SHADES OF BLACK: KAMPFAR, GRAVEBORNE, NECROSADIST, WILDERNESSKING, LVCIFYRE, VAKSLEN, KALL

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK  6 Responses »
Jan 132014
 

Since the weekend began I caught up with a flood of hair-raising new songs and found so many worth recommending that I’ve collected them in two posts, this one being the first. I probably should have divided them into 4 or 5 posts, but since the unofficial motto of this site seems to be “long-winded”, why bother? New music from seven bands is gathered here. Shades and phases of black metal diversity… dig in!

KAMPFAR

This Norwegian band has been an NCS favorite for years. As previously reported, their new album Djevelmakt is due for release on January 21 via Indie Recordings. We previously featured (here) the first advance track from the album — “Mylder” — and now we have a second one, by the name of “Swarm Norvegicus”.

It begins with strings and piano and moves into a slow, massive, glorious, stomping behemoth of a song that builds in intensity. Both malignant and memorably melodic, it’s another very promising signpost on the road to one of our most highly anticipated 2014 albums. Listen next… Continue reading »

FIVE SLUDGE ALBUMS TO CHECK OUT

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Jan 112014
 

(Guest writer Kunal Choksi of Transcending Obscurity returns to put the spotlight on five sludge bands from around the world.)

Here’s a list of five relatively underrated bands that you should look into, and for good reason. All five are different from each other in their own way and add their own to this style of music. Pyramido with its Swedish Hardcore-infused Sludge, Lurk with its unique mesmeric thick mix, Fleshpress with its mind-warping esoteric Sludge/Doom, Evil Horse with its obscure art and riffy genius, and Grimpen Mire doing it powerfully, in the old school way.

Pyramido (Sweden) – Saga (Heart & Crossbone Records)

This is one of the best acts playing this style of crusty Sludge/Doom. It’s melancholic and hard-hitting at the same time – devastating for any listener. An experienced band by now, Pyramido keeps pushing the envelope, releasing some of the heaviest music in this style, painstakingly.


Continue reading »

NEW YEAR’S GREETINGS FROM 14 BANDS: PART 3

 Interviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Jan 102014
 

(Our Russian correspondent Comrade Aleks put 3 year-end questions to 14 bands, many of whom may be new names to NCS readers. In this 3-part post, he shares their answers and their music. Today, the featured bands are The Grand Astoria, Vin De Mia Trix, Who Dies In Siberian Slush, and Without God. Find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.)

This publication is the last thing I could do before I fell into drunken slumber after horrible celebration of the New Year then coming and now here. Men from a few euphonious bands of Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia were asked three similar questions, and soon, answers were given. What did I ask them to share with our readers in these gloomy winter days? Oh, I guess here they are…

1. What is the band’s latest news? And what are your plans for 2014?

2. For what events do you remember 2013? Events from the world of music, political stuff, personal stuff, or even that bad weather – that damned winter without snow?

3. And the last one – what would you like to wish for our readers and your listeners?

Here we go again, to spread the Word of Doom, Death, and Damnation (as well as Goodness and Virtue). Happy New Year! Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: SÓLSTAFIR, SHINING, SHITFUCKER — AND WILDERNESSKING

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Jan 082014
 

I noticed a lot of new things yesterday. A few of them are collected in this post — an alliterative line-up of new videos and/or songs from Sólstafir (Iceland), Shining (Norway), and Shitfucker (Detroit), plus some welcome news from Wildernessking (South Africa).

SÓLSTAFIR

Yesterday, I spied not one, but three new things from one of our site’s favorite bands, Iceland’s Sólstafir. The first is a new song that appears on a forthcoming 7″ split with another Icelandic band named Legend.  For this split, each of the bands has covered a song by the other. In Sólstafir’s case, the song is Legend’s “Runaway Train”, the original of which you can find here.

I was hooked from the first compulsive drumbeats and darting guitar notes. From there, Addi Tryggvason adds his gritty vocals to what becomes a dark, urgent, hard-rocking take on the original, enhanced by keyboards and an unexpected chant in the mid-section. Damned catchy. Continue reading »

NEW YEAR’S GREETINGS FROM 14 BANDS: PART 2

 Interviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Jan 072014
 

(Our Russian correspondent Comrade Aleks put 3 year-end questions to 14 bands, many of whom may be new names to NCS readers. In this 3-part post, he shares their answers and their music. Today, the featured bands are Halter, Montezuma’s Revenge, Psilocybe Larvae, Station Dysthymia, and Stoned Jesus. Find Part 1 here.)

This publication is the last thing I could do before I fell into drunken slumber after horrible celebration of the New Year then coming, and now here. Men from a few euphonious bands of Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia were asked three similar questions, and soon, answers were given. What did I ask them to share with our readers in these gloomy winter days? Oh, I guess here they are…

1. What is the band’s latest news? And what are your plans for 2014?

2. For what events do you remember 2013? Events from the world of music, political stuff, personal stuff, or even that bad weather – that damned winter without snow?

