NO CLEAN SINGING

A LETTER OF GRATITUDE FROM PANOPTICON (AND NEWS ABOUT THE NEXT ALBUM AND FUTURE PERFORMANCES)

Aug 232016

EDITOR’S NOTE: The recently completed Migration Fest in Olympia, Washington, jointly organized by 20 Buck Spin and Gilead Media, was filled with memorable highlights, but perhaps the greatest of all was the first live performance by Panopticon, which closed the fest’s second night.

In a 90-minute set that cut across a broad swath of Panopticon’s albums, Austin Lunn was joined on-stage by drummer Ray Capizzo (Falls of Rauros), bassist Andy Klokow (who also performed live with Obsequiae), and guitarist Jake Quittschreiber (Circadian Ritual). The time seemed to fly by, and left an enthusiastic audience roaring their appreciation and their thanks. (We have five videos from that set, along with a more extensive review, here.)

And now we want to share another expression of gratitude, this time a thank-you letter from Austin Lunn himself to everyone who became a part of Migration Fest — and in this letter he discloses plans for the next Panopticon album as well as future live performances: Continue reading »

AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: EYE OF SOLITUDE — “THIS GOODBYE. THE GOODBYE”

Premieres 3 Responses »

Aug 232016

(Grant Skelton introduces our premiere of a video for a new song by the British band Eye of Solitude from their forthcoming album, Cenotaph.)

Eye Of Solitude will release their new album Cenotaph next week (September 1). This Friday (August 26), No Clean Singing will bring you an exclusive full-album stream of that release along with my review. Cenotaph is an album meant for solitary enjoyment. It will disengage you from all externalities and invite you to retreat inward — to places inside your soul you aren’t even aware of.

In the meantime, No Clean Singing is proud to present another exclusive from Cenotaph. Below, you will find the official music video for the track “This Goodbye. The Goodbye.” The video, directed by Razvan Alexandru, is deliberately slow and contemplative. Just like the track itself. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: BEITHÍOCH — “THE HUNTER’S INVOCATION”

Premieres 3 Responses »

Aug 232016

Regular readers of my verbiage may have concluded that I live in a state of perpetual enthusiasm about metal. That isn’t true, but because all of us here only devote our scribblings to music that does make us enthusiastic, I could understand why people may think that. How then can I adequately explain how really, really, ultra-enthusiastic I am about the new Beithíoch song I’m about to deliver unto your ears?

There is something about this track, the name of which is “The Hunter’s Invocation“, that has made it leap like a beast from the shadows and seize my imagination, as I hope it will yours — something that makes it not merely a satisfying union of black, death, and doom metal but also unusually distinctive. Continue reading »

VOLTURYON: “CLEANSED BY CARNAGE”

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Aug 232016

(DGR reviews the new album by Sweden’s Volturyon.)

Sweden’s Volturyon are a band for whom I’ve been waving the banner pretty frequently — most of that faith inspired by the EP they put out in 2014 entitled Human Demolition. It’s one that I bring up often because I feel like it flew under the radar of a lot of metal listeners; to me that seems insane, because I am hardly ever on the cutting edge of anything, and if I have something that I feel flew under the radar — something that seems to consistently surprise listeners every time I show it to them — then something isn’t right, and I need to do more to shout it from the mountaintops.

Human Demolition was a concise EP, with four songs and an intro, and three of those songs were blisteringly quick death metal grinders, with one sort of mid-tempo chuggathon to break up the pacing a tiny bit. “Concrete Devotion” is a constant highlight for me. That’s why I was pretty much locked in from the start with the group’s upcoming early-September release, Cleansed By Carnage. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: FRIGORIS — “NUR EIN MOMENT…”

Album Reviews, Premieres 2 Responses »

Aug 222016

On August 25, Hypnotic Dirge will release the new album by the German band Frigoris, whose name you may recall from the praise we heaped on an advance track from the album named “Trúwen”. Entitled Nur ein Moment… (Just one Moment…), it follows the band’s 2013 debut full-length Wind and is the first part of a two-album concept that follows “the tracks of a protagonist who faces the consequences of suicide in an interior journey.” Today we present a full stream of the album in advance of its release later this week.

Through the course of the album’s six long tracks Frigoris move from passages of soft, ethereal beauty to storms of surging blackened power, interweaving elements of black metal, post-metal and doom to create a journey through a changing emotional landscape of peaks and valleys. Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: DAWN RAY’D — “A THORN, A BLIGHT”

Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET 3 Responses »

Aug 222016

(Andy Synn reviews the debut EP of the UK band Dawn Ray’d, which is out now on Bandcamp.)

