SHADES OF BLACK Archives - Page 60 of 65

SHADES OF BLACK: DEGIAL, KRATER, NACHTZEIT, NEKRASOV, FRONT

Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET 9 Responses »

Nov 272015

I guess it has become a cliche to feature black metal on Black Friday, even though the two have absolutely nothing to do with each other beyond a shared word. But we have no discounts to offer on the subscription to our site, no merch to sell at half off, and I’m overdue posting a Shades of Black feature anyway. So, black metal it shall be (mostly).

I’ve collected in this post streams of three new songs from forthcoming albums and two new EPs, plus my own garbled words.

DEGIAL

Okay, so Sweden’s Degial aren’t exactly a black metal band, but they’re necro to the core. The name of their new, second album is Savage Mutiny and it’s coming out via Sepulchral Voice Records on December 25 (in order to foul the holiday with their blasphemous stench, of course). The title track from the album was delivered unto our greedy ears yesterday, and you shall hear it next. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: CHÂTEAU, GRAFVITNIR, HAMMER OF WAR, HERON, HORROCIOUS, INFESTUM, STANDVAST, UNHOLY ORDER

Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET 3 Responses »

Nov 122015

I’m in an unfortunate position. Before I began my trip to Alaska about a week ago for my day job, I had collected a lot of music that I intended to compile for an installment of our Shades of Black series. And since arriving in Alaska I’ve found a few more songs (in the little time I’ve had to myself) that I wanted to add to the post.

The problem is that I haven’t had time to write my impressions of the music in detail — and I don’t think I will find the time in the near future. So, with apologies to the bands, I’ve grudgingly decided to just share the music streams with you, even though I can’t share all my words of praise about them. I do hope you’ll check out everything in this post, despite the large volume of music — I think it’s all very good.

CHÂTEAU

Amissus is the name of the debut EP by a band named Château from Raleigh, North Carolina (the first of two bands from Raleigh featured in this post). It’s available for order on CD or download at Bandcamp. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: YELLOW EYES, SKULLREADER, DISTERROR, APOKATHILOSIS, YGFAN

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK 5 Responses »

Oct 212015

Last Saturday I began what was supposed to be a two-part post of new music in a blackened vein. Forgetting that part-time, half-witted metal bloggers should never forecast what they’re going to do, I said that I would post Part 2 on Sunday, or Monday at the latest. And… it’s Wednesday.

Of course, the arrow of time didn’t stop in mid-flight to wait for me, and so more new songs and EPs have appeared since I compiled the stuff I originally planned to include in Part 2. Therefore, I’ve made some additions, and postponed writing about some other things. Ain’t no way I’m saying when the next installment will come….

YELLOW EYES

When I first found out in early September that Gilead Media would be releasing a new album by New York black metal band Yellow Eyes, I blared the news as fast as I could. Now that I’ve heard the album, I feel completely justified in my initial enthusiasm. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: FOREFATHER, CHRIST AGONY, VELDES, THIRD REICH SATAN’S THRONE, MORODH

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK 11 Responses »

Oct 172015

Here, once again, is a collection of recent musical discoveries in a blackened vein that I’ve been enjoying — and I hope you’ll enjoy them, too. As is often the case, I’ve filtered what I’ve found to provide a diverse playlist, and I’ve found so much that I’ve divided this Shades of Black installment into two parts. Part Two will arrive tomorrow. Or possibly the day after (I’m going to a late show tonight, and that tends to play havoc with the morning after.)

I’ve had to make some compromises in this two-part post. In some cases, I’m featuring full-album or full-EP streams despite the fact that in some cases I haven’t had a chance to listen carefully to every song. Ideally, I would wait and do that and then write a thorough review. But I’m able to write so few reviews while doing everything else I need to do for the site that it’s safer to feature the music this way rather than risk omitting it altogether. I’m just facing reality.

So here we go… and don’t expect this is all going to sound the same. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 2): MAÏEUTISTE, THIS GIFT IS A CURSE, PYROMANCER, REBEL WIZARD, HUMM, GATEWAY

Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET 10 Responses »

Oct 022015

Yesterday I began a multi-part collection of new music in a blackened vein. I broke the post into two parts because I had so many new music streams I wanted to recommend. I probably should have broken this post into two parts as well, to make a total of three. But what the hell… As much music as you’ll find here, I hope you’ll find time to at least sample all of it, because it’s all very good and very diverse.

