OBSCURA: “DILUVIUM”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Jul 092018
 

 

(This is Andy Synn’s review of the new album by the celebrated German band Obscura, which will be released on July 13th by Relapse Records.)

Where to start with this one?

Obviously the name Obscura should be familiar to the majority (if not all) of our readers, as the band – these days comprising creative (and somewhat controversial) linchpin Steffen Kummerer alongside guitarist Rafael Trujillo, drummer Sebastian Lanser, and resident uber-bassist Linus Klausenitzer – have long since established themselves as one of the big names of Progressive/Technical Death Metal.

What they, and you, may not be aware of, however, is that, despite all the line-up changes, intra-band friction, and media-managed drama of the last few years, Obscura have been actively engaged in crafting a ten-year long, four-album deep, conceptual cycle – beginning with 2009’s Cosmogenesis (origin), and then moving through further phases with 2011’s Omnivium (evolution), and 2016’s Akróasis (consciousness) – which is finally about to conclude with the release of Diluvium, representing not only the end of the cycle, but also the end of an era for Kummerer and co.

So, with that in mind, perhaps the real question you should be asking yourself right now is… can this record possibly live up to those lofty expectations, and truly deliver the ending which this saga deserves? Continue reading »

REGIONAL JUSTICE CENTER: “WORLD OF INCONVENIENCE”

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Jul 092018
 

 

(In this post Todd Manning reviews the new release by Seattle-based Regional Justice Center.)

The combination of Grindcore and Powerviolence has always walked a tightrope between Hardcore and Metal, attacking the listener with feral onslaughts both fast and slow, short bursts of frenzied killing punctuated by neanderthal moments of sludgy-goodness. While employing the brutality of Extreme Metal, these acts often have a certain looseness to their sound, giving them their own Punkish charm within the cacophony of violence.

The new self-titled release from Regional Justice Center has all the hallmarks of these genres with short songs and hair-turn tempo changes, but there is no looseness to be found. Rather, everything here takes the form of a quick precision bombing, and while the record only clocks in at around twelve minutes, a single spin will leave the listener gasping for breath before hitting play again. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): SKULLCRUSH — “VISIONS OF THE FIRESTORM ECLIPSE”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  3 Responses »
Jul 062018
 

 

Skullcrush? Yes… that name works… but so would SpleenRupture, SpineSplinter, KidneyPunch, JawFracture, SkinFlense… and I’m sure I’m forgetting other body parts that their music mutilates (figuratively speaking of course — you’ll survive the experience intact, probably).

Yes, Skullcrush is a fine name for the kind of death metal this Arizona band dish out on their debut EP, and the Conan-themed cover art is also fitting. So is the EP’s title — Visions of the Firestorm Eclipse — as you’ll discover when you listen to our full stream on this Friday, the 6th of July, the day of its release by the Glasgow-based label Camo Pants Records.

But we hasten to add that the brutalizing qualities of the music shouldn’t be over-emphasized; there’s a lot more going on in this EP than skeletal demolition and furious evisceration. The name SoulSlaughter would have worked, too. Continue reading »

IMMORTAL: “NORTHERN CHAOS GODS”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Jul 062018
 

 

(Andy Synn reviews the new album by Immortal on the day of its release by Nuclear Blast.)

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ll no doubt be aware that the release of a new Immortal album – the band’s first since 2009’s All Shall Fall, as well as their first since the now well-documented and more than a tad acrimonious split with their former frontman Abbath – is what we in the business like to call A Very Big Deal.

You’ll also likely have seen a plethora of different reviews, comments, and op-eds being published either decrying it for not being “Immortal enough” due to its lack of Abbath, or else praising it to the heavens for being “a return to the band’s roots”, with lines being drawn and camps being formed on either side of this divide.

And while, if everything’s gone right, at the time of reading this you’ll hopefully have found a way of listening to the album for yourselves, I still thought it might be worth publishing my own thoughts on the matter, and asking, “can’t we all just get along?” Continue reading »

DELIRIUM REIGNS SUPREME: PLOUGHSHARE, DESTROYER ATTACK, ERIPHION, LODGE OF THE EMPTY BED

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Jul 052018
 

 

Sometimes when you have no plan, the plan makes itself. A guiding hand intervenes, or if you’re not superstitious, you nod your head at the pleasures of serendipity and synchronicity.

I didn’t plan to make this post, but in searching for new music I happened, by a fortunate chance, to listen to the music in this post in the exact same order as I’m presenting it here. And it all seemed to fit together in a way that spawned the title of this post.

PLOUGHSHARE

Literature of Piss was the 2017 debut EP of this band from Canberra, Australia. In Offal, Salvation is the band’s 2018 debut album. “The Urinary Chalice Held Aloft” is the name of one of the tracks on the album. Perhaps you begin to get a sense of the band’s worldview. Continue reading »

INJURIOUS — “ABOMINABLE EXTERMINATION THROUGH UNCANNY PASSAGES”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Jul 032018
 

 

(Our Caribbean-born but recently U.S.-based friend Vonlughlio rejoins us with a review, born of unusual enthusiasm, of the new album by the Pennsylvania band Injurious, whose new album was released on July 1st by Lord of the Sick Recordings.)

It has been a while since I had the opportunity to do a small write-up for NCS. This time around I would like to introduce you to the band Injurious from Pennsylvania, USA. This is the solo project of Mr. Joe Anthropophagi (Abolishing the Ignominious, Disgruntled Anthropophagy, Manipulated Calamity, Ex-Animals Killing People). The first release was back in 2017 with the promo that consisted of two songs: “Execrable Hierarchy Diminishing the Worthless” and “Immersed into Cycles of Enmity”. That promo was highly praised in the BDM community and showcased Joe’s already high level of musicianship. The man is just pure talent.

Just last week the EP,Abominable Extermination through Uncanny Passages was released via Lord of the Sick Recordings, and that’s all I have been listening to. This is one EP that’s just full of hatred, from the blast-beats and twisted riffs to with vocals, which successfully transmit this felling to the listener. For me, it’s the best BDM EP of 2018. Continue reading »

AN NCS DEMO PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): GRAVES — “UNHOLY DESECRATION”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Jul 022018
 

 

From the catacombs of the Portuguese black metal underground Signal Rex has unearthed Graves, presenting their blasphemous debut demo, Unholy Desecration, on cassette tape as a prelude to the band’s debut album coming later this year — and we’re presenting a full stream of the demo today.

As the label says, Unholy Desecration triggers memories of the French Légions Noires, of the Portuguese Black Circle, and of raw Finnish black metal from the past couple of decades. But while devoted to certain recognizable traditions, Graves‘ devotion isn’t slavish. Their own talent shines through with mortifying vibrancy. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: INTO DARKNESS, EUTHANIZED, MUSMAHHU

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Jun 262018
 

 

This is a collection of three short reviews of three short releases that I recently encountered, one from an old favorite, the others from newer projects. If you’re not a fan of death and black metal, you might want to spend your time elsewhere. If you are, there are some ghastly treats in store for you here.

INTO DARKNESS

To begin, I have the latest release from an Italian band whose every release I’ve written about —  their 2012 debut demo (here), their 2013 demo Cosmic Chaos (here), their 2013 EP Transmigration of Cosmic Creatures Into the Unknown (here), their 2014 split with Ghoulgotha (here), and their 2015 split with Profanal (here). And now there’s a new one, and I’m keeping my record of slavish devotion intact. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): BOOKAKEE — “IGNOMINIES”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  7 Responses »
Jun 252018
 

 

I try to be as honest as I can be in writing about music at our putrid site, but in the case of the Canadian progressive/technical death metal band Bookakee, I need to be brutally honest: Knowing very little about their previous musical output before listening to the group’s new album, Ignominies, I was initially quite skeptical. Maybe “put off” would be even more accurate.

The band’s name, coupled with their outlandish full-body make-up, their reported use of gory props on stage, and the PR brandishing of the band as “Montreal’s answer to GWAR“, made me suspicious. Rightly or wrongly, I glumly surmised that the music wouldn’t be worth taking seriously — that no matter how much fun their live shows might be, this would be a band who relied more on gimmickry than song-writing or performance skill. (The fact that I’m not a huge GWAR fan undoubtedly played a role.)

Having listened to Ignomonies despite all my misgivings, I am here to confess, with some embarrassment but without reservation, that I couldn’t have been more wrong. And if you happen to be approaching the album with a similar judgmental skepticism, hear me out — and then by all means hear this album through the full stream we’re premiering today in advance of its release by Transcending Records on June 29th. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): OLTRETOMBA — “L’OUVERTURE DES FOSSES”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  2 Responses »
Jun 252018
 

 

The allure of Oltretomba’s new album L’Ouverture Des Fosses is difficult to explain, and to be honest, its twisted mechanics may prove to be most alluring to those whose minds are already unbalanced. Or perhaps I should just speak for myself. “Nihilistic black doom, languishing eternally in the psychic realms of the half-dead” is the way Caligari Records describes the music. It is an unsettling combination of primitive and futuristic (or alien) ingredients — uncomfortable music that nevertheless mesmerizes, like a strong audio narcotic that grips the pulse, clouds the brain with nightmarish visions, and brings a sheen of cold sweat to the surface of the skin.

We’re told that the album was recorded in a World War II bunker, presumably one still haunted by the spirits of those who were mangled and burned within its confines. Perhaps the music was intended to bring them back to life; perhaps they participated in the recording; it wouldn’t be surprising if they had, given the chilling, spectral emanations captured within these six tracks. Continue reading »

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