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AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: ESCARNIUM — “INTERITUS”

Oct 132016

Last fall we had the pleasure of premiering Godless Shrine of Decay, an album-length compilation of music by the Brazilian death metal band Escarnium. Godless Shrine was released by Redefining Darkness Records to pave the way for the band’s new album, which will be released on October 14 by the same label in North America and by Testimony Records in Europe. The name of the new album is Interitus, and today we’re able to bring you a full stream of the album on the eve of its release.

Since the band’s founding in 2008, they’ve released one previous full-length, 2012’s Excruciating Existence, and a handful of shorter offerings. As a retrospective, Godless Shrine of Decay documented the maturation of this band over time into a group of ravagers with a knack for writing and executing songs of soul-plundering savagery and relentless ruthlessness. As evidenced by this new album, they have developed a truly impressive, sure-handed mastery of evil, primal, old school death metal. Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: ARKONA — “ZIEMIA”

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Oct 132016

We have three months left in 2016, and there are still can’t-miss releases on the horizon before we reach New Year’s Day. Judging by the stunning new song you’re about to hear, we’re compelled to say that the new album Lunaris by the long-running Polish band Arkona will be one of these. The album is set for release on November 4 by Debemur Morti Productions, and the name of the song is “Ziemia“.

Arkona must be considered among the pioneers of Polish black metal, with demos that date back to 1994 and a debut album (Imperium) released in 1996. Lunaris is the band’s sixth album in that long career, and the second following a span between 2003 and 2014 when the band only participated in a few splits. This is their first album on the Debemur Morti label. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SLEGEST — “WOLF”

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Oct 122016

In December of every year our putrid site rolls out a list of the year’s “most infectious” extreme metal songs, as chosen through our own infallible judgment. This song we’re about to bring you by the Norwegian band Slegest has vaulted onto the list like Superman leaping a tall building in a single bound.

The name of the song is “Wolf” and it appears on Slegest’s second album Vidsyn, which is being released by Dark Essence Records. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: QUEEN ELEPHANTINE — “ONYX”

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Oct 122016

With the song you’re about to hear, we’re taking a few steps off our more usual beaten paths. The song doesn’t fracture skulls or lacerate flesh, but it definitely has an irresistible effect on the body and the mind — and one that grows ever stronger as it unfolds. The name of the song is “Onyx” and it appears on Kala, which is the fifth album by Queen Elephantine, due for release on October 21 in a variety of formats by a consortium of different labels.

To be honest, I wasn’t familiar with the band before delving into this album, but you can now count me among those intrigued and fascinated by the music. For others who may also be discovering Queen Elephantine for the first time, the group was originally formed in Hong Kong in 2006, moved to New York the next year, and are now based in Providence, Rhode Island. The line-up hasn’t remained fixed over time — and no fewer than 10 people are credited with contributions to the music on Kala. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CRÉATURES — “À L’ORÉE DU MAL, LE PACTE”

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Oct 112016

Le Noir Village by the French project Créatures is an unusual and ambitious album in numerous ways. Créatures is the solo project of a man who uses the name Sparda. The album (which is Créatures’ first full-length) tells the story of a twelfth-century countryside village that is attacked by terrifying monsters. As in an opera, all the characters in the story are enacted by different vocalists who act as first-person narrators to help tell the tale. The digipack version of the album will be accompanied by a 16-page booklet that includes, in addition to the cover painting by Simon Hervé, a different drawing in a medieval style for each of the album’s six songs along with the texts of this musical horror play.

But the album’s ambitions go further still. Sparda, who composed the music and also plays one of the vocal roles, performs not only guitars and bass but also piano, organ, ocarina, dung chen, singing bowls, gong, and the sounds of singing choirs. And he was aided in the production of the album not only by the 9 other vocal artists but also by other musicians (including drummer Ehrryk) who perform a further array of instruments that includes cello, violin, trumpet, darbuka, and more.

