AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): ORNAMENTOS DEL MIEDO — “ESCAPANDO A TRAVÉS DE LA TIERRA”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Mar 122024
 

We are very pleased today to premiere a complete stream of the newest album by the Spanish death/doom metal project Ornamentos del Miedo. Entitled Escapando a Través de la Tierra, it will be released by Tragedy Productions and Meuse Music Records on March 15th.

This stunning new opus is again the solo work of Angel Chicote from Burgos, who was responsible not only for all the vocals and instrumentation but also the mixing, mastering, and artwork.

Lyrically, the songs address “interest disguised as friendship, mental illness, forgotten memories”. “Here there are no more demons, monsters or fantastic beings than those that life gives us”. But while the lyrics may express recognizable vagaries of human life, the intensely atmospheric and emotionally moving music transports the listener to realms far, far away from the mundane. Continue reading »

ECCLESIA – ECCLESIA MILITANS

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Mar 112024
 

(Andy Synn steps up to take communion with the new album from Ecclesia, out now)

While our site’s name may be a little tongue-in-cheek (even if some people seem to take it way too seriously) it’s true that we don’t write about the clean-sung variants of Metal – Trad, Power, “classic” Doom, etc – very often.

But there are certainly exceptions to this “rule”, and today’s exception goes by the name Ecclesia Militans.

Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: AUSTERE, DARKESTRAH, DØDSFERD, GIVRE, HORN, NIGHT SHALL DRAPE US, MERRIMACK

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK  No Responses »
Mar 102024
 

What the hell happened? This collection of new black metal is appearing an hour later than it should have. I finished it at 10:00 and then I looked at an electronic clock and suddenly it was 11:00, without anything happening during that hour.

My first thought was that the music I picked had skewed space-time. The music, as you will see (or rather, hear), is certainly epic enough to cause such an upheaval. But then I discovered the reason was much more stupidly mundane. I gather that on a Sunday next November this column will appear an hour earlier than when I finish it. I look forward to being surprised again. Incipient dementia has its rewards.

AUSTERE (Australia)

Yes, “epic” is an overused and often poorly used word, but even worn-out words still mean something and sometimes are still better than the less-abused alternatives. And yes, “Cold Cerecloth” is epic. It’s also epically infectious. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: ACOD, ISCHEMIC, LOCKTENDER, LOKA, NECROT, NEVER THE DEAD, PAIN, POPIOŁY, SHADOHM

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Mar 092024
 

Like yesterday, I had enough time to compile a very big roundup of new music for this Saturday. It includes two full EPs and seven individual songs, most of them from forthcoming releases, presented in alphabetical order by band name.

Like yesterday, there’s so much to hear here that I’ve attempted to cut back on the usual volume of impressionistic words so I can finish this before I turn into a pumpkin. Also like yesterday, I think there’s a lot of variety in the music I picked.

Unlike yesterday, I decided to focus on more obscure names from different corners of the metalverse.(P.S. For newcomers here, there will be yet another roundup tomorrow, focusing on black metal and its kindred.) Continue reading »

GOST: “PROPHECY”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Mar 082024
 

(Yesterday we presented Daniel Barkasi‘s interview of Texas-based Gost, and today we deliver his review of Gost‘s new album Prophecy on the day of its release by Metal Blade Records.)

The connection between metal and electronic music is an alluring one; both have existed side-by-side for decades. There’s always been some similarities in the aesthetic and structure of specific forms of each. One of the latest phenomena is the synthwave genre, and more specifically for this review, it’s where a sub-genre known as darksynth emerged. A caustic and menacing method of synth music, many have been gripped by its extremely heavy sounds and dark themes.

One of the most heralded innovators of that style is Gost, who has carved a large following through the last 11 years, never producing the same album twice. Early works centered around more Satanic subjects and vigorous sounds, while more recent albums such as Rights of Love and Reverence portray more on the personal side with gothic/industrial conventions. New album Prophecy is a merging of both subjects and nearly all sonic inclinations of Gost’s career, resulting in a familiar-yet-fresh album that continues to position the project further into its own air. Continue reading »

HECATONCHEIR – NIGHTMARE UTOPIA

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Mar 072024
 

(Nightmare Utopia, the debut album from Hecatoncheir, is out now on Total Dissonance Worship)

As we’ve said several times, one of the reasons we keep doing this is because we love discovering new music, and we love sharing our discoveries with people.