3. And the last one – what would you like to wish for our readers and your listeners?

Here we go again, to spread the Word of Doom, Death, and Damnation (as well as Goodness and Virtue). Happy New Year! Continue reading »

AN UPDATE AND A ROUND-UP (WITH ORIGIN, DIOCLETIAN, HOWLS OF EBB, AND DRUID LORD)

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Jan 072014
 

Your humble editor is behind (or is A behind, depending on who you talk to). Behind on reviews, behind on news and new song premieres, behind on the vaunted list of 2013’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs, and behind in posting things that our staff and guests have written for publication. There are many reasons for this tardiness, but I’d rather not dwell on them. Instead, let’s look ahead to the future.

As far as NCS is concerned, we do have a few late-breaking year-end lists to post. Honestly, I’m somewhat amazed that these lists continue to draw as much interest as they have, given how many we’ve posted during this year’s LISTMANIA extravaganza, but even our most recent ones have attracted strong interest. So, we’re not calling a halt to them just yet. And just as that series is finally winding down, another one will begin: Finally, I’m going to start rolling out the Most Infectious Songs list later today, with the first three picks.

I also expect to resume our usual features now that the holiday season is over, beginning with the following round-up of news and new music. And we begin with…

ORIGIN

Two and a half years have passed since Origin released Entity, and yesterday brought the welcome news that the band are about to begin recording their next album, which will be entitled Omnipresent. Continue reading »

NEW YEAR’S GREETINGS FROM 14 BANDS: PART 1

 Interviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Jan 062014
 

(Our Russian correspondent Comrade Aleks put 3 year-end questions to 14 bands, many of whom may be new names to NCS readers. In this 3-part post, he shares their answers and their music. Today, the featured bands are A Young Man’s Funeral, Decay of Reality, Ennui, Ethereal Riffian, and Evoke Thy Lords.)

This publication is the last thing I could do before I fell into drunken slumber after horrible celebration of the New Year then coming and now here. Men from a few euphonious bands of Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia were asked three similar questions, and soon, answers were given. What did I ask them to share with our readers in these gloomy winter days? Oh, I guess here they are…

1. What is the band’s latest news? And what are your plans for 2014?

2. For what events do you remember 2013? Events from the world of music, political stuff, personal stuff, or even that bad weather – that damned winter without snow?

3. And the last one – what would you like to wish for our readers and your listeners?

Here we go, to spread the Word of Doom, Death, and Damnation (as well as Goodness and Virtue). Happy New Year! Continue reading »

BANDS YOU NEED TO HEAR: WARFORGED

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  10 Responses »
Jan 022014
 

(In this post, TheMadIsraeli introduces us to a death metal band named Warforged, who have a new EP on the way.)

If Warforged release a full length this year, I predict it’ll be at the top of the heap.  I’ve been hearing things about these Chicagoans for a while, but nothing substantial had ever come out and what I could hear from their earliest efforts was severely underdeveloped and, now in hindsight, was totally unrepresentative of what they do.

Based on the sounds from their forthcoming debut EP, Essence of the Land,  Warforged play progressive tech-death with a heavy black metal influence.  The array of influences you can hear are many, emanating from sources such as Martyr, Spawn Of Possession, Gorguts — mostly from the alien, angular, tech-death circuit — while also channeling bands such as Emperor, Daylight Dies, In Mourning, and The Faceless.

I figured now was a good time to write about these guys because they have just released a video for not one, but three songs, suggesting that the EP, the album art for which you can see above, is an epic suite.  This video is ¾ of that suite, and it completely bewilders and amazes me.  I don’t think you’re ready for this. Continue reading »

INSOMNIUM AND AGALLOCH: NEW-ALBUM UPDATES (and a playlist)

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  12 Responses »
Dec 292013
 

Here’s a status update that appeared on the Facebook page of Finland’s Insomnium today (emphasis added):

“We’ve now recorded rhythm guitars for 5 songs. In addition to Marshall+EVH combo we’re also using Mesa Single Rectifier and my seven stringed Mayones to add some more depth and fatness to the sound. The new material is definitely more varied than before. For example, we’re flirting a bit with death/black metal vibe with some of the songs. Nevertheless, everything sounds very much like Insomnium and I guess that’s mainly due to our “trademark” melodies. We’re splitting rhythm parts pretty much equally with Markus and also try out different guitar arrangements as we go. All in all, the mood is very relaxed and we’re making good progress without too much pressure and stress.

-Ville”

Aw hell yes.   Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: HAIL SPIRIT NOIR, CULTED, TRENCHROT, THRALL

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK  12 Responses »
Dec 282013
 

Between the time I’ve spent with family and friends over the holidays and pushing out the biggest year-end LISTMANIA series our site has ever published, I’ve been constricted in my ability to listen to new songs and forthcoming releases. But I keep lists. I keep lists like a hoarder of names. Never mind that actually making it through the lists is a frail hope, given that they keep growing, and growing, and growing…

But yesterday, I made a small dent in them and came away with four songs I’m really high on. Two of them are new tracks by bands whose past work I’ve admired, and two of them come from bands who I’d never heard before. Musically, the four songs have very little in common, other than the fact that they are all winners — and they all have darkness in their souls.

HAIL SPIRIT NOIR

Hail Spirit Noir’s first album, Pneuma (reviewed here), was unlike anything else I heard in 2012. It was exceedingly strange and yet brilliant, a splicing together of black metal, 60′s flower-power pop psychedelics, 70′s prog rock, 80′s New Wave dance beats, melodic doom, and even cool jazz. Each song was distinctively different from, though related to, the others, like cousins on a gnarled family tree. Continue reading »

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