MORGAN BERTHET (THE MARS CHRONICLES): “ABYSS”

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Mar 202014
 

I’m not a musician. I’m just a fan. When I watch a play-through video, I’m not capable of critiquing the fine points of a performance, especially a drummer’s performance, because almost all drummers amaze me. Having made that confession, I’m now going to offer a few thoughts about Morgan Berthet’s drum play-through for “Abyss”, a song by his band The Mars Chronicles.

There are times in the play-through when what he’s doing looks simple — and then he’ll twirl a drumstick through his fingers in mid-beat so fast that you wonder if you really saw it. Those drum twirls having nothing to do with the sound on the song, but they’re still really impressive. The actually drumming is impressive, too. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: TEITANBLOOD, CASTLE, INFERNAL CURSE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Mar 182014
 

As explained in an earlier pissing-and-moaning post today, I was way out of touch yesterday and have been spending some time today catching up on what I missed. But of course I found a whole lot of new likable things that appeared today as well. To avoid falling too far behind, I’m gathering a few of today’s goodies in this post and will collect some of those catch-up items in a piece for tomorrow.

TEITANBLOOD

Teitanblood from Madrid, Spain, were one of my first introductions to the kind of apocalyptic music that some people call blackened death metal and others term war metal. I wrote about them here, not long after making the discovery, in a post that also included music from Blasphemophagher and Diocletian. At the time, I was hunting for the right phrase to describe the music — “Atmospheric death metal”? “Apocalyptic prog”? “Post-death metal?” I decided “war metal” was as good as any label.

Teitanblood’s second full-length, entitled Death, is now scheduled for release on May 13 — five years after Seven Chalices. It’s available on CD and double LP from The Ajna Offensive. It features suitably black cover art (and to see a much larger image, click the one above.)

I’m pleased to say that I have an advance copy of the music. I’m displeased to say that I haven’t yet listened to it. BUT, I have heard one song that has became available on YouTube — “Anteinfierno”. Continue reading »

NEW AGALLOCH: “CELESTIAL EFFIGY”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  28 Responses »
Mar 182014
 

“A galloping acoustic guitar-and-drums introduction? A strutting mid-tempo build? Vocals both growled and hissed? A quick and focused race through black metal? A heroic coda of pirouetting melodies and broad feelings? Indeed…”

Those are the opening words to Grayson Haver Currin’s introduction of “Celestial Effigy”, the first advance track from the next album by Portland’s Agalloch, which Pitchfork premiered this morning. The Serpent & The Sphere is the name of the album and it will be released by Profound Lore on May 13, followed by a May 19 European release by Eisenwald. There may be a 2014 album I’m anticipating more eagerly than this one, but if so I can’t remember what it might be.

The Pitchfork premiere is an exclusive one, so you’ll have to go here to listen. [UPDATE: No, you don’t have to leave us — because the song is now on SoundCloud and I’ve embedded it after the jump.] In addition to those words quoted above, I’d say this about the song: It’s most definitely recognizable as an Agalloch song, with ringing guitars and nimble bass and drum work, a mixture of driving intensity and swirling melodies. But it’s also definitely on the more hard-rocking side of the band’s multi-faceted character — which is just fine. Continue reading »

LIVE: VAMPILLIA AND BAPTISTS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Mar 162014
 

I’m usually in such a hurry to find new music worth saying something about that I rarely make time for videos of entire live sets. But I did that yesterday, not once but twice. In both cases I didn’t really intend to sit through the whole sets, but in both cases I couldn’t tear myself away. These two bands could hardly be more different from each other, but I think both videos are worth your time.

VAMPILLIA

I’ve heard this Japanese band’s name before, most recently in connection with a Japanese tour in June planned by an interesting two-man outfit named Mossenek, which features guitarist Mick Barr (Krallice) and electronic manipulator Chuck Bettis; Vampillia will be along for that ride, together with Nadja. But although the name rang a bell, I had no idea about the music until our supporter Christian Molenaar (whose own Bandcamp page is here) encouraged me to watch the following video.

The performance was filmed at a New York City venue named Pianos on March 9, 2014, by the incomparable (((unartig))). (((unartig))) undoubtedly had his hands full trying to capture everything at this show, what with 8 people on stage and one of them frequently getting down on the floor (and writhing around on it). The performance is incredibly strange and unpredictable — unique, even — and I’m confident it will not be most peoples’ cup of tea, but it includes some rich rewards. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: DEATHWINDS, KHONSU, NIGHTBRINGER, SARCOLYTIC

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK  11 Responses »
Mar 162014
 

Hey there. Happy goddamn Sunday to one and all. Most metal blog proprietors take the weekend off, to rest from their work-week labors and to recover from their binge drinking on Friday night. We’re not smart enough to do that. For the last four-plus years we’ve treated Saturdays and Sundays as just two more opportunities to mess with your earholes. Onward to the messing, with four items I filtered from the effluent of the interhole yesterday, presented in alphabetical order:

DEATHWINDS

I came across this Vancouver band via a Facebook post by Vault of Dried Bones, who will be releasing a cassette EP or album (I’m not sure which) by Deathwinds named Endless Wastelands. The only other thing I know about the band is that their three-person line-up (Nocturnal Black, Filth Destroyer, and Desolator) includes members of Chapel and Radioactive Vomit.

Yesterday Vault of Dried Bones began streaming a song named “Black Tombs’ Spirit” on SoundCloud, but after a little poking around I discovered that both “Black Tombs’ Spirit” and another song (“Death Rule”) are up on Bandcamp as pay-what-you-want downloads. I think I can safely say that I love the shit out of them. Continue reading »

NEW MOSH MEAT FROM XIBALBA AND SUBURBAN SCUM

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Mar 152014
 

Some people have no use for a mosh pit. They prefer to go to shows and watch and listen and do their own thing in their own space. In my case, I’m too old and too big to mosh very much any more. My cat-like reflexes have dulled to the point of being loris-like, and there’s now a high risk I’d either wind up on my ass or inadvertently send someone else to the ER. But I’m damned sure if I heard either one of these next two songs at a live venue, I wouldn’t be able to resist.

The songs come from a new split by California’s Xibalba and New Jersey’s Suburban Scum. It will be released May 13 by Closed Casket Activities, both digitally and on 12″ vinyl. I liked the fuck out of Xibalba’s 2012 Southern Lord album Hasta La Muerte and have been eager to hear what they came up with for this split. I hadn’t come across Suburban Scum before; their last release was a 2012 EP entitled Hanging By A Thread (on 6131 Records).

Yesterday Closed Casket Activities started streaming one song from the split by each band. Xibalba’s “Death Threat” is heavier than the massed assemblage at your average truck-stop diner. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: BLACK JESUS, DEATHEMBER, COGNITIVE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Mar 142014
 

As we confront the brink of the weekend, what I have for you here are three new songs that are a hell of a lot of vicious fun for your earholes.

BLACK JESUS

Today CVLT Nation premiered five tracks from an album by a Melbourne, Australia band named Black Jesus. I’m not sure whether the album includes more tracks and I have no idea at the moment when or how the album will be released. But I started listening to it as soon as I saw this description: “The Black Jesus sound is a melting pot of 80’s Punk/ Hardcore & D-Beat pioneers Discharge, meets From Enslavement to Obliteration era Napalm Death and Entombed’s Left Hand Path. It is entirely unpretentious, completely exhilarating, and has a nasty ‘f* off’ attitude to match.”

I was in kind of a rush to get this round-up done, so I haven’t listened to all the tracks that are streaming, but I sure as fuck like what I’ve heard so far. Take the title track, for example. It puts a charge into the old brain stem right from the get-go with a mess of sawing riffs, scalding vocals, and delicious drum swarms. You definitely do get that Discharge / Entombed feel, but when the song passes the 2:00 mark it turns into a freight train chugfest that will give you some serious neck sprain. Damn, this is a blast. Continue reading »

A NEW ABORTION FROM ABORTED: LISTEN TO “NECROTIC MANIFESTO”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Mar 142014
 

This week has brought a cornucopia of song premieres from albums we’re highly anticipating, including new goodies from Hour of Penance, Misery Index, Massacre, and Eyehategod — and this morning we got one more: DECIBEL magazine debuted the title track from Necrotic Manifesto, the forthcoming monstrosity from Belgium’s Aborted, and you can listen here as well.

Man, it is one decimating track, with this death/grind war machine firing on all cylinders: brutally militaristic snare attacks; flesh-raking riff assaults; Sven De Caluwe barking and screeching like a rabid mastiff; explosive bass drops; and an infernally inspired guitar solo that will pop out your eyes and make you drool. What a fine, fine introduction to this necrotic new album. Continue reading »

NEW MUSIC FROM HOUR OF PENANCE: “RESURGENCE OF THE EMPIRE”

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  13 Responses »
Mar 132014
 

Almost exactly two years have passed since Italy’s Hour of Penance delivered their last album, Sedition. Recently the band announced details about the release of their next album, the name of which is Regicide. It’s due for release by the Prosthetic label on May 13 in North America (May 12 in the UK and EU, May 16 in Germany). And today we got an official lyric video for the album’s first advance track — “Resurgence of the Empire”. You can watch and hear it after the jump.

The lyrical themes of the album revolve around tearing down the walls of ignorance and fear erected by religion and other “dysfunctional authorities” so that freedom might bloom. “Resurgence of Empire” by itself would serve quite well as a battering ram in that demolition project. It would work well on actual walls as well as metaphorical ones. You’ll find out why I say that momentarily. Continue reading »

ALBUM NEWS AND A TEASER OF MUSIC FROM VALLENFYRE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Mar 132014
 

That album cover up there is one I want on a fuckin’ shirt ASAP. It was unveiled today by Century Media and it will adorn the second album by the mighty Vallenfyre, which is entitled Splinters. The artist is Brian D’Agosto. The album is now scheduled for release on May 12 in Europe and May 13 in North America.

I’m really, really eager for this album. We were early adopters of this band beginning when the first whispers of their existence surfaced back in 2010, and their debut album A Fragile King (2011) fully justified our early optimism. If you are somehow unaware of Vallenfyre, the band consists of Greg Mackintosh (Paradise Lost) on vocals and lead guitars, Hamish Glencross (My Dying Bride) on rhythm and lead guitars, Scoot (Doom, Extinction of Mankind) on bass, and drummer Adrian Erlandsson (At the Gates, Paradise Lost, The Haunted).

Today also brought the first taste of music from the new album. It comes in the form of a studio video that includes a minute and a half of the song “Scabs”. Continue reading »

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