AN NCS PREMIERE: DYSTOPIA — “RAZERNIJ: III”

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Sep 172020
 

 

Three years after the epic opus Chaos Philosophorum, the Dutch band Dystopia are returning with a remarkably multi-faceted new album named Geen Weg Uit, which will be released by Wolves of Hades on September 25th. It consists of three songs, two of which are divided into multiple parts.

Trying to sum up the album’s kaleidoscope of musical sensations is a daunting task. At its core, the music is black metal, but the band also incorporate elements of death metal, ethereal ambient music, prog-rock, and psychedelia — and they give a prominent role to a brass section. You might wonder how in the world all these moving parts could be joined together into something that makes sense, but banish any doubts you might have, because they do — with spectacular results. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: HUMANITAS ERROR EST — “AN INEXCUSABLE EXISTENCE”

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Sep 172020
 

 

Four years after a debut album named Human Pathomorphism, and following a hiatus, the black metal band Humanitas Error Est have made a new beginning, and have recorded new music. While the musical and lyrical thematics follow the same misanthropic and anti-human tropes expressed in that earlier work, the line-up has been newly formed. The band’s two founders, vocalist S. Caedes and drummer Ahephaïm (both of whom are also in Lebenssucht) remain in place, but they are now joined by new faces in what has become an international collective, with members from Germany, Belgium, France and Australia:

S CAEDES – lead vocals
BASMU – lead vocals
AHEPHAÏM – drums
ARBORIA – guitar
MICTIAN – guitar
FENRIR – bass

As the first sign of what they have done together, today we present a video for a shattering new song named “An Inexcusable Existence“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MY DEATH BELONGS TO YOU — “TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY”

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Sep 172020
 

 

Over a long span of years the Swiss composer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist Bornyhake Ormenos has been involved in an equally long list of bands and solo projects, including Borgne, Pure, Enoid, Ancient Moon, and The Path of Memory. Through most of those, he has delved into variants of black and death metal. But in his solo project My death belongs to you, he has turned his talents to funeral doom. The first album of this project is The world seems to be fading, and it will be released by Funere on October 10th.

What we have for you today is a track from this forthcoming album named “Tomorrow is the last day“, and even standing alone it proves that Bornyhake has a sure-handed mastery of this old and miserably magnificent musical style. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): CROSS BRINGER — “THE SIGNS OF SPIRITUAL DELUSION”

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Sep 162020
 

 

They say you should never judge a book an album by its cover, but when the image is as arresting and enigmatic as the one which adorns this record it’s practically impossible not to.

Are we to take this image as a vision of strength or a study of scars? A meditation on vulnerability, or a celebration of our vitality? Is it about pain and loss, or our ability to resist and to endure, no matter what is thrown at us?

Or is it none of these things. Is it simply about what makes up a body, not just as a conglomeration of flesh and bone, but as a collection of years and experiences which mark us, and shape us, in ways both big and small?

And, if so, what does that say about Cross Bringer and their visceral, venomous debut, which we’re premiering today? Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): THE LAST REIGN — “EVOLUTION”

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Sep 152020
 

 

Four years in the making, the new second album by The Last Reign from Buffalo, New York, is now rapidly approaching its September 18 release date. Bearing the title Evolution, it’s a 12-track, 55-minute concept album built around a science-fiction narrative that’s “about the world’s resources being long depleted, sending the human race on a quest for an uncertain future.”

Honestly, though I’m a die-hard sci-fi fan, I’m at the point in my long listening career when I blanch at the thought of a nearly hour-long album. It’s such a rarity when a record of that length has real staying power, and more common, even in generally strong records, to encounter the creeping monotony of sameness or the insertion of sub-par tracks that would have been better left on the cutting room floor. But I’m happy to report that Evolution easily avoids those pitfalls, and instead creates an “edge of your seat” momentum that doesn’t flag. The fact that the band’s chosen field is melodic death metal, a field that’s been well-furrowed to the point of exhaustion, makes the accomplishment all the more impressive. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: GELKHAMMAR — “DAUGHTER OF THE WIND”

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Sep 152020
 

 

In the Mediterranean straits between Sicily and Tunisia lies the ancient volcanic island of Pantelleria, originally named Kossyra (or Cossyra) by Greek cartographers. The original Arab name for the island was Bint al-Riyāh (بنت الرياح), meaning “Daughter of the Winds” after the strong gales that constantly buffet the island coming off the north coast of Africa.

