AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: FLUMMOX — “TOM WALKER BLUES”

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Aug 292017
 

 

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary tells us that no one is completely sure where the word flummox comes from, though its first known use was in Charles Dickens’ debut novel, The Pickwick Papers, published in 1837. It means “to confuse”, and among its synonyms are “baffle”, “perplex”, “bewilder”, “bemuse”, and “mystify”. And when you understand all that, it’s not confusing at all why this Tennessee band chose Flummox as their name — because flummoxing listeners seems to be their primary mission.

We’ve devoted attention to Flummox in past years, with Austin Weber calling their debut album Phlummoxygen “a modern classic” and then premiering a song from their second album Selcouth.

The band’s most recent release is a four-song demo that emerged in June under the name Garage Prog, and the second song on that demo, “Tom Walker Blues“, has become the basis for the band’s first music video (directed by Matt Rose), which we are about to present for the first time to a completely unprepared public audience. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: WORM — “WINGED BEAST OF THE PHANTOM CRYPT”

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Aug 282017
 

 

Worm was given birth in Florida, emerging from the stench of what must have been the most fetid and leech-ridden swamp in the State, the unnatural offspring of gators and ghouls, a hungering and heartless entity reeking of carrion decay and slavering for human flesh.

Or at least that’s what your imagination may tell you after you’ve listened to the song we’re premiering today. “Winged Beast of the Phantom Crypt” is one of the horrifying tracks from Worm’s 42-minute debut album Evocation of the Black Marsh, which will be released by Iron Bonehead Productions on September 29th. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: AFFLIKTOR — “STORMS OF DEMOGORGON”

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Aug 282017
 

 

“Storms of Demogorgon” reminds us that few (if any) genres of music can match metal in channeling surges of delirious, unchained emotion, the kind of frenzied, near-chaotic abandon that’s part Bacchanalian orgy and part rampant killing spree. Living within a constricting multitude of legal rules and social conventions cages the wild animals that dwell within us; a song like “Storms of Demogorgon” smashes those cages apart like a sledgehammer.

It’s also a huge shot of undiluted adrenaline injected straight into the neck. The only problem is, it ends so soon that you’re left with your pulse still pumping like a jackhammer and wondering, “What the hell am I supposed to do with all this energy now?”

“Storms of Demogorgon”, the track we’re about to premiere, comes from the debut album of Affliktor, a blazing new project by a veteran musician which is scheduled for release by Transcending Obscurity Records on October 20. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: NEPHREN-KA — “WATCH AND LEARN”

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Aug 252017
 

 

Nephren-Ka, a group of French brutalizers with a welcome thematic devotion to the universe of Frank Herbert’s Dune, made a very impressive full-length debut with 2013’s The Fall of Omnius. Four years later, they are returning with a new opus named La Grande Guerre de L’Epice, which will be released on October 13 by Dolorem Records. And although it’s predictable that people may wonder whether the band will fall prey to the dreaded sophomore slump, fans can rest easy. The early signs are that Nephren-Ka have moved from strength to further strength.

The new album, which includes French lyrics for the first time on some of the tracks, is a concept record consisting of nine chronological phases based on the Houses prequel stories written by Frank Herbert’s son and deals “with the attempt to create synthetic Spice and the ensuing imperial war”. We are very happy to present today one of the new album tracks, a slaughtering experience entitled “Watch and Learn“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ASAGRAUM — “CARRIED BY LUCIFER’S WINGS”

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Aug 252017
 

 

In January of this year I haphazardly encountered (and then wrote about) two tracks — “Black Triangle Temple” and “Transformation” — which appeared to be the lone finished recordings by Asagraum, a two-woman band composed of Dutch guitarist/vocalist Obscura and drummer T. Kolsvart, who is Canadian but lives in Norway. They founded Asagraum in 2015, though both women have performed with other groups (T. Kolsvart, for example, has been a live drummer with the likes of Craft and Isvind, and Obscura is also a member of Draugur). I reported at that time that they had ambitions to release a debut album this year — and soon those ambitions will be realized.

