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SRD: “VRAGMESITON”

Apr 112024

(We present Didrik Mešiček‘s review of a forthcoming new album by the Slovenian black metal band Srd, along with a full stream of the album.)

In all my years of writing album reviews, I’ve somehow never covered one of my fellow Slovenian bands, so it’s about time we tick that off the list as well and therefore I’ll be talking about Srd’s new release, entitled Vragvmesiton, today. The band is widely considered to be one of the best acts in Slovenia’s surprisingly numerous, albeit internationally unknown, scene, and for them this will be their third full-length record since their inception in 2016 and it’ll be released on April 19th, 2024 through On Parole Productions.

There are few bands of which I have such an intimate knowledge of their discography, mainly as I have a bad habit of not really checking out earlier releases, but Srd is definitely an exception. Whilst their debut album, Smrti sel, had some indications of where the band wanted to go, it was also quite clear that the band was still trying to find itself, and they did so in Ognja prerok where Srd developed their own unique and consistent sound a lot more and switched to having all of their lyricism in Slovenian.

The evolution with these two releases felt very natural, however it’s with Vragvmesiton that the band strays from that path and seems to meander through some twisted and chaotic Satanic black metal maze. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): MOTHER OF ALL — “GLOBAL PARASITIC LEVIATHAN”

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Apr 102024

I have no competent statistical evidence to back up this assertion, but it seems like the way most metal bands work is that the music comes first and then the vocalist, who may or may not be an instrumental performer, comes up with lyrical themes and words that might have no connection to whatever the other songwriters were feeling and thinking when they cooked up the music.

That is probably not the way things have worked in Mother of All. This band is the brainchild of Danish musician Martin Haumann, and although he has surrounded himself in Mother of All‘s recordings with some very talented instrumental performers to augment his own prodigious talents, it’s he who is the lyricist and the songwriter, and the lyrical themes have been crafted with such conceptual focus and adamance of belief that it seems unlikely they were an afterthought. More likely, those themes were in mind when much of the music was written.

On the other hand, the music on Mother of All‘s new album Global Parasitic Leviathan, which we’re premiering today just days from its April 12 release, is so fantastically exhilarating that it may create a disconnect in the minds of listeners from what the album is about. But let’s begin with what the album is about…. Continue reading »

GVILLOTINE – HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE

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Apr 102024

(Andy Synn presents a wake-up call in the form of the new album from Gvillotine)

For whatever reason, I’ve been having trouble sleeping for the last few days. More specifically, I’ve been having trouble getting to sleep, because my brain just won’t switch off.

The knock-on effect of this, of course, is that it’s been getting more and more difficult to drag my tired, sleep-deprived carcass out of bed each morning, because both my brain and my body just don’t want to wake up.

But, let me tell you, Gvillotine‘s particular blend of blistering Blackened Grind contains more chemical energy than 1,000 cups of the blackest coffee – with none of the associated carcinogens – and a quick burst of it to start the day definitely helps blast (and I do mean blast) away the cobwebs.

DÅÅTH: “THE DECEIVERS”

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Apr 092024

(Below we present Wil Cifer‘s review of the new comeback album from Atlanta-based Dååth, which will be released by Metal Blade on May 3rd.)

After a decade-long hiatus bands often return to a musical landscape that has shifted. With metal, the stakes are higher. Headbangers are like addicts who build a tolerance requiring an ever-increasing level of sonic stimulus to get the same results. This leaves musicians with the choice of either cashing in on nostalgia or trying to find their place in the new musical climate. Producer/ guitarist Eyal Levi finds a balance between the two with Dååth‘s new album. Levi might be the sole original member, but he brought long-time growling machine Sean Z along for the ride. Sean’s multitracked performance lends to this album’s massive sound. Continue reading »

BENIGHTED: “EKBOM”

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Apr 092024

(Benighted‘s new album Ekbom comes out this Friday, April 12th, via Season of Mist, so the time is right to present DGR‘s review… which proceeds in phases.)

Benighted are old friends around here – No Clean Singing has taken the banner up for the band for a long time and have been covering them in one form or another since 2009(!).

We’ve covered their EPs, singles, and albums and there’s a pretty hot chance that your author here has been involved in a large part of that.

The high-speed core of Benighted‘s evolution into deathgrind form was found pretty early on, and well, they’ve danced into and out of -core, black metal, and brutal-death-inspired circles but they’ve always cycled back around to the sort of relentless blastbeating backbone that is their foundation.

