NEW FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE VIDEO VIOLATED ME

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  22 Responses »
Jul 182011
 

I’ve been away from my computer all day. I blame my fucking day job. I just got back, and almost the first thing I see is a press release advising that the almighty Fleshgod Apocalypse have released a video for a song from their new album called “The Violation”. It was directed by Salvatore Perrone. I wasted no time in watching it.

I feel violated now. Man, it’s a good feeling. I would like to be violated again.

The song is more overtly symphonic than anything on Mafia, the band’s last release. It includes extravagant, high-flung flights of clean singing from Paulo Rossi that are even more prominent than his contributions on Mafia. It’s also a head-exploding rush of blowtorch death metal. It’s all of that — a combination that Fleshgod Apocalypse pulls off triumphantly, and uniquely. I fucking loved it.

The video is a head-kick to watch, too. Check it out after the jump — and then be on the lookout for FA’s appearance on the SUMMER SLAUGHTER tour, which begins tomorrow. Continue reading »

LOUCIFER SPEAKS AND VOICE OF THE SOUL ANSWERS

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Jul 172011
 

Loucifer Speaks is a U.K.-based metal/rock webzine and forum. Earlier this week, I saw the news that they had released a music comp for free download called The Louciferian Gathering. What really caught my eye was the fact that the comp includes a brand new song from Voice of the Soul called “Cast Away in Betrayal”.

I got into Voice of the Soul last October through one of our MISCELLANY excursions and wrote about them here. Back then, I listened to a four-song EP called Eyes of Deceit and was really impressed. The band is a mini-United Nations, consisting of a Lebanese, an Iraqi, an Indian, and a Persian, who are currently living either in the United States or various locations in the Middle East, and guitarist/vocalist Kareem Chehayeb is an NCS reader.

Despite their geographic separation, the members are still collborating on the cretion of new music. They’ve got yet another EP in the works (their third) and now, courtesy of The Louciferian Gathering, we’ve got that new track, “Cast Away in Betrayal”. Stick with us past the jump, and you can hear the song — which is most certainly worth hearing. Continue reading »

AGALLOCH AND ANAAL NATHRAKH LIVE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  17 Responses »
Jul 162011
 

I’ve seen Oregon-based Agalloch perform live only once, but it was one of the best metal shows I’ve ever seen. I felt like the music was a living thing and it had completely swallowed me up. I was literally in a daze for a long time after the show ended at something like 1:30 am, and I hadn’t been using any intoxicants (except the music).

I’ve never seen Britain’s Anaal Nathrakh in a live show, but I hope that’s not too far off in my future. Their catastrophic, vitriolic style of black grind is another kind of all-consuming music, though quite different from Agalloch’s brand of melodic black metal.

Both bands performed at the Scion Rock Fest in Pomona, California, in March, and Scion released professionally filmed videos of the performances late last week. We’ve got a handful of them for you after the jump. Is it the next best thing to being there? No — the next best thing would be walking out of the venue having heard the whole show. But it’s pretty damned sweet.

After the jump, probably my favorite Agalloch song, “Not Unlike the Waves”, plus “Into The Painted Grey”, and then Anaal Nathrakh performing “When the Lion Devours Both Dragon and Child” and “Don Not Speak”. There’s one very weird thing about the AN videos. Continue reading »

A LITTLE SOMETHING WHILE YOU WAIT

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Jul 162011
 

This is about the time when we usually post our first something-or-other for the day, but work and life got in the way this time and it won’t be ready for another hour or two. In the meantime, here’s a mystery song for your listening pleasure. It’s from a new album, and the band is from Canada, and that’s all I’ll give away for now. I’ll also promise that this song will make your head move.

[audio:https://www.nocleansinging.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Mystery-song.mp3|titles=Mystery song]

What do you think of that song? Does it remind you of anyone? There’s more coming . . .

