VIRUS: “THE AGENT THAT SHAPES THE DESERT”

 Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Aug 222011
 

A Facebook friend of mine, a talented metal guitarist and songwriter with eclectic musical tastes (The Binary Code’s Jesse Zuretti), posted a comment last night about a song from a Norwegian band called Virus that caught my eye. He wrote: “Check this band out if you like David Bowie, Black Metal, East of the Wall, and GROOVE. Some of the best lyrics I’ve read in years.” Really now, how could I resist?

The song that was the subject of that FB post is the title track to the band’s 2011 album (their third), The Agent That Shapes the Desert. The band itself is largely the brainchild of a guitarist and vocalist named Carl-Michael Eide (“Czral”), who at times past has been a part of bands such as Ulver, Satyricon, Ved Buens Ende, and Nattefrost, with collaboration from a very talented drummer named Einar Sjursø (“Einz”), and on this album, a terrific bassist who calls himself Bjeima.

Since listening to the song (plus a couple of others), I’ve done some reading and seen descriptions that refer to desert-rock and Voivod, but I’m not sure what desert rock is and the Voivod comparison is certainly an imperfect one. I prefer Jesse’s description, though personally I’d substitute David Byrne of The Talking Heads for David Bowie. And yes, the odd, sometimes campy-sounding clean vocals do take some getting used to, but the music is fascinating. It’s definitely avant-garde, with segments of jazz-style bass and drum instrumentals and other-worldly guitars that have to be heard to be believed. But yes again, it does include some massively irresistible grooves.

It’s also heavy enough to qualify as metal in my book, and I’m categorizing it as an Exception to the Rule around here, not because of the clean vocals but despite them (though I confess they’re growing on me). And finally, I also agree with Jesse that the lyrics are way cool. In fact, after the jump I’ve set them out right after the song. Check this out. You won’t hear anything else like it today, or possibly for the rest of the year. That may or may not be a compliment. You decide. Continue reading »

ARKHUM UPDATE (INCLUDING A PREMIERE OF NEW MUSIC)

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Aug 202011
 

There’s a happy symmetry about this post. Exactly one year ago today we posted our review of Anno Universum, the debut album from Oregon’s Arkhum, along with an interview of brothers Stephen and Kenneth Parker. On that day, we were thrilled to report that Arkhum had signed with Vendlus Records, who released Anno Universum last fall. We were “early adopters” of Arkhum’s music, but over the last year they’ve racked up a slew of positive reviews worldwide and enthusiastic fan response to Anno Universum.

The band are now working on songs for their second album for Vendlus, with the goal of releasing it in 2012, and on this one-year anniversary of those previous posts, we have a few tastes of what’s to come. First, we have the premiere of a pre-production version of a brand new song called “Cenancestor”, which will appear on the next album. The vocals and instrumentals are scratch tracks and the recording reflects a rough mixing and mastering, but this is still a sweet song, and you’ll be able to download it.

Second, we’ve also got some icing on this cake — we’re also premiering video of the band’s excellent guitarist Stephen Parker playing along to “Cenancestor”.

Today also marks the official digital release of a new, three-song Arkhum EP called Olalain Linal Tutulu. It features a reimagined version of the song “Bloodgutter Encircling” from Anno, a remix of the song by electronic artist Beta Project, and a remixed, remastered version of the “Bloodgutter” track as it appeared on the album. We’ll give you a link for a free download of this EP. Stay with us after the jump for all this fine shit. Continue reading »

CARTHAGE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Aug 202011
 

(TheMadeIsraeli has an urgent message for you . . .)

My friend Tre Watson finally got the EP of his band Carthage put out today.  Progressive deathcore that brings in a lot of interesting influences and is worth checking out for sure.  Head over to their bandcamp before midnight tonight; until then, this EP is “pay what you want,” meaning yes, you can get it for free.  Once it hits midnight, it goes back to 5 dollars.  Expect a review of this soon.

http://carthageband.bandcamp.com/album/carthage-ep

Follow Carthage on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Carthageband

TRVE NORWEGIAN BUTT-KICKING

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Aug 202011
 

Byfrost

Bloodstock Festival, Walton-upon-Trent, England

August 10, 2011

“Horns To the [Fucking] Sky”

Looks like it’s going to be a beer-for-breakfast kind of day at the NCS Island.

P.S. I’ve decided I need to gaze at Byfrost’s album art while I savor my breakfast beer and contemplate the primal appeal of black battle metal, Byfrost-style: Continue reading »

HULL TAKES US BEYOND THE LIGHTLESS SKY

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Aug 182011
 

“Sludgy, southern-post-rock-minded Brooklyn quartet Hull offer this sprawling, psychedelic title track as an early taste of their forthcoming sophomore collection, Beyond the Lightless Sky, due October 11 on the End.” That’s the introduction that Pitchfork gave earlier today when they premiered the band’s newest song, the title track from that forthcoming second album.

I fucken love Hull. I fucken loved their 2009 debut album, Sole Lord. Judging from this new song, their second album is going to be a must-listen. The song is both crushingly heavy and flesh-rending in its dark extremity. The uber-low, fuzzed out bass line and down-tuned guitar parts are voraciously soul-sucking. The combo-vocals (part harrowing shrieking, part bestial roaring) cast up images of clawing and then eating. And yes, there are elements of psychedelia in the song, too, along with elements of psychosis.

I wouldn’t call this post-rock, though. More like post-apocalypse. If you want to get your sludge on, go visit Pitchfork, or listen after the jump. Continue reading »

TEXTURES PREMIERES A NEW SONG: IS IT ROCK? IS IT METAL? IS IT BOTH?

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Aug 182011
 

On August 3, Dutch metal band Textures released the first song from their new album (“Singularity”), which we declared to be fucking good pancake. Now the band have premiered yet another new song called “Reaching Home”. Like the first one, it comes from the forthcoming Dualism album.

I have mixed feelings about this song. On the one hand, the instrumental part of the song is cool, anchored by the complex Meshuggah-connected rhythms that are a large part of Textures’ signature sound. And you won’t be surprised to hear that the song has an infectious melody, too, because that’s also a big part of this band’s style.

On the other hand, there are no harsh vocals in the song at all, and there’s not much of a metal edge to it either. As drummer Stef Broks candidly told REVOLVER magazine, it “sounds like a direct assault to the rock charts,” and may remind people of Tool, Depeche Mode, and U2. Perhaps that’s why the song is premiering on the REVOLVER web site (cuz, seriously, REVOLVER hasn’t been metal in a long time).

On the third hand, as Brok also said, it may also remind people of Devin Townsend, and I get that connection, too. There’s a dreamy ambience to the song that is appealing, and the appeal may grow if I listen to it more. If you’d like to listen, GO HERE (I can’t yet embed the song).

Dualism will come out on September 23 in Europe, South America, Australia and Asia, and on September 27 in North America.

BASS SHRED

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  6 Responses »
Aug 182011
 

It’s a well-established fact that metalheads love guitar gods. It seems like no matter how good or bad a song may be, if you stick a flaming guitar solo in it somewhere, metalheads will start slobbering and playing air guitar with their grimy fingers. I certainly like me some guitar shred, though I’ve reached the point where even a technically flashy solo doesn’t do much for me if it’s not an organic part of the song and if it doesn’t have authentic soul behind it.

BUT, I do love the sound of a well-played bass almost as much as an expertly played guitar. The lowly bass leads a lonely, often overlooked life in metaldom. It’s an absolutely essential ingredient in most metal, but its contribution is often hard to isolate and notice when you’re listening. More often than not, it gets buried in the mix or overwhelmed by the other instruments. Sometimes that’s necessary, given the kind of sound a band is trying to achieve. Sometimes it’s a blessing, when the bass player isn’t doing anything especially interesting. Sometimes, it’s just a shame.

If you’re like me, you sit up and take notice when a song includes an audible bass line that shows some flash and creativity, and when you hear an actual bass solo, well that’s just a very sweet gift. I get a charge out of heavy-assed bass licks that are solidly competent, rather than flashy, but when a really good bass player lets it all hang out, I get the same slobber-response as most people do when they hear a burst of guitar shred.