MAÏEUTISTE

I’ve written before about individual songs on the new self-titled debut album by the French band Maïeutiste (and we premiered one of them), but now the album has been released (by Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions) and all the songs are available for streaming and acquisition on Bandcamp. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 1): VREID, ORTHODOXY, UR DRAUGR, DEAFEST

Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET 5 Responses »

Oct 012015

Last night and this morning I engaged in an extended bout of metal listening and found not only a lot of new music I’m anxious to share with you but also some fantastic visual art. By chance, much of what I found is in a blackened vein, and so once again I’ve collected these discoveries in an installment of this irregular Shades of Black series. I have a lot to throw your way, and so it will come in at least two parts, with the other(s) headed your way on our site tomorrow.

VREID

It’s not an understatement to say that my NCS comrades and I are huge, slobbering fans of this Norwegian band. Okay… I guess I’m probably the only one who actually slobbers… the others just sweat a lot.

Anyway, I’m excited to spread the news that Vreid have now divulged some additional details about their new album and have also today premiered a video for the album’s title track. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 2): ABYSMAL LORD, NIHIL KAOS, WOLFBASTARD, NIGHT, VERHEERER

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK 4 Responses »

Sep 202015

This is the second part of a two-part post I began earlier today, the purpose of which is to collect new music that I discovered in an extended bout of listening yesterday, most of it from bands who were also new discoveries. It gets the Shades of Black label because much of it is black metal, though as you’ll discover, there’s quite a lot of diversity in these songs.

ABYSMAL LORD

In August of last year we premiered a song from a debut EP named Storms of Unholy Black Mass by Louisiana’s Abysmal Lord. That EP was a hell of a debut, and now the band have completed their first full-length, which is scheduled for release on November 27 by Hells Headbangers. The strength of the EP would have provided reason enough to look forward to Disciples of the Inferno, but the first advance track from the album (“Sabat”) seals the deal. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 1): PRAISE THE FLAME, VENEFIXION, EÏS, MEPHORASH, SACRAMENT OV IMPURITY

RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK 6 Responses »

Sep 202015

I listened to a lot of metal yesterday, making a rare effort to get ahead of the game on some things I’m planning to post on Monday. That didn’t work out exactly as I’d planned, because I spent more time impulsively exploring music I’d never heard before than writing those other posts. And most of what I heard that I thought was good was either black metal or thoroughly pestilential death metal with a charred coating. So once again I’ve collected the music under the heading Shades of Black, divided into two parts because there’s a lot I want to share with you. Part 2 will come later today.

(Once again, I want to thank my Serbian friend “M” for suggesting half of what I chose to write about in this two-part collection.)

PRAISE THE FLAME

The first band is Praise the Flame from Santiago, Chile, whose ranks include members of Death Yell, Megiddo, Insorcist, and Occidens. Their debut album Manifest Rebellion will be released September 21 on CD via Memento Mori, but the album is now streaming on Bandcamp until October 12. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: ALL HELL, SHADOW OV FENRIS, OSMOSE, VELUM

Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET 6 Responses »

Sep 042015

My trip to Alaska for my fucking day job proved to be a quick one. I got back home to Seattle late last night, about 36 hours after I left. If I’d had any sense, I would have gone right to bed. Instead, I spent time listening to new music, following up on links that friends sent me. And now here I am, five hours of sleep later, pecking on my keyboard about what I heard. By chance, what I enjoyed the most were songs in the vein of black metal, and so we have another Shades of Black collection. As usual, the music is quite diverse.

ALL HELL

My friend and NCS contributor Leperkahn messaged me about the promo of a new album by a band named All Hell that he had just received, with these words: “Trust me when I say stop whatever you’re doing and listen to it, or at least the track at this link, immediately”. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: LUCTUS, PUTREFIED REMAINS, BLACK SUN RITUAL, FLESH SS

Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET 6 Responses »

Aug 162015

I spent a couple of hours yesterday listening to new songs and a few recent short releases. As usual, I found a lot to like, and the music I’ve collected here comes from various widely dispersed corners of the black metal soundscape.

LUCTUS

I discovered this Lithuania-based band only a few weeks ago and wrote enthusiastically about some of the songs from their last release (2013’s Stotis) in a previous edition of Shades of Black (here). As I mentioned in that previous post, Luctus have now finished recording a new concept album entitled Ryšys (which means “connection”), and finally a song from the album has just become available for streaming. Continue reading »

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