STONED GOD: “INCORPOREAL”

 Album Reviews  6 Responses »
Feb 072020
 

 

(This is Andy Synn‘s review of the just-released second album by the German band Stoned God.)

There’s a hoary old cliché (with, let’s be honest, some solid basis in fact) that the older you get the less open you are to new sounds and new bands.

Thankfully this hasn’t happened to me yet (and hopefully never will), but I must admit that the more music I’m exposed to the more I seem to be tightening up my standards (although some people still seem to think I like everything equally… which is definitely not the case).

What this means, of course, is that while I still have no issue celebrating and supporting albums which I think are worth listening to, even if they don’t necessarily hit the heights of true greatness, it generally takes something really special to excite me to the point where I start ranting and raving at anyone who’ll listen about how they have to listen to this band/album right now!!!

It doesn’t even need to be something that reinvents the wheel or changes the game – it can just be something that twists or tweaks, or otherwise iterates on, an existing formula in a fresh, exciting way – as long as it gets the neurons firing in that special way, that’s all that matters.

So, with all that in mind, I’d like to introduce you to Prog-Death powerhouse Stoned God. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): SONS OF A WANTED MAN — “KENOMA”

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Feb 062020
 

 

Within the genre of metal (writ large), the musical hybridization of sub-genres is more common than it used to be. Even the inclusion of musical ingredients from beyond metal altogether is no longer rare. In fact, we might be somewhere near a zenith of cross-breeding and experimentation within our beloved genre.

As we all know, this doesn’t always work out well. Sometimes it produces music that seems bolted together without much regard for the ultimate effect, or lacking any apparent reason. Like the sight of Frankenstein’s monster, we can still see the livid sutures, and would rather turn away with a shudder than embrace it.

But when genre-splicing does work, when the disparate ingredients are harnessed together according to a well-thought-out design in order to create a richness of emotional impacts that would be difficult to achieve in a different way, given the particular interests of the musicians, the results can be unusually powerful and engrossing. The new album, Kenoma, by the Belgian band Sons Of A Wanted Man, is a prime example of that kind of success. With great pleasure, we present a full stream of it today, on the eve of its release by Les Acteurs de L’Ombre Productions. Continue reading »

BLACKENED DEATHSTRAVAGANZA: GOD DETHRONED / HORRESQUE / SVART CROWN

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Feb 052020
 


God Dethroned

 

(In this post Andy Synn combines reviews of three forthcoming or just-released albums by God Dethroned (Netherlands), Horresque (Germany), and Svart Crown (France).)

Genre terms are funny things, aren’t they?

While I often find them very useful as a form of rough-and-ready heuristic shortcut, one which helps me, and my readers, quickly get into the right mindset and formulate our expectations accordingly, their misuse (or outright abuse) can be even more confusing than just saying nothing at all.

It’s even worse when we get down to the fine grain of things, as these terms and definitions become even more nebulous, and it gets harder and harder to tell precisely where Death Metal becomes Blackened Death Metal becomes Melodic Blackened Death Metal becomes Progressive Melodic Blackened Death Metal… and so on, and so forth.

The three albums you’re about to read about all fall somewhere in/along this spectrum (whereabouts exactly is sure to prompt some lively debate), and while all have their flaws (which I’ve not been shy about highlighting) I’m pretty sure many, if not most, of our audience will find something to appreciate from their myriad metallic delights. Continue reading »

KVELERTAK: “SPLID”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Feb 052020
 

 

(This is Wil Cifer‘s review of the new album by the Norwegian band Kvelertak. The album will be released by Rise Records on February 14th.)

The third album from these Norwegian punks is not only more refined, it is also their first with new vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen. The youthful attitude in his snarl gives more weight to the punk slant of this album.

When punk is referred to here, think more of a ’90s European direction like Refused. Punk is also only one side of the equation, as they also offer a large dose of rock ‘n’ roll with guitar harmonies that have a warm Thin Lizzy-like tone. Not that any of these elements are coming out of left field. They have all been hinted at on the previous albums, but have now been brought further into center stage. Continue reading »

PSALM ZERO: “SPARTA”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  No Responses »
Feb 042020
 

 

(This is Todd Manning‘s review of the third album by Psalm Zero, which will be released by Last Things Records on February 24th.)

Like many of their NYC brethren, Psalm Zero walk a tightrope of genre-splicing madness, and their latest release Sparta  is another success spurred from that scene. Including such bands as Kayo Dot, Vaura, and Stern, these groups utilize an alchemy which pulls from Metal, ’80s Art Music, Jazz, and Avant Garde among others. While all these groups are excellent at what they do, Psalm Zero might be the most Metal sounding at this point in their career.

Sparta is their third album, their first without guitarist Andrew Hock, and also the first not to appear on Profound Lore. Instead, the record will come out on band leader Charlie Looker’s own Last Things Records. Looker now handles guitar, vocals, synths, and programming and is joined by Ron Varod on bass and the formidable Keith Abrams on drums. With a combined resume that includes work in pretty much all the aforementioned bands and more, Psalm Zero bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to Sparta. Continue reading »

SEPULTURA: “QUADRA”

 Album Reviews  7 Responses »
Feb 032020
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by Sepultura, which will be released on February 7th by Nuclear Blast.)

People occasionally ask us why it is that NCS focusses mainly on underground and/or lesser-known artists over bigger and more famous groups.

