SHORT BUT SWEET: RETALIATORY MEASURES

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  12 Responses »
Jun 222011
 

In these SHORT BUT SWEET posts, we’ve been catching up with EPs released by both well-known and not so well-known bands from near and far. A couple weeks ago, we got a message from one of our Finnish readers whose NCS name is jeimssi, recommending that we give a listen to a band from Pori, Finland, called Retaliatory Measures, and so we have. And since we’ve already started the week with posts on Monday and Tuesday about Finnish metal discoveries, I thought we might as well just continue going with the flow on that.

Retaliatory Measures are relative newcomers. To date, they’ve released two EPs, the most recent of which is the subject of this post. It’s called MMX and it was released in December 2010. The EP delivers six songs, and I liked every one of them — even the brief intro track, which begins with an accomplished acoustic guitar instrumental before turning on the jets and charging seamlessly into the EP’s first full song, “Judgement”. In fact, my only real criticism of the EP is that the intro should have been integrated into “Judgement” as a single standalone track.

But that’s a minor criticism. MMX is a fast-paced package of death/thrash that hammers like a nail gun, with killer riffs, dark melodies, and truly bestial vocals. This regrettably short collection of songs will get stuck in your head like a big iron spike — and with the band’s permission, we’ll give you the chance to download it for free.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

THE KONSORTIUM: A REVIEW

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Jun 202011
 

Not long ago we came across a song called “Lik Ulven” (Like the Wolf) by a mysterious Norwegian band called The Konsortium, and wrote about it here. You can’t like a song as much as we liked that one and then just let it go. So we wrote Agonia Records and politely requested the chance to hear the entire forthcoming album, which will include that song. To be honest, there may have been some pathetic begging involved — but we got our wish.

Three years in the making, The Konsortium’s self-titled debut takes the caustic machinery of black metal and brashly drives it in some very interesting and creative directions. Much as Anaal Nathrakh has done, The Konsortium embeds within their songs a melodic core, often expressed by memorable clean vocals (which are quite varied but usually have a somewhat inhuman, wailing quality reminiscent of Dave Hunt‘s), but they’ve surrounded those briefly emerging melodies with one powerful sonic assault on the senses after another.

The vocals on the album (which include guest contributions by Kvelertak‘s Erlend Hjelvik) are certainly one of its more unusual features. They include deep, demonic, abraded roars; throaty, agonizing howls; wolfish barking; baritone chanting; clean vocal harmonies; and those rising wails that will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Sometimes they have an over-the-top theatrical quality, and sometimes they sound like something that just wants to tear your guts out. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: GOROD’S “TRANSCENDENCE”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  10 Responses »
Jun 162011
 

We’ve been using these SHORT BUT SWEET entries to catch up with new EP releases by bands both well known and not so well known. It’s safe to say that Gorod falls into the well-known category — and if by chance you haven’t yet explored their music, the time has come.

It’s not uncommon to see this French band branded with the label “technical death metal”, but over three albums, they’ve been outgrowing it; it has become too limiting as a description. With the band’s new EP, Transcendence, it may need to be discarded altogether. Hell, even the term  “metal” may now be too limiting. Gorod has reached the point where no familiar shorthand term can any longer capture the exuberant originality of their music.

Transcendence could be interpreted as simply a way-station between albums, or as a transition from what has come before to whatever comes next, or maybe even as simply a convenient way for Gorod to collect songs that they don’t know what else to do with.

After all, Gorod has self-released this EP, three of the five tracks are re-recordings of previously released songs, and a fourth is a cover of a Cynic song that Gorod recorded about three years ago for inclusion in a tribute to Cynic’s Focus album; that tribute album was released last year by something called Metal Factory Records and got almost no attention.