Hell, if we didn’t have this blog we’d probably just be running up to people in the streets and screaming at them about how good the latest Blackened Post-Progressive Doom-core release is… and, according to the authorities, we’re not supposed to do that any more.

So when I first stumbled across Nightmare Utopia, the debut album from talented Slovakian Dissonant Death Metal trio Hecatoncheir, last week I knew immediately that I wanted to write about it and spread the word.

And while it took me a little longer than I’d hoped to find space in my schedule, I’m hoping you’ll agree that the wait was more than worth it, as this is one of the most promising debuts I’ve heard so far this year.

Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM AND VIDEO PREMIERE: NONE — “ALIVE IN SAN JOSE”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  No Responses »
Mar 072024
 

For those of you encountering None for the first time today, it began in 2015 as the solo musical project of Nicholas Mendiola from San José, California, now based in Los Angeles. The music is unconventional, and thus not easily pigeon-holed in genre terms. We can suggest that over time it has involved an alchemical interaction of black metal, neo-folk, industrial, and dark ambient ingredients, but for Nicholas “The Dark Gospel” is what he calls the music of None.

That term not only abjures explicit genre references, it also connects with None‘s conception of musical creation as a spiritual endeavor, as a never-ending search for the divine and an expression of its mystical presence both within ourselves as an animating force and external to us.

Last October None played their first hometown show in San José at The Caravan Lounge. There, Nicholas was joined in the representation of None by bassist and guitarist Nathan Nunes. They performed six songs, five of which were new and never-before heard. The show was recorded, and tomorrow (March 8th) it will be released as an album entitled Alive in San Jose. The show was also filmed, and today we’re premiering the video of None‘s live show, as well as the full album stream of the set. Continue reading »

PRISONER: “PUTRID | OBSOLETE”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Mar 072024
 

(This is Todd Manning‘s review of Prisoner‘s sophomore album, due for release on March 15th by Persistent Vision Records.)

While certainly not the first to combine metal with industrial influences, Richmond-based unit Prisoner justifies their efforts with their excellent sophomore album Putrid | Obsolete.

Starting off as a quartet featuring Pete Rozsa on guitar and vocals, Justin Hast on bass, Dan Finn on guitar, and Joel Hansen on drums, they added Adam Lake as a full-time member to handle synths, samples, and programming, resulting in an immersive and hellish listening experience. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): APOGEAN –“CYBERSTRICTIVE”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  1 Response »
Mar 062024
 

“Canadian tech/prog death metal group Apogean presents their inaugural full-length, Cyberstrictive, scheduled for 08 March 2024 via The Artisan Era on vinyl, CD, and digital. Marking the debut with the new vocalist Mac Smith (who recently served as the live vocalist of Decrepit Birth), the upcoming album poignantly explores the dark side of technology, shedding light on its poisonous effects on our lives.”

That’s the high-level introduction provided in the PR materials previewing this Toronto quintet’s first full-length, which follows their debut EP, Into Madness, released in June 2021. And here’s a further insight into the album’s conceptual themes, which is worth understanding in advance of listening to the album — which you’ll have a chance to do now: Continue reading »

SHOW REVIEW: AGALLOCH AND DAWNBRINGER IN SAN FRANCISCO, FEB. 17, 2024

 Concert Reviews  5 Responses »
Mar 062024
 

(Our friend Ben Manzella returns to NCS with his reflections about and photos of the performances by John Haughm, Dawnbringer, and Agalloch in San Francisco CA on February 17th of this year.)

I’m not sure of the origin of the saying, “When it rains, it pours.” However, it seemed rather fitting for the night I thankfully made it in to see Agalloch in San Francisco. I had decided to take a brief trip up from Los Angeles for an art event at a gallery called Studio Fallout that was the same day as Agalloch’s concert and wanted to finally see them live after thinking I’d never have a chance when they broke up a few years ago.

Adding to the rarity/uniqueness of the event, Dawnbringer was announced as the opener in their first Bay Area show in close to a decade, and John Haughm of Agalloch started the evening by playing solo material, which is also a rare treat. Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries