ANOTHER ARCH ENEMY SONG

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  10 Responses »
May 092011
 

It’s safe (and easy) to say that everyone who has listened to Arch Enemy falls into one of three camps: (1) you like everything the band does; (2) you like nothing the band does; (3) you liked the earlier albums, but have been meh about the more recent ones. We will soon have a new Arch Enemy release from Century Media. Khaos Legions will debut on May 30 in Europe and June 7 in North America. So far, two songs have been made publicly available.

The first — “Yesterday Is Dead and Gone” — was released as a video and premiered by Guitar World.  We wrote about that one here. The second, “Blood-Stained Cross”, has been exclusively streaming at MetalSucks since last Friday. I finally listened to that track and felt it was worth a post, because although many of you are also MetalSucks readers, I know some of you aren’t.

MetalSucks introduced the song by proclaiming that Khaos Legions “may very well be the legendary melodeath outfit’s finest hour since 2001′s Wages of Sin.” I certainly can’t agree or disagree with that comment yet since I’ve only heard two songs, but I will say this: Although I thought “Yesterday Is Dead and Gone” was okay (and only okay), “Blood-Stained Cross” is wonderful, and if the rest of the album is in league with it, I’l be agreeing with that MetalSucks assessment.

The song has a dark, vicious edge that does indeed recall Wages of Sin, with a great melodic guitar lead — and Angela Gossow’s vocals on this song may be the best effort from her I think I’ve yet heard. Yes, it’s still a very melodic song, but it’s also morose and seething and musically varied. I’m liking it a lot. If you’re in Category (1) or (3), as described above, you should definitely go to MetalSucks today (using this link) and listen to “Blood-Stained Cross.”

METALITY – THE COMPILATION [VOL. 2]

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  26 Responses »
May 092011
 

NO CLEAN SINGING is proud to announce the release of METALITY’s second compilation of music from the Middle East. If you don’t already know, METALITY is a great metal blog that covers music from around the world, but with a unique emphasis on metal bands from the Middle East and North Africa. That blog has turned us on to lots of great music in the past. Through an effort so gargantuan as to make us exhausted just thinking about it, METALITY has now assembled a compilation of music from more than FIFTY bands — including bands we’ve previously written about here at NCS — and it’s now available for free download.

If you scrutinize that flyer up above, you’ll see our name as a co-sponsor of the release. In fact, we’re the sole North American co-sponsor of this comp. One perq of being a co-sponsor is that we got an advance listen to all the tracks on this compilation. What it doesn’t mean is that we’re sworn to rave about all the music regardless of what we honestly think about it. So, we’re going to give you our honest opinion about this comp: It’s amazing.

The download files (two of them) for this album are big — and not just because they include more than 50 songs. The download also includes a separate file of album art for each band plus a file of links to the web pages or social media sites for each of them. You could be forgiven if you needed something more than the word “free” to invest the hard-drive space on this beast. So, after the jump, we’re going to do three things:

We’re going to provide more detailed observations about the music on this compilation so you’ll have a better idea what you’re getting into; we’re going to feature five of our favorite tracks; and (courtesy of METALITY), we’ll give you an embedded music player that will allow you to stream each song or put the whole album on continuous play. And of course, we’ll give you the link for the download if you like what you hear.

There are some real gems on this comp — we think it’s worth your time to stay with us after the jump and investigate this further.  Continue reading »

NEW GOJIRA SONG!

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  20 Responses »
May 082011
 

We have been anticipating The Devin Townsend Project’s new album Deconstruction for quite some time, but have been positively slobbering over the prospect since we found out the identities of the guests who will appear on the album (see the line-up, matched with the track list, here). Among those guests are Joe Duplantier, the vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the almighty Gojira, and Paul Masvidal, the vocalist and guitarist for Cynic. Both of them join DT and his bandmates on a song called “Sumeria”.

The modern musical world being what it is, Deconstruction has already leaked, which is a shame. And from leakage of the album to download sites, of course it will be a short step before the songs start to appear on YouTube for streaming. One already has. Guess which one.

Initially, “Sumeria” appeared as a track recorded off a broadcast by a Finnish radio station, with subpar sound quality and sounds of the DJ talking at the end. But now, some asshole has put the actual album track up for streaming, with album-quality sound (well, at least mp3 quality). So, of course, we completely ignored that, in protest of the leakage of what is likely to be an album-of-the-year candidate from one of the most creative metal artists working. That protest lasted about 60 seconds.