CONTRAST THE WATER (UPDATE)

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Jul 152011
 

We’ve run a couple of features in the past about Metal From South Africa and have made some awesome discoveries. We’re waaaaaay late running the third installment of that series, but I’m still on the road in work-drone mode for my day job, and that’s slowing down everything I’d planned to do, including that next installment on SA metal.

But, I do have an update about one of the bands featured previously: Durban’s Contrast the Water. When we wrote about them before (at this location), they were working on completion of their sophomore album and had posted two songs from it for free download. Now, the album (Perseverance) is complete and scheduled for release in August — and the band has decided to put all the songs from the album up on YouTube.

As a selfish fan, I like that strategy — making it easy for people to listen to the album and share individual songs, which is exactly what I’m about to do.  I haven’t yet listened to the entire album. What I did was jump to the last track first, because I’m used to doing things ass-backwards at least half the time (and the rest of the time, I’m ass-forwards).

Track 10 is called “Fallen”, and man, it surprised the hell out of me. It pulls you in right from the start with a hell of a groove and an explosion of jittery riffage — and then it starts changing in some unexpected and fantastic ways. I fucken love the song. Check it out after the jump, and then we’ll give you a link for the rest of the songs. When I get a bit more time, I’m diving into the rest of Perseverance. Continue reading »

DEVIN TOWNSEND AND SEPTIC FLESH DRIVE TO WINNIPEG, AND 7 HORNS 7 EYES CONVALESCE

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  1 Response »
Jul 142011
 

I’ve never been in a metal band. I fantasize about it sometimes. I’d guess most fans do that at one time or another. But there’s at least one aspect of band life that I think I’d get tired of pretty fast — touring in cramped, dysfunctional vans, sleeping on people’s floors, and eating crap food while on tour. When I was younger, I didn’t think anything about living (and smelling) like an animal. But now that I’m older than dirt, it don’t sound so appetizing any more.

It’s easier to fantasize about being in a band who are successful enough to tour in style, in a big full-comfort bus with a road crew to take care of some of the heavy lifting and assorted other bullshit you’d otherwise have to do for yourself. But even bands like that don’t get to travel in style all the time. Like when the bus breaks down and 15 of you have to get in a van and drive for hours across the flat, featureless landscape of the Canadian prairie. Which is what happened to The Devin Townsend Project and Septic Flesh on the road from Saskatoon to Winnipeg not long ago.

Most hand-made tour videos that I see aren’t all that interesting. Basically, you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ’em all. But Devin Townsend, being the evil creative genius that he is, put together a short video of this cramped van trip that I enjoyed. In terms of what you see, it’s still pretty much in the category of “seen one, seen ’em all”, but the editing and especially the musical soundtrack are cool. Plus, I saw these bands on their current tour (along with Obscura and Children of Bodom), and they were both so tremendous that I couldn’t resist watching this. The video is after the jump.

Also after the jump — news about a newly released 3-song single from 7 Horns 7 Eyes that we recommend highly. Continue reading »

I CAN’T PRONOUNCE THE NAME OF THIS SONG, BUT IT’S FUCKIN’ KILLIN’ ME

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  17 Responses »
Jul 122011
 

Goreaphobia is a Philadelphia-based death metal band with deep roots in the death-metal underground. Not long ago, we saw the news that the band had joined up with the Dark Descent label for the release of their new album, Apocalyptic Necromancy. It’s scheduled for release on August 9, and it features the band’s new guitarist, VJS (Kult ov Azazel, Crimson Moon, Demoncy).

It also features that awesomely eye-catching piece of cover art above, created by Linsey Wasiuta.

Today, Decibel premiered a track from the album called “Xurroth Rreeth N’ves Helm”. I nearly swallowed my tongue trying to pronounce that. I found it easier to use the English translation that appears in parentheses next to that title — “City of Rot and Decay”. And don’t ask me from what language the title words are drawn, because I have no fucking clue.

What I do know is that the song is an absolutely monstrous delight. Goreaphobia guitarist Alex Bouk describes it thusly: “This is one of those songs that just came very easy. To me it has a Venom meets Iron Maiden-type feel to it. This is more of a straight heavy metal track. It sounds like nothing else on the record.”