And if you’re not interested in hearing the music by now, that would be surprising. But what you hear may be even more surprising. We have the premiere of a shortened version of the album’s fourth track, “À l’orée du Mal, le Pacte“. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: KINGDOM — “FORSAKEN TRIBE”

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Oct 102016

On October 28 Godz Ov War Productions will release the third album, Sepulchral Psalms From The Abyss Of Torment, by the Polish blackened death metal power trio Kingdom. Today’s it’s our pleasure to present the premiere stream of the album’s third track, “Forsaken Tribe“.

A song like this warrants a warning: If you have body armor handy, it would be wise to strap it on, and stretching your neck muscles would be a good idea, too. “Forsaken Tribe” is a megaton crusher, and when Kingdom really shift into rampaging gear at the 0:40 mark, it becomes a hell of a headbang trigger, too. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: MADDER MORTEM — “BLOOD ON THE SAND”

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Oct 102016

(Our old friend KevinP has been absent from our pages for an extended hiatus. What brought him back? He’s about to tell you….)

EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE: Madder Mortem is one of those clean-singing bands we talk about here because they are just so damn worthy of it. Vocalist Agnete M. Kirkevaag may have some of the most tender whispers, but that’s balanced out with violent screams.

Back on June 11, 2015, we featured a 176-second teaser clip of the new album, Red in Tooth and Claw. And now, FINALLY, we have a release date: October 28, 2016. The first single and lead track to that album, “Blood on the Sand“, is available for your listening pleasure below. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): SORGUINAZIA’S DEBUT DEMO

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Oct 092016

On their debut demo, Sorguinazia demonstrate impressive skill in conjuring visions of chaos, horror, and inescapable doom. In the space of only three songs, they immerse the listener in maelstroms of dense, violent, suffocating sound while casting dark and mesmerizing spells at the same time. You can easily imagine that the membrane between our own reality and a dimension inhabited by monstrous wraiths is being torn asunder, and we are being inexorably pulled into the vortex where they dwell.

Sorguinazia consists of two members — Axczor (vocals, bass, drums) and Xolaryxis (guitars, vocals). Their location hasn’t been revealed. Their self-titled demo will be released on tape by Toronto’s Vault of Dried Bones on October 31, and today is a good day to spread the word about it, because all three songs have just been made available for listening on YouTube, and we’re bringing all of them to you at the end of this review. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): DÉMONOS — “FROM SACRED TO PROFANE”

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Oct 072016

The debut EP of the Indian black metal band Démonos is fascinating. It doesn’t fit neatly into any of the usual pigeonholes of black metal. There are common threads that link the songs together, but each of the songs is also quite distinct from the others. Making your way through all four tracks from start to finish proves to be an enthralling and immersive experience — and it’s a trip we hope you’ll take with us as we premiere a full stream of From Sacred To Profane.

It’s tempting to attach adjectives like “avant-garde” and “progressive” to the music, in part because the EP is so varied, unpredictable, and instrumentally imaginative. It plumbs dark depths, with an often solemn and even depressive air, but the songs are also infectious when you first hear them and memorable in their aftermath. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: KHEMMIS — “BEYOND THE DOOR”

Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres 4 Responses »

Oct 072016

The rise of Denver’s Khemmis into the upper echelons of doom has been nothing short of meteoric, thanks in large part to the enormous appeal of their 2015 debut album Absolution. Since that album’s release, Khemmis have confronted what always comes with stellar debuts — the pressures and perils of high expectations by fans for a follow-on album. In two short weeks, that testing time will arrive as 20 Buck Spin releases the second Khemmis album, Hunted. By one measure, Hunted has already met and exceeded expectations — Sam Turner has again created one hell of a metal album cover, with the Khemmis wizard on an armored steed, flanked by death dealers you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. As it turns out, the music meets and exceeds expectations, too.

In 2015 we had the pleasure of premiering a song from Absolution, along with one of the most interesting and entertaining band interviews we’ve ever published. We now count ourselves lucky that we also get to bring you the premiere of a song from Hunted in advance of its October 21 release. Its name is “Beyond the Door“. Continue reading »

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