ARTIFICIAL BRAIN: “INFRARED HORIZON”

 Album Reviews  7 Responses »
Apr 052017
 

 

(Todd Manning wrote this review of the new album by Artificial Brain.)

 

It’s impossible to know (short of asking them) if New York-based Death Metal quintet Artificial Brain are familiar with such outre philosophies as Cosmic Pessimism or Object-Oriented Ontology, but they certainly seem to have concocted the perfect soundtrack to such occult topics. On their second full-length, Infrared Horizon, due out on April 21st on Profound Lore, they present us with a sound that conjures forth the far reaches of the void of outer space, and the nihilistic possibilities outlined in said philosophies. Continue reading »

BENEATH THE NCS RADAR (PART 21): ÁRSTÍÐIR LÍFSINS, KASHGAR, RITUALIZATION, DEAD LIMBS

 Album Reviews  8 Responses »
Apr 042017
 

 

(Our super-hero friend Gorger returns — quickly — with the second 2017 installment in his ongoing series providing super-heroic support to our mission by reviewing releases we’ve overlooked.  To find more of his discoveries, type “Gorger” in our search bar or visit Gorger’s Metal.)

In the very first sentence on your average Beneath the NCS radar post, Islander tends to present me as some kind of super-villain who “embarrasses” everyone by holding up whatever gem they’ve “failed” to mention. Although I dream of becoming a super-villain when I’ll never grow up, this might leave you with a somewhat distorted impression. Allow me to clarify.

There’s about a dozen metal albums being released every single day. Counting all kinds of releases, we’re talking 45-50 a day altogether. And that’s just the “tip of the iceberg” that’s being listed on Encyclopaedia Metallum, whose strict policy prevents more alternative forms from gaining an entrance. (I’m all about true metal, and so I agree, but that’s simply a matter of taste because I’m so bloody trve). If we were to look into all kinds of unconventional styles that might appeal to metalheads, whether it’s atmospheric dungeon synth, soaring acoustic tree-hugger hard rock, or DIY slam-punk hardcore grind-screamo, the list of daily musical launches would grow insuperably massive.

No single human would be up for the task of absorbing all this. Just presenting it would mean receiving newsletters from thousands of bands and labels. Just imagine opening your mailbox only to see that you’ve got 263 new mails. For the past hour. Obviously, there’s going to be tons of shit that floats underneath the radar for any one of us, and my inadequate radar often fails at noticing passing jewels too. I also often find myself detecting a gem and grasping for it, but failing to grab a firm grip, I helplessly end up observing it float off into the mist.

I might, in an infallible matter, present you with those hidden gems that the wretchedly flawed NCS-crew fail miserably to cover, but unfortunately, I’m not the super villain/prophet (delete as appropriate) you all visualize. I just do what DGR, Andy Synn, Austin Weber, TheMadIsraeli, Comrade Aleks, KevinP, Wil Cifer, or anyone else writing anything for this putrid site does; giving Islander a hand by chipping in with some precious metallic picks for the perpetually unquenchable masses. Only difference is they present relevant artists and releases, often in advance, whilst I’m always late to the party like some late bloomer. I’m just another enthusiastic metalhead, whose antennas are no more superhuman than anyone else’s. I’m sorry to disappoint you and to rip this revered illusion of yours to shreds.

What? You already knew all this? Oh… Good. I guess… Continue reading »

ROYAL THUNDER: “WICK”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  5 Responses »
Apr 032017
 

 

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Royal Thunder.)

This Georgia band have never actually been metaI. They have toured with metal bands, some of their members have been in metal bands, and they certainly came pretty close on Crooked Doors. I really loved Crooked Doors. I wore it out. This means the bar is held pretty high here.

Going into the album there was uncertainty when hit with the slow droning riff that accompanies the more circular chant of the first song. They don’t come out swinging like they did on the previous album. I went back and gave this song another listen after hearing the entire album, and it made a little more sense, but didn’t really grab me. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: WORMWITCH, FIN, PURE, KOLLAPSE, MOTHER MOON, FUNERAL BAPTISM

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Apr 022017
 

 

I didn’t damage myself too badly last night, only moderately, and so I was able to prepare this selection of music that I thought was worth recommending. I’m beginning with songs from forthcoming albums by four bands and concluding with two recent EPs.

Much of the music in this collection isn’t strictly black metal, but has enough kinship to the genre that I can justify including it. Hope you find some things to like.

WORMWITCH

In another one of these SHADES OF BLACK posts last month I reported that Prosthetic Records would be releasing the debut album Strike Mortal Soil by Vancouver, BC’s Wormwitch on May 12. At that point I didn’t have any music to share with you, but now I do. Continue reading »

MEDICO PESTE — “HERZOGIAN DARKNESS”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Mar 312017
 

 

Medico Peste are human beings (I presume, but cannot be sure) who have mastered the art of creating music that appears to be a gateway for the emergence of inhuman forces.

Discordance and delirium reign on their new EP, Herzogian Darkness. The music seethes with arcane energies, creating an experience that is terrifying and hallucinatory — and so intricate, so different, so highly accomplished, and so unnerving that it rooted this listener in place as if turned to stone.

