OBSCURE BRUTALITY NO. 7: UPHEAVAL

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Dec 052013
 

(Our supporter xBenx has compiled a series of guest posts, this being the seventh installment. Each one focuses on a different band that he fears may have been overlooked by the masses, and today the spotlight is on the long-departed Upheaval, from Indianapolis, Indiana.)

Here’s another borderline case; a band who purposely blur the best of several genres to concoct a distinct cacophony that will be nothing but complete noise to most. This is understandable, especially when an entity like Upheaval endeavour to be as abrasive as possible but without stepping radically outside their influences’ paradigms. Whereas their kindred spirits in Creation Is Crucifixion (will post about them separately) annoyingly dabbled with unnecessary electronic sequences, Upheaval didn’t push to create compositions that were completely impenetrable.

Instead, they deftly blended venomous strains of death and black metal with metallic hardcore that acknowledged, but never parodied, their influences. Despite their antiquity (first two tracks are from 1997), there is something timeless about these apocalyptic hymns, or maybe it’s simply the fact that I’m unable to renounce my past musical obsessions. See what you think and decide if I’ve been merely indoctrinated: Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: BLODSGARD, ÆTHER REALM, IN-QUEST

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Dec 032013
 

I decided to take another break from vacationing to browse the interhole for news and new music, because I continue to have this paranoid suspicion that things continue too happen even when I’m not paying attention. And hellfire and damnation, did I quickly find many items of interest! I’ve collected three items in this post and will try to package up the others in a post tomorrow . . . because vacationing calls me like a siren, and I forgot to stuff my ears with wax.

BLODSGARD

As explained in this review, the debut album by Norway’s Blodsgard — Monument — is in my humble opinion one of the year’s best, and certainly one of my personal favorites. Yesterday brought the premiere of the first music video for the album, for a song named “Sjeler Vil Brenne” (“souls will burn”). It’s a great song, and the video, though mysterious, is transfixing.

The film was made by an Australian company named Shining Dark Productions. Interestingly, Blodsgard have stated that they left the video interpretation of the song entirely in the production company’s hands, “as we believe in the integrity of the artist and the importance of complete artistic control”. Perhaps a risky move, but one that I think worked in this instance. Continue reading »

OBSCURE BRUTALITY NO. 6: MYRKSKOG

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  12 Responses »
Dec 032013
 

(Our supporter xBenx has compiled a series of guest posts, this being the sixth installment. Each one focuses on a different band that he fears may have been overlooked by the masses, and today the spotlight is on Norway’s Myrkskog. Those with long memories may recall that Myrkskog were also the subject of one of Andy Synn’s early SYNN REPORTS.)

For me, Myrkskog were somewhat overshadowed by Zyklon, understandable given the latter’s credentials, but the former were no slouches. In fact, their supreme blitzkrieg of blackened death, which is meticulously calculated in its delivery and jammed to the brim with gloriously scything glacial riffs, is gloriously addictive once you give in and submit yourself. What I like best is how the two genres are melded, they’re almost crystallised to the point where they are in complete harmony, yet there are brief instances where one still dominates the other.

Myrkskog are now back together apparently, and ’bout time. It’s been ten years since the last album and there’s no need to keep us waiting any longer. Continue reading »

RECALCITRANT ROUNDUP: REDUX (Part 3)

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Dec 032013
 

(NCS contributor Austin Weber has delivered unto us a three-part introduction to new and forthcoming releases by 7 bands. In this third and final part, he focuses on Jeff Hughell, Reciprocal, and Fraud. Part 1 can be found here and Part 2 here.)

The end of the year is usually a slower time for new music releases, a time when much alcohol is consumed and countless amounts of money are wasted on bullshit soon forgotten. But fortunately I’ve got plenty of releases and new songs to catch up on and spread the word about.

JEFF HUGHELL – CHAOS LABYRINTH

As one of metal’s most talented bassists, Jeff Hughell is literally in a league of his own, as he primarily plays in two-handed tapping style, which is quite uncommon. Already he has been a part of numerous quality projects, but what most don’t know is that he is also a solo performer. He already has one release of bass-and-drum-only death metal under his belt called I Came To Hate. Now he has recently released a second bass album called Chaos Labyrinth. This is an insane album, and is stuffed with a lengthy, jaw-dropping number of guest spots. Continue reading »

AT THE HEART OF WINTER

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  34 Responses »
Dec 022013
 

(Guest writer Ben raises an interesting question about the effect of seasonal change on listening habits. Read . . . and comment!)

Hello NCS readers, my name is Ben, and as Winter comes into it’s fullness (at least where I’m living in Wisconsin) I’ve noticed something interesting this year.

As the temperature decreases down to the teens or lower, the volume increases and the aggression in the music increases considerably. It’s probably obvious I listen to “heavy” music, seeing as I’m a regular visitor of NCS, but my taste is quite varied. I can, on a daily basis, be listening to bands like Death, At The Gates, and Godflesh, as well as classical compositions, jazz, drum and bass, etc. But the right choice for the winter days and nights, just seems to be unrelenting Metal.

