MAJESTIC DOWNFALL — “WATERS OF FATE” (A REVIEW AND FULL MUSIC STREAM)

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Dec 062018
 

 

Majestic Downfall‘s new album, Waters Of Fate, will be released on December 7th by Solitude Productions and Weird Truth Productions in Europe and Asia, and by Chaos Records in the Americas. It consists of five tracks and 52 minutes of music, and the European/Asian version of the album includes one further bonus track for a total playing time of over an hour.

You can lose yourself in this album very easily. The four long songs of doom/death and one brief interlude that make up the Americas version of the record are staggeringly intense and atmospherically immersive, and the melodies are powerfully alluring, but the music will prove especially appealing to listeners with a taste for crushing heaviness and soul-splintering sorrow.

As you’re about to hear — because the album will become available for streaming in full today — there is tear-stained beauty to be found here, and passages of epic yet bleak grandeur, but this is an album that will dash your fondest hopes and smother your budding joys in their crib. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): DISCIPLES OF THE VOID — “DISCIPLES OF THE VOID”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  5 Responses »
Dec 052018
 

 

We’re well past the point when it’s possible to neatly classify black metal by national origin (if there ever was such a point). Yet when I think of Finnish black metal, images of thrusting goats and leering demons still come to mind, spawned by the feral, carnal viciousness deployed by some of the country’s best-known blasphemous deviants.

Those same images sprang to mind more than once in listening to the self-titled debut album by the anonymous Finnish duo Disciples of the Void, but mixed with other mental imagery, because the album is a multi-dimensional affair, one of those gripping surprises that is both atmospheric and rampantly physical in its sensations, successful in its appeal to base instincts and also evocative of less carnal and more august, but more frightening, visions.

After a handful of additional paragraphs by way of introduction, we will have a full stream of the album for your exploration in advance of its release by Primitive Reaction two days from now on December 7th. Continue reading »

IN THE WOODS…: “CEASE THE DAY”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  1 Response »
Dec 052018
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the new album by In the Woods…, which was released on November 23rd by Debemur Morti Productions.)

While this will most likely be my last review before I unveil my annual end-of-year onslaught of lists and lurid opinions, that doesn’t mean it’s going to be my last review of the year, as I already have several items earmarked for further coverage during the post-Listmania come-down.

I didn’t want to sit on this article any longer though, as this particular collection of words has been burning a hole in my brain for several weeks now, and I was starting to worry that I was risking permanent damage if I waited much longer.

So here’s a few thoughts, and maybe even a “hot take” or two, about the magical new album from In The Woods… Continue reading »

WHOREDOM RIFE: “NID: HYMNER AV HAT”

 Album Reviews  8 Responses »
Dec 042018
 

 

(Andy Synn wrote this review of the new album by the Trondheim black metal band Whoredom Rife, which was released by Terratur Possessions on November 30th.)

While the prevailing narrative may be that 2018 has been “a Death Metal year” (and not without good reason), to dismiss the plethora of thrilling, chilling, and blistering Black Metal albums released over the last twelve months would be a huge mistake.

I’ll be saying more about these next week, when I’ll be rounding up the multitude of meaty metallic morsels which I’ve had the chance to sink my teeth into this year (and highlighting some of my favourites) but, in the meantime, I thought I might try and bring a little bit of extra attention to Nid: Hymner av hat, the second album by Norwegian duo Whoredom Rife, which was released last week. Continue reading »

MEMFIS: “IMPERIUM”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Dec 032018
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by the Swedish band Memfis, which was released through all digital platforms on November 30.)

Exactly one week from today I plan to commence my annual Year End Round Up, kicking off with my traditional three-day binge of “Disappointing”, “Good”, and “Great” albums, which will primarily serve as a way for our readers to catch up on, or to reassess, various things they may have (dis)missed over the course of the last twelve months, followed by the publication of my highly-anticipated (by me, anyway) “Critical” and “Personal” Top Ten lists at the end of the week.

That doesn’t mean I’m done writing/reviewing just yet though. In fact I plan to spend the rest of this week highlighting a couple of new (or, at least, new-ish) albums, and will be following up next week’s listrionics with a few articles aimed at giving certain hand-picked artists some extra, post-list coverage.

