AN NCS PREMIERE: JARUN — “MALOWANY OGIEŃ”

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Nov 232017
 

 

“May you live in interesting times” is an old English expression, usually attributed (probably incorrectly) to a Chinese origin. Rather than a blessing, it is a curse, because as we all know too well, surprises in life can be as often terrible as joyful. In that context, there is indeed something to be said for evenness and tranquillity; we might be willing to do without the unexpected reappearance of an old friend if we could also be spared the appearance of a spot on the lung. But in the context of music, and metal in particular, I suspect most of us would rather have 100 unpleasant surprises in return for one really good one, instead of an un-ending parade (even a comfortable one) of what we’ve heard many times before.

And this new song by the Polish band Jarun is a very welcome surprise. In fact, it’s full of surprises, and perhaps the biggest one is that all the unexpected occurrences within the song unexpectedly work, and work so well that it becomes a piece that’s very hard to forget. The name is “Malowany ogień“, and it’s the closing track on the band’s forthcoming third album, Sporysz, which will be released on December 22 by Arachnophobia Records. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ENOID — “ECNARFFUOS”

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Nov 222017
 

 

Few would deny that we are in the midst of a resurgence and a branching of black metal that rivals, if not eclipses, the torrent of the second wave in its flourishing abundance and creative fertility. There are a lot of forks in this great, gnarled tree of music, and some of the off-shoots bear little resemblance to the original root stock, much to the disgust of purists in certain quarters. Other thorned flowerings have hewed more closely to the vitriolic intensity and scarifying aggression of the progenitors. The Swiss band Enoid is in that camp.

The project of a sole creator who calls himself Bornyhake, Enoid has been a prolific source of musical hate and misanthropy, releasing seven albums since 2006 as well as a trio of shorter works. The first two of those albums, Livssyklus and Dodssyklus, were released in 2006 and 2007 by Rotten Vomit Records and NMB Records, respectively. They have become hard to find, but on December 16th they will be re-released in a re-mastered compilation recording by GrimmDistribution (Belarus) and Final Gate Records (Germany).

To help spread the word, we’re premiering a remastered track called “Ecnarffuos“, which originally appeared on the Dodssyklus album. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: GARHELENTH — “SELF-HUMILIATION”

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Nov 222017
 

 

We are told that the name chosen by the two-man band Garhelenth (originally from Iran, then Georgia, and now based in Armenia) will not be found in any dictionary, in any language. It is instead a creation that has symbolic significance in the band’s occult philosophies, and it is black metal that forms the musical channel of their communication.

Gerhelenth’s new album (their second) is About Pessimistic Elements & Rebirth Of Tragedy. It will be released on December 14th by Satanath Records (Russia) and The Eastern Front (Israel), and from that album we bring you a stream of a track whose name is as gloomy as the album’s title: “Self-Humiliation“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DOOMORTALIS — “TRANSCENDENCE TO FINAL ECLIPSE”

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Nov 222017
 

 

Earlier today we invited our readers to suggest candidates for our list of 2017’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. We have our own list of candidates as well, one that has been building in size over the last 11 months, and today I added one more to it — the song we’re premiering in this post.

The name of the song is “Transcendence To Final Eclipse“. It’s from a debut album entitled Splendor… Then Gloominess by Doomortalis from Irapuato, México, which will be released later this month by Chaos Records. It’s a pulverizing track, and it really gets its hooks in your soon-to-be-headbanging skull as well. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BRIDGE BURNER — “THE BLOOD NEVER LIES”

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Nov 212017
 

 

(Our New Zealand compatriot Craig Hayes (Six Noises) brings us this tremendously exciting premiere of a track from the forthcoming debut album of NZ’s Bridge Burner.)

 

You’d be hard-pressed to put your finger on where New Zealand four-piece Bridge Burner sit on the extreme metal spectrum nowadays –– and that’s no bad thing. Originality counts for a lot with today’s jam-packed roll call of noise-makers. And while Bridge Burner list groups like Botch, Godflesh, and death metal legends Bolt Thrower as influences, you’ll also find that grindcore, crust punk, and even dissonant black metal feature on the band’s latest full-throttle track, “The Blood Never Lies”, which is streaming below.

