KRONOS: “ARISEN NEW ERA”

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Jun 252015
 

 

(DGR reviews the new album by those French titans in Kronos.)

Since Unique Leader has come into prominence over the last few years, the label has been the overseer of a tech-death explosion, one that has seen them dredging up all kinds of different groups from the rubble and ash piles of local scenes while at the same time ensuring that in the wake of their roster of bands there would be absolutely no notes left for anyone else to play on guitar.

As something of a genre-label, Unique Leader have acquired a sound — the type of noise where you can see their logo on a group’s album and more often than not usually guess what they will sound like. Not to knock them, of course, as the label has been the savior of the Nor-Cal death metal scene up here, picking up some of the most highly technical and underrated bands and at least giving them a shot after they’ve been scrapping it out for years. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: BARÚS — “BARÚS”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  8 Responses »
Jun 242015
 

 

(Andy Synn wrote this review of the debut EP by a French band named Barús.)

Ladies and gentlemen, I need you to stop whatever you’re doing and listen to this. This deserves your complete attention. All of it. There will be no exceptions.

Are you listening yet? Good.

Welding the mutated megaton guitar heft of Meshuggah at their slowest and heaviest to a heaving undercurrent of soul-crushing Doom and touches of the sort of hypnotic, almost ritualistic, atmosphere that would make your average occult-obsessed Black Metal band turn green(er) with envy, French Death Metal types Barús have managed to create something with their debut EP that simultaneously embraces and defies convention – something utterly dense and uncompromising, yet surprisingly progressive and introspective in nature. Continue reading »

CUT UP: “FORENSIC NIGHTMARES”

 Album Reviews  7 Responses »
Jun 232015
 

 

(TheMadIsraeli reviews the new album by Cut Up.)

There are a few death metal bands that just instantly turn me into a foaming-at-the-mouth violent super-brute — Hail of Bullets, Vader, and Bloodbath. Those bands are the epitome of no-bullshit consistently killer riffs, consistently savage speed, consistently relentless songwriting, and consistently skeleton-crushing grooves. Join Cut Up to that group.

Cut Up are a band who have a lot of pedigree due to the backgrounds of the members, and it shows. Forensic Nightmares is the most perfect death metal album I’ve heard this year, and it too turns me into a foaming-at-the-mouth violent super-brute at heart when I listen to it. Continue reading »

DAGOBA: “TALES OF THE BLACK DAWN”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Jun 222015
 

 

(In this post TheMadIsraeli returns to NCS with a review of the new album by Dagoba, which is being released today.)

I’ve ALWAYS liked Dagoba. I’ve always seen them as a metalcore band, and one of the best and few worth listening to who’ve put out material in the last ten years. Their brand of the standard metalcore formula mixed with symphonic bombast and industrial precision has always really stood out, always sticking to a hefty, bruising attack. Tales of the Black Dawn isn’t really a dramatic departure, but it’s definitely the darkest and heaviest record they’ve done yet. I’m really digging what’s going on here. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: MOHICANS, HORRIZON, ANIMUS MORTIS, BLACK SPACE RIDERS

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  7 Responses »
Jun 212015
 

 

After two weeks in Texas, I’ve had 36 hours in Seattle and am now about to head north to Vancouver, with two bodyguards to fend off the paparazzi, of course. We will be taking in a Bolt Thrower show this evening (I know I’m being an asshole, but it doesn’t happen often, so I think I get a break). Before hitting the road, I thought I’d throw a few things your way that lit me up in my listening yesterday. Variety is the spice of life, and there’s quite a bit of variety in this selection.

MOHICANS

I’ve forgotten how I stumbled across this next video. I saved a link to it before leaving Seattle two weeks ago (which was right when the video came out) and finally checked it out. It’s a single video named Room 69 that spans three songs by a San Francisco band named Mohicans (pictured above). To say the video is bizarre would be an understatement, but it’s damned entertaining, even if it’s loaded with WTF? moments. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: SANZU — “PAINLESS”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  7 Responses »
Jun 192015
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the debut EP by Sanzu.)

Much like another recent review of mine, it’s impossible to conduct any sort of write-up of the debut EP by Australian Death Metal troubadours Sanzu without referencing the ever-present spectre of their main inspiration.

