SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: TORTURE RACK, INFERNAL CURSE, STRAHOR, MISMATCHED, SHADOWS, SCHEITAN, DRUNK MOTHERFUCKERS, FLORES Y FUEGO

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Apr 152023
 

I don’t know where you live. If I were some tech-savvy spook I might be able to find out, but I’m not one of those. I only know where I live. Where I live spring is valiantly trying to become sprung. Leaves and blossoms are gradually appearing on deciduous trees, some faster than others, but when the rains come again tomorrow they may regret that.  A few flowers have blossomed, but not many. I hear a lot more birds at sunrise.

However, the overnight lows are still in the 30s F, the daytime highs still mired in the 50s, and the sun is either pale or obscured by clouds. Spring will have to fight harder. Mind you, I’m not complaining. The last few unbroken links of winter’s chains have made it easier to connect to the some of the music I picked for this Saturday’s recommendations. And of course, delirium and rage are not seasonal, but ever-present, as is alcohol.

TORTURE RACK (U.S.)

Death metal, foul and hulking and savage, seemed like the right way to begin. “Decrepit Funeral Home” will put you on the torture rack and a roaring monster will turn the crank until your bones groan and sinews stretch in agony. You know you deserve it. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: THANTIFAXATH, FEN, OLD BLACK, AUSTERE, DOR, METEOR VORTEX

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Apr 132023
 

I didn’t agree to do any premieres today. I thought I would be in Texas for events related to my day job (I know you’ll mentally insert an F word before “day job” and maybe before “Texas”, so I didn’t bother). But as things turned out I didn’t make the trip, though I do have to make appearances by Zoom (insert another F word). Today’s appearance isn’t until mid-day here, so I used the free time to whip up a roundup.

Tomorrow’s Zoom thing from Texas will start much earlier and last much longer, and for some reason I did agree to a premiere, so no Friday roundup. My crystal ball cracks a lot, but at this point when I look into it I see enough free space in my life to do the usual Saturday SEEN AND HEARD. Even after today there will still be a ton of things to catch up with.

THANTIFAXATH (Canada)

The boundary-pushing Sacred White Noise (reviewed here) really rang my chimes (as it did a lot of other listeners), and seeing Thantifaxath perform live cemented my own fandom. Their follow-up EP Void Masquerading as Matter (which I reviewed here) pushed the envelope even further.

I certainly didn’t expect we’d then have to wait six years for something new from this Toronto group. At least what they’ve done in the interim is a new full-length to make up for the lost time. It has a good and timely title: Hive Mind Narcosis. Continue reading »

ὉΠΛΊΤΗΣ – ΤΡΩΘΗΣΟΜΈΝΗ

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Apr 132023
 

(Andy Synn celebrates the latest prolific produce of Ὁπλίτης)

There’s a famous saying… “god doesn’t close a door without opening a window.” Perhaps you’ve heard it?

Now, I’m not a religious man – and, even if I were, that’s patently false – but I can still appreciate the poetry behind the sentiment, the idea that a loss can also be an opportunity for gain, for change, etc.

Case in point, as bereft as I was by the end of Serpent Column in 2021, the unexpected appearance of Ὁπλίτης with their debut EP, Ἡ εἰκών, later that year definitely helped ease the pain a little, and the release of the project’s first full-length album earlier this year more than cemented them as worthy successors in their own right (in fact, as of writing, Ψ​ε​υ​δ​ο​μ​έ​ν​η is firmly ensconced on my “Best of the Year” shortlist).

And now, in another move which recalls their equally prolific predecessor(s), Ὁπλίτης are back with their second album in just over three months, which once again affirms their status as a band we should all be watching, and listening to, very closely.

Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: MANIACO, EASTWOOD, CHADHEL, DELYRIA, MAN AS PLAGUE, IZROD

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Apr 082023
 


Maniaco

My track record of posting new-music roundups on Bandcamp Fridays is spotty. I probably fail as often as I succeed. I know that people save up Bandcamp wish lists based on things they’ve discovered in between those Fridays, including music they’ve found through our reviews and other roundups. But those Fridays still seem like good days to spread the word about enticing new metal because lots of people are making purchase decisions right then, when Bandcamp has a moratorium on its 15% and 10% revenue grabs.

I did manage to pull together a roundup on yesterday’s Bandcamp Friday. I didn’t have much time to do it (I again blame my fucking day job), which resulted in fewer choices than I had in mind and a lot fewer words, but I hope it was better than nothing. I hope it gave those six bands a bit of a push for their forthcoming records.

Now we’re back to the in-between period. I hope some of what I picked today will wind up on new wish lists or result in immediate pick-ups. Or maybe you’ll just get pumped up listening, like I did this morning. (P.S. If you wonder why I give a damn about Bandcamp as a platform for music, scroll to the very bottom of this article.) Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A BANDCAMP FRIDAY: SAMMATH, ABYSSAL, ELLORSITH, MOURNFUL CONGREGATION, UKAKUJA, AODON

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Apr 072023
 


Sammath

If I didn’t already know, I could have guessed this was a Bandcamp Friday from the choking flood of Bandcamp alerts, messages, and press releases that hit our in-box overnight and shows no sign of stopping. Real tough to know what to recommend, even based on the far-from-exhaustive and truly random smattering of listening I’ve done earlier this week and this morning. But below is what I came up with.

In an effort to compile a larger shopping list for you in a short amount of time, I made a rare effort to (mostly) choke off my own words down to brief gurgles.

SAMMATH (Netherlands)

I’ve had the good fortune to hear a few of the tracks on this veteran black metal band’s ferocious new album Grebbeberg. Inspired by the resistance of the Dutch army against Nazi invaders in World War II, and more specifically by the experiences of a relative of mainman Jan Kruitwagen who perished in that conflict, the album is a stunning audio rendition of extreme warfare under the most desperate conditions, and sees Sammath reaching what might be the zenith of their long career. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: HASARD, BURIAL CLOUDS, NEÀNDER, DJATLOW, HIDEOUS DIVINITY

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Apr 012023
 

Still playing catch-up on all the new songs and videos that surfaced last week… and before….

I suppose I should include some kind of April Fool’s joke, but I can’t think of anything that wouldn’t be obvious. We’ve been nominated for a Pulitzer? We’re starting a clothing line? We’re merging with Rolling Stone so their year-end list will become our own? An AI wrote all the song descriptions in this article? Well, maybe that last one might be believable, if the writing were better.

Anyway, no jokes in the following music, though I have made these selections with the intent of keeping you off-balance.

HASARD (France)

I, Voidhanger Records has once again dropped a bunch of pre-orders and advance tracks for forthcoming albums in one fell swoop. I’ll probably get around to saying something about all of them, but impulsively chose just one today — a new song from Hasard‘s debut album Malivore. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: THE INFERNAL SEA, NERVOSA, WORM SHEPHERD, PAVOR NOKTURNUS

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Mar 312023
 

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The Infernal Sea – Photography by Jay Russell

Well, this was another ridiculous week for the release of new music and videos designed to tease forthcoming records, not to mention the release of complete albums, EPs, and splits. Sadly, it was also another week when I couldn’t manage to catch up to them in other round-ups. At least I got a bit of a head-start today on the usual Saturday and Sunday collections, when more catching up will occur.

THE INFERNAL SEA (UK)

Oh hell, where to start? Well, how about with a new single from NCS favorites The Infernal Sea?

“Apostle of Gehenna” is a nice surprise, since about 2 1/2 years have elapsed since the band’s last release (the Negotium Crucis album, reviewed here), though there’s nothing “nice” about gaping jaws of the hellhound in the artwork (the work of Rob Gould). Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: IMMORTAL, NIGHT DEMON, VULTURE INDUSTRIES, ALL HELL, PHANTOM LUNG

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Mar 252023
 


Demonaz – Photo by Leander Djønne

How long did I sleep last night? Hey, thanks for asking, it was 10 1/2 hours. You’d think I’d dug a mile-long ditch by myself before collapsing in exhaustion, but I did little more than sit on my ass and peck at a keyboard all day. It’s probably just a sign of how long I’d sleep every night if I didn’t have some binding commitment to keep early every morning (looking at you, NCS). I like sleeping.

Anyway, late start today, and therefore not as many picks in this roundup as I thought I’d have. I decided to pull in some bigger names, whose songs surfaced fairly early in the week, and then round things out with some hard-scrabble fighters from deeper underground.

IMMORTAL (Norway)

Dark northern armies go to battle across the ice under blood-red skies in Immortal‘s blazing and bombastic new song “War Against All“. It’s a hot-blooded scorcher, packed with both brazen and febrile fretwork, berserker screaming, and rumbling thunder in the low end. If you’ve just hibernated for 10 1/2 hours it’s as welcome and as effective as a jolt of pitch-black caffeine. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: ASCENDED DEAD, LACABRA, ZEIT

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Mar 242023
 


Ascended Dead – photo by Scott Kinkade

This is the second brief round-up of new songs and videos I’ve managed to assemble today, having unexpectedly found myself with time I didn’t think I’d have. Once again, as in the first installment, I’ve focused on three things that just surfaced overnight or this morning. With a bit of luck I’ll have a third installment finished before I have to pay attention to paying work. If that fails, there will be another roundup tomorrow.

ASCENDED DEAD (U.S.)

To lead off this segment I have “Ungodly Death” (is there any other kind?), the maniacal first preview track from this California band’s new album Evenfall of the Apocalypse. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: SPIRIT ADRIFT, WORMWITCH, THRASHFIRE

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Mar 242023
 


Spirit Adrift, photo by Wombat Fire

No NCS premieres today. I had blocked out this day to fly to Texas for the day job, but that got canceled at the 11th hour, so here I am with unexpected time to entertain myself, and hopefully you too.

But wow, what a flood of new songs and videos there have been this week! And I’ve barely scratched the surface in checking them out. Under the circumstances, I’m going to try something new, since I have nothing else in the queue ready to publish today: roll out short round-ups one after the other until I run out of time. This is the first one, which focuses on things that just surfaced today. I’ll also have another roundup to share with you on Saturday, as usual.

SPIRIT ADRIFT (U.S.)

I know, I know, what the hell am I am I doing leading off with a new Spirit Adrift song? We typically pay as much attention to trad heavy metal at this site as we do to quantum physics. But I’m not immune to the appeal of a band like this one, witness the fact that I even named a song from Curse of Conception to our list of 2017’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs, and gave a shout-out to their Forge Your Future EP in 2021 too. Continue reading »

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