On September 29, the Finnish label KVLT will release Asagraum’s debut album, Potestas Magicum Diaboli, which features artwork by Depravarts and Khaos Diktator Design. The album includes those two excellent tracks that I discovered in January plus six more, for a total of running time of 44 minutes. In May, one of those remaining six (“Black Sun Prayer“) also appeared on YouTube, and today we present the premiere of another: “Carried By Lucifer’s Wings“. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: SKINNED — “WE ARE THE END”

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Aug 242017
 

 

Skinned apparently have jet fuel coursing through their veins and the temperament of serial murderers in the throes of a rampant blood lust. Or at least that’s the conclusion you may draw from the musical killing spree we’re about to premiere, which comes wrapped in an explosive music video filmed by Paul McGuire of Cerebral Bore and Obscenery Films. The song is “We Are the End“, and it’s an electrifying teaser for the band’s new album, Shadow Syndicate.

Shadow Syndicate is this Colorado death metal band’s fifth album in a slaughtering career that dates back to the mid-’90s. It was recorded at Flatline Audio by Dave Otero (known for his work with the likes of Cattle Decapitation, Allegaeon, Khemmis, and Cephalic Carnage), and this premiere comes on the eve of a tour by Skinned across the central United States with the Texas band Prophecy.

We have some details about that tour, but first… some cautionary thoughts about “We Are the End“. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: BIESY — “CZERŃ NAS PROSI”

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Aug 242017
 

 

So far, two songs have premiered from the debut album by the Polish project Biesy, one of which we’re bringing you in this very post — and both of them demonstrate the emergence of a precocious new talent. The composer, lyricist, and principal instrumental performer in the band goes by the initials PR, and this album — Noc Lekkich Obyczajów — represents his first recorded work, though you wouldn’t guess that from the music. In this endeavor he was capably supported by two session members, vocalist Stawrogin (Odraza, Massemord) and drummer MP (Outre).

This new album will be released by Third Eye Temple on September 9, and the song we bring you today, accompanied by a haunting video, is named “Czerń Nas Prosi“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BLOODHUNTER — “EYES WIDE OPEN”

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Aug 232017
 

 

Bloodhunter are a melodic death metal band born in the Galician region of Spain in 2008. After a well-received demo in 2013 (The First Insurrection) and a profile-raising first album in 2014 (Bloodhunter), the band signed with the Spanish label Xtreem Music for the release of their second album, The End of Faith, which will arrive in October of this year.

In addition to founding guitarist Fenris, vocalist Diva Satánica, and bassist Éadrom, the new album features the talents of session drummer Marcelo Aires (Colosso, The Ominous Circle).  Today it’s our pleasure to bring you the premiere of a track from the new album named “Eyes Wide Open” — and it is indeed a big eye-opener. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CORPSEHAMMER — “PULSO DE SATURNO”

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Aug 222017
 

 

The Swedish/Chilean band Corpsehammer (who are currently based in Dalarna, Sweden) released their first EP (Sacrilegio) earlier this year in a limited cassette tape run, and they’ve wasted no time following up on that. Their new EP, Posesión, will be discharged on September 1 by Morbid Skull Records.

Corpsehammer embrace a primitive but electrifying form of black/death savagery, drawing their influences from First Wave black metal and the ferocity of the late ’90s Latin American and Australian extreme metal scenes. There are six tracks on the new EP, and we’re bringing you the premiere of one of those, a song named “Pulse de Saturno“. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT — “FINISTERRE”

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Aug 222017
 

 

(We have the privilege of helping to premiere a full stream of the new album by Der Weg Einer Freiheit in advance of its August 25 release by Season of Mist, which we introduce with a review of the album by Andy Synn.)

Raise your hand if you’re familiar with Der Weg Einer Freiheit’s phenomenal 2015 album, Stellar?

If your hand isn’t up in the air… shame on you. Shame.

Because you’ve been missing out on one of the most electrifying and emotionally invigorating acts (and albums) in the Metal scene today.

But don’t worry, because the band’s latest record (their fourth) is another opportunity to bask in the glory of their sublime blackened beauty. Continue reading »

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