But don’t be misled — this EP is an unqualified triumph of songwriting skill and instrumental brilliance and a testament to Gorod’s diverse talents. Every song is worth hearing — and most especially the one completely new song, a 15-minute extravaganza of metallic deliciousness. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

VISITOR

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  3 Responses »
Jun 152011
 

(Israel Flanders reviews the new album from a band called Visitor (UK), and has arranged for some free downloads to boot. This is one of those Exceptions to the Rule embodied in the name of this site)

I think sometimes the number one ingredient to individuality is how a band combine things that already have been done — how they select and distribute existing elements within the music and piece them together into a cohesive product — instead of straining to be wholly original.  Visitor is a band who have definitely succeeded with this formula, and I hope this review will get them some much-deserved exposure, I really do.

Visitor have a rather unique combination of sounds working in their favor.  I’d describe it as a mix of the groove metal stylings of Machine Head, mid-period Napalm Death (think Inside The Torn Apart), and All That Remains.  I don’t know how these guys make this mix of sounds work, but they make it work superbly, in a recognizable way.  I would know Visitor immediately if I heard them, I can say that for certain; they have established their individuality.

The band has just recently put out their latest effort, titled The Need To Believe, and it kicks ass.  I mean, it really kicks ass.  The energy on the record is fantastic, and the music itself is well-written.  The production is a bit rough, yes, but it’s refreshingly rough.  Adding to the feel of Visitor, which is rather hard to describe in the first place, they generate a street vibe (in the same essential way as Machine Head did on their first album), but they’re bringing that vibe into a modern context. What they do doesn’t sound out of place in the present. As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say it’s perfectly relevant and needed in the music of more bands here in the second decade of the 2000s. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

HELLFIGHTER: “DAMNATION’S WINGS”

 Album Reviews  11 Responses »
Jun 132011
 

(NCS writer Israel Flanders brings us another of his recent discoveries, this time a thrashtastic band from the UK.)

Go ahead, I dare you. Tell me you didn’t enjoy that.

Time to dig a little bit into my old-school sensibilities. Sometimes modern metal just doesn’t bring what you want to the table, doesn’t fit your mood, whatever. The point is, Hellfighter are solid power-thrash who bring a refreshing sense of old school.  The band is comprised of four members of legendary Brit thrashers Xentrix — guitarist Kristian Harvard, drummer Dennis Gasser, vocalist Simon Gordon, and bassist Mel Gasser — accompanied by the only non-ex-Xentrix member, guitarist Pete Smith.

Let’s get something straight here: Hellfighter kicks ass, and their debut album Damnation’s Wings will kick yours to the curb if you don’t have the metal flowing through your veins to embrace the power that these guys generate. This music has serious balls, serious epic factor, and solid, impenetrably polished song-writing that provide a total package worth checking out. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

SHINING: “VII / FÖDD FÖRLORARE”

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Jun 102011
 

Shining‘s new album, VII / Född Förlorare (“born loser” in English) is one of the most musically varied, beautifully written, and superbly executed albums I’ve heard this year. It also may be the most surprising.

Maybe I wouldn’t have been so surprised if I’d been more familiar with the band’s previous releases, but I came to the album as a Shining newbie, never having heard any of the earlier music. What I had in my head before listening were bits and pieces of things I’d heard or read over the years — that the band played a mix of black metal and doom, that the lyrics promoted suicide and other forms of self-injury (including drug abuse), that the band’s concerts have turned violent on occasion, and that frontman Niklas Kvarforth mutilates himself on stage. There was also this quote from Kvarforth that I read someplace (the original source is here):

“Of course we support suicide, SHINING support all that is negative in this bastard world of ours. We have had a couple of cases in the past with people whom have ended their lives under the influence or partially under the influence of our work and of course this is a true blessing indeed, yet we pray for increased numbers of fatalities.”

With all that, and a general sense I had that Shining really doesn’t care what anyone thinks of them or their music, I’m not completely sure what I was expecting from the new album, but it wasn’t what I got. What I got was something that defies easy characterization, a mixture of folk music, progressive metal, acoustic ballads, chug-heavy aggression, wonderfully varied vocals, and absolutely blistering guitar solos. The music is rich and often has the feel of something intensely personal. Yes, it’s mostly dark and melancholy, but it didn’t make me feel suicidal at all.  (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

INVOCATOR

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Jun 092011
 

(NCS contributor Israel Flanders has been working his butt off to bring us music that may have been overlooked or become under-appreciated with the passage of time. Today he looks back at the discography of a trail-blazing Danish band.)

