Premieres Archives - Page 415 of 481

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): SOLOTHUS — “NO KING REIGNS ETERNAL”

Mar 132016

Finland’s Solothus made a powerful full-length debut with their 2013 album Summoned From the Void reviewed here) — so powerful that one might not have expected them to climb much higher with their next album. But they have. The new work is named No King Reigns Eternal, and you can listen to it here in its entirety.

The new album blends many of the same ingredients that were present in Summoned From the Void, yet the songwriting is even stronger, the wrenching melodies even more memorable, the guitar performances even more exceptional and varied, and the overall emotional impact of the album even more potent. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: UNIVERSE 217 — “CHANGE”

Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres 6 Responses »

Mar 112016

(KevinP introduces our premiere of the new album by Universe 217 from Greece — a well-earned exception to the “rule” in our site’s name.)

Today we have the honor and privilege to present to you the fourth full-length album from Greek doom masters, Universe217. Change is due on March 18, 2016 via Ván Records and is simply the best material of their career.

While I never subscribed to the theory that vocalist Tanya carried the band, I could understand the sentiment. She is in a class all her own, like a more dynamic and powerful metal version of Janis Joplin. But Change shows a band that is on equal ground; no longer does the music take a back seat to Tanya’s soaring, emotionally driven vocals. There’s a sonic immediacy to it, with a richer and fuller sound and with more textures — the instrumental music could easily stand on its own. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: VLK — “WITH BANNERS RAISED”

Premieres 8 Responses »

Mar 102016

In June 2015 I came across a rough mix of song by a Chicago band named Vlk that made quite an impression, despite the fact that little information was available about the band. As I wrote then, it come across as a stripped-down fusion of punk and black metal, with a raw edge and damned catchy melodies to go along with the ugly, clawing vocals and the music’s feral energy and dynamic pacing. It rocked hard but also included segments that one might even call atmospheric, and the drumming was also interesting (and definitely not “standard” black metal blasting).

It turns out that, with a slight wording change, that track became the title song to Vlk’s forthcoming debut album, Of Wolves’ Blood, which is now due for digital and cassette release on March 21 (with the tape edition coming out via Tour de Garde). Today we happily bring you the premiere of another song from the album, a track named “With Banners Raised“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: IZEGRIM — “RECLAIM MY IDENTITY”

Premieres 3 Responses »

Mar 102016

When I come across an album that’s adorned by an Eliran Kantor painting, that’s a very good sign. It tends to signify attention to detail and pride in craftsmanship, not only in the packaging but usually in the music. Of course, it’s no guarantee of metal quality, but in the case of Izegrim‘s new album The Ferryman’s End, the audio and the visual art are a fine match.

The new album, which is Izegrim‘s fifth, is due for release on April 15 by Listenable Records, and today we bring you a new song to sample — a track called “Reclaim My Identity”. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: EXALTER — “TORTURED INNOCENTS”

Premieres 5 Responses »

Mar 102016

Thrash lives — it lives all over the world. That should come as no surprise to anyone, but when you hear kick-ass thrash erupting out of Bangladesh, it’s a good reminder for people like me on the other side of the world from that ancient land.

The band I’m taking about is Exalter, and they’ve got a new release named Obituary For the Living that’s being released by Transcending Obscurity Distribution. This EP includes three new songs plus the four tracks from the band’s debut outing Democrasodomy as a bonus. What we’ve got for you today is the premiere of one of the new songs, “Tortured Innocents”. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): VENEFICIUM’S SELF-TITLED DEMO TAPE

Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET 5 Responses »

Mar 092016

Even though we’re about to premiere a full stream of the debut self-titled demo by Veneficium, I don’t know who is in the band. They are reputed to be veterans of New Zealand’s metal underground, and that’s entirely believable because this demo is masterful at what it does. What it does is unleash a hellish cataclysm of abyssal black/death savagery — but with the kind of flair and dynamism that make this a bewitching terror.

The demo is produced in a way that gives it an immensely powerful and harrowing sound; you feel the bones in your skeleton vibrate down to your feet, and the earth beneath them seems to quake in massive tremors. Yet while the storm of distortion in the stringed instruments and the reverb effects in the vocals are what you would expect for this kind of sonic warfare, the production is perhaps surprisingly sharp; the murk is not so thick as to obscure all the interesting ingredients that make the music so riveting (and unsettling). Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: ROTTEN SOUND — “ABUSE TO SUFFER”

Interviews, Premieres 5 Responses »

Mar 082016

The life expectancy of most metal bands is not much more than that of a child born in a gutter as the Black Plague was sweeping Europe. Those that have survived to see their 20s are often crippled, exhausted, and only going through the motions. And then there’s Rotten Sound.

Born in 1993, they’ve now marked the start of their third decade with a new album named Abuse To Suffer, which will be released by Season of Mist on March 25. If we could harness the energy on these 16 tracks, we could kiss fossil fuels good-by and power our cities and gas-guzzlers on nothing but… rotten sound. Countless grindcore bands (and combatants in other genres as well) have been influenced by this one’s combination of incendiary speed and skull-cleaving heaviness. Maybe it’s like being chased by your children (if they were cannibals wielding knives), because Rotten Sound just seem to run faster, harder, and angrier than ever.

What we have for you today is the debut of a full stream of Abuse To Suffer — but that’s not all. We’ve also got a track-by-track commentary below the stream from the members of the band: Keijo Niinimaa (vocals), Mika Aalto (guitar), Sami Latva (drums), and Kristian Toivainen (bass). Read that, so you can find out about the song with a rap influence, the one built on a riff received from Tommy Iommi in a dream, and what kind of music you make after two bottles of Czech Bozkov Tuzemsky Rum. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): DIABOLUS AMATOR — “DESPOTIC CONJURING OF THE SOULLESS”

Album Reviews, Premieres 2 Responses »

Mar 072016

Despotic Conjuring of the Soulless is the second album by Diabolus Amator, a black metal project created by a multi-instrumental musician now based in Virginia who goes by the name Abyss, with vocals provided by Lörd Matzigkeitus of the Canadian band Idolatry. It consists of 11 original songs and an excellent cover of Inquisition’s wonderful “Desolate Funeral Chant”. For me, the album came out of left field, but it has proven to be a very welcome and highly prized surprise. I’m very glad we have the chance to share with you a stream of the whole album.

The first time I heard the album, I thought I had it figured out by the end of the first three songs — which is the point at which there comes a break in the action, provided by the ominous, groaning ambient track “Invocation of the Abyssic Dragon”. But I was wrong. Not only does the album display different facets of sound and style the deeper you go into it, the best tracks may lie in the second half — though the first half is damned good, too. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: NORTH — “PRIMAL BLOOM”

Premieres 2 Responses »

Mar 072016

The band North from Tucson, Arizona, have had their share of ups and downs since forming in 2005, with line-up changes that periodically disrupted their path forward. But the core members — Evan Leek (bass), Zack Hansen (drums), and Matt Mutterperl (guitar) — have remained together since the beginning, and starting with their 2014 EP Metanoia they have settled into a comfort zone as a trio, with bassist Evan Leek also taking on the vocals. Last year they released their first music on Prosthetic Records, a two-song EP named Through Raven’s Eyes, and on March 18 Prosthetic will release North’s fourth full-length, Light the Way. A couple of songs from the album have already debuted, and now we bring you a third, a powerful track named “Primal Bloom“.

Combining thick, writhing riffs and pile-driving drumwork, North give the song a sludgy, bulldozing, low-end weight, while adding spark and light to the music with a variety of lead guitar motifs that alternately swirl, shimmer, and swarm. It’s a heavy, high-intensity track, made all the more urgent and wrenching by Leek’s raw yells. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: RIMFROST — “SAGA NORTH”

Premieres 8 Responses »

Mar 042016

The Swedish black metal band Rimfrost began life in the summer of 2002 as the vehicle for the creative inspirations of two 14-year-olds, singer/guitarist Hravn and drummer Hravn. In the years since then, the band have seen their fair share of ups and downs, but the original duo have remained together, and now, having been joined by bassist B.C., they are on the verge of releasing their third album through Non Serviam Records.

This self-titled work comes more than six years after the release of their second album on Season of Mist, Veraldar Nagli. Those six years have brought the band increased maturity not only as songwriters and performers, but also as observers of life and combatants in its conflicts. The experience shows in the new music, and today we give you a sample of it through our premiere of a song from the new album named “Saga North“. Continue reading »

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