In this case the band’s particular brand of bludgeoning, biomechanical groove clearly owes a heavy debt to French heavyweights Gojira, with every nerve-jangling pick-scrape and raw, bellowing vocal line steeped in the band’s undeniable influence.

Yet there’s clearly also much more than mere hero worship going on here, as the quintet manage to put their own distinctive spin on things, opting for a heavier focus on the Death Metal side of things which allows for an even heavier delivery than that of their idols.

Also, did I mention that it’s really fucking heavy? Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: EXILE THE TRAITOR — “WINTER ETERNAL”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  7 Responses »
Jun 172015
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the new EP by Scotland’s Exile the Traitor.)

Ok, let’s address the elephant in the room right away, shall we? Melodic Death/Core marauders Exile The Traitor really like The Black Dahlia Murder.

It’s obvious in everything from their song structures, to the tempos they choose, the inherent melodic spikiness of their riffs, and the subtly blackened bite of the vocals who these guys’ main influence is. Even if it apparently takes two entirely separate vocalists to successfully follow in Trevor Strnad’s portly footsteps.

Now that may all sound like criticism. It’s not. In fact, despite what I’ve said above, this is a damn good EP in its own right, bursting with unholy life and suitably necrotic energy. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: TEMPLE OF GNOSIS — “MYSTERIVM MAGNVM”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  4 Responses »
Jun 152015
 

 

Ten days ago, during one of my MISCELLANY excursions, I came across a just-released EP entitled Mysterivm Magnvm by a one-man project from Serbia named Temple of Gnosis. At that point I only wrote about one song from the album — its title track —  and not long after, the stream of the EP disappeared into the mists. But today we’ve got the pleasure of bringing you the resurrection of that stream as we premiere the entire EP.

Temple of Gnosis is the creation of someone who calls himself H.M.T., and Mysterivm Magnvm is the project’s debut EP. It’s being released by Goathorned Productions and it’s described as a concept work based on the “alchemical process of Enlightenment”, and specifically on the initial step of “deconstruction” along the path toward “transformation of mind and spirit”: Continue reading »

HIGH ON FIRE: “LUMINIFEROUS”

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Jun 142015
 

 

(In this post Wil Cifer reviews the new album by High On Fire.)

I caught these guys back in 2004ish when Planesmistakenforstars opened for them, and I grew to appreciate this band more as their musicianship and songwriting have matured over the years. The opener reminds me of “Leave No Cross Unturned” by Darkthrone. Matt Pike seems to be singing more than roaring, but this is marginal. The song hammers like a freight train.

There is more a sludge groove to the second track that is more rock ‘n’ roll, in the same sense Clutch is rock ‘n’ roll — thick, stoned distortion too up-tempo to be doom. On their last album they reminded me of a mix of Motörhead and Venom. Here it is more like old Mastodon without any of the guitar tricks. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: MEGIDDO — “THE HOLOCAUST MESSIAH”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  6 Responses »
Jun 122015
 

 

 

[For those who came here for a review of Megiddo’s The Holocaust Messiah, I suggest you read THIS ONE, since it’s a revised review of the entire album; the one below was based on a listen that omitted three of the album’s tracks.]

Roughly 13 years have passed since Toronto’s Megiddo put out an album, and aside from a trio of splits in 2003, I don’t think there’s been any new music from the band at all since then — until Barbarian Wrath released The Holocaust Messiah about 10 days ago. It consists of seven tracks, plus an intro and outro — and it’s a gem.

I have to note at the outset that I’ve only heard six of the tracks so far, because the title track and the intro and outro music haven’t yet been posted for streaming — but I’ve forged ahead with this review instead of waiting for my CD to arrive, because I’m more enthusiastic than patient.

There’s nothing fancy about the music. The songs are remarkably simple, with an organic sound, and almost all of them are fairly short. Each one has just one or two riffs (and some well-timed variations) that the band drive home through repetition, and equally uncomplicated, no-frills drum and bass rhythms. But the riffs are so ingeniously crafted and so damned catchy that this primal music proves to be highly addictive. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries