PUTRESCENT SEEPAGE: “DEAD AND DEMENTED”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Oct 072020
 

 

(In this post Vonlughlio reviews and recommends the debut album from the Australian brutal death metaal band Putrescent Seepage, out now on New Standard Elite.)

The BDM band Putrescent Seepage from Adelaide, South Australia, was born in 2012.  From the beginning the guys behind this project were Cameron Smith (Drums/Vocals) and Brett Stoeckel (Guitars/Vocals) (recently joined by vocalist Simon Naulty). The following year they released a demo that was very limited and that I of course missed (shame on me).  After three years, a two-song demo saw the light and yours truly made it his mission to get one from the band, which came with an original sketch from their drummer (who also happens to be a painter, with amazing work).

That second demo just hit the BDM scene with a vengeance. I was living in the Dominican Republic then, and it was great to see all the fans around the globe just going nuts over this effort. It showcased the talent these musicians have and how as a team they were able to create one of those demos that should be or have been considered classic. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: ALTERI / MINUALA / MOROKH

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Oct 062020
 


Minuala

 

(Here’s a triptych of EP reviews by Andy Synn.)

One of the (many) great things about writing for this site is that, free from the concerns of having to sell ad space or keep to print deadlines, we’re basically free to write about what we want, when we want to.

So, for example, if I want to dedicate an article to reviewing three releases all situated somewhere along the Blackened Crust/Hardcore spectrum… then I can do!

And if those three releases all happen to be EPs, and not albums… it’s all good!

And then if one of them was, in fact, originally released back in February, even though I’m only just getting to writing about it now… well, that’s not a problem either! Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): THROANE — “UNE BALLE DANS LE PIED”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Oct 062020
 

 

For those of you who may only now be discovering Throane for the first time, it is the solo project of Dehn Sora, whose name will be familiar to many as the visual artist whose creations have adorned the covers of albums by a multitude of well-regarded bands. Because he is a graphic artist and designer, and a collector of vinyl records himself, the visual presentation of Throane’s music in its physical packaging is inseparable from the sound. And so the conception of Throane’s new EP Une Balle Dans Le Pied (which will be released on October 16th by Debemur Morti Productions) was as much rooted in an image as it was in an imagining of the sound, and thus there are multiple layers of meaning to be found here.

The EP’s title translates to “a bullet in the foot”, a French expression symbolizing the act of sabotaging oneself. The cover image depicts Sora’s sister, a choice that recalls previous releases in which Sora has featured individuals close to him, with a personal symbolism. He explains: “Working as a nurse in different services, her daily routine makes her face death, addicted personalities, terminally ill people. Walking through their homes, their souls. Walking on broken glass. But forced to get rid of it, at the end of every day. To stand still. And keep walking.”

But the image is ambiguous. Sora again explains: Continue reading »

CHOKE ME: “THE COUSIN OF DEATH”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Oct 062020
 

 

(In this review DGR praises the new record by Los Angeles-based Choke Me, which was released in June by Riot Ready Records.)

Speaking of releases that have fallen firmly in the category of “have listened to a ton since its sliding across my proverbial desk”, L.A’s Choke Me and their album The Cousin Of Death – released  in late June via Riot Ready Records – is the latest candidate to build itself a very comfortable nest in that pile.

There’s a few reasons for this: One is that this disc is fast. The band dub themselves “fastcore”, so at the very least this should be an easily attainable goal, and The Cousin of Death clocks in at about twenty-five minutes over twelve songs. The second is that The Cousin Of Death is cathartic. It nails the feeling of lashing out within the first few songs and retains that sort of ferocity for the entirety of its run time, the dual vocal assault provided by its bassist and guitarist amplifying that effect.

Third, whether intentional or something that just popped up during the songwriting sessions, nearly every song here has some sort of flash point where the group shift from comfortable death and grind riffs into full on blasting hell, as if every song seeks to light itself on fire and be fully immolated by its ending. That moment where the tempo accelerates into full speed is so much fun that even though it happens over and over throughout The Cousin Of Death proves that Choke Me have really gripped on to something.

Finally, I have a soft spot for just about any release that contains as much bile within it as a song like “You Aren’t Special” does. Continue reading »

FAWN LIMBS: “SLEEPER VESSELS”

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Oct 052020
 

 

(In this review Andy Synn catches up with the new album by Fawn Limbs, which was released on September 18th in various formats by Roman Numeral Records, Wolves And Vibrancy Records, Dark Trail Records, and Sludgelord Records.)

While many sites, zines, and publications (especially print publications) have already transitioned into “End of Year” mode, we here at NCS are still out there, scouring the interweb for new bands and new albums to bring to your attention.

And it’s a good thing too, because while the release of Sleeper Vessels (the second album from the trans-Atlantic Tech-Grind trio Fawn Limbs) may have flown a little bit under the radar, its bastardised blend of squalling metallic noise, unsettling ambience, and distorted electronic effluent has the potential to throw a major wrench into the works when it comes to deciding what/who belongs on this year’s many “Best of…” lists.

As discordant, as demanding, and as defiantly difficult to categorise as this record is, there are certain points of reference – from the mind-bending technicality of Car Bomb and the pneumatic angularity of Ion Dissonance to the abrasive intensity of The Red Chord or the experimental extremity of Pig Destroyer – which, superficially at least, might make it a little bit easier to take in.