The truth is that, as much as we enjoy a lot of big-name bands, it’s simply much more fun, and much more rewarding, to write about something fresh and new than it is to keep on rehashing the same old talking points about the same established acts, about whom there is often very little new to say.

After all, no-one needs to read yet another fawning article about how the new Tool album is the greatest thing to ever happen to music (even though no-one’s heard it yet) or some bored writer’s attempt to explain why Slipknot’s decision to fill most of their new record with radio-friendly ballads is actually the most extreme and rebellious thing possible. Those pieces have been written a million times already, so what more could we possibly add? Heck, what would we want to add?

But there are certain occasions – maybe we feel like we have a fresh angle to cover, or simply want to provide a more balanced and hype-free assessment than the ones we’ve found elsewhere – when we decide to break this self-imposed embargo and dedicate some space to an album or artist who doesn’t necessarily need it… but definitely deserves it.

Enter Quadra. Continue reading »

HORROR GOD: “CURSED SEEDS”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Feb 032020
 

 

(In this post Vonlughlio gives a strong recommendation for the latest album by the Russian black/death metal band Horror God, released last fall by Lavadome Productions.)

Cursed Seeds, the third album by the Russian band Horror God, was released last September by Lavadome Productions. I should confess that I have been following the label for years and become friends with the owner Jan, conversing about Death Metal, likes and dislikes, not seeing eye to eye, all the good stuff friends talk about.

Having said that, it is the music alone on Cursed Seeds that prompted this write-up. I have enjoyed each second from start to finish, because it is a perfect blend of Death/Black influences put into 7 songs totalling 36 minutes of pure fury, desperation, loss, and hope. My first listen turned into three listens in a row, and I found myself enjoying the overall effort from this group more and more each time. Continue reading »

SHOW REVIEW: LEECHED + GEIST + TUSKAR – LIVE IN NOTTINGHAM, 30/01/20

 Concert Reviews  1 Response »
Jan 312020
 


Leeched

 

(Andy Synn turned in this review of the performances by Leeched, Geist, and Tuskar in Nottingham, England last night — January 30th — with some of his own video documentation of the experience.)

Sometimes, despite all our best intentions, things just don’t work out quite the way we want them to.

That was certainly the case this evening, as, for various reasons which I won’t go into here, I ended up being massively delayed getting to this show, and therefore missed both the local openers Pemphigoid and Underdark.

This was actually doubly-unfortunate too – firstly because while I’ve never been the biggest fan of the latter, the last few times I’ve seen them it’s felt like they’re finally starting to live up to (at least some of) the hype , so I was hoping to see if this trend continued, and secondly because I’ve not yet managed to catch the former band live, and this was going to be my first chance to do so.

Still, putting aside these regrets and recriminations for the moment, I suppose you’re all wondering how the rest of the show went? Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): MOLOKEN — “UNVEILANCE OF DARK MATTER”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  1 Response »
Jan 302020
 

 

Twelve years into their career, the Swedish genre-benders in Moloken, who hail from the cold climes of Umeå in the north, have completed their fourth album, Unveilance of Dark Matter. It represents the band’s most adventurous, most thrilling, and quite possibly their most unnerving, work yet. Attempting to pin down the style of the music is like trying to pin mercury to a wall. It constantly escapes any such futile efforts, and is all the better for it.

One might try to make a list of the ingredients — which range from modern hardcore to progressive rock, from sludge to post-metal, from doom and death to black metal (and funk) — but a mere list isn’t very elucidating as to how the band have interwoven such disparate traditions. You really have to just hear the album, and to marvel at all the surprising twists and turns, as long as you understand that Moloken are going to constantly challenge you, and to dismember any sense of comfort and self-satisfaction you might be feeling before you begin.

Wiser minds might just stop there and let you experience the full stream of the album we’re presenting on the eve of its release by The Sign Records, but of course no one will ever accuse us of being very wise, and so we’ll yield to the near-irresistible temptation to comment, in detail, on how these 11 ambitious tracks strike us. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): AINSOPH — “Ω – V”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  4 Responses »
Jan 292020
 

 

Coincidentally, while thinking about how to introduce our premiere of Ainsoph‘s debut album (which will be released by Wolves Of Hades on February 2nd), I paused to finish an essay I had been reading about the great American songwriter Cole Porter. It ended with this paragraph:

“All art aspires to the condition of music, Walter Pater wrote; within music itself, all music dreams of becoming another kind of music. Art songs dream of becoming pop songs and pop songs dream of becoming folk songs, too familiar to need an author. We hear Porter now without knowing that it’s Porter we’re hearing. Like Stephen Foster, he sublimated his suffering into his songs, until the songs are all we have, thereby achieving every artist’s dream, to cease to be a suffering self and become just one of those things we share.”

What does this have to do with Ainsoph and their album Ω – V? I don’t want to push the connections too strongly, but some of the phrases in what I just quoted seemed relevant to what I was thinking about this album.

Ideas about the emptiness of human existence, about the endless void that will consume us all, and perhaps abut the search for meaning, or at least the embrace of endlessness, seem to have played a role in inspiring the album. In its own way, it seems a sublimation of suffering into music, both expressing it and transcending it. And in its own way, it’s also music that seems to dream of becoming another kind of music. Continue reading »

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