FOR THE SAKE OF COMPLETENESS: THE NEW MASTODON AND OPETH VIDEOS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Sep 242011
 


Most of the time I act on impulse and the rest of the time I over-think things. Yesterday or the day before, both Mastodon and Opeth released new music videos for songs from their new albums. I had already posted new videos yesterday from The Devin Townsend Project and Dark Tranquillity, but because Mastodon and Opeth don’t use the initials “DT”, I decided to skip them.

Actually, I decided to skip them because, by the time I found out they had been released, I figured that anyone who cared about those bands had already seen them via some other metal blog or elsewhere. I think that qualifies as over-thinking things. Both videos are good, some people who visit NCS don’t read other metal blogs, and just because I was going to be late to the party doesn’t mean I should ignore the party, so . . . both videos are now viewable the jump.

Mastodon’s is for a song called “Curl of the Burl”. The song is okay, with a nice stoner riff running through it, but it probably isn’t going to join my list of Mastodon favorites. The video is freaky to watch, though. I especially liked the boobs shining as bright as headlights. And if anyone can figure out what that backwoods cretin is snorting in his cabin, please clue me in.

Opeth’s video is for “The Devil’s Orchard” and, like the Mastodon video, it appears to be a drug-induced dream. Some of the psychedelic images are cliched, but the video as a whole is still very well done and fun to watch, and it complements the song quite well. I just wish I liked the song more. Continue reading »

NEW CARNIFEX SONG PUNCHES HOLES THROUGH WALLS; YOUR NEIGHBORS CAN NOW SEE WHAT YOU DO AT NIGHT

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Sep 232011
 

We’ve been dribbling out new songs and videos today, and I thought we were through, but we’re not — because I just got a press release about a new lyric video from Carnifex. It’s for a song called “Dead But Dreaming”, which will appear on the band’s next album, Until I Feel Nothing, scheduled for release by Victory Records on October 24. I have a couple of quick reactions, and then I’ll let you go watch and listen to the video.

First, the song is a fucken crusher. Massive, groaning chords set the stage, and then the band rip into high gear with pounding riffs, grisly vocals, artillery-style drumming, and well-placed bass drops. Fans of the band’s deathcore roots will welcome the return of brutal breakdowns, and I enjoyed the juxtaposition of almost dream-like ambience here and there in the song.

Second, the lyrics aren’t half-bad, and certainly an improvement over the misogynistic ranting that filled so many of the band’s earliest songs.

I’m guessing we’re going to get more straight death-metal in the new album, continuing through on the transitions that began on Hell Chose Me, but as deathcore goes, this song proves that Carnifex have still got it.  The vid is right after the jump, along with some Carnifex tour info and a link for album pre-orders. Continue reading »

ANIMALS AS LEADERS: “ISOLATED INCIDENTS”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Sep 232011
 

Today seems to be a day for song and video debuts from bands we like here at NCS. As long as they continue rolling out, we’ll continue putting them up.

The most recent advent comes from those brilliant instrumentalists in Animals As Leaders, whose sophomore album Weightless is coming our way in November via Prosthetic Records. The song that debuted in full today is called “Isolated Incidents”, and it’s a blast to hear.

The song begins with an inventive but almost placid passage, which is hardly preparation for the sledgehammer blows that follow it as the song kicks into high gear. Tosin Abasi is in fine, fine form, mixing a host of different guitar instrumental styles as the song weaves its way through the maze of its progressions, and his compatriots Navene Koperweis and Javier Reyes stay right with him. Coolness. Listen after the jump. Continue reading »

THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT: THE OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR “JUULAR”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  11 Responses »
Sep 232011
 

Just minutes ago I received an urgent message from NCS writer TheMadIsraeli, worded as follows:  “Trippy as fuck music video just released for this song.  I don’t even know what I’m watching.” Accompanying the message was a link to the just-released official music video for “Juular”, one of the amazing songs on The Devin Townsend Project’s amazing 2011 album, Deconstruction (reviewed here at NCS).

I thought the new video we featured in our last post — the one for Dark Tranquillity’s “Zero Distance” — was visually interesting to watch. But I’m afraid it has been blown out of the water by this “Juular” video. In fact, this video blows everything out of the water. Words fail me. Watch it after the jump. Continue reading »

DARK TRANQUILLITY: “ZERO DISTANCE” (A NEW SONG AND A NEW VIDEO)

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  14 Responses »
Sep 232011
 

Today, Dark Tranquillity and Century Media posted to YouTube a new official video for a new song called “Zero Distance”. The song will appear on a special tour edition of the We Are the Void album, which was originally released in 2010. The special tour edition will be released in Europe on October 24. Here’s a statement from DT’s Niklas Sundin:

“Zero Distance” was recorded at the same time as the “We Are The Void” album, but due to its different nature we decided to keep it for later use. The time is now right to unveil the song, as well as the other rare/bonus material recorded at the same time, in a massive “We Are The Void” tour edition package. In addition to the added songs and liner notes by Mikael, there’s also a live DVD capturing some special moments during the 150-and-counting gigs in support of the album.”

The music video for “Zero Distance” is the first produced by Aduro Labs (www.adurolabs.se), which is a new film/production enterprise co-founded by DT’s own Niklas Sundin. The video is fun to watch, and the song is . . . well, it’s Dark Tranquillity, but you should just listen to it for yourself. The video is right after the jump, along with a track listing for both the CD and the DVD within the tour edition of We Are the Void. Continue reading »

MASTODON NUTS REJOICE! “HUNTER” IS STREAMING IN FULL WITH VIDEO ACCOMPANIMENT

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Sep 202011
 

Thanks to Heavy Blog Is Heavy, I just found out that Mastodon has released a video that includes the entirety of Hunter, their new album scheduled for release next Tuesday. You can view it after the jump.

I decided not to delay this post by listening to and watching the stream. Please feel free to leave comments and let me know what you think. My fucking day job is probably going to stop me from immersing myself in this until tonight. So, let me know: Should I do that or should I watch the premiere of X Factor instead? Continue reading »

ANAAL NATHRAKH: “MAN AT C&A”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  13 Responses »
Sep 202011
 

Sometimes I’m so on top of breaking news and music releases that I’m writing about it BEFORE it happens, kind of precognitively, know what I mean? And then other times, I’m so fucking slow on the uptake that I embarrass myself (and that takes some doing). Today is one of the embarrassed, slow-on-the-uptake days.

On September 6, we reported here that Anaal Nathrakh would be covering a song by a famous ska band who hit their apex in the 80’s called The Specials. The recording was to be included in DECIBEL magazine’s Flexi-Disc series. I subscribe to that magazine, but I have no turntable, so I generally just stare at the disk and wait for it to communicate its musical nature to me in some manner other than through audio waves. That usually turns out to be a long wait.

I had serious difficulty getting my mind around the concept of an Anaal Nathrakh cover of “Man at C&A”. Some of you weren’t all that perplexed by this choice. Well, you were right and I was wrong, because now I’ve heard the song and I fucken love it. The AN cover has been available for streaming since last Thursday, but of course I didn’t notice it until last night (see above re slow-as-a-fucking-sloth).

I may be late writing about this song, but I want to do something to make up for my tardiness. So, after the jump, I’ll enable you to listen not only to the AN cover but also to The Specials’ original, so you can better appreciate the complete re-wiring of the song that AN accomplished — though without completely losing touch with the original music. Check it out. Continue reading »

A BAND OF ORCS: “WYRD OF THE WINTER WOLF”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  22 Responses »
Sep 192011
 

A Band of Orcs is a band of orcs who we discovered in October 2010 and included in a piece on “goblin metal”. They’re from that well-known congregating place for goblins, orcs, and assorted other vicious creatures bent on the subjugation of humankind — Santa Cruz, California. At the time of that previous post, A Band of Orcs had one release to their credit, 2007′s debut EP WarChiefs of the Apocalypse, which we described as “full of full-bore, superheated pummeling  – big, thick riffs hammering away at high speed, shrouded in sulphurous fumes and throwing up images of fang and claw.”

The orc clan have been at work on a debut album, which is currently projected for release next summer by a label called Itchy Music. In the meantime, they’ve recently vomited up a 3-song “single” called Wyrd of the Winter Wolf. The physical package includes the title track plus another new song called “Hall of the Frozen Dead”. Both of those songs also appear on the digital version of the single, which is being offered on iTunes and Amazon mp3.

In CD form, the “single” also includes as the third track A Band of Orcs’ cover of a Type O Negative song called “Green Man”, which we previously featured when it appeared on a Peter Steele tribute album that was released in April. It’s a rank piece of flesh-eating evil and therefore a nice addition to this release.

As for the two new ABOO songs, they sound pretty much like what you’d expect if orcs turned their attention from plotting the decimation of humanity and decided to work on some death metal. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

HOW ‘BOUT A TASTE OF GOBLIN COCK?

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Sep 182011
 

Goblin Cock is a heavy metal band from San Diego, California started by Rob Crow of the band Pinback. I had never heard of them before this morning, when I saw a link to one of their nutzo music videos on another band’s Facebook page. I’m not even sure if the band is still active; their last album (their second) came out in 2009 (the cover is up above). But with a name like Goblin Cock, how could I not check them out?

Once I listened to the music, I understood why I’d not heard of them before — the style is a sludge/doom/stoner-rock amalgam, and that’s a genre niche that I’ve only recently started to explore more seriously.  Goblin Cock’s music is an Exception to the Rule around here, because all the singing is clean, but I do like it. I’m not ready for a steady diet of this, but in small doses the bass-heavy, fuzzed-out chords and catchy melodies do get the old noggin’ noddin’, and the two videos I’ve seen are pretty fuckin’ funny. Plus, I admire their fashion sense — all hooded black robes and masks — and the names the band members have taken for themselves:

Lord Phallus (Rob Crow) – Guitar and Vocals
Larben The Druid (Lara Benscher) – background vocals and Guitar
Bane Ass-Pounder (Dave Drusky) – Guitar
King Sith (Sam Mura) – Bass Guitar
Braindeath (Anthony Fusaro) – drums
Loki Sinjuggler (Adam Ekroth) – Keyboards
Phuck Tard (Mike Goldfarb) – Keytar and Banjo

I’ve put three videos after the jump. You’ll figure out pretty quickly if this is your kinda thing. Continue reading »

LUNATIC MEDLAR

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Sep 182011
 

Yes, I have been called this name before, but this post isn’t about me. It’s about a new band from Athens, Greece called Lunatic Medlar. The band  is composed of members from other longer-standing collectives: Tardive Dyskinesia, Konkave, Sun of Nothing, and Universe 217. I’m a big fan of Tardive Dyskinesia (most recent post about them is here). So, when I saw a mention of this new band, I checked them out this morning.

Their music turns out to be just what the doctor ordered for a sleep-deprived, slightly hungover Sunday morning here in the Pacific Northwest, where summer is now already a distant memory and it’s wet, cool, and gray (pretty much what every day will look like between now and next July). They’re working on a debut album that will be titled Finely Tuned Machine. Until that baby is ready for birth, the band have recorded five songs in a live performance. The multi-camera videos are pro-quality, and all of them can be streamed on the Lunatic Medlar facebook page.

The music is instrumental metal, featuring the kind of polyrhythmic complexity and heavy groove that first drew me to Tardive Dyskensia, and the live performances are pretty fucking tight. It maketh my head to bang. Check out a couple of the vid clips after the jump. We’ll keep you posted on what’s happening with that album. Continue reading »

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