ALARUM: “CIRCLE’S END”

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Sep 022020
 

 

(TheMadIsraeli prepared this review of the latest album by the long-running Australian band Alarum, which was released in June by Dinner For Wolves.)

The very idea of progressive metal in modern metal is trapped in a weird state of limbo.  We have a problem lately with labeling things progressive that are, frankly, not at all.  They meet none of the requirements for the style, but the songs are over seven minutes long so we think surely that’s the qualifier.  As someone who appreciates the eccentricity in progressive metal of any sort enthralling, it’s a bit insulting to me that “our” standard has dropped so low that we consider bands like Black Crown Initiate to be progressive.  They are, no doubt, an excellent band, one of modern extreme metal’s best current acts, and fantastic musicians, but their music is not progressive.

When I think of metal that is progressive, I think envelope-pushing, I think weird fusion ideas or the ability to write a comprehensively diverse album that hits an insanely wide array of peaks and valleys while maintaining a cohesive core sound.  A group could do this based on a “gimmick”, of course, and could have an objective, perhaps oriented around jazz for example, and that’s fair as long as the music you’re writing actually tries to push and incorporate jazz into your metal in such a way that the spirit of jazz is in no way diluted. Continue reading »

HYMN: “BREACH US”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Sep 012020
 

 

(On August 28th Fysisk Format released the second album by the Norwegian duo Hymn, and Andy Synn gives it an enthsusiastic review below.)

Being human is, I’m sure we’ll all agree, a strange experience. One which, ultimately, we all experience differently.

Even though we have so much in common, and encounter the world through the same five senses, the same underlying mental architecture, if I were to try to convey to you exactly what I experience when I feel pain, or pleasure, or any number of other sensations, I wouldn’t be able to do so.

Oh sure, we have language to describe what pain “is”, what pleasure “is”, but the truth is that human language just isn’t equipped to describe the subjective qualia of reality.

Quite simply, you can’t feel what I feel.

This is one reason why we often fall back on comparisons and shared points of reference when describing things to one another, especially (to the chagrin of many) when talking about music.

So, like it or not, please be aware that when I say that Norwegian duo Hymn sound like the bastard offspring of Cult of Luna, Crowbar, and Celtic Frost I do so with good reason, as you’re about to find out. Continue reading »

TON: “ASHES WHERE THEY STOOD”

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Sep 012020
 

 

(Vonlughlio prepared this review of the new third album by the Ohio death metal band TON, which was released in August by Ungodly Ruins Productions.)

The Ohio death metal project called TON have been around since 1993. They released a handful of demos leading up to their full-length debut Plague in 1999. After that they went on a hiatus of sorts until 2015 when they released their sophomore album, Bow Down to Extinction, and that is when I learned of their existence (late to the party, I suppose).

I enjoyed their second release quite a bit, including the kind of natural production that allowed each of the instruments be heard as a collaborative force, instead of some being buried in the mix. The riffs were quite entertaining, providing the driving force leading the way in each of the eight songs which proved to be an engaging 32-minute experience. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 124): HAVUKRUUNU

 Album Reviews, THE SYNN REPORT  3 Responses »
Aug 312020
 

 

(For the August 2020 edition of The Synn Report, Andy Synn has decided to compile reviews of all the releases by the tremendously talented Finnish band Havukruunu, including their newest album released earlier this month by Naturmacht Productions.)

Recommended for fans of: Moonsorrow, Immortal, Vintersorg

Black Metal, as we all know, comes in many different forms.

Punky and primal, proggy and polished, feral and fierce, mighty and majestic… and all shades and shapes in between.

And for this month’s Synn Report it’s the latter style I’ve chosen to focus on, with this deep dive into the discography of formidable Finnish foursome Havukruunu.

Three albums into their career (the most recent of which was released earlier this month) the band have, effectively, become masters of a scintillating brand of Black Metal which fuses the epic extravagance of their countrymen in Moonsorrow with the swaggering, riff-centric approach of Immortal and the fearless melodic mettle of Bathory… although, as accurate (maybe even a little too obvious) as those references are, I’d say that Havukruunu have more than made this sound their own at this point.

So fill your cups, sharpen your blades, and ready yourselves to ride the blazing Northern skies as we take a journey through the band’s bountiful back catalogue. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): INTERCEPTING PATTERN — “THE ENCOUNTER”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Aug 312020
 

 

As a listener, there is more than one way you might envision in your mind’s eye the wondrous musical excursion of Intercepting Pattern‘s debut album The Encounter. Perhaps you’ll think of being aboard a spacecraft traversing the solar system, or tunneling through a wormhole to locations vastly beyond our home system. Or maybe you’ll conclude that the trip isn’t bounded by any dimension of “reality”, extraterrestrial or not. There is, after all, a track named for the prince of demons. Or perhaps you’ll think of being suspended in the transitional state between wakefulness and sleep, experiencing lucid dreams or bizarre hallucinations (there’s another track named for that state of threshold consciousness).

