SHORT BUT SWEET: THE AMENTA, GADGET, RETALIATION, KONSENSUS

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Sep 012021
 

 

(DGR prepared the following trio of reviews for 2021 releases that don’t require a lot of your time but make a big impact nonetheless.)

It still feels strange when we get to use the “Short But Sweet” review tag for the purpose it was designed for instead of the usual ‘these reviews will be shorter than usual’ style that I favor, but when you combine the total time of the three releases we’re discussing here you wind up with a little under twenty-five minutes worth of music. Two are short because they’re the usual suspects – grindcore groups smashing out music with reckless abandon – and the other is brief because the whole release consists of only two songs, but serves as a fantastic addendum to an excellent album released earlier this year.

The Amenta – Solipschism EP

Solipschism is the newest release from Australia’s The Amenta, a two-song EP consisting of tracks that were initially part of the run for their earlier-in-the-year return album Revelator – in case the continued portmanteau in the song naming wasn’t enough to tip you off. It serves partially as an addendum to that previous release, unleashing one crushingly heavy almost song recorded during the Revelator sessions that seems to exist solely to ratchet up in intensity while at the same time burying vocalist Cain within an abrasive wall of sound, and one quieter experiment, both of which fall perfectly in line within that album’s current run.

As to specifically where? It’s hard to tell, but they currently do a great job stitching themselves right onto the end of an album that is already difficult to describe at times, given its tendency to murder its own momentum for the sheer fun of it and try to create haunting soundscapes out of the rubble left behind. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): SEEDS OF PERDITION — “SUFFERING OF THE DEAD”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  1 Response »
Sep 012021
 

 

On September 10th Horror Pain Gore Death Productions will release Suffering of the Dead, the second full-length by the death/thrashing barbarians in Philadelphia’s Seeds of Perdition. As the label accurately forecasts, it delivers a barrage of raw intensity yet also creates the kind of atmosphere that simultaneously makes it “a terror stricken journey into the darkness of mankind”. We have the pleasure of letting you experience this pulse-pounding trip for yourselves today as we premiere a full stream of the album.

Straddling a line between rough and ravaging and sharp and cutting, the fleet-fingered riffs are lividly savage and slashing. They’re anchored by viscerally thrilling work by the band’s rhythm section, who propel the songs with skull-snapping snare-work, war-zone double-kicks, and gut-slugging bass lines. And at the vehement vanguard of the attack are rabid (yet clearly intelligible) vocals that roar, bark, screech, and howl at the moon, occasionally doubled in ghastly duets; in all their ferocious manifestations they’re electrifying. Continue reading »

BEER & LOUDNESS IN LAS VEGAS — THREE DAYS AT PSYCHO FEST (DAY 2)

 Concert Reviews  2 Responses »
Aug 312021
 

 

(Denver-based NCS contributor Gonzo was in Vegas two weekends ago for the 2021 edition of Psycho Fest, and has been sending us some great write-ups of what he witnessed. His journal for Day 1 is here, and this is his report on Day 2.)

Vegas is a devourer of good intentions.

Its only purpose in this existence is to rob you of your sobriety, your bank account, your dignity, and your sanity. It cares nothing for your early-morning lamentations of the bad decisions you made the night before. The endless air-conditioned hallways of cigarette-crusted casinos and overpriced restaurants and tourist traps will be there the next day, waiting for that inevitable moment when you’ve become inebriated enough to shrug and once again say “what the hell, why not.”

The likelihood of you succumbing to this seemingly innocent urge increases with each passing hour on any given point during a weekend in Vegas. I knew from the moment I rose out of bed on day 2 of Psycho Fest that this would be the case, and the day would soon stretch beyond an ordinary festival and into an endurance contest. The schedule of bands we had carefully crafted ahead of time would either prove untenable or test the limits of how hard we could party in one day. Or maybe both.

At around 11 a.m., we left the tranquility of our Excalibur hotel room and sauntered once more into the soulless void. Today’s main attractions? Cannibal Corpse, Poison the Well, Dying Fetus, Cult of Fire, and a whole helluva lot more. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ANTEDILUVIAN — “THE DIVINE PUNISHMENT”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  2 Responses »
Aug 302021
 

 

Antediluvian‘s first album in more than eight years is a hydra-headed black/death monster. More than an hour in length, spread across 11 tracks, The Divine Punishment thematically explores ranging manifestations of carnal deviance and perversion, reveling in manifold forms of sexual blasphemy through sound. And what sounds these are!

The heads of this hydra writhe, changing places in your mind’s eye and also joining together to create visions of ultimate horror and depraved ecstasy. The music has an experimental quality, as if searching for the perfect potion of degradation and desire. Its contortions are unpredictable, its effects multifarious, its overarching impact both nightmarishly unnerving and wickedly seductive.

The album defiantly challenges attempts to describe it in conventional terms, though of course we’ll nevertheless throw caution to the winds and add further impressions. But thankfully we also have a full stream of the album just a few days before its September 1 release by Nuclear War Now! Productions. Continue reading »

BEER & LOUDNESS IN LAS VEGAS – THREE DAYS AT PSYCHO FEST 2021 (DAY 1)

 Concert Reviews  2 Responses »
Aug 302021
 

 

(Our pal Gonzo took in the 2021 edition of Psycho Fest in Las Vegas and returned to Denver fortunately symptom-free, other than what happened to his head over the three days of the fest, and he has provided a synopsis of the experiences, beginning with the following report on Day 1. We expect reports on the next two days as well)

DAY 1

There is no source of frustration quite like being forcibly stuck in an airport for any length of time longer than absolutely necessary.

