UNSUNG HEROES OF 2020: ILSA / IRON FLESH / PLAGUE

 Album Reviews  7 Responses »
Dec 172020
 


Ilsa

 

(Andy Synn wrote the three album reviews collected in this post.)

As you may know, List Season is now officially over (for me anyway, though not for the site)… which means Post-List Season is officially open!

Now I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your attention that over the past few years (and beyond) we’ve been experiencing another one of those periodic Old School Death Metal “revivals”, where it seems like everyone has been competing to find the most effusive and hyperbolic way to praise the latest batch of Floridian-meets-Finnish Death Metal disciples (especially, or so it seems, if they’re American).

One reason for this, I’d imagine, is that we’ve now reached a point where a certain generation of bands, fans, and writers who weren’t old enough to take part in the original rise of the genre, or the early waves of Old School nostalgia, have risen to positions of prominence/notoriety, and by praising, supporting (and sometimes over-hyping) the current crop of retro riff-mongers they’re now able to relive – if only vicariously – the “classic” days of the genre which they missed out on.

Don’t get me wrong, there have been some absolute gems to have come out of all this (several of which we’ve written about here before now), and so I’ve decided to dedicate today’s edition of “The Unsung Heroes of 2020” to three more of them, one of which was a firm favourite on my “Good” list, another of which took a prominent position on my “Great” list… and the third of which might, if I’d discovered it sooner, have forced a major rewrite of my “Critical Top Ten” this year! Continue reading »

SUFISM: “REPUBLIK RAKYAT JELATA”

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Dec 172020
 

 

(This is Vonlughlio’s review of the debut album by the Indonesian brutal death metal band Sufism, which was released on December 13th by the Brutal Mind label.)

As some of you might know, one of my favorite BDM scenes is from Indonesia, due to the everlasting passion and commitment to the music from fans, labels, and bands in that area.  Someday I would love to visit the country and meet some of the musicians/projects I enjoy (one can dream).

Today I have the opportunity to review the debut album of the Indonesian band Sufism, entitled Republik Rakyat Jelata, which was just released via Brutal Mind on December 13th. The band were formed in 2014 and the following year released their first EP, Reptilia Buas, which consisted of five songs that were well-crafted and showcased impressive musicianship.  I will say that it was not groundbreaking nor made waves, but overall it was a good EP that I enjoyed quite a bit. Continue reading »

DEEDS OF FLESH: “NUCLEUS”

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Dec 162020
 

 

(This is Vonlughlio’s review of the new album by Deeds of Flesh, which was released by Unique Leader Records on December 11th.)

I have the honor to write about a band who are considered a classic act by fans of Brutal Death Metal, a band who came to life back in 1993 in Los Osos, California, and whose music has transcended the test of time and inspired many bands in both the BDM and Tech scene.

I remember while living in the Dominican Republic discovering their 1996 debut album Trading Pieces and being blown away as the music started. It left an everlasting impact on my life. Continue reading »

FUCKED AND BOUND: “SUFFRAGE”

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Dec 142020
 


photo by Uly Curry

 

(Our friend Justin C., who has spent most of his metal-writing career in recent years as a stalwart at Metal Bandcamp, has brought us this guest review of the latest album by another group of friends — Seattle’s Fucked and Bound — which will be re-released by Quiet Panic on December 18th.)

Pre-pandemic, “Two Minutes to Late Night” started as a YouTube talk show hosted by a corpse-painted Jordan Olds, a.k.a. Gwarsenio Hall, with various metal luminaries as guests. Sadly, not even the hermetically sealed black box that is St. Vitus in NYC is safe, so they had to stop filming, but as a way of keeping themselves (and us) entertained, they started recording covers with their socially distanced friends. They may be a little more obsessed with all things Glenn Danzig-related than what’s healthy, but they’ve produced some scorchers, including White Zombie’s “Super-Charger Heaven”. I knew Lisa Mungo, guest vocalist on this track, from her work in He Whose Ox is Gored. She does a better Rob Zombie than Rob Zombie does, so it’s a fun watch, but the video credited her with a different band, Fucked and Bound.

I knew this name, but I couldn’t remember from where. After some internet sleuthing–and be aware that searching “Fucked and Bound” a lot will have an interesting effect on your search suggestions–I was reminded that they put out a full length called Suffrage in 2018, but sadly it had gone out of print and off of Bandcamp. So how to get more?

Well, we’re in luck, because label Quiet Panic is re-releasing the album on December 18th. I actually ordered the vinyl for this thing, and I don’t even have a record player. Such is my excitement to get that download. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: TEMPESTARII, VESTINDIEN, BHLEG, GRAVFRAKTAL, MONKE

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK  No Responses »
Dec 132020
 

 

I continue to fall far behind in my listening due to a year-end crunch at my fucking day job, which will continue through the coming week. What little free time I have to devote to NCS between now and this time next week will be consumed by premieres and the continuation of our annual LISTMANIA series (later today I’m sharing a couple more lists from “big platform” web sites, and then we’ll have more lists from our writers and guests in the week ahead).

But fortune smiled on me, and it didn’t take me long to find what I decided to share with you in this column. Enjoy!

TEMPESTARII (U.S.)

“Deathwards Xibalba” is the long opening track to Chaos at Feast, the new second album by Tempestarii, an Idaho-based black metal band who picked a great name for themselves, because listening to their music is very much like being subsumed in frightening, wholly engulfing tempests — or perhaps, given the dramaturgical trappings of their music, like witnessing firsthand the magical storm of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Continue reading »

ABHORRENT CASTIGATION: “ON THE SHORES OF HELL”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Dec 102020
 

 

(Here’s Vonlughlio’s review and recommendation of a new EP, released in August, by the German extreme metal band Abhorrent Castigation.)

Some releases has come out of nowhere and hit us like a ton of bricks in the face (in a very good way), and such was the case for Germany’s Abhorrent Castigation and their new self-released EP On the Shores of Hell.

This band was founded back in 2012 and in the same year released their demo Enthralled by Abysmal Delusion, which took the scene by force and showcased the prodigious musical talent of this project. The cover of Cerebral Effusion’s “Into Morbid Obesity” on that demo was just godly from start to finish.  Two years afterward they released their debut album Throne of Existential Abandonment, which included as session drummer the mighty Lille Gruber (Defeated Sanity) and Anton Zhikharev as session bassist (also an amazing musician). Along with Torso (guitars) and Al (vocals), they created one of my favorite BDM debut albums ever. Continue reading »

ETERNAL CHAMPION: “RAVENING IRON”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  1 Response »
Dec 042020
 

 

(NCS writer Gonzo turns in a glorious review of a pretty fuckin’ glorious album by Texas-based Eternal Champion, which was released in late November by No Remorse Records.)

I know, I know – we’re all busy making our best-of-2020 lists and doing our best to not lose our collective shit as a result of staying inside all day. But, before the year’s end, I wanted to squeeze another review in, and it’s one that we somehow missed mentioning up to this point.

Sharpen your fucking swords, kids, because if you haven’t heard the marauding onslaught of old-school metallic warfare that Eternal Champion cooked up on Ravening Iron, gather ‘round.

One of the things I love about metal is its unending propensity to not take itself too seriously. To quote a friend from long ago who’s also the vocalist for Orange County outfit Bleed the Sky, “what most people don’t understand about metal is that it’s basically goofy dudes drinking beer and making stupid faces a lot.”

“You know, he’s right,” I remember thinking to myself while sitting in his garage at 3 a.m. drunk off my face on the vile combination of Jager and Rockstar. Oh, to be 23 again.

Those words from my friend echoed in my head when I first saw the artwork for Ravening Iron and read a little about the band in a Decibel interview. I concluded that the band was probably a latter-day incarnation of Manowar. Probably a good listen for a nostalgic chuckle or two, but nothing I’d take seriously. The over-the-top artwork and the fact that vocalist Jason Tarpey forges his own swords (while inherently badass) told me that maybe this is a pet project that was more glam than hammer.

By the might of Thor, was I wrong. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): NEXUL — “SCYTHED WINGS OF POISONOUS DECAY”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Dec 012020
 

 

Nexul’s new album, Scythed Wings of Poisonous Decay, is not for the faint of heart. It’s a shock-and-awe campaign of terrifying blackened death metal that seems thoroughly devoted to ruining minds and bodies through typhoon assaults of unhinged violence intertwined with nuances of horrific dread and paralyzing misery. The fear factor of the music is through the roof, and so is the raw, abrasive, punishing quality of the sound.

But as you’ll also discover if you choose to run this gauntlet, the songs are more carefully calculated than you might expect from what you’ve just read, and more attuned to the elaboration of unearthly atmosphere in the midst of sonic atrocities.

And running this gauntlet from start to finish is just what we’re giving you the opportunity to do today, through our premiere of a full album stream in advance of its December 4 release by Iron Bonehead Productions on CD and 12″ vinyl. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT (PART 128): VAMPIRE SQUID

 Album Reviews, THE SYNN REPORT  1 Response »
Nov 302020
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s SYNN REPORT for November 2020, and this month he lines up reviews of all the albums by California’s Vampire Squid.)

Recommended for fans of: Cattle Decapitation, The Red Chord, Slugdge

Being in a Metal band and not taking yourself too seriously, while also treating your craft and your audience with the respect they deserve, is a difficult line to walk – but not an impossible one.

Matter of fact, some of my favourite bands are dead serious (and highly professional) about what they do while also being fully aware of the innate absurdity of using the medium of Metal to bellow barely decipherable lyrics about historical atrocities or struggles with mental illness or scorn for global politics… or any one of a hundred other deadly serious, and seriously dark, issues.

And while lyrically Southern California Tech-Grind crew Vampire Squid may be slightly less serious than some – most of their songs are based around the classic Death Metal themes of blood, guts, and dismemberment, albeit with a suitably briny twist – musically speaking they’re cut from the same creative cloth as bands like The Red Chord and The Faceless, marrying the angular technicality of these groups with a rabid intensity reminiscent of Cattle Decapitation and Benighted, all topped off with a dose of the complex-yet-catchy songwriting style of their mollusc-based brethren in Slugdge (with whom they also share a love for pun-tastic song titles).

But, hey, if all that sounds too good to be true then why not see/hear for yourself and join me on a free dive into the crushing depths of the band’s discography for this month’s edition of The Synn Report? Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: HOLY DEATH

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Nov 272020
 

 

(We present Andy Synn‘s combined reviews of the three EPs released this year by the Nevada band Holy Death.)

Today’s edition of “Short But Sweet” is a little different.

Rather than covering three EPs by three different bands, instead we’re going to be taking a look at three different EPs by the same band, Las Vegas-based Death/Doom disciples Holy Death, whose debut EP, Supreme Metaphysical Violence, came out back in February, and was followed soon after by June’s Celestial Throne ov Grief.

Then, right at the end of last month, they dropped Deus Mortis, which is around about the time I jumped on the bandwagon… which brings us right up to date.

Continue reading »

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