ENCENATHRAKH: “ENCENATHRAKH”

 Album Reviews  15 Responses »
Apr 112015
 

 

In February of this year I received an e-mail from something called p2omerta alerting us to the impending release of a self-titled album by a band named Encenathrakh, with a link to a song on Soundcloud named “Ngthra” —  and these words:

“The truest essence of unhinged BRUTALITY.
Enmity, Total Rusak, Cancerbag, Last Days of Humanity, Indonesia –
step aside for the universe’s most ignoramus release ever.

“NO TRIGGERS. NO LYRICS. NO BASS. NO HOPE.
1000% Technical Guttural Supremacy”

Did I follow up? No I did not. I don’t know why. In fact, I’m not even sure I saw the e-mail. But I found it yesterday after receiving a much more recent e-mail from Tom H. — he apparently sent a similar e-mail to MetalSucks, who jumped on it faster than I did. But I’m all over it now, and here’s why: Continue reading »

SICKENING HORROR: “OVERFLOW”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Apr 102015
 

 

(Austin Weber reviews the new album by Sickening Horror.) 

It often seems as if the metal scene has a short memory. Bands often continue to release phenomenal material long after they cease to get as much praise and enthusiastic reception as they once did. I haven’t seen too many other places repping the new Sickening Horror record, Overflow, and thats a shame.

In 2007, their debut mindfuck, When Landscapes Bled Backwards, captured the attention of technical death metal fans — a sign that a new act from Greece were bringing something new to the genre. Then they released a worthy sophomore follow-up in 2009 with The Dead End Experiment. Luckily, 2015 finally brings us the release of this new third record, and it showcases a band who’ve once again tweaked their sound and style, furthering evolving and bringing something different to the table. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: VERMÖRD — “DAWN OF THE BLACK HARVEST”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  6 Responses »
Apr 102015
 

 

(Austin Weber introduces our full streaming premiere of the debut release by Vermörd.)

Recently here at NCS, I wrote about a Maryland-based blackened death metal outfit named Vermörd. I can thank Islander for this since he steered me toward them, and they certainly didn’t disappoint. While my initial assessment of the band was positive, it was based only on a single track “Derodidymus”, which left me wanting more — a wish that was soon fulfilled upon getting to hear all of Dawn Of The Black Harvest recently.

After listening to all of it, my favorable impressions of the band have only grown, and I think that many of our readers will appreciate their multi-faceted and monstrous approach to destruction and mayhem from start to finish. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: FALSE, PALE CHALICE, BOTANIST, DEMONICAL

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  9 Responses »
Apr 102015
 

 

Yesterday brought a wealth of new music, and I’ve collected a few of the riches in this post. The first three songs are black metal, and the fourth isn’t — but it’s still obsidian and it still rips.

FALSE

With only an untitled EP in 2011 and a split with Barghest in 2012 — collectively totaling three songs — the Minneapolis black metal band False have established the kind of underground credibility that makes their debut album one of the year’s most highly anticipated releases. For me, “highly anticipated” became an understatement after I saw them perform at last summer’s Gilead Fest in Wisconsin. In a word, the performance was stunning (reviewed here).

Yesterday, Gilead Media announced pre-orders for the album — which is also untitled — and put up the first advance track for streaming on Bandcamp. Continue reading »

UNLEASHED: “DAWN OF THE NINE”

 Album Reviews  12 Responses »
Apr 092015
 

 

We don’t publish negative reviews at this site. It’s a rule: If we hear something we don’t like, we just ignore it. The mission is to spread the word about metal that makes us enthusiastic. But since I’m the dictator who laid down the rule more than five years ago, I can break it, and so I will. Here’s our first negative review.

Unleashed’s new album Dawn of the Nine isn’t very friendly. It’s actually very belligerent, even bellicose. There’s a lot of ranting and raving about blood and the spirit of Viking ancestors and the elite forces of the “Midgard Warriors” hunting down something called the “White Christ” — and it sounds like Unleashed really mean it. This is icy-cold blood lust and ferocious rage given sonic form.

Who would listen to music that frightens small children? Where’s the compassion and the tolerance? Continue reading »

BRING BACK INDUSTRIAL: THE UNRAVELING’S “REVOLT”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Apr 082015
 

 

(Wil Cifer provides this review of a new single by Unraveling from Calgary, Canada.)

If any sub-genre in the metal family tree deserves to see the inevitable upswing in the perpetual cycle that most musical trends follow, it’s industrial. You would think Godflesh’s comeback would have spurned this. We do have Author & Punisher and Youth Code, but that is hardly a groundswell for the kind of music that dominated the 90s alongside grunge. It has yet to really see a resurgence of the magnitude it deserves. Taking their best stab westward at the genre’s more accessible side is a project from Canada called The Unraveling.

