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AN NCS PREMIERE: COWARDICE — “NO SOVEREIGNTY”

Dec 152016

Some album titles seem to have little or nothing to do with the sound and atmosphere of the music. Some titles tell you a lot about what you’re going to hear. Without Condolence, the debut album by New Jersey’s Cowardice, is in the latter camp.

The title implies the existence of grievous loss or tragedy, and it also conveys a kind of cold fatalism as the response. Or I suppose it could be understood as a statement about the uncaring dice roll of daily existence — when you least expect it, life will fuck you without remorse, and without a comforting hand to assist in your recovery. The music offers no condolences either. It hits with the staggering force and wrenching agony of incurable desolation, and its visceral power and emotional intensity are compelling.

We have a sample of what I’m trying to describe, a song called “No Sovereignty“, which is the album’s opening track. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): UR — “HAIL DEATH”

Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET 2 Responses »

Dec 152016

I listen to a lot of new black metal every week. As most serious metal lovers are well aware, the genre has become remarkably diverse, so much so that I’d venture to say that it now encompasses more variety than any of the other well-recognized genres of extreme music — which is one reason I listen to a lot of black metal every week. Some branchings of this immense, gnarled, and thorny tree have gone off in experimental directions; others have twisted back down into the roots, intertwining with them to the point that the new growth is indistinguishable from the old.

The debut EP Hail Death by the Polish black metal band UR isn’t experimental, or mind-bendingly intricate. It honors certain aspects of the genre’s roots, yet it’s also not a re-tread of the dominant forms of the second wave. But among all the varied branchings of black metal that I’ve explored this year, it has proven to be one of the most enjoyable. I’ll explain why — but I wouldn’t blame you if you chose to skip past my verbiage immediately and jump straight to the player at the end of this post, where you can launch a full stream of the EP in advance of its December 15 release by Arachophobia Records. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: LAGO — “CATACOMBS AND OCEANS”

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Dec 142016

We go back a ways with the Arizona death metal band Lago, back to the discovery of their very impressive Tyranny demo in January 2013. They released an even more impressive debut album of the same name in 2014, from which we had the pleasure of premiering the first advance track. And since then we’ve been waiting to see what Lago would do next.

What they’ve done next is collaborate with the Polish war machine Calm Hatchery on one of the best short releases of the year, a powerhouse vinyl/digital split released on December 2 by Selfmadegod Records (Poland) and Battleground Records (U.S.). For that split, each band contributed one song — but if you buy the vinyl split (as I did) you’ll discover that it comes with a code for a secret bonus track by Lago that turns out to be maybe even better than the two staggering monsters that are visible on the track list.

It’s really far too good to remain hidden, and so today we get to bring you the premiere of a public stream, just as Lago is releasing the track as a digital single. The name of the song is “Catacombs and Oceans“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: IGNIS GEHENNA — “BALEFUL SCARLET STAR”

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Dec 142016

Much of metaldom is swimming in year-end lists and either reflecting upon or exploring the glorious flood of music that engulfed our heads in 2016, but there are already plenty of signs that the flood will only continue in 2017. Our calendar for January is already marked with hotly anticipated releases, and one of those (circled twice in red) is the debut album by the Australian project Ignis Gehenna. The album’s name is Baleful Scarlet Star, and it’s scheduled for release on January 9 by the Australian label Séance Records.

During the first week in October I came upon the opening song on the album, “Serpent Oracle”, and wrote about it in a Shades of Black post at our site. I was initially drawn to the music by the fantastic album cover created by Vhan Artworks, and then the song turned out to have an equally striking effect. The intro is mid-paced and dramatic, and it remains grand and bombastic even after the eruption comes. There’s magnetic bass work in the song, as well as extravagant vocal viciousness, and the savage riffing is heart-swelling stuff with a triumphant, panoramic sweep. The fallen angel rises in terrible glory through this track.

Today we’re fortunate to bring you the album’s title song, which immediately follows “Serpent Oracle” in the album’s running order. It’s just as powerful and multifaceted as its predecessor. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: YOUDASH — “FORCE GUIDE”

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Dec 132016

December 16 is the date set by Deformeathing Production for the release of the debut album Astrophobia by the Polish band Youdash. What we have for you today is a stream of the album’s next-to-last track, “Force Guide“, as well as a collection of other songs from the album that have debuted previously.

