BUCKSHOT FACELIFT: “LIVING GHOSTS OF THE NORTH SHORE”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Nov 122014
 

 

(Austin Weber reviews the new album by NY’s Buckshot Facelift.)

When I was fortunate enough to see (and cover here at NCS) the Artificial Brain, Pyrrhon, and Gigan tour in Covington, Ky, a few weeks back, I also had the honor of speaking with Artificial Brain swamp monster/wookie/vocalist Will Smith. He even gave me a copy of his old band Biolich’s material, a group I adored long before Artificial Brain or Buckshot Facelift came into existence. I’ll embed a song by them at the end of this review for those interested. (The band started out as a Demilich worship act, but evolved into something much more eclectic later on. Biolich even had the superbly talented guitarist Andrew Hock (Castavet) in their ranks, but not many know that either.)

But to get back on topic, in the course of our conversation Will let me know that his other band, Buckshot Facelift, had a new EP coming out soon. He graciously gave me a physical copy in order to check it out — under one condition: He told me to be honest with how I felt about it. And honestly, its fucking awesome, hence this review. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: ANICON AND BELUS (A SPLIT)

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Nov 112014
 

 

Anicon and Belus are two New York bands whose names I’ve been hearing for a while, but whose music I’ve begun exploring only recently. Together they produced a split this past June, which was co-released on 12″ vinyl by Fragile Branch (U.S.) and Dead Section Records (Denmark), with each band contributing two tracks. The songs of each band are also now available on their respective Bandcamp pages, with one bonus track (linked below) — and they’re all really impressive.

ANICON

Anicon’s ranks include members of Trenchgrinder (vocalist/guitarist Owen Rundquist) and Krallice (drummer Lev Weinstein), as well as guitarist/vocalist Nolan Voss and bass player Alexander DeMaria (ex-Alrunes). They have two long songs on the vinyl split, “A Crown On Every Head” and “Blood and Stone”, and a third song (“Current of Ash and White”) comes as a bonus on the digital download. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SPECTRAL LORE — “QUIVERING” (AND A REVIEW OF “THE QUIVERING LIGHTS”)

 Album Reviews, Premieres  5 Responses »
Nov 102014
 

On January 20, 2015, Bindrune and Eihwaz Recordings will release an unusual and unusually good split LP by a group of very talented composers and musicians — P.H. and U.K. of Germany’s Nachtreich and Ayloss of Spectral Lore from Greece — under the title The Quivering Lights. Today we bring you the premiere of one of the Spectral Lore tracks, “Quivering”.

The split is unusual because it is a genuine collaboration between the two bands rather than a mere compilation of independent recordings by each one. Each band recorded three songs, but the tracks are interwoven, with Nachtreich’s “Light” opening the album followed by the Spectral Lore song we’re premiering today. Two more Nachtreich tracks then follow (an instrumental piece named “Greyness”, and “Ghost Light”), followed by the last two Spectral Lore tracks (“Vanishing” and a final instrumental work, “Reflection”). Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: BOG OAK, ORDER OF THELEMA, CHANNEL THE ANIMAL

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  7 Responses »
Nov 092014
 

 

Following up on an earlier trio of reviews this morning, I have another threesome in this post, focusing on three more new EPs (all of them debut offerings) that I’ve been enjoying and hope you’ll enjoy, too.

BOG OAK

Bog Oak are a relatively new band from the vicinity of Sacramento, California, whose debut EP A Treatise On Resurrection And The Afterlife will be released by Svart Records later this month — and it’s a winning combination of ingredients: huge fuzz-bombed riffs and gravelly bass lines, pavement-splitting drumbeats, seductive melodies, and an interesting (and potent) vocal tandem. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: HE WHOSE OX IS GORED, MUTTER, 7.5 TONNES OF BEARD

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Nov 092014
 

 

I’ve collected here three reviews of three new EPs that I’ve really been enjoying.

HE WHOSE OX IS GORED 

Not knowing what to expect, I saw Seattle’s He Whose Ox Is Gored perform live earlier this year, for the first time but not the last, and was hooked hard by the energy of their live set and the interesting mix of musical elements in their highly addictive songs. Their debut EP Rumors has recently been released by Bleeding Light Records as a digital download, with a vinyl 7” coming soon.

The bookends of the EP, “Void Assault” and “Rumors”, are hard-rocking affairs driven by swirling, swarming guitar melodies with a wonderfully fuzzy tone and a sludgy, bottom-feeding low end. There’s some interesting rhythmic interplay between the drum and bass, and a contrasting layer of psychedelic beauty shimmers over the top, thanks to Lisa Ungo’s synth-generated ambient sounds and the soaring, ethereal quality of her voice. Continue reading »

JUST BEFORE DAWN: “THE AFTERMATH”

 Album Reviews  7 Responses »
Nov 082014
 

Anders Biazzi has two things going for him: He can write death metal riffs that are pure gold, and he’s friends with a bunch of monster vocalists and soloing guitar demons. I don’t mean to suggest that he doesn’t have other good qualities, though for all I know he sacrifices virgins every night at the altar of the death metal gods. Actually, the more I listen to Biazzi’s band Just Before Dawn, the more I think that’s exactly what he does.