Having registered our protest by waiting 60 seconds, we listened to the song, and it’s stunning — a massive, complex, heavy, beautiful, many-layered creation that will take many listens before the contributions of all the parts become clear. But there is no mistaking Joe Duplantier’s contribution — there are passages in the song when those lumbering, instantly recognizable Gojira riffs begin to stomp and Duplantier’s instantly recognizable voice begins to proclaim the verses. Not that Devin Townsend stands in anyone’s shadow, but if you’ve been pining for a new Gojira song, there’s one lurking inside “Sumeria”.  And even though we really do think it’s a shame that this album has leaked, as responsible journalists reporting the news as it happens, we’re embedding that YouTube clip of “Sumeria” right after the jump. Continue reading »

INGESTED

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  18 Responses »
May 082011
 

We fucking loved Surpassing the Boundaries of Human Suffering, the 2009 debut from Manchester, England’s Ingested. We raved about it here. That was a long time ago. Time passes, and one of two things usually happens. You read the depressing news that a band you liked has split up, or eventually you read that, lo and behold, there’s a new album on the way.

In the case of Ingested, the news we just saw is of the latter, happy variety: There is indeed a new album — entitled The Surreption — scheduled for release on June 6 by Siege of Amida. Within the last few days, the band has displayed the eye-catching cover art you see above — created by Colin Marks, who has created similarly arresting artwork for Whitechapel, Suicide Silence, All Shall Perish, and many others, in addition to Ingested’s first album. It’s not exactly an uplifting image, but neither is Ingested’s music.

In addition to the album art, we have more details about the album. For example, it was recorded at Studio 6 Swindon with Stu Mckay and Cherrywood Studios Bristol with Rob Purnell, Jonny Burgen and Dave Purnell (Trigger the Bloodshed), and it was mixed in L.A. by Mick Kenney (Anaal Nathrakh, Bleeding Through). Yeah, so far so good. Also, the album will feature guest appearances by Alex Erian (Despised Icon) and Mathew Jones (Martyr Defiled).

On top of all that, Ingested has recently released the first song from The Surreption. It’s called “Castigation and Rebirth”.  (stay with us after the jump to hear that song . . .) Continue reading »

“DELIVER US” FROM IN FLAMES

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  23 Responses »
May 072011
 

Okay, that could be interpreted as kind of a sarcastic post title. But I didn’t really mean it the way you think. You’ll see — it’s a play on words.

I actually am faithful to In Flames. They were my gateway to extreme metal, years ago. Here at NCS, we weren’t terribly thrilled with their last album, but that hasn’t stopped us from getting up for the new one, Sounds of A Playground Fading, which will be released between June 17 and June 24, depending on where you live.

Yesterday, Century Media released the first single from the album in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, and it will be available for purchase on iTunes and elsewhere in North America on May 10. It’s called “Deliver Us”, and of course the thing is already up on YouTube — which means it’s now on our site (after the jump).

The days of Whoracle and Clayman are of course long gone — “Deliver Us” doesn’t constitute a revival of that style. But I do like the track. Quite melodic, of course, with pulsing keyboards in the mix and a catchy main riff. Clean singing in the chorus, of course, but the chorus is staying in our heads. I’m finding this a step up from the last album. What do you think? (Hear the song after the jump.) Continue reading »

FILLER: AJATTARA, DEGRADEAD, AND CHROME DIVISION

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
May 072011
 

We’re all set to go with a milestone post for today, but we’re coordinating it with another metal blog, and we need to wait for them to give us the green light — which hasn’t arrived quite yet.

So, rather than leave you wondering whether we’re alive or dead while we wait, we’ve quickly compiled a few things to amuse you until the post we actually planned for today can be unleashed.

Most of the music we’re including comes from bands who we’ve planned to write about in more depth (and with luck, we’ll still do that): Ajattara and Degradead. Plus, we’ll throw in a brand new video from Chrome Division, a Norwegian band featuring Dimmu Borgir frontman Shagrath on guitar. It’s more of a hard rock song than the kind of metal we cover at NCS, but the video is a blazingly creative work of art, featuring imagery thats never been used in hard rock or metal videos before.

Okay, that last sentence isn’t accurate. Actually, we were totally bullshitting you. The video is full of voluptuous chicks flashing voluptuous amounts of tits and ass. But hey, who doesn’t like tits and ass?  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

FINNS FOR FRIDAY: MAGENTA HARVEST AND NORTHER

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  5 Responses »
May 062011
 

This seemed like a good day to check in with some Finnish metal bands. Actually, every day is a good day for that, Finland being the most metal country on the planet, human pound for human pound. We picked two bands to feature in this post. The first one, Magenta Harvest, I’ve been meaning to write about for months. I continue to tell myself that late is better than never, which is true of many things, not including rectal cancer.