But the truth is that Sleeper Vessels is an album that positively thrives on sowing chaos and confusion at every possible moment, and there’s no real way to fully prepare yourself for this record’s catastrophic, kaleidoscopic assault upon the senses.

But I’ll do what I can. Forewarned is forearmed, after all. Continue reading »

TOADEATER: “BIT TO EWIGEN DAOGEN”

 Album Reviews  12 Responses »
Oct 022020
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by Germany’s Toadeater, which is being released today.)

When it comes to the ongoing discussion about how/whether to separate the art from the artist I tend to err towards the idea that, ultimately, it really comes down to a matter of personal choice.

Sure, we can do our best to engage, discuss, and inform one another on the (not so rare) occasion it turns out that one of our favourite bands or artists turns out to have some… let’s say “questionable” views (or is just a reprehensible, irredeemable piece of shit), but ultimately it’s up to each of us, individually, where we draw the line.

Your circumstances will also affect how you act/react in response when an artist/band crosses that line – for myself there are bands I’ll still listen to but whom I choose not to use my platform here to promote, for example – but the one argument that doesn’t hold any water, not with me anyway, is that you can’t/won’t stop supporting a band “because there’s no-one else as good out there”.

The truth is there’s never been more great music out there. Sure, there’s a lot of dross. But there’s more opportunities now than ever to discover someone/something new when one of your old bands betrays you.

So if you’ve been struggling for a new Black Metal fix to replace your old one, Toadeater have you covered. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): VENTR — “NUMINOUS NEGATIVITY”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Oct 022020
 

 

The title of Ventr’s debut EP — Numinous Negativity — is nearly perfect for the music. Numinous, Luminous Negativity might be slightly better. But the title has meaning beyond the sensations of the music and the visions they spawn in the mind. We’ll come to that momentarily.

The EP may be a debut recording, but it certainly doesn’t sound like a first effort. The band are Portuguese, and the EP will be released by Signal Rex (on October 9th), but the music doesn’t fit neatly into the kind of raw black metal aesthetic that you might expect from those facts.

As for the conceptual underpinning, we’re told that the title refers to “a spiritual and/or religious form of negative perception – the mysteries in the works within the omnipresence of the Devil.” Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): YOVEL — “FORTHCOMING HUMANITY”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  6 Responses »
Oct 012020
 

 

In the midst of a time when it is all too easy to feel desperate and demoralized by forces both human and viral that seem bent on crushing both life and hope, it is worth remembering that humanity has been here before. Remembering such times, and the efforts of valiant people who survived and transcended them, can itself furnish hope. And maybe we can learn something about how this is to be done, as well.

In their new album Forthcoming Humanity, the Greek black metal band Yovel have devoted themselves to such remembrances, and others. A concept album, it is based upon the poems of Tasos Leivaditis, a brilliant poet and a revolutionary, who himself lived through harrowing times, including the second World War. Born in 1922, he died in 1988. Yovel themselves explain:

“Tasos Leivaditis lived and wrote for the hopes, struggles and losses of the Greek people and Greek left movement. We found in his writing mourning; but also radiant hope, rooted in our own history but also in touch with the history of the peoples of this world and their struggles up to date. Hιs work stands as a tribute to that history, but also as a statement for our present and our future.” They quote these words of Leivaditis himself (from Confession, The Manuscripts of Autumn):

“One day I want them to write on my grave: He lived on the border of an indefinite age and died for things far away that he once saw in an un-certain dream.” Continue reading »

ONCOLOGY: “OMNIVERSAL ANTIGENESIS”

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Oct 012020
 

 

(In this review Vonlughlio provides a strong recommendation for the new second album from the UK brutal death metal band Oncology.)

Today’s subject is an amazing band from the UK named Oncology, who on July 17th released their sophomore album Omniversal Antigenesis via Rising Nemesis Records.

This is a project that started in 2014 and released a single called “Prelude to Oblivion”. The following year they released their demo The Metastasis consisting ofthree songs.  But I discovered them in 2016 with their first album Infinite Regress and right away became a fan. Really enjoyed the riffs in each of the songs, very quality writing, and vocals that fit the music perfectly.  The drums on this release were programmed, but well done I might add. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: HUMANITY IS CANCER — “HARLOT” (AND A REVIEW OF THE SELF-TITLED EP)

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Sep 302020
 

 

This is an example of “better late than never”, to put it mildly. Humanity Is Cancer wrote the songs on their forthcoming self-titled debut EP back in 2014/2015, as guitarist Thomas Haywood was just about to launch his two labels, Redefining Darkness Records and Seeing Red Records, whose releases have received considerable acclaim in the ensuing years. As a result of the effort devoted to the labels, the EP was put on hold — but it will now finally see the horrid light of a November day in a truly terrible year that has abundantly proven the truth of the band’s name.

And it is definitely better late than never. The four songs on the EP are all terrific, delivering with considerable mastery a style of death metal that draws upon the influence of Aeon, post-Barnes Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, early Decapitated, and Bloodbath. The music’s immediately addictive rhythms are pulverizing, its morbid, preternatural melodies are memorable and haunting, and it achieves heights of ferocity that are spine-tingling. Continue reading »

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