To help you gauge its on effect on yourself, I’m including a full stream of the EP at the end of this review; it was released just yesterday by W.TC. Productions. Continue reading »

THE BEST OF BRITISH, 2017 (PART 1): THE DARKHORSE, MOUNTAINS CRAVE, ANCIENT ASCENDANT

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Mar 312017
 

 

(Andy Synn brings us a trio of reviews of new releases by The Darkhorse, Mountains Crave, and Ancient Ascendant.)

Ah yes, it’s finally time for the first in what I hope will be several pieces collecting the best Metal which these fair isles have to offer in 2017.

As always, the three bands I’ve selected each offer a very different take on the metallic fundamentals, from the swaggering stomp of The Darkhorse, or the sweeping blackened grandeur of Mountains Crave, to the rifftastic rampage of Ancient Ascendant, meaning there should be something here for everyone (or, at least, for most people) to really sink their teeth into! Continue reading »

MIDNIGHT ODYSSEY: “SILHOUETTE OF STARS”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Mar 302017
 

 

(We welcome back guest writer Lonegoat, the Texas-based necroclassical pianist behind Goatcraft, whose latest album Yersinia Pestis was released in 2016 by I, Voidhanger. In this piece, Lonegoat provides a review of the new double-album by the one-man Australian project Midnight Odyssey.)

Atmospheric metal is made difficult as much of it is mere texture. Most of it is deduced to a worship of texture and a hard limit of production. The long chain of simple but meaningful sounds has led listeners to acknowledge its harmonious preservation from one sound to another and the coalescence thereof.

Midnight Odyssey shows that these are necessary textures, how the mind comes to be furnished by a lush experience and leads to a heroic catalyst of reflection. It derives our internal operations of mind by all of its vibrant tones, simplicity, and often an exuberant usage of repetition, most often to the point of repletion.

Atmosphere in music is not an empirical concept which has been derived by ordinary external experience; it is a prime character in and of itself. Midnight Odyssey exemplifies an inner character much like the dusty plains of eastern classical where its focus is that of an internal expression, whereas western art is an external representation and unites its representations in our consciousnesses (albeit consciousness itself is an epiphenomenon). Tonal action and reaction should be equal in atmospheric synthesis. Continue reading »

THE SYNN REPORT, PART 83: DREAMING DEAD

 Album Reviews, THE SYNN REPORT  2 Responses »
Mar 302017
 

 

(March nears its last gasps, and Andy Synn slips in under the expiration wire with the 83rd edition of THE SYNN REPORT. The spotlight this month falls on the discography of California’s Dreaming Dead, which includes their just-released third album.)

Recommended for fans of: Death, Arsis, Horrendous

There are some bands who just never get their due. And, in my humble opinion, Californian quartet Dreaming Dead are one of them, as their proficiency in the metallic arts is absolutely second to none, and yet their status as underground underdogs has led them to fly under most people’s radar.

Often tagged, erroneously, as “Melodeath”, it would be more accurate to characterize the band as a furious hybrid of Death and Thrash Metal, with a penchant for brash, technically demanding riffage and a knack for incorporating multiple threads of moody melody without lessening the heaviness or impact of their sound one iota.

Formed in 2006 on the mean streets of LA (note: said streets may not have been as mean as portrayed on TV), the band have undergone a few line-up changes in the intervening years since then, although the core duo of Elizabeth Schall (also of NCS-beloved grindsters Cretin) on vocals/guitar and Mike Caffell on drums has remained constant throughout.

The band having just released their third album, Funeral Twilight, last month, now seemed like the perfect time to wax lyrical about them, and hopefully introduce some new listeners to their signature brand of audio extremity. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): HEXIS — “TANDO ASHANTI”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  2 Responses »
Mar 292017
 

 

We’ve been following the Danish band Hexis since 2012, posting reviews of their early split with As We Draw and Euglena, their 2014 album Abalam, and a remarkable video for the song “Septem“, which will appear on the band’s new album, Tando Ashanti. Hexis have also participated in split releases with This Gift Is A Curse, Primitive Man, and Redwood Hill, while also releasing a trio of EPs and playing more than 300 shows across a range of nations.

The new album will be released on April 14 by by Init Records on CD, by Halo of Flies and Alerta Antifascista on vinyl, and by Bloated Veins on cassette tape. The strength of the band’s previous releases should be reason enough to spend money on one or more of these editions, without more inducement, but today we have an exclusive full stream of the album to take any remnants of guesswork out of the decision. Continue reading »

DODECAHEDRON: “KWINTESSENS”

 Album Reviews  3 Responses »
Mar 292017
 

 

(We present Austin Weber’s review of the new album by the Dutch band Dodecahedron, recently released by Season of Mist.)

Back in 2012, Tilburg, Netherlands natives Dodecahedron came out of nowhere and dropped a rightly revered self-titled album, one that was far ahead of the curve for black metal at the time as well. When you release a black metal album as forward-thinking and nightmare-inducing as Dodecahedron, where exactly does one go from there?

It’s a bit of a long answer since the band write such complex and dynamic songs, but basically the music they’ve come up with on Kwintessens hits even darker while frequently dropping into lighter and oddly calming flourishes as well. A lot of new elements are at play here, and it’s also a slightly trimmer effort at 41 minutes versus their self-titled album, which was 52 minutes long. Simultaneously more deranged, yet also littered with a stronger prog influence and an influx of heavy grooves to their arsenal, the album also includes some grind-gone-technical black metal moments that caught me off guard too. Continue reading »

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