The other focus of this post is Norther. We knew their next album was coming out sometime soon, but it still managed to sneak up on us, notwithstanding our ninja-like senses. Last month, Circle Regenerated was released in Finland first and then elsewhere in Europe before April ended. I still haven’t found an official North American release date from Century Media for the CD yet, though it’s now available as an import — and the digital album has been available at Amazon MP3 and iTunes since April 19.

Unfortunately, I only got the album yesterday, so I still haven’t listened to the whole thing, but we’ll have some Norther music to finn-ish off this post anyway.  But first, let’s talk about . . . Continue reading »

CINCO DE MAYO METAL

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
May 052011
 

Before I left Texas more than a decade ago, I used to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, usually by getting wasted. Most everyone I knew back then would celebrate the day. Usually by getting wasted. Here in Seattle, it’s hard to find many people who realize what day it is or do anything to commemorate it. But I still remember. So, it’s time to get blasted – by some Mexican metal (though I do think there’s also some tequila in my future tonight).

I found three Mexican bands who will set up the blast effect quite nicely. All three happen to have recent releases: Omision, Zombiefication, and Warfield. If you’re in the mood for old-school death metal done right, then you’re going to enjoy these first two bands. The third one will give you a quality acid bath of black metal, in the vein of Watain. I really like these three bands.

OMISION

Omision is a death-metal band from Tijuana that features past and present members of Sadistic Intent and Infinitum Obscure. This band has been around since 1993, with a three-year hiatus along the way – and along the way, they self-released three demo’s before finally getting a label release of their debut album, In the Shadow of the Cross. You gotta admire that kind of persistence.

According to a press release we received, the new album “is recommended for fans of old school death in the vein of Terrorizer, Possessed and like-minded rippers.” Say no more! Let’s have some music! And so we shall. Continue reading »

TOXIC HOLOCAUST LEAVES YOU NOWHERE TO RUN

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  15 Responses »
May 032011
 

By and large, the so-called “re-thrash” movement has left us cold here at NCS. To be brutally honest, we’re not that much into most of the old gods of thrash who are still cranking out albums and touring (though we can still get it up for Exodus and Death Angel), and that may explain why the many bands in the last few years who’ve just re-tread the style without bringing something new to the old chassis aren’t that interesting to us.

But — there are exceptions, one of which is Toxic Holocaust. Maybe it’s our regional prejudice (Toxic Holocaust is from the Pacific Northwest), maybe it’s because we’ve had some fun at one of their smokin’ live shows in Seattle, or maybe it’s because their stripped-down, punkish approach to thrash appeals to our affinity for the raw and raucous — whatever the reason, Toxic Holocaust has been growing on us.

And so it is that we’re actually looking forward to the next release by the band — Conjure and Command, which Relapse Records will begin distributing on July 19. Man, July 19 is a long way off, isn’t it? But the teasers are starting, and the first one is a song from the new album which went up for streaming a few hours ago. It’s called “Nowhere To Run” and it got my head to moving up and down and side to side. There’s nothing fancy going on, but if you like thrash straight-ahead, unvarnished, sneering, and slightly evil, you probably ought to stay with us past the jump and check out that song.

Isn’t that a cool album cover? Continue reading »

HATE ETERNAL: “PHOENIX AMONGST THE ASHES”

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
May 032011
 

If you’re a fan of extreme metal and haven’t yet heard that a new album from Hate Eternal is about to be released, then most likely you’ve been living in a cave. The album is called Phoenix Amongst the Ashes and it will debut May 10 on Metal Blade Records. It features a new bassist named J.J. Hrubovcak, along with the phenomenal guitars of Erik Rutan and the drumming of Jade Simonetto.

The album was recorded at Rutan’s own Mana Recording Studios in Florida with mastering handled by Alan Douches of West West Side. The interesting cover art was created by Paul Romano, who is responsible for other Hate Eternal album covers (plus album art for Mastodon, The Acacia Strain, Godflesh, Earth Crisis, and others).

Two songs from this album have previously debuted on other metal sites, but I’ve been so busy answering e-mails from people in faraway lands offering me millions of dollars in inheritances that I didn’t make time to hear them. Silly me. Late yesterday, Metalunderground.com exclusively premiered a third song — the title track. This time, I listened. “Jaw-dropping” is an overused adjective, but that was the effect the song had on me. Literally, the shit dropped my jaw. It’s an irresistible tidal wave of superheated death metal, and you should hear it.

To do that, you can visit Metalundergound here; that site has more info about the album. Or, you can go past the jump on this post and hear the song on the player we’ve embedded.  By the way, Metal Sucks will be hosting an exclusive full-album stream of Phoenix Amongst the Ashes from Friday, May 6, to Monday, May 9. I know one thing I’ll be doing this weekend. Continue reading »

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