When you hear that kind of talent creating rhythms on a fretless bass, it REALLY stands out. It’s a unique sound, which some of us were trying to describe in the comments to a post two days ago about a free four-song comp that’s being offered to build interest in the CD release party for a Toronto band called Nephelium. One of the songs on that comp (“Omnipresent Perception”) is by a Montreal band that we really love around here — Beyond Creation. And Beyond Creation features an accomplished fretless bass-player named Dominic “Forest” Lapointe. Thanks to a comment from an NCS reader who goes by the name egordon, we’ve now discovered a new video of Lapointe doing a play-through of the bass parts in the song, with the recorded song in the background. And holy shit. Is it fun to watch!  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: CHANCE GARNETTE OF SKELETONWITCH

 Interviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Aug 182011
 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Last Sunday, our favorite NCS writer from the UK (okay, yes, he’s the only NCS writer from the UK) killed three birds with one stone. Actually, he didn’t kill anything (at least so far as he can remember), so let me change that: Andy Synn did a lot of multi-tasking last Sunday night, to whit:

He and his band Bloodguard opened a show in Nottingham headlined by the almighty Skeletonwitch; he interviewed Chance Garnette, the frontman for Skeletonwitch — on video no less; and he filmed Skeletonwitch playing a new song (“Reduced To the Failure of Prayer”) when they took the stage. And he probably did some other things that night, which are better left private. Not too fucking shabby for one night, huh? So, here we have both the interview video, a transcript of the interview (which Andy did, too), that live video, and one more Skeletonwitch video just for good measure. UPDATE: We’ve now also got the song that will appear on a flexi-disc in the next issue of DECIBEL mag.]

Sunday evening I had the chance to interview Skeletonwitch singer Chance Garnette just prior to their show at Nottingham Rock City. It was also the first time I’ve attempted to video an interview… and I think it turned out ok!

I edited the original footage down from 25+ minutes, simply to remove some of the more conversational and rambling stuff that Chance and I got into, so don’t worry, there’s been no editing trickery to alter the content of the interview as presented – just some to make me look better as an interviewer!

After the jump there’s a transcript for those of you who, like me, don’t always want to watch/listen to an interview and prefer to read it at their own pace! Continue reading »

ARISTEIA

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  3 Responses »
Aug 172011
 

(Here’s a quick music recommendation from TheMadIsraeli. Djeathcore anyone?)

Ever since The Contortionist came on the scene and introduced the concept of melodic deathcore infused with djent (or as I’ve deemed it, djeathcore) fewer bands have tried to adopt this style than you’d expect. I’ve only heard two other bands doing this, and they’re doing it well: an up and coming band (whose EP will be reviewed here soon) called Substructures, and these guys, Aristeia. I just stumbled upon what I’m under the impression is this band’s second EP, The Era Of The Omnipotent — and it’s killer stuff.

This is an assault of furious blasting, brutal grooving, and beautiful ambience all in a tight, consistent, 6-song package. Syncopated grooves, blast beasts, brutal 7-string chuggathons, all with nice, emotional melodies and some awesome mood setting-ambience. I’m not reviewing this, I’m just telling you to stop fucking around, pick this up, and support these guys. Songs from the album are after the jump . . . Continue reading »

NOW THIS IS HOW TO DO A CD RELEASE SHOW

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  17 Responses »
Aug 162011
 

I’ve mentioned that I have an impulse-control problem. Case in point: I took a short break from the job I’m actually being paid to do so I could check my NCS e-mail, and I saw the name Beyond Creation in a press release I got, and the short break turned into a long break. You may remember Beyond Creation — a Montreal band whose Marco Hasmann album cover for their 2011 debut, The Aura, lured us into checking out the music in one of our EYE-CATCHERS posts (here). To quote myself (because if I don’t, who else will?):

“We’re too lazy to keep Best of the Year lists, but if we did, I’m pretty sure The Aura would be in my personal Top 20, maybe my Top 10. . . Beyond Creation is a head-spinning trip like few bands you’ll hear this year.”

What I learned in the press release from Ricburn Media were three things: First, there’s a Toronto death-metal band called Nephelium who will be releasing their new album, Coils of Entropy, on August 20. Second, to celebrate the event, Nephelium is headlining a CD release show in Toronto on the same day, with support from (you guessed it) Beyond Creation, as well as two other Toronto bands, Nexortus and Fragile Existence. Third, to celebrate the event, the four bands on the bill teamed up to make available a free digital split via Bandcamp, consisting of one song from each band.

I just like everything about the way this is being done, but most especially, I like the idea of offering a free digital comp to promote a metal show — one song from each band. IMHO, the same idea would work just as well for tours, too. In addition to helping spotlight the show, it also uses the show to help introduce fans to the bands’ music. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

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