SEEN AND HEARD: SKEPTICISM, MERGER REMNANT, SONUM, NISHAIAR

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Jun 072021
 

 

Today’s roundup of new music and videos is a real hodgepodge (or perhaps you would prefer mishmash) of metallic creativity. At least one of the entries is a massive hodgepodge unto itself. A full trip through all of them may leave you shaking your head — hopefully in wonder.

SKEPTICISM (Finland)

2021 marks the 30th anniversary of this pioneering funeral doom band, remarkably with its original line-up still intact. To celebrate their long survival, they have a new album named Companion that’s ready for release on September 24th by Svart Records. The first single, “Calla“, emerged last week with a beautiful and haunting video made by Tuomas A. Laitinen that perfectly suits the music and the equally haunting words, which incorporate references to pale calla lilies in a story of longing and closure. Continue reading »

OVERFLOWING STREAMS: AT THE GATES, NIGHTRAGE, AGRYPNIE, CLOUD RAT, HIDEOUS DIVINITY, BONES OF THE EARTH, PRAISE THE PLAGUE, MENTAL CRUELTY, PROGENY OF SUN, DELUSION, INFESTATION, ANTUCO, TRIALOGOS

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May 292021
 

 

To improve your Saturday, and quite possibly your whole weekend, I’ve collected a baker’s dozen of new songs and videos (including a couple of previously hard-to-find tracks from forthcoming reissues).

I grouped these 13 offerings in ways that I thought made sense. As usual for these kinds of posts, I didn’t take time to track down and upload artwork or purchase links, and I decided to organize my meager introductory comments by the categories I’ve arranged. (Don’t punch me too hard because of the category labels I chose, because I do realize they’re not 100% accurate.)

MELODIC DEATH METAL

The first two choices here were recommended by DGR, and the above label clearly applies to both. Andy Synn recommended the third one, and although most people wouldn’t categories Agrypnie as melodic death metal, I do think their new song fits well alongside the first two. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (PART 3): SORDIDE, MORAST

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May 272021
 

 

And now we come to the third and final Part of today’s new-music roundup. If you’ve been following along, you know that Part 1 consisted of music from two doom bands and Part 2 corralled songs from two death metal bands. And so perhaps it’s predictable that I’ve got two black metal bands in this final installment.

SORDIDE (France)

I hope Sordide’s new album Les Idées Blanches has been on your radar. I’ve done what I can to help that happen, having previously written in glowing terms about its first advance track, “Je n’ai nul pays”. And now that a second track has emerged, I’d like to continue the drumbeat. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (PART 2): EXSANGUINATION, SEWER FIEND

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May 272021
 

 

Ii won’t completely regurgitate what I wrote in the intro to Part 1 of today’s round-up. Suffice to say that I’m just spitting up a couple of tracks at a time today rather than leave a long blank space in what’s happening at the site. Part 1 leaned hard into doom, and the songs below should appeal to devotees of death (metal).

EXSANGUINATION

After a self-titled debut last year, Massachusetts-based Exsanguination are gearing up for the June 11 release of their debut album, Spectral Hymns. I haven’t had a chance to let the entire album bleed all over me, but the two songs I’ve heard so far (which you’ll find below), are damned good. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD (PART 1): THUMOS, OWL

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May 272021
 

 

This is a rare weekday at NCS. For the first time in maybe years, we have no premiere on our schedule. And none of my comrades has sent in a review or interview. And despite knowing that our calendar would be a big blank space today, I didn’t get my ass in gear to do anything in advance either.

So here I am, having wandered around exploring new music for a couple hours this morning but having written nothing. To avoid further delay in pitching something up onto the site, I decided to make a brief start with two new songs that seemed to fit together well (fans of doom will be attracted to them). As the day wears on, I’ll add one or two more Parts to this round-up as time permits.

