A SMALL VAT OF SLUDGE: DUKATALON AND COWARDS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
May 142012
 

I think it’s fair to say that I have eclectic taste in metal. I enjoy a wide range of music (as long as it has little or no clean singing, of course), and I make a conscious effort to cover a broad spectrum of genres/sub-genres in my own contributions to NCS. But that’s not to say I like everything to the same degree, and I certainly don’t claim to be well-educated in everything metal has to offer. Of course, as is true of most fans, there’s a connection between the intensity of my liking for certain styles and the extent to which I feel knowledgeable about them.

Sludge — and particularly doom-heavy sludge — is an example of a genre style that I’ve consumed only rarely, and consequently I don’t claim any expertise in the area, nor any legitimate basis for saying what’s best and what isn’t. I tend to prefer faster, more explosive music, and I’ve yet to fully appreciate the beauty of being dragged at a crawling pace through sucking tar, particularly when the music doesn’t provide the relief of at least a momentary glimpse of light or a lungful of air.

HOWEVER, I’m a riff addict, and I do love a big, heaving, massively distorted guitar-and-bass tone. I also often enjoy really ugly music that feels like an alien larval parasite eating its way through my chest and eventually exploding in a spray of blood and soft tissue. And so today, after that long wind-up, I bring you music from Dukatalon (Israel) and Cowards (France).

DUKATALON

I also enjoy eye-catching album art, and (as you can see above) Orion Landau created a real winner for the debut album by this three-man Israeli band, 2009’s Saved By Fear (which was later re-issued by Relapse Records after they signed Dukatalon). What, you may ask, am I doing writing about an album that’s two and a half years old? And the answer is: Last week Dukatalon released a music video of a live performance of a song from that album called “Vagabond” that really grabbed me. Continue reading »

MAGOA, SWALLOWED, AND HIDEOUS DIVINITY

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  11 Responses »
May 132012
 

In this post I’ve collected music from three bands I came across yesterday that I thought was worth sharing. I tried to think up some kind of Mother’s Day theme for this round-up. All I could come up with was the idea of calling all of you motherfuckers, but that doesn’t really work, does it? Anyway, for all of you whose moms didn’t kick you out of the house, don’t forget to wish them a Happy Mother’s Day. Even those of you who got kicked out might give it a try. They might let you back in.

MAGOA

This band is from France. These days, that means there’s about an 8 out of 10 chance they will be good. Magoa released a debut album last year called Swallow the Earth, which I haven’t heard. More recently, they’ve finished recording a 6-song EP that I presume will be released later this year. Last week, they released a single from the EP for free download, along with an accompanying video. The name of the song is “Animal”.

As their principal influences, Magoa cite Slipknot, Lamb of God, Pantera, and In Flames. Based on this song, I’d add Meshuggah to the list, which I suppose is a way of saying that it includes some djent stylings. I get the Slipknot reference, but based on this song I wouldn’t say the usual stylings of those other bands are much in the mix.

I do like the song — it’s groovy, it’s brash, it’s high-energy, it includes a catchy melody — but the main reason for posting about it is the video, which I couldn’t take my eyes off of. In the category of videos that exclusively depict the band performing the music, it’s one of the best I’ve seen this year. Continue reading »

THE WEEKEND ON ROLLER SKATES — WITH YELLOWGOAT, WINDS OF GENOCIDE, ONE INCH GIANT, AND SEVERED CROTCH

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  17 Responses »
May 112012
 

True story:  I tried to roller skate once.  It didn’t end well.  I kind of careened all over the place, totally out of control, veering in one direction and then another.  Eventually I came to rest — on my ass, with a severely sprained ankle.  It was a hell of an adrenaline rush, followed by a fuckton of pain.

The point of this post is to throw some music your way to help you skid into the weekend ahead, to get some adrenaline pumping, and to bring the pain.

YELLOWGOAT

We know Joel Grind can thrash. He’s the driving force behind Portland’s one-man wrecking machine, Toxic Holocaust, a “band” that quite effectively churns out a holocaust of punk/thrash mayhem. Now we can hear a slightly different side of Mr. Grind.

