AN NCS EP PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): FERAL FORMS — “PREMALIGNANT”

 Album Reviews, Premieres, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Dec 122023
 

Before the first notes are heard, Feral Forms‘ debut EP Premalignant ought to grab attention quickly among gnarly denizens of the metal underground. There’s the “for fans of” recommendation by the labels who are releasing it: Angelcorpse, Teitanblood, Diocletian, Black Curse.

And then there’s the fact that this Italian quartet features current and former members of The Secret, Grime, Claustrum, and Fierce.

And then there’s that cover art, staring you in the face with those bulging eyes, dissolving face, and strange forehead cavities.

Now that they (and we) have your attention, it’s time to launch the music, though we must say that the EP’s title is either misleading or just plain scary: If this EP’s music is “premalignant”, it’s frightening to think what Feral Forms might do if they decided to channel fully emergent malignancy. Continue reading »

HEALTH: “RAT WARS”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Dec 112023
 

(Here’s Wil Cifer‘s review of the new album by L.A.-based HEALTH, which was released last week by Loma Vista Recordings.)

The industrial trio HEALTH continues to make artistic noise, with a haunting melody as the focal point of even their most confrontational moments. I have been a fan of this project for some time, but this is the first time I have felt compelled to review these guys here. Rat Wars finds the band to be sonically more appropriate. They have always been metal adjacent, but this time, though they might not be flashing devil horns with their foot on the monitor, it is their heaviest work to date.

As I searched for this album online earlier in the week, I found a comment on Reddit that gave me a chuckle as it referred to this album as ‘The Downward Spiral” for people with two monitors. It’s a pretty fair assessment. The band’s full vision unfolds on this album, opening the doors for the larger metal community to embrace them. Continue reading »

BEER & LOATHING IN THE ROCKIES: DECIBEL METAL AND BEER FEST DENVER, 2023, DAY 1

 Concert Reviews  1 Response »
Dec 072023
 

(Denver-based NCS writer Gonzo didn’t miss the Decibel Metal & Beer Fest in Denver on December 1st and 2nd, and somehow he recovered quickly enough to turn in the following report on the fest’s first day — and he’ll be sending us a report on the second day as well.)

We all know the story with sequels – they rarely live up to the expectations set by their predecessor. The trend is so common that it makes one wonder why it’s seemingly always the case. Heavy lies the crown of precedent, I suppose.

Music festivals are not immune to this trend. The first go-round of any festival could easily be a trial-and-error situation resulting in way more “error” for most people’s liking. The logistics, planning, promotion, marketing, and everything that goes in between is a waking nightmare to comprehend, and it’s a hell of a lot easier for me to sit here and write about it than it is to organize and execute. When it’s done right, though, people will come back for Year 2, and they’ll bring their high expectations with them.

All that being said, after spending this past weekend at Summit Music Hall here in Denver for the second incarnation of Decibel’s now-annual Metal & Beer Fest, I can happily say that the curse of sequel mediocrity does not fucking apply here.

If anything, the bar has been thoroughly raised for this glorious weekend of revelry and ear-splitting savagery, even though my liver is scowling in disapproval as I type this. (Sit this one out, you whiny little mass of meat. You’ve suffered enough.) Continue reading »

CRUST – DISSOLUTION

 Album Reviews  1 Response »
Dec 072023
 

(Dissolution comes out on December 15 via Avantgarde Music, and Andy Synn tells you all about it)

It’s undeniable that Crust have been on fire for the last few years, with albums like 2020’s Stoic and 2021’s Wanderers gaining the band more coverage and praise than ever before (including from this site) and introducing even more ears to the band’s signature brand of doom-laden, sludge-laced Black Metal.

And now, with the upcoming release of Dissolution (out next Friday) it looks like they’re set to go three-for-three with what might just be their best work yet.

Continue reading »

THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED (BUT SHOULDN’T)

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Dec 062023
 

(Before he gets into his yearly retrospective Andy Synn wants to highlight four more albums from last month which you may not have heard)

Well, here it is, my last “Things You May Have Missed” column of the year, featuring four albums from November that I think you should all check out if you haven’t already.

That’s it. That’s the intro.

Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): DEEMTEE — “STRANGE AEONS & DELIRIUMS”

 Album Reviews, Premieres  1 Response »
Dec 052023
 

Every durable edifice, even a musical one, must have a solid foundation.

Well, that’s what some people say, probably including most listeners. But music whose foundations are constantly shifting and skidding, as if caught in an earthquake or morphing like some hallucinatory vision, can be far more interesting, even dazzling, if the architect is as talented as the person behind the Spanish band Deemtee.

This observation certainly held true for Deemtee‘s debut album, the aptly named Flawed Synchronization With Reality, which we premiered and reviewed (at great length) four years ago. In attempting to describe it we shared comparative references to Deathspell Omega, Oranssi Pazuzu, Valborg, Blut Aus Nord, and Ved Buens Ende — and repeatedly emphasized how unpredictable (and extraordinary) it was.

Now it’s time for foundations to liquify again, because Deemtee has a new album coming our way on December 7th via the Spanish label Darkness Within (a sub-label of Darkwoods), It also has a very apt title, given the nature of the songs: Strange Aeons & Deliriums. Continue reading »

KRALLICE – MASS CATHEXIS 2: THE KINETIC INFINITE

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Dec 042023
 

(Andy Synn, our resident Krallice curator, offers his thoughts on the band’s new album)

Is there anything less surprising than a surprise Krallice release any more?

Not that it’s a bad thing by any means. Honestly, I love that the group continue to do things their own way and work to their own timescales, rather than trying to live up to any outside expectations or bow to external pressures.

But if you ask any group of metalheads (well, those of a more “underground” disposition, at least) the question “what band just dropped a brand-new album out of the blue?” I bet 9 out of 10 of them would immediately say Krallice without hesitation.

On their new album, however – their second of 2023 – the band have an even bigger surprise up their collective sleeve… a direct sequel, both stylistically and spiritually, to 2020’s Mass Cathexis.

Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: EITRIN, FUINÄEHOT

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK  No Responses »
Dec 032023
 

You know the old saying about situations when your eyes are bigger than your stomach? When you take on more food than you can possibly finish? That’s kind of my situation, musically, today.

Yesterday’s two-part roundup, which spilled over into today, was a big platter of delectables. What I still had sitting on the platter this morning (all the well-charred food) was just too much to get through, despite my appetite for it and the “clean your plate” philosophy with which my family raised me. Stacked on top of the two-part roundup, it probably would have been too much for you as well.

But, at the risk of an exploding gut, here are a few more servings.

EITRIN (France)

Who could possibly leave untouched a feast prepared by Vindsval (Blut Aus Nord), Marion (Mütterlein), and Dehn Sora (Throane) in celebration of Debemur Morti Productions‘ 20th anniversary? Not I. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY (PART 2): HAUL, JAWLESS, AFRA

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Dec 032023
 

Promises to keep.

Yesterday in Part 1 of this roundup I said there would be a Part 2 and that it would include “three bands from the same archipelagic country, all of which fall into the big-surprise category”. And so, a day late, here’s Part 2. (There will still be a Shades of Black column later on today.)

As hinted yesterday, all three bands are from Indonesia. All three were new to my ears and all are very good, albeit in very different ways stylistically. Hence, the surprises, and my decision to include these three bands together in their own segment.

HAUL (Indonesia)

More than a decade after their first release and seven years after their last one, Haul returned this year with a new EP named Adamar. Transylvanian Recordings released it digitally and on tape on December 1st (I found out that Disaster Records also released it on CD last March).

Having heard nothing of Haul‘s previous releases, I gave it a listen because of Transylvanian‘s enthusiastic recommendation. Here’s part of that enthusiasm: Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY (PART 1): SVRM, MALIST, DEPARTURE CHANDELIER, VERGEL, EBOLA, THE STROYMACHINE, THE LORD AND MARTHE

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Dec 022023
 

Yesterday I managed to crawl through the 300-400 Bandcamp alerts and e-mails that hit our in-box during the 24 hours of Bandcamp Friday, plus social media messages from a few of the people whose recommendations I pay attention to. I even managed to very quickly skim through e-mails from the day before.

Doing that, I saved a shitload of links, and then barely scratched the surface of them in listening. There were some big surprises in that pile, some from bands I knew about and even bigger ones from names I’d never heard of. I picked some to pass along to you today. I’ve saved some others for the Sunday column, which I hope I’ll get to.

I had so many picks for today that I decided to divide them into two parts. The second part includes three bands from the same archipelagic country, all of which fall into the big-surprise category. I haven’t yet written part 2, and because the hour is late, it will probably come tomorrow. Continue reading »

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