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AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): HEAD CLEANER — “THE EXTREME SOUND OF TRUTH”

Sep 062023

Hailing from Thessaloniki in Greece, Head Cleaner are a prime example of a death/grind band that’s criminally underrated.

Over the last two decades they’ve made eight official releases, including three albums, a pair of EPs, and two split albums with other well-known bands from the local and European scene.

They’ve also shared the stage with some of the most influential bands of the genre, such as Carcass, Extreme Noise Terror, Benediction, Pestilence, and many more, in addition to performing at festivals such as Obscene Extreme in the Czech Republic, Bloodshed in the Netherlands, and NRW Death Fest in Germany.

And yet there’s still a sense that, especially here in North America, not enough people have been exposed to their formidable capabilities. With a bit of good luck, that will change with the September 8 release of their eye-popping new album The Extreme Sound Of Truth. Continue reading »

ALKALOID – NUMEN

Album Reviews 4 Responses »

Sep 062023

(Andy Synn has once again chosen to bite the bullet and attempt to analyse the new Alkaloid album)

Finding the right way to write about a band like Alkaloid isn’t easy.

After all, not only are the band’s collective technical talents are practically unparalleled, but their uniquely unorthodox songwriting style – which has become more and more dominated by the influence and input of legendary uber-drummer Hannes Grossmann over the years – has allowed them to venture into places that most “heavy” bands likely wouldn’t even dare, which makes all the usual methods and measures hard to apply.

At the same time, they’ve garnered a rather rabid fanbase over the last few years who tend not to take too kindly to any criticism – no matter how constructive or well-intentioned – of their Bavarian heroes.

But if the band themselves are able to thread the needle between the eccentric and the extreme as well as they are, then surely I can find a way to talk about what they’ve woven on their upcoming new album, Numen?

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

Album Reviews No Responses »

Sep 052023

(Andy Synn recommends four more albums from last month that he doesn’t want you to miss)

As has been well established by now, if it comes down to a choice between covering bigger names or lesser-known bands… we’ll almost always plump for the latter.

Sure, it decreases our potential reach a little, but it also increases the impact of what we do – one more positive review in a sea of hyperbole isn’t exactly going to “move the needle”, but a bit of praise (usually mixed with a bit of constructive criticism) from us can do wonders for a band with more limited exposure.

In that vein, then, today we’ve got some punky, d-beat loving Thrash (Colony Drop), some terrific “true” Black Metal (Cvinger), a genre-bending riff-odyssey (Hekser) and a shamelessly OTT slab of symphonic extremity (Sanguine Glacialis), all of which you may have overlooked during what was an extremely busy August.

SHADES OF BLACK: SÜHNOPFER, TAUBRA, SLIDHR, BIAŁYWILK, FLUISTERAARS, RAAT

Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET 3 Responses »

Sep 032023

Here in the U.S. we’re in the middle of a holiday that sprawls over the weekend and through Monday. Because of the nature of the celebration (Labor Day), not working is an even more central part of the holiday than it is for others. The event is also generally regarded here as marking “the end of the summer” (for reasons that have nothing to do with weather forecasting).

Probably more so on this holiday weekend than any other, I feel the urge to fuck off. Although I did sleep long and late overnight, you can see that the old NCS tradition of observing no weekends or holidays still won out today, as it will tomorrow (two Monday posts are already scheduled, and there might be a third).

The first three selections below were already on my list of things to check out in preparation for this column, but links to all three also arrived in one fell swoop yesterday from my internet friend Miloš, which eased the always-difficult process of choosing.

After those, I’ve gone off in other directions. The combined volume of the music here should give you lots of ways to fill your holiday time. If there’s one word I think applies equally to all of it, that word is “breathtaking”. Continue reading »

GONZO’S END-OF-SUMMER MEGA-ROUNDUP

Album Reviews 8 Responses »

Sep 012023

Radiant Knife

(NCS contributor Gonzo rejoins us with a selection of seven albums he’s been greatly enjoying over the summer that’s now drawing to a close.)