It goes without saying that there are so many good bands out there that overlooking one here or there is entirely inevitable. I would like to think I’m bringing music to you guys that’s surprising in the most pleasant of ways since I’m trying to develop a knack for digging out gems from the nether regions of the music world. Today I’m here to do an overall piece on one of the most shamefully underrated thrash metal bands in existence. Who is that you wonder? It’s Invocator.

Invocator are very important to Denmark’s music scene. They were the gateway band that proved to other aspiring musicians in Denmark, hey, you can do this metal thing in our small country and it works. Among others, they inspired legendary deathrashers Hatesphere (and if you don’t know who Hatesphere are, stop reading and come back after getting some education), and Invocator’s frontman and guitarist Jacob Hansen essentially aided in the establishment of a heavy music scene in Denmark. The man has produced so many albums it’s nuts, but not only has he done that, he has coined his own signature production sound. Invocator is Jacob Hansen’s baby and a band with a truly unique sound that I think stands out. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

CYPHER: “DARKDAY CARNIVAL”

 Album Reviews  11 Responses »
Jun 082011
 

(Israel Flanders reviews the excellent 2006 album from Cypher, provides a download of the album for those of you who missed it, solves the mystery of what happened to Cypher after that album was released, and has arranged for us also to provide a download of the never-before released 3-song demo that was to pave the way for Cypher’s follow-up album. Not a bad day’s work.)

Ever know of any bands who just… disappeared? I do. I’m reviewing the album of Cypher, an EXCELLENT melothrash outfit from the Netherlands who just vanished off the face of the earth. This is a band who not only had extreme promise, but had the kind of promise that would take the world by storm.

So let’s get to the music, and I’ll touch on what exactly happened later. Everyone remember Trivium‘s album Shogun? Take that kind of music, remove the whiney clean choruses, the parts that AREN’T fast and thrashy, and bring in a vocalist in the form of frontman and rhythm guitarist “T” (Tobias Borra), who takes Matt Heafey’s signature roar to the next level and makes him look like he hasn’t even hit puberty yet.

Cypher plays VERY aggressive melothrash that doesn’t let up, and the band’s debut and only album Darkday Carnival, released in 2006, lives up to this style to a T. Drums are pounding out thrash beats with savage force, guitars and bass are pedal-point riffing with tight precision, and the vocals are just ferocious in a way that’s out of this world. (more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

PHRO LISTENS TO “ENTITY” BY ORIGIN

 Album Reviews, Phro's Posts  20 Responses »
Jun 072011
 

(Our buddy Phro, who many of you will recognize from his “distinctive” contributions in our Comments sections, was so fucking excited about the new Origin album that he dived right in . . . though he didn’t realize that his music player was on shuffle as he listened to the songs. We’re happy to publish his “real time” listening experience right here, right now. Brace yourselves . . .)

This is a true account of my experience listening to Origin’s new Entity album. Listening experiences may (probably won’t, though) vary. This is based on a totally true story.

I was sitting, listlessly, in the staff room on my entirely too short break. Staring blankly at the wall, I played with my tepid, tasteless lunch. I had bought it at the 7-11, but if I hadn’t actually read the label, it would have been a completely indefinable…mush. Sighing dejectedly, I hazarded a glance at the calendar. Then, something caught my eye. June 7th. June…7th? OH, SNAP! JUNE 7th!!!

How I could have forgotten this illustrious day? I have no idea, but forgotten it I had. With nary a moment to lose, I whipped out my phone and pulled up the Amazon MP3 app. Typing madly—nay, furiously—I soon found what I was looking for. Artist: Origin. Album: Entity. Now available for down-fucking-load! I fist pumped! Then I turned red and looked around sheepishly. Thank Dio! The room was empty. I pressed download and….and…AND!!!! Waited. Goddamn slow fucking 3G cockshitting wireless. Fine, I’ll wait, I thought. Continue reading »

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