NO CLEAN SINGING

AN NCS PREMIERE: ZEALOTRY — “CYBERNETIC EUCHARIST”

Apr 072016

Especially as a non-musician, I’m constantly amazed at the enormous array of technical skill that’s on display in the temples of extreme metal worldwide. But as most serious listeners understand, even eye-popping technical skill will only take a band so far… and actually, not very far at all when the performer’s sole objective seems to be displaying dexterity at high speed. Similarly, throwing in such things as a few bursts of discordant noodling or contrasting ambient sections does not make a death metal band “progressive”. Which brings me to the song we’re about to premiere by the Boston-based band Zealotry — a band that includes members of such other notable groups as Chthe’ilist, Serocs, Inhumatus, and Myth of I.

The name of the song is “Cybernetic Eucharist”, and it appears on their second album The Last Witness, set for release by Lavadome Productions on April 22. The technical performances do indeed display top-shelf skill, often at speed levels near the red zone, but there’s an ingenious method to this madness — this is the kind of death metal that in my book genuinely does merit the label “progressive”. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: DOMOVOYD (OSKAR TUNDERBERG)

Interviews 1 Response »

Apr 072016

(Comrade Aleks re-joins us with this interview of vocalist/guitarist Oskar Tunderberg from Finland’s Domovoyd.)

Domovoyd is an extravagant experimental doom quartet from Finnish Seinäjoki; the band have existed since 2010 and the guys were both talented and lucky enough to get a contract from Svart Records. Their music is dreamy, heavy, loud, and slow – it’s not for everyone, yes. But their albums Oh Sensibility (2013) and Domovoyd (2015) earned the band a solid reputation.

Oskar Tunderberg (vocals, guitars), Niko Lehdontie (guitars), Dmitry Melet (bass), and Axel Solimeis (drums) do their doom magic and weave their psychedelic spells into a heavy dormant trance. Are they still here? – I wondered. And yes, they answered, they are here. This interview with Oskar discovers different aspects of Domovoyd and shows some things from a new angle. Continue reading »

VIRULENCY: “THE ANTHROPODERMIC MANUSCRIPT OF RETRIBUTION”

Album Reviews 3 Responses »

Apr 072016

(In this post our friend Vonlughlio (Blast Family and Reign of Death) reviews the new album by Virulency from The Basque Country.)

Here at NCS we premiered the song “Myriapod Constructology I” in early January, and last week Islander included Virulency’s full stream of their debut album The Anthropodermic Manuscript of Retribution.

So I was given the opportunity to give my thoughts on what happens to be my favorite BDM release so far in 2016. I know it’s early, but have to say that the album has been constant in my playlist.

As mentioned in the earlier posts, the band is from The Basque Country of Spain and formed around 2011, the year in which they released a two-song promo. The following year they released their EP Unbearable Martydom Landscapes. I must admit that when I heard about the band in 2013, I only heard a song from that EP, which I liked, but I never managed to listen to all the songs. It was when New Standard Elite signed them that I bought a copy of the EP (shame on me). Once I gave that release a proper listen, I understood why the best label in the genre decided to signed them. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT — “INCESTE”

Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET 3 Responses »

Apr 072016

(Austin Weber reviews the new EP by NY’s Imperial Triumphant — who just released another new song from the EP.)

Watching Imperial Triumphant grow and morph in so many odd directions over the years has been pretty interesting. I first started covering these guys back in 2012 when Abominamentvm dropped, and even then I correctly foresaw them as being a group focused on deconstructing black metal into an otherworldly force of disturbing imagination and horror. True to form, they’ve really been giving it their all ever since then. First there was the two-song crushing blow of Goliath in 2013. Then came another phenomenal full-length just last year called Abyssal Gods. I’m still reeling from the experience that record delivered, yet the band is already back with a four-song EP named Inceste that comes out pretty soon — on April 15th.

After a release as batshit crazy and eclectic as Abyssal Gods, I was excited to hear what new realms of misery they cooked up this time. And damn, Inceste does not disappoint at all. It traps and delivers all their many forms of sonic tinkering and dissonant filth, with a healthy round of guests aiding in their eerie quest to musically hit rock bottom and become purely chaotic noise. At least this time they were kind enough to brace us for the coming storm with “Libertine” as a subdued opener. But as soon as track two, “Kaleidescopic Orgies”, unfurls its queasy, almost Gorguts-like off-kilter opening rhythm, and then seesaws between dark swirling chaos and surreal sensory overload, you know this ride will be just as wild as any the band have given us before. If there is one sensation that comes to mind when I sit through this, nausea would be it. Imperial Triumphant continue to deliver frantic odes to death that never rest and endlessly rage into fits of madness. Continue reading »

DEATH FORTRESS: “DEATHLESS MARCH OF THE UNYIELDING”

Album Reviews 10 Responses »

Apr 072016

(In this post Andy Synn reviews the new album by New Jersey’s Death Fortress.)