So, without further ado, allow me to (re)introduce you to proggy metalloids Memfis, and their brand new album Imperium. Continue reading »

ABDICATE: “REBORN IN DYSPATHY”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Dec 032018
 

 

(Vonlughlio reviews the new fourth album by the brutal death metal band Abdicate, which will be released by Sevared Records.)

This time around I’m very fortunate to be doing a small write-up for the new album by Abdicate entitled Reborn in Dyspathy, set to be released via Sevared Records in the upcoming weekd.

This project came to life back in  2008 in Rochester, New York (where I used to live in that same time), and released their debut EP Relinquish the Throne that same year. It showcased the talent and potential that could be developed in upcoming releases. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): KONFLICT — “TRIGGER UNIVERSAL CONFLICT”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  3 Responses »
Nov 302018
 

 

On December 5h Cyclopean Eye Productions will release the new EP by the Sri Lankan noise terror trio Konflict, and today we present a full stream of all six brain-mangling body-mutilating tracks.

Crafted as “a blood-curdling retaliation against their homeland’s perpetual degeneration,” Trigger Universal Conflict is a dystopian sonic nightmare, a remorseless assault of harsh noise, grindcore, and black/death metal with devastating consequences. It lasts only 18 minutes, but long enough to leave a listeners shivering in fear, with heartbeats hammering and lungs gasping for air. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 103): SPEARHEAD

 Album Reviews, THE SYNN REPORT  1 Response »
Nov 302018
 

 

(In this November edition of The Synn Report, Andy combines reviews of the four albums released to date by UK devastators Spearhead, including their new album Pacifism Is Cowardice, released one week ago by Invictus Productions.)

Recommended for fans of: Vader, Witchery, Goatwhore

Pulling no punches and taking no prisoners, Spearhead have been weaponising their particular brand of Blackened Death-Thrash for almost fifteen years now, and have produced four utterly ferocious albums during that time, the most recent of which – Pacifism Is Cowardice – came out just one week ago, following a seven-year gap between records.

And while the quartet – now made up of founding bassist/vocalist Barghest, long-time guitarist Invictus, and new members Typhon (drums) and Praetorian (guitars) – clearly have a deep, abiding affection for the classic, old school style(s) of Extreme Metal, you’ll soon see/hear that their latest record in particular aims for more of an ageless, enduring sound than some sort of uninspired throwback.

So gird your loins, brothers and sisters, and follow me once more into the breach! Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): COSMIC ATROPHY — “THE VOID ENGINEERS”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  1 Response »
Nov 302018
 

 

(Today we premiere a full stream of the new album by Cosmic Atrophy from Biloxi, Mississippi, preceded by an introductory review by Vonlughlio.)

As you, my dear readers, already know by now, my small reviews usually focus on bands in the Brutal Death Metal genre (one of my favorites). Nevertheless, I do like other genres as well, such as Death, Black, Black/Death, and Doom Metal, just to name a few. But when given the opportunity to write for NCS,  I wanted to focus on a genre that could use more exposure. Also, Islander and the team of writers do a fantastic job in promoting/writing about all the main genres here.

With that being said, in my time here at NCS I have written about some non-BDM such as Mournful Congregation, whose release last year I was privileged to write a few words about.

This time around I am very fortunate to do a small write up for Cosmic Atrophy‘s sophomore album The Void Engineers. Simply put, it is for me how Progressive Death Metal should sound, and it has impacted me immensely. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A GUEST REVIEW): BANE — “ESOTERIC FORMULAE”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  5 Responses »
Nov 282018
 

 

(Today we premiere a full stream of the third album by the blackened death metal band Bane, which is recommended for fans of Dissection, Behemoth, and Rotting Christ. It will be released on November 30th by Black Market Metal Label, and we introduce our premiere with a guest review of the album by Caleb Newton.)

The once Serbia-based and now Canadian experimental black metal outfit Bane present a complex and nuanced but ruthless sonic monster that demands some digestion via Esoteric Formulae, their November 30 full-length on Black Market Metal Label. The album hinges on some truly ambitious concepts, to the point that rather than sticking with the human morbidity that other similarly styled albums tack their themes to, this record focuses on the cosmos. Continue reading »

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