NIGHTRAGE: “INSIDIOUS”

 Album Reviews  7 Responses »
Oct 102011
 

(NCS writer TheMadIsraeli reviews the new album from Nightrage.)

Marios Iliopoulos’ pet project and melodeath beast Nightrage have been one of melodic death metal’s best more recent bands. Managing to bring in the old school sounds of greats such as In Flames and Dark Tranquility, the band have created an undeniably classic sound that destroys the modern metal landscape, rendering their genre niche far more than relevant. I’ve loved this band since their classic debut Sweet Vengeance and it really doesn’t seem like that will change, because Insidious is like a bringer of flame, leaving large swathes of ground scorched into dead flatlands of smoldering menace. As a bonus, the band’s original vocalist and legend of the mic Tomas Lindberg contributes vocals to more then one song.

The meditative clean drones of intro track “So Far Away” almost invoke a sense of inner peace until fierce opener “Delirium Of The Fallen” kicks in with high-gear thrashing and tasteful melodic leads in the classic Nightrage style. The music has taken a step back to the feel and style of their sophomore album Descent Into Chaos, with plenty of songs based on Marios’s graceful leads and capability for writing great themes. The majesty of the chorus alone demonstrates the man’s ability for guitar layering; it washes over you and you drown in it, smiling. Apollo Papathanasio of Firewind also provides the clean vocals of the bridge.

“Insidious” is the first song on which Tomas Lindberg appears, and it immediately destroys you in what can only be described as a melodic death metal napalm run, igniting pure hell fire and obliterating everything in sight. The riffs are sharp and the drums charge forward while regular vocalist Anthony Hämäläinen and Lindgren engage in absolutely fast and ferocious vocal interplay. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

HULL: “BEYOND THE LIGHTLESS SKY”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Oct 082011
 

There’s a point at which the vector lines of blackened sludge, doom, stoner metal, and psychedelia intersect, and at that point sits Hull. That realization is evident from the opening track of this remarkable Brooklyn band’s new album, Beyond the Lightless Sky. “Earth From Water” has it all: lurching, catastrophically distorted, cavernously tuned guitar and bass, crushing all in their path; tripping psych-blues guitar leads designed to give you a 1,000-yard stare and solos that would make Jimi Hendrix smile if he were still with us; skull-fracturing drum progressions; vocalizations that mimic the sound of a man with his intestines being pulled out with hot pincers — all of it dense and dark and hopeless, and yet utterly enthralling.

And then I came to the second track, “Just A Trace of Early Dawn”, and I changed my mind. Thematically, the music hasn’t changed. It is still a lesson in the emotional fallout of despair, but the sound of it! Very different, like an Appalachian take on the blackened blues, deep in the hills at night, acoustic guitars strumming an indigo meditation, long and slow, like mournful sex with someone you’ve known forever and will never see again. The light and the delight have gone, and what remains is the sorrow of your maturity.

So off-balanced was I at this point, I wondered what would come next. After a few, brief transitional seconds linking up with the end of the song before, “Beyond the Lightless Sky” returns to the riveting mix of the opener: A segment of rushing cacophony which then zooms off a cliff and falls and falls into a black pit with deep tar at the bottom, all gripping sludge filled with THC, a thick covering of doom, pierced by hallucinatory guitar leads.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

DEIVOS: “DEMIURGE OF THE VOID”

 Album Reviews  16 Responses »
Oct 062011
 

In olden times, before I largely gave up trying to explain the appeal of extreme metal to my non-metalhead friends, I’d refer to the high energy, the explosiveness, the barely submerged aura of danger lurking beneath the surface, the sense of abandon and release that comes from listening. Usually, what I had in mind were various forms of turbo-charged death metal, both melodic and near-atonal, the kind that unleashes a blizzard of down-tuned guitar chords, machine-gun drum assaults, and inhuman roars in place of what conventionally passes for singing.

I’ve been thinking about those sentiments as I’ve listened to the new album from Poland’s Deivos, even though I rarely bother to explain myself to the uninitiated any more. What Deivos delivers is the kind of death metal that should appeal hugely to fans of bands like Decapitated and Origin — and I’m certainly one of those. The music — all of it — is a jet stream of head-whipping fury. You’d have to listen long and hard to the individual songs on the album to distinguish them in your mind after you finish listening, because they follow a very similar pattern. But the pattern is so damned appealing that, at least for me, this is a minor quibble.