Summer has a habit of hitting me harder and faster than an Archspire blast beat, so with that in mind, I’ve developed a tradition of compiling my usual monthly columns into one bigger-than-usual compendium at the end of August.

There was plenty to sift through over the past three months – along with some other shit that was released before then that somehow flew under my radar. Let’s dig in.

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): GRAVE PILGRIM — “THE BIGOTRY OF PURPOSE”

Album Reviews, Premieres 5 Responses »

Aug 312023

One good turn deserves another. Yesterday we premiered a fascinating new album by Forest Thrall being released tomorrow by Death Prayer Records, and today we’re premiering another fascinating Death Prayer release, also hitting the streets tomorrow.

This one is The Bigotry of Purpose, the second full-length from the Oregonian melodic black metal band Grave Pilgrim, which follows the band’s self-titled debut album in 2021, and a 2022 EP named Molten Hands Reach West. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): FOREST THRALL — “AMIDST PINES”

Album Reviews, Premieres 1 Response »

Aug 302023

Following up their 2022 debut album Apparitions of the Golden Horned, the New England-based black metal band Forest Thrall are set to release a second album entitled Amidst Pines on September 1st via Death Prayer Records, and we’re happily premiering it in full today.

Like a trip through previously un-visited ancient woods, the album follows a continually turning path that reveals unexpected sights, not all of them of earthly origin. There is a “backwoods” and “folkloric” quality to some of the music’s ingredients, but it also rakes the senses like rusted blades. Sometimes it sounds primitive and sometimes surprisingly elegant, sometimes diabolically deranged and sometimes spellbinding. The one thing the music isn’t is mundane or dull. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): WEALD AND WOE — “FOR THE GOOD OF THE REALM”

Album Reviews, Premieres 3 Responses »

Aug 292023

Weald and Woe, once a solo project but now a complete quartet, are based in Boise, Idaho, but in their music they have more than one foot planted in Britain and Europe as they existed 1000 years ago, give or take. Their current label, Fiadh Productions, puts it well in describing the band’s new album For the Good of the Realm:

“Weald and Woe combines the majesty of the medieval era with the ferocity of classic black metal inspired by Obsequiae, Véhémence, Darkenhöld, Immortal, Ensiferum and many others….

“The new full-length is both dreamy and intense, capturing bygone eras of courtly love and epic battles. The band’s music walks a fine line between triumphant and sophisticated choruses balanced with frigid, breakneck riffing that paints an often elegant but bleak soundscape as the listener is transported to a different time. Swords not optional!” Continue reading »

CRYPTOPSY – AS GOMORRAH BURNS

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Aug 292023

(Andy Synn rekindles his long-standing love affair with Canada’s Cryptopsy)

It’s an unfortunate truism that life often forces us to make difficult choices.

Paper or plastic? Ketchup or mustard? Which one of your children would you save in a house fire…

Ok, so that last one is (thankfully) much more rare, but my point is that some decisions often seem impossible.

Case in point, next week sees the release of new albums from two of Death Metal’s heaviest hitters and techiest titans, aka Dying Fetus and Cryptopsy.

But chances are I’m only going to get chance to write about one of them prior to their shared release date.

Of course, the more perceptive amongst you may have already worked out which record I chose to cover, but I want you to know, all the same, that the decision wasn’t easy…

WORM SHEPHERD: “THE SLEEPING SUN”

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Aug 292023

(What we have here is DGRs review of a new EP by Worm Shepherd, which was released about 10 days ago by Unique Leader Records.)

We’ve covered the east-coast deathcore crew Worm Shepherd before but we would be remiss not to check in with them again now. The band, who have remained something of a fascination over here, are now two albums deep into a career that has seen them ensconced firmly within the rafters of the Unique Leader core-cathedral and their latest addition, The Sleeping Sun, adds an EP to the mix.

Partially due to having undergone some lineup changes between releases but also in search of a broader artistic vision, the Worm Shepherd that appears here is a different beast than it had been previously – now down to to two members handing near-everything in their writing. However, one of the other reasons we check in with the band is that Worm Shepherd are something of a bellweather when it comes to the deathcore scene as it exists at any particular moment. Continue reading »

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