THUMOS

Thumos is a mystery. Metal-Archives identifies the location as the United States, but the members are anonymous. On the other hand, it seems that Thumos is some kind of successor to a project named Mono No Aware, and M-A identifies that project as the creation of a Spaniard. So there, I’ve saved you a little time trying to ferret out background info about Thumos. With that, let’s consider “Epithumetikon“, the first song revealed from a Thumos album named The End of Words. Continue reading »

OVERFLOWING STREAMS: MANNVEIRA, CULTUM INTERITUM, ANTEDILUVIAN, MYCELIUM, BROKEN GLASS SANCTUARY, UNIDAD TRAUMA, INFERN, FUNERAL CHASM, WORMWOOD, TRIALOGOS

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May 262021
 


Mannveira

 

Hopefully you know the drill with these “Overflowing Streams” round-ups of new songs and videos: A ton of music, fewer words than usual from me, and (to save some time) minus the usual artwork and some of the links. Apart from enjoying the process of picking the selections, I also do try to have fun arranging the songs in these things, and there’s a bit of a curveball at the end.

MANNVEIRA (Iceland)

Back after five years, these Icelanders are bringing forth only their third release in a decade, a debut album named Vítahringur. It comes out via Dark Descent on July 2nd. To pave the way, “Í köldum faðmi” was revealed yesterday. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: DECOHERENCE, COILED AROUND THY SPINE, MEPHARIS, TRANCE OF THE UNDEAD, ISSOLEI, GASTRIC PHANTASM

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May 222021
 

 

This is a rarity. In fact I can’t think of another time during the last miserable year when I’ve managed to pull together three round-ups of new songs and videos in three successive days. But my fucking day job has been leaving me alone and my spouse has been out of the house a lot with her visiting sister, so here we are. And on we go….

DECOHERENCE (Mutinational)

As mentioned above, this is the third day in a row when I’ve managed to compile a round-up, but it also happens to be the third in a row that includes a cover song. The pandemic year has produced a ton of covers, perhaps because that’s been easier to pull off than writing and recording new music when band members have been indefinitely separated from each other physically. Many covers have been quickly forgettable or never should have been attempted, while others have been very impressive. The first song in today’s playlist is in the latter category. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: VUKARI, GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT, WHOREDOM RIFE, TOTHEM, TEMPLE OF DREAD, ARSENIC ADDICT

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
May 212021
 

 

I woke up stupid early this morning, even more stupid early than usual. So after writing today’s premieres that were on my plate I had some time to continue crawling through my list of new songs and videos and came up with this sextet. I decided to really bounce your head around with these picks and the way I arranged them. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

VUKARI (U.S.)

I’ve decided to begin with a new single by Chicago’s Vukari, because it’s the most absolutely riveting and ravishing piece of music in today’s collection. The track is identified as a demo version of a song called “Omnes Nihil“. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: HOODED MENACE, PANZERFAUST, LYKHAEON, FILTH IS ETERNAL, NEFARIYM, PAIN

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May 202021
 

 

I managed to grab a few hours of listening time yesterday before they evanesced. I barely scratched the surface of my gargantuan list of things to check out, but it didn’t take long before I found the songs and videos I’ve compiled here, which collectively made a gripping impact. I book-ended the collection with some bigger names and stuffed the interior with some names that need to be bigger.

HOODED MENACE (Finland)

Hooded Menace have a new album named The Tritonus Bell headed for release in August. Guitarist Lasse Pyykkö commented that the first advance track, “Blood Ornaments“, “comes with some of our most intriguing ingredients yet”. He continued: “There’s a contrast between death/doom misery and head-bangable heavy metal riffs like never heard before in Hooded Menace‘s music, making ‘Blood Ornaments‘ my favourite track from the album”. Continue reading »

A YEAR DUMBER PLAYLIST: DIRTY BLACK SUMMER

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
May 172021
 

 

(Here we are, a solid year into the pandemic and maybe you see some signs of hope on the roadside, but if you’re still as confused, haunted, and angry as ever, this playlist compiled and written by Neill Jameson may improve your dark moods, or further darken them. Either way, we’re delighted to present it.)

I was planning on putting together something to mark the year anniversary of the few-part playlist series I did last year that began when everyone was stuck inside, a piece of fabric on your face wasn’t yet considered to be the master’s whip, and taking a shit in the halls of Congress wasn’t a patriotic act, just something the older members of Congress did naturally, but then I had a child and the best-laid plans etc etc.

My initial impetus for it was the same as the listicles (gross word) I did on this very same site starting in 2016(?) where I went genre by genre and that’s because I enjoy shedding light on music I enjoy and I’m an attention-seeking asshole and by reading these you are indulging me. Anyway, here’s some things that have been keeping my interest the last few months: Continue reading »

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