Premieres Archives - Page 471 of 512

AN NCS PREMIERE: DIABOLUS ARCANIUM — “HERALD OF DARKNESS”

Jul 172015

In this post we present the premiere of “Herald of Darkness”, a song from the forthcoming debut album Path of Ascension by Diabolus Arcanium from Chennai, India.

The orchestral component of the band’s music makes its presence known immediately in a waltz-like melody augmented by choral voices. The orchestration remains a dominant and dramatic feature of the song, becoming more sweeping and bombastic after the metal instruments come in and lead vocalist Hex begins to snarl his lyrics with bestial vehemence. The power and bombast of the symphonic sound lends a theatrical air to the song, with a heavy, jagged edge added by the metal riffing, the thrumming bass line, and the rumbling drumwork.

But the aural spectacle of the orchestration (arranged by keyboardist Archon) is matched by Hex’s extended guitar solo — a fiery, flamboyant performance that works hand-in-glove with the pageantry of the symphonic music. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SADISTIC RITUAL — “FUNERAL RAID”

Premieres 3 Responses »

Jul 162015

Unspeakable Axe Records is on the verge of releasing a new EP named Edge of the Knife by Atlanta’s Sadistic Ritual, and today we’ve got for you the premiere of the EP’s second track: “Funeral Raid“.

For those of you unfamiliar with Sadistic Ritual, they claim inspiration from such old-school slaughtering thrashers as Kreator, Sodom, Razor — and of course Slayer. And when you hear “Funeral Raid”, you’ll appreciate that Sadistic Ritual isn’t yet another straggler in the gaggle of new-school re-thrash bands. Listening to this song is like grabbing a severed power line, jamming it down your throat, and experiencing the thrill of your head bursting into flames.

The incendiary riffs erupt right out of the gate and don’t let up. Augmented by a couple of white-hot whammy-bar solos and a rancid, mad-dog vocal attack, “Funeral Raid” is a full-on adrenaline rush fueled by the spirit of old-school savagery. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: DISPLAY OF DECAY — “CREATED TO KILL”

Premieres 5 Responses »

Jul 152015

Almost exactly one year ago we premiered the title track from a new EP — Outbreak of Infection — by Display of Decay from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Since then the band have completed work on a new album (their second full-length) entitled Dust of Existence, and today we’ve got for you the first single from the record, a head-wrecker named “Created To Kill“.

You can’t accuse the band of false advertising, that’s for sure — the song’s title is a completely accurate description of the music. It’s a title that’s also linked to the song’s lyrics, which are based on events from 19th-century Europe, with references to the origination of Frankenstein’s monster and attempts at resurrecting the dead. As a whole, the album continues the narrative begun in Outbreak of Infection, relating the aftermath of a devastating virus that has annihilated humankind. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: UNBREAKABLE HATRED — “RUINS”

Premieres 5 Responses »

Jul 152015

Unique Leader Records has a well-demonstrated taste for bands who join death metal ferocity to head-spinning complexity and technical flair, and this past spring they added another eye-opening group to their growing roster — Unbreakable Hatred from Quebec City. The band’s second album Ruins is now projected for release in August, and we’re about to give you a glimpse of the carnage within as we premiere the album’s title track.

Unbreakable Hatred is a power trio consisting of guitarist Philippe Drouin, his brother Dominic on drums, and vocalist/bassist Simon B. Lapointe. The band’s debut album Total Chaos was released in 2011, and they’ve drawn praise from an impressive collection of other musicians:

“Unbreakable Hatred is one of Canada’s premier death metal acts; this trio of power lays waste to the listeners’ ear drums on every level and then some!” – Terrance Hobbs, Suffocation

“Unbreakable Hatred blew us away each night with their energy and ripping songs; it was a total pleasure to have them on our tour and the best is most certainly to come – Ferocious!” — Jason Netherton, Misery Index

“Unbreakable Hatred from Quebec are definitly one of the new bands out there to be recognized! Once again proving that Quebec musicians are on top of their Game! ” — Flo Mounier, Cryptopsy

“Great musicians, brutally heavy and very strong live, definitely a band to watch out for.” — Bobby Koelble, Death

AN NCS PREMIERE: GURTHANG AND BEYOND LIFE — “MELODIES OF SORROW”

Premieres 1 Response »

Jul 142015

In this post we bring you the full streaming premiere of Melodies of Sorrow, a new split release by the Polish bands Gurthang and Beyond Life that is being released today by Denver-based Cimmerian Shade Recordings. Gurthang contributes three songs to the split, and four come from Beyond Life. Together, they create a dark and disorienting listening experience, filled with dread and despair — but it’s also fascinating.

GURTHANG

Gurthang has been a prolific project since its creation by vocalist/multi-instrumentalist A.Z.V. in 2010, with a number of short releases and four full-length albums to its credit, including this year’s appearance of the latest album, I Will Not Serve. The songs on Melodies of Sorrow were recorded by A.Z.V. in 2013. Continue reading »

ALDA: A PREMIERE OF “THE CLEARCUT” AND A REVIEW OF “PASSAGE”

Album Reviews, Premieres 13 Responses »

Jul 142015

More than four years have passed since Alda’s release of their last album Tahoma. For those (like me) who greatly admired that album, it has been difficult to be patient while waiting for something new. At last, Alda have completed a new album. The name is Passage, it will be released by the end of this month via Bindrune/Eihwaz Recordings, and it’s wonderful.

For those of you are as impatient as I’ve been, you can skip straight to the bottom of this post and listen to our premiere of the album’s first track, “The Clearcut“. For those whose patience hasn’t been completely exhausted, you can first read the following thoughts about the album as a whole — or perhaps listen and then read.

I suppose it has become prosaic to say that an album is a journey, but Passage really is one. The long songs flow into each other almost seamlessly, and although the individual tracks can be heard and appreciated on their own, moving through the entire album in a single sitting is to be caught up and carried away (and sometimes to be carried deep into your own mind, as the music fires your imagination). You get the sense that there are stories in these songs, though the vocals are sparse and often wordless, and the narrative is one that’s dramatic and powerful. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: GODHUNTER AND DESTROYER OF LIGHT

Premieres 3 Responses »

Jul 142015

Endsville is the apt name for a forthcoming split by the Tuscon/Vancouver collective who call themselves Godhunter and Austin-based Destroyer of Light, with each band contributing a long EP’s worth of material. It will be released on July 24. We now have for you the premiere of two songs from the split, one by each band.

Your average highly paid therapist would devote years attempting to figure out what’s “wrong” with people who like this kind of music. It’s not food for the soul, it’s poison. It’s not shelter from the storm, it’s a hard shove into the deluge. Forget “life-affirming” — this is a rendition of all that’s wrong with life, except for the life-saving power of a titanic riff, and therein lies part of the answer. I don’t know what the rest of the answer is.

I do know this — a lot of life for a lot of people is no damned good, and to find music that both powerfully captures its ugliness and despair and yet somehow takes you away from all that at the same time, that’s a gift, and both these bands have it. You can move to these songs (you probably won’t have any choice), and you can lose yourself in them, too. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ANTROPOFAGO — “ÆRA DEMENTIÆ”

Album Reviews, Premieres 1 Response »

Jul 132015

On August 14 Kaotoxin Records will release Æra Dementiæ, the second album by Antropofago from France. Last week we brought you the premiere of a new song named “Helter Skelter“, but today we’ve got for you a stream of the album in its entirety.

Antropofago score a rare hat trick on this new album. They’ve created a big shot of aural adrenaline, delivering the kind of vicious, jolting power that most death metal fans crave, but with the kind of intricate, inventive instrumental flair that will stimulate your higher faculties as well as the reptile part of your brain. And in addition to those achievements, they’ve made songs that are also heavy-grooved and very infectious. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: “NAKED // MOON”

Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres 6 Responses »

Jul 122015

Two young Baltimore bands, Naked and Mother Moon, have joined together on a new split recording — Naked // Moon — that will be released by Feeble Mind Records on July 30, and today we bring you a full stream of the split.

NAKED

Naked is the solo project of 20 year old Carl Smith, and Naked // Moon marks his third split release. The two songs from Naked, “Die // Slow” and “Weep”, were performed with only guitar and voice.

“Die // Slow” is a dreamlike mirage of reverberating guitar and deep looping chords that pulsate and warble as Smith’s voice rises and falls like a moonlit tide. The shimmering, atmospheric song succeeds in casting a spell that’s both sorrowful and sublime. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: PERVERSOR — “BESTIAL PATH”

Premieres 2 Responses »

Jul 102015

On July 27, Hells Headbangers will release Anticosmocrator — the second album by the Chilean band Perversor. It follows their 2008 debut album, Cult of Destruction, and their 2011 EP, The Shadow of Abomination. Today we bring you the premiere of a savage new song named “Bestial Path”.

There is a sound at the beginning of this song, something like the roar of a great beast rising up on dragon wings in the midst of a tornado. It sets the tone and it sounds a warning, though it’s a very brief warning, not long enough for you to duck and take cover before the song explodes. Continue reading »

Older Entries Newer Entries