I thought of all those things, but also remembered two other things. One of those memories was Rod Serling‘s repeated introduction to his famous TV series (I’ll come to the other memory at the end of this introduction to our premiere of the album):

“There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call… the Twilight Zone.” Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ASTRINGENCY — “OF VACANT PLANES”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  1 Response »
Aug 282020
 

 

Today we’re helping spread the word about the release of the second album by the West Texas melodic death metal band Astringency, which follows their 2017 full-length debut, Sanguinarium. Entitled Of Vacant Planes, the album is an extravagant 11-track work that’s packed to the brim with intricate, technically adventurous, and tempo-dynamic performances, while incorporating evocative melodies that cross a wide emotional range.

Stylistically, the music draws from many wells, incorporating Scandinavian melodeath gallops, bursts of full-throttle thrashing, episodes of blackened malignancy and gloom, and a lot more. It’s definitely a “modern” take on the music of this old genre, and thus continues to breathe new life into it. As a further sign of that, Astringency call out the music of such bands as The Black Dahlia Murder, Fallujah, and Allegaeon as influences, in addition to the likes of Obscura, Deicide, and Cannibal Corpse. Continue reading »

EXPANDER: “NEUROPUNK BOOSTERGANG”

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Aug 282020
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by Expander (from Austin, Texas), which Profound Lore Records released on August 21st.)

We don’t often cover much Thrash, or Thrash-adjacent, material here at NCS. For whatever reason it’s something of a blind spot in our regular coverage, and it generally takes a particularly special (or audaciously strange) example of the style to attract our attention.

As you might have guessed, Neuropunk Boostergang is one such example, which is why, just a week after its official release, I’ve decided to write a few words about it.

Of course the fact that we’re turning our gaze towards the realm of Thrash right now, just after the sad and untimely passing of Power Trip frontman Riley Gale, adds an extra dose of poignancy to this write-up, especially when you consider that, much as PT could never be fully summed up by the over-simplistic “Thrash” tag most often applied to their music, likewise Expander don’t fit neatly within the confines of the genre either.

Which is probably why I like them so much. Continue reading »

NONEXIST: “LIKE THE FEARLESS HUNTER”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Aug 282020
 

 

(Here’s TheMadIsraeli’s review of the new fourth album by the Swedish band Nonexist, which is being released today – August 28th – by Mighty Music.)

By my measure, Nonexist are one of the most criminally underrepresented European death metal bands in the entirety of the genre metal.  They are so criminally overlooked I’d wager that ignorance of them should count as a human rights violation.  The project, spearheaded by longtime Swedish scene vet Johan Reinholdz of Skyfire and Andromeda fame, has been one of metal’s best kept secrets since 2000.  Originally a two-piece band consisting of Johan and ex-Arch Enemy vocalist Johan Liiva, the project has been consistently dedicated to preserving an image of melodic death metal at its most pure and un-compromised.

What do I mean by that?  Well… Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): MORTA — “FÚNEBRE”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Aug 272020
 

 

in late March of this year the Catalonian band Morta self-released their second work, a half-hour album (or EP if you prefer) named Fúnebre. There seems to have been a very limited vinyl release accompanying the digital version, but the Portuguese label Signal Rex obviously decided that such a gripping combination of ruination and revelation shouldn’t be allowed to languish in obscurity, because Fúnebre is now set for an August 28 re-release by Signal Rex on CD and tape.

Once you hear Fúnebre — as you will be able to do at the end of this post — it’s not difficult to understand why that decision was made. The album is devoted to black metal of an undeniably rough, raw, and riotous fervency, capable of manifesting bestial terrors, but the riffing is always targeted to evoking emotional responses, and the nature of those moods may surprise you. Continue reading »

CAVERN: “POWDERED”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Aug 272020
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by Maryland-based Cavern, which will be released on August 28th.)

I know what you’re all thinking.

First Ulver and their polished, provocative Synth-Pop. Now Cavern and their moody, mellifluous Post-Rock. Has our beloved Andy Synn gone soft?

Or, worse, has he… sold out?

The truth, as always, is far more mundane. This is just what I felt like writing about this week.

But don’t worry, I’ve got something much rougher and riffier lined up for tomorrow…

Until then, though, it’s time to immerse ourselves in the glistening, atmospheric waters of Powdered. Continue reading »

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