AN NCS PREMIERE: VÄKI — “VAISTO”

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Jun 112020
 

 

The Finnish black metal band Väki have defined themselves as “a musical act embodying the profound manifestations of death, impurity and chaos, dedicated to capture the darkests aspects of reality”, examining “aspects of our existence that revolve around suffering, depression, hate and melancholy”. In delving into those dark depths it became evident right from the band’s 2017 debut demo Kirous (reviewed here) that they were capable of taking you to many different places — there was bleak grandeur as well as crushing desolation and blinding ferocity in those compositions, as well as a high level of performance skill.

Redefining Darkness Records was so impressed with that initially self-released demo that they gave it a physical release. And now, in conjunction with Saturnal Records in Europe, the same label will be releasing Väki‘s debut album Kuolleen Maan Omaksi — a record that many of us who were captivated by Kirous have been waiting for eagerly. It will be released on July 17th, and today we’re excited to present for you “Vaisto” (The Instinct), the song that opens the album. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: TALES OF THE TOMB — “SINFUL MESSIAH” (BASS PLAYTHROUGH)

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Jun 102020
 

 

The Edmonton-based death metal band Tales of the Tomb made a hell of an impression with the release last fall of their second EP, Volume Two: Mendacium. Taking their cues from the likes of Macabre, At the Gates, Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, and Blood Red Throne, they assembled a sextet of murderous tracks organized around themes of government cover-ups, national lies, and heinous crimes committed within the shadows. We seized the chance to premiere a slice of that marauding butchery, and now we’re seizing the chance to do it again.

When the EP was recorded, Tales of the Tomb was the work of guitarists/vocalists Trez Thomas and Corey Skerlak, but today we’re announcing that Tales of the Tomb has been joined by bassist Jonii Guns (pictured above) — and we’re premiering a video of his playthrough for a song off the EP named “Sinful Messiah“. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): VALDRIN — “EFFIGY OF NIGHTMARES”

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Jun 092020
 

 

On their new album Effigy of Nightmares the Cincinnati band Valdrin have used their music to illustrate an epic narrative, and as the title suggests, it’s a nightmarish one. Like their previous album, 2018’s Two Carrion Talismans, the new record focuses on the antagonist of the band’s self-created Ausadjur mythos, a being named Nex Animus. As the band explain: “The story chronicles the tour of a nameless narrator through the halls of Hosptium Mortis, the nightmare hospital below the Orcus underworld itself, where Nex tortures and lobotomizes the dissident gods of his domain.”

Even that brief verbal synopsis has a chilling effect. But the ways in which Valdrin‘s harrowing new music guides us through this frightening netherworld are even more chilling, more threatening to a listener’s sanity, and much more likely to haunt listeners’ dreams for a long time to come. Set aside half an hour and prepare yourself for an experience in electrifying audio terror as we present a full stream of the album in advance of its June 12 release by Blood Harvest Records. Continue reading »

AN NCS SPLIT PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): BOB MALMSTRÖM AND DISPYT

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Jun 092020
 

 

In this unusual year of 2020 the Finnish “borgarcore” band Bob Malmström are celebrating their tenth anniversary. In addition to popping champagne and blowing out candles they chose to commemorate the occasion by releasing a series of three split 7″ vinyl records.

In the first of those, Sälj Åland, they teamed up with the long-running Finnish melodic hardcore band The Enchained (whose history extends back to 1997). Bob Malmström‘s side of the split included two tracks, and in January we premiered the band’s video for the title song.

Two months after that first split, the band released the second one with Tvärnitad from Sweden (which we’ll comment on below, since we failed to do so in April), and now the time has come for the third split to be revealed, on the eve of its June 10 release. This latest split includes the music of the Finnish black ‘n’ crust band Dispyt (whose ranks include Mathias Lillmåns of Finntroll and …and Oceans fame), in addition to Bob Malmström‘s own contributions. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SEPULCHRAL CURSE — “CHURCH OF LOSS”

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Jun 082020
 

 

Four years ago we premiered a song from At the Onset of Extinction, the eye-opening second EP of the inventive Finnish death metal band Sepulchral Curse (which includes members of Solothus and Yawning Void). We must not have screwed that up too badly because we’ve been invited again to host a Sepulchral Curse song premiere, this time from their debut album Only Ashes Remain, which is set for a July 31 release by Transcending Obscurity Records.