And the pattern consists of this: Brutally fast, razor-sharp, blood-spattering riffage, blasting with the heat of an acetylene torch, segmented into massive slamming beats that deliver a physical jolt. Tempos that unpredictably stagger a step forward or a step back or just plain stomp on your neck, just to prevent you from getting too comfortable. Drums that follow a near-inhuman pace, a percussive holocaust designed to provoke a non-stop adrenaline rush.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

HEAVY METAL SHOT SKI: A TRIPLE SHOT OF SLUDGE!!!

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Oct 052011
 

(NCS writer BadWolf gives us a triple shot — a combined review of three new albums by Glorior Belli, The Atlas Moth, and Rwake.)

So, I believe everyone has a pet subgenre. For some it is Kvlt black metal, for some American metalcore, or retro doom. My pet is prog sludge. Neurosis, Isis, Jesu, Mastodon, Kruger, Burst, Kylesa, Iron Thrones, the list goes on. Basically, if it sounds anything like Breach [GO LISTEN TO BREACH!],  I probably love it. Anyway, it’s just felt like a long time since a great, forward-thinking sludge record came to my attention.

And then three amazing records that fit that description drop on the same day.

What the hell, right? Anyway, I’m too busy listening to music to review all three of these amazing albums, so I’m just going to tell you that all 3 of these records are on my short list for album of the year. I have no complaints about any of them other than they end. Truly we are blessed. (more after the jump, including music . . .) Continue reading »

KRAMPUS: “KRONOS’ HERITAGE”

 Album Reviews  29 Responses »
Oct 042011
 

(Continuing with today’s theme, i.e., surrendering NCS to guest contributors, the inimitable Trollfiend let me talk him into reviewing the new EP from an Italian folk-metal band called Krampus.)

Okay, when I was asked to do a review of the new Krampus EP Kronos’ Heritage, I was pretty damn excited, because a) Krampus is folk metal, and I make no secret of my love, b) the Krampus is one of the coolest folk legends pretty much ever, and c) I’d never heard of them before, so yay new shit!

But I approached this album with trepidation. What if they sucked? What if, despite their cool-ass name/logo/concept and the fact that they are folk metal, they compiled into an awesome black hole of suckitude from which not even Norwegians could escape? If you know anything about folk metal, you will know that this is not an unreasonable fear.

After some half-assed research (which is the only kind of research I know how to do here at the Trollcave), I discovered that Krampus is an 8-piece band from Italy that plays Celtic-inspired folk metal. Okay, so far so good (with a small serving of lolwut). Also, they fully embrace the legend of the Krampus as a theme, which gets them extra points from me. But the real test was coming… what does Krampus sound like? More to my concern, are their vocals some kind of clean, hippie-esque trololol that is going to set my teeth on edge and make me lump them into a big stinky pile with bands like Kamelot and Skyclad? Continue reading »

CTTTOAFF WILL DESTROY YOU

 Album Reviews, Phro's Posts  30 Responses »
Oct 042011
 

(Phro was so obviously omega drunk on the blood of alpha when he reviewed Omega Drunk on the Blood of Alpha by Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire that he seemed the obvious candidate to review the two more recent releases by the same band, which the band was kind enough to send our way. My only word of advice to CTTTOAFF is to be careful what you wish for.)

So, I “reviewed” (seriously, who decided to let me get away with calling anything I write a “review”?) Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire’s Omega Drunk on the Blood of Alpha the other day. And, I tell you what, it is good aural baby-flesh pancakes.  Well, Islander set me up with review MP3s of their newest album Visceral (July 2011), as well as their just-released split with France’s Nesseria (I’ll only be “reviewing” the CTTTOAFF songs).  I’ve listened to them both about 10 times since then, trying to think of what to say.  I’ll tell you this right now: If you don’t get at least the split (which is free on bandcamp), CTTTOAFF will do horrible things to your mutilated corpse and e-mail photos of said doings to your family, your dog, and all your exes.  Only the exes will enjoy it.

“Have you ever heard the sound of giants stalking the skies, intermittently raping Gaia with cocks the size of horses?”

“What?”

“Not horses’ cocks…the giants’ cocks are as big as a fucking thoroughbred.”

“I’m….uhhhh…are you talking to me?” Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: MITHRAS, SETHERIAL & ENSLAVED

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  4 Responses »
Oct 032011
 

(Andy Synn reviews a trio of new EP releases by three NCS favorites – Mithras, Setherial, and Enslaved.)

For today you’re getting a combined review of three new EPs from three brilliant – if extremely different – bands, in one post. With each only being a 2-track release (barring the live cuts which bolster the Mithras release), it seemed only fitting to group the three releases into one column.