For the last couple of years they’ve subsisted on a somewhat steady drip-feed of singles that allowed them to get the horror movie craze out of their system during the pandemic downtime, and Ekbom – upon first listen – doesn’t really mess around with the formula.

But it doesn’t take long – nor many listens – for the band’s latest album to start revealing itself as being something more. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): VERITERAS — “THE DARK HORIZON”

Album Reviews, Premieres 2 Responses »

Apr 082024

Sometimes a relatively new band’s love for a relatively old and well-established brand of music is so evident that it runs the serious risk of having nothing new to say. The risk exists even when the love is genuinely earnest and not a cash grab (though about the only cash-grabbing most underground metal bands are capable of achieving is by looking for lost coins in the crevices of couches).

The relatively new Seattle band Veriteras wear their love for old-school Scandinavian melodic death metal on their sleeves, and it is clearly an earnest and genuine love, with the influence of such bands as early In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, and Kalmah reverently embroidered on such sleeves.

So, the question arises: Do they have something new to say, and if so, what is it? The answer arrives in their second album, The Dark Horizon, which we’re premiering today in advance of its April 11th release. Continue reading »

OBSCURITIES – VOLUME IV: BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH

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Apr 082024

(We present another one of Dan Barkasi‘s monthly collections of reviews and recommended music, taking stock of 8 records that saw release in March.)

The year is moving quickly, isn’t it? March brings us the reminder of Julius Caesar’s big mistake, the conclusion of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 (Heja BVB), and some of the final episodes of the timeless Curb Your Enthusiasm. Whilst I agree with most of Larry David’s neurotic observations, we have to especially take his side on the cheese debate. Also, text chains are the worst. But, we could go on all day. Kevin P and Madder Mortem know the score.

We’re a quarter of the way through already, and the volume of releases is on a steady upward trajectory. That leaves a metric ton of music to take in – not that we’re complaining, mind you – in order to dig out a smattering of quality stuff that may be hiding between some of the more obvious heavy hitters. The month also brought its share of puzzling releases – Coffin Storm is the sonic equivalent of melatonin – but thankfully, there was more quality than not from the bigger acts on down. Continue reading »

MINUALA – В АГОНИИ

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Apr 082024

(Andy Synn embraces the pain with the new album from Russian riffmongers Minuala)

One thing you may have noticed about us here at NCS is that we are loyal (sometimes to a fault).

Once we find a band we like (which, you may have noticed, happens a lot) we try to keep abreast of everything they do and, where possible, write at least a little something about whatever they release.

Of course, with so much music coming out all the time, and so much else going on in our lives, it’s still easy for us to miss stuff – for example, I only managed to give Minuala‘s previous album a passing mention in my year-end round-up (though you can read all about their first four full-lengths here) – but we try our best to stay on top of things, which is why I was so excited to see В Агонии suddenly pop up out of nowhere last week.

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ICOSANDRIA — “A SCARLET LUNAR GLOW”

Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule, Premieres No Responses »

Apr 042024

Albums such as the one we’re presenting today tend to invoke thoughts of tapestries, kaleidoscopes, or panoramas — visual metaphors of change, often rich in detail and sometimes startling, that occur as the scenes pass across our eyes.

In the case of Icosandria‘s new album, the title itself invokes an unusual vision — A Scarlet Lunar Glow. Like the title, the music kindles the imagination into its own glow, though the glow also becomes fire as the manifold changes unfold. Continue reading »

THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT – THE DEMON WHO MAKES TROPHIES OF MEN

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Apr 042024

(We forced Andy Synn to listen to the new album from The Monolith Deathcult)

Our long-running relationship with Dutch deviants The Monolith Deathcult has been well-documented by now,

We’ve been friends, we’ve been enemies… and then there was that unfortunate incident where we all swapped brains… but our love for the band’s music has never waned.

The problem, of course, is that this means it’s impossible for us to be objective, or even pretend to be objective, about their new album – no matter what we say or do, whether we praise it or criticise it, someone is always going to find a way to dismiss what we say, regardless of whether it confirms or refutes their own biases.

But, as you may already have guessed, I still really wanted to write something about The Demon Who Makes Trophies of Men (which officially comes out tomorrow)… so what was I to do?

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