SEEN AND HEARD: SYLOSIS, PIG DESTROYER, HAIDUK, AND KAWAK IJEN BY NIGHT

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Sep 152012
 

Here are a few things I spotted last night and this morning that I thought were worth passing along.

SYLOSIS

October 9 is the North American release date for Monolith, the new album by Sylosis (Oct 5 in Europe). We’ve previously featured two of the songs from the album — “Dying Vine” and “Born Anew” — and “Born Anew” is being offered as a free download by Nuclear Blast at this site.

Now, someone has posted a teaser reel on YouTube that includes minute-long samples from each of the album’s 11 tracks. I can’t tell if this was an authorized compilation and upload or not. I guess we’ll find out. But for as long as it lasts, it provides a pretty good tasting of an album that a couple of us here at NCS have been spinning and enjoying quite a bit. You can find that teaser reel right after the jump.

As you may know, Sylosis are also opening for Lamb of God, In Flames, and Hatebreed on their North American tour beginning in October. I’ve put the tour schedule after the jump, too. Continue reading »

BLUE STAHLI AND ERUPTED

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Sep 152012
 

I’ll have what he’s having.

Happy Saturday, and for those of you who are in the throes of a post-Friday night hangover, Happy Fucking Saturday and where did you lose your underwear?

I nearly made this into a THAT’S METAL! post because most of it isn’t metal in the musical sense, except I didn’t really cast the wide net that I usually do for those posts. Instead, everything in here, except for the last item, I found by following Facebook links posted by Blue Stahli (pictured above). Also, I decided to fuck shit up with the last item, which is from Erupted and is most definitely metal music.

I discovered Blue Stahli through the NCS writings of DGR, and most specifically through this interview of the man. Since then, I’ve been following Blue Stahli’s activities from afar. Recently, he posted a collection of links to a variety of artistic creations that I thought were cool. Those items make up the bulk of this post; none of them are actually musical creations of Blue Stahli.

ITEM ONE

The first item is a video named “Experimental Light Sculpture” by Karim Mansour. It appears this was created as a student project at BTK Hochschule für Gestaltung, which is a private college of design in Berlin. BTK-FH Berlin. The music is a 16-bit remix of a song called “Surge” by the Brazilian electronic musician Amon Tobin. The visuals are projections onto a wall of jagged surfaces synced to the music, and the visuals are what grabbed me about this video. It’s next. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: PATHOLOGY, DORDEDUH, ODYSSEY

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Sep 142012
 

Here’s Part 2 of the morning round-up of things I saw and heard over the last 24 hours that I thought were worth passing on. The first part is HERE.

PATHOLOGY

I saw that Pathology have released their first digital single, “Tyrannical Decay”, from their forthcoming album The Time Of Great Purification, scheduled for release on September 25 by Victory Records. It’s available on iTunes and Amazon mp3. There’s a music video for the song that’s supposed to see daylight on September 17. You get two guesses about who did the artwork for the single.

As for “Tyrannical Decay”, it’s a brutalizing, pummelizing, meat-tenderizing, bludgeonizing, gutturalizing, demolitionizing slab of merciless death metal. If you’re into brutal death, check this out:

Pathology – “Tyrannical Decay”

[audio:https://www.nocleansinging.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/01-Tyrannical-Decay.mp3|titles=Pathology – Tyrannical Decay]

SEEN AND HEARD: A LIFE ONCE LOST, SEDATIVE, TSAR BOMB, THROW THE GOAT

 Free Shit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Sep 142012
 

Because I was too busy yesterday doing things I actually get paid to do and writing about vaginas, I didn’t get around to hunting the web for new shit to recommend until last night, by which point some of what I found had already spread around metal blogville like herpes at a swingers’ convention. But some people only seem to read this humble blog for their metal injections, so I’m including that stuff anyway. Also, because of my delay, I found way too many nuggets to cram into a single post, so there will be two this morning, this being the first. Here we go:

A LIFE ONCE LOST

This is one of the items that spread rapidly around blogville. And here’s a back story about our connection to Philly’s ALOL:

Back in the day, I was massively hooked by their debut, A Great Artist. The intricate polyrhythmic interplay between the drums and the bass, the mid-range moaning of the guitar leads and assorted other guitar noise, and the high-end howling vocals made for a sweet combination.

I liked the next album, Hunter, even better — more deeply-carved Meshuggah-esque grooves, and even more incurably infectious riffs. I probably listened to that album as many times as I’ve listened to anything. The last album, 2007′s Iron Gag, was good, too, though I’d gotten so hooked on the band’s style that the musical course changes on it were personally disappointing — less Meshuggah and more Pantera, and a throatier vocal style from Bob Meadows.