They have returned with the first new song since their lead singer fell out of commission for a year due to heath problems; it’s the band’s first new music since their 2010 release 13 Arcane Hymns. This track shows the duo evolving from just another Tool-influenced hard-rock band stuck in the 90s to something more promising. Continue reading »

MALTHUSIAN: “BELOW THE HENGIFORM”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  4 Responses »
Apr 072015
 

 

Malthusian’s debut demo MMXIII (touched upon here at our site) was an auspicious start to their career, but they have taken significant strides forward on their new EP Below the Hengiform. It would not be hyperbole to say that it now places this Irish band among the elite ranks of blackened death metal practitioners on a global stage.

According to this recent interview of the band’s guitarist/vocalist, the “hengiform” referred to in the EP’s title was an Iron Age enclosure, a “ring fort” in which there is archaeological evidence that ritual sacrifices were performed, “like a gateway between the worlds of the living and the dead”. With that obscure yet evocative reference as the banner above this new recording, Malthusian have created a listening experience that suits the title: The music is obscure, ritualistic, and supernatural in its aura, and it introduces something new to the lexicon of extreme metal.

From the beginning, Malthusian have blended elements of doom into the formulas of chaos that are typically found in the blackened death sub-genre, and they continue to do so here. The music has a massive, distorted low end, filled with dissonant down-tuned riffs, deep grinding/groaning bass lines, and a percussive mix that’s heavy on the toms and the kick drum, and the band have a penchant for dropping into a staggering pace with repeating musical motifs that exude a thick atmosphere of imminent catastrophe. Continue reading »

ESSENTIAL ENTRIES: MARCH 2015

 Album Reviews  14 Responses »
Apr 062015
 

 

(In this post Dan Barkasi continues his monthly series recommending music from the month just ended.)

Welcome, welcome, to the March edition of essential entries. February was a decent month, highlighted by stellar releases by Crypt Sermon, Devouring Star, and Sarpanitum. Overall, it wasn’t as solid as January, and I listened to a ton of music for February. There were plenty of strong albums, but also a lot of “decent, but not great” sort of releases. Everything included here, however, is top-notch, of course!

March, however, was loaded with a metric ton of great albums. As a result, there were a few difficult omissions, but that’s a good problem to have. The following turned this guy’s head the most.

Antagoniste – The Myth of Mankind

Hailing from France – the land of oddball experimental metal – is another entry of this sort by Antagoniste. A one-man avant garde black metal project, this is the debut release, and it’s nothing short of beastly. The vocals vary wildly, with a mix of menacing growls and chants. It’s heavy, a bit out there, quite catchy, and all quality. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: KILLER REFRIGERATOR — “THE FRIDGE AND THE POWER THAT IT HOLDS”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  3 Responses »
Apr 032015
 

 

WAIT!  DON’T LEAVE! Yes, I know you’re usually into the grymm and the kvlt, and you’re instinctively suspicious about bands whose names and album titles sound like they’re just goofing around — but suspend your skepticism for a minute and hear me out.

You see, I had the same initial reaction when we were approached about premiering this new EP. With a band name like Killer Refrigerator and a thematic focus on a war between humanity and the appliances that rule and control our lives, how could you possibly take the music seriously? While I acknowledge it’s true that we are indeed enslaved by our dependence on our smartphones, blenders, and toaster-ovens, would there really be anything worthwhile in songs named “Slaystation”, “Shower Thrashing Death”, or “Slave To the Easy-Bake”?

Turns out the answer is a resounding YES — that is, if you have a taste for thoroughly brain-twisting, ass-thrashing shred. Continue reading »

SIFTING (Part 2): HELLUCINATION, THROWN TO THE SUN

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Apr 032015
 

 

(This is Part 2 of a collection of five new reviews by DGR. The first three reviews are collected here. For those who missed Part 1, DGR’s introduction is repeated below.)

I’ve written a few articles where I’ve had to sort of slide back from the desk my laptop sits on, sigh, and go, “Well, that got completely out of control”. There’s something to be said about being punctual with your writing, but what initially began as a sort of archive of two real quick discoveries of stuff from 2014 that I had just found via Bandcamp became this massive and stupid roundup of five bands, with 2014 bookending a huge block of shit from 2015; so, uh, I guess fans of symmetry should really dig into this collection of sounds.

A huge chunk of this is still as originally penned, dedicated to stuff I found recently that hit last year, as I sifted from various sites I visited while trying to find stuff that might perk your ears. But I just kept finding music that seemed to be hitting right as I would type up the last little paragraph for an earlier release. Some were sent to us by bands themselves, and others I came across after a piece of album art or a random show poster caught my eye. Much of this article is death-metal-focused and much of it very cleanly produced and melodeath-leaning. However, there are a few curveballs this time around, and those are the ones that really caught my attention this time.

Hellucination

This band right here is one of the reasons this article got out of control. Yet, Hellucination are one that I felt I had to include because I was listening to their new album a lot for a fairly recent discovery. This one is a late addition that kind of forced its way into the group after I spotted its album art popping up on the social media pages of a couple of musicians I was checking in with. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries