ADIMIRON: “ET LIBER ERIS”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Dec 062017
 

 

(Here’s Andy Synn’s review of the new album by the Italian band Adimiron, released just last month by Indie Recordings.)

Let me tell you, I had to think long and hard about this review. Not so much because of the album itself (which is, spoiler alert, absolutely brilliant) but because this is likely to be my last review before beginning my annual End of Year Liststravaganza (although you’ll be pleased to know it’s not going to be my last review of the year, as I already have several pieces pencilled in for the second half of December).

The big question was – did I want to go with something new, or something slightly older which we hadn’t had a chance to feature yet? After all, with List Season about to kick into high gear here at NCS, there’s an argument that since we’re about to give a lot of coverage to a lot of different records, the issue of who specifically to focus on has a bit more weight behind it than usual.

And so while this particular album didn’t quite make the cut for either my Critical or Personal Top Ten lists (stay tuned for those next week) it’s honestly so good that I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I didn’t take this opportunity to give it the attention it so richly deserves. Continue reading »

AETHERIAN: “THE UNTAMED WILDERNESS”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Dec 052017
 

 

(DGR reviews the debut album by the Greek band Aetherian.)

The genre-realm that skirts the line between doom and melodic death metal is one that has become increasingly crowded over the years, especially as some of the more long-running groups have rocketed up in popularity. The line between the two blurs constantly, and the bands that walk that path have developed into a very recognizable genre grouping in their own right, with bands like Insomnium having quickly moving to the forefront.

The pacing of most of these bands firmly plants them within the melo-death realm, and Greece’s Aetherian with their debut album, The Untamed Wilderness, don’t stray too far from it. Continue reading »

DADABOTS: “CODITANY OF TIMENESS”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  3 Responses »
Dec 042017
 

 

(This is Andy Synn’s review of an unusual new release composed and performed by… well, you’ll find out.)

Over the weekend some of you may have seen, although doubtless many of you didn’t, a story popping up here and there about an AI algorithm writing a “mindblowing” Black Metal (or Death Metal… the reporting is, as you might expect, a little muddled in this regard) album called Coditany of Timeness.

And while, from a purely musical perspective, Coditany… is really more of an EP than an album, and unlikely to be bothering anyone’s End of Year list, from a scientific standpoint it’s still a fascinating experiment in machine-learning and creativity, and one which I felt deserved some coverage here at NCS. Continue reading »

AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): THE WEIR — “DETACHED”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Dec 032017
 

 

Slightly more than two years ago we had the pleasure of premiering a crushing track from Calmness of Resolve, the very impressive second album by The Weir from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. And now we’re helping spread the word about the band’s new EP, Detached, which is being released today on tape and as a digital download on Bandcamp.

Calmness of Resolve was a staggering experience, projecting panoramic vistas of blasted landscapes and dragging the listener into deep sinkholes of congealing tar, casting spells of forlorn and heart-aching beauty but also rolling like a massive tank attack, and sometimes bringing down the house (and its foundations) in cataclysms of soul-crushing destructiveness. It was (and is) a sludge/doom powerhouse that should not be missed.

But with Detached, The Weir seem to be even more whole-heartedly committed to methodically beating their listeners into a slurry of fractured bone and jellied organs. It’s as heavy and despairing as anything you’re likely to find in this bleak winter season. Continue reading »

BENEATH THE NCS RADAR (PART 28): MEPHORASH, SHEIDIM, VOODUS, THE WAKEDEAD GATHERING, ECFERUS, MINNERIKET, NODFYR

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  4 Responses »
Nov 292017
 

 

(Our ally Gorger from Norway returns to NCS with an even half-dozen underground gems from 2017 that we haven’t previously reviewed. To find more of his recommendations, type “Gorger” in our search bar or visit Gorger’s Metal.)

 

In an attempt at getting up to speed, I’m presenting no fewer than six releases. Short ones the lot of them. Mostly EPs, but also a split and a single. Last time around, I made the error of including a formerly presented release. To make sure I don’t do the same mistake again, I start off by doing the same mistake deliberately this time. Continue reading »

PUTREFUCK: “DROWNING IN THE ROTTED SLUDGE SWAMP”

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Nov 292017
 

 

(Vonlughlio reviews the new second album by the Mexican/Spanish due Putrefuck.)

I feel honored to do a small write- up for the new release by Putrefuck, one of my favorite bands in the gore-grind genre. I first found the band thanks to Sick Reviews and some friends like Mr. Aguilera back in 2015 with the release of their debut album Impending Necrophilia In Fresh And Pale Cadavers Arriving To The Morgue.

The project formed in 2013, and the two masterminds behind this sickening idea are Mr. Davila aka Shitter (vocals, guitars) and Mr. Adrian Emocaust (drums). You could say it’s an international group since one member resides in Mexico and the other in Spain. Their love for gore-grind, facilitated by the internet, got these two into Putrefuck. Continue reading »

THE INFERNAL SEA: “AGENTS OF SATAN”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Nov 292017
 

 

(The Infernal Sea have recently released a new EP, and here we have DGR’s review of its two gruesome tracks.)

The beginning weeks of November brought quite a few interesting things, and among them was the release of a 7″ vinyl known as Agents Of Satan by UK black metal act The Infernal Sea. The two-song EP sees the band descending further into the ghoulish black metal realm, as they’ve continually refined both their sound and their image, evolving from an already fairly mean and white-knuckle rush of black metal written by a group of angry dudes in hoodies armed with plague doctor masks to a fully robed, smoke enveloped getup, with the group giving in fully to the ‘infernal’ side of their name.

It does also prove, however, that the band are big fans of having fans put some effort into scoring their new music, and thanks to the glory of Satan, we have managed to do so… if Satan were the website Cult Never Dies and their stream of the disc. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: MASTIC SCUM — “DEFY”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Nov 282017
 

 

(DGR turned in this review of the new release by the Austrian death merchants in Mastic Scum.)

It has been four years since the release of the full-length disc CTRL by the Austrian death metal (and self-described grind-influenced) machine Mastic Scum. The album, which saw the band moving further into the realm of chunk-filled groove and saw-blade-sharp death metal riffs, was reviewed on NCS way after its release, though we had covered it in the lead-up.

Mastic Scum’s discography has a pattern of large gaps between full-,lengths, usually supplemented by a collection of splits and EPs, and in their case even a live DVD entitled Rage. However, the end of October brought us the release of the group’s new EP, Defy, providing a brief transmission of sound from the otherwise shadow-cloaked world through which Mastic Scum move. Continue reading »

SHOW REVIEW: 5 SHADES OF BLACK (SAOR, THE GREAT OLD ONES, FEN, DRAWN INTO DESCENT, SORROW PLAGUES) — ANTWERP, OCT 21, 2017

 Concert Reviews  2 Responses »
Nov 282017
 


The Great Old Ones

 

(Greek metal writer and occasional NCS contributor John Sleepwalker attended the 5 Shades of Black show in Antwerp, Belgium, on October 21, 2017, and provides these thoughts about the performances by Saor, The Great Old Ones, Fen, Drawn Into Descent, and Sorrow Plagues. And we are most grateful to Kriss Wolf for kindly giving us permission to use her wonderful photos from the show, which appear throughout this review.)

 

5 Shades of Black stands as the type of an event that is a rare occasion in the lands of Greece. To the point that it seems more hopeful to dig for water in the desert than to expect names such as these to ever visit the capital city of Athens. Since the brand of old-school names is typically what tends to attract the majority of local interest, the few listeners dedicated to different aesthetics often need to travel to enjoy the related gigs of their choice. Continue reading »

PERVERTED DEXTERITY: “SPIRITUAL AWAKENING”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Nov 272017
 

 

(Our friend and contributor Vonlughlio from the Dominican Republic wrote the following review of the just-released new album by the Indonesian band Perverted Dexterity, whose sole creator is also behind the black metal project Pure Wrath, whose music we’ve previously written about on multiple occasions at our site.)

Perverted Dexterity is the one-man project of Mr. Januaryo Hardy formed back in 2010. I found about this project in 2015, a year after the release of their debut album Primitive Scene of Inhumanity”, which featured fast-paced, in-your-face songs with  a raw production and cannibalistic vocals.

Yes, I was a tad bit late discovering the project, but was so glad I did. Hailing from one of the best BDM scenes around the globe — Indonesia (a land I want to visit someday) — this project has gained more notice since the release of that first album internationally. Prior to that, I believe it was much talked-about in the Indonesia scene as a result of their demo, a spilt, and a 2013 promo release. Of all the one-man projects around the globe, Perverted Dexterity is one of the best, and my favorite. Continue reading »

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