Then, it appeared the band had broken up, and that was a huge bummer. But I discovered at the end of 2009 that ALOL wasn’t really history after all. At the end of that year, I read that the band was reviving and planned a new album in 2010 — and on the strength of that news, I put them on our January 1, 2010, list of the 21 albums I most wanted to hear in 2010.

Well, it took a bit longer than that. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: VALDUR, ENSHADOWED, CONVERGE (and BLADE RUNNER), AND THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Sep 132012
 

Yeah, I decided to go back to the “Seen and Heard” title for these morning round-ups. I know Phro will be disappointed that I didn’t go with his latest suggestion — “A Nice, Hot Cup of Morning Cum” — but I worried that not everyone would find that as appetizing as he does. Though maybe a dash of nutmeg on top would help. Regardless of the title, the idea is the same: things I saw and heard yesterday that I thought were worth passing on.

VALDUR

Valdur are a three-man band from Mammoth Lakes, California, who I first came across (and wrote about) more than two years ago following release of their excellent second album, Raven God Amongst Us. Yesterday I learned that Valdur have finished writing their new album and will begin recording it on November 12. I also learned that earlier this summer they self-released a limited two-song EP entitled The Hammer Pit, which consists of “rough version” of two new songs.

I was curious to hear The Hammer Pit, since I know that this past spring a new vocalist/guitarist (“Samuel”) joined the band, and his work is reflected on the new EP. I was able to find a Bandcamp page where Valdur are streaming one of the EP’s tracks — “Conjuring the Fire Plagues” — and it’s available for a “name your price” download. It’s a damned killer of a song. Continue reading »

DOOMED: HOODED MENACE AND BELL WITCH

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  13 Responses »
Sep 122012
 

I spent almost all last night writing an album review that isn’t even intended for publication on this site. More about that eventually. But the point for now is that I didn’t have time to finish other projects that were intended for appearance here this morning. Rest assured, they’ll be coming. But for now, I just want to quickly throw you two songs. Figuratively speaking, it’s like throwing you a couple of house-sized granite boulders. Catch!

The first is a lyric video for “Evoken Vulgarity”, which is a song from Effigies of Evil, which is a stupendous album from Finland’s Hooded Menace, which was officially released yesterday, which I’m still hell-bent on reviewing . . . some day. If you wanted to explain to someone how a song could be both horrifying and beautiful, this would be a good example to give them. Though beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.

And in my eye, not only is the song beautiful, but so is the album cover. Click on the image above to see an even bigger, more awesome picture of the art.

The second song is “Bails (Of Flesh)”. It’s by a two-man Seattle band named Bell Witch, and it’s from their debut album Longing, which Profound Lore will be releasing on November 13. “Bails (Of Flesh)” is over 20 minutes long. Yesterday, Profound Lore began streaming the first 11+ minutes of the song. I don’t know about you, but if I’m ready to hear a song that’s 11 minutes long, and it’s as great as this one is, I’d be ready for all 20 minutes of it. So although I’m grateful to hear half of it, I’m also pissed I don’t get to hear the rest. Okay, “pissed” might be a little strong. More like hungry for more . . .

because the song is both horrifying and beautiful. Wait a minute, I said that already. So I’ll say this: it’s both soul-sucking and soulful. Also, devastating. And the Bell Witch album cover (by Bryan Proteau) is also cool. Continue reading »

THE MORNING MAILBAG: DORDEDUH, BISON BC, WINTERUS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Sep 112012
 

I got tired of calling these posts “Seen and Heard”. So, just for the sake of variety I’ve picked a different title for today. I’ll probably go back to “Seen and Heard” soon, because that’s what this is: Things I saw and heard while browsing the web today that I thought were worth sharing.

DORDEDUH

I first learned of this Romanian band in the spring of 2010 when working on a review of Vîrstele Pămîntului, the first album by the revamped Negură Bunget. They were revamped because two of the original members — Hupogrammos and Sol Faur — had left the band in 2009. Dordeduh became the new vehicle for their musical pursuits. Dordeduh released a debut 2-song EP, Valea Omului, in 2010, and have been working on an album since then.

Yesterday, thanks to NCS reader KevinP, I discovered the album’s name — Dar De Duh (“Gift of/from the Spirit”) — and learned just how close the album is to being released: September 28. On the Prophecy pre-order page, I saw that not only is the album going to be available as a CD, it’s also being released as a 2-CD set, a 2-CD + DVD “book”, and a double LP. The second CD consists of the two songs from Valea Omului plus a cover of “Ruun” by Enslaved. Pre-order details can be found here.

I also saw the killer cover art up above, which was created by Romanian artist Costin Chioreanu. AND, last but not least, I heard the album version of a song that originally appeared on the  Valea Omului EP — “Cumpăt”. Continue reading »

VARG: “GUTEN TAG”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  14 Responses »
Sep 102012
 

Last week we reported the news that Wintersun would be embarking on their first tour of North America this fall with Eluveitie. We further reported that a German pagan metal band named Varg (“wolf”) would also be part of the touring line-up. I was pretty sure I’d never heard any music by Varg and I made a mental note to find some immediately, since this is a tour I’m bound and determined to see when it reaches Seattle. However, I was distracted by something important, like the sound of a passing car, and I forgot.

Fortunately, I was reminded earlier today, because somewhere I saw that Varg had just released a new music video for the title track to a forthcoming album by the name of Guten Tag, which was like killing two birds with one stone, getting the reminder and some music at the same time. Before forgetting again, all I had to do was quickly press play. And I did.

The song isn’t really the folky kind of pagan metal. It’s more the thrashing, grooving, headbanging, howling-wolf, infectious kind of metal that one might easily put in some genre other than “pagan”, but since I’ve never been quite sure how “pagan metal” is defined other than by its lyrical themes, and since I don’t speak German, who knows? It’s a catchy romp, though, however you want to categorize it.

As for the video, its meaning is ambiguous. Is it condoning or condemning the suicide that you’ll see? Or neither? I’d be happy to have the interpretations of others, so take a look: Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: BLUT AUS NORD, PORTA NIGRA, AND ABSU

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Sep 102012
 

The internet is like an ever-flowing stream, and by that I mean downstream of something like this →

One of my jobs here at the NCS metallic island is to sift through all the garbage and toxic waste to find the sparkly little nuggets in the stream that are worth sharing with you. Of course, I only look for the nuggets that are pleasing to my eyes and ears because I’m a selfish bastard. You will either be happy with them or you won’t. Here are the nuggets I came across in my sifting this morning:

BLUT AUS NORD

This morning my NCS comrade Andy Synn sent me a message that the new Blut Aus Nord album had fallen into the hands of certain unnamed bastards, not including us, and that it included a sweet piece of cover art. However, even after my pestering, he would give me no links to anything, which reinforced my ongoing desire to slap him. Therefore, I had to dive into the putrid intestinal fluids of the interhole to learn what I could.

As you can see, I found the album cover to Cosmosophy, which is indeed sweet (it’s a collaboration between French artist Dehn Sora and Metastazis). I also found that the album is available for pre-order HERE (CD, LP, plus shirt), and that pre-orders will begin shipping from Europe on Sept 21. I also found that the official updated release date (though this may be only for NorthAm) is Oct 10.

As you may know, Cosmosophy is the concluding part of the 777 trilogy that began in 2011 with Sect(s) and The Desanctification. I found this description of the new album: Continue reading »

ODDS AND ENDS: YELLOWTOOTH, ERYN NON DAE., ODYSSEY, HACKTIVIST

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  12 Responses »
Sep 092012
 

It’s Sunday morning here in the Great Pacific Northwest, and I’m moving at a glacial pace, having headbanged way past my bedtime at a Korpiklaani–Moonsorrow–Tyr–Metsatöll show last night (about which there will be more later). My computer screen is kind of blurry, though I haven’t yet figured out whether that’s because I sneezed on it or my eyes are just filmed over. Still, I’ve been able to make out a few pieces of news that are worth sharing, though it’s possible the band names are all wrong.  Blurry.

My ears are still working reasonably well, though there’s a ringing noise in them. I haven’t figured out whether that’s an after-effect of last night’s show or the space aliens have altered their frequency to get past my foil helmet. Fuck space aliens. Before they fuck you. Anyway, I’ve heard some new music I like, and I’m sharing that, too, though when I mention the ringing noises that I hear in the music, you might want to take that with a grain of salt.

YELLOWTOOTH

I’m gonna start with the music. The music comes from an Indiana band named Yellowtooth and their debut album Disgust, which will be released on Sept 11 by Orchestrated Misery Recordings. Yellowtooth is a trio of 40-somethings who’ve paid dues in other bands going back to the early ’90s, and Disgust reflects an amalgam of their interests. I’ve only just begun listening to the album, but it has really struck a chord in me, and I mean the chord that connects the reptile part of the brain stem and the gonads. That baby is now just twanging away something fierce.

The music is loaded with fat, sludgy, primal, throwback riffs, with a meat-grinding bass tone and well-executed solo’s. And although the music may be best classified in the stoner/doom category, the hoarse death-metal vocals (which I fuckin’ love) turn the songs into something else — something that wants to eat your liver and brain. The shit is really catchy and really foul, and I’m digging it mightily. There’s also an interesting ringing noise that’s like an ever-present atmosphere in the music. Continue reading »

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