He has a one-man side project called Yellowgoat and has finished recording a 9-track album under that name. Yesterday he put up on the Tube of You an 8-minute preview of the album, with excerpts from the songs. Based on those previews, I’d describe the music as a nasty, fuzzed-out fusion of black thrash, d-beat, and punk — a throwback to the early days of black metal. It makes sense that he picked a name that pretty obviously came from the cover of Bathory’s first album.

The music is vicious, raw, and thoroughly energizing. So get this skate show on the road by rockin’ out to the Yellowgoat album preview right after the jump, and after that you’ll see some of Joel’s comments about this project. Continue reading »

METAL NARROW-MINDEDNESS OVERCOME BY TITANIC RIFFAGE: COMMUNIC’S NEW VIDEO FOR “FACING TOMORROW”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
May 102012
 

My personal listening prejudices are spread in big spiky letters across the top of every NCS page. I’m not here to defend them, because I know it’s a matter of personal taste. It’s simply a fact: I just really and truly prefer not to have much, if any, clean singing in metal.

But at this site we do have Exceptions to the Rule. Some of our other writers invoke Exceptions because sometimes they genuinely enjoy the clean singing found on some albums. I usually invoke it when I like everything else about the music, and the everything else is so strong that it outweighs the vocals. That was my reaction when I saw and heard the new video that Norway’s Communic released today.

The song is “Facing Tomorrow”, and it appears on the band’s 2011 album The Bottom Deep. Andy Synn reviewed the album here, and he made Communic the subject of a SYNN REPORT here. I’ve heard the song once before, back when Andy reviewed the album, but I don’t think I had the volume turned loud enough back then. I really cranked the mother up when watching the video this time.

I would be plenty happy with this song if it consisted of nothing more than the intro and the finish, because the riffage and the drummage are stupendous — pulverizing, physically compelling, and heavier than a truckload of paving stones. Continue reading »

DYING FETUS DELIVER A NEW SONG: “SECOND SKIN”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
May 102012
 

If you bothered to read the pathetic little piece of excuse-making that was my last post, which was made tolerable by the inclusion of a ripping new song from Miseration, then you’ll know I was up waaaaay past my bedtime last night. I’m awake now, bleary-eyed and not thinking at even my usual muddy level of mental clarity. However, one need not be clear-eyed and sharp-minded to appreciate the new song by Dying Fetus that Revolver mag premiered this morning at this location.

The song is called “Second Skin”. It is drawn from the band’s next album, Reign Supreme, which will be released on June 19. The song is primo ass-kicking material. It brings a suffusion of the brutalz. It performs brain surgery with blunt instruments. It has flashy, schizophrenic tech riffing and ugly slams. It includes irresistible chugs and pulverizing breakdowns. I likey very, very much. You will likey, too. Listen after the jump while I get some coffee. Continue reading »

THERE WILL BE A DELAY

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  26 Responses »
May 102012
 

I feel compelled to explain myself, because I have some kind of obsessive-compulsive disease, albeit in a mild form.  I had to work until 2 a.m. this morning, Pacific Time, and the day started really early on top of that.  And I don’t mean working on this blog.  I mean working on my fucking day job, which periodically fucks up NCS but at the same time makes NCS possible.

So, I haven’t finished any posts for early this morning, even though I have an album review from TheMadIsraeli sitting in my in-box.  I don’t have to do very much to get such reviews posted, but at this point, I  can’t even do the miniscule things I do as an editor, which include reading the posts before posting them.

So I will leave you with this — and then whenever I can wake myself up tomorrow, I will do more. I am leaving you with the new full-track teaser from Miseration, which TheMadIsraeli coincidentally recommended, and which is worth a post all by itself.

Unless I die in my sleep, I will see you soon . . . an  until then, the video is after the jump. Continue reading »

DOOMED THINGS: FUNEBRARUM, UNDERGANG, AND ALDEBARAN

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
May 082012
 

Here’s how this post evolved:

Finland’s subterranean death-doom miscreants Hooded Menace have signed with Relapse Records and have finished recording a new album called Effigies of Evil, which will be released sometime this summer. I’ve been monitoring Hooded Menace’s Facebook page, waiting for enough new info to justify a post. Something, anything . . . the album art . . . a  song . . .something!

I haven’t yet found anything like that, but I did find that the band’s second album Never Cross the Dead (2010) is being released in a limited vinyl pressing by Doomentia Records. So I visited the Doomentia web site, which I haven’t done in way too long. While there, I discovered that Doomentia has recently established a Bandcamp page (here). So I went there.

One of the first things I saw was a stream of a split that Doomentia released on vinyl in April 2012 by Funebrarum and Undergang. I will have difficulty describing the music, because it has impaired my higher brain functions, leaving me in a drooling cretinous state. It makes me feel both obliterated and happy. Though the split consists of only two songs, it is hands-down one of the sickest, heaviest releases of the year. Continue reading »

ALLEGAEON’S NEW LYRIC VIDEO FOR “BEHOLD (GOD I AM)” MAY BE GOOD

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
May 072012
 

Allegaeon’s new album Formshifter will be released tomorrow on Metal Blade. Today, we have a new lyric video for a song called “Behold (God I Am)”.

I have seen this video, but that is all I have been able to do.  To be more precise, I have not heard this video.  I am in a secret location where I can look at my computer, but I can neither turn up the volume nor employ ear buds or headphones.  I could tell you why, but then I would have to kill you.

Having seen the video, which includes lyrics because it is a lyric video, I know what the song is about. It’s about the age-old war among religions, with the lives of innocents caught in the crossfire. Endless sermons . . . endless carnage . . . all in the name of one Creator. Nope, it’s not a happy song.

I also know the song includes a long intro, because much time passes before the words appear. There are also instrumental sections, because the words disappear at times.

I like this band quite a bit, which is why I’m posting about a song I’ve never heard. Please tell me whether that was a mistake, or a boon to your day, won’t you?  The vid is after the jump. Continue reading »

RANCOROUS ROUND-UP: MASAKARI, TEMPEST, FIRE & ICE, SAI NAM

 Free Shit, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
May 072012
 

Recently, I’ve discovered two independent record labels that I think are worth your attention. One is a label and distro based in Washington, D.C., called Replenish Records. I found out about them for the first time about a month ago via their release on vinyl (and as free downloads) of albums by Alda (Tacoma, WA) and Sky Burial (Nashville, TN) — see this post for comments about those releases.

More recently, I saw that Replenish is releasing a 7″ vinyl split by Masakari (Cleveland, OH) and Tempest (Vancouver, BC), with two songs from each band. All the proceeds from the split will be donated to Wiggle Butts Bully Rescue of Cleveland and HugAbull Advocacy & Rescue Society of Vancouver, BC. Both organizations are non-profits dedicated to rescuing and providing education about pit bulls. Replenish has also released the split as a free download.

The other label is Reaper Records, which is based in Liverpool, New York. Reaper specializes in hardcore music and has released vinyl by the likes of Terror, S.O.S., Madball, Trapped Under Ice, and Merauder, among many others. I’ve gotten way out of touch with the hardcore scene over the last decade, but even I recognize those names. What brought Reaper to my attention was a feature on Stereokiller about the label’s release of debut albums by Fire & Ice (Richmond, VA) — Not of This Earth — and Sai Nam (NYC, NY) — Crush — and a related contest for album and shirt giveaways.

After the jump, short notes about all this music and links for free shit. I’ll warn you: the songs will tear you inside out. Continue reading »

NO FUCKING AROUND: ENTHRALLMENT AND GOJIRA

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
May 062012
 

It’s a Sunday morning here in the Pacific Northwest. The air is crisp and slightly chilled, the sun is shining, and a high cloud layer has turned the sky a pale blue-gray. It’s a beautiful time to be outside. So I thought, what better way to celebrate than to stay inside and beat the shit out of my head with some brutal heavy music? Well, it made sense to me.

ENTHRALLMENT

I recently discovered this Bulgarian death metal band via their new official video for a song called “Fruits of Pain and Blue Sky”.  You see?  There’s a blue sky connection. This song appears on the band’s third album and their first for the United Gutteral label, People From the Lands of Vit, which is out now.

Listening to the song was liked being dropped into a boiling stew of Cannibal Corpse, Obituary, Suffocation, and Deicide: brutal, technically oriented riffing; riveting drumwork with timely-placed blasting; a slew of piercing guitar solo’s; and gruesome vocals. It triggers a nice adrenaline rush and it’s catchy as well as merciless.

The video is nothing but the band performing the song, but it’s well made, and the Enthrallment dudes look like they’re not fucking around. Get beaten and bruised right after the jump. Continue reading »

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