I was reminded of this grim reality two Fridays ago when my arrival at Denver International Airport coincided with one of the airport’s underground trains catastrophically breaking down. Ensuing damage and delays had forced the airport to close all but one terminal. The scene was absolute chaos – security queues wrapped around entire terminals, people screaming at TSA agents, confusion, madness, panic… one woman ended up in handcuffs after going into a terrifying rage and sobbing. It was looking like the 10:15 a.m. landing at my final destination, Psycho Fest 2021 in Las Vegas, was slowly slipping out of my grasp.

By the grace of Thor, the one terminal that stayed open ended up being the one we were flying out of. The flight was delayed by an hour or two, but we were somehow able to board and land safely and without any further unexpected pandemonium. Vegas would have plenty of that in the days to come anyway. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: DEADSPACE, SVARTULVEN, ASCENDED DEAD, ATOMICIDE, TSALAL, GRAVATUS, RAZÖRSCHRIECK

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK  5 Responses »
Aug 292021
 

 

Time to blacken the christian Sabbath again, as is our want. I decided to be lazy yesterday rather than compile the usual Saturday round-up of new songs and videos, but I did devote some time to browsing blackened metal, including some music that’s been out in the world (but not in my head) for many months, and you’ll find the results below.

I would say there’s a more disturbing and depressive feel to these choices than might usually be the case. I’m not in therapy so I don’t know for sure if this is a reflection of changes in my usually sunny mood, though I wouldn’t be surprised if that were true. It might just be that the first song took me down that path, and everything else simply fell into place.

DEADSPACE (multinational)

We lamented the split-up of Deadspace when that was announced last year, but celebrated their final album, A Portrait of Sacrificial Scars, as the band’s best work of all. Happily, however, Deadspace have reunited, though I somehow overlooked that announcement, first disclosed in March, until yesterday. I also overlooked that in June the band released a video for a new song named “Moksha“. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: DAWN OF SOLACE, OUTER HEAVEN, PATHOLOGY, MORBID MESSIAH, BOURN ULTRA

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Aug 272021
 

 

As I hoped, I had time to compile a second round-up on this Friday… and I have ideas for a third one tomorrow, so do check back. There’s no sandwich this time, unlike the first compilation today, just a severe case of whiplash as you go from the first song into what comes next.

DAWN OF SOLACE (Finland)

It appears that the revival of Dawn of Solace by Tuomas Saukkonen will be a lasting one, because a new album named Flames of Perdition is now set for release on November 12th via the Noble Demon label, and the first item I chose for this collection is a video for its first advance track, “White Noise“.

The emotional power and intensity of the song absolutely floored me. The intensity builds steadily, from its soft and wistful beginning through grim, heavy chords, neck-cracking drums, darting riffs, and the soaring, spine-tingling voice of Mikko Heikkilä (of Kaunis Kuolematon). It reaches a zenith of dark and moving impact via a stunningly beautiful and deeply moving guitar solo by Jukka Salovaara. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: GOAT TORMENT, MORTIFERUM, ANOMALY, TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE DISASTER

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  4 Responses »
Aug 262021
 

 

As you can see, I found time to stitch together another round-up of new music today. As usual, it barely scratches the surface of new songs and videos I’ve spotted this week, but I thought the choices would collectively give our visitors whiplash, and it pleased me to think so.

The music I’ve chosen for today comes from three pre-established personal favorites and one newcomer that’s already made a very positive first impression.

GOAT TORMENT (Belgium)

We begin with a supercharged adrenaline rush, a track that delivers storming, Marduk-like sonic warfare which marries bullet-spitting and bomb-throwing drums, wild, incendiary riffing, dominating vocal savagery, and an exotic wailing solo with an Arabian flare. Continue reading »

FILTH IS ETERNAL: “LOVE IS A LIE, FILTH IS ETERNAL”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Aug 252021
 

 

(Our old friend Justin C returns to NCS with the following review of the new album by the re-named Seattle band Filth Is Eternal, which will be released on August 27th by Quiet Panic.)

We’ve all been there. Grandma wants to hear some of the rock ‘n roll music the crazy kids are making these days, and Fucked and Bound is an obvious choice. Grandma needs a shot of adrenaline, not some droning doom, after all! But will the name be too off-putting? Especially after church?

Well, the band has made your life a little easier now with a new name, Filth Is Eternal. No, they haven’t changed the name in a craven attempt at Top 40 success, or probably even for Grandma. It just turns out that getting the word out about all your hard work during a pandemic, with no live shows plus social media platforms flagging you left and right for potentially being naughty content, your choice might come down to a name change or complete obscurity, as the band explained to Decibel last month. Continue reading »

FOR THE LOVE OF DEATH – DEVOID OF THOUGHT / GOSUDAR / TYPHONIAN

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Aug 252021
 

(Andy Synn would like to remind you all that only Death (Metal) is real)

I was doing an interview recently where I was asked “what makes a good Death Metal band?”

And, you know, for a moment I was stumped.

You see, they weren’t just asking about tuning, or tempo. Nothing so prosaic as that. They wanted something fundamental, something that transcended styles and sub-genres, something beyond technicality or brutality or melody.

But, eventually… it hit me.

It’s not about how fast you can blast, how low you can go, how huge you can groove… it’s all about love.

You heard me right. Underneath it all Death Metal is driven by love. Specifically the love of Death Metal.

And it’s the ability to convey and communicate that love, no matter what forms it takes, how technical or brutal, how melodic or symphonic, how dissonant or discordant or slam-tastic, which makes – or breaks – a band.

So let it be written, and let it be known… these three bands really love Death Metal.

Continue reading »

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