As you may have noticed, the title of this post is a nod to the frostbite-loving Norwegians we all know as Immortal.  Now I’m not the biggest Immortal fan, or Black Metal for that matter. I appreciate it, but I get sick of hearing about how “evil” a band supposedly is. For the reasons I described earlier, though, over the past few weeks Immortal has more often than usual been a nice choice of music for the working hours. Continue reading »

OBSCURE BRUTALITY NO. 5: KLABAUTAMANN

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  11 Responses »
Dec 022013
 

(Our supporter xBenx has compiled a series of guest posts, this being the fifth installment. Each one focuses on a different band that he fears may have been overlooked by the masses, and today the spotlight is on Germany’s Klabautamann.)

In truth, this is neither head-crushing nor really “brutal”, but Klabautamann’s Merkur album from 2009 is brilliant.

Admittedly, these Germans are indebted to Enslaved’s post-millennium discography, but that doesn’t restrict them from forging their own compelling compositions of progressive black metal. The modus operandi found in this 2009 offering was simple; lush, spacious melodic passages meld seamlessly with their contrast — white-hot furnaces of blazing fury. It may be a straightforward dichotomy, but it’s one that has kept me returning frequently. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, VALLENFYRE, NILE, CANNABIS CORPSE, GOATCRAFT, DEFECT DESIGNER

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  14 Responses »
Dec 022013
 

I’m still on vacation, and probably should be vacationing instead of spending time on the internet catching up on what’s been happening in the world of metal. Honestly, I expected that nothing would be happening without me there to notice it. You can imagine my shock and dismay in discovering that the world continues to turn even when I don’t pay attention to it. Something is seriously wrong.

Honestly, I didn’t try to dig too deeply into what I’ve been missing, but I did manage to fight through my depression and found a batch of recent things worth mentioning before returning to fucking off.

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE

The last time a band’s merchandising ploy pulled me up short was when Ghost B.C. started selling dildos and butt plugs. But it happened again yesterday when, thanks to a link sent my way by The Autistic Metalhead, I discovered that Italy’s Fleshgod Apocalypse had started selling their own brand of pasta. It’s true. They’ve got four varieties and they’re shipping worldwide. In my case, it would cost 28 Euro, plus 20 Euro for shipping and handling. Continue reading »

SAN DIEGO DEATH METAL PART II: NOW, WITHOUT THE TENUOUS BOB FILNER CONNECTIONS (OR, IN SOME CASES, THE “SAN DIEGO” OR THE “DEATH METAL”)

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Dec 012013
 

(Back in September our guest writer Leperkahn introduced us to three San Diego bands with which to despise the city’s mayor, Bob Filner. Now Leperkahn returns with some new goodies. Also, another mayor to despise.)

Hello again, fellow NCSers. It’s been a while since I’ve posted around here, but the maelstrom of calculus, Common App, and my job at sdmetal.com ate up a lot of time. Alas, the stream of records has slowed recently, so I haven’t had anything to review, and I have this whole week off. Thus, I return to spread metal and to procrastinate those essays.

Much like my second post for this site, this will be a round-up of various San Diego(ish) metal bands worth hearing. This was going to be a fully death-metal-themed list, but then the final band in this post popped up in my mind, thus skewing that. Also, since my last San Diego metal roundup, we have found a mayor to outdo even Bob Filner in his depravity – Rob Ford. Thus, politics will be kept out of this metal, unless you consider this metal in politics: Continue reading »

OBSCURE BRUTALITY NO. 4: ESSENZ

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Nov 302013
 

(Our supporter xBenx has compiled a series of guest posts, this being the fourth installment. Each one focuses on a different band that he fears may have been overlooked by the masses, and today the spotlight is on Germany’s Essenz. Click that wonderful cover art to make it larger.)

This is proof that I’m not stuck in the past, as Essenz are one of the more curious troupes I’ve come across in the past few years. Straddling a strange middle ground between black and doom, they erect gigantic foreboding sermons of dread, which crawl, or blast, with an incessant fervour. Both albums are worth hearing, though my preference leans towards the debut (KVIITIIVZ – Beschwörung des Unaussprechlichen) — but don’t rule out the second opus (Mundus Numen), as it has been steadily consuming my being on a regular basis lately.

These platters are best administered through (quality) headphones, so you can block out the outside world’s banal monotony. Though some may say that’s exactly what Essenz sound like. I’ll let you be the judge. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: KAMPFAR, ALCEST, BABY METAL, TREPALIUM, ELEMENTAL NIGHTMARES

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Nov 292013
 

I may have mentioned that I’m on vacation through December 8. In addition to not writing much for NCS, I’ve also largely abandoned my daily routine of reading press releases and roaming the web looking for metal news and video or song premieres to feature on the site. However, today some of my NCS comrades gave me a slew of links that together make a tidy package of extremely diverse new things worth writing about.

KAMPFAR

First, Andy Synn wrote me as follows: “New Kampfar. Put that in your pipe and smoke it”. I tried to smoke it, but the song smoked me instead. It’s name is “Mylder”, and it will appear on this excellent Norwegian band’s new album Djevelmakt, due for release on January 21 via Indie Recordings.

If I could shriek “Helvete!” like Kampfar’s vocalist, I would, because that’s what I want to do when I listen to “Mylder”. It’s an electrifying, dynamic song — with plenty of reaping, roaring, stomping, and jabbing, but also infiltrated with an ethereal flute melody (among other unexpected elements). It’s a great combination of black metal savagery and memorable songwriting. Djevelmakt can’t come soon enough. Continue reading »

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