“The Blood Never Lies” is taken from Bridge Burner’s upcoming album, Null Apostle, which is due for release in 2018. In truth, it’s not that much of a surprise that the band display such energetic and multi-hued creativity on “The Blood Never Lies”. For a start, Bridge Burner’s members have also played in a raft of other notable bands, including Graves, Diocletian, Ulcerate, Punished, Witchrist, In Dread Response, and The Mark of Man. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: TAIGA — “Стыд” (Shame)

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Nov 212017
 

 

When last we visited the Russian atmospheric black metal band Taiga, roughly 14 months ago, their third album (Sky) was on the brink of release and we were premiering a track from the album named “Похоть“, which in English means “Lust”. Now Taiga are returning with a fourth album, and we’re again premiering a song, this time through a lyric video. This one is named “Стыд” (Shame).

The title of the new album is Cosmos, which might make you think of the vast mysteries of an endless, star-spangled void. But the concept here is an inner cosmos, a space in which anger, love, hate, decency, and other impulses and emotions orbit each other, colliding and exploding in ways that could lead to self-destruction, or to new heights of self-realization. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: EMBRACE THE DAWN — “PUTREFACTION OF GOD”

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Nov 212017
 

 

In the first week of this month, Embrace the Dawn released their debut album, The Effigist, and today we’re premiering a lyric video crafted by Scott Rudd for a turbocharged, mind-warping track from the album called “Putrefaction of God“.

The album is Embrace the Dawn’s second release overall, following their self-titled EP in 2015. Australian musician Ben Tinker remains the principal creative force behind the band, but for the debut album he enlisted the aid of a new line-up of performers who are scattered around the globe.

With Tinker as the composer, guitarist, and programmer, The Effigist features Canadian bassist Denis Landry, American drummer Kevin Talley (Feared, ex-Dying Fetus, Misery Index, Dååth, etc.),  and Norwegian vocalist Roger Isaksen. In addition, the album was mixed by producer Eyal Levi (Levi/Werstler, Dååth). Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: KREMLIN — “DECIMATION OF THE ELITES”

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Nov 202017
 

 

I’m one of those people who needs a regular dose of massive, bone-grinding old-school death metal (with a particular weakness for the Swedish school) in order to avoid the cold sweats and the night terrors, but it’s rare to find a fix that’s as electrifying and as thoroughly unhinged in its ferocity as the new album by Kremlin, the name of which is Decimation of the Elites. It is thus with particularly fiendish pleasure that we present a full stream of the album today, in advance of its November 24 release by Godz Ov War Productions.

Kremlin is a three-man war machine from Canada featuring past/present members of Infernäl Mäjesty and Outre-Tombe, but although a trio they may be, they sound like an army of 300. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ALMYRKVI — “UMBRA”

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Nov 202017
 

 

(It’s our great pleasure to bring you the full streaming premiere of Umbra, the debut album by the Icelandic band Almyrkvi, preceded by Andy Synn’s review of the album as a fitting introduction to what you will hear. Umbra will be released by Ván Records on November 24th.)

 

Just over a month ago our benevolent overlord Islander, he who bringeth the rains and maketh the sun to rise, published a post entitled “List-Breakers” asking our readers to select some upcoming late-2017 releases that had a very high likelihood of breaking their way into their AOTY lists come December, while also providing some suggestions of his own to bear in mind.

And one of the albums he highlighted was the one which we’re lucky enough to premiere for you all here today. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: APOPHYS — “DEADLOCK”

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Nov 202017
 

 

We have some history with the Dutch death metal band Apophys, whose line-up includes a lot of talented musicians with impressive resumes, including members of God Dethroned and Toxocara. We published no fewer than six posts surrounding the 2015 release of their debut album Prime Incursion, including an interview and a track premiere. Now they have a new album coming out, a sci-fi concept record named Devoratis, which will be released on January 22 by Ultimate Massacre Productions.

On Halloween Day, Apophys released the new album’s first single, “Retaliate“, and today we’re helping to premiere the second one — “Deadlock” — which arrives via a play-through video that features some blazing fretwork by the band’s two guitarists, Sanne van Dijk and Dave Meester. Continue reading »

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