Just Before Dawn’s new album is The Aftermath, and it’s unusually good. I use the word “unusually” in an effort to be precise. And this is what I mean:

I’m willing to acknowledge, at least when I’m sober, that some people don’t feel the primal attraction of that distinctive strain of extreme music known as Swedish death metal or the tank battalion attack of Bolt Thrower. I’m also willing (when sober) to respect the opinions of fans who to this day are satisfied continuing to re-play their enshrined collection of death metal albums from the late 80s and early 90s because they don’t see the point in devoting time to anything that’s unlikely to improve the original template. Sometimes I think I’m too respectful. Continue reading »

A SMORGASBORD OF DEATHLY DELIGHTS: EMETH, ABYSMAL DAWN, JOB FOR A COWBOY

 Album Reviews  8 Responses »
Nov 072014
 

 

(Andy Synn delivers three reviews for three very strong new albums — with accompanying full-album streams.)

Let me level with you. At the start of 2014 I was convinced that this was going to be Black Metal’s year. There have been so many frankly awesome albums from across the kvlt-spectrum, from the Post- to the Progressive to the Necro, that, in truth, I just didn’t see how Death Metal was going to keep up.

But as the months have ticked by I’ve seen a slow and steady resurgence from the DM crowd. From the progressive wizardry of bands like Allegaeon and Beyond Creation to the shameless brutality of Aborted and Beneath… from the old-school ugliness of Cannibal Corpse and Vader, to the megaton grooves of modern legends like Misery Index and Decapitated… it’s been an incredible fight back… and that’s without even mentioning the wealth of underground and underappreciated deathsters toiling away in relative obscurity!

Now, since I’ve been so busy over the last couple of months, there’s been a number of recent releases I’ve simply not had the chance to celebrate properly. Which upsets me. On a deep and fundamental level. And this simply will not stand.

So, to compensate, here’s three albums, arranged in order of release and all available to stream right now, that have been making the tail-end of 2014 a darker, deathlier place for me! Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: ISRATHOUM, CHALICE OF BLOOD, NEFANDUS, NIGHTBRINGER, VERBUM VERUS, WEDERGANGER

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Nov 052014
 

 

In my daily searches for news and new music that I think would be worth your time, sometimes I come across so many exciting new discoveries that it feels like the flood gates have been opened, or that I’ve opened Pandora’s box thinking that it was my underwear drawer, or that a pack of wolves have materialized in my skull and started devouring its meager contents.

That happened over the last 24 hours. I found so many new things worth recommending that I’ve split this round-up into two posts. By chance, many of them all involve the same label — Daemon Worship Productions — so I’m collecting those in this first post.  More info about all the releases discussed below and related merch can be found here.

ISRATHOUM / CHALICE OF BLOOD

Our last mention of Israthoum on the site occurred almost two years ago when Andy Synn reviewed the band’s second album, Black Poison and Shared Wounds. That is now being followed by a new Israthoum split with the Swedish black metal band Chalice of Blood, which was originally announced at the beginning of this year. Like that preceding album, the split is adorned with spectacular artwork by Held (Ubertragic Art).  (Click the image to view a larger version.) Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BARING TEETH — “DRIPPING SUN”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  2 Responses »
Nov 052014
 

 

(Austin Weber wrote the following introduction to our premiere of a song from the forthcoming second album by Baring Teeth.)

While Willowtip continues to churn out releases by forward-thinking bands like it’s no big deal, Baring Teeth still stand out as a singular creative force on their roster. Their exponential growth and talent for exploration displayed on their soon to be released sophomore album, Ghost Chorus Among Old Ruins, prove that their path is a rich and multifaceted one, albeit one that’s highly unsettling in the best way possible.

Their last album, 2011’s Atrophy, cemented the band as pioneers in the art of stretching boundaries and seeking out different methods and manners of interpreting death metal, creating new and inspired forms of the genre, giving it a new canvas on which to rot, and painting with a more sophisticated palette than mere straightforward aggression and simple headbangable riffs. They infuse their output with an alien presence that wanders amidst chaotic rhythms and moody peaks and valleys. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: IRON EAGLE — “ON THE ATTACK”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Nov 042014
 

 

When a band’s first three listed influences on their Facebook page are Bolt Thrower, Discharge, and Bad Brains, that’s a good sign. When their line-up seems to include current members of Human Cull and a former member of the UK powerviolence band Witch Cult, that’s another good sign. When their album art depicts a giant fuckin’ octopus about to pull an aircraft carrier into the depths and starts with a sample about Godzilla — sold. And I haven’t even gotten to the music yet.

The band’s name is Iron Eagle and their debut EP is On the Attack, and is that ever a true title.

That Godzilla sample takes up the first few seconds of “Winta of Discuntent” and then the hammer comes down with a completely unstoppable, completely primal chug onslaught. And it goes from there to a crusty hardcore kerb stomp and back again. And that’s basically what happens over the course of all five songs. Continue reading »

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