Oct 222015
 

nagasaki-explosion

 

(This is Part III of a three-part article prepared by our Russian friend Comrade Aleks. Part I is here, Part II is here.)

This third part of an article that has mainly told the story of World War II’s Eastern Front was supposed to appear earlier, but for some reasons I couldn’t rush. Its structure isn’t so straight, but the main subjects of this part aren’t battles, but the dirtier side of War, War Crimes.

It’s impossible to believe that such things were done by human kind in the period from 1941 ’til 1945, yet these crimes in different forms continue to the present days. You’ll not find here my point of view – only facts from the internet which you can easily check, and mostly extreme and brutal musical points of view on the events of World War II.

Here we have tracks from KYPCK, 1349, Slayer, and Jucifer (again), and you’ll also find exclusive comments by such bands as Winterborn (with fierce and sudden audio help from Impaled Nazarene), The Committee, Cirith Gorgor, and Endstille — along with their music.

I have no quote of Erich Maria Remarque for this time. Just never forget. Continue reading »

Oct 212015
 

Yellow Eyes-Sick With Bloom

 

Last Saturday I began what was supposed to be a two-part post of new music in a blackened vein. Forgetting that part-time, half-witted metal bloggers should never forecast what they’re going to do, I said that I would post Part 2 on Sunday, or Monday at the latest. And… it’s Wednesday.

Of course, the arrow of time didn’t stop in mid-flight to wait for me, and so more new songs and EPs have appeared since I compiled the stuff I originally  planned to include in Part 2. Therefore, I’ve made some additions, and postponed writing about some other things. Ain’t no way I’m saying when the next installment will come….

YELLOW EYES

When I first found out in early September that Gilead Media would be releasing a new album by New York black metal band Yellow Eyes, I blared the news as fast as I could. Now that I’ve heard the album, I feel completely justified in my initial enthusiasm. Continue reading »

Oct 212015
 

hotel photo

 

I had to make a whirlwind trip to Dallas, Texas, for my fucking day job, leaving Sunday morning and returning to Seattle late yesterday. I didn’t have much time to myself, which means I fell behind in listening to new metal. On the plus side, I was put up in a swanky hotel, the corridors of which were lined with large framed photos from ’60s and ’70s fashion magazines. Every time I walked past the one above, I did a double-take. And that wasn’t the only one that stopped me in my tracks. So there’s that.

Anyway, last night and this morning I enjoyed the following new music streams and videos, presented here in alphabetical order by band name except for the last one, which is a twist on what I usually feature in these pages.

ABIGAIL WILLIAMS

Thanks to Andy Synn, we’ve previously reviewed the excellent new album by Abigail Williams, The Accuser, which will be released by Candlelight Records on October 30. Yesterday CVLT Nation premiered a video for one of the new songs named “Nuumite”. It’s the track that ends the album, and takes a sharp turn from what preceded it (though if you listen closely to the preceding songs, you’ll realize that the twist was forecast all along). Here’s what Andy wrote about the song: Continue reading »

Oct 172015
 

Forefather-The Fighting Man

 

Here, once again, is a collection of recent musical discoveries in a blackened vein that I’ve been enjoying — and I hope you’ll enjoy them, too. As is often the case, I’ve filtered what I’ve found to provide a diverse playlist, and I’ve found so much that I’ve divided this Shades of Black installment into two parts. Part Two will arrive tomorrow. Or possibly the day after (I’m going to a late show tonight, and that tends to play havoc with the morning after.)

I’ve had to make some compromises in this two-part post. In some cases, I’m featuring full-album or full-EP streams despite the fact that in some cases I haven’t had a chance to listen carefully to every song. Ideally, I would wait and do that and then write a thorough review. But I’m able to write so few reviews while doing everything else I need to do for the site that it’s safer to feature the music this way rather than risk omitting it altogether. I’m just facing reality.

So here we go… and don’t expect this is all going to sound the same. Continue reading »

Oct 162015
 

Panopticon-Autumn Eternal
As I explained in a previous round-up today, I managed to find some time to catch up on new things yesterday. The previous round-up focused on album announcements with artwork (and one very good new song), and in this one I’ve collected some new music streams plus one older one that has really gotten under my skin. Lots of music in here, but I hope you’ll give all of it at least a test drive.

PANOPTICON

I was one of the fortunate few who got an advance listen to Panopticon’s new album Autumn Eternal, and therefore I had my say about it in July (here). I won’t repeat or attempt to summarize that review, except to say that this is one of my favorite albums of the year. And today, everyone else gets to hear it, too — because it’s now available for streaming (and purchase) on Bandcamp. Continue reading »

Oct 162015
 

Rotting Christ-Rituals announcement

 

As a result of finally finding a few hours yesterday to use in exploring music (for the first time this week), I’m again deluged in new things I’d like to tell you about. To avoid overburdening your patience, I’ve split my discoveries into two posts for today. The focus of this one is announcements of new albums that don’t yet have any music streaming. But because I hate to post anything on the site without some sounds, the last item is a fantastic new song.

ROTTING CHRIST

We’re very big fans of Rotting Christ around here, and so this announcement from two days ago was especially exciting. I’m just going to quote the statement from Sakis Tolis:

After more than a year and a half of deep soul searching, and 4 grueling months in the studio, I can proudly announce that we have finished recording the new Rotting Christ album. It’s eleven new songs, with eleven different and unique stories influenced by rituals and myths from all around the globe. All of these new creations are mystical journeys into hidden knowledge under the name Rituals that will release on the 12th of February, 2016.

Rituals is the darkest and most personal-sounding Rotting Christ album that we’ve ever made, and you’ll be able to hear it very shortly. Stay tuned brothers & sisters!

Continue reading »

Oct 152015
 

Apostasy Records comp

 

I just took a pause from scribbling some stream-of-consciousness reactions to two premieres we’ll be bringing you later today and while scanning my Facebook feed discovered this: Germany’s Apostasy Records has recently released a digital compilation that includes 24 songs from 19 bands spanning the label’s releases over the years 2012 – 2015. Check out these names:

Alkaloid, Black Abyss, Burial Vault, Corpse Molester Cult, Craving, Crisix, Deadborn, Disparaged, Lay Down Rotten, Lost Soul, Maladie, Nailed to Obscurity, Obscenity, Overtorture, Punish, Sonic Reign, Spheron, The Duskfall, and Von Branden. Continue reading »

Oct 132015
 

Ad Nauseum-EP

 

Well, I’m back in the saddle after getting repeatedly thrown off my horse by an exhilarating ride at California Deathfest over a long weekend in Oakland. I do plan to finish writing about the event and posting more of my crappy cell phone photos, but just to prove that things are getting back to (ab)normal here at the site, I thought I’d collect some outstanding songs and eye-opening videos that I discovered over the last 24 hours while recovering from a cataclysmic hangover-and-bangover. Presented in alphabetical order by band name…

AD NAUSEUM

The very cool cover art that appears at the top of this post attracted me to a new EP that has just been released today on tape by Broken Limbs Recordings for a Floridian band named Ad Nauseum. Two of the songs from this four-track release — “Walls” and “Locked In” — are currently streaming on Bandcamp, where the EP is available as a “name your price” download, and the cassette can be ordered HERE. And those two songs are hellishly good. Continue reading »

Oct 082015
 

Satyricon 2013

 

(Andy Synn presents yet another list of his favorite things that come in fives.)

With the recent news that Satyricon frontman Satyr has been diagnosed with a (hopefully benign) brain tumour, I felt now was as good a time as any to wax poetic about my love for the band, and pick out five of my favourite tracks from across their back catalogue.

Once again I’ve tried to stay away from the obvious choices, so you won’t find any mention of “Hvite Krists død” or “Mother North” here, and likewise you’ll also note a distinct absence of the big singles like “Fuel For Hatred” and “K.I.N.G.”.

Still, it’s a testament to the band’s longevity and songwriting prowess that it’s just as easy to pick out any number of other songs that hit the same heights, from across the length and breadth of their creative catalogue, as it is to focus in on their most famous numbers. Continue reading »

Oct 072015
 

Vreid-Solverv

 

Yesterday I compiled a massive round-up featuring new songs and/or videos by seven bands. But that still didn’t exhaust what I had found in the preceding days. And, metal being such an explosively metastasizing tumor, I’ve found still more things to get excited about since I wrote yesterday’s compilation. So, what the hell, I’ve decided to throw caution to the winds and prepare another even more jam-packed post, with good things from eight bands. Once again, I’m choking back my tendency to shower many words over the music… I’ll just scatter a few droplets instead.

VREID

I’m going to start by telling you about a full-album stream that came rushing up like a freight train at night with the lights off. Which is a way of saying that although we here at NCS are enormous fans of Vreid, we received no advance copy of their new album Sólverv, and just learned that all the songs have now been officially uploaded to YouTube for streaming. Continue reading »