AN NCS PREMIERE: KATECHON — “RENSELSEN”

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Jan 092019
 

 

The complex of concentration camps established by the Nazis at Auschwitz in occupied Poland is perhaps an unparalleled testament to the horrors that human beings are capable of inflicting on each other. At Auschwitz more than 1,000,000 people were exterminated in the gas chambers or died of starvation, forced labor, infectious diseases, individual executions, and grotesque medical experiments. One need not resort to demonology or monsters of the imagination to find embodiments of evil — Auschwitz showed that it walks the earth in the form of man.

The terrors of those death camps provided the inspiration for the new album by the excellent Norwegian black/death band Katechon, to be released by their new label Saturnal Records in March. Entitled Sanger Fra Auschwitz, the record is the result of almost a year and a half of work in the studio by a line-up that has changed since the band’s last album, 2015’s Coronation, and the music reflects changes as well, as will become apparent from the track we’re presenting for the first time today: “Renselsen“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BASILYSK — “FIRE (IN THE TEMPLE OF SACRIFICE)”

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Jan 082019
 

 

Basilysk pull off quite a feat on the song from their new album that we’re premiering today. In the span of less than six minutes, they deliver the adrenaline rush and convulsing infectiousness of thrash, the heaviness and harshness of old school death metal, and the kind of blazing instrumental fireworks that will appeal to fans of tech-death — and then add so many other extravagant, prog-influenced embellishments that the song becomes an experience in ever-increasing, eye-popping excitement.

The song’s name is “Fire (In the Temple of Sacrifice)” and it comes from this Philadelphia-based quartet’s new album Emergence, which is set for release on February 22nd. This track follows the previous premiere of “Sinners Of Their Own Reality“, which debuted last fall at DECIBEL, and which we’ll also give you a chance to hear in case you missed it. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE (AND ALBUM REVIEW): OBLIVION — “INSURRECTION”

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Jan 072019
 

 

(In this feature TheMadIsraeli reviews the new self-titled album by the California death metal band Oblivion and introduces our premiere of a track from the album named “Insurrection“.)

I honestly believe Oblivion are one of the most consistent newer death metal bands we’ve got right now, with a unique voice of their own. Whether it’s down to Nick Vasallo’s distinctive old school high/low vocal approach, the same granite yet antimatter guitar tone they’ve had since their debut EP, or the flagrant combination of ’90s tech death and modern progressive tendencies, there’s always been a lot to like on all fronts about Oblivion.

I was a huge fan of the band’s last record The Path Towards and it’s move in a more proggy direction with some very welcome black-metal-intensive moments, and songs that really shook things up and showed the band expanding their horizons delightfully. I was surprised, as a result, on my first hearing of Oblivion’s upcoming self-titled record, that the band had decided to take a direct, distinct step backward to the more grounded death metal sound they came crashing through the gates with on Called To Rise. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: KALPA — “IT’S NOT ALWAYS ABOUT YOU”

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Jan 072019
 

 

In the new song we’re about to present, a hell of a lot happens in less than three minutes, and all of it is geared to send lightning strikes into your head (and hammer your spine). “It’s Not Always About You” is the name of this electrifying barrage, and it comes from A Grand Misconception, the new album by the Athenian hardcore band Kalpa.

Kalpa are a heavy-hitting, politically charged crew of five with a DIY ethos, but a long list of distros (whose names we’ll give you later) have lined up to release this new album on vinyl and tape. When you listen to the music, it’s not hard to understand why. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BLODSKAM — “ROUTINES”

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Jan 032019
 

 

How bands come to exist and the connections between their lives and their music is usually of only secondary importance (if important at all) to the appreciation of the music itself. Yet in some cases it proves interesting, and might even shed a bit of light on what we’re hearing, and this is such a case.

