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: ARSENIC ADDICTION — “MOON AND SUN”

 Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres  1 Response »
Jul 232021
 

 

Although the command in our site’s name has always been subject to exceptions, it’s nevertheless true that those exceptions are rare and must be well-earned. The singing in the song that’s the subject of a stunning video we’re premiering today is one of those well-earned departures from our usual nastiness — though it’s joined with throat-slitting vocal viciousness.

The song in question is “Moon and Sun“, a thoroughly gripping track from the third (and most recent) album by the band Arsenic Addiction from Salt Lake City, Utah, the title of which is XIX. As you’ll discover, if you’re not already familiar with the song, it’s a multi-faceted affair that brings into play ingredients of gothic metal, melodic death metal, and symphonic metal (among others). It’s heavy and hard-hitting but also completely enthralling, and it’s disturbing as well as beautiful. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: LUTHARÖ — “LOST IN A SOUL”

 Premieres  1 Response »
Jul 232021
 

 

After releasing a trio of EPs that includes 2020’s attention-grabbing Wings of Agony, the metal band Lutharö from Hamilton, Ontario are at last ready to present their debut full-length. Entitled Hiraeth, it’s now set for release on October 15th.

For those familiar with Lutharö’s previous output, the new album expands their sonic palette, interweaving ingredients from melodic death metal, thrash, and power metal, with occasional astute uses of orchestration. As the advance press for the album accurately states, Hiraeth delivers plenty of raw power and aggression but is equally effective in presenting emotionally potent and head-hooking melodies and creating hauntingly beautiful atmospheres.

And today we’re premiering a video for “Lost in a Soul“, a song that displays all those qualities in abundance. Continue reading »

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