Well, I sorta hope he’s wrong, because the song is a killer — gore-drenched vocals paired up with a slaughterhouse full of riffs, a filthy guitar solo, and a hard-rockin’ beat. I’m definitely now stoked to hear the rest of this album. Go bang your head at Decibel and let us know what you think, won’t you?

OAK PANTHEON UPDATE

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  19 Responses »
Jul 122011
 

On June 30, we posted a little feature on three very promising bands who had come our way. The music was quite different, but what the three bands had in common was less than 100 Facebook “likes”. One of those bands was a three-piece group from Minneapolis called Oak Pantheon. At the time, our friends at Death Metal Baboon had premiered a wonderful track from the band’s then-forthcoming EP, The Void.

Well, as of today, Oak Pantheon have released The Void EP as a “name your price” download on their Bandcamp page (here is the link). I’ve been streaming these five tracks while attempting to do paying work today, and I’m having trouble keeping my mind on my job — because the music is hugely distracting and tremendously appealing. As a gross generalization, it’s folk-influenced black metal with memorable acoustic and electric melodies, infectious rhythms, and a scarifying dose of Nordic vocals. Sweeping beauty and the beast, indeed.

I’m particularly carried away by the predominantly instrumental track called “Architect of the Void Pt I” — carried away and hooked like a fish. If you’d like to check out that song and the rest of the EP while you continue browsing around here, we’ve embedded a player after the jump. I’m already sold — and downloading the EP now.

By the way, Oak Pantheon are up from 74 to 96 Facebook likes since our last post. Go help put them over the century mark, won’t you? (And thanks to reader/musician Ray Heberer for reminding us that today was release day for this EP.) Continue reading »

THIS IS COOL

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  8 Responses »
Jul 112011
 

This.

Opeth performing one of my favorite Opeth songs, “The Grand Conjuration”, live at the U.K. installment of the Sonisphere festival, which was held July 8-10, 2011 at Knebworth House. Professionally filmed, multiple camera-perspectives (including a great shot of Martin Axenrot’s concentrated face viewed through a hole in a cymbal), awesome sound, smoke.

This is one of the reasons we recognize Exceptions to the Rule of no clean singing.

Equally superb clips of Opeth performing “Face of Melinda”, “The Lotus Eater”, “Master’s Apprentices”, and “Hex Omega” can be viewed here.

Opeth’s new album, Heritage, will be out September 20 on Roadrunner Records.

RITES OF DARKNESS 3: THE FIVE BANDS YOU CAN’T MISS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  15 Responses »
Jul 102011
 

(Surgical Brute — NCS reader, commenter, and reliable source of skull-cleaving musical recommendations — returns with the second part of his preview of the Rites of Darkness 3 festival.)

Okay, after my original post, it quickly came to my attention that some of you reading No Clean Singing were probably unaware of the best festival to happen in the U.S. this year. The organizers of Rites of Darkness 3 have been quietly assembling one of the best line-ups of underground metal that I’ve ever seen. This one is going to be a marathon, with very little opportunity for rest stops.

In my last post I mentioned 5 lesser-known bands I thought people needed to check out. As we slowly get closer to the day of the festival (December 9-11th in San Antonio), I think it’s time to check out a few more bands scheduled to appear at this monster. So here are 5 bands that you absolutely cannot miss.

FUNEBRARUM

One of my personal favorites, and probably one of the heaviest bands out there right now.

These guys were playing dirty, old school death metal long before it caught on again in the underground. I got the chance to catch their live set at MDF 2011, and I can vouch for them. Only getting an incredibly short 30 minutes, this band pummeled me harder than anyone else that day. For fans of Incantation and Disma.

(There’s lots more after the jump, including Surgical Brute’s hand-picked sample tracks from each band featured in this preview, beginning with Funebrarum . . .) Continue reading »

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