Eons ago… in the cold, dark days of 2014… I stumbled across a certain album. An album absolutely overflowing with raw, visceral power and truly venomous, electrifying energy. That album was Among the Ranks of the Unconquerable, by verbose Black Metal marauders Death Fortress, and it quickly rose in the ranks to become one of my favourite Black Metal albums of the last decade.

I’ll admit though, I was a little late to the party, and the album had been out for some time before I finally got around to reviewing it. This time, however, I’ve been much more on the ball, as the band’s new album, Deathless March of the Unyielding, was only just released earlier this week.

So I guess the big question is, how does it stack up to its predecessor, an album about which I comprehensively struggled to find anything to criticise? Continue reading »

VIDEOGRAPHY: BEHEMOTH, GORGUTS, UADA, BLACK SPACE RIDERS

Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 5 Responses »

Apr 072016

We had such a big line-up of premieres and reviews yesterday that I didn’t have time to pull together a round-up of new things, so I’ll do some of that today. As a consequence of waiting, the first couple of items in this round-up of new videos (and one new song excerpt) will no doubt have been seen by most of you already. I still want to leave them here because they’re so good — though I don’t think I need to say much about them. The second two are somewhat more recent, and are by bands who don’t have quite the name recognition among metal heads as the first two, so I’ll spill a few words about those.

BEHEMOTH

Nergal has a reliably interesting artistic vision for Behemoth’s videos, and a knack for enlisting help from talented people in making them a reality — including Sharon Ehman of Toxic Visions for the costume and prop design in this video, among a long list of others (who are identified in the notes to the video here). Of course, the dramatic natural setting for this video is the real star. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): NAZGHOR — “DEATH’S WITHERED CHANTS”

Premieres 12 Responses »

Apr 062016

Perhaps the first thing to observe about Nazghor’s new album Death’s Withered Chant is that it’s this Swedish band’s fifth full-length in four years, and like the band’s last three albums it’s roughly an hour long. With so much music being released in such a comparatively brief time, one might wonder how good it could be. We’re bringing you today a full stream of the album, so you’ll have a chance to decide that for yourselves — but I think it’s fantastic.

The songwriting is highly accomplished, with every song carrying evocative, frequently majestic melodies that beckon the listener back, and stylistically, the music should appeal to a wide range of fans. It includes the kind of aggressive melodic riffing that should appeal to fans of Scandinavian death metal and the kind of epic, sweeping melodies that should attract adherents of Northern European pagan metal, while preserving the truly venomous vocals, the infernal atmospherics, and the blood-freezing bursts of savagery that are rooted in black metal. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: PRISONER OF WAR — “ROT”

Premieres 4 Responses »

Apr 062016

The image on the cover of Prisoner of War’s new EP could be taken as an accurate representation of how your head will be transformed when it’s exposed to the music. Bearing the title Rot, the EP will be discharged by Iron Bonehead Productions early next month, and we’re about to detonate the premiere of the title track.

With only a four-song demo from 2014 to precede this new EP, you may be surprised at how accomplished this New Zealand band have become in a relatively short time — but there’s no doubt that Rot is going to open a lot of eyes. Continue reading »

BOSSK: “AUDIO NOIR”

Album Reviews 6 Responses »

Apr 062016

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Britain’s Bossk.)

Dream metal serves as a better sub-genre to file this British band’s debut full-length under, rather than dismissing them as post-rock or sludge gaze. Too often post-rock/metal has meant music influenced by Piper At the Gates of Dawn. Before God Speed You! Black Emperor raised their skinny fists, Voivod had already tested those Roger waters on “Nothingface. Instead of trying to re-invent the Floydian wheel, Bossk is giving it a new spin. They bang out a brand of bong-fueled aggression easily agitated into something more overtly metal. Like many of their mellower peers, an incredible guitar tone comes with the job description; it has just taken a decade to make sure it’s dialed in right on this album. Continue reading »

SUNNATA: “ZORYA”

Album Reviews 7 Responses »

Apr 062016

(Bill Xenopoulos, a guest writer from Greece who also writes for Rock Overdose and has his own music blog here, reviews the new album by Poland’s Sunnata.)

I like bands that put together slow, rolling, riff-laden, psychedelic, hook-laced, head-bobbing, transcending, sludge-crushing, spiritual-exploring, doom albums. I think I covered everything that may or may not appear within you, while listening to Sunnata’s sophomore album, Zorya.

Poland is known mostly for her black metal industry, and I like the foggy darkness that comes from there (there are more than 2000 bands from Poland, but I will leave the fog reference as it is). Darkness is good, but there is a different approach to the exploration of heavy electric music, and Sunnata are moving on that territory. They’ve been around since 2013 and have been working their craft, giving shows with some well-known bands, like Conan and Kylesa, and writing long and heavy songs that build themselves around psychedelic hallucinations. Continue reading »

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