You’ll discover from listening to the songs that the music of Youdash isn’t easy to pigeonhole, though it’s quite successful in rattling and scrambling your head in interesting ways, and sometimes fracturing it, too. Take “Force Guide” as an example. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: NYN — “EMBRACE ENTROPY”

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Dec 122016

(TheMadIsraeli brings us this premiere of a song from the new album by NYN.)

In the interest of full disclosure, the man behind the NYN project (Noyan) is both a fellow blogger (he’s a heavy hitter over at Heavy Blog Is Heavy) and a very good friend — but he’s also an insanely talented death metal maestro. Under the NYN alias he’s put out two albums so far. I keep meaning to write a feature on him and maybe I will sometime soon, but today I’m bringing you a song titled “Embrace Entropy” from NYN’s next album. The album itself is called Entropy: Of Chaos and Salt.

Both the song and the new album feature two notable collaborators, one being lead guitarist Tom “Fountainhead” Geldschläger, who was also a lead guitarist on Obscura’s latest album Akróasis, as well as the man behind Fountainhead, and Jimmy Pitts of Eternity’s End and Pitts Minnemann Project on keyboards. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: THE FUROR — “CAVALRIES OF THE OCCULT”

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Dec 122016

The first week of March seems so far away that it’s like a shimmering mirage on the calendar, with a vast expanse of days to cross before we reach it. That happens to be the time when Transcending Obscurity Records will discharge the fifth album by Australia’s The Furor, the title of which is Cavalries of the Occult. It’s a long wait, but after you hear the album’s title track, which we’re premiering today, you’l probably need the next few months just to catch your breath.

Seriously, you probably ought to put on a crash helmet, fasten your seatbelt, and put on some flame-retardent outerwear before listening to this song. It’s an absolutely scorching, blindingly explosive, adrenaline-triggering rocket ride. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: EMPYREAN THRONE — “HAERETICUS STELLARUM PART II”

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Dec 122016

On January 24, 2017, Empyrean Throne from Orange County, California, will release their debut album Chaosborne, which was produced and engineered by Mick Kenney. Today we bring you the premiere of an official video for an album track named “Haereticus Stellarum Part II“.

Conceptually, the album “tells the story of a hapless Templar knight in medieval Europe and his subsequent decent into the realm of Chaos”. In its sound, it powerfully combines a variety of ingredients, including orchestral and cello music — and they are on full display in the song and video we’re presenting today. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): KRATORNAS — “DEVOURED BY DAMNATION”

Album Reviews, Premieres 9 Responses »

Dec 082016

The cover art for the new album by Kratornas could hardly have been better conceived. Like the artwork, the music pours sulfurous satanic hellfire down upon the damned (and everyone else) in a superheated torrent. The album’s name suits the music as well: Devoured By Damnation. And there’s no reason to just take our word for it, because below you’ll find our premiere of a full album stream to coincide with its release today by Grathila Records.

Kratornas began in the early ’90s as the solo project of a musician in the Philippines named Zachariah — though the debut album of Kratornas didn’t appear until 2007. In 2011, after the release of the second Kratornas album, Zachariah moved to Canada. And here we are, roughly 7 years after the last album, ready to be scorched by the new one. For this album, Zachariah is accompanied by a human drummer, GB Guzzarin, though he continues to handle vocals, guitar, and bass by himself. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): CRIMSON MOON — “ONEIRONAUT”

Album Reviews, Premieres 12 Responses »

Dec 062016

Oneironaut is the new album by Crimson Moon, this project’s first full-length in more than a decade and only the third since its inception in 1994. The album is an imposing, hour-long work, with five of its six tracks exceeding 8 minutes in length, including the closing title track, which nears the 20-minute mark. But it’s also one of the most captivating, most multifaceted, and most compelling black metal albums you’ll encounter this year, even as it comes when 2016 is about to gasp its last breaths.

Oneironaut is being released today by W.T.C. Productions, and to help spread the word of its advent, we have a full album stream for you. Continue reading »

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