We are told that the origins of the Swedish black metal band Blodskam dates back to 1998 when the two brothers Aghora and Dödfödd (as they have named themselves) “decided it was time to put the family madness on public display”. But rather than fighting in public to the dismay of their parents (or maybe they did that, too), they began writing music. But it took quite a long time for the bad seeds planted then to bear fruit, “due to other musical engagements, and some mental health issues”. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: HOSTILIAN — “REGRESSIVE INSTINCTS” (DRUM PLAYTHROUGH)

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Jan 022019
 

 

In the summer of 2017 the Indian metal band Hostilian released their debut EP, Monolith, and now they’re just roughly two weeks away from the release of a second EP, this new one entitled Catalyst. It’s a four-track affair exploring dark themes concerning the human condition, in which the worst of our instincts are also seen as the most indomitable, driving us to become a catalyst for the ultimate destruction of life on Earth.

The new EP’s closing track, “Regressive Instincts“, is the subject of a play-through video featuring Hostilian drummer Rajiv Kumar, and it’s our pleasure to premiere it today in advance of Catalyst‘s January 18 release. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): CON — “IN SIGNO DRACONIS”

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Dec 282018
 

 

CON is a black metal project started by Swedish musician Pontus Norman in 2009. The project’s name consists of the first three letters of the Latin word Conscindo, which means “To tear into pieces”, and we’re told that in this context it is intended as a representation of the command “To tear the earth into pieces”. A demo whose sound was consistent with that edict appeared long ago, but now, almost a decade later, CON’s debut EP In Signo Draconis will soon be released on cassette tape by Clandestine Faith., whose founder Steven Santos has become a member of CON for future recordings, and today we’re helping spread the word through the premiere of a full stream of the EP’s three tracks

For those who may become curious about the evolution of this project and the interests and experiences of the band’s members, we recommend this October 2017 interview, and this more recent one which was published in August 2018. In the earlier interview, Pontus Norman explains that on this new EP, Jimmie Oloausson played the drums and Master of Her Temple performed the vocals. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: ESKHATON — “BLASPHEMARTYR”

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Dec 272018
 

 

The video that we’re about to present boils with nightmarish, mind-mutilating imagery, both lyrically and visually. The words refer to maelstroms of death and poisonous blood, to churning trances and dark forces of infinite devourment, to the sacrifice of human flesh in a black goat apocalypse — and the skin-shivering artwork is no less malignant and macabre. It all suits the music very well, which is itself a ravaging maelstrom of death designed to put the listener into a terrifying spell of possession by ancient evil.

The song in question is “Blasphemartyr“, and it comes from Omegalitheos, the third album by the Australian marauders in Eskhaton, which was released this past June by Lavadome Productions. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 1): GENUNE AND AB IMO PECTORE

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Dec 232018
 

 

Mr. Synn‘s preparation of a very interesting interview for publication yesterday allowed me to spend parts of Friday and most of Saturday focusing on what I might do for today. Like a cat playing with a ball of rough black twine, I unraveled more and more threads of spiky music. Now I’m going to try to make sense of this morass of strands that has snarled my brain (and snarled at it).

I’ve decided to begin with short reviews of two very impressive albums released last week. I hesitate to mention the rest of the plan, since at this point it’s only partially completed and could go awry. But as you can see, I do intend to provide some further recommendations from the black realms before night falls.

GENUNE

Daniel Neagoe left his imprint on many 2018 records, including Clouds‘ album Dor (which made Andy Synn‘s list of the year’s 10 best albums), Eye of Solitude’s Slaves To Solitude (reviewed here), and Pantheist’s Seeking Infinity. It’s fair to say that whatever he is involved in, we pay attention to. And that’s what led me to Genune. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: ARKHETH — “TRISMEGISTUS”

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Dec 212018
 

 

As the end of the year rapidly approaches, we have an occasion to cast our minds back to one of the astonishing ways in which the year began.

On the first day of February we premiered a song named “Trismegistus” from the third album by the Australian experimental black metal band Arkheth. That album, entitled 12 Winter Moons Comes The Witches Brew, was subsequently released on February 20th by Transcending Obscurity Records. It really was a remarkable piece of music, one well worth remembering now on the solstice, almost 11 months later. And while the song itself is a rich tapestry of sound — mad, mercurial, mystifying, and majestic — it’s now being presented with a perfectly matched lyric video that presents an equally remarkable tapestry of sights. Continue reading »

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