As our contributor Wil Cifer wrote recently, “Crust seems to be a hot buzzword when it comes to underground metal these days”, to the extent I’m even starting to see it edge out the near-ubiquitous over-use of the terms “blackened” and “Black Metal” in certain places (but don’t you worry, I have a whole other column percolating in my head about THAT particular topic).

It seems to be one of those terms designed to bestow instant underground-cred on a band, whether or not it’s actually reflected in any aspects of their music, and, as such, I’ve seen it crudely co-opted multiple times by bands and writers who don’t seem to know (or care) what it means, they just want the artificial credibility and cultural capital it bestows.

I’m saying all this as a preamble because I want to make it clear right away that – even though their unwavering anti-NSBM, anti-fascist stance and sharp, punk-edged sound certainly gives them more claim to the term than some others I’ve seen – gritty Black Metal three-piece Dawn Ray’d don’t seem to care one way or the other whether you call them “Crust” or not.

They’re just happy to let the music speak for itself. Continue reading »

INQUISITION: “BLOODSHED ACROSS THE EMPYREAN ALTAR BEYOND THE CELESTIAL ZENITH”

Album Reviews 5 Responses »

Aug 222016

It is time to put to rest any of the grumbling you might have heard in regard to the new Inquisition. Some people were more than likely already in a bad mood after hearing the new Metallica or only had a marginal intrest in Inquisition to begin with. The truth is, their new album sounds just like them, right when Dagon lets the chords ring out with such eerie dissonance.

They are not out to win over any new fans. This is not to say they are just dialing it in, as drummer Incubus brings some sinister grooves and really lays into his high hat. In the car my wife complained the crash was a little tinny, but I didn’t hear that, and overall the mix has the dense sound that I want from them. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: ESCARNIUM — “100 DAYS OF BLOODBATH”

Premieres 5 Responses »

Aug 212016

Last fall we had the pleasure of premiering Godless Shrine of Decay, an album-length compilation of music by the Brazilian death metal band Escarnium. Godless Shrine was released by Redefining Darkness Records to pave the way for the band’s new album, which has now been set for release on October 14 by Redefining Darkness in North America and Testimony Records in Europe. The name of the new album is Interitus, and today we bring you the debut of its ninth track, “100 Days of Bloodbath”.

Since the band’s founding in 2008, they’ve released one previous full-length, 2012’s Excruciating Existence, and a handful of shorter offerings. As a retrospective, Godless Shrine of Decay documented the maturation of this band over time into a group of ravagers with a knack for writing and executing songs of soul-plundering savagery and relentless ruthlessness. As evidenced by this new song and album, they have developed a truly impressive, sure-handed mastery of evil, primal, old school death metal. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY: WARDRUNA, DEVIN TOWNSEND, UNFATHOMABLE RUINATION, DYSYLUMN

Exceptions to the Rule, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC 6 Responses »

Aug 202016

That stunning vista above these words is what greeted my eyes this morning. I’m on a short vacation in the presence of the Grand Tetons in Wyoming. I’m not telling you that to be a dick, but only because I know how vitally interested you are in my every movement, except perhaps for bowel movements.

I did tear myself away from awestruck gazing at the horizon long enough to listen to four new songs, one of which comes with a video. I thought all four were good enough that they would make a nice collection for this Saturday morning, saving me the agony of trying to sift through all the other good stuff that came out since my last round-up.

The first two songs are exceptions to our oft-violated Rule, and the last two open up the extremity throttle in very different ways. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: CARNOPHAGE — “RESISTANCE AGAINST MIND CLOUDING HERESY”

Premieres 4 Responses »

Aug 192016

Unique Leader has discovered yet another death metal band capable of dropping jaws with their technical skill, but as you’re about to find out, this band have talents that go beyond their ability to spit notes and beats with speed and precision. The band’s name is Carnophage and they are from the ancient city of Ankara, Turkey. Their new album bears the title Monument, and Unique Leader will release it on September 23.

This isn’t the first album by Carnophage, but it is the first one in eight years, with the band’s debut (Deformed Future/Genetic Nightmare) having appeared in 2008, also via Unique Leader. In those eight years, it’s fair to say there’s been a Vesuvius-like eruption in the number of bands who could be branded with the “technical death metal” label. But they haven’t all been cut from the same cloth. And although there is a high risk of reaching a saturation point, it’s still possible to stand out from the crowd.

It you happened to hear the first advance track from this album, a song called “At The Backside Of Our Civilization”, you already have an idea of the ways in which Carnophage have elevated themselves from the masses with this new album. We’re giving you further evidence today, as we present the debut of another song, this one named “Resistance Against Mind Clouding Heresy“. Continue reading »

Older Entries Newer Entries