Pantelleria, which is now part of Italy, has a long and storied history, and perhaps surprisingly given its small population it also has a black metal scene. Cossyra Tapes, as you might expect from the name, was founded as a sub-label of Xenoglossy Productions to release music from that scene, and our focus today is on a forthcoming debut album named The Sword of Gelfiser by the Pantellerian band Gelkhammar. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DISRUPTED — “HUMAN STEW”

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Sep 142020
 

 

It is time for all true slaves to old-school Swedish death metal to prostrate themselves and prepare to worship. What we have for you is a track off the new album by the Swedish heavyweights Disrupted, who should be recognized as pack-leaders among the modern-day bands who have embraced the legacy of Nihilist/Entombed, Interment, Grave, and God Macabre and proudly (and savagely) carried it forward.

We’ve observed before (as have others) that this old, often-emulated style of HM-2-driven death metal horror can’t be tinkered with very much or it loses the right to claim the name. And so what addicts of the style (including this writer) are after isn’t novelty or nuance but spirit and skill, not merely devotion but the songwriting chops and executioner’s talent needed to both trigger adrenaline and stick a song in your head like a rusted, blood-caked spike.

Disrupted have become masters in those black arts, and although they don’t really need help, they’ve got some über-talented guests along with them for the hell-ride of Pure Death, which is the name of the new album — set for a CD release on October 26th by Memento Mori and for a vinyl LP release on October 9th by De:Nihil Records. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ORDINUL NEGRU — “NEBUISA”

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Sep 142020
 

 

In just two days Loud Rage Music will release Nebuisa, a new EP by the Romanian band Ordinul Negru, but you won’t have to wait to hear it, because we’re presenting a full stream today.

The EP seems to be a bit of a musical collage, at least in the way the songs came together, but the combined effect of the four tracks is to create a ravaging and ravishing experience. The music is richly multi-faceted, often intricate, and elaborate in its combination of moods and energies, again proving that Ordinul Negru‘s approach to black metal, which includes inventive songwriting and superior musicicianship, is neither conventional nor mundane. It stirs up the emotions but equally arouses the imagination, and has an electrifying visceral impact as well. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: HANGING FORTRESS — “BURNED ALIVE”

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Sep 112020
 

 

“Hardcore-infused Death Metal seems to be what all the kids are into these days… Made popular by the likes of Nails followed by Gatecreeper, both borrowing heavily from Swede legends Entombed, bands are finally beginning to branch out, shying away from the blatant Stockholm worship for a more American influence (whether for better or worse). While many seem to fall in the pit of mediocrity, some do it convincingly enough to catch my attention.”

Add that’s how the proprietor of Redefining Darkness Records begins his introduction to Hanging Fortress, a band from the benighted confines of Toledo, Ohio. The Cleveland-based label will release the band’s debut album Darkness Devours on November 6th, and to help launch pre-orders for it today we’re bringing you a savage album track named “Burned Alive“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SKYLESS AEONS — “DIMENSIONAL ENTRAPMENT”

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Sep 112020
 

 

We’re told that the origins of Skyless Aeons can be traced to “an errant bus ride” in London (Ontario, not England) around 2014 during which drummer Martin Burchill and guitarist Nicholas Luck met up for the first time. It will probably be a while before close encounters on a bus plant the seeds for bands again, but in those less infectious times this one did. And from that meeting, Skyless Aeons grew into a fleshed-out entity following the joinder of vocalist Nathan Ferreira and bassist Steve Oliva.

Those four released a debut EP named The Era of Famine in 2016, but it’s fair to say that the band were still searching for their identity then, using death metal as the backbone of their sound. However, their debut album Drain the Sun, which will be out on October 2nd, is a more distinctive and arresting reflection of the band’s interests. The care devoted through two years of songwriting shows, and the results are both intriguing and very impressive — as you’ll see when you listen to our premiere of an album track called “Dimensional Entrapment“. Continue reading »

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