This is an album we’ve been eagerly awaiting, given the striking impression created by that previous EP, which was the band’s second release. If you’ve had your eyes and ears open, you’ve already discovered some of the fascinations in this band’s unusual amalgamation of stylistic ingredients, through track premieres at Decibel and T.O.‘s YouTube channel. And the one we’re presenting today, “Church of Loss“, is no less viscerally electrifying, mentally engrossing, and emotionally powerful. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DIABOLIC OATH — “APOCRYPHAL MANIFESTATIONS”

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Jun 082020
 

 

How does a band who are devoted to the most ruinous amalgamations of death and black metal stand out from the underground hordes who profess the same kind of devotion? Where the sonic expression of hell on earth is the dominant aesthetic, how does one advance beyond the orthodoxy of extreme audio annihilation? Diabolic Oath has an answer — actually, many answers, as revealed on their debut album Profane Death Exodus.

This Portland, Oregon band seized the attention of Sentient Ruin Laboratories, who are poised to release the album on June 26th. The alliance of that label alone is a sign that Diabolic Oath have concocted something unusual, something that builds upon the influence of such bands as Teitanblood, Immolation, and Bestial Warlust. And as a further sign, today we present the album’s fifth track, “Apocryphal Manifestations”. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: THEY LEAPT FROM BURNING WINDOWS — “CEO DLÚTH”

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Jun 072020
 

 

Over the course of four long winters the Alaskan black metal duo They Leapt From Burning Windows recorded the six tracks that are now set for release on June 26th in a new demo (the band’s second one). Though the northern hemisphere is now opening into summer, these songs descend into cold winds and grey days, into an ice-bound dimension where bitterness and despondency reign. Yet in capturing those dark emotions fueled by dark seasons, the music becomes incredibly vibrant and spectacularly intense — as you’re about to discover.

Of these six new tracks, which together consume half an hour of running time, “Ceo Dlúth” (which seems to be Irish for “dense fog”) is the longest by a significant margin. But even though it comes in at more than 10 minutes in length, it is so electrifying — so breathtaking — that the time flies by. When it ends, you may be left wishing it had been longer. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ABOVE AURORA — “THE SHRINE OF DETERIORATION”

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Jun 052020
 

 

Founded in Poznań, Poland in 2015 and now living in Reykjavik, Iceland, the black metal band Above Aurora began walking a desolate path through bleak musical terrain in their 2016 debut album (aptly named Onward Desolation), and then took another step deeper into emotional darkness with their 2018 EP, Path To Ruin (also aptly named). And now they are ready for the release of their second album, The Shrine of Deterioration.

No one familiar with the band’s trance-inducing strategies and minimalist (though quite powerful) modes of expression, or the chilling hopelessness of their moods, should expect any radical revision of their style, which has already been powerfully established. And indeed, The Shrine of Deterioration is also well-named. Yet the album is not simply the same dire-wolf that stalked our darkest moods in the preceding releases. Above Aurora continue to walk their path, but they have become even more sure-footed as guides to the cold, lightless places within us all — as you will discover through our full stream of the album in advance of its June 6 release by Pagan Records. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SVEDERNA — “TEMPELHÄRD”

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Jun 052020
 

 

Two years ago we had the pleasure of premiering a full stream of Svedjeland, the second album by the Swedish black metal band Svederna. That was this writer’s introduction to the music, and it made a striking first impression, thanks to the remarkable vibrancy and passion that flowed through every song, and the high level of skill displayed in both the arrangements and the performances.

It was thus thrilling news in these quarters to learn that Svederna would be releasing a new album this year. Entitled Härd (which translates to “Hearth” in English), it’s coming out on August 28th through Carnal Records. And today it’s our great pleasure to premiere the album’s first single, “Tempelhärd“. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): LJOSAZABOJSTWA — “GŁORYJA ŚMIERCI”

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Jun 042020
 

 

We’ve been following the progress of Ljosazabojstwa (from Minsk, Belarus) since the beginning, reviewing their debut 2016 debut demo (here), reviewing and premiering their 2017 debut EP Sychodžańnie (here), and reviewing their second EP, 2019’s Lszb (here). It is thus a welcome occasion for us to now premiere and review the band’s debut album, Głoryja Śmierci, which will be released by Godz Ov War Productions on June 8th.

While we’re incapable of pronouncing Ljosazabojstwa‘s name, we understand that in English it means “murder of fate”. We’re also incapable of pronouncing the Belarusian titles of the five substantial tracks encompassed by the new album, whose lyrics are also in the band’s native tongue, but the music speaks for itself, sometimes in a language we can all understand and sometimes in the esoteric incantations of black magic. Continue reading »

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