MITHRAS – TIME NEVER LASTS

If you don’t know Mithras, then you have two options: 1) immediately after you finish reading, go forth and buy all their albums, or 2) wait a little while until the inevitable SYNN REPORT on them appears… THEN go forth and buy all their albums. The choice is yours.

Their complex, cosmic take on the death-metal template is wholly individualistic and utterly compelling, and this EP is no different, building from the focussed intensity and progged-out melody of their last album to give birth to two songs which, although quite different in style, express the multiple facets of the Mithras sound powerfully and eloquently. Continue reading »

VOLUMES: “VIA”

 Album Reviews  7 Responses »
Oct 022011
 

(I think this makes 7 days in a row when TheMadIsraeli has graced us with his presence. Sleep is obviously not one of his daily requirements. Today we have his review of the latest album from SoCal’s Volumes.)

Are you by any chance in the mood for grooves so infectious your head won’t stop bobbing, EVEN WHEN YOU’RE NOT LISTENING TO THE ALBUM?!  This is what Volumes’ Via does to you.  It’s a non-stop weighty groove machine of epic proportions, fucking shit up and furrowing fields with mass graves.

Who are Volumes?  Well, they deliver still more djeathcore, but this is honestly my favorite djeathcore band out there right now, mainly because these Californians don’t fuck around with anything but the core of their sound.  The minute that the staccato’d, djent-tinged groove of “Paid In Full” kicks in, it’s IMPOSSIBLE not to groove to this.  The band’s assault of low-end, 7-string, open-note grooving and djent chugging is a thing I should hate with all my heart and soul, BUT I LOVE IT HERE!  Volumes make it interesting and captivating in a way I have trouble describing, and I wish I could.

What REALLY stands out about Volumes is their ability to weave in and out of melodic and atonal parts in a seamless and often unpredictable manner.  The melodic bridge of the song “Wormholes” just appears out of FUCKING NOWHERE before transitioning into a pretty boss breakdown.  “Limitless” is another good example, with the band bringing in powerful, atonal deathcore chugs with eerie Meshuggah-esque leads, only to transition into a melodic hardcore section.  DO WHAT!?  Yeah, it’s pretty sweet. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: MORDBRAND, INFERNAL WAR, AND KRIEGSMASCHINE

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  20 Responses »
Sep 302011
 

In these SHORT BUT SWEET posts, we focus mainly on releases that are shorter than full-length albums. Today, I’ve got two gems for you, the kind of sparkling indigo jewels that wide-eyed, doomed innocents find in fairy tales shortly before something horrific happens to them. For us, of course, it’s just pure, evil pleasure.

The first gem is an EP from a three-man Swedish band called Morbrand, which is already the subject of giant, infernal, wasp-like buzz. The second is a split by two Polish bands whose hands are dripping with the black slick of blood on a moonless night — Infernal War and Kriesgsmaschine.

MORDBRAND: NECROPSYCHOTIC

Mordbrand has been drawing attention, like honey draws flies, based in part on the presence of Per Boder — who fronted an early and well-regarded Swedish death metal band called God Macabre (their debut album, The Winterlong, appeared in 1993). After a 20-year hiatus from recorded music, Boder has returned, and the six-song EP he and bandmates Björn Larsson (guitars, bass) and Johan Rudberg (drums) is a powerful return indeed. Continue reading »

EVILE: “FIVE SERPENT’S TEETH”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  10 Responses »
Sep 302011
 

(Damn.  Unless my math is wrong, this makes TheMadIsraeli’s fifth straight review in as many days. Lest you think he cranked these out in less than 24 hours a piece, I know for a fact that he held onto these to make them more timely — and then flooded me with them, just to make sure I didn’t lay around all week like a beached whale watching TV and eating Cheeto’s.)

Alright, I know most of you NCS readers are simply not cool enough to love thrash, but THAT IS OKAY.  I will show you the way, be your Moses that leads you to the metal promised land and SHOW YOU THE ERROR OF YOUR WAYS.  I will be like Noah and part the waters of your tainted metal taste! [EDITOR’S NOTE: The author’s comment about your lack of coolness is solely the opinion of the author and doesn’t necessarily represent the official position of NCS, which generally sucks up to its readers like a $2 meth whore.]

In all seriousness though, how anyone can dislike thrash is beyond me, especially when it’s this good.  Evile already have two albums to their credit, the delightfully old school and take-no-prisoners Enter The Grave, and the technical and progressive ecstasy that was Infected Nations.  Now we see Evile returning to whoop asses again with their third outing Five Serpent’s Teeth